EU, US Say They’re Studying Iran’s Response to Nuclear Proposal

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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EU, US Say They’re Studying Iran’s Response to Nuclear Proposal

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

The European Union and United States said on Tuesday they were studying Iran's response to what the EU has called its "final" proposal to save a 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran called on Washington to show flexibility.

A US State Department spokesperson said the United States was sharing its views on Iran's response with the European Union after receiving Tehran's comments from the bloc.

"For the moment, we are studying it and we are consulting with the other JCPOA participants and the US on the way forward," an EU spokesperson told reporters in Brussels, referring to the nuclear deal by the official abbreviation JCPOA.

She declined to give a time frame for any reaction from the EU.

After 16 months of fitful, indirect US-Iranian talks, with the EU shuttling between the parties, a senior EU official said on Aug. 8 the bloc had laid down a "final" offer and expected a response within a "very, very few weeks".

Iran responded to the proposal late on Monday but none of the parties provided any details.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's foreign minister called on the US to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues, suggesting Tehran's response would not be a final acceptance or rejection.

Washington has said it is ready to quickly seal a deal to restore the 2015 accord on the basis of the EU proposals.

Diplomats and officials have told Reuters that whether or not Tehran and Washington accept the EU's "final" offer, neither is likely to declare the pact dead because keeping it alive serves both sides' interests.

The stakes are high, since failure in the nuclear negotiations would carry the risk of a fresh regional war, with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran, which has long denied having such ambitions, has warned of a "crushing" response to any Israeli attack.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, spurring Tehran to begin breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.



Kyiv Hit Russian Military Plant Using Ukrainian-Made Missile, Says Zelensky

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
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Kyiv Hit Russian Military Plant Using Ukrainian-Made Missile, Says Zelensky

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)

Kyiv struck a Russian military facility several hundred miles east of Moscow with Ukrainian-produced missiles overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, marking a rare deployment his country's flagship weapon.

It was the latest in an increasing number of strikes on Russian territory carried out by Kyiv, more than four years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Last night Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingos struck a military plant in Cheboksary that supplies the occupier's army with components for drones and missiles," Zelensky said.

He published footage purporting to show a missile flying toward its target, and plumes of smoke rising over Russian facilities.

Cheboksary is the main city in Russia's central Chuvashia region, located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from the Ukrainian border.

The regional governor, Oleg Nikolayev, confirmed the city had been hit.

"Early this morning, Cheboksary came under rocket attack. We are working to determine the number of casualties and the extent of damage to infrastructure," Nikolayev said on Telegram.

Ukraine also hit an oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, as well as a Russian tanker in the Black Sea, its General Staff said.

Ukraine has developed its own missile called Flamingo but its use remains relatively rare.


Netanyahu to Run for Re-Election, His Party Says, After Trump Raises Doubts

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
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Netanyahu to Run for Re-Election, His Party Says, After Trump Raises Doubts

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)

Benjamin Netanyahu will seek re-election this year, his party announced on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump said he wasn't sure if the Israeli prime minister would stand again.

In a brief statement, Netanyahu's Likud Party said he would run in the election and, “God willing, he would win”. The election has not yet been formally announced but must be held by October.

Earlier, ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl posted on X that Trump had told him ‌he did ‌not know if Netanyahu would stand.

"I don't know, ‌he's ⁠had an amazing ⁠career. Does he want to continue?" the journalist quoted Trump as saying.

The Israeli election will be the first since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the country's worst security failure, which precipitated Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has faced a tumultuous term since returning to power in December ⁠2022 at the helm of the most ‌right-wing coalition in Israeli history. He ‌faced mass anti-government protests before the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and ‌Iran.

Polls have repeatedly indicated that his coalition would fail to ‌win a majority in the next election. A poll published by the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute think tank on June 9 said that 61% of the Israeli public believe he should not run.

However, ‌polls also show that a potential coalition of opposition parties would fall short of a ⁠parliamentary ⁠majority unless they form a coalition with Arab parties, which some opposition leaders have ruled out.

US and Israeli officials say Trump and Netanyahu, who launched the Iran war together in February, still have a close relationship, though it has at times seen strain, including in recent weeks as Trump has demanded Israel curb military action in Lebanon while Washington negotiates a peace deal with Tehran.

Last week, Trump acknowledged calling Netanyahu "[expletive] crazy" in a hot-tempered phone call, though he also said they get along well. He has repeatedly called on Israel's president to pardon Netanyahu over outstanding corruption charges that Netanyahu denies.


Iran Says US Strikes Damage Diplomatic Efforts

Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Says US Strikes Damage Diplomatic Efforts

Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States had damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war, after more US strikes on targets in southern Iran.

"Unfortunately, the United States is damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, in a video message carried by Iranian media.

"Any diplomatic process is damaged by the use of force and by resorting to unlawful actions on the ground."

The worst bout of fighting between Washington and Tehran since their April 8 ceasefire has cast further doubt on US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that negotiations were in their "final throes" before reaching an enduring settlement to end the Middle East war.