Iran Says It Is Open to Talks but Rejects Pressure as US, EU Impose Sanctions

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Iran Says It Is Open to Talks but Rejects Pressure as US, EU Impose Sanctions

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Iran's foreign minister said that Tehran was open to diplomacy to solve disputes but not "threats and pressure", state media reported on Saturday, after the US and three European powers imposed sanctions against the country's aviation sector.

Abbas Araqchi's comments come a day after The European Union's chief diplomat said the bloc is considering new sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector, in reaction to reports Tehran supplied Russia with ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine, Reuters reported.

"Iran continues on its own path with strength, although we have always been open to talks to resolve disputes ... but dialogue should be based on mutual respect, not on threats and pressure," Araqchi said, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran had not delivered any ballistic missiles to Russia and sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and three European powers would not solve any problems between them.

The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.



Türkiye Arrests Suspected Istanbul Church Attack Planner Linked to ISIS

Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye Arrests Suspected Istanbul Church Attack Planner Linked to ISIS

Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)

Turkish authorities have arrested ISIS militant believed to be involved in planning an attack on the Santa Maria Italian Church in Istanbul earlier this year, the country's intelligence agency said on Saturday.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said the suspect, whom it identified as Viskhan Soltamatov, was believed to be the key figure behind the Jan. 28, 2024 attack. He was detained by MIT and police during a joint operation in Istanbul, the agency said, Reuters reported.

MIT said Soltamatov was also believed to have supplied the weapon used in the assault.

One Turkish citizen was killed by two ISIS gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January.

The church attack was orchestrated by ISIS-linked operatives from the group's Khorasan Province (ISKP), a faction active in Afghanistan. In April, Türkiye had arrested 48 people believed to be linked to the attack.