Japan Offers Iran Assistance to Complete Nuclear Negotiations

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with a group of legislators (Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with a group of legislators (Foreign Ministry)
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Japan Offers Iran Assistance to Complete Nuclear Negotiations

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with a group of legislators (Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with a group of legislators (Foreign Ministry)

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi offered his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, help to push through the stalled talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Amir-Abdollahian discussed bilateral ties and regional and international developments over the phone with his Japanese counterpart.

They also discussed the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington with the aim of a joint return to the nuclear agreement.

The Japanese foreign minister expressed his country's readiness to support the Vienna negotiations, noting Tokyo's satisfaction with the "positive" cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Last month, the IAEA said Iran had given sweeping assurances that it would finally cooperate in a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and reinstall removed monitoring equipment.

Amir-Abdollahian said Iran considers diplomacy and negotiation a way out of regional and global challenges, calling to expand cooperation between Tehran and Tokyo.

He reaffirmed Iran's principled stance on the Ukraine crisis and Tehran's opposition to the war.

Japan failed to mediate between the US and Iran to reduce tensions after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.

Several negotiations failed to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in the Austrian capital, Vienna.

The agreement imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Tehran gradually violated the regulations of its nuclear program under the deal.

Since last September, indirect talks have stopped between Tehran and the administration of US President Joe Biden to revive the agreement.

Israel has recently intensified its threats to take military action against Tehran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran denies it aims to develop atomic weapons.

Last month, press reports stated that Israel had informed the US administration and several European countries that it might launch a military strike against Iran if it enriched uranium above 60 percent.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.