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President Trump tweeted that he plans to impose
"major additional Sanctions on Iran on Monday," following
his decision to call off a military attack on the country. Mr. Trump
spoke Saturday about the new pressure on Tehran from the presidential
retreat in Camp David, where he is spending the weekend discussing
Middle East strategy with advisers. He didn't provide any further
details on the nature of the sanctions.
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton had
a message for Iran on Sunday during his visit to Israel: He
advised the leaders of the Islamic nation not to "mistake U.S.
prudence and discretion for weakness." Bolton's comment followed
Friday's confirmation by President Trump that he
had called off a planned retaliatory attack against Iran
following that country's downing of a U.S. military drone Thursday in
international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Monday described its shooting down of a U.S.
drone in the Gulf last week as a "firm response" to the
United States and warned it could be repeated. "Everyone
saw the downing of the unmanned drone," navy commander Rear
Admiral Hossein Khanzadi was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.
"I can assure you that this firm response can be repeated, and
the enemy knows it."
UANI IN THE NEWS
U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)
commended the FATF decisions but said the group needs to do much
more, citing Iran's "failure" for three years to fully
comply with an FATF action plan. "Countermeasures need to be
reimposed to protect the integrity of the international financial
system. As long as Iran chooses to remain an extremist regime, it
should remain closed for business," said UANI's chief executive
Mark Wallace, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in a Friday
statement.
Also welcoming the FATF decisions was United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI), although the advocacy group also said it should
go further. "As long as Iran chooses to remain an extremist
regime, it should remain closed for business," said UANI chief
executive and co-founder Mark Wallace, a former U.S. ambassador to
the U.N. The FATF was established by G7 leaders in 1989 to counter
money laundering, a mandate that was broadened after 9/11 to
including combating terrorist financing.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran may further scale back compliance with its nuclear
deal soon unless European countries shield it from U.S. sanctions
through a trade mechanism, the head of Tehran's Strategic Council on
Foreign Relations was quoted as saying on Sunday. Tehran said
in May it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact it agreed
with world powers in 2015 in protest at the United States' decision
to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions last
year.
Iran will take "new steps" if Europe doesn't
meet a deadline in two weeks to take measures towards ensuring the
Islamic Republic can reap the economic benefits of the nuclear deal,
the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency reported, citing a
senior foreign-policy aide. Kamal Kharazi, chairman of the
Strategic Foreign Relations Council, which is part of the Foreign
Ministry and advises the government, said he met U.K. Foreign Office
Minister Andrew Murrison in Tehran, ISNA reported.
Iran is set to breach a cap on its enriched-uranium
stockpile within days, potentially pushing its conflict with the U.S.
into a dangerous new phase. Limiting the volume and purity of its
accumulated uranium was a central part of Iran's nuclear deal with
world powers in 2015. The U.S. abandoned the deal in May 2018 and reimposed
sanctions. President Donald Trump said Saturday he'll impose
"major" additional U.S. penalties on Monday.
In an interview short on specifics and long on threats,
President Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Iran has
violated the 2015 nuclear agreement the U.S. pulled out of
in 2018, and said that under no circumstances would that nation be
allowed to control an atomic weapon. "I think they have violated
the agreement because I think in the areas that we're not allowed to
inspect they're doing things," Trump said in a Friday interview
that aired Sunday. "I think they have been for years."
A group of Iranian reformist activists and former
officials have urged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to
encourage Washington to return to the nuclear deal with Iran and lift
the sanctions that have paralyzed its economy. The letter signed by
17 former officials including former government spokesmen Abdollah
Ramezanzadeh and Behzad Nabavi and former Presidential aide
Shahindokht Molaverdi blames the U.S. pull-out from the nuclear deal
as the cause of mounting tensions in the Persian Gulf region...
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would
impose fresh sanctions on Iran but that he wanted to make a deal to
bolster its flagging economy, an apparent move to defuse tensions
following the shooting down of an unmanned U.S. drone this week by the
Islamic Republic. On Thursday, an Iranian missile destroyed a
U.S. Global Hawk surveillance drone, an incident that Washington said
happened in international airspace. Trump later said he had called
off a military strike to retaliate because it could have killed 150
people.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he will impose
additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to prevent Tehran from
obtaining nuclear weapons, adding that military action was still a
possibility. Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White
House, made his comments after recently calling off military actions
against Iran to retaliate for the downing of a U.S. military drone.
Russia and its partners will take steps to counter new
sanctions that Washington has said it will impose on Iran, Deputy
Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Russian news
agencies on Monday. In the comments reported by TASS and RIA,
Ryabkov did not specify what those steps would be. He said the
imposition of U.S. sanctions would aggravate tensions, and Washington
should instead be seeking dialogue with Tehran, the agencies quoted
him as saying.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh denied on Monday reports
that Iranian oil exports had declined in recent days. "The
news is completely wrong," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Fars
news agency. He did not provide any figures for Iranian oil
exports in the face of U.S. sanctions. "Giving a figure is not in
our interests," he added.
Oil prices rose on Monday, extending vast gains last
week prompted by tensions between Iran and the United States, as
Washington was set to announce new sanctions on Tehran. Brent
futures were up 11 cents, or 0.17%, at $65.31 a barrel by 0845
GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 40 cents, or 0.7%, at
$57.83 a barrel. Oil prices surged after Iran shot down a drone
on Thursday that the United States claimed was in international
airspace and Tehran said was over its territory.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
A multinational task force said Friday it is keeping
Iran on a financial blacklist for failing to take action to head off
funds flowing to terrorists. The 38-nation Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) said it will require more onerous financial
oversight if Tehran fails to meet an October deadline for improving
its controls. "The FATF expects Iran to proceed swiftly in the
reform path to ensure that it addresses all of the remaining
items," according to the statement, while welcoming
"high-level political commitment" to repair the
deficiencies.
Iran is setting up a network of terror cells in Africa
to attack US and other Western targets in retaliation for
Washington's decision to impose sanctions against Tehran, according
to Western security officials. The new terror network has been
established on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds
Force, the elite section of Iran's Republican Guard Corps that has
responsibility for overseas operations.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
In the seven days that Richard Ratcliffe has been camped
outside the front door of the Iranian Embassy in west London, workmen
there have embarked on a curious flurry of do-it-yourself projects.
They washed and sanded down the railings using power tools, erected
large metal barriers and even called police several times to complain
that Ratcliffe's tent was blocking the sidewalk for passing
strollers, he said.
There has been deep disagreement between the EU and the
US when it comes to what policies ought to be pursued toward the
Iranian regime. Several European countries, including France, the UK
and Germany, are opposed to Washington's determination to impose
maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic. The Europeans first opposed
the White House decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
President Trump's last-minute decision to pull back
from a retaliatory strike on Iran underscored the absence of
appealing options available to him as Tehran races toward its next
big challenge to the United States: building up and further enriching
its stockpile of nuclear fuel. Two weeks of flare-ups over
the attacks on oil tankers and the downing of an American
surveillance drone, administration officials said, have overshadowed
a larger, more complex and fast-intensifying showdown over containing
Iran's nuclear program.
In the days leading up to President Trump's decision on
whether to launch a missile strike against Iran, Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo commanded the stage.
After warning that Mr. Trump was prepared to use force
because of Iran's suspected role in oil tanker attacks, Mr.
Pompeo flew to Florida on Monday to strategize with
generals at Central Command. Back in Washington, he briefed
the foreign minister of the European Union on intelligence.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not
seeking war with Tehran after a senior Iranian military commander
warned any conflict in the Gulf region could spread uncontrollably
and threaten the lives of U.S. troops. Tensions remain high
between longtime foes Iran and the United States after Trump said on
Friday that he called off a military strike to retaliate for Iran's
downing of an unmanned U.S. drone out of concern it would have been a
disproportionate response.
The United States will intensify its economic pressure
on Iran until Tehran forgoes violence and engages with U.S.
diplomatic efforts, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on
Saturday. "We are willing to engage when the time is
right," Pompeo said in a statement. He said when Tehran decides
"to forgo violence and meet our diplomacy with diplomacy, it
knows how to reach us."
Iranian lawmakers chanted "Death to America"
during a parliament session on Sunday after a speaker accused the
United States of being the "real world terrorist", amid
escalating tension with Washington following the downing of an unmanned
U.S. drone. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he
aborted a military strike to retaliate for the drone incident because
it could have killed 150 people, and signaled he was open to talks
with Tehran.
If the United States wants Iran to offer concessions
that go beyond the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal, Washington must
offer incentives that also exceed those in the deal, an adviser to
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday. The comments
were a rare indication from Tehran that it could discuss new
concessions with Washington, although the adviser, Hesameddin Ashena,
repeated Iran's line that any talks were impossible until Washington
lifted sanctions it has reimposed since withdrawing from the deal
last year.
President Trump bucked most of his top national-security
advisers by abandoning retaliatory strikes in Iran on Thursday. In
private conversations Friday, Mr. Trump reveled in his judgment,
certain about his decision to call off the attacks while speaking of
his administration as if removed from the center of it. "These
people want to push us into a war, and it's so disgusting," Mr.
Trump told one confidant about his own inner circle of advisers.
"We don't need any more wars."
Iran is likely at "an inflection point,"
and the recent attacks on tankers and the downing of a U.S.
surveillance drone appear to be part of an effort
to change "the status quo," the director of the
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) told Fox News exclusively. "I'd
say that they're probably at an inflection point right now," the
director, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley Jr., explained in his first national
TV interview as the leader of the nearly 17-thousand strong
agency.
Britain's Middle East minister travels to Tehran Sunday
for talks with Iranian officials. Britain's Foreign Office said
Andrew Murrison will call for "urgent de-escalation in the
region." Murrison will also discuss Iran's threat to cease
complying with the nuclear deal that the United States pulled out of
last year. On Friday, Trump tweeted that the United States was
"cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different
sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the
answer from a General.
Iran warned the United States on Saturday that any
aggression against the Islamic republic would have serious
consequences for US interests in the region. "Firing one bullet
towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its
allies" in the Middle East, armed forces general staff spokesman
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the Tasnim News Agency.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday denounced as
"child-like" a map released by Iran that purported to show
that a US drone entered its airspace in May. "You've seen that
child-like map that Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif put out
that contrasts with the excellence and professionalism of America's
military and intelligence services," Pompeo told reporters as he
left on a trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran executed a former contract employee for the
aerospace organization of the defense ministry in recent days on
charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the IRIB
news agency reported on Saturday. Jalal Hajizavar had left his
post nine years ago and was convicted by a military court after an
investigation which discovered documents and spying equipment at his
home, the report said. He was executed at the Rajai Shahr
prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, without providing further details.
IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION
Any conflict in the Gulf region may spread
uncontrollably, a senior Iranian military commander was cited as
saying on Sunday by the semi-official news agency Fars. U.S.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a military strike to
retaliate for Iran's downing of a drone because it could have killed
150 people, and signalled he was open to talks with Tehran.
Iran said on Saturday it would respond firmly to any threat against
it.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
When top national security officials from Russia, Israel
and the U.S. gather for a rare summit starting Monday, the focus will
be on the country not in the room: Iran. Amid rising regional
tensions, the meeting is a critical opportunity to hash out how they
view the future of Iran's presence in Syria as an eight-year-long
civil war there winds down. Russia wants to project power across the
Middle East through its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and
would like to limit Iran's competing influence in the country.
CHINA & IRAN
The latest official figures from China show that its
trade with Iran suffered a substantial drop in the first five months
of 2019, compared with the same period last year. Trade figures
published by China's customs on June 17 show Iran's exports,
including crude oil, declined 46.6 percent totaling $7.17 billion.
China's exports to Iran also declined by 26% reaching a low of $3.74
billion.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Tensions in the Gulf can only be addressed politically
and priority should be de-escalation and dialogue, a senior United
Arab Emirates official said on Sunday. "Tensions in the Gulf can
only be addressed politically. Crisis long in the making requires collective
attention; primarily to de-escalate and to find political solutions
through dialogue and negotiations," Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a Twitter post.
One person was killed and seven others were wounded on
Sunday in an attack by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels on a Saudi
airport, Saudi Arabia said. The strike came as the American secretary
of state, Mike Pompeo, traveled to the country for talks on Iran. Regional
tensions have flared in recent days. The United States abruptly
called off a military strike against Iran last week in response to
the shooting down of an unmanned American surveillance drone.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The international community must seek a political
solution on Iran, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday,
after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had aborted a military
strike to retaliate against Tehran's downing of a U.S. drone.
Speaking at an annual gathering of Protestant churches, Merkel also
said the Iran issue would be discussed at next week's meeting of
leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies in Japan, at least at a
bilateral level.
Iran's ambassador to Japan is seeking international
support to ease Mideast tensions and demands Washington stop
hostilities toward Tehran. Morteza Rahmani Movahed said on Monday in
Tokyo that Iran faces alleged U.S. "economic terrorism" and
suspected sabotage attempts in the Persian Gulf. He urged the
international community to help ease the tensions in the region by
forming a consensus to stop the alleged U.S. hostility.
CYBERWARFARE
The U.S. covertly launched offensive cyber operations
against an Iranian intelligence group's computer systems on Thursday,
the same day President Trump pulled back on using more
traditional methods of military force, according to U.S.
officials familiar with the matter. The cyberstrikes, which were
approved by Mr. Trump, targeted computer systems used to control
missile and rocket launches that were chosen months ago for potential
disruption, the officials said.
U.S. cyber attacks against Iranian targets have not been
successful, Iran's telecoms minister said on Monday, after reports
that the Pentagon had launched a long-planned cyber attack to disable
his country's rocket launch systems. Tension is running high
between longtime foes Iran and the United States after U.S. President
Donald Trump on Friday said he called off a military strike to
retaliate for Iran's downing of a U.S. drone.
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