Tag Archives: sanctions

Iran has started producing enriched uranium with more efficient advanced centrifuges at its Fordow plant dug into a mountain, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Wednesday, further eroding the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during talks with the West on saving it. The announcement appeared to undercut indirect talks between Iran …

A senior Emirati official said on Tuesday the United Arab Emirates would soon send a delegation to Iran as part of efforts to improve ties with rival Tehran. “I hope that it is the sooner the better and all our friends are aware of it,” Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to …

Britain and Israel will “work night and day” in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, the foreign ministers of the two countries wrote in a joint article. “The clock is ticking, which heightens the need for close cooperation with our partners and friends to thwart Tehran’s ambitions,” the UK’s …

The United States and its partners are likely to exert pressure on Iran if it uses talks scheduled to resume in Vienna on Monday as pretext to accelerate its nuclear programme, the U.S. special envoy to Iran said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. “If Iran thinks it can use …

Russia on Friday chided the United States for threatening a diplomatic escalation with Iran at the U.N. nuclear watchdog next month unless it improves cooperation with the agency, saying it risked harming wider talks on the Iran nuclear deal. The United States threatened on Thursday to confront Iran at the …

Israel’s defense minister said Thursday he hopes a better nuclear deal will come out of upcoming talks between world powers and Iran, but that Israel is hedging its bets and building up its military capabilities. Benny Gantz spoke to reporters at the close of a two-day visit to the Moroccan …

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked about how they might harmonize their positions ahead of the Nov. 29 resumption of indirect U.S.-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a top U.S. official said on Tuesday. Officials from Iran and the six nations that struck …

The United Arab Emirates is taking steps to de-escalate tensions with Iran as part of a policy choice towards diplomacy and away from confrontation, a UAE senior official said on Monday. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said the Gulf state remains deeply concerned about Iran’s behaviour in …

A top Iranian commander said on Thursday that if Israel starts a war, Iran will be the one to end it. “Any mistake by Israel in dealing with Tehran will accelerate its destruction,” IRGC Commander of Aerospace Force Amir Ali Hajizadeh was reported as saying by semi-official media Tasnim. Israel …

The Israeli army chief warned Tuesday that the military was ramping up its preparations for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the army “is accelerating operational planning and preparedness to deal with Iran and the …

Embattled Information Minister George Kordahi has announced that the diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia “has turned into an issue of national dignity.” “I totally understand and feel the plight of the Lebanese abroad and their fear of any measures that might target them, but the matter has turned into an …

The United States was “absolutely in lock step” with Britain, Germany and France on getting Iran back into a nuclear deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, but he added it was unclear if Tehran was willing to rejoin the talks in a “meaningful way.” Blinken’s remarks in …

Former security chief and current member of parliament, Jamil al-Sayyed, denied accusations on Friday that he smuggled tens of millions of dollars out of his crisis-hit country. He challenged his accusers to reveal the name of a government official whom they said helped him transfer the funds. Al-Sayyed, ally of …

Saudi Arabia is seeking Washington’s help in bolstering its defences as it comes under intense U.S. pressure to end a blockade of Yemeni ports that its Houthi enemies say is an obstacle to ceasefire talks, two sources with knowledge of efforts to end the Yemen war and a U.S. official …

Saudi Arabia said it is following with great concern the developing events in Sudan and stressed on the importance of restraint and a de-escalation of tensions.  The Kingdom said it was important to preserve all the political and economic gains and everything that aimed to protect the unity among all …

U.S. envoy for Iran Robert Malley will on Friday meet diplomats from three European powers over the Iranian nuclear crisis as Vienna-based talks to salvage a 2015 deal remain suspended. The agreement between Iran and world powers to find a long-term solution to the now two-decade-old crisis over its controversial …

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with US Special Envoy for Iran Affairs Robert Malley on Thursday.They discussed ways to strengthen Saudi-US cooperation on the Iranian nuclear issue, and relevant international negotiations, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. Iran’s violations of international conventions and treaties related …

Iran is not ready to return to talks with world powers over its nuclear programme yet and its new negotiating team wants to first meet with the EU in Brussels in the next few weeks, a senior EU official said on Friday. EU political director Enrique Mora, the chief coordinator …

 Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday that Iran was accelerating its nuclear activities and putting the region in “a very dangerous place” amid efforts to bring Tehran back into a 2015 nuclear deal. The prince gave a wide ranging news conference in Washington on regional …

Top US officials will tell their Israeli counterparts on Tuesday that the Biden administration remains committed to diplomacy with Iran, but if necessary would be prepared to pursue “other avenues” to ensure Tehran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, a senior US official said. A visit to Washington by Israel’s …

Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday that US officials tried to discuss restarting nuclear talks last month, but he insisted Washington must first release $10 billion of Tehran’s frozen funds as a sign of good will. Iran has rejected direct talks with the United States, and indirect talks on reviving …

Turkey is considering more joint defence industry steps with Russia including for fighter jets and submarines, President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with President Vladimir Putin, despite a U.S. warning of further sanctions. On the return flight to Turkey from the talks, Erdogan told reporters he also proposed working with …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections. The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that …

Washington suspended its diplomatic presence in Syria in 2012 and later imposed sanctions on President Al-Assad’s government. According to a US State Department spokesman, the United States has no plans to “normalize or upgrade” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s diplomatic relations with the government and does not encourage others to do …

Iran on Tuesday rejected a U.S. call to grant U.N. inspectors access to a nuclear site, saying Washington was not qualified to demand inspections without condemning a sabotage attack on the facility, Iranian state media reported. “Countries that did not condemn terrorist acts against Iran’s nuclear site are not qualified …

The United States has reached out to China diplomatically about reducing its purchases of Iranian crude oil, U.S. and European officials said on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to persuade Tehran to resume talks about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Purchases of Iranian oil by Chinese companies are believed to have …

Fire broke out in one of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) research centers in the west of Tehran on Sunday evening, state media said. “On Sunday evening a fire broke out in one of the IRGC … research centers in the west of Tehran. Three people were injured and the …

The prime minister of Kuwait has called on Iran to take serious steps to build trust and start a serious dialogue in the Gulf region based on respect for the sovereignty of neighboring nations and non-interference. He said nations in the region must seek to protect maritime commerce and the …

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan met on Friday with the US Special Envoy for Iran Affairs Robert Malley, state news agency SPA reported. The two officials met on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York. During the meeting, they discussed enhancing joint …

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, the EU said in a statement on Wednesday. The meeting was scheduled in the absence of a ministerial meeting of the parties to the 2015 …

Saudi Arabia supports international efforts aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, ministers said on Tuesday. During its weekly meeting, chaired by King Salman from NEOM, the Saudi Cabinet restated the Kingdom’s position laid out at a recent International Atomic Energy Agency meeting. During the meeting last week, Prince …

Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen said on Tuesday that a convoy of diesel tankers brought by Hezbollah from Iran crossed the Syrian border towards Lebanon. The Iran-aligned group says the shipments should ease a crippling energy crisis in Lebanon, while Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Iranian fuel shipments …

A senior official at Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) says exports of petrochemicals were responsible for a fourth of all non-crude shipments exported from the country in the year to late March. Hassan Abbaszadeh, who leads planning and development operations at the NPC, said on Thursday that the share of …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has no plans to meet with his new Iranian counterpart next week at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Friday. Indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Vienna on reviving a 2015 …

The United States said on Friday it was imposing sanctions on Lebanon and Kuwait-based financial conduits that fund the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah as well as financial facilitators and front companies that support the group and Iran. Among individuals designated and sanctioned, the US Treasury said the measures apply to …

Lebanon’s finance minister Youssef Khalil on Friday signed a new contract with restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to carry out a forensic audit at the country’s central bank, the ministry said in a statement. A&M will give an initial report to the ministry within 12 weeks of its team …

Iran, emboldened by the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, is betting that its new hardline cabinet — including Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani — can force concessions in talks on Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Bagheri, a hardline senior diplomat, was named on Tuesday to replace Abbas …

The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday described as “unacceptable” incidents in Iran involving its inspectors, in which diplomats say security staff subjected female inspectors to inappropriate searches that the United States is calling harassment. In a first case this year at the Natanz nuclear site, a female inspector was subjected …

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have no access to footage captured by surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear sites, Iran’s state-run Press TV channel said on Twitter on Saturday. The channel added that an “informed source rejects reports suggesting that Iran may reconsider (its) decision on IAEA access restrictions.” …

Iran’s foreign minister met his visiting counterpart from U.S.-allied Qatar on Thursday, state media reported, as Tehran and Washington appear to be at an impasse over the fate of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Iran on Wednesday warned Western states against rebuking it at the International Atomic Energy …

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt called for a “rapid and comprehensive inspection” of all Iranian nuclear sites on Thursday. Gathering on the sidelines of an Arab League session in Cairo, ministers from the four countries also discussed stopping Tehran’s destabilizing policies that threaten global security and stability. The …

The UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday criticized Iran for obstructing investigations into past activities and jeopardizing vital surveillance work, potentially complicating efforts to restart talks on the Iran nuclear deal. Of. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in two reports to member states reviewed by Reuters that no progress had …

Iran is determined to increase its oil exports despite sanctions imposed by the United States on sales of crude from Tehran, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Wednesday, adding that the use of oil sanctions as a “political tool” would hurt the market. “There is a strong will in …

Israel’s defense minister on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a deadly drone strike on an oil tanker last month from its territory and reiterated that Israel would act alone if needed to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.Benny Gantz spoke as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was visiting Washington to …