‘Nuclear deal top foreign policy issue in new year’

TEHRAN – The nuclear deal and its fate is Tehran’s top foreign policy issue in the new Persian year, a former Iranian ambassador and Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said.

SIPRI: Nuclear deal a triumph for intl. diplomacy

TEHRAN - Jan Eliasson, chair of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) governing board, has said that the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was a triumph for international diplomacy.

By Javad Heirannia

Bolton wants JCPOA abandoned: Lendman

TEHRAN- U.S. columnist Stephen Lendman says that “Bolton wants the JCPOA abandoned, I believe a key reason why he was appointed.” 

By Hanif Ghaffari

Trump's attachment to ISIL and right wing extremism: A conflict managed by Washington

TEHRAN - The radical right-wing movement, with its racist and nationalistic approach, is now finding more and more power in Europe. The confrontation with multicultural societies in Europe and the United States is one of the main goals of the leaders of the right-extremist movements in the West.

By staff and agency

National security veterans urge Trump to remain in nuclear deal

A bipartisan group of more than 100 U.S. national security experts, including nearly 50 retired military officers and more than 30 former ambassadors, issued a statement on March 27 urging President Donald Trump to remain in the 2015 nuclear deal.

Republican senator expects Trump to pull out of nuclear deal

Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he expects President Donald Trump to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement in May.

By Hanif Ghaffari

Radicalism at the White House

TEHRAN - The dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State "Rex Tillerson" and appointing "Mike Pompeo", CIA Director for his post means that serious changes are happening in the White House.

People’s expectation of nuclear deal not realized: Araqchi

TEHRAN - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said people’s economic expectations from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has not been realized.

By Abdollah Shahbazi

Is the world moving towards a new Cold War?

TEHRAN - Developments in the Trump administration including the appointments of radical figures who severely criticize Iran has coincided with the anti-Russia and anti-Putin propaganda on steroids from the United States and United Kingdom.

By Martin Love

The challenge of a U.S. government losing its marbles

NORTH CAROLINA - Any watcher of the international scene, and especially the Mideast, has to be dismayed, bewildered and even, for that matter, a bit frightened. Growing complications and threats abound.

Nuclear deal not renegotiable, Iran reiterates

TEHRAN - Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said that the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is not renegotiable.

By Hanif Ghaffari

Movement of the White House towards radicalism

TEHRAN - The removal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from power and the replacement of CIA chief Mike Pompeo will create new crises at the White House. In the domestic circles of the United States, Tillerson was considered one of the few symbols of political rationality in the Trump cabinet. However, Pompeo has always been a symbol of extremism in the political and security structures of the United States.

By Mahdi Zolfaqari

Who is Mike Pompeo and how will he address Iran?

TEHRAN - U.S. President Donald Trump fired his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday with a Tweet, as Tillerson was returning to Washington from a week-long trip in Africa assuming that he was still holding the position.

By Mohammad Ghaderi and Javad Heiran-Nia

Europe, Iran baffled by U.S. position on nuclear deal

TEHRAN - During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “the worst deal ever” for the U.S.

U.S. general: It’s in our interests to stay in nuclear deal

U.S. Army General Joseph Votel signaled on Tuesday support for the 2015 nuclear deal, saying “right now, I think it is in our interest” to stay in the deal.

Trump says he fired Tillerson due to disagreement over Iran deal

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he dismissed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state at least in part over a disagreement on how best to proceed with the Iran nuclear deal.

Europe could work to keep nuclear deal alive without U.S.: commentary

In a commentary published by Reuters on Monday, it is said that if the U.S. withdraws from the 2015 nuclear deal, Europe could work with other international powers to keep the agreement alive.

Zarif: Iran will back Saudis in case of foreign aggression

TEHRAN – In a conciliatory gesture, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that Iran will be the first to support Saudi Arabia in case the kingdom comes under a foreign aggression.

By Hanif Ghaffari

West using JCPOA as lever to pressurize Iran

TEHRAN - Recently, Reuters claimed European countries had commenced negotiations with Iran over the country’s role in the region in order to ease U.S. President Donald Trump’s concerns over the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran says it is ‘impossible’ to add anything to nuclear deal

TEHRAN - Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has said that it is impossible to add anything to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

By Haniyeh Sadat Jafariyeh

Dollar in doldrums

Iranians have been dealing with an ever-increasing devaluation of the rial since the beginning of the present Iranian calendar (March 21, 2017) but the major and unexpected depreciation occurred almost a month ago, in mid-February, when is supposed to be the biggest crackdown on foreign exchanges in six years.

Trump’s al-Quds move to cost U.S., Israel much: Larijani

TEHRAN - Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s move in relocating the capital of Israel to al-Quds (Jerusalem) will come at a high price for the U.S. and the Zionist regime of Israel.

Iran to Le Drian: Missiles are for deterrence

TEHRAN – In separate meetings with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Tehran on Monday, Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted on Iran’s long-held policy that Tehran’s missile program is defensive.

By staff and agency

Amano: JCPOA collapse would be a ‘great loss for multilateralism’

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukio Amano said on Monday that collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, would be a “great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism”.

By Payman Yazdani

Entessar: EU too subservient to U.S. to challenge Washington

TEHRAN - Prof. Nader Entessar is of the opinion that the newly revealed documents of the U.S. State Department indicate the Trump administration has had some success in bridging the gap between the publicly stated positions of the US and Europe about the fate of the JCPOA.

Iran wants no part in Europe’s game of appeasing Trump: Zarif

TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned Europe that Iran wants no part in its “futile” game of appeasing U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump will likely extend sanctions waivers on Iran: official

TEHRAN - Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Iran’s deputy oil minister for international affairs, said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump will likely extend sanctions waivers on Iran in May.

By Hanif Ghaffari

Trump's popularity reducing among Republicans

TEHRAN - The President of the United States is seriously worried about the country's 2020 presidential election. The drop in his popularity on the one hand, along with the possibility of a decrease in his votes in those states that led to his victory in the 2016 election, has concerned many of his companions about the upcoming presidential election.

By M.A. Saki

Austria has strong stake in preserving JCPOA: ambassador

TEHRAN - Stefan Scholz,Vienna’s ambassador to Tehran, believes that the 2015 nuclear deal will continue to stand even in the most unwanted event that the United States withdraws from it, provided that Iran continues to fulfill its obligations, thus enabling European countries to follow suit.

By Javad Heirannia

Trump’s demand from Congress, EU about JCPOA based on flawed assumptions: Kimball

Kimball calls Trump’s assumptions about JCPOA ‘flawed’

TEHRAN - Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, is the opinion that “Trump’s demand that Congress and the EU3 address what he describes as “flaws” in the agreement is based on flawed assumptions.”