Tehran Insists on Lifting ‘All Arms Sanctions’ Despite Faltering Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani during a ceremony to unveil the “Mohajer-10” drone last month (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani during a ceremony to unveil the “Mohajer-10” drone last month (Iranian Presidency)
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Tehran Insists on Lifting ‘All Arms Sanctions’ Despite Faltering Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani during a ceremony to unveil the “Mohajer-10” drone last month (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani during a ceremony to unveil the “Mohajer-10” drone last month (Iranian Presidency)

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Wednesday that all sanctions on Iranian armaments were set to expire on Oct. 18.

He also expressed his ministry’s readiness to “establish and expand defense and strategic ties with all independent countries..., especially regional neighbors and Muslim nations based on the principle of collective security, mutual respect and consolidation of peace and stability,” Fars Agency reported.

Earlier this week, the commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force, Alireza Sabahifard, made similar statements, declaring Iran’s readiness for military cooperation with countries in the region.

Press reports last June noted that Tehran had received separate information from the European Union and the three European Troika regarding plans to maintain sanctions on ballistic missiles and drones, some of which expire according to the nuclear agreement’s schedule in October.

The EU decision is based on three factors: Russia’s use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war, the possibility of Iran transferring ballistic missiles to Russia, and Tehran’s violation of the nuclear deal.

The Financial Times, citing informed sources, reported on Aug. 16 that the United States was exerting pressure on Iran to stop selling armed drones to Russia, as part of discussions on a limited understanding.

Last month, Washington and Tehran concluded a prisoner exchange agreement, which includes the release of Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea. Reports stated that there was a broader “unwritten understanding” between the two sides to ease tension, in return for Tehran reducing in uranium production.

Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent is now at 121.6 kilos, which is equivalent to the amount required to develop three bombs. According to experts, the stock may decrease if enrichment is raised to about 90 percent.



Iran Vows to Respond to Deaths of Two Revolutionary Guards in Syria

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
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Iran Vows to Respond to Deaths of Two Revolutionary Guards in Syria

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)

Iran will respond to attacks on its interests in Syria, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday when asked about the killing by Israel of two Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria last week.

“No action against Iran’s interests and our advisory forces in Syria will go unanswered,” Reuters quoted Kanaani saying.

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported on December 2, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza.


Erdogan: Netanyahu will be Tried as War Criminal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
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Erdogan: Netanyahu will be Tried as War Criminal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be tried as a war criminal over Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan said that Gaza is Palestinian land and will always belong to the Palestinians.

His comments came during a speech to a meeting of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) committee in Istanbul.


White House Says Nearly Out of Money to Help Ukraine Fight War with Russia

FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
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White House Says Nearly Out of Money to Help Ukraine Fight War with Russia

FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

White House budget director Shalanda Young warned in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders on Monday that the United States was running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia.
President Joe Biden's administration in October asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.
Republicans control the House of Representatives with a slim majority, and funding for Ukraine has become politically controversial with some right-leaning lawmakers.
Young said in a letter released by the White House that cutting off funding and a flow of weapons to Ukraine would increase the likelihood of Russian victories.

Russia launched 23 drones and a cruise missile overnight on Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said on Monday, adding that its air defense systems destroyed the missile and 18 of the drones before they reached their targets.
Anti-aircraft defense was deployed in at least 9 regions of Ukraine, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
The air force did not provide details on what happened to the drones that were not destroyed or whether there was any damage in result of the attack.


Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
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Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned of the expansion of the war amid the renewed Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying that the region will enter a new phase "through resistance forces."

On Sunday, the foreign minister made the remarks during a press conferen with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi in Tehran.

The two ministers discussed the recent developments in Gaza amid reports about a possible Oman mediation in the Iranian nuclear program.

Amirabdollahian said that the new phase of the Israeli attacks on Gaza began with the presence of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the ministerial meeting of the Zionist entity.

He added that the US must bear the consequences of this hypocritical behavior in supporting Israel, saying Washington claims it recommends Israel does not kill civilians while granting it the green light for genocide.

For more than 50 days, "we have been following the developments in Palestine to return stability and security in the region and stop the killing and genocide of the Zionist regime in Gaza," he said.

The leaders of the resistance warned that if the Israeli attacks continue, the region will enter a new phase, he indicated, warning that the killing of children and women must stop before it is too late.

He asserted that Iran never wanted the war to expand, but the warmongers in the region were strongly warned to stop their support for Israeli crimes.

He said that there is documented evidence that the Zionist regime is seeking to displace people in the Gaza Strip forcibly.

"In a part of the documents that were seized by the Resistance forces during the al-Aqsa Storm operation and in a part of the laptops that were captured, this hypothesis has been proven that the Israeli regime seeks to relocate all the residents of Gaza to a part of the territory and land of Egypt, and it seeks to transfer the residents of the West Bank to parts of Jordan," he noted.

"We hope that our brothers in Egypt will take immediate and serious action to reopen the Rafah border crossing and prevent this Israeli conspiracy against the territorial integrity of Jordan and Egypt."

- Discussing nuclear power

Earlier, the official IRNA agency reported that the two ministers were scheduled to discuss developing cooperation, achieving a ceasefire in the Strip, and delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Ahead of his visit to Tehran, Busaidi and his Iranian counterpart discussed over the phone Israel's resumption of war crimes in Gaza without any regard to the international community and global public opinion.

Busaidi warned against the outbreak of war and its expansion in the region, stressing the necessity of establishing a sustainable truce, sending humanitarian aid on a large scale, and establishing an effective international action.

Iranian media expected Busaidi's visit to Tehran to be within the context of exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington to prevent the expansion of tension in the region.

During the past two months, Iranian officials welcomed an Omani initiative proposed by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

However, they noted it was not a new agreement or a new plan but rather a practical initiative to converge views between Washington and Tehran and the return of all parties to the 2015 agreement.

Last week, the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said in press statements that talks with Iran might require a new framework rather than an attempt to revive the 2015 accord.

- Borrell urges Tehran to cooperate constructively

The nuclear agreement was part of the telephone conversation between Amirabdollahian and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

The Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that Amirabdollahian called on Borrell to stop the Israeli military attacks on the Strip and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

The Iranian diplomat repeated previous warnings against displacing Palestinians and warned of the possibility of expanding the war in the region.

The two officials also addressed Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency's cooperation, and Amirabdollahian noted that the "cooperation will continue within a technical and legal framework."

Borrell expressed hope that constructive cooperation between Iran and the IAEA will continue.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi defended his country's positions in the Gaza war.

Speaking on Sunday at the "Second National Conference on Responsibility for the Implementation of the Constitution," Raisi said Iran's support for Gaza and Palestine is wholly based on the constitution's principles, which considers the protection of the oppressed as one of its duties.

"Since the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, one of the basic principles and approaches of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to support the rights of the Palestinian people and to recognize this issue as the first issue of the Islamic world."

He asserted that the principle is still standing and that global political developments will not change the primary direction of foreign policy.

Raisi reiterated that 6,000 children killed by the "Zionist usurpers will bring down this fake, cruel and usurping regime."


SKorea Flies Solid-fuel Rocket amid Space Race with NKorea

A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023.   The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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SKorea Flies Solid-fuel Rocket amid Space Race with NKorea

A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023.   The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

South Korea on Monday successfully conducted a flight of a solid-fuel rocket carrying a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island, the defense ministry said, amid a growing space race with neighboring North Korea.
It was the third successful test of the rocket's technology after two others in March and December 2022.
The launch on Monday involved technology developed at the state-run Agency for Defense Development, and a booster and satellite produced by South Korea's Hanwha Systems, the ministry said in a statement.
Hanwha Systems said the satellite, which will be used for civilian purposes including environmental monitoring, had successfully sent signals to the ground control center, Reuters reported.
The ministry hailed the launch as achieving a milestone just after Pyongyang launched its first military spy satellite, which the United States and its allies have condemned for using missile technology contravening UN security resolution.
South Korea's successful launch will enable the country to accelerate its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the ministry said.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried South Korea's first spy satellite into orbit on Friday from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
North Korea on Monday denounced what it called Washington's "double standard" over the two Koreas' satellite launches and said such "brigandish" American standards would never be tolerated.
"North Korea will ... continue to pursue the important mission of establishing aerospace surveillance capabilities to thoroughly monitor and control military moves by the United States and other hostile forces," the North's space agency said in a statement carried by state media outlet KCNA.
Last month, North Korea launched its own military reconnaissance satellite, with leader Kim Jong Un receiving photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers at a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, according to state media.
A functioning reconnaissance satellite could allow North Korea to remotely monitor US, South Korean, and Japanese troops. South Korea's satellites would reduce its dependence on American intelligence systems.


Iran Denies its Funds in Qatar were Frozen

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
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Iran Denies its Funds in Qatar were Frozen

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)

The Central Bank of Iran has denied that there are restrictions on the $6 billion Iranian funds that were transferred to Qatari banks.

Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said Sunday that the funds "are not frozen at all", confirming that their transfer is "in process".

His remarks came three days after the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan measure that would block Iran from ever accessing the $6 billion recently transferred by the US in a prisoner swap.

The measure — titled the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act — passed 307-119 as Republicans sought to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they call their complicity in funding Iranian-backed terrorism in the Middle East.

The bill will have to pass the Senate, which is not likely given the Democratic majority in the upper chamber.

The new resolution would impose new sanctions on the funds to prevent the transfer of any money to Iran. It also threatens to sanction any government or individual involved in processing the transfer of the funds.

The US and Iran reached a tentative agreement in August that eventually saw the release of five detained Americans in Tehran and an unknown number of Iranians imprisoned in the US after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets were transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar.

But days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the US and Qatar agreed that Iran would not be able to access the money in the meantime, with officials stopping short of a full refreezing of the funds.

US officials rebuffed the criticism pointed at the deal following the attack by Hamas on Israel, noting that not a single dollar has yet to be made available to Iran and insisting that when it is, it can only be used for humanitarian needs.

High-ranking US officials have sought to defend the decision to negotiate with Iran despite its track record of supporting terrorism against the US and its allies. But officials have also conceded that Iran’s influence over the various militant groups is undeniable.


11 Bodies Recovered after Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
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11 Bodies Recovered after Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)

The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday a day after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano in West Sumatra as Indonesian rescuers searched for 12 apparently still missing.
Marapi has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above normal volcanic activity and prohibiting climbers or villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
“This means that there should be no climbing to the peak,” Gunawan said, adding that climbers were only allowed below the danger zone, "but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further.”
About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burns and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital.
All of the climbers had registered at two command posts or online through West Sumatra’s conservation agency before they climbed, Agustian said. It was possible others took illegal roads or local residents were active in the area, but it couldn't be confirmed, he said.
Marapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in Sunday's eruption and hot ash clouds spread several miles (kilometers). Nearby villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. Volcanic dust and rain smeared the faces and hair of evacuated climbers, according to video on social media.
Falling ash blanketed several villages and blocked sunlight, and authorities distributed masks and urged residents to wear eyeglasses to protect them from volcanic ash. About 1,400 people live on Marapi’s slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages about 5 to 6 kilometers (3.1 to 3.7 miles) from the peak.

West Sumatra’s Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said rescuers found 11 bodies of climbers as they searched for those who still missing and rescued three others Monday morning.


Paris Attack Near Eiffel Tower Leaves German Tourist Dead, 2 Hurt

Forensic police work at the scene of a stabbing in Paris on December 2, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
Forensic police work at the scene of a stabbing in Paris on December 2, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
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Paris Attack Near Eiffel Tower Leaves German Tourist Dead, 2 Hurt

Forensic police work at the scene of a stabbing in Paris on December 2, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
Forensic police work at the scene of a stabbing in Paris on December 2, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

A German tourist died and two other people, including a British citizen, were hurt after an attack by a man armed with a knife and hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President Emmanuel Macron described as "a terrorist attack".
Police quickly arrested the 26-year-old man, a French national, after subduing him with a Taser stun gun, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Saturday.
The suspect had in 2016 been sentenced to four years in prison for planning another attack, and had been on the French security services' watch list, the minister said, adding that he was also known for having psychiatric disorders.
The man attacked a tourist couple on Saturday evening with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, a few feet from the Eiffel Tower, mortally wounding the German national.
He was then chased by police and attacked two other people with a hammer, including the Briton, before being arrested.
"We are supporting a British man who was injured in Paris and are in contact with the local authorities," said a spokesperson for the British foreign ministry.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X that he was "shocked" by the attack.
France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.
The attack in central Paris comes less than eight months before the French capital is due to host the Olympic Games and could raise questions about security at the global sporting event.


UK to Start Gaza Surveillance Flights to Help Find Hostages

British servicemen hold Union Jack after the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) military exercise Baltic Protector 2019 in the former Soviet military town near Skrunda, Latvia July 2, 2019. FILE: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Acquire Licensing Rights
British servicemen hold Union Jack after the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) military exercise Baltic Protector 2019 in the former Soviet military town near Skrunda, Latvia July 2, 2019. FILE: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Acquire Licensing Rights
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UK to Start Gaza Surveillance Flights to Help Find Hostages

British servicemen hold Union Jack after the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) military exercise Baltic Protector 2019 in the former Soviet military town near Skrunda, Latvia July 2, 2019. FILE: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Acquire Licensing Rights
British servicemen hold Union Jack after the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) military exercise Baltic Protector 2019 in the former Soviet military town near Skrunda, Latvia July 2, 2019. FILE: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Acquire Licensing Rights

The UK's military will conduct surveillance flights over Gaza to help locate hostages held by Hamas since its October 7 attack on Israel, Britain's defense ministry confirmed at the weekend.

Hamas fighters seized around 240 Israelis and foreign hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Around 110 have since been freed, mainly during a recent week-long truce, AFP reported.

Israel's military said on Friday it had resumed fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory, blaming Hamas. The resumption of combat has frustrated hopes for the swift release of the more than 130 captives the Israeli army has said are still being held in Gaza.

The UK has said at least 12 British nationals were killed in the October 7 attacks -- in which Israeli officials say about 1,200 people died, mostly civilians -- and that a further five are still missing.

But it has not confirmed how many are being held by Hamas.

Israel responded to the October 7 attack by vowing to eliminate the militant group and its subsequent relentless air and ground campaign has killed more than 15,000 people, also mostly civilians.

London did not reveal when its military surveillance flights over the territory would start but stressed they would be unarmed and focused only on hostage recovery efforts.

"In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the UK Ministry of Defense will conduct surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza," it said in a statement.

"Surveillance aircraft will be unarmed, do not have a combat role, and will be tasked solely to locate hostages," the ministry added.

"Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue."

UK government minister Victoria Atkins told the BBC on Sunday that the aircraft to be utilized were "unarmed and unmanned drones".

Alongside the United States, the UK in October deployed various military assets to the eastern Mediterranean to deter "any malign interference in the conflict".

That included maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft as well as a Royal Navy task group moving to the region, the defense ministry said at the time.


About 190 Migrants Rescued in English Channel over Weekend

French Gendarme officers look on as migrants are evacuated from a makeshift camp to reception centers during a sheltering operation by the local prefecture in Loon-Plage, northern France on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
French Gendarme officers look on as migrants are evacuated from a makeshift camp to reception centers during a sheltering operation by the local prefecture in Loon-Plage, northern France on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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About 190 Migrants Rescued in English Channel over Weekend

French Gendarme officers look on as migrants are evacuated from a makeshift camp to reception centers during a sheltering operation by the local prefecture in Loon-Plage, northern France on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
French Gendarme officers look on as migrants are evacuated from a makeshift camp to reception centers during a sheltering operation by the local prefecture in Loon-Plage, northern France on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Some 190 migrants have been rescued off the Calais coast in northern France since Friday night while trying to cross the English Channel on dinghies to reach Britain, local French authorities said on Saturday, without specifying from where those migrants had come.

The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach British shores.