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Washington ‘Drags’ Tehran to Negotiations as Military Option Remains on the Table

US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
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Washington ‘Drags’ Tehran to Negotiations as Military Option Remains on the Table

US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump (Reuters)

The administration of US President Donald Trump is intensifying pressure on Iranian authorities to adopt a clearer stance and to “drag” them into direct negotiations, without ruling out military options.

While attention is focused on the US administration's pressure and its potential success in curbing Iran, the latter may counter Trump by leveraging “international and regional cards,” according to an American researcher.

Earlier, Axios reported that President Trump’s message to Iran set a two-month deadline for reaching a new nuclear deal, warning of consequences if the offer is rejected and Iran continues its nuclear program.

An American official and two sources familiar with the message told Axios that "Trump does not want open-ended negotiations with the Iranians."

Trump's National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, urged Iran to abandon all elements of its nuclear program, including missiles, armament, and uranium enrichment, or face a full range of other consequences.

While the White House has not officially confirmed a deadline for Tehran, Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, suggested that Trump wants Iran's leadership to focus their thinking on taking a stance and moving seriously toward the negotiating table.

“Iran is facing critical decisions regarding its nuclear program and influence in the Middle East, while the Trump administration is pushing (by setting the deadline) for a clearer response than Iran has given so far,” Katulis told Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to Katulis, military action against Iran remains a possibility, but Trump’s approach toward Iran is still unclear.

For his part, Patrick Clawson, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes Trump wants to demonstrate his ability to reach agreements on Ukraine, Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran, while Biden has been unable to do so.

Clawson told Asharq Al-Awsat, “In each case, Trump has said: 'Make a deal or you’ll pay a heavy price,' and for Iran, the 'heavy price' will become clear by the summer.”

 

 

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World

Hundreds of Migrants Land in Greece after Search Operation at Sea

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
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Hundreds of Migrants Land in Greece after Search Operation at Sea

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

Greece's Coast Guard rescued about 545 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe's southernmost island of Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.

The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, Reuters quoted a Coast Guard statement as saying. ‌They are all ‌well and are ‌being ⁠taken to ‌the port of Agia Galini on the nearby island of Crete, it added.

Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the ⁠Middle East and Africa landed on its shores ‌before moving on to ‍other European countries, mainly ‍Germany.

Flows have ebbed since then, ‍but both Crete and Gavdos - the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast - have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and ⁠deadly accidents remain common along that route.

Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc's pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.

The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected ‌asylum seekers

World

China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
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China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)

China's military will step up training and "take forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," its defense ministry said ‌on Friday ‌in ‌response ⁠to a ‌planned $11.1 billion US arms sales package to Taiwan.

The ministry urges the US to "immediately ⁠cease arms ‌sales to Taiwan" and "concretely ‍abide ‍by its ‍commitment not to support 'Taiwan independence' forces," according to a statement the ministry released on its Chinese ⁠social media account.

"Taiwan separatist forces... are using the hard-earned money of ordinary people to fatten US arms dealers," the ‌statement added.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island.

The Taiwan arms sale announcement is the second under US President Donald Trump's current administration, and comes as Beijing ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

The proposed arms sales cover eight items, including HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Altius loitering munition drones and parts for other equipment, Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

"The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability," it added.

The package must be approved by the US Congress, where Taiwan has widespread cross-party support.

In a series of separate statements announcing details of the weapons deal, the Pentagon said the arms sales serve US national, economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a "credible defensive capability."

Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage "asymmetric warfare," using mobile, smaller and often cheaper weapons which still pack a targeted punch, like drones.

"Our country will continue to promote defence reforms, strengthen whole-of-society defence resilience, demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves, and safeguard peace through strength," Taiwan presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking the United States for the sales.

World

Pakistan Arrests Senior Official from ISIS Offshoot

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Pakistan Arrests Senior Official from ISIS Offshoot

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistan has captured a leader from an offshoot of the ISIS extremist group, a senior intelligence official said Friday, after the arrest was reported by a UN sanctions monitoring group.

Sultan Aziz Azam, who also acted as a spokesman for ISIS Khorasan, (ISIS-K) was arrested on May 16, according to a UN committee's sanctions monitoring report submitted to the Security Council in November.

"He was not just a spokesman but regarded as one of the top leaders for the group in the region," the Pakistani intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

"The arrest was not made public as it could have affected counterterrorism operations" initiated after Azam's questioning, the official added.

ISIS-K, the local branch of the ISIS group, has claimed responsibility for some of the most horrific attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond in recent years, many targeting civilians.

In March 2024 its gunmen killed more than 140 people at a Moscow concert hall, and the group has carried out a series of deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The intelligence official and the UN report did not specify which country Azam was captured in.

Taliban authorities have repeatedly said security is their top priority and vowed to crack down on ISIS-K and other militant groups operating in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has accused the Taliban of allowing Afghan soil to be used to harbor militants and the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated sharply with deadly border clashes in recent months.

Islamabad has carried out intensive border operations against militant groups, including airstrikes in October on Afghan territory that security sources say were aimed at targeting another group, the Pakistani Taliban.

The UN report said both countries' efforts were making a dent against ISIS-K.

"Overall, the capability of ISIS in Iraq and the Levant-K has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations by the de facto authorities and Pakistan," said the UN report, referring to the Taliban's government which is not formally recognized by any country except Russia.

However, "the group remains resilient" and Afghan authorities have not completely eliminated its hideouts in the north and east, the report said, estimating that is has around 2,000 fighters.

Its leaders have also stepped up a recruitment drive "to establish a network of sleeper cells to further enhance their capabilities, as well as their ability to conduct attacks outside Afghan territory."

According to the Jamestown Foundation, a US-based think-tank, Azam hails from Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province which borders Pakistan and is considered an ISIS-K stronghold.

He is described as a poet and writer whose work often appeared on social media platforms such as Facebook before joining ISIS-K in 2015.