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All in News
◢ An oil tanker run by BP Plc is being kept inside the Persian Gulf in fear it could be seized by Iran in a tit-for-tat response to the arrest by Gibraltar last week of a vessel hauling the Islamic Republic’s crude. The British Heritage, able to haul about 1 million barrels of crude, was sailing toward Iraq’s Basrah oil terminal in the south of country when it made an abrupt u-turn on July 6.
◢ Iran's oil minister has accused the United States of using sanctions to "shock" the global oil supply and gain market clout for its booming shale oil production. "I think one of the reasons for sanctions against Iran and Venezuela is opening up the market for American oil sales," Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in an interview with state TV.
◢ Iran said Sunday it was set to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by an endangered nuclear deal within hours as it seeks to press signatories into keeping their side of the bargain. The move—involving purifying beyond the 3.67 percent allowed by the 2015 agreement—comes despite opposition from the European Union and the United States, which has quit the deal.
◢ The UN's nuclear watchdog said Friday it will hold a special meeting on Iran's nuclear program next week, days after Tehran breached one of the limits set in a 2015 deal with world powers. The meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s board of governors would be held "on 10 July at 14:30," an IAEA spokesman said.
◢ British special forces seized a supertanker off Gibraltar suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European and U.S. sanctions against the war-torn country. Gibraltar didn’t say where the crude came from, but shipping tracking data compiled by Bloomberg suggest the vessel loaded at Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal in mid-April.
◢ President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will exceed on Sunday the uranium enrichment limit it agreed in a 2015 deal with major powers. "On July 7, our enrichment level will no longer be 3.67 percent. We will put aside this commitment. We will increase (the enrichment level) beyond 3.67 percent to as much as we want, as much as is necessary, as much as we need," Rouhani said.
◢ Iraq is establishing a financial "loophole" to continue buying vital gas and electricity from Iran despite US sanctions, AFP has learned, mirroring a European mechanism that came into effect Friday. The "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) would allow Iraq to pay for imported Iranian energy in Iraqi dinars, which Iran could use to exclusively buy humanitarian goods, three senior Iraqi officials said.
◢ Iran's stock market is thriving, despite US sanctions which have battered its economy and an uncertain future as geopolitical tensions soar in the Gulf. Tehran Stock Exchange was buzzing Monday after the latest spike in a 12-month bull market, mostly caused by the crash of Iran's currency, the rial.
◢ Iran said it had exceeded the cap on its stockpile of enriched uranium set under the 2015 nuclear deal, risking a confrontation with European nations which had urged it to stick to the accord. “As I was informed, Iran has crossed the 300-kilogram cap according to plans,” the Iranian Students’ News Agency cited Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying.
◢ The mechanism set up by European powers to help Iran skirt US sanctions will be of limited use but it has highlighted a welcome distance between Washington and its allies, Tehran's top diplomat said Monday. Britain, France and Germany launched the special payment system in late January after US President Donald Trump abruptly quit the nuclear deal last year and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran.
◢ Iran will no longer require Chinese visitors to obtain visas, state media reported Sunday, as the sanctions-hit country attempts to boost tourism in the face of an economic crisis. "The cabinet has agreed to waive visa requirements for Chinese nationals entering the Islamic Republic of Iran," state news agency IRNA said.
◢ Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, is under almost constant pressure from hardliners and right-wing lawmakers who’ve repeatedly tried to have him impeached and removed from office. But his record at OPEC and efforts to rehabilitate Iran’s energy sector mean he’s developed a reputation among the wider public for being an efficient and dedicated technocrat.
◢ Iran "never seeks war" with the United States, President Hassan Rouhani said as he sought to rein in soaring tensions Wednesday between the two countries. "Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including (the) US," the president said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
◢ Iran will "resolutely" abandon more commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers on July 7, Fars News Agency reported on Tuesday quoting a "note" from a top security official. Tehran had announced on May 8 that it was suspending two of its 2015 pledges and gave Europe, China and Russia a two-month ultimatum to help Iran circumvent US sanctions and sell its oil or it would abandon two more commitments.
◢ Iran said Tuesday new US sanctions against its leaders marked the end of diplomacy with Washington, after President Donald Trump threatened the country with "obliteration.” Trump imposed new sanctions Monday against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military chiefs, further raising the stakes in an escalating regional standoff.
◢ French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he would discuss the current flare-up of tensions between Iran and the United States with President Donald Trump at this week's G20 summit in Japan. The tensions with Iran are set to loom large over the G20 meeting in Osaka later this week after the United States accused Iran of sabotaging ships.
◢ President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and eight senior military commanders, a provocative step designed to increase pressure on the Islamic Republic. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the penalties would deny Khamenei and his office access to financial resources.
◢ US President Donald Trump on Saturday pledged to hit Iran with "major" new sanctions as Tehran warned Washington that any attack would see its interests across the Middle East go up in flames. The war of words heated up after Trump had pulled back from military action against Iran in response to its downing of a US reconnaissance drone.
◢ A top Iranian diplomat expressed disappointment on Sunday after meeting a British Foreign Office minister amid escalating regional tensions, saying their talks were "repetitive", state news agency IRNA reported. Minister of State for the Middle East Andrew Murrison had the "usual talking points", said Kamal Kharazi, the head of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations at Iran's foreign ministry.
