Category: NEWS

(Xinhua)16:32, July 02, 2019

WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) — The U.S. government on Monday proposed punitive tariffs on additional 4 billion U.S. dollars of EU goods amid their dispute over aircraft subsidies.

The U.S. Trade Representatives Office (USTR) released a supplemental list of 89 tariff sub-categories to its initial list, which includes cheese, pork, pastas, fruits, coffee and whiskies, as well as chemicals and metals, among others, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

USTR claimed that it issued the supplemental list in response to public comments and additional analysis, and to enforce U.S. rights in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute against the EU and its member states regarding EU subsidies on large civil aircrafts.

USTR said it would hold a hearing on the proposed additional tariffs on Aug. 5, and will take into account the report of the WTO Arbitrator on the appropriate level of countermeasures to be authorized by the WTO.

Over 40 industry representatives, who mostly oppose the tariff measure, attended a public hearing of the initial list on May 15-16. The list involves some 21 billion dollars in trade value, including aviation-industry related-parts and consumer goods.

Washington and Brussels have been locked in a long-running row over aircraft subsidies, accusing each other at the WTO of engaging in unfair practices. The WTO has found wrongdoings on both sides, with the United States targeting Airbus and the EU against Boeing.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told CNBC in June that the U.S.-proposed tariffs defy economic logic and will pass higher costs onto the consumer, according to a report by the news channel.

(Xinhua)07:19, July 03, 2019

DAMASCUS, July 2 (Xinhua) — Syrias President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday discussed the escalatory stances of the U.S. administration with a visiting Iranian official, according to a report by the state news agency SANA.

Assad received in the capital Damascus Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior aide of the Iranian foreign minister, during which both sides discussed the developments of the Iranian nuclear agreement after Washington backed out of it, and the recent U.S. escalatory positions which seek to destabilize the region and increase tension in it, said the report.

The official news agency said Assad affirmed Syrias support for Iran and its leadership in defending the peoples rights against all threats and acts that violate the basis of international law.

The talks also touched upon the situation in Syrias Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, and the upcoming round of Astana talks about Syria.

Khaji underscored the strength of the strategic relations between the two countries, affirming Irans determination to continue bolstering them in all fields to serve the interests of both sides.

He added that the Iranian leadership and people have and will always support Syria until it liberates all its territory and rebuilds what has been destroyed by war.

The visit comes two days after Israel carried out intensive missile strikes on Syria, reportedly targeting positions of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The Syrian government has repeatedly charged that Israel supports the terror groups in Syria and its repeated strikes are nothing but a way to lift the rebels morale.

Meanwhile, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria throughout the eight-year conflict, most of them against what it says were targets of Iranian-backed militia groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Israel says it is determined to prevent Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Teheran backs President Bashar al-Assad.

(Xinhua)07:22, July 03, 2019

Top diplomats from the European Union, France, Germany and the UK said on Tuesday that they are extremely concerned with Irans exceeding of stockpile limit for low enriched uranium and urged Tehran to reverse course.

In this March 30, 2005 file ., an Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan. [File Photo: IC]

In this March 30, 2005 file ., an Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan. [File Photo: IC]

A joint statement by foreign ministers of France and Germany, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas, as well as British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and EUs High Representative Federica Mogherini said Irans announcement that it has exceeded the stockpile limit for low enriched uranium – set by the Iran nuclear deal – has been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We have been consistent and clear that our commitment to the nuclear deal depends on full compliance by Iran. We regret this decision by Iran, which calls into question an essential instrument of nuclear nonproliferation, the statement read.

We urge Iran to reverse this step and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal. We are urgently considering next steps under the terms of the nuclear deal in close coordination with other nuclear deal participants, it said.

The deal, endorsed by the UN Security Council, was reached in 2015 between Iran, China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States, and Germany.

The U.S., under President Donald Trump, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, despite objections from the international community.

Other parties still support the deal and have vowed to sidestep the U.S. sanctions. But Iran has said the help it received from Europe has been too little, threatening further deviation from commitments in the deal.

(Xinhua)09:24, July 03, 2019

MOSCOW, July 2 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday urged European countries to truly implement a special mechanism for trade with Iran bypassing U.S. sanctions, which has made it difficult for Iran to abide by the nuclear deal.

We urge our European colleagues to fulfill their promises and commitments and make the mechanism they create become truly effective, ensuring the rights that belong to Iran in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution in the field of trade and economic relations, Lavrov said at a press conference.

He made the remarks when commenting on the recent disputes around Irans enriched uranium stockpile following sanctions imposed on Tehran by the United States.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Irans low-grade enriched uranium stockpile has exceeded 300 kg, a limit that is one of several restrictions on its nuclear activities under the Iran nuclear deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump commented later in the day on the announcement saying that Iran is playing with fire.

Lavrov said that also on Monday some European countries proposed to Russia to accept a statement calling on Iran not to violate its obligations.

But the draft statement did not say anything about what caused the Iranian announcement, he said.

He recalled that the Iranian nuclear deal inked in 2015 by Iran with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, is a comprehensive package of mutual obligations and rights of all parties to this agreement.

This includes Irans voluntary commitments to comply with the limits on reserves of low-enriched uranium and heavy water and to sell the surplus, Lavrov said.

After Washington withdrew with the deal on May 10, 2018, Iran continued to abide by its limits, selling the surplus to other countries, including Russia.

But in May, the United States adopted a new package of sanctions that forbade anyone to buy from Iran the excess low-enriched uranium and heavy water, thus banning all UN member states from implementing the UN Security Council resolution, which approved the nuclear deal, Lavrov said.

Following the U.S. withdrawal, France, Britain and Germany agreed to create a special vehicle to continue legitimate transactions with Iran in accordance with the EU legislation.

But according to Lavrov, this tool, which proved to be meant only for humanitarian supplies, which are not subject to U.S. sanctions, and could be used only by EU members, had not yet serviced any transactions.

Lavrov said that Iran should show restraint, in no way give in to emotions and abide by the key provisions of the guarantees agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the provisions of a supplementary protocol to this agreement.

But the need to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal implies obligations for all the remaining participants of it, Lavrov said.

It is not right to demand that Iran comply with all its obligations while others treat them with excessive easiness and raise a suspicion that they prefer to get away from U.S. criticism and concentrate on what Iran is doing, he said.

Russia will do everything to preserve the crucial Iran nuclear deal, which is of particular importance not only for resolving the situation around Iran, but also for strengthening the non-proliferation regime of weapons of mass destruction, Lavrov said.