France adopts 2026 budget as prime minister survived two no-confidence votes
France has approved its 2026 budget after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Monday, ending...
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday for renewed discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to reporting by Axios.
Sources said preparations are underway, though the timing and format have not been finalised.
The potential meeting comes as the U.S. increases its military presence in the Gulf, with President Donald Trump warning Iran to return to talks while insisting that diplomacy remains possible. He said last week that Tehran was “seriously talking” after his announcement that a large naval deployment was heading towards the region.
Regional mediation has intensified in recent days, with Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt facilitating indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran. Araghchi travelled to Istanbul on Friday for meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, although no official readout was issued.
Witkoff is expected to travel to Israel this week for consultations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, before heading to Abu Dhabi for Russia-Ukraine talks and then to Türkiye.
Iran has warned that any U.S. strike would provoke a rapid response, while Washington says diplomacy is still viable if Tehran engages constructively.
At this stage, no agenda or timeframe has been confirmed by either side.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Dmitry Medvedev, said European countries have failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine and have instead inflicted serious economic damage on themselves, as he criticised EU policy, praised Donald Trump as a leader who seeks peace, and said Russia would “soon” achieve military victory in the war.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any U.S. military attack on Iran would spark a wider regional conflict, Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
U.S. president Donald Trump said Iran is “seriously talking” with the United States and expressed hope that negotiations could lead to an outcome acceptable to Washington.
President Ilham Aliyev met President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the two leaders reaffirmed that Azerbaijan–UAE ties are built on a strategic partnership.
Limited crossings took place at Rafah on Monday, as patients and families moved through the gates for the first time in months. Photographers captured the tension, relief, and emotional toll of separation at a crossing long marked by both isolation and hope.
Any U.S. military strike on Iran would almost certainly trigger cross-border retaliation and could ignite a wider regional war, according to political analyst James M. Dorsey.
Iran's leadership warned of a regional conflict on Sunday (1 February) if the U.S. were to attack it, stoking the tension between Washington and Tehran, and it designated EU armies as "terrorist groups" in a retaliatory move.
Iranian media outlets have backtracked on claims President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered a return to nuclear talks with the United States, fuelling fresh uncertainty over the state of diplomacy between the two rivals.
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