Iran

“Chinese Were Prepared, EU Companies Were Not” for US’ Iran Sanctions – Analyst
China’s state-owned energy giant CNPC is ready to replace French energy company Total’s stake in the Iranian South Pars gas project. In 2017, Total and CNPC signed a 20-year contract worth 4.8 billion dollars to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars field. Sputnik spoke with political analyst Tom McGregor about CNPC’s acquisition plan. [...]
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The Donald, Vlad, and Bibi
Since at least 1945, the United States has only fought stupid wars.  Some have been stupider than others, but, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Democrats and Republicans have supported them all.  If Trump does get an Iran War going, count on bipartisan support for it too, though, for sheer stupidity, it would rival and perhaps even exceed the Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon war against Vietnam. More [...]
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‘Concrete Decisions’: Europe Faces Up to Trump Amid Iran Nuclear Deal Row
In spite of US threats, the EU is all set to protect its economic interests in Iran and has started implementing a 1996 law that would prohibit European companies from complying with any sanctions the US would reintroduce against Tehran. “Europe should be grateful to President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of old illusions,” European Council President Donald Tusk said at the sta [...]
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Europe & Iran now have the perfect excuse to drop the US dollar – Max Keiser
The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran and Washington’s threat to punish European companies for doing business there provides a good opportunity for ditching the dollar, according to RT’s Keiser Report host, Max Keiser. “The US uses the dollar as a weapon to promote US dollar hegemony and the US Empire. [...]
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China’s Petro-Yuan Contracts on Steady Rise Amid Renewed US Sanctions on Iran
Washington’s intention to re-impose the "toughest" sanctions on Iran appears to be playing into the hands of Chinese investors and oil futures traders, analysts have come to believe. Shanghai crude oil futures ISCc1 have recently seen a significant uptick in their trade volumes, which hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, a day after Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran [...]
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Europe to ditch US dollar in payments for Iranian oil – source
The European Union is planning to switch payments to the euro for its oil purchases from Iran, eliminating US dollar transactions, a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. Brussels has been at odds with Washington over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached during the administration of Barack Obama. President Donald Trump has pledged to re-impose sanctions against the Islamic [...]
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Jared Kushner Roasted Over Gaffes in ‘Delusional’ Israel Embassy Opening Speech
While Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a White House policy adviser, took the floor at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem, Twitter most naturally turned ablaze, with many resorting to increasingly demonstrated skepticism and even outrage over the Kushner family's involvement in yet another Middle Eastern issue. [...]
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UK Foreign Sec.: London Tries to Protect Businesses in Iran From US Sanctions
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson vowed Monday that the UK will consider how to help European firms have confidence they can still do business in Iran. The UK and France are determined to preserve the essence of the Iran Nuclear Deal, Boris Johnson said. [...]
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China’s petro-yuan ‘thundering into action’ as Iran ditches US dollar in oil trade
Washington’s renewed sanctions on Tehran supports China’s newly established oil futures, analysts say. The sanctions can make the yuan a more preferable currency than the dollar on the oil market. Since their launch in May, the interest in the renminbi-backed oil contracts has steadily surged. Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, and the share of yuan contracts in glo [...]
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US Exit From Iran Deal is Golden Opportunity for Russian Aircraft Manufacturers
Amid concerns that the US decision to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal will lead to the loss of close to $40 billion in contracts for Boeing and Airbus, Russian airplane builders have a historic opportunity to receive a new foreign market for its latest designs. On Tuesday afternoon, in a move condemned by Tehran, most of the US's allies and much of the international community, President Trump ann [...]
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Ten O’Clock to Tehran: China Launches New Rail Link with Iran as US Severs Ties
Beijing has officially opened its new train route to Iran, as the US urges its companies to wind down their operations with the Islamic Republic. As US President Donald Trump hardens his confrontational attitude to Tehran, tearing up the 2015 nuclear deal and calling for a new sanctions regime, China is more than ready to grab the opportunity for trade by opening a new international railroad conne [...]
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Broken deal – CrossTalk
Donald Trump claims he is the master of the deal. But when it comes to Iran, it is the art of no deal. The reasons the American president withdrew from the nuclear deal ranged from lies and disinformation to outright political propaganda. Trump claims he has made America safer – a dubious claim. Closer to the truth is probably an attempted forced regime change in Iran. CrossTalking with Mohammad [...]
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Trump’s withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal gives Europe a choice: become vassals or be independent
Donald Trump’s trashing of the Iran nuclear deal this week was not just an attack on Iranian sovereign interests. The US president was also poking European allies in the eye. In abruptly withdrawing the US from the international nuclear treaty, Trump warned that his administration was preparing to re-impose harsh sanctions on Tehran, and that those sanctions would also hit European commercial in [...]
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#ICYMI: Trump risks chaos in the Middle East, but come on… he is a US president!
Donald ‘Art of the Deal’ Trump demonstrated he can make ‘em as well as break ‘em by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. Of course, he risks causing more chaos in the Middle East, but that is what US presidents tend to do. Perhaps the most shocking thing is the level of surprise there appeared to be at Trump’s decision, as if nothing like this has ever happened before. [...]
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‘US is not economic policeman’: EU will go to WTO if US action hurts business in Iran
The European Union has moved to protect the interests of its companies that do business in Iran, following the United States decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US was withdrawing from the landmark pact unleashed a wave of criticism from the international community. Now the EU has threatened to take the US to the World Trade Organizatio [...]
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‘Either a Liar or an Idiot’: Netanyahu’s Iran Claims Insult Integrity of IAEA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that his country has a trove of secret documents detailing Iran’s continued expansion of the range of its nuclear-capable missiles - a display insulting to the international inspectors who have consistently found no evidence of such work, guests told Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear. [...]
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Iran drops the dollar. Others tried and were bombed. ‘It’s all about the banking,’ says Lee Camp
Iran recently announced it is dropping the US dollar in foreign trade. Just as Iraq did shortly before it was invaded by the US, or Libya planned to before it was bombed by NATO-led allies. Lee Camp is starting to see a pattern. The US is gearing up to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, which has all but killed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, because it's not restrictive eno [...]
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Gassing is bad, but OK for some: US complicity in past chemical attacks
US hypocrisy over its self-righteous military attack on Syria over a recent alleged use of not-yet-verified chemical weapons in Douma raises the question: Is gassing bad, but OK for some countries? The reason for asking is the rush to judgment by the United States, Britain and France to bomb selected military locations in Syria, which these countries claim research and develop, manufacture and sto [...]
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Moscow wants to get rid of dollar & euro payments in oil trade with Turkey and Iran
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said the country is considering an option of payments for oil in national currencies, in particular with Turkey and Iran. According to him, both countries are interested but there is also a matter of conversion of currencies and their further use. [...]
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