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Selasa, 25 Juni 2019

Trump says attack by Iran on anything American will be met with 'obliteration' - CNN

"In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!" the President tweeted.

Earlier Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the White House is "suffering from mental disability" and behaving as "no sane person" in the wake of new sanctions imposed by US this week -- partly in retaliation over the downing of an American drone.

Iranian president says White House is 'suffering mental disability' over sanctions

Those comments prompted a response from Trump who said "Iran's very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality."

"Their leadership spends all of its money on Terror, and little on anything else. The U.S. has not forgotten Iran's use of IED's & EFP's (bombs), which killed 2000 Americans, and wounded many more," he added.

Trump's figures regarding Iranian responsibility for American deaths appeared to be significantly higher than those provided by the State Department and the Pentagon in April, which said that "at least 603 US personnel deaths in Iraq" were the result of attacks by Iran-backed militants between 2003 and 2011.

Rouhani also said that those "in charge of the White House are feeling frustrated" by the state of play in the region, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. He added that the US had wrongly expected to "create chaos" in Iran in two to three months, during his speech to senior health officials.

During an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Rouhani's comments, "a bit immature and childlike."

"But know that the United States will remain steadfast," he added.

US and Iran showdown goes from terrible to worse

Tensions between the US and Iran are now at their highest level in years, coming on the back of last week's downed US drone, but also stretching to 2018 when Trump walked away from the Iranian nuclear deal implemented by his predecessor Barack Obama.

After weeks of building tensions, Trump threatened airstrikes on Iran last week -- calling them off just minutes before they were due to begin -- and on Tuesday his national security adviser, John Bolton, continued the administration's tough rhetoric.

Bolton referred to Iran as a "radical regime" that supports "violent provocations abroad," ahead of a trilateral meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts in Jerusalem.

But he also added that Trump had "held the door open to real negotiations."

"All that Iran needs to do is walk through that open door," said Bolton, known for being one of the administration's most hawkish advisers on Iran.

CNN's Ryan Browne, Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Frederik Pleitgen and Sheena McKenzie contributed reporting

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/politics/trump-iran-rouhani-response/index.html

2019-06-25 16:13:00Z
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Trump says attack by Iran on anything American will be met with 'obliteration' - CNN

"In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!" the President tweeted.

Those comments prompted a response from Trump who said "Iran's very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality."

During an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Rouhani's comments, "a bit immature and childlike."

"But know that the United States will remain steadfast," he added.

Bolton referred to Iran as a "radical regime" that supports "violent provocations abroad," ahead of a trilateral meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts in Jerusalem.

But he also added that Trump had "held the door open to real negotiations."

"All that Iran needs to do is walk through that open door," said Bolton, known for being one of the administration's most hawkish advisers on Iran.

CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Frederik Pleitgen and Sheena McKenzie contributed reporting

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/politics/trump-iran-rouhani-response/index.html

2019-06-25 15:45:00Z
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NATO says it will act unless Russia destroys nuclear-ready missile - CNBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a military exercise at a training ground on Sept. 18, 2017 at Luzhsky range near Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images

NATO said Russia must destroy its short-range nuclear-ready cruise missile system, or the alliance will be forced to respond.

The U.S. has previously said it will quit a decades-old missile treaty with Russia if the latter fails to destroy the missile, labeled the SSC-8 by NATO.

The 1987 INF Treaty between the U.S. and Russia sought to eliminate nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers, with short ranges (310–620 miles) and intermediate ranges (620–3,420 miles).

NATO has said the SSC-8 violates those terms and that Russia has been deploying the system at locations which could threaten countries across Europe.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia had just five weeks to scrap the system and save the treaty.

"We call on Russia to take the responsible path. Unfortunately, we have seen no indication that Russia intends to do so," he said.

Stoltenberg will chair a meeting of NATO member defense ministers which is due to begin Wednesday. He said that gathering, which will include U.S. acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper, would look at NATO's next steps "in the event that Russia does not comply."

The NATO chief said the response would be "defensive, measured and co-ordinated," but would not result in the deployment of land-based nuclear missiles.

"As Russia is deploying new missiles we must ensure our deterrent is effective. This is NATO's job."

At the same press conference, Stoltenberg outlined the breakdown of individual country contributions to defense among member nations.

The NATO guideline sits at 2% of gross domestic product but only around seven of the 29 countries are expected to satisfy that target by 2019.

Those countries are Latvia, Poland, Romania, the U.K., Estonia, Greece and the United States. The U.S. is by far the biggest spender on defense, routing around 3.5 percent of its GDP total toward the sector.

NATO said that its estimate for 2019 would see the levels of NATO member cash spent on defense rise by about 3.9 % from 2018 levels.

Now watch: The U.S. is changing its missile strategy

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/25/nato-says-russia-must-end-nuclear-ready-missile-ssc-program.html

2019-06-25 14:16:34Z
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Iran's president says Trump's White House is "afflicted by mental retardation" - CBS This Morning

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmg0OpuAc3A

2019-06-25 11:26:29Z
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Erdogan: No backtrack from S-400 deal with Russia - Aljazeera.com

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey will take delivery of Russia's S-400 missile defence system in July - a deal that has created tensions with the United States.

"The issue of S-400 is an issue directly related to our sovereignty and we will not backtrack from that. God willing, the delivery of the S-400 will start next month," Erdogan said in a televised speech, restating his unwavering stance.

Turkey has plans to buy 100 American-made F-35 fighter jets, and has lucrative contracts to build parts for the jets. The United States says the S-400s are not compatible with NATO's systems and are a security threat to its own F-35 programme.

Washington has threatened to impose sanctions on Ankara and prevent Turkey from purchasing the F-35s.

"In order to meet its security needs, Turkey ... does not need to get permission, let alone bow to pressure," said Erdogan.

Russia has also said it planned to deliver its S-400s to Turkey in July.

Erdogan has vowed to use his good relations with US counterpart Donald Trump to defuse tensions when they meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, later this week.

The United States cannot allow Turkey to fly or help produce its F-35 stealth jets if Ankara goes ahead with the purchase of the Russian air defence system, the US envoy to NATO said on Tuesday.

"There will be a disassociation with the F-35 system, we cannot have the F-35 affected or destabilised by having this Russian system in the [NATO] alliance," Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters.

Deteriorated ties

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The Turkish foreign minister said on Monday that Ankara did not fear US sanctions over the S-400 deal.

"Regardless of whatever sanctions there may be, whatever the messages from America, we've bought the S-400," Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in the capital.

"If there's an attack on Turkey tomorrow, we cannot expect NATO to protect us because NATO's capacity would only protect 30 percent of Turkey's airspace," Cavusoglu said.

Relations with Washington have deteriorated in recent years over various issues including the S-400 deal, and US support for Syrian Kurdish fighters viewed as "terrorists" by Turkey.

Earlier in the month, US officials announced that Washington had halted the training of Turkish pilots on F-35 fighters at an airbase in the US state of Arizona.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/erdogan-backtrack-400-deal-russia-190625094152680.html

2019-06-25 11:13:00Z
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Iran-US crisis: Rouhani derides new sanctions as 'useless' - BBC News

Iran's president has responded with defiance to the latest sanctions imposed by the US, saying they show it is lying about wanting dialogue.

Hassan Rouhani said the measures against Iran's supreme leader unveiled by President Donald Trump on Monday would be "useless" and denounced US plans to target his foreign minister.

The moves showed the White House was "mentally retarded", Mr Rouhani added.

Mr Trump said he was responding to recent "aggressive behaviour" by Iran.

Last week, Iranian forces shot down a US surveillance drone that they said had violated Iranian airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. The US insisted the drone was flying over international waters.

The US has also accused Iran of being behind two sets of explosions that have damaged six oil tankers in the region, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes each day. Iran has rejected the allegation.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated steadily since May 2018, when Mr Trump abandoned the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and began reinstating sanctions to force Iran to renegotiate the accord.

Last month, Iran scaled back some its commitments under the deal, including on the amount of low enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile, after Mr Trump ended exemptions from US secondary sanctions for countries still buying Iranian oil.

Who do the new sanctions target?

Mr Trump said the measures would deny Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his office, and those closely affiliated with him, access to key financial resources and support.

"The supreme leader of Iran is one who ultimately is responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime. He's respected within his country. His office oversees the regime's most brutal instruments, including the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Some analysts said the sanctions were largely symbolic, although the US treasury department said the measures would lock up billions of dollars in assets.

The treasury said it was also imposing sanctions on eight senior commanders of the IRGC's navy, air force, and ground forces, including the head of an air force unit that the US said had ordered the shooting down of its drone.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif - who was the country's top negotiator on the nuclear deal - would be targeted later this week, it added.

Despite the current tensions, Mr Trump insisted he was willing to start negotiations on a new nuclear accord that would also see Iran agree to curb its ballistic missile programme and end what he calls its "malign" activities in the Middle East.

"If they don't want to, that's fine too. But we would love to be able to. And, frankly, they might as well do it soon," he said.

What was the Iranian response?

The sanctions announcement was met with ridicule in parts of the Iranian press, while Mr Zarif tweeted that those advising the US president "despise diplomacy" and "thirst for war".

In a televised address to a meeting of healthcare professionals on Tuesday, President Rouhani said the sanctions targeting Ayatollah Khamenei were "outrageous and idiotic".

"They said they want to confiscate the leader's property. The leader owns a Hoseyniyyeh [prayer venue] and a simple house. Our leaders are not like the leaders of other countries who have billions of money on foreign accounts that you could appropriate."

Mr Rouhani added that the decision to target his foreign minister proved Mr Trump did not want to talk.

"You immediately proved you were lying. You are not sincere; you are not looking to negotiate. You could have waited for a little while so that the world could believe that you were sincere."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi warned that the sanctions against Mr Zarif would signal the "permanent closure of the path of diplomacy".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48756824

2019-06-25 11:15:46Z
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Trump Reportedly Has Mused to Aides About Ending U.S.-Japan Defense Treaty Because It’s Too “One-Sided” - Slate Magazine

President Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka on May 28, 2019. — President Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka on May 28, 2019.

ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA/Getty Images

There is no American strategic alliance that President Trump won’t seek to undo in the name of… a quick buck? After years of grousing about NATO, this week Bloomberg reports Trump has been privately musing to aides about upending the U.S.-Japan defense treaty that came out of the wreckage of World War II. The 60-year-old pact saw Japan give up its military in return for security guarantees from the U.S., laying the groundwork for decades of regional stability and economic growth. Seems like a pretty good thing, no?

So what’s Trump’s supposed problem with the treaty? “Trump regards the accord as too one-sided because it promises U.S. aid if Japan is ever attacked, but doesn’t oblige Japan’s military to come to America’s defense,” multiple sources told Bloomberg. It’s almost like he hasn’t read the treaty—or anything at all. The short-termism of Trump’s base foreign policy instincts is going to have a long-term impact not just on American foreign relations, but the balance of global power. The repeated bartering of hard won systemic and institutional advantages and the costs that come with maintaining them for quick, cheap monetary gains doesn’t appear to be rooted in any grand strategic vision of the world other than money is good.

Bloomberg’s reporting acknowledges that there’s no indication the the Trump White House has made any moves on altering the treaty with Japan, but this is how harebrained Trump ideas become harebrained Trump policies. What are the consequences of Trump’s 24-hour cable news strategic goals? Well, for starters, “scrapping the treaty would risk ceding security of the Western Pacific to China and potentially spurring a fresh nuclear arms race, if Japan decided it needed to protect itself from nuclear-armed neighbors,” Bloomberg notes. “It would also call into question the U.S.’s military commitments to Australia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and a host of other allies around the world.”

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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/trump-end-japan-defense-treaty-abe-world-war-ii-security-okinawa.html

2019-06-25 10:03:00Z
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