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Russian, Iranian Presidents Meet as Concerns Grow over Escalating Middle East Attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the International Forum "The Interconnection of Times and Civilizations - the basis of peace and development" dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Alexander Shcherbak, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the International Forum "The Interconnection of Times and Civilizations - the basis of peace and development" dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Alexander Shcherbak, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Russian, Iranian Presidents Meet as Concerns Grow over Escalating Middle East Attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the International Forum "The Interconnection of Times and Civilizations - the basis of peace and development" dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Alexander Shcherbak, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the International Forum "The Interconnection of Times and Civilizations - the basis of peace and development" dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Alexander Shcherbak, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s president on Friday, at a time when Tehran is supplying weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine and concerns are growing over escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its militant allies.

Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed the situation in the Middle East on the sidelines of an international forum in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, Russian state media said.

Moscow and Tehran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Iran to export drones to Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the US also believes it has transferred short-range ballistic missiles, The AP reported.

Both countries were accused this week by Ken McCallum, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, of carrying out a “staggering” rise in attempts at assassination, sabotage and other crimes on UK soil. McCallum said his agents and police have tackled 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by Iran since 2022 and warned that it could expand its targets in the UK if conflicts in the Middle East deepen.

During the two presidents' meeting, Putin told Pezeshkian that Moscow and Tehran's positions on international events are often very close, according to Russian state news agency Tass. He also invited the Iranian leader to visit Russia and Pezeshkian accepted, Tass said.

“We have many opportunities now, and we must help each other in our relationships. Our principles, our positions in the international arena are similar to yours,” Pezeshkian said at the start of his meeting with Putin.

Pezeshkian said that Israel's “savage attacks,” on Lebanon are “beyond description.” The Israeli military sent ground troops into southern Lebanon and is carrying out airstrikes in the country.

Speaking Friday as the forum opened, Putin said he wants to create a “new world order” of Moscow’s allies to counter the West, according to video provided by the Kremlin.

The conference is being attended by other regional leaders including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and the heads of the other Central Asian nations, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Putin is also expected to hold talks with the Turkmen president, Serdar Berdymukhamedov.

Berdymukhamedov was elected in March 2022 to succeed his father, Gurbanguly, who had run the gas-rich country since 2006.

Turkmenistan has remained largely isolated under autocratic rulers since it became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Biden Signs Bill That Averts Govt Shutdown Ending Days of Washington Upheaval

United States President Joe Biden participates in a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, 20 December 2024. (EPA)
United States President Joe Biden participates in a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, 20 December 2024. (EPA)
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Biden Signs Bill That Averts Govt Shutdown Ending Days of Washington Upheaval

United States President Joe Biden participates in a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, 20 December 2024. (EPA)
United States President Joe Biden participates in a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, 20 December 2024. (EPA)

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Saturday that averts a government shutdown, bringing a final close to days of upheaval after Congress approved a temporary funding plan just past the deadline and refused President-elect Donald Trump’s core debt demands in the package.

The deal funds the government at current levels through March 14 and provides $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had insisted lawmakers would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to close. But the outcome at the end of a tumultuous week was uncertain after Trump had insisted the deal include an increase in the government's borrowing limit. If not, he had said, then let the closures “start now.”

Johnson's revised plan was approved 366-34, and it was passed by the Senate by a 85-11 vote after midnight. By then, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.

“There will be no government shutdown,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Johnson, who had spoken to Trump after the House vote, said the compromise was "a good outcome for the country” and that the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. The difficulties raised questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry Republican colleagues, and work alongside Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who was calling the legislative plays from afar.

The House is scheduled to elect the next speaker on Jan. 3, 2025, when the new Congress convenes. Republicans will have an exceedingly narrow majority, 220-215, leaving Johnson little margin for error as he tries to win the speaker's gavel.

One House Republican, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, criticized Republicans for the deficit spending in the bill and said he was now “undecided” about the GOP leadership. Others are signaling unhappiness with Johnson as well.

Yet Trump's last-minute debt limit demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around that pressure. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the slim Republican majority alone to pass any funding package because many Republican deficit hawks prefer to cut the federal government and would not allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate in the new year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

The federal debt stands at roughly $36 trillion, and the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will exceed spending on national security. The last time lawmakers raised the debt limit was June 2023. Rather than raise the limit by a dollar amount, lawmakers suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025.

There is no need to raise that limit right now because the Treasury Department can begin using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to ensure that America does not default on its debts. Some estimate these accounting maneuvers could push the default deadline to the summer of 2025. But that’s what Trump wanted to avoid because an increase would be needed while he was president.

GOP leaders said the debt ceiling would be debated as part of tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It was essentially the same deal that flopped Thursday night — minus Trump’s debt demand. But it's far smaller than the original deal Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.