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Turkey Says No Country Can Expel It From F-35 Program

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
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Turkey Says No Country Can Expel It From F-35 Program

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]

Turkey has affirmed that no country from the F-34 program can exclude it from the multinational program.

“This one-sided step neither complies with the spirit of alliance nor is it based on legitimate reasons,” Defense Industry President İsmail Demir said in a statement.

“We said that no country can be excluded from the F-35 program unilaterally. The last letter from the US justified us,” he emphasized.

An official from the Pentagon said in April that the US notified Turkey that it was officially expelled from the program.

He added that according to the statement sent to Ankara, the Joint Memorandum of Understanding opened to participant countries' signature in 2006 and signed by Turkey on January 26, 2007, has been canceled and Turkey was not included in the new agreement.

Other participants of the program were the US, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Norway.

Turkey has ordered more than 100 of the F-35 fighter jets, spending $1.4 billion while its defense industry has invested significant sums into the warplanes’ production.

It threatened to resort to legal means after Washington halted delivery to Tukey in July 2019.

Turkey signed a deal with Russia to purchase a new batch of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.

A defense company owned by Turkey’s main defense industrial agency signed a contract with the Arnold & Porter law firm to provide “strategic advice and outreach” in a bid to persuade US policymakers to readmit Turkey to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

In December, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey by virtue of Katsa. The sanctions included four officials from the Defense Industry Ministry in addition to depriving Turkey of defense loans that exceed $10 million.

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Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
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Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File

Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appeared to have hit a roadblock.

The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to replace a landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 during his first term, said AFP.

In a video aired on Iranian state TV, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions".

He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a "unilateral" agreement that Tehran would not accept.

"The delusional US president should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal," Ghalibaf said.

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with officials later taking issue with "ambiguities" in the draft text.

The US and its Western allies have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has consistently denied, insisting that its atomic program was solely for peaceful purposes.

Key issues in the negotiations have been the removal of biting economic sanctions and uranium enrichment.

Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the Trump administration has called any Iranian enrichment a "red line".

Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.

On Tuesday, Iran's top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the country "will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium".

IAEA meeting

According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the latest US proposal and said enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear program.

The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in Vienna starting Monday and discuss Iran's nuclear activities.

On Sunday the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran warned it could reduce its level of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if it adopts a resolution against it.

"Certainly, the IAEA should not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue its broad and friendly cooperation," the Iranian agency's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told state TV.

Araghchi on Friday accused European powers of "opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors", warning on X that "Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights".

A quarterly report from the IAEA issued last week cited a "general lack of cooperation" from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material.

Tehran has rejected the report as politically motivated and based on "forged documents" it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel.