
Interfax: Armenia, US to Hold Joint Military Drills On August 12-20
The Eagle Partner 2025 exercises will focus on peacekeeping tasks and medical evacuation procedures, the ministry was quoted as saying.
Armenia is a treaty ally of Russia and traditionally a close partner, although bilateral relations have become strained in recent years as Yerevan grows closer to the West.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran's Deputy FM: We Coordinate with China, Russia to Counter Snapback
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday that his country is closely coordinating with China and Russia to respond to the 'snapback' mechanism should the E3 decide to invoke the United Nations sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program before it is set to expire on Oct. 18. According to Committee spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei, Gharibabadi told deputies that the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal have no legal grounds to invoke the snapback mechanism, as they have failed to fulfill their own commitments under the agreement. Rezaei said the deputy foreign minister presented a detailed report to the Iranian Parliament following talks were held in Istanbul last month with counterparts from the European trio and the EU, addressing prospects for resuming negotiations. The E3 have set a deadline of the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six months. In this regard, Gharibabadi said the European side proposed extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 for an additional six months under specific conditions. However, he added, 'We proposed that instead of extending Resolution 2231, negotiations should focus on ending the Snapback mechanism altogether. The resolution must expire at its predetermined date. Decisions will be made based on our national interests and security.' Concerning talks with the US, Gharibabadi said there have been no recent developments. 'The Iranian people's rights—such as uranium enrichment, lifting of sanctions, compensation for damages, and rebuilding trust—must be respected,' he noted. Rezaei said committee members warned against stirring public fear over the Snapback mechanism. 'The West and Europeans are not trustworthy. They've violated their own commitments,' he stated, while stressing Iran should prioritize its internal capabilities and strengthen ties with China and Russia, according to ISNA. Gharibabadi's comments however appeared to contradict remarks made by another deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, who said the IAEA inspectors would return to Tehran soon. Speaking to Chinese broadcaster Phoenix, Khatibzadeh said Parliament's recent decision does not mandate severing ties with the IAEA. Rather, he said, it places the Supreme National Security Council in charge of managing relations. 'We're implementing a new mechanism, but we have no intention of halting cooperation,' the deputy FM said. 'Inspectors left voluntarily amid the conflict and attacks. They were not expelled,' Khatibzadeh said, adding that the inspectors would return to Iran in the coming weeks. Concerning talks with the US, he said, 'We are not in a hurry to enter any indirect talks or frameworks unless solid guarantees are provided for meaningful negotiations.' 'The United States observes no red lines when it comes to attacking peaceful nuclear facilities in other nations. It must be taught a lesson—it cannot recklessly and brutally violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of others,' he added. Khatibzadeh declined to provide specific details when asked about the fate of Iran's 60% enriched uranium stockpile. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted by a local newspaper responding to the Financial Times on the same matter. When asked about the stockpile's current status, Araghchi said, 'I don't know.'

Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Ukrainian drone attack sparks fire at railway station in Volgograd region, Russia says
A Ukrainian drone attack damaged a power line and sparked a fire at a railway station building in Russia's southern region of Volgograd overnight, the regional administration said on Monday. An unexploded drone fell on railway tracks near the Archeda train station, the administration of the region said on the Telegram messaging app, citing Volgograd region's governor, Andrei Bocharov as saying. 'No damage to the tracks has been reported,' the administration said. Russian state news agency TASS reported several regional trains were delayed in the area. Flights at the regional airport in the city of Volgograd, which is the administrative center of the broader Volgograd region, were halted for several hours before resuming at around 0300 GMT, Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Telegram. Russia's defense ministry said that its units destroyed a total of 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including six over the Volgograd region. The ministry reports only the number of drones destroyed, not how many Ukraine launched. The region's administration cited Bocharov as saying the attack was 'massive' and targeted energy and transport infrastructure. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has staged frequent attacks on infrastructure inside Russia that Kyiv deems key to Moscow's war efforts - including on the Volgograd region which lies not far from the border with Ukraine.

Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump confirms US envoy Witkoff to travel to Russia in the coming week
President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia in the coming week, ahead of a looming US sanctions deadline and escalating tensions with Moscow. Speaking to reporters, Trump also said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now 'in the region.' Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military. The nuclear saber-rattling came against the backdrop of a deadline set by Trump at the end of next week for Russia to take steps towards ending the Ukraine war or face unspecified new sanctions. The Republican leader said Witkoff would visit 'I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday.' Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Trump's efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt. When reporters asked what Witkoff's message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.' 'Secondary tariffs' Trump has previously threatened that new measures could mean 'secondary tariffs' targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India. This would further stifle Russia, but would risk significant international disruption. Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia's onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor continues to unfold. Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were 'unchanged.' 'We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,' Putin told reporters. But he added that 'the conditions (from the Russian side) certainly remain the same.' Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable. Putin also seeks Ukraine drop its ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine issued on Sunday a drone attack which sparked a fire at an oil depot in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Kyiv has said it will intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to an increase in Russian attacks on its territory in recent weeks, which have killed dozens of civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said Sunday that the two sides were preparing a prisoner exchange that would see 1,200 Ukrainian troops return home, following talks with Russia in Istanbul in July. Trump began his second term with his own rosy predictions that the war in Ukraine -- raging since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022 -- would soon end. In recent weeks, Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin over Moscow's unrelenting offensive.