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On January 5th, Iran announced that it would enrich uranium without any restrictions, in a further reduction of its commitments to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, the Iran Nuclear Deal).
As 5th & final REMEDIAL step under paragraph 36 of JCPOA, there will no longer be any restriction on number of centrifuges
This step is within JCPOA & all 5 steps are reversible upon EFFECTIVE implementation of reciprocal obligations
Iran's full cooperation w/IAEA will continue
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2020
Iranian State television said Iran would not respect any limits set down in the pact on the country’s nuclear work: whether the limit on its number of uranium enrichment centrifuges to its enrichment capacity, the level to which uranium could be enriched, or Iran’s nuclear Research and Development activities.
“Iran will continue its nuclear enrichment with no limitations and based on its technical needs,” a statement said.
Furthermore, it said that if US sanctions on its economy are lifted, it would quickly fall back into compliance.
“If the sanctions are lifted … the Islamic Republic is ready to return to its obligations,” the statement said. It added that Iran will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
An unnamed US official further reported that Iran’s missile forces were at a heightened state of alert, and it was unclear if it was a defensive or offensive move.
“They’re clearly at a heightened state of alert. Is that heightened state of alert to be better prepared defensively or to be better prepared offensively? That can’t be determined at this point,” the official said. “But we’re watching it closely.”
Major General Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said that Iran would retaliate directly against US “military sites.”
“It might be argued that there could be proxy operations. We can say America, Mr. Trump, has taken action directly against us — so we take direct action against America.”
He further said that Trump and the US were at fault, and they began “the war.”
“It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions,” he said.
“The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they have inflicted. Afterward they should not seek a new cycle,” Dehghan said.
Dehgahn also responded to Trump’s threat to include Iranian cultural sites among 52 targets the US had selected to strike in the event of Iranian retaliation.
“If he says 52 we say 300 — and they are accessible to us,” Dehghan said.
“No American military staff, no American political center, no American military base, no American vessel will be safe. He doesn’t know international law. He doesn’t recognize UN resolutions either. Basically, he is a veritable gangster and a gambler.”
Meanwhile, both Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, as well as Foreign Minister Javad Zarif replied to Trump’s threats to target Iranian cultural sites.
The ICT Minister likened Trump to a “terrorist.”
Like ISIS, like Hitler, Like Genghis!
They all hate cultures. Trump is a "terrorist in a suit". He will learn history very soon that NOBODY can defeat "the Great Iranian Nation & Culture".#HardRevenge#QasemSoleimani https://t.co/N2iQ5AMX7M
— MJ Azari Jahromi (@azarijahromi) January 5, 2020
Foreign Minister Javad Zarif attempted to explain international law to Trump and Co., but it is becoming more evident that no such thing exists.
Those masquerading as diplomats and those who shamelessly sat to identify Iranian cultural & civilian targets should not even bother to open a law dictionary.
Jus cogens refers to peremptory norms of international law, i.e. international red lines. That is, a big(ly) “no no”.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2020
A reminder to those hallucinating about emulating ISIS war crimes by targeting our cultural heritage:
Through MILLENNIA of history, barbarians have come and ravaged our cities, razed our monuments and burnt our libraries.Where are they now?
We’re still here, & standing tall.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2020
Finally, in response to all of it, US President Donald Trump tweeted that his social media posts would serve as notification to US Congress that if Iran strikes any US targets, Washington’s response would follow, and it would potentially be disproportionate.
These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2020
“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people and we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way,” Trump told reporters on January 5th.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives is attempting to reduce Trump’s decision-making capacity.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues that the House will vote this week on a war powers resolution “to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran.”
“It reasserts Congress’s long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the Administration’s military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days,” Pelosi wrote.
She called last week’s airstrike “provocative and disproportionate,” and said it endangered U.S. troops while escalating tensions with Iran.
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Attack on those facility with centrifuges is already on US and IsraHell tables. If situation is going to develop in this direction it is almost 100% certain that they will at least attack that facility if not much more. For Iran there is no alternative but to seek nuclear weapons for self defense against Zionist aggressors.
Any rational decision maker with agree with you as Iranian theocracy has brought so much misery upon its people with a eunuch nuclear program. Either test a weapon like India, Pakistan, DPRK and Israel or dismantle the program. US will bomb it anyway.
Sorry I don’t approve your choice of words. If it is “Iranian theocracy” it is their choice and it shouldn’t definitely be your or anybodies problem. Why underlining that. Why not saying only “Iran”? Because they are Muslims? And if they were Hindy “theocracy” would you underline that also? Those in charge did what they thought to be the best for their country. They should be judged by the history and their own people. I’m not an expert on Iran and can’t be a judge if it was wrong or right.
Today Iran simply have no choice but to fight for survival. US IDIOT Bush have made US to be total losers in Iraq by removing Saddam. And now only option for them to keep control in Midddle East is to escalate even more. To attack Iran. So everything was just waste of trillions of $$$$ and million of Iraqi’s slaughtered, + rise of global terrorism only to put themselves in impasse in Iraq.
As a secular person I believe religion distorts rational thinking. Iran has a theocratic government and unfortunately so does India now, but many Indians are protesting too with religion based laws. If a technocrat like Dr. Ahmadinejad had been in power the US would not have been so arrogantly brazen and Iran would have been a nuclear power. The US is at the peak of its imperial hubris and will not be deterred if Iran or any nation can not defend themselves. Russia with a weak economy but is only able to survive US and NATO encirclement as it has nuclear weaponry and so does North Korea. I have a lot of respect for Iranian people who are decent and civilized, but their government has failed them.
I can’t comment some things since I do not know enough about Iranian political scene. Your conclusion that if “Dr. Ahmadinejad had been in power…..Iran would have been a nuclear power.” I really can’t agree with that at all. US-IsraHell …They would never let Iran have nukes. Never.
“Russia with a weak economy” Compering to whom?!? That is absolutely exaggerated! Considering that they are underneath the sanctions Russian economy is quite good. And getting even better every day. They are growing slowly but growing all the same
No US are not ” at the peak of its imperial hubris “. That situation was maybe 10-20 years ago when nobody could challenge them.
Putting Russia’s nuclear power on the same level (comparing) as N. Korea is already plain ignorant as statement. Russia as nuclear power today is second to none! You don’t strike ma as objectively informed person. And all this comes as disappointment.
Don’t confuse Shia theocracy with Sunni islam. Shia thought is way less constrained (progressive?) than Sunni theology allows them to be with the added bonus of demanding and successfully inculcating the concept of Imamate (unswerving devotion to leadership which breed fanatical adherence and sense of purpose amongst the majority of the populace, unlike Syria, Iraq) ) plus the added bonus of the concept of martyrdom taken to new heights. It would be hard to imagine, that had iran retained successive democratic leadership (assuming the CIA coup against Mossadegh did not occur and the CIA asset Pahlavi was not installed), if Iran would still be on the path it took and if today Hezboallah and Syria would exist at all. It is to the credit of the Mullahs (and Soleimani) that there is a Shia crescent (Politics + ideology ie to liberate Jerusalem) and Israel is itself facing an existential threat from militias created , funded and mobilsed by Iran,Possibly amongst the pinnacle of Soleimani’s achievement (amongst others). Besides, I doubt iran really doesnt have nukes, they are deinitely not stupid. Much has been rumoured about the presence of Iranian technicians in NK during several nuclear tests. Either they have and have been making and hiding them really well, or are fully technically able to make them at short notice. I guess Israel will find out shortly.
yea that facility needs to be defended up the ass
iran shoud have a quiet word with kim jung un and acquire a dozen of un’s nukes.
I doubt that nuke missiles would be possible to transfer unnoticed. But transfer of know-how is possible transfer. Iran at the moment lacks the most know-how of miniaturization of the atomic warheads to be small enough to fit them on the missile. But I have no doubt that they will master that soon also. And how did countries like N. Korea , Iran even China had such success and quick development of rocket tech and nuke tech know how, if not through Soviet collapse and proliferation of Soviet know how. The experts from ex-USSR went to those countries for well paid jobs in that domain. Today China uses the same methods to attract experts from Taiwan in production of semiconductors and chip technologies
The way to diffuse the situation is for Iraq to move ahead with the expulsion of US and other trouble makers.
That is simply not going to happen as Trump has made it clear. US considers Iraqi oil as its own.
I tend to agree that the unhinged states of A won’t leave voluntarily but if forced out, they can’t afford to collect a new invading army so that question is moot. sanction oil coming out of basra and so on, will sink the world economy so the us is in a quandary they will find most difficult to solve – most likely they’ll sit tight and refuse to leave and the iraqis will find it difficult to impossible to evict them when the yanks start handing out bribes in the zillions to key personnel in the iraqi government.
US economy since Eisenhower’s term military-industrial complex is built on wars and global domination, now add the mixture of Zionist control and hubris and US is completely out of control as the major power like Russia and China are complacent and India has been co-opted by Hindu nationalism. So Iran can not count on any substantial foreign support. The so-called Muslim world is divided and most of the Arab regimes are in US pockets. Russia is supplying its enemies like Saudis and UAE modern weaponry and will not sell Iran anything. So what other options does it have?
I beleive russia will be able to sell.to iran soon, there was an embargo on until 2020 at some time.
Expect some russia toys to pop up soon in Iran.
Zionist influence over Putin is very strong, so it is doubtful.
where is the influence coming from?
Putin’s mother was supposedly a Jew and also there are over 1.5 million Ukrainian and Russian “Jews” in Occupied Palestine and also many Russian oligarchs. Putin a low ranking KGB officer was hand picked by oligarchs.
putin couldn’t care less of ‘russsian’ jews in israel or in ukraine
He should know that the “jews” running israel are not even real jews
no wrong – there might have been some strong strings with the zionists at one stage but that is no longer the case.
The Iraqi parliament unanimously approved the withdrawal resolution submitted by the prime minister.
Iran’s only hope is to test a nuclear weapon, IF it has the capability?
It already has a nuclear weapon much deadlier than the conventional nuclear or even hydrogen bomb:
– By using its centrifuges to mix radioactive Cobalt powder into the explosive medium it can arm warheads that will scatter cobalt over a large area. – Unlike a nuclear explosion, cobalt contamination remains for thousands of years, making the ground uninhabitable. – Yet it is a low tech weapon not requiring the advanced control electronics for a nuclear explosive.
Since the Iranians mastered the fuel cycle years ago, cobalt dirty nukes are already within their means.
good and aim straight at the heart of the middle east problem – israel and obliterate it to rubble and wet stains in the palestinian sand.
The British created two nuisance failed states in 1947 and 1948, Pakistan and Israel and both have proved toxic and lead to global destruction.
the british themselves are a nuisance, failed state as well
You forgot Saudi Wahabi Kingdom.
The only defense Iran has is to threaten permanent closure of the Saudi Oil facilities and the destruction of Israel.
Threats not backed by capability do more harm than good.
They have the capability. Here is the full simulation:
The US cannot win a conventional war against Iran: It is incapable of occupying Iran and it will not be able to deliver a decapitating strike against the Iranian leadership without resulting in the complete destruction of Israel in response.
Some are saying that the US will use nuclear weapons. However, it will not be able to make use of this option because of some or all of the following considerations that will block its use and force the US the stand down, leaving the Iranian state intact:
There are a number of factors that would prevent a nuclear strike of meaningful impact against Iran by the US:
1. Radioactive Fallout and it’s impact in the Gulf to US allies. The US will risk blanketing it’s own bases and allies, possibly even states like Russia with resulting radioactive fallout depending on the prevailing weather at the time.
2. Risk of Nuclear Counter-Strike by Russia and China: Russia will not be able to assure itself, once it detects a nuclear launch that the strike is not surreptitiously meant for *it* while being ostensibly targeted at *Iran*. Russia would have to gamble on the hope that this is not the actual case and intention of the US in *ostensibly* attacking Iran with a nuclear weapon.
3. Risk of Nuclear Counter-Strike by Iran on *Israel* and EUROPE: While Iranian missiles may not be able to carry a warhead to the US mainland, they are certainly capable of carrying a radioactive Cobalt-enriched “diffusion warhead” aka “dirty bomb” to Europe and Israel. The US must calculate that Iran may threaten (credibly) this “Samson Option” if the attempts a Nuclear strike (or a strike resembling one, or of equal material impact to one).
4. The Geopolitical aftermath even in the event of a successful strike with no retaliation:
4.1 Even in the event of a successful strike, the implications for nuclear proliferation globally may force the US to reconsider as small countries “Rush for the Exits” and remove all restraints against proliferation. The world that emerges following this will be one where every vulnerable state may consider it an existential prerequisite to own effective nuclear deterrent. The era of nuclear weapons as a normal course of war will be upon us nearly a century after it’s first emergence. In such a world, the US would immediately lose it’s status as a global Superpower and face amplified threats against which no preemptive solutions exist … This proliferation, given it’s initial boost by this Event, will be accelerated by modern trends like
a) A.I, b) minitiarisation
c) Nano tech
d) Exponentially growing computing power. In short, nuclear weapons will no longer be the preserve of rich and powerful states but may become affordable to small, highly motivated groups radicalised into believing that the ends of revenge justify the means … These trends will all come into play due to the “Normalisation” of nuclear weapons use against non-nuclear states like Iran.
4.2 The resulting radicalisation of moderate muslims in the Islamic world may lead to accelerated proliferation of nuclear weapons among non-state groups seeking revenge. Islamic sympathisers in nuclear armed Muslim countries like Pakistan may assist other Islamic groups in the same way A.Q Khan assisted with North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programmes.
5. The Economic impact due to disrupted shipping in the Gulf resulting from shipping insurance premiums skyrocketing. Yes, a nuclear risk will now have to be factored into all shipping and oil extraction activities in the Gulf. The impact to the multi-trillion derivatives market will be unpredictably far reaching, resulting in bubble collapses many times larger than the 2008 sub-prime collapse and earlier market crashes.
Some or all of the above factors will combine in unpredictable but devastating ways for the US, it’s allies (and others) resulting in a net detriment to the West in the immediate future and for decades to come. The unintended geopolitical results will be beyond the US’ capacity to manage and the loss of the ability to predict and manage these far reaching effects will result in a net reduction of Western global dominance in both the military and economic sphere. In the meantime, Russia and China will be waiting in the wings to pick off a weakened USA.
Thats already more than half the reason for the US to remain in the ME. I reckon take out israel, because they can and solve half the region’s and the world’s problems.
Iran’s options are very limited without nuclear weapons. This is crunch time.
just test a bomb already if u have one
Like we would let them do it.
Iran should have tested a weapon years ago and saved itself a lot of US and Zionist provocations. It must rethink its nuclear dossier and focus on the shortest way to a plutonium bomb.
Yes, I had a feeling the jcpoa was not going to last very long, especially when trump won in 2016, i knew he would eventually pull out of it, what a waste of time that was
True, that is Iran’s only option. Detonate a nuke.Declare yourself a nuclear power.Tell Israel to let the US bring it on.
When US left the deal, I wrote here on southfront that “Europe will do nothing other than offering some empty promises, and eventually, Iran would terminate the deal. Then the Europeans would blame Iran for the lost deal”. Someone replied that I am nonsense.
the whole thing was a waste of time
Iran may as well drop the JCPOA; US reneged and the E3 haven’t honoured their commitment.
Time for iran to blow a nice nuke-test and call it Soluimani’s revenge.