Image 01 Image 03

Iran Nuclear Deal Tag

Iran is close to reaching an oil sales deal with the European Union, in direct violation of the U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported. The EU and Iran were "on the brink" of an oil agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif confirmed Tuesday.

Commemorating Iran's National Nuclear Day, President Hassan Rouhani announced that the Islamic Republic would soon make advanced centrifuges operational, the Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday. Rouhani, according to the report, which was based on a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), not only announced the installation of 20 IR-6 centrifuges but seemingly threatened, "If yesterday you feared our IR-1 centrifuges—well, here you go!" He also boasted that during the past year "we have acquired missiles and weapons that you could not have imagined."

Then-president Obama's Iran Nuclear Deal was widely condemned on the right and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who referred to the deal as a "bad" and "very bad deal."  One of then-candidate Trump's campaign promises was to extract the the U.S. from this very bad deal, and he did so in the second year of his presidency. Much to the chagrin of Democrats, the DNC, and the former Obama administration, this withdrawal from the Iran deal has been far more successful in stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities and from sponsoring worldwide terrorism than the original, bad deal was sold to accomplish.

In what can only be described as another diplomatic victory for President Donald Trump's administration, European countries have stopped importing Iranian oil. The Iranian regime has admitted that European buyers have refused to touch Iranian oil despite temporary waivers extended to them by the United States. "No European country is buying oil from Iran except Turkey," Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said.

German authorities have banned the Iranian airline Mahan Air from operating in the country amid fears of espionage and terrorism.  Iran's second largest airline has been linked to regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The German Federal Aviation Office, equivalent of the U.S. FAA, has barred the airline from landing in the country with intimidate effect, German news outlets reported Monday.

In what can only be described as another foreign policy win for President Donald Trump, the European countries are 'tiptoeing' towards Washington's position on Iran, Reuters reported Friday. Describing the recent shift in European diplomacy, the news agency noted that the "new approach moves Europe closer to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy of isolating Iran with tough sanctions."

German army has caught an Iranian spy working in its ranks. A 50-year-old German-Afghan man has been arrested on charges of spying for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). The man, named by the state prosecutor as Abdul Hamid S., has been passing on sensitive military intelligence to the Iranian spy agency for many years, the local newspaper reports said.

Trade between Iran and the European Union is in sharp decline, official Iranian figures show. The drop comes despite EU's ongoing efforts to bypass the U.S. sanctions. In November, President Donald Trump imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran's oil, shipping and banking sectors.

An Iranian activist jailed for 'insulting Islam' on social media has died after a prolonged hunger strike, media reports say. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, a 37-year-old Iranian blogger, was arrested in 2015 and received an eight year jail sentence for "insulting Islamic sanctities" and criticizing Iran's Shi'a Islamist regime, the U.S.-based watchdog Iran Human Rights Monitor said. He began his hunger strike in October protesting the inhumane prison conditions and frequent beatings by fellow inmates.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been working behind the scenes to prevent European Union member countries from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the newspaper Jerusalem Post reported. The revelation was made by Tomas Sandell, the director of the European Coalition for Israel in Brussels. Chancellor Merkel made a series of calls to European leaders in April while "many of the nations were seriously considering moving their embassies." Sandell said. "This is not the Germany we once knew. This is not the even Angela Merkel we once knew when she was elected."

The United States has accused Iran of hiding its chemical weapon-related activities. Tehran was failing to report military facilities designed to manufacture chemical-filled aerial bombs, and maintained stockpiles of toxic munitions, in violation of the 1997 international chemicals weapons convention.

The European Union may switch to non-dollar transactions to protect its trade with Iran in the wake of the latest U.S. sanctions, Reuters news agency reports. The news comes as Iran's European trading partners are working to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle, which is a payment clearance house where Iran's proceeds from oil and gas sale could be offset against the country's purchases -- much like a transnational barter system without financial transactions. The move is in response to crippling sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump against Iran's energy, banking, and other sectors earlier this month.

President Donald Trump's administration has officially restored sanctions on Iran that went away with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. At the same time, SWIFT, a financial messaging service based in Belgium, announced it will suspend "some unspecified Iranian banks’ access to its messaging system in the interest of the stability and integrity of the global financial system," but did not mention the US sanctions.

President Donald Trump's administration has announced that it will reimpose sanctions on Iran that were terminated under the 2015 nuclear deal. A few countries received exemptions. From Fox News:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced the sanctions on Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors. Particularly, the sanctions will target Iran’s crude oil exports and will penalize countries that don’t stop importing oil and foreign companies that do business with certain Iranian entities.