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From Damascus, Iran vows to confront Israel

By Ellen Francis and Babak Dehghanpisheh

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran’s military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace and territory on a visit to Damascus on Wednesday, raising tensions with Israel as it voices deep concern over Tehran’s influence in Syria.

General Mohammad Baqeri pledged to increase cooperation with Syria’s military to fight Israel and insurgents, Iranian and Syrian state media said.

Iranian forces and Iran-backed Shi’ite militias, including Hezbollah, have provided critical military support to Damascus, helping it regain swathes of Syria from rebels and militants.

“It’s not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate the land and airspace of Syria anytime it wants,” Baqeri said at a news conference with his Syrian counterpart.

“We are in Damascus to assert and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists,” he said, a reference to Israel and Sunni Muslim jihadists including Islamic State.

“We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation,” Syrian state media cited the Iranian military chief of staff as saying.

Iran’s expanding clout during Syria’s more than six-year war has raised alarm in Israel, which has said it would act against any threat from its regional arch-enemy Tehran.

Israel’s air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times during the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran was strengthening its foothold in Syria and that Israel would “do whatever it takes” to protect its security.

Tensions have risen this year between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, which have avoided a major conflict since 2006.

This week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft battery that had fired at its planes over Lebanon. But the Syrian army said it hit an Israeli warplane after it breached its airspace at the Syria-Lebanon border. [nL8N1MR2EX

“Our job is to prevent war, and you do that through deterrence. What we saw in Syria (on Monday) fell within this framework,” the Israeli defense minister told Israel Radio on Wednesday before the Iranian military chief’s comments.

“We will do whatever is necessary for (our) security,” Avigdor Lieberman added. “We will not change our operating procedures because of shooting or a threat of this type or another.”

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Tom Perry and Richard Balmforth)

Iran’s Guards say missile programme will accelerate despite pressure

FILE PHOTO: A young boy stands behind an Iranian flag at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, Iran, May, 5, 2010. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo

By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Thursday its ballistic missile programme would accelerate despite U.S. and European Union pressure to suspend it, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

In a significant U.S. policy shift on Oct. 13, President Donald Trump disavowed Iran’s compliance with a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and launched a more aggressive approach to the Islamic Republic over its missile development activity.

“Iran’s ballistic missile programme will expand and it will continue with more speed in reaction to Trump’s hostile approach towards this revolutionary organisation (the Guards),” the IRGC said in a statement published by Tasnim.

The Trump administration has imposed new unilateral sanctions aimed at impairing Iran’s missile programme. It has called on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans.

Tehran has repeatedly pledged to continue what it calls a defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism.

“Trump’s anxiety and trembling voice in his speech was a sign of beginning of the era of failure for America’s hegemony,” Tasnim quoted IRGC chief commander Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying. “Boosting Iran’s defence power remains our top priority.”

Iran has one of the most advanced ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

“Imposing cruel sanctions against the Guards and hostile approach of the rogue and brute (U.S.) president shows the failure of America and the Zionist regime’s (Israel) wicked policies in the region,” the Guards statement said.

Signalling no respite in tension in the Middle East, where Shi’ite Muslim Iran has waged a long proxy war with U.S.-allied Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, the Guards also vowed to continue confronting the United States and Israel.

“More decisive and stronger than ever, the Guards will continue to defend Islamic Iran and its interests,” the statement said, alluding to the Quds force, the Guards’ overseas arm that operates in Iraq, Syria and Yemen among other places.

Trump’s hardened Iran stance has united officials behind the IRGC.

“Today, Iranians, boys, girls, men, women, are all IRGC. Standing firm with those who defend us and the region against aggression and terror,” U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his twitter account after Trump’s speech.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Alison Williams)

Khamenei says Iran will ‘shred’ nuclear deal if U.S. quits it

By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would “shred” the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

“I don’t want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute (U.S.) president,” Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran quoted by state television.

“Trump’s stupidity should not distract us from America’s deceitfulness…If the U.S. tears up the deal, we will shred it.”

Trump’s move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord – Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union – who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a U.N. resolution.

Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran’s state matters, welcomed their support but said it was not sufficient.

“European states stressed their backing for the deal and condemned Trump … We welcomed this, but it is not enough to ask Trump not to rip up the agreement. Europe needs to stand against practical measures (taken) by America.”

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its disputed uranium enrichment program in return for relief from international sanctions that crippled its economy, and U.N. nuclear inspectors have repeatedly certified Tehran’s compliance with the terms.

Trump accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and says the 2015 deal does not do enough to block its path to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran says it does not seek nuclear arms and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies.

In decertifying the nuclear deal last week, Trump gave the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.

“DO NOT INTERFERE”

In a major shift in U.S. policy, Trump also said Washington will take a more confrontational approach to Iran over its ballistic missile program and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Tehran has repeatedly pledged to continue what it calls a defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism. The United States has said Iran’s stance violates the 2015 deal in spirit as missiles could be tipped with nuclear weapons.

Tehran has said it seeks only civilian nuclear energy from its enrichment of uranium, and that the program has nothing to do with missile development efforts.

“They must avoid interfering in our defense program … We do not accept that Europe sings along with America’s bullying and its unreasonable demands,” Khamenei said.

“They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons?”

The Trump administration has imposed new unilateral sanctions targeting Iran’s missile activity. It has called on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans.

Iran has one of the biggest ballistic missile programs in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defense against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

“Americans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region,” Khamenei said.

Supporters of the deal fear Trump’s decision to decertify the deal could eventually unravel it, causing more tension in the crisis-hit Middle East, where Shi’ite Iran is involved in a decades long proxy war with U.S.-ally Sunni Saudi Arabia.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Mark Heinrich)

EU defends Iran deal despite Trump, appeals to U.S. Congress

By Robin Emmott and Gabriela Baczynska

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – The European Union on Monday reaffirmed its support for a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers despite sharp criticism of the accord by President Donald Trump, and it urged U.S. lawmakers not to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Trump defied both U.S. allies and adversaries on Friday by refusing to formally certify that Tehran is complying with the accord, even though international inspectors say it is, and said he might ultimately terminate the agreement.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg said a failure to uphold an international agreement backed by the U.N. Security Council could have serious consequences for regional peace, and also undermine efforts to check North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

“As Europeans together, we are very worried that the decision of the U.S. president could lead us back into military confrontation with Iran,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.

After a closed-door meeting chaired by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Iran, the ministers issued a joint statement saying the 2015 deal was key to preventing the global spread of nuclear weapons.

“The EU is committed to the continued full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA,” it said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the accord with Iran agreed in July 2015 in Vienna.

Trump meanwhile renewed his criticism of the accord, and raised the possibility he might try to end it completely.

“We’ll see what phase two is. Phase two might be positive, and it might be very negative. It might be a total termination. That’s a very real possibility. Some would say that’s a great possibility,” the U.S. president said in Washington. He repeated his contention that the JCPOA was “a horrible deal for the United States.”

EU foreign ministers said the accord was crucial to opening up Iran’s $400-billion economy and finding a new market for European investors. Unlike the United States, the EU saw relations with Iran flourish in the late 1990s until revelations about Tehran’s nuclear plans in 2002.

“Non-proliferation is a major element of world security and rupturing that would be extremely damaging,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters. “We hope that Congress does not put this accord in jeopardy.”

Mogherini said she would travel to Washington early next month to try to muster support for the accord.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran is complying with its commitments under the accord, which Trump has branded “the worst deal ever negotiated”.

The EU still has sanctions in place against members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a major target of Trump’s criticism.

The EU ministers also discussed on Monday Iran’s ballistic missile program, which they want to see dismantled. Tehran says that program is purely defensive.

NORTH KOREA SPILLOVER

Negotiated after 12 years of talks, the accord with Iran is the most significant diplomatic success for the bloc in several decades.

Many worry that the EU’s reputation as an honest broker in a host of future conflicts may not recover if the U.S. Congress reimposes sanctions on Iran and causes the deal – which had the strong backing of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama – to unravel.

Most U.N. and Western sanctions were lifted more than 18 months ago under the deal, though Tehran is still subject to a U.N. arms embargo, which is not part of the deal.

EU foreign ministers also approved a new batch of economic sanctions on North Korea after its atomic test last month that included an oil embargo and investment ban.

But some still hold out hope of repeating the Iran nuclear deal with Pyongyang at some future date.

Sweden is one of only seven EU countries with an embassy in Pyongyang and its foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, reiterated that Stockholm could be counted on to help negotiate if asked.

But Germany’s Gabriel warned that Trump’s decision not to certify the Iran accord could scupper such hopes, a position echoed by Mogherini, although she stressed that no such EU mediation was underway.

“My concern is that, if we want to talk to North Korea now, the possible end for the nuclear deal with Iran would jeopardize the credibility of such treaties,” Gabriel said.

(Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen in Luxembourg, Lily Cusack in Brussels and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alistair Bell)

Danger of war, Germany warns after Trump’s move on Iran nuclear deal

BERLIN (Reuters) – If the United States terminates the Iran nuclear deal or reimposes sanctions on Tehran it could result in Iran developing nuclear weapons and raise the danger of war close to Europe, Germany’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump refused on Friday to formally certify that Tehran was complying with the 2015 accord even though international inspectors say it is. He warned he might ultimately terminate the agreement.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio that Trump had sent a “difficult and dangerous signal” when the U.S. administration was also dealing with the North Korea nuclear crisis.

“My big concern is that what is happening in Iran or with Iran from the U.S. perspective will not remain an Iranian issue but many others in the world will consider whether they themselves should acquire nuclear weapons too given that such agreements are being destroyed,” Gabriel said.

“And then our children and grandchildren will grow up in a very dangerous world,” he said.

He said if the United States terminated the deal or if sanctions were reimposed on Tehran, it would give Iranian hardliners, who are against negotiations with the West, the upper hand.

“Then they might revert to developing nuclear weapons,” Gabriel said, adding Israel would not tolerate that and “then we will be back where we were 10, 12 years ago with the danger of war relatively close to Europe”.

He urged the United States not to endanger the security of its allies and its own people for domestic policy reasons.

Hailed by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama as key to stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the deal was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union.

European allies have warned of a split with Washington over the nuclear agreement and say that putting it in limbo undermines U.S. credibility abroad.

Trump has given the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reinstate economic sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2016.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Pentagon identifying new areas to pressure Iran, reviewing plans

By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Friday it was identifying new areas where it could work with allies to put pressure on Iran in support of President Donald Trump’s new strategy, which promises a far more confrontational approach to Tehran.

Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.

He also promised to address Iran more broadly, including its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Defense Department spokesman, told Reuters the Pentagon was assessing the positioning of its forces as well as planning but offered few details.

“We are identifying new areas where we will work with allies to put pressure on the Iranian regime, neutralize its destabilizing influences, and constrain its aggressive power projection, particularly its support for terrorist groups and militants,” he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said his first goal would to talk with U.S. allies in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere to gain a shared understanding of Iran’s actions.

“Certainly we intend to dissuade them from shipping arms into places like Yemen and explosives into Bahrain and the other things they do with their surrogates, like Lebanese Hezbollah,” Mattis said.

The U.S. military has long been a strident critic of Iran, accusing it directly and indirectly of trying to undermine the United States and its allies, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The tensions escalated in recent months in Syria, where American pilots shot down two Iranian-made drones this summer.

Still, a more aggressive approach to Iran could trigger a backlash from Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and forces that it backs. That includes in Iraq, where U.S. troops are fighting Islamic State and trying to keep their distance from Shi’ite militia aligned with Iran.

“U.S. forces in Iraq are quite exposed, and coalition forces are quite exposed to the risk of attack if Iranian elements so choose,” said Jennifer Cafarella, lead intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War, a think-tank in Washington.

The U.S. military is analyzing an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, that killed an American soldier in Iraq this month. The reappearance of the device, which Iran-backed Shi’ite militia routinely used to target American troops in Iraq before their withdrawal in 2011, has startled U.S. officials.

LINK TO IRAN?

CIA Director Mike Pompeo noted the device was detonated in an area controlled by a militia backed by Tehran.

“We do not have evidence of a direct link to Iran, but we are closely examining this tragic incident,” Pompeo said on Wednesday.

Cafarella said the killing of the U.S. soldier may have been a warning from Iran.

“I think it is possible that the Iranians have been attempting to signal their commitment to retaliate against the U.S. strategy,” she said.

Mattis said the United States was watching for any new provocations from Iran.

Asked whether he thought Tehran might retaliate, he said: “It would be ill advised for them to attack us.”

Reuters has previously reported that options to increase pressure on Iran include more aggressive U.S. interceptions of Iranian arms shipments, such as those to Houthi rebels in Yemen, It could also direct U.S. naval forces to react more forcefully when harassed by armed IRGC speed boats.

The Pentagon on Friday detailed a series of major concern about Iran, including its ballistic missile development and cyber attacks against the United States and U.S. allies.

The Pentagon promised to review U.S. security cooperation activities with allies in the region, something that could lead to alterations in U.S. arms sales and military exercises.

It also signaled a willingness to re-examine the positioning of the roughly 70,000 American troops the Pentagon says are stationed in the Middle East.

Still, Mattis said: “Right now we are not changing our posture.”

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali traveling with Mattis and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish)

Iranians fear economic hardship, but united against Trump

By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardened stance towards Iran evoked a mixture of indifference and national pride among Iranians on Saturday but many were concerned about economic hardship should a multinational nuclear deal unravel.

In a major shift in U.S. foreign policy, Trump said on Friday he might ultimately terminate the 2015 agreement that lifted sanctions in return for Tehran rolling back technologies with nuclear bomb-making potential. [nL2N1MO0DH]

“Who the hell is Trump to threaten Iran and Iranians? Of course we don’t want economic hardship, but it does not mean we will be their puppet and do whatever they say,” said housewife Minou Khosravani, 37, a mother of two in the central city of Yazd.

Within minutes of Trump’s speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani went live on state television, ruling out any renegotiation of the deal Iran signed with major powers. He also signaled Iran would withdraw from the agreement if it failed to preserve Tehran’s interests.

Tired of economic adversity during years of tough sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme, many Iranians still fervently back the decision by Iran’s clerical rulers to resist U.S. pressure.

“I am not a regime supporter. But I side with Iran’s rulers against Trump and his illogical pressure on Iran,” said hairdresser Ziba Ghanbari, 42, when contacted by Reuters in the northern city of Rasht.

Iranians around the globe took to social media in anger.

Former official Mostafa Tjzadeh, who spent seven years as a prisoner of conscience in Iran, tweeted: “One nation, One message: No to #Trump. We are in this together.”

“Long on rhetoric, short on substance,” tweeted Niloofar Ghadiri, a journalist in Tehran.

ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

Iranian authorities say 15 percent of the country’s workforce is unemployed. Many formal jobs pay a pittance, meaning the true figure of people without adequate work to support themselves is probably far higher.

Lack of foreign investment, if more sanctions are imposed, will deepen the unemployment crisis. Currency exchange shops are refusing to sell U.S. dollars because of the uncertainty as the rial has lost value in the past days. Iranians fear new sanctions will also see the price of food, including rice, bread and dairy products, rise.

“My worry is that the economy will go back to the sanctions era when we had difficulties to find essential food and even medicine. I want my son to have a good life,” said elementary school teacher Gholamali Part, 43, in Tehran.

To improve Iran’s economy, Rouhani has rolled out the red carpet for global investors since sanctions were suspended. But so far only a few major European investors have returned to Iran’s market, including planemaker Airbus, French energy group Total and Germany’s Siemens.

Others are deterred mainly by a separate raft of sanctions Washington continues to impose in retaliation for what it calls Tehran’s support for terrorism and human rights abuses. Iran denies involvement in terrorism.

The nuclear deal was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union. Despite assurances by other signatories over their continued commitment, European companies could think twice about involvement in Iran if the deal cannot survive.

Hossein, like millions of Iranians who bore the brunt of the sanctions, has no high hopes. “We are going to be sanctioned again,” said Hossein, who declined to give his full name.

‘RARE UNANIMITY’

Inflation has dropped to single digits since Rouhani was first elected in 2013, but he has failed to tackle high unemployment and the gap between rich and poor is widening.

The hardline daily Kayhan, which campaigned against the deal during 18-months of the nuclear talks, wrote: “Trump keeps the nuclear pact: advantages for America, restrictions for us!”

In a report headlined “Mr Blunder’s isolation”, the moderate Arman daily wrote: “‘A rare unanimity supports Iran in the World’ is the closest definition of the mood after Trump’s speech last night.”

Some Iranians are indifferent. “I don’t care. Will there be holidays if the deal fails? That is important because I can go on a holiday with my friends,” said Arjang Bakhtiari, 19, whose family owns factories in several cities.

Trump’s decision in effect leaves the fate of the deal up to the U.S. Congress, which might try to modify it or bring back U.S. sanctions previously imposed on Iran.

The failure of the deal could be politically tricky for Rouhani, its chief architect, who has been criticized by the country’s utmost power, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the country’s slow pace of economic recovery.

Khamenei cautiously backed the deal, but has repeatedly expressed pessimism about the United States remaining committed to it. The economic problems caused by the U.S. pressure could weaken Rouhani’s stance in Iran’s faction-ridden and complex establishment.

(Editing by William Maclean and Janet Lawrence)

Trump expected to make U.S. move against Iran nuclear deal -officials

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/IRNA/Mohammad Babaie/File Photo

By Steve Holland and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is likely to take a major step against the international nuclear deal with Iran on Friday, laying out a more aggressive approach to Iranian activities in the Middle East that risks upsetting U.S. relations with European allies.

“It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran’s government end its pursuit of death and destruction,” Trump said in a White House statement that flagged key elements of the strategy.

He is to present his plan in a 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT)speech at the White House, the product of weeks of internal discussions between him and his national security team.

U.S. officials said Trump was expected to announce that he will not certify the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers, one he has called the “worst deal ever” as it was not, in his view, in the U.S. national interest.

Trump found himself under immense pressure as he considered de-certifying the deal, a move that would ignore warnings from inside and outside his administration that to do so would risk undermining U.S. credibility abroad.

He had formally reaffirmed it twice before but aides said he was reluctant to do so a third time.

De-certification would not pull the United States out of the deal but would give the Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran that were suspended under the pact, negotiated during the administration of President Barack Obama.

U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul told Reuters he thinks Trump “is likely to not completely pull out of the deal, but decertify compliance.”

IRANIAN WARNING

If Washington quits the deal, that will be the end of it and global chaos could ensue, Iran’s influential parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, was quoted by the Russian news agency TASS as saying during a visit to St Petersburg on Friday.

U.N. nuclear inspectors say Iran is in compliance with the accord, which limited the scope of Iran’s nuclear program to help ensure it could not be put to developing bombs in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions on Tehran.

Trump says Tehran is in violation of the spirit of the agreement and has done nothing to rein in its ballistic missile program or its financial and military support for the Lebanese Shi’ite movement Hezbollah and other militant groups.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said on Thursday the U.S. approach toward Iran is to work with allies in the Middle East to contain Tehran’s activities.

“We have footprints on the ground, naval and Air Force is there to just demonstrate our resolve, our friendship, and try to deter anything that any country out there may do,” Kelly told reporters.

European allies warn of a split with the United States over the nuclear agreement, in part because they are benefiting economically from a relaxation of sanctions.

A variety of European allies, including the leaders of Britain and France, have personally appealed to Trump to re-certify the nuclear accord for the sake of allied unity.

Germany’s government pledged on Friday to work for continued unity if Trump de-certified the deal as Berlin remain convinced the agreement was an important tool to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel underscored German views in a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson late on Thursday, his spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told reporters.

Gabriel said on Thursday U.S. behavior was driving a wedge between Europe and its close ally United States and bringing Europeans closer to Russia and China. “It’s imperative that Europe sticks together on this issue,” said Gabriel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday that if the United States withdrew from the deal, “this will damage the atmosphere of predictability, security, stability and non-proliferation in the entire world”.

U.S. MOVE AGAINST REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS

McCaul said he expected Trump also to announce some kind of action against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s most powerful security force. Trump is under a legal mandate to impose U.S. economic sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards as a whole by Oct. 31 or waive them.

U.S. sanctions could seriously hurt the IRGC as it controls large swaths of Iran’s economy. The Guards’ foreign paramilitary and espionage wing, the Quds Force, is under U.S. sanctions, as is the Quds Force commander, other officials and associated individuals and entities.

The 2015 nuclear agreement, signed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran, has been denounced by Trump as “an embarrassment” and “the worst deal ever.”

European officials have categorically ruled out renegotiating the deal but have said they share Trump’s concerns about Iran’s destabilizing influence in the Middle East.

China has said it hopes the agreement will stay intact.

Israel, Iran’s arch-adversary in the Middle East, welcomed Trump’s anticipated announcement on Friday but voiced doubt that the tougher tack by Washington could turn around the Islamic Republic.

The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Iran secretly researched a nuclear warhead until 2009, which Tehran denies. Iran has always insisted its uranium enrichment activity is for civilian energy purposes, not for atomic bombs.

The threat of new U.S. action has prompted a public display of unity from rival factions among Iran’s rulers. Iran will react sharply to any U.S. move against the nuclear deal with global powers, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Iranian parliament on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jonathan Landay in Washington; additional reporting by Warren Strobel in Washington, Andrea Shalal in Berlin Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Mark Heinrich)

Trump strikes blow against Iran nuclear deal in major U.S. policy shift

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.

Trump announced the major shift in U.S. policy in a speech that detailed a more confrontational approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Trump said in an address at the White House that his goal is to ensure Iran’s never obtains a nuclear weapon.

“We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout,” Trump said.

While Trump did not pull the United States out of the agreement, aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, he gave the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.

That would increase tension with Iran as well as put Washington at odds with other signatories of the accord such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union.

Trump warned that if “we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.”

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Makini Brice, Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel and Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Andrea Shalal in Berlin, Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow, Parisa Hafezi in Ankara and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Alistair Bell)

Trump resists pressure to soften stance on Iran nuclear deal

By Steve Holland and John Walcott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump finds himself under immense pressure as he considers de-certifying the international nuclear deal with Iran, a move that would ignore warnings from inside and outside his administration that to do so would risk undermining U.S. credibility.

Trump is expected to unveil a broad strategy on confronting Iran this week, likely on Friday. There was always the chance he could still have a last-minute change of heart and certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015 accord, which he has called an “embarrassment” and the “worst deal ever negotiated.”

Senior U.S. officials, European allies and prominent U.S. lawmakers have told Trump that refusing to certify the deal would leave the U.S. isolated, concede the diplomatic high ground to Tehran, and ultimately risk the unraveling of the agreement.

Signed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran, the deal relieved sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbing its disputed nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that Iran secretly researched a nuclear warhead until 2009, which Tehran denies. Iran has always insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and denies it has aimed to build an atomic bomb.

After Trump made clear three months ago he would not certify Iran’s compliance with the deal, his advisers moved to give him options to consider, a senior administration official said.

“They came up with a plan that protects the things they are concerned about but doesn’t recertify, which the president made clear he was not going to do. That ship has sailed,” according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said Trump has been telling foreign leaders and U.S. lawmakers that his refusal to certify the Iran deal would not blow it up.

“He’s not walking away from it. The chances of him walking away from it go down if they work with him on making it better,” the official said.

White House officials said Trump is expected to announce a broad, more confrontational policy toward Iran directed at curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and financial and military support for Hezbollah and other extremist groups.

Trump has said he believes the nuclear deal is too generous toward Iran and would not stop it from trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

He has criticized the agreement’s “sunset clauses,” under which some restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program would expire over time. He also wants to toughen language on ballistic missiles and inspections. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is complying with the agreement.

FILE PHOTO: Women hold anti-U.S. banners during a demonstration outside the former U.S. embassy in Tehran November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA/File Photo

NO RENEGOTIATION

European officials have categorically ruled out renegotiating the deal, but have said they share Trump’s concerns over Iran’s destabilizing influence in the Middle East.

Several diplomats have said Europe would be ready to discuss sanctioning Iran’s ballistic missile tests and forming a strategy to curb Iran’s influence in the region.

Officials have also said there could be room to open a new negotiation for what happens once some of the core terms of the deal begin expiring in 2025, although there is no reason to believe Iran would be ready to enter in such a negotiation. Iran has said it may exit the deal if the U.S. withdraws.

De-certifying would not withdraw the United States from the deal but it would give the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose the sanctions on Tehran that were suspended under the agreement.

One U.S. official involved in administration said that declining to certify Iran’s compliance would probably leave all of the parties to the deal on one side and the United States on the other.

“That means that while the French and others are also interested in curbing Iran’s destabilizing activities, they may be less likely to follow (the U.S.) lead at the risk of the agreement blowing up,” the official said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron both spoke to Trump this week to express their concerns about the potential decision not to recertify the Iran deal.

“If the feeling is that the United States no longer supports the agreement, then the political reality is that the agreement will be in serious jeopardy and its implementation will be very difficult,” a senior French diplomat said.

Two other U.S. officials, who also requested anonymity, said Trump’s bellicose rhetoric on a number of fronts is troubling both many of his own aides and some of America’s closest allies, a few of whom have asked U.S. officials privately if Trump’s real objective is attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

One of the officials said that like the heated rhetoric with North Korea on its nuclear program, the Iran discussion has vexed White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “who have tried to advise the President that there are significant risks in the course he’d prefer to pursue.”

“At the end of the day, though, everyone recognizes that he’s the decider.”

Trump allies who oppose the deal have watched the president closely to see if he might buckle under pressure.

“He’s not going to re-certify,” said Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump national security aide. “I’m not worried. His gut instinct is absolutely right.”

(Reporting by Steve Holland and John Walcott; additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Caren Bohan, Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)

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