UK: Iran Nuclear Talks Approaching Dangerous Impasse

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss addresses the parliament. Asharq Al-Awsat
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss addresses the parliament. Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

UK: Iran Nuclear Talks Approaching Dangerous Impasse

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss addresses the parliament. Asharq Al-Awsat
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss addresses the parliament. Asharq Al-Awsat

Talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Western powers and Iran are approaching a dangerous impasse, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday.

"This negotiation is urgent and progress has not been fast enough. We continue to work in close partnership with our allies but the negotiations are reaching a dangerous impasse," Truss told parliament.

"Iran must now choose whether it wants to conclude a deal or be responsible for the collapse of the JCPOA (nuclear deal). And if the JCPOA collapses, all options are on the table."



American Imprisoned in Russia Sentenced to New 15-year Jail Term for Espionage

Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
TT

American Imprisoned in Russia Sentenced to New 15-year Jail Term for Espionage

Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian-born US citizen already imprisoned in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second 15-year jail term for espionage, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.
A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Gene Spector in August 2023, although details surrounding the case were not made public, The Associated Press reported.
Spector, formerly an executive at a medical equipment company in Russia, was previously sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in September 2022 for enabling bribes to an aide of former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for taking bribes of two expensive overseas vacation trips.
Dvorkovich was a deputy prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev in 2012-2018. He is currently head of the international chess federation FIDE.