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Iran to finalise its next nuclear step on Sunday

January 5, 2020 at 2:49 pm

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani seen at an exhibition of Iranian nuclear technologies on April 9, 2019 [president.ir]

Iran will decide on Sunday about its next step to further roll back its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by IRNA as saying, reports Reuters.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 agreement between Tehran and six major powers in 2018 and reimpoised sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy. Hostilities between the countries escalated sharply after Friday’s US drone attack in Baghdad that killed Soleimani.

“Tonight, there will be a very important meeting to decide about our next nuclear step and the implementation of the deal … considering the recent threats (by America) it should be underlined that in politics, all developments and threats are linked to each other,” spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Read: Iraq parliament in extraordinary session to expel US troops

The US strike on Soleimani’s convoy at Baghdad airport also killed Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and it raised the specter of wider conflict in the Middle East.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country’s highest honor last year, vowed “severe retaliation” in response to his killing. Thousands mourned his death in Iraq, Iran and Gaza.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of plotting the embassy attack and planning to carry out additional attacks on US diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.

Iraq parliament in extraordinary session to expel US troops

Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the mastermind of its regional security strategy. He was killed early Friday near the Baghdad international airport along with senior Iraqi militants in an airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump. The attack has caused regional tensions to soar and tested the US alliance with Iraq. Fearing escalation, NATO has suspended it’s training activities in Iraq, while the British Navy has committed to escort every UK-flagged ship across the Straits of Hormuz.

Showing no signs of seeking to reduce tensions, the US president has since issued a stern threat to Iran on Twitter, saying that the US has targeted 52 Iranian sites that it would strike if Iran attacks Americans or US assets in response to the US drone strike that killed Soleimani. He later added that the US will use ‘new’ equipment to strike Iran.

Read: Pope calls for dialogue and restraint amid growing US-Iran tensions