Report: Germany Weighing New Sanctions against Iran

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (Reuters)
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Report: Germany Weighing New Sanctions against Iran

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (Reuters)

In an attempt to dissuade US President Donald Trump from terminating the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Germany is seeking to impose new sanctions against Tehran, reported the Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday.

Germany also wants to punish Iran for its missile program and its meddling in conflicts in other Middle East countries, such as the war in Yemen and Syria, the report said.

Berlin is currently lobbying among European allies to reach an agreement on new sanctions, it added.

The report cited diplomats in Brussels as saying that Germany was pushing for new sanctions together with Britain and France to show the United States that European allies were taking Trump's criticism against Iran seriously.

A German foreign ministry spokeswoman and another government spokesman both declined to comment on the report.

Trump recently set an ultimatum to fix "disastrous flaws" in the deal curbing Tehran's nuclear program.

The agreement was reached between Tehran and world powers in 2015.

Trump has said he would waive nuclear sanctions on Iran for the last time to give the United States and European allies a final chance to amend the pact. Washington also imposed sanctions on the head of Iran's judiciary and others.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has said the deal was not renegotiable, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday it cannot survive if Washington pulls out of it.



China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the US intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race.

The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the country.

China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and dialogue and consultation are the right way, Wang told the Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday during a meeting in Vientiane, the capital of Laos where top diplomats of world powers have gathered ahead of two summits.

Wang said relations between the countries are facing challenges because the Philippines has "repeatedly violated the consensus of both sides and its own commitments", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," Wang said.

The Philippines' military and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wang's remarks.

China and the Philippines are locked in a confrontation in the South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to disputed shoals in waters within Manila's its exclusive economic zone.

Wang said China has recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren'ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation, referring to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine vessels on Saturday successfully completed their latest mission to the shoal unimpeded, its foreign ministry said in a statement.