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| Iran's supreme leader rules out any talks with US officials | Iran's supreme leader rules out any talks with US officials |
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| Iran’s supreme leader has announced there will be “no negotiations on any level” with US officials, in remarks aimed at dousing speculation of a possible summit between Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN general assembly next week. | Iran’s supreme leader has announced there will be “no negotiations on any level” with US officials, in remarks aimed at dousing speculation of a possible summit between Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN general assembly next week. |
| He did so as the White House announced that Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, would travel immediately to Saudi Arabia to discuss how to respond to the dramatic attack on the Saudi oil installations at the weekend. | |
| Saudi leaders have suggested the possibility of a UN inquiry to identify the culprits, a stance backed by their traditional ally the United Arab Emirates. | Saudi leaders have suggested the possibility of a UN inquiry to identify the culprits, a stance backed by their traditional ally the United Arab Emirates. |
| Both Saudi and the US have said they believe Iranian weapons were involved in the attack, but the French foreign minister, Jean Yves le Drian, said he had no information on who was responsible. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, following a call with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, stressed the need to avoid further escalation. | Both Saudi and the US have said they believe Iranian weapons were involved in the attack, but the French foreign minister, Jean Yves le Drian, said he had no information on who was responsible. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, following a call with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, stressed the need to avoid further escalation. |
| The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has confined himself to condemning the attack and saying he is working to prepare a coordinated international response. That is likely to come at the UN general assembly next week, where world leaders including Rouhani, Trump and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will all give speeches. | The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has confined himself to condemning the attack and saying he is working to prepare a coordinated international response. That is likely to come at the UN general assembly next week, where world leaders including Rouhani, Trump and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will all give speeches. |
| On Monday, Trump appeared to leave the door open for discussion even as he hinted at military action against Iran, which members of his cabinet have blamed for the weekend’s attacks on Saudi Arabian petroleum infrastructure. | On Monday, Trump appeared to leave the door open for discussion even as he hinted at military action against Iran, which members of his cabinet have blamed for the weekend’s attacks on Saudi Arabian petroleum infrastructure. |
| However, in remarks posted on his official website on Tuesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, appeared to rule out the possibility of any meeting between Trump and Rouhani, at least in the short term. | However, in remarks posted on his official website on Tuesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, appeared to rule out the possibility of any meeting between Trump and Rouhani, at least in the short term. |
| “If America takes back its words and repents and returns to the nuclear deal, which they have violated, they can take part in the meetings of signatories to this agreement with Iran,” Khamenei said. “Otherwise, no negotiation on any level will happen between officials of the Islamic Republic and America, neither in New York nor anywhere else.” | “If America takes back its words and repents and returns to the nuclear deal, which they have violated, they can take part in the meetings of signatories to this agreement with Iran,” Khamenei said. “Otherwise, no negotiation on any level will happen between officials of the Islamic Republic and America, neither in New York nor anywhere else.” |
| In July 2015, Iran and a six-nation negotiating group reached a landmark agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that ended a 12-year deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The deal, struck in Vienna after nearly two years of intensive talks, limited the Iranian programme, to reassure the rest of the world that it cannot develop nuclear weapons, in return for sanctions relief. | In July 2015, Iran and a six-nation negotiating group reached a landmark agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that ended a 12-year deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The deal, struck in Vienna after nearly two years of intensive talks, limited the Iranian programme, to reassure the rest of the world that it cannot develop nuclear weapons, in return for sanctions relief. |
| At its core, the JCPOA is a straightforward bargain: Iran’s acceptance of strict limits on its nuclear programme in return for an escape from the sanctions that grew up around its economy over a decade prior to the accord. Under the deal, Iran unplugged two-thirds of its centrifuges, shipped out 98% of its enriched uranium and filled its plutonium production reactor with concrete. Tehran also accepted extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has verified 10 times since the agreement, and as recently as February, that Tehran has complied with its terms. In return, all nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting Iran to global markets. | At its core, the JCPOA is a straightforward bargain: Iran’s acceptance of strict limits on its nuclear programme in return for an escape from the sanctions that grew up around its economy over a decade prior to the accord. Under the deal, Iran unplugged two-thirds of its centrifuges, shipped out 98% of its enriched uranium and filled its plutonium production reactor with concrete. Tehran also accepted extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has verified 10 times since the agreement, and as recently as February, that Tehran has complied with its terms. In return, all nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting Iran to global markets. |
| The six major powers involved in the nuclear talks with Iran were in a group known as the P5+1: the UN security council’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and Germany. The nuclear deal is also enshrined in a UN security council resolution that incorporated it into international law. The 15 members of the council at the time unanimously endorsed the agreement. | The six major powers involved in the nuclear talks with Iran were in a group known as the P5+1: the UN security council’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and Germany. The nuclear deal is also enshrined in a UN security council resolution that incorporated it into international law. The 15 members of the council at the time unanimously endorsed the agreement. |
| On 8 May 2018, US president Donald Trump pulled his country out of the deal. Iran announced its partial withdrawal from the nuclear deal a year later. | On 8 May 2018, US president Donald Trump pulled his country out of the deal. Iran announced its partial withdrawal from the nuclear deal a year later. |
| Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Iran correspondent | Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Iran correspondent |
| Khamenei is traditionally opposed to dialogue with the US, and made regular pessimistic statements during negotiations for the 2015 global agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear programme. | Khamenei is traditionally opposed to dialogue with the US, and made regular pessimistic statements during negotiations for the 2015 global agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear programme. |
| The US pulled out of the agreement last year, imposing a policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran, including a commitment to drive Iranian oil exports to zero. | The US pulled out of the agreement last year, imposing a policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran, including a commitment to drive Iranian oil exports to zero. |
| But Trump appears determined to ensure that Saudi Arabia takes a leading role in any military response, a move that has led some security experts to suggest the US, no longer a net importer of oil, is unwilling to act automatically as the security guarantor for Saudi Arabia. | But Trump appears determined to ensure that Saudi Arabia takes a leading role in any military response, a move that has led some security experts to suggest the US, no longer a net importer of oil, is unwilling to act automatically as the security guarantor for Saudi Arabia. |
| Pierre Noël, an energy specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: “The Saudis lost in 30 minutes the war for which they had been preparing for 30 years. Saudi Arabia lost 50% of their output due to Iran or its Iranian supporters. | Pierre Noël, an energy specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: “The Saudis lost in 30 minutes the war for which they had been preparing for 30 years. Saudi Arabia lost 50% of their output due to Iran or its Iranian supporters. |
| “It has happened without a war being waged, and crucially for Saudi Arabia without the US offering immediately an umbrella, or delivering on what everyone expects since the 70s that it would act as the guarantors of Saudi Arabian oil integrity. So we are talking about a major shift in Middle East oil geopolitics.” | “It has happened without a war being waged, and crucially for Saudi Arabia without the US offering immediately an umbrella, or delivering on what everyone expects since the 70s that it would act as the guarantors of Saudi Arabian oil integrity. So we are talking about a major shift in Middle East oil geopolitics.” |
| He added: “The timing from the Iranian perspective was brilliant since if Trump goes to war with Iran, the oil security crisis could have potentially quite dramatic macro-economic circumstances that could badly endanger the Trump re-election campaign. But if the US does not go to war, Saudi Arabia is humiliated. | He added: “The timing from the Iranian perspective was brilliant since if Trump goes to war with Iran, the oil security crisis could have potentially quite dramatic macro-economic circumstances that could badly endanger the Trump re-election campaign. But if the US does not go to war, Saudi Arabia is humiliated. |
| “The impact on the Aramco sale is incredible. How can you put an asset on a market that is incapable of protecting its physical integrity and is so dramatically exposed to single acts of war?” | “The impact on the Aramco sale is incredible. How can you put an asset on a market that is incapable of protecting its physical integrity and is so dramatically exposed to single acts of war?” |
| Saudi Arabia has been aiming for the sale of Aramco – the Saudi Arabian Oil Company – shares “as soon as possible” in a potential $2 trillion move that is critical to the country’s effort to raise the funds to take the Saudi economy away from its dependence on oil revenues. | |
| Kori Schake, deputy director at IISS, said: “America’s allies should be genuinely worried since although Saudi is not a treaty ally, since Jimmy Carter was president the US had said it would protect free flow of oil, and the status quo in the region.” | Kori Schake, deputy director at IISS, said: “America’s allies should be genuinely worried since although Saudi is not a treaty ally, since Jimmy Carter was president the US had said it would protect free flow of oil, and the status quo in the region.” |
| She added: “This is the destruction of [Saudi crown prince] Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy. What kind of foreign investment are you going to draw? He banked heavily on a personalised relationship with the Trump administration. That car just got called, and the US did not show up.” | She added: “This is the destruction of [Saudi crown prince] Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy. What kind of foreign investment are you going to draw? He banked heavily on a personalised relationship with the Trump administration. That car just got called, and the US did not show up.” |
| She added: “It is extraordinary that the Trump administration that lies repeatedly and casually on a whole range of things does not feel obligated to release the corroborating intelligence as evidence that shows the analysis is correct. I honestly cannot figure out how they can believe anyone is going to believe what the secretary of state says.” | She added: “It is extraordinary that the Trump administration that lies repeatedly and casually on a whole range of things does not feel obligated to release the corroborating intelligence as evidence that shows the analysis is correct. I honestly cannot figure out how they can believe anyone is going to believe what the secretary of state says.” |
| As part of a “maximum pressure” campaign intended to bring Tehran to the table, Washington imposed harsh sanctions on Iranian exports which have choked the country’s economy, including its oil industry. | As part of a “maximum pressure” campaign intended to bring Tehran to the table, Washington imposed harsh sanctions on Iranian exports which have choked the country’s economy, including its oil industry. |
| In the past four months, at least 13 oil tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have been seized by Iranian forces or been targeted by acts of sabotage, starting on 12 May with the appearance of large holes in the hulls of four ships docked in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates. The US and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly accused Iran of perpetrating the damage. Tehran denies the allegations. | In the past four months, at least 13 oil tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have been seized by Iranian forces or been targeted by acts of sabotage, starting on 12 May with the appearance of large holes in the hulls of four ships docked in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates. The US and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly accused Iran of perpetrating the damage. Tehran denies the allegations. |
| Separately, Iran’s judiciary confirmed on Tuesday that it had detained three Australians, including two with British nationality, whose arrests were made public earlier this month. | Separately, Iran’s judiciary confirmed on Tuesday that it had detained three Australians, including two with British nationality, whose arrests were made public earlier this month. |
| “Two of them had taken pictures in military areas and the third [was detained] for spying for a third country,” Fars quoted the judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying. “The court will decide whether this person [detained for spying] is guilty or not.” | “Two of them had taken pictures in military areas and the third [was detained] for spying for a third country,” Fars quoted the judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying. “The court will decide whether this person [detained for spying] is guilty or not.” |
| The detainee accused of spying is thought to be a woman identified last week as a University of Melbourne lecturer, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, though earlier reports said she had already been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. It is not clear which “third country” Gilbert-Moore has been accused of spying for. | The detainee accused of spying is thought to be a woman identified last week as a University of Melbourne lecturer, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, though earlier reports said she had already been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. It is not clear which “third country” Gilbert-Moore has been accused of spying for. |
| The two accused of taking pictures are Jolie King and her boyfriend Mark Firkin, a travel blogging couple who are thought to have been flying a drone without authorisation. | The two accused of taking pictures are Jolie King and her boyfriend Mark Firkin, a travel blogging couple who are thought to have been flying a drone without authorisation. |
| Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia |
| Iran | Iran |
| Oil | Oil |
| Iran nuclear deal | Iran nuclear deal |
| Trump administration | Trump administration |
| Hassan Rouhani | Hassan Rouhani |
| news | news |
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