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All in News
◢ Richard Goldberg, the U.S. National Security Council official who clashed with other members of the administration over his push for a more hawkish stance toward Iran, is leaving the job after one year for personal reasons, a person familiar with the matter said.
◢ A U.S. airstrike in Iraq ordered by President Donald Trump killed one of Iran’s most powerful generals, sending global markets tumbling on fears of a deepening conflict in the Middle East. Qassem Soleimani, who led proxy militias that extended Iran’s power across the region, was killed in a strike in Baghdad authorized by Trump.
◢ Iran's supreme leader Wednesday strongly condemned deadly US strikes on Iraq and warned his country was ready to confront threats after US President Donald Trump issued one against the Islamic Republic. "I and the government and the nation of Iran strongly condemn this American crime," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on state television.
◢ Russia, seeing prospects for multi-billion dollar deals, ruled out extending a United Nations-approved arms embargo on Iran that expires in October next year, despite U.S. warnings. “We’re not ready to do the bidding of our American colleagues,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.
◢ Tehran and Delhi have agreed to accelerate the development of an important Iranian port, India's foreign minister said during a visit to the sanctions-hit Islamic republic on Monday. Chabahar port—being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan—is on the Indian Ocean about 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the Pakistan border.
◢ China, Russia and Iran will hold joint naval drills starting Friday in the Gulf of Oman, Beijing and Tehran said. For Iran, the drill's purpose was to bolster "international commerce security in the region" and "fighting terrorism and piracy," said senior armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Aboldazl Shekarchi.
◢ About three-quarters of Iranians surveyed in a government-backed poll said they supported the rights of protesters to take to the streets in last month’s countrywide demonstrations. The Iranian Students’ Polling Agency also found that 62% of respondents saw “dialogue with protesters” as the government’s best means of addressing popular discontent.
◢ Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday discussed events in Iran and North Korea with US President Donald Trump in a lengthy phone call, the Kyodo news agency reported. The phone conversation, which Abe told reporters took place at Trump's request, came on the same day that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrapped up his two-day visit to Japan.
◢ An Iranian driver who was stranded after his lorry broke down in Poland received a helping hand from locals who launched a crowd-funding initiative for a new truck to take him home. By Friday morning, the appeal on the website zrzutka.pl had drawn more nearly USD 65,000 in donations for Fardin Kazemi.
◢ President Hassan Rouhani became the first Iranian head of state to visit Japan for two decades on Friday, as Tokyo seeks to mediate between Tehran and Washington amid spiraling nuclear tensions. The two men inspected a guard of honor at Abe's central Tokyo office before summit talks and a dinner scheduled to last into Friday evening.
◢ The president of sanctions-hit Iran called Thursday for Muslim countries to cooperate in fighting US "economic terrorism" at the opening of a summit aimed at tackling the Islamic world's woes. The Muslim world needs to be saved "from the domination of the United States dollar, and the American financial regime", he added, calling for greater financial cooperation between Islamic countries.
◢ The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday called on the US—which hosts the organization's headquarters—to lift restrictions on Iranian diplomats. The UN resolution, proposed by Cyprus on behalf of Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica and Ivory Coast, was approved by consensus without being put to a vote.
◢ An Indonesian man and three businesses from that nation have been charged with plotting to send goods and technology to Iran in violation of American economic sanctions. Sunarko Kuntjoro, who remains at large in Indonesia, and the three companies face an eight-count indictment in Washington.
◢ The Trump administration plans to strengthen enforcement of Iran sanctions now that it’s driven oil exports down to unprecedented lows, with a plan to increase pressure on global shippers, Chinese state-owned enterprises and exporters of raw materials used in metal production.
◢ Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is finalizing with Japan a visit to Tokyo, officials in Tehran said Monday, in what will be the first such trip in two decades. The trip would likely take place around December 20, after Rouhani visits Malaysia for a Muslim leaders summit in Kuala Lumpur, Japanese and Iranian media reported.
◢ Those who backed Iranian President Rouhani when Iran negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, including the influential 62-year-old Larijani, stand fatally weakened as the accord crumbles under President Donald Trump’s economic offensive and Tehran’s tit-for-tat reprisals. With elections looming, the consequences for Iran and regional security are substantial.
◢ US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday he hoped for further dialogue with Iran to free prisoners but announced new sanctions as he vowed no let-up in pressure. In the latest measures, the Treasury Department slapped sanctions new sanctions on shipping line IRISL and airline Mahan.
◢ Iran said Monday it was open to more prisoner swaps with the US while stressing an exchange at the weekend was not the result of formal negotiations with the Trump administration. "This was only an exchange and... regarding exchanges we are ready to act but there are no negotiations," spokesman Ali Rabiei said on state television.
◢ Iran's President Rouhani announced Sunday what he called a "budget of resistance" to counter crippling US sanctions, weeks after a fuel price hike sparked nationwide protests that turned deadly. Rouhani said the aim was to reduce "hardships" as the Islamic Republic has suffered a sharp economic downturn.
