International
Iran says Biden demands same as Trump’s on nuclear issue
AFP
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday accused US President Joe Biden’s administration of making the same demands as his predecessor Donald Trump in talks to revive a nuclear accord.
The multilateral deal that offers Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme was torpedoed by Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from it in 2018.
A last round of negotiations between Iran and the deal’s remaining parties to revive the 2015 accord concluded in June with no resumption in sight.
“America’s current administration is no different from the previous one because what it demands from Iran on the nuclear issue is the same thing that Trump demanded,” Khamenei said in televised remarks.
He said that Biden’s administration wants “the same thing today, it’s no different. (Trump) said it in one way and these (say it) in different words.”
“The Americans truly have no shame on the nuclear issue, and even though they withdrew from the JCPOA… they now talk in a way and make demands as it was (Iran) that withdrew,” he said, quoted by his official website in reference to the deal by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi’s newly formed cabinet, during which he acknowledged public trust in government had been “damaged”.
The ultraconservative Raisi won a June 18 election marred by record low turnout and an absence of significant competitors.
He succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, the architect of the political opening that culminated in the nuclear agreement between Tehran and six major powers.
A year after Trump’s decision to withdraw from the deal and impose sanctions on Iran, the Islamic republic retaliated by gradually waiving most of the key nuclear commitments that it had accepted under the agreement.
Six rounds of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers — with the US indirectly taking part — were held in Vienna between April and June.
The last round concluded on June 20, with no date set for another.
“Behind the scenes of America’s foreign policy, there is a predator wolf that sometimes changes to a cunning fox,” Khamenei said.
– ‘Reciprocal response’ –
Khamenei’s remarks came after a senior security official in Tehran said Iran reserves the right to a “reciprocal response” to Washington, after what it deemed as threats by Biden.
Biden received Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House on Friday and said the United States was committed to ensuring “Iran never develops a nuclear weapon”.
“We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails we’re ready to turn to other options,” he said.
Biden and Bennett’s “emphasis on using ‘other options’ against #Iran, in addition to being an illegal threat against another country, establishes the Islamic Republic of Iran’s right for a reciprocal response against ‘available options’,” Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on Twitter.
Bennett, like his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, fiercly opposes the revival of the nuclear deal.
In his speech, Khamenei also called on Raisi to “repair” the public’s damaged trust in government.
“It’s a great asset for a government to be able to attract the people’s trust, which has unfortunately been slightly damaged. You must repair this”.
The way to achieve this was to ensure the “words and actions” of officials become one and to keep promises.
Iran has in recent years been hit by several protests over the economy and living conditions made worse by punishing US sanctions.
The latest was protests over water shortages that erupted in July in southwest Iran, where, according to Iranian media, at least four people were killed.
Human rights groups outside of Iran have previously accused the Islamic republic of using force against protesters.
Iran has denied the charges and blamed violence at protests on “opportunists” and “rioters” linked to its enemies.
International
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Judge Juan Merchan acquitted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the case involving former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“At this moment, I am issuing this verdict to cover all 34 charges,” Merchan stated. The judge also wished Trump good luck in his second term as president.
Trump will now become the first criminal president.
Merchan declined to impose any punishment. This decision strengthens Trump’s acquittal and clears the way for his return to the White House without the threat of prison or a fine.
“Never before has this court faced such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Judge Merchan said.
International
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
Canada imposed sanctions on 14 high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan “regime” this Friday, including prominent members of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), for their involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela.
Among those sanctioned are DGCIM prosecutors Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta and Farik Karin Salcedo Mora; the director of criminal investigations at the agency, Asdrubal José Brito Hernandez, as well as its former deputy director, Rafael Ramón Blanco Marrero.
The sanctions also target several members of the Bolivarian National Guard: its general commander, Elio Ramón Estrada Paredes; the commander of the capital region, Johan Alexander Hernández Lárez, and lieutenant colonel, Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga.
Other individuals sanctioned include the director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and his deputy director, Miguel Antonio Muñoz Palacios; Brigadier General of the Bolivarian National Police, Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna, and Domingo Antonio Hernández Lárez, commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.
International
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Friday that she asked Edmundo González Urrutia, former candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), not to return to Venezuela to avoid putting himself at risk.
In a video message, Machado explained that the opposition evaluated the situation and concluded that González Urrutia would be in danger if he tried to enter Venezuela as he had planned.
González Urrutia, who claims to have won the July 28 elections with the support of more than 85% of the official voting records, had announced that he would return to Venezuela on January 10 to assume the presidency.
Earlier, Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner of those elections, took the oath of office for a third term.
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