President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran would respond in kind to any breach by the United States of the 2015 nuclear deal after the House of Representatives passed a new sanctions bill. “If the enemy steps over part of the agreement, we will do the same, and if they step over the entire … Read more
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday that new sanctions approved by the US House of Representatives were “a hostile measure” that breached Washington’s commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal. “The ongoing action in the US Congress… is very clearly a hostile measure against the Islamic republic of Iran,” deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, … Read more
Iran on Friday vented its frustration over fresh US sanctions which it says “violate” the terms of a 2015 landmark nuclear deal, at a meeting with major world powers in Vienna. “We talked in detail about the sanctions and instances that the Americans had delayed in fulfilling their commitments, the instances where they violated the … Read more
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Tehran would “respond appropriately” to new US sanctions but that Iran remained committed to its nuclear deal with world powers. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will always stick to its international commitments,” Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting. But if the US wants “to press forward with … Read more
The US slapped fresh sanctions on Iran Tuesday over its ballistic missile program, just hours after Washington admitted the Islamic Republic was complying with a landmark nuclear deal signed two years ago. Iran’s parliament retaliated by voting for extra funding for the missile program, a move that speaker Ali Larijani said would show the Americans … Read more
Donald Trump backed away from a campaign promise to scrap a major nuclear security deal with Iran on Tuesday, with officials announcing the agreement and related sanctions relief will stay in place for now. Under the terms of the two-year-old agreement, Tehran scaled back production of nuke-making material in return for massive sanctions relief. The … Read more
Iran is receiving “contradictory signals” from the US administration about the fate of the nuclear deal but Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday he has yet to discuss it with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In New York to attend a UN forum on development, Zarif said he was open to speak with … Read more
The landmark nuclear deal signed two years ago on July 14, 2015 by Iran and major world powers led to a partial lifting of international sanctions on Tehran. Struck in Vienna by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) plus Germany, the deal established … Read more
Signed with pomp and fanfare on July 14, 2015, the Iranian nuclear agreement was heralded as a triumph for American diplomacy and international cooperation on nonproliferation. Two years later, it has few friends in the Trump administration or in Tehran. When it was signed in Vienna, President Barack Obama and his secretary of state, John … Read more
Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi is urging the West to change course in the Middle East in order to save the historic atomic deal, saying “the moment of truth has arrived”. The accord, reached between Tehran and world powers in Vienna in July 2015, saw Iran drastically curb its nuclear activities. In return, nuclear-related … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Iran not to threaten Israel after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at a Syrian base of the Islamic State group. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had fired six missiles from western Iran into northeastern Syria on Sunday, targeting “terror bases.” The Guard said the strike was “in retaliation” … Read more
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday called for a permanent mechanism in the Gulf to resolve crises like the blockade against Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its allies. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of an annual peace mediation in Oslo, Zarif also said Saudi Arabia supported militants inside Iran. “It … Read more
Iran is still sticking to the 2015 nuclear accord with major powers even as tensions rise between Tehran and US President Donald Trump, a UN atomic watchdog report showed Friday. Trump has vowed to “dismantle” the “disastrous” deal and has ratcheted up US sanctions, calling for Iran to be isolated and throwing his weight behind … Read more
Trump tells Israel Iran will never have nuclear weapons Mr Trump (C) met both Mr Netanyahu (R) and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (L) (AFP) US President Donald Trump has told Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Iran will never have nuclear weapons. He suggested the Iranians thought they could “do what they want” since negotiating … Read more
The US decision to stick by the nuclear deal with Iran, despite new sanctions on its missile programme, provided welcome news for President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, a day before his bid for re-election. The administration of US President Donald Trump chose to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions on Wednesday despite its criticism of the agreement. … Read more
Iran criticised new US sanctions on its missile programme on Thursday, saying they would undermine the nuclear deal with world powers. “Iran condemns the US administration’s ill will in its effort to reduce the positive results of the country’s implementation of JCPOA (nuclear deal) commitments by adding individuals to the list of unilateral and illegal … Read more
The United States decided not to reimpose sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program Wednesday despite President Donald Trump’s criticism of the deal Tehran signed with the previous US administration. But, while the waiver on the nuclear-related sanctions was renewed, the US Treasury imposed new measures to punish Iranian defense officials and a Chinese business tied to … Read more
The investment gold rush that was supposed to follow Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and revitalise the economy has not materialised, leaving many voters disillusioned ahead of Friday’s election. The figures say it all — President Hassan Rouhani wanted $50 billion a year in foreign investment to reach his target of eight-percent growth. But … Read more
Iran’s armed forces warned President Hassan Rouhani against discussing the country’s defence programme after he criticised the anti-Israel slogans written on the side of ballistic missiles, local media reported on Saturday. During an election debate on Friday, Rouhani took the rare step of criticising the elite Revolutionary Guards for the provocative messages they wrote on … Read more
Iran and major powers were set to review adherence to their 2015 nuclear agreement on Tuesday, as uncertainty grows about the landmark accord’s future under US President Donald Trump. The regular quarterly meeting was expected to hear, as Washington confirmed last week, that Iran is sticking to its deal with the US, Russia, China, Britain, … Read more