Iran nuclear deal could be agreed very soon: EU official

A senior EU official said on Friday that a US-Iranian deal to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement was close. (AFP/File Photo)
Short Url
Updated 18 February 2022
Follow

Iran nuclear deal could be agreed very soon: EU official

  • Said deal was necessary as Iran’s sensitive uranium enrichment program was moving ahead quickly
  • Iran has always denied it is seeking nuclear weapons

BRUSSELS: A senior European Union official said on Friday that a US-Iranian deal to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement was close but success depended on the political will of those involved.
“I expect an agreement in the coming week, the coming two weeks or so,” the EU official said. “I think we have now on the table text that are very, very close to what is going to be the final agreement,” the official said.
Reuters reported on Feb. 17 details of a possible deal negotiated by envoys from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and United States.
“Most of the issues are already agreed. But as a principle in this kind of negotiations, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. So we still have...some questions, some of them rather political and difficult to agree,” the official said.
The official said a deal was necessary as Iran’s sensitive uranium enrichment program was moving ahead quickly. Iran has always denied it is seeking nuclear weapons.
“On the ground they are advancing very much at a speed that is not compatible with the long-term survival of the JCPOA,” the official said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is formally titled.


Somali president to visit Turkiye after Israeli recognition of Somaliland

Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Somali president to visit Turkiye after Israeli recognition of Somaliland

ANKARA: Somalia’s president is to visit close ally Turkiye on Tuesday following Israel’s recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Turkiye’s presidency said.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will hold talks “on the current situation in Somalia in the fight against terrorism, measures taken by the federal Somali government toward national unity and regional developments,” Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate, said on X.
Turkiye on Friday denounced Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it “overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs.”
Ankara, a close ally of Somalia, provides military and economic assistance to the country that has been devastated by civil war since the early 1990s.
Turkiye is helping to rebuild its army and infrastructure while ensuring its presence in east Africa, including at sea.
Somaliland declared independence in 1991, as Somalia was plunged into chaos following the fall of dictator Siad Barre.
The region has operated autonomously since then and possesses its own currency, army and police force.
It has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabab Islamic militants periodically mount attacks in the capital Mogadishu.
Diplomatic isolation has been the norm — until Israel’s move to recognize it as a sovereign nation, which has been criticized by the African Union, Egypt, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The European Union has insisted Somalia’s sovereignty should be respected.
The recognition is the latest move by Israel that has angered Turkiye, with relations souring between the two countries in recent years.
Ankara has strongly condemned Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has opposed Turkiye’s participation in a future stabilization force in the Palestinian territory.