Iran will not abandon its nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said before renewed talks with European powers set to be held in Istanbul on Friday.
The dialogue with Britain, France and Germany – also known as the E3 – will be the first since Tehran's 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the US also carried out strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. US President Donald Trump said the installations had been "obliterated".
But the strikes do not appear to be a long-term setback for Tehran's plans. For now, enrichment has stopped "because, yes, damages are serious and severe", Mr Araghchi told Fox News in an interview aired on Monday.
"We cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride," he said. "Our enrichment is so dear to us."
The Foreign Minister confirmed that the damage caused by the US strikes to Iranian infrastructure was "serious" but did not comment on whether any enriched uranium had survived the attacks.
"Our facilities have been damaged – seriously damaged," Mr Araghchi said. "The extent of which is now under evaluation by our atomic energy organisation. But as far as I know, they are seriously damaged," he added.
Mr Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying Washington would carry out strikes again "if necessary".
The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
The E3 countries last met with Iranian representatives in Geneva on June 21 - just one day before the US strikes.
Iran will meet for talks with the Europeans. "Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul on the deal's future.
Iran will also host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing would "continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties".
European countries have in recent days threatened to activate the deal's "snapback" mechanism, which allows the reimposition of sanctions in the event of non-compliance by Iran.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Match info
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Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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