CARACAS — Iran’s oil minister has paid an official visit to ally Venezuela to meet President Nicolas Maduro and discuss ways to “overcome” the effects of US sanctions against both nations, officials said.

“I received His Excellency Javad Owji, Oil Minister of the sister Islamic Republic of Iran,” Maduro said on Twitter, calling it a “a productive meeting to deepen the ties of brotherhood and cooperation in energy matters.”

State television showed images of the meeting at the presidential palace in Miraflores.

Earlier, Owji met his counterpart Tareck El Aissami to discuss “the construction of routes and mechanisms to overcome the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States government and allied countries,” according to a statement from the Venezuelan Oil Ministry.

Javad Owji’s visit to Venezuela, which sits on the world’s largest proven reserves of crude, came just weeks after a visit by United States officials in the midst of rising global oil prices due to the war on Ukraine.

In March, a US delegation held a hushed meeting with Maduro, whose very legitimacy as president Washington disputes.

Iran is a major oil producer and said last month that production capacity was back to levels before the reimposition of US sanctions in 2018.

El Aissami, named a narcotics “kingpin” by the United States which has placed him on a most-wanted fugitives list, posted a video on Instagram Monday of him receiving Owji at his office with a handshake.

Bilateral ties between the two oil producers were strong under the reign of socialist leader Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) and bolstered further under his successor Maduro.

Venezuela, under strict US sanctions that it blames for the collapse of its once-flourishing oil industry, has strong allies in Iran, Russia and China.

In 2020, Venezuela received two shiploads of fuel and derivatives from Iran to help address crippling domestic shortages. Just a few years earlier, it was still the United States’ main supplier.

Also in 2020, on a visit to Caracas, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country would remain on Venezuela’s “side.”

The March meeting with Maduro caused questions to be raised in Washington, prompting the White House to clarify it was not in “active conversation” with Venezuela on oil imports.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-oil-minister-meets-venezuelas-maduro-for-talks-on-overcoming-sanctions/

The post Iranian oil minister meets Venezuela’s Maduro for talks on ‘overcoming’ sanctions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

(April 18, 2022 / JNS) Iran is gradually assembling the building blocks necessary to construct ballistic missiles with very long ranges, an Israeli missile and space expert has said, adding that Islamic Republic’s elite military Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “can reach space.”

Iran’s space program uses ballistic-missile technology to launch spy satellites into orbit around the earth. It is seen by observers as a guise for the development of future intercontinental Iranian ballistic missiles, which could threaten Europe in the first stage and potentially North America in later development stages.

Tal Inbar, a leading Israeli missile and space expert, told JNS in recent days that despite the existence of an Iranian civilian space program, which operates alongside a space division run by the IRGC (first unveiled in 2020), the IRGC is the entity producing all of the components for both space programs.

Inbar, a former director of the UAV Research Center at Israel’s Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, and co-founder of the Ilan Ramon Space Conference, said “when one examines what the IRGC is doing, it is possible to see the various technologies being developed for long-range missiles, such as solid propellant. They have the building blocks to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

On March 8, the IRGC launched the Noor 2 military satellite into orbit, according to Iranian state media.

Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories
Your email
Noor (meaning “light” in Persian) 2 is orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometers (311 miles), Reuters cited Iranian media as saying. Noor 1, Iran’s first military satellite, was launched in April 2020, at an orbit of 425kilometers (265 miles) above the Earth.

The Space Commander of IRGC’s Aerospace Force, Ali Jafarabadi, said after the launch of Noor 2 that Iran will send a series of military satellites into orbit over the coming years, saying, “The space program of the country, of which we are a part, is to stabilize various scientific, research and defense satellites in low-earth orbit and then reach orbit of 36,000 kilometers above land.”

Reuters noted that the United States military “says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads.”

A three-staged carrier, dubbed Qased (“messenger”), using both liquid and solid fuel, launched Noor 2 into space from the Shahroud space port in Northern Iran.

“Until Noor 1, there was no official declaration by Iran that the IRGC has a space division,” said Inbar. “The IRGC, which is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S., has a space division. I’m not aware of other terror organizations that can reach space,” he added.

Addressing the connection between Iran’s space launchers and its missile program, Inbar assessed that the long-range technology will not “immediately result in the production of missiles with warheads, but this isn’t very far away either.”

Iran’s Shahab 3 ballistic missile, which has variants that can reach 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles), capable of hitting Israel, received additional stages in order to extend its ranges, noted Inbar.

“At the end of the day, all missiles, including space launchers, are built by Iran’s military industries, and all of the industries belong to the IRGC,” he said. “So even if the Iranian space agency says it is civilian, it goes to the IRGC for components and approval. The connection was always there to begin with. It is of interest that the Iranians officially declared the existence of a separate IRGC space agency.”

As of now, there are “no limitations” on Iran’s missile and space programs, warned Inbar.

‘Five failed launches in a row’

The United States has pursued a mixed policy of sanctions when it comes to Iranian missile developers.

On March 30, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned what it said was “an Iran-based procurement agent and his network of companies that procured ballistic-missile propellant-related materials for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Research and Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (IRGC RSSJO), the unit responsible for the research and development of ballistic missiles, as well as Iran’s Parchin Chemical Industries (PCI), an element of Iran’s Defense Industries Organization (DIO).”

In 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department delisted Iranian entities that had been previously sanctioned by the Trump administration for being active in Iran’s ballistic-missile program.

In 2019, America placed sanctions on the Iranian civilian space agency and two related research organizations, accusing Tehran of using the entities to advance its ballistic-missile program.

“Perhaps more sanctions will be placed in the future. Of course, Iran can attempt to claim that its development of long-range missile technology is for a legitimate civilian space program,” said Inbar.

As for the satellites themselves, Inbar said their capability is highly limited at this time. Still, he cautioned, if Iran directs further budgets and conducts determined research and development, it can improve in this sector as well.

In December, an Iranian attempt to launch three payloads into orbit failed after the rocket was unable to reach the required speed, Reuters cited an Iranian defense ministry spokesman as saying. “There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket. A separate fire at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in February 2019 also killed three researchers, authorities said at the time,” said the report.

“The more that Iran develops long-range missiles, the easier the case of Israel, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates gets when presented to the world,” said Inbar. “These missiles can target Europe, and later beyond, as their range is extended.”

Source: https://www.jns.org/iran-assembles-building-blocks-for-long-range-ballistic-missiles-says-israeli-space-expert/

The post Iran assembles ‘building blocks for long-range ballistic missiles,’ says Israeli space expert first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Nearly 200 House Republicans have written to President Joe Biden warning that any nuclear deal made with Iran without Congress’ approval “will meet the same fate” as the 2015 agreement.

The letter was first published on Wednesday on the Axios news website.

The Biden administration has been working feverishly to secure an agreement via indirect nuclear talks in Vienna, but on Wednesday, an Iranian official publicly called for Congress to pledge that the US will stay in a potential deal.

The GOP letter — signed by most members of the party that polls say will run the House next year — bluntly rebuffs Iran’s request.

“We will view any agreement reached in Vienna which is not submitted to the US Senate for ratification as a treaty — including any and all secret agreements made with Iran directly or on the sidelines of official talks — as non-binding,” the GOP lawmakers wrote to Biden, according to Axios.

The letter also lays out conditions to which Iran’s leaders would likely never agree.

The Republicans promise to oppose any agreement that lifts US sanctions on Iran unless the Iranian regime has first fully dismantled all its enrichment capabilities.

They also want Iran to destroy its nuclear-capable missiles, halt all sponsorship of terrorism and pay “US federal court judgments owed to the American victims of terrorism sponsored by the Iranian regime.”

The letter was signed by 175 House Republicans, led by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Michael Waltz (R-FL). House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy signed it, as did Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).

A State Department spokesperson told Axios, “The Biden administration is not negotiating a return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA based on who is in office in Iran today or tomorrow, and we would expect the same approach from Iran.”

The letter comes as talks to revive the 2015 deal with Iran, which resumed in Vienna several days ago, continue.

On Wednesday, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that an agreement between Iran and world powers is closer than ever.

“After weeks of intensive talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement; nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, though,” he said, according to Reuters.

Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/322418

The post Republicans to Biden: No to nuclear deal that isn’t approved by Congress first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

China says Iran’s foreign minister will visit the country from Friday to Saturday, a day after the Trump administration blacklisted virtually all of Iran’s financial sector in the latest step aimed at the oil-rich country’s economy.

In a brief announcement, China’s Foreign Ministry said only that Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was visiting at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. China has been a staunch Iranian ally and remains a party to the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement from which the U.S. has withdrawn while unilaterally reinstituting punishing sanctions on Iran.

Thursday’s U.S. move hits 18 Iranian banks that had thus far escaped the bulk of reimposed U.S. sanctions and subjects foreign, non-Iranian financial institutions to penalties for doing business with them. That effectively cuts them off from the international financial system.

The blacklisting has been opposed by European nations because it will open up their biggest banks and other companies to U.S. penalties for conducting business with Iran that had previously been allowed.

Zarif reacted angrily to the designations, calling them a “crime against humanity” at a time of global crisis. The move comes as the U.S. has stepped up efforts to kill the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by steadily increasing pressure on through sanctions on its oil sales, blacklisting top government officials and killing a top general in an air strike.

Almost the entire rest of the world has vowed to ignore the latest U.S. sanctions but violating them will come with significant risk of losing access to the U.S. financial system.

The Chinese ministry said Indonesia’s presidential special envoy for China, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. are visiting Beijing at the same time as Zarif. There was no indication whether they will meet with Wang as a group.

Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-iran-foreign-minister-to-visit-china-following-us-sanctions/

The post Iran foreign minister to visit China following U.S. sanctions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Israel’s strikes in Syria hurt Iran first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

There is troubling news about Iran.  The Russians and Chinese are reportedly cooperating with Iran in maneuvers at sea.  All three nations are reportedly conducting drills in the Indian Ocean.  It seems foolish to repeat Iranian government statements, but this one might be good for a chuckle.

The Iranian admiral stated that the purpose was to demonstrate “peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity… and to show that Iran cannot be isolated.”  China released a statement saying that the drills were, “not necessarily related to the regional situation.”

By all accounts, the Iranian economy has been spiraling out of control due to President Trump’s economic sanctions.  We saw riots consume the country only a couple of weeks ago, with little news since.  Iranian forces killed hundreds, at least, and jailed thousands.  Can you even imagine the suffering and brutality to which they’re being subjected?  May God help them.

Not only have ships been wounded in close proximity to the Straits of Hormuz earlier this year, but Saudi Arabia saw several missile attacks and the U. S. has considerable naval assets also in the region.  Both Russia and China also claim to have friendly relations with Saudi Arabia.

With the recent British election, the British exit from the European Union is due to become official on January 31.  But it will remain bound to EU customs and trade rules until the end of 2020, with details to be worked out in the meantime.  The EU is urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to extend discussions on the details for another two years, but he has refused.  If 2020 expires without agreements on trade, transportation, immigration, and fishing rights, analysts predict all manner of dire consequences for the British economy.  Why Britain can’t make up for whatever their needs may be with Australia, Canada and the U. S., we don’t rightly know.  Maybe it can.

Here at the end of 2019, we’ve reached impeachment limbo.  While the experts argue whether the President has actually been impeached, the Speaker of the House boasts that Donald Trump has been impeached for all time.  As we suspected, she may not want to turn the articles of impeachment over to the Senate.  Chances are, the whole cabal who orchestrated this monstrosity will be embarrassed or worse.  Apparently every single one of us has the right to face his accuser, and the right to a speedy trial, except the President of the United States.

The mainstream press is wallowing in its great accomplishment.  Turn on any one of the mainstream cable networks and you’ll likely see the banner declaring, “Trump impeached” across the bottom of the screen.  We hope they’re enjoying the satisfaction.  After all, they’ve contributed heavily to this situation, trotting out experts and analysts every day to declare that House members would be in violation of their oath if they failed to impeach Donald Trump.  They make all manner of accusations and insinuations but have failed to point out the specifics of any crime.  Even after all this time, it looks as though the Deep State still runs the alphabet agencies and is continuing its #resistance even now.

Nevertheless, things could be worse.  A lot worse.  The list of accomplishments we’ve seen over the past three years is overwhelming.  The economy is breaking records, Constitutional judges appointed and confirmed, immigration is being addressed if not solved… At least we have a President who isn’t trying to destroy the United States.  Hopefully, our kids and grandkids will enjoy a modicum of the freedom we’ve had.  And if President Trump offends someone from time to time, we’ll try not to enjoy it too much.

Mark

P.S. The new issue of 21^st Century WATCH appears to have been delayed somewhat due to the holiday crush. Maybe we should have expected that would be the case.  We hope it will be mailed and received without further delay.

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 27 December 2019 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden released a joint statement asserting it’s of “the utmost importance to the preservation and full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) on Iran’s nuclear program by all parties involved.”

“In light of the continuous European support for the agreement and the ongoing efforts to implement the economic part of it and to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran, we are now in the process of becoming shareholders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (Instex) subject to completion of national procedures,” the statement reads.

The Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto alongside Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammed Javad Zarif. AP Photo

Instex is an initiative set up by France, Germany and the UK in January 2019 to provide humanitarian and sanctions relief to Iran after in November 2018 the SWIFT network suspended Iranian banks under Washington pressure, months after Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal.

Though the new alternative financial device had shaky beginnings amid further aggressive threats from the US administration, it continued through a trial phase even though Tehran officials had complained it appeared ‘too little, too late’.

But now as this latest six-country statement announces, it will serve as the European vehicle to “facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,” while also providing incentive for Tehran to return to its commitments under the JCPOA, specifically to recently breached uranium enrichment limits. Upon the announcement, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell lambasted the move, saying:

Terrible timing – why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet? You should be standing for human rights not funding the abusers.

The post US Enraged After 6 More EU Nations Join INSTEX To Bypass Iran Sanctions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

(December 3, 2019 / JCPA) The wave of demonstrations in Iran following the regime’s decision to raise the price of gasoline by 50 percent is the most important manifestation to date of the impact the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy is having on the Islamic Republic. It reflects the shortage of resources available to the regime due to the shrinking of its oil export income, as well as the Iranian people’s widespread hostility towards the regime. It also adds to the challenges Iran is facing in maintaining its grip over two of its most important would-be colonies, Iraq and Lebanon.

Even if Tehran manages to repress the popular outrage against it on all fronts, recent events in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, combined with Israel’s unrelenting attacks on Iranian military targets in Syria and allegedly also in Iraq and Lebanon, and the imposition of even more U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic, but the mullahs’ regime under unprecedented pressure.

The harsh Iranian response to that pressure was revealed with the impressive Iranian attack on the Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais on Sept. 14, using weapons that were introduced for the first time by Iran (a special kind of attack UAV and the “Quds 1” cruise missile, that until then had been used only by the Houthis) to maintain deniability. Iran’s resumption of uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow facility was another manifestation of Iranian pushback.

Both of these incidents were striking expressions of just how painful the U.S. sanctions are to the Iranian regime. Iran’s offensive steps also reflect the Iranian leadership’s frustration at the failure of their escalating brinkmanship policy, adopted after the “maximum pressure” sanctions were applied in May 2019, to attempt to force the United States out of the “comfort zone” of a tough sanctions regime.

Initially, Iran attempted to take steps in the nuclear and military realms. It encouraged its proxies in the region to act against their common opponents, who are also U.S. allies, namely Israel and Saudi Arabia. The nature of the attacks indicated that Iran was not looking for a direct confrontation, but rather to convince Europe to provide it with a safety net that would enable it to overcome the sanctions. Tehran also hoped that the risk-averse U.S. president would ease the sanctions.

This is a familiar arena for Iran—its comfort zone—in which it has certain advantages. Iran wishes to avoid escalation into a full-scale war, in which the United States would enjoy a clear advantage, while at the same time giving the impression that it views war as an option. This policy is risky, as evidenced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s aborting a U.S. military attack against Iranian targets 10 minutes before it was set to begin following the downing by Iran of a U.S. drone.

Following the Sept. 14 attack on the Saudi oil facilities, the United States understood the nature of the Iranian trap and was careful to avoid it. Instead, the Americans decided to lever the Iranian move and put more pressure on Iran by imposing even harsher economic sanctions. On Oct. 31, the United States sanctioned the Iranian construction sector and banned a list of materials that can be used by Iran for its nuclear program. The United States also urged the Europeans to convey to Tehran that it must resume negotiations on a new nuclear deal and regional security while the sanctions remain in place. Indeed, France is considering imposing its own sanctions on Iran due to its breach of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal, according to a Nov. 27 report by France24.

At the same time, widespread protests broke out in Lebanon and Iraq, countries that Iran sees as client states that it can manipulate to challenge the United States and its allies. The protests were directed against Iran and its local proxies and have rapidly developed into a threat to the Iranian grip over the governments in Lebanon and Iraq. Demonstrations in both countries were catalyzed by the sanctions on Iran, which had a direct impact on the Lebanese economy and Iran’s ability to support its Hezbollah and Popular Mobilization Forces surrogates in Lebanon and Iraq, respectively.

This American policy, which seemed to many to be counterintuitive, earned Trump considerable criticism, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump’s decision not to use force against Iran also coincided with his decision to withdraw American troops from most of northeastern Syria and expose the Kurds, who had fought with the United States against Islamic State, to a Turkish offensive.

Trump attempted to protect the Kurds by threatening to impose economic sanctions on Turkey if Ankara went beyond a reasonable use of force, and the United States continued its cooperation with the Kurds on other issues (fighting ISIS and securing the oil fields). Arguably, U.S. deterrence was damaged by this move, and critics raised doubts about the reliability of the United States as a superpower and an ally.

However, Trump’s policy seems to be succeeding with regard to Iran, and in fact, the two cases are quite different. After defeating ISIS, Trump no longer considered the Turkish-Kurdish conflict to be a critical national security matter, whereas Iran’s behavior remains a significant national security challenge for the United States.

As Iran’s policy of brinkmanship backfires, and with the growing tensions with the IAEA after the U.N. nuclear agency confirmed Israeli claims about the presence of unaccounted-for and undeclared enriched uranium in Turquzabad, it is not clear what the Iranian leadership’s next decisions will be.

Its extreme radical elements, led by Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps’ Quds Force, may argue that not enough was done to counteract American pressure and call to take even greater risks. The main area open to Iranian moves in this direction is the nuclear realm. With the reactivation of 1,044 centrifuges at Fordow and the first activation of a large cascade of IR-6 centrifuges, the Iranians are shortening by the week the time they need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device—so far with no repercussions from the IAEA or from the Europeans, Russia, and China—the parties committed to the JCPOA.

Other possibilities include another attack on oil facilities, on Israel (most probably from Syria or Iraq), or an attack on American targets in the region that may force a wide-scale American reaction of the kind Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is trying to avoid. This is probably why Israeli political and military Israeli leaders are increasingly concerned about the possibility of an Iranian attack against Israel. Indeed, Tehran has already attempted several attacks against Israel, albeit with zero success and resulting in several casualties and loss of significant equipment.

On the other hand, the realistic radicals in the Iranian regime, led by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, may advocate a resumption of negotiations with the United States, fearing that as time goes by Iran’s opening position—which is already weak—will weaken further, with the outcome being more dangerous for the regime than the ongoing sanctions.

Whatever Khamenei decides, the most immediate challenge he has to deal with is the widespread popular protests in Iran. They seem to be wider and more intense than previous rounds of protest and may not only erode the regime’s image and power projection but endanger its stability. There are also the protests in Lebanon and Iraq to consider—in both these countries, the Shi’ite communities—Iran’s natural allies—joined or even led the protests. This doubles the risk and the embarrassment to the ayatollahs’ regime.

IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser is director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for PUblic Affairs. He formerly served as director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and head of the research division of IDF Military Intelligence.

This full article is available at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Source:  https://www.jns.org/opinion/irans-escalation-policy-has-backfired/

The post Iran’s escalation policy has backfired first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Iran threatens US amid nationwide protests over rising fuel prices first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Washington (CNN)The US announced Friday it would send additional troops along with enhanced air and missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities, which the US has blamed on Tehran.

The post US to send troops and air and missile defense to Saudi Arabia as Trump announces new Iran sanctions after oil attack first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.