Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits US President Donald Trump on Friday for a last-ditch European effort to prevent a transatlantic trade war and save the Iran nuclear deal. Merkel’s working trip is expected to be far more business-like than this week’s pomp-filled state visit by French …
Read More »Trump, Macron call for ‘new’ nuclear deal with Iran
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for a “new” deal with Iran Tuesday, looking beyond divisions over a landmark nuclear accord that now hangs in the balance. Trump pilloried a three-year old agreement designed to curb Iran’s nuclear program as “insane” …
Read More »Netanyahu turns up volume as Iran deadline nears
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a fresh call Monday for an overhaul of the Iran nuclear deal as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for further Iranian concessions edged closer. Trump has threatened to tear up the 2015 agreement that lifted sanctions on Iran in …
Read More »Macron on Iran nuclear deal: There is no ‘Plan B’
Washington, United States | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron, who is heading to Washington to urge his US counterpart to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that there is no “Plan B” if the accord is scrapped. “I don’t have any Plan B …
Read More »Iran threatens to ‘vigorously’ resume enrichment if US quits deal
New York, United States | AFP | Iran warned Saturday it is ready to “vigorously” resume nuclear enrichment if the United States ditches the 2015 nuclear deal, and said further “drastic measures” are being considered in response to a US exit. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in …
Read More »Iran bans foreign social media networks in schools
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s ministry of education on Sunday banned the use of foreign social media networks in schools, the ILNA news agency reported, amid a push by Tehran to limit the influence of outside online platforms. Schools must “only use domestic social networks” for their communication, the …
Read More »Iran’s Rouhani says US ‘will regret it’ if it violates nuke deal
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that the United States would regret violating the nuclear deal, and that Iran would respond in “less than a week” if that happened. “We will not be the first to violate the accord but they should definitely know that …
Read More »Rouhani angers Israel with ‘support for terrorists’ jibe
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out at Iran on Wednesday after President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of supporting “terrorists” in Syria. “Absurdity has no limits: Iran’s terrorist regime that sends tentacles of terror across the region accuses Israel of terrorism,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. “If …
Read More »Trump’s choice of Bolton and Pompeo stirs war fears
Washington, United States | AFP | By tapping conservative firebrand John Bolton as his national security chief and hardliner Mike Pompeo as his top diplomat, US President Donald Trump has dramatically raised the stakes in world affairs. Now, if Trump decides to abandon the Iran nuclear deal he has an adviser …
Read More »Public smiles, private problems as Saudi prince visits White House
Washington, United States | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s crown prince received an effusive welcome at the White House Tuesday from US President Donald Trump, who hailed a “great friendship” with the kingdom — but made no public mention of the sticking points in the burgeoning alliance. In front of the cameras, …
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