Washington, Nov 3: US President Donald Trump has suggested he was open to a new comprehensive deal with Iran, saying that till then the toughest-ever sanctions on the Middle-East country that kicks off on Monday would continue.
“The United States remains open to reaching a new, more comprehensive deal with Iran that forever blocks its path to a nuclear weapon, addresses the entire range of its malign actions, and is worthy of the Iranian people,” Trump said in a presidential statement late Friday night.
“Until then, our historic sanctions will remain in full force,” he said, hours after his two Cabinet members, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announced that the US would reimpose a series of crippling sanctions on Iran beginning Monday.
In his presidential statement, Trump called on the regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions, change its “destructive behaviour”, respect the rights of its people, and return in good faith to the negotiating table.
It was in May, Trump had announced that the US had withdraw from what he described as “the horrible, one-sided” Iran nuclear deal.
“On Monday, November 5, the termination of United States participation in the Iran nuclear deal will be complete. The last set of sanctions lifted under the terrible nuclear deal will come back into force, including powerful sanctions on Iran’s energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, and sanctions targeting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and sanctioned Iranian banks,” the president said.
“Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behaviour or continue down the path toward economic disaster,” he added.
Later a senior State Department official told reporters that the US was ready for talks with Iran.
“Secretary Pompeo has been very clear that we have an ear open to what is possible. We very much want to begin work on a new and better deal to replace the insufficient Iran nuclear deal that the president left in May, and our campaign of maximum economic pressure is a critical tactic to achieve that goal,” Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said.
Trump tweets himself as star of own Iran sanctions movie
Washington, Nov 3 (AFP) “Game of Thrones” fans are primed for the final season, but starring Donald Trump? Well not quite, though the president had a laugh at Iran’s expense by posing in a GoT-style picture.
“SANCTIONS ARE COMING,” reads the mock movie poster Trump tweeted Friday, echoing the HBO swords-sex-dragons-and-zombie series’ signature line: “winter is coming.” Each “O” in the fictional Trump title is crossed by vertical lines, just like in the “Game of Thrones” logo.
The words are superimposed on a picture of the president striding out of a foggy background or possibly the smoking ruins of a diplomatic battlefield.
Trump was referring to a host of new sanctions set to be imposed on Iran by the United States, after Washington ditched an agreement reached under Barack Obama’s administration to lift sanctions in exchange for controls over Tehran’s nuclear programs. The punitive measures were announced Friday but take effect Monday.
As for HBO, it isn’t amused by Trump’s fantasy poster. “We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes,” said HBO in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Trump, who followed his real estate career with a spell as a reality TV host, is no stranger to self-promotion, telling rallies that by every metric imaginable he is enjoying unprecedented success.
“The greatest movement in the history of our country,” he calls the populist revolt that saw him beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a relatively tight margin — although he calls it “a landslide.”
Indian-origin couple arrested in UK on suspicion of keeping ‘slave’ in their shed
London, Nov 3 (PTI) An Indian-origin couple from southern England have been arrested on modern-day slavery charges after they were accused of keeping a Polish builder in their garden shed for four years.
Palvinder and Pritpal Binning, both in their mid-50s, were arrested by the UK’s Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) earlier this week after a raid on their home in Chilworth, near Southampton on southern coast of England.
GLAA officers said they acted after a frail Polish man told staff at a walk-in healthcare centre in Southampton that he had been forced to work in exchange for food.
The Binnings have since been released under investigation, pending further enquiries. GLAA, the workers’ watchdog, said its officers also searched the property and seized evidence which may prove critical to the investigation.
“Following the two arrests we made, our investigation is ongoing as we examine and assess the evidence we collected from the property,” said GLAA Senior Investigating Officer Tony Byrne.
“It’s really important that people get in touch if they believe someone is being exploited. By contacting us, we can ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in society are protected and supported,” he said.
The potential victim told officers that he had been sleeping on a plastic sun-lounger deck chair in the shed at the bottom of the garden and was given out of date food to eat. He also said he had no flushing toilet and that his kitchen was a fridge and barbecue.
The man, aged in his 40s, has been taken into the UK government’s National Referral Mechanism, a process for ensuring victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are given help and support.
“First and foremost, we are pleased that the man is now receiving the help and support he so desperately needs. In the 21st century, no-one should be forced to live in such degrading and disgusting conditions,” GLAA’s Tony Byrne added.
The operation, carried out on October 30, was supported by officers from Hampshire Police in charge of the Test Valley area.
Test Valley District Commander Chief Inspector Kory Thorne said: “Instances of modern-day slavery in the Test Valley are rare.
“However, when information is received suggesting someone is being subjected to modern-day slavery we will work with partner agencies to investigate and where necessary take action against those people responsible.”
