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Iran's top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday that new
sanctions approved by the U.S. House of Representatives were "a
hostile measure" that breached Washington's commitments under a
2015 nuclear deal. "The ongoing action in the U.S. Congress ...
is very clearly a hostile measure against the Islamic republic of
Iran," deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to
the ISNA news agency. Araghchi led the negotiating team that agreed
the deal with world powers in 2015 known as the JCPOA, by which Iran
agreed to strict limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for an
easing of sanctions. The new sanctions bill passed by the House on
Tuesday, was merely "a compilation of previous U.S. sanctions in
the non-nuclear fields," Araghchi said. "Still, it can
influence the successful implementation of the JCPOA and reduce
Iran's benefits under the JCPOA. That's why it is incompatible with
various sections of the JCPOA which the US has committed to implement
with good intention and in a constructive atmosphere," he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a veiled threat
against Iran on Tuesday, warning Tehran to adhere to the terms of a
nuclear deal with world powers or else face "big, big
problems." A week after certifying Iran as complying with
the 2015 agreement negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama,
Trump made clear to thousands of raucous supporters that he remains
extremely wary of Tehran. Trump administration officials,
briefing reporters last week, said new economic sanctions against
Iran were being prepared over its ballistic missile program and for
contributing to regional tensions. Trump devoted part of his
speech in Youngstown, Ohio, to Iran. "If that deal doesn't
conform to what it's supposed to conform to, it's going to be big,
big problems for them. That I can tell you. Believe me," Trump
said. "You would have thought they would have said 'thank
you United States. We really love you very much.' Instead, they've
become emboldened. That won't take place much longer," he said.
A U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots Tuesday near
an Iranian vessel that American sailors said came dangerously close
to them during a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf, the first such
incident to happen under President Donald Trump. Iran's hard-line
Revolutionary Guard later blamed the American ship for provoking the
situation. The encounter involving the USS Thunderbolt, a
Cyclone-class patrol ship based in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Navy's
5th Fleet, is the latest confrontation between Iranian vessels and
American warships. It comes as Trump already has threatened to
renegotiate the nuclear deal struck by his predecessor and after his
administration previously put Iran "on notice" over its
ballistic missile tests. The Thunderbolt was taking part in an
exercise with American and other coalition vessels in international
waters when the Iranian patrol boat approached it, 5th Fleet
spokesman Lt. Ian McConnaughey said The Iranian ship did not respond
to radio calls, flares and horn blasts as it came within 150 yards
(137 meters) of the Thunderbolt, forcing the U.S sailors aboard to
fire the warning shots, McConnaughey said.
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Iran is vigilant enough not to play into the US hands in
its game to push Tehran to withdraw from its commitments under the
nuclear pact, a lawmaker said. The current US administration has
toughened the policy on Iran since it came to office in January.
Despite getting relief from nuclear sanctions under the accord in
return for implementing temporary nuclear curbs, Tehran has been hit
several US sanctions in the past few months over other excuses,
including its ballistic missile development program. Iranian
officials have threatened reciprocal action against US hostile moves.
Jalil Rahimi cautioned that in doing so, the Islamic Republic should
not forfeit the benefits of the deal, formally known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action. Asked whether it would be wise for Iran
to reciprocate if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat to
back out of the action plan, Rahimi said the agreement will hold even
if the US were to pull out, as other countries would continue its
implementation. "We have achieved our intended goals from JCPOA
and there is no need to play the Americans' game," he said.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Iran and the
Hizballah militia that it backs in Syria and Lebanon, blaming them
for creating a "humanitarian catastrophe" and threatening
peace throughout the region. "Hizballah is a menace to the Lebanese
state, the Lebanese people, and the entire region," Trump said
at a White House news conference with visiting Lebanese Prime
Minister Saad Hariri on July 25. "The group continues to
increase its military arsenal, which threatens to start yet another
conflict with Israel," Trump said. "With the support of
Iran, the organization is also fueling humanitarian catastrophe in
Syria." Hizballah's "true interests are those of itself and
its sponsor, Iran," Trump said.
In testimony before a House committee Tuesday, the
youngest son of a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran a decade
ago urged greater sanctions on Iran if it does not account for his
father and release U.S. citizens imprisoned in the country. Doug
Levinson, who was 13 when Robert Levinson was last seen on Iran's
Kish Island, described being crestfallen that his father was not
among five Americans freed as part of a prisoner swap to accompany
the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in 2016. "Do not let
Iran off the hook. They know exactly where he is," Doug Levinson
told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. "Hold their feet to
the fire. Threaten them with sanctions. Do something. Do
anything." Levinson was among three relatives of Americans
imprisoned or missing in Iran who testified in support of a House
bill calling for their freedom on humanitarian grounds. On Friday,
the White House said President Trump is "prepared to impose new
and serious consequences on the country if they are not released and
returned."
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says his country will
respond if U.S. legislation imposing sanctions on people involved in
Iran's ballistic missile program becomes law. The House of Representatives
passed the bill on Tuesday and it now goes to the Senate. Without
giving details, Rouhani said in a Wednesday cabinet meeting that Iran
will "take any action that is necessary for the country's
expedience and interests." State TV broadcast his remarks. He
added that Iran will improve its "defensive means without
attention to others." The U.S. legislation imposes mandatory
penalties on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and
anyone who does business with them. The measure would also apply
terrorism sanctions to the Revolutionary Guards and enforce an arms
embargo.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting
increased trade with Iran, despite clear opposition to this policy by
the Trump White House, according to multiple sources who described
the agency's behavior as rogue and part of a lingering effort by the
former Obama administration to promote international trade with the
Islamic Republic. A July report released by USDA praises the Obama administration's
efforts to open trade with Iran following the landmark nuclear
agreement that dropped major sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The
report contradicts White House policy on Iran, which has taken an
increasingly hardline against increased relations with Iran under
President Donald Trump. The report is being viewed by administration
insiders and regional experts as the product of efforts by the former
Obama administration to promote positive propaganda about Iran in a
bid to boost support for the Iran deal.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
New sanctions against Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, which stands accused of supporting terrorism, and North
Korea, for its missile tests, are also included in the bill. Key among
the provisions is one that handcuffs the US president by complicating
any of the leader's unilateral efforts to ease penalties against
Moscow in the future -- effectively placing him under Congress's
watch. Trump has faced accusations that his administration had sought
to reassure Moscow that sanctions imposed near the end of the Obama
administration could be lifted under a President Trump. Initially,
Trump resisted the legislation. But faced with near-total consensus
among Republican and Democratic lawmakers, the White House blinked,
but did not say directly that the billionaire president would sign it
into law. "While the President supports tough sanctions on North
Korea, Iran and Russia, the White House is reviewing the House
legislation and awaits a final legislative package for the
president's desk," spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
BUSINESS RISK
Nothing is easy for Iran's economy these days, and
things could soon get even tougher. The U.S. House of Representatives
is expected to pass a bill Tuesday to put new sanctions on Russia,
North Korea - and Iran. A Senate version passed overwhelmingly last
month. Iran is being targeted for its activities in Syria, its
ballistic missile program and other "destabilizing activities,"
according to the Senate's version of the legislation. Under the terms
of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, Tehran is not immune to new sanctions
as punishment for activities outside of the country's nuclear
program.
On November 11, 2013, not long after that momentous
telephone conversation between President Obama and President Rouhani,
the French oil company Total announced it was considering its return
to Iran. But it took more than 1,300 days for the plan to be
confirmed, when Total's new CEO Patrick Pouyanné - he'd replaced CEO
Christophe de Margerie, who had made the initial announcement back in
2013 - signed a $48 billion contract in Tehran on July 3, 2017.
Problems between Total and Tehran go way back. Total stopped
operations in Iran on October 17, 2010, in line with sanctions
regulations. Now, 70 months later, the company has returned to Iran,
at the same time entering a politically acrimonious and economically
contentious environment.
CYBERWARFARE
A cyber spying group with links to Iran and active for
the past four years is targeting countries including Israel, Saudi
Arabia, Germany and the United States, security researchers said on
Tuesday. A new report by Tokyo-based Trend Micro (4704.T) and
ClearSky of Israel detailed incidents as recently as April of this
year involving a group known as "CopyKittens". The group
targets its victims using relatively simple techniques like creating
fake Facebook pages, corrupting websites or Microsoft Word
attachments with a malicious code, according to the report. It
was seen impersonating popular media brands like Twitter, Youtube, the
BBC and security firms such as Microsoft, Intel and even Trend Micro.
"CopyKittens is very persistent, despite lacking technological
sophistication and operational discipline," the researchers said
in a statement. "These characteristics, however, cause it
to be relatively noisy, making it easy to find, monitor and apply
counter measures relatively quickly," they said.
HUMAN RIGHTS
More than one thousand Iranian teachers
have issued a statement calling for the release of a teacher
imprisoned for peacefully advocating for teachers' rights in the
southern port city of Bushehr. "We believe the authorities
should stop looking at trade union activities as a security threat
and unconditionally free Mohsen Omrani," said the statement,
signed by more than 1,600 teachers posted on the Telegram channel
belonging to the Iranian Teachers Trade Association (ITTA) on July
20, 2017. "We believe trade unionists and labor organizations should
give full support to teachers who are fighting to improve the
educational system and improve teachers' livelihoods, especially in
rural areas where teachers' rights advocates are treated worse by
security agencies that hound and persecute them," continued the
statement. "Imprisoning Mohsen Omrani will not put a dent in our
struggle for our professional and educational rights," added the
statement.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's first visit to
Washington during the Trump administration will be difficult. Beirut
has long been a headache for the United States, and he's going to
have an uphill battle convincing U.S. policymakers to maintain
assistance to Lebanon, which is commonly associated with dysfunction
and domination by Iran's proxy Hezbollah. But as Tehran continues its
quest for regional hegemony and as the idea of secular democracy
appears more threatened than ever in the Arab world, abandoning this
important-if imperfect-ally would be a serious mistake. Lebanon
remains a natural Arab ally of Washington, particularly compared to
others like Qatar-a monarchy that has spent decades exporting
extremism. Its weakness made it a base for Hezbollah, but Lebanon was
founded as a pluralistic, if flawed, republic, and has a religiously
diverse and relatively Western and secular society.
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