‘Iran started pulling out of 2015 N-deal’
| Date :16-May-2019 |
TEHRAN:
President Hassan Rouhani had on May 8 warned that Iran would begin to withdraw from key aspects of the agreement if global powers failed to keep their commitments within the next 60 days
IRAN has officially ended its compliance with several commitments of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s atomic energy body said on Wednesday. An official from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran told the semi-official ISNA news agency that “the country has begun to stop implementing some of its obligations under the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) as underlined in an SNSC (Supreme National Security Council) statement”, Efe news reported.
“Stopping programmes related to compliance with ceiling for production of enriched uranium as well as the unlimited production of heavy water at the Arak facility are programmes seriously pursued as stressed during the first 60-day period related to Iran’s first step in response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal,” the official added.
On May 8, President Hassan Rouhani warned that Iran would begin to withdraw from key aspects of the agreement if global powers failed to keep their commitments within the next 60 days. With Washington tightening its sanctions on the Islamic republic, Rouhani issued a 60-day suspension for the rest of the signatories of the pact to fulfill Iran’s demands and save the country’s banking system and oil trade from international sanctions.
US orders embassy staff in Baghdad, Erbil to leave amid tension with Iran
WASHINGTON:
THE US on Wednesday ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil, as tensions mount between the United States and Iraq’s neighbour Iran. Washington has ramped up pressure on Tehran in recent days, accusing Iran of planning “imminent” attacks in the region, and bolstering the American military presence in the Gulf.
A State Department advisory announcing the partial embassy closures warned of numerous terrorist and insurgent groups active in Iraq, including “anti-US sectarian militias” who could “threaten US citizens and Western companies throughout Iraq.” The US last year shut its consulate in the protest-hit southern Iraqi city of Basra, blaming “indirect fire” by Iran-backed forces. Tensions have sharply escalated between arch-rivals Washington and Tehran since US President Donald Trump withdrew last May from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.