Switzerland reopens its embassy in Tehran after two-week closure
'Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano and a small team returned to Tehran yesterday overland via Azerbaijan. The embassy will gradually resume operations,' the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. It had been closed since June 20.
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
France's Macron Makes a State Visit to the UK With Migration and Ukraine on the Agenda
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Britain for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer also tried to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor. Macron's three-day visit at the invitation of King Charles III was the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the UK acrimoniously left in 2020. The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were driven to Windsor Castle by horse-drawn carriage, greeted by a military honor guard, and treated to a state banquet hosted by the king and Queen Camilla. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. Macron also addressed both houses of Britain's Parliament in the building's fabulously ornate Royal Gallery before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defense, and investment. At a UK–France summit, senior government officials from the two countries discussed small-boat crossings–a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or–after a clampdown on that route–in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The UK has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs. It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, the second-highest annual figure after 46,000 in 2022. More than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50 percent from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died attempting the crossing. Starmer, whose center-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to 'smash the gangs' behind organized people-smuggling. His plan rests on closer cooperation with France and with countries further up the migrants' route from Africa and the Middle East. The UK also aims to strike deals with individual nations to take back failed asylum seekers. British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days. UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the French are 'bringing in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water.' Britain also is pushing France to let officers intervene against boats in deeper waters, a change the government in Paris is considering. Campaigners for migrants' rights and a police union warn that doing so could endanger both migrants and officers. Starmer's spokesperson, Tom Wells, said some of the tactics being discussed are 'operationally and legally complex,' but 'we're working closely with the French.' The two leaders have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches to US President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer. Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees. Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the 'coalition of the willing' idea is 'alive and well,' with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference to discuss planning for the force. Starmer spoke with President Zelenskyy on Monday about the 'significant progress being made by military planners,' the British leader's office said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran's President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country, according to an interview released on Monday. "I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," Pezeshkian told conservative US podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday. The Iranian leader urged US President Donald Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House. "The United States' president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards the peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp," Pezeshkian said. "So it is up to the United States president to choose which path." White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she was not sure if Trump had seen the Iranian president's comments, but agreed he was the right man to move the region towards peace. Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, for the collapse of talks that were in place when Israel began its strikes on Iran on June 13, starting a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed. "How are we going to trust the United States again?" Pezeshkian said. "How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?" Pezeshkian also said that Israel tried to assassinate him. "They did try, yes," he said. "They acted accordingly, but they failed." Israel did not immediately respond to the allegation. A senior Israeli military official said last month that Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists in its attack on to Iran's nuclear sites. Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success. On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere. Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US to send ‘more weapons' to Ukraine: Trump
US President Donald Trump said Monday the United States will send additional weapons to Ukraine, after the White House announced a halt to some arms shipments for Kyiv the previous week. 'We're going to have to send more weapons – defensive weapons primarily,' Trump told journalists at the White House. 'They're getting hit very, very hard,' he said of Ukraine, while saying he is 'not happy' with President Vladimir Putin. Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Russia's smaller neighbor in 2022 and has shown little willingness to end the conflict despite pressure from Trump. Ukraine is contending with some of Russia's largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year war, and a halt to the provision of munitions posed a potentially serious challenge for Kyiv. Under former president Joe Biden, Washington committed to providing more than 65 billion dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. But Trump – long skeptical of assistance for Ukraine – has not followed suit, announcing no new military aid packages for Kyiv since he took office in January of this year.
