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US Urges South Sudan President to Release VP Machar, Who is Reportedly under House Arrest

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar addresses a news conference, as the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country, in Juba, South Sudan April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol/File Photo
South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar addresses a news conference, as the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country, in Juba, South Sudan April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol/File Photo
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US Urges South Sudan President to Release VP Machar, Who is Reportedly under House Arrest

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar addresses a news conference, as the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country, in Juba, South Sudan April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol/File Photo
South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar addresses a news conference, as the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country, in Juba, South Sudan April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol/File Photo

The United States on Thursday called on South Sudan President Salva Kiir to release his rival First Vice President Riek Machar who was reportedly under house arrest, saying it was time the country's leaders demonstrated their commitment to peace.

Machar's SPLM-IO party said on Wednesday that the defense minister and chief of national security "forcefully entered" Machar's residence and delivered an arrest warrant.

Machar was being held at his house with his wife and two body guards, accused of being implicated in fighting between the military and White Army in Nasir, Upper Nile State this month, Reath Muoch Tang, a senior SPLM-IO official said in a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.

"We are concerned by reports South Sudan's First Vice President Machar is under house arrest," Washington's Bureau of African Affairs wrote on X.

"We urge President Kiir to reverse this action & prevent further escalation of the situation."

Under a peace deal which ended a 2013-2018 civil war between forces loyal to Machar on one side and Kiir on the other, South Sudan has five vice-presidents. Kiir's longtime rival and opposition leader Machar is currently serving as first vice-president.

The United Nations has warned that recent clashes in Nasir between the army and the White Army, a militia with historical ties to Machar, and a rise in hate-speech could reignite along ethnic lines the civil war which ended in 2018.

Machar's SPLM-IO party denies ongoing links with the White Army.

"It is time for South Sudan's leaders to demonstrate sincerity of stated commitments to peace," Washington's Bureau of African Affairs wrote on X.

South Sudan's army and government spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CALL FOR RESTRAINT

Political analysts say that the peace deal, under which Kiir and Machar have been serving in a fragile coalition government, is on the brink of collapse.

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) called for restraint, saying that the country's leaders stood on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict.

"This will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region," UNMISS said in a statement.

Earlier this month Kiir's government detained several officials from Machar's party, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army, in response to the clashes with the White Army in Upper Nile State.

On Wednesday the UN reported fighting between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar close to the capital Juba.

The 2013-2018 civil war, which was fought largely along ethnic lines, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths in the world's youngest nation.

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World

Iran ‘Drafting Framework to Advance’ Future US Talks, Says FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during the Conference on Disarmament at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during the Conference on Disarmament at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iran ‘Drafting Framework to Advance’ Future US Talks, Says FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during the Conference on Disarmament at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during the Conference on Disarmament at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 17 February 2026. (EPA)

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran was "drafting" a framework for future talks with the United States, as the US energy secretary said Washington would stop Iran's nuclear ambitions "one way or another".

Diplomatic efforts are underway to avert the possibility of US military intervention in Iran, with Washington conducting a military build-up in the region.

Iran and the US held a second round of Oman-mediated negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva, after talks last year collapsed following Israel's attack on Iran in June, which started a 12-day war.

Araghchi said on Tuesday that Tehran had agreed with Washington on "guiding principles", but US Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's "red lines".

On Wednesday, Araghchi held a phone call with Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In the call, Araghchi "stressed Iran's focus on drafting an initial and coherent framework to advance future talks", according to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry.

Also on Wednesday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned that Washington would deter Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons "one way or the other".

"They've been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It's entirely unacceptable," Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency.

Earlier on Wednesday, Reza Najafi, Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA in Vienna, held a joint meeting with Grossi and the ambassadors of China and Russia "to exchange views" on the upcoming session of the agency's board of governors meetings and "developments related to Iran's nuclear program", Iran's mission in Vienna said on X.

Tehran has suspended some cooperation with the IAEA and restricted the watchdog's inspectors from accessing sites bombed by Israel and the United States, accusing the UN body of bias and of failing to condemn the strikes.

- Displays of military might -

The Omani-mediated talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, while Tehran is demanding the lifting of US sanctions that are crippling its economy.

Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for Tehran's ballistic missiles program and support for armed groups in the region to be on the table.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear program.

On Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog sent a message to Iranians, saying "I want to send the people of Iran best wishes for the month of Ramadan, and I truly hope and pray that this reign of terror will end and that we will see a different era in the Middle East," according to a statement from his office.

Washington has ordered two aircraft carriers to the region, with the first, the USS Abraham Lincoln with nearly 80 aircraft, positioned about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Iranian coast as of Sunday, satellite images showed.

Iran has also sought to display its own military might, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps beginning a series of war games on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a major global conduit for oil and gas.

On Tuesday, state TV reported that Tehran would close parts of the waterway for safety measures during the drills.

Iran's supreme leader warned on Tuesday that the country had the ability to sink a US warship deployed to the region.

World

US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
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US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP

A US immigration judge has blocked the deportation of a Palestinian graduate student who helped organize protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza, according to US media reports.

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents last year as he was attending an interview to become a US citizen.

Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of demonstrations that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel began a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian born in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has been a legal US permanent resident since 2015 and graduated from the prestigious New York university in May. He has been free from federal custody since April.

In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said that President Donald Trump's administration did not provide sufficient evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States, multiple media outlets reported.

Froes reportedly questioned the authenticity of a copy of a document purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said Mahdawi's activism "could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment," according to the New York Times.

Rubio has argued that federal law grants him the authority to summarily revoke visas and deport migrants who pose threats to US foreign policy.

The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which marked a setback in the Republican president's efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus activists.

The administration has also attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, another student activist who co-founded a Palestinian student group at Columbia, alongside Mahdawi.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government's attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys and published Tuesday by several media outlets.

"This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice."

World

Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
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Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)

A fire broke out in Iran's Parand near the capital city Tehran, state media reported on Wednesday, publishing videos of smoke rising over the area which is close to several military and strategic sites in the country's Tehran province, Reuters reported.

"The black smoke seen near the city of Parand is the result of a fire in the reeds around the Parand river bank... fire fighters are on site and the fire extinguishing operation is underway", state media cited the Parand fire department as saying.