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Iran will hold nuclear talks with European nations in Turkey, the first since ceasefire with Israel

Iran will hold nuclear talks with European nations in Turkey, the first since ceasefire with Israel

Yahoo4 days ago
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Monday it would hold renewed talks this week with European nations over the country's nuclear program, with discussions to be hosted by Turkey.
The talks, to be held in Istanbul on Friday, will be the first since a ceasefire was reached after a 12-day war waged by Israel against Iran in June, which also saw the United States strike nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic. A similar meeting had been held in the Turkish city in May.
The discussions will bring Iranian officials together with officials from Britain, France and Germany — known as the E3 nations — and will include the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.
'The topic of the talks is clear, lifting sanctions and issues related to the peaceful nuclear program of Iran," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in his weekly briefing. He said the meeting will be held at the deputy ministerial level.
Under a 2015 deal designed to cap Iran's nuclear activities, Iran agreed to tough restrictions on its international program in exchange for an easing of sanctions. The deal began to unravel in 2018, when the United States pulled out of it and began to reimpose certain sanctions. European countries have recently threatened to trigger the 2015 deal's 'snapback' mechanism, which would allow sanctions to be reimposed in the case of non-compliance by Tehran.
German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese, asked who Germany will send to the talks and what its expectations are, said that 'the talks are taking place at expert level.'
'Iran must never come into possession of a nuclear weapon,' so Germany, France and Britain are 'continuing to work … at high pressure on a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program,' he said. 'This course of action is also coordinated with the U.S.'
'It's very clear that, should no solution be reached by the end of August … snapback remains an option for the E3,' Giese told reporters in Berlin.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday the three European nations lack 'any legal, political, and moral standing' to invoke such mechanisms, and accused Britain, France and Germany of failing to uphold their commitments in the deal.
'Attempting to trigger 'snapback' under these circumstances, in defiance of established facts and prior communications, constitutes an abuse of process that the international community must reject,' Araghchi said.
He also criticized the three European nations for 'providing political and material support to the recent unprovoked and illegal military aggression of the Israeli regime and the US.'
The U.S. bombed three major Iranian nuclear sites in Iran in June as Israel waged an air war with Iran. Nearly 1,100 people were killed in Iran, including many military commanders and nuclear scientists, while 28 were killed in Israel.
Araghchi stressed in the letter that his country is ready for diplomatic solutions.
After U.S. President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 deal, Iran has gradually increased its nuclear activities, including enriching uranium up to 60%, a step away from weapons-grade nuclear materials, or 90% enrichment of uranium.
Iran denies allegations it is seeking a nuclear weapon and has long said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
___
Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report
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Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is
Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is

San Francisco Chronicle​

time2 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is

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Daughter of holocaust survivors may leave job at Columbia due to university's new antisemitism definition
Daughter of holocaust survivors may leave job at Columbia due to university's new antisemitism definition

New York Post

time32 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Daughter of holocaust survivors may leave job at Columbia due to university's new antisemitism definition

For years, Marianne Hirsch, a prominent genocide scholar at Columbia University, has used Hannah Arendt's book about the trial of a Nazi war criminal, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,' to spark discussion among her students about the Holocaust and its lingering traumas. But after Columbia's recent adoption of a new definition of antisemitism, which casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech, Hirsch fears she may face official sanction for even mentioning the landmark text by Arendt, a philosopher who criticized Israel's founding. 8 Marianne Hirsch is a prominent genocide scholar at Columbia University. AP For the first time since she started teaching five decades ago, Hirsch, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, is now thinking of leaving the classroom altogether. 'A university that treats criticism of Israel as antisemitic and threatens sanctions for those who disobey is no longer a place of open inquiry,' she told The Associated Press. 'I just don't see how I can teach about genocide in that environment.' Hirsch is not alone. At universities across the country, academics have raised alarm about growing efforts to define antisemitism on terms pushed by the Trump administration, often under the threat of federal funding cuts. 8 After Columbia's recent adoption of a new definition of antisemitism, Hirsch is thinking of leaving the classroom. AFP via Getty Images Promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the definition lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying 'double standards' to Israel, comparing the country's policies to Nazism or describing its existence as 'a racist endeavor.' Ahead of a $220 million settlement with the Trump administration announced Wednesday, Columbia agreed to incorporate the IHRA definition and its examples into its disciplinary process. It has been endorsed in some form by Harvard, Yale and dozens of other universities. 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Israel, U.S. Slam France's Recognition of Palestinian State
Israel, U.S. Slam France's Recognition of Palestinian State

Time​ Magazine

time33 minutes ago

  • Time​ Magazine

Israel, U.S. Slam France's Recognition of Palestinian State

Israeli and U.S. leaders have denounced President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that his country will recognize Palestinian statehood, becoming the first major Western power to do so. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'strongly condemned' the move, saying that it 'rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became.' 'What he says doesn't matter,' President Donald Trump said in reaction to Macron's decision while speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday. "He's a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn't carry weight." The United States 'strongly rejects' Macron's plan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. 'This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,' he wrote. 'It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.' France will officially recognize Palestine as an independent state at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Macron announced on Thursday. 'It is essential to build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability, and enable it, by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East. There is no alternative,' the French President said in a post on X. The decision could add momentum to a push for Palestinian statehood that has so far largely been driven by smaller nations. While meeting with criticism from Israel and the U.S., Macron's announcement was celebrated by other countries that have already made similar moves, as well as by Hamas and Palestinian leadership. Hamas called it 'a positive step in the right direction to achieve justice for our oppressed Palestinian people and support their legitimate right to self-determination.' Palestinian Liberation Organization Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh thanked Macron, saying that his announcement 'reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination.' What does Macron's decision mean for a Palestinian state? France will be the biggest Western power and first member of the group of economic superpowers known as the Group of 7 (G7) to recognize Palestine as an independent state. Nearly 150 out of the 190 U.N. member states now do so, including several other European countries—Spain, Ireland and Norway—that have formally recognized Palestine since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023. France has signaled it is hopeful other major powers will follow suit. 'I've had other colleagues on the phone and I'm sure that we won't be the only ones recognizing Palestine in September,' a senior official with the French presidency told CNN. Macron has not specified what territory France would recognize as being part of a Palestinian state. Palestinians seek a state including parts of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, all of which are considered occupied territories by the United Nations. The French President did say that he wishes to ensure the demilitarization of Hamas and rebuild Gaza. Macron will hold calls with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza. On Thursday, Starmer said that 'statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. A cease-fire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.' A divided response Macron's announcement comes amid international outcry over what humanitarian organizations warn is a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as the enclave's health ministry reports that more than 100 people have died of hunger since the war began. The starkly divergent responses to France's decision from world leaders reflect deeper divisions over the conflict. 'The audacity of the French president to create, with mere words, a permanent order in our land is absurd and unserious,' Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday. He added that 'a Palestinian state would be a Hamas state,' in a statement on social media. Israeli far right politician and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Macron's recognition of Palestine provides a reason to 'finally implement Israeli sovereignty' over the West Bank. 'This will be our legitimate Zionist response to the unilateral pressures and coercive maneuvers of Macron and his allies,' he continued on X. On Wednesday, the Israeli Parliament voted in favor of a non-binding motion for Israel to annex the West Bank. Smotrich, as well as fellow far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, were both recently sanctioned by the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Norway for inciting 'extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,' particularly in the West Bank. Other countries that have recognized Palestine met the announcement with a very different tone. 'I warmly welcome President Macron's intervention, this is very significant, the first G7 nation to recognize the state of Palestine,' Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin told reporters on Friday. He added that it was significant for peace efforts to 'create a future landscape for a two-state solution.' Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has 'celebrated' France's decision to recognize Palestine. 'Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution.' China has offered a more nuanced response. When asked on Friday about Macron's decision to recognize Palestine, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said: 'The Palestinian question is at the heart of the Middle East situation. The only viable way to resolve it lies in the two-State solution,' adding that China will continue working towards the 'just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question.'

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