The meeting between Javad Zarif and the European diplomats was the result of French president, Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the ‘Iran nuclear deal’.

The order is a setback to the US, which tried to prevent the release of the tanker until the last moment

UK recently announced its decision to set free Grace1, the Iranian supertanker which was seized about a month ago.

The UK’s decision to join the US in patrolling the Strait of Hormuz is ironic considering that the latest round of seizure of tankers began with its marines taking over Iran’s Grace I in the first week of July

Following the latest sanctions, Zarif cannot travel to the US or any other country outside Iran without inviting secondary sanctions against the host countries.  

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp seized the UK-flagged ship, Stena Impero, accusing it of being in violation of international maritime rules. The vessel allegedly hit a fishing boat and ignored the distress signal

The seizure and the arrests came despite the fact that EU sanctions, which were a pretext for the seizure, do not have extraterritoriality

Political analyst Aijaz Ahmad talks about the gaps in the US approach towards Iran — both in terms of policy and personnel — that have led to a war-like situation in the region.

The joint committee meeting in Vienna held on June 28 saw European diplomats launching INSTEX, a payment mechanism to continue trade with Iran

The sanctions on Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp may be largely symbolic in nature but upcoming measures against foreign minister Javad Zarif could hit attempts at talks

A potential war by the US on Iran will have a disastrous impact on the global economy.

This was immediately followed by US president Trump ordering an attack on several military targets in Iranian territory, only to be abruptly called off at the last minute.