Germany urges Iran to 'immediately' resume negotiations with US

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday called for a swift return to diplomacy after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran overnight, his spokesman said.
Iran must "immediately enter into negotiations with the US and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict", Merz said, according to his spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
The German government believes "large parts of Iran's nuclear programme have been damaged by the airstrikes", Kornelius said.
The US strikes came after Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, as well as military leaders and security services.
Iran's uranium enrichment has for decades caused tension with the West and Israel, which fear the drive is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a charge denied by Tehran.

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First Post

8 hours ago

• First Post

Are divisions in the EU deepening over Israel?

Cracks within the EU widen as member-states disagree over how to approach the tensions in West Asia. While some EU nations are calling out Israel's conduct in Gaza Strip and Iran, others emphasise that the Jewish nation has the right to defend itself read more French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, talk over lunch at the offices of the honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Geneva, Switzerland during a meeting of European foreign ministers on Friday. Reuters As the tensions in West Asia continue to escalate, a major division has emerged over how the European Union should respond to Israel's war in Gaza and its ongoing conflict with Iran. The decision became more apparent after the regional body released a report which suggested that Israel was breaching human rights obligations in the Gaza war. The document obtained by Reuters stated that Israel's conduct in Gaza and the West Bank was a 'moral and methodological failure.' The review report was sent to the EU officials ahead of a foreign minister's meeting on Monday. Soon after it was released, Israel slammed the report, noting that it had failed to consider Israel's challenges and was based on inaccurate information. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,' they said in a statement, adding that it should be dismissed entirely. The European Union have remained largely divided over Israel's conduct in West Asia. While countries like the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Sweden push for punitive action, others notably Germany, Hungary and Austria resist citing strategic ties, historical responsibilities and political caution. The division is becoming more severe over how the bloc is reacting to Israel's operation in Iran. On Gaza Earlier this year, the European Commission launched an investigation into whether Israel may have breached its human rights obligations under the association agreement after a majority of EU countries called for a review of Israeli conduct amid the humanitarian crisis. The findings of the report turned out to be one of the most contentious foreign policy decisions facing the EU. The body is also concerned after US President Donald Trump decided to drag the United States into the conflict by striking Iran's three nuclear facilities . On Monday, the findings of the report will be presented by Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs to the ministers from EU governments. The bloc will then decide what steps can be taken over the matter. According to Politico, potential actions range from 'doing nothing' to limiting trade with Israel and even suspending the entire agreement. However, that would require a unanimous agreement from the bloc's 27 countries, which is quite unlikely to happen. On Iran Not all EU nations believe that Israel's attack on Iran is legal under international law. Last week, the regional bloc issued a statement calling 'on all sides to abide by international law, show restraint and refrain from taking further steps which could lead to serious consequences such as potential radioactive release," Euro News reported. One of the major points of contention was whether in the statement the EU should state 'Israel has a right to defend itself' in the context of its attacks against Iran. Around 15 member states including Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands wanted to add the line but it was not agreed unanimously. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, other countries noted that it wasn't sufficiently mentioned that Israel has the right under international law to launch its offensive against Iran. It is pertinent to note that According to international law, and the UN Charter, a state may exercise its right to self-defence in case of an armed attack or imminent attack. Any necessary action should also be proportionate. Hence, it remains unclear whether Europe would ever be united on the question of Israel.

New Indian Express

10 hours ago

• New Indian Express

Germany urges Iran to 'immediately' resume negotiations with US

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday called for a swift return to diplomacy after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran overnight, his spokesman said. Iran must "immediately enter into negotiations with the US and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict", Merz said, according to his spokesman Stefan Kornelius. The German government believes "large parts of Iran's nuclear programme have been damaged by the airstrikes", Kornelius said. The US strikes came after Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, as well as military leaders and security services. Iran's uranium enrichment has for decades caused tension with the West and Israel, which fear the drive is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a charge denied by Tehran.

Time of India

19 hours ago

• Time of India

World Bank and IMF climate snub 'worrying', says COP29 presidency

The hosts of the most recent UN climate talks are worried international lenders are retreating from their commitments to help boost funding for developing countries' response to global warming. Major development banks have agreed to boost climate spending and are seen as crucial in the effort to dramatically increase finance to help poorer countries build resilience to impacts and invest in renewable energy. But anxiety has grown as the Trump administration has slashed foreign aid and discouraged US-based development lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund from focussing on climate finance. Developing nations, excluding China, will need an estimated $1.3 trillion a year by 2035 in financial assistance to transition to renewable energy and climate-proof their economies from increasing weather extremes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Laxmi Ji Idol For Wealth, Peace & Happiness Luxeartisanship Shop Now Undo Nowhere near this amount has been committed. At last year's UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, rich nations agreed to increase climate finance to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate. Azerbaijan and Brazil, which is hosting this year's COP30 conference, have launched an initiative to reduce the shortfall, with the expectation of "significant" contributions from international lenders. But so far only two -- the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank -- have responded to a call to engage the initiative with ideas, said COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev. "We call on their shareholders to urgently help us to address these concerns," he told climate negotiators at a high-level summit in the German city of Bonn this week. "We fear that a complex and volatile global environment is distracting" many of those expected to play a big role in bridging the climate finance gap , he added. - A 'worrisome trend' - His team travelled to Washington in April for the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings hoping to find the same enthusiasm for climate lending they had encountered a year earlier. But instead they found institutions "very much reluctant now to talk about climate at all", said Azerbaijan's top climate negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev. This was a "worrisome trend", he said, given expectations these lenders would extend the finance needed in the absence of other sources. "They're very much needed," he said. The World Bank is directing 45 percent of its total lending to climate, as part of an action plan in place until June 2026, with the public portion of that spilt 50/50 between emissions reductions and building resilience. The United States, the World Bank's biggest shareholder, has pushed in a different direction. On the sidelines of the April spring meetings, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the bank to focus on "dependable technologies" rather than "distortionary climate finance targets." This could mean investing in gas and other fossil fuel-based energy production, he said. Under the Paris Agreement, wealthy developed countries -- those most responsible for global warming to date -- are obliged to pay climate finance to poorer nations. Other countries, most notably China, make voluntary contributions. - Money matters - Finance is a source of long-running tensions at UN climate negotiations. Donors have consistently failed to deliver on past finance pledges, and have committed well below what experts agree developing nations need to cope with the climate crisis. The issue flared up again this week in Bonn, with nations at odds over whether to debate financial commitments from rich countries during the formal meetings. European nations have also pared back their foreign aid spending in recent months, raising fears that budgets for climate finance could also face a haircut. At COP29, multilateral development banks (MDBs) led by the World Bank Group estimated they could provide $120 billion annually in climate financing to low and middle income countries, and mobilise another $65 billion from the private sector by 2030. Their estimate for high income countries was $50 billion, with another $65 billion mobilised from the private sector. Rob Moore, of policy think tank E3G, said these lenders are the largest providers of international public finance to developing countries. "Whilst they are facing difficult political headwinds in some quarters, they would be doing both themselves and their clients a disservice by disengaging on climate change," he said. The World Bank in particular has done "a huge amount of work" to align its lending with global climate goals. "If they choose to step back this would be at their own detriment, and other banks like the regionally based MDBs would likely play a bigger role in shaping the economy of the future," he said. The World Bank declined to comment on the record.