Putin plays with f ire in his new doctrine
Of late Vladimir Putin has shifted Russia’s nuclear doctrine to a more directly and openly retaliatory posture in response to any attack by Ukraine or any NATO country using longer-range US missiles.
Amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US, Iran President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran never seeks war with the US, according to reports.
IRNA News agency quoted President Rouhani as saying that “Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including the US”.
Rouhani spoke to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the phone and discussed the rising tensions between Tehran and Washington after Iran downed a US drone last week.
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“We have always been committed to regional peace and stability and will make efforts in this respect,” the Iranian president told Macron.
The pressure mounted this week when US President Donald Trump announced sanctions on Iran’s top officials.
The downing of the drone — which Washington insists was above international waters but Iran claimed was within its airspace — has seen tensions between the two countries spike further after a series of attacks on oil tankers which the US has blamed on Tehran.
Iranian President Rouhani has blamed the US for regional tensions and said that if Washington had stuck to the deal “we would have witnessed positive developments in the region”.
Earlier this month, two oil tankers were hit in a suspected attack in the Gulf of Oman.
US President Donald Trump accused Iran of the attack, calling it an “act of terrorism”.
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