WASHINGTON D.C. (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman Thursday, and said it was taking the case to the UN Security Council. “It is the assessment of the United States that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks,” Pompeo told reporters. “This is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the […]
Tag: Iran
In Tehran, Japan’s Abe urges Iran to play ‘constructive role’
by Amir HAVASI TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Tehran to play a “constructive role” for Middle East peace Wednesday during a rare diplomatic mission to the Islamic republic aimed at defusing US-Iran tensions. Iran has been locked in a bitter standoff with the United States since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May last year. Washington has since reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions — which […]
Japan PM to meet Iran’s Khamenei to mediate with US: report
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later this month with Tokyo hoping to mediate between Washington and Tehran, a report said Sunday. As tensions intensify between Iran and Japan’s key ally the United States, Abe has reportedly proposed serving as a go-between and is said to be weighing up a state visit to Iran. According to the Mainichi Shimbun report, Abe’s planned meeting with […]
Iraq warns of ‘danger of war’ as Iran’s top diplomat visits
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi leaders have warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif’s visit to neighboring Iraq — which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran — follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. “We are currently repelling all […]
Iran FM: US troop boost ‘threat to international peace’
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a “threat to international peace,” state media reported. “Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted,” Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading home from a visit to Pakistan. © Agence France-Presse
Iran warns of ‘painful consequences’ if US escalates tensions
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the United States of “painful consequences for everybody” if there is an escalation in tensions with the Islamic republic. Zarif also accused the US of “playing a very, very dangerous game” in an interview with CNN aired on Tuesday. “There will be painful consequences for everybody (if) there is an escalation against Iran, that’s for sure,” he said. Tensions have risen between Washington […]
Zarif: Trump’s ‘genocidal taunts won’t end Iran’
by Amir Havasi TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the “genocidal taunts” of US President Donald Trump will not “end Iran”, as tensions spike between the two countries. “Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won’t ‘end Iran’,” Zarif wrote on Twitter. “Never threaten an Iranian. Try respect — it works!” he added. In another tweet, Zarif accused Trump of allowing […]
Trump: If Tehran attacks, it will be ‘official end of Iran’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran on Sunday, suggesting that if the Islamic republic attacks American interests, it will be destroyed. “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again,” Trump said in a tweet. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been on the rise as the United States has deployed a carrier group and B-52 […]
US to launch economic workshop as part of Middle East peace plan
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will host a conference in Bahrain next month focused on the economic aspects of the Middle East peace plan promised by President Donald Trump, which aims to achieve Palestinian prosperity. The workshop co-organized with Manama, running June 25-26, will bring together government, civil society and business leaders. “This workshop is a pivotal opportunity… to share ideas, discuss strategies and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives […]
Oil producers meet to discuss output amid Iran tension
Major crude producers are set to meet Sunday to discuss how to stabilise a volatile oil market amid rising US-Iran tensions in the Gulf, which threaten to disrupt supply. Key OPEC members and other major suppliers including Russia will assess the oil market and examine compliance to production cuts agreed late last year. But the subject of Iran, which is not present, will dominate the one-day meeting of the OPEC+ group. It comes days after […]
US issues warning to airlines flying over Gulf
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Federal Aviation Administration has warned US airlines flying over the Gulf to exercise caution “due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region.” The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran. Increased tensions in the region “present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or […]
Iran rejects negotiation with the US as Gulf tensions soar
by Paul Handley with Kyoko Hasegawa in Tokyo WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amid rising tensions in the Gulf, Iran on Thursday rejected negotiations with the US and said it was showing “maximum restraint” after Washington sent extra military forces to the region against what it claimed was an imminent threat from Tehran. US officials meanwhile said the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf, one of the world’s […]





