The European Union (EU) has once again thrown its weight firmly behind a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, as the United States tries its hand at undermining the agreement.

Addressing the opening session of the 2017 EU Ambassadors Conference in Brussels on Monday, Federica Mogherini said the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), represents “the European way to foreign policy.”

“This was not an agreement between two countries, I have repeated it time and again and I have the impression that we will need to repeat it time and again in the months to come,” she added, apparently referring to the stepped-up American rhetoric and action against the deal.

US President Donald Trump has called the JCPOA — which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama — “the worst deal ever” and repeatedly threatened to tear it up.

The deal was reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries — namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016.

Recent reports indicate that the Trump administration is actively seeking a pretext to potentially withdraw from the JCPOA. Among other things, the White House has reportedly been pressuring US intelligence officials to produce intelligence that could be used to declare Iran in violation of the nuclear agreement.

This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with monitoring Iranian compliance with the deal, has consistently verified the Islamic Republic’s adherence to its obligations.

Last week, the Trump administration sent US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley to Vienna to lobby with the IAEA to request access to Iranian military sites as part of the deal, a move generally considered an attempt at undermining the JCPOA.

Mogherini said in her Monday’s comments that the JCPOA was “a commitment undertaken by the entire international community on one side and Iran on the other, supported by a resolution of the UN Security Council, and certified regularly by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”

She said “compliance with the deal is certified by the IAEA and by the Joint Commission I chair…, not by one single individual country,” in a thinly-veiled rejection of US attempts to claim an Iranian breach.

The EU’s top diplomat further hailed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s “personal commitment to continue to implement their part of the deal. This is what is counting the most for us in this moment.” Iran has denounced Washington’s attempts to undermine the JCPOA.

Culled from Presstv

In yet another blow to the administration of US President Donald Trump, his deputy assistant, Sebastian Gorka, has resigned, media outlets report.

According to the Federalist newspaper, which cited multiple sources familiar with the situation, the national security and counterterrorism expert wrote a letter in which he announced his resignation over his dissatisfaction with the current state of the Trump administration.

“[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote, according to the Federalist. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House,” he added.

Gorka is another official who has resigned after Trump’s inflammatory remarks about a violent incident in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month. On August 12, a man linked to white supremacist groups ran over a group of counter-protesters during a gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville, killing one woman and injuring some 20 others.

Trump stirred a firestorm by refusing to blame the violence on white supremacists and saying that both sides were at fault. His flip-flopping on Charlottesville prompted a wave of resignations on two high-profile White House advisory boards, leading Trump to officially disband both.

Every member of the White House arts committee also resigned over the issue. In the wake of Charlottesville, four in ten Americans support Trump’s impeachment and removal from office, according to a new poll. According to the new poll recently released by the Public Religion Research Institute, 40 percent of Americans back impeaching Trump, compared to 30 percent who said the same in February.

Source: Presstv

Thousands of protesters have flooded the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, where US President Donald Trump was addressing a rally, in which he repeated his inflammatory remarks about the racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump said Tuesday that “the very dishonest media” mischaracterized his response to the violent protests in Charlottesville on August 12.

He said he “openly called for unity, healing and love” and denounced violence in the “strongest possible terms”, but the press did not report those comments and instead fabricated other stories with “no sources.”

“They don’t report the facts. Just like they don’t want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the Neo-Nazis, the white supremacists and the KKK,” he said.

“What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America and tonight, this entire arena stands united in forceful condemnation of the thugs that perpetrated hatred and violence,” the president said. In the deadly protests last weekend, neo-Nazis and white supremacists took over the Virginia city’s streets and prompted thousands of others to demonstrate in a counter-rally, which led to violent clashes.

The president blamed the violence, which left one woman dead and several others injured, on both sides of the conflict. His reaction sparked a political firestorm and drew sharp rebukes from members of Congress, military leaders and major business executives. It also led to several protests in different cities across the country.

On Tuesday, hundreds of his supporters and opponents gathered in Phoenix, with protesters shouting, “Shame, shame, shame” and “No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA.”

“Trump saying people on both sides are to blame was the last straw,” Eva Spivey, 25, of Avondale, Arizona, told CNN. “Racism is a one-sided thing.” Trump tried to diminish the number of protesters outside the venue, by saying, “Just so you know from the Secret Service, there aren’t too many people outside protesting.”

His supporters chanted, “build the wall,” a reference to Trump’s promise to build a wall on the US border with Mexico, while some others were saying, “Make America great again.”

Some other people shouted “CNN sucks” “Shame on you” and “Tell the truth,” after Trump said the media were not honest. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, had asked the president to postpone the rally.

In the wake of Charlottesville, four in ten Americans support Trump’s impeachment and removal from office, according to a new poll.

The poll released Thursday by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 40 percent of Americans back impeaching Trump, compared to 30 percent who said the same in February.

Source: Presstv

A writer who has known Donald Trump for three decades believes the US president will resign from office before the end of the year. Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump’s 1987 Art of the Deal memoir, took to Twitter on Thursday to make his prediction about Trump’s political future.

“The circle is closing at blinding speed. Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and Congress leave him no choice,” Tony Schwartz said Thursday. The circle is closing at blinding speed. Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and congress leave him no choice.

“Trump must be isolated. Resistance every day. The end is near but must keep pressure high,” he added. “Trump’s presidency is effectively over. Would be amazed if he survives till end of the year. More likely resigns by fall, if not sooner,” he continued.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller along with several congressional committees are investigating whether the Russian government coordinated with Trump’s associates during the 2016 campaign and transition, accusations both Trump and Moscow have denied. Mueller has also impaneled a grand jury, meaning he is allowed to subpoena officials and get sworn testimony which may lead to criminal indictments.

Mueller is reportedly seeking to interview current and former administration officials as part of his investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump has condemned the investigation into possible collusion between his election campaign and Russia as the “greatest witch hunt” in the US history.

Schwartz made a similar prediction in May. “There is no right and wrong for Trump. There’s winning and losing. And that’s very different from right and wrong. Right now he’s in pure terror that he is going to lose,” Schwartz said. “And by the way, he is going to lose.”

Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to lead the probe which will also look into “related matters.” He was at the helm of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 12 years, between 2001 and 2013.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump has thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for kicking out hundreds of American diplomats, because the United States is “trying to cut down [its] payroll.” “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll … I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll,” Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf club on Thursday.

“There’s no real reason for them to go back,” he added. “I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’re going to save a lot of money.” It is however unclear how President Putin’s booting out American diplomats would remove them from the US payroll.

The Republican-controlled Congress approved the new sanctions package last month against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The bill was passed with overwhelming margins, eliminating the prospect of a presidential veto. The legislation is particularly aimed at punishing Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and the reunion of Crimea with Russia.

Russia responded by saying the sanctions amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration. President Putin ordered 755 US diplomats to leave the country after Congress passed the sanctions bill.

The Trump administration, which had sought better relations with Russia, described the Russian move as another setback. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that “this had created serious mistrust,” adding that the United States would respond to Moscow’s decision.

Trump’s desire for better ties with Moscow has been hampered by accusations from US intelligence agencies that Russia operated a series of high-profile cyber attacks to change the outcome of the November 8 presidential election in favor of Trump.

A special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, as well as several congressional committees are investigating whether the Russian government coordinated with Trump’s associates during the 2016 campaign and transition. Trump denies any collusion by his campaign and Moscow denies any meddling.

Trump has voiced his criticism about that the probe, but he he said on Thursday he will not fire Mueller. “I want them to get on with the task,” Trump said, despite the fact that Mueller is investigating “something that never happened.”

Trump said Democrats are the ones who should be investigated for collusion, not him. “There was no collusion between us and Russia. In fact, the opposite,” Trump said. “Russia spent a lot of money on fighting me, and if you think about it, I want a strong military — you see our budget is up by — it will be hundreds of billions of dollars soon. Our military budget. Russia doesn’t like that. Hillary was going to cut the budget substantially — the military budget. Russia — is very important for Russia — oil. Oil and gas. We are now an exporter because of an incredible six months that — an exporter of oil and gas. That’s bad for Russia.”

“I don’t think Russia wants me because I want a strong military and I want low energy prices. Energy is a disaster, low energy prices is a disaster for Russia,” he added. Trump has previously said Russia would have preferred a weak American leader, like his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Source: Presstv

The grandson of South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, Nelson Mandela, has called on South Africa’s government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Pretoria and sever all diplomatic and business relations with the Tel Aviv regime.

On Sunday, Mandla Mandela, who is a member of parliament for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), urged ANC caucus in legislature to pressure the government to send Arthur Lenk out of the country, and recall South Africa’s Ambassador to Israel Sisa Ngombane, and cut all ties, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported.

“History calls upon us to take similar measures to those taken by freedom, justice and peace loving communities that supported the global anti-apartheid movement against the brutal and illegitimate South African regime,” he said.

Mandela also praised the decision made by a group of ANC lawmakers to turn down an Israeli delegation’s request to meet. “Parliament has stayed true to Nelson Mandela’s commitment to stand by the Palestinian cause until Palestine is free,’’ he said in a statement.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) also welcomed the measure. “Cosatu joins solidarity organizations, human rights bodies and other groups in welcoming the decision by the parliament of South Africa to turn down a request to meet with a visiting delegation from Israel,” the group said in a statement.

Most South Africans have historically supported the Palestinians due to similarities between the Israeli occupation and South Africa’s apartheid era. Mandela said in 1997 that “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in 2002 that his trip to Palestine had reminded him “so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.” The Israeli regime on the one side and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on the other fought the Six-Day War on June 5-10, 1967.

At the end of that war, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds, the Gaza Strip, and parts of the Golan Heights. Israel later withdrew from Gaza but has kept the coastal enclave under a crippling siege since 2007.

Palestinian authorities want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along pre-1967 boundaries, but Israeli officials have so far refused the call.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump has dismissed his recently appointed communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. The abrupt removal of the controversial figure after some 10 days of a crude verbal tirade against other senior staff indicates the tensions rising within Trump’s inner circle.  Brent Budowsky, columnist of The Hill,  believes the recent staff removal shows that there is “chaos” in Trump’s administration, adding that his presidency is in “big trouble.”

“So what you have is a sequence of firings and removals – the national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, the communications director, the press secretary, there have been a lot of them,” he said.

The analyst further praised the appointment of John F. Kelly as the White House Chief of Staff, expressing hope that he will succeed in bringing back some order out of the chaos and imposing some discipline that would be very valuable and helpful to Trump and to the United States.

He also opined that Anthony Scaramucci was an “absolute epic disaster” as communications director, reasoning that attacking other people in the White House as he did with former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, is not acceptable.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Budowsky noted that Washington generally has a problem with conflict of interests, asserting that Trump is taking it to “new epic heights” which is going to get him in a lot of trouble.

He also emphasized that the Trump administration should stop attacking former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton all the time, arguing that what it is doing right now is “wrong and silly”. The analyst concluded by saying that America’s political system is “dysfunctional”, stating that the American people in large numbers have rejected Trump politically and that they want change now.

However, Sameera Khan, the other panelist on the program, maintained that what is actually in chaos is the mainstream media which creates “an absolute frenzy” whenever the president fires one of his staff members. She also noted that the media as well as the Democratic elites want to portray Trump as “uniquely nefarious” which is the reason why they focus mostly on personality rather than policy positions.

The analyst further criticized the removal of Scaramucci, arguing that he was dismissed from the administration because of being a loud mouth, not his problematic policy positions. According to the analyst, the “US political discourse has been reduced to celebrity gossip” and that the basis of media coverage is not pro-facts or pro-objectivity.

Culled from Presstv

President Bashar al-Assad has praised the Syrian people and army, saying their will has defeated terrorism in the country. “The will of the Syrian people and their determination as well as the heroism of the Syrian Arab Army” are the most important reasons that have helped the country defeat foreign-backed militants, Assad said on Monday.

Assad also appreciated the Syrian people, saying they did not allow terrorist groups and their backers to halt their daily activities. He made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Tunisia’s General Labor Union (UGTT), headed by its Assistant Secretary General Bu Ali Mubaraki, in the capital Damascus, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

During the meeting, Assad stressed that the delegation’s visit carried many messages to the world as it “reflects the pulse of the Arab public opinion and its orientations.” In turn, members of the Tunisian delegation confirmed that they came to Damascus to convey a message of support for the Syrian people.

The Syrian people have showed matchless support for their leadership and army, which are defending the dignity of the Arab nation, the delegation said. The Tunisian delegation stressed that the West does not want Syria to play any role except according to what they dictate.

The delegation said the West has targeted Syria because of its fair stance towards regional developments. The delegation also described Syria as a state which remains at the forefront of the campaign against terrorism. “If what is planned against Syria succeeded, the chaos would have prevailed throughout the Arab region. Therefore, defending it is defending all the Arabs.”

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning UGTT is known to many Tunisians for the role it played in the North African country’s historic revolution of 2011. Syria has been gripped by a deadly conflict since March 2011. The government has repeatedly blamed certain foreign countries for the spread of the devastating militancy in the country.

Over the past few months, Syrian forces have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements, which have in turn increased their acts of violence across the country. Tunisia, too, has experienced violence since the 2011 uprising that ousted the country’s dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was in power for over two decades. The country has also been affected by the growing instability in neighboring Libya, which has been in chaos since former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and later killed in 2011.

During the past six years, Tunisia has witnessed multiple terrorist attacks. Tunisia is among the countries with the highest per capita number of extremist militants operating in other countries. Thousands of Tunisians have reportedly left their country since 2011 to fight alongside extremist groups in Iraq and Syria.

The gloomy status quo of Daesh has growingly worried Tunisians who fear that many militants would return to the North African country. Late last year, Tunisian authorities warned about the return of thousands of Takfiri militants, calling for “exceptional measures” to combat the phenomenon.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump has just had one of the worst weeks of his presidency, highlighted by humiliating attacks against his attorney general, infighting among White House advisers, a major change of staff, and the failure to overhaul the healthcare system.

The backlash started last week when Trump publicly humiliated Attorney General Jeff Sessions as “very weak,” hoping the top lawyer would buckle under pressure and resign. Senate Republicans were quick to come to their former colleague’s defense, urging Sessions to stand his ground. They forced Trump to back off by threatening to block any effort to replace Sessions.

The president is furious that Sessions recused himself from the ongoing investigation into the alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.  However, experts say going to these lengths to verbally abuse the attorney general betrays Trump’s sense of frustration with his inability to shut down a probe that has bedeviled his presidency.

Then came the bizarre series of tweets declaring that the US military would no longer accept transgender personnel, practically attempting to change military policy on Twitter without notifying his military generals. Trump’s surprise declaration, which appeared to pre-empt an ongoing Pentagon review into the issue, drew sharp rebuke from the nation’s senior officers.

“I hope our commander in chief understands that we don’t transmit orders via Twitter, and that he can’t, either,” a senior officer told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. “Even if this were an order, implementing it legally would take considerable time, if it’s even possible.”

America’s top military officer, Marine General Joseph Dunford, told the armed forces on Thursday there had been no change to the current policy.

Congressional Republicans also backed the president into a corner by their veto-proof passage of legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia, undercutting Trump’s efforts to improve relations with the Cold War adversary. Knowing that a Trump veto would be easily overridden, the White House announced that the president intended to sign the bill, which also includes sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

The turmoil spilled into public when Trump’s new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, launched an obscenity-laced rant against then chief of staff Reince Priebus. In a sign that major change was needed, Trump then terminated Priebus and installed Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to take command.

Above all, Trump suffered his biggest legislative setback to date, when three Senate Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in rejecting a measure to replace and repeal Obamacare. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose recent medical procedure had delayed a vote on health care, sided with Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and effectively killed the so-called “skinny repeal” package.

Hill staffers braced themselves for Trump to take out his anger on McCain, a former Trump antagonist, but the president surprisingly kept his cool on that front. Instead, he warned the entire Congress that healthcare “bailouts” for insurers and lawmakers would soon end unless they pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!” Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon.

Strategists are wondering whether this past week would mark the beginning of Republicans standing up to a president, whose run for the White House they so reluctantly backed in the first place.

“Anyone in a position of responsibility in GOP politics is quickly losing patience with President Trump,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former adviser to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, told The New York Times. “The dysfunction is beyond strange; it’s dangerous.”

“If Trump’s poll numbers were above 50 percent,” Conant continued, “healthcare reform would have passed. Instead, he’s spent more time responding to cable-TV chatter than rallying support for his agenda.”

Source: Presstv

Three European allies of the US have engaged in rhetoric against Iran after the country successfully tested a satellite-launch rocket, urging Tehran to halt all its missile activities. “We condemn this action,” read a joint statement by Britain, France, Germany and the US on Friday, claiming the test is in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted in July 2015 to endorse Iran’s nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA), with six world powers.

“Iran’s program to develop ballistic missiles continues to be inconsistent with UNSCR 2231 and has a destabilizing impact in the region. We call on Iran not to conduct any further ballistic missile launches and related activities,” the statement added. Resolution 2231 calls on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

Tehran insists its missile tests and rocket launches do not breach any UN resolution, because they are solely for defense purposes and not designed to carry nuclear warheads. Earlier on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said “every word” of the nuclear deal has been carefully negotiated, adding, “Iran does not develop missiles that are designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”

The statement by the US and its European allies came a day after Washington described the successful satellite-carrying rocket launch as “a provocative action,” accusing Iran of violating UN Security Council resolutions.
Since his inauguration on January 20, US President Donald Trump has adopted a hostile policy towards Iran. He has repeatedly vowed to cancel the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including the US. Trump’s administration has also imposed new sanctions on multiple Iranian individuals and entities.

On Thursday, Iran launched its domestically-manufactured Simorgh carrier, whose mission is to put Iranian satellites into orbit. The launch was carried out from the Imam Khomeini Space Center in the central Iranian province of Semnan. Simorgh, named after a bird in Persian mythology, is capable of placing a satellite weighing up to 250 kilograms in an orbit of 500 kilometers.

Designed and developed with the latest standards in mind, Iran’s new space rocket can carry satellites weighing up to 250 kilograms (550 pounds) about 500 kilometers (310 miles) away, well within the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The rocket, Iran’s largest to date, will be used to launch the domestically-built Earth observation satellite Tolou (Sunrise) in the near future. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the successful test-launch, saying such scientific achievements boost the Islamic Republic’s power and grandeur.

Iran’s Defense Minister ‎Hossein Dehqan, who accompanied Rouhani at the space center on Thursday, told reporters that the spaceport acted as a “command and control site” that could track and control satellites at all times.
He noted that the center was already capable of launching satellites to higher orbits of up to 1,000 kilometers. Iran launched its first locally-built satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. The country also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using Kavoshgar (Explorer)-3 carrier.

In February 2015, Iran placed the domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite into orbit. The satellite is capable of taking and transmitting high-quality and accurate pictures to stations on Earth. Simorgh’s launch came as the US Congress passed new sanctions against Iran over its development of missiles for defensive purposes. The bill, which also includes sanctions against Russia and North Korea, awaits US President Donald Trump’s approval.

Source: Presstv