Report: Iran responds to Trump's nuclear talks proposal as US sends bombers to region
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 March 2025, 10:55
Iran has delivered a formal written response to U.S. President Donald Trump's letter proposing new nuclear talks and threatening consequences if a deal is not reached swiftly, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday.
Trump gave Iran a two-month deadline to sign a new nuclear deal or face potential military action in his letter, sent three weeks ago.
Iran delivered its response via the Gulf Sultanate of Oman, which duly notified the U.S., a source with knowledge of the issue confirmed to U.S. news portal Axios.
The Omanis briefed the U.S. on the messages they received from the Iranians and will deliver the Iranian letter to the White House in the coming days, the source said.
Araghchi said in a news conference that Iran maintains its position that it won't negotiate directly with the Trump administration so long as Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign is in place, but is willing to hold indirect talks.
In recent days, the U.S. military sent several B-2 stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean in a deployment a U.S. official said was "not disconnected" from Trump's two-month deadline.
The B-2 bombers can carry huge bunker buster bombs that would be a key element in any possible military action against Iran's underground nuclear facilities.
A spokesperson for U.S. Strategic Command confirmed the deployment to Axios and said Stratcom "routinely conducts global operations in coordination with other combatant commands, services, and participating U.S. government agencies to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat strategic attacks against the United States and its allies."
Three weeks ago in an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, Trump revealed that he'd sent a letter to the Iranian leader proposing direct negotiations.
That letter was delivered by his envoy Steve Witkoff to United Arab Emirates Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ), with MBZ's envoy Anwar Gargash traveling to Tehran to deliver it to Araghchi.
That same week, Trump said the U.S. is "down to the final moments" with Iran. "We can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Something is going to happen very soon. I would rather have a peace deal than the other option, but the other option will solve the problem," he said.
Oman played a key role mediating between the U.S. and Iran during the Obama and Biden administrations.
Several rounds of indirect talks have been held in Oman between Biden's advisers and Iranian officials. Those talks mostly focused on regional issues and hostages, but didn't lead to serious negotiations over the nuclear program.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Three Alawites killed after attack on Syria government forces
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 June 2025, 11:44 Three Alawite civilians were killed in western Syria overnight, hours after an attack on government forces killed at least one officer, a war monitor said on Wednesday. Syrian authorities said four civilians were targeted by unknown attackers in the Tal Kalakh area near the Lebanese border, killing two of them. Since an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the Alawite community, which he hails from, has been repeatedly attacked. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three civilians were killed in Baruha village by "local armed groups" who also set fire to shops and cars. The head of security in Homs province, Murhaf Naasan, said: "Four civilians were directly targeted by unknown people, killing two of them and critically wounding two others." The deaths comes hours after Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported that a security officer had been killed in an attack in the Tal Kalakh area. In March, sectarian massacres in the Alawite heartland on Syria's Mediterranean coast saw security forces and allied groups kill more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, according to the Observatory's figures. The Islamist-led government accused Assad loyalists of sparking the violence by launching coordinated attacks on security forces. The government has since launched an inquiry.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Police make 'mass arrests' in LA during nighttime curfew
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 June 2025, 11:48 Los Angeles police began arresting people in the city's downtown late Tuesday, as groups gathered in violation of an overnight curfew after a fifth day of protests against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Looting and vandalism in the second-biggest U.S. city have marred the largely peaceful protests over ramped-up arrests by immigration authorities. The demonstrations, which began Friday, and isolated acts of violence prompted Trump to take the extraordinary step of sending in troops, over the objection of the state governor. The protests again turned ugly after dark Tuesday, but an hour into the overnight curfew only a handful of protesters were left downtown, with police making several arrests as they warned stragglers to leave. "Multiple groups continue to congregate on 1st St between Spring and Alameda" within the designated downtown curfew area, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) wrote on X late Tuesday. "Those groups are being addressed and mass arrests are being initiated." Police arrested 25 people on suspicion of violating the curfew as of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an LAPD spokesperson. The number of arrests was likely to rise as law enforcement worked to remove the remaining protesters from the area, the newspaper said. Earlier, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she had issued the curfew "to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting." One square mile (2.5 square kilometers) of the city's more-than-500 square mile area will be off-limits from 8:00 pm and 6:00 am (0300 to 1300 GMT) for everyone apart from residents, journalists and emergency services, she added. One protester told AFP the arrest of migrants in a city with large immigrant and Latino populations was the root of the unrest. "I think that obviously they're doing it for safety," she said of the curfew. "But I don't think that part of the problem is the peaceful protests. It's whatever else is happening on the other side that is inciting violence." At their largest, the protests have included a few thousand people taking to the streets, but smaller mobs have used the cover of darkness to set fires, daub graffiti and smash windows. Overnight, Monday 23 businesses were looted, police said, adding that more than 500 people had been arrested over recent days. Protests against immigration arrests by federal law enforcement have also sprung up in cities around the country, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Austin. - 'Provide protection' - Trump has ordered 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, along with 700 active-duty Marines, in what he has claimed is a necessary escalation to take back control -- despite the insistence of local law enforcement that they could handle matters. A military spokeswoman said the Marines were expected to be on the streets by Wednesday. Their mission will be to guard federal facilities and to accompany "federal officers in immigration enforcement operations in order to provide protection." Demonstrators told AFP the soldiers "should be respected" because they had not chosen to be in Los Angeles, but Lisa Orman blasted it as "ridiculous." "I was here for the Dodger parade," she said, referring to the LA team's World Series victory. "It was 100 times bigger," she said, branding the idea that Marines were necessary as "a big show" that Trump wanted. The Pentagon said the deployment would cost US taxpayers $134 million. Photographs issued by the Marine Corps showed men in combat fatigues using riot shields to practice crowd control techniques at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Late Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state would deploy its National Guard "to locations across the state to ensure peace & order" after solidarity protests. "Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," Abbott wrote on X. The Texas National Guard "will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." - Behaving like 'a tyrant' - In sprawling Los Angeles on Tuesday, it was largely a typical day: tourists thronged Hollywood Boulevard, celebrities attended red carpet premieres, tens of thousands of children went to school and commuter traffic choked the streets. But at a military base in North Carolina, Trump was painting a much darker picture. "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and national sovereignty," the Republican told troops at Fort Bragg. "This anarchy will not stand. We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy." California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with the president before, said Trump's shock militarization of the city was the behavior of "a tyrant, not a president." In a filing to the US District Court in Northern California, Newsom asked for an injunction preventing the use of troops for policing. US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force -- absent the declaration of an insurrection, which Trump has mused. The president "is trying to use emergency declarations to justify bringing in first the National Guard and then mobilizing Marines," said law professor Frank Bowman.
Nahar Net
7 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Manchester City manager Guardiola calls for more attention on Gaza suffering
by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 June 2025, 21:47 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged people not to ignore the suffering in Gaza amid Israel's military campaign and longstanding blockade of the territory. "It's so painful, what we see in Gaza. It hurts me all (over) my body," the Spanish coach said in a speech at the University of Manchester, where he was given an honorary degree on Monday. "It's not about ideology. It's not about, I'm right or you're wrong. Come on. It is just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbor," Guardiola said. Guardiola was honored for his sporting success with City and for his "inspirational work away from football, including through his family foundation, the Guardiola Sala Foundation," the university said on its website. It made no mention of Guardiola's speech regarding the situation in Gaza, where more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed during the 20-month-long war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. "Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed (by) a bomb or being killed at the hospital because it's not a hospital anymore, it's not our business," Guardiola said. "But be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry, but I see my kids, Maria, Marius and Valentina, when I see every morning since the nightmare started for the infants in Gaza, and I'm so ... scared." The current war was ignited by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023, when 251 hostages were taken. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into Gaza, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine. Israel says Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule. "You might ask what we can do," Guardiola said. "There is a story, I'm reminded of it often. A forest is on fire. All the animals leave, terrified, helpless, helpless. But the small bird flies back and forth, back and forth to the sea, back and forth, carrying drops of water in the sea and beak. The snake laughs and asks, 'Why bro, you will never put the fire out.' The bird replies, 'Yes I know it.' 'Then why you do it again and again,' the snake asks. 'I'm just doing my part,' the bird replied for the last time. That is, the bird knows it doesn't stop the fire, but it refuses to do nothing." The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.
