Iran

[l apprenti de forgeron]

That's some strong words - looks like some European leaders know what's going on and increasingly feel in a position to outright say it, OSIT.

Well, that is probably propaganda of the oligarchs of the EU/NATO to move towards the "US of Europe" - also called "of the regions" -. Since the EU appears to be cornered by the Brexit, the "threat" of Putin, and the US -that apparently is closing in itself-. With this they will try to make believe that the EU is separated from the US custody/tutelage and they will gain a voice at international level. It's a criminal circus of oligarchs, since with the federation they only seek to destroy the European nations in regions without any power, and to transfer and centralize all sovereignty in Brussels, generating a single state and a single European army. A great danger for all European peoples, since that federalism will have the power to wage war against Russia (and China), and new ruthless transatlantic treaties, among other monstrosities. And, of course, all this always under the US custody.

 

[luc]

Well, that is probably propaganda of the oligarchs of the EU/NATO to move towards the "US of Europe" - also called "of the regions" -. Since the EU appears to be cornered by the Brexit, the "threat" of Putin, and the US -that apparently is closing in itself-. With this they will try to make believe that the EU is separated from the US custody/tutelage and they will gain a voice at international level. It's a criminal circus of oligarchs, since with the federation they only seek to destroy the European nations in regions without any power, and to transfer and centralize all sovereignty in Brussels, generating a single state and a single European army. A great danger for all European peoples, since that federalism will have the power to wage war against Russia (and China), and new ruthless transatlantic treaties, among other monstrosities. And, of course, all this always under the US custody.

That strikes me as too simplistic. It assumes a grand conspiracy between the US and the EU to carry out a strange plan - a) hurt European companies with the withdrawal from the deal, b) European companies and politicians being outraged at this to c) have politicians rail against US dependence which can be used to d) give Brussels more power to then e) destroy regions and nation states to f) bring Europe even further under US control... Nah, I'm not buying this.

I think what's happening is more straightforward: the US is rapidly losing its grip on the world that it had for so long, and the deep state is getting more and more desperate and stupid in its attempts to fight this obvious reality. This in turn has become so obvious that I suspect many bureaucrats and leaders in the EU are quite aware of it, although most can't speak out. The withdrawal from the Iran deal, in this context, is like another show of power by the US, but one which terribly hurts European companies, which no politician can really ignore. So they are outraged and basically say "screw you US, we're not taking your BS anymore".

Merkel just said this: "It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that's the task of the future."

Indeed it is. It has been for a long time.

Now, with regards to centralization in the EU, corruption in Brussels and so on, that is a problem. But the EU and globalization in general are a reality, they won't go away anytime soon. Dealing with all that is important and multi-faceted, but if the EU can get one step further away from the death grip of the dying US empire, that would be good, I think.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

That strikes me as too simplistic. It assumes a grand conspiracy between the US and the EU to carry out a strange plan - a) hurt European companies with the withdrawal from the deal, b) European companies and politicians being outraged at this to c) have politicians rail against US dependence which can be used to d) give Brussels more power to then e) destroy regions and nation states to f) bring Europe even further under US control... Nah, I'm not buying this.

I do not believe European federalism is going to be easy to implement. And I do not think the elites will think about implementation resorting to conspiracies, but rather making transactions, which is based on the interests of factions, businesses. In the EU there is no democracy -nor separation of powers, nor the authentic representation of the electors-, so that by means of an agreement with the heads of the states parties, the different programs can be carried out.

I think what's happening is more straightforward: the US is rapidly losing its grip on the world that it had for so long, and the deep state is getting more and more desperate and stupid in its attempts to fight this obvious reality. This in turn has become so obvious that I suspect many bureaucrats and leaders in the EU are quite aware of it, although most can't speak out. The withdrawal from the Iran deal, in this context, is like another show of power by the US, but one which terribly hurts European companies, which no politician can really ignore. So they are outraged and basically say "screw you US, we're not taking your BS anymore".

Merkel just said this: "It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that's the task of the future."

Indeed it is. It has been for a long time.

Yes, I agree with what you say about the US, but that does not mean that the European oligarchs can get away with having their own voice, even if they realize what is happening. European politicians are bureaucrats, square heads who have made functionary careers and, one day, have reached executive positions. But they do not rule!, they do not exercise those functions, they are still state officials and nothing else. They will not change anything. Again, they are bureaucrats. And they are controlled, after the Second World War, by the triumphant US. I do not trust anything in Europeans states; but something different can happen with the awakening of the European peoples ...

Now, with regards to centralization in the EU, corruption in Brussels and so on, that is a problem. But the EU and globalization in general are a reality, they won't go away anytime soon. Dealing with all that is important and multi-faceted, but if the EU can get one step further away from the death grip of the dying US empire, that would be good, I think.

Surely, that would be excellent, but you can not count with the European ruling classes. There are some exceptions, probably, but I do not know if they will be able to change something of importance.

 

[Ca.]

Hot off the presses.

Trump’s Ambassador to Germany Stokes Furor Over Iran Just One Day Into Job
Updated on May 9, 2018, 5:47 PM GMT+2 Video / 02:01

President Donald Trump’s ambassador

in Berlin is fueling trans-Atlantic tension less than 24 hours into the job after telling German companies to get out of Iran.

Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist and former Fox News contributor, took office as U.S. ambassador to Germany on Tuesday, hours before the president blew the latest hole in relations with Europe by pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear accord.

Richard Grenell in Berlin on May 8.
Photographer: Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images

With the U.S. set to reimpose sanctions on Iran, Grenell drove home the point, saying on Twitter that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.” That stoked consternation in a country that’s among the U.S.’s most loyal allies and is struggling to respond to the American president’s upending of international norms.

“It’s not my task to give lessons in the high art of diplomacy, and certainly not to the U.S. ambassador, but he may need a bit of tutoring,” Andrea Nahles, whose Social Democratic Party is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, told reporters.

To Merkel’s Packed In-Tray, Add Trump’s Non-Stop Germany Bashing

“It wasn’t necessary,” Peter Beyer, the German government’s coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations, said by phone from Washington. “Maybe it’s the new style.”

The sharp words reflect a shifting relationship as Merkel’s chancellery seeks to adapt to a U.S. president it views as having his sights set on curbing Germany’s economic power. Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the U.S. who runs the annual Munich Security Conference, took to Twitter to tell Grenell he risks antagonizing his host nation.

Don’t Lecture

“Ric: my advice, after a long ambassadorial career: explain your own country’s policies, and lobby the host country,” Ischinger said in tweet. “But never tell the host country what to do, if you want to stay out of trouble. Germans are eager to listen, but they will resent instructions.”

Merkel came home empty-handed from Washington in April after urging Trump to stay in the Iran accord and to give the European Union a permanent U.S. tariff waiver on steel and aluminum exports. Trump, meanwhile, has taken aim at Germany over its trade surplus with the U.S., relatively low defense spending and support for the Nord Stream natural-gas pipeline from Russia. He’s also threatened tariffs on German luxury cars.

Grenell sent a follow-up tweet Wednesday saying his earlier comment matched White House talking points. That didn’t halt the outraged response in Germany.

The initial tweet was a “threat” to German industry, Omid Nouripour, a lawmaker with the opposition Greens party, told Deutschlandfunk radio. “This just isn’t a tone of cooperation and one has to tell him that very clearly.”

Pressuring Germany

Grenell has made his mark in U.S. Republican politics, serving during the administration of former President George W. Bush as spokesman for U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations, including John Bolton, now Trump’s national security adviser.

Trump has taken up Grenell’s cause, periodically berating Senate Democrats for holding up his confirmation. On Monday the president wished him luck -- “A great and talented guy, he will represent our Country well!” he tweeted.

Grenell, who made the front page of Wednesday’s edition of mass-market Bild newspaper standing beside President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at his confirmation, drew attention in Berlin last month even before his arrival.

After the U.K. and France joined U.S.-led air strikes in Syria, he tweeted on April 13 that “Germany should have joined.” It was a departure from the diplomatic norm of recognizing Germany’s reluctance to join combat missions since World War II.

Eric Schweitzer, head of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said German companies shouldn’t be made to suffer just because the U.S. is leaving the Iran accord -- and Grenell’s intervention wasn’t helping.

“The new U.S. ambassador’s comments are causing great uncertainty and displeasure in the business community,” he said in an email.

— With assistance by Arne Delfs, and Nick Wadhams

Merkel: "Europe Can No Longer Rely On The US To Protect It"

https://twitter.com/x/status/994519887459618816

German Industrial Output Posts Biggest Gain in Four Months
markets - May 8, 2018

 

[OrangeScorpion]

That strikes me as too simplistic. It assumes a grand conspiracy between the US and the EU to carry out a strange plan - a) hurt European companies with the withdrawal from the deal, b) European companies and politicians being outraged at this to c) have politicians rail against US dependence which can be used to d) give Brussels more power to then e) destroy regions and nation states to f) bring Europe even further under US control... Nah, I'm not buying this.

I think what's happening is more straightforward: the US is rapidly losing its grip on the world that it had for so long, and the deep state is getting more and more desperate and stupid in its attempts to fight this obvious reality. This in turn has become so obvious that I suspect many bureaucrats and leaders in the EU are quite aware of it, although most can't speak out. The withdrawal from the Iran deal, in this context, is like another show of power by the US, but one which terribly hurts European companies, which no politician can really ignore. So they are outraged and basically say "screw you US, we're not taking your BS anymore".

You can call the federalist agenda a "great conspiracy", but above all it is an "old conspiracy" because this agenda has been going on for many years by the Western elite.... Since the European Federalist Movement was founded in 1943 and in 1946 Joseph Retinger said at the Royal Institute of International Affairs that Europe needed to create a federal union of countries renouncing part of its sovereignty, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then.

The deep relationship of the CIA or Soros with the federalist cause is enough to write a book or two.

We currently have the so-called anti-troika Varoufakis walking around Europe while lecturing on the importance of European federalism and Soros' Eurobonds.

In Spain, with the false Catalan conflict, everyone proclaims federalism as the solution to this great prefabricated crisis. One wonders if they are all federalists, where is the Catalan conflict? Independentists, conservatives, progressives, alternatives, they are all federalists.... It's crazy, we're at such a high level in Spain that if you have a stomachache, the doctor prescribes federalism. It is the solution of the moment in Spain and Europe.

Such a level of hysteria in Spain should not be ignored if we consider that Soros, Germany and Brussels are supposedly pulling the strings of Catalan independence.

In short, in my opinion, we are not talking in a senseless contest, another issue is whether or not this federalist agenda is related to Europe's defiance of the US over Iran.

I find it very hard to believe that Europe can free itself from America, you know, so many European children have died to have the elite totally controlled and blackmailed that I cannot believe your optimistic view of the facts. I hope I'm wrong, but I see l apprenti de forgeron's line of argument as much more coherent: an autonomous Europe now seems very appropriate for federalist plans. We will have to wait and see how things continue to develop, but at the moment this looks very bad:

Merkel just said this: "It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that's the task of the future."

The translation of Merkel's words has been made by l apprenti de forgeron:

It's a criminal circus of oligarchs, since with the federation they only seek to destroy the European nations in regions without any power, and to transfer and centralize all sovereignty in Brussels, generating a single state and a single European army.

I don't understand economics, but Europe has lost a lot of money by distancing itself from Russia and the big Western media have completely ignored this issue. Where were the big businessmen? I haven't seen them. I have only seen the farming peoples of Europe complaining, perhaps because they were the only ones to suffer, I don't know... but it is surprising to see now ALL the big Western media and the big businessmen worrying about the European pocket with the agreement with Iran. IMHO

And I'm not simplifying the conflict of the Iranian agreement in a conspiracy aimed at the federation of Europe, but highlighting one of the possible effects of this spontaneous autonomy that Europe seems to have suddenly acquired. This is not the thread to talk about federalism, but with or without the Iranian effect, the federalist agenda is moving forward in Europe and I think more strongly than ever, but this is another discussion.

 

[angelburst29]

From Sputnik:
EU's Juncker: Europe Must Replace US as Leader After Trump Quits Iran Deal

That's some strong words - looks like some European leaders know what's going on and increasingly feel in a position to outright say it, OSIT.

I wonder, if one of the many reasons Trump pulled out of the Iranian Deal was so he could impose Sanctions and eventually break up the EU and start a Trade War?

29 Apr, 2018 - EU was created to rip US off, Trump says as allies brace for trade war
EU was created to rip US off, Trump says as allies brace for trade war

The European Union was formed to rip off the US, President Donald Trump said during a rally, as he vowed to “take on” the bloc and China, saying that the days of “disastrous trade deals” are over.

Trump unleashed a tirade aimed at the European Union at a campaign-style rally in Michigan on Saturday. Taking aim at the EU's trade policies, Trump said that the bloc “was put there to take advantage of the United States.”

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

You can call the federalist agenda a "great conspiracy", but above all it is an "old conspiracy" because this agenda has been going on for many years by the Western elite.... Since the European Federalist Movement was founded in 1943 and in 1946 Joseph Retinger said at the Royal Institute of International Affairs that Europe needed to create a federal union of countries renouncing part of its sovereignty, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then.

The deep relationship of the CIA or Soros with the federalist cause is enough to write a book or two.

We currently have the so-called anti-troika Varoufakis walking around Europe while lecturing on the importance of European federalism and Soros' Eurobonds.

In Spain, with the false Catalan conflict, everyone proclaims federalism as the solution to this great prefabricated crisis. One wonders if they are all federalists, where is the Catalan conflict? Independentists, conservatives, progressives, alternatives, they are all federalists.... It's crazy, we're at such a high level in Spain that if you have a stomachache, the doctor prescribes federalism. It is the solution of the moment in Spain and Europe.

Such a level of hysteria in Spain should not be ignored if we consider that Soros, Germany and Brussels are supposedly pulling the strings of Catalan independence.

In short, in my opinion, we are not talking in a senseless contest, another issue is whether or not this federalist agenda is related to Europe's defiance of the US over Iran.

I agree.
A few other things. Macron spoke about sovereignty. Obviously the sovereignty - and nationalism - of the EU member states is prohibited. When they speak of sovereignty of the EU they refer to themselves, of the power for the oligarchs. Although separatist nationalisms are allowed to a certain extent, but only to achieve certain ends: the fragmentation of nation-states. Thus the separatist regions will never be sovereign with the destruction of nation-states, but the sovereign will be Brussels. If the sovereignty of existing nations is no longer allowed, the regions will be even less sovereign, which can be formed in a completely artificial and unhistorical way. But to the separatist leaders the sovereignty does not matter to them as long as they have secured their state offices, salaries and pensions. These are the business that allow them to carry forward the agenda of the "US of Europe".
In terms of defense: The last meeting of Merkel and Macron has shown that the plan is to deepen the joint defense of the EU without relying on the US. In other words, NATO no longer works and it is necessary to "advance in a common European security policy". The Brussels oligarchy is no longer content to live by plundering the European peoples with its debt-currency, which now also wants the Europeans to maintain their new industrial-military complex. And will that European federation be independent of US power? I consider that impossible in the current scenario. The European oligarchs will have even more power, and federalism will allow to many more offices to be introduced in the EU to more state parasites from each region. Expansion of the EU to integrate more politicians into the state oligarchy; but the situation for the peoples / nations will be worse.
Thinking about European federalism reminds me of what the C's have said (the 13 may 2017 session): "Everyone will speak English!"
Maybe we have to open a new thread to talk about European federalism. It's a very interesting topic.

 

[Ruth]

I'm glad I went for a holiday to Iran in 2013. It was absolutely fascinating and totally recommended. They have the best carpets and the best mosques (which we were allowed into providing we were dressed correctly) and the most historical sites. On the down side, they have the most red tape, however.

Perhaps I should think of posting in travel logs? It was just that I was reminded of the Mark Twain quote:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

 

[Ca.]

Could Oil Hit $100? | OilPrice.com
May 11, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT

Iran continues to dominate the headlines, keeping WTI above $71 per barrel and Brent at $77 per barrel as of early trading on Friday. The exchange of airstrikes between Iran and Israel is also adding to the tension. Meanwhile, aside from the huge increase in U.S. oil production, the EIA reported some bullish figures this week – a decline in both crude oil and gasoline inventories by more than expected.

OPEC sees Iranian outage as not immediate. Any loss of supply from Iran due to U.S. sanctions will take time, and OPEC won’t rush to increase output in the interim, sources told Reuters. The steep losses from Venezuela combined with the potential disruption in Iran could force OPEC to adjust production levels earlier than it had expected. But because U.S. sanctions don’t really take effect until November, OPEC is not scrambling just yet. “I think we have 180 days before any supply impact,” an OPEC source said. They will meet in Vienna in a month to evaluate the current status of the oil market and the production limits.

Short-term supply glut eases Iran fears. Although supply outages from Iran could severely tighten the oil market, Bloomberg reports that there is currently a bit of a supply glut, which should prevent a sudden price spike. Oil traders have reported unsold cargoes in north-west Europe, the Mediterranean, China and West Africa. The sudden emergence of a temporary glut is reflected in the Brent timespreads, with the July-August spread falling from 63 cents per barrel last month to just 24 cents per barrel this week, a five-month low. The narrowing of the spread is a “sure sign of an oversupplied market,” Bloomberg reports. However, timespreads further out are widening, a sign that the market expects things to tighten up towards the end of the year. Related: How Much Iranian Oil Can Trump Disrupt?

What will top buyers of Iranian oil do? China is the largest single buyer of oil from Iran at about 700,000 bpd. South Korea comes in second at a little over 250,000 bpd. The Trump administration’s plan of squeezing Iran hinges on the decisions made by these buyers. They have until November to reduce their purchases, although the U.S. Treasury told them to begin immediately. Still, it will be tough for U.S. diplomats to convince them. A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that “normal, transparent and pragmatic cooperation with Iran” would continue.

Related: Who Was Buying Iranian Oil And What Happens Next?

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Who-Was-Buying-Iranian-Oil-And-What-Happens-Next.html

Iran Accuses U.S. Of Pushing Up Oil Prices | OilPrice.com
May 11, 2018, 9:30 AM CDT

U.S. President Trump has made a deal with some OPEC producers to keep prices high as they support the U.S. economy and boost federal taxes. This is what Iran’s Energy Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on state TV this week as quoted by Bloomberg, adding that Trump was engaging in “shenanigans” on the oil market.

It’s not too hard to guess which the OPEC producers Zanganeh mentioned are. Saudi Arabia has been a strong opponent of the Iran nuclear deal and was now quick to offer to fill any gap that new U.S. sanctions would leave on international oil markets by curbing Iran’s abilities to export its crude.

Saudi Arabia is also the most vocal supporter of ever-higher prices, as it prepares to list its state energy giant Aramco and struggles with a much too high breakeven price for its crude.

Iran, on the other hand, has repeatedly called for more “reasonable” prices, which for the Tehran officials are prices between US$60 and $65 a barrel. Like many analysts, Iran is concerned that pricey crude oil will start affecting demand, and not in a good way.
Now, some forecast oil could reach US$100 a barrel by next year, with one hedge fund manager, notorious Pierre Andurand, going as high as US$300 a barrel. Apparently, according to the bull camp, oil can reach US$300 without hurting demand enough to start sliding back down.

This stance is questionable, to say the least. Already some experts, such as Reuters’ John Kemp, are warning that the imposition of new U.S. sanctions on Iran would spur other OPEC members into increasing their production levels, which would effectively put an end to the OPEC production cut deal. Should this happen, prices will not get even close to US$100, they will start sliding back to US$60.

Another group of people tracking events in the oil world believes that sanctions will not have a serious negative effect on Iranian oil shipments to its biggest clients. China has stated its commitment to Iranian imports, and as an added benefit for both, is ready to settle these imports in yuans, undermining the dominance of the greenback. Other importers, including staunch U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, are also looking for ways to keep on buying Iranian crude.

 

[Ursus Minor]

Iranian Regime Threatens To Release Names Of Western Officials Who Took Bribes To Pass Nuke Deal

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari warned Western officials this week that if they do not put pressure on the Trump administration the Iranian regime will leak the names of all Western officials who were bribed to pass the deal. (05/13/18)

Raman Ghavami on twitter.com

Read more on libertybugle.com

 

[Ursus Minor]

The image featured in my post above is of Hossein Jaberi Ansari, a senior assistant to Iran’s foreign minister in political affairs.

Ursus

 

[Ca.]

Corbett Report Extras Published on May 12, 2018

SHOW NOTES AND MP3: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=26932 James appears for his bi-monthly appearance on Financial Survival to discuss the latest in news, geopolitics and economics. This week he breaks down the US' withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and its potential ramifications, including what it means for nuclear negotiations with North Korea

 

[Ca.]

Published on May 15, 2018 / 5:13

Israel's Aggressive Behavior is Embodied and Prophesied in the Hebrew Bible
14 hours ago Snip:
The biblical mind of Israel’s founding fathers

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is for the committed Jew as much a record of his ancient origins, the prism through which all Jewish history is interpreted (is not the “Holocaust” a biblical term?), and the unalterable pattern of Israel’s promising future. That is why the Bible, once the “portable fatherland” of the Diaspora Jews as Heinrich Heine put it, remains at the core of the national narrative of the Jewish State, whose founding fathers did not give it any other Constitution.

It is true that the earliest prophets of political Zionism — Moses Hess (Rome and Jerusalem, 1862), Leon Pinsker (Auto-Emancipation, 1882) and Theodor Herzl (The Jewish State, 1896) — did not draw their inspiration from the Bible, but rather from the great nationalist spirit that swept through Europe at the end of the 19th century. Pinsker and Herzl actually cared little whether the Jews colonized Palestine or any other region of the globe; the first thought about some land in North America, while the second contemplated Argentina and later Uganda. More important still than nationalism, what drove these intellectual pioneers was the persistence of Judeophobia or anti-Semitism: Pinsker, who was from Odessa, converted during the pogroms that followed the assassination of Alexander II; Herzl, at the height of the Dreyfus affair.

Nevertheless, by naming his movement “Zionism,” Herzl himself was plugging it into biblical mythology: Zion is a name used for Jerusalem by biblical prophets. And after Herzl, the founders of the Yishuv (Jewish communities settled in Palestine before 1947) and later of the Jewish State were steeped in the Bible. From their point of view, Zionism was the logical and necessary end of biblical Yahwism.

“The Bible is our mandate,” Chaim Weizmann declared at the Peace Conference in Versailles in 1920, and David Ben-Gurion has made clear that he only accepted the 1947 UN Partition Plan as a temporary step toward the goal of biblical borders. In Ben-Gurion, Prophet of fire(1983), the biography of the man described as “the personification of the Zionist dream,” Dan Kurzman entitles each chapter with a Bible quote. The preface begins like this:​

​

“The life of David Ben-Gurion is more than the story of an extraordinary man. It is the story of a Biblical prophecy, an eternal dream. […] Ben-Gurion was, in a modern sense, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, a messiah who felt he was destined to create an exemplary Jewish state, a ‘light unto the nations’ that would help to redeem all mankind.”​

​

Syriana Analysis Streamed live on May 17, 2018 / 25:09

Live chat with Hadi Nasrallah, an independent Lebanese writer and contributor with Syriana Analysis on what would happen to Lebanon if Syria falls in the hands of the Islamist group

 

[youlik]

Отказ от ядерных разработок, баллистических ракет и поддержки союзников: Помпео огласил требования США к Ирану
21 мая 2018, 23:18 Илья Соколов, Анастасия Румянцева

Translation
The renunciation of nuclear development, ballistic missiles and support for allies: Pompeo announced the requirements of the United States to Iran
21 may 2018, 23: 18 Ilya Sokolov, Anastasia Rumyantseva
Us Secretary of state Mike Pompeo called the conditions under which Washington is ready to go for a new nuclear deal. The list of requirements consists of 12 items.
"First, Iran should provide the IAEA with a full report on the development of nuclear weapons in its current state and completely abandon these works in the future. Secondly, Iran should refuse to enrich plutonium and stop all work, including the closure of the nuclear reactor," the head of the state Department said.
According to Pompeo, Tehran should provide IAEA inspectors with access "to all facilities across the country without restrictions", as well as stop the implementation of the program of creation of ballistic missiles and testing of ready-made missiles.
In addition, Washington requires Iran to" release the citizens of the United States and the partner countries of the United States", as well as to stop"support for terrorist groups".
"Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and guarantee the disarmament and integration of the Shiite armed groups into the peaceful life. Iran should also refuse to support armed groups and seek a political settlement in Yemen, withdraw all groups controlled by it from Syria and stop supporting the Taliban movement* and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the region," Pompeo said.
The US also demands that Iran "stop launching missile strikes on the territory of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates" and "stop threatening Israel with destruction".
Pompeo expressed hope that the us demands will be supported by European allies, as well as Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and others.
"We know that all these countries have the same tasks and the same understanding of the problems that our countries face," the us Secretary of state said.
Отказ от ядерных разработок, баллистических ракет и поддержки союзников: Помпео огласил требования США к Ирану

"Мы подадим на США в суд"

Translation
"We will sue the US"
Iran responded to Michael Pompeo, who promised in case of preservation, as the us Secretary of state put it, "aggressive foreign policy" the toughest sanctions in the history."
The statement of the Iranian foreign Ministry said that the country considers " shameless statements of the us Secretary of state as an obvious interference in internal Affairs and an illegal threat against a UN member state, leaving the right to prosecution."
The foreign Minister of Iran noted that the United States remains a prisoner of the previous failed policy in the region, and that for such actions they will be responsible.
"Мы подадим на США в суд"

 

[Ca.]

Iranian Forces Will Not Participate In Any Operation In Daraa: Iranian Official
23.05.2018

On May 23, Iran’s ambassador to Jordan Mojtaba Ferdosipour told the Jordanian al-Ghad newspaper that Iranian forces will not participate in any possible military operation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in southern Syria. The ambassador suggested that such operation will be backed by Russia.

“Iran will not have any role or participation in such an operation [in southern Syria] if it happened, just as we did not have a role in the operations of Ghouta, Duma and Damascus,” Ferdosipour said during an interview with al-Ghad.

Ferdosipour also confirmed that Russia and the Damascus government are currently negotiating with militants in southern Syria in an attempt to reach a peaceful solution. If these efforts are failed, a military operation will be an option, according to the Iranian diplomat.

The Iranian ambassador also denied the presence of Iranian forces in the southern governorate of Daraa and stressed that only the SAA and the Jordanian Army should be deployed on the Syrian-Jordanian border. Ferdosipour added that Iran had supported the US-Russian ceasefire agreement, which was employment in southern Syria in July 2017.

“We support cooperation and communication between Jordan and Syria to ensure the security of the border between the two countries,” Ferdosipour said.​

According to local observers, the SAA and Russia are indeed preparing to launch a large-scale military operation against the radical militants in governorates of Daraa and al-Quneitra. Elite units of the SAA 4th Division, Republican Guard and the Tiger Forces are already being deployed in southern Syria.

Video / Israel, U.S. Prepare For Further Attacks On Syria

Iran Tensions Send Oil Spiking Again | OilPrice.com
May 22, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT
Oil prices rose on Monday after the U.S. announced a bellicose list of demands on Iran, leaving little chance of a new accord

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)
- More than 23 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas pipeline capacity will come online by the end of this year, a jump of almost a third from 16.7 Bcf/d at the end of last year.
- The wave of new pipelines will allow shale gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shales to reach the U.S. South, Midwest, Gulf Coast and even Eastern Canada.
- The new pipelines will also allow for another step up in upstream shale drilling.
Market Movers
• Total (NYSE: TOT) wants to expand its search for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus, and will seek to obtain another exploratory license. The vote of confidence comes a few months after Eni (NYSE: E) saw one of its drillships blocked by the Turkish military.

• Kosmos Energy (NYSE: KOS) saw its share price fall by more than 5 percent on Monday after announcing problems with an offshore well off the coast of Suriname. Kosmos said it would need to re-drill the well.

• Anadarko (NYSE: APC) wants to raise a record $14-$15 billion for an LNG export project in Mozambique.

Tuesday May 22, 2018

Oil prices were up “specifically because of Pompeo’s speech,” Thomas Pugh, commodities economist at Capital Economics, told the Wall street Journal. “It certainly looks like the U.S. is going to go as hard as possible on sanctions and try their best to make it hurt.”

U.S. issues harsh demands on Iran. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a long list of extreme demands on Iran as prerequisites for a new deal, without offering any concessions or carrots. The demands include stopping all uranium enrichment activity and also stopping all support for militants in the Middle East. Unsurprisingly, Iran immediately rejected the demands. Pompeo’s speech was clearly not designed to reach an understanding between the two countries, and it puts the U.S. and Iran on track for more confrontation. America’s top diplomat also signaled that there would be little leeway granted to European companies seeking to do business with Iran.

Related: Goldman: Don’t Bet Against Oil

Iran wants euro purchases of oil. Iran is leaning on the EU to make euro-denominated purchases of Iranian oil as a way to avoid U.S. sanctions. Iran says Europe’s effort to rescue the nuclear deal is so far insufficient.

Maduro prevails in election, U.S. responds with financial sanctions. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro prevailed in a rigged election on Sunday, after blacklisting some opposition candidates and intimidating voters. On Monday, the Trump administration barred the purchase and sale of Venezuelan government debt, including new debt issued by PDVSA and the central bank. The U.S. held off on sanctions on oil sales for now, but a State Department official said those measures were “under active review.” Venezuela might avoid being hit by those harsher measures because oil prices have climbed to three-year highs. “I really don't think they will ban imports in this price environment,” David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies and a former special envoy for international energy affairs under the Obama administration, told S&P Global Platts.

OPEC watches Venezuela output. OPEC is reportedly watching Venezuela’s plunging oil production, which could force the group to tweak its output limits at the upcoming meeting in Vienna. “Maybe, if the market is tight, there will be a need to make some adjustment,” one OPEC delegate told Reuters.

Shell declares force majeure on Nigeria’s Bonny Light. A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) announced on May 17 a force majeure on Bonny Light following the shutdown of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line system. Bonny Light exports have declined by 150,000 bpd.

NextEra Energy to buy $5.1 billion in utility assets. The U.S.’ most valuable power company, NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), announced plans to purchase $5.1 billion in assets from Southern Co. (NYSE: SO). Southern is looking to sell off assets as its beleaguered nuclear plant in Georgia, which has suffered years of delay and billions of cost overruns, have stretched its balance sheet. NextEra will issue new debt to take over Gulf Power, Florida City Gas and take partial ownership in two natural gas-fired power plants from Southern. NextEra is the country’s most valuable utility by market cap, with an array of profitable solar and wind farms.

U.S. sanctions on Nord Stream 2 possible. A German envoy for Trans-Atlantic relations told Bloomberg that a Trump administration official signaled that U.S. sanctions could hit Germany if it moves forward with the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia. The U.S. is trying to prevent more Russian influence in Europe, but the sanctions would only deepen the crisis in the Trans-Atlantic relationship.

Hedge funds cut bullish bets on crude. Hedge funds and other money managers trimmed their net long positions on oil futures for a fifth week in a row, which represents the longest consecutive weekly declines since November 2016. “Positioning was long coming into the year, and you have the June 22nd OPEC event on the horizon,” Chris Kettenmann, chief energy strategist at Macro Risk Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg. “People likely have made money. You can take some profits and then get back in should they continue to be consistent in their messaging.” Net longs for WTI declined by 6.2 percent for the week ending on May 15.

Average U.S. gasoline price rises to $3 per gallon. Average regular retail gasoline prices in the U.S. hit $3 per gallon in the past two weeks, rising by 41 cents over the past three months.

Brent futures rise. Even as spot and near-term Brent oil prices hit $80 per barrel last week, the longer-dated futures also rallied. The five-year Brent forward prices rose to $63.50 on Friday, after trading below $60 per barrel for the past year and a half, according to Bloomberg. The increase is significant because it arguably represents an end to the belief that oil prices will remain trapped at relatively low levels for years to come. “For the first time since December 2015, the back end of the curve has been leading the complex higher,” Yasser Elguindi of Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg. “It seems that the investor community is finally calling into question the ‘lower for longer’ thesis.”

Ship carrying wheat to Yemen hit by missile: EU navy force
May 23, 2018 / 7:39 PM / Updated 2 hours ago
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-shipping/ship-carrying-wheat-to-yemen-hit-by-missile-eu-navy-force-idUSKCN1IO2T0
LONDON (Reuters)

- A Turkish vessel carrying wheat to Yemen this month was hit by a rocket or missile and more attacks on merchant ships are likely due to a spillover of the conflict, a senior European naval official said on Wednesday.

The Turkish flagged Ince Inebolu bulk carrier was damaged by an explosion on May 10, some 70 miles off the Red Sea port of Salif where it was due to deliver a 50,000 tonne cargo of Russian wheat.

“The assessment at the moment is it was almost certainly non-state Yemen based actors firing a land-based missile or rocket at the vessel,” Major Tom Mobbs, head of intelligence and security with the European Union’s counter piracy mission EU Navfor, told Reuters.

“It has sharpened the focus in our mind with this happening.”

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting in Yemen for three years against the Houthis, a Shi’ite group that controls much of North Yemen including the capital Sanaa, and drove a Saudi-backed government into exile in 2014.

The Houthis, who are aligned with the Middle East’s pre-eminent Shi’ite power Iran, have fired missiles into Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition has carried out a campaign of thousands of airstrikes and restricted imports into Yemen, worsening what the United Nations says is potentially the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Mobbs declined to comment on whether the attack on the Turkish ship was carried out by Houthis, adding “that is the natural speculation”.

The ship’s owner Ince Shipping Group said in an emailed statement to Reuters that the vessel had been “hit by an unidentified missile while she was waiting for coalition forces” to give clearance to proceed to the port.

Mobbs said international merchant shipping was “unlikely to be deliberately targeted”.

“Clearly the events show the risk of misidentification and collateral damage,” he said in the sidelines of the launch of a report by the non-profit group Oceans Beyond Piracy.

The Saudi-led coalition says one of the main justifications for its intervention is to protect shipping routes through the narrow Bab al-Mandab waterway, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United states and Asia plus commercial goods.

Saudi and Emirati state media said on Wednesday that the Saudi-led coalition had foiled attacks in the Red Sea by explosives-laden speedboats deployed by Houthis against commercial vessels, including an oil tanker.

Last month, a Saudi oil tanker was hit off Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah, suffering limited damage, in what coalition forces said was an attack by the Houthis. The Houthis said they had targeted a coalition warship.

The worsening situation prompted the international shipping industry in January to issue guidance to mariners of the multiple threats including missiles, sea mines and water-borne improvised explosives devices.

“The same set of circumstances that are prompting these attacks are unlikely to go away, certainly in the near future. So, the attacks will continue,” Mobbs said.

Slideshow (6 Images)

PressTV Published on May 23, 2018

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says the US is in no position to speak about Tehran’s nuclear program. Ali Shamkhani said the US alone bears the stigma of using nuclear weapons against another nation. He added that the International Atomic Energy Agency has, time and again, confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. He was responding to a list of demands US State Secretary Mike Pompeo given to Iran, including his call for an end to uranium enrichment in the Islamic republic. Shamkhani said the UN Security Council Resolution 22-31 recognizes Tehran’s right to enrichment under the Iran nuclear deal. He added that the agreement is non-negotiable.