Kremlin: Putin Ready to 'Help Resolve' Iran Nuclear Stand-off

FILED - 14 June 2019, Japan, Osaka: US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 G20 summit. Photo: -/White House/dpa
FILED - 14 June 2019, Japan, Osaka: US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 G20 summit. Photo: -/White House/dpa
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Kremlin: Putin Ready to 'Help Resolve' Iran Nuclear Stand-off

FILED - 14 June 2019, Japan, Osaka: US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 G20 summit. Photo: -/White House/dpa
FILED - 14 June 2019, Japan, Osaka: US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 G20 summit. Photo: -/White House/dpa

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to "help resolve" the standoff between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program, the Kremlin said Thursday.

"We have a close partnership with Tehran. And President Putin said that he was ready to use this partnership to help resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

After a call between the leaders on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said Putin had offered to "participate" in talks on Tehran's nuclear program, as Trump accused Iran of "slow-walking" its response to Washington's offer of a deal.

Washington and Tehran have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the nuclear deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

Trump said Monday that his administration would not allow "any" enrichment of uranium, despite Tehran's insistence that it has the right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said earlier Wednesday that Washington's proposal was against Tehran's national interest.

Russia and Iran have deepened their military ties amid Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine.

The Kremlin said earlier this week that Tehran had the "right" to a run a peaceful nuclear energy program.



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.


Road Accident in Nigeria Kills at Least 30 People

FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
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Road Accident in Nigeria Kills at Least 30 People

FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo

At least 30 people have been killed and an unspecified number of people injured in a road accident in northwest Nigeria, authorities said.

The accident occurred Sunday in Kwanar Barde in the Gezawa area of Kano state and was caused by “reckless driving” by the driver of a truck-trailer, Gov. Abba Yusuf said in a statement. He did not specify what other vehicles were involved.

Yusuf described the accident as “heartbreaking and a great loss” to the affected families and the state. He did not provide more details of the accident, said The Associated Press.

Africa’s most populous country recorded 5,421 deaths in 9,570 road accidents in 2024, according to data by the country’s Federal Road Safety Corps.

Experts say a combination of factors including a network of bad roads, lax enforcement of traffic laws and indiscipline by some drivers produce the grim statistics.

In December, boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was in a deadly car crash that injured him and killed Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, two of his friends, in southwest Nigeria.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, Joshua’s driver, was charged with dangerous and reckless driving and his trial is scheduled to begin later this month.

Africa has the highest road fatality rate in the world despite having only about 3% of the world’s vehicles, mainly due to weak enforcement of road laws, poor infrastructure and widespread use of unsafe transport.