Live
Audio Only
Although Trump’s administration has also announced it is open to negotiations with Iran, the U.S. president declared on Wednesday that sanctions on Iran would soon be increased “substantially.”
Iran is ready to hold negotiation talks with the United States if Donald Trump’s administration lifts sanctions and returns to the 2015 nuclear deal it quit last year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech Sunday.
RELATED:
Leaks Reveal Trump Left Pact With Iran to Erase Obama's Legacy
“We have always believed in talks ... if they lift sanctions, end the imposed economic pressure and return to the deal, we are ready to hold talks, right now and anywhere,” the Iranian head of state stated, adding that the condition is for Iran to first be able to export as much oil as it did prior to May 2018.
Although Trump’s administration has also announced it is open to negotiations with Iran on a more far-reaching agreement on nuclear and security issues, the U.S. president declared on Wednesday that sanctions on Iran would soon be increased “substantially.”
According to diplomatic leaks from the United Kingdom mission in Washington, former U.K. Ambassador Kim Darroch warned London that the U.S. administration had committed an act of “diplomatic vandalism” by withdrawing from the nuclear pact, considering that behind such decision there were ideological and personality motivations.
Iran has long been secretly “enriching,” in total violation of the terrible 150 Billion Dollar deal made by John Kerry and the Obama Administration. Remember, that deal was to expire in a short number of years. Sanctions will soon be increased, substantially!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2019
As tensions between both nations escalate, the dispute can be traced back to Trump’s decision to pull out of the nuclear deal last year, and subsequently reimposed tough sanctions on Iran’s oil industry to strangle the country’s economy.
Measures got worse, on April 22, as Trump decided to eliminate all waivers issued to eight economies allowing them to buy Iranian oil, basically imposing third-party sanctions.
As a response, Senior Iranian officials warned Tehran would boost its uranium enrichment, beyond the permitted 3.67 percent, every 60 days unless European powers protect them from U.S. sanctions.
RELATED:
Iran's Army Flatly Rejects US Claims on Threatening UK Ships
In a tit-for-tat, the U.S. increased their threat in the region by deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, a bomber task force of B-52s, an increased amount of soldiers, and a Patriot missile defense battery in a bid to intimidate Iran. While the U.K. navy has seized an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar and has upped their presence in the Gulf of Oman.
On June, the Persian nation downed a U.S. reconnaissance RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned drone in the southern province of Hormozgan, as it violated the country's airspace.
With the risk of the nuclear deal falling apart and warmongering intensifying, European governments who were part of the 2015 deal, have stated this week their concern.
“We believe that the time has come to act responsibly and to look for ways to stop the escalation of tension and resume dialogue,” the French, German, and British governments said in a joint statement.
Newsletter
