Iran: Strike on Our Damascus Consulate a ‘Crazy Step’, Washington is Involved

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
TT
20

Iran: Strike on Our Damascus Consulate a ‘Crazy Step’, Washington is Involved

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)

Major General Mohammad Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said on Saturday that the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus is a “crazy move” and that Washington is involved in it, the Arab World Press agency reported on Saturday.
In a speech during the funeral procession of the Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Baqeri said that the retaliation for his killing "will be at the appropriate time and place, and it will make (the enemy) regret their action."

He added saying: "We are the ones who determine the method of retaliation. Israel must know that its days are numbered, and its demise is imminent".
The Iranian consulate in Damascus was bombed on Monday in a strike that killed 13 people, including Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.

 



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)
TT
20

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.