Iran Calls on the US to Adopt 'Realistic, Pragmatic' Approach

The head of the Iranian delegation, Ali Bagheri-Kani, leaving the last round of negotiations in Vienna (EPA)
The head of the Iranian delegation, Ali Bagheri-Kani, leaving the last round of negotiations in Vienna (EPA)
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Iran Calls on the US to Adopt 'Realistic, Pragmatic' Approach

The head of the Iranian delegation, Ali Bagheri-Kani, leaving the last round of negotiations in Vienna (EPA)
The head of the Iranian delegation, Ali Bagheri-Kani, leaving the last round of negotiations in Vienna (EPA)

The process of examining the ideas proposed by the European Union coordinator started immediately after the return of the Iranian negotiating delegation from Vienna, reported Nour News.

The website, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, indicated that immediately after the return of the Iranian negotiating delegation from Vienna, the process of examining the ideas proposed by the EU coordinator is ongoing at the expert level.

It also noted that no high-level meeting has yet been held in Tehran to review the ideas of the coordinator, and according to the usual procedure, after the completion of the expert review process.

The final assessment will present the preliminary results to the appropriate decision-making levels.

Iranian media quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying that Iran had sent a message to the US through European officials.

In a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Abdollahian said: "We hope that the American side creates the situation for agreeing on the final text by adopting a realistic and pragmatic approach toward the rightful and legal demands of Iran."

A statement from the Foreign Ministry said that Cavusoglu expressed his hope that the negotiations would end soon, achieving the rights of the Iranian people and the common interests of all parties.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television quoted Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, as saying there is a possibility of rewriting the 2015 nuclear agreement, stressing the need to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue sooner or later.

Ulyanov wondered whether the text announced by the EU is "final," noting that some amendments had been done to the deal in March before the negotiations faltered.

The diplomat reiterated Russia's support for the Iranian position in the negotiations.

He said that all parties must be satisfied with the final text, especially Iran, saying Tehran is a victim of the US' maximum pressure policy and has the right to express its positions.

"If Iran wants to make changes in the text, it will have our support."

Notably, major media websites in Iran protested the final text submitted by the European Union (EU) at the end of the round of Vienna negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement.

"Kayhan" newspaper, which is closely affiliated to the cleric-led country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that the EU's proposal for brokering a deal is "catastrophic" and "damaging," adding that talks "have yet to yield a result that Iran wants."

Nournews website said the EU as the coordinator of the talks lacked the authority to “present its proposals as the final text.”

The vice-chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ibrahim Azizi, said that the Commission has yet to receive any final text or draft from the negotiations.

"The final text must provide for our national interests and the strategic goals of the regime," said Azizi, adding that the Iranian Foreign Minister and his deputy will attend a meeting for the National Security parliamentary committee.



Hopes of Finding More Survivors of Venezuela Earthquakes Fade

 Residents search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP)
Residents search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP)
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Hopes of Finding More Survivors of Venezuela Earthquakes Fade

 Residents search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP)
Residents search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP)

Rescue teams ‌in Venezuela were losing hope on Tuesday of finding more survivors of twin earthquakes that struck the country last week, following hours of grueling work searching for victims beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Rescue teams from Ecuador and the US halted operations early on Tuesday in Macuto, a town in La Guaira state — the area hardest hit by the June 24 earthquakes — after more than 40 hours of work, when they stopped receiving responses from a mother and her three children ‌trapped beneath ‌a nine-story building.

"In the end, we believe the ‌days ⁠have already passed ⁠and that what we will find now is death," said Major Jorge Montanero, leader of the EQ11 team from Guayaquil, located on Ecuador's Pacific coast.

"Unfortunately, things haven't developed favorably," he said as he stood amid rubble after cutting through four concrete slabs of the building in an effort to locate ⁠the four trapped victims.

Some 59,000 buildings were damaged ‌or destroyed by the twin earthquakes — ‌which hit just seconds apart with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 ‌on June 24 — according to NASA estimates. The widespread devastation ‌can be seen from space.

Not all collapsed buildings have had professional rescue teams on site, with relatives and neighbors working to remove debris to pull out survivors or bodies, according to survivors and ‌residents from various areas.

"There is no doubt we are facing a figure higher than ⁠what has ⁠already been reported. I can offer an estimate: we are procuring — and this has been agreed with local authorities — 10,000 body bags," Gianluca Rampolla, the United Nations' resident coordinator in Venezuela, said on Monday from his office in Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

The government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez says at least 1,750 people have died and thousands have been injured as a result of the earthquakes. About 16,000 people were left homeless.

A website promoted by the country's political opposition puts the number of people still missing at around 43,000.


UK to Spend 'Record' £300 Bn on Defense Over Next 4 Years

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands beneath display of UAV drones, as he delivers a speech in Berkshire west of London, on June 30, 2026, following the publication of long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP). (Photo by Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands beneath display of UAV drones, as he delivers a speech in Berkshire west of London, on June 30, 2026, following the publication of long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP). (Photo by Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP)
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UK to Spend 'Record' £300 Bn on Defense Over Next 4 Years

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands beneath display of UAV drones, as he delivers a speech in Berkshire west of London, on June 30, 2026, following the publication of long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP). (Photo by Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands beneath display of UAV drones, as he delivers a speech in Berkshire west of London, on June 30, 2026, following the publication of long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP). (Photo by Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP)

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that Britain would spend almost £300 billion ($397 billion) over the next four years to modernize its armed forces amid rising threats.

Starmer, expected to leave office next month after losing the support of Labour MPs, announced the increase in defense spending as he launched his long-awaited 10-year Defense Investment Plan.

Britain will create a new £50 billion ($66 billion) defense export facility to help ⁠domestic firms compete internationally, ⁠ Starmer ⁠said.

Starmer said he had "no doubt" any future Labour government would build on his defense spending plan, when asked whether potential successor Andy Burnham had committed to future ⁠defense investment.

Asked whether Burnham, ⁠the Labour lawmaker expected to replace Keir Starmer as British prime minister, had given assurances he ⁠would raise defense spending in the next review, Starmer said the current program would serve as "a platform on which whoever comes after me can build."

Starmer announced he would step down ⁠earlier ⁠in June. Burnham, currently the only declared candidate to take over from Starmer, could be made prime minister as soon as next month.


Uncertainty Over Diplomacy Clouds Prospects for US-Iran Deal

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 30, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Ruters
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 30, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Ruters
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Uncertainty Over Diplomacy Clouds Prospects for US-Iran Deal

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 30, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Ruters
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 30, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Ruters

Top US envoys who have arrived in Doha will not hold a high-level meeting with Iran, a Qatari official said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the progress of efforts to bring a lasting halt to the Iran war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

Instead, there will be technical talks this week on issues including regional security that could later be elevated to senior level, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told a media briefing. 

The arrival of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff in Doha on Tuesday followed exchanges of fire over the weekend that tested the June 17 interim accord between the United States and Iran.  

The 14-point pact allowed 60 days for the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce in the conflict, which began with ‌US and Israeli strikes ‌on Iran on February 28, and to resolve thorny issues including the future of Iran's ‌nuclear ⁠program. 

The conflict disrupted ⁠global trade in oil and other goods, exposed Gulf states to Iranian drone and missile fire and killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. 

UNCERTAINTY OVER DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said dialogue with mediator Qatar on the implementation of the interim deal, including on the release of frozen Iranian assets, was likely to take place in Doha on Wednesday. 

"No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days," he said. The White House had said on Monday that Kushner and Witkoff would hold "high-level meetings", with technical discussions to continue on the sidelines. 

The exact timing of the technical talks was not immediately clear. 

"We have a track on the nuclear side, you ⁠have a track on the economic and state performance issue, you have a track on security and ‌the regional security," said Al-Ansari.  

Despite the uncertainty over diplomatic moves, oil prices have fallen ‌on the de-escalation since the weekend and are set for their biggest quarterly loss since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.  

Vulnerable economies, however, could remain at ‌risk from food and fuel price increases even after energy markets feel relief, the UN trade and development agency said on ‌Tuesday. 

IRAN TRIES TO EXERT CONTROL OVER STRAIT 

After the war began four months ago, maritime traffic through the strait, which previously carried about a fifth of the global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas, came to a virtual standstill.  

Iran has since sought to exert control over the strait alongside Oman, which lies across the waterway, saying it plans to charge fees to ships and obstructing vessels that stray outside defined paths.  

Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran would "do ‌whatever is necessary to safeguard its interests" over the strait. 

Since last Thursday, the US has accused Iran of hitting at least two commercial ships with missiles or drones, and it bombed Iranian ⁠military facilities in response. 

Iran in ⁠turn launched missiles and drones at US military sites in the region on Sunday, with both sides accusing each other of breaking the ceasefire.  

The war pushed up global inflation and has put Trump under political pressure before midterm elections in November that will determine control of the US Congress.  

Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are both urging gasoline retailers to lower prices.  

On Monday, the White House said Trump had authorized a temporary suspension of some duties on imports of phosphate fertilizer from Morocco as US farmers grapple with shortages. Shipments of fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz are expected to return to pre-conflict levels only gradually. 

"The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We're going to find out."  

In Iran, where the theocratic leadership survived the war but faces domestic anger over a battered economy, two members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in what the elite force described as a "terrorist" shooting in a western province.  

The interim deal between the US and Iran also provides for an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.  

But Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, cast doubt on a separate, US-brokered framework deal between Lebanon and Israel to halt that war.  

Analysts said the deal risks entrenching a stalemate by tying Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament.