Latest news with #Entekhab
News18
11 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
Iran Refuses Nuclear Talks With US After Trump's 2-Week Window As Israeli Strikes Continue
Last Updated: US Iran Nuclear Deal: US President Donald Trump said he would decide on military action against Iran in two weeks, citing 'substantial' potential for negotiations. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the US had asked Iran to negotiate for a deal, but Tehran refused, after US President Donald Trump said he would decide on military action in two weeks. 'The Americans have asked for negotiations, and our answer is no," Araghchi said in comments published by the Entekhab news outlet. He also said Trump's language around Israeli military actions shows Washington is already involved in the Israeli strikes. Araghchi said calls for ending the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel have already begun and will continue to grow. 'We are engaged in legitimate self-defence, and this defence will not stop," he said. The Iranian foreign minister said the country is not prepared for any talks while Israeli strikes continue. Donald Trump's 2-Week Window His remarks came after Donald Trump said he will decide within the next two weeks whether the United States will launch an attack on Iran, citing 'substantial" chances of negotiations to reach a nuclear deal. At a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out Trump's message, addressing speculation about direct American involvement in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he approved attack plans but is holding off to see if Iran will give up its nuclear programme. Iran's ally, Russia, said any US military action would be an 'extremely dangerous step". Meanwhile, European top diplomats are meeting with Araghchi in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain and the EU are urging de-escalation, with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy saying the next two weeks are 'a window… to achieve a diplomatic solution". The direct confrontation began after Israel launched an unprecedented wave of airstrikes on Iran last week, prompting a swift response from Tehran in the form of missile and drone attacks. More than 200 people, including military leaders, have been killed in Iran, while 24 casualties have been reported in Israel. (with agency inputs) First Published:
Al Jazeera
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Fires continue to burn as Iran probes deadly explosion at key port
Fires continue to burn a day after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port in Bandar Abbas, as casualties continue to rise. The death toll from the massive explosion at Shahid Rajaei Port rose to 25, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported, quoting an official on Sunday, as firefighters continued with their efforts to put out the fire. Close to 800 people were reported injured, officials said. 'The total number of people killed is at least 25,' Tasnim reported, quoting Hormozgan province's head of the judiciary, Mojtaba Ghahremani. On Sunday, a video posted by Tasnim showed a helicopter hovering over the site of the incident, trying to help extinguish the fire as thick black smoke rose. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had 'issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes'. The country's national emergency agency told Tasnim that at least five of the victims had been transferred to the city of Shiraz for further treatment. 'The fire is under control but still not out,' a state TV correspondent reported from the site about 20 hours after the explosion. Entekhab news website quoted the national crisis management agency as saying that 80 percent of the fire has been put out, adding that most of the 752 people taken to medical facilities for treatment had been discharged. Three Chinese nationals were 'lightly injured', China's state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate. With choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province, have been ordered closed on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort, state TV reported. The explosion took place on Saturday near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil output passes. The port's customs office said in a statement, carried by state television, that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. A person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times that the chemical that exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles. The explosion was so powerful that it was felt about 50km (30 miles) away, Fars news agency reported. Images from the official IRNA news agency showed rescuers and survivors walking along a boulevard carpeted with debris after the blast at Shahid Rajaei, more than 1,000km (620 miles) south of Tehran. Speaking later at the scene, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni told state TV: 'All resources from other cities and Tehran have been dispatched.' The explosion comes several months after one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. The coal mine blast in September, caused by a gas leak, killed more than 50 people at Tabas in the east of the country. The incident took place as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.
