Earlier this month, the White House warned Iran against enriching its uranium. This was the latest episode of tension while the Gulf might enter a new crisis.
While experts fear a new crisis, the Islamic regime seems to take further steps to foster a crisis as it has rejected discussions about its missiles earlier this week.
For the past few months, tensions have risen between Iran and the United States as the US called off air strikes at the last minute after the Islamic Republic neutralized an American drone and that the White House accused Iran of attacking U.S ships.
Yesterday, the Islamic Republic confirmed the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah, a French leading expert. The arrest happened a day after French president Emmanuel Macron demanded contact with her – which was denied.
The White House warns Iran
In an international worry that the 2015 nuclear deal might come to an end, the White House said it was determined to stop it uranium enrichment.
“We are not looking for regime change. We are not looking for that at all,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting. “They can’t have a nuclear weapon”, reported Agence France Presse.
#UPDATE President Donald Trump said the United States is not pushing to topple Iran's leadership but is determined to stop it acquiring nuclear weapons https://t.co/HfDjZg8u9w
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 16, 2019
According to the AFP, “Iran said last week that it had enriched uranium past the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal, and has also surpassed the 300-kilogram cap on enriched uranium reserves”.
Iran rejects latest negotiations
In response, the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif gave an exclusive interview to the BBC. He said on Monday that the United States were “playing with fire”.
When it came to the nuclear deal, when asked if there was a chance to “save” the 2015 agreement, the minister said that “room for negotiation is wide open”. However he added “the United States need, first, to stop selling all these weapons, including missiles, to our region”.
So, what will the White House do? According to leaked diplomatic cables published this weekend, “Britain’s ambassador to Washington believed Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal because it was associated with his predecessor Barack Obama”, confirmed AFP Washington bureau.
Read on Alvexo: “Iran-US: Is a New War coming?”
Iran confirmed French scholar arrest
While the diplomatic situation remains uncertain, the arrest of a French scholar in Iran might worsen the crisis.
Yesterday, Iran confirmed the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian 60-year-old anthropologist, without giving further details.
Reminder: #Iran's govt usually isn't responsible for arresting dual citizens. Typically that's intel services or the Revolutionary Guard. Europeans working w Rouhani govt to save the nuclear deal know that. Still, the arrest doesn't exactly boost trust: https://t.co/pcAgCsqYBY
— Sune Engel Rasmussen (@SuneEngel) July 16, 2019
“This person was detained recently … but due to the nature of the case, this is not the proper time to give any information about it,” Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said in a live broadcast on the judiciary’s website.
At the moment, reasons for her arrest remain unknown. French president Emmanuel Macron asked to enter in contact with Adelkhah himself, but the Iranian regime declined his request.