DefenceTalkNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-Un conducted a large-scale artillery drill simulating an attack on the South Korean capital and other targets, as Seoul and Tokyo on Friday unveiled fresh unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program. The military exercise, involving multiple batteries of frontline heavy artillery units, targeted five border islands, as well […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-artillery-drill-targets-south-seoul-unveils-sanctions-68640/

DefenceTalkUS aerospace giant Boeing confirmed Wednesday that it was in talks with Iranian airlines seeking to buy its airplanes. “We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved by the USG (US government) about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplanes and services,” the company said in an email to AFP. “We do not […]https://www.defencetalk.com/boeing-confirms-talks-with-iran-on-aircraft-sale-67661/

DefenceTalkThe White House is considering lifting a decades-old arms embargo against Vietnam in time for President Barack Obama’s visit to the booming Southeast Asian nation this month. As both countries warily eye China’s military build-up in the disputed South China Sea, officials said Obama is weighing an end to the Cold War-era ban on lethal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/obama-weighs-lifting-vietnam-arms-embargo-67450/

DefenceTalkFrench Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday warned Iran of possible European sanctions over its recent ballistic missile launches. “If necessary, sanctions will be taken,” Ayrault said after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and several European counterparts. Kerry described the launches — which the US has asked to be discussed at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sanctions-possible-over-iran-ballistic-missile-launches-france-67036/

DefenceTalkIran denounced new US sanctions on its missile program on Monday but pushed ahead with international cooperation after its historic nuclear deal. Washington announced the new sanctions on Sunday, the day after the UN atomic watchdog confirmed that Iran had complied with the measures imposed by the deal with global powers reached in Vienna in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-denounces-new-us-sanctions-on-missile-program-66409/

DefenceTalkIran’s President Hassan Rouhani has denounced possible new US sanctions on his country which could jeopardize a hard-won nuclear deal due to be finally implemented within weeks. In a letter to his defence minister, Rouhani said reports that the US Treasury Department planned to blacklist companies and individuals with ties to Iran’s ballistic missile program […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-us-tensions-flare-over-new-sanctions-threat-66226/

DefenceTalkMoscow on Saturday slapped economic sanctions on Turkey in the latest tit-for-tat move over the downing of a Russian warplane, as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “saddened” by the jet incident. With the row showing no sign of abating, the Kremlin released the text of a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-slaps-economic-sanctions-on-turkey-over-jet-downing-65930/

DefenceTalkUS President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Western sanctions must remain in place against Russia until it complies with a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. “The two leaders discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and agreed that the duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to Russia’s full implementation of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/merkel-obama-russia-sanctions-to-stay-until-ukraine-truce-implemented-64439/

DefenceTalkIran wants international sanctions lifted on the day of the implementation of an agreement with world powers on its nuclear programme, President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday. “We will not sign any agreements unless on the first day of the implementation of the deal all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the same day,” Rouhani […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sanctions-must-go-on-same-day-nuclear-deal-implemented-rouhani-63787/

DefenceTalkA raft of biting global sanctions imposed on Iran for its suspect nuclear activities will be lifted over time, if the Islamic republic sticks to the terms of a final deal with global powers. Under a framework struck Thursday, the US and EU will lift all nuclear-related sanctions after the UN atomic watchdog, the IAEA, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nuclear-sanctions-on-iran-to-be-lifted-if-it-meets-deal-63721/