Iran's Zarif warns U.S. of 'consequences' over oil sanctions, offer prisoner swap

[webfact]

Iran's Zarif warns U.S. of 'consequences' over oil sanctions, offer prisoner swap

By Michelle Nichols and Lesley Wroughton

 

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sits for an interview with Reuters in New York, New York, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States must be prepared for consequences if it tries to stop Iran from selling oil and using the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned on Wednesday, while also offering to negotiate prisoner swaps with Washington.

 

The United States on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue importing limited volumes.

 

"We believe that Iran will continue to sell its oil. We will continue to find buyers for our oil and we will continue to use the Strait of Hormuz as a safe transit passage for the sale of our oil," Zarif told an event at the Asia Society in New York.

 

Reinforcing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's stance, Zarif warned: "If the United States takes the crazy measure of trying to prevent us from doing that, then it should be prepared for the consequences." He did not give specifics.

 

Oil prices hit their highest level since November on Tuesday after Washington's announcement.

 

When asked if the U.S. pressure campaign on Tehran was aimed at sparking further negotiations or regime change, Zarif said: "The B team wants regime change at the very least." He described the B Team as including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump's national security adviser John Bolton.

 

"It is not a crisis yet, but it is a dangerous situation. Accidents ... are possible. I wouldn't discount the B team plotting an accident anywhere in the region, particularly as we get closer to the election. We are not there yet," Zarif said referring to the November 2020 vote for U.S. president.

 

Zarif suggested possible cooperation with the United States to bring stability to Iraq and Afghanistan, a priority for both Tehran and Washington.

 

He also said he was willing to swap British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since 2016, for an Iranian woman detained in Australia for the past three years on a U.S. extradition request.

 

"I feel sorry for them, and I have done my best to help," Zarif said of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. "But nobody talks about this lady in Australia who gave birth to a child in prison. ... I put this offering on the table publicly now - exchange them."

 

Later, in an interview with Reuters, Zarif backed off from a possible prisoner swap for the two women saying the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case was a separate issue, which he was discussing with the British government.

 

"The offer that I made was people who have been in prison either in the United States or elsewhere in the world on American request," he said, "But the Iranian-British woman is a separate case."

 

Zarif told Reuters he was proposing "a serious dialogue" with the United States on a possible prisoner swap.

 

At the Asia Society, Zarif said Iran proposed a possible prisoner swap deal to the U.S. administration six months ago, but had not yet had a response from Washington.

 

"All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on extradition requests from the United States, we believe their charges are phony. The United States believes the charges against these people in Iran are phony. Let's not discuss that," he said.

 

"Let's have an exchange. I'm ready to do it and I have authority to do it," Zarif said.

 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Lesley Wroughton; editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-25

[ezzra]

That last move by Trump really got the Iranians by the short and curlies, now that the chock of foreign income come to bear, they're finally reacting as usual with threats of armageddon and war, let's see what the last round of function will bring...

[Thainesss]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

"If the United States takes the crazy measure of trying to prevent us from doing that, then it should be prepared for the consequences."

 

Consequences being funding terrorst groups to kill innocent people. 

 

Nobody in western society should be buying Iranian oil, and if they do they are doing so in support of terrorism. 

 

 

[simple1]

One has to ask what planning is in place by the US should civil conflict commence in Iran, with the consequence of regional disorder. Already oil prices are increasing and some negative impact on foreign exchange markets due to risk. trump administration is liaising in the US with Iranian dissidents who have minimal on the ground support, the same type of people prior to the invasion of Iraq. One of the groups being supported are the MEK who have previously been listed as an Islamic socialist terrorist organisation, now viewed by a number of international organisations as a cult. In summary their is a strong possibility the actions of the trump administration could easily end in disaster

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Mujahedin_of_Iran

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

[Pedrogaz]

3 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

Consequences being funding terrorst groups to kill innocent people. 

 

Nobody in western society should be buying Iranian oil, and if they do they are doing so in support of terrorism. 

 

 

Biggest sponsor of terror is Saudi, our best friends. Don't believe the propaganda about Iran, it is a very peaceable nation suffering from the spite and bile of the US and Israel.

[scottiejohn]

4 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Iran, it is a very peaceable nation

That comment should be in the jokes section as it has no basis in fact!

[billd766]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

That last move by Trump really got the Iranians by the short and curlies, now that the chock of foreign income come to bear, they're finally reacting as usual with threats of armageddon and war, let's see what the last round of function will bring...

From the reports I have read it seems as though the USA is the country threatening armageddon and war.

 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

That comment should be in the jokes section as it has no basis in fact!

How many countries has Iran invaded in the last 25 years compared to the USA?

[scottiejohn]

31 minutes ago, billd766 said:

How many countries has Iran invaded in the last 25 years compared to the USA?

Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted by Iranian news outlets as saying, “Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that.”

A very peace loving statement. from a country that is openly at war in at least Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen and has a human rights record that no one can possibly condone.

Peace-loving they are not.

[chilli42]

I would love to know the real reason that the USA has such a hate on for Iran.  It’s not about Israel, that is just Iranian rhetoric.  It’s not about state sponsored terrorism or they would not be so tight with the Saudi’s.  It’s not about stirring the pot in Syria, Yemen etc where they are simply supporting their allies (surely the USA understands that).  So for all the US government narrative on Iran, I have yet to hear a cogent statement of why they have such a hate on for Iran and why they won’t engage with them to begin to change the status quo.  I have also never heard (ever) what the USA endgame for Iraq is ... it’s not regime change as the USA has proven they can live comfortably with any kind of evil.  It’s all a bit odd.

[rickudon]

Because Iran is the only significant Middle-east nation not controlled by the USA or it's peace loving 'allies'....

[billd766]

4 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted by Iranian news outlets as saying, “Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that.”

A very peace loving statement. from a country that is openly at war in at least Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen and has a human rights record that no one can possibly condone.

Peace-loving they are not.

And the USA is whiter than white and is supporting Israel against Palestine?

 

Give me a break please.

 

I am sorry that this is a long link from Wikipedia but I Googled US wars since 2000 and I got the whole 10 yards of it.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

 

The USA is or has been involved in 10 wars/interventions whatever since the beginning of this century.

[candide]

2 hours ago, chilli42 said:

they are simply supporting their allies

Well, you made the main answer to your question yourself. 

Add to it that, as In the case of the Irak war, it is a convenient way to draw attention away from other issues and to motivate fans by exacerbating patriotism.

However, Trump is a coward so I doubt he will make a war unless his mental health deteriorates.

[Sir Dude]

Regardless of the short-comings or principles of the other actors on the Middle-Eastern stage depending on your views, I would hardly describe Iran as a peace-loving innocent victim or some beacon of example ... steady on folks. Six of one and half a dozen of the other could spring to a rational mind ... and Iran is a fire and brimstone out-and-out theocracy, which is a little scary really when you think about it.

[Nyezhov]

7 hours ago, billd766 said:

From the reports I have read it seems as though the USA is the country threatening armageddon and war.

 

Naw dude, we are just inviting them to start. In street terms, by cutting off these oil sales, we are saying "what are you gonna do about it bitch?".

 

Then they will do something stupid, right before reelection, and Trumpy will do a Bill Clinton x3 on their ass. Lets see how those ancient Rooski AGMs do against the F-35s. Then maybe we can finally be rid of the Mad Mullahs and the price of Rugs and Pistachios will go down.

[Cryingdick]

I don't know what other Americans think about this but I am hardly shaking in my boots. The fracking rigs will be working overtime now. Iran doesn't seem to understand we are not stuck in the 1970s.  

[Nyezhov]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

I don't know what other Americans think about this but I am hardly shaking in my boots. The fracking rigs will be working overtime now. Iran doesn't seem to understand we are not stuck in the 1970s.  

There is more oil in Alaska than in all of the Middle East.