عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Report: Türkiye’s Erdogan Spoke with Japan’s Kishida to Revive Black Sea Grain Deal

08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
TT
TT

Report: Türkiye’s Erdogan Spoke with Japan’s Kishida to Revive Black Sea Grain Deal

08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi on reviving the Black Sea grain deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.

Russia quit the deal in July - a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye - complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

The sources who spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the summit declined to give more details.

Erdogan had said earlier this week, after talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin, that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal.

He said Ukraine should soften its negotiating position against Russia in talks over reviving the deal and export more grain to Africa rather than Europe.

However, Ukraine on Friday opposed the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive the deal.

Embassies of Türkiye and Japan in New Delhi did not immediately respond to Reuters' emailed requests for comment.

Japan's foreign minister will meet his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv on Saturday, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran FM Says Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach’ Ahead of US Talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations, aside of US-Iran talks in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations, aside of US-Iran talks in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iran FM Says Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach’ Ahead of US Talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations, aside of US-Iran talks in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations, aside of US-Iran talks in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that a nuclear deal was "within reach", ahead of talks with the United States scheduled for later this week.

"We have a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement that addresses mutual concerns and achieves mutual interests," said Araghchi, in a post on the social media site X.

He added that a deal was "within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority."

Tehran and Washington are due to hold a third round of nuclear negotiations on Thursday in Geneva, the latest since talks resumed earlier this month.

The talks will be held against the backdrop of heavy US military deployment in the region in recent weeks and threats by President Donald Trump of a strike if no deal was reached.

Iran has repeatedly said it would respond firmly to any attack and on Monday the foreign ministry that any strike, even limited, "would be regarded as an act of aggression".

In his post, Araghchi said Iran will "under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon" but insisted on its right to "harness dividends of peaceful nuclear technology."

"We have proven that we will stop at nothing to guard our sovereignty with courage," he added.

Iran and the US held five rounds of nuclear talks last year but those negotiations were brought to an end with Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran which triggered a 12-day war.

The US joined briefly with strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran responded at the time with drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as by targeting the largest US military base in the Middle East, which is in Qatar.

Iran has consistently denied any ambition to build a nuclear weapon but defends enriching uranium for civilian energy and research as a sovereign right.

World

Revolutionary Guards Conduct Military Drills in Iran’s South

Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
TT
TT

Revolutionary Guards Conduct Military Drills in Iran’s South

Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, are carrying out drills on the country's southern shores of the Gulf, state media said Tuesday.

"Combined 1404 (2026) exercise of the IRGC Ground Forces has begun," state TV reported, referring to this year in both the Iranian and Gregorian calendars.

The war games are focused on the south coasts but similar drills are happening in other parts of Iran, the report added.

They include drones, vessels, amphibious vehicles, ground-to-sea missiles and rockets as well as artillery, state TV said.

"Very good measures have been designed in various sectors, including missiles, artillery, drones, special forces, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers," Mohammad Karami, commander of IRGC ground forces, told state television.

He said the drills were being conducted "based on the threats that exist", without elaborating.

The drills come after Washington and Tehran concluded two rounds of Oman-mediated talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear program, with further talks set for Thursday.

Washington has repeatedly called for zero uranium enrichment by Iran but has also sought to address its ballistic missile program and support for militant groups in the region, demands Iran has rejected.

Western countries accuse Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to nuclear technology for civilian purposes.

US President Donald Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the Middle East. He once again on Monday threatened Iran with a military attack if a deal is not reached.

Last week, Iranian naval forces conducted another round of military drills in the Gulf and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

World

Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Unrest, Source Says

Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Unrest, Source Says

Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)

A revolutionary court in Tehran has issued a death sentence for an Iranian man accused of "enmity against God", which if confirmed would be the first such sentence linked to mass protests in January, a source close to the man's family said.

The ‌source told Reuters ‌on Tuesday that ‌Iran's ⁠judiciary had not yet ⁠announced the sentence against the man, Mohammad Abbasi, and that Iran's Supreme Court was yet to uphold it.

Abbasi was accused of killing a security officer, ⁠an allegation his family denied, the ‌source ‌said.

Rights groups say thousands of people were ‌killed in a crackdown on ‌the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 revolution.

During the unrest, ‌US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that he could order ⁠military ⁠action if it carried out executions.

The source said the defendant's daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, was handed a 25-year prison sentence over her role in protests.

"The defendants do not have access to the lawyer they wanted, and were given a public defender," the source added.