Louvre museum chief resigns after $102m heist
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentar...
Iran is prepared to take any necessary steps to secure a deal with the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said on Tuesday (24 February), as the two countries prepare for a new round of negotiations in Geneva.
The talks are scheduled for Thursday, according to a senior U.S. official, who said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet an Iranian delegation.
Negotiations resumed earlier this month amid a U.S. military build-up in the Middle East. Tehran has warned it would strike U.S. bases in the region if it were attacked.
"We are ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible. We will do whatever it takes to make this happen. We will enter the negotiating room in Geneva with complete honesty and good faith," Takht-Ravanchi said in comments carried by state media.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s preferred option was diplomacy, but that he was prepared to use lethal force if necessary.
"If there is an attack or aggression against Iran, we will respond according to our defence plans... A U.S. attack on Iran is a real gamble," Takht-Ravanchi added.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran would consider sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad and diluting the rest.
The official also said Iran could take part in the creation of a regional enrichment consortium, an idea raised in past Iran-linked diplomatic efforts.
Iran would do this in return for U.S. recognition of Iran's right to "peaceful nuclear enrichment" under a deal that would also include lifting economic sanctions, the official said.
Indirect talks between the two sides last year failed to produce an agreement, largely due to friction over a U.S. demand that Iran abandon uranium enrichment on its own soil - a process Washington views as a potential pathway to developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has consistently denied seeking such weapons.
The U.S. joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites last June, significantly curtailing Iran's uranium enrichment, with Trump saying its key nuclear sites were "obliterated."
Hoever, Iran is still believed to possess previously enriched stockpiles, which Washington wants it to relinquish.
Italy said a fond farewell to the Winter Olympics on Sunday with an open-air ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena that celebrated art and sporting achievement at a Games lauded as a model for how to stage such events.
The United States and Iran will hold a new round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Thursday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to reach a potential agreement, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” following President Donald Trump’s new 15% tariffs and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous global tariff programme.
Syria has secured a $50 million financing package from the World Bank to support transport infrastructure projects as the country advances its economic recovery efforts, Syrian media reported on Sunday.
Expanding cross-border commerce and strengthening regional trade corridors topped the agenda in Baku on Tuesday (24 February), as senior lawmakers from Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia met to discuss deeper economic integration across the South Caucasus.
The European Union has formally declared that Russia must withdraw its troops from occupied territories - including those inside Georgia - as part of the conditions for achieving lasting peace in Europe.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan says it has allocated $2.2 million to strengthen scientific monitoring of the Caspian Sea amid growing concern over falling water levels, biodiversity loss and rising industrial pressure on the world’s largest inland body of water.
An Iranian military helicopter crashed in the city of Dorcheh, in Iran on Tuesday (24 February), causing the death of the pilot, co-pilot and two market sellers, state media reported.
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