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.



Nigerian Troops Rescue 13 Kidnap Victims

A Nigerian soldier watches while people are rescued from flooded areas in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
A Nigerian soldier watches while people are rescued from flooded areas in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
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Nigerian Troops Rescue 13 Kidnap Victims

A Nigerian soldier watches while people are rescued from flooded areas in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
A Nigerian soldier watches while people are rescued from flooded areas in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi

Nigeria's army has rescued 13 hostages who were kidnapped in northwest Kaduna state, following a military operation prompted by a tip-off, a government official said on Saturday.

After receiving information that the kidnappers were about to relocate the six men and seven women, the military launched an operation at a camp near Chigulu village, in the Kachia local government area of Kaduna state.

Following a gun battle the bandits fled into the surrounding forest and abandoned their captives, Kaduna's security commissioner Samuel Aruwan said in a statement.

Kidnappings in northern Nigeria, particularly in schools and on highways, have become frequent as criminal gangs seek ransom payments.

Abductions often force families to sell land, cattle, and grain to secure the release of their loved ones.

The freed hostages were taken to a military facility for medical assessment and debriefing before being reunited with their families.