Biden Unwilling to ‘Make Concessions’ on Iran

US President Joe Biden. Reuters
US President Joe Biden. Reuters
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Biden Unwilling to ‘Make Concessions’ on Iran

US President Joe Biden. Reuters
US President Joe Biden. Reuters

US President Joe Biden has stressed that “it’s premature” to know whether the indirect talks between the US and Iran will result in mutual compliance with the nuclear deal. However, he stressed that he has no intention of “making concessions.”

“We do not support and do not think it’s at all helpful that Iran is saying it’s going to move to enrich to 60 percent,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga in Washington.

He added, “it is contrary to the agreement.”

“We are, though, nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions — in direct discussions with us and with our — our partners on how we move forward and what is needed to allow us to move back into the JOPCA, and so that we are a part of it again — that we should have never gotten out of, in my view — without us making concessions that I’m — we’re just not willing to make.”

“And so the discussions are underway. I think it’s premature to make a judgement as to what the outcome will be, but we’re still talking,” he stressed.

American officials hinted that the new US Envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, expressed readiness to lift 700 sanctions of 1,500 sanctions imposed by the former US administration.

However, these leaks weren’t confirmed by officials responsible for negotiations with Iran.

Biden sees that Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign has failed.

“We take seriously Iran’s provocative announcement of its intention to begin enriching uranium to 60 percent, which the P5+1 should be unified in rejecting,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

She added that “this step both calls into question Iran’s seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance.”

Commenting on the Vienna Talks, Psaki reiterated that they are going “to be difficult, to be long, we still feel that they are a step forward in moving towards — you know, leading with diplomacy to find a path forward."



Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.