US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday tried to soothe the fears of Israel and its Persian Gulf Arab allies ahead of the possible renewal of global powers’ international nuclear deal with Iran.
United States President Joe Biden has imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the United Kingdom said it would phase out imports by the end of 2022.
Oil prices soared to their highest since 2008 due to delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets and as the United States and European allies consider banning imports of Russian oil.
A senior EU official has vowed to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between the United States and Iran.
The United States and Russia have sparred over the Ukraine crisis at the UN Security Council, with Washington warning of a “horrific” war should Moscow decide to invade its neighbour and Russian diplomats playing down the threat of military conflict.
The value of trade between Iran and the United States has reached $69.594 since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021) up to late January 2022, data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) shows.
The United States and Russia have sought to lower the temperature in a heated standoff over Ukraine during high-level talks in Geneva but reported no breakthroughs as a result of the discussions.
China, Russia, Britain, the United States and France have agreed that a further spread of nuclear arms and a nuclear war should be avoided, according to a joint statement by the five nuclear powers published by the Kremlin on Monday.
Russia said on Monday it urgently needed a response from the United States on its sweeping security demands and again warned of a possible Russian military response unless it saw political action to assuage its concerns.
The United States has imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh, and added a Chinese artificial intelligence company to an investment blacklist.
