9 h. ago A message from Tehran for Britain, France and Germany. You made a big mistake reimposing sanctions: pull back | Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

Europe is wrong to follow Donald Trump’s strategy. We are open to diplomacy and a new deal over our nuclear programme, but sanctions must goFor more than two decades, Europe has been at the heart of the ongoing, manufactured crisis over my country’s peaceful nuclear programme. In many ways, the European role has reflected the state of broader international power relations. Once a moderating force aspiring to restrain a belligerent America with maximalist aims in our region, Europe is today enabling the excesses of Washington.Last week, Britain, France and Germany – or the E3 – said they had activated the process to “snap back” UN sanctions on Iran. The mechanism was set up to penalize significant non-performance under the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran, the E3, the US, China and Russia.Seyyed Abbas Araghchi is foreign minister of Iran Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago A message from Tehran to Britain, France and Germany: in your own interests, you should change course | Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

Europe is wrong to follow Donald Trump’s strategy. We are open to diplomacy and a new deal over our nuclear programme, but sanctions must goFor more than two decades, Europe has been at the heart of the ongoing, manufactured crisis over my country’s peaceful nuclear programme. In many ways, the European role has reflected the state of broader international power relations. Once a moderating force aspiring to restrain a belligerent America with maximalist aims in our region, Europe is today enabling the excesses of Washington.Last week, Britain, France and Germany – or the E3 – said they had activated the process to “snap back” UN sanctions on Iran. The mechanism was set up to penalize significant non-performance under the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran, the E3, the US, China and Russia.Seyyed Abbas Araghchi is foreign minister of IranDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for ...

Politics

23 h. ago SUE REID: As Government promises to stop the boats, revealing pictures of crowds queuing in France to catch traffickers' ride to Dover will startle and anger Britain

REID: All the migrants at the quayside bus stop were waiting for a free local ride to the beaches to run towards the boats which are now operated like a taxi service across to Dover.

Politics

27 h. ago SUE REID: As Government promises to stop the boats, startling pictures of crowds queuing in France to catch traffickers' ride to Dover will startle and anger Britain

REID: All the migrants at the quayside bus stop were waiting for a free local ride to the beaches to run towards the boats which are now operated like a taxi service across to Dover.

Politics

6 d. ago Iran accuses Europe of stepping aside and letting Trump dictate nuclear deal terms

Foreign ministry says US will be dictating what happens once UN-wide sanctions are reimposedEurope is on the verge of abandoning its role of a mediator between the US and Iran and instead handing the Iran nuclear file over to Donald Trump’s veto, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said in an interview with the Guardian in Tehran.Esmail Baghaei said that as soon as UN-wide sanctions are reimposed at Europe’s demand in less than 30 days, the US will regain its security council veto over what happens next, including the continuance of the sanctions. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Two months after its war with Israel, Iran braces for another showdown

As Europe considers triggering the JCPOA's snapback mechanism and reimposing sanctions, Independent Persian’s editor-in-chief Camelia Entekhabifard warns about the possibility of a second Iran-Israel war

Politics

8 d. ago ‘La tapisserie, c’est moi’: Macron accused of putting politics first in Bayeux tapestry loan

Organiser of petition says French president ignoring expert advice that artefact too fragile to be transported to UKThe Bayeux tapestry is so fragile that transporting it risks irreparable damage, French experts have said, as a petition urging Emmanuel Macron to reverse a “catastrophic” decision to loan the unique embroidery to Britain passed 60,000 signatures.France’s president declared in July that the nearly 1,000-year-old, 70-metre-long wool-on-linen artwork, which depicts William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066, would cross the Channel next year. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Iran faces return of sweeping sanctions from UK, France and Germany

Decision by European powers follows Iran’s failure to readmit UN inspectors to all of its nuclear sitesThe UK, France and Germany are expected to announce on Thursday that they will reimpose sweeping sanctions on Iran for failing to readmit UN inspectors into all of its nuclear sites.The decision, under consideration for months, is likely to provoke the worst crisis in Iran’s relations with the west since Israel’s attacks on the country’s nuclear sites in June. Iran is already preparing countermeasures. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago France, Germany and UK prepare to reimpose sanctions on Iran

E3 countries are expected to trigger process contained in 2015 nuclear accord as hopes fade of a diplomatic breakthrough

Politics

1 week ago Return of UN nuclear inspectors to Iran met with protests by MPs

Some Iranian officials say readmission breaches law passed after Israel and the US attacked the country in JuneThe partial return of UN inspectors to Iran for the first time since Israel and the US attacked Iran’s nuclear sites has been met with protests by officials in Tehran, who claim the strict preconditions they set have been breached. Some even described the return as criminal.Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, tried to quell the backlash by saying the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would not be visiting any of the bombed sites and that discussions about these were still to be had. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago European and Iranian diplomats fail to agree on how to avoid reimposition of UN sanctions

A diplomat says that representatives of three European countries threatening to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program failed to agree with their Iranian counterpart Tuesday on how to avoid the move days ahead of a deadline

Politics

1 week ago Iran faces 'snapback' of sanctions over its nuclear program. Here's what that means

France, Britain and Germany have threatened to trigger the “snapback mechanism” that automatically reimposes all United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program

Events

1 week ago 'This is an invasion': Nigel Farage warns migrant crisis is a 'threat to public order' as he unveils plan for mass deportations and accuses France and Britain of 'colluding in support of criminals'

The Reform UK leader, in a major speech in Oxfordshire, unveiled his party's 'Operation Restoring Justice' proposals to deal with illegal migration.

Events

1 week ago Israel faces global outrage after deadly Gaza hospital strike and domestic protests over hostages

The United States, Britain, Egypt, France, and Spain denounced the hospital attack, while Germany called for an investigation

Events

2 w. ago Zelenskyy says he wants to see an agreement on security guarantees before meeting Vladimir Putin – Ukraine war live

Amid US offering minimal security a group of allies led by Britain and France are putting together a military coalitionWe have just heard from the European Commission, confirming that the EU and the US have now agreed on the much-awaited “joint statement” advancing the political commitments on trade agreed by Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump in Scotland last month.The commission’s press release says the statement “lays out in detail the new US tariff regime towards the EU, with a clear maximum, all-inclusive, tariff rate of 15% for the vast majority of EU exports, including strategic sectors such as cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago What security guarantees might Ukraine get in return for a peace deal?

As western leaders meet, questions remain about the steps they could take to prevent any future Russian aggressionRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesEuropean leaders have been holding a virtual conference call to discuss what security guarantees they could give to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia. The discussion follows Monday’s unprecedented get-together in the White House hosted by Donald Trump. The US president met Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held talks with Britain’s Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato. The main topic was how to end the war in Ukraine, the continent’s biggest since 1945, and how Europe might stop Russia from attacking again. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Four key takeaways from Trump’s White House summit on Ukraine

The US president has hosted European leaders at short notice amid intense political efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Here are four key points to what was achievedUkraine war: live updatesFull report: Trump arranging Zelenskyy-Putin meeting as European leaders push for US security guaranteesDonald Trump has hosted leaders from across Europe as part of a flurry of diplomacy to find a path to peace in Ukraine. Coming just days after a disappointing summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the pressure was on to make headway in a years-long conflict that the US president once said he could solve in 24 hours.Below are some key points arising from the US president’s range of bilateral and multilateral talks with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump piles pressure on Zelenskyy before European leaders arrive in Washington

US president tells Ukraine leader to give up Nato and Crimea ambitions in run-up to White House talksRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesDonald Trump has put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy before talks in Washington with European leaders on Monday, saying the Ukrainian leader could end the war “almost immediately” if he wanted to. The US president also ruled out allowing Ukraine to join Nato or retake Russian-occupied Crimea as part of negotiations with Moscow.Trump posted the remarks on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, hours before he was due to meet the leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the EU and Nato at the Oval Office, amid fears the US president could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago With the Bayeux Tapestry that tells of their long rivalry, France and Britain are making nice

The Bayeux Tapestry, a medieval masterpiece depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England, is set for a new chapter

Politics

3 w. ago Australia joins France, Britain and Canada to recognise a Palestinian state

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a two-state solution is the ‘best hope’ to bring an end to the conflict

Politics