DUBAI: Iran said on Saturday it had imposed sanctions on 61 more Americans, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for backing an Iranian dissident group, as months of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal are at an impasse.
Others blacklisted by Iran’s Foreign Ministry for voicing support for the exiled dissident group Mujahideen-e-Khalq included former President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House national security adviser John Bolton, Iranian state media reported.
Giuliani, Pompeo and Bolton have been widely reported to have taken part in MEK events and voiced support for the group.
In January Iran imposed sanctions on 51 Americans, and it blacklisted 24 more Americans in April in its latest sanctions moves.
Iran’s indirect talks with the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact began in November in Vienna and continued in Qatar in June.
But the negotiations have faced a months-long impasse.
In 2018, then-US President Trump abandoned the deal, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, spurring Tehran to breach nuclear limits in the pact.
Iran imposes sanctions on 61 Americans
https://arab.news/rkv25
Iran imposes sanctions on 61 Americans
- The sanctions, issued against dozens of Americans in the past on various grounds, let Iranian authorities seize any assets they hold in Iran, but the apparent absence of such assets means the steps will likely be symbolic
Syrian authorities repair Deir Ezzor airport runway to prepare for resuming flights
- Airport has been out of service for more than a decade because of civil war
LONDON: Syrian authorities are repairing key infrastructure at Deir Ezzor Civil Airport ahead of flights being resumed. Government forces have been in control of northeastern Syria since January.
Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport announced on Monday that technical and engineering teams are repairing the runway, essential facilities, and rebuilding the airport’s perimeter fence to meet international safety and security standards.
The airport has been out of service for more than a decade due to the civil war in the country, which damaged infrastructure, including several bridges in northeastern Syria, where towns are next to the Euphrates River.
The Syrian government regained control over the region from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces through an agreement in January that established a ceasefire and outlined a phased integration of military and administrative structures.
On Sunday, Syrian authorities took over security responsibilities at Qamishli airport in Hasaka Province, northeastern Syria, as part of the agreement with the SDF.
