Rewrite Iran Deal? Europeans Offer a Different Solution: A New Chapter
Mark Landler, David E. Sanger and Gardiner Harris | New York Times
President Trump’s threat to rip up the Iran nuclear deal has touched off an urgent scramble in European capitals to preserve the agreement—not by rewriting it, but by creating a successor deal intended to halt Iran’s ballistic missile program and make permanent the restrictions on its ability to produce nuclear fuel. As the two sides prepare to meet for trans-Atlantic talks next month in Berlin, the Europeans are demanding a guarantee that Mr. Trump will abide by the add-on deal after it is negotiated and not jettison it on some other pretext. Mr. Trump has called the 2015 agreement that was negotiated by President Barack Obama “the worst deal” ever and has told Britain, France and Germany to fix it by May 12 or he will pull the United States out.
Iran Hints at Seaborne Reactors While Respecting Nuclear Deal
Francois Murphy | Reuters
Iran has fired a diplomatic warning shot at Washington by raising the prospect of building nuclear reactors for ships while staying within the limits set by its atomic deal with major powers, a U.N. nuclear watchdog report showed on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump has long railed against the 2015 nuclear deal for reasons including its limited duration and the fact it does not cover Iran’s ballistic missile program. He has threatened to pull out unless European allies help “fix” the agreement with a follow-up accord.
Perry Plans Nuclear-Energy Talks With Saudis, Sources Say
Ari Natter, Jennifer Jacobs, and Jennifer A Dlouhy | Bloomberg
Energy Secretary Rick Perry will travel to London to discuss nuclear energy with officials from Saudi Arabia on Friday as the Trump administration pursues a deal to build reactors in the kingdom, according to two people familiar with the plans. Perry scrapped a trip to New Delhi to accommodate meetings at the White House this week, creating an opening for him to lead an inter-agency delegation to London, said the people, who asked not to be named to discuss administration strategy.
U.S. Imposes More North Korea Sanctions, Trump Warns of 'Phase Two'
Steve Holland and Christine Kim | Reuters
The United States said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs, and President Donald Trump warned of a “phase two” that could be “very, very unfortunate for the world” if the steps did not work. In addressing the Trump administration’s biggest national security challenge, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website.
Trump Sees Talks With NKorea Only Under 'Right Conditions'
Darlene Superville | Washington Post
President Donald Trump on Monday responded to an overture from North Korea for talks with the U.S., saying that will happen only “under the right conditions.” Trump raised North Korea at an annual White House meeting with the nation’s governors after a North Korean envoy sent a message through South Korea on Sunday. The envoy said the North has “ample intentions” of holding talks with the U.S.
U.N. Chief Calls for New Push to Rid the World of Nuclear Weapons
Tom Miles | Reuters
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for a new global effort to get rid of nuclear weapons, drawing a cautious response from envoys of atomic-armed powers at odds for decades over nuclear disarmament. Speaking to the Conference on Disarmament at the U.N. complex in Geneva, Guterres said many states still wrongly thought that nuclear weapons made the world safer.