Belgian Court Sentences 8 over Brussels Terror Attack

The sentencing ended the country's largest-ever criminal trial © JOHN THYS / POOL/AFP
The sentencing ended the country's largest-ever criminal trial © JOHN THYS / POOL/AFP
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Belgian Court Sentences 8 over Brussels Terror Attack

The sentencing ended the country's largest-ever criminal trial © JOHN THYS / POOL/AFP
The sentencing ended the country's largest-ever criminal trial © JOHN THYS / POOL/AFP

A Belgian court on Friday handed out sentences ranging up to life in prison to eight men for the 2016 militant bombings in Brussels, ending the country's largest-ever criminal trial.

The suicide bombings on March 22, 2016 at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system killed 32 people and were claimed by ISIS.

French citizen Salah Abdeslam and Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini -- already sentenced to life in jail by France for a 2015 massacre in Paris -- were the highest-profile of six culprits found guilty of murder in July.

Abrini, who was one of the designated bombers but decided not to blow himself up at the last moment, was given a 30-year jail term.

The court ruled not to give Abdeslam an additional term after he was sentenced in Belgium to 20 years in 2018 over a shootout.

The bombings -- near the headquarters of both NATO and the EU -- were part of a wave of attacks claimed by ISIS in Europe.

Hundreds of travellers and transport staff were maimed and, seven years on many victims, relatives and rescuers remain traumatized by the biggest peacetime attack in Belgium.

Authorities later raised the official death toll from the attacks to 35, after finding a link between the trauma suffered and the later deaths of three more people.

Dozens of wounded survivors and bereaved relatives gave emotional testimony during the months of hearings.

The trial, which started at the end of last year, was held under tight security at the converted former headquarters of the NATO military alliance.

Abdeslam, who turned 34 on Friday, was the sole surviving perpetrator of the 2015 Paris attack that killed 130 people.

He had fled to Brussels after taking part in the Paris attacks and holed up for four months in an apartment hosting members of the local cell.

He was arrested several days before the Brussels bombings took place, but the jury decided he was one of the co-authors of the attack.

A Belgian court turned down a request from the convict to stay in the country to carry out his sentence and he should eventually return to France to serve it.

Abrini was found guilty of being in one of the teams of suicide bombers who targeted Brussels' airport and a metro station.

He testified that he had decided at the last minute not to detonate his explosive at the airport -- as did another defendant, Osama Krayem, a Swede of Syrian descent.

Krayem was handed a life sentence, along with Bilal El Makhoukhi and Oussama Atar.

Atar, a senior commander in ISIS group who headed the militant cell, was tried in absentia because he is presumed to have died in Syria in 2017.

Herve Bayingana Muhirwa, found guilty of "participating in the activities of a terrorist group", was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Tunisian Sofien Ayari, also convicted on that lesser charge, was like Abdeslam not handed additional jail time as the court said sentences in previous cases were sufficient.

The court ruled not to strip any of the convicts of their Belgian nationalities.



Iran Says Seeks ‘Real and Fair’ Deal in Nuclear Talks with US

A man holds an anti-US banner during a rally in support of Gaza, in Tehran, Iran April 11, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A man holds an anti-US banner during a rally in support of Gaza, in Tehran, Iran April 11, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Says Seeks ‘Real and Fair’ Deal in Nuclear Talks with US

A man holds an anti-US banner during a rally in support of Gaza, in Tehran, Iran April 11, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A man holds an anti-US banner during a rally in support of Gaza, in Tehran, Iran April 11, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran seeks a "real and fair" agreement with Washington on its nuclear program, a senior aide to supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Friday, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown this weekend in Oman.

Longtime adversaries Iran and the United States are set to hold talks on Saturday aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran's nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump last month wrote to Khamenei urging negotiations, but warning of possible military action if Iran refuses.

"Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready," Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani posted on X.

He confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was heading to Oman "with full authority for indirect negotiations with America", adding that if Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be "smooth".

Ahead of the talks, Trump reiterated that military action was "absolutely" possible if they failed.

Iran responded by saying Tehran could expel UN nuclear inspectors, prompting another US warning that this would be an "escalation".

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

On Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was "giving diplomacy a genuine chance in good faith and full vigilance".

"America should appreciate this decision, which was made despite their hostile rhetoric," he said.

- 'Stupid actions' -

The talks were first announced by Trump during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.

He said they would be high-level and "direct", but Iran insisted they would be "indirect".

"The talks will be conducted indirectly through the exchange of texts," claimed Iran's Fars news agency, without naming a source.

Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are due to lead the talks in Oman, which has played a mediating role on the Iran nuclear issue.

Witkoff visited Iran's ally Russia on Friday for talks on Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin.

Expert-level consultations between Russia, China and Iran on nuclear issues were held in Moscow on Tuesday, Russia's foreign ministry said.

Iran has in recent months also been talking with the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, Britain, France and Germany.

The 2015 accord saw sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

On Friday, the European Union cautioned that there was "no alternative to diplomacy" on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Germany urged both sides to reach a "diplomatic solution", calling it a "positive development that there is a channel for dialogue between Iran and the United States".

On Thursday, Washington imposed additional sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil network and nuclear program.

Iran's nuclear agency chief Mohammad Eslami downplayed their impact.

"They applied maximum pressure with various sanctions, but they were unable to prevent the country from progressing," he said.

"They still think that they can stop this nation and country with threats and intimidation, psychological operations, or stupid actions."

- 'Threats and intimidation' -

Iran has been in the spotlight since Trump returned to office, and its regional allies have suffered major setbacks.

Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have suffered heavy losses in conflicts with Israel sparked by the Palestinian group's October 2023 attack.

Since the Gaza war began, Iran and Israel have attacked each other directly for the first time.

Warning of military action against Iran should the talks fail, Trump said US ally Israel would "obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that".

Khamenei's adviser Shamkhani said such threats could prompt the expulsion of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors.

"Transfer of enriched materials to secure locations may also be considered," he added of Iran's uranium enrichment activities.

While the West wants to include Iran's ballistic missile program and regional influence in negotiations, Tehran maintains it will talk only about its nuclear program.

"If the American side does not raise irrelevant issues and demands and puts aside threats and intimidation, there is a good possibility of reaching an agreement," deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said.

Hardline Iranian media are skeptical about the talks.

The Kayhan newspaper warned that entering negotiations with the United States in a bid to lift sanctions was a "failed strategy".

During his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions.

Tehran adhered to the deal for a year before rolling back its own commitments.