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Iran’s Top Diplomat to Attend ‘Indirect’ Talks with US in Geneva

08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
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Iran’s Top Diplomat to Attend ‘Indirect’ Talks with US in Geneva

08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)

Iran’s top diplomat was traveling from Tehran on Sunday to Geneva where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US will take place, Iranian state media reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week. Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva, the IRNA state-run news agency reported on its Telegram channel.

Similar talks last year broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, that included the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear program. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.

Regional countries have warned that any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.

The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any detail, which Tehran says it will not agree to.

Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but officials however have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the war in June, Iran has been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, just a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Araghchi is also expected to meet with his Swiss and Omani counterparts, as well as the director general of the UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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German Foreign Minister: We Need Deterrence in Face of Nuclear Threats

27 April 2026, Berlin: Johann Wadephul, German Foreign Minister, gives a statement on the military section of Berlin Brandenburg Airport on an aircraft of the air force before his departure to the United Nations in New York. (dpa)
27 April 2026, Berlin: Johann Wadephul, German Foreign Minister, gives a statement on the military section of Berlin Brandenburg Airport on an aircraft of the air force before his departure to the United Nations in New York. (dpa)
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German Foreign Minister: We Need Deterrence in Face of Nuclear Threats

27 April 2026, Berlin: Johann Wadephul, German Foreign Minister, gives a statement on the military section of Berlin Brandenburg Airport on an aircraft of the air force before his departure to the United Nations in New York. (dpa)
27 April 2026, Berlin: Johann Wadephul, German Foreign Minister, gives a statement on the military section of Berlin Brandenburg Airport on an aircraft of the air force before his departure to the United Nations in New York. (dpa)

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that deterrence is needed amid nuclear threats, even as he underscored support for nuclear non-proliferation.

"As long as nuclear threats against ‌us and ‌our partners continue, we ‌will ⁠need a credible ⁠deterrent," he said in a statement ahead of meetings on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that he ⁠is due to attend ‌this ‌week at the United ‌Nations in New York.

He ‌added the conference would seek new ways of safeguarding the treaty's achievements ‌and focus on nuclear disarmament.

France and Germany ⁠last ⁠month announced plans to deepen cooperation on nuclear deterrence, marking a significant shift in defence policy as Europe faces rising threats from Russia and instability linked to the Iran conflict.

World

Too Early to Drop Sanctions Against Iran, Says EU’s von der Leyen

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks the opening press conference of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s executive committee meeting in Berlin, Germany April 27, 2026. (Reuters)
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks the opening press conference of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s executive committee meeting in Berlin, Germany April 27, 2026. (Reuters)
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Too Early to Drop Sanctions Against Iran, Says EU’s von der Leyen

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks the opening press conference of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s executive committee meeting in Berlin, Germany April 27, 2026. (Reuters)
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks the opening press conference of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s executive committee meeting in Berlin, Germany April 27, 2026. (Reuters)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that it was too early to drop sanctions imposed on ‌Iran.

"We think ‌the dropping ‌of ⁠sanctions would be ⁠too early," she said in Berlin at a meeting of the ⁠conservative CDU and ‌its ‌CSU Bavarian sister party, ‌adding that ‌the sanctions were in place due to Iran's suppression of ‌its own population.

"We first have to ⁠see ⁠a change, a fundamental change in Iran for the dropping of sanctions," von der Leyen added.

World

Russia Says Worker at Captured Nuclear Plant Killed in Ukrainian Strike

A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 16, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia Says Worker at Captured Nuclear Plant Killed in Ukrainian Strike

A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 16, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 16, 2023. (Reuters)

A Ukrainian drone strike Monday on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant complex killed a transport worker, the site's Moscow-installed authorities said.

Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused the other of risking a nuclear catastrophe with attacks since it was captured by Russia's forces in 2022.

"Today, a driver was killed in a strike by a Ukrainian armed forces drone on the transport shop floor of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," the plant's press service said on Telegram.

The plant -- which is in cold shutdown -- is close to the front line in southern Ukraine. Its fate is a major sticking point in stalled talks on ending the war.

Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said Sunday that the plant's "power transmission line was disconnected, causing the plant to switch to blackout mode" for an hour and a half.

"This is already the 15th blackout at the Zaporizhzhia NPP since its occupation. Each such incident significantly increases nuclear and radiation safety risks not only for Ukraine, but for Europe in general."

Ukraine on Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Russia of sending drones at the site that he said amounted to "nuclear terrorism".