International

The president of Iran reaffirms that his country will not give up its peaceful nuclear program

The president of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, reaffirmed that his country will not give up the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes, although he assured that he takes seriously the nuclear negotiations with the United States, whose fourth round took place this Sunday.

“The dismantling of all Iran’s nuclear facilities is unacceptable,” Pezeshkian emphasized last night during an Iranian cabinet meeting, after the fourth round of negotiations between his country and the United States, according to the IRNA agency.

The Iranian president thus rejected the claims of the US authorities, who last week demanded the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“We will continue to promote these peaceful activities firmly,” Pezeshkian said in reference to his uranium enrichment program.

The president of Iran, however, indicated that his country takes nuclear negotiations with the United States seriously, since he “desires peace.”

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The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, also insisted the day before after the fourth round of talks with the US, in Maskat (Oman), that the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes is not negotiable.

“The issue of enrichment is not negotiable in any way and must continue,” he said.

Araqchí said that it is possible that Tehran will accept “limitations in some aspects, such as their quantity, level or capacity.”

Despite the differences with the US negotiating team in this regard, the head of Iranian diplomacy described the negotiation as “useful” and said that the parties “have brought positions closer.”

“The topics are more complex, but the round was useful. Both parties better understand the magnitude of the differences. The positions have come closer,” said Araqchí.

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The United States, for its part, called the fourth round of negotiations “encouraging” and pointed out that “an agreement was reached to advance the talks and continue working on the technical elements.”

A source from Donald Trump’s Administration told the press that the dialogue was again both direct and indirect and lasted more than three hours.

The two rivals reached the meeting with public differences over the atomic program of Tehran, which defends the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes, while Washington calls for its total dismantling.

The US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on Friday in an interview with the American news portal Breitbart New that Tehran must abandon uranium enrichment completely.

Iran and the United States began talks on April 12, after US President Donald Trump called on Tehran to negotiate an agreement and threatened a military attack if a pact on its atomic program was not reached.

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At the same time, Trump has reimposed the so-called “maximum pressure policy” against the Persian country, which he had already adopted in his first term (2017-2021) after abandoning the 2015 nuclear agreement.

After the US exit from the pact in 2018 and the reinstatement of sanctions, Tehran enriches uranium with a purity of 60%, very close to the 90% necessary to manufacture nuclear weapons.

International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.