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Borrell Asserts Returning to Vienna Talks is a 'Priority'

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Reuters)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Reuters)
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Borrell Asserts Returning to Vienna Talks is a 'Priority'

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Reuters)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Reuters)

High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said there is no alternative to the Vienna platform in the nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Borrell said that the ongoing efforts to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are just a "first step" to address other files related to Iran's interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat about the current push for a return to the nuclear agreement and whether Europeans fear the Iranian program will develop ballistic missiles and drones, Borrell asserted that the EU is concerned about many other issues and cannot solve all the problems at once.

He asserted that talks now aim to relaunch the nuclear agreement, but it is not the end because many issues will need further discussions.

"The first step would be to avoid a nuclear Iran. Then we deal with other matters."

Asked whether there are fears of any other conflicts if Iran does not stop its interference in the internal affairs of other countries, Borrell noted that there are many reasons to be concerned about the danger in the region. However, the first thing would be reaching the nuclear deal.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the return to mutual compliance provides a "platform to address its [Iran] other destabilizing activities."

Meanwhile, Iranian FM Hossein Amirabdollahian announced that Tehran would return to the table of negotiations.

"We are reviewing the Vienna negotiations files currently, and, very soon, Iran's negotiations with the 4+1 countries will recommence."

Blinken indicated that US Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, had a very productive few days in New York.

"We don't yet have an agreement by Iran to return to the talks in Vienna. We're very much prepared to return to Vienna to continue the talks, and the question is whether, and if so, when, Iran is prepared to do that."

He asserted that Washington has been very sincere and very steadfast in pursuing a path of meaningful diplomacy to get back to mutual compliance with the JCPOA and also to address the full range of concerns that the US and many other countries have with Iran.

Washington still believes that a return to mutual compliance with the agreement is in its interest. "It's the best available option to restrict Iran's nuclear program and to provide a platform to address its other destabilizing activities."

Blinken explained that the challenge right now is that with every passing day, Iran continues to take actions that are not in compliance with the agreement, particularly building larger stockpiles of highly enriched uranium to 20 percent, even to 60 percent, and spinning faster centrifuges.

"We will get to a point in the future at which simply returning to mutual compliance with the JCPOA will not recapture the benefits of the agreement because Iran will have made too much progress in its program that would not be reversed simply by returning to the terms of JCPOA."

Iran's issue was discussed in a meeting between Blinken and the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken highlighted the enduring interest that the US shares with the people and governments of the region in fostering the Middle East that is peaceful, secure, and prosperous, and where Washington's partners are safe from external aggression.

Blinken and GCC member states discussed work to achieve a common approach toward a durable solution to the conflict in Yemen, pursuing diplomacy to reach a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA, and countering Iran's continued aggressive behavior in the Gulf.

"The United States joins our Gulf partners in condemning the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including civilians and infrastructure," said Price.

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NATO and Ukraine to Hold Emergency Talks after Russia’s Attack with New Hypersonic Missile

A missile shrapnel lies on the grass in front of damaged rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, following a Russian attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, on November 22, 2024. (AFP)
A missile shrapnel lies on the grass in front of damaged rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, following a Russian attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, on November 22, 2024. (AFP)
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NATO and Ukraine to Hold Emergency Talks after Russia’s Attack with New Hypersonic Missile

A missile shrapnel lies on the grass in front of damaged rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, following a Russian attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, on November 22, 2024. (AFP)
A missile shrapnel lies on the grass in front of damaged rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, following a Russian attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, on November 22, 2024. (AFP)

NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war.

The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.”

Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday's Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.

In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech to his nation that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of US and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia.

"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow's talking points, suggesting the use of US-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.

“These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orban said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.”

Orban cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick... there will be consequences,” he said.

Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday's missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.”

At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.”

He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine.

Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv.

In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. The missile had six nonnuclear warheads each carrying six submunitions and reached a spoeed of Mach 11, it said.

Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad.

The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said..

Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.