Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

Trump says US ‘moving forward’ with additional sanctions on Iran


yota691
 Share

Recommended Posts

Iran’s Khamenei issues new threat to ramp up Iran’s nuclear program

1669061-875259788.jpg?itok=x2HSiOU0

 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the seizure of the ship “piracy”. (File/AFP)

Updated 12 sec ago

REUTERS

AP

July 16, 201909:38

He pledges revenge for UK tanker seizure

Concerns grow for UAE vessel in Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI: Iran vowed on Tuesday to ramp up its nuclear program and repeated threats of retaliation against the UK for seizing an illegal Iranian oil shipment to Syria.

Since the beginning of July, Tehran has been escalating breaches of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal to curb its nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions.

Increasing its enrichment of uranium is an attempt by Tehran to pressure Britain, France and Germany — the European signatories to the JCPOA — into finding a way round crippling US sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump after he withdrew from the deal last May.

“We have started to reduce our commitments and this trend shall continue,” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.

“Europe made 11 commitments, none of which they abided by. We abided by our commitments and even beyond them. Now that we’ve begun to reduce our commitments, they oppose it. How insolent!”

HIGHLIGHT

It was the first time Khamenei had explicitly pledged to press ahead with Iran’s nuclear program, rejecting European appeals to restore enrichment limits preventing rapid development of a nuclear weapon.

It was the first time Khamenei had explicitly pledged to press ahead with its nuclear program, rejecting European appeals to restore limits on enrichment aimed at preventing the rapid development of a nuclear weapon.

He also repeated threats of retribution against the UK for its seizure this month of an Iranian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Gibraltar. The Grace 1 was transporting a million barrels of Iranian oil to Syria, in breach of EU sanctions.

“Evil Britain commits piracy and steals our ship ... and gives it a legal appearance. The Islamic Republic ... will not leave this wickedness unanswered and will respond to it at an appropriate time and place,” he said.

Britain called for calm. “Escalation in the Gulf is not in anyone’s interests and we have repeatedly stressed that to the Iranians,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

Amid tension in the Gulf, US defense officials believe Iran may have seized a small UAE oil tanker that turned off its tracker on Saturday night in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Riah, a 58-meter coastal vessel that operated from Dubai and Sharjah on the west coast to Fujairah in the east, is now in Iranian territorial waters near Qeshm Island, which has an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base on it.

“We certainly have suspicions that it was taken,” a US official said. “Could it have broken down or been towed for assistance? That’s a possibility. But the longer there is a period of no contact ... it’s going to be a concern.”

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1526416/middle-east

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, screwball said:

They will deal I have stated this numerous times

 

Yep, I agree screwball,

Nuclear blackmail is not a real strong hand, for Iran, to play in the global arena.

IMHO, Iran can get shuffled to the back of the deck (in the global arena) real quick. They are running out of cards to play.

 No one needs or wants a global problem child.

Semper Fi:salute:

Show me 'da :bagofmoney:

  • Thanks 2
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trump: Significant progress has been made with Iran

Trump: Significant progress has been made with Iran

 17 July 2019 12:02 ص
Directly: President Donald Trump said that significant progress has been made with respect to Iran, while US Secretary of State in which he stated that Tehran was open to dialogue.

"We will be in their favor, we will work with them and we will help them in any way possible, but they can not have a nuclear weapon," the US president said in remarks on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

"They will want to talk, and we will see what happens, but significant progress has been made," Trump said in reference to Iran.

The US president said he did not want to change the Iranian regime, but hoped to end its nuclear program and not test ballistic missiles.

For his part, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Iran indicated for the first time that it is ready to negotiate ballistic missiles.

 
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Zarif: The doors of negotiations with Trump management are open if sanctions are lifted

Zarif: The doors of negotiations with Trump management are open if sanctions are lifted

Written by: Yasser Hilali in:July 16, 2019

Nour News / International

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the doors of negotiations with the administration of US President Donald Trump are open if the latter decides to lift sanctions on Tehran.

The standoffs between senior Iranian officials about negotiating with Trump between the rejectionist and the supporter, reflecting the widening differences due to the US sanctions severe.

"The doors are open to negotiations if Trump decides to lift sanctions on Iran," Zarif said in an interview with a US television station. "The United States has become addicted to sanctions against Tehran."

Asked about Trump's comments on his readiness to negotiate with Iran without preconditions, Zarif said: "There will be opportunities for negotiations," noting that "if the sanctions are lifted, within a few hours, Iran will be able to return to the outstanding nuclear commitments" . 

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the country, has repeatedly expressed his opposition to negotiations with the United States, and recently said: "No credibility of the United States will not negotiate with them."

Iran has recently suspended some of its commitments to the nuclear deal and has threatened that if European countries fail to meet their interests by agreement, additional steps will be taken. This is a subject that has been strongly criticized by France, Britain and Germany as European members. The United States, which pulled out last year, , The Iranian move as "blackmail".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iran: The West should end the sale of weapons to the quasi-Saddam

Political | 04:27 - 17/07/2019

 
image
 
 

BAGHDAD ( 
Reuters) - The United States must end weapons sales to Saddam's like-minded leader in the region, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif said Wednesday. 
"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has bombarded Iran's cities with missiles and bombs from the West and East for eight years," Zarif said in a tweet on his Twitter website. 
Zarif added: "In the meantime, no country has sold a means of defense to Iran, and we had no choice but to build our own capabilities, and now they complain."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Italian charge of fraud on Iraqi oil shipment rejected

oil.jpg

 

EconomyOilItalyIraq

 2019/07/18 05:01:58

 

Ani has filed a complaint against a former oil operations manager who accused him of fraud over a suspected Iraqi crude oil shipment, amid fears within the Italian oil giant that the rejected shipment may have contained Iranian oil under US sanctions.

In the complaint to the Milan prosecutor's office, Eni accused its former director of operations and operations, Alessandro Des Dorides, of misleading all parties to the deal and of hiding the role of a small Italian oil-selling company called Napage.

Informed sources said two other senior employees were either reduced to their job grades or suspended due to the rejected shipment.

Eni said it stopped its dealings with Napage in February because of a separate investigation by prosecutors in Milan about possible obstruction of justice by members of Eni's former legal team.

The company said it had dismissed Des Dordes at the end of May after six months in office for what it described as a separate petrochemical deal with Napaj in 2018.

Nabaj did not respond to an e-mail request for comment or telephone calls.

Des Dordes did not respond to several requests for comments from Reuters via e-mail or LinkedIn. Reuters was unable to reach a legal representative.

Eni refused to comment too, and she did not comment on ongoing investigations nor on internal procedures due.

Internal panic

The shipment of crude oil arrived on board the White Moon at the end of May for unloading at the Milazzo refinery in Sicily, where Eni has a stake. The Italian giant, which produces oil in Iraq and is a regular buyer of Iraqi crude, is the sole responsible for the shipment.

However, Eni said it had rejected the shipment because it did not match Basrah Light specifications it was expecting to receive from the other side, the trading arm of Nigeria-based Oando.

After three weeks off the coast, White Moon returned to the Gulf. The carrier's manager did not respond to the request for comment.

Two sources in Eni said the 1 million-barrel shipment created a panic within the company for fear that the oil would be Iranian, even partially.

Dealing with Iranian oil means breaking the sanctions the United States reintroduced or expanded last year after the withdrawal from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Washington aims to cut Iranian crude exports to zero and force Tehran to renegotiate the nuclear deal, curb its missile program and adjust its behavior in the Middle East.

Iran called on other parties to the agreement to protect it from the effects of US sanctions and sought to circumvent US restrictions by selling more of its oil hidden.

Eni measures

The head of the Italian Senate Industry Committee said he had written to Eni chief executive Claudio Discalzi in writing after the White Moon shipment was rejected in June to clarify the origins of the oil shipment, which was supposed to be Iraqi.

The Chairman of the Committee declined to comment on the potential origin of the oil.

Eni said it had bought crude from Nigeria's Oando, which also bought oil from Italy's Napage Group in London.

Oando said she had recovered the shipment from Eni but declined to comment further on the origin of the shipment because it was in the midst of a decision on the rejected shipment. The terms of the deal were "normal for the oil trading industry," she said.

Italian prosecutors can not legally comment on an investigation unless there is an exceptional circumstance.

Sources familiar with the deal said the conditions for the shipment of crude had to ring the alarm internally even before arriving in Sicily. It added that the offer included a large discount compared to the sale of Iraqi conventional oil was provided by a company is considered new to the region with the payment of the euro. The dollar is traded in most of the oil trading in the current market.

Eni said the discrepancy in the chemical composition of crude oil "coupled with other warning signals led to the decision to cancel the treatment."

According to sources directly familiar with the deal, the oil that was loaded on the White Moon tanker came through two transfers from ship to ship, making it more difficult to track the shipment.

The sources added that the oil that came from the company Oando was loaded on the White Death of another ship called "New Prosperity" but the same ship received oil from a third carrier called "Apis".

According to ship tracking data on Reventive Aikon, Abyss regularly flies across the Gulf in the Middle East with its transmitter turned off for days at a time. The transmitter was shut down between April 24 and May 3 when it was transporting oil to New Prosperity. It is unusual for ships to shut down their tracking systems for safety reasons.

Apart from the dismissal of Des Dordes, the company said Mauro Cavaina, financial director of Eni's trading department, was removed from office at the end of June and replaced by compliance manager Francesco Mitranjolo. Cavina is still an employee of Eni.

Three informed sources said the removal of Cafaina was linked to the White Moon incident, and Francesca Deladio, operations manager, had also been suspended for the same reason.

https://www.shafaaq.com/ar/اقتصـاد/اتهام-ايطالي-بالاحتيال-بشأن-شحنة-نفط-عراقية-مرفوضة/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iran state TV: Iranian forces seize foreign oil tanker, crew

1672071-226216483.jpg?itok=CVNpO2dB

 

Reports said the oil tanker was intercepted south of Iran’s Larak Island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Above, ships and helicopters from the Revolutionary Guards in maneuvers in 2006 off Larak Island. (AFP file photo)

Updated 7 sec ago

AP

July 18, 201910:26

 

TEHRAN: Iran’s state TV says Revolutionary Guard forces have seized a foreign tanker with 12 crew accused of smuggling oil.
The seizure comes as tensions mount between the United States and Iran over the unraveling nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
Thursday’s report says the tanker was smuggling fuel from Iranian smugglers to foreign customers and was intercepted south of Iran’s Larak Island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The TV didn’t identify the tanker or say which country the crew were from.
An oil tanker based in the United Arab Emirates traveling through the Strait of Hormuz drifted off into Iranian waters and stopped transmitting its location over two days ago.
US officials have expressed suspicion that the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Riah had been seized in Iranian territorial waters.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1527506/middle-east

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oil Prices Tank As Washington Names Moderate Liaison To Lead Iran Negotiations

By Julianne Geiger - Jul 17, 2019, 10:00 PM CDT

Oil prices were sent crashing on Wednesday afternoonafter a Politico report that US Senator Rand Paul may soon sit down at the negotiating table with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in an effort to smooth heightened tensions between the two nations.

Rand offered to serve as a liaison between the two feuding nations over a round of golf over the weekend with US President Donald Trump. Trump agreed to Paul’s proposal, Politico reported, despite Trump’s rather hard line against Iran that has squeezed the country’s oil revenues through restricting its exports. Paul would naturally be expected to take a softer line on US foreign interventions.

By 4pm EST, oil prices had sunk more than 1 percent, with WTI falling $0.99 to reach $56.63, and Brent falling $0.71 to reach $63.64, as the oil markets fear a resolution—even if just in part—to the tensions in the Middle East.

Oil prices have been particularly unstable this week, falling yesterday when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested that Iran was ready to sit at the negotiating table over the nuclear deal, then rising again as Iran emphatically denied the report.

Around 10am today, WTI was trading at almost $58 per barrel.

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks with numerous oil-related incidents near the Strait of Hormuz, including oil tanker attacks off the coast of Oman, a seized Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar, and the most recent incident of another small tanker that went missing over the weekend near Iranian waters. The United States suspected that Iran hijacked the vessel, which Iran denied.

Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif is in New York this week for UN meetings, so a meeting would be convenient, although one has not been confirmed.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oil Tumbles After Iran Offers New Nuclear Deal If U.S. Drops Sanctions

By ZeroHedge - Jul 18, 2019, 4:00 PM CDT

Who knew Rand Paul could be such an effective negotiator.

One day after the Republican senator and son of Ron Paul was reported to be Trump's liaison to negotiate with Iran in hopes of easing tensions, sending the price of oil tumbling, the Guardian report that Iran has offered a deal with the US in which it would "formally and permanently" accept enhanced inspections of its nuclear program, in return for the permanent lifting of US sanctions.

The offer was made by Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on a visit to New York, although for those hoping that the US and Iran will become bffs, don't get your hopes up: as the Guardian notes, the offer is unlikely to be warmly received by the Trump administration, which is currently demanding Iran make a range of sweeping concessions, including cessation of uranium enrichment and support for proxies and allies in the region.

Zarif countered that his offer was “a substantial move”.

“It’s not about photo ops. We are interested in substance,” he told reporters at the Iranian mission to the UN in New York on Thursday. “There are other substantial moves that can be made.”

“If they [the Trump administration] are putting their money where their mouth is, they are going to do it. They don’t need a photo op. They don’t need a two-page document with a big signature.”

In May of 2018, Trump unleashed an oil embargo on Iran, coupled with severe banking sanctions, when the US withdrew the US from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA). The ongoing embargo has not only crippled Iran's economy, but triggered a standoff in the Gulf that has escalated dramatically in recent months, with sabotage attacks on foreign tankers, blamed on Iran by the US. In the latest incidenton Thursday, Iran said it had seized a foreign-owned vessel suspected of being used for oil smuggling out of Iran. Related: Iran: Our Missile Program Is Not Negotiable

Zarif dismissed the incident as a routine marine policing matter.

He said: “It’s not a tanker. It’s a small ship carrying a million litres, not a million barrels, of oil. We do it every other day. These are people who are smuggling our fuel. This is … one of the things that we do in the Persian Gulf, because of the heavy subsidies that we provide for our own fuel products.”

An unexpected moment of diplomatic tenderness emerged when Zarif credited Trump with "prudence" for calling off missile attacks last month in reprisal for the downing of a US surveillance drone, and said that gave him confidence that diplomatic progress is possible.

He said: “I believe we were few minutes away from a war. Prudence prevailed and we’re not fighting. So that gives reason for us to be optimists. If we work, if we are serious, then we can find a way forward.”

But the reason why today's olive leaf by Iran was notable is that until now, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has rebuffed overtures for direct talks with Trump, citing US bad faith over the JCPOA, but Zarif signaled on Thursday that Iran was willing to do a deal that did not necessary involve the US returning to the JCPOA, Tehran’s official position until now.

The result: oil prices are tumbling for a fourth day...

1563476704-o_1dg37ibpn1jpe11135ije85lr8.

... as a major source of geopolitical uncertainty now appears to be on its way out... or at least until Trump comments that nothing that Iran has offered is an acceptable basis for negotiation.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trump says US warship destroys Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions

1672496-1195382156.jpg?itok=A7SyT-v7

 

The US military shot down an Iranian drone on Thursday that came within 1,000 yards of one of its naval vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said. (AFP)

Updated 59 sec ago

AP

July 18, 201922:18

The incident marked a new escalation of tensions between US and Iran

The Pentagon said the incident happened at 10 a.m. local time Thursday

WASHINGTON: A US warship on Thursday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, President Donald Trump said. 

The incident marked a new escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone in the same waterway and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.

In remarks at the White House, Trump blamed Iran for a “provocative and hostile” action and said the US responded in self-defense.

He said the Navy’s USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, took defensive action after the Iranian aircraft closed to within 1,000 yards of the ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

“The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities and interests and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran’s attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce,” Trump said.

The Pentagon said the incident happened at 10 a.m. local time Thursday in international waters while the Boxer was transiting the waterway to enter the Arabian Gulf. The Boxer is among several US Navy ships in the area, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that has been operating in the nearby North Arabian Sea for weeks.

“A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range,” chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a written statement. “The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew.”

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1527621/middle-east

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trump announces the destruction of an American plane to an Iranian plane in the Strait of Hormuz

Trump announces the destruction of an American plane to an Iranian plane in the Strait of Hormuz

18 July 2019 11:05 PM
Direct: US President Donald Trump said that a ship belonging to the US Navy dropped "Dron" Iranian unmanned aircraft.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the American vessel Boxer had shot down the Iranian plane in the Strait of Hormuz and was immediately destroyed.

The incident came four weeks after Iran dropped a US drone aircraft in the same area.

Trump explained that the American ship had made defensive action against a plane that was at close range, about a thousand yards away, ignoring multiple calls to stand up, pointing out that it was threatening the safety of the ship and the crew.

The US president said the drone approach was the latest in many provocative and hostile acts against ships operating in international waters.

Trump added that the United States reserves the right to defend our employees and installations and to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt free shipping and world trade.

 
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The American Fifth Fleet searches for a missing sailor in the Arabian Sea

The American Fifth Fleet searches for a missing sailor in the Arabian Sea
The American Fifth Fleet
 18 July 2019 11:22 PM

The US Fifth Fleet announced an ongoing search in the Arabian Sea after a sailor fell off the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln .

The Fifth Fleet said on Thursday that two US ships, a Spanish warship and one of the Pakistani navy were carrying out search and rescue operations, adding that the sea, which has not been named according to maritime regulations, is still missing since yesterday, according to the Saudi Press Agency "SPA ".

US officials said: "The Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was deployed in the Arabian Sea in recent weeks of deterrence amid tensions between the United States and Iran ."

The US Fifth Fleet confirmed on July 13 that it was "working closely" with the British Royal Navy and regional and international partners to protect the freedom of navigation, a day after three Iranian vessels attempted to intercept a BP carrier's route as it crossed a strait. Hormuz .

It is noteworthy that the Gulf region is witnessing an escalation of tensions in the past period, with  four ships to sabotage near the territorial waters of the UAE  in May, as well as  an attack on two other oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oil rises after Iran announces the detention of a foreign tanker

Economy | 04:55 - 18/07/2019

 
image
 
 

BAGHDAD ( 
Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday after Iran said it had seized a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf as tensions between Tehran and the West mounted over safety in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for energy exports. 
By 1300 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 58 cents at $ 64.24 a barrel. Global crude futures were down 1 percent on Wednesday and 3 percent on Tuesday. 
WTI crude rose 43 cents to $ 57.21. Crude fell 1.5 percent in the previous session and 3 percent on Tuesday. 
Iran said the ship, which was not identified, was smuggling fuel and carrying a million liters, or about 6,200 barrels, "indicating that" is the same ship that was towed on Sunday after sending a distress signal.
Oil fell on Wednesday in response to a sharp rise in oil product inventories such as gasoline in the United States, indicating weak demand during the summer travel season. 
Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed a lower-than-expected drop in crude oil stocks last week, but traders are focusing on large increases in refined product stocks, pushing prices down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gibraltar's authorities extend the detention of the Iranian oil tanker "Grace 1" until 15 August

Political | 01:19 - 19/07/2019

 
image
 
 

BAGHDAD - 
The Gibraltar authorities announced on Friday the extension of the detention of Iran's oil tanker "Grace 1" until August 15. 
The Gibraltar police released the crew of the Iranian tanker "Grace 1" four bail without charge, after being detained on suspicion of violating European sanctions against Syria. 
The Government of Gibraltar declared that the decision to detain the Iranian oil tanker Grays I was "sovereign, without the intervention of any other Government or third party".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

134543.jpg?width=750&&height=375

 
2019/07/18 21:12
  • Number of readings 286
  • Section: Iraq
  •  

US President: Tehran has fallen in Iraq because of sanctions

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, July 18, 2019, that Iran had retreated in Iraq because of sanctions imposed on it by the United States .

The Trump, during a press statement, followed by "obituary", that "Obama's agreement with Iran was disastrous."

 Trump added that "Iran has fallen in Iraq and Yemen because of the sanctions imposed on it," stressing that "Washington wants a good deal with Iran and we are in no hurry."

 The US president said that "the nuclear agreement with Iran allowed it to develop ballistic missiles, " denying at the same time, "sending a special envoy to negotiate with Iran."

Follow the obelisk - agencies

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

121824.jpg?width=750&&height=375

 
2019/07/18 18:30
  • Number of readings 367
  • Section: Iraq
  •  

Washington: We will impose sanctions on the leaders of Iraqi factions

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US Vice President Mike Bens announced on Thursday (July 18, 2019) that Washington would impose sanctions on Iraqi faction leaders and Iran-affiliated figures According to his description 

"Washington will not stand idly by while the Iranian factions are spreading terrorism," Mike Bens said at the Religious Freedom Conference in Washington.

"The United States will impose sanctions on the leaders of Iraqi factions belonging to Iran, as well as other window personalities."

Follow the obelisk 

http://almasalah.com/ar/news/175067/واشنطن-سنفرض-عقوبات-على-قادة-فصائل-عراقية

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8

Iran has begun to breach some of the restrictions on its nuclear program under its "Joint Comprehensive Action Plan" signed in 2015, from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

Initially, Iran exceeded the stockpile of LEU that it was allowed to keep, and then enriched uranium beyond the 3.6 percent approved by the agreement. While the rate of enrichment is below 5 per cent by a small margin - far below the level of enrichment to produce a nuclear weapon of between 80 and 90 per cent - Iranians no longer respect restrictions. They are threatening to do more if European countries do not act to ease the economic impact of US sanctions imposed on Iran again.

There are a number of questions to ask: Why did Iran take this step at this time, having committed itself to a one-year agreement following President Trump's withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan and the unilateral resumption of US sanctions? Secondly, what are the practical implications of the gradual steps taken by Iran to be free of restrictions? Thirdly, does the Trump Administration have a response to the Iranian steps? Fourth, what are the logical options to respond to the Iranians?

Why did Iran take this step at this time? On May 4, Trump ended exemptions that allowed eight countries to buy Iranian oil, thus imposing a significantly higher cost on the Iranian economy. Although the sanctions have led to a major forced decline in the Iranian economy, ending the exemptions means that Iran's oil exports, which were about 1 million barrels per day, would fall to as much as 300,000 bpd. The loss of revenue has dramatically compounded Iran's economic problems, which have already experienced a 60 per cent devaluation of its currency and the scarcity of consumer goods accompanied by high inflation.

The decision to cancel the exemptions to change the Iranian calculations, from trying to stand longer than Trump to seek to respond to the campaign, "the maximum pressure" exercised by the US President of the campaign for Iran, through the sabotage of oil tankers, and the Houthi rebels backed by Iran in Yemen using drones Iranian missiles to hit civilian airports and oil installations in Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq bombing US bases with missiles and targeting an oil facility in Basra used by Exxon, Heck about dropping a US drone.

Along with these threatening actions in the region, the Iranians also began to give up some of their obligations under the "Joint Comprehensive Action Plan". Their aim is to pressure Europeans either to provide economic compensation for US sanctions or to pressure Trump to ease its sanctions policy. The Iranians are aware that the Europeans fear that if they do not prevent Iran's total withdrawal from the "joint comprehensive action plan", the risk of US or Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear installations will increase - and the Europeans want to avoid any conflict.

But the Iranians are not trying to influence the Europeans alone; they are directly challenging the Trump administration. When they saw that the US president wanted to get out of the "endless cycle of wars in the Middle East," they seemed to think that raising the pressure might drag him back.

What are the practical implications of Iran's gradual withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan? In the first case, the Iranians will reduce the time it takes them to exceed the level of enrichment to produce weapons-grade fissile materials.

It should be noted that before [the signing of] the "Joint Comprehensive Action Plan", and given the number of centrifuges operating and the stockpile of LEU of more than 10,000 kg, the Iranians were estimated to have separated between two and three months from access to the possibility The nuclear threshold for nuclear weapons. By reducing their stockpiles to less than 300 kg and the number of centrifuges operating by about 50 per cent, it is now almost one year before the Iranians have crossed the nuclear threshold.

The Iranians will take time to go back wherever they are - but the steps they take will gradually reduce the time needed to go beyond the nuclear threshold. Of course, this period is affected by the level of enrichment that the Iranians reach. If they start enriching up to 20 percent - which they are hinting at, in order to provide fuel for the Tehran medical research reactor - this would speed up the timetable.

However, exceeding the nuclear threshold does not mean possessing weapons capability. Crossing the threshold may provide enriched uranium of the right caliber to make weapons, but it does not provide weapons in itself.

The vast amount of documents and digital data produced by the Israeli Mossad revealed in secret from Tehran that the Iranians have done a lot of work in the design of weapons, including testing and simulation. However, no one knows exactly how long it will take to make a [nuclear] bomb by the Iranians. Some estimates have long suggested that it would take the Iranians about a year to make a weapon of highly enriched uranium. But these are just guesses and not based on actual knowledge - it may be longer, or much shorter.

Does the Trump Administration have a response to the countermeasures Iran faces "the maximum pressure campaign"? Apart from doubling economic pressures, the answer to this question appears to be negative. Instead, there seems to be hope that the Iranians will concede sooner or later.

Indeed, despite US National Security Advisor John Bolton's May 5 statement that any threats against our forces, interests and friends in the region would be "merciless" - all the attacks and acts of vandalism that could not be denied were carried out by the Iranians or their agents Induction of any direct responses. For his part, President Trump hints that he wants to negotiate and tempered what he seeks to achieve, even when he says that the Iranians are playing with fire; Iranians seem unaffected at this stage and have not backed down.

What are the response options available to Trump? Trump can explain to Iran, through the Europeans and the Russians, that it is actually risking a military response if it begins to reduce the time needed to go beyond the nuclear threshold.

But passing messages will not be as effective as the Europeans, Russians and Chinese agree to resume sanctions if the Iranians do not comply. However, the problem at this stage is that they collectively hold Trump's management responsible for causing the danger. They are unlikely to exert real pressure on Iran unless they believe the US administration is ready to move militarily against Iran's military infrastructure.

It should be noted that the European Union worked to boycott Iranian oil in 2012 when he feared that Israel might move militarily against Iran unless Israel saw the Islamic Republic's exposure to real pressure - the type that Israelis consider capable of changing Iranian behavior.

It was the fear of war that drove the Europeans to move at the time. I think it will be the case today.

Washington Institute

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The pressure of sanctions is pushing Iranians to look for work in Iraqi Kurdistan

Political | 02:49 - 19/07/2019

 
image
 
 

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - 
Iranian workers are scrambling to board a pickup truck after US sanctions pressure forced them to cross the border in search of job opportunities in neighboring Iraq. 
The majority of these Kurds wear hats and tie canvas bags around their waist, waiting for a job in construction or otherwise. 
Rustom, 31, an Iranian worker from the northern Iranian city of Urmia, says the problem is not getting jobs, but that "the currency is no longer worth it there" due to US sanctions that led to inflation rising to 52 percent after losing The Iranian riyal is half its value in one year. 
"At the end of a working day, I can buy a chicken, but the family needs more than a chicken," said Rustam, a father of two, preferring not to be named for fear of being questioned by his family.
In turn, Iranian Reza Rustami also says he earns "between 25 and 30 thousand Iraqi dinars a day (about 25 dollars)," considering that this "a good amount", three times more than what is happening in Iran. 
Rustam points out that this is a gain when returning to Iran, especially as food and goods prices rise wildly, after the recent tension between Tehran and Washington. 
- "an income source as well" - 
"The economic situation can never be predicted. You may wake up in the morning and find food prices have doubled compared to yesterday." 
Like Rustam, other Iranian workers cross into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, looking for contractors to secure jobs and tourist visas for a month. 
They work for 28 consecutive days, returning home on leave, carrying tea, baby supplies and other items that are no longer accessible in Iran.
"These temporary migrant workers are not only" to meet the need "at a time when investments are slowly returning to Iraqi Kurdistan, but are also seen as" a source of wealth, "says French-Algerian sociologist Adel Bakwan. 
"In addition to being occupations of low cultural and social value in the Iraqi Kurdish community, the expenses of these Iranian days provide a source of income," he explains. 
Even if they are forced to leave Iraq periodically, Rustam, Reda and others return quickly in less than a week of rest in their families. 
In Erbil, Khurshid Shaklawi, a 54-year-old Iraqi Kurd, lives on three old buildings to a foreign workers' accommodation.
"Last fall, I had only 58 Iranian workers in my hotel, now I have 180," says Shaklawi. "They rent nine-square-meter rooms, each with four people, for $ 3 a person per night. 
He continues to say that today all the rooms are busy, so "refused customers, all of them Iranians." 
- "Feeding our Families" - The 
Iraqi Kurdish authorities confirm the lack of statistics for these workers coming across the border. 
For their part, Iraqi workers do not look at Iranian workers, like Riben Siyamand, who was building an exterior wall of a house in Erbil. 
"They get our same wages," said the 27-year-old Iraqi Kurd.

Since last February, Suleiman Taha al-Kurdi of Iran has come to Iraq, carrying small animal sculptures in his small truck yard to sell them there. 
Although he holds a university degree in mathematics, 27-year-old Taha accepted this little work to help his family living in the western province of Sanandaj, 300 km from Erbil. He is currently looking for a home in Erbil to welcome his friends and relatives who are trying to follow in his footsteps. 
"Before the last sanctions, we ate meat three times a week, now only one time," he explains. 
"If we emigrate, it's simply to feed our families."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iran holds a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran holds a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

 19 July 2019 09:51 PM
Direct: The Iranian media outlets reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard intercepted an oil tanker Britain while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the British oil tanker, Stina Empero, had violated international maritime regulations, the Press TV reported on Friday.

Sethina Balk and Nosreen Marine, the two ship owners, confirmed the reports, saying they had lost contact with the oil tanker heading north towards Iran at the moment.

The two companies said the ship was carrying 23 sailors and no injuries had been reported so far.

A spokesman for the British government told CNN that the United Kingdom was "urgently seeking more information" on an incident involving a British oil truck.

Britain has intercepted an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar, saying it would facilitate the carrier's release if Iran could guarantee that it would not violate EU sanctions on shipments to Syria.

 

1024.jpg

1024.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Editorial date: 2019/7/19 21:23 • 766 times read
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is holding a British tanker and revealing the reason
{International: Euphrates News} Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced the detention of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, said it did not comply with the laws of navigation.
The Revolutionary Guard said that the boats of the naval forces in the first area and on orders from the port of Hormuzgan province have detained the tanker "Stina Imbro". 
He added that the carrier was directed to the Iranian coasts and handed over to the Iranian Ports and Navigation Organization to start investigations and follow the legal stages. 
It comes hours after Britain announced it was urgently seeking information on a British oil tanker that had diverted into Iranian waters. 
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said his country had received reports of an incident in the Gulf and was seeking information to assess the situation
  • Confused 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mujahedin-e Khalq MEK supporters hold Free Iran rally in Stockholm
9 views

 


NCR IRAN
Published on Jul 19, 2019
Supporters of the main democratic Iranian opposition group to the mullahs’ regime, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as the Mujahedin e Khalq (MEK), will rally in Stockholm on July 20, 2019 to urge European government to end their appeasement policy towards the mullahs’ dictatorship in Iran and instead recognize the right of Iranian people to overthrow their dictators. 

Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) supporters in Europe and the United States are urging world powers to impose sanctions on the mullahs’ regime in Iran. The MEK supporters are in particular demanding sanctions against the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

The MEK supporters in Sweden support opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan for a future free and democratic Iran.

The MEK supporters will say that any government that partners with Iran’s regime to circumvent sanctions is complicit in preserving an inhumane dictatorship. Imposing sanctions on the mullahs' regime aids the people of Iran in their struggle against this dictatorship, the MEK supporters will say.

The International community, and specifically the EU, must recognize that resistance is the Iranian people’s right to establish the sovereignty of the people of Iran, the MEK supporters will say in the demonstration in the Swedish capital on Saturday, July 20, 2019.

Prominent Swedish dignitaries and lawmakers are scheduled to speak at Saturday's march and rally.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Laura Rozen July 19, 2019
 
RTS1MG9J-870.jpg
ARTICLE SUMMARY
US Senator Rand Paul reportedly spoke with Iran's foreign minister this week with the president's permission, and some experts believe the quiet meeting could be the beginnings of an effort to negotiate.
 
 REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) walks from Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, March 6, 2018.
 

WASHINGTON — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) in New York July 18 to feel out prospects for possible discussions between Iran and the United States, a non-government expert in contact with the Iranian team told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

The Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to Al-Monitor queries on the meeting. Zarif told reporters in New York Thursday that he was holding meetings while in New York this week with some members of Congress, but not with US administration officials or envoys. He would leave it to the US lawmakers he met with to identify themselves if they wish, he told UN reporter Susan Modaress.

The US administration was aware of a possible meeting between a US Senator and Zarif in New York, a US official said Wednesday. Paul was not acting as an official US envoy, Al-Monitor understood.

“We're aware of reports of a supposed meeting between a US Senator and Zarif,” the US official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor on Wednesday. “It's unclear how productive a conversation with Zarif would be, given his limited role in making decisions on behalf of the Iranian regime. The president has said several times that he is willing to talk with Iran. However, the regime has shown no signs they're ready to meet diplomacy with diplomacy.” 

 

Paul, speaking to Fox News Thursday, said he supported diplomacy and thought there was a possible opening for an agreement under which Iran would agree to never develop nuclear weapons.

“I think there is a possible opening that Iran would sign an agreement saying that they won’t develop a nuclear weapon, ever,” Paul told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Thursday. “That would be a huge breakthrough.”

“I think President Trump is one of the few people who actually could get that deal,” Paul said. “And he will get it because he’s strong, and he is showing maximum pressure, but he is also willing to talk.”

Paul said he thought it would be useful to open discussions with Iran about what kind of changes in behavior the United States would like to see for the removal of sanctions.

“I think diplomacy is a good idea, and I think that if sanctions are to work, you also have to talk about removing them,” Paul said. “So I think the discussion now, since we have maximum pressure on and maximum sanctions on Iran, now we have to say what would we be willing to remove them for.”

Zarif, speaking to reporters in New York Thursday, proposed that Iran could move up ratification of the Additional Protocol, ensuring lifelong extensive International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and verification to ensure Iran’s nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, in exchange for the United States moving up its lifting of sanctions.

“If Trump wants more for more, we can ratify the Additional Protocol and he can lift the sanctions he set,” Zarif told the journalists Thursday, The Guardian reported. “He has said that he will take any measure to Congress — fine. Lift the sanctions and you’ll have the Additional Protocol sooner than 2023.”

Former chief US negotiator on the Iran deal Wendy Sherman said Friday that she considers Zarif’s proposal the beginnings of an effort to negotiate, and she hoped and expected that Zarif and Paul did meet.

“My fundamental question to the administration is: What is the strategy?” Sherman told an audience at the Aspen Strategy Forum in Colorado on Friday. “I know it’s about maximum pressure. But to what end?”

“It’s not going to fly, but it shows they are willing to find some sort of accommodation,” Ali Vaez, director of Iran programs at the International Crisis Group, told Al-Monitor, referring to the new Iranian proposal.

Politico first reported on Wednesday that Paul had asked Trump, and received his permission, to let him try to begin discussions with the Iranians. Paul’s office did not respond to a query from Al-Monitor on Friday.

“I think Rand Paul has one major advantage and one major disadvantage,” Vaez said. “The advantage is his direct link to the president, so he can go around [national security adviser John] Bolton and [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo. The disadvantage is that he does not know the Iranians, and he is not familiar with the culture of nuances.”

“Without putting a concrete offer on the table, I don’t think this will go very far,” Vaez added. “We have to wait and see if there is anything concrete there.”

Trump, speaking to reporters Friday, said he was not concerned about tensions between the United States and Iran further escalating after the United States said it downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denied that it had lost any drone.

“We have the greatest people in the world, we have the greatest equipment in the world. We have the greatest ships — the most deadly ships, we don't want to have to use them,” Trump said. “And we hope for their sake they don't do anything foolish. If they do, they will pay a price like nobody's ever paid a price."

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19-07-2019 11:58 PM
image.php?token=7c01e3a89cc9288f44cba463b6a71319&c=1650140&size=
 


 

Baghdad: 
Iranian television reported that the British tanker carrying the flag of Liberia responded to warnings from the Revolutionary Guards during the crossing of the Strait of Hormuz, and was not arrested. 
The sources said that the carrier "completed its course after it responded to the directives of the Revolutionary Guard on the observance of the environment, and the laws of safe navigation." 
Iranian media quoted Iranian sources as saying that the Revolutionary Guard had detained the British oil tanker Stina Imbro only. The sources denied reports that a second oil tanker had been stopped. 

The Naval Tracking Navigator Refinitiv had observed that the Mesdar-operated oil tanker operated by a British company and flying the flag of Liberia had turned its course sharply and started heading towards Iran as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz. 
According to the site, the marine data of the Mesdar show that it changed course at 16.00 GMT, about 40 minutes after a similar change to the route of the oil tanker "Stina Empero" previously announced by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard because of its "non-compliance with maritime laws. 
  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
16343.jpg
Oil tanker. "Internet"
  

 Arab and international


Economy News Baghdad

According to a recent report, the state of Iran has released one of the two British vessels held by it.

On Saturday, Iranian media reported that the British oil tanker "Masdar" had left its coast for Saudi ports, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The agency noted that the British vessel, which was traveling in the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian water, diverted its course at the Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia at dawn.

The public relations of the naval force of the Revolutionary Guard has announced the arrest of a second British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

The first unit of the Revolutionary Guards' 1st Marine Force was detained by a British oil tanker, Stina Ambo, as it passed from the Strait of Hormuz due to its non-compliance with international maritime laws, at the request of the Ports and Maritime Organization in the province of Hormuzgan.

International media reported yesterday that the British Ministry of Defense is continuing to take a British tanker to Iranian territorial waters.

These events came after the authorities of Gibraltar - a UK autonomous region - had been detained by the Iranian supertanker Grace 1 heading to Syria in violation of European sanctions, while Tahran said the tanker was sailing in international waters and was not going to Syria.


Views 29   Date Added 07/20/2019

 
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.