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Iran will meet next week with Britain, France and Germany on its nuclear programme, the parties said Friday, as the European powers warned Tehran to engage swiftly to avoid snapback sanctions.The Islamic republic suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in July in the wake of its 12-day war with Israel, citing the UN nuclear watchdog’s failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.The European trio — parties to the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal — have threatened to trigger a “snapback mechanism” by the end of August.The move would reimpose sweeping UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 agreement unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.”It was agreed that Iran’s talks with the three European countries and the European Union would continue next Tuesday at the level of deputy foreign ministers,” Iran’s foreign ministry said after a phone call between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior European diplomats.France confirmed the talks and cautioned that Iran faced a narrowing window of time.”We have just made an important call to our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear programme and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reimpose,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on X, noting he was joined on the call by his British and German counterparts and the EU’s top diplomat.”Time is running out. A new meeting will take place next week on this issue,” he added.German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on X that his country remained “committed to diplomacy but time is very short”.”Iran needs to engage substantively in order to avoid the activation of snapback,” he said.”We have been clear that we will not let the snapback of sanctions expire unless there is a verifiable and durable deal.”The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, made a similar statement.”With the deadline for the snapback mechanism fast approaching, Iran’s readiness to engage with the US is crucial. Iran must also fully cooperate” with the IAEA, she said.It was not immediately clear where the talks, the second since the Iran-Israel war, would take place.- Iran warns of snapback ‘consequences’ -Israel in June launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear, military and civilian facilities, prompting Tehran to respond with missile strikes on Israel.The United States also joined its ally Israel, targeting key Iranian nuclear sites deep within the country.Iran and the European trio — known as the E3 — held talks in late July at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, which Tehran described as “frank”.Iran’s 12-day war with Israel derailed its nuclear negotiations with the United States and saw it suspend cooperation with the IAEA.The 2015 nuclear deal was aimed preventing Iran from developing an atomic bomb — an ambition it has consistently denied.The deal was torpedoed in 2018 when Donald Trump, during his first term as US president, unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and slapped crippling sanctions on its economy. Iran has ever since criticized Europe over failing to meet its commitments under the deal.Araghchi reiterated Friday the “lack of legal and moral competence of these countries to resort to the said mechanism” while warning about “the consequences of such an action”.Iran has previously said it would leave the non-proliferation treaty — or NPT — if the mechanism, envisaged in the nuclear deal, is activated by the European parties.The deadline for activating the mechanism ends in October, though Europeans have set an internal target of the end of August to trigger it if diplomacy fails. They have also offered an extension to buy time for talks.Araghchi said Friday that “this is a decision that must essentially be taken by the United Nations Security Council; and while the Islamic Republic of Iran has its own principled positions and views in this regard, it is not involved in this process.”The foreign minister said earlier this month that Iran was working with China and Russia to prevent the snapback of sanctions.burs-rkh/dv

The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming “systematic obstruction of aid” by Israel, hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy the territory’s largest city.Israel rejected the UN-backed report as “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”.Hamas urged the United Nations and UN Security Council to “stop the war and lift the siege”, calling for unrestricted access for food, medicine, water and fuel.The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said famine was affecting 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.Israel has pressed ahead with plans to seize Gaza City despite an international outcry, saying it is key to defeating Hamas.The IPC projected that the famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, covering around two-thirds of Gaza.With the vast majority of the territory’s population displaced at least once, the UN said nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate.UN agencies and aid groups had warned for months of a looming famine in Gaza, where Israel has severely restricted aid and at times completely cut it off during its nearly two-year war with militant group Hamas.The Israeli defence ministry body which oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, known as COGAT, also rejected the report, saying previous editions had “proven inaccurate”.    UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the famine was entirely preventable, saying food could not get through to the Palestinian territory “because of systematic obstruction by Israel”.UN human rights chief Volker Turk said it was “a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare” and said it “may also amount to the war crime of wilful killing”.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire, saying: “We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity.”- ‘Haunt us all’ -“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death,” the IPC report said.By the end of September, it expected 614,000 people to be facing the same conditions.It said the deterioration between July and August was the most severe since it began analysing hunger in Gaza, driven by a sharp escalation in the war and restrictions on supplies.In early March, Israel completely banned aid from Gaza for two months, leading to severe shortages of food, medicines and fuel.Speaking in Geneva, the UN’s Fletcher said the famine should “haunt us all”.”It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” he told reporters.Ahead of the report’s release, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee preemptively attacked its findings. “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilised Hamas savages,” he posted on X. – ‘Gates of hell’ -Speaking earlier on Friday, Katz warned: “The gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza — until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament.”If they do not agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he added, referring to two cities in Gaza largely razed during previous Israeli operations.His statement came after Netanyahu said late Thursday he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all remaining hostages in Gaza.The Israeli premier added that the push to release the hostages would accompany the operation to take control of Gaza City. Um Ibrahim Younes, a 43-year-old mother of four living in the remains of her destroyed home in Gaza City, said: “It feels like we are in hell. I’m going insane. I cannot imagine being displaced again.”Nivin Ahmed, a 47-year-old mother of five living in a tent west of Gaza City said: “The bombardment intensifies every day, the explosions never stop. We wait for death — we have come to wish for it.”- ‘Hand in hand’ -Earlier this week, the Israeli defence ministry authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists to help seize Gaza City. The UN humanitarian office has warned that the planned Israeli operation will have “a horrific humanitarian impact” on an already exhausted population.Mediators have been waiting for an official Israeli response to their latest ceasefire proposal, which Hamas accepted earlier this week.Palestinian sources have said the new deal involves staggered hostage releases, while Israel has recently insisted that any deal must include the freeing of all the captives at once.Hamas’s October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,192 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming “systematic obstruction of aid” by Israel, hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy the territory’s largest city.Israel angrily denied there was a famine, with the foreign ministry saying the report was “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”.The famine was declared by experts at the Rome-based IPC, who said it affected 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.Israel this week doubled down on plans to launch a new offensive to capture the city, despite an international outcry, saying it would help bring about the defeat of Hamas.The IPC projected that the famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, covering around two-thirds of Gaza.UN agencies and aid groups have warned for months of a looming famine in Gaza, where Israel has severely restricted aid and at times completely cut it off during its nearly two-year war with militant group Hamas.The Israeli defence ministry body which oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, known as COGAT, also rejected the report, saying previous editions had “proven inaccurate”.    UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the famine was entirely preventable, saying food could not get through to the Palestinian territory “because of systematic obstruction by Israel”.UN human rights chief Volker Turk said it was “a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare” and said it “may also amount to the war crime of wilful killing”.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire, saying: “We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity”.- ‘Haunt us all’ -“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death,” the IPC report said.By the end of September, it expected 614,000 people to be facing the same conditions.It said the deterioration between July and August was the most severe since it began analysing hunger in Gaza, driven by a sharp escalation in the war and restrictions on supplies.In early March, Israel completely banned aid from Gaza for two months, leading to severe shortages of food, medicines and fuel.Speaking in Geneva, the UN’s Fletcher said the famine should “haunt us all”.”It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” he told reporters.Ahead of the report’s release, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee preemptively attacked its findings. “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilised Hamas savages,” he posted on X. – ‘Gates of hell’ -Speaking earlier on Friday, the Israeli defence minister warned: “The gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament.”If they do not agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he added, referring to two cities in Gaza largely razed during previous Israeli operations.His statement came after Netanyahu said late Thursday he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all remaining hostages in Gaza. The Israeli premier added that the push to release the hostages would accompany the operation to take control of Gaza City. Um Ibrahim Younes, a 43-year-old mother of four living in the remains of her destroyed home in Gaza City, said: “It feels like we are in hell. I’m going insane. I cannot imagine being displaced again. “The sound of bombardment grows closer. They want us to flee south again. My body is frail, and so are my children’s — we cannot bear displacement, nor the endless shelling and hunger.”- ‘Hand in hand’ -Earlier this week, the Israeli defence ministry authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists to help seize Gaza City. The UN humanitarian office has warned that the planned Israeli operation will have “a horrific humanitarian impact” on an already exhausted population.Mediators have been waiting for an official Israeli response to their latest ceasefire proposal, which Hamas accepted earlier this week.Palestinian sources have said the new deal involves staggered hostage releases, while Israel has insisted that any deal must include the freeing of all the captives at once.Hamas’s October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,192 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

Australia has ordered the local arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, to appoint an external auditor after identifying “serious concerns” with its money laundering and terrorism financing controls.The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country’s financial intelligence agency, said Friday its concerns followed Binance Australia’s latest independent review which was “limited …

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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed Friday to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel’s terms. “Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament,” the minister posted on social media. “If they do not agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he added, referring to two cities in Gaza largely razed during previous Israeli operations.The statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday that he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all the remaining hostages in Gaza. Netanyahu added that the push to release the hostages would accompany the operation to take control of Gaza City and destroy the Hamas stronghold. Later Friday, the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative was set to release its latest figures regarding hunger in Gaza. Ahead of the report’s release, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee preemptively attacked its findings. “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilised Hamas savages,” he wrote on X. “Maybe the over fed terrorists could share some of their warehouse full they stole with hungry people especially the hostages”. – ‘Hand in hand’ -Earlier this week, the Israeli defence ministry authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists to help seize Gaza City. “These two matters — defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages — go hand in hand,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on Thursday, without providing details about what the next stage of talks would entail.The UN humanitarian agency has warned that the Israeli plan to expand military operations in Gaza City would have “a horrific humanitarian impact” on an already exhausted population.Mediators have been waiting for days for an official Israeli response to their latest ceasefire proposal, which Hamas accepted earlier this week.Palestinian sources have said the new deal involves staggered hostage releases, while Israel has insisted that any deal must include the freeing of all the captives at once.Israel’s plans to expand the fighting and seize Gaza City have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition. Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,192 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.