Europeans try to coax Iran back to diplomacy as Trump weighs strikes
GENEVA (Reuters) -- European foreign ministers are set to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday aiming to create a pathway back to diplomacy over its contested nuclear program despite the U.S. considering joining Israeli strikes against Iran.
Ministers from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief spoke to Abbas Araqchi earlier this week and have been coordinating with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
87 Japanese nationals, family members evacuated from Iran, Israel
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 18:00 | All, Japan, World A total of 87 Japanese nationals and their family members have evacuated from Iran and Israel amid conflict in the Middle East, the Japanese government said Friday. The evacuees arrived in Azerbaijan's capital Baku and Jordan's capital Amman by bus as local airports remained closed and none of them had health issues, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Of the 87, including six foreign nationals, 66 left Tehran and arrived in Baku early Friday, while 21 departed from Tel Aviv and reached Amman on Thursday afternoon, the Foreign Ministry said. The government is arranging additional bus transportation to evacuate more people from Iran as early as Saturday, Iwaya said. "As the situation remains very tense, the government will protect Japanese citizens with a high sense of urgency," he said. Around 220 Japanese nationals remained in Iran and around 1,000 in Israel after the evacuations, according to the ministry. Japan also plans to dispatch two Self-Defense Forces planes to a base in Djibouti in eastern Africa to evacuate its nationals if airports in Iran and Israel reopen, according to Iwaya. Israel and Iran have continued to exchange strikes since the former attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and military targets last week, alleging the Islamic Republic was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, a claim it denies. With possible U.S. military intervention in the conflict attracting global attention, President Donald Trump has upped pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program by setting a deadline for negotiations. "I will make my decision of whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said in a statement, which was read by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing on Thursday. Related coverage: Japan to send 2 defense force planes for possible Mideast airlift Japan urges all nationals in Iran to evacuate amid Israeli attacks


Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Japan Today
87 Japanese nationals, family members evacuated from Iran, Israel
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya meets the press at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday. A total of 87 Japanese nationals and their family members have evacuated from Iran and Israel amid intensifying tensions in the Middle East, the Japanese government said Friday. The evacuees arrived by bus in Azerbaijan and Jordan as local airports remained closed and none had health issues, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Of the 87 including six foreigners, 66 left Tehran and arrived in Baku early Friday, while 21 departed from Tel Aviv and reached Amman on Thursday afternoon, the Foreign Ministry said. The government is arranging a bus to evacuate more people from Iran as early as Saturday, Iwaya said. "As the situation remains very tense, the government will protect Japanese citizens with a high sense of urgency," he said. Around 220 Japanese nationals were in Iran and around 1,000 remained in Israel after the evacuations, according to the ministry. Japan also plans to dispatch two Self-Defense Forces planes to a base in Djibouti in eastern Africa to evacuate nationals if airports in Iran and Israel reopen, according to Iwaya. Israel and Iran have continued to exchange strikes since the former attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and military targets last week alleging Tehran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, a claim denied by the Islamic Republic. © KYODO

Nikkei Asia
6 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Europeans try to coax Iran back to diplomacy as Trump weighs strikes
GENEVA (Reuters) -- European foreign ministers are set to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday aiming to create a pathway back to diplomacy over its contested nuclear program despite the U.S. considering joining Israeli strikes against Iran. Ministers from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief spoke to Abbas Araqchi earlier this week and have been coordinating with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.