Iran and Europeans hold nuclear talks with questions over future sanctions
Delegations from Iran, the European Union and the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, arrived at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul for talks that the United Nations nuclear watchdog aid could provide an opening to resume inspections.
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. A deadline of Oct. 18 is fast approaching when the resolution governing that deal expires.
At that point, all U.N. 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 U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 880 pounds 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 U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless."
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
"We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which U.S. President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb.
However, , but that the other two were not as badly damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear programme is meant solely for civilian purposes.
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CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
With Trump pressure and a 'new Lebanon,' can Hezbollah's shadow economy be dismantled?
Up until a few months ago, the drive from Beirut's international airport through the Lebanese capital city's southern suburbs used to feature a stream of pro-Iranian and Hezbollah-themed propaganda. Hassan Nasrallah, the charismatic former leader of the Iran-backed group who was killed in Beirut last year, stared down at you from billboards while you drove along Imam Khomeini Road, named after the late founder of Iran's Islamic Republic. Images of Hezbollah leaders were interspersed with dramatic murals of fallen Iranian spy commander Qasem Soleimani. Now many of those images have been replaced with western and local brands. In June dozens of those billboards along the highway instead featured Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton advertising shaving products. Many of the new posters also feature patriotic, unifying messages that replaced the formerly sectarian signage — an attempt by Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to encourage "A New Era for Lebanon," just in time for the summer tourism boom the Mediterranean country is hoping for after months of war. In this "new" Lebanon, Hezbollah is being forced to operate in the shadows — more than ever in the group's over 40-year history. The Iranian proxy, which controls several parts of Lebanon as a sub-state group and is designated a terrorist organization by Washington, has always looked for creative ways to evade U.S. sanctions. But since Israel's aggressive assault – its most deadly since the 2006 war – Hezbollah's leadership and financial infrastructure have been left in tatters. "Hezbollah finds itself in its greatest predicament since its foundation. 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While Hezbollah "will not disappear because it has a strong, disciplined and organized political and militant structure, and benefits from the continued assistance of Iran," the group "has become increasingly politically and socially isolated outside Lebanon's Shia population," Daher said. While Hezbollah receives much of its funding from Iran, it has also developed extensive international financial networks to bring in revenue. The group makes money from traditional industries like banking and construction, but it also runs smuggling, money laundering and international drug trafficking operations around the Middle East and as far afield as Bulgaria and Argentina. Its revenues are estimated in the billions of dollars annually. Hezbollah's parallel governance strategy, operating as both a political party and sub-state group, has enabled it to survive and grow as an armed group for decades. When Lebanese depositors were locked out of their savings in 2019 after a financial meltdown crippled the country and its currency, Hezbollah remained able to fund its base and illicit activities. It operated cash-only businesses and ran black market U.S. dollar exchanges. This strategy will continue despite pressure on their finances, regional analysts saydue to the extreme difficulty of tracking informal, cash-only transactions. Lebanon's economy "operates more than 60% on cash exchanges, the circulation of which the state cannot trace," Daher said. "It is thanks to the segment of this cash in circulation that Hezbollah smuggles into Lebanon that it finances its activities and pays its employees and helps its popular base, alongside other sources of funding, both licit and illicit." However, the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration is placing renewed pressure on Lebanon's new government to crack down on Hezbollah's illicit activities. 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USA Today
20 minutes ago
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USA Today
20 minutes ago
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