Iran Warns of Nuclear Deal 'Death' if Arms Embargo Extended

A top Iranian official on Sunday warned that a nuclear deal the US withdrew unilaterally from would "die forever" if an arms embargo on Tehran is extended.

The United States is campaigning to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively lifted as of October.

The ban's lifting is part of a 2015 United Nations Security Council resolution that blessed the nuclear accord reached between Iran and world powers.

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Sunday tweeted that the nuclear deal "will die forever" by "circumventing 2231 Resolution & continuing Iran's illegal weapons sanction.”

He also questioned what would Iran's EU partners to the deal do in such a case.

"What will #EU do: Save dignity & support multilateralism or accept humiliation & help unilateralism?" Shamkhani said.

Iran and the United States have been at loggerheads for decades.

Tensions escalated in 2018 when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions as part of a campaign of "maximum pressure".

Tehran has progressively rolled up its commitments to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA in retaliation to the US pulling out of the accord.

The other partners to the JCPOA are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

The accord gave the Islamic republic relief from international sanctions in return for limits on its nuclear program.

US Secretary of States Mike Pompeo said last month he would ask the UN Security Council to prolong the ban.

Washington would use a legal argument based on an interpretation of Resolution 2231 that it remains a "participant" in the nuclear deal despite renouncing it, and can extend the arms embargo on Tehran or see more stringent sanctions reimposed.

Iran, for its part, accuses the US of violating the resolution over its 2018 withdrawal.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Retaliates With Missile Strike on U.S.-Iraqi Bases

By Glen Carey

Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at U.S.-Iraqi airbases, a direct attack on American forces in the region that risks further action from President Donald Trump after a U.S. air strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the barrage, which the Pentagon said was launched from Iran. Fifteen missiles were fired, 10 of which hit the Ayn al-Asad base in western Iraq and another facility in Erbil, according to two U.S. officials. Another struck the Taji air base near Baghdad while four fell out of the sky.

Stocks dropped and oil rose on news of the Iranian strike, though crude later pared its gains. The big concern is the extent of any U.S. casualties, because that is likely to influence the White House thinking on potential retaliation. For now no U.S. nor Iraqi casualties have been confirmed.

Some sort of response had been expected to the killing of Soleimani, who ran Iran’s proxy operations across the Middle East and was close to the country’s leaders. While Tehran does not want outright war with the U.S., there was growing pressure at home to react. The balancing act was to do so without tipping things into a conflict that no-one has appetite for.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke on state television and described the attack as a “crushing response.” He called again for the U.S. presence in the region to end, a sign that Tehran’s ultimate goal remains to push the U.S. military out of Iraq. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter the government “concluded proportionate measures in self-defense” after the Soleimani strike. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression,” Zarif wrote.

In Tehran the mood on Wednesday was cautious, with ordinary people taking to Twitter to voice their fears of a war.

President Donald Trump tweeted “All is well!” and “So far, so good!” while adding that battle damage assessments continued. He added he’ll make a statement Wednesday morning. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have soared under Trump, who walked away from the Iranian nuclear deal agreed by his predecessor. Since then, Iran has warned repeatedly the restraints on its nuclear program will be removed.

Trump was joined in the White House Situation Room after the attack by officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Army General Mark Milley and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

One White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the early thinking was the missile strike was a perfunctory move that would let Iran retaliate without incurring a potentially devastating U.S. counter-assault.

Iran’s attack sent futures on the S&P 500 Index down as much as 1.7% before paring losses. Gold initially advanced to the highest since 2013, though those gains were trimmed along with an advance in oil which at one point surged above $65 a barrel.

U.S. aviation regulators issued new restrictions barring civilian flights over Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Adding to the confusion, a Boeing Co. 737 passenger jet bound for Ukraine crashed shortly after takeoff in Iran, killing all 167 passengers and 9 crew on board, with Iran’s media reporting it was due to a technical problem.

“A missile attack from Iran against U.S. forces is a serious escalation,” said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior director for Middle East affairs under President George W. Bush. Such an attack “cannot be regarded as merely symbolic or face-saving regardless of its results,” he added.

Trump has shown restraint in previous attacks in the region blamed on Iran that didn’t kill any U.S. citizens. But Iran’s quick claim of responsibility for the strike and the targeting of U.S. military outposts make some sort of retaliation more likely.

“The next question is, does the U.S. react or overreact to this,” said Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former State Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation.

Iran is believed to have the region’s largest stockpile of short-range ballistic missiles, and a large number of American military and diplomatic facilities in the region were seen as potential targets for reprisals.

“As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region,” according to a Pentagon statement.

The Ayn al-Asad base is a key U.S. facility in the country. Pence visited it late last year and Trump was there in December 2018. A Facebook account belonging to the Iraqi prime minister’s office said 22 missiles entered Iraqi airspace early Wednesday, and 17 hit Ayn al-Asad. It said there were no casualties among the Iraqi forces.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that further responses will come. It called the attack the start of its “Martyr Soleimani” operation, in honor of a leader many Iranians considered a national hero for his exploits in conflicts from Syria to Yemen.

At his funeral on Tuesday, Hossein Salami, leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, threatened to “set ablaze” places supported by the U.S., the Associated Press reported. The general’s burial was postponed after dozens of mourners died in a stampede.

Even so, Zarif’s comments cast some doubt on about whether more action is really in the works. Iran has for years operated a carefully-calibrated strategy of attacks, often via proxies, in the Middle East, that preserves its influence without drawing major retaliation. Crippled by economic sanctions, Iran can ill-afford an outright war.

Before the latest attack, Iran said it was assessing 13 scenarios for retaliation according to comments by Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s national security council, reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran “needed to do something quick,” said Kamran Bokhari, founding director of the Center for Global Policy in Washington. “This is a placeholder move and a low cost one.”

The U.S. had vowed a quick and overwhelming response to any Iranian attacks. Over the past week, the Pentagon deployed about 3,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to Kuwait and another three Navy ships with about 2,200 Marines to the Persian Gulf region.

Iranian-only targets for the U.S. include Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy vessels in the Persian Gulf, nuclear facilities, military bases, ports and oil installations, according to a Tuesday report by the Congressional Research Service. Another option: Iranian proxies.

U.S. officials say they were justified in targeting Soleimani, who was accused of having helped Iraqi insurgents target American troops with improvised explosive devices following the U.S. invasion in 2003.

Drone Strike

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran soared following a Dec. 27 rocket assault on an Iraqi base. It killed an American contractor and wounded several U.S. personnel. The U.S. put the blame on Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia closely associated with Iran.

On Dec. 29, the U.S. conducted air strikes on five bases in Iraq and Syria used by Kataib Hezbollah. Two days later, dozens of Iraqi militiamen and their supporters stormed the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. The U.S. responded with the drone strike on Soleimani.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that attacks planned by Soleimani, who headed the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, were “days away” when the U.S. struck.

Photo: AFP

Iran Tells Oman Neighbors Have Made Talks Impossible

Iran's neighbors have made talks impossible through their "hasty and arrogant moves", a top security official told Oman's foreign minister in Tehran on Saturday amid a tanker crisis.

Oman, a past mediator between Iran and its foes, sent its top diplomat to the Islamic republic amid amplified tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies, including in the Persian Gulf.

"Some of the region's countries have not only removed the possibility of talks because of hasty and arrogant moves and behavior, but have also made managing regional crises a serious challenge," said Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Shamkhani, who spoke after meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf Bin Alawi, also hit out at a British plan for a European coalition to escort tankers in the Gulf.

"Security measures for the region must use local capabilities and cooperation between regional countries, and foreign countries' interference will achieve nothing but increase problems", he said, quoted by the website of Iran's state television.

Tensions in the Gulf have soared since last year when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the country.

In retaliation, Iran said in May it would disregard certain limits the deal set on its nuclear programme and threatened to take further measures if remaining parties to the accord, especially European nations, did not help it circumvent US sanctions.

Tensions have escalated further in the region with a string of incidents involving tankers and drones.

The United States and Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind multiple attacks on tankers in the Gulf in June, which Iran denies.

On July 19, a British-flagged tanker was impounded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards with its 23 crew aboard in the Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure was seen by London as a tit-for-tat move for British authorities detaining an Iranian tanker off the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar in early July.

Shamkhani called on all countries to “respect international maritime law in order to maintain security”.

“In contrast to the British maritime piracy, who illegally detained an Iranian oil shipment in Gibraltar, Iran’s move was completely legal and was made in order to implement maritime rules and maintain maritime security,” he said.

Bin Alawi also held talks with Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran on Saturday.

Oman has called for the release of the UK-flagged Stena Impero and for London and Tehran to resolve their dispute diplomatically.

Photo: IRNA

French Envoy in Iran Talks as Trump Threatens to Up Sanctions

By Kay Armin Serjoie

French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic advisor met with Iran's president Wednesday winding up a day of talks in Tehran aimed at saving a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and easing tensions between Tehran and Washington.

But as Emmanuel Bonne pressed the high-level talks, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to warn that US sanctions against Iran would soon be "increased substantially", charging Tehran had "long been secretly 'enriching'" uranium.

The 2015 accord between Iran and world powers, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), promised sanctions relief, economic benefits and an end to international isolation in return for stringent curbs on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

But Tehran says it has lost patience with perceived inaction by European countries more than a year after Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the agreement and started to impose punishing sanctions.

In his meeting with Bonne, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran had "completely kept the path of diplomacy and talks open", according to a statement from his office.

He called on other parties to the deal to "completely implement their commitments" to keep it alive.

Bonne also met Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputy Abbas Araghchi.

His mission was "to try and open the discussion space to avoid an uncontrolled escalation, or even an accident", according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Before meeting with Bonne, Zarif said "negotiations are never possible under pressure", in reference to US sanctions against Iran.

Pointing to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, he added that the Europeans "must solve that problem."

‘Nuclear Extortion'

Bonne arrived in Tehran after Iran announced on Monday it had surpassed 4.5 percent uranium enrichment—above the 3.67 percent limit under the accord, though still far below the 90 percent necessary for military purposes.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Iran surpassed 300 kilogrammes of enriched uranium reserves, another limit that was imposed by the deal.

At Washington's request, the UN's nuclear watchdog held a special meeting Wednesday at its Vienna headquarters.

US delegate Jackie Wolcott told the gathering that Iran was engaged in "nuclear extortion".

Her Iranian counterpart Kazem Gharib Abadi hit back, calling it a "sad irony" that the meeting was convened at Washington's request and claiming the current standoff was a result of the US's "outlaw behaviour".

Russia's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mikhail Ulyanov, later tweeted that the US "was practically isolated on this issue".

In a joint statement, European parties to the deal Germany, France and Britain said their continued support for the accord "relies on Iran implementing its commitments".

But they added the "issues at hand should be addressed by participants to the JCPOA".

Ahead of the meeting, a source at the French presidency said "we are in a very critical phase. The Iranians are taking measures that are in violation (of the agreement) but (they) are very calibrated".

Iran Ends 'Strategic Patience'

After Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, it reimposed stinging sanctions on Tehran, hitting the banking and oil sectors hard.

As the Iranian economy went into free fall, Iran demanded that the other parties—especially the Europeans—deliver promised economic benefits and help it bypass the US sanctions.

However, it became clear that this was no simple task, and Iran—whose economy depends heavily on oil exports—changed tack and indicated it would reshape its policy of "strategic patience".

In May, a year after Trump's withdrawal, Rouhani said Iran would roll back its commitments under the deal in stages every 60 days in an effort to force the other parties to deliver on their side of the bargain.

As tensions rose, the US dispatched a naval carrier, bombers and extra troops to the region to counter perceived threats from Iran.

Last month, Trump said he had called off a retaliatory military strike against Iran at the last minute after the Islamic republic shot down a US drone that it said had crossed into its airspace, a claim denied by Washington.

Trump re-upped the pressure Wednesday, claiming "Iran has long been secretly 'enriching'" uranium in violation of the accord.

"Remember, that deal was to expire in a short number of years. Sanctions will soon be increased, substantially!"

Photo: IRNA

Iran to Abandon More Nuclear Deal Commitments on July 7

Iran will "resolutely" abandon more commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers on July 7, Fars News Agency reported on Tuesday quoting a "note" from a top security official.

Tehran had announced on May 8 that it was suspending two of its 2015 pledges and gave Europe, China and Russia a two-month ultimatum to help Iran circumvent US sanctions and sell its oil or it would abandon two more commitments.

Last year Washington withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, and Europe's efforts so far to help Iran economically benefit from the accord have been dismissed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "bitter joke.”

"As of July 7, Iran will forcefully take the second step of reducing its commitments" to the nuclear deal, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying by Fars.

This was so "countries who interpreted Iran's 'patience' with weakness and inaction realize that Iran's answer to the American drone's violation of its airspace will be no different than its reaction to devious political efforts to limit Iranian people's absolute rights," he added.

Amid escalating tensions last week, Iran shot down a US spy drone it said had crossed into its territory, a claim denied by the United States.

Russia, a key ally of Iran, on Tuesday backed Iran's version of events.

US President Donald Trump said he ordered retaliatory air strikes against Iran but pulled back at the last minute.

Shamkhani slammed Europe's "political insolence" for expecting Iran to continue its commitments without them fulfilling their end of the deal and said it showed a "lack of will" to face the US.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Iran would be making a "serious mistake" if it violates the deal by through abandoning commitments.

In a joint statement on Monday, Britain, France and Germany said they were "committed to working hard for the full implementation of (the nuclear deal) and urge all sides to do the same."

Shamkhani in response said the E3 statement and "Trump's game of sanctions" were two sides of the same coin and that Europe has so far "paid no cost for saving" the deal.

In retaliation to the European inaction, Iran has begun to increase its enriched uranium and heavy water stockpile and is set to soon pass the limits set in the deal.

The second step would involve breaking past the 3.67 percent restriction on enriching uranium and restarting development of a heavy water reactor that was put on hold.

Photo:

Iran Denies Any Intention of Boosting Range of Missiles

Iran has "no intention of increasing the range" of its missiles, a senior defense official said Tuesday, amid threats of European as well as US sanctions over its ballistic program.

Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), sufficient to reach Israel and Western bases in the Middle East.

But Washington and its allies have accused Tehran of pursuing enhanced missile capabilities that also threaten Europe.

"Iran has no technological or operational constraints to increasing the range of its military missiles," the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, said.

"But while constantly striving to improve accuracy, solely based on its defense doctrine, (it) has no intention of increasing the range of (its) missiles," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

US President Donald Trump cited Iran's missile program as one of the reasons why he pulled Washington out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers last year.

European governments have stuck by the nuclear deal but some have demanded a supplementary agreement to tackle Iran's ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts. 

Shamkhani's comments come after France warned on Friday that it was ready to impose new sanctions if talks on a supplementary deal fail to make progress.

"We have begun a difficult dialogue with Iran... and, unless progress is made, we are ready to apply sanctions, firmly, and they know it," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Iran retorted that French arms sales in the Middle East were one of the real sources of instability in the region.

Space Program to Continue

Iran's space program has also come under Western criticism, with Washington charging that an abortive satellite launch earlier this month was cover for a bid for an intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

But Shamkhani, who was addressing the national conference on space technology in Tehran, said Iran could accept no limitations on its satellite launches. 

"We will vigorously carry on with the development of our space program," IRNA quoted him as saying.

Iran tried unsuccessfully to put a satellite into orbit on January 15, and plans to make a second attempt soon.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of violating UN Security Resolution 2231 of 2015.

It calls on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons".

Iran has always denied seeking any nuclear weapons capability but has said repeatedly that it needs its missile program as a matter of national security.

In the 1980-1988 war launched by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Iranian cities were devastated by Iraqi missiles in a bombing campaign dubbed the "war of the cities.”

Iranian officials say that Western sanctions have starved its air force of spare parts and replacement aircraft, severely limiting its operational capacity and forcing Iran to rely on its missile programme.

The council run by Shamkhani is in charge of drawing up Iranian military and security policy. 

A former defense minister and adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he was appointed as its secretary by President Hassan Rouhani in 2013.

Photo Credit; IRNA