DUBAI: The United States does not have the will to reach an agreement to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran at talks in Vienna where it is insisting on “unacceptable proposals,” Iran’s top security official, Ali Shamkhani, said on Thursday.
The 2015 deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program was on the verge of being restored after 11 months of negotiations until Russia presented a new obstacle by demanding written guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
Shamkhani said on Twitter that in the absence of a political decision by the United States the talks “become more complicated every hour.”
The United States “has no will to reach a strong agreement,” he said adding that it was making “unacceptable proposals (and) insists on a quick agreement with false pretenses”.
He did not elaborate on the US proposals.
Negotiators in Vienna are still trying to tackle a few key issues, said the semi-official Tasnim news agency citing an unnamed source.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland on Tuesday accused Russia of seeking to reap extra benefits from its participation in the effort to restore the nuclear agreement.
A revived nuclear deal cannot limit Tehran’s pursuit of its missile and space programs, said Nour news, which is affiliated with a top security body.
Iran is not willing to negotiate on its defense capabilities and regional policies, Nour news added in a tweet.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has successfully put a second military satellite, the Noor 2, into orbit, the state-media said on Tuesday.
The US military says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads.
Tehran denies US assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East.
European negotiators from France, Britain, and Germany have temporarily left the talks as they believed they had gone as far as they could and it was now up to the United States and Iran to agree on outstanding issues.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, returned to Tehran unexpectedly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov outlined Moscow’s new demands.
Iran’s foreign minister said at the time that Tehran would not let its interests be harmed by “foreign elements.”
Bagheri Kani flew back to Vienna on Wednesday.
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Iran says lack of US decision on nuclear deal complicates talks
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Iran says lack of US decision on nuclear deal complicates talks
- US making ‘unacceptable proposals (and) insists on a quick agreement with false pretenses’
Israeli-backed group kills a senior Hamas police officer in Gaza, threatens more attacks
- Hussam Al-Astal, leader of an anti-Hamas group based in an area under Israeli control east of Khan Younis, claimed responsibility for the killing
CAIRO: An Israeli-backed Palestinian militia said on Monday it had killed a senior Hamas police officer in the southern Gaza Strip, an incident which Hamas blamed on “Israeli collaborators.”
A statement from the Hamas-run interior ministry said gunmen opened fire from a passing car, killing Mahmoud Al-Astal, head of the criminal police unit in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. It described the attackers as “collaborators with the occupation.”
Hussam Al-Astal, leader of an anti-Hamas group based in an area under Israeli control east of Khan Younis, claimed responsibility for the killing in a video he posted on his Facebook page. The surname he shares with the dead man, Al-Astal, is common in that part of Gaza.
“To those who work with Hamas, your destiny is to be killed. Death is coming to you,” he said, dressed in a black military-style uniform and clutching an assault rifle.
Reuters could not independently verify the circumstances of the attack. An Israeli military official said the army was not aware of any operations in the area.
The emergence of armed anti-Hamas groups, though still small and localized, has added pressure on the Islamists and could complicate efforts to stabilize and unify a divided Gaza, shattered by two years of war.
These groups remain unpopular among the local population as they operate in areas under Israeli control, although they publicly deny they take Israeli orders. Hamas has held public executions of people it accuses of collaboration.
Under a ceasefire in place since October, Israel has withdrawn from nearly half of the Gaza Strip, but its troops remain in control of the other half, largely a wasteland where virtually all buildings have been levelled.
Nearly all of the territory’s two million people now live in Hamas-held areas, mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings, where the group has been reasserting its grip. Four Hamas sources said it continues to command thousands of fighters despite suffering heavy losses during the war.
Israel has been allowing rivals of Hamas to operate in areas it controls. In later phases, US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for Israel to withdraw further and for Hamas to yield power to an internationally backed administration, but there has so far been no progress toward those steps.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli backing for anti-Hamas groups in June, saying Israel had “activated” clans, but has given few details since then.
The ceasefire has ended major combat in Gaza over the past three months, but both sides have accused the other of regular violations. More than 440 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce took effect.
Gaza health authorities said on Monday Israeli drone fire killed at least three people near the center of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the drone incident.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023 when Gazan militants invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.
A statement from the Hamas-run interior ministry said gunmen opened fire from a passing car, killing Mahmoud Al-Astal, head of the criminal police unit in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. It described the attackers as “collaborators with the occupation.”
Hussam Al-Astal, leader of an anti-Hamas group based in an area under Israeli control east of Khan Younis, claimed responsibility for the killing in a video he posted on his Facebook page. The surname he shares with the dead man, Al-Astal, is common in that part of Gaza.
“To those who work with Hamas, your destiny is to be killed. Death is coming to you,” he said, dressed in a black military-style uniform and clutching an assault rifle.
Reuters could not independently verify the circumstances of the attack. An Israeli military official said the army was not aware of any operations in the area.
The emergence of armed anti-Hamas groups, though still small and localized, has added pressure on the Islamists and could complicate efforts to stabilize and unify a divided Gaza, shattered by two years of war.
These groups remain unpopular among the local population as they operate in areas under Israeli control, although they publicly deny they take Israeli orders. Hamas has held public executions of people it accuses of collaboration.
Under a ceasefire in place since October, Israel has withdrawn from nearly half of the Gaza Strip, but its troops remain in control of the other half, largely a wasteland where virtually all buildings have been levelled.
Nearly all of the territory’s two million people now live in Hamas-held areas, mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings, where the group has been reasserting its grip. Four Hamas sources said it continues to command thousands of fighters despite suffering heavy losses during the war.
Israel has been allowing rivals of Hamas to operate in areas it controls. In later phases, US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for Israel to withdraw further and for Hamas to yield power to an internationally backed administration, but there has so far been no progress toward those steps.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli backing for anti-Hamas groups in June, saying Israel had “activated” clans, but has given few details since then.
The ceasefire has ended major combat in Gaza over the past three months, but both sides have accused the other of regular violations. More than 440 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce took effect.
Gaza health authorities said on Monday Israeli drone fire killed at least three people near the center of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the drone incident.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023 when Gazan militants invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.
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