News Story: Iran tests new medium-range missile, defying US warnings

By Eric RANDOLPH

Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal.

State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday.

It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of the missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) and can carry multiple warheads.

"As long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country's defence capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said in a staement.

The test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where US President Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a "rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos".

Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

Related Story:

• Iran's Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US warnings

News Report: 'Rocket Man's' Revenge - N Korean FM Slams Trump's Threat as 'Dog Barking'

Pyongyang’s response to Donald Trump’s threat “to totally destroy North Korea” did not take long, with Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho pouring scorn on the US President.

“There is a saying that goes: ‘Even when dogs bark, the parade goes on. If [Trump] was thinking about surprising us with dog-barking sounds then he is clearly dreaming,” Ri told reporters gathered outside his hotel near the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In Korean, a “dog dream” is something absurd and makes little sense, according to Yonhap.

When asked by reporters what he thought of Trump calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man,” he said he feels sorry for Trump’s aides.

On Tuesday, President Trump vowed to "totally destroy North Korea" if it dared to attack the United States or its allies.

"Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime," Trump said, referring to the North Korean leader.

During his visit Ri Yong-ho is expected to meet with US diplomats, but chances of any serious discussions amid the heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington are highly unlikely.

News Report: Trump Says He's Decided Whether US Should Stay in Iran Nuclear Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he has made a decision on whether to pull the United States out of the 2015 international pact curbing Iran's nuclear weapons development.

Trump declined to say what his decision is, but the U.S. rift with Iran took center stage at the United Nations General Assembly, a day after he denounced Tehran as "an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in his speech Wednesday, told the annual gathering of world leaders at the 193-nation organization that Tehran does not tolerate threats from anyone and was unmoved by Trump's complaints. Rouhani called them "ugly, ignorant words."

In an apparent reference to the U.S. leader, Rouhani said "destruction" of the nuclear deal "by 'rogue' newcomers to the world of politics will never impede Iran’s course of progress and advancement.

News Report: Critics of Iran Nuclear Deal Debate the Way Forward

Daniel Schearf

NEW YORK — During his speech Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump made his disdain for the nuclear agreement with Iran absolutely clear.

"The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into," Trump said. "Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don't think you've heard the last of it, believe me."

On the sidelines of the UNGA, some prominent critics of the Iran nuclear deal endorsed his position Tuesday, debating how best to move forward to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, while underscoring concerns about Tehran's links with North Korea.

Participants in the United Against Nuclear Iran conference (UANI) agreed they see flaws in the 2015 deal, which offered incentives to Iran in return for guarantees that it would not develop nuclear weapons. But speakers disagreed on whether the United States should attempt to renegotiate and expand the deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama, or scrap it altogether.

News Report: UN Chief - Millions Live Under Shadow of DPRK Nuclear Threat

Margaret Besheer

UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened his first General Assembly gathering Tuesday, warning that North Korea's nuclear ambitions are the world's most serious challenge.

"Today proliferation is creating unimaginable danger, and disarmament is paralyzed," Guterres said in New York.

"Millions of people live under a shadow of dread cast by the provocative nuclear and missile tests of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the secretary-general said, referring to North Korea by its formal name. "I condemn those tests unequivocally."

Guterres commended the unity of the U.N. Security Council in its recent tightening and imposing of economic sanctions on Pyongyang, saying the move sends "a clear message" to the leadership there.

"Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings," he warned. "The solution must be political — this is a time for statesmanship — we must not sleepwalk our way into war."

News Report: Khamenei - Iran Won't Respond to US 'Bullying' Over Nuclear Deal

Iran will not be subject to "bullying" by the United States in regards to a 2015 nuclear deal that president Trump has threatened to scrap, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday.

"The Iranian nation is standing firm and any wrong move by the domineering regime regarding the [nuclear accord] will face the reaction of the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said in an address to police officers.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani left Sunday for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to speak with world leaders on the 2015 nuclear agreement which eased international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear program.

Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take unspecified action against Iran next month, expressing continued dissatisfaction with the agreement.

"We are not going to stand for what they are doing to this country," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "They have violated so many different elements, but they've also violated the spirit of that deal. And you will see what we will be doing in October. It will be very evident."

He said, "It is a deal that should have never, ever been made."

The United States on Thursday also extended some sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal. But no decision has been made on whether to preserve the deal itself.

This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: UN nuclear watchdog defends Iran deal

The UN atomic watchdog hit back Monday at US criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, insisting its inspections there are the world's toughest and that Tehran is sticking to the accord.

"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under (the 2015 accord) are being implemented," International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano told reporters.

"The verification regime in Iran is the most robust regime which is currently existing. We have increased the inspection days in Iran, we have increased inspector numbers... and the number of images has increased," he said in Vienna.

"From a verification point of view, it is a clear and significant gain."

US President Donald Trump has called the agreement between Iran and six major powers reducing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief "the worst deal ever negotiated".

Trump has to certify in mid-October whether he believes Iran is abiding by the nuclear deal and that sticking to it is vital to US national security interests.

If, as seems increasingly likely, Trump decides not to give the green light, Congress will then have 60 days to debate whether to re-impose sanctions on Iran.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: New sanction deal reached in US congress

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. President Donald Trump is facing an impending showdown as the House of Representatives and Senate on Wednesday reached a deal on sanctions against Russia, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"I am glad to announce that we have reached an agreement that will allow us to send sanctions legislation to the president's desk," said Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman.

The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House two days ago, which will slap tougher sanctions on the three countries, followed by a day of tweaking and barbs within the Congress.

Congress voted 419-3 to pass the bill, achieving an overwhelming two-thirds majority, which means that the House could override a presidential veto.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Trump May Have Limited Options Dealing with North Korean Nuke Program

Brian Padden

SEOUL — Bomb. Acquiesce. Or negotiate. These are probably the only options available to prevent North Korea from developing a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM.) And the only option that has any reasonable chance of success is to pursue a deal similar to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord that was called “the worst deal ever” by U.S. President Donald Trump.

These are some of the insights and recommendations made by non-proliferation expert Robert Litwak during a recent talk he gave at an East Asia Foundation Seminar in Seoul about his book entitled Preventing North Korea’s Nuclear Breakout. Litwak is director of international security studies with the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars and served as director for non-proliferation under former President Bill Clinton.

The U.S. can no longer wait for the repressive North Korean state to collapse under the weight of international sanctions, Litwak argued, but instead must make a realistic deal that would allow Pyongyang to maintain its current nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal in exchange for suspending further tests and development.

“The narrative would be that the United States is not accepting North Korea as a nuclear weapons state but rather this was an interim step, freezing capabilities towards the long-term objective of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

News Story: Trump says Iran and IS are major "threats" to Middle East

JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Speaking in an address to the press in Jerusalem on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran is a "threat" to the region and must stop training "terror group."

In statements following a working meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Trump noted Iran and the Islamic State (IS) as the major threats to the Middle East.

He called on to strengthen the longtime partnership between Israel and the United States to struggle Iran and the IS.

"This moment in history calls for us to strengthen our cooperation as both Israel and America face threats like IS and other terror groups and countries like Iran, which sponsors terror and foments violence not only here but all over the world," he said.

He staged a firm stance, saying the U.S. and Israel should unanimously declare that "Iran can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, not ever, ever, and must cease its training and funding of terror groups and militias, and must cease immediately."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Iran vote - US maintains nuclear deal sanctions relief

By Dave Clark

The United States passed up a chance to reimpose sanctions on Tehran's nuclear program Wednesday, deciding to stand by an international accord two days before Iran goes to the polls.

President Donald Trump has demanded a review of the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, raising concern that Washington might unilaterally pull out of an accord backed by six key world powers.

But on Wednesday the State Department renewed its waiver on the nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic republic that it had suspended in exchange for Iran submitting to strict controls.

Washington nevertheless maintained a stern tone, imposing new measures to punish Iranian defense officials and a Chinese business tied to Tehran's banned missile program.

And US officials vowed to maintain pressure on Iran over human rights abuses and renewed their demand that Tehran release US citizens held in its notorious jails.

The decision not to renew sanctions came just two days before Iran votes and may prove a boost for President Hassan Rouhani, who approved the nuclear deal and is seeking re-election.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Solving Korean Nuclear Problem by Analogy With Iran Impossible - Moscow

An official from the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it is impossible to resolve the issue of the North Korean nuclear program in the same way the Iranian nuclear problem was settled.

VIENNA (Sputnik) — It is possible to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula using political and diplomatic means, but not by an analogy with the solution of the Iranian nuclear problem, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for arms control, Mikhail Ulyanov, told Sputnik on Friday.

"The Iranian example showed that there is a real possibility to resolve even the most difficult issues through political and diplomatic means, if there is, firstly, a political will, and secondly, enough creativity for that," Ulyanov said.

Ulyanov noted that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was significantly different from the one around Iran's nuclear program, so it is impossible to fully copy the resolution process.

News Story: Mattis in Israel insists Iran nuke deal 'still stands'

US Defense Secretary James Mattis

By: Barbara Opall-Rome

US defense secretary claims Syria 'dispersed' aircraft after Tomahawk airstrike 

TEL AVIV, Israel — In the first visit to Israel by a member of U.S. President Donald Trump's Cabinet, Defense Secretary James Mattis said the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran “still stands” and that Iran, as recently certified by the State Department, “appears to be living up to their part” of the deal.

Nevertheless, Mattis said all of that “in no way mitigates against or excuses” other problematic activities by Tehran, including its support for terror; its proxy wars throughout the region; and its unabated actions to keep Syrian President Bashar Assad in power.

In a joint news conference Friday at the Israeli Defense Ministry, Mattis reiterated that the U.S. is a signatory to a deal that “continues to be in force” and that all other issues, including Iranian-generated “mayhem, chaos and murder” in the region are issues that are separate and distinct from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Mattis’ remarks came just moments after his host, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, called for “more pressure and more sanctions” on the Iranian regime — something that Tehran and other world capitals warn would cast the U.S. as a violator of the international accord.  

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Trump says Iran "not living up to the spirit" of 2015 nuclear deal

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Despite his administration's certification of Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Iran of "not living up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal.

"They (Iranians) are doing a tremendous disservice to an agreement that was signed. It was a terrible agreement. It shouldn't have been signed," said Trump here at a joint press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

When asked by a reporter whether the White House had any reasons to suspect that Iran was cheating on the nuclear deal, Trump appeared to ignore the question, answering only that his administration was analyzing the 2015 nuclear deal.

"We'll have something to say about it in the not-too-distant future," said Trump. He did not elaborate.

Read the full story at Xinhua

---

PacificSentinel: As a "business man" I wonder how many times Trump has ignored the "spirit" of a deal & stuck with the LETTER of the deal in order to make a few extra bucks, in Treaty making the letter of the deal is far more important, if it's not spelled out in black & white it doesn't exist. I'm not taking sides, just stating the facts, something Trump seems to have trouble doing.

News Story: U.S. says Iran complying with 2015 nuclear deal

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that Iran was complying with a 2015 nuclear deal.

In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Tillerson certified that Iran was compliant through April 18 with its commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

It was the first certification of Iran's compliance issued by the Trump administration. Like his predecessor John Kerry, Tillerson is required to send the certification every 90 days.

However, calling Iran "a leading state sponsor of terror," Tillerson informed Congress that the Trump administration had directed a full review of the 2015 nuclear deal to evaluate whether continued sanctions relief was in the U.S. national security interests.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Russia Awaits US, S Korea, Japan's Participation in Talks on N Korea - Lawmaker

Russia expects the United States, South Korea and Japan to actively engage in negotiation processes on North Korea rather than to respond reciprocally with provocations against Pyongyang, Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian upper house of parliament, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, media reported that North Korea had conducted yet another ballistic missile engine test Friday, the third such test in recent weeks, which could facilitate eventual development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"The experience of the Iranian nuclear program has demonstrated that it [negotiations] works, but an important prerequisite is the unity of the international community. Negotiating and simultaneously increasing military threats against the DPRK is useless: this will have the opposite effect and accelerate the development of weapons," Kosachev said.

He added that the building of further missile defense systems would not eliminate the threat posed by the North Korean missile program as Pyongyang was reportedly working on ways to overcome such shields.

"Therefore, we have the right to expect from Washington, Seoul and Tokyo an active inclusion in the negotiation process instead of the reciprocal… provocations against North Korea," Kosachev said.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Japan's Amano re-elected IAEA chief unopposed

VIENNA (Kyodo) -- Japan's Yukiya Amano was re-elected unopposed Wednesday as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Amano, appointed as IAEA chief in its Board of Governors' meeting, will stay on as director general of the IAEA for another four years from December, subject to approval by the IAEA's general assembly meeting in September.

A former Japanese diplomat, Amano will be tackling issues such as the nuclear program of North Korea that has been conducting nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. He has also been keen to strengthen the IAEA's engagement in overseeing Iran's nuclear agreement with global powers.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: Iran's S-300 air defence system operational

S-300 (Image: Wiki Commons)

Iran's advanced S-300 air defence system, delivered by Russia following a July 2015 nuclear deal after years of delay, is now operational, state television reported on Saturday.

Iran had been trying to acquire the system for years to ward off repeated threats by Israel to bomb its nuclear facilities, but Russia had held off delivery in line with UN sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme.

"The S-300 air defence system has been tested... in the presence of government and military officials," the television said.

It said that the test at a desert base had seen several targets, including a ballistic missile and a drone, intercepted.

Air defence commander General Farzad Esmaili told the television that a domestically manufactured air defence system dubbed Bavar 373 which was "more advanced than the S-300" would be tested very soon.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Iran complying with nuclear deal, says UN watchdog

By Nina LAMPARSKI

Iran is complying with the landmark nuclear deal it sealed with major world powers in 2015, according to a report from the UN watchdog seen by AFP on Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency addressed key limits set under the agreement, which is under intense scrutiny after the election of US President Donald Trump.

The report said Iran is not pursuing construction of its existing heavy water research reactor and has not enriched uranium above an agreed 3.67 percent-limit.

And Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium -- which can be used for peaceful purposes, but when further processed for a nuclear weapon -- was 101.7 kilos (225 pounds), well below the agreed level of 300 kilos.

Senior diplomats said that Tehran recently came close to reaching the limit.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Trump could get tough on Iran, but won't reimplement multi-nation sanctions - U.S. experts

By Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump may get tough on Iran after its recent missile test, but experts believe he is unlikely to reimpose the multilateral sanctions on Tehran lifted in 2015.

U.S.-Iran tensions are on the rise after the Islamic Republic's recent test-firing of a ballistic missile. Some have called the test a violation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231, and the Trump administration was irate at the news, saying it would put Iran on notice.

To add to the intensity, both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week made waves in global media, after they named the prevention of a nuclear-armed Iran as a common goal during Netanyahu's visit to the White House.

For its part, Iran insists its missile test was not a violation of the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, and has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful.

Regardless, experts said Trump is likely to get tough on Iran over the missile tests and may impose new rounds of sanctions, although efforts would fall short of the massive, coordinated, multi-nation sanctions that were lifted after Tehran signed a deal over its nuclear program.

Read the full story at Xinhua