Biden Unwilling to ‘Make Concessions’ on Iran

US President Joe Biden. Reuters
US President Joe Biden. Reuters
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Biden Unwilling to ‘Make Concessions’ on Iran

US President Joe Biden. Reuters
US President Joe Biden. Reuters

US President Joe Biden has stressed that “it’s premature” to know whether the indirect talks between the US and Iran will result in mutual compliance with the nuclear deal. However, he stressed that he has no intention of “making concessions.”

“We do not support and do not think it’s at all helpful that Iran is saying it’s going to move to enrich to 60 percent,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga in Washington.

He added, “it is contrary to the agreement.”

“We are, though, nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions — in direct discussions with us and with our — our partners on how we move forward and what is needed to allow us to move back into the JOPCA, and so that we are a part of it again — that we should have never gotten out of, in my view — without us making concessions that I’m — we’re just not willing to make.”

“And so the discussions are underway. I think it’s premature to make a judgement as to what the outcome will be, but we’re still talking,” he stressed.

American officials hinted that the new US Envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, expressed readiness to lift 700 sanctions of 1,500 sanctions imposed by the former US administration.

However, these leaks weren’t confirmed by officials responsible for negotiations with Iran.

Biden sees that Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign has failed.

“We take seriously Iran’s provocative announcement of its intention to begin enriching uranium to 60 percent, which the P5+1 should be unified in rejecting,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

She added that “this step both calls into question Iran’s seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance.”

Commenting on the Vienna Talks, Psaki reiterated that they are going “to be difficult, to be long, we still feel that they are a step forward in moving towards — you know, leading with diplomacy to find a path forward."



Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday expressed "full support" for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and more recently the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added.

"The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs."

The UN Security Council is to meet Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis between Venezuela and the United States after a request from Caracas, backed by China and Russia.

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats Washington said, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed, some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

US President Donald Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump has claimed Caracas under Maduro is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."


Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
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Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of the ISIS terror group in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, allegedly thwarting planned suicide attacks in Türkiye and elsewhere, Türkiye's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Anadolu Agency said the suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren and a member of the group's Afghanistan-based ISIS-Khorasan branch. He was caught in a covert operation and transferred to Türkiye.

It was not clear when the operation took place or whether Afghan and Pakistani authorities were involved.

The report said the Turkish citizen allegedly rose within the organization’s ranks and was given the task of carrying out suicide bombings in Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Europe.

ISIS has carried out deadly attacks in Türkiye, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

Monday's report said Goren’s capture allegedly also exposed the group's recruitment methods and provided intelligence on its planned activities.


Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

A Norwegian-Iranian dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, Norway's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that a Norwegian citizen has been arrested in Iran, but due to our obligation to respect confidentiality we cannot provide further details," ministry spokesman Mathias Rongved said in an email.

He confirmed the individual was a dual Norwegian-Iranian national and noted the government advises against travel to Iran.

On its website, the Norwegian government states that Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, and it is "therefore very difficult -- virtually impossible -- for the embassy to assist Norwegian-Iranian citizens if they are imprisoned in Iran".

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) identified the dual national as Shahin Mahmoudi, born in 1979.

It said she was arrested on December 14 after being ordered to report to authorities in Saqqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

She is being held at a detention center in Sanandaj, it added.

HRANA said her family had not been informed of the reason for her arrest nor had they received any news of her health and well-being.