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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called "special government employee," a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump," said the official.
"This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives," Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.

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New US Sanctions Against Iran Target Interior Minister Over Crackdown on Protesters

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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New US Sanctions Against Iran Target Interior Minister Over Crackdown on Protesters

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday against Iran 's interior minister, accusing Eskandar Momeni of repressing nationwide protests that have challenged Tehran's theocratic government. The penalties are the latest by the United States and the European Union targeting high-ranking officials over the crackdown.

The administration says Momeni has overseen Iran's law enforcement forces that are responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters.

Economic woes sparked the protests in late December before they broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic. The crackdown soon followed, which activists say has killed more than 6,000 people. Iranian officials and state media repeatedly refer to the demonstrators as “terrorists.”

The EU on Thursday imposed its own sanctions against Momeni, along with members of Iran's judicial system and other high-ranking officers.

“They were all involved in the violent repression of peaceful protests and the arbitrary arrest of political activists and human rights defenders,” according to the EU.

Also Friday, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets imposed sanctions on Babak Morteza Zanjani, an Iranian investor who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue for the benefit of the Iranian government. Two digital asset exchanges linked to Zanjani that have processed large volumes of funds were penalized, too.

The EU has agreed to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, in a largely symbolic move that adds to pressure on Tehran.

Included in the latest set of US sanctions is the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, whom the Treasury Department accuses of being one of the first officials to call for violence against Iranian protesters. The sanctions also target a group of 18 people and companies accused of participating in laundering money from sales of Iranian oil to foreign markets as part of a shadow banking network of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department “will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people.”

"Like rats on a sinking ship, the regime is frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, Treasury will act,” he said in a statement.

Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the US, limit travel to America and prevent US companies and citizens from doing business with them.

World

Iran Says Defense Capabilities 'Never' up for Negotiation

Iranian flag is pictured in front of Iran's Foreign Ministry building in Tehran November 23, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS)/File Photo
Iranian flag is pictured in front of Iran's Foreign Ministry building in Tehran November 23, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS)/File Photo
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Iran Says Defense Capabilities 'Never' up for Negotiation

Iranian flag is pictured in front of Iran's Foreign Ministry building in Tehran November 23, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS)/File Photo
Iranian flag is pictured in front of Iran's Foreign Ministry building in Tehran November 23, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS)/File Photo

Iran's top diplomat said Friday that his country's missile and defense capabilities would "never" be on the negotiating table, as US President Donald Trump appeared to cool on threats of a strike after a military build-up in the region.

Tehran and Washington have been trading warnings since Trump first threatened to intervene over a deadly crackdown on recent protests and sent a naval fleet to the Middle East.

But the US president brought the temperature down late on Thursday, saying he hoped to avoid military action and that talks with Iran were on the cards, having pressured Tehran for a deal on its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb, AFP reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was "ready to begin negotiations if they take place on an equal footing, based on mutual interests and mutual respect", during a visit to Türkiye, which has led a diplomatic push to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

But, he emphasised, "I want to state firmly that Iran's defensive and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiation", adding that no plans were in place to meet with US officials about resuming talks.

The Axios news site on Monday reported that US officials say any deal with Tehran would have to include a cap on its stockpile of long-range missiles, along with the removal of enriched uranium from the country and a ban on independent enrichment.

Serhan Afacan, director of IRAM, the Ankara-based Center for Iranian Studies, told AFP that trying to broker a deal now on the nuclear file along with other issues would likely "be impossible".

"For now, the ballistic missile program remains a red line, as it sits at the core of Iran's defense architecture," he said.

- 'Reducing' tensions -

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said restarting talks between Tehran and Washington over Iran's nuclear program was "vital for reducing regional tensions".

Speaking at a joint press conference in Istanbul with Araghchi, he said Israel was pushing for the United States to attack Iran, and urged Washington to "act with common sense and not allow this to happen".

Iran has blamed the United States and Israel for the protests that erupted in late December over economic grievances and peaked on January 8 and 9, accusing the two countries of fuelling a "terrorist operation" that turned peaceful demonstrations into "riots".

Araghchi was also due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian by phone earlier Friday that Türkiye was "ready to assume a facilitating role between Iran and the United States to de-escalate the tensions".

Pezeshkian, meanwhile, said the success of diplomacy depended on the "goodwill of the parties involved and the abandonment of belligerent and threatening actions in the region", his office said.

As well as Türkiye's diplomatic efforts to stave off a military confrontation, Erdogan has also been pushing Washington for a high-level trilateral meeting, a Turkish diplomat said, confirming local media reports.

World

Starmer Says UK Working with Allies to Block Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on migration at 10 Downing Street, London, Britain, November 28, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on migration at 10 Downing Street, London, Britain, November 28, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Starmer Says UK Working with Allies to Block Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on migration at 10 Downing Street, London, Britain, November 28, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on migration at 10 Downing Street, London, Britain, November 28, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday the UK was working with allies to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, when asked whether he would support possible US strikes on Iran.

"The goal, or the aim, here is that Iran shouldn't be able to develop nuclear weapons and that is hugely important," Starmer told BBC News.

Asked whether his comments suggested he could support any US strikes, he said: "I am saying we support the goal and we are talking to allies about how we get to that goal."

He also criticized Iran's treatment of protesters, saying the killing and repression of demonstrators was "grotesque" after an Iranian official confirmed at least 5,000 people had been killed in nationwide protests.