US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has ordered an inter-agency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal was in the United States&#39; national security interests, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday.

Tillerson said in a statement that Iran remained compliant with its commitments under the deal to rein in its nuclear programme but there were concerns about its role as a state sponsor of terrorism.

He said he had notified US&nbsp;House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, of the decision on Tuesday and of Iran&#39;s compliance under the deal, clinched under the Obama administration.

&quot;President Donald J&nbsp;Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the JCPOA is vital to the national security interests of the United States,&quot; Tillerson said in the statement.

&quot;It remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods,&quot; Tillerson said.

The 2015 deal between Iran and six major powers restricts Tehran&#39;s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Trump has called the agreement &quot;the worst deal ever negotiated&quot;.

(Reuters)

Tillerson said Iran remained compliant with its commitments to rein in its nuclear programme, but is a state sponsor of terrorism

US President Donald Trump has ordered an inter-agency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal was in the United States' national security interests, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday. Tillerson said in a statement that Iran remained compliant with its commitments under the deal to rein in its nuclear programme but there were concerns about its role as a state sponsor of terrorism. He said he had notified US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, of the decision on Tuesday and of Iran's compliance under the deal, clinched under the Obama administration. "President Donald J Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the JCPOA is vital to the national security interests of the United States," Tillerson said in the statement. "It remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods," Tillerson said. The 2015 deal between Iran and six major powers restricts Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Trump has called the agreement "the worst deal ever negotiated". (Reuters)

Trump orders review of lifting sanctions against Iran: Tillerson

Iran has executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over &quot;confidential and vital&quot; information to the United States, a judicial spokesman said today. 
 
&quot;Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing the country&#39;s top secrets to the enemy,&quot; Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online news site. 
 
Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced a year later in the United States. 
 
Iranian officials welcomed him back to Iran but there has been little information released since. Amiri said after returning to the Islamic republic that he had been held in the US for more than a year after being &quot;kidnapped&quot; at gunpoint by two Farsi-speaking CIA agents in the Saudi city of Medina. 
 
Ejeie said the US had been &quot;outsmarted&quot; by Iran&#39;s intelligence services. 
 
&quot;American intelligence services thought Iran has no knowledge of his transfer to Saudi Arabia and what he was doing but we knew all of it and were monitoring,&quot; he was quoted by state television as saying. 
 
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since 1980, when students stormed the American embassy following the 1979 Islamic revolution. 
 
&quot;This person, having access to confidential and highly confidential information of the regime, had established a connection to our number one enemy, America, and had provided the enemy with Iran&#39;s confidential and vital information,&quot; Ejeie said. 
 
&quot;Shram Amiri was tried in accordance with law and in the presence of his lawyer.&nbsp;He appealed his death sentence based on judicial process. The Supreme Court confirmed it after meticulous reviews,&quot; he added. 
 
The spokesman dispelled a &quot;rumour&quot; by Amiri&#39;s family that he had received a 10-year prison term. 
 
Iran last year signed a landmark deal with world powers, including the US, to place curbs on its controversial nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. 
 
(AFP)

An Iranian judicial spokesman dispelled a 'rumour' by Amiri's family that he had received a 10-year prison term

Iran has executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over "confidential and vital" information to the United States, a judicial spokesman said today. "Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing the country's top secrets to the enemy," Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online news site. Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced a year later in the United States. Iranian officials welcomed him back to Iran but there has been little information released since. Amiri said after returning to the Islamic republic that he had been held in the US for more than a year after being "kidnapped" at gunpoint by two Farsi-speaking CIA agents in the Saudi city of Medina. Ejeie said the US had been "outsmarted" by Iran's intelligence services. "American intelligence services thought Iran has no knowledge of his transfer to Saudi Arabia and what he was doing but we knew all of it and were monitoring," he was quoted by state television as saying. Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since 1980, when students stormed the American embassy following the 1979 Islamic revolution. "This person, having access to confidential and highly confidential information of the regime, had established a connection to our number one enemy, America, and had provided the enemy with Iran's confidential and vital information," Ejeie said. "Shram Amiri was tried in accordance with law and in the presence of his lawyer. He appealed his death sentence based on judicial process. The Supreme Court confirmed it after meticulous reviews," he added. The spokesman dispelled a "rumour" by Amiri's family that he had received a 10-year prison term. Iran last year signed a landmark deal with world powers, including the US, to place curbs on its controversial nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. (AFP)

Iran executes nuclear scientist for spying for US

North Korea fired a ballistic missile directly into Japanese-controlled waters for the first time today, drawing an outraged response from Tokyo and ramping up tensions with the United States and South Korea. 
 
The US military said the North had actually launched two Rodong intermediate-range missiles simultaneously, but one appeared to have exploded on take-off. 
 
The launches followed a North Korean threat of &quot;physical action&quot; over the planned deployment of a sophisticated US anti-missile system in South Korea, and came just weeks before the start of large-scale, joint South Korea-US military exercises. 
 
Abe: Serious threat against national security 
 
Japan said the one missile had landed in the Sea of Japan, some 250 kilometre off its northern coast and within the country&#39;s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a serious threat against our country&#39;s security,&quot; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. &quot;This is an outrageous act that cannot be tolerated.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The United States condemned what it called a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea&#39;s use of ballistic missile technology. 
 
&quot;This provocation only serves to increase the international community&#39;s resolve to counter (North Korea&#39;s) prohibited activities,&quot; said Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross. 
 
US strategic command said the two missiles were launched from a site in western North Korea at around 7.50 am Seoul time (22:50 GMT Tuesday). 
 
&quot;Initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan,&quot; it said in a statement. 
 
It was the first time a North Korean missile has been fired direct into Japanese waters. The second stage of a medium-range missile fired over Japan had splashed down inside the EEZ off Japan&#39;s Pacific Ocean coast in 1998. 
 
 
Japan slams&nbsp;Pyongyang 
 
Japan&#39;s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga slammed Pyongyang for providing no advance warning of today&#39;s test. 
 
&quot;From the perspective of the safety of aircraft and ships, it is an extremely problematic, dangerous act,&quot; Suga said. 
 
The Rodong is a scaled-up Scud variant with a maximum range of around 1,300 kilometres. 
 
Pyongyang has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. 
 
On July 19, it launched three ballistic missiles - including one Rodong - in an exercise that the North said simulated a nuclear strike on the South. That came just days after Washington and Seoul announced an agreement to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, system in South Korea by the end of next year - a move condemned by Pyongyang and also vehemently opposed by China and Russia. 
 
South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-Se said today&#39;s missile test only served to &quot;underline the need to deploy THAAD.&quot; 
 
Tensions building up on divided Korean peninsula&nbsp; 
 
Tensions on the divided Korean peninsula are also building up ahead of an annual South Korea-US military exercise later this month that involves tens of thousands of troops. 
 
North Korea says such drills are a provocative rehearsal for invasion, while Washington and Seoul insist they are purely defensive in nature. 
 
&quot;Our commitment to the defence of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, is ironclad,&quot; Ross said today. 
 
&quot;We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation,&quot; he added. 
 
There are nearly 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea. 
 
Pyongyang has repeatedly warned of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the South and US targets there and elsewhere, although the main focus of its nuclear weapons programme is to develop a credible strike threat against the US mainland. 
 
Since its fourth nuclear test, North Korea has claimed a series of technical breakthroughs for its weapons programme. 
 
It said it had miniaturised a nuclear warhead and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.&nbsp; 
 
While some experts say the claims are exaggerated, most acknowledge that the North&#39;s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have made significant strides. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

US says actually two missiles had been fired, but one appeared to have exploded on take-off

North Korea fired a ballistic missile directly into Japanese-controlled waters for the first time today, drawing an outraged response from Tokyo and ramping up tensions with the United States and South Korea. The US military said the North had actually launched two Rodong intermediate-range missiles simultaneously, but one appeared to have exploded on take-off. The launches followed a North Korean threat of "physical action" over the planned deployment of a sophisticated US anti-missile system in South Korea, and came just weeks before the start of large-scale, joint South Korea-US military exercises. Abe: Serious threat against national security Japan said the one missile had landed in the Sea of Japan, some 250 kilometre off its northern coast and within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). "It's a serious threat against our country's security," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "This is an outrageous act that cannot be tolerated." The United States condemned what it called a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology. "This provocation only serves to increase the international community's resolve to counter (North Korea's) prohibited activities," said Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross. US strategic command said the two missiles were launched from a site in western North Korea at around 7.50 am Seoul time (22:50 GMT Tuesday). "Initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan," it said in a statement. It was the first time a North Korean missile has been fired direct into Japanese waters. The second stage of a medium-range missile fired over Japan had splashed down inside the EEZ off Japan's Pacific Ocean coast in 1998. Japan slams Pyongyang Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga slammed Pyongyang for providing no advance warning of today's test. "From the perspective of the safety of aircraft and ships, it is an extremely problematic, dangerous act," Suga said. The Rodong is a scaled-up Scud variant with a maximum range of around 1,300 kilometres. Pyongyang has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. On July 19, it launched three ballistic missiles - including one Rodong - in an exercise that the North said simulated a nuclear strike on the South. That came just days after Washington and Seoul announced an agreement to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, system in South Korea by the end of next year - a move condemned by Pyongyang and also vehemently opposed by China and Russia. South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-Se said today's missile test only served to "underline the need to deploy THAAD." Tensions building up on divided Korean peninsula Tensions on the divided Korean peninsula are also building up ahead of an annual South Korea-US military exercise later this month that involves tens of thousands of troops. North Korea says such drills are a provocative rehearsal for invasion, while Washington and Seoul insist they are purely defensive in nature. "Our commitment to the defence of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, is ironclad," Ross said today. "We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation," he added. There are nearly 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea. Pyongyang has repeatedly warned of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the South and US targets there and elsewhere, although the main focus of its nuclear weapons programme is to develop a credible strike threat against the US mainland. Since its fourth nuclear test, North Korea has claimed a series of technical breakthroughs for its weapons programme. It said it had miniaturised a nuclear warhead and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland. While some experts say the claims are exaggerated, most acknowledge that the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have made significant strides. (AFP)

North Korea fires missile into Japan waters for first time, draws Tokyo ire

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