<p>President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/should-iran-strike-us-will-quickly-strike-back-says-trump-272374">Donald Trump </a>on Monday repeated his insistence that Iran will not be allowed to obtain a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/something-is-going-to-happen-but-not-war-expert-on-us-iran-tension-272543">nuclear weapon</a>, amid mounting tension over the US killing of a top Iranian commander.</p>

<p>Writing in all-caps, the US leader tweeted: "IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!"</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!</p>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1214197038063243266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>The tweet came a day after Tehran announced it was further winding down observance of parts of an international deal struck to ensure that the country does not secretly develop a nuclear weapon under cover of its civilian nuclear industry.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/fineprint-iran-pulls-out-of-nuclear-deal-after-killing-of-solemani-272578/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama. Last year, Iran resumed uranium enrichment, reporting a tenfold increase in production.</p>

<p>Tensions between the two countries spiked last week when a US drone strike in Baghdad killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/fineprint-us-iran-row-may-hit-basmati-business-272579/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>While Iran has threatened retaliation for the killing, Trump has warned that the US will strike "very hard and very fast" at as many as 52 Iranian targets if the Islamic republic does attack US personnel or assets.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Huge crowds turned out Monday in Iran for the 62-year-old commander's funeral, while in neighbouring Iraq, parliament has voted to expel some 5,200 US troops stationed in the country.</p>

<p>Trump's tweet did not add any details about the steps he was considering to prevent Iran from reviving its nuclear program. Iran has always denied any military dimension to its nuclear project.</p>


President Donald Trump on Monday repeated his insistence that Iran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, amid mounting tension over the US killing of a top Iranian commander.

President Donald Trump on Monday repeated his insistence that Iran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, amid mounting tension over the US killing of a top Iranian commander. Writing in all-caps, the US leader tweeted: "IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2020 × The tweet came a day after Tehran announced it was further winding down observance of parts of an international deal struck to ensure that the country does not secretly develop a nuclear weapon under cover of its civilian nuclear industry. Watch: Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama. Last year, Iran resumed uranium enrichment, reporting a tenfold increase in production. Tensions between the two countries spiked last week when a US drone strike in Baghdad killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force. Watch: While Iran has threatened retaliation for the killing, Trump has warned that the US will strike "very hard and very fast" at as many as 52 Iranian targets if the Islamic republic does attack US personnel or assets. Huge crowds turned out Monday in Iran for the 62-year-old commander's funeral, while in neighbouring Iraq, parliament has voted to expel some 5,200 US troops stationed in the country. Trump's tweet did not add any details about the steps he was considering to prevent Iran from reviving its nuclear program. Iran has always denied any military dimension to its nuclear project.

Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, says Trump as Tehran mourns Suleimani

<p>Investors rushed into&nbsp;safe-haven&nbsp;assets on Friday after&nbsp;US&nbsp;airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese&nbsp;yen&nbsp;to a three-month high, while the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/new-year-cheer-rupee-rises-15-paise-to-6962-against-us-dollar-in-early-trade-187635">US&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;index</a> was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade.</p>

<p>In addition to the&nbsp;yen,&nbsp;US&nbsp;Treasuries, German bunds and gold rallied after the overnight airstrike&nbsp;in Baghdad killed <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/deputy-commander-of-quds-force-to-replace-soleimani-irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-271905">Qassem&nbsp;Soleimani</a>, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East.</p>

<p>"Overall, geopolitical risk premia have risen substantially overnight," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments. Investors were "really looking for&nbsp;safe&nbsp;havens and a port in the storm," he added.</p>

<p>The Japanese&nbsp;yen&nbsp;had risen as high as 107.82 per&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;and was last up 0.48 per cent&nbsp;on the day at 108.04. The&nbsp;yen&nbsp;is often seen as a&nbsp;haven&nbsp;from risk, given Japan's status as the world's largest creditor nation. A holiday in Tokyo also made for thin conditions, exaggerating the move.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;US&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;index&nbsp;initially benefited from the move into&nbsp;safe-haven&nbsp;assets, but those gains were erased after the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the manufacturing sector contracted significantly in December. It was last up 0.03 per cent&nbsp;on the day at 96.873.</p>

<p>The attack sparked concerns about crude supply disruptions, lifting oil prices more than $3. Petrocurrencies gained slightly on the higher crude prices, but those were then largely offset by the overall move away from risk, said Schamotta.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;US&nbsp;manufacturing sector contracted in December by the most in more than a decade, with order volumes crashing to a near 11-year low and factory employment falling for a fifth straight month, according to a report from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-manufacturing-contracts-for-first-time-in-3-years-industry-survey-247442">ISM</a> released on Friday.</p>

<p>"That is a depressing number," said Schamotta.</p>

<p>It suggests "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-farmers-see-another-bleak-year-despite-phase-1-trade-deal-271864">trade war-related</a> uncertainty has actually damaged the manufacturing sector on a sustained basis and that points to weakness in GDP, particularly in the coming quarter because what you're likely to see is an inventory drawdown as opposed to continued build."</p>

<p>The longer-term effects on the&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;are unclear. Though it weakened Friday, the greenback may ultimately benefit if slower&nbsp;US&nbsp;manufacturing dents hopes for global growth in 2020.</p>

<p>"The idea that other countries that are large exporters to the&nbsp;US&nbsp;might see a large rebound in the near term,&nbsp;that idea is losing traction here," said Schamotta.</p>


Investors rushed into safe-haven assets on Friday after US airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese yen to a three-month high, while the US dollar index was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade.

Investors rushed into safe-haven assets on Friday after US airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese yen to a three-month high, while the US dollar index was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade. In addition to the yen, US Treasuries, German bunds and gold rallied after the overnight airstrike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East. "Overall, geopolitical risk premia have risen substantially overnight," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments. Investors were "really looking for safe havens and a port in the storm," he added. The Japanese yen had risen as high as 107.82 per dollar and was last up 0.48 per cent on the day at 108.04. The yen is often seen as a haven from risk, given Japan's status as the world's largest creditor nation. A holiday in Tokyo also made for thin conditions, exaggerating the move. The US dollar index initially benefited from the move into safe-haven assets, but those gains were erased after the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the manufacturing sector contracted significantly in December. It was last up 0.03 per cent on the day at 96.873. The attack sparked concerns about crude supply disruptions, lifting oil prices more than $3. Petrocurrencies gained slightly on the higher crude prices, but those were then largely offset by the overall move away from risk, said Schamotta. The US manufacturing sector contracted in December by the most in more than a decade, with order volumes crashing to a near 11-year low and factory employment falling for a fifth straight month, according to a report from ISM released on Friday. "That is a depressing number," said Schamotta. It suggests "trade war-related uncertainty has actually damaged the manufacturing sector on a sustained basis and that points to weakness in GDP, particularly in the coming quarter because what you're likely to see is an inventory drawdown as opposed to continued build." The longer-term effects on the dollar are unclear. Though it weakened Friday, the greenback may ultimately benefit if slower US manufacturing dents hopes for global growth in 2020. "The idea that other countries that are large exporters to the US might see a large rebound in the near term, that idea is losing traction here," said Schamotta.

Safe-haven yen lifted, US dollar hits in Grim data after Qassem Soleimani strike

<p>A senior Iranian official of Iran's intelligence agency has claimed that Tehran has foiled a plot to assassinate Major General Qassem Soleimani, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).</p>

<p>Hossein Taeb — the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence unit — said that the unit thwarted a ploy to assassinate the major general.</p>

<p>The blame has been put on old foes — the Israelis and Arabs.</p>

<p>According to Hossein Taeb, a team of terrorist-recruits were to enter Iran and execute the plan for a bomb attack targeting Soleimani.</p>

<p><strong>Watch: Major General Qassem Soleimani agrees to 1st TV interview in 20 years</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/major-general-qassem-soleimani-agrees-to-1st-tv-interview-in-20-years-253492/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>The plotters were to buy property adjacent to the grave of Soleimani's father in the south-eastern province of Kerman and rig it with three-hundred-and-50 to five-hundred kilograms of explosives.</p>

<p>They would then blow it up during the major general's religious visit between September 8 and 9.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Hossein Taeb said that the plotters were under watch for some time.</p>

<p>Three members of the team have since been arrested.</p>

<p>He pointed out that the arrested confessed of their intention to do something big and that the plot had been years in the planning..</p>

<p>Hossein Taeb alleged that the Hebrew-Arab intelligence services wanted to ignite a religious conflict and portray the assassination as domestic revenge.</p>

<p>Major general Qassem Soleimani is a globally famous defence strategist and is currently the commander of the &nbsp;Quds Force unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.</p>

<p>He is credited with heading the counter-terrorism operations that led to the collapse of the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria.</p>


A senior Iranian official of Iran's intelligence agency has claimed that Tehran has foiled a plot to assassinate Major General Qassem Soleimani, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

A senior Iranian official of Iran's intelligence agency has claimed that Tehran has foiled a plot to assassinate Major General Qassem Soleimani, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Hossein Taeb — the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence unit — said that the unit thwarted a ploy to assassinate the major general. The blame has been put on old foes — the Israelis and Arabs. According to Hossein Taeb, a team of terrorist-recruits were to enter Iran and execute the plan for a bomb attack targeting Soleimani. Watch: Major General Qassem Soleimani agrees to 1st TV interview in 20 years The plotters were to buy property adjacent to the grave of Soleimani's father in the south-eastern province of Kerman and rig it with three-hundred-and-50 to five-hundred kilograms of explosives. They would then blow it up during the major general's religious visit between September 8 and 9. Hossein Taeb said that the plotters were under watch for some time. Three members of the team have since been arrested. He pointed out that the arrested confessed of their intention to do something big and that the plot had been years in the planning.. Hossein Taeb alleged that the Hebrew-Arab intelligence services wanted to ignite a religious conflict and portray the assassination as domestic revenge. Major general Qassem Soleimani is a globally famous defence strategist and is currently the commander of the Quds Force unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He is credited with heading the counter-terrorism operations that led to the collapse of the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria.

Iran says it foiled 'plot' to kill Quds Force chief Qassem Suleimani