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New York Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Putin backs ‘zero enrichment' for Iran's nuclear capabilities: Report
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin backs a nuclear deal with Iran in which the country is unable to enrich uranium. Putin privately communicated his stance to President Trump and Iranian officials, sources told Axios. Iran has long insisted it should retain the ability to enrich uranium, while both the US and Israel have demanded the Islamic Republic completely abandon its enrichment capabilities — the biggest hurdle in striking a deal. Advertisement 'Putin would support zero enrichment. He encouraged the Iranians to work towards that in order to make negotiations with the Americans more favorable. The Iranians said they won't consider it,' one European official with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios. 3 Putin has reportedly told both the US and Iran in private that a deal should not allow Tehran to enrich uranium. MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock Iran rejected such limitations. Advertisement 'In any negotiated solution, the rights of the Iranian people on the nuclear issue, including the right to enrichment, must be respected,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran Saturday. 'We will not have any agreement in which enrichment is not included.' 3 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Saturday Iran has a right to enrichment. via REUTERS Russia walks a diplomatic tightrope in the Middle East, maintaining warm relations with Israel even as it deepens military and economic cooperation with Iran. Advertisement The reports stand in stark contrast to the views the Kremlin has adopted publicly as Iran's main backer on the nuclear issue. No later than this week, Moscow's top diplomat said Russia was ready to refill Iran's depleted uranium stocks. And last month, Putin said he had sent 200 Russian experts to work at an Iranian nuclear plant. 3 Tehran and Washington had been engaged in talks since April, but those were disrupted by the attacks. Getty Images Tehran and Washington had been engaged in talks since April, but those efforts were disrupted when Israel launched a surprise June 13 attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, just two days before a planned meeting in Oman, and 61 days after US President Donald Trump set a 60-day deadline for talks. Advertisement Araghchi meanwhile, says Tehran is open to new talks on a deal. 'We are examining its timing, its location, its form, its ingredients, the assurances it requires' he said. With wires
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
The Limits of the New Anti-Western Axis
Last month's conflict between Israel and Iran has only just concluded, but its results are already being felt throughout the Middle East—and beyond. As a result of Israel's military offensive, Iran's nuclear program has been set back substantially. And, following months of strategic drift in Gaza, the Jewish state's decisive campaign against the Islamic Republic has helped it rebuild regional deterrence. The United States, meanwhile, has finally demonstrated that it is committed to preventing Iran from going nuclear by any means necessary. The region is taking notice; for instance, prospects for an expansion of the Abraham Accords are now the brightest they have been in years. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 23, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 23, 2015. ALEXEI DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images But the conflict that's already being billed by the White House as the "12-day war" is also notable for what didn't happen. Despite the dire predictions of many, Israel's campaign against Iran's nuclear program (and America's assistance to it) didn't lead either Russia or the People's Republic of China (PRC) to wade into the fray in defense of the Islamic Republic, generating a wider war. To be sure, both Moscow and Beijing offered up the proper platitudes. Russian President Vladimir Putin decried Israel's bombing campaign, and his Foreign Ministry issued a formal statement condemning it. Officials in Beijing did much the same, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi mounting a spirited defense of Iran's "sovereignty" in the face of Israel's "illegal" bombings. Beyond that, however, neither Beijing nor Moscow did anything of substance. Russia did not provide Iran with key battlefield technology, such as air defense components, that could have been used to blunt the effectiveness of Israel's air campaign. Similarly, China did not roll out its prodigious electronic warfare capabilities to better protect Tehran, despite the sprawling quarter century, $400 billion strategic pact codified between the two countries back in 2021. The decision of both countries to sit out the conflict tells us a great deal about the extent of their trilateral partnership with Iran. That's notable, because their anti-Western alliance has seemed positively robust up to now. Ukraine provides a case in point. Over the past two years, Iran has given Russia key drone technology and other battlefield materiel that the Kremlin has used to devastating effect against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. China, meanwhile, has provided extensive support to Russia's defense industry as part of the "no limits" partnership between the two countries, making it a "decisive enabler" of Moscow's ongoing aggression against its western neighbor. They have worked together in other ways as well. Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing have coordinated under the auspices of forums like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Moscow- and Beijing-run security bloc designed to shape security affairs in Eurasia. All three have worked closely in the field of information warfare, parroting each other's false narratives on everything from COVID-19 to Western imperialism. And all of them have worked diligently to deepen their military ties, culminating in trilateral naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year. In the process, this collaboration has raised worries that a new strategic axis is now working to remake the world order in an anti-Western, authoritarian direction. The recent conflict over Iran's nuclear program, though, tells a somewhat different story. But why, precisely? The explanations have varied. Some experts, like the Washington Institute's Anna Borshchevskaya, have noted that Moscow benefits when international attention is diverted, thereby giving it greater freedom of action in its own geopolitical neighborhood—most immediately, against Ukraine. The same logic undoubtedly also holds true for the PRC, which harbors clear—and growing—desires over Taiwan. Or maybe it's because, as Zineb Riboua of the Hudson Institute has pointed out, a weakened Islamic Republic is of limited utility to Moscow and Beijing. After all, now that the Iranian regime's military leadership has been decimated and its regional position profoundly eroded, courtesy of Israel, Tehran is far less useful as a strategic partner. As a result, both countries seem to have thought better of getting involved in something that was, quintessentially, Iran's fight. Whatever the reasons, the most recent Mideast war has succeeded in laying bare the limits of today's emerging axis of authoritarians. It's now up to the United States and its international partners to exploit those shortcomings. Ilan Berman is senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, D.C. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
United News of India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Trump and Putin discuss Ukraine situation, Istanbul talks in 70-min phone call
Moscow/Washington, June 5 (UNI) US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Middle East in a telephonic conversation lasting 70 minutes on Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. T he conversation began with the discussion of the situation around Ukraine, and Putin told Trump in detail about the results of the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Ushakov said, adding that the presidents also discussed the situation in the Middle East. The telephonic conversation lasted 70 minutes, Ushakov said. "About an hour ago, our president's fourth telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump ended. This conversation this time lasted about 1 hour and 10 minutes," Ushakov told reporters. Both presidents described their exchange as positive and productive, and confirmed readiness to stay in constant contact with each other, Ushakov added. "On the eve of this conversation, telephone conversations took place between various representatives of Russia and the United States. And during these conversations, it was agreed that in the current situation, immediately after these terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime and following the results of the second round of Istanbul talks, it would be worthwhile to hold a telephone conversation between the leaders. "This was agreed upon, and the leaders then gave the appropriate commands to both the administration in Washington and our team here to specifically agree on the time," Ushakov said. UNI/SPUTNIK ANV SSP
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Warns Putin Plans to Retaliate 'Very Strongly' Against Ukraine
Donald Trump's silence on Vladimir Putin's threats contrasts with a growing bipartisan push in the Senate to impose severe new sanctions on Russia. Credit - SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin intends to retaliate 'very strongly' against Ukraine for a surprise drone strike on Russian airfields over the weekend, a declaration that provoked alarm in Washington and abroad even as Trump touted his efforts to bring peace to the region. The revelation came in a social media post shortly after Trump spoke with the Russian President for more than an hour by phone—a call he described as 'a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.' In his statement, Trump appeared to accept Putin's warning at face value and offered no indication that he had urged restraint. 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Ukraine's surprise drone strike that targeted five Russian airbases and damaged or destroyed at least 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers. The Ukrainian operation, which spanned five time zones and caused an estimated $7 billion in damage, marked one of Kyiv's boldest assaults deep inside Russian territory since the war began more than three years ago. Read More: Ukraine's Drone Strikes Against Russia Could Become the Global Norm Trump's post briefly vanished from his platform before reappearing later on Wednesday, prompting speculation about whether he had second thoughts about its tone. The White House has not released a transcript of the call or clarified whether Trump pushed back on Putin's vow to retaliate or offered support to Ukraine. The statement was Trump's first public comment on the drone strikes, which many experts saw as a significant blow to Russia. While Trump has long promised he could end the war quickly—even before he took office—his latest interaction with Putin did little to clarify how. Instead, some Democrats say it underscored his continued reluctance to criticize the Russian leader, even in the face of a threatened escalation that could cost more Ukrainian lives. Read More: Trump Discovers the War in Ukraine May Be Too Complicated to Fix 'Trump is being played,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who met with Ukrainian delegates on Wednesday morning, told TIME in an interview. 'I'm disappointed that Trump didn't come down on him and say there's no need for you to respond. No Russian was injured or killed in this operation. Sure, it makes you look bad, because it's humiliating. But there's no reason you need to kill people by bombing Ukrainian civilians, which is what you're planning to do.' Trump's silence on Putin's threats contrasted with a growing bipartisan push in the Senate to impose severe new sanctions on Russia. A recent sanctions bill co-authored by Blumenthal and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would slap massive penalties—including 500% tariffs—on any country buying Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. The legislation is aimed squarely at China and India, which bankroll much of Russia's war economy, and is supported by more than 80 Senators. 'That's what Trump could have said to Putin for starters,' Blumenthal told TIME. 'I'm supporting sanctions on anybody who buys your energy product.' But Trump has so far refused to endorse the measure. He has mused about sanctions, but remains skeptical that economic pressure will end the war—particularly if it jeopardizes his efforts to broker a broader foreign policy agenda, including curbing Iran's nuclear program. In the same post where he described Putin's planned reprisal against Ukraine, Trump expressed optimism about working with the Russian leader to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei criticized the U.S. proposal for a deal. 'I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,' Trump wrote. 'President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.' Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, described Trump's willingness to let Putin help secure a nuclear deal with Iran as the 'total opposite of what has been traditional U.S. policy—actually standing with democracies,' he said in an interview with TIME. 'Are you really gonna tell me somebody's gonna take the word of Vladimir Putin? I'll tell you, somebody—that's a fool.' Blumenthal added: 'I wouldn't trust Putin to mediate or negotiate anything on my behalf.' The phone call between Trump and Putin came as the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3.5 years, shows no signs of abating despite mounting pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough. While the front lines have largely frozen since late last year, the latest wave of Ukrainian attacks—and Russia's vow to retaliate—have renewed fears of a broader escalation. In addition to last weekend's drone strikes, Ukraine's security agency said it had detonated explosives beneath the Kerch Bridge—a critical Russian supply line to Crimea. Russian officials denied the bridge was damaged, but said that its troops had taken another village in Ukraine's Sumy region, part of an effort to create a buffer zone on the border. Read more: How Putin Missed His Shot at Peace The Ukrainian government has dismissed Russia's latest offers for a ceasefire as a stalling tactic. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday labeled the Kremlin's latest proposal 'an ultimatum' and derided the second round of peace talks in Turkey as 'a political performance.' Trump, who previously called Zelensky a 'dictator,' has insisted that he can bring both sides to the table. He has taken credit for the recent talks in Turkey—though neither delegation made concessions—and is open to the idea of a summit that could include himself, Zelensky, and Putin. But his critics say such overtures ring hollow without a clear strategy. They argue that Trump's equivocations, praise for Putin, and attacks on Ukraine's leadership have only muddled U.S. policy. 'This war doesn't have to go on,' Blumenthal told TIME. 'Trump doesn't have to remain silent.' Write to Nik Popli at
United News of India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Argentine Foreign Ministry calls upon UK to resume talks on Falkland Islands dispute
Buenos Aires/London, May 27 (UNI) The Argentine Foreign Ministry, against the backdrop of the UK's decision to transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, has called on London to resume talks regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Last week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the signing of a deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, where a UK-US military base is located, to Mauritius. "Argentina welcomes the signing of the agreement between the British government and Mauritius regarding the Chagos Archipelago ... Argentina once again calls on the UK to resume talks on the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands ... Restoring Argentina's full sovereignty over these territories and maritime spaces is a permanent goal of the country's foreign policy," the ministry said in a statement on Monday. There has been a long-standing dispute between the governments of Argentina and the UK over sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. In 1982, the two countries fought a war that lasted for several weeks and ended in defeat for Buenos Aires. In March 2013, the islands held a referendum and voted 99.8 percent to remain a UK overseas territory. Argentina has not recognised the voting results and still claims the archipelago. UNI/SPUTNIK ANV SS
