Iran Meets UK, France and Germany for Nuclear Talks
Diplomats from the Islamic Republic met with counterparts from the UK, France and Germany — the so-called E3 bloc of top European economies — at around 10:30 a.m. local time to try and ease a standoff over Iran's atomic activities.
The talks come about a month after the US bombed three key nuclear sites in Iran, triggering a break in international inspections of its atomic activities and raising questions over the whereabouts of its stockpile of enriched uranium. The strike also derailed separate nuclear negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the Trump administration.
The E3 helped broker a 2015 nuclear deal — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — with Iran that imposed strict limits on Tehran's atomic work in exchange for sanctions relief. Friday's talks are important because they could delay any effort by the Europeans to 'snap back' broad United Nations sanctions that were lifted as part of that accord.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot last week announced the possibility of reimposing the sanctions by the end of August if Iran fails to reach a deal limiting its nuclear program.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the E3 has lost any right to invoke the JCPOA's snapback mechanism, which expires in October, because it failed to meet its own obligations under the agreement after US President Donald Trump withdrew from it seven years ago.
On Wednesday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said Tehran has 'not ruled out' withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons if the UN were to reimpose sanctions.
'That's still on the table,' Kazem Gharibabadi, who's attending the Istanbul talks, told reporters. 'I'm quite confident that if the snapback is triggered, Iran will not show more restraint in this regard,' he said.
--With assistance from Patrick Sykes.
(Updates lead to reflect talks have started.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
19 minutes ago
- Economic Times
EM debt hedge funds play safe amid rally
"It is very hard to predict what they will do next with tariffs, and on top of that you have ongoing wars," Efstathiou said. Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Hedge funds dedicated to emerging-market debt are increasingly turning to risk-mitigating strategies to ensure they lock in double digit gains as a broad rally in developing nation assets a banner first half of the year, hedge funds targeting EM debt have returned nearly 13% on an annual basis-more than their peers positioned in any other asset class, according to data based on Bloomberg latest global financial flows data shows the asset class remains thriving and the extra yield investors demand to hold the sovereign debt of developing nations over US Treasuries just hit a 15-year low. Such tight pricing, along with uncertainty over US policies and global conflicts, is pushing hedge funds to curb risks as they ride the historic rally. The funds do this by swapping longer-maturity bonds in their portfolios for less risky shorter-dated ones. They also focus on higher-rated debt and the most-liquid securities while keeping an ample cash pile."Do you just want to be massively long on credit on these valuations? I'd say probably not," said Anthony Kettle, who co-manages BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Bond Fund with Polina Kurdyavko and Brent David. "Having a little bit of dry powder evidently makes sense, and also running elevated cash levels."To be clear, Kettle said, there's still a "decent environment" to gain additional returns as funds become more selective and can profit from both rising and falling asset prices, unlike index-based investors. The $784-million BlueBay fund has returned 17% over the past 12 have taken advantage of EM inflows stoked by increased interest for alternative assets amid US policy unpredictability, which has also weakened the dollar. While many developing countries have come out of distressed debt levels as sentiment improved, further risks include another Iran-Israel flare up and potential additional increases in US tariffs, including on the buyers of Russian Donald Trump's administration has caused a "breakdown of the traditional safe haven correlations" by shaking up the post-Cold War world order, creating an "unusual and unpredictable" environment, said Demetris Efstathiou, the chief investment officer of Blue Diagonal EM Fixed Income Fund."It is very hard to predict what they will do next with tariffs, and on top of that you have ongoing wars," Efstathiou said.
Mint
19 minutes ago
- Mint
Thai and Cambodian PMs to meet today after Trump steps in to broker peace deal
Thai and Cambodian leaders are expected to meet on Monday in a bid to end the most intense border violence between their countries in more than ten years. The talks come after President Donald Trump intervened by threatening trade tariffs to push for a ceasefire. Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will hold the meeting in Kuala Lumpur at 3 p.m. local time, Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said. The discussions will take place at the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is hosting the talks in his role as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The first talks since clashes began on July 24 come within 48 hours of Trump saying Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to 'quickly work out a ceasefire.' After separate calls with Phumtham and Hun Manet on Saturday, Trump had threatened that Washington will not do a trade deal with either country as long as the fighting continued. The threat set off a flurry of diplomatic activities on Sunday with Anwar eventually getting the two sides to agree to meet. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke to the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia and urged them to immediately de-escalate tensions while offering US help in future talks. Speaking to reporters just before meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, Trump acknowledged the phone calls with the two leaders. 'I called the prime ministers of each and I said, 'We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war.' A lot of people killed,' Trump said. 'And I think by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now.' With Trump's Aug. 1 tariff deadline looming, trade-reliant Thailand wants to avoid antagonizing the US president, especially as its officials have been holding talks to lower the steep 36% planned levy on its exports. Trump has claimed credit for helping halt border clashes earlier this year between India and Pakistan by leveraging trade measures, and is now applying similar pressure in Southeast Asia. 'When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!,' Trump said on Truth Social after speaking to Thai and Cambodian leaders Saturday. Thailand's trade talks with the US have included offering expanded access for American goods in an effort to narrow a $46 billion trade surplus with Washington. Neighboring Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have already secured trade deals with the US in recent weeks. Thailand and Cambodia shouldn't have needed the pressure from Trump, and should have turned to Asean as a natural middle ground to mediate the conflict well before US intervention, said Fuadi Pitsuwan, a lecturer in international relations at Thammasat University in Bangkok. 'In the end, Trump will likely frame the situation as a win: he enforced a ceasefire while securing leverage' to impose punitive tariff rates, he said. Despite the economic stakes, Thailand has taken a firm stance ahead of Monday's talks. Officials say any ceasefire must be tied to bilateral resolution of the dispute, the withdrawal of troops, and a halt to the use of lethal weapons. Cambodia, by contrast, has said it is open to an unconditional cessation of hostilities. The talks are 'intended to listen to all proposals that could contribute to restoring peace,' spokesman Jirayu said. 'The Thai government remains committed to defending the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Every square inch of it.' The conflict, which escalated from months of simmering border tension, has killed more than 30 people and displaced over 150,000 civilians on both sides. Thailand has reported 22 fatalities, including eight soldiers, while Cambodia has confirmed 13 deaths, including five military personnel. Heavy artillery fire continued on Sunday across the countries' 800-kilometer (500-mile) shared border. Both sides accused each other of targeting civilian areas with rockets and artillery. Thailand has responded by deploying F-16s and Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to strike Cambodian military positions. Thailand and Cambodia share a history of border disputes, though relations have remained largely stable since a deadly 2011 clash that left dozens dead. The last major flare-up centered on the Preah Vihear temple, a historic flashpoint rooted in colonial-era disagreements. Much of the current dispute stems from maps drawn on differing interpretations of early 20th-century Franco-Siamese treaties, which defined the border between Thailand and Cambodia, then part of French Indochina.
India Today
19 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump-Xi to meet? US, China resume tariff talks to extend truce
Top negotiators from the United States and China met in Stockholm on Monday to resume trade talks aimed at resolving long-standing economic disputes. The meeting comes days before an August 12 deadline to reach a deal and avoid a sharp increase in tariffs that could further disrupt global Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng led the talks. The meeting follows a temporary trade truce in mid-May and a draft deal in June, which helped ease tension between the two if no long-term solution is reached by the August 12 deadline, both sides may impose retaliatory tariffs of over 100% on certain goods. While President Donald Trump secured a major breakthrough in trade deal with the European Union during his visit to Scotland. As part of that agreement, the EU accepted a 15% tariff on exports to the US and promised $600 billion in investments, along with large purchases of US energy and military no similar breakthrough is expected with China, reports claimed that both sides may agree to extend the current truce for another 90 days. This would give negotiators more time to work out a broader agreement and could set the stage for a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this KEEP TENSIONS HIGHAccording to the South China Morning Post, both sides are likely to hold off on new tariffs for another 90 days."We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," President Trump the current talks focus mainly on tariffs and halted exports like rare earth minerals and US-made AI chips, deeper economic issues remain unresolved. The US has been criticising China's state-backed economic system, which it says floods global markets with cheap goods. Meanwhile, China argues that US export controls are unfairly targeting its tech TRUMP AND XI MEET?There is speculation that President Trump may visit China later this year. A successful round of talks in Stockholm has opened the door to that possibility, according to Wendy Cutler of the Asia Society Policy has stated that he wants to extend the current tariff truce past August 12 to avoid a surge in import duties — which could jump to 145% on the US is also likely to ask the US to lower the 55% average tariffs it currently faces and ease restrictions on buying American high-tech goods. Beijing argues that buying more from the US could help reduce the trade deficit, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch
