Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Arrives in Moscow on Unannounced Visit

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (AP)
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (AP)
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Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Arrives in Moscow on Unannounced Visit

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (AP)
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (AP)

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani arrived in Moscow on an unannounced visit after the talks between Tehran and Washington ended in Doha.

The Russian Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna announced the visit on its Twitter account. However, Iranian media outlets did not report the news.

Bagheri-Kani met with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The meeting was attended by Moscow's chief negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov, who described the meeting as a "very professional exchange of views."

Ulyanov tweeted: "It was a very professional exchange of views on the current situation around the JCPOA and prospects of the Vienna Talks. My assessment: despite all the difficulties, the nuclear deal still can be restored."

He called on the US to "demonstrate greater flexibility."

Earlier in the week, Bagheri-Kani met in Doha with the EU coordinator, Enrique Mora, who chaired year-long talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 agreement.

On Friday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said that achieving the "landmark" Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) took determined diplomacy, adding that restoring it will require additional effort and patience.

DiCarlo called Washington and Tehran to "quickly mobilize in this same spirit and commitment to resume cooperation under the JCPOA."



As Iran Tensions Build, US Military Moves Warplanes to Reinforce Middle East 

A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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As Iran Tensions Build, US Military Moves Warplanes to Reinforce Middle East 

A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a more than two-week-old US bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran.

The Pentagon's brief statement did not specify which aircraft were being deployed or where precisely they were sent.

However, as many as six B-2 bombers have relocated in the past week or so to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The B-2s have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons.

"Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The US military's Strategic Command has declined to say how many B-2s have reached Diego Garcia and noted that it does not comment on exercises or operations involving the B-2.

There is already considerable firepower in the Middle East and the US military will soon have two aircraft carriers in the region.

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

While B-2 bombers have been employed to strike buried Houthi targets in Yemen, most experts say use of the stealthy bomber is overkill there and the targets aren't buried so deeply.

However, the B-2 is equipped to carry America's most potent bomb -- the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran's nuclear program.

There are only 20 B-2 bombers in the Air Force's inventory so they are usually used sparingly.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday the US would receive a strong blow if Trump followed through with his threats.

Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh threatened US forces in the Middle East, noting American bases in the Middle East and adding: "They are in a glass house and should not throw stones."

One official told Reuters that the US military was also moving some air defense capabilities from Asia to the Middle East.

In his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.