The Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a "few more weeks" to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday's congressionally mandated deadline. The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department's watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a Republican, told Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume in a letter that victims "deserve full disclosure" and the "peace of mind" of an independent audit. The Justice Department said in a social media post that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI "have uncovered over a million more documents" that could be related to the Epstein case ' a stunning 11th-hour development after department officials suggested months ago that they had undertaken a comprehensive review that accounted for the vast universe of Epstein-related materials. In March, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that a "truckload of evidence" had been delivered to her after she ordered the Justice Department to "deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office" ' a directive she said she made after learning from an unidentified source that the FBI in New York was "in possession of thousands of pages of documents." In July, the FBI and Justice Department indicated in an unsigned memo that they had undertaken an "exhaustive review" and had determined that no additional evidence should be released ' an extraordinary about-face from the Trump administration, which for months had pledged maximum transparency. The memo did not raise the possibility that additional evidence existed that officials were unaware of or had not reviewed. Wednesday's post did not say when the Justice Department was informed of the newly uncovered files. In a letter last week, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors already had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many were copies of material already turned over by the FBI. The Justice Department said its lawyers are "working around the clock" to review the documents and remove victims' names and other identifying information as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. "We will release the documents as soon as possible," the department said. "Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks." The announcement came amid increasing scrutiny on the Justice Department's staggered release of Epstein-related records, including from Epstein victims and members of Congress. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, one of the chief authors of the law mandating the document release, posted Wednesday on X: "DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline." Another architect of the law, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, said he and Massie will "continue to keep the pressure on" and noted that the Justice Department was releasing more documents after lawmakers threatened contempt. After releasing an initial wave of records on Friday, more batches were posted over the weekend and on Tuesday. The Justice Department has not given any notice when more records might arrive. Records that have been released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context. Records that hadn't been seen before include transcripts of grand jury testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. Other records made public in recent days include a note from a federal prosecutor from January 2020 that said Trump had flown on the financier's private plane more often than had been previously known and emails between Maxwell and someone who signs off with the initial "A." They contain other references that suggest the writer was Britain's former Prince Andrew. In one, "A" writes: "How's LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?" The senators' call Wednesday for an inspector general audit comes days after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the disclosure and deadline requirements. In a statement, he called the staggered, heavily redacted release "a blatant cover-up." Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, in leading the call for an inspector general audit. Others signing the letter were Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Adam Schiff of California, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both of New Jersey, Gary Peters of Michigan, Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. "Given the (Trump) Administration's historic hostility to releasing the files, politicization of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential," the senators wrote. Full transparency, they said, "is essential in identifying members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein's crimes." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 10:58 AM IST | Washington | APIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that Hamas "continued to violate the 20-point peace plan" advocated by US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu further said that Israel will respond accordingly. In a post on X, he said, "The Hamas terror organization continues to violate the ceasefire and President Trump's 20 point plan. Their ongoing and continuing public refusal to disarm is an ongoing flagrant violation and again today their violent intentions and violations were confirmed by their detonation of an IED that wounded an IDF officer. Hamas must be held to the agreement that they signed on which includes removal from governance, demilitarization and de-radicalization. Israel will respond accordingly." It is unclear whether the bomb was recently planted in the area by terror operatives or if it was an old explosive device. The English-language statement comes days before Netanyahu is set to fly to Florida to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss the next steps in the fragile Gaza ceasefire, The Times of Israel reported. The Hamas terror organization continues to violate the ceasefire and President Trump’s 20 point plan. Their ongoing and continuing public refusal to disarm is an ongoing flagrant violation and again today their violent intentions and violations were confirmed by their… — Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) December 24, 2025 Israel vowed on Wednesday to respond to an incident in southern Gaza's Rafah in which a bomb exploded against an Israeli armored personnel carrier, lightly injuring an IDF officer. The officer, who serves in the Golani Brigade, was taken to a hospital, and his family was notified, the army said, as per The Times of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said the Namer APC that was hit was involved in efforts to clear Rafah's Jenina neighborhood -- located on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line -- of Hamas infrastructure. Dozens of Hamas operatives are believed to have been holed up in tunnels in Jenina, though the army has reported killing or capturing many of them, as per The Times of Israel. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the US-brokered ceasefire plan that halted two years of war triggered by the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The first phase of the truce stopped the fighting, but occasional deadly clashes have continued, mostly along the so-called Yellow Line that divides Hamas and Israeli-held territory, The Times of Israel reported. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 10:57 AM IST | Tel Aviv | ANITrump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura won Honduras' presidential election, electoral authorities said Wednesday afternoon, ending a weeks-long count that has whittled away at the credibility of the Central American nation's fragile electoral system. The election is continuing Latin America's swing to the right, coming just a week after Chile chose the far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast as its next president. Asfura, of the conservative National Party, received 40.27 per cent of the vote in the Nov 30 election, edging out four-time candidate Salvador Nasralla of the conservative Liberal Party, who finished with 39.53 per cent of the vote. The former mayor of Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa, won in his second bid for the presidency, after he and Nasralla were neck-and-neck during a weeks-long vote count that fuelled international concern. On Tuesday night, a number of electoral officials and candidates were already fighting and contesting the results of the election. Meanwhile, followers in Asfura's campaign headquarters erupted into cheers. "Honduras: I am prepared to govern," wrote Asfura in a post on X shortly after the results were released. 'I will not let you down.' The results were a rebuke of the current leftist leader, and her governing democratic socialist Liberty and Re-foundation Party, known as LIBRE, whose candidate finished in a distant third place with 19.19 per cent of the vote. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on Wednesday, writing on a post on X: "The people of Honduras have spoken ... (the Trump administration) looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere." A number of right-leaning leaders across Latin America, namely Trump-ally Argentine President Javier Milei, also congratulated the politician. Asfura ran as a pragmatic politician, pointing to his popular infrastructure projects in the capital. Trump endorsed the 67-year-old conservative just days before the vote, saying he was the only Honduran candidate the US administration would work with. Nasralla maintained the claim that the election was fraudulent on Wednesday, saying electoral authorities who announced the results "betrayed the Honduran people." On Tuesday night, he also addressed Trump in a post on X, writing: "Mr. President, your endorsed candidate in Honduras is complicit in silencing the votes of our citizens. If he is truly worthy of your backing, if his hands are clean, if he has nothing to fear, then why doesn't he allow for every vote to be counted?" He and other opponents of Asfura have maintained that Trump's last-minute endorsement was an act of electoral interference that ultimately swung the results of the vote. The unexpectedly tumultuous election was also marred by a sluggish vote count, which fuelled even more accusations. The Central American nation was stuck in limbo for more than three weeks as vote counting by electoral authorities lagged, and at one point was paralysed after a special count of final vote tallies was called, fuelling warnings by international leaders. After expressing democratic concern about the lack of results days before, Organization of American States Secretary General Albert Ramdin wrote on a post on X on Wednesday that the OAS "takes note" of the results announced and noted it is "closely following events in Honduras." It also condemned electoral authorities for announcing the results while the final .07 per cent of votes were counted with such razor-thin margins in the election. For the incumbent, progressive President Xiomara Castro, the election marked a political reckoning. She was elected in 2021 on a promise to reduce violence and root out corruption. She was among a group of progressive leaders in Latin America who were elected on a hopeful message of change around five years ago but are now being cast out after failing to deliver on their vision. Castro said last week that she would accept the results of the elections even after she claimed that Trump's actions in the election amounted to an "electoral coup." But Eric Olson, an independent international observer during the Honduran election with the Seattle International Foundation, and other observers said the rejection of Castro and her party was so definitive that they had little room to contest the results. "Very few people, even within LIBRE, believe they won the election. What they will say is there's been fraud, that there has been intervention by Donald Trump, that we we should tear up the elections and vote again," Olson said. "But they're not saying we won the elections.' It's pretty clear they did not." '' Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
25 December,2025 10:52 AM IST | Tegucigalpa | APA powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that have led to some water rescues and evacuation orders. Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January's wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes. San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued. Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area. Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes. The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. By the morning, roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said. 'I came across (a road) where there was a car sucked away by the water and realised we were trapped here,' he said. A resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group, and in less than an hour, neighbours showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes. 'I think we're a little sad and upset that we're not going to be home with our families,' Brown said, but the 'kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.' Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage and 'all this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area.' Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate. Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings until the evening, and much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories. Heavy rain douses Southern California Several roadways, including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport, were closed due to flooding. Conditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The rain began tapering off in the evening in Los Angeles, but another storm system was on the horizon with showers and possible thunderstorms on Christmas Day. James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old resident of Altadena, said his family and neighbours helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. A flash flood warning was issued for the neighbourhood, but he wasn't too worried because his house is on a hill. He and his wife, Stephanie, planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren. 'We're just going to stay put, and everybody will have to come to us,' Dangerfield said. 'We're not going to go anywhere.' Mike Burdick, who takes care of his parents in Altadena near burn scars from the Eaton Fire, ran out to buy more sandbags in the morning when he saw that the pool was overflowing. 'I literally woke up to just downpour,' he said. The family was prepared to evacuate with a week's worth of essentials, including for their dog and cat. Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimetres) of rain this time of year, but this week, many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres) with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said. Much of California under weather warnings Forecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create 'near white-out conditions' in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make travel 'nearly impossible' through mountain passes. There was also a 'considerable' avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morning. Power was knocked out to more than 125,000 due to a damaged power pole, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co utility. The California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weather-related crash south of Sacramento in which Sacramento Sheriff Deputy James Caravallo died. Caravallo was apparently travelling at an unsafe speed, lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, CHP Officer Michael Harper said via email. Caravallo was with the sheriff's office for 19 years, the agency said in a post on social media. 'Our hearts are with Deputy Caravallo's family, and we ask the public to keep Deputy Caravallo's loved ones and our Sheriff's Office family in their thoughts and prayers,' it said. A flash flood warning was issued for portions of Sacramento in the evening as more severe weather developed offshore and began moving inland. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response. The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby. Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapour that form over an ocean. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 10:46 AM IST | Los Angeles | APA news segment about the Trump administration’s immigration policy that was abruptly pulled from — 60 Minutes — was mistakenly aired on a TV app after the last-minute decision not to air it touched off a public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to a notorious El Salvador prison called the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, under President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. The story was pulled from Global Television Network, one of Canada’s largest networks, but still ran on the network’s app. Global Television Network swiftly corrected the error, but copies of it continued to float around the internet and pop up before being taken down. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 08:36 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesThe United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke as the US showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan on Tuesday. His comments were embargoed until Wednesday morning. The draft proposal, which reflects Ukraine’s wishes, intertwines political and commercial interests to safeguard security while boosting the economic potential. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 08:34 AM IST | Kyiv | AgenciesA pro-Russian hacking group claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack that halted package deliveries by France’s national postal service just days before Christmas, prosecutors said on Wednesday. After the claim by the cybercrime group known as Noname057, the French intelligence agency DGSI took over investigation into the hacking attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press. The group has been accused of other cyberattacks in Europe, including around a NATO summit in the Netherlands and French government sites. It was the target of a big European police operation earlier this year. Central computer systems at the French national postal service La Poste were knocked offline in a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, cyberattack that still wasn’t fully resolved by Wednesday, the company said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 08:32 AM IST | Paris | AgenciesBangladesh interim government’s senior adviser has said that the state will take responsibility of the family of the Hindu worker who was lynched on blasphemy charges last week. Education adviser CR Abrar on Tuesday met the bereaved family of 25-year-old Dipu Das, who was killed by a mob and his body set on fire on December 18 in Mymensingh. “The state has taken the responsibilities of taking care of Dipu Das’s child, wife, and parents,” Abrar said, calling the killing of the garment factory worker a “brutal crime which has no excuse”. Abrar said ahead of meeting the family, he held talks with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who asked him to convey to them the government’s “profound sorrow and deepest condolences”. According to newspaper reports, Das’s father Rabi Chandra Das demanded justice for his son’s killing, describing the condition of the family to the adviser. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 December,2025 08:29 AM IST | Dhaka | AgenciesA top Russian diplomat has said that the US and the EU sanctions against his country after the Ukraine war have not weakened close ties between Beijing and Moscow as the two allies fostered closer dialogue and higher levels of mutual trust. China-Russia relations had reached "their highest level in history" in terms of depth and mutual trust, and ties between the two countries would continue to develop in a steady and dynamic manner, Russia's ambassador to China, Igor Morgulov, said at a forum at Renmin University in Beijing on Tuesday. He attributed the momentum in part to close head-of-state diplomacy between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, as well as the series of activities commemorating the anniversaries to mark the end of World War II. Morgulov portrayed the deepening partnership as a response to efforts aimed at constraining both countries' technological development and distorting fair competition. China and Russia had expanded cooperation in an "extremely complex" international environment, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday. The two countries opened efficient communication channels, worked to stabilise global production and logistics chains and established reliable bilateral settlement mechanisms. China shrugs off US sanctions threats as trade with Russia deepens "Almost all bilateral trade is now conducted in local currencies," Morgulov said, adding that the two economies were "complementary, with broad and multidimensional space for cooperation". Russia has faced extensive sanctions from the US and EU since 2022, targeting its economy, energy, finance, and individuals to weaken its war effort in Ukraine. The sanctions included energy bans, freezing assets of banks, restricting tech exports, removing banks from SWIFT, and implementing oil price caps. The tough measures included targeting "shadow fleet" vessels carrying Russian oil. For its part, China has faced pressure from the US and EU countries for not condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China has also been accused of selling drone components and "dual-use" technologies to Russia. China has repeatedly denied the accusations, which have led to sanctions being imposed on certain Chinese entities and individuals. China, the largest importer of oil and gas from Russia, shrugged off threats of US sanctions, defended its trade with Moscow as legitimate and lawful and warned the US that it will take "firm countermeasures" if its rights are harmed by any unilateral sanctions by Washington. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, China buys 60 per cent of Russian energy supplies. India was the second-largest importer of Russian oil. Besides oil, China also sources most of its gas supplies from Russia through cross-border pipelines. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 December,2025 09:12 PM IST | Beijing | PTIUnited States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) held a telephonic conversation with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, over the launch of the US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council. According to the US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy to South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev called President Trump the "President of peace to the world." "Earlier today, President Donald Trump spoke with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, stating that "President Trump is the President of Peace to the World." I couldn't agree more! Under President Trump's leadership, countless conflicts have come to an end, and the world is a better place," Sergio Gor wrote on X. The US Ambassador's remark echoes Trump's claim of ending eight wars. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's press service stated on X, "Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Donald Trump held a telephone conversation, exchanging warm greetings for the upcoming New Year holidays. Sides discussed progress on joint agreements and projects, highlighting the launch of the US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council, as well as reaffirming readiness to continue active contacts at all levels." According to a press note by the US Embassy in Uzbekistan, Sergio Gor will serve as the US co-chair of the newly established US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council, a major step forward in advancing an America First economic agenda in Central Asia and creating new opportunities for US workers, innovators, and businesses. "Ambassador Gor will lead US engagement on this council alongside Saida Mirziyoyeva, Head of the Presidential Administration of Uzbekistan. His role reflects President Trump's commitment to strengthening America's economic leadership, expanding access for US companies, and ensuring that partnerships abroad deliver real benefits for the American people," the press note said. The Council will focus on expanding US and Uzbekistani investment and export opportunities, opening high-growth sectors, especially IT and digital innovation. President Mirziyoyev also recently visited Washington on November 4-6 for the C5+1 Summit. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 11:09 AM IST | Washington | ANIIran and the United States reaffirmed their commitments to diplomacy at a contentious meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, but the gap between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic on a nuclear deal remains wide and deep. The sixth round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran had been scheduled for soon after Israel's 12-day war with Iran in June, during which the US joined Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear sites. The talks were cancelled, and in September, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected any direct nuclear negotiations with the United States. But Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the Security Council that 'Iran remains fully committed to principled diplomacy and genuine negotiations.' And said it's now up to France, Britain and the US to reverse course and take concrete, credible steps to restore trust and confidence.' He said Iran remains committed to the core principles of the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, in which Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. President Donald Trump in 2018 pulled the US out of the agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany. In a rare public exchange between diplomats from the two countries, US Mission counsellor Morgan Ortagus, a Trump ally and former State Department spokesperson, said, 'The United States remains available for formal talks with Iran but only if Tehran is prepared for direct and meaningful dialogue.' Ortagus said Trump extended 'the hand of diplomacy' to Iran during both of his administrations. 'But instead of taking that hand of diplomacy, you continue to put your hand in the fire,' she said, looking directly at Iravani. 'Step away from the fire, sir, and take President Trump's hand of diplomacy. It's extended to you.' She stressed, however, that the Trump administration has been clear that there can be no enrichment of nuclear material inside Iran, a major point of contention. Irvani said the US insistence on zero enrichment was contrary to Iran's rights under the 2015 deal and showed the US was not pursuing fair negotiations. He said if France and Britain continued to side with the US, 'diplomacy will be effectively destroyed.' 'Iran will not bow down to any pressure and intimidation,' Irvani said. In September, the agreement's three Western members, Britain, France and Germany, triggered a 'snapback' mechanism to reinstate the sanctions that had been lifted, citing Iran's failure to comply with the deal's conditions. As tensions between Tehran and Washington have increased, Iran has accelerated its production of uranium to near weapons-grade. The UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, has reported that Iran has over 440 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. France's deputy UN ambassador Jay Dharmadhikari defended the 'snapback' of UN sanctions, saying that since 2019 Iran has been in 'increasingly flagrant violation' of all limitations designed to guarantee that its nuclear program remains peaceful. But he said the reimposition of sanctions does not mean the end of efforts to find a diplomatic solution. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia shot back, telling the French envoy: 'You failed miserably in your so-called diplomatic efforts to strike a deal on the nuclear issue with Iran, and you know it.' This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 11:05 AM IST | United Nations | APADVERTISEMENT
