France's Macron: Iran nuclear programme was close to a critical stage
PARIS, June 13 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that information France had on the Iranian nuclear programme was most concerning, adding that the programme was close to a critical stage.
Macron, speaking at a news conference, said France did not recommend attacking Iran's nuclear sites, saying there was still a "diplomatic route" to resolve the issue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Telegraph
G7 has been Trump-proofed to avoid trouble – here's how
The Canadian organisers of the G7 summit are taking no chances with Donald Trump this week, ditching the usual joint communiqué, padding the event with extra guests and reducing the amount of time when the world leaders sit around the same table. It is the latest example of how global institutions are adapting to the return of an unpredictable and combative figure. A diplomat in Washington DC, who has seen the schedule, said it included fewer plenary sessions of the full group and more one-on-one meetings 'There's a lot more of that than at other summits,' he said, 'which would make sense if you are worried about one person causing trouble.' The last time Mr Trump attended a G7 summit in Canada he stormed off early, ripping up a joint communiqué and leaving a trail of withering tweets behind him. His blanket use of trade tariffs has already set nerves on edge, according to Matthew P Goodman, who was deputy to the US G7 Sherpa during the Obama administration, one of the figures doing the heavy lifting on negotiations. 'Those two issues hang over this upcoming summit, and are going to make it very challenging for the host, Mark Carney, to manage this,' he said. Canadian diplomats were buoyed by their new prime minister's performance at the White House recently, when he avoided the sort or tongue lashing delivered to some other world leaders. But organisers are leaving nothing to chance. World leaders are due to begin arriving on Sunday. They will fly into the international airport in Calgary from where they will helicopter to the picturesque setting of Kananaskis, deep in the Canadian Rockies. Organisers have padded the number of attendees by inviting leaders from India, Brazil, Ukraine, Australia and Saudi Arabia (although Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman reportedly will not be attending). Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, is coming. He knows better than most how Mr Trump can undo the best laid plans after being ambushed last month in the Oval Office and accused of allowing a 'white genocide' to unfold. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, and António Guterres, the UN secretary general, are expected to attend. There will also be a session on fentanyl smuggling, a cause particularly close to Mr Trump's heart. The result is more breakaway bilateral meetings and fewer chances for Mr Trump to clog up the agenda. Mr Goodman said: 'Any host of these forums, if they're smart, will minimise the time around the table. You need a certain amount of that, but you want to allow for a lot of time on the margins for bilateral conversations and meetings' In 2018, Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister at the time, presided over a G7 summit where Mr Trump abruptly pulled the US out of a previously agreed communiqué, before blasting his host as 'dishonest and weak'. He flew out of Canada early, apparently upset at the way Mr Trudeau had talked about Canadian tariffs on US exports. It meant weeks of careful negotiations on easing trade tensions between the US and the European Union went up in smoke. This time Mr Carney is preparing to issue a chairman's statement, according to The Toronto Star, avoiding the need for all the parties to agree on a joint position on awkward issues such as Ukraine or Israel's strikes on Iran. 'Our hope is that Mr Trump will join us in getting tougher on Russia and push through new sanctions,' said a senior diplomat from a G7 nation. 'But he could equally say, no, let's give them another two weeks and then there is no chance for agreement.' That makes it almost impossible to make progress on a joint text ahead of the summit, he added. 'The problem is that no one knows what's on Trump's mind,' he said. 'Negotiating in the absence of that is not easy.' The G7 summit is not the only high-stakes diplomacy this month. Nato leaders will assemble in The Hague next week, where defence spending will be top of the agenda. Summit organisers there are preparing a one-page communiqué, The Telegraph revealed on Friday, designed to suit Mr Trump's attention span. It will be almost entirely focused on one of the president's pet issues and the historic decision to more than double spending on defence by leaders to meet new capability targets for deterring a Russian invasion. Mr Trump stormed out of his last Nato summit in the UK in 2019, abandoning plans for a press conference, after Mr Trudeau was caught on video apparently mocking the American president. He was talking to Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, discussing how Mr Trump liked to use photo opportunities to talk to the press.
North Wales Chronicle
39 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Iran fires fresh missiles amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes
The simultaneous attacks represented the latest burst of violence since a surprise offensive by Israel two days earlier aimed at Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. New explosions boomed across Tehran as Iranian missiles entered Israel's skies in attacks which Israeli emergency officials said caused deaths around the country, including four in an apartment building in the Galilee region. A strike in central Israel killed an 80-year-old woman, a 69-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, officials said. Casualty figures were not immediately available in Iran, where Israel targeted its Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran, as well as sites that it alleged were associated with the country's nuclear programme. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Iranian missiles targeted fuel production facilities for Israeli fighter jets, something not acknowledged by Israel. Amid the continued conflict, planned negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program were cancelled, throwing into question when and how an end to the fighting could come. 'Tehran is burning,' Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on social media. Both Israel's military and Iran's state television announced the latest round of Iranian missiles as explosions were heard near midnight, while the Israeli security cabinet met. Israel's ongoing strikes across Iran have left the country's surviving leadership with the difficult decision of whether to plunge deeper into conflict with Israel's more powerful forces or seek a diplomatic route. World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate and avoid all-out war. The attack on nuclear sites set a 'dangerous precedent,' China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting. Israel — widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days have killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program. Iran's UN ambassador has said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded. The sixth round of US-Iran indirect talks on Sunday over Iran's nuclear programme will not take place, mediator Oman said. 'We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,' said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy. Iran launched its first waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early on Saturday. The attacks killed at least three people and wounded 174, two of them seriously, Israel said. The military said seven soldiers were lightly wounded when a missile hit central Israel, without specifying where. US ground-based air defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. Israel's main international airport said it will remain closed until further notice. First responders were looking for survivors and clearing the remnants of a missile that fell on a neighbourhood outside of Tel Aviv early on Sunday morning. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors in some of the areas that were too hard to access. Some people were fleeing the area with their belongings in suitcases. President Donald Trump said the US had 'nothing to do with the attack on Iran' and warned Tehran against targeting US interests in retaliation. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social late on Saturday.
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Former French president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour medal
PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, after being convicted of corruption and influence peddling last year, according to a decree published in Sunday's Official Bulletin. The centre-right politician has been embroiled in legal battles since leaving office in 2012. Last year, France's highest court upheld his conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former French head of state. Also last year, an appeals court confirmed a separate conviction for illegal campaign financing in his failed re-election bid in 2012. The rules of the Legion of Honour award meant that the revocation had been expected.
