SEVERED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
BETWEEN US AND IRAN:
The Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear
deal was signed on 14 July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany) and
the European Union.
Under the agreement:
1.
Iran agreed to
eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium.
2. cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%
3. reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for
13 years.
4. For the next 15 years, Iran will only enrich
uranium up to 3.67%.
5. Iran agreed not to build any new heavy-water
facilities for the same period of time.
6. Uranium-enrichment activities will be limited to a
single facility using first-generation centrifuges for 10 years.
7. To monitor and verify Iran's compliance with the
agreement, the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have regular
access to all Iranian nuclear facilities.
8. In return for verifiably abiding by its commitments,
Iran will receive relief from U.S., European Union, and United
Nations Security Council economic sanctions.
In January 2016, The United States lifted most of its sanctions against
Iran after a UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported
that Tehran complied with a
nuclear weapons deal. The deal allowed Iran to access $100 billion which was seized
by the international community when Tehran continued to develop its own nuclear
deterrent.
On 8 May 2018, President Trump announced that the
United States would withdraw from the agreement.
Announcing his withdrawal from Iran Nuclear deal President Donald Trump said:
“The Iranian regime is the
leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts
across the Middle
East, and supports terrorists proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban and Al-Qaida. Over
the years, Iran and its proxies have bombed American Embassies and military
installations, murdered hundreds of American service members, and kidnapped,
imprisoned, and tortured American citizens. The Iranian regime has funded its
long reign of chaos and terror by plundering the wealth of its own people. No
action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than its pursuit of nuclear
weapons — and the means of delivering them”.
In fact, the deal allowed Iran to
continue enriching uranium and — over time — reach the brink of a nuclear
breakout. The deal lifted crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for
very weak limits on the regime’s nuclear activity — and no limits at all on its
other malign behaviour, including its sinister activities in Syria, Yemen, and
other places all around the world”.
“In other words, at the point
when the United States had maximum leverage, this disastrous deal gave this
regime — and it’s a regime of great terror — many billions of dollars, some of
it in actual cash — a great embarrassment to me as a citizen and to all
citizens of the United States”.
“Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian
promise was a lie. Last week, Israel published intelligence documents — long
concealed by Iran — conclusively showing the Iranian regime and its history of
pursuing nuclear weapons”.
In a few moments, I will sign a
presidential memorandum to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on the
Iranian regime. We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction.
Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be
strongly sanctioned by the United States.
As we exit the
Iran deal, we will be working with our allies to find a real, comprehensive,
and lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear threat. This will include efforts
to eliminate the threat of Iran’s ballistic missile program, to stop its
terrorist activities worldwide, and to block its menacing activity across the
Middle East.
After withdrawal from Iran Nuclear deal, President re-imposed
sanctions on Iran with immediate effect. The sanctions affect any purchase of
U.S. bank notes by Iran's government, Iran's trade in precious metals like
gold, graphite, aluminium, steel, coal and software in industrial processes,
Iran's automotive sector, transactions related to the Iranian Rial, and Iran's
issuing of sovereign debt, according to the White House. The sanctions
that will be re-imposed in November 2018 include those on Iran's port operators
and energy, shipping and shipbuilding sectors, any of Iran's petroleum-related
transactions, and foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of
Iran.
US
imposes sanctions on Russia:
On August 2, 2017, the President
signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries
Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) which among other things, imposes
new sanctions on Iran, Russia,
and North Korea. It
also includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant
transactions with Russia’s Defence and Intelligence sectors.
In April
2018, the Trump administration unleashed sanctions against seven Russian
oligarchs with ties to President Vladimir Putin along with 12 companies they
own or control. The measures were also aimed at 17 senior Russian government
officials and the state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboron export,
which has long-standing ties to Syria and its subsidiary, the Russian Financial
Corporation Bank. The sanctions by the US were to punish Putin's inner circle
for interfering in the 2016 election and other ongoing aggressions across the
globe in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria.
INDIA US 2+2 DIALOGUE
India will
host the first ever India US 2+2 dialogue on 6 September 2018 in New Delhi
between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US
counterpart Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of Defence James N.
Mattis. The two sides are expected to
share perspectives on strengthening their strategic and security ties and
exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual
interest.
According to Randall Schriver,
the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs at
the U.S. Department of Defense, the agenda from US perspective could be to
advance relationship by discussions on strategic and regional issues like China,
free & open Indo Pacific, approach towards South East Asia, Afghanistan,
foundational or enabling agreements for bilateral military co-operation 1)
Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and 2)
Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), expand
the scope of military exercises to first ever three service exercise later this
year.
It looks COMCASA is close to
conclusion with some reservation on Indian side regarding
sovereignty. United States and India have already concluded the first enabling agreements, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement
(LEMOA) which allows the armed forces of both sides to mutually access
logistical support for compensation.
India has two
sticking points to be discussed with US :
1) Reducing Oil import from Iran as the second
phase of sanctions by US start in November 2018. India has strategic interest
in Chabahar, Central Asia and Afghanistan and Iran is key to achieve strategic
objectives.
2) India has concluded
negotiations to buy S-400 Air Defence System from Russia and CAATSA threatens
India with US sanctions. About 70% of India’s defence equipments and weapons are
of Russian origin and it depends on maintenance and spares on Russia.
In July 2018
while addressing media, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said “CAATSA (sanctions law) is not a UN
act, it's a US act, we have spoken on the S-400 for years, not just today”. She
further said, "Our defence relation with Russia has endured several
decades and we have conveyed about it to a US Congressional delegation which
visited India recently”.
US and India are expected to hold discussions to
strengthen strategic, security and defence co-operation and jointly address
challenges in Indo Pacific region and beyond.
No comments:
Post a Comment