Iranian lawmaker points to regional insecurity if UN sanctions are reimposed
"We have many tools in our disposition. We can withhold our commitment to security in the region, Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait as well as other maritime areas," Abbas Moqtadaei said in reference to Tehran's potential counter-measures to the reimposition of international sanctions.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Friday between Iranian deputy foreign ministers and British, French and German diplomats in Istanbul.
The three European states, known as E3, have said they would restore international sanctions on Iran by the end of August if the country did not enter productive talks on its nuclear programme with Western powers, notably the United States.
E3 countries and Iran have in recent months held inconclusive talks on Tehran's nuclear program, in parallel to indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Israel's attack on Iran in June led to the suspension of such talks.
"Europe is not in a position to endanger itself in the... Hormuz Strait when it is itself in political, economic and cultural conflicts with Russia, China and even the United States," Moqtadaei said in an interview with Iran's semi-official Borna news agency.
Last week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran would react to the three European states if they invoked the UN snapback mechanism, which expires on October 18.
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the E3 lack the legal standing to invoke the mechanism, arguing that their stance on Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last month made them no longer participants to a 2015 nuclear deal to which the snapback mechanism is linked.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the nuclear pact - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
In the past, Iran has used the threat of disrupting maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz or no longer stopping Europe-bound drug trafficking as a means to push back against Western pressures on its nuclear programme.
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Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump could meet Putin over Ukraine as soon as next week, official says
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Aug 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. maintained plans to impose secondary sanctions on Friday in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Such a face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting U.S. and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since World War Two by invading Ukraine. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019 and make no secret of their contempt for each other. The New York Times reported that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday that he intends to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskiy," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, responding to the report. A Trump-Putin meeting could take place as soon as next week, the White House official said. A German government spokesperson said Trump provided information about the status of the talks with Russia during a call with the German chancellor and other European heads of government. The details emerged following a meeting on Wednesday between Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff that Trump said had achieved "great progress." It comes two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, including oil. 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Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's sanctions ultimatum because he believes he is winning the war and his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the U.S., three sources close to the Kremlin have told Reuters. The Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was sceptical that yet more U.S. sanctions would have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3-1/2 years of war.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
China is being urged to explain 'secret basement' under its London 'mega-embassy'
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Ukraine war: Twisted wreckage shows sanctions haven't yet stopped Russia
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