Ahead of new talks, Iran blames Europe for nuclear deal collapse
The 2015 agreement – reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United
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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Cambodia calls for ceasefire amid deadly border clashes with Thailand
A pagoda damaged by Thai artillery is pictured in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people "could develop into war", as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. Photo / AFP Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. A pagoda damaged by Thai artillery is pictured in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people "could develop into war", as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. Photo / AFP Cambodia wants an 'immediate ceasefire' with Thailand, the country's envoy to the United Nations said on Friday, after the neighbours traded deadly strikes for a second day, with Bangkok also signalling an openness to talks. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on Friday. 'Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,' said Phnom Penh's UN ambassador Chhea Keo after a closed meeting of the council attended by Cambodia and Thailand. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border on Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian – a 70-year-old man – had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops.
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- RNZ News
Iran and Europeans begin nuclear talks with questions over future UN sanctions
By Ali Kucukgocmen and John Irish Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state news agency IRNA that Iran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless". File picture. Photo: AFP / Atta Kenare Iran has pushed back on suggestions of extending a UN resolution that ratifies a 2015 nuclear deal as it began the first face-to-face talks with Western powers since Israel and the US bombed it last month. Delegations from Iran, the European Union and the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, arrived for talks at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the US withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. A deadline of 18 October is fast approaching when the resolution governing that deal expires. At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless a "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before. This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence. To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six months. Iran would need to make commitments on key issues including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and accounting for 400kg of near-weapons grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes. Minutes before the talks began, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the state news agency IRNA that Iran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless". The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which US President Donald Trump, said had "obliterated" a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted Iranian nuclear sites, but that the other two were not as badly damaged. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. European and Iranian diplomats say there is no prospect of Iran re-engaging with the US at the negotiating table for now. - Reuters
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
France will recognise State of Palestine, Macron says
By Valérie Leroux , AFP Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Ludovic Marin / AFP French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move. At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally - though Israel and the United States strongly oppose the moves. Several countries have announced plans to recognise statehood for the Palestinians since Israel launched a bombardment of Gaza in 2023 in response to the 7 October attacks. Macron's announcement drew immediate anger from Israel, with Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin labelling it a "shameless decision" that would be a "direct aid to terrorism". Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the move, saying it "reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state". International concern is growing about the plight of the more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the fighting has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation . Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for Gaza's deepening hunger crisis, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made" and France blamed on an Israeli "blockade". Palestinian children queue for a portion of hot food distributed by a charity kitchen in Gaza City, on 20 July. The World Food Programme says nearly one in three people in Gaza do not eat for days at a stretch. Photo: Majdi Fathi Macron said the "urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population". "We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East," he wrote on social media. He said he intended to make the announcement at the UN General Assembly in September. While France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he would hold a call with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting on Friday, adding that a ceasefire would "put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state". Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced recognition following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, along with several other non-European countries. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,587 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. - AFP
