Iran, Oman Discuss Nuclear Talks

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (ONA)
Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (ONA)
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Iran, Oman Discuss Nuclear Talks

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (ONA)
Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani (ONA)

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi discussed with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani the latest developments on the nuclear agreement known as the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" (JCPOA).

The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement carried out by the state-run Agency (ISNA), saying Bagheri-Kani held consultations with Busaidi on regional and bilateral developments and follow-up on the agreements signed during the visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Muscat.

According to Oman News Agency (ONA), the two sides reviewed relations of cooperation between Oman and Iran.

They also discussed several regional and international matters of common interest, particularly the developments regarding the return to the nuclear deal, ONA reported.

The meeting stressed the importance of this deal in maintaining regional security and stability.

This is Bagheri-Kani's second foreign visit within a week, after his unannounced trip to Moscow, in the first diplomatic move after the failure of the latest rounds of talks in Doha.

Earlier, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the Secretary-General of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, on the nuclear negotiations.

Abdollahian said Iran is making no demands outside the parameters of its 2015 nuclear deal, asserting: "We have no requirement which goes beyond the nuclear agreement -- contrary to certain claims by the US party in the media."

He noted that the recent talks in Doha focused on the issue of guarantees, stating: "During the recent talks in Doha, one of the main questions we focused on was an effective guarantee from Washington assuring us of economic advantages linked to the agreement."

Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Abbaszadeh criticized the Iranian Foreign Ministry for the lack of results in the Doha talks.

Abbaszadeh, the spokesman of the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, downplayed Abdollahian's statement about Tehran's "positive" assessment of the last round, noting that the US special envoy to Iran, Rob Malley, described it as a "waste of time."

"We could have worked better in Doha," said the lawmaker, adding: "We did not enter into the Doha talks with a calculated plan and a road map."

"The reason is that our foreign diplomacy apparatus does not have a well-prepared road map in this regard," said Abbaszadeh.



14 Injured in Japan After Stabbing, Liquid Spray Attack, Official Says

This photo taken on November 28, 2025 shows the view from the lobby of a high-rise building in Tokyo. (AFP)
This photo taken on November 28, 2025 shows the view from the lobby of a high-rise building in Tokyo. (AFP)
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14 Injured in Japan After Stabbing, Liquid Spray Attack, Official Says

This photo taken on November 28, 2025 shows the view from the lobby of a high-rise building in Tokyo. (AFP)
This photo taken on November 28, 2025 shows the view from the lobby of a high-rise building in Tokyo. (AFP)

Fourteen people were injured in a stabbing attack in a factory in central Japan during which an unspecified liquid was also sprayed, an emergency services official said on Friday.

"Fourteen people are subject to transportation by emergency services," Tomoharu Sugiyama, a firefighting department official in the city of Mishima, in Shizuoka region, told AFP.

He said a call was received at about 4.30 pm (0730 GMT) from a nearby rubber factory saying "five or six people were stabbed by someone" and that a "spray-like liquid" had also been used.

Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, reported that police had arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder.

The Asahi Shimbun daily quoted investigative sources as saying that the man in his 30s was someone connected to the factory.

He was wearing what appeared to be a gas mask, the newspaper and other media said.

Asahi also said that he was apparently armed with what it described as a survival knife.
NHK said the man told police that he was 38 years old.

The seriousness of the injuries was unknown, although NHK said all victims remained conscious.

Sugiyama said at least six of the 14 victims had been sent to hospital in a fleet of ambulances. The exact nature of the injuries was also unclear.

The factory in Mishima is run by Yokohama Rubber Co., whose business includes manufacturing tires for trucks and buses, according to its corporate website.

Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, which has a low murder rate and some of the world's toughest gun laws.

However, there are occasional stabbing attacks and even shootings, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.

A Japanese man was sentenced to death in October for a shooting and stabbing rampage that killed four people, including two police officers, in 2023.

A 43-year-old man was also charged with attempted murder in May over a knife attack at Tokyo's Toda-mae metro station.

Japan remains shaken by the memory of a major subway attack in 1995 when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas on trains, killing 14 people and making more than 5,800 ill.

On March 20, 1995, five members of the Aum cult dropped bags of Nazi-developed sarin nerve agent inside morning commuter trains on March 20, 1995, piercing the pouches with sharpened umbrella tips before fleeing.


Turkish Authorities Say they Have arrested Suspected ISIS Member Planning New Year's Attacks

File photo: Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
File photo: Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Turkish Authorities Say they Have arrested Suspected ISIS Member Planning New Year's Attacks

File photo: Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
File photo: Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Turkish authorities said Friday that they have apprehended a suspected member of the extremist ISIS group who was planning attacks on New Year's celebrations.

State-run Anadolu Agency reported that Ibrahim Burtakucin was captured in a joint operation carried out by police and the National Intelligence Agency in the southeastern city of Malatya.

Security officials told Anadolu that Burtakucin was in contact with many ISIS sympathizers in Türkiye and abroad and was also looking for an opportunity to join the ongoing fighting in conflict zones.

Authorities also seized digital materials and banned publications belonging to ISIS during the raid of his home.

The arrest was reported a day after Istanbul's prosecutor's office said Turkish authorities carried out simultaneous raids in which they detained over a hundred suspected members of the militant ISIS group who were allegedly planning attacks against Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.


China Sanctions US Defense Firms, Individuals Over Arms Sales to Taiwan

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (AFP)
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China Sanctions US Defense Firms, Individuals Over Arms Sales to Taiwan

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (AFP)

China's foreign ministry announced sanctions on Friday targeting 10 individuals and ​20 US defense firms, including Boeing's St. Louis branch, over arms sales to Taiwan.

The measures freeze any assets the companies and individuals hold in China and bar domestic organizations and individuals from doing business with them, the ministry said.

Individuals on ‌the list, ‌including the founder ‌of ⁠defense firm ​Anduril Industries ‌and nine senior executives from the sanctioned firms, are also banned from entering China, it added.

Other companies targeted include Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and L3Harris Maritime Services.

The move follows Washington's announcement last week of $11.1 ⁠billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ‌ever US weapons package for ‍the island, drawing ‍Beijing's ire.

"The Taiwan issue is the ‍core of China's core interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said ​in a statement on Friday.

"Any provocative actions that cross the line on the Taiwan ⁠issue will be met with a strong response from China," the statement said, urging the US to cease "dangerous" efforts to arm the island.

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as part of its own territory, a claim Taipei rejects.

The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though such arms sales ‌are a persistent source of friction with China.