Israel's Defense Chief Travels to Azerbaijan, Reaffirming Shared Opposition to Iran

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
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Israel's Defense Chief Travels to Azerbaijan, Reaffirming Shared Opposition to Iran

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)

Israel's defense minister visited Azerbaijan on Thursday, seeking to strengthen ties between countries with shared opposition to Iran.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Azerbaijani officials agreed to work together to deter threats from Iran, the Israeli Defense Ministry said. Israel views Iran as its archenemy, while Azerbaijan, which borders Iran to the north, also has a rocky relationship with Iran, The Associated Press said.
“We have many shared challenges - in particular the fight against terrorism – which not only threatens national security, but also aims to destabilize the region,” Gallant said in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “Together, we may further deepen the ties between our countries and strengthen the cooperation between our defense establishments and our forces.”
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing Iran's calls for Israel's destruction and its support of hostile militant groups. It also accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb — a claim that Iran denies.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iran, and Iran has accused Israel of involvement in a series of mysterious attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists and installations. On Thursday, Gallant said that Israel recently allocated billions to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Azerbaijan accuses Iran of supporting extremists who tried to overthrow the government in Baku, a charge Iran also denies.
Relations between Tehran and Baku have soured further this year. In May, Iran expelled four Azeri diplomats, a month after Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats. In January, a gunman stormed Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran’s capital, killing its security chief and wounding two guards.
In March, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel in another sign of warming ties.



Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a minerals deal considered central to ending Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Kyiv and Washington are both interested in US access to Ukraine's undersoil riches, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said any such deal must involve concrete security guarantees.

"Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement. The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized," deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

"We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington (at) the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come."

Trump has said Ukraine should give the US $500 billion in critical raw materials as payback for aid which Kyiv has already received from the previous Joe Biden administration.

Zelenskiy said this week Washington had supplied his country with $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in direct budget support, and that he will not acknowledge Biden-supplied aid as loan.

Zelenskiy refused to sign an initial draft deal earlier this month, sparking frustration in the White House. Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday they expected an agreement would be signed this week.