14 h. ago Trump or no Trump, Europe’s relationship with the US will never recover | Nathalie Tocci

Optimists cling to a faith in the old alliance, but the best we can achieve is an amicable divorceIs the transatlantic rupture temporary or structural? Is Donald Trump the cause of the rift, or is the US president only a symptom of underlying trends? Optimists latch on to the hope that the stability we have lost can be restored post-Trump. Having spent the past few days in Washington, I doubt it.Even in recent history, things were not quite so bad for the transatlantic relationship. The current tensions make the first Trump administration look like a walk in the park for Europeans. It is one thing to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump did in his first term. It is quite another to bomb Iran and give Israel the green light for its war against the regime.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Politics

31 h. ago UN inspectors can resume work at Iran nuclear sites after breakthrough deal

Rafael Grossi, IAEA director general, says agreement with Tehran is ‘important step in the right direction’Tehran and the UN nuclear inspectorate have reached an agreement that will allow UN inspectors to return to inspect all of Iran’s nuclear sites, including those bombed by Israel and the US in June.The breakthrough, confirmed by Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, came during a three-hour meeting on Monday between Grossi and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Cairo. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. 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

4 d. 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

1 week 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

1 week ago ‘Far more dangerous than war’: Iranians brace for prospect of UN sanctions

Some Tehran residents are bullish about withstanding the hardship sanctions would cause but others say the regime should relentAs the worshippers streamed into the vast Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran to hear a call to prayer, the mood was one of determination, and some trepidation, as they faced the real prospect of UN sanctions in 30 days and even a rerun of the 12-day war with Israel.With guards watching, a worshipper giving his name simply as Mousavi said: “The reality is that many countries have nuclear power and are not subject to these rules but Iran is singled out for controls because we oppose Israel. We are dealt with in a different way because of our foreign policy. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago UK, France and Germany to revive sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme

The three European powers plan to impose sweeping sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation after efforts to restart diplomatic talks stalled.

Events

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. ago Hegseth fires Pentagon leader whose agency determined Iran strikes were less effective than Trump claimed

The Defense Intelligence Agency previously found Iran’s nuclear program had not been ‘fully obliterated’ as Trump had touted

Politics

2 w. ago Hegseth fires general whose agency's intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iran nuclear sites from U.S. strikes angered President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the decision

Events

2 w. ago Archaeology breakthrough as boy, 7, discovers prehistoric burial site while on holiday

The seven-year-old boy found a human tooth that led to the potential discovery of a prehistoric human burial site

Politics

2 w. ago Archaeologists' major breakthrough at 'site where Jesus turned water into wine'

In 2004, Israeli archaeologist Yardena Alexander made a discovery that could shed light on the exact moment Jesus performed his first miracle - turning water into wine

Politics

3 w. ago Trump who famously evaded the draft during Vietnam describes himself as a war hero: ‘‘I guess I am too’

The president made the remarks in a radio interview complaining he was not given enough credit for bombing Iran’s nuclear sites

Politics

3 w. ago Trump calls Israel’s Netanyahu a ‘war hero’ and says ‘I guess I am too’

The president made the remarks in a radio interview complaining he was not given enough credit for bombing Iran’s nuclear sites

Politics