Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 24 May 2019
Senior German diplomat in Tehran for nuclear deal talks

By DAVID RISING on Tehran's nuclear activi-
BERLIN (AP) — A senior Ger- ties. Despite efforts so far
man diplomat headed by the others to keep the
Thursday to Tehran to press deal from collapsing, Iran's
Iran to continue to respect economy has been strug-
the landmark nuclear deal, gling and its currency has
despite the unilateral with- plummeted after the re-
drawal of the U.S. and imposition of U.S. sanctions.
increasing pressure from Iran continued abiding by
Washington. the stipulations of the deal,
Tensions have soared in according to a February
the Mideast recently as report by the International
the White House earlier this Atomic Energy Agency,
month sent an aircraft car- though it expressed in-
rier and B-52 bombers to creasing frustration with the
the region over a still-unex- inability of the Europeans
plained threat it perceived to provide economic relief.
from Iran. A new IAEA report is due
In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry out soon.
said Political Director Jens Then on Monday, Iran an-
Ploetner was to hold talks nounced it had quadrupled
with Iran's Deputy Foreign its production capacity of
Minister Abbas Araghchi on In this Jan. 9, 2019, file photo, released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme low-enriched uranium. Ira-
Thursday to try salvage the leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a meeting in Tehran, Iran. nian officials made a point
nuclear deal signed in 2015 Associated Press to stress that the uranium
in Vienna. The accord has would be enriched only to
steadily unraveled since France, Britain, China and try said in an e-mail to The ue its full compliance" and the 3.67% limit set under the
the Trump administration Russia — have two months Associated Press. "There is said Germany remains in nuclear deal, making it us-
pulled America out of the to develop a plan to shield a real risk of escalation — close contact with the oth- able for a power plant but
deal, re-imposed and es- Iran from American sanc- including due to misunder- er nations that have been far below what's needed
calated U.S. sanctions on tions. standings or an incident. struggling to keep the deal for an atomic weapon.
Tehran last year. "The situation in the Persian In this situation, dialogue is alive. But by increasing produc-
The German envoy's visit Gulf and the region, and very important." The accord, intended to tion, Iran will likely soon
also follows Iran's declara- the situation surrounding With Iran's 60-day deadline, keep Iran from obtaining exceed the stockpile limi-
tion earlier this month that the Vienna nuclear agree- the ministry said there is still a nuclear weapon, prom- tations set by the nuclear
the remaining signatories ment, is extremely serious," a "window for diplomacy ised economic incentives accord, which would esca-
to the deal — Germany, the German Foreign Minis- to persuade Iran to contin- in exchange for restrictions late the situation further.q

Northwest Syria fighting damages

schools, health facilities

territory lost to government
forces. The area is among
the last controlled by anti-
government rebels in Syria's
eight-year civil war.
Activists and rescue work-
ers said the government re-
taliated with an intense air
bombing campaign. First
responders said dozens of
air raids and barrel bombs
were dropped on villages
and towns south of Idlib,
killing at least eight civilians.
Syrian insurgents had re-
This photo provided Tuesday, May 21, 2019 by the Syrian Civil captured Kfar Nabudah
Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows smoke rising
after Syrian government forces targeted the town of al-Habeet, from government forces on
in Idlib province, Syria. Wednesday, two weeks af-
Associated Press ter troops entered it at the
start of a ground offensive
Associated Press successfully hit a power sta- against the rebels' strong-
BEIRUT (AP) — Bombings by tion in a government-held hold.
Syrian government forces town. Naji al-Mustafa, a spokes-
damaged two schools and Fighting has raged in the man for the rebel fighters,
a health facility in the reb- last 48 hours in the region, said the government is car-
els' last stronghold in the where insurgents launched rying out a "revenge cam-
northwest, activists said a counteroffensive earlier paign for its defeat" in Kfar
Thursday, after insurgents this month, trying to regain Nabudah.q