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.



Landmine Victims Gather to Protest US Decision to Supply Ukraine

 Activists and landmine survivors hold placards against the US decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukrainian forces amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine free World landmine conference in Siem Reap province on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
Activists and landmine survivors hold placards against the US decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukrainian forces amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine free World landmine conference in Siem Reap province on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Landmine Victims Gather to Protest US Decision to Supply Ukraine

 Activists and landmine survivors hold placards against the US decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukrainian forces amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine free World landmine conference in Siem Reap province on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
Activists and landmine survivors hold placards against the US decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukrainian forces amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine free World landmine conference in Siem Reap province on November 26, 2024. (AFP)

Landmine victims from across the world gathered at a conference in Cambodia on Tuesday to protest the United States' decision to give landmines to Ukraine, with Kyiv's delegation expected to report at the meet.

More than 100 protesters lined the walkway taken by delegates to the conference venue in Siem Reap where countries are reviewing progress on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty.

"Look what antipersonnel landmines will do to your people," read one placard held by two landmine victims.

Alex Munyambabazi, who lost a leg to a landmine in northern Uganda in 2005, said he "condemned" the decision by the US to supply antipersonnel mines to Kyiv as it battles Russian forces.

"We are tired. We don't want to see any more victims like me, we don't want to see any more suffering," he told AFP.

"Every landmine planted is a child, a civilian, a woman, who is just waiting for their legs to be blown off, for his life to be taken.

"I am here to say we don't want any more victims. No excuses, no exceptions."

Washington's announcement last week that it would send anti-personnel landmines to Kyiv was immediately criticized by human rights campaigners.

Ukraine is a signature to the treaty. The United States and Russia are not.

Ukraine using the US mines would be in "blatant disregard for their obligations under the mine ban treaty," said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

"These weapons have no place in today´s warfare," she told AFP.

"[Ukraine's] people have suffered long enough from the horrors of these weapons."

A Ukrainian delegation was present at the conference on Tuesday, and it was expected to present its report on progress in clearing mines on its territory.