On September 14, an explosive drone attack damaged a processing facility and oil field in Abqaiq and Khurais, Saudi Arabia. The Houthi rebel movement in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, although U.S. and Saudi officials claimed the attacks originated outside of Yemen. Both countries blamed Iran. Tehran has been widely accused of providing the Houthis with weapons, training and financial support.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated after drone attacks on two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. On September 14, the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities—both run by the state-owned company Saudi Aramco—were struck by “projectiles” in a pre-dawn attack.
On August 30, the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran had begun to enrich uranium to 4.5 percent, beyond the 3.67 percent limit stipulated in the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In a new safeguards report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also verified that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium exceeded the 300 kg limit. But Iran’s stockpile was still many metric tons short of what it had before the JCPOA.
On August 26, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after the G7 summit that he hoped to arrange a meeting between President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “in the coming weeks.” Trump told reporters that there was a “really good chance” for a potential meeting with Rouhani.
In mid-2019, tensions in the Persian Gulf echoed the threat to world oil supplies during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. In May and June 2019, maritime security deteriorated after the sabotage of six oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman just beyond the Strait of Hormuz. (See timeline). The price of crude rose, briefly, by nearly four percent.
On July 18, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed major issues in two interviews, one with Robin Wright and another with a small group of journalists (including Wright) at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York City. The following are excerpted remarks on topics ranging from the 2015 Nuclear Deal to Iran’s seizure of a foreign tanker on July 14.
Foreign Minister Zarif attended U.N. meetings in New York from July 15-19. During which he did interviews with several journalists and television networks. The following are excerpts from three television interviews. He also did a separate interview with print correspondents available at this link.
The majority of Democratic presidential candidates have called for returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, although some believe the agreement should be revised and strengthened. They have criticized the Trump administration for escalating tensions with Iran and raising the potential for an armed conflict. “The American people need to understand that this war with Iran would be far more devastating, far more costly than anything that we ever saw in Iraq. It would take many more lives,” Representative Tulsi Gabbard (HI) said at the first Democratic presidential debate on June 26.
Since July 1, Iran has engaged in two breaches of the 2015 nuclear deal. On July 1, it increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium above the 300-kilogram limit. On July 8, it increased enrichment from the limit of 3.67 percent to 4.5 percent. Iran had previously complied with the agreement, even after President Trump abandoned it in May 2018. What do Iran’s decisions mean for the future of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)?
On June 28, representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Iran met in Vienna to discuss ways to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The meeting was co-chaired on behalf of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Secretary General of the European External Action Service Helga Schmid.
