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Israel’s Netanyahu urges Britain to join Iran sanctions

By Michael Holden and William James

LONDON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged “responsible nations” to join new sanctions against Iran on Monday during a visit to London, but Britain defended a nuclear deal sealed between major powers and Tehran.

Ahead of his talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Netanyahu said other nations should follow new U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of sanctions against Iran following a ballistic missile test.

“Iran seeks to annihilate Israel. It seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world. And it offers provocation after provocation,” Netanyahu told May ahead of their meeting.

“That’s why I welcome President Trump’s assistance of new sanctions against Iran. I think other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nations. I’d like to talk to you about how we can ensure that Iran’s aggression does not go unanswered.”

May’s spokeswoman said the British leader had repeated her backing for the nuclear deal with Tehran – which is strongly opposed by both Netanyahu and Trump – but said there was a need to “rigorously monitor” Iran’s behavior.

“The prime minister made clear that we support the deal on nuclear that was agreed,” the spokeswoman told reporters, when asked whether Britain was considering joining new sanctions.

“What happens now is that (the nuclear deal) needs to be properly enforced, and we also need to be alert to Iran’s pattern of destabilizing activity in the region.”

Earlier the spokeswoman said May would also tell Netanyahu that continued Israeli settlement activity in occupied lands captured in the 1967 Middle East War on which the Palestinians hope to create independent state undermined trust in the region.

“STRONG AND CLOSE ALLY OF ISRAEL”

Despite their differences, London has adopted a more positive approach to Israel since May became leader after last year’s vote to leave the European Union, echoing the more sympathetic tone set by Trump, with whom Britain wishes to secure a post-Brexit trade deal.

May told Netanyahu that Britain was a “strong and close friend of Israel”, and highlighted their co-operation in science, trade and security.

They agreed to set up a working group to develop trade ties both before and after Brexit, the spokeswoman said.

Last month Britain said it had reservations about a French-organized Middle East peace conference in Paris and did not back the final communique by 70 countries which reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its stance angered many EU members.

In December, Britain also scolded then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for a speech criticizing Israeli policy.

Netanyahu’s talks on Monday got off to an awkward start as he arrived before May was at her official Downing Street residence to greet him. Having entered her office alone, he came back outside minutes later for the customary handshake.

Small groups of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside Downing Street and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, said May’s stance on settlements was not good enough.

“Theresa May must make clear to the Israeli prime minister that the British government will stand unequivocally behind the rights of the Palestinian people,” said Corbyn, who once described members of Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah as friends in comments he later said he regretted.

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Russia, Turkey, Iran discuss Syria ceasefire implementation in Astana

Russian soldiers patrol a street in Aleppo Syria

ASTANA (Reuters) – Experts from Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United Nations held a technical meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to discuss in detail the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire agreement, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

“Representatives of Jordan are expected to take part for the first time,” a ministry spokesman said of the talks.

He said the agenda included reviewing the implementation of the cessation of hostilities, discussing a proposal from the Syrian armed opposition about the ceasefire, and determining options about how to implement it.

Fighting and air strikes have plagued the ceasefire agreement between the government and rebel groups since it took effect in late December, with the combatants accusing each other of violations.

“This is about creating a mechanism to control the implementation of the ceasefire,” the ministry spokesman said.

The ministry gave no information about the line-up of the delegations, who were meeting behind closed doors.

After the talks, Russian negotiator, chief command official Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, said the sides had also discussed preventing provocations and securing humanitarian access.

“The delegations have confirmed their readiness to continue interaction in order to achieve the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities in Syria,” he said.

(Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Iran’s missile test ‘not a message’ to Trump

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Monday a recent missile trial launch was not intended to send a message to new U.S. President Donald Trump and to test him, since after a series of policy statements Iranian officials already “know him quite well”.

Iran test-fired a new ballistic missile last week, prompting Washington to impose some new sanctions on Tehran. Trump tweeted that Tehran, which has cut back its nuclear program under a 2015 deal with world powers easing economic sanctions, was “playing with fire”.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying: “Iran’s missile test was not a message to the new U.S. government.

“There is no need to test Mr Trump as we have heard his views on different issues in recent days… We know him quite well.”

Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the 2015 deal, but the latest test on January 29 was the first since Trump entered the White House. Trump said during his election campaign that he would stop Iran’s missile program.

Qasemi said The U.S. government was “still in an unstable stage” and Trump’s comments were “contradictory”.

“We are waiting to see how the U.S. government will act in different international issues to evaluate their approach.”

Despite heated words between Tehran and Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday he was not considering strengthening U.S. forces in the Middle East to address Iran’s “misbehavior”.

Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday that the U.S. government “should de-escalate regional tension not adding to it”, and Washington should “interact with Iran” rather than challenging it.

Iran announced on Saturday that it will issue visas for a U.S. wrestling team to attend the Freestyle World Cup competition, reversing a decision to ban visas for the team in retaliation for an executive order by Trump banning visas for Iranians.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Ralph Boulton)

China protests U.S. sanction list on Iran that hits Chinese firms

BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Monday said it had “lodged representations” with the United States over Washington’s new sanctions list targeting Iran, which includes Chinese companies and individuals.

The sanctions on 25 people and entities imposed on Friday by President Donald Trump’s administration, and came two days it had put Iran ‘on notice’ following a ballistic missile test.

Those affected by the sanctions cannot access the U.S. financial system or deal with U.S. companies, and are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States.

The list includes two Chinese companies and three Chinese people, only one of whom the U.S. Treasury Department explicitly said was a Chinese citizen, a person called Qin Xianhua.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that Beijing had lodged a protest with Washington, and that such sanctions, particularly when they harmed the interests of a third party, were “not helpful” in promoting mutual trust.

“We have consistently opposed any unilateral sanctions,” Lu told a regular press briefing.

Executives of two Chinese companies included on the list said on Sunday they had only exported “normal” goods to the Middle Eastern country and didn’t consider they had done anything wrong.

China has in the past been angered by what it calls unilateral sanctions placed on Chinese firms by the United States and others in relation to Iran or North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

China has close economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran, but was also instrumental in pushing through a landmark 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Trump administration tightens Iran sanctions, Tehran hits back

By Yeganeh Torbati

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and entities, ratcheting up pressure on Iran in what it said were just “initial steps” and said it would no longer turn a “blind eye” to Iran’s hostile actions.

“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests,” National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said.

“The days of turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over,” Flynn said in a White House statement.

A senior administration official said the latest sanctions were the initial steps in response to Iran’s “provocative behavior”, suggesting more could follow if Tehran does not curb its ballistic missile program and continues support in regional proxy conflicts. The administration was “undertaking a larger strategic review” of how it responds to Iran.

Those affected cannot access the U.S. financial system or deal with U.S. companies and are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States.

The White House said that while the sanctions, the first actions against Iran by the U.S. government since President Donald Trump took office, were a reaction to recent events, they had been under consideration before.

They added that a landmark 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program was not in the best interest of the United States.

Iran denounced the sanctions as illegal and said it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping “regional terrorist groups”, state TV quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying.

Ahead of the announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted: “We will never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense”.

The new designations stuck to areas that remain under sanctions even with the 2015 nuclear deal sealed between Iran and world powers in place, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite military body that is powerful in Iranian politics and the economy, and Iran’s ballistic missile program. Zarif led Iran’s delegation at the nuclear negotiations in 2015.

Among those affected by the sanctions were what it said was a Lebanon-based network run by the Revolutionary Guards.

The sanctions’ impact will be more symbolic than practical, especially as they do not affect the lifting of broader U.S. and international sanctions that took place under the nuclear deal.

Also, few of the Iranian entities being targeted are likely to have U.S. assets that can be frozen, and U.S. companies, with few exceptions, are barred from doing business with Iran.

Meanwhile, the U.S. moved a Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen to protect waterways from Houthi militia aligned with Iran.

DESIGNATIONS

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Friday expressed understanding over the sanctions, saying Iran’s missile test last Sunday was a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

However, Gabriel warned against conflating Sunday’s test with the nuclear deal. The White House said the sanctions made clear the nuclear deal was not in Washington’s best interest.

The U.S. Treasury, which listed the individuals and entities affected on its website, said the sanctions were “fully consistent” with U.S. commitments under the nuclear deal.

Some of the entities involved are based in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and China.

Among those affected were companies, individuals and brokers the U.S. Treasury said support a trade network run by Iranian businessman Abdollah Asgharzadeh.

Treasury said he supported Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which the United States has said is a subsidiary of an Iranian entity that runs Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Hasan Dehghan Ebrahimi, a Beirut-based official with the Revolutionary Guard’s Qods Force, which runs its operations abroad, was put under sanctions for acting on behalf of the Qods Force, Treasury said.

Three Lebanese companies involved in waste collection, pharmaceuticals, and construction were also listed under the sanctions for being owned or controlled by Muhammad Abd-al-Amir Farhat, one of Ebrahimi’s employees.

Treasury said he has facilitated millions of dollars in cash transfers to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Two of his employees and a company he manages were also sanctioned. Treasury said Ebrahimi and his employees used a Lebanon-based network to transfer funds, launder money, and conduct business.

(This version of the story has been refiled to add mention of Flynn to advisory line: Adds Iranian reaction, comment from National Security Advisor Flynn)

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish)

U.S. to issue new Iran sanctions, opening shot in get-tough strategy: sources

By Arshad Mohammed, Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran while crafting a broader strategy to counter what he sees as its destabilizing behavior, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

In the first tangible action against Iran since Trump took office on Jan. 20, the administration, on the same day he insisted that “nothing is off the table,” prepared to roll out new measures against more than two dozen Iranian targets, the sources said. The announcement is expected as early as Friday, they added.

The new sanctions, which are being taken under existing executive orders covering terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, may mark the opening shot in a more aggressive policy against Iran that Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign, the sources, who had knowledge of the administration’s plans, said.

But the package, targeting both entities and individuals, was formulated in a way that would not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and six world powers including Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, they added.

The sources said the new sanctions had been in the works for some time and that Iran’s decision to test-fire a ballistic missile on Sunday helped trigger Trump’s decision to impose them, although Washington has not accused Iran of violating the nuclear deal.

The White House declined comment.

A U.S. State Department official said: “As standard policy, we do not preview sanction decisions before they are announced.”

The White House signaled a tougher stance toward Iran on Wednesday when Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, said he was putting Iran “on notice” after the missile test and senior U.S. officials said the administration was reviewing how to respond.

A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country would not yield to “useless” U.S. threats from “an inexperienced person” over its ballistic missile program. The adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, did not identify a specific U.S. official in his comments.

STILL-EVOLVING PLAN

The impact of the new sanctions will be more symbolic than practical, especially as the move does not affect the lifting of broader U.S. and international sanctions that took place under the nuclear deal. Also, few of the Iranian entities being targeted are likely to have U.S. assets that can be frozen, and U.S. companies, with few exceptions, are barred from doing business with Iran.

But the administration is working with congressional staffers and outside experts on a still-evolving broader plan aimed at hitting Iran’s pressure points, including its already restricted nuclear program, missile development and support of militant groups in the region, several sources said.

Leading a chorus of Republican calls for new sanctions, Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said the United States should stop “appeasing” Tehran. “I would be in favor of additional sanctions on Iran,” he told reporters.

Options that may be among the first to be implemented include sanctioning Iranian industries that contribute to missile development and designating as a terrorist group the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been blamed by U.S. officials for fueling regional proxy wars. The designation could also dissuade foreign investment because it oversees a sprawling business empire.

Another approach would be “zero tolerance” for any Iranian violations of the nuclear deal, by taking a stricter interpretation of the terms than the Obama administration.

That could include U.S. opposition to Iranian requests for waivers from restrictions requiring the approval of a committee comprising the United States and its negotiating partners, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the sources said.

“Michael Flynn did not put Iran on notice as mere empty words,” said Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert and head of the conservative Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies who is advising the Trump administration. “Iran’s continued missile and terrorism activities will lead to dozens of new U.S. designations and tough new congressional sanctions.”

Some experts questioned how quickly the administration could develop the new strategy as many of the technical specialists on Iran have left the government.

‘NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE’

Trump’s declaration that nothing had been ruled out in response to Iran appears to leave open the possibility of military action, although experts said both sides would take care to avoid armed confrontation in the oil-rich Gulf. Still, the U.S. threats of reprisals, coupled with Iran’s defiant reaction, could dangerously ratchet up tensions.

Every recent U.S. president, including Obama, a Democrat, has said U.S. military options were not off the table to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Trump has gone much further in his rhetoric, especially in criticizing the Iran deal as weak and ineffective.

Since taking office, Trump and his aides have not repeated campaign rhetoric about tearing up the deal. He may instead be trying to force Iran to either renegotiate the terms or pull out unilaterally, thereby shouldering the blame internationally.

Defenders of the deal said there was little chance Iran could be goaded back to the negotiating table and warned that too stringent an approach could escalate into a confrontation and embolden Iranian hardliners.

In the latest move, one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about eight Iranian entities were to be sanctioned or designated, for terrorism-related activities and about 17 for ballistic missile-related activities under separate existing U.S. executive orders. The source declined to name the entities, which were targeted under executive orders signed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2005.

Sanctions designations can lead to asset freezes, travel bans and other penalties.

Republican lawmakers said they were working with the Trump administration to push back on Iran without risking the collapse of the deal, widely supported internationally.

Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Reuters that his panel was “in the early stages” of working on legislation on Iran.

(Additional reporting by Patrica Zengerle, Ayesha Rascoe, Roberta Rampton in Washington and Parisa Hafezi in Ankara; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Peter Cooney)

Trump adopts aggressive posture toward Iran after missile launch

A file photo shows a ballistic missile launched and tested at an undisclosed location in Iran. REUTERS/Mahmood

By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House put Iran “on notice” on Wednesday for test-firing a ballistic missile and said it was reviewing how to respond, taking an aggressive posture toward Tehran that could raise tensions in the region.

While the exact implications of the U.S. threat were unclear, the new administration signaled that President Donald Trump intended to do more, possibly including imposing new sanctions, to curb what he sees as defiance of a nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.

The tough talk commits the administration to back up its rhetoric with action, which could cast doubt on the future of the Iran agreement and sow further uncertainty in an already chaotic Middle East, experts said.

Trump has frequently criticized the Iran nuclear deal, calling the agreement weak and ineffective.

Officials declined to say whether the military option was on the table, although Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said: “The U.S. military has not changed its posture in response to the Iranian test missile launch” on Sunday.

A fiery statement from Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, marked some of the most aggressive rhetoric by the administration that took office on Jan. 20, making clear that Obama’s less confrontational approach toward Iran was over.

Flynn said that instead of being thankful to the United States for the nuclear deal, “Iran is now feeling emboldened.”

“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” he told reporters in his first appearance in the White House press briefing room.

He said the launch and an attack on Monday against a Saudi naval vessel by Iran-allied Houthi militants off the coast of Yemen underscored “Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the Middle East.”

Iran confirmed it had tested a new missile but said it did not breach a nuclear accord reached with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the pact.

‘HOW WOULD U.S. RESPOND?’

Analysts said Iran could interpret Flynn’s warning as bluster given that the Trump administration is still formulating a response.

“It’s a vague way of drawing a line in the sand,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Americas. “Taken literally, it could mean: ‘You do this one more time and you’ll pay for it.’ But how would the U.S. respond?”

The warning could foreshadow more aggressive economic and diplomatic measures against Iran.

Three senior U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a range of options, including economic sanctions, was being considered and that a broad review was being conducted of the U.S. posture toward Iran.

One official said the intent of Flynn’s message was to make clear the administration would not be “shy or reticent” toward Tehran.

“We are in the process of evaluating the strategic options and the framework for how we want to approach these issues,” the official said. “We do not want to be premature or rash or take any action that would foreclose options or unnecessarily contribute to a negative response.”

“Our sincere hope is that the Iranians will heed this notice today and will change their behavior,” he said.

Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first since Trump became president.

RISK OF MISCALCULATION

The issue came to the forefront on the same day that the U.S. Senate confirmed former Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.

Trump told Tillerson at his swearing-in ceremony that “although you inherit enormous challenges in the Middle East and around the world, I believe we can achieve peace and security in these very, very troubled times.”

Simon Henderson, a Gulf expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said there was a danger of a miscalculation by Washington or Tehran.

“The question now is will the Iranian logic be: ‘My goodness, this guy is serious, we’d better behave ourselves?’” he said. “Or do they say: ‘Why don’t we tweak him a bit more to see what he really means, maybe test him.’”

The administration’s tough statement came midway through a three-day exercise by 18 U.S., French, British and Australian warships and an undisclosed number of aircraft close to Iranian waters in the Gulf, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command.

Trump is due to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a strident critic of the Iran nuclear deal, at the White House on February 15.

The U.S. president and Saudi Arabia’s ruler, King Salman, spoke by phone on Sunday and were described by the White House as agreeing on the importance of enforcing the deal and “addressing Iran’s destabilizing regional activities.”

Sunni Muslim-dominated Saudi Arabia, home to Mecca and other Islamic holy sites, and Shi’ite Muslim-majority Iran are regional rivals.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan S. Landay, Roberta Rampton, Idrees Ali, Yeganeh Torbati, Lesley Wroughton, Yara Bayoumy and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

Iran confirms new missile test, says it does not violate nuclear deal

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s defense minister said on Wednesday it had tested a new missile but this did not breach the Islamic Republic’s nuclear accord with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.

Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first during U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump said in his election campaign that he would stop Iran’s missile program.

“The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defense affairs,” Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan told Tasnim news agency. “The test did not violate the nuclear deal or (U.N.) Resolution 2231.”

A U.S. official said on Monday that Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,010 km).

The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and recommended the matter of the missile testing be studied at committee level. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the test “unacceptable”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that Tehran would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country.

Some 220 Iranian members of parliament reaffirmed support for Tehran’s missile program, calling international condemnation of the tests “illogical.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is against weapons of mass destruction, so its missile capability is the only available deterrence against enemy hostility,” the lawmakers said in a statement carried on state media on Wednesday.

The state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s National Security Council, as saying Iran would not seek “permission from any country or international organization for development of our conventional defensive capability”.

The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be put to developing atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from tough economic sanctions.

The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the resolution’s language does not make this obligatory.

Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear payloads.

The test on Sunday, according to U.S. officials, was of a medium-range ballistic missile, a type that had been tested seven months ago as well.

Iran has one of the Middle East’s largest missile programs but its potential effectiveness has been limited by a poor record for accuracy.

However, Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Sunday, the day of the test, that the country was now one of the few whose ballistic missiles were capable of hitting moving objects.

Such a capability would enable Iran to hit enemy ships, drones or incoming ballistic missile.

Some of Iran’s precision-guided missiles have the range to strike its regional arch-enemy Israel.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Iran’s new missile test a “flagrant violation” of the U.N. resolution. He said he would ask Trump in their meeting in mid- February for a renewal of sanctions against Iran.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Iran will not use ballistic missiles to attack any country: foreign minister

Minister of foreign affairs for Islamic Republic of Iran

By John Irish

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran said on Tuesday it would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country and defended its missile tests, saying they are neither part of a nuclear accord with world powers nor a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spelled out Tehran’s stance after a U.S. official said Iran on Sunday test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile that exploded after 630 miles (1,010 km).

In light of this, the United States requested the U.N. Security Council hold “urgent consultations” on Tuesday, after its scheduled session on Syria’s conflict.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters in Tehran that had voiced its concerns over the Iranian test, adding that it harmed the international community’s confidence in Tehran and contravened Security Council Resolution 2231.

That resolution ratified a July 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers under which Tehran curbed its nuclear activity to defuse concerns it could be put to making atomic bombs; in return, Iran won relief from crippling economic sanctions.

Zarif neither confirmed nor denied the U.S. report that it tested a ballistic missile on Sunday but added: “The missiles aren’t part of the nuclear accords. Iran will never use missiles produced in Iran to attack any other country.”

“No Iranian missiles have been produced to carry nuclear warheads,” said Zarif, speaking at a joint news conference held with Ayrault in Tehran. The Security Council resolution called on Iran not to carry out activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned Iran on Monday and said he would work with other lawmakers and the Trump administration to hold Iran accountable.

“COMMON INTEREST”

Ayrault said at the start of his two-day trip to Tehran on Monday that France would act as a defender of the nuclear deal that new U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up.

“We hope that that question of Iran’s defensive program will not be used as a pretext for the new U.S. administration … to provoke new tensions,” Zarif said.

Ayrault added it was imperative the Islamic Republic abide strictly by the conditions of the accord. He said it was in the “common interest” that all sides heeded the deal.

Ayrault is looking to reassure Tehran of France and Europe’s support for the nuclear deal, and to increase commercial ties. The deal was engineered two years ago by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France.

“This deal has to be rigorously kept to,” Ayrault said. “I want this deal to last and that no badly chosen initiatives are taken that could put the accord in jeopardy.”

During the U.S. election race, Trump branded it “the worst deal ever negotiated”, telling voters he would either rip it up or seek a better agreement.

Paris took one of the hardest lines against Tehran in the talks, but has been quick to restore trade relations since then.

Major French corporations including planemaker Airbus <AIR.PA>, oil major Total <TOTF.PA> and car companies Peugeot <PEUP.PA> and Renault <RENA.PA> have all signed contracts.

Ayrault said trade between the two countries had surged by 200 percent since the July 2015 deal.

He added that a deal between Turboprop maker ATR with IranAir for the sale of at least 20 aircraft was “practically sealed”, and that a contract with construction group Vinci <SGEF.PA> for two regional airports was also making progress.

Ayrault also sought to reassure Zarif over the potential return to Iran of major Western banks, which have hesitated for fear of possible U.S. fines if they do business with Iran.

“Some banks are reticent, but we are working on this,” Ayrault said.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Israel’s Netanyahu says he will push Trump on Iran sanctions

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he planned to push U.S. President Donald Trump to renew sanctions against Iran during a visit to Washington next month, complaining that Iran had once more tested a ballistic missile.

Netanyahu has been harshly critical of the deal that six world powers including the United States under president Barack Obama struck with Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for an end to multilateral sanctions. Iran is Israel’s avowed enemy and Israel argues that the agreement fails to prevent Iranian weapons posing a threat to its very existence.

During the U.S. election campaign, Trump called the pact a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated”, though he has also said it would be hard to overturn an agreement enshrined in a U.N. resolution.

In a statement on his personal Twitter account, around the same time the White House announced his Feb. 15 visit, Netanyahu said: “Iran again launched a ballistic missile. This is a flagrant violation of a Security Council Resolution.”

A U.S. official said on Monday that Iran had test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, which exploded after 630 miles.

“In my upcoming meeting with President Trump I intend to bring up the renewal of sanctions against Iran,” Netanyahu said. “Iran’s aggression cannot be left without a response.”

The Obama administration said Iran’s ballistic missile tests had not violated the nuclear agreement, but Trump has said he will stop Tehran’s missile program.

Under the U.N. resolution approving the nuclear deal, Iran is “called upon” to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years.

Critics of the deal have said the language is ambiguous and does not make compliance obligatory, while Tehran says the missiles it has tested are not specifically designed to carry nuclear warheads.

This month, Iranian lawmakers approved plans to increase military spending, including expanding the long-range missile program.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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