Iran’s Top Nuclear Negotiator to Hold Talks with EU’s Mora in Brussels

Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. (Reuters file photo)
Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. (Reuters file photo)
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Iran’s Top Nuclear Negotiator to Hold Talks with EU’s Mora in Brussels

Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. (Reuters file photo)
Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. (Reuters file photo)

Iran will hold a second meeting this month with the European Union’s Enrique Mora, who coordinates talks between Tehran and six powers on reviving a 2015 nuclear pact, Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted on Monday.

“I will meet (EU) coordinator in Brussels on Wednesday to continue our talks on result-oriented negotiations (between Iran and the six powers),” Bagheri Kani tweeted, alluding to Mora’s initial round of discussions in Tehran on Oct. 14.

In April, Iran and six powers started talks to reinstate the deal, which then-US President Donald Trump ditched three years ago before reimposing sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. But the talks were put on hold after Iran’s presidential election in June that brought anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to power.

The United States and European powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations, warning that time is running out as Tehran’s uranium enrichment program is advancing well beyond the limits set by the nuclear pact.

In reaction to Trump’s reimposition of sanctions, Tehran has breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

Iran has repeatedly said it will return to negotiations but it has yet to specify a date.

“Iran is determined to engage in negotiations that would remove unlawful and cruel sanctions in a full & effective manner, secure normalization of trade & economic relations w/ Iran, and provide credible guarantee for no further reneging,” Bagheri Kani tweeted.



French Candidates Bow Out in Bid to Block Far-right

French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
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French Candidates Bow Out in Bid to Block Far-right

French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
French newly-elected MPs for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) political party Emeric Salmon (2-R), Alexandre Loubet (C), Edwige Diaz (2-R) and Kevin Pfeffer (R) arrive for a welcoming day at the National Assembly in Paris, on July 2, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Opponents of France's National Rally (RN) stepped up their bid to block the far-right party from power on Tuesday as more candidates said they would bow out of this weekend's run-off election to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote.

Some 180-plus candidates have confirmed they will not stand in Sunday's second-round for France's 577-seat national parliament, according to local media estimates. Others have until 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) to make their choice.

Marine Le Pen's RN came out well ahead in Sunday's first-round vote after President Emmanuel Macron's gamble on a snap election backfired, leaving his centrist camp in a lowly third place behind a hastily formed left-wing alliance.

But even before the maneuvering of the last 24 hours to create a "republican front" to block the anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic party, it was far from clear the RN could win the 289 seats needed for a majority.

Pollsters calculated the first round put the RN on track for anything between 250-300 seats. But that was before the tactical withdrawals and cross-party calls for voters to back whichever candidate was best placed to defeat the local RN rival, Reuters reported.
"The match is not over," the Socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, told France 2. "We must mobilize all our forces."

The RN is hostile to further European Union integration and would cut funding to the EU. Human rights groups have raised concerns about how its "France first" and anti-migrant policies would apply to ethnic minorities, while economists question whether its hefty spending plans are fully funded.