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Friday 15 September 2017
White House extends Iran sanctions relief AP: South Korea says North has
fired another missile over Japan
By MATTHEW LEE that the deal is bad and ing the extension of the
AP Diplomatic Writer again said he believes Iran sanctions waivers and left SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean experts said
WASHINGTON (AP) — The is violating its terms and it to the State Department — South Korea’s military the August launch was
Trump administration on spirit. to make the move public. said North Korea fired an Pyongyang’s attempt to
Thursday extended sanc- “The Iran deal is one of the At the State Department, unidentified missile Friday make missiles flying over
tions relief to Iran, avoiding worst deals I’ve ever seen,” spokeswoman Heather from its capital Pyongyang Japan an accepted norm
imminent action that could he said. “Not a fair deal to Nauert recited a litany of that flew over Japan be- as it seeks to test new pro-
implode the landmark this country. what she called provoca- fore landing in the northern jectiles and win more mili-
2015 nuclear deal, even It’s a deal that should have tive and belligerent Iranian Pacific Ocean. tary space in the region
as President Donald Trump never ever been made. action that she said dem- It was the second aggres- dominated by its enemies.
and Secretary of State Rex You’ll see what we’re do- onstrated Iran’s malign sive test-flight over the ter- The Offices of Guam
Tillerson accused Tehran of ing ... it’s going to be in Oc- behavior before announc- ritory of the close U.S. ally Homeland Security and
not respecting the entire tober.” ing the “waive” part of the in less than a month and Civil Defense said the latest
agreement. “We are not going to stand strategy. it followed the sixth and launch posed no immedi-
The extensions of the waiv- for what they are doing to “The administration did ap- most powerful nuclear test ate threat to Guam or the
ers on nuclear sanctions, this country,” Trump said. prove waivers in order to by North Korea to date on Marinas.
first issued by the Obama “They have violated so maintain some flexibility as Sept. 3. South Korea’s Defense Min-
administration, were ac- many elements but they we consult on Capitol Hill South Korea’s Joint Chiefs istry said the country’s mili-
of Staff said the missile trav- tary conducted a live-fire
eled about 3,700 kilometers drill of a Hyunmoo-2 ballis-
(2,300 miles) while reaching tic missile in response to the
a maximum height of 770 North’s launch on Friday.
kilometers (478 miles). Seoul’s presidential office
The missile was launched said President Moon Jae-in
from Sunan, the site of has scheduled a National
Pyongyang’s international Security Council meeting
airport. to discuss the latest launch.
North Korea last month North Korea claimed its lat-
used the airport to fire a est nuclear test was a deto-
Hwasong-12 intermediate nation of a thermonuclear
range missile that flew over weapon built for its devel-
northern Japan. opmental intercontinental
The North declared it a ballistic missiles.
“meaningful prelude” to The North flight-tested its
containing the U.S. Pacific Hwasong-14 ICBMs twice
island territory of Guam in July and analysts say the
and the start of more ballis- missiles potentially reach
tic missile launches toward deep into the U.S. main-
the Pacific Ocean. land when perfected.q

Trump delivers shock rebuke

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Special Representative Ghassan Salame, to Colombia on cocaine surge
right, from Lebanon walk away after posing for a group photograph before their meet-
ing on Libya at Lancaster House in London, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. By JOSHUA GOODMAN country’s commitment to
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool) Associated Press fighting narcotics traffick-
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) ing been called into ques-
companied by new pen- have also violated the spirit and among allies and part- — U.S. President Donald tion by Washington.
alties imposed against 11 of that deal.” ners to address the flaws in Trump is threatening that Twenty-two countries were
Iranian people and com- Speaking in London at the JCPOA, and additional he may decertify Colom- designated by the U.S. as
panies accused of support- a joint news conference time to develop our policy bia as a partner in the war major drug transit zones
ing Iran’s ballistic missile with British Foreign Secre- to address the full range of against drugs unless the Wednesday, and only Ven-
program or involvement in tary Boris Johnson., Tillerson Iranian malign behavior,” South American nation re- ezuela and Bolivia were
cyber-attacks against the told reporters the adminis- she said. verses a record surge in co- deemed once again not
U.S. financial system. tration’s approach to Iran She added that the move caine production. to be fulfilling their interna-
The combination of steps — could not be determined “should not be seen as The shock rebuke for Wash- tional obligations to com-
known internally as “waive on the basis of the nuclear an indication of Presi- ington’s staunchest ally bat drug production and
and slap” — came as the accord alone. dent Trump or his admin- in Latin America came trafficking. The leftist gov-
administration nears com- “We must take into ac- istration’s position on the Wednesday in the White ernments of both those na-
pletion of a monthslong re- count the totality of Iranian (nuclear deal), nor is the House’s annual designa- tions are hostile to the U.S.
view of its Iran policy that is threats, not just its nuclear waiver giving the Iranian tion of nations it deems Yet, in a statement, Trump
expected next month, per- capabilities,” he said, cit- regime a pass on its broad major drug-producing or said he “seriously consid-
haps as early as October ing obligations to uphold range of malign behavior.” drug-transit zones. ered” also decertifying
15 when Trump must inform regional and international Meanwhile, the Treasury Colombia, the source of Colombia because of the
Congress if Iran is comply- security. delivered the “slap” part 90 percent of the cocaine “extraordinary” growth of
ing with the terms of the “Iran is clearly in defiance of the strategy, imposing consumed in the U.S., has coca cultivation and co-
nuclear agreement and of these obligations,” Til- sanctions on Iranian com- long been a fixture on the caine production to record
whether the deal remains lerson said, pointing to its panies and individuals affil- list, which was unchanged levels over the past year.
in U.S. national security in- support of Syrian President iated with the Iranian Rev- from last year. But not since He said he decided
terests. Bashar Assad’s govern- olutionary Guards Corps, the late 1990s, when contri- against such a designation
In comments to report- ment, cyber activity and Iranian airlines and those butions from the Cali cartel because the Colombian
ers aboard Air Force One, testing of ballistic missiles. believed to have been in- funded the campaign of armed forces are close law
Trump repeated his cam- The White House did not is- volved in cyberattacks on Colombia’s then-President enforcement partners with
paign pronouncement sue a statement announc- U.S. banks. q Ernesto Samper, has the the U.S. q