Brian Hook, U.S. special envoy for Iran, is in Paris discussing the looming crisis in the Persian Gulf with Britain, France, and Germany, ahead of talks Friday that will see the European allies seek to implement the ‘INSTEX’ currency system with Iran to circumvent Trump’s sanctions.
Iran is planning on further scaling back its commitment to the 2015 nuclear accord July 7th, citing the failure of European signatories to find a way around Trump’s crippling sanctions.
Russia’s top national security adviser spoke out on behalf of Iran during trilateral meetings with his Israeli and American counterparts in Jerusalem on Tuesday, backing Tehran’s claims against the United States and supporting its ongoing military presence in Syria, which Israel sees as a threat to its security.
U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with sanctions on Monday, taking a dramatic, unprecedented step to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone.
Mike Pompeo is in Jedda, Saudi Arabia this week to ‘build out a global coalition…prepared to push back against the world’s largest state sponsor of terror,’ following the downing of a $160 million unmanned U.S. drone by Iran on June 20.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would impose ‘major’ new sanctions on Iran in two days — a move sure to exacerbate tensions with the Islamic republic inflamed by the downing of a US spy plane.
Representatives for major American Bible publishers met with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday and Wednesday, hoping to apprise the Trump administration of potential effects on Bible manufacture in the US-China trade war.
Russia and China are concocting a plan to circumvent US sanctions on Iran.
China is seeking to deter the US from its current Iran policy, Reuters reports.
Russia and China have blocked the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea from declaring that Pyongyang breached the annual limit for importing refined petroleum products which are key for its economy, two U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.
While few expect the advisors’ meeting this month in Jerusalem to produce immediate results, American and Israeli officials hope that it could prepare the ground for a deal that would further weaken Russian ties to Iran and reduce, if not terminate, Iran’s presence in Syria.
Iran will not hesitate from stepping up its uranium enrichment to 20%, an Iranian nuclear spokesperson said Monday.
Germany and Britain on Monday warned Tehran not to breach uranium stockpile limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal, as the EU’s diplomatic chief dismissed Iranian threats as ‘political dialectics.’
Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes, citing concerns about a threat from Iran.
Turkey intends to move ahead with its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, despite warnings from the United States of icier relations to come between the two NATO allies if the sale proceeds.
President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Thursday that relations between Moscow and Washington were getting worse and worse, noting that the current U.S. administration had imposed dozens of sanctions on Russia.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry said Monday it has been secretly targeting the financial accounts of organizations that promote the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish state by uncovering their links to terror networks.
Iran has followed through on a threat to accelerate its production of enriched uranium, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said on Monday, departing from his usual guarded language to say he was worried about increasing tension.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering sanctions against an Iranian financial body set up to enable humanitarian trade with Europe, a measure that would likely end any possibility of European countries maintaining economic and humanitarian trade with Tehran.
The Trump administration on Friday hit Iran with new sanctions that target its largest petrochemical company for providing support to the Revolutionary Guard Corps.