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TOP STORIES
Iran may resume its nuclear activities "at a much
greater speed" if President Donald Trump moves forward with
plans to pull the U.S. out of a landmark nuclear agreement and
reimposes sanctions against the nation, Iran's foreign minister said
Friday.
Brigadier General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of
the Revolutionary Guards, said Friday that a war between Iran and
Israel would lead to the latter's total annihilation... "Our
fingers are on the trigger and the missiles are ready to launch, at
any moment that the enemy wants to start something against us, we
will launch... "There is no way for you but the sea."
A new U.S. State Department report has labeled the
governments of Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea as "morally
reprehensible" with human rights violations on a daily basis,
making them "forces of instability."
NUCLEAR DEAL
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran's
atomic agency was ready with "expected and unexpected"
reactions if the United States pulls out of a multinational nuclear
deal, as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to do.
Reports of the Iran nuclear deal's imminent demise might
just be premature... Even if Trump rejects a possible remedy being
worked out by U.S. and European officials and decides to bring back sanctions,
the key U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's oil sales will not
immediately resume. As a result, oil markets and companies may have
some time to adjust to the prospect of fresh U.S. sanctions, and
diplomats could keep trying to avert them.
European leaders are exploring further sanctions on Iran
over its ballistic missile programme and regional meddling, as well
as more extensive inspection of its atomic sites as they try to
dissuade the US from abandoning a nuclear deal between world powers
and Tehran.
Macron arrives here Monday, on the first official state
visit Trump has hosted for any leader, with a clear agenda. Iran is
at the top of a to-do list that includes trade, climate change,
Russia, North Korea and counterterrorism... Macron is...
seeking reassurance that Trump will not follow through with his
pledge for an early withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. "The
day we finish this war against ISIS, if we leave...we will leave the
floor to the Iranian regime" and to Assad, Macron told "Fox
News Sunday," using an acronym for the Islamic State. "They
will prepare the new war. They will fuel the new terrorists."
But Iran's activities in Syria are overshadowed by the dispute about
the nuclear agreement that the United States and five other countries
signed with Iran in 2015... Enter Macron. By consensus among his
counterparts in Europe, if there is accommodation to be reached with
Trump on Iran, he is the man to close the deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron's arrival in the U.S.
kicks off a crucial week for European leaders in an uphill battle to
convince Donald Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a Fox News
Sunday interview that he has no "plan B" for the Iran
nuclear deal and that the United States should stay in the agreement
as long as there is no better option.
A senior U.S. administration official has told reporters
that President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron will
discuss the Iran nuclear agreement at the White House when they meet
next week.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the Iran
nuclear deal in an interview with an Israeli TV channel, saying an
imperfect deal is better than no deal and that her country will
"watch very closely" to ensure it is being fulfilled.
French President Emmanuel Macron comes to Washington
next week with two important items on his agenda: keep American
troops in Syria and keep U.S. President Donald Trump in the Iran
nuclear deal. Macron will have a tough sell to an American president
who's made clear he wants out of both. His only chance is to meet
Trump in the middle, giving him a political win at home that serves
French interests at the same time.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced support for the
country's military forces to develop advance weapons, including
missiles, to enhance the Islamic Republic's deterrence capabilities
U.S.-IRAN
RELATIONS
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Mike
Pompeo's nomination and possible confirmation to be the next U.S.
Secretary of State is an indication to the international community
that the U.S. is "not serious" about international
obligations, including holding up the Iran nuclear deal. Asked in an
interview airing Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" if
he would be able to work with the new secretary if Pompeo is
confirmed, Zarif said he would have to "wait and see."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an
interview broadcast Sunday that Tehran demands "respect"
from President Trump.
SYRIA & IRAN
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed in a letter
to Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday his country's
willingness to aid in the post-civil war reconstruction of Syria,
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.
SANCTIONS
Oil market participants and analysts will be intently
watching the Trump Administration over the next month. May 12 is the
deadline for the U.S. President to decide to waive sanctions on Iran
as part of the nuclear deal that global powers reached with Iran in
2015, allowing Tehran to resume oil exports and regain part of its
market share. The re-imposition of sanctions on Iran's oil is not
100-percent certain, although the probability is high, various
analysts say. The potential loss of Iran's oil exports varies from
zero to 1 million bpd, according to investment banks and analysts.
ECONOMIC NEWS
Oil dropped after President Donald Trump tweeted a
bearish statement that attacked OPEC for inflating prices. But his
very own tweets may have had something to do with the fact that
prices are the highest since late 2014. "Actually, Trump is at
it again," said Matt Badiali, Banyan Hill senior research
analyst. "The prices we're seeing right now are a combination of
trouble in the Middle East with Syria and a looming Iran conflict and
Trump's tweets are fueling the drive up in oil prices."
ISRAEL & IRAN
Iran and Israel traded blame on Sunday for an
unprecedented, weeks-long surge in hostilities between their forces
over Syria but played down prospects of a spillover into war.
As Israel celebrated the 70th anniversary of its
independence this week, its leaders were voicing concern that the
United States - which has always been its most important ally - was
doing too little about what they view as a growing threat from Iran.
[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:]
"We hear the threats from Iran, and the IDF and security forces
are prepared for every possible Iranian move. We will fight whoever
tries to harm us. We will not shy away from action against those who
threaten our security. They will pay a heavy price."
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., told the Washington Examiner
editorial board he believes the conflict in Syria has potential to
spill over into other parts of the Middle East, taking shape as an
open military conflict that involves Israel and Iran.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran
is open to prisoner swap negotiations with the US if the Trump
administration shows a "change of attitude."
Mass protests returned to Iran on Friday in the
southwest city of Kazeroon, with social media videos showing hundreds
demonstrating during the weekly prayers and on the streets. Videos
that emerged early on Friday showed some of largest public gatherings
since the protests started last December.
The office of Hassan Rouhani today announced that the
Iranian president has suspended his official account in Telegram,
Iranian media reported. Rouhani's decision came after Supreme Leader
Ali Khameni's office said yesterday that the Iranian leader would no
longer use Telegram to "safeguard" Iran's national security
and "remove the monopoly of Telegram messenger". Several
government agencies and politicians also followed suit, urging their
followers to use domestic messaging apps instead of Telegram and all
other foreign apps. State-run and semiofficial media outlets also
shut down their Telegram accounts today, indicating that the Iranian
government is preparing to close down Telegram for the general public
in the near future as well.
Iranian Kurds say police have stepped up their
intimidation of striking shop workers engaging in a sixth day of
protests against government restrictions on border trade in Iran's
impoverished northwest.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran's central bank has banned the country's banks from
dealing in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, over money-laundering
concerns, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday as the
country tries to halt a currency crisis.
Every day, hundreds head to Tehran's bustling Ferdowsi street
to buy foreign currency, only to find that many exchange offices have
shut up shop, have turned off their currency-rate displays, or have
signs up reading, "We don't have U.S. dollars to sell." A
nationwide dollar-buying panic is in full swing, spurred by the
plunging value of the Iranian rial, a sluggish economy, and fears
that the United States will reimpose crippling sanctions on the
Islamic republic.
NORTH KOREA & IRAN
A U.S. push to change the Iran nuclear deal was sending
a "very dangerous message" that countries should never
negotiate with Washington, Iran's foreign minister warned as U.S. and
North Korean leaders prepare to meet for denuclearization talks.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Diplomats from the world's seven leading democracies met
Sunday in Toronto to discuss ways to counter Russia in Syria and
Ukraine, and Iran in the Middle East.
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