Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Australia over Gaza Draw Thousands

 A young boy waves his flag among others as people gather in central Sydney for a rally Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, to support Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AP)
A young boy waves his flag among others as people gather in central Sydney for a rally Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, to support Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AP)
TT
20

Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Australia over Gaza Draw Thousands

 A young boy waves his flag among others as people gather in central Sydney for a rally Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, to support Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AP)
A young boy waves his flag among others as people gather in central Sydney for a rally Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, to support Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AP)

Thousands of people attended pro-Palestinian rallies in Australian state capitals on Sunday despite police threats to curb them, amid tensions after the bloody Hamas incursion into Israel eight days ago.

One of the largest rallies was in Sydney, the capital of the country's most populous state of New South Wales, where protest organizer, the Palestine Action Group, said around 5,000 attended. A Reuters witness estimated the crowd to be around 2,000.

Many rally-goers waved Palestine flags and chanted "Free, free Palestine" at the central Sydney event, as hundreds of police patrolled the area and nearby streets.

Police had been considering applying special stop-and-search powers for the first time in almost two decades for people attending the rally, but a Palestine Action Group spokesperson, Amal Naser, said the powers had not been deployed.

The rally was "peaceful so far", Naser said.

Pro-Palestine rallies were also being held on Sunday in state capitals Adelaide and Melbourne, where thousands protested, according to The Guardian Australia.

Countries across the developed world are curbing pro-Palestinian protests out of concern the Israel-Hamas conflict could trigger violence at home. France banned pro-Palestinian protests on Thursday saying they were likely to "generate disturbances to public order".

In Sydney, police arrested three men on Friday outside the Jewish Museum of Australia in Sydney for making Nazi salutes, media reported. Australia's intelligence chief has called for people to tone down rhetoric that could inflame tensions.



Iran FM Araghchi Arrives in Oman Ahead of Nuclear Talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
TT
20

Iran FM Araghchi Arrives in Oman Ahead of Nuclear Talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of negotiations with the US, in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi arrived in Oman on Friday ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides said progress had been made in previous rounds.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X that "Araghchi and his accompanying delegation arrived in Muscat for the third round of Iran-US talks".

Iran's Mehr news agency released a brief video showing the foreign minister disembarking from an Iranian government plane in Muscat.

Baqaei said Araghchi would be leading the delegation of diplomats and technical experts in the indirect discussions with the US side.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the United States in the talks.

The latest round will include expert-level talks on Iran's nuclear program, with Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department's head of policy planning, leading the technical discussions on the US side, the department said.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead the Iranian technical team.

Baqaei wrote on X that Iran's delegation is "resolved to secure our nation's legitimate and lawful right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our program is entirely peaceful".

"Termination of unlawful and inhumane sanctions in an objective and speedy manner is a priority that we seek to achieve," he added.

According to Baqaei, the dialogue will again be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi on Saturday morning.

The meeting follows two earlier rounds of Omani-mediated negotiations in Muscat and Rome starting on April 12.

- Calling for 'goodwill' -

Since his return to office in January, Trump has reimposed sweeping sanctions under his policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.

In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei calling for talks but warning of possible military action if they failed to produce a deal.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Baqaei earlier Friday said "progress in the negotiations requires the demonstration of goodwill, seriousness, and realism by the other side".

Iran will treat Saturday's talks seriously, Araghchi said in a recent interview, "and if the other party also enters seriously, there is potential for progress".

In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal signed three years earlier between Tehran and major world powers. The agreement eased sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

After Trump's pullout, Tehran complied with the agreement for a year before scaling back its compliance.

Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit in the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.

In an interview published by Time Magazine on Friday, Trump said the United States will "lead the pack" in attacking Iran if nuclear talks do not lead to a new deal.

But he expressed hope that an agreement could be reached and said he would be willing to meet Khamenei.