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 by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Jan 9, 2020
France said Thursday it remains "committed" to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord it signed with other world powers, despite Donald Trump urging the Europeans to quit the deal. The US president on Wednesday pulled back from the brink of war with Iran after having ordered the killing of a top Iranian general, to which Tehran responded with missile strikes on Iraqi bases used by US forces. But Trump, who withdrew the United Sates in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal signed in Vienna, said that "the time has come" for the other co-signatories to do the same. The French foreign ministry Thursday showed no signs of pulling out of the nuclear deal. "France remains committed to the framework of the Vienna Iran nuclear accord," said a ministry spokeswoman, Agnes von der Muehll. She added that France "continues to work with the other parties" to the deal, meaning the other signatories -- Britain, Germany, Russia and China along with Iran. After the US reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran started breaching some aspects of the accord and on Sunday announced that it no longer felt compelled to stick to any limit on the number of its centrifuges for making the enriched uranium needed for nuclear power. However, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a phone call Thursday that Iran is willing to fully restore its nuclear commitments if the European parties to the agreement "go back to their (own) commitments" and help Tehran circumvent US sanctions, his office said in a statement. The European signatories must decide in the coming days whether to take action against Tehran for reneging on its commitments which could lead to reimposing UN sanctions. A special meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union is scheduled for Friday in Brussels to discuss the Iranian crisis. EU president Charles Michel defended the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday and warned Rouhani against taking any "irreversible action".
Saudi Arabia condemns 'Iranian violations of Iraqi sovereignty' "The kingdom denounces and condemns the Iranian violations of Iraqi sovereignty," said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency following Wednesday's retaliatory strikes by Riyadh's arch-foe Iran. The Saudi condemnation was the first by an Arab neighbour of Iraq. The Iranian missiles targeted two Iraqi bases, including the sprawling Ain al-Asad, which houses American and other foreign troops deployed in a US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State jihadist group. The attack has been denounced by the Iraqi prime minister, the foreign ministry and Iraqi President Barham Saleh as a violation of the country's sovereignty. Saleh also said he rejected attempts to turn Iraq into a "battlefield for warring sides". In a letter to the UN following the missile attack, Iran said it fully respects the sovereignty of its neighbour Iraq. On Thursday Saudi Arabia called anew on all parties to observe restraint and avoid an escalation "in order to preserve the stability of Iraq and the region". Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday warned of a "very dangerous" escalation following last week's killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both allies of Washington, are vulnerable to Iranian counter strikes. A string of attacks on Gulf oil tankers last year that were blamed on Iran, and which Tehran has denied, has raised tensions. Strikes against Saudi oil installations in September also led Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to adopt a more conciliatory approach aimed at avoiding confrontation with Tehran.
Has Trump deterred Iran, as President pulls back Washington (AFP) Jan 9, 2020 US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the US strike that killed a top Iranian general had restored credibility to the US threat to Tehran to restrain itself militarily. "I believe that we've restored a level of deterrence with them," he said. But Washington security analysts say it is far from certain that Tehran has been deterred from further attacks on the United States and its allies, and that it might not be long before it challenges President Donald Trump again. In the sho ... read more
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