Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday
TEHRAN: Iran's foreign ministry has said a new round of nuclear talks with the United States is being planned for Sunday, after President Donald Trump said it was expected on Thursday.
'The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement Tuesday, adding foreign minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi would this week attend the Norway's Oslo Forum, a gathering of conflict mediators.
Iran and the United States have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received 'elements' of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained 'ambiguities'.
Iran said on Monday the US proposal was 'lacking elements' reflective of the previous negotiations and that it would present a 'reasonable, logical and balanced' counter-proposal to the United States through mediator Oman.
Trump has said new US-Iran talks this week could clarify if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action.
He added that the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday.
Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington calling it as a 'red line'.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
Trump tariffs may remain in effect while appeals proceed, US Appeals court decides
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo A federal appeals court allowed President Donald Trump's most sweeping tariffs to remain in effect on Tuesday while it reviews a lower court decision blocking them on grounds that Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing them. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. means Trump may continue to enforce, for now, his "Liberation Day" tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners, as well as a separate set of tariffs levied on Canada, China and Mexico. The appeals court has yet to rule on whether the tariffs are permissible under an emergency economic powers act that Trump cited to justify them, but it allowed the tariffs to remain in place while the appeals play out. The tariffs, used by Trump as negotiating leverage with U.S. trading partners, and their on-again, off-again nature have shocked markets and whipsawed companies of all sizes as they seek to manage supply chains, production, staffing and prices. The ruling has no impact on other tariffs levied under more traditional legal authority, such as tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on May 28 that the U.S. Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law intended to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats during national emergencies. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling, and the Federal Circuit in Washington put the lower court decision on hold the next day while it considered whether to impose a longer-term pause. The ruling came in a pair of lawsuits, one filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small U.S. businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the duties and the other by 12 U.S. states. Trump has claimed broad authority to set tariffs under IEEPA. The 1977 law has historically been used to impose sanctions on enemies of the U.S. or freeze their assets. Trump is the first U.S. president to use it to impose tariffs. Trump has said that the tariffs imposed in February on Canada, China and Mexico were to fight illegal fentanyl trafficking at U.S. borders, denied by the three countries, and that the across-the-board tariffs on all U.S. trading partners imposed in April were a response to the U.S. trade deficit. The states and small businesses had argued the tariffs were not a legal or appropriate way to address those matters, and the small businesses argued that the decades-long U.S. practice of buying more goods than it exports does not qualify as an emergency that would trigger IEEPA. At least five other court cases have challenged the tariffs justified under the emergency economic powers act, including other small businesses and the state of California. One of those cases, in federal court in Washington, D.C., also resulted in an initial ruling against the tariffs, and no court has yet backed the unlimited emergency tariff authority Trump has claimed. - Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
44 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bessent emerges as possible contender to succeed Fed's Powell
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent leads Donald Trump's global trade overhaul and plays a key role in tax and regulatory changes. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has emerged as a possible candidate to succeed Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, a report immediately denied by the White House. Bessent joins a small list of Fed chair candidates that has included Kevin Warsh, a former Fed official whom Trump previously interviewed for Treasury secretary, Bloomberg added. A White House official dismissed the Bloomberg report as false. Trump said on Friday he would name a successor to Powell very soon. Bloomberg, citing two unidentified people familiar with the matter, reported that formal interviews for the job have not begun. Bessent is leading Trump's sweeping global trade overhaul and has a hand in pushing for changes to taxes and regulation.
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Trump sends Marines into Los Angeles as protests over immigration arrests intensify: ‘Hit harder than ever'
LOS ANGELES, June 11 — President Donald Trump ordered active-duty US Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops into Los Angeles on Monday, vowing those protesting immigration arrests would be 'hit harder' than ever. Trump's extraordinary mobilization of 700 full-time professional military personnel—and thousands of National Guard troops—came on the fourth day of street protests triggered by dozens of immigration arrests in a city with huge foreign-born and Latino populations. California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move, posting on X that US Marines 'shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American.' The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. Monday's demonstrations unfolded largely peacefully, however, after weekend protests triggered by dozens of arrests of people authorities said were illegal migrants and gang members. 'Pigs go home!' demonstrators shouted at National Guardsmen outside a federal detention center. Others banged on the sides of unmarked vehicles as they passed through police containment lines. One small business owner whose property was graffitied was supportive of the strongarm tactics. 'I think it's needed to stop the vandalism,' she told AFP, declining to give her name. Others were horrified. 'They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us,' Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. 'This is not a democracy anymore.' In the nearby city of Santa Ana, about 32 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Los Angeles, law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades on protesters chanting against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as darkness fell. 'Hit harder' Trump, speaking in Washington, branded the protesters 'professional agitators and insurrectionists.' On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, 'I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before.' Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful. Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged. Contrasting Trump's descriptions of the protests, Mayor Karen Bass said 'this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest.' Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said local authorities were able to control the city. 'The introduction of federal, military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents,' he told reporters. At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco. Protesters also scuffled with police in New York City and in Austin, Texas on Monday. Police made several arrests after around 100 people gathered near a federal building in Manhattan where immigration hearings are held, an AFP reporter there saw, while law enforcement fired tear gas on dozens of protesters in Austin, NBC affiliate KXAN reported. Trump's use of the military was an 'incredibly rare' move for a US president, Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, told AFP. The National Guard has not been deployed over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement. US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force on home soil absent an insurrection. For good reason, VanLandingham said, explaining that troops such as the Marines are trained to use lethal force, as opposed to domestic peacetime law enforcement. 'What does 'protect' mean to a heavily armed Marine??? Who has not/not trained with local law enforcement, hence creating a command and control nightmare?' she told AFP via email. The Pentagon said late Monday Trump had authorized an extra 2,000 guardsmen, seemingly on top of the 2,000 he deployed over the weekend. Around 1,700 guardsmen had taken up positions in Los Angeles by late Monday, the US Northern Command said on X. — AFP
