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Iran Guards Say Military Capabilities ‘Red Lines’ in US Talks 

The US flag is seen at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, April 8, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
The US flag is seen at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, April 8, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Guards Say Military Capabilities ‘Red Lines’ in US Talks 

The US flag is seen at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, April 8, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
The US flag is seen at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, April 8, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday the country's military capabilities were off limits, ahead of a second round of talks with the United States on its nuclear program.

"National security and defense and military power are among the red lines of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any circumstances," Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB.

Iran and the United States will hold another round of talks in Muscat on Saturday, a week after top officials met in the Omani capital for the highest-level discussions since the 2015 nuclear deal collapsed.

US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal during his first term, has reinstated his "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran since returning to office in January.

In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks and warning of possible military action if Tehran refused.

Trump addressed reporters on Monday regarding Iran, saying "I'll solve that problem" and "That's almost an easy one".

The US leader also threatened to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and called Iranian authorities "radicals" who should not possess nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly denied seeking an atomic bomb, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, especially the provision of energy.

Late Sunday, Iran's official IRNA news agency said the country's regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its "red lines" in the talks.

Tehran supports the "axis of resistance" -- a network of armed groups opposed to Israel, including Yemen's Houthi militias, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Shiite militia groups in Iraq.

On April 12, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman for "indirect" talks, according to Iranian officials and media.

The talks were the highest-level Iran-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of the 2015 accord, formally known is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The accord offered Iran relief from international sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Both Tehran and Washington, enemies who have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran's 1979 revolution, have called the latest round of negotiations "constructive".

Araghchi's office has said he will travel to Moscow at the end of this week for talks with Russia, a close ally of Iran and party to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned any military confrontation would be a "global catastrophe".

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World

FBI Foils 'Terror Plot' Targeting Los Angeles, US Attorney General Says

US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a press conference following the arrest in the D.C. pipe bomber investigation, at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., US, December 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a press conference following the arrest in the D.C. pipe bomber investigation, at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., US, December 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
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FBI Foils 'Terror Plot' Targeting Los Angeles, US Attorney General Says

US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a press conference following the arrest in the D.C. pipe bomber investigation, at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., US, December 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a press conference following the arrest in the D.C. pipe bomber investigation, at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., US, December 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

The FBI has foiled a bomb plot targeting multiple targets, including immigration agents and vehicles, in Los Angeles and Orange County, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Monday, Reuters reported.

"The Turtle Island Liberation Front—a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group—was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles," Bondi said in a statement.

Four people have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The bombing plot called for planting explosive devices at five locations targeting two US companies at midnight on New Year's Eve in the Los Angeles area, it said.

World

Iran Hosts Regional Talks on Afghanistan, but Kabul Stays Away

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)
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Iran Hosts Regional Talks on Afghanistan, but Kabul Stays Away

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)

Afghanistan's neighbors met in Iran and agreed to deepen regional coordination to address political, economic and security challenges, as well as calling for sanctions on Afghanistan to be lifted. The only absent party? Afghanistan itself.

China, Pakistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan all joined the talks organized by Iran, as did Russia, according to a statement released after the meeting on Sunday, The AP news reported.

Afghanistan was invited but decided not to attend. Its Taliban-led government was tight-lipped on the reasons, with the foreign ministry saying only that it would not participate because Afghanistan “currently maintains active engagement with regional countries through existing regional organizations and formats, and has made good progress in this regard.”

The statement from the talks in Iran stressed the importance of maintaining economic and trade ties with Afghanistan to improve living conditions and called for the country’s integration into regional political and economic processes.

The Taliban were isolated after they retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, but in the past year, they have developed diplomatic ties. They now raise several billion dollars every year in tax revenues to keep the lights on.

However, Afghanistan is still struggling economically. Millions rely on aid for survival, and the struggling economy has been further impacted by the international community not recognizing the Taliban government's seizure of power in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops in 2021. Natural disasters and the flow of Afghans fleeing Pakistan under pressure to return home have underlined Afghanistan’s reliance on foreign aid to meet essential needs.

The countries at the talks also voiced security concerns and pledged cooperation in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and human smuggling, while opposing any foreign military presence in Afghanistan. They underscored the responsibility of the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghanistan’s frozen assets, and urged international organizations to support the dignified return of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.

The participants backed efforts to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have been particularly strained, with border clashes between the two sides killing dozens of civilians, soldiers and suspected militants and wounding hundreds more.

The violence followed explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that Afghan authorities blamed on Pakistan. A Qatar-mediated ceasefire has largely held since October, although there have been limited border clashes. The two sides failed to reach an overall agreement in November despite three rounds of peace talks.

Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, said the Taliban government’s decision to skip the meeting reflected a “lack of political maturity.” Writing on X, Durrani said the move reinforced concerns that the Taliban were unwilling to negotiate, instead adopting an “I don’t accept” stance that he said would do little to resolve serious regional problems.

Mohammad Sadiq, the current Pakistani special representative for Afghanistan who attended the talks, wrote on X that the Afghan people had already suffered enough and deserved better.

Only an Afghanistan that does not harbor militants would inspire confidence among neighboring and regional countries to engage meaningfully with Kabul and help unlock the country’s economic and connectivity potential, he wrote.

Participants agreed to hold the next meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries as soon as possible in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and welcomed Pakistan’s offer to host the next round of special envoys’ talks in Islamabad in March.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, on Sunday said that the meeting had not been held for about two years and marked the first such gathering attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from neighboring countries as well as Russia. Russia and Uzbekistan sent the special envoys of their presidents, while Pakistan was represented by a delegate from the prime minister’s office.

Landlocked Afghanistan is sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, making it strategically located for energy-rich and energy-hungry nations.

World

Russia Indicates It’s Open to Ukraine Joining EU as Part of Peace Deal to End War, US Officials Say

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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Russia Indicates It’s Open to Ukraine Joining EU as Part of Peace Deal to End War, US Officials Say

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Russia has indicated it’s open to Ukraine joining the European Union as part of a peace deal to end the war, US officials said as the latest round of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US envoys ended Monday. as Kyiv faces Washington’s pressure to swiftly accept a US-brokered peace deal while confronting an increasingly assertive Moscow. 

Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on social media that “real progress” had been achieved at the talks in Berlin with President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as European officials. The talks lasted roughly 90 minutes, after a five-hour session Sunday. 

The US government said in a social media post on Witkoff’s account after Sunday's meeting that “a lot of progress was made.” 

The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces. 

Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO military alliance if the US and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to NATO members. But Ukraine’s preference remains NATO membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian aggression however this option doesn’t currently have full backing from all allies. 

Still, Ukraine has continued to reject the US push for ceding territory to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the part of Donetsk region still under its control as one of the key conditions for peace. 

Zelenskyy’s itinerary on Monday also included meetings with German and other European leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office confirmed he would travel to Berlin later Monday. 

“The issue of security in particular will ultimately determine whether this war actually comes to a standstill and whether it flares up again,” a spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Stefan Kornelius, told reporters. 

The Russian president has cast Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as a major threat to Moscow’s security and a reason for launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine renounce the bid for alliance membership as part of any prospective peace settlement. 

Zelenskyy emphasized that any Western security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported by the US Congress. 

The Kremlin said Monday it expected to be updated on the Berlin talks by the US side. 

Asked whether the negotiations could be over by Christmas, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said trying to predict a potential time frame for a peace deal was a “thankless task.” 

“I can only speak for the Russian side, for President Putin,” Peskov said. “He is open to peace, to a serious peace and serious decisions. He is absolutely not open to any tricks aimed at stalling for time.” 

Putin has denied plans to attack any European allies. 

In London, meanwhile, the new head of the MI6 spy agency was set to warn on Monday how Putin’s determination to export chaos around the world is rewriting the rules of conflict and creating new security challenges. 

Blaise Metreweli was using her first public speech as chief of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence service to say that Britain faces increasingly unpredictable and interconnected threats, with emphasis on “aggressive, expansionist” Russia. 

Russia fired 153 drones of various types at Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, which said 133 drones were neutralized, while 17 more hit their targets. 

In Russia, the Defense Ministry on Monday said forces destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones overnight. An additional 16 drones were destroyed between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time. 

Eighteen drones were shot down over Moscow itself, the defense ministry said. Flights were temporarily halted at the city’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports as part of safety measures, officials said. 

Damage details and casualty figures were not immediately available.