Russia slams report it backed ‘zero enrichment' Iran nuclear deal
US news outlet Axios reported on Saturday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Putin had 'encouraged' Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.
The article 'appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran's nuclear program,' the Russian ministry of foreign affairs said on Sunday.
'Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions,' the statement read.
Tehran is suspected by Western countries and Israel of seeking to develop an atomic bomb, which it denies, defending its 'non-negotiable' right to develop a civilian nuclear program.
Moscow has a cordial relationship with Iran's clerical leadership and provides crucial backing for Tehran but did not swing forcefully behind its partner even after the United States joined Israel's bombing campaign in June.
Publicly, Moscow has defended Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes but in recent months, Putin has also drawn closer to US President Donald Trump.
On June 13, Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, triggering a 12-day war.
The conflict halted negotiations initiated in April between Tehran and Washington to frame Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran.
On June 22, the United States bombed the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.
The exact extent of the damage is not known.
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Arab News
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- Arab News
A stain on the face of humanity
The US is finally admitting that Gazans are starving. In the space of less than 24 hours, President Donald Trump shifted positions, from saying that he was not sure people are starving in Gaza to stating that there is 'real starvation' in the Israeli-blockaded enclave. In a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump said that the US would set up 'food centers' in Gaza as he acknowledged Israel 'has a lot of responsibility' for limiting aid to the Strip. His admission puts him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday denied that people are starving in Gaza. In March, Israel pulled out of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, negotiated through the US, and imposed a full blockade on more than 2 million Gazans. It stopped all aid trucks from entering the Strip, thereby denying civilians access to essential supplies such as food, baby formula, medicine, fuel and water. Israel has used starvation as a weapon from Day 1 of its onslaught on Gaza. Its officials are on record admitting and supporting the blockade. Far-right Cabinet ministers have objected to any proposal that would reopen the border crossings to allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter the beleaguered enclave. On the few occasions that aid trucks have been admitted, Israel attacked and killed aid workers, including foreign nationals. It accused Hamas of stealing the aid, but the US Agency for International Development debunked that claim. Israel banned the leading UN agency, UNRWA, which is responsible for delivering food and medicine to the Palestinians. It bombed food warehouses in Gaza and created a human-made humanitarian catastrophe that — so far — has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children and infants from acute malnutrition. And when pressure was put on Israel and the US to offer an alternative to the UN and other organizations, Netanyahu created the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-Israeli entity manned by armed contractors and protected by the Israeli army, which took responsibility for feeding more than 2 million souls. The outcome is tragic and, to say the least, criminal. So far, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been gunned down by Israel and the armed contractors as they huddled like animals to receive meals. But even then, Israel poured cement into water wells, denied hospitals access to fuel and medication, and continued to strike safe zones where hapless civilians were ordered to move by the Israeli army for their safety. The irony is that, even as Israel knowingly and deliberately pushed the Strip into starvation, Western governments, including the US, did nothing to stop it. It was only when the harrowing images of emaciated babies went viral on social media that real pressure was put on Israel. Netanyahu last week announced a humanitarian pause, allowing aid trucks into the Strip and facilitating airdrops. But while hundreds of trucks traveled from Egypt into an Israeli-controlled border point, only 100 were allowed in. Aid agencies estimate that between 500 and 700 trucks are needed daily to contain the humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Osama Al-Sharif The so-called humanitarian pause is a lie. Israel continues to bomb Gaza, mainly killing civilians, while the few functioning hospitals lack fuel, food, water and medication. Now, Trump wants to establish food centers in Gaza. Israel will find ways to sabotage that effort. What Trump fails or refuses to say is that Israel must open the border crossings to let aid trucks in without conditions. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Israel lost all sympathy for its war as it waged an open genocide on Gaza. The objective was never to defeat Hamas but to destroy Gaza and displace its people. US, Egyptian, Qatari and even Israeli negotiators know that Hamas was ready to deliver the hostages if Israel would commit to ending the war. However, Netanyahu and his far-right government partners have other ideas. They openly talk about reoccupying and colonizing Gaza. They have no sympathy for the high civilian toll and push for forcing Gazans to leave at any price. Israel's image in the West has been tarnished and no one believes it can ever be repaired. If and when the war stops and independent journalists and investigators enter the Strip, the complete picture of the horrors Israel has created there will become clear. Even Israeli reports now believe the final death toll in Gaza will be double or triple the current figures. Despite all the war crimes that Israel has committed in Gaza, the Palestinians are not leaving. Israel has had to abandon its grotesque proposal to set up a so-called humanitarian city on the remains of Rafah — a concentration camp no different to the ones the Nazis built for European Jews ahead of their 'final solution.' The images of starving Palestinian children are a stain on the face of humanity, but they will especially haunt Israelis and those who enabled this genocide. It could be brought to an end today. Trump must tell Israel to do so. Trump's admission that Gazans are starving and that the war must end requires bold action. Such action must be done in collaboration with Western countries that have leverage remaining over Israel. Ending the humanitarian crisis is a priority. This collective message must be sent to Netanyahu as soon as possible. Ending the blockade is the first step. 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The Palestinian issue is, at its heart, not humanitarian but political and the time has come to address it.
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Is Israel the region's new police?
Seven years ago, I wrote about the 'regional rise of Israel.' Today, its presence is greater than ever, and it is behind dramatic geopolitical changes in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. After all this, how does Israel now view itself? Israel is unlikely to settle for its old role; it will seek political roles that reflect its military capabilities. Tel Aviv maintained a policy for over half a century based on protecting its existence, and its old and occupied borders. This included confronting Iran and manipulating opposing powers, including the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad. Today, Israel is launching a new phase after having dismantled the powers that surrounded it. For the first time in its modern history, there is no regional force declaring a threat against Israel and capable of acting on it. Even Iran, after the destruction of its offensive capabilities, cannot do so. This equation could change in the future if Iran manages to rebuild its internal and external strength, but for now, that seems unlikely or far off. With changing circumstances, Israel's strategy is also changing. It no longer wants to be just a border guard — it wants to be an offensive player in the region. The region itself is scattered, with no clear alliances, as if it is waiting for someone to resolve its instability, including the Tehran axis, which has significantly shrunk. There are two possibilities for what Israel could become. The first: It sees itself as a force to preserve the new status quo and 'stability,' engaging peacefully with its neighbors by expanding relations with the rest of the Arab world. This would mean the end of the era of war and boycott. With the fall or weakening of regimes that opposed it, Israel would bolster its interests by entrenching the geopolitical situation, cleaning up its surroundings, and sidelining what remains of movements hostile to it. The second possibility is that Israel, with its military superiority, wants to reshape the region based on its political vision and interests — and that could mean more confrontations. Regional states have longstanding fears in this regard. Expansionist regimes, such as Saddam's Iraq, and Iran, viewed Israel as an obstacle to their regional ambitions and adopted a confrontational stance, even if their rhetoric was always wrapped in the Palestinian cause. The attacks by Hamas pulled Israel out of its shell and placed it more squarely in the regional equation than ever before. So, is Israel seeking regional coexistence, or does it aim to appoint itself as the region's police? Israel is a small country and will likely remain so due to the nature of its system that insists on preserving its Jewish identity. Abdulrahman Al-Rashed Everything suggests that Israel wants to be a player in regional politics and conflicts. It could act as a military contractor, regional actor, or even the leader of an alliance. It has already quickly blocked Iraqi intervention in Syria and Turkish expansion as well. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's appetite for conflict has revived fears of a 'Greater Israel' project and ambitions to expand across the region. But the truth is, most of these narratives are pushed by parties involved in the conflict, such as Iran, Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the left. Israel may be seeking a dominant role, but geographic expansion seems unlikely. For 50 years, it has remained inward-looking, using its financial, military, and legal capabilities to absorb the territories it occupied in the 1967 war. It is still struggling to hold onto them and has foiled many attempts to return them — either through a Palestinian state or by restoring them to Jordanian and Egyptian administration. Israel is a small country and will likely remain so due to the nature of its system that insists on preserving its Jewish identity. Today, 20 percent of its citizens are Palestinian. If it were to annex the occupied territories, Palestinians would make up half the population. That makes the real challenge absorbing, not expanding, the West Bank and Gaza. The fear is that Israeli extremists could try to exploit the current chaos for this purpose. That happened after the Oct. 7 attack, which was used as justification to expel part of the West Bank and Gaza population. This is a real possibility with dangerous consequences. However, there is exaggeration in the rhetoric pushed by ideologues warning of a so-called 'Greater Israel,' often citing images and articles calling for expansion beyond the Jordan River. These may exist within Talmudic or political narratives, just as some dream of 'Al-Andalus' in old Arab-Islamic history. Demographically, Israel is bound by its concept of a Jewish state and fears ethnic dilution, unlike most countries in the region, which were formed through and accepted ethnic and cultural diversity. Israel seeks dominance, but it fears the inevitable demographic integration that comes with occupation. Politically, the future strategy of the Jewish state — after its recent military victories — remains unclear and may still be taking shape. Regardless of what it wants — whether a peaceful state open to its Arab neighbors or a regional police entangled in constant battles — the region has its own dynamics. Competing and complex factors drive it, and no single power can dominate it.
