Nearly a dozen Iranian vessels come dangerously close to US military ships in the Gulf, Pentagon says

A day later from the White House, Trump said that Iran appeared “to be standing down” and warned Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said speaking from the grand foyer of the White House.

But he suggested that the U.S. is open to negotiations with Tehran. “We must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place,” he said on Jan. 8. He then urged other world powers to break away from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran and work out a new deal.

Read more: Iran’s foreign minister blames Trump’s advisors for ‘very dangerous moment’ in relations with the US

The tit-for-tat strikes follow what the U.S. called an Iranian attack on the world’s largest crude-processing plant and oil field.

Last summer, the U.S. blamed Iran for the predawn strikes in Saudi Arabia that forced the kingdom to shut down half its production operations. The event triggered the largest spike in crude prices in decades and renewed concerns of a budding conflict in the Middle East. Iran maintains that it was not behind the attacks.

In September, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said drone and missile debris recovered by investigators shows Iranian culpability. Saudi coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said during a press briefing in Riyadh that all military components retrieved from the oil facilities “point to Iran.”

Read more: Attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities was ‘sophisticated’ and had a ‘dramatic impact on global markets,’ Pentagon says

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have soared following Trump’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration.

The 2015 nuclear agreement lifted sanctions on Iran that crippled its economy and cut its oil exports roughly in half. In exchange for sanctions relief, Iran accepted limits on its nuclear program and allowed international inspectors into its facilities.

And while Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy has crippled Iran’s economy, slashing its oil exports, Tehran has said it will not negotiate with Washington while sanctions are in place.

Read more: Iran’s foreign minister blames US and Saudi Arabia for rising tensions in the Gulf

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/15/iranian-vessels-came-dangerously-close-to-us-military-ships-in-the-gulf.html