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President Donald Trump said he would sign a series of bills that will impose stiff financial sanctions on Russia.

The announcement comes after Congress this week overwhelmingly approved packages to punish Moscow for allegedly meddling in U.S. elections.

After Congress approved the sanctions, Moscow said it was reducing the number of U.S. diplomats in Russia in retaliation.

In a statement late Friday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had "reviewed the final version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it."

The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad. It also imposes financial sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

Before Trump's decision to sign the bill into law, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the bill's passage was long overdue, a jab at Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress. McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has called Putin a murderer and a thug.

"Over the last eight months what price has Russia paid for attacking our elections?" McCain asked. "Very little."

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday said it is ordering the U.S. Embassy in Russia to reduce the number of its diplomats by Sept. 1. Russia will also close down the embassy's recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow as well as warehouse facilities.

Meanwhile, some European countries expressed concerns that the measures targeting Russia's energy sector would harm its businesses involved in piping Russian natural gas. Germany's foreign minister said his country wouldn't accept the U.S. sanctions against Russia being applied to European companies.

A spokesman for the European Commission said Friday that European officials will be watching the U.S. effort closely, vowing to "remain vigilant."

The North Korea sanctions are intended to thwart Pyongyang's ambition for nuclear weapons by cutting off access to the cash the reclusive nation needs to follow through with its plans. The bill prohibits ships owned by North Korea or by countries that refuse to comply with U.N. resolutions against it from operating in American waters or docking at U.S. ports.

Goods produced by North Korea's forced labor would be prohibited from entering the United States, according to the bill.

The sanctions package imposes mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. The measure would apply terrorism sanctions to the country's Revolutionary Guards and enforce an arms embargo.

Includes reporting by The Associated Press.

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Trump will sign bill imposing stiff sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea - Fox News

Mr. Trump had expected to be presented with options for how to get out of the deal, according to two officials, and in the words of one of them, he had a bit of a meltdown when that wasnt one of the choices.

Mr. Trump himself made it clear he does not plan to let that happen again.

Were doing very detailed studies, he told The Wall Street Journal in an interview this week. Later, he added that when the next 90-day review of the deal comes around mandated by Congress two years ago I think theyll be noncompliant.

His aides say they are not so sure of the outcome, and they described the studies Mr. Trump referred to as evenhanded efforts to evaluate the costs and benefits of staying inside the deal with its sharp limitations on Irans ability to produce nuclear fuel for at least the next nine years versus abandoning it.

Some concede that the diplomatic cost of abandoning the agreement would be high. The other parties to the agreement Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia do not share Mr. Trumps objections. If the United States withdraws support for the accord, it will be isolated on the issue, much as it is on the climate change agreement.

But the presidents mind seems made up. Look, I have a lot of respect for Rex and his people, good relationship, he said of Mr. Tillerson. Its easier to say they comply. Its a lot easier. But its the wrong thing. They dont comply.

Even longtime critics of the deal in Congress have their doubts about the wisdom of abandoning it. In an interview this week with David Ignatius of The Washington Post, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, strongly suggested that this is not the moment to abandon something that is largely working.

What I say to the president, and this is what Tillerson, Mattis and McMaster say, said Mr. Corker, referring to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, is that you can only tear the agreement up one time.

Right now, he added, its not like a nuclear weapon is getting ready to be developed.

Absent any urgency, he argued for a more nuanced approach. Radically enforce it, he said of the deal, demanding access to various facilities in Iran.

If they dont let us in, Mr. Corker said, boom.

He added: You want the breakup of this deal to be about Iran. You dont want it to be about the U.S., because we want our allies with us. Mr. Tillerson, he said, ultimately wanted to renegotiate a deal that would stop Iran from enriching uranium forever a concession it is hard to imagine Iran ever making.

Some version of Mr. Corkers radical enforcement is essentially the strategy that national security officials have described in recent days. They deny they are trying to provoke the Iranians. Instead, they say they are testing the utility of the accord so they can report back to Mr. Trump about whether Irans interpretation of the provisions of the agreement, and its separate commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency, would pave the way for international inspectors to go anywhere in the country.

That probably sets the stage for some kind of standoff.

Iran has long said that its most sensitive military locations are off limits. That issue came to a head in 2015 when international inspectors demanded access to Parchin, a military base near Tehran where there was evidence of past nuclear work. A compromise was worked out in which Iran took environmental samples itself, under surveillance by agency inspectors. The inspectors found little, but the precedent of how the inspection was carried out was cited by critics of the deal as evidence that the Iranians could hide work on uranium enrichment or other technology in off-limits military facilities.

It is unclear whether American intelligence agencies possess evidence of potential violations that go beyond suspicions. Several senior intelligence officials have warned there are risks involved in directing the international agency to specific locations, only to discover nothing nefarious. Such an outcome would have echoes, they caution, of the failed effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003.

One of Mr. Trumps complaints about the 2015 deal is that it covers only nuclear activity, not support for terrorism, or missile testing, or Irans activities in Syria and Iraq. The State Department complained that an Iranian launch of a missile into space on Thursday violated the spirit of the nuclear accord.

The missile test was the first by Iran since Mr. Trump took office. But such tests of what are essentially carrier rockets are not prohibited.

The missile that was launched is known as a Simorgh, or Phoenix, which experts said was a copy of North Koreas Unha space launch vehicle. Irans national news channel said the rocket was capable of placing satellites weighing up to 250 kilograms, or about 550 pounds, into a low earth orbit of 500 kilometers, or about 300 miles.

Nader Karimi Joni, a journalist close to the government of Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, said Thursdays launch was a reaction to the House of Representatives vote on Tuesday approving a new round of sanctions against Iran. The Senate approved the bill Thursday night.

Iran is boosting its missile capabilities in order to increase the accuracy, preciseness and range, Mr. Joni said. Iran will not stop the missile projects.

In a sign of continuing struggles over Iran policy, the White House confirmed that Derek Harvey, the head of Middle East affairs on the National Security Council, was removed from his post on Thursday. No explanation was given, but Mr. Harvey was known to be especially hawkish about Irans role in the region, and he was appointed by the previous national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Harvey was widely reported to have been at odds with General McMaster, the current national security adviser, on Middle East policy.

Follow David E. Sanger on Twitter @SangerNYT.

Thomas Erdbrink contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on July 28, 2017, on Page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Looks for Way to Find Iran in Violation of Accord.

Originally posted here:
Trump Seeks Way to Declare Iran in Violation of Nuclear Deal - New York Times

The State Department said Thursday that Irans launch of a space satellite was a provocative action that violates a U.N. resolution on ballistic missiles as well as the spirit of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday that reports that Iran had launched a rocket carrying a satellite into space violated U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to conduct any activity involving ballistic missiles that are designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Nauert said the United States regards the launch as continued ballistic missile development that is discouraged in the U.N. resolution.

We consider this to be a provocative action, and a provocative action that undermines the security, the prosperity of those in the region and around the world as well.

We believe that what happened overnight in the early morning hours here in Washington is inconsistent with the Security Council resolutions, she added. We believe that what happened overnight and into the morning is in violation of the spirit of the nuclear agreement.

[U.S. slaps new sanctions on Iran, after certifying its compliance with nuclear deal]

The launch of a satellite-carrying rocket was reported by Iranian state media on Thursday, but it was unclear exactly when the launch occurred. Officials in Israel and the United States fear Iran could use the technology to produce long-range missiles that could pose a threat to the region, and beyond, if they help Iran develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Irans defense ministry denies that its space program is a vehicle for weapons development, and the head of its space agency has even offered to cooperate with NASA and share its data with other countries.

The Trump administration has been highly critical of Irans ballistic missile tests. This month, the White House certified that Iran was in compliance with its commitments under the nuclear agreement. But while the language on Irans nuclear program is precise and extensive, the language involving missiles is ambiguous.

Resolution 2231 was passed in 2015 to endorse the deal in which six world powers, including the United States, agreed to ease nuclear-related economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. The agreement is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The language on ballistic missiles replaced a resolution dating from 2010 that said Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The 2015 version merely calls on Iran not to conduct such activity.

Originally posted here:
US calls Iranian satellite launch 'provocative' - Washington Post

The Senate has passed a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, 97-2.

The U.S. House passed the sanctions package Tuesday in a 419-3 vote, sending the legislation to the Senate. The White House has not definitively said that President Trump will sign the bill, but the the measure won a veto-proof majority in both the House and Senate.

The measure -- a reprimand for Russian interference in the 2016 election cycle, among other things -- requires congressional approval before the president can ease or lift sanctions. The White House had criticized attempts to limit the president's sanctions powers, but the legislation's solid bipartisan support may be forcing the president's hand. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday night aboard Air Force One said the president is "looking over" where the legislation stood.

Negotiators from the House and Senate came to an agreement on the legislation in recent days after it garnered overwhelming support in the Senate but stalled in the House. The Senate originally passed the legislation in a 98-2 vote in mid-June, but the House claimed the measure violated a clause in the Constitution that says bills that raise revenue for government must originate in the House.

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The Treasury Department fined ExxonMobil $2 million Thursday for violating U.S. sanctions in 2014 when it signed contracts with a blacklisted Rus...

Although the Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act also punishes North Korea and Iran for their aggression, the Russia portion of the legislation has received the most attention, given Mr. Trump'sreluctance to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin or acknowledge Russian meddling in the election. The White House has focused on the need to stand up to Russia instead because of its intervention in Ukraine and Crimea.

According to the latest version of the legislation, Mr. Trump would have to send a report for any plan to ease sanctions to Congress, and Congress would have 30 days to accept or reject the plan.

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Senate passes sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea - CBS News

Yasaman Alavi grew up in Iran, a country with a vibrant food culture. "Food is a big part of life in Iran," says Alavi, a psychotherapist who now lives in Washington, D.C. She says her mother and aunt were excellent cooks who often prepared big feasts for family gatherings.

But as a young woman in Iran, she didn't bother to learn their culinary tricks. "I didn't really like cooking that much," she says.

That changed once she moved to the United States in 2008. "I missed the Persian dishes," she says. "So that's what motivated me to cook more and more."

In this video, she shows us how she makes zereshk polow ba morgh the Farsi name for a rice dish with raisins and barberries a tart fruit like the cranberry that is eaten with a slow-cooked chicken dish on the side. The meal is often accompanied by a yogurt sauce with cucumbers called mast-o-khiar.

This video is part of a series called #NPRHotPot, featuring foods from around the world and the memories people associate with them. Want all six Hot Pot episodes? Sign up for NPR The Salt's newsletter and we'll deliver them to your inbox: n.pr/2sK8q2w.

Jump to the recipe.

Alavi says cooking in her adopted country also helped her deal with homesickness. "I kind of coped through cooking," she says. The act of re-creating dishes from her childhood and youth helped Alavi feel more connected to her country and family. These days, she and her husband, also an Iranian-American, regularly cook Persian food.

Alavi's instinct to tackle homesickness through food is something immigrants from many countries including myself can relate to. I moved to the United States in 2002 and only then started cooking the regional Indian cuisine from my home state, West Bengal. And while I love the range of cuisines I have access to in this country, the food I turn to when I'm homesick is a simple Bengali meal of rice and massoor daal red lentils cooked with fried onions and a five spice mix called paanch phoron.

Sometimes the relatives from back home ease the pain with food parcels, like Greek families used to send to their loved ones abroad, says David Sutton, an anthropologist at Southern Illinois University. Sutton has studied the role of food in the Greek diaspora and found that Greek immigrants often describe how food from home makes them feel "whole."

"[T]here is an imagined community implied in the act of eating food "from home" while in exile," Sutton writes in a paper published in the journal, Anthropology and Humanism.

Some enterprising immigrants figure out a way to earn a living by serving the familiar tastes of home and something more. Mina Bestman moved to Georgia from Liberia about 20 years ago and now runs Mina's Cuisine, a West African restaurant that caters to homesick Liberians. "I opened the restaurant so we can gather and talk about back home," Bestman told Goats and Soda in a story we published a few years ago.

Food is a powerful trigger for nostalgia, says Chelsea Reid, a psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University. Even the smell of food can evoke nostalgia and not just for immigrants. In a study published in 2014, in the journal Memory, Reid and her colleagues tested whether different scents including pumpkin spice, apple pie, eggnog, perfume and cappuccino could evoke nostalgia.

"The scent that evoked the most nostalgia was pumpkin pie," she says. "That's a scent that makes us think of celebrations, of Thanksgiving, gathering with family and friends."

She also found that the nostalgic feelings triggered by smells make people feel more optimistic and give them a sense of social connection.

That could explain why the smell of rice is so important to Alavi. "That's a big part of Iranian life the house [always] smells like rice is cooking," she says. "I think I started cooking to make the new home smell like the old home that I had back in Iran."

Rice with barberries

2 cups white rice 1/2 cup raisins 2/3 cup dried barberries (sold online and at Persian grocery stores) 4 cups water 1 tablespoon saffron water 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter Pinch salt 1 teaspoon saffron threads

(Note: You can buy dry saffron threads at any good spice store or online. Saffron threads should be dry. If they look moist, put them in the microwave for 5 seconds to dry them before cooking.)

Put the rice in a pot and add four cups of water and two tablespoon of oil with a pinch of salt.

Bring to a boil over a high flame.

Once the water is boiling bring the flame to medium-low. Then cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes or until the water has evaporated.

Once there's no more water in the pot, and the rice looks close to being fully cooked, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the rice drizzle 1 tablespoon around the outer end of the rice, and drizzle 1 tablespoon in a small circle over the middle of the rice. The oil will help make the bottom of the rice brown and crispy, while preventing it from sticking to the pan. This crispy crust is called tahdig in Farsi it means "bottom of the pan." Most Iranian rice dishes are cooked this way to create a crunchy tahdig.

Grind the saffron threads by hand in the mortar and pestle into a fine powder (or use 1/2 teaspoon of saffron powder). Now add 2 tablespoons of boiling water to the saffron powder to make saffron water.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan, add the berries and raisins as well as 1 tablespoon of the saffron water. Save the remaining water for the chicken. Stir frequently for a few seconds, until the water evaporates.

Now take the rice pot off the stove and flip the pot over a plate. The rice should come out of the pot looking like a cake, with the crispy and golden brown tahdig on top.

Put half of the mixture of berries and raisins over the rice, and put the rest in a small bowl next to the rice for extra garnishing.

Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 3 large yellow onions, chopped 2 pounds of chicken legs and thighs 4 cardamom pods 1/2 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon white pepper 3 cloves 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

Heat the pan and pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into it. Add the chopped onions. Cook on high flame, stirring occasionally.

While onion cooks, grind the spices (cardamom seeds, paprika, black and white pepper, cloves, coriander and cumin) by hand in a mortar and pestle. If you don't own a mortar and pestle, use a small food processor instead.

Now coat the chicken pieces on both sides with the ground spice mix and add the chicken to the pot with the onion. Cover the pot and let the chicken cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to one hour.

Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining saffron water to the chicken and stir just before taking it off the stove.

Yogurt sauce

1 24-ounce container yogurt. 4 English cucumbers, peeled and cubed 1 teaspoon dried mint tablespoon dried rose petals (available at specialty grocery stores or online) Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk the yogurt with salt, pepper, dried mint and dried rose petals till smooth. Add cucumbers and set aside till rice and chicken are ready.

To serve zereshk polow ba morgh, cut a wedge of the rice. Place it on a plate, garnish with some of the remaining berries, add a serving of chicken to the side and a dollop of yogurt sauce. Enjoy!

Tell us a memory you have about a dish you love. Post a video or photo on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #NPRHotPot, and we'll gather some of our favorites and post them on NPR.org. Get the details here.

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