Thursday, December 25, 2025
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Agreement in Vienna Talks Near at Hand; Gaps Remain to Be Filled: Araqchi

“Today is the final day of the sixth round of the negotiations. We spent days working on a tight schedule and did a very tough job and, now, we are in a position that almost all documents related to the agreement are ready. A number of contentious issues have been resolved and a number of others remain,” said Araqchi.

“I believe it is now time for by our counterparts [in the talks] to make their mind. We are very close to an agreement but filling in the gap is not an easy task. Tonight we return to the capitals [for consultations].”

The deputy foreign minister had earlier lashed out at the administration of Joe Biden for maintaining anti-Iran sanctions, imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.

The issue has been a key bone of contention in the Vienna talks for revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan Back Afghan Peace Process, Fight on Terror

Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan Back Afghan Peace Process, Fight on Terror

Iranian top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish and Afghan counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohammad Haneef Atmar, issued the call during their trilateral meeting in Turkey’s Antalya.

During the meeting, agreements were made on transit ties with Afghanistan through Iran and on economic cooperation with Kabul.

The Iranian, Turkish and Afghan foreign ministers issued a joint final statement at the end of their meeting.

Tehran, Islamabad Discuss Closer Cooperation on Afghanistan

In the meeting, Zarif touched upon the results of the Iranian presidential election, expressing hope that the trend of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation in bilateral and regional domains will keep growing in the new Iranian administration.

Also on the agenda of the talks was the latest status of the Vienna talks as well as regional issues, especially the situation in Afghanistan.

Qureshi, in turn, referred to the fragile situation in Afghanistan, and emphasised the need to further cement Iran-Pakistan cooperation in establishing stability and fighting chaos in Afghanistan.

Iran, Kuwait Discuss Latest Status of Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Libya

During the meeting, the two sides also reviewed the latest status of Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

Iran, Poland Enjoy Longstanding Relations: Zarif

in the Saturday meeting, Zarif highlighted the longstanding relations between Tehran and Warsaw, and underlined the continuation of all-out economic, cultural and political relations between the two countries.

The Polish top diplomat, in turn, highlighted the long history of ties between the two sides, and expressed Poland’s preparedness to develop its ties with Iran in bilateral fields and in international organisations.

Iran, Turkey Discuss Economic Cooperation in Region

In this meeting, the two sides conferred on economic collaborations between the two countries in the region, and reached an agreement on the agenda of the trilateral Tehran-Ankara-Baku meetings regarding railway and marine cooperation.

Iran, Tajikistan Discuss Closer Cooperation on Afghanistan

In the meeting, Foreign Minister Zarif underlined Tehran’s resolve to develop its friendly ties with Tajikistan.

Referring to the situation of Afghanistan, he stressed that Tehran-Dushanbe relations are imperative for the fight against regional destabilisation, and the two sides need to maintain close cooperation to prevent Afghanistan from getting insecure.

Foreign Minister Zarif referred to the successful elections held in Iran, and expressed confidence that the trend of Iran-Tajikistan collaborations will continue in a fast pace.

The Iranian Foreign Minister also extended his gratitude to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon for his assistance regarding the release of two Iranian prisoners in Tajikistan.

The Tajik foreign minister, in turn, described as valuable the Islamic Republic’s approach of paying attention to regional developments, especially those of Afghanistan, and underlined the necessity of Tehran-Dushanbe interactions in bilateral and regional areas.

Iran Summons British Envoy to Protest Harassment of Its Voters

In a statement on Saturday, Khatibzadeh said, “Following the disruption of the Iranian presidential election in some cities of Britain including London and Birmingham, which resulted in insults against the voters and the election staff and the beating of one of the voters by anti-democracy and counterrevolutionary terrorist elements, British Ambassador to Tehran Rob Macaire was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today by the Foreign Minister’s Assistant and Director General of the Foreign Ministry’s Western Europe Department.”

In this meeting, Khatibzadeh said, the British ambassador received Iran’s strong protest at these riotous and terrorist acts.

“The British ambassador was told that the government and police of that country have failed to fulfil their duties to ensure the security of the polling stations and the voters,” Khatibzadeh said.

The Director General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Western Europe has also reminded the British envoy that democracy materialises at the ballot boxes not in the moves of a few number of rioters on the streets.

“In the meeting, strong criticism was levelled at the naughty and divisive performance of the UK-based Persian media, including BBC Persian and Iran International, which tried to promote a boycott of election, encourage people to attend street protests, and disrupt the process of election with their programs and types of news making. It was emphasised that such measures that run counter to democracy and encourage riotous moves will remain in the memory of Iranian people,” the spokesman added.

The British envoy, in turn, said he will convey the protest to London.

President Rouhani Meets President-Elect Raisi

With 90 percent of the votes counted, Raisi has so far won 17.8 million votes, securing the majority needed to become the president. 

His closest rivals Mohsen Rezaei and Abdolnasser Hemmati secured over 3 and 2 million votes, respectively. 

The fourth contender Amir-Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi also secured one million votes.

The three contenders have all congratulated Raisi on his election victory.

The next president will be sworn in by early August.

Caracas: Iran’s Dispatch of Oil Tanker to Venezuela ‘Unforgettable’

In the meeting held in the Turkish city of Antalya, Zarif touched upon the United States’ illegal moves to obstruct the implementation of the JCPOA, and elaborated on the latest status of talks in Vienna on the nuclear deal.

The top Venezuelan diplomat, in turn, referred to Washington’s illegal sanctions against that country and the US preventing the purchase of coronavirus vaccines.

Arreaza thanked Iran’s support for the Venezuelan government and nation, and hailed as unforgettable Iran’s assistance during tough days and the dispatch of an Iranian oil tanker to Venezuela. 

The two sides also exchanged views on the latest situation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Latin American countries.