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Iran Says Willing to Swap Prisoners with United States

An Iranian woman, wearing a veil, walks next to an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 12 June 2023. (EPA)
An Iranian woman, wearing a veil, walks next to an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 12 June 2023. (EPA)
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Iran Says Willing to Swap Prisoners with United States

An Iranian woman, wearing a veil, walks next to an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 12 June 2023. (EPA)
An Iranian woman, wearing a veil, walks next to an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 12 June 2023. (EPA)

Iran said on Monday it was hoping indirect talks with the United States could lead to a "positive" outcome for a prisoner swap.

Iran announced earlier this month that it was engaged in Oman-mediated talks with its arch-nemesis the United States over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner exchange.

"We are negotiating for the release of Iranian citizens through parties who play a role in good faith," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Monday.

"We have to see if the American government is ready to make a final decision in this regard," he told reporters, adding that Tehran hoped "to witness such a positive event".

At least three Iranian-Americans are being held in Iran, including businessman Siamak Namazi, arrested in October 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage.

The other two are venture capitalist Emad Sharqi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, and Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British nationality, and was jailed for 10 years for "conspiring with America".

In the past two months, Iran released six European citizens and recovered an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was convicted of terrorism and imprisoned in Belgium.

Kanani's comment came following media reports that Washington and Tehran were close to an interim deal to replace the 2015 nuclear accord. The two sides have denied these reports.

Known as the JCPOA, the accord granted Iran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear deal before it collapsed in 2018 after Washington unilateral pullout.

In recent days, the two capitals have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord.

Efforts to revive the accord have so far failed to yield results.

Stop-start talks that began in April last year to restore the nuclear deal have yet to bear fruit.

Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic ties in 1980 following the revolution in Iran.

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World

Israeli Minister Suggests Türkiye Take in Hamas Members from Gaza

FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigade, the military wing of Hamas, stand guard during the hand over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigade, the military wing of Hamas, stand guard during the hand over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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Israeli Minister Suggests Türkiye Take in Hamas Members from Gaza

FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigade, the military wing of Hamas, stand guard during the hand over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Fighters of the Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam brigade, the military wing of Hamas, stand guard during the hand over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Israel's defense minister suggested on Thursday that Türkiye take in Hamas members from Gaza, as he called for the full-scale removal of the war-torn territory's two million people.

The comments by Israel Katz, who is known for his outspoken remarks, came after an increase in tensions between Türkiye and Israel.

"Israel will continue to act to complete its security objectives and ensure that the threat of October 7 cannot return," Katz wrote on X, referring to Hamas's bloody 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Katz added that if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "wants to help his brothers in creed and path in Gaza -- let him invite them to move to Antalya. A lot of space has opened up there in the absence of Israeli tourists".

Antalya, a beach town at the heart of Türkiye's tourism industry, was a top destination for Israelis before relations deteriorated.

Türkiye was the first Muslim-majority nation to recognize Israel but Erdogan is a fierce critic and has allowed Hamas leaders in Istanbul.

In August, Israel bombed an air base in northern Syria and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Türkiye of looking to establish a military presence there.

Türkiye in turn said it had sought an Interpol alert for Netanyahu, accusing him of "genocide".

On Wednesday, Katz said 70 percent of Gaza had already been emptied of its population and that the Israeli military was ready to "finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan".

Earlier this month, he said Israel was prepared to remove Palestinians from Gaza by land and sea but was waiting for a decision from the United States, which he said was discussing where the two million people would go.

Katz had described the migration plan as voluntary.

World

Fewer Migrants but More Deaths on European Sea Route, Says UN

Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
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Fewer Migrants but More Deaths on European Sea Route, Says UN

Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo

Fewer migrants and refugees have tried to make the journey to Europe by sea this year but more have died in the attempt, the UN warned Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 60,000 people had tried to get to Europe by boat so far this year, down 39 percent on the same period last year, AFP reported.

But 2,292 had died, up from 1,999 last year.

"Nearly every death and disappearance at sea is preventable," said IOM Director General Amy Pope, adding that the figures showed people were taking increasingly dangerous journeys.

"The consequences continue long after. Human remains go unidentified, leaving families searching across borders for answers, often for years."

The sharpest drop in arrivals was recorded on the central Mediterranean route to Italy, where the figure of 21,393 was less than half last year's number.

But that route was the most deadly, with fatalities rising from 844 to 996.

The route to Spain via the Atlantic and western Mediterranean was the next most deadly, with 879 people killed.

The IOM warned that the data was likely to be an undercount as shipwrecks and disappearances are often not recorded.

World

India, Pakistan Trade Blame and Protests over Navy Collision

Pakistan and India (file photo)
Pakistan and India (file photo)
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India, Pakistan Trade Blame and Protests over Navy Collision

Pakistan and India (file photo)
Pakistan and India (file photo)

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan traded blame on Wednesday for a collision at sea between two vessels operated by their navies, summoning each other's top diplomats to lodge "strong" protests.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said the incident took place on Tuesday while its navy was conducting a biennial exercise in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

New Delhi meanwhile noted the incident occurred in international waters and "did not cause any major damage".

A senior Indian official said that the incident happened late Tuesday in the north of the Arabian Sea.

"A Pakistan naval ship closed in on a frontline Indian naval warship on a routine surveillance mission...at high speed, maneuvering in a unprofessional and unsafe manner," the official told AFP.

Islamabad meanwhile said that "the Indian vessel carried out aggressive maneuvers in dangerously close proximity of Pakistani naval ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels".

Both countries said they had summoned each other's charge d'affaires.

"A strong protest was lodged with him over the unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy," New Delhi's foreign ministry said in a statement.

For its part, the Pakistani foreign ministry asked India's representative "to convey...that Pakistan strongly rejects this belligerent Indian action."

"Pakistan urges the international community to call upon India to abandon its belligerent posture and refrain from irresponsible actions that could further destabilize South Asia," the foreign ministry said.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan share a deep distrust and have fought multiple wars since gaining independence in 1947, primarily over Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, which both countries claim.

They also have tens of thousands of heavily-armed soldiers deployed all along their long and militarized border.

In May 2025, the two countries fought a deadly four-day conflict after armed gunmen killed over two dozen tourists, mostly Hindus, in Kashmir.

New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan denied.