Trump: sanctions on Iran will double dramatically soon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of secretly enriching uranium for a long time, warning that US sanctions "will soon increase," coinciding with an emergency UN meeting on Tehran's violation of the nuclear deal. Washington has described Tehran's violation of the nuclear deal as an "attempt to extort" and that its behavior deepens its isolation and increases the risks it faces.

In detail, Trump said in a tweet on Twitter: "Iran has been secretly enriching uranium, in complete violation of the $ 150 billion deal that was concluded by former Secretary of State John Kerry and the administration of former President Barack Obama."

"Remember that this agreement would have expired in a few years. "Sanctions will soon increase significantly."

This comes after the US statement at the meeting of the Atomic Energy Agency, yesterday, that the behavior of the Iranian regime deepens its international isolation, stressing once again Washington's willingness to hold talks with Tehran.

"The behavior of the Iranian regime deepens its international isolation and increases the risks it faces," the US statement to the IAEA board said after a closed-door meeting between member states.

"Iran's expansion of its nuclear program is an attempt to blackmail the international community," he said, adding that attempts to blackmail Iran would not help ease sanctions on Tehran.

The statement said that Washington is ready for talks with Iran without preconditions with the possibility of returning to normal relations.

"We call upon Iran to abandon its recent nuclear steps and to stop any plans for further progress in the future. The United States has made it clear that we are open to negotiations without preconditions and that we offer Iran an opportunity to fully normalize relations. "

The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held a special meeting at the request of Washington to discuss the Iranian nuclear program.

Tehran announced on Monday that it had begun enriching uranium by at least 4.5 percent and also revealed an increase in its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

According to a report by IAEA experts, Iran has raised the level of uranium enrichment from 3.67%, the level set by the agreement, to 5%. The experts concluded that the reduction was in the range of 4.5%. Experts took samples of enriched material for analysis before the IAEA Board of Governors meet today.

US special envoy to Iran Brian Hawk said his country was seeking an agreement with Iran that would be approved by Congress to replace the 2015 nuclear deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from last year.

Hawk also said Washington might impose new sanctions on Iran.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday that his country's sanctions on senior Lebanese Hezbollah officials were part of America's efforts to counter the corrupt influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Pompio, through a tweet at his Twitter account, called on Washington's allies to include Hezbollah as a "whole" (with its political and military arm) as a terrorist organization.

"Today's sanctions against senior Hezbollah officials are part of the United States' efforts to counter the corrupt influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon," Pompeo said. We call upon our allies to include Hezbollah as a whole as a terrorist organization. "

The US administration on Tuesday put three Hezbollah leaders, two of them Lebanese lawmakers, on the sanctions lists for suspected use of their positions to promote the goals of the Iranian-backed militia and "promote Iran's malicious activities."

US sanctions include MP Amin Shri, MP Mohammad Raad, head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, which includes Hezbollah deputies in the Lebanese parliament, and Hezbollah's liaison and coordination officer, Wafiq Safa.

Washington has called on the Lebanese government to cut off contacts with Hezbollah members. Washington also approved an American mechanism to ensure that aid to Lebanon does not reach Hezbollah.

"The Lebanese government should be aware that the United States will not close its eyes to Hezbollah members in the government," he said. "There should be no distinction between Hezbollah political and military members." The US Treasury also said that "the Lebanese government should sever its contacts with the members on the sanctions list."

The US Treasury has accused the three members of trying to finance Hezbollah's militias. Washington considered that "MP Amin Shri threatened banks to break US sanctions in favor of Hezbollah", where he "threatened last year violence against officials of a Lebanese bank and their families after the bank froze the accounts of a financier of Hezbollah, the United States issued sanctions against him. Shri also continues with people on the terrorism list. Washington accused Shri of "exploiting his official position to advance Hezbollah's goals, which often contradict the interests of the Lebanese people and government."

In its statement, the Treasury also published a picture of Shri along with the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qasim Soleimani. The Treasury said the picture "confirms that there is no difference between the political and military activities of Hezbollah."

The New York Times quoted administration officials as saying that sanctions against Hezbollah leaders aimed to reassure the world that Washington did not distinguish between the political and military wings of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

Officials called on Lebanon's leaders to sever ties with anyone affiliated with Hezbollah, pointing out that Hezbollah threatens economic stability and security in Lebanon and the region as a whole.

They also stressed that the previous sanctions on Iran have severely weakened Hezbollah's financial resources, pointing out that further sanctions against Iran will soon emerge. They also pointed out that sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif would be imminent.

On the other hand, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency told a German newspaper in an interview published yesterday that his country intends to maintain the nuclear agreement with world powers if all parties fulfilled their obligations under it.

"We do not have one goal: we want to preserve the nuclear treaty," the Vienna-based weekly Die Zeit quoted Iran's envoy to the Vienna-based agency as saying.

"Everything can be reversed within one hour, only if all our treaty partners fulfill their obligations in the same way."

On the other hand, Egypt responded to the statements of Iranian Oil Minister Begin Zangneh, which confirmed the detention of Egypt to an Iranian ship loaded with oil in the Suez Canal, in addition to the tanker that was detained in Gibraltar.

A senior official in the Suez Canal Authority said in a press statement that the news was completely baseless, denying the detention of Iranian vessels in the Suez Canal shipping during the past days. Egypt was committed to guaranteeing the safe passage of all vessels crossing the canal in accordance with the Convention of Constantinople and, according to its terms, a moral and legal obligation, except for ships carrying the flag of a State at war with Egypt or ships that pose a danger to the shipping course during transit, Impede navigation traffic.

He pointed out that Egypt did not prevent any vessel from passing through, as long as it does not meet the criteria established by the Commission and the Convention of Constantinople.

• Washington asserts that attempts to blackmail Iran will not work to ease the sanctions, and that it is ready for talks without preconditions.