Interview Iran Foreign Minister

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly interviewed the Iranian foreign minister today, who sounded incredibly reasonable particularly as compared to Donald Trump, and in the face of a rather beligerent sounding Kelly.  Listen here. (The transcript is also there if you'd rather read, but the tone of voice is important.)

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Interesting little occurrence in France

Macron invited Iran's foreign minister to Biarritz (G7 location) where he met with the French, the UK and German delegations, but not with Trump/US.



Wait for the fallout.  I don't expect it will be long.

UPDATE:

[A French] diplomat said Zarif was not formally a guest of the G7 but that Macron had informed other leaders at the summit, including Donald Trump. “The president had a conversation yesterday with all the G7 leaders and clearly the information was circulated,” the diplomat said. “Our diplomats are working in full transparency with the United States.”

Asked for his reaction to Zarif’s arrival, Trump said only “no comment”. The US treasury secretary, Stephen Mnuchin suggested the US president would not rule out a meeting.

[...]

Trump said: “I also support Prime Minister Abe’s outreach, because he’s also speaking to Iran … We’ll do our own outreach. But you can’t stop people from talking. If they want to talk, they can talk.”

  The Guardian

The Iranian drone - did it even happen?

Tensions between Iran and the west have deepened after Tehran denied a US warship had brought down one of its drones and a Gibraltar court extended the detention of an Iranian ship seized by Royal Marines following a breakdown in talks.

The drone incident was first revealed by Donald Trump, who said that USS Boxer took defensive action after the unmanned vehicle came within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

[...]

Iran denied Trump’s claims. The deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, tweeted: “We have not lost any drone in the strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS [unmanned aerial system] by mistake!”

  Guardian

Well, that WOULD be rich.  And it might explain this:

While few details about the drone are available, a Defense official tells NPR's Tom Bowman that the drone was "assessed to be Iranian" and that it was shot down by the Boxer because of "an aggressive act."

  NPR

"Assessed to be Iranian." I wondered about that at the time.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

John Bolton may get his fondest wish - Part 2

A U.S. Navy warship called the USS Boxer shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, President Trump said, adding, "The drone was immediately destroyed."

"The Boxer took defensive action against an Iranian drone," Trump said, giving details about the encounter at the start of a flag presentation ceremony at the White House. He said the drone had closed to approximately 1,000 yards of the U.S. ship, "ignoring multiple calls to stand down."

The drone was threatening the safety of the U.S. ship and its crew, Trump said.

[...]

While few details about the drone are available, a Defense official tells NPR's Tom Bowman that the drone was "assessed to be Iranian" and that it was shot down by the Boxer because of "an aggressive act." "This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," Trump said.

[...]

The day before a U.S. Navy ship shot down a drone, Iran's official IRNA news agency published a story unveiling the Iranian army's new drone, called the Mohajer 6. It's not yet known how similar this drone might be to the one that was shot down Thursday.

  NPR

I can see that the US military might like to have a new Iranian drone in its possession to see just what it's capabilities are.

The drone encounter came on the same day Iran announced that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has seized a foreign-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. That interdiction took place on Sunday; Iran alleges that the ship was smuggling 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of fuel.

It also comes at the same time Iran has made a "substantial" offer in order to have sanctions lifted, which seems a bit of a cross-purpose if both things are true. It's not like we haven't had our government lie to us about foreign aggression before. On the other hand, it wouldn't be out of the question that Iran would make the offer precisely to undercut the claims of aggression. Either way, it's all dangerous.

Iran has offered a deal with the US in which it would formally and permanently accept enhanced inspections of its nuclear programme, in return for the permanent lifting of US sanctions.

The offer was made by the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on a visit to New York. But it is unlikely to be warmly received by the Trump administration, which is currently demanding Iran make a range of sweeping concessions, including cessation of uranium enrichment and support for proxies and allies in the region.

[...]

Iran has faced an steadily tightening US-driven oil embargo and severe banking sanctions since May last year, when Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA).

The embargo has triggered a standoff in the Gulf that has escalated dramatically in recent months.

[...]

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has rebuffed overtures for direct talks with Trump, citing US bad faith over the JCPOA, but [Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad] Zarif signaled on Thursday that Iran was willing to do a deal that did not necessary involve the US returning to the JCPOA, Tehran’s official position until now.

  Guardian

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  Iran says it didn't happen; they have all their drones accounted for.  And they suggest the US may have shot down it's own drone.  The "assessed to be Iranian" business was a hint that something might be amiss.