Latest news with #diplomatictalks
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Irish leaders call for ‘immediate de-escalation' between Iran and Israel
Ireland's premier and deputy premier have called for an 'immediate de-escalation' between Israel and Iran and for diplomatic talks to restart. Irish premier Micheal Martin said Iran should make clear it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium. Irish deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the minister for foreign affairs, said work was ongoing at EU level to engage with citizens in Israel and Iran who may wish to leave. Iran and Israel have been striking each other's territory for a week, deepening the crisis in the Middle East. Israel said it launched an attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, but it is the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, far in excess of the levels required for power stations and a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. After a missile attack on a hospital in southern Israel, defence minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'absolutely should not continue to exist'. US President Donald Trump has also reportedly been considering involving the US by targeting a uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Asked what role Ireland can play in the crisis, Mr Martin said Ireland and the EU can urge 'restraint and de-escalation'. 'The world needs stability and it needs peace – and dialogue is the way to resolve the nuclear issue in terms of Iran,' the Taoiseach told RTE Radio. 'Iran has been a malign actor in the Middle East for quite a long time in terms of supporting Hezbollah, Hamas the Houthis – it's a theocratic autocratic state. 'But there was dialogue on the way between Iran and the United States on that issue, I think that should restart. 'I think Iran should make it very clear that it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium, or indeed progress to developing nuclear bomb capacity.' Meanwhile, Mr Harris said there was a 'massive effort' at EU level to support citizens and diplomats in Iran and Israel. He said the EU was engaging with Germany, France and the UK to persuade the Iranians back into talks. 'It is almost impossible to overstate the potential danger of this, if there ends up being involvement of other countries, or indeed spill-over into other countries,' he said on Thursday. 'Ireland, whilst far away in one way, does obviously have a number of citizens in both countries, have a significant number of troops in Lebanon, is very concerned about the situation in Palestine, so there's quite a lot of moving parts in this.' He told RTE Radio: 'Nobody wants to see Iran with nuclear capabilities. 'Everybody is aware of the dangers that Iran poses, but at the same time, the way you resolve these issues is through the talks that were scheduled to take place and which were obviously ultimately postponed as a result of Israeli (incursion).' He said Irish embassies had contacted citizens in Iran and Israel on Wednesday who would like to leave when the opportunity arises. There are around 29 Irish citizens and 12 dependants in Iran, and 200 Irish citizens in Israel. 'There's the massive effort at a European level to make sure we try to provide support to our own citizens and our own diplomats in what is becoming a really dangerous environment and a really difficult environment in which to operate from and function from as well,' he told RTE Radio. He said that as the airspace is closed in Iran, evacuation would mean going over the land border, and for those in Israel it means travelling to Jordan or Egypt. 'There are a number of options available to us. We're working very closely with a number of member states, and we're also having to now, in a very serious way, also look at how we best support our diplomats, because the situation is deteriorating quite significantly in terms of being able to effectively operate in the country, and also obviously safety and security issues,' he said.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Irish leaders call for ‘immediate de-escalation' between Iran and Israel
Ireland's premier and deputy premier have called for an 'immediate de-escalation' between Israel and Iran and for diplomatic talks to restart. Irish premier Micheal Martin said Iran should make clear it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium. Irish deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the minister for foreign affairs, said work was ongoing at EU level to engage with citizens in Israel and Iran who may wish to leave. Iran and Israel have been striking each other's territory for a week, deepening the crisis in the Middle East. Israel said it launched an attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, but it is the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, far in excess of the levels required for power stations and a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. After a missile attack on a hospital in southern Israel, defence minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'absolutely should not continue to exist'. US President Donald Trump has also reportedly been considering involving the US by targeting a uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Asked what role Ireland can play in the crisis, Mr Martin said Ireland and the EU can urge 'restraint and de-escalation'. 'The world needs stability and it needs peace – and dialogue is the way to resolve the nuclear issue in terms of Iran,' the Taoiseach told RTE Radio. 'Iran has been a malign actor in the Middle East for quite a long time in terms of supporting Hezbollah, Hamas the Houthis – it's a theocratic autocratic state. 'But there was dialogue on the way between Iran and the United States on that issue, I think that should restart. 'I think Iran should make it very clear that it will not pursue further enrichment of uranium, or indeed progress to developing nuclear bomb capacity.' Meanwhile, Mr Harris said there was a 'massive effort' at EU level to support citizens and diplomats in Iran and Israel. He said the EU was engaging with Germany, France and the UK to persuade the Iranians back into talks. 'It is almost impossible to overstate the potential danger of this, if there ends up being involvement of other countries, or indeed spill-over into other countries,' he said on Thursday. 'Ireland, whilst far away in one way, does obviously have a number of citizens in both countries, have a significant number of troops in Lebanon, is very concerned about the situation in Palestine, so there's quite a lot of moving parts in this.' He told RTE Radio: 'Nobody wants to see Iran with nuclear capabilities. 'Everybody is aware of the dangers that Iran poses, but at the same time, the way you resolve these issues is through the talks that were scheduled to take place and which were obviously ultimately postponed as a result of Israeli (incursion).' He said Irish embassies had contacted citizens in Iran and Israel on Wednesday who would like to leave when the opportunity arises. There are around 29 Irish citizens and 12 dependants in Iran, and 200 Irish citizens in Israel. 'There's the massive effort at a European level to make sure we try to provide support to our own citizens and our own diplomats in what is becoming a really dangerous environment and a really difficult environment in which to operate from and function from as well,' he told RTE Radio. He said that as the airspace is closed in Iran, evacuation would mean going over the land border, and for those in Israel it means travelling to Jordan or Egypt. 'There are a number of options available to us. We're working very closely with a number of member states, and we're also having to now, in a very serious way, also look at how we best support our diplomats, because the situation is deteriorating quite significantly in terms of being able to effectively operate in the country, and also obviously safety and security issues,' he said.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US-Iran nuclear deal could be reached as soon as next round of talks, sources tell CNN
The fifth round of talks between the US and Iran concluded last Friday in Rome, with Iranian and Omani officials issuing positive statements. An Iranian nuclear deal could be reached during the next round of talks between the United States and Iran, sources told CNN on Wednesday. The report said that mediators are "closing in on a broad agreement" that could be achieved next time the countries meet, likely in a Middle Eastern country. US President Donald Trump also told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "not to disrupt talks," the report noted. On Wednesday, the New York Times alleged that Netanyahu threatened to strike nuclear facilities as the US expressed concern that these strikes would disrupt nuclear talks, preferring to exhaust diplomatic avenues. The Prime Minister's Office responded to the report, saying that it was "fake news." The fifth round of talks between the US and Iran concluded last Friday in Rome, with Iranian and Omani officials issuing positive statements about the future of talks. During these negotiations, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held more than two hours of talks with the Iranian delegation and agreed to meet in the near future. However, the Omani Foreign Minister said in a statement that the fifth round wrapped "with some but not conclusive progress," and that "we hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement." Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
Wall Street Journal
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Ukraine and Russia Exchange Hundreds More Prisoners of War
Ukraine and Russia struck a deal that will see 1,000 prisoners exchanged from each side following the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in nearly three years. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
The National
20-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Qatar discussing ideas with Oman 'to bridge gaps' in US-Iran talks
Qatar on Tuesday said it was discussing ideas with Oman to try to bridge the remaining gaps in talks between Washington and Tehran as Iran 's supreme leader cast doubts on whether negotiations would reach a conclusion. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said he had suggested a trilateral format of engagement with Iran and Oman – the mediator in the recent talks with the US – in order to 'bridge the gaps between the two parties'. "The 'ast thing we want is a nuclear race or round of escalation next to our countries," the'prime minister said from the Qatar Economic Forum. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said he did not believe the talks with the US were likely to reach a conclusion, as a diplomatic stand-off continues over Tehran's uranium enrichment. 'We don't think it will reach a conclusion. We don't know what will happen,' he said during a speech. Denying Iran the right to enrich uranium was a 'big mistake', he added. Oman has mediated four rounds of talks between the US and Iran since April 12, with the next one yet to be determined. The Qatari Prime Minister said there was a 'positive momentum' based on his conversation with US President Donald Trump who went on a Gulf tour last week that took him to Doha. 'He also wants to avoid any conflict or escalation and this shows leadership and political will. On Iran, we've seen the same positivity,' he said. Last week, Mr Trump said a new nuclear deal was close and that Iran had been provided with a proposal. He told Tehran it needed to 'move quickly or something bad is going to happen'. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran was reviewing the proposal. Fellow Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said talks would fail if the US continued to insist that Tehran refrains from enrichment. Two senior Iranian officials told The National in Tehran that talks were stumbling over the issue of uranium enrichment. Iran has 'not accepted' an invitation from Oman for a fifth round of talks in Rome this Friday, one official said, after US negotiator Steve Witkoff said enrichment would not be allowed under any deal. Enrichment is 'one very, very clear red line' for the Trump administration, Mr Witkoff said on Monday. The officials described negotiations, which are solely focused on nuclear activity and do not extend to other issues such as Iran's ballistic missile capacities or regional policies, as 'respectful' so far. However, there was a 'serious problem' with the US insistence on zero enrichment, one of the officials said, and Iranians have been frustrated by what they see as ambitious and inconsistent positions from Washington. Tehran has repeatedly stated its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful and civilian purposes.
