nuclear deal Archives - Foreign policy

Trump Sanctions Against Iran – Want’s Other Countries To Stop Doing Business With Tehran

Published on August 7, 2018

New sanctions that President Trump set on Iran are described by POTUS himself as “the most biting sanctions ever imposed.” Also, he warned other countries that they would need to choose between Washington and Tehran in terms of business.

Obama administration lifted sanctions after they, backed up by the US allies, signed a nuclear deal with the Middle East country in 2015 that derailed Iran’s nuclear weapons program. A new set of measures against the regime in Tehran bring limitations on transactions that are done in U.S. dollars, but also the automotive industry. Among other sectors, they will target metal trade, including gold, and commercial plane purchase.

Not long after these moves by President Trump, his Iranian colleague, Hassan Rouhani stated on Monday: “If someone has knife in the hand and seeks talks, he should first put the knife in his pocket.” He also added that there are no pre-conditions from Tehran for the talks between the two countries and that America only needs to pay for “intervention in Iran.”

“If the U.S. government is ready to negotiate about paying compensation to the Iranian nation from 1953 until now,” Rouhani stated. “The U.S owes the Iranian nation for its intervention in Iran.”

It looks like Iranian president is talking about mission supported by CIA that had the goal to overthrow Iran’s prime minister and return shah in 1953. This is something we could hear from many of his predecessors and state officials.

The sanctions were restored so to limit the Tehran’s possibility to finance “terrorists, dictators, proxy militias, and the regime’s own cronies,” according to a senior administration official. If the situation doesn’t improve the new set of measures will be implemented on Nov. 4, when the banking sector and oil industry will be targeted.

Iran is looking towards other countries with which they could do their business and Rouhani stated how Russia and China could step in when it comes to oil trade if further U.S. sanctions are imposed. On the other hand, President Trump, who exited the Iran deal, stated how he is ready to talk with Tehran.

Iran Might Cancel The Nuclear Deal And Continue Its Nuclear Weapons Program

Published on June 6, 2018

Iran/News

When President Donald Trump decided to abandon the nuclear deal with Iran, it seemed, for a moment, that there is a chance for the agreement to be saved by the European countries. It was originally reported that Iran will not amp its enriched uranium production and still allow international inspectors to monitor their activities. The other side would need to offer economic aid to the Middle East country, but things might not pan out as it was planned.

A few days ago, on Sunday, a message from Iran high official was sent saying that Europe needs to stand up to Trump and help his country economically. Not long after that, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, said that European countries are not doing enough for them and that Tehran might leave the agreement. “The Europeans expect the Iranian nation to tolerate and grapple with the sanctions, to give up their nuclear activities, which is an absolute requirement for the future of the country, and also to continue with the restrictions that have been imposed on them. I would tell these governments that this bad dream will not come true.”

Bad news for the deal came on Tuesday when Iran officials said that they are working on expanding Natanz nuclear site and adding new centrifuges. Natanz is the biggest nuclear facility, and it was built in 2007 with the capability of creating low-enriched uranium that is used for nuclear reactors and in medicine. At this location, it is also possible to create a nuclear weapon grade enriched uranium that needs to be at about 90 percent or even higher.

At the moment Tehran wants to stay in the agreement but not without help from Europe. They will continue to enrich uranium but at levels that will not break the deal while the news about expanding Natanz center is a clear indication that they have an alternative and the means to create nuclear weapons if they don’t get what has been promised to them.

According to Ali Vaez, the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group leader, this is not the deal breaker but simple warning what could happen if the terms are not met. This way they are showing the ability to quickly restart the nuclear program if the agreement goes south.

When both sides signed the document, it allowed Iran to trade on the global market, but with Trump pulling out the US and imposing sanctions, it will be hard for Iran to continue its trade operations on the same level. It is clear that America is the main player when it comes to trade and Europe will not be able to compensate for their absence.

Some of the giants already decided to leave Iran, including PSA Group (Peugeot and Citroen) and General Electric. For example, PSA Group managed to produce a total of 440,000 cars in Iran for 2017. Because of this they will try and get a sanction waiver from America.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Iranian President Goes To China – Nuclear Deal Talks

Published on May 29, 2018

China/Iran/News

According to China foreign ministry, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will be coming to a regional summit for talks about the possibility of saving of Iran’s nuclear deal. The move has been made after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, decided to pull out America from the agreement.

This will be a working visit for President Rouhani as he will go to the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which is China and Russia-led political, economic and security Euroasian organisation. Regional meeting will be held in Qingdao, China located in northern part of the country. While we did not get the exact date of the visit, we know that the event has been scheduled for the second weekend of June.

At this moment, Tehran is only an observer member, but they already sought to become a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. With the sanctions imposed by West lifted it was reported that Iran could become a member of the bloc. Currently, this organisation consists of China, Russia, India, Pakistan and four Central Asia ex-Soviet republics.

Before the nuclear deal was signed, Tehran was racing to finish their nuclear weapons program and to develop nuclear missiles. With the agreement that has been signed in 2015, Iran stopped the uranium enrichment process but also sent out its stockpiles to Russia. As a result, sanctions set by West were removed, and the Middle East country could return to trading and exports of oil.

While the deal that was signed didn’t completely stop Iran from using uranium, this was a good move for the entire world as it did stop them from developing a nuclear bomb. One of the problems with the agreement is that it prevents Tehran in creating atom bomb until 2025 after which they can continue the development. Of course, the terms could be renegotiated after that date, so the termination of the deal is considered to be a mistake by many.

With America out of the deal, we could see a lot of activity from European countries that will try to help Iran economically and thus persuade them to respect the terms. Since China is one of the signatories, it is considered that they will also work to ensure Tehran’s loyalty.

Source: cnbc.com

Iran’s foreign minister accuses the US of ‘consistently violating’ Iran nuclear agreement

Published on May 7, 2018May 18, 2018

Iran/News/U.S.

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejected the possibility of renegotiating the nuclear deal his country signed in 2015. He accused Washington of violating the agreement and has said that Iran has always been faithful to it.

“We will neither outsource our security nor will we renegotiate or add onto a deal we have already implemented in good faith,” he said.

Mr. Zarif said that IAEA, the UN nuclear agency, has confirmed on several occasion Iran’s adherence to the deal while criticising the United States.

“In contrast, the U.S. has consistently violated the agreement, especially by bullying others from doing business with Iran.”

One of the key campaign promises Mr. Trump made was that he would scrap the Iran Nuclear Deal. Just last month, after the meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron, who came to Washington specifically to try and persuade Trump of remaining part of the deal, he called it “insane.”

As the May 12th deadline, Mr. Trump gave his allies to fix the agreement, approaches it becomes more apparent that The United States will exit the deal President Obama signed in 2015, together with Germany, China, Russia, France, and Britain. The deal allowed Iran to return to the international markets in exchange for curtailing its nuclear weapons program, reducing the number of centrifuges and sending much of the country’s stockpile of enrichened uranium to Russia.

It is unclear how exactly the scenario would play out, but it is certain that it will add a new dose of instability to the already shaken region.

Mohammad Javad Zarif likened the attempts to renegotiate the agreement to a real estate deal.

“When you buy a house and move your family in it or demolish it to build a skyscraper, you cannot come back two years later and renegotiate the price,” he said.

Source: thehill.com