عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

US: Time Appears to be Running Short for Iran to Accept Deal

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. EPA
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. EPA
TT
TT

US: Time Appears to be Running Short for Iran to Accept Deal

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. EPA
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. EPA

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday the negotiations on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran "are pretty much complete at this point."

"There's a deal on the table. They ought to take it," he told reporters in Washington. "Time does appear to be getting very short in terms of being able to get to a deal."

Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington resumed in Vienna with a meeting between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and the EU's Enrique Mora, who coordinates the talks aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal.

Little remains of the deal, which lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. But then-President Donald Trump ditched the deal in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions.

"You’ve heard the president say we’re not going to wait forever for Iran to take this deal," Kirby said.

"I’m not going to slap a label on it and say ‘last ditch,’ but ... we urge Iran to take this deal on the table," he said.

The proposed deal would see Iran agree to stringent controls on its nuclear sector, which it insists has only civilian purposes but is suspected of harboring a secret military program.

In return, Iran would see a gradual lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Russia Condemns ‘Irresponsible’ Talk of Nuclear Weapons for Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Russia Condemns ‘Irresponsible’ Talk of Nuclear Weapons for Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Discussion in the West about arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons is "absolutely irresponsible", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, in response to a report in the New York Times citing unidentified officials who suggested such a possibility.

The New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office.

"Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union. That would be an instant and enormous deterrent. But such a step would be complicated and have serious implications," the newspaper wrote.

Asked about the report, Peskov told reporters: "These are absolutely irresponsible arguments of people who have a poor understanding of reality and who do not feel a shred of responsibility when making such statements. We also note that all of these statements are anonymous."

Earlier, senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said that if the West supplied nuclear weapons to Ukraine then Moscow could consider such a transfer to be tantamount to an attack on Russia, providing grounds for a nuclear response.

Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union after its 1991 collapse, but gave them up under a 1994 agreement, the Budapest Memorandum, in return for security assurances from Russia, the United States and Britain.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last month that as Ukraine had handed over the nuclear weapons, joining NATO was the only way it could deter Russia.

The 33-month Russia-Ukraine war saw escalations on both sides last week, after Ukraine fired US and British missiles into Russia for the first time, with permission from the West, and Moscow responded by launching a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile into Ukraine.

Asked about the risk of a nuclear escalation, Peskov said the West should "listen carefully" to Putin and read Russia's newly updated nuclear doctrine, which lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons.

Separately, Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said Moscow opposes simply freezing the conflict in Ukraine because it needs a "solid and long-term peace" that resolves the core reasons for the crisis.