Russia Tells Iran it Backs Revival of 2015 Nuclear Deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. EPA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. EPA
TT

Russia Tells Iran it Backs Revival of 2015 Nuclear Deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. EPA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. EPA

Moscow fully supports the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after talks in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart.

Repeating Iran's stance at a joint news conference with Lavrov, Hossein Amirabdollahian said all sanctions against Iran should be removed to revive the pact and blamed Washington for stalling talks that started over a year ago.

"We are pursuing the full re-establishment of the deal with no concession on our position," Amirabdollahian said, adding he hoped to keep negotiations on track and invited the United States to be pragmatic and help the talks enter a final phase.

Indirect talks between Tehran and US President Joe Biden's administration to reinstate the pact have been on hold since March, chiefly over Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US list of designated terrorist organizations.



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.