Mohammad Javad Zarif offered an initially high price for such negotiations – the halt of American arms sales to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two key U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf.
Author: Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
Iran says minister’s missile remarks meant to challenge US
The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, tweeted late on Tuesday that Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments “threw the ball into the U.S. court while challenging America’s arm sales” to its Mideast allies.
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Iran crisis: US planes barred over parts of the Mideast; global airlines reroute flights after drone downed
The Persian Gulf is home to some of the world’s top long-haul carriers, who already have been battered by Trump’s travel bans targeting a group of predominantly Muslim countries.
‘Iran did do it’: Trump addresses tanker attacks, points to US military video of removing mine
The U.S. released a video it said shows Iran removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump adviser John Bolton accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms; claims it ‘almost certainly’ sabotaged ships
Bolton claimed – without offering evidence – that the alleged sabotage of four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates came from naval mines placed “almost certainly by Iran.”
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Qatar will pull out of OPEC amid tension with Saudi Arabia
The surprise announcement again throws into question the role of the cartel after needing non-members to push through a production cut in 2016 after prices crashed below $30 a barrel.
UAE pardons British academic convicted of spying
The announcement on Matthew Hedges’ upcoming release ends a diplomatic headache for the UAE, a staunch American and British ally in the Mideast.