Russia Says Biden Must Lift Sanctions to Save Iran Nuclear Deal

By Jonathan Brown

Russia said Tuesday it was up to Washington to take the first steps if US President Joe Biden wants to salvage the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Washington to lift sanctions on Tehran and save the historic agreement during his first talks with his Iranian counterpart since Biden's election victory raised hopes for the fate of the deal.

Lavrov said that Russia and Iran "share the same position" on the preservation of the 2015 accord, urging the United States to lift sanctions as a condition for Iran's return to compliance

"This in turn will provide the preconditions for the implementation of all requirements of the nuclear deal by the Islamic Republic of Iran," he told journalists.

The talks in Moscow came days after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the United States to make the "fundamental choice" to end its sanctions regime and reverse the "failed policies" of the previous White House administration, which took a hawkish position on Tehran.

He cautioned that any efforts by Washington to extract additional concessions would ultimately end in failure.

"Iran wants the nuclear deal it made," Zarif wrote in an op-ed in the US foreign policy magazine Foreign Affairs last week.

He reiterated Iran's position while in the Russian capital Tuesday, saying that if Washington cancels its penalties on Tehran, then Iran will not restrict the work of inspectors and return to its obligations under the accord.

"We will resume their complete implementation," Zarif said. The agreement was largely left in tatters after former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and ordered officials to reimpose tough penalties against Tehran as part of his administration's "maximum pressure" policy. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal was agreed between Iran, the United States, China, Russian, Britain, France and Germany in 2015.

'Businesslike and Pragmatic'

The deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb. Iran maintains it has only pursued a civilian nuclear energy programme.

Immediately following the talks in Moscow, the French presidency on Tuesday said Iran must comply with the accord in order to see a US return, in direct contradiction to Russia's stance.

"If they are serious about negotiations and want to obtain a new commitmentfrom all participants in the JCPOA, first they must refrain from further provocations and second they must respect what they are no longer respecting" in terms of commitments, an official said on condition of anonymity.

Later Tuesday, Zarif tweeted: "It was the US that broke the deal—for no reason. It must remedy its wrong; then Iran will respond." A new wave of US sanctions has hit hard Iran's vital oil sector and its international banking ties, plunging the economy into a recession. Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said at a Senate confirmation hearing this month that Trump's policies had made Iran "more dangerous.”

While Blinken confirmed Biden's desire for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement, both the United States and Iran have said the other must return to full compliance before the accord is implemented again.

Since the US exit, Russia and European signatories had advocated efforts to save the accord and cautioned Iran against bolstering its nuclear enrichment. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in December called on Iran to take "maximum responsibility" after Tehran announced plans to install advanced centrifuges in the country's main nuclear enrichment plant.

The ministry earlier this month blamed Iran's departure from the nuclear deal on "systematic crude violations" by the United States. Moscow appears cautiously optimistic over the fate of the deal under the new White House administration after its arms negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov described Washington's position as "businesslike and pragmatic.”

But time is running out for signatories to restore the nuclear deal and bring all parties back on track.

Legislation passed by Iran's parliament in December requires Tehran to boost uranium enrichment and limit UN inspections if sanctions are not removed by February.

Photo: IRNA

US Grants Iraq New 60-day Waiver To Import Iranian Gas

The US has granted Iraq a 60-day extension to a sanctions waiver allowing it to import Iranian gas for its crippled power grids, an Iraqi official told AFP on Wednesday.

Baghdad relies on gas and electricity imports from its neighbour Tehran to supply about a third of its electricity sector, worn down by years of conflict and poor maintenance.

The US blacklisted Iran's energy industry in late 2018 but has since granted its ally Baghdad a series of temporary waivers to stave off country-wide blackouts.

In May, Washington granted Iraq a four-month extension as a gesture of good will towards Mustafa al-Kadhemi, who had just formed a cabinet seen as more US-friendly than its predecessor.

The US has pressured Iraq to use the waivers to become independent from Iranian energy, specifically by partnering with American firms, and had been frustrated by the slow progress under the previous premier Adel Abdel Mahdi.

While Kadhemi's cabinet has sought to fast-track such deals, it has been unable stem the near-daily rocket and IED attacks on Western military and diplomatic interests.

On his trip to Washington in August, Kadhemi scored agreements with various US firms for energy development across Iraq, including Chevron, Baker Hughes, Exxon and General Electric.

As OPEC's second-biggest producer, Iraq relies on crude exports to fund more than 90 percent of its state budget, but this year's price collapse has seriously undermined the government's fiscal position.

Photo: IRNA

Plane Carrying Iran Scientist Jailed in US Has Taken Off: Zarif

Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that a plane had taken off from the United States carrying scientist Sirous Asgari after his apparent release from a US prison.

"Good news, a plane carrying Dr. Sirous Asgari has taken off from America. Congratulations to his wife and family," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a post on his Instagram account.

Asgari was accused by a US court in 2016 of stealing trade secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio, but the 59-year-old scientist from Tehran's Sharif University of Technology was acquitted in November.

The academic told British newspaper The Guardian in March that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was keeping him in a detention centre in Louisiana without basic sanitation and refusing to let him return to Iran despite his exoneration.

The US agency database still listed Asgari as being detained in the state of Mississippi.

The State Department did not immediately respond to AFP's request to comment on his apparent release.

On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi had said Asgari's case was closed and that he was likely to return to the Islamic republic within two or three days.

Both Iran and the United States hold a number of each other's nationals and they have recently called for them to be released amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iran is battling what is the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the virus, while the US has reported the highest total number of deaths worldwide from the disease.

Iran is holding at least five Americans and the US has 19 Iranians in detention, according to a list compiled by AFP based on official statements and media reports.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated in 2018, after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.

The two have at times swapped prisoners despite having no formal diplomatic relations.

In December, Iran freed Xiyue Wang, a US academic, in exchange for scientist Massoud Soleimani and said it was open to further swaps.

Americans and dual nationals currently known to be held by Iran include US Navy veteran Michael R. White, Siamak Namazi along with his father Baquer, Morad Tahbaz, Gholam Reza Shahini, and Karan Vafadari.

Asgari is one of the 19 held by the US, most of them dual nationals and charged with evading sanctions by either exporting goods to Iran or using the US financial system.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says Scientist Jailed in US to Return in Days

By Amir Havasi

Tehran said Monday that scientist Sirous Asgari, one of more than a dozen Iranians behind bars in the United States, is set to return to Iran within days.

Asgari was accused by a US court in 2016 of stealing trade secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio.

But the 59-year-old scientist from Tehran's Sharif University of Technology was acquitted in November.

The academic told British newspaper The Guardian in March that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was keeping him in a detention centre in Louisiana without basic sanitation and refusing to let him return to Iran despite his exoneration.

"Dr. Sirous Asgari's case has been closed in America and he will probably return to the country in the next two or three days," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi.

"That is, if no issues or obstacles come up," he said, quoted by semi-official news agency ISNA.

Iran's foreign ministry said last month that Asgari had contracted the novel coronavirus while in US custody.

If he returns to Iran, the scientist would become one of the few detainees held by either side not to have been released in a prisoner exchange.

Both Iran and the United States hold a number of each other's nationals and they have recently called for them to be released amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iran is battling what is the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the virus, while the US has reported the highest total number of deaths worldwide from the disease.

Prisoner Swaps

Iran is holding at least five Americans and the US has 19 Iranians in detention, according to a list compiled by AFP based on official statements and media reports.

Tensions between the two arch enemies escalated in 2018, after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran's economy.

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said last month that Tehran had offered "some time ago" to exchange all Iranian and US prisoners but was waiting for a response from the US.

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of US homeland security, responded mockingly by saying Iran should "send a charter plane over" and return its nationals.

Mousavi hit back on Twitter by saying the world "is watching your action, not your word.”

The Islamic republic in December freed Xiyue Wang, a US academic, in exchange for scientist Massoud Soleimani and said it was open to further swaps.

It has also said it has released more than 100,000 inmates, including 1,000 foreigners, to ease the pressure on Iran's prison system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans and dual nationals currently known to be held by Iran include US Navy veteran Michael R. White, Siamak Namazi along with his father Baquer, Morad Tahbaz, Gholam Reza Shahini, and Karan Vafadari.

Asgari is one of the 19 held by the US, most of them dual nationals and charged with evading sanctions by either exporting goods to Iran or using the US financial system.

Long-time foes Iran and the United States have appeared to come to the brink of a direct conflict twice in the past year.

The most recent case was in January when Iran fired a barrage of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general.

Trump refrained from taking any military action in response, however.

Iran on Monday also vowed to keep sending shipments of fuel to Venezuela in defiance of US threats.

The US has imposed unilateral sanctions aimed at ending oil exports by both Iran and Venezuela, both major crude producers.

"If Venezuela demands new shipments, we will export more to this country and any other who requires our shipments," Mousavi said.

It comes days after Iranian tankers carrying much-needed petrol arrived in Venezuela.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says Delegation to Visit France as Talks Progress

Iran is sending a delegation to France next week after progress was made in talks to defuse tensions since the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal, a senior official said Wednesday.

Tehran and Washington have been locked in a bitter standoff since last year when US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its atomic program.

At the height of the crisis in June, Iran shot down a US drone in the Gulf and Trump approved a retaliatory strike against the Islamic republic before canceling it at the last minute.

“A delegation is going to France next week and they will negotiate... issues," said Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

"These negotiations have made relatively good progress since last week," Vaezi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The newly announced visit comes after Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to France on Sunday for the second time in a matter of days

Zarif held meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz after which Trump said he was open to meeting his Iranian counterpart.

Rouhani has since played down the prospect of meeting Trump, however, saying the Americans would have to take the first step and lift all sanctions against Iran.

In response to the US withdrawal and its imposition of crippling sanctions, Iran has hit back by abandoning commitments under the nuclear deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

French President Emmanuel Macron has been leading efforts to ease the situation, urging the United States to allow Iran to sell oil to China or India or give it access to a new line of credit

Vaezi refused to reveal details on any package in his remarks on Wednesday.

"Until the issue is finalised, no details will be announced," he said, according to IRNA.

"What we have been doing with France... is restoring Iran's rights under the JCPOA and lifting unjust sanctions," he added.

Photo; IRNA

UK Mulls Options as Iran Says Ship's Fate Depends on Probe

By Amir Havasi

Iran warned Sunday that the fate of a UK-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf depends on an investigation, as Britain said it was considering options in response to the standoff.

Authorities impounded the Stena Impero with 23 crew members aboard off the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz.

Video footage released by the Guards showed a ship with the oil tanker's markings being surrounded by speedboats, before troops in balaclavas descend a rope from a helicopter onto the vessel.

In an audio recording of a radio exchange, an Iranian officer can be heard telling the tanker to change course.

"You are ordered: change your course to three six zero... immediately. If you obey, you will be safe," he said.

The British frigate HMS Montrose intervenes to inform the Stena its "passage must not be impaired, impeded, obstructed or hampered" under international law.

The Iranians then tell the British warship: "Foxtrot 236 this is Sepah navy patrol boat. No challenge is intended... I want to inspect the ship for security reason."

The authenticity of the recording, obtained and released by London-based maritime security risk analysts Dryad Global, was confirmed by the UK defence ministry.

London has warned its ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a third of the world's sea-borne oil.

On Sunday evening, Iran's English-language Press TV broadcast live footage from the deck of the seized ship, flying an Iranian flag.

"IRGC forces manage to lead tanker to Iran shores despite UK warship's interference," said a news ticker on the channel.

Iran Urges Crew's 'Cooperation'

Iran opened the probe after detaining the ship on allegations it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.

Its crew is made up of 18 Indians, including the captain, three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino.

"All of them are in full health... anchored in a safe place," said Allah-Morad Afifipoor, director-general of the Hormozgan province port and maritime authority.

"The investigation depends on the cooperation by the crew members on the vessel," he told Press TV.

The ship's owner said it was in "international waters" when it was "attacked by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter".

Stena Bulk's chief Erik Hanell said Sunday the firm had formally asked Iranian authorities for permission to visit the vessel's crew, and was waiting for a response.

Tehran has been at loggerheads with Washington since May 2018, when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark 2015 deal putting curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tensions in the Gulf have escalated since May this year, when the US boosted its military presence in the region in response to "indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces".

The US administration reimposed tough sanctions on Iran, which retaliated by increasing its enrichment of uranium beyond limits set in the nuclear accord.

Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute in June after the Islamic republic downed a US drone, one of a string of incidents including attacks on tankers in the Gulf.

'Tit-for-Tat'

Britain summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on Saturday and urged his country to de-escalate tensions and release the tanker.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the seizure showed "worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour".

Hunt called it a "tit-for-tat" situation, which flared hours after a Gibraltar court extended by 30 days the detention of an Iranian tanker seized two weeks ago on allegations of breaching UN sanctions against Syria.

On Sunday junior defence minister Tobias Ellwood told Sky News that Britain was "going to be looking at a series of options", without giving further details.

Hunt has said parliament will be updated on Monday about what further measures the British government would take.

Iran has remained defiant.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Trump's national security adviser John Bolton "is turning his venom against the UK in hopes of dragging it into a quagmire".

Nearby Oman, which maintains strong ties with Iran, joined calls for the release of the Stena Impero and urged London and Tehran to resolve the dispute.

Separately, Iran said one of its tankers held in its regional rival Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs in the kingdom is returning home.

The Happiness 1 "has been released following negotiations and is now moving toward Persian Gulf waters," said transport minister Mohammad Eslami, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Photo: FleetMon

UN Concerned at US Limits on Iran FM's Access

The United Nations voiced concern Monday after the United States imposed unusually harsh restrictions on the movements of Iran's foreign minister, who was visiting the world body and also speaking on the soaring tensions between the countries.

Weeks after the United States threatened sanctions against Zarif, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington issued him a visa but forbade him from moving beyond six blocks of Iran's UN mission in Midtown Manhattan.

"US diplomats don't roam around Tehran, so we don't see any reason for Iranian diplomats to roam freely around New York City, either," Pompeo told The Washington Post.

"Foreign Minister Zarif, he uses the freedoms of the United States to come here and spread malign propaganda," he said.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the UN Secretariat was in contact with the US and Iranian missions about Zarif's travel restrictions and "has conveyed its concerns to the host country."

The United States, as host of the United Nations, has an agreement to issue visas promptly to foreign diplomats on UN business and only rarely declines.

Washington generally bars diplomats of hostile nations from traveling outside a 40-kilometer (25-mile) radius of New York's Columbus Circle.

Zarif is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the UN Economic and Social Council, which is holding a high-level meeting on sustainable development.

Even from the confines of the mission, Zarif—a US-educated academic who speaks fluent English sprinkled with self-effacing humor—sought to take his message to the media, as is his wont on UN trips.

The Iranian mission tweeted photos of Zarif speaking to NBC News as well as the BBC.

Despite the restrictions, the decision to admit Zarif is the latest sign that President Donald Trump's administration appears to be retreating from its vow to place sanctions on Zarif as part of its "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on June 24 that sanctions against Zarif would come later that week.

Critics questioned the legal rationale for targeting Zarif and noted that sanctions would all but end the possibility of dialogue—which Trump has said is his goal.

Zarif said in an interview with The New York Times he would not be affected by sanctions as he owns no assets outside of Iran.

Trump last year left a denuclearization accord negotiated by Zarif with six nations including the United States under former president Barack Obama and instead imposed crippling sanctions on Tehran's economy, vowing to curb Tehran's regional role.

With tensions escalating, Trump ordered military strikes on Iran last month after it shot down a US spy drone, although he canceled the operation at the 11th hour, saying it would be disproportionate.

No US diplomats are based in Iran as the two countries broke off relations in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Western-oriented shah.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Breaches Limit on Enriched Uranium Under Nuclear Accord

By Nour Al Ali and Ladane Nasseri

Iran said it had exceeded limits set on its enriched-uranium stockpile, a move that risks the collapse of the 2015 nuclear accord and raises concerns that a standoff with the U.S. could lead to military action.

“As I was informed, Iran has crossed the 300-kilogram cap according to plan,” the Iranian Students’ News Agency cited Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying. “We have clearly expressed what we are doing and will act upon it,” he said, saying the step was in line with Iran’s rights under the agreement after it was abrogated by the U.S.

The breach is likely to heighten tensions in the Persian Gulf that have spiked since the Trump administration exited the nuclear accord a year ago and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, prompting a warning that Tehran will ditch elements of the deal unless it’s given an economic lifeline by July 7. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil shipments from the Middle East, and the Iranian downing of an American drone have raised concerns of another war in the region.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said earlier on Monday that if European nations working to salvage the nuclear deal “take more concrete steps, Iran’s action in cutting back on its commitments can be rolled back,” according ISNA.

The move was “carefully calibrated” by authorities and “isn’t in itself dangerous because it can be reversed,” said Sanam Vakil, senior research fellow at Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Program. “It’s the action and reaction and what comes next—it’s a step in what can be a slippery slope.”

International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman Fredrik Dahl confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of low-grade enriched uranium exceeded 300 kilograms (661 pounds).

Iran was expected to breach the cap on Thursday, though it had appeared to back off from its warning following efforts led by European nations to preserve the accord. Seven more European countries agreed on Friday to support the U.K., Germany and France in rolling out a trade mechanism, known as Instex, that aims to protect trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions. Diplomats said the first transactions using the vehicle had been processed.

European powers opposed President Donald Trump’s decision last year to quit the multinational accord intended to curb Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for easing sanctions. But they have been so far unsuccessful developing effective ways to maintain economic relations that avoid the U.S. banking system and the sanctions that Trump reimposed.

At the same time, they had called for Iran to continue adhering to the accord, knowing that any violation would put European leaders in a difficult position with regard to U.S. officials.

Tehran “has been escalatory in pushing Europe to challenge the Trump administration” and European nations are “struggling to find a band aid” to keep the agreement alive, Vakil said.

The spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said the cap announcement was “extremely concerning” but the U.K. was working to keep the deal in place. Still, Britain’s commitment to the accord “relies on Iran complying with the full terms of the deal,” James Slack told reporters.

The nuclear deal was designed to prevent Iran from breaking out and constructing a weapon within a year, as the U.S. and its allies feared. The Arms Control Association, a Washington nonprofit, estimates Iran would need about 1,050 kilograms (2,315 pounds) of uranium enriched to 3.67% to build one bomb. The material would then need to undergo further enrichment.

Trump says he wants to negotiate a better deal that would also restrict Iran’s missile program and support for armed proxies around the region. But Iran says it can’t negotiate by force and while its economy and—more recently—its leaders are targeted by the U.S.

Russia said on Monday that Iran’s move to breach the limit on enriched uranium wasn’t a surprise, blaming the U.S.’s policy of maximum pressure.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Iran is confronting “unprecedented and unthinkable” U.S. efforts to throttle its economy, state news service RIA Novosti reported. At the same time, the leading Russian diplomat urged Iran to show restraint, voicing alarm at signals from Tehran it might pull out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says European Plan to Bypass US Sanctions Falls Short

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.

The EU said Friday after a crisis meeting aimed at salvaging a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that the INSTEX payment mechanism was finally "operational" and that the first transactions were being processed.

"Although it does not meet the demands of the Islamic republic, (or) Europeans' obligations... it has a strategic value (in showing) that the closest allies of the United States are distancing themselves from America in their economic relations," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

"This will certainly have long-term effects," he added, during a speech broadcast on state television.

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.

It is seen as key to EU efforts to preserve the deal but its promise of easing the bite of US sanctions, which have cut Iran off from the international financial system and decimated its oil exports, has been slow to materialize.

In response to the US measures, Tehran announced in May it would abandon some of the limits on its nuclear activities imposed under the deal, threatening to give up two others by July 7 if the other signatories to the accord do not help it break the US embargo.

INSTEX was designed to only support transactions in the pharmaceutical, medical and agricultural-food sectors.

Photo: IRNA