PM spoke with incoming PM Boris by telephone Saturday night; Talks centered on bilateral ties and innovation; Netanyahu focuses call on Iran; Zarif: we will also reciprocally scale back our commitments… within the JCPOA framework.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson in their first talks since the new PM took office. Their talks were centered on combatting Iran, as well as bilateral ties, the prime minister calling on Boris to take a “firm stand against Iran.”
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Sunday, “PM Netanyahu told PM Johnson that it was important to take a strong stand against Iran. The two also agreed to continue deepening economic cooperation as well as cooperation in innovation.” Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed on Twitter Saturday night following their call, “I spoke to incoming British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. I told him it was important to take a firm stand against Iran. We have agreed to continue to deepen economic cooperation and innovation.”
On Sunday, Iran seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed seven were detained on the tanker carrying over 700,000 liters of fuel. Commander Ramezan Zirahi accused the tanker of smuggling oil and was quoted stating “The IRGC’s naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries. The seizure of the oil tanker was in coordination with Iran’s judiciary authorities and based on their order.”
Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the Islamic Republic would soon unveil the third phase of violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the near future if signatories did not find a solution to US sanctions. Zarif, who the US State Department placed sanctions on directly last week, was quoted stating Saturday from Tehran, “We have said that if the JCPOA is not fully upheld by other signatories, we will also reciprocally scale back our commitments and this is, indeed, all within the JCPOA framework.”
