WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 0900 GMT to 1700 GMT, July 4, 2018.

Iran nuclear deal

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will stay in the nuclear deal without the United States if its benefits are guaranteed. Rouhani made the comments at a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, in Vienna. He called the US withdrawal from the agreement illegal, adding that the move runs against the interests of all parties including Washington itself. Rouhani said Iran expect five remaining signatories to the deal to keep their trade ties with Tehran intact even if Washington restores its sanctions. Under the 2015 accord, all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted, but now the US seeks to re-impose them. On Tuesday, Rouhani was in Switzerland. His two-nation European trip is part of Iran’s effort to rally support for the nuclear agreement.

Israel land grab

Israeli forces raze Palestinian structures belonging to the Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank. The structures were home to nearly 700 people near East Jerusalem al-Quds and close to Israeli settlements. Locals say army bulldozers, escorted by soldiers, stormed the area at dawn. Israeli authorities claim the houses were illegally constructed and therefore the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal against their demolition in May. Israel planned to build settlement units on Bedouin land. All Israeli settlement activities are illegal under international law.

Turkey presidential powers

Turkey has issued a decree, transferring some powers to the president. The decree makes changes to laws dating back from 1924 to 2017. It also changes references to the prime minister and cabinet of ministers to the president and the presidential office. The changes will take effect when incumbent President Rejep Tayyip Erdogan is sworn in for another term, in the next few days. Erdogan was re-elected in last month’s elections. The vote gave him new executive powers following last year’s referendum that approved an executive presidential system. The latest decree was issued in line with Turkey’s move to the new system.

Iraq anti-Daesh operation

Iraqi forces have launched a major operation against remnants of the Daesh terror group in the central part of the county. The operation dubbed "Vengeance for the Martyrs" comes after the bodies of eight civilians abducted by Daesh were found last month along a highway north of the capital, Baghdad. Army, Special Forces, police, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the Popular Mobilization Forces are all participating in the operation. Iraqi officials say one Daesh terrorist was killed and many others were captured at the start of the offensive. They say a large cache of arms and equipment as well as vehicles used by the terrorists were destroyed. Iraq declared victory over Daesh in December after expelling the terrorists from all major towns and cities. But the Iraqi forces kept targeting mostly remote areas from where the terrorists continued to carry out attacks.

UN Yemen warning

The head of the United Nations children's agency has called for peace in Yemen, saying it’s not possible to help Yemenis without peace. Henrietta Fore said the situation is rapidly deteriorating in the country. She added that Yemeni children are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking and recruitment as child soldiers. Fore stressed that a quarter million Yemeni women and children are in dire need of medical supplies. She said according to Yemenis, the country’s education and healthcare systems have already collapsed. The UNICEF chief made the statements after her four-day visit to the Arab country. Saudi Arabia and its allies waged war on Yemen in 2015 to reinstate a former ally. The campaign has left millions of Yemenis displaced.

US China tariffs

Trade tensions between China and the United States mounting: Beijing says it is ready to take measures to protect its economic interests against Washington. Beijing hasn’t specified a date for fulfilling its threat. But it says is ready to implement tariffs on American goods on July 6, the day the US starts charging tariffs on 34 billion dollar of Chinese imports. The US will add up to 25 percent tariffs on over 800 China-made products from Friday. It will likely increase 280 more items to the current list. China has retaliated by imposing levies on 545 American products. A tit-for-tat move followed after President Donald Trump slapped 25 percent tariffs on Steel and Aluminum imports accusing Beijing of unfair trade practice.

Plight of Rohingya Muslims

The United Nations says Rohingya Muslims keep escaping Myanmar’s Rakhine state, with more than eleven thousands arriving in Bangladesh so far in 2018. The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, made the revelation in a speech to the Geneva-based rights council. He expressed concerns over violence, persecution, killings and burning of homes as reported by fleeing Rohingya. The UN official also warned about Rohingya’s deprivation of right to citizenship by Myanmar's authorities. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is deploying thousands of extra police forces to refugee camps in the south after a series of killings there. Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims are now living in makeshift camps in the Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh. They started fleeing the bloody military crackdown in Myanmar in August last year.