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Spokesman of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry Nafees Zakaria speaks at a press conference in Islamabad on September 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP) A senior Pakistani official says India has accumulated a stockpile of nuclear weapons which threatens to undermine the balance of power in the troubled South Asian region. Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said during his weekly briefing on Thursday that India has built a “secret nuclear city” where a stockpile of nuclear weapons has been accumulated, Pakistan's English-language newspaper  Dawn  reported. The spokesman added that India has been conducting tests on intercontinental missiles, adding that such acts are impacting the existing balance of power in the region. Zakaria also stressed that the Indian government should reciprocate the steps taken by Pakistan for peace in the region.   “Pakistan remains committed to the principles of peaceful existence with all of its neighbors, including India,” he said. Elsewher

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin (Photo by AFP) A senior Russian diplomat has expressed surprise at an outcry provoked by the new US administration over Iranian missile work, saying Tehran’s missile tests are not violating any UN bans, legally speaking. “This outcry about Iran’s ballistic missile launches. I was surprised to hear even American experts speaking on CNN and calling it a violation of bans by the UN Security Council,” said Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin in an interview with RT published Tuesday. He was referring to Resolution 2231 adopted by the Security Council in July 2015 to underpin the landmark nuclear deal inked days earlier between Tehran and the P5+1 group of states, namely Russia, China, France, Britain, the US plus Germany. The document terminated the provisions of previous UN resolutions, calling on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves as he delivers a speech in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to Tehran to stop its missile tests, and called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on Friday's anniversary of the 1979 revolution. "No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei was quoted as saying by his website in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran. "[Trump] says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb 10, (the anniversary of revolution) and will show their stance against such threats."

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board an aircraft Israel’s hawkish prime minister has started out a string of significant overseas visits with the clearly-stated aim of magnetizing enmity towards Iran.  “We are at the start of a significant diplomatic period” for Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday before going on the tour,  The Guardian   reported. The visits will take him to the UK, the US and Australia. “In the diplomatic sphere, I intend to emphasize the need for a common front against Iran’s defiant aggression, which has raised its head in recent days. This must be done on an ongoing basis, but especially in light of Iran’s defiance against the international order,” he added. The premier has never ceased to stigmatize Iran throughout his career atop the Israeli political hierarchy, but he has been more signally leading the hostile policy since 2015, when the Islamic Republic and world powers, including the UK and the US, clinched a landmark nuclear accord

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani gestures as he speaks during a ceremony marking National Day of Space Technology in Tehran, Iran February 1, 2017. President.ir/Handout via Iran said on Monday a recent missile trial launch was not intended to send a message to new U.S. President Donald Trump and to test him, since after a series of policy statements Iranian officials uite well". Iran test-fired a new ballistic missile last week, prompting Washington to impose some new sanctions on Tehran. Trump tweeted that Tehran, which has cut back its nuclear program under a 2015 deal with world powers easing economic sanctions, was "playing with fire". Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying: "Iran's missile test was not a message to the new U.S. government. "There is no need to test Mr Trump as we have heard his views on different issues in recent days... We know him quite well." Iran has test-fired seve

US President Donald Trump Iran has “total disregard” for the United States, says President Donald Trump, repeating his rhetoric against the nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers, including Washington. The accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is “the worst deal I’ve ever seen negotiated,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday. Since he started campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, the New York billionaire has on several occasions spoken ill of the JCPOA, giving promises ranging from an immediate repealing of the deal to renegotiating it. His Sunday appearance still  left the “door open,”  as Fox News put it on its headline. “We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. The new president also parroted the anti-Iran rhetoric, promoted by the GOP and his cabinet members,  accusing  Tehran of supporting terrorism. “They’re sending money all over the place and weapons, and you can’t do that,” he said. “That deal, I would have lived