The legislation, dubbed the Maximum Pressure Act and unveiled on Wednesday, has been described by the Congressional GOP as the largest package of Iran sanctions in history, the Washington free Beacon reported.

The bill, spearheaded by the Republican Study Committee, seeks to force US President Joe Biden’s administration to submit any revamped nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for review before it is approved.

Besides expanding sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, the bill would mandate that Congress approve any agreement the Biden administration might agree to during talks in Austrian capital, Vienna. It would also limit the president’s ability to unilaterally ease sanctions via executive order.

It would also codify into law Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 12 tough conditions for any new deal with Iran that were presented while he was in office, and included a total halt to Iran’s nuclear program.

The bill is, however, a largely symbolic move as it stands little chance of passing the Democrat-controlled Congress. It only seeks to send a message that Republicans are united in opposition to removal of sanctions that would provide Iran with potentially billions in cash assets.

Pompeo, who led ex-president Donald Trump’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and Rep. Jim Banks, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Republican Study Committee’s chairman, said the legislation seeks to send a message to the White House and Iran that Congress will not abide by any deal that is not first brought before it for a vote.

Banks said in a statement that if President Biden bypasses Congress and rejoins the Iran deal, “our adversaries should know that conservatives in Congress will continue to fight to support President Trump’s successful maximum pressure campaign and work to pass this legislation which would reimpose all sanctions” until Iran shutters its nuclear program and stops supporting what he called terrorist groups across the Middle East.

The bill comes as Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA — the UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany — along with the EU representative are to resume another round of discussions in Vienna next week on the fate of the UN-endorsed agreement, after consultations in their respective capitals.

The JCPOA was abandoned by Trump in 2018, who described the accord as the worst ever and called for a better new deal.

The ex-hawkish president also reinstated the sanctions that had been lifted under the JCPOA.

The US delegation was in Vienna for talks but did not attend the negotiations directly as it is not a signatory to the deal. American diplomats led by US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley, however, held discussions with the other signatories to the JCPOA – except for Iran – in Vienna on the sidelines of the meetings of the Joint Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the agreement.

Biden criticized his predecessor for leaving the deal and expressed a willingness to rejoin it. His administration, however, says Iran should suspends its nuclear measures before Washington returns to compliance.

Iran has rejected any renegotiation of the JCPOA, arguing it is a done deal. Tehran also says the US was the party to leave the agreement and therefore it should unconditionally remove all its sanctions on the country in a verifiable manner.

Iran’s administration has also rejected the possibility of giving concessions beyond those offered within the framework of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The post Republicans unveil largest package of Iran sanctions appeared first on Iran News Daily.

These days whenever to log on Instagram, one sees that President Donald Trump has fallen in love of Iran and momently he or his abominable State Secretary Mike Pompeo repeat the name of Iran more than 70 times a day, it means Iran has danced on their lips, minds and remarks.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Why now has Iran become so important to him? Everybody says he needs a smile of Iran to win the U.S. presidential election. One can reassure that he has launched this puppet show of Bahrain and the UAE for the sake of his presidential election, and in order not to infuriate Iran more than this, he has never talked about Iran during the ceremony for signing normalization agreement ceremony in the White House. In fact the strategy of the White House in the ceremony was intentionally to avoid arousing Iran’s sentiment during this bachelorette party of Bahrain, the UAE and Zionist regime in the White House and even Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used just one sentence against Iran which had been repeated by him once in a while in the past.

This prudence could not have happened by accident because from A to Z of this show had essentially planned by Trump’s Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner against Iran’s policies in the region and especially in the Persian Gulf. Of course we should admit that the UAE officials unlike their Bahraini counterparts and Zionist elements have usually used more controlled rhetoric against Iran especially they do not want disclosure of their normalization with Zionists to be considered as an open and hostile step against Iranians and the Islamic Revolution. Maybe their joint water borders and geographical proximity and above all their trade exchanges with the Islamic Republic of Iran beside their concerns about emergence of insecurity in the Persian Gulf can be main reasons for taking such an approach.

So there is this possibility that advisors to the think-tanks which have drawn up this farce might have recommended the White House to stay away from political instigation. This indicates that the White House in the heat of the presidential election observes some important considerations.

It is necessary to remind that recently when  Chief of Staff of the President Mr. Mahmoud Vaezi was asked a question on talks with the U.S., he officially announced that both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and even before them Japan’s prime minister had brought the “dear babe” messages of the U.S. , and even Lavrov openly and in an interview announced Russia’s readiness for organizing talks between Iran and the U.S. if both sides are interested. Of course he ironically and delicately said that Washington’s efforts for extension of embargos against Tehran would hinder any progress in organizing the negotiations.

That Mr. Trump for official meeting with Iranians has repeatedly turned to the cameras or in the virtual space has said he will sign deal with Iran after the November presidential election can be considered as the message of resistance to the enthusiast supporters of negotiations inside Iran. The White House with plea, either with mediation or without mediation, thinks of restoring security in the region and to dispatch its companies, which have left out of Iran’s market due to the Zionist pressures or wrong strategies, to the region. But it is totally a  phantom because first, Iran does not consider Trump “trustworthy”, and secondly, Trump without taking a long step of repentance has not created a climate for winning the heart of Iran. The white House’s mistake lies in this point that it has prolonged the lifting the sanctions against Iran until its presidential election time which could be a step towards good behavior for attracting the consent of Iran, and it cannot now take any action and step until after the presidential election.

In fact one should say that the U.S. is the most maleficent country in the world which wrongly stepped out of the JCPOA and even lost the support of its aligned countries. Of course I think Trump will still take the rein in the office for the second term, and these messages are just for this issue that he wants to stop amazingly confronting with the Islamic Revolution of Iran and to act for his own and country’s interests by reducing military expenses because of the U.S. troops’ presence in the region.

Trump like Barack Obama after the elections for his second term needs less the Zionist regime and undoubtedly he attaches great importance to his country’s interests. Of course this remark is embedded in this framework provided that there is no undertaken ground to be provided to keep Trump or either Joe Biden for diplomacy confrontation with Iran. Islamic Iran definitely analyzes and interprets its own interests for protecting the revolutionary values. So, it will shun any effort for negotiations of any kind either proposed by Trump or Biden unless it gains some lucrative concessions which can safeguard the fundamental values of the Islamic Revolution.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post Trump’s Plea to Russia and Switzerland appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran says the overwhelming consensus among members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) against the U.S.’s push to reinstate all anti-Iran UN sanctions proves Washington’s isolation once again.

The Islamic Republic’s mission to the United Nations made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, hours after the UNSC dismissed the controversial American bid because of a lack of consensus at the highest UN body over the so-called snapback of sanctions against Iran.

“Today, the overwhelming majority of the Security Council members rejected once again the admissibility of the recent letter” submitted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “notifying” the council of Washington’s intention to “snap back,” or restore, all UN sanctions on Iran.

The statement reminded that “through individual or joint letters addressed to the Council’s President, 13 out of 15 members of the Security Council” as well as Iran “have already strongly refuted the legal merit of the US letter.”

The U.S.’s push comes while it has lost the right to enable re-imposition of the sanctions due to its 2018 departure from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and other countries — officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — that has been endorsed in the form of Security Council Resolution 2231.

The UN Security Council dismisses attempts by the U.S. to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran due to a lack of consensus in the 15-member body over such a move.

The Iranian statement further said, “Given that the stated objective of the U.S. is to destroy Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, Iran trusts that the Council members will continue preventing that country from undermining the UN, including the Security Council.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the UNSC’s president for August, said at a meeting on the Middle East that the 15-nation body was “not in the position to take further action” on the new US push.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet later that the UNSC members had to use a meeting on the Middle East, not Iran, to refute the US attempt “as null and void” after Washington prevented a debate at the Council about its “unlawful notification” a day earlier.

The new anti-Iran bid comes after the UNSC similarly snubbed a resolution drafted by the US to extend an arms embargo against Iran that will expire in October under the JCPOA.

The Iranian mission, meanwhile, pointed to the allegations that the United States has been using against Tehran in order to try and justify its anti-Iran campaigns throughout the world, including at the Security Council.

Washington ceaselessly accuses Iran of trying to “destabilize” the region and the world, alleging that the Iranian peaceful nuclear program features “diversion towards military purpose” with that end in mind.

“Regarding unfounded accusations against Iran raised in the Council meeting by the US, it must be stressed that almost all problems in the Middle East stem from the continued occupation of Palestine by the Israeli regime and its expansionist policies supported by the US, as well as the meddling, destabilizing policies and destructive practices of the United States, which cannot be covered up by no amount of smear campaign,” the mission said.

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After the U.S. suffered an international failure and backlash and its proposed resolution on Iran arms embargo at the UNSC unanimously rejected and only a pint-size country, Dominican Republic, supported it, the U.S. is striving to save its face.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had earlier claimed that if proposed resolution failed it would activate the snapback, threatened China and Russia that if they wanted to create hurdle in way of return of international sanctions against Iran, Washington would punish them.

In an interview with Fox News and when he was asked what would be the U.S. actions against China and Russia if they snub following the international sanctions on Iran, Pompeo said, “The U.S. would do what it has done so far against those countries which have violated its sanctions especially if the U.S. sanctions are violated. We have already taken actions against the countries which had violated the U.S. sanctions and those measures will continue especially in case the U.N. sanctions are violated.”

In fact, the U.S. has lost its prioritized parallel challenges. On the one hand, it has not resolved its dispute with China and on the other hand it is record-holder in the number of Coronavirus-infected people. By the way, its gross domestic product (GDP) has led to the rise in the negative economic growth and it has challenged the climate for Americans’ earnings, and on the other hand, the number of unemployed people has soared. At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump in the polls is trailing his Democrat rival Joe Biden. The growing pressure by the public opinion and the budget have laid the ground for the pullout of the U.S. troops from the Middle East and Persian Gulf. All of these factors have made the U.S. hapless as it throws its hands to cling even to the smallest straw to save itself from drowning.

The U.S. expected at least 11 members of the UNSC, regardless of China and Russia, to support its resolution and to interact with it, but it missed the aim. The current atmosphere in the world does not acclimate to Trump’s belligerent performance. The White House feels it has lost the war and now it should retreat and this retreat will lead to Trump’s defeat in the November presidential election.

Trump’s rival in election, Biden, has recommended the softer policy and has put on his agenda. Biden with the Democrats’ initiative won the race both with his Democrat partisans and also pushed Trump to the corner of the cage to bark.

Looking at the U.S. from any angle is like looking at a lion without mane and power. Pompeo’s attack at China and Russia regarding their stands against the U.S. anti-Iran policies has beclouded the future climate.

While the snapback mechanism has not been triggered, Chinese officials in different interviews have reiterated that it is impossible for a country which has pulled out of the JCPOA to activate the snapback mechanism. In fact if American people are to prioritize Trump Administration’s issues in the remaining four months of his term, they would consider these issues. First, Trump should reduce the huge cost of the country by pulling out the U.S. troops from the Middle East because in the current dismal economic condition, those costs not only will do Trump and the White House any good but also will be a heavy burden added to the problems. So, this move not only will reduce financial burden, but also will help the hatred towards the Americans in the region to appease. Secondly, American people are unhappy with the government’s performance in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic. So some major part of anti-racism protests in the U.S. was about this issue that the White House has not paid enough attention to the people’s concerns over the pandemic. Thirdly, the process of dollar’s losing value and gradually reaching the collapse has created a horrible concern among the American people and Trump and the White House ignore it clearly and instead of retrenching the costs and enhancing the power for repaying the trillion dollars debts, they unreasonably expend.

Today the U.S. is more hapless and wretched than ever and it is better like 99 percent other countries in the world to focus its own internal affairs rather than to play into the hands of the Zionists who only mind their own people than the Americans’.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

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We learned that on Tuesday and before Iraqi Prime Minister Seyed Mustafa Al Kadhimi’s visit to Washington, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was in Washington to prepare the climate for Al-Kadhimi’s visit which was aimed at renewal of political and economic relations with the U.S., and to avoid any misunderstanding, Hussein underlined that his country’s relation with Iran is based on common interests like cultural, political and economic interests.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Hussein who was in Washington for holding the second round of talks between Iraq and the U.S., in a joint press conference with his American counterpart Mike Pompeo said, “Iraq sees the United States of America as his strong and will continue to protect that alliance.”

The news website “Baghdad Today” in its report says Hussein has considered Iraq’s foreign policy based on national interests and he has said, “Iraq’s relation with Iran is based on the common interests like cultural, political and economic interests.”

After this presser, Pompeo on Wednesday met Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi. After this meeting, Pompeo in his twitter account wrote, “Had a productive meeting with Prime Minister @MAKadhimi today to reaffirm our partnership and discuss the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue. The U.S. will continue to work with Iraq on ways to address their economic challenges in light of COVID-19 and decline in oil prices.”

In this visit, a high-ranking political and economic delegation, comprised of ministers of foreign affairs, oil, electricity defense, migration, accompanying the Iraqi Prime Minister. These meetings were being held while Iraqi media published different analyses on the meetings.

Decision on revival of ties between the U.S. and Iraq happens while at the top of all issues and Iraq’s priorities is talks on legal case of ending foreign forces’ presence especially American troops in Iraq.

Meanwhile Iraqi newspaper Al Sabaah in an article two days before al-Khadhimi’s visit to Washington quoted an Iraqi official as saying, “One of the main topics of the strategic talks between Iraq and the U.S. is Iraq’s request for the U.S. government’s military support from Baghdad in war with Daesh forces and undertaking for protecting the active foreign installations in the country.” Meanwhile due to the outbreak of Coronavirus and its danger and fragility of the current condition in Iraq, the country was eager to take advantage of the U.S. health support in the future.

Iraq today is totally different from the one in Saddam Hussein’s era. High-ranking officials of Iraq cannot both have the law for expulsion of the American troops in their pockets and at the same time give their hearts to the U.S. Disclosure of this double-standard approach undoubtedly vexes Iraqi people.

The pleasant color of Iraq’s independence which is covered with the blood of Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis demands transparency in Iraq’s foreign policy although maneuver of the media backing the U.S. influence in Iraq have made the climate dusty as they are trying to distract the public attention to the insignificant and marginal issues by publishing rumors and news aimed at instigating the infiltrated groups who are like jokers. But such actions cannot stop Iraqi people from not showing interest to the process and contents of the talks as they do not want once again to hand over the fate of Iraq to the groups and currents which are against the national interests of Iraqi people.

Iraqi government even with prevarication to the Americans will lose the color of transparency and it may soon be accused of hypocrisy and charges and it may make its political life fragile. Experience has shown that the U.S. has not been a good friend to any country in the region especially in Iraq.  Still clips of the savage behaviors of the U.S. troops with Iraqi people go viral. Without getting a lesson from this disgraceful background of the Americans’ behaviors towards Iraqis, Iraq’s foreign policy will face confusion.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post U.S. Is Not At All a Friend of Iraq appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“It needs to remind evil Pompeo that in Iran, unlike the oligarchy of the Wild West cowboys, Leaders are appointed & beloved of the majority of people & say nothing but what nation wants,” Shamkhani tweeted late on Wednesday.

Khamenei.ir website on Wednesday released a poster, which showed people celebrating a free Palestine. The top of the poster read: “Palestine will be free. The final solution: Resistance until referendum”.

Pompeo condemned the poster, accusing Iranian officials of practicing “anti-Semitism”.

The top Iranian official in his tweet added, “BTW, we are not anti-Semitic, we are at war with criminals, usurpers, and child killers”.

The post Shamkhani to Pompeo: We Are Not Anti-Semitic But at War with Usurpers appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, The United States deteriorated security in Persian Gulf, after it withdrew from the JCPOA two years ago, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.

“Two years ago today #US withdrew from #JCPOA. Now we can see that this step resulted in deteriorated security in P. #Gulf, development of nuclear programme of #Iran beyond the agreed limits and desperate efforts of US to restore the status of a participant of the #IranDeal,” the tweet reads.

Washington re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal (also known as the JCPOA) between Tehran and world powers that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced recently that Washington is preparing a legal argument that the US would remain a participant in the JCPOA –already renounced by the US president- as part of an intricate strategy to pressure the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran.

The post US Deteriorates Security in Persian Gulf by Exiting JCPOA appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Noting that UNSCR 2231 and JCPOA are inseparable, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif explained the resolution to his American counterpart once again.

“@SecPompeo pretends UNSCR 2231 is independent from #JCPOA. He should READ 2231,” wrote Zarif on Tuesday tweet.

Stating that Pompeo did not read the text of the resolution, he added, “JCPOA is PART of 2231. That’s why it’s 104 pages—& why he’s not read it.”

“2231 for Dummies: It would NOT EXIST w/o JCPOA. US violated it & prevented others from complying. US has NO standing,” the Iranian diplomat said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to invoke a provision in the Iran nuclear agreement, which the Trump administration pulled out of in 2018, in an effort to either extend an arms embargo on Iran or reimpose even harsher United Nations (UN) sanctions, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Last week, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called on the UN Security Council to extend Iran’s arms embargo under the pretext of preventing a new arms race in the Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized the bullying policies of the US regarding the nuclear deal and UN Security Council Resolution 2231

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According To Iran News, The Trump administration is determined to withdraw from a 28-year-old treaty intended to reduce the risk of an accidental war between the west and Russia by allowing reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which has put off a full national security council (NSC) meeting on the Open Skies Treaty (OST), the secretary of defence, Mark Esper, and secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have agreed to proceed with a US exit, according to two sources familiar with administration planning, Guardian reported.

A statement of intent is expected soon, with a formal notification of withdrawal issued a few months later, possibly at the end of the fiscal year in September. The US would cease to be a party to the treaty six months after that, so if a new president were elected in November, the decision could be reversed before taking effect.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, reconnaissance flights under the treaty have been suspended until 26 April.

The US has complained about what it says are Russian infringements of the treaty, which was signed in 1992 and has been in force since 2002: limitations on flights over the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad to less than 500km and the creation of an exclusion corridor along the border of the Russian-occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Russia imposed the limitation over Kaliningrad after a prolonged zigzagging Polish overflight in 2014 closed down aviation for a day. Russia allowed an extended flight over Kaliningrad in February.

One of the reasons Esper has cited for US withdrawal is to save money by not replacing the two Boeing OC-135B planes the US uses for its Open Skies reconnaissance flights.

Congress appropriated $41.5m last year for the cost of replacement but the Pentagon spending request published in February contained no budget for the new planes. Esper told Congress he was awaiting a decision from the president.

Three Republican hawks in the Senate, Richard Burr, Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz, sent a letter to the administration in March calling for withdrawal, for cost and security reasons.

Supporters of the Open Skies Treaty say the US and its allies benefit from it more than Russia, with three times more overflights of Russian territory than Russia flights over US and allied territory.

Furthermore, US withdrawal would not stop Russian reconnaissance flights over US bases in Europe.

The Open Skies Treaty is the latest arms control agreement to be targeted by the Trump administration, which has walked out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said: “At a time when the need for international cooperation, couldn’t be any more obvious, with respect to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, it is foreign policy malpractice for the Donald J Trump administration to withdraw from a treaty that has been in effect for nearly 30 years against the wishes of the United States closest allies in Europe.”

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According To Iran News, North Korea said the United States will not drop its hostile policy even though their two leaders have a “special relationship”, state media KCNA said on Monday.

A North Korean official said in the statement US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was undermining North Korea’s willingness to return to dialogue, criticizing his recent remarks on sanctions on North Korea.

Mr. Pompeo had said after a teleconference with G7 foreign ministers last week that all nations must remain united in calling for North Korea to return to negotiations and applying diplomatic and economic pressure over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

“The world would not know why the US-North Korea relations continue to get tangled up, despite the special relationship between the leaders of North Korea and United States,” KCNA said.

North Korea said on March 22 it welcomed a letter from US.

US President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a sign of “the special and very firm personal relations” between the two leaders despite recent frictions.

KCNA said the US president had written in the letter he was impressed by the North Korean leader’s efforts to defend his people from the coronavirus.

KCNA said earlier on Monday that North Korea’s latest test of super-large multiple rocket launchers a day earlier had been a success.

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, the latest in a flurry of launches that South Korea decried as “inappropriate” amid the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

KCNA said the launch was aimed at examining the strategic and technical features of the launchers, which has been tested multiple times since last August overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, ahead of deployment.

KCNA did not mention Mr. Kim’s attendance at the latest test, led by ruling party vice-chairman Ri Pyong Chol and conducted at the Academy of National Defense Science.

 “The operational deployment of the weapon system of super-large multiple rocket launchers is a crucial work of very great significance in realizing the party’s new strategic intention for national defense,” Mr. Ri was quoted as saying during the test, without elaborating.

 “The test-fire was conducted successfully,” KCNA added.

It marked the fourth round of tests this month since North Korea staged military drills and resumed missile launches following a three-month break.

The move indicated the progress of Pyongyang’s weapons development while denuclearization negotiations with the United States remain in limbo.

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