Iran threatens European powers with further withdrawal from nuclear deal

President Emmanuel Macron, invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend G7 talks last month. (Reuters/File photo)
Updated 03 September 2019
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Iran threatens European powers with further withdrawal from nuclear deal

  • Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says deal is still very fragile
  • President Emmanuel Macron, invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend G7 talks last month

PARIS: Iran's foreign minister said on Tuesday Tehran would further cut its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal unless European states acted to salvage the pact by Thursday, but that this did not mean the "end of talks", Iranian news agencies reported.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said President Hassan Rouhani would soon announce details of the cuts, according to the semi-official news ISNA. "Implementation of this step does not mean the end of talks," he added.
France has proposed offering Iran about $15 billion in credit lines until year-end if Tehran comes fully back into compliance with the deal, a move that hinges on Washington not blocking it, Western and Iranian sources said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday that several issues were still hindering the French-led bid to save the deal.
“There is still lots to work out, it’s still very fragile,” Le Drian told journalists in Paris regarding the talks between Tehran and three European countries — France, Britain and Germany — to keep the nuclear deal alive after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord last year.
Trump later re-imposed harsh sanctions that have pummelled the Iranian economy, hoping a strategy of “maximum pressure” would force Tehran to accept a stricter accord to curtail its nuclear ambitions.
But Trump surprised many at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, last month by saying he would be prepared to meet his Iranian counterpart.
That came after the summit host, President Emmanuel Macron, invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend the talks, though he did not meet with Trump directly.
“The president sensed that President Trump was open to softening the strategy of maximum pressure, to find a path that could allow a deal to be reached,” Le Drian said.
He said talks were now focused on a possible guaranteed credit line for Tehran in exchange for oil, in exchange for Iran promising to adhere to the terms of the 2015 deal.
Tehran would also have to commit to easing geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region, and participate in Middle East talks on improving regional security, Le Drian said.
“That all supposes of course that President Trump allows waivers on some points” of the new US sanctions on Iran, he added.
Earlier Tuesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani ruled out holding any bilateral talks with the United States, and warned that Iran would stop complying with other elements of the 2015 accord if the talks with European nations yield no results by Thursday.


Syrian army deploys in Deir Ezzor province after Kurdish withdrawal

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Syrian army deploys in Deir Ezzor province after Kurdish withdrawal

  • Syria’s army on Monday deployed its forces in parts of the eastern Deir Ezzor province formerly controlled by Kurdish forces following their withdrawal from the area
DEIR EZZOR: Syria’s army on Monday deployed its forces in parts of the eastern Deir Ezzor province formerly controlled by Kurdish forces following their withdrawal from the area.
After two days of rapid gains in Kurdish-controlled territory, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced on Sunday a deal with their leader Mazloum Abdi that includes a ceasefire and the integration of the Kurdish administration and forces into the central state.
The government push captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against the Daesh group.
In Deir Ezzor, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of military vehicles heading to the east of the Euphrates river, which once separated Damascus-controlled areas to the west from the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to the east.
Lines of cars, trucks and motorcycles formed in front of a small bridge leading to the eastern bank.
Some people were also heading there on foot.
“Our joy over liberation is indescribable,” Mohammed Khalil, a 50-year-old driver in Deir Ezzor, told AFP.
“We hope things will be better than before. There was... no freedom under the SDF.”
Safia Keddo, a 49-year-old teacher, told AFP “the past few years, but today we must turn the page.”
“We want children to return to school without fear, and for electricity, water, and bread to be restored. We’re not asking for a miracle; we just want stability and a normal life.”
The Syrian army said in a statement that it “started the deployment” into the eastern Jazira region “to secure it under the agreement between the Syrian state and the SDF.”
The agreement calls for the immediate handover of the provinces of the Arab-majority Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces.
The SDF had announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields.
Local fighters from tribes in the Arab-majority province sided with Damascus and took control of these areas before the arrival of government forces.
Some Arab tribes were previously allied with the SDF, which included a significant Arab component in its ranks.
The SDF had taken control of part of Deir Ezzor after defeating the Daesh group with the support of an international coalition led by the United States.