Exclusive: Senior Iranian official: European proposals in Geneva unrealistic
"In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting," the official said.
He added that zero enrichment was a dead end and that Iran would not negotiate over its defensive capabilities, including its missile programme.
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The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Starmer under pressure from cabinet to recognise Palestinian statehood
Keir Starmer is under pressure from cabinet ministers for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, as the global outcry grew over Israel's killing of starving civilians in Gaza. The prime minister is understood to have been urged by a number of senior ministers in different cabinet meetings over recent months that the UK should take a leading role in issuing recognition. The UK plans to formally acknowledge Palestine as part of a peace process, but only in conjunction with other western countries and 'at the point of maximum impact' – without saying what that would be. However, there has been a growing sense of desperation and horror inside the Labour cabinet over Israel's killing of starving Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and its attacks on humanitarian agencies, in recent weeks. 'We say that recognising Palestinian statehood is a really important symbol that you can only do once. But if not now, then when?' one cabinet minister said. Earlier this month, nearly 60 Labour MPs demanded the UK immediately recognises Palestine as a state, after Israel's defence minister announced plans to force all residents of Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah. Israel is facing intensifying international condemnation for its actions in Gaza, with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, warning that the 'last lifelines keeping people alive [in the strip] are collapsing'. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, told British parliamentarians in a visit this month that a two-state solution was 'the only way' to build peace and stability in the region. However, diplomats say he has faced resistance from allies such as Britain and Canada over his push. France and Saudi Arabia are co-chairing a rescheduled international conference at the UN in New York later this month to discuss postwar plans for Gaza and preparations for formally acknowledging Palestine. The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, who said he felt 'appalled, sickened' by the scenes of starving Palestinians being shot as they sought food, said the UK would 'play its part' in reaching a two-state solution for the Middle East, including working with the French. 'We said we wanted that to be part of a process. But we have had no process. What we have had is mayhem and conflict. There has been no process to attach that recognition to,' he told the BBC on Tuesday. 'Why do we say that? It's because we don't just want to recognise symbolically, we want to recognise as a way of getting to the two states that sadly many are trying to thwart at this point in time. 'But there is a live debate and discussion and let me restate again my belief in two states, and two states in which Palestinians have their dignity and freedom and Israel has its security for its people. We will do all we can to achieve that in time.' In an unusual Commons intervention on Gaza, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, on Tuesday called for recognition of the state of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. He criticised the 'intolerable' attack by Israel on the World Health Organization's staff residence and main warehouse in Deir al-Balah on Monday, which had compromised its operations in Gaza. 'I deplore Israel's attacks on healthcare workers as well as other innocent civilians trying to access healthcare or vital aid. These actions go well beyond legitimate self-defence and undermine the prospects for peace,' he told MPs. 'I sincerely hope that the international community can come together, as the foreign secretary has been driving towards, to make sure that we see an end of this war but also that we recognise the state of Palestine while there is a state of Palestine left to recognise.' Streeting is understood to be among the cabinet ministers who have pushed for recognition of Palestine in recent cabinet meetings. The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, are also understood to have brought up the issue. At the Commons liaison committee on Monday, the prime minister said the situation in Gaza was 'intolerable' as he repeated the UK's commitment to recognising a Palestinian state 'at a time most conducive to the prospects of peace' in the region. Israel has been fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023. A US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire is being discussed at talks in Doha.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Cardinal calls Israel's policy in Gaza ‘morally unjustifiable' after visit
Israel's government is pursuing an 'unacceptable and morally unjustifiable' policy in Gaza, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said after visiting a church in the territory that was attacked by Israeli forces last week and meeting survivors. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said he witnessed extreme hunger on the brief trip, his first into Gaza this year, and described Israeli blocks on food and medical shipments as a 'sentence' for starving Palestinians. 'Humanitarian aid is not only necessary, it is a matter of life and death,' he told journalists in Jerusalem after the visit. 'Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm.' Pizzaballa travelled to Gaza with the Greek Orthodox patriarch Theophilos III, in a show of cross-denominational solidarity after the attack on the Holy Family church that killed three people and injured nine others including the priest, Gabriel Romanelli, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis. The cardinal accused Israel's government of pursuing a war without justification, and warned against plans to force Palestinians to leave the territory, which are backed by much of the Israeli cabinet. 'We need to say with frankness and clarity that this policy of the Israeli government in Gaza is unacceptable and morally we cannot justify it,' he said. 'There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge.' After international pressure over the attack on the church, including from Donald Trump, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the pope to express 'regret' for the attack, which he said was caused by 'stray ammunition'. Some Catholic leaders have questioned that explanation, which the Vatican's top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said 'can legitimately be doubted' in an interview with Italy's state broadcaster. Asked whether he thought Israeli forces had targeted the church, Pizzaballa said he did not have the military expertise to assess the damage, but regardless of intention, Christians had repeatedly been attacked and killed by Israeli forces. 'Gaza is almost totally destroyed, and nobody is exempted,' he said. 'This is not the first time it happened. There was also [attacks on] the Holy Family and St Porphyrius in the first weeks of the war. And every time it was a mistake.' Israel has issued evacuation orders for the areas surrounding the two compounds where Gaza's Christians have taken shelter during the war, but the community of about 560 people does not intend to leave. 'They know very well that we are determined to remain,' Pizzaballa said when asked whether the Christians would follow the evacuation orders. In the months since his last visit, at the end of last year, destruction of whole neighbourhoods had left parts of Gaza City unrecognizable, Pizzaballa said. Neighbourhoods around the Christian-run al-Ahli hospital, which the clerics visited, were 'totally erased' he said, reduced to rubble. Inside the hospital wards the delegation met doctors and nurses who described patients too malnourished to heal, and met victims of other attacks. Pizzaballa sounded emotional as he described speaking to a father keeping watch at the bedside of his blind, badly injured son, the only survivor of his six children. 'It was difficult to bear,' he said of the meeting. Hunger is everywhere, Pizzaballa said, describing long queues of people waiting hours in the sun, in hope of something to eat as 'a humiliation that is hard to bear when you see it with your own eyes'. Israel authorised church authorities to take 500 tonnes of aid into Gaza after the attack on the Holy Family. The complex logistics meant the food could not cross the border with the delegation, but people are so hungry that news of the planned delivery brought crowds to the church and even members of the congregation had to be shown proof their leaders had come empty-handed. The community is surviving on small rations of mostly bread and rice, and told Pizzaballa that they had not eaten meat, fruit or vegetables since February. He called for an end to the war and said the Christian community saw it as 'our moral duty to be part of reconciliation' when peace comes. 'After almost two years of war I think everyone starts thinking and arrives at the conclusion that it is about time to stop it.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
A ‘golden age' for nuclear power? Sizewell C must hit budget first
Welcome to 'a new golden age' for nuclear power, said Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, as he signed off the £38bn (if we're lucky) Sizewell C mega-plant in Suffolk. It will certainly look golden from the point of view of Centrica. The owner of British Gas is investing £1.3bn for a 15% equity stake in Sizewell on terms that look attractive for it. Centrica's explanation of the mechanics behind Sizewell's financing were more helpful than the government's because it demonstrated how far ministers have had to go to attract private investors for a project that was once advertised to cost £20bn. In short, Centrica reckons it will make an internal rate of return above 12% if Sizewell arrives at £40bn (all the numbers being in 2024 prices). But the revealing part was what happens if costs overrun and the construction bill ends up at £47.7bn. In that case, the company's rate of return will still come in above 10%. That is in nominal terms, so one has to knock off inflation, but it's still a decent number. And – critically – it is as low as it could go. After £47.7bn, taxpayers or billpayers are on the hook. Chris O'Shea, Centrica's chief executive, called the terms 'acceptable' and the stock market agreed. Centrica's shares rose 4% and analysts at Jefferies noted 'robust protections'. The Canadian group, La Caisse, with a 20% stake, and the UK's Amber Infrastructure (7.6%) are the other investors alongside the state itself (44.9%) and French developer EDF (12.5%). It is hard to believe HM Treasury imagined even a couple of years ago it would have to be quite so generous to attract private sector investors. That, unfortunately, is the reality of higher government borrowing costs. It all flows into the financing of big projects. So does the experience of overruns and delays at Hinkley Point C, the plant in Somerset that is due to come on stream in the 2030s. So does the need to lock in investors for years. The option of carving out private investors entirely at Sizewell was a nonstarter: you need somebody to be incentivised to hold management's feet to the fire in the hope of landing close to the headline £38bn. Centrica, as the 20% owner of the UK's nuclear fleet, is as good as any for that task (even if it's not clear what La Caisse and Amber offer). It's just that the private sector has said, in effect, that it would accept some of the risk of cost overruns – but not too much and not to a degree that would seriously eat into returns. Meanwhile, the state is providing most of the debt, which is the greater part of the overall funding package, to the tune of £36bn to be channelled through the misleadingly named National Wealth Fund. In essence, this is a big heave from the government to make Sizewell happen. What does it mean for consumers? Well, a £1-a-month charge on electricity bills from this autumn for a decade, for starters. That is how the 'regulated asset base' model works. But the mystery – still – is what we'll pay for Sizewell's electricity eventually. Here is the government's less-than-clear claim: the project 'could' create savings of £2bn a year versus the alternative of relying on renewable sources, mainly onshore and offshore wind. That is because Sizewell's higher capital costs are 'outweighed by the benefits of reduced network, interconnector and balancing costs'. In other words, nuclear power is easier to connect to the grid and its output is firm. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Put that way, there is still an argument for doing more nuclear. But the 'could' reflects the risk of cost overruns, which, if they become severe, will have to be recouped in bills. The 'golden age' depends on Sizewell's ability to hit its budget.
