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The United States wants a nuclear agreement “as soon as possible”, Iran said after rare talks on Saturday, as US President Donald Trump threatens military action if they fail to reach a deal.The long-term adversaries, who have not had diplomatic relations for more than 40 years, are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of an earlier agreement during his first term in 2018.Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a seasoned diplomat and key architect of the 2015 deal, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff led the delegations in the highest-level Iran-US nuclear talks since the previous accord’s collapse.Araghchi, who briefly spoke face-to-face with Witkoff, a real estate magnate, during the otherwise indirect meeting in Oman, said the talks would resume next Saturday.”The American side also said that a positive agreement was one that can be reached as soon as possible but that will not be easy and will require a willingness on both sides,” Araghchi told Iranian state television.”I think we came very close to a basis for negotiation… Neither we nor the other party want fruitless negotiations, discussions for discussions’ sake, time wasting or talks that drag on forever,” he added.The White House called the discussions “very positive and constructive”.”Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” it said in a statement.Asked about the talks, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One: “I think they’re going OK. Nothing matters until you get it done.”Oman’s foreign minister acted as an intermediary in the talks in Muscat, Iran said. The Americans had called for the meetings to be face-to-face.However, the negotiators also spoke directly for “a few minutes”, Iran’s foreign ministry said. It said the talks were held “in a constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere”.The two parties were in “separate halls” and “conveying their views and positions to each other through the Omani foreign minister”, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.The process took place in a “friendly atmosphere”, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said.- Witkoff open to ‘compromise’ -Iran, weakened by Israel’s pummelling of its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, is seeking relief from wide-ranging sanctions hobbling its economy.Tehran has agreed to the meetings despite baulking at Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign of ramping up sanctions and repeated military threats.Meanwhile the United States, hand-in-glove with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel, wants to stop Tehran from ever getting close to developing a nuclear bomb.There were no visible signs of the high-level meeting at a luxury hotel in Muscat, the same venue where the 2015 agreement was struck when Barack Obama was US president.Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal earlier that the US position starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear programme — a view held by hardliners around Trump that few expect Iran to accept.”That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries,” Witkoff told the newspaper.”Where our red line will be, there can’t be weaponisation of your nuclear capability,” he added.The talks were revealed in a surprise announcement by Trump during a White House appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.Hours before the talks began, Trump told reporters: “I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani said Iran sought “a real and fair agreement”.Saturday’s meetings followed repeated threats of military action by both the United States and Israel.”If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump said Wednesday when asked what would happen if the talks fail.- ‘Survival of the regime’ -The 2015 deal that Trump abandoned aimed to make it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic weapon, while at the same time allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear programme.Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is only for civilian purposes, stepped up its activities after Trump withdrew from the agreement.The latest International Atomic Energy Agency report said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, nearing the weapons grade of 90 percent.Karim Bitar, a Middle East Studies lecturer at Sciences Po university in Paris, said the Iranian government’s very survival could be at stake.”The one and only priority is the survival of the regime, and ideally, to get some oxygen, some sanctions relief, to get their economy going again, because the regime has become quite unpopular,” he told AFP.

Alhurra, the Arabic-language network created by the US government after the Iraq invasion, said Saturday it would cease broadcasts and lay off most staff after President Donald Trump’s administration shut off funds.The network went on air in 2004, when US officials were complaining about coverage of the Iraq war from Qatar-backed Al-Jazeera — which two decades later maintains a dominant role in Arabic-langauge media.”Media in the Middle East thrive on a diet of anti-Americanism,” said Jeffrey Gedmin, president and CEO of Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), the parent of Alhurra and other smaller US-funded Arabic-language outlets.”It makes no sense to kill MBN as a sensible alternative and to open the field to American adversaries and Islamic extremists,” he said in a statement.The Trump administration, in part of a sweeping cost-cutting drive led by billionaire Elon Musk, in March said it was ceasing all financial transfers for US government-supported media.The move quickly froze Voice of America, although its employees have mounted legal challenges to restore the funding, which was approved by Congress.In a memo to staff, Gedmin said that Kari Lake, a firebrand Trump supporter put in charge of the agency supervising US-funded media, had refused to see him to discuss the “unlawfully” withdrawn funds.”I’m left to conclude that she is deliberately starving us of the money we need to pay you, our dedicated and hard-working staff,” he wrote.”What’s happening is a disgrace. You deserve better and I bear responsibility for not resolving this crisis in time to keep you,” said Gedmin, a veteran scholar of democracy.Alhurra will cease broadcasts but seek to maintain digital updates through a staff reduced to “a couple dozen,” he wrote.Alhurra says it reaches more than 30 million people each week across 22 countries.But it has faced stiff competition from Al-Jazeera as well as Al-Arabiya, which is funded by Saudi Arabia, and more recently UAE-backed Sky News Arabia.Trump has a testy relationship with media and has questioned the  “firewall” under which US-funded outlets were promised editorial independence.Unlike Voice of America, Alhurra was not considered part of the US government, instead receiving grants to operate.Other outlets in similar situations have also tried to press on. Radio Free Europe, which played a vital role in the Cold War and is now based in Prague, has won promises of support from the Czech government to step in to replace US funding.Radio Free Asia, aimed at providing news to China, North Korea and other Asian countries without free media, has been providing online news at a reduced pace.

The UK government said it was taking control of Chinese-owned British Steel on Saturday after rushing an emergency law through parliament to avert the shutdown of the country’s last factory that can make steel from scratch.The struggling plant in northern England had faced imminent closure and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government “stepped in …

UK government to take control of British Steel under emergency law Read More »

Israel said Saturday it planned to expand its military offensive in Gaza after seizing a new corridor as part of a broader effort to take large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.It also told tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza to evacuate and launched strikes after projectiles were fired from there.”Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement addressing Gazans.”The IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone,” Katz said.”Now is the time to rise up, remove Hamas, and release all the Israeli hostages — this is the only way to end the war.”Katz said the military was also taking over several areas in northern Gaza and the “security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim Corridor”.His announcement came as a Hamas official told AFP the group expected “real progress” towards a ceasefire deal to end the war, ahead of talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.- Hostage video -Since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, Israel’s renewed offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.Israeli officials say the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing its remaining 58 hostages.Hamas said the offensive not only “kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners (hostages) uncertain”.On Saturday Hamas released a video showing Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander criticising Israel’s government for failing to secure his release.The soldier was abducted by Palestinian militants during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered to mark the Passover festival and called for the release of hostages.”Passover has so many meanings, but I think freedom is the most important one, and that’s one thing we are missing for the second year already,” said protester Oren Baron. “So, we are not really celebrating until we are free, until our hostages are free, and until us as a nation are free.”Israel ordered Saturday’s Khan Yunis evacuation after it intercepted four projectiles fired from Gaza — three from the territory’s south.”IDF troops are operating with significant force in the area, and will strike with intensity on any location from which rockets are launched,” the military posted on X.The United Nations warned Friday that expanding evacuation orders were resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising “real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza”.Ahead of a meeting between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari mediators later Saturday, a Hamas official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said the group hoped the meeting “will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war”.Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.Hamas later confirmed its delegation had departed for Cairo.”We in the Hamas movement affirm our positive engagement with any proposals that ensure a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of occupation forces, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and the achievement of a serious prisoner exchange deal,” it said.- Strikes continue -The Times of Israel reported that Egypt’s proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.Since Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.The UN said that in dozens of these strikes “only women and children” were killed.The Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.

Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing an Israeli-American hostage alive, in which he criticises the Israeli government for failing to secure his release.Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified him as Edan Alexander, a soldier in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was abducted by Palestinian militants during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.AFP was unable to determine when the video was filmed.Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, published the more than three-minute clip showing the hostage seated in a small, enclosed space.In the video, he says he wants to return home to celebrate the holidays.Israel is currently marking Passover, the holiday that commemorates the biblical liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.Alexander, who turned 21 in captivity, was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the US state of New Jersey, returning to Israel after high school to join the army.”As we begin the holiday evening in the USA, our family in Israel is preparing to sit around the Seder table,” Alexander’s family said in a statement released by the forum.”Our Edan, a lone soldier who immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Golani Brigade to defend the country and its citizens, is still being held captive by Hamas.”When you sit down to mark Passover, remember that this is not a holiday of freedom as long as Edan and the other hostages are not home,” the family added.The family did not give a green light for the media to broadcast the footage.- Hostages’ fate ‘uncertain’ -Alexander appears to be speaking under duress in the video, making frequent hand gestures as he criticises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to secure his release.The video was released hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz announced military control of what it called the new “Morag axis” corridor of land between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.Katz also outlined plans to expand Israel’s ongoing offensive across much of the territory.In a separate statement earlier Saturday, Hamas said Israel’s Gaza operations endangered not only Palestinian civilians but also the remaining hostages.The offensive not only “kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners (hostages) uncertain”, Hamas said.During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants took 251 hostages.Fifty-eight hostages remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.During a recent ceasefire that ended on March 18 when Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza, militants released 33 hostages, among them eight bodies.Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.

Israel said Saturday its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.The military also announced a sweeping evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza ahead of a planned strike after projectiles were fired from there.The seizure of the “Morag axis” came as a Hamas official told AFP the group expected “real progress” towards a ceasefire deal to end the Gaza war, ahead of talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo later Saturday.”The IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said, addressing Gaza residents.”Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.”Now is the time to rise up, remove Hamas, and release all the Israeli hostages — this is the only way to end the war.”Katz said the Israeli military was also taking over several areas in northern Gaza and the “security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim Corridor”.- Cairo talks -Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel’s renewed offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people as the military has seized large areas of Gaza.Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly said the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in the territory.Hamas said the offensive not only “kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners (hostages) uncertain”.In a separate announcement, Israel ordered residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas to evacuate after the air force intercepted three projectiles fired from southern Gaza earlier Saturday.”IDF troops are operating with significant force in the area, and will strike with intensity on any location from which rockets are launched,” the military posted on X. It added that several militants were killed in Gaza City as part of the ongoing assault.The United Nations had warned Friday that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising “real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza”.A Hamas delegation and Egyptian mediators will meet later Saturday in Cairo.”We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” a Hamas official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity.The official said Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.”However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing,” he said.- Strikes continue -The Times of Israel reported that Egypt’s proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, was quoted in an Israeli media report as saying “a very serious deal is taking shape, it’s a matter of days”.Since Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.The UN said that in many of these strikes “only women and children” were killed.AFP footage of a strike’s aftermath Saturday showed the shrouded bodies of four men at a hospital, as mourners offered prayers before their funeral.The Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.

Security forces from the new Islamist government in Damascus deployed Saturday around a strategic dam in northern Syria, under a deal with the autonomous Kurdish administration, state media reported.Under the agreement, Kurdish-led fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will pull back from the dam which they captured from the Islamic State group in late 2015.The Tishrin dam near Manbij in Aleppo province is one of several on the Euphrates and its tributaries in Syria that play a key role in the nation’s economy by providing it with water for irrigation and hydro-electric power.On Thursday, a Kurdish source said the Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria had reached agreement with the central government on running the dam.A separate Kurdish source told AFP on Saturday that the deal, supervised by the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, stipulates that the dam remain under Kurdish civilian administration.Syria’s state news agency SANA reported “the entry of Syrian Arab Army forces and security forces into the Tishrin Dam … to impose security in the region, under the agreement reached with the SDF”.The accord also calls for a joint military force to protect the dam, and for the withdrawal of Turkey-backed factions “that seek to disrupt this agreement”, SANA said.It is part of a broader agreement reached in mid-March between Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, aiming to integrate the institutions of the Kurdish autonomous administration into the national government.The dam was a key battleground in Syria’s civil war that broke out in 2011, falling first to rebels and then to IS before being captured by the SDF.Days after Sharaa’s Islamist-led coalition overthrew Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December, Turkish drone strikes targeted the dam, killing dozens of civilians, Kurdish officials and Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.