Iran Warns Washington of ‘Possible Miscalculation or Adventurous Acts’

Iran's permanent representative at the UN, Saeid Iravani (UN)
Iran's permanent representative at the UN, Saeid Iravani (UN)
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Iran Warns Washington of ‘Possible Miscalculation or Adventurous Acts’

Iran's permanent representative at the UN, Saeid Iravani (UN)
Iran's permanent representative at the UN, Saeid Iravani (UN)

Iran's Foreign Ministry lodged an official complaint at the UN after the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the US had granted Israel the "freedom of action" to target Iranian facilities.

Iran's permanent representative at the UN, Saeid Iravani, submitted a letter to the UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres and the head of the Security Council, saying Sullivan's recent statements were "irresponsible, provocative, and belligerent statements that violate international law and the United Nations Charter."

The IRNA news agency quoted the official: "Iran warns against any possible miscalculation or adventurous acts against its peaceful nuclear program."

Iran agreed with major powers, the US, France, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany, regarding its nuclear program, which allowed the lifting of sanctions in exchange for reducing its nuclear activities and ensuring a peaceful program.

However, the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, which responded by gradually retracting most of its commitments.

Iran and the parties engaged in talks to revive the deal in April 2021 with the indirect participation of the US.

Negotiations faltered in early September 2022, with the Western parties asserting that the Iranian response to a draft understanding was unconstructive. Iran has been enriching uranium at 60 percent since April 2021.

Sullivan expressed regret over Trump's decision in 2018 to withdraw from the nuclear deal.

Sullivan said that the US is still engaging "Iran diplomatically regarding its nuclear program," adding that Washington is working with allies, including Israel, to ensure Tehran does not achieve a nuclear weapon.

Sullivan stressed in statements during a conference of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that Iran can never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon, and "President Biden has repeatedly reaffirmed he will take the actions that are necessary to stand by this statement, including by recognizing Israel's freedom of action."

The Iranian message warned that such a statement not only implies the United States' potential complicity in any future acts of terrorism or aggression carried out by the Israeli regime against Iran, including against its peaceful nuclear facilities.

"It also serves as an admission of responsibility by the US for its role in assisting, facilitating, and supporting Israel's terrorist and sabotage operations against Iranian officials, scientists, civilians, and peaceful nuclear facilities."

The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said that Sullivan's statements about Washington's recognition of Israel's freedom of action are an "admission" that the US has been and will be "responsible for all terrorist acts of Zionists against Iran's facilities and people, accepting its consequences."

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the reckless and provocative statement of Sullivan is further evidence that the US government is, directly and indirectly, responsible for the subversive actions of Israel in the region, specifically regarding Iran.

Furthermore, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Iran has enriched enough uranium to build five nuclear bombs, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, during a meeting with US lawmakers last week, that Iran poses a "greater threat than North Korea."

Last month, Israel warned the US administration and several European countries that it might launch a military strike against Iran if it enriched uranium above 60 percent.

In recent years, Iran has accused Israel of being behind several attacks on its nuclear and military facilities, including the assassination of its top nuclear and defense scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.



Russian Region Declares Emergency Situation as Black Sea Oil Spill Fallout Widens

A volunteer works to clear spilled oil on the coastline following an incident involving two tankers damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait, in the settlement of Blagoveshchenskaya near the Black Sea resort of Anapa in the Krasnodar region, Russia December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo
A volunteer works to clear spilled oil on the coastline following an incident involving two tankers damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait, in the settlement of Blagoveshchenskaya near the Black Sea resort of Anapa in the Krasnodar region, Russia December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo
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Russian Region Declares Emergency Situation as Black Sea Oil Spill Fallout Widens

A volunteer works to clear spilled oil on the coastline following an incident involving two tankers damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait, in the settlement of Blagoveshchenskaya near the Black Sea resort of Anapa in the Krasnodar region, Russia December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo
A volunteer works to clear spilled oil on the coastline following an incident involving two tankers damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait, in the settlement of Blagoveshchenskaya near the Black Sea resort of Anapa in the Krasnodar region, Russia December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

Authorities in Russia's southern Krasnodar region on Wednesday declared a region-wide emergency, saying that oil was still washing up on the coastline 10 days after two ageing tankers ran into trouble.

The oil is from the tankers which were hit by a storm on Dec. 15. One of the vessels split in half, while the other ran aground.

The pollution, which has coated sandy beaches at and around Anapa, a popular summer resort, has caused serious problems for seabirds and everything from dolphins to porpoises and over 10,000 people have been trying to clear it up. according to Reuters.

Veniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said in a statement that he had decided to declare a region-wide emergency because oil was still polluting the coastline in the Anapa and Temryuk districts.

He had previously declared a less serious municipal-level emergency.

"Initially, according to the calculations of scientists and specialists, the main mass of fuel oil should have remained at the bottom of the Black Sea, which would have allowed it to be collected in the water," Kondratiev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"But the weather dictates its own conditions, the air warms up and oil products rise to the top. As a result, they are being carried to our beaches."

Separately, a crisis centre focused on the clean-up said that the bow of one of the tankers - the Volgoneft-239 - had been discovered underwater and that divers would check whether there was any leak of oil products from it as soon as weather conditions permitted.

In total, more than 256 square kilometres of the coastal area have been surveyed and 25 tons of oil-water sludge collected, the same center said.