Iran rejects talks with US unless sanctions are lifted Tehran rejected on Sunday a pending proposal from the European Union to arrange a “diplomatic conversation” with the US. But the Iranian statement in this regard is rather nuanced. Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated: “In view of the …
Continue reading “Iran pushes back at US overreach on nuclear issue”
New generation of centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment plant The frozen lake of US-Iran confrontation is generating a pinging sound. The cracking of the ice is yet to produce that loud booming thunderclap. But these are early days. It was only last Thursday that the US and the three European states who are party …
Continue reading “US, Iran edging back to negotiating table”
US envoy to Iran Robert Malley (third from left) at a 2015 meeting with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (far R), Geneva Like a bolt from the blue, the news has appeared belatedly that the US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley initiated a call with Chinese vice minister Ma Zhaoxu on February …
Continue reading “Biden resumes adult conversations with Beijing, Moscow”
Iran foreign minister Javad Zarif (L) and Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani (R), Tehran. Feb. 15, 2021 With five days to go, Iran nuclear issue is tiptoeing toward a deadline on February 21 when Tehran is obliged by its domestic law to stop allowing inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency unless there …
Continue reading “Qatar on mission to break US-Iran stalemate”
Six days into the Joe Biden presidency, the first telephone conversation between POTUS and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin took place on Tuesday. Who took the initiative remains a tantalising detail, given the tense Russian-American relationship and the poor personal chemistry between the two leaders who are known to each other for a decade. But the …
South Korean-flagged tanker Hankuk Chemi carrying 7200 tonnes of ethanol escorted by Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats off Oman for polluting the Gulf with chemicals, January 4, 2021 In international diplomacy, while creating narratives, there is a criticality about the timeline over normative values. Iran’s announcement on December 4 that it has begun to enrich uranium …
Continue reading “Biden needs Russia and China’s help to cut Trump’s Gordian knot on Iran”
Scene from a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, Tehran, Dec 31, 2020 On the first anniversary of the killing of the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020 that was approved by President Donald Trump, something had to …
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and delegation (L) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow, Sept 24, 2020 In what must be one of his sharpest rhetorical outbursts against the Trump administration, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Saturday of “savagery” for inflicting $150 billion of damage on Iran due to sanctions. …
Continue reading “Russia has key role to play in Iran issue”
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz transits the Strait of Hormuz as the flagship of US Carrier Strike Group, Sept 18, 2020 (US Navy photo) The US Fifth Fleet announced on September 18 that a Carrier Strike Group comprising USS Nimitz passed through the Strait of Hormuz with the guided-missile cruisers USS Princeton and USS Philippine …
Continue reading “Pompeo threatens to light the fuse in Persian Gulf”
As expected, the Trump Administration delivered letters on Thursday to both the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the president of the Security Council Dian Triansyah Djani notifying them that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This process, if successful, …
