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.



US Says Mexico Agrees to Water Treaty Obligations

FILE PHOTO: The sun sets over the Rio Grande River in Salineno, Texas, US, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The sun sets over the Rio Grande River in Salineno, Texas, US, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
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US Says Mexico Agrees to Water Treaty Obligations

FILE PHOTO: The sun sets over the Rio Grande River in Salineno, Texas, US, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The sun sets over the Rio Grande River in Salineno, Texas, US, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo

The United States and Mexico reached an agreement on water-sharing on Friday, after President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions.

Trump said Mexico owed 800,000 acre-feet of water to the US and demanded it release a quarter of this amount by December 31 or be hit with a new five percent tariff, AFP said.

The Republican leader accused Mexico of violating a 1944 treaty under which the US shares water from the Colorado River in exchange for flows from the Rio Grande, which forms part of the border between the two countries.

"The United States and Mexico reached an understanding to meet the current water obligations of American farmers and ranchers," the US Department of Agriculture agency said in a statement.

It said the agreement includes both the current water cycle and the deficit from the previous cycle.

The two countries are expected to finalize the plan at the end of January.

The agreement as it stands would have Mexico releasing 202,000 acre-feet of water starting next week.

US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement on Friday that Mexico "has delivered more water in the last year than in the previous four years combined," but fallen short of their obligations.

"Farmers across South Texas have been reeling from the uncertainty caused by the lack of water. Now they can expect the resources promised to them," Rollins added.

Rollins echoed Trump's threat saying that if "Mexico continues to violate its commitments, the United States reserves the right and will impose five percent tariffs on Mexican products."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has not commented on the agreement, but on Tuesday expressed confidence in reaching a solution.

At the time, she also cautioned it would be physically impossible to meet the December 31 deadline because of limitations on the pumping equipment, but said: "We have the best will to deliver the amount of water that is owed."

Mexico acknowledged that it has been behind in its water deliveries to the US over the past five years, citing drought in 2022 and 2023.

Trump had previously threatened Mexico in April with economic repercussions over the water dispute, prompting Mexico at the time to immediately send water.

Mexican goods currently face a 25 percent tariff unless they fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free trade deal struck during Trump's first term and which Washington is aiming to renegotiate in 2026.


Bolivian Court Orders Ex-president Jailed for 5 Months on Corruption Charges

Former Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora enters San Pedro prison after a judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention for five months as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement, in La Paz, Bolivia, December 12, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales
Former Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora enters San Pedro prison after a judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention for five months as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement, in La Paz, Bolivia, December 12, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales
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Bolivian Court Orders Ex-president Jailed for 5 Months on Corruption Charges

Former Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora enters San Pedro prison after a judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention for five months as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement, in La Paz, Bolivia, December 12, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales
Former Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora enters San Pedro prison after a judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention for five months as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement, in La Paz, Bolivia, December 12, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales

A Bolivian court on Friday ordered the country's former President Luis Arce to remain detained for five months while he awaits trial on corruption charges, the latest development in a case that threatens to exacerbate Bolivia's political tensions.

Arce, 62, a leader from Bolivia’s Movement Toward Socialism party, was elected in 2020 and left office a month ago following the election of Bolivia's first right-wing leader in nearly two decades. He strongly denies the charges of breach of duty and financial misconduct. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

Two days after Arce's sudden arrest on the streets of Bolivia's capital of La Paz, a judge ordered his detention in a virtual hearing Friday, The Associated Press reported.

Arce was transferred to one of Bolivia's largest prisons in La Paz at night. No trial date was announced.

The accusations concern the alleged diversion of millions of dollars from a state fund into private accounts and date back to when Arce served as economy minister under former President Evo Morales from 2006 until 2017.

Although the scandal first broke in 2017, investigations into the alleged graft stalled during Morales' presidency as Bolivia's courts proved submissive to the political power of the day. The case was reopened when conservative President Rodrigo Paztook office last month, ending almost two decades of dominance by the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party.

Paz campaigned on a promise to clean up the government and seek justice for corruption as he rode to power on a wave of outrage over Bolivia's worst economic crisis in four decades.

Arce criticized the charges as political persecution.

“I’m a scapegoat,” he told the judge, insisting that he had no personal involvement in the government fund under scrutiny, which supported the Indigenous people and peasant farmers who formed the backbone of MAS support.

“The accusations are politically motivated.”

Officials involved in the previous iteration of the investigation say Arce is accused of siphoning off money from rural development projects to secure loyalty from MAS-allied union and Indigenous leaders during election campaigns.

Morales was elected to three consecutive terms, but was ousted in 2019 when his reelection to an unprecedented fourth term sparked accusations of fraud and mass protests.

Arce's lawyers asked the judge to grant his release pending trial, citing the ex-president's battle with kidney cancer several years ago.

But Judge Elmer Laura denied the appeal, and even exceeded the prosecution’s request of three months in a juvenile detention center by ordering five months in a state prison.

“These are crimes that directly affect state assets and resources that were allocated to vulnerable sectors," Laura said.


Iran Detains 18 Crew Members of Foreign Tanker Seized in Gulf of Oman

St Nikolas ship X1 oil tanker involved in US-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman which state media says was seized is seen in the Tokyo bay, Japan, October 4, 2020, in this handout picture. Daisuke Nimura/Handout via REUTERS
St Nikolas ship X1 oil tanker involved in US-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman which state media says was seized is seen in the Tokyo bay, Japan, October 4, 2020, in this handout picture. Daisuke Nimura/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Detains 18 Crew Members of Foreign Tanker Seized in Gulf of Oman

St Nikolas ship X1 oil tanker involved in US-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman which state media says was seized is seen in the Tokyo bay, Japan, October 4, 2020, in this handout picture. Daisuke Nimura/Handout via REUTERS
St Nikolas ship X1 oil tanker involved in US-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman which state media says was seized is seen in the Tokyo bay, Japan, October 4, 2020, in this handout picture. Daisuke Nimura/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million liters of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary.

It said those detained under the ongoing investigation include the captain of the tanker, Reuters reported.

The semi-official news agency Fars said the crew were from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The authorities said the tanker had committed multiple violations, including "ignoring stop orders, attempting to flee, (and) lacking navigation and cargo documentation".

Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land and sea to neighboring countries.