last week we've seen the foreign ministry to send letters to the swiss embassy the liaison between iran and the united states here into iran and a letter as well to the united nations from foreign minister zarif in which they protest any sort of action that the united states might take as well as the ongoing sanctions against iran and late last night the defense minister brigadier general tommy also echoed the remarks of civilian leaders saying that any sort of disruption to the voyage of these oil vessels would be seen as an act of piracy and a violation of international maritime law he also said that any disruption would receive a decisive and crushing response the kind of words that have become very familiar in terms of what iranian leaders say in response to u.s. policy towards them i can't do anything to keep the u.s. from rocking the shipments aine. i mean that is really the most important question something that will factor into the calculus that any american decision makers make with regards to dealing with these oil shipments now there are experts here that say in accordance to the sanctions current

and the united states here into iran as well as to the united nations the foreign ministry protesting any potential reaction from the u.s. and late last night iran's defense minister brigadier general amir hatami echoed a lot of the remarks that civilian leaders have already been making for several days he said any disruption would be considered piracy and as against international maritime law he also said that any disruption to this voyage will receive a decisive and crushing response familiar words from the senior leaders here in iran when it comes to dealing with the u.s. can iran do anything though to keep the u.s. from blocking the shipments. well that is really the question that is really the calculus that will be playing into whatever the u.s. does as well as what iran considers tangible reaction to any possible american intervention here one expert writing about this issue says that in terms of the sanctions that are currently against iran there is nothing wrong with iran selling refined gasoline and so there is a l

with them it's mike pompei because my company who now says remarkably miraculously the united states never left the iran nuclear deal the united states is still a signatory to it what is going on here it seems to be a damn gambit about having. both things at the same time and again this clownish figure is being laughed at unfortunately he's secretary of state you know what i'm getting here go ahead alex and an exactly what it is i mean if this is a device this is a procedural device a calming plan if you will whereby the united states says that even despite the threat we've actually called ounce of. j.c. . the iran deal of nuclear weapons even though we've pulled out of it we are actually still with me so we both can't add again it at the same. 1 because we're still in it we are in a position to say iran is in breach of this and they're full that must mean the security council the u.n. security council. across the whole sanctions on iraq now i think this is absolutely ridiculous a lot are giving anybody sees the law as he calls this whole approximately. i think this kind of juvenile to play. which is wh

the way. in this fight with iran this is entirely driven by financial considerations he had people there are many people in the united states don't like iran that's the trouble here but it's been always been a qadri problem. surrounding themselves with the wrong people all the time we can i want to thank my guests and the end of london i think our viewers are watching us iraq you see you next time remember. time after time corporations repeat the same mantra sustainability it's very important to excel or transition to sustainable prize board sustainability stay in her manner more equitable and sustainable world. they claim their production is completely harmless. it. companies want us to feel good about buying their products while the damage is being done far away and this is something this must be undone even and. we do want to. underscore that. thousands of american men and women choose to serve in the country's military and the decision little sheltered lives every song came to a complete. the day that i was raised to be instructed here you know told to shut up or they'd kill me and i see how it destroyed my life any scr

were lost a couple of months ago when the united states assassinated the general sort of money all right mike last word on this. you know i think united i think iran will continue its pressure and if the united states were to make an attempt to stop these ships at sea that we're going to get effect be a declaration of war 'd that's is recognize in international law and but i think that they will they will continue to be iran will continue to do what it wants to do so some references are made to the time that the brits stop. an iranian oil tanker and had it seized but this is different this that was against they thought going to syria which was saying should by the u.n. you don't have any of that here and i think that the united states again would be involved in piracy if it undertook action all my high seas against those are rainy and ships yes certainly would be unprecedented if any of that happened george galloway might maloof appreciate your time thank you. pleasure. elsewhere in the news the corona virus pandemic continues to unfold tracking the global outbreak cases worldwide now topping 4700000 with 315000 reported deaths taking a closer loo

assassination asylum money there were indications within the region to reach out to iran because of this deadlock here and then the united states for wave power gets in their insults starts mentally again i mean the interesting thing is is that we know on record that iran's that that it will leave the nonproliferation treaty and that's exactly what the trump administration and might come pay a want because then that is that then they they would say they have a legitimate response because iran has left this a treaty but iran won't do that because they know what the consequences would be i mean it's really interesting is that it's you know if you watch this closely you know what iran's position is and you know how it's going to react the actor that you don't understand you don't know how it's going to react is the united states because pump ayos attempt to really shuffle the cards here and that is very dangerous yet i think that's a great point because it knows how to handle the situation they've been at the song and dance for many many decades they know what they're doing especially at such a high diplomatic level. came into off

the way. in this fight with iran this is in tali driven by visceral considerations he had people there are many people in the united states don't like iran that's the trouble here but it's been always been a qadri problem surrounding himself with the wrong people it's all the time we have i want to thank my guests and in a go c.n.n. london i think our viewers are watching us here are to see you next time remember across. the world is driven by. no dares thinks. we dare to ask. time after time called parisian to repeat the same mantra sustainability it's very important it's accelerating transitions to sustainable transport sustainability stay number may not be more equitable and sustainable well. they claim their production is completely harmless hollow does need to. look. into. it into something companies want us to feel good about buying their products while the damage is being done far away and this is something i'll just as he want any minute i need money. since i'm in in this limited window nieminen i'm stunned theme that may be best understood so when. that is what i did a. massive. massive. i'm still working on this

iran. the united states sanctioned a company who were doing business, generating revenue and resources for their terror campaign. anyone conducting business with iranian entities should exercise extreme caution. moment like to take this to commend our german friends for taking strong action against suspected has bolo supporters and hope that all other e.u. members states will follow. our gratitude goes out to switzerland for its efforts to extend michael white's medical furlough and seeking andnitarian furloughs bringing home all u.s. citizens wrongly detained. we welcome their assistance and appreciate all they have done. we are not the only nation whose citizens are subject to the iranian regime's brutality. iranian guards on the border of afghanistan abused, tortured, drowned afghan migrants who dared to cross the border, simply in search of food and water. to close on an upbeat note, to human rights victories. theunited states will see -- to ban female genital mutilation and cutting. a step closer to a future in which women and girls worldwide won't have to suffer this barbaric practic

and iran the united states has played sanctions on both of these countries say they've placed them for quite some time now how are are these really affecting these 2 countries right well the u.s. is targeting 2 countries that are known for their oil reserves and they have essentially cut off business with the rest of the world as a result of that and when we take a look at iran specifically we find that the country's g.d.p. fell 4.8 percent in 2018 when the trumpet ministration negan implementing sanctions and it fell another 9.5 percent in 2019 and employment rates also rose from 14.5 percent in 20000 to 16.8 percent and $21000.00 and the i.m.f. is forecasted 0 growth for 2020 now the sanctions on venice whale have left hundreds of thousands of civilians now locked. in access to food water and basic medical supplies and this partnership with iran has given venezuela minimal access to chemicals it needs because it is otherwise unable to refine its own oil but the us has seen the exchange as a way for the 2 countries to undermine. now we have seen countries around the world calling on t

that the united states has been using the virus as a weapon against the iranians through the sanctions so and despite that the situation in the united states has catastrophic and the situation in iran is much better and with regard to the spreading of the virus iran has far fewer flights whether to china or to europe and the chinese the europeans or the americans i think it's quite clear that that accusation is not true and i think that when you run a saying is that the united states has to recognize that his policy in this region is destructive it has helped the saudis destroy yemen it has allowed the saudi at the saudis to do this it has allowed the spread of extremism across the region whether in syria or iraq afghanistan and elsewhere and the united states has to rethink its policy the region has changed and many of these peoples are resisting the saudis and americans and the americans can blame iran all they want but the fact that they cannot suppress the people of yemen and the basket fact that they cannot impose their will and iraq and iran and elsewhere shows that the united states is declining force rather to be speaking and it should start. so respect ok the players didn'

or the economy in iran has suffered since the united states made the decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreements that iran had signed with international powers it has also impacted the country's domestic tourism industry many tour guides bus drivers and hotel workers have lost their jobs jobs that they thought were safe. traffic here is usually backed up for miles but ever since the corona virus outbreak the whole look of the iranian capital tehran has changed dramatically shops and markets have been closed for weeks and where hundreds of travelers squeezed into buses or subway cars now there are empty seats. the tourism industry already struggling with the impact of u.s. sanctions has also been badly hit there is advantage of our organizes group tours for foreign visitors they started coming in groups like this one shortly after the signing of the nuclear agreement 5 years ago in 2018 there were more than 7000000 tourists and the industry was racking up double digit growth rates those days are gone. we had a 90 percent cancellation rate recently. maybe the tourism industry will open

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the only oh and both got to send a message to the united states and brian al-jazeera. iran says more than 10000 health workers have been infected since the outbreak began it is among the worst affected countries with nearly 127000 physicians more than 7000 people have died during the pandemic. high level talks have been held a very controversial make a dam being built by ethiopia the prime ministers of ethiopia and sudan held a video conference to discuss the issues between them sudan and egypt fear the 4 point $6000000000.00 nile river project will trap the essential water supply ethiopia says the dam will bring economic benefits to all 3 countries discussions are set to continue. turkey is warning of grave consequences in libya after forces loyal to the warlord who even have to threaten their strikes against turkish interests turkey's foreign ministry warned any attack would result and have to force is being considered legitimate targets turkish forces are in libya supporting the un recognized government in tripoli the use of is a is an internet

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the oil and both got to send a message to the united states and next year brian al-jazeera at least 14 people have died in eastern india and 8 in bangladesh cycling on porn boxes the region it's the strongest storm in decades with winds of up to 170 kilometers an hour aside from his destroyed homes and downed power lines in bangladesh more than a 1000000 or him refugees in the overcrowded camps of cox's bizarre are being asked to stay indoors very is in dhaka with the latest from bangladesh. bangladesh is very familiar with the yearly cycle on but this cycle has been one of the most intense since in a decade you know the last one was in 2007 cycle on cedar and we're still getting reports as the day breaks so far what i can tell you the local media is reporting that at least 7 people have died due to this cycle on now we cannot independently confirm that but the local media as are reporting there is there's been heavy damage especially in southwestern bangladesh and shown there been mangrove forests which got the direct hit and that actually pr

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the oil and both got to send a message to the united states alexia brian al-jazeera. at least 14 people have died in eastern india and 8 in bangladesh aside from paul in the battle as the region it's the strongest storm in decades with winds of up to 170 kilometers an hour cycling has destroyed homes and downed power lines in bangladesh more than a 1000000 refugees in the overcrowded camps of cox's bazaar are being asked to stay indoors. brazil now has the 3rd highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 291000 the government sanctioning use of an anti malaria drug to treat cope with 19 despite a lack of evidence that it works. the un special middle east envoy has called on israel to abandon threats to annex parts of the occupied west bank under a deal with the us israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu could begin an exciting palestinian land as soon as july but the security council has been told this could be a breach of international law and international war crimes prosecutors of us are court to transfer of rwanda and

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the oil and both got to send a message to the united states alexia brian el jazeera well we can ask for it izadi he is a professor of wealth studies at the university of tehran he joins us now from the iranian capital for what let's start with the practicalities of this arrangement how confident can tear on be that the u.s. isn't actually going to intercept this shipment. you know it's going to be under international law if the united states does that iran and there's a 2 independent countries they can trade in oil over any other goods if they wish to and the u.s. doesn't have any a standing under international law to threaten the shipment of oil the sanctions that iran out of it are facing are passed by the u.s. congress and iran and venezuela not under any obligation to follow u.s. congress dictates so i think both countries iran and find quite confident that the u.s. with nothing gaijin any illegal behavior and if you u.s. does that there would be a response for that me ask you a little more about that relationship do you think that this is

iraq and have some some say over the sales because all of that those transactions are in u.s. dollars so and also to watch iran so the united states has been. really are i mean in some areas and and bring in in north additional forces into sunni controlled areas at a time when isis is beginning to launch attacks there sporadic the popular mobilization forces are trying to hold them off and you have a brand new prime minister who claimed both ends against the middle looks like he wants to be friends with the united states but also with iran so he's walking a very delicate line and isis sees that our vacuum if you will that that that that flimsiness control that exists and they're good and they're taking full advantage of it so michael you know it's one of these things where there's a lot of different countries in that region when it comes to isis now kind of making a comeback as if for lack of a better term who is to blame here and is it russia is that the united states are or who is it. well again a combination of factors you have the u.s. pushing against a very fragile government in. iraq you have the political turmoil that has b

the united states is the biggest supplier of military aid to israel. this attack on gaza also takes over the united states arms industry. the was. really. like. iranand isis are competing for the crown of militant islam one calls itself the islamic republic the other calls itself the islamic state both want to impose a militant islamic empire 1st on the region and then on the entire world they just disagree among themselves who'll be the ruler of that empire. in this deadly game of thrones there's no place for america or for israel today after 2 years of negotiations the united states together were international partners has achieved something the decades of animosity has not a comprehensive long term deal with iran that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon this was a very difficult negotiations and part of it is because of this trench and compounded mistrust that we have between ourselves mutually for the last 34 decades but i'm happy that the reason people at diplomacy predate people exercise great deal of restraint and patience and reason and maybe automatic hope this will be a good beginning. as this nuclear deal goes through we're

president nicolas maduro has thanked iran for delivering a tanker carrying more than a 1000000 barrels of fuel it's the 1st of 5 that iran sent venezuela. the united states had opposed the delivery but did not stop the tank both iran and venezuela face u.s. sanctions venezuela suffering from a shortage of refined fuel. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has accused police and prosecutors of conspiring to topple him in any way possible netanyahu made the comments his long awaited corruption trial got underway in occupied east jerusalem is israel's 1st sitting prime minister to go on trial. the u.s. has announced travel restrictions on brazil is covered 900 cases in the latin american nation of new restrictions bar most non us citizens from entering the country if they visited the latin american nation in the past 2 weeks brazil has the 2nd highest number of infections in the world only behind the united states. and there's been a lobbying spike in the number of virus related deaths in yemen on friday the united nations announced the health system that effectively collapsed grave diggers in the port city of aden have been working around the clock to

the united states. the resolution to terminate the use of the u.s. armed forces for hostilities. between the use of military force against iran backed by the bay is exactly consistent. to involve the united states and hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances exercised only pursuant to the declaration of war or specific statutory authorization or national emergency considered by an attack upon the united states territory to positions or its armed forces. the. they convey that same message. but what was the president's response? the response said the resolution is insulting. is it insulting to fight for our constitution to be thought of? know, mr. president. it's the responsibility of every member here to fight for the constitution to be followed into the most important issue we ever considered on the floor of the senate is the issue of whether or not we are going to war. under the 2002 authorization for the use of the eu i they use the authorized forces of the united states to be necessary as he deters and number two can defend the national security of theg united states against the continuing threat posed by iraq

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the oil and both got to send a message to the united states alexia brian el jazeera. from photos id who's a professor world studies at the university of tehran and he says this is a matter between iran and venezuela and that the united states is a very cheap. president chavez this time you know ron has had good relations and there's a lot both countries are under it legally the sanctions and they are basically trying to help each other that comes to going out on the sanctions and this is also a humanitarian gesture but you don because ordinary citizen use gasoline you have seen the pictures from caracas people are standing in line it's under hardware that this is not something that iran can tolerate when they don't has the ability to help the people in. iran and venezuela are 2 independent countries they can't trade . oil or any other goods they wish to and the u.s. doesn't have any a standing on their connection a lot threaten the shipment of oil the sanctions that you know on any that are facing are passed by the u.s. congress and iran and w

more the norm we had this situation back in december where there was a prisoner swap an american academic was released in iran and an iranian scientist a professor was released here in the united states a very similar situation and then 2 weeks later the united states kill of iran general so the body so you went from one extreme of being hopeful for negotiations to ease the relationship to another extreme where the 2 countries were yet again on the brink of war my says meant his that president tried her 1st that situation he likes the extremes he likes to keep his foes off guard and off balance he likes to keep the international community constantly guessing he enjoys that and thinks the united states gets leverage from it so i fortunately i do think that we could be seeing another round of an extreme. extreme volatility in the relationship always good to get your thoughts on this hillary mann leverett we appreciate it thank you very much thank you very much. still ahead on al-jazeera dream home or only a dream why nigerians are finding it hard to buy a house plus. it starts to normalize what it looks like to run as a mom with small children juggling parenthood and politics the effor

the moment. iran has every legitimate right to call on the international community including europe to pressure the united states to lift the inhuman sanctions at a time iran is fighting the spread of coraline us so. on the one side iran has the legitimate right to ask for the lifting of sanctions and if the u.s. doesn't show any willingness to do so which it has not then reveals how cruel the united states is treating iran and it has no disregard for human life at the same time iran is not waiting for the u.s. to lift sanctions that has taken. major efforts to control and spread and slow down the spread of the spread of coron of virus and generally speaking it has been around the response has been acceptable when you compare iran's response to cordon of iris with with that of the united states and europe so iran has not been waiting for the lifting of sanctions while it has pushed for that because it is entirely inhuman and against all international law to impose economic sanctions and use economy as and u.s. even medicine as a as an instrument to achieve foreign policy goals ok iran must we must draw our conve

sanctions on the covert 19 pandemic venezuelans are said to be suffering from a shortage of fuel in their country among other things so it's asked iran to try and help them out but then the united states stepped in and warned iran that if it sent. shipments of all the venezuela the united states would stop them and turn them around see iran went ahead and kept its promise to about as well anyway and sent 5 tankers to caracas which arrived there sometime this week centrally ignoring the u.s. threat so what's going on joining us now to talk about this are some well moncada is venezuela's ambassador to the united nations he's good enough to join us mr ambassador thank you sir for joining us thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule maybe we start with this do you have any sense of what the u.s. will do given that they've made this threat and are you worried. it's my worry because the tracy party talks are the top of the garbage thing in the united states and they are being just parking being actually. i.c.c. 18 our economy you see in some of the use of military force really miss it he said the last made the actually a mess not a force that is. tackling this one and i mean the

sanctions the white house says it's considering a response to the shipment the united states special envoy on iran has spoken out against the shipment and iran's support of venezuelan president nicolas maduro. this would be an example of the iranian regime taking the wealth of the iranian people and wasting it in venezuela on the dirt and i'm not surprised that you see. 2 countries. that are not poor countries their rich countries that are governed by thieves and these countries are now working together to prop them up prop up each other during very difficult times at least 14 people have been killed in eastern india and 8 in bangladesh as the strongest cyclon in 2 decades hit the region so i can own polling that battered west bengal and odisha states with winds of up to 170 kilometers an hour it destroys homes flooded streets and it's left millions of people without power brazil now has the 3rd highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 2 191000 the government sanctioning use of the 90 military a drug to treat covert 19 despite a lack of evidence that it works. the u.s. presi

they're committed to a disses or they're committed to or did sign agreement with the united states they said and the between iran and taliban in united stated they said that they will be they will bring huge reduction in violence non-so will work. with government of understand to take it or to demolish the other terrorist group in in afghanistan so if there is huge other groups like the planner or that take out the last 3 attacks the availability of this is present in afghanistan then we have to nor the afghan people have to know to whom they are going to talk or in the negotiation negotiation table if they are if the added if there are that must trunk other terrorist groups who are able to to manage or to plan that much at the so we have to reconsider the. de plan of negotiation a taliban because now currently i mean this before this 2 days where the subject was not done people of venison was thinking that with the sign with the agrement with taliban there will be peace in afghanistan while this 2 out 3 attacks which was carried by maybe the i sell or taliban or. someone or some other terrorist group. change th

security of the united states against the continuing threat posed by iraq to enforce all relevant un security council resolutions regarding iraq. i know people get confused about iraq and iran, but mister president, i am speaking to the president of the united states, please, get out a map and understand that iraq is not iran, this does not give you authority to go to war against iran. the president also cites article 2 of the constitution and goes on at some length in his veto message saying what unlimited power this gives him. mister president, again, i'm speaking to the president of the united states, that is not what is written in the constitution. that is not what is embodied in the war powers resolution. that is not what our law and international law provides as a basis for going to war that the president has sole power, it is absolutely contrary to the complete history and founding of the united states of america given the power of war, and the house down the hall. international law and us lower for to issues like force being used. it is an imminent threat, a shot in the trump veto message, that he has powers that go beyond an imminent attack in article 2 of the cons

the extent of venezuela and iran say the trade is a win win for both countries iran got much needed gold venezuela the oil and both got to send a message to the united states alexia brian el jazeera. a chinese leaders have observed a minute's silence oh coronavirus victims at the start of the biggest political gathering of the year the opening session of the top political adviser a body started a day ahead of the national people's congress us when china's leaders will likely announce measures to kickstart an economy hit hard by the pandemic katrina you reports from beijing on that and other pressures faced by china's leaders. just over a year ago president xi jinping was surrounded by allies and moved with an air of confidence and leadership on the world stage. this week he sat alone at a world health organization conference defending china against accusations it failed to do nothing to prevent the coronavirus pandemic. china has acted was openness transparency and responsibility. china's leaders and the $3000.00 strong parliament will meet on friday amid growing international anger and criticism led by its biggest trading partner the us donald trump accus

mechanism has been made for him to have medical furlough like the american who is in iran and so he's really in a dire situation here in the united states he's been acquitted there's no reason the united states needs to hold him and similarly for the american in iran he's a medical for a low there's no reason at this point for the iranians to continue to hold someone who they have they've released on medical furlough so the code 1000 pandemic to me is the most important thing that could be happening here but i will say there are more and more indications here in washington that are people speculating that maybe there is some warming in the relationship. so if korea's president says there's no reason to panic after a new corona virus outbreak in seoul linked to nightclubs were very and praised his country's efforts to contain the them ik but warned of a 2nd wave of infections later this year robert bride reports from seoul. south korea's response to the corona virus has been widely held up as an example to other countries at one time it faced the 2nd worst outbreak in the world after china but quickly brought it under control by encourag

mechanism has been made for him to have medical furlough like the american who is in iran and so he's really in a dire situation here in the united states he's been acquitted there's no reason the united states needs to hold him and similarly for the american in iran he's a medical for a low there's no reason at this point for the iranians to continue to hold someone who they have. released on medical furlough so the code 1000 pandemic to me is the most important thing that could be happening here but i will say there are more and more indications here in washington there are people speculating that maybe there is some warming in the relationship. coming up in just a moment right here on al-jazeera former presidents and their pandemic experts weigh in on the trumpet ministrations response to the corona virus outbreak and mexico and factions near their peak but are official numbers concealing the real extent of the crisis. how i record high pressure dominating the weather across much of australia so it is largely dry not exclusively we still have a few showers down towards the southeastern corner maybe one or 2 showers just around the ea

mechanism has been made for him to have medical furlough like the american who is in iran and so he's really in a dire situation here in the united states he's been acquitted there's no reason the united states needs to hold him and similarly for the american in iran he's a medical for a low there's no reason at this point for the iranians to continue to hold someone who they have they've released on medical furlough so the code 1000 pandemic to me is the most important thing that could be happening here but i will say there are more and more indications here in washington that are people speculating that maybe there is some warming in the relationship china's report of the 1st case of covert 19 for more than a month in the water the says he with the virus was 1st detected in december its national health commission says the new case did not show symptoms previously the capital of hoby province was the 1st city in the world to go into lockdown it's been slowly returning to normal since restrictions were lifted last month. south korea's president says there's no reason to panic after a new coronavirus outbreak in seoul linked to nightclub