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.



Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
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Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday suggested North America including the United States could be renamed "Mexican America" - an historic name used on an early map of the region - in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

"Mexican America, that sounds nice," Sheinbaum joked, pointing at the map from 1607 showing an early portrayal of North America.

The president, who has jousted with Trump in recent weeks, used her daily press conference to give a history lesson, flanked by old maps and former culture minister Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.

"The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century... as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent," Suarez del Real said, demonstrating the area on the map.

On the Gulf of Mexico, Suarez del Real said the name was internationally recognized and used as a maritime navigational reference going back hundreds of years.

Trump floated the renaming of the body of water which stretches from Florida to Mexico's Cancun in a Tuesday press conference in which he presented a broad expansionist agenda including the possibility of taking control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Sheinbaum also said it was not true that Mexico was "run by the cartels" as Trump said. "In Mexico, the people are in charge," she said, adding "we are addressing the security problem."

Despite the back and forth, Sheinbaum reiterated that she expected the two countries to have a positive relationship.

"I think there will be a good relationship," she said. "President Trump has his way of communicating."