Explore Business Standard
Iran Nuclear Agreement
Iran said Sunday it would consider negotiations with the United States if the talks were confined to concerns about the militarization of its nuclear program. In a statement posted on X, the country's U.N. mission said: If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis--vis any potential militarization of Iran's nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration. A day earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had rejected talks with the U.S., because he said they would be aimed at imposing restrictions on Iran's missile program and its influence in the region. Khamenei's remarks came a day after President Donald Trump acknowledged sending a letter to him seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the nuclear deal he withdrew America from during his first term in office. Khamenei said U.S. demands would be both military and related to the regional influence of Iran. He said such talks would not solve probl
Iran's government seems to be welcoming some recent decisions by the United States even though they happen to come from a man Iranian operatives have allegedly been plotting to assassinate. President Donald Trump's moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the US Agency for International Development have been lauded in Iranian state media. The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country's Shiite theocracy pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of US government's efforts to help democracy worldwide. At the same time, Iranian officials appear to be signalling that they are waiting for a message from Trump on whether he wants to negotiate over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. At stake are potentially billions of dollars withheld from Iran through crushing sanctions and the future of a program on the precipice of enriching weapons-grade uranium. And even when signing an executive order
The UN nuclear watchdog's board on Thursday condemned Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, the second time it has done so in just five months. The International Atomic Energy Agency also called on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation into uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. Nineteen members of the IAEA broad voted for the resolution, while Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, and 12 abstained and one did not vote, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain, supported by the United States. It comes at a critical time, ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Trump's first term in office was marked by a particularly tense period with Iran, when the US president pursued a policy of maximum pressure against Tehran. In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew
Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels in defiance of international demands, according to a confidential report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen Tuesday by The Associated Press . The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Oct. 26, Iran has 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) since the last report in August. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The IAEA also estimated in its quarterly report that as of Oct. 26, Iran's overall stockpile of enriched uranium stands at 6,604.4 kilograms (14,560 pounds), which represents an increase of 852.6 kilograms (1,879.6 pounds) since the last report in August. Under the IAEA's definition, around 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity is the amount at which creating one atomic weapon is theoretically possibl
The social platform X has suspended a new account on behalf of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that posted messages in Hebrew. The account was suspended early Monday with a brief note appended to it saying: X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules. It wasn't immediately clear what the violation was. The Elon Musk-owned social media company did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The move came after Israel openly attacked Iran for the first time this weekend. Khamenei said in a speech on Sunday that Israel's strikes in response to Iran's ballistic missile attack this month should not be exaggerated nor downplayed, while stopping short of calling for retaliation. The X account opened Sunday with a message in Hebrew reading: In the name of God, the most merciful, a standard Islamic greeting. Khamenei's office has maintained multiple accounts for the 85-year-old supreme leader on X for years and has sent messages in a variety of language
Iran is talking more about getting a nuclear bomb and has made strides in developing a key aspect of a weapon since about April, when Israel and its allies overpowered a barrage of Iranian airstrikes targeting Israel, two top Biden administration officials said Friday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking at separate panels during a security forum in Colorado, said the United States was watching closely for any signs that Iran had made a decision to pursue actual weaponization of its nuclear program. However, Sullivan said, I have not seen a decision by Iran to move in a way that signals it has decided to actually develop a nuclear bomb right now. "If they start moving down that road, they'll find a real problem with the United States," Sullivan said at the Aspen Security Forum, which draws U.S. policymakers, journalists and others. Iran resumed progress on its nuclear program after the Trump administration ended US cooperation wit
The United States and its key European allies clashed with Iran and Russia over Tehran's expanding nuclear programme, with the US vowing to use all means necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran in a UN Security Council meeting on Monday. The US, France, Britain and Germany accused Iran of escalating its nuclear activities far beyond limits it agreed to in a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and of failing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran and Russia accused the US and its allies of continuing to apply economic sanctions that were supposed to be lifted under the deal, and insisted that Tehran's nuclear programme remains under constant oversight by the IAEA. The clashes came at a semi-annual meeting on implementation the nuclear deal between Iran and six major countries the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Under the accord, Tehra
Shortly after an airstrike widely attributed to Israel destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Syria, the United States had an urgent message for Iran: We had nothing to do with it. But that may not be enough for the US to avoid retaliation targeting its forces in the region. A top US commander warned on Wednesday of danger to American troops. And if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent broadening of targeted strikes on adversaries around the region to include Iranian security operatives and leaders deepens regional hostilities, analysts say, it's not clear the United States can avoid being pulled into deeper regional conflict as well. The Biden administration insists it had no advance knowledge of the airstrike Monday. But the United States is closely tied to Israel's military regardless. The US remains Israel's indispensable ally and unstinting supplier of weapons, responsible for some 70% of Israeli weapon imports and an estimated 15% of Israel's defense budget.
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a money exchanger and a group of firms across six countries involved in commodity shipments and business transactions that benefit Iran's military and the Houthi militant group in Yemen and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six firms, two tankers and a money exchanger, all either based or registered in Liberia, India, Vietnam, Lebanon or Kuwait. They are accused of materially benefiting Iran, the Houthis and Hezbollah. Hezbollah and the Houthis have been launching regular attacks since the onset of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and they have sparked international concern that the war in the Palestinian enclave could spill over into the rest of the Middle East. Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops exchange fire on a near-daily basis along Lebanon's southern border, which has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people on both sides. Despite losing