File photo
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations has asked in letters to its secretary-general and Security Council for condemnation of Israeli threats against Tehran and to bring Israel's nuclear programme under its supervision.
Iranian state television said Gholamali Khoshrou has asked the United Nation to force Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and bring its nuclear programme under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN atomic watchdog.
Airstrikes by Israeli forces destroyed a Boeing plane loaded with Iranian weapons, hours after it landed at the Damascus International Airport, media reports said Sunday.Israel's Channel 2 reported that Israeli jets also hit weapon stores at the airport hangars.The channel citing unnamed sources said the Israeli army declined to comment on the issue.The weapons were supposed to be delivered to the Syrian regime or its pro-Tehran Shia allies, the report said.The Syrian News Agency (SANA) confirmed that Israel bombed the Damascus airport on Saturday evening."Our air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack on Damascus International Airport and dropped a number of rockets," the agency quoted an unnamed military source as saying, without giving further details.In recent months, Israel has admitted to striking a number of Iranian targets inside Syrian territory.Israel frequently accuses Tehran of exploiting the conflict in neighboring Syria -- where Iran supports the Assad regime -- to establish a permanent military presence near Israel’s border.
Israel bombs Iranian weapons-loaded aircraft in Syria
Iran said on Saturday that Kurdish activists attacked its embassy in Paris, breaking windows, and has accused French police of arriving late on the scene.A spokeswoman for the police was unable to comment immediately.Fars news agency reported that around 15 Kurdish activists burned the Iranian flag in front of the embassy during the incident on Friday, and smashed some windows with stones.They also threw fire extinguishers and computers at the gate, according to Fars, but did not manage to enter the premises."The French government should take all necessary measures to protect Iranian diplomatic missions in that country," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA on Saturday."Unfortunately, the French police did not arrive as expected on the scene on time, although the assailants were members of a terrorist organisation," he said.Qasemi said some of the attackers were arrested.Tehran has accused France of supporting opposition groups which seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and are classified by Tehran as terrorist organisations. France has rejected Iranian accusations.Last week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired seven missiles at the headquarters in northern Iraq of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an armed opposition group that fights for greater autonomy for Iran’s Kurdish community.Iranian media said at least 11 people were killed.France has already told its diplomats and foreign ministry officials to postpone indefinitely all non-essential travel to Iran, citing a hardening of Tehran’s attitude towards France.France is also investigating a foiled plot to bomb a rally held by an exiled Iranian opposition group near Paris that was attended by U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani on June 30.An Iranian diplomat was arrested in Germany in connection with that plot.Any hardening of relations with France could have wider implications for Iran. France has been one of the strongest advocates of salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which Trump pulled out of in May.
Iran accuses French police of slow reaction to attack on Paris embassy
Europe should take action to neutralise the consequences of the U.S. decision to quit a 2015 Iran nuclear accord to ensure its own long-term economic interests, Iran's Foreign Minister said in an interview published on Saturday.Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine that Iran could "reduce its implementation" of the agreement and possibly increase uranium enrichment activities if the nuclear agreement was jeopardised by "the actions of the Americans and the passivity of the Europeans.""The Europeans and other signatories must act to offset the consequences of the U.S. sanctions," Zarif told the magazine, calling a package of measures drafted by Europe an important step that should now be implemented."What is paramount: Europe should do so not for Iran, but for its own sovereign and long-term economic interests."European Union officials strongly oppose the May decision by the United States to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, and have sought to salvage the deal in some form.Germany on Friday said it was considering setting up a payment system with its European partners that would allow continued business transactions with Iran once U.S. sanctions kick in.However, German officials concede privately that such a system would not prevent big companies that rely on U.S. exports to escape U.S. sanctions if they continue to sell to Iran.Zarif said Tehran's biggest priority was to continue to sell a reasonable amount oil worldwide and return the proceeds to Iran, as well encouraging investment and cooperation in areas such as technology and research."Europe said the nuclear agreement was in its security interest. Then Europe must be ready to pay for its security," Zarif said. "Nothing is for free."He said Europe should be "ready to pay for its security" by implementing a European Union "blocking agreement" under which it can punish European firms for withdrawing from Iranian business deals to avoid U.S. sanctions."The question is whether European wants its companies to follow European laws or American ones, or whether it will submit to the American dictates," Zarif said.He said Iran had options to act if Europe failed to act to compensate Iran for the U.S. sanctions."We do not necessarily have to cancel (the agreement). Article 36 of the agreement and Security Resolution 2231 make it possible to reduce implementation, without cancelling it," he said.Asked if Iran could resume increased enrichment of uranium, he said, "That would be one of the possibilities."Zarif said Tehran would not "waste its time" on additional negotiations with the United States about Iran's behaviour in the region unless Washington rescinded its decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement."Only when Europe ensures that (the agreement) is implemented can Iran see if the attempt should be made to talk about other issues," he said. 
Europe must offset US pullout from nuclear deal, says Iranian minister
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admonished his predecessor Friday for holding meetings with senior Iranian officials about the Iran nuclear accord, saying John Kerry is "actively undermining U.S. policy.""What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. "He was telling them to wait out this administration. You can't find precedent for this in U.S. history and Secretary Kerry ought not to engage in that kind of behavior."Kerry said earlier this week he met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif "three or four times” since he left office in early 2017, describing the meetings as normal activities for former top diplomats. He said the meetings focused on the Iran deal and other matters."What I have done is tried to elicit from him what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better,” he said during a radio news interview with Hugh Hewitt.The former top diplomat did not deny in remarks to Fox News he counseled Iranian officials to "wait out” the Donald Trump administration.Kerry's comments drew a stern rebuke from the U.S. president late Thursday when Donald Trump issued a tweet calling Kerry's meetings "illegal.""John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people," Trump said.Pompeo declined to say whether Kerry's meetings are legal, saying he would leave such determinations to others.Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May after the Obama administration spearheaded efforts to broker the accord, which saw Iran accept unprecedented curbs on its nuclear programs in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.The move rattled close U.S. allies in Europe who negotiated the agreement alongside Washington, and are seeking to salvage its nuclear restrictions.Pompeo approves ongoing military aid to Saudi coalitionTrumpian chaos and Turkish-American relationsPompeo said US won't block Pakistan if it seeks IMF bailout: Pakistani ministerIran says oil market is too tight for US zero exports target
Pompeo rips Kerry for seeking to salvage Iran deal