Safeguard nuke deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday urged “friends” including China and Russia to take “concrete action” to safeguard the 2015 nuclear deal as he warned of a “dangerous” situation amid rising tensions with the US.
Tensions have ratcheted up with the US deploying an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf last week over alleged threats from Iran.
“Iran and China need to think together and work together about preserving a multilateral global order and avoiding a unilateral global order,” Zarif said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi yesterday evening.
Talking to reporters earlier, Zarif said he would talk with Chinese officials about “bilateral ties and the very dangerous issues that are ongoing in our region today”, according to a video published on the Iranian foreign ministry website.
Washington has deployed more troops in the Gulf, one of the world’s most strategic waterways, in what US officials said was a reaction to photographs showing Iran had loaded missiles onto small traditional boats.
On Wednesday the US State Department ordered the evacuation of most personnel from the US embassy and consulate in Iraq, fearing an attack by Iranian-directed Shia militias.
Iran on Thursday rejected negotiations with the US, but said it was showing “maximum restraint”.
Amid escalating tensions in the region, Zarif has called on the international community to save the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Iran signed the deal with China, Russia, Germany, Britain, France and the United States. International sanctions were eased in return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
But last year President Donald Trump walked away from the accord. The US has since then slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran, reported AFP.
Three US officials said on Thursday Trump has told his top advisers he does not want to get the United States involved in a war with Iran.
“He doesn’t want to go to war. It’s not who he is,” one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trump has communicated to his national security team and other aides that wants to keep tensions with Tehran from boiling over into an armed conflict, the officials said.
But he has also made clear that he will protect US interests in the region, one official said. US intelligence showed heightened activity by Iran or its proxies that US officials took as a threat against American targets in the region, reported Reuters.
Syria yesterday called on all parties to exercise “restraint” in the Gulf as its ally Iran comes under mounting pressure from the United States, state media said.
“The Syrian government calls on all sides to exercise restraint because escalating tensions in the Gulf would not benefit countries in the region,” state news agency SANA quoted a foreign ministry source as saying.
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