عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Italian Prime Minister Meloni Meets with Trump at His Florida Resort

A handout picture made available by the Chigi Palace (Palazzo Chigi) Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 04 January 2025 (issued 05 January 2025). (EPA/ Filippo Attili/ Chigi Palace Press Office Handout)
A handout picture made available by the Chigi Palace (Palazzo Chigi) Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 04 January 2025 (issued 05 January 2025). (EPA/ Filippo Attili/ Chigi Palace Press Office Handout)
TT
TT

Italian Prime Minister Meloni Meets with Trump at His Florida Resort

A handout picture made available by the Chigi Palace (Palazzo Chigi) Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 04 January 2025 (issued 05 January 2025). (EPA/ Filippo Attili/ Chigi Palace Press Office Handout)
A handout picture made available by the Chigi Palace (Palazzo Chigi) Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 04 January 2025 (issued 05 January 2025). (EPA/ Filippo Attili/ Chigi Palace Press Office Handout)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Members of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Meloni with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.

Her trip comes days before she is to meet US President Joe Biden during a visit to Rome from Thursday to Jan. 12. Trump defeated Biden in the November election and is preparing to return to the White House.

While no details of their meeting have been disclosed, Meloni had planned to talk with Trump about Russia's war in Ukraine, trade issues, the Middle East and the plight of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran, according to Italian media reports.

Meloni's office declined to comment on the reports.

She is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she heads in Italy. She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help him win the election.

"This is very exciting. I'm here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy," Trump told the Mar-a-Lago crowd, according to a media pool report. "She’s really taken Europe by storm."

Trump and Meloni then sat down for a screening of a documentary questioning the criminal investigations and legal scrutiny faced by John Eastman, a former Trump lawyer who was central to Trump's unsuccessful efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

One of the biggest challenges facing Meloni is the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran on Dec. 19.

Sala was detained three days after Mohammad Abedini, an Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan's Malpensa airport on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three US service members near the Syrian-Jordanian border. Iran has denied involvement in the attack.

On Friday, Iran's foreign ministry summoned Italy's ambassador over Abedini's detention, Iranian state media reported.

Meloni became the latest in the handful of foreign leaders who have visited Trump in Florida since the Nov. 5 election. He has met with Argentinian President Javier Milei, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US, Iran Separately Talk with Mediators in Latest Bid to End War

An Iranian missile is displayed under the country's national flag in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP)
An Iranian missile is displayed under the country's national flag in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

US, Iran Separately Talk with Mediators in Latest Bid to End War

An Iranian missile is displayed under the country's national flag in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP)
An Iranian missile is displayed under the country's national flag in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP)

US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries.

Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

The war began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on ‌Iran, killing ‌thousands of people over seven months and shocking global markets ‌as ⁠vital waterways for ⁠oil remained choked. The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unraveled.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state ⁠news agency IRNA.

"If the Americans claim they are seeking ‌an agreement or a peaceful solution, we ‌have presented that solution," Araqchi said.

US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald ‌Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.

TRUMP HAS ‌FLAGGED FURTHER TALKS THIS WEEK

Iran's seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars' worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ‌ports.

Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the ⁠two sides would ⁠also resume talks on Iran's nuclear program and Trump's wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium.

Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran's proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under. However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.

Araghchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection, and that Iran was awaiting Washington's definitive position before deciding its next steps.

"Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.

World

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says North Korea Prepares to Deploy Another 10,000 Troops to Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says North Korea Prepares to Deploy Another 10,000 Troops to Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday there are more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory and preparations are underway to deploy another 10,000 troops.

Citing "new data" on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, Zelenskiy said they were "being selected for training and subsequent deployment to Russia."

The Ukrainian president ‌said in ‌August that up to ‌50,000 North ⁠Korean soldiers could be ⁠sent to fight for Russia, and called on South Korea to provide support for Ukraine's air defense.

South Korea announced in July a $100 million aid package for Ukraine, although it excluded lethal weapons.

Zelenskiy's comments on Monday ⁠came after Seoul and Kyiv were ‌at odds over ‌his announcement last week that Ukraine had transferred ‌two captured North Korean soldiers to ‌South Korea.

Seoul expressed regret over his announcement, citing an agreement to keep the transfer confidential. South Korea also protested against what it called a ‌false statement from the Ukrainian presidential office denying that such a confidentiality ⁠agreement ⁠existed.

North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine since 2024, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, with most deployed in the Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion.

Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, as well as ballistic missiles, long-range artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.

World

Iran Says Filed Complaint to UN Aviation Watchdog over US Flight Restrictions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iran Says Filed Complaint to UN Aviation Watchdog over US Flight Restrictions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Iran has lodged a complaint with the United Nations over US sanctions against its aviation sector that have forced the cancellation of flights, state media reported Monday. 

This month the United States imposed restrictions on the entire aviation industry in Iran and vowed to take a hard line against companies that assist it, said AFP. 

As the sanctions took effect last Wednesday, major airlines were forced to cancel international flights after several countries implemented bans. 

"To defend the legitimate rights of the aviation industry and counter illegal restrictions imposed by America, Iran has drafted and submitted a formal protest to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," said civil aviation chief Abouzar Shiroudi, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. 

The ICAO is a UN agency based in Montreal, Canada that sets and regulates standards for civil aviation. 

"In cooperation with the foreign ministry, we have also filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice at The Hague," Shiroudi added. 

For Iranians wishing to enter or exit their country, destinations in neighboring Türkiye are now the primary options for flights. 

Routes also remain available to Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, Malaysia and Thailand, with flights to the United Arab Emirates suspended. 

An official from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport said Sunday that around 30 international destinations were still being served by Iranian airlines.