Rouhani: Leaving JCPOA would be defeat for US
Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test in recent weeks as it fast advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland.
The two US bombers were joined by two F15K fighters from the South Korean military after leaving their base in Guam, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Wednesday.
After entering South Korean airspace, the two bombers carried out air-to-ground missile drills in waters off the east coast of South Korea, then flew over the South to waters between it and China to repeat the drill, the release said.
The US military said in a separate statement it conducted drills with Japanese fighters after the exercise with South Korea, making it the first time US bombers have conducted training with fighters from both Japan and South Korea at night.
The US bombers had taken off from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. In August, Pyongyang threatened to fire intermediaterange missiles toward the vicinity of US Pacific territory Guam.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Wednesday that the US possible withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal will be a “defeat” and “great loss” for the United States.
“If the ill-wishing side, our rival and enemy, leaves an agreement, this is not a defeat for us, but rather a defeat for the opposite side,” Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting in an explicit reference to the United States.
The president described the nuclear agreement as “a litmus test” for the world community, saying any party that walks away from the multilateral accord would be damaging its own credibility, Press TV reported.
He said the signatories that choose to honor their sides of the bargain are in fact protecting their own international reputation. “If any side fails to stand committed to the deal, it would be tarnishing its own reputation,” he said.
He also noted that the number of countries and regimes that support Washington’s hostile stance on the nuclear deal could be counted on the fingers of one hand. On the contrary, he said, “Today, the world backs the path that the Islamic Republic of Iran has chosen and there is no one, even among the US’S allies in Europe, who supports destroying the agreement.”
Rouhani emphasized, “The nuclear deal is a major test for world governments and remaining committed to it constitutes a basis for confidencebuilding around the globe.”
In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, US President Donald Trump, replying to a question about whether he feels a responsibility to honor agreements from previous US administrations, said, “No.”
Referring to Trump’s comments, Rouhani said, “It is really a shame for a government to claim that it opposes any work accomplished by the former legitimate government.”
Unlike the US, European countries as well as Russia and China have underlined the need to sustain the agreement.
The nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, plus Germany — in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016.
Under the deal, Iran undertook to apply certain limits to its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.
The administration of Trump, which took over a year after the JCPOA had come into force, has repeatedly attacked the agreement.
While it has twice certified Iranian compliance with the deal in notifications to the US Congress under an American law, the White House has indicated that a third verification – due Oct. 15 – would not be offered. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy demanded on Wednesday that the Catalan leader clarify whether he has declared independence, issuing a veiled threat that the central government could limit or rescind the region’s autonomy if he has.
Rajoy said the Catalan government’s response would be crucial in deciding “events over the coming days,” AP reported.
It is the first time that Rajoy has openly said that Article 155 of the Spanish constitution will be the next step taken by the government if Catalan authorities don’t backtrack. He said the government “wants to offer certainty to citizens” and that it is “necessary to return tranquility and calm.”
Rajoy issued the demand following a special Cabinet meeting to respond to an announcement from Carles Puigdemont, the president of the wealthy Catalonia region, that he was proceeding with a declaration of independence but was suspending it for several weeks to facilitate negotiations.
Opposition Socialist Leader Pedro Sanchez said that Spain’s two main political parties agreed to renegotiate laws governing autonomy. He said a deal was reached with Rajoy to open talks in six months on reforming the constitution that would allow changes to the current setup governing Spain’s 17 regions, including Catalonia.
Sanchez said his party wanted the reform to “allow for Catalonia to remain a part of Spain,” and that the socialists were backing Rajoy’s call for clarification from Puigdemont.
In a highly anticipated speech Tuesday night, Puigdemont said the landslide victory in a disputed Oct. 1 referendum gave his government in the regional capital, Barcelona, the grounds to implement its longheld desire to break century-old ties with Spain.
But he proposed that the regional parliament suspend the effects of the declaration to commence a dialogue and help reduce tension, in what is Spain’s worst political crisis in decades. The central government in Madrid has given little indication it is willing to talk, saying it didn’t accept the declaration and didn’t consider the referendum or its results to be valid. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said late Tuesday that the Catalan leader “doesn’t know where he is, where he is going and with whom he wants to go.”
She said Puigdemont had put Catalonia “in the greatest level of uncertainty seen yet.”
About 2.3 million Catalans — or 43 percent of the electorate in the northeastern region — voted in the referendum. Regional authorities say 90 percent were in favor and declared the results valid. Those who opposed the referendum had said they would boycott the vote.
Rajoy’s government had repeatedly refused to grant Catalonia permission to hold a referendum on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, since it would only poll a portion of Spain’s 46 million residents.
If Trump refuses to certify, Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to restore the sanctions against the Islamic Republic that the US had agreed to waive under the deal.
By potentially re-imposing the nuclear-related bans, the US would be stopping the implementation of major obligations under the agreement, which would practically be equal to a pullout even if an official declaration of withdrawal is not released.
Rouhani defends IRGC
Trump is also expected to add Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps to Washington’s black list of terrorist groups under a strategy to increase pressure on Tehran.
Responding to the threat, Rouhani said US action against the IRGC would be a “mistake beyond mistakes.”
“They think that the Guards are a military entity. The IRGC is not a military entity. It is in people’s hearts. In all the days of danger, the IRGC has defended our national interests,” he said.
“We’re one society – Iran. When it comes to facing the plots of our enemies, there is no difference between different factions,” the president said.
“Today, the president of the United States has created conditions in which Iran has become more united than ever before. Today, those who oppose the nuclear deal and those who support it are on the same side. We all have one voice,” Rouhani said. Russia is ready and willing to mediate in establishing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stated.
“We tried several times and offered [to help Iran and Saudi Arabia sit down at the negotiating table], but we do not impose our intermediary role,” Bogdanov told reporters, RT reported.
“But we have always told our partners in both Saudi Arabia and Iran that we are ready to provide both a platform for contacts and friendly services.”
Bogdanov added that Moscow has always highlighted the need to resolve the issues between the two countries.
“Many problems would have been much easier to resolve had there been mutual understanding and trust between Tehran and Riyadh,” Bogdanov said.
He added that the situation in the entire region, especially regarding anti-terrorism efforts, depends on mutual understanding and cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Bogdanov stressed that Russia always tells Saudi Arabia and Iran that it is ready to report something from one side to another or organize their bilateral contacts. “These proposals remain on the table both with our Saudi and Iranian partners,” he said.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia first soured after a deadly human crush during Hajj rituals in Mina, near Mecca, in September 2015, when hundreds of Iranian pilgrims among others lost their lives.
Tensions between the two countries further escalated when the kingdom executed a prominent Shia cleric in January 2016.
Riyadh cut off ties with Tehran last January following protests in front of its diplomatic premises in the cities of Tehran and Mashhad against the execution. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned Somalia for opening fire on an Iranian fishing boat and killing the captain of the vessel and injuring another sailor.
“Iran has conveyed its protest to Somalia in this regard through relevant channels,” Qassemi told ISNA on Wednesday.
He added that the ministry was seriously following up the issue.
Last week, Somali regional officials said the Iranian captain of a fishing boat was killed and another sailor was injured after security forces opened fire on the vessel during an operation in the Indian Ocean, according to reports.
The officials claimed the shooting took place after maritime police forces in Puntland, an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia, spotted two boats suspected to be fishing illegally in Somali waters.
Colonel Mohamed Abdi Hashi of Puntland police said security forces opened fire on the boats when they ignored orders to stop and attempted to escape, adding that one boat was seized while the other fled.
He said he was not sure if Somali political leaders had made any contact with Iran about the incident.