Iran Will Respond to EU’s Nuclear Text by Midnight on Monday, Says Foreign Minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian listens to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian listens to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
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Iran Will Respond to EU’s Nuclear Text by Midnight on Monday, Says Foreign Minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian listens to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian listens to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)

Iran will respond to the European Union's "final" text by midnight on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, calling on the United States to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues to save a 2015 nuclear pact.

"We do not want to reach a deal that after 40 days, two months or three months fails to be materialized on the ground .... we have told them that our red lines should be respected," he said.

"Specifically, there are three issues .... If these three issues are resolved, we can reach an agreement. But failure to revive the pact, would not be end of the world."

Amirabdollahian said the coming days were very important.

"We will need more talks if Washington does not show flexibility for resolving the remaining issues ... Like Washington, we have our own plan B if the talks fail," he said.

The EU, as coordinator of Iran's nuclear talks with world powers, said last week it had put forward a "final" text following four days of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials in Vienna.

Washington has said it is ready to quickly reach an agreement to restore the deal on the basis of the EU proposals.

Iranian officials said last week that they would convey their "additional views and considerations" to the EU.



Congress is Notified by the Biden Administration of Planned $8 Billion Weapons Sale to Israel

The State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel - File Photo/AFP
The State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel - File Photo/AFP
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Congress is Notified by the Biden Administration of Planned $8 Billion Weapons Sale to Israel

The State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel - File Photo/AFP
The State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel - File Photo/AFP

The State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel, US officials say, as the American ally presses forward with its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Some of the arms in the package could be sent through current US stocks but the majority would take a year or several years to deliver, according to two US officials Saturday who spoke on condition of anonymity because the notification to Congress hasn't been formally sent.

The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against airborne threats, 155 mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 500-pound bombs and more.

The weapons package would add to a record of at least $17.9 billion in military aid that the US has provided Israel since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, launched the war, The AP reported.

The Biden administration has faced criticism over mounting deaths of Palestinian civilians. There have been demonstrations on college campuses and unsuccessful efforts in Congress by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and some Democrats to block sales of offensive weapons to Israel.

The United States paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in May over concerns about civilian casualties if the bombs were to be used during an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Biden administration has demanded that Israel increase humanitarian aid into the enclave. But in November, citing some limited progress, it declined to limit arms transfers as it threatened to do if the situation did not improve.

In recent days, Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Gaza that have killed dozens of people, adding to the tens of thousands of deaths since the war began more than a year ago.

The Israeli army said Friday that it had struck dozens of Hamas gathering points and command centers throughout Gaza. Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times. Winter has now arrived, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents near the sea.

The informal notice to Congress isn’t the final notification before a sale. Now the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can review the package.

News of the weapons sale was first reported by Axios.