EU, France, Germany, Britain to hold talks with Iranian FM, sources say
Sources close to the European Union have told NHK that the European Union, France, Germany and Britain will hold talks with the Iranian foreign minister on Friday in Geneva.
The sources said on Wednesday that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministers of the three European countries will discuss the latest developments surrounding Iran with Abbas Araghchi in the Swiss city.
The sources say the European side aims to persuade Iran to return to negotiations on its nuclear program.
On Monday, the EU and the three countries spoke with Araghchi over the phone, expressed their concerns about Iranian nuclear development and urged Tehran to go back to the negotiating table.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
3 hours ago
Japan Preparing Fresh Measure for Gasoline Price Surge
News from Japan Jun 19, 2025 17:53 (JST) Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that the government plans to implement an additional measure on June 26 to prepare for a possible surge in gasoline prices in response to the heightened tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel-Iran conflict. The government is expected to use surplus funds generated in April and May in the fund for a subsidy program for curbing gasoline prices. Referring to the situation in the Middle East at the beginning of a party leaders meeting, Ishiba emphasized his determination to keep gasoline prices at the current level, the same as around the time Russia started invading Ukraine, to avoid people's lives being serious impacted. The government currently provides a fixed-amount gasoline subsidy of 10 yen per liter to oil wholesalers. Due to the subsidy, the average retail price of regular gasoline has stayed below 180 yen per liter. As a precautionary measure against a possible jump in gasoline prices, the government plans to increase the amount of the subsidy to curb the average price to around 175 yen per liter. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Tokyo stocks snap 3-day win streak on fears over Mideast tensions
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks snapped a three-day winning streak Thursday, as concerns grew over intensifying tensions in the Middle East following reports that the United States may join Israel in striking Iran. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 396.81 points, or 1.02 percent, from Wednesday at 38,488.34. The broader Topix index finished 16.27 points, or 0.58 percent, lower at 2,792.08. On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by electric appliance, pharmaceutical and metal product issues. The U.S. dollar was steady around the 145 yen line in Tokyo, as market participants were cautious amid uncertainty over the Israel-Iran conflict and U.S. tariffs, dealers said. Stocks fell following an overnight decline of the U.S. Dow Jones index, with sentiment hurt after President Donald Trump reportedly told senior aides that he approved Iran attack plans but has put the final order on hold to see whether Tehran will abandon its nuclear program, brokers said. "As Trump has held his position not to rule out the possibility of a direct intervention or perhaps U.S. military operations, such remarks helped dampen sentiment," said Maki Sawada, a strategist at the Investment Content Department of Nomura Securities Co. The benchmark Nikkei briefly lost nearly 400 points as investors locked in gains after climbing more than 1,000 points over the past three trading days, with selling pressure particularly strong on heavyweight semiconductor-related issues.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Russian ties do little for Iran while boosting North Korea
During its war on Ukraine, Russia has leaned on North Korea for artillery shells and troops, and on Iran for drone technology. The payback for the two members of what former U.S. President George W. Bush once called the "Axis of Evil' has been markedly different. A year after Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defense pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North Korean leader appears to be in his most secure position since taking power in late 2011. Alongside valuable experience gained on the battlefield in Russia pushing back incursions from Ukraine, Pyongyang is believed to have bolstered its military with modern anti-aircraft missiles and advanced electronic warfare systems from Moscow. Russian supplies of oil and food have also helped Kim's regime overcome the effects of suffocating global sanctions. In contrast, Iran has little to show for its relationship with Moscow as it continues to be pummeled by waves of Israeli attacks. "North Korea is in its strongest strategic position in decades, possessing the military means to hold at risk U.S. forces and U.S. allies in Northeast Asia, while continuing to improve its capability to threaten the U.S. Homeland,' the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in its 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment report earlier this year. In an indication of North Korea's growing confidence, it has reportedly rejected a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump to Kim that might restart a dialogue after three summit meetings between the leaders during Trump's first term. Kim and Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu react during Shoigu's visit to North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 22. | KCNA / via REUTERS Key to North Korea's ability to leverage its ties with Russia has been its willingness to send troops into battle and to resupply fast depleting Russian munitions. More than 6,000 North Korean troops are believed to have been injured or killed in fighting in Russia's Kursk region, according to the U.K. Defence Ministry. South Korean intelligence authorities estimate Pyongyang deployed at least 15,000 soldiers to Russia since last fall. Tehran's strategic partnership agreement with Moscow is less comprehensive. Tehran has supplied Moscow with hundreds of attack drones since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. It also joined Putin in supporting President Bashar Assad's regime in the war in Syria before his overthrow. But the pact doesn't bind the two countries to defend each other if one is attacked, unlike the alliance between Russia and North Korea. Putin has offered to act as a mediator between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and told Trump as much in a phone call. That move likely points more to an opportunistic attempt to improve ties with Trump and deflect attention from the war in Ukraine than an effort to defend its strategic partner in the Middle East. Back in Pyongyang, the frequency of high-level contact with Moscow was on display this week when Putin's top security official, Sergei Shoigu, visited the North Korean capital for the third time in less than three months. According to Russia's Interfax news service, Shoigu said on Tuesday that North Korea agreed to dispatch 5,000 military construction workers to help rebuild infrastructure in Kursk and 1,000 sappers to clear mines from Russian territory. Alongside artillery shells, North Korea transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia last year, which were used to target civilian infrastructure in major cities including Kyiv, according to a recent report from a coalition of 11 countries that investigates violations of United Nations sanctions on North Korea. The prolonged conflict in Ukraine has stretched Russia's supplies of men and basic weaponry. That's enhanced the value of what North Korea is able to provide, even if the support remains more symbolic than critical. In return, Moscow is suspected of transferring more advanced equipment, helping North Korea plug gaps in its military capabilities. The recent coalition report cited evidence that Russia has sent military supplies, such as electronic warfare systems, to North Korea using cargo planes. Ukraine, meanwhile, is tracking evidence that Russian-Iranian drone technologies have spread to North Korea. So far, there's little indication that Russia might be supplying Pyongyang with its most advanced military technology, such as the ability to build nuclear-powered submarines. Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a think tank that advises the Kremlin, said North Korea's support for Russia has played an important role in the conflict in Ukraine. Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a documents signing ceremony in Moscow on Jan. 17. | REUTERS "Politically, Russia has demonstrated that it has reliable partners,' he said, referring to the alliance with North Korea. "Militarily, the supply of weapons and participation in combat operations in the Kursk region clearly played a role — not a decisive one, but a sufficient one.' According to the coalition report, Russia also appears to have supplied over a million barrels of oil to North Korea in 2024, exceeding the cap of 500,000 barrels set by the U.N. Security Council. The stronger hand that North Korea has gained has altered the calculus for the U.S., South Korea and other countries such as China and Japan. With a new leader in office, South Korea is trying to resume dialogue with North Korea as part of Lee Jae-myung's pledge to reduce geopolitical risks. It's far from clear whether North Korea will respond. The North Korean leader made a strategic decision in recent years to break off communications with the U.S. and its allies as he pressed ahead with modernizing and increasing the size of his nuclear arsenal. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that North Korea has assembled around 50 warheads, possesses enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more and is accelerating the production of further fissile material. As ties between Russia and North Korea have deepened, new questions have been raised about the durability of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Trump administration officials have been clear that the U.S. will focus on deterring China, and Trump has himself reiterated demands for Seoul to pay more to keep 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea. The U.S. denied a recent report that it might move around 4,500 American troops out of South Korea, but talk of a drawdown continues to circulate. Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea could create instability and undermine the credibility of U.S. deterrence in the region. "This could create an environment in which the North Koreans feel a little bit more confident than they should be and could lead to miscalculation,' Cha said.
