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Russia, China call on US to drop Iran sanctions, restart nuclear talks

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Russia, China call on US to drop Iran sanctions, restart nuclear talks

Deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China and Iran call for multilateral talks on ending ‘unlawful’ US sanctions.

Representatives of Iran, Russia and China have urged United States President Donald Trump’s administration to end sanctions imposed against Tehran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, while calling for the resumption of the multilateral talks on the issue.

The three nations “emphasised the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions”, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement issued on Friday. He was flanked by his counterparts from Russia, Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich, and Iran, Kazem Gharibabadi.

“The relevant parties should work to eliminate the root causes of the current situation and abandon sanctions, pressure and threats of the use of force,” Ma said.

Iran’s Gharibabadi praised the meeting as “very constructive and positive”, even as he accused “some countries” of creating “an unnecessary crisis” to thwart Tehran.

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Later on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was due to meet with the three senior diplomats.

The talks are the latest attempt to resolve the Iran impasse, as Trump tries to reach out to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

Any progress on the Iran talks with the Trump administration requires the support of Russia and China, which are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council alongside the US, France and Britain.

The approval of the Security Council paved the way for the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned in 2018 during his first term as president, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions in the wider Middle East.

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67 percent purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilogrammes (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s programme put its stockpile at 8,294.4kg (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60 percent purity.

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Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

While Iran has maintained it would not negotiate under threat, its economy has been savaged by the US sanctions. Protests over women’s rights, the economy and Iran’s theocracy in recent years have shaken its government.

Last Friday, Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei, urging negotiations but also warning of possible military action.

In response, Khamenei mocked the US president saying he was not interested in talks with a “bullying government”. He complained that Tehran “negotiated for years, reached a complete and signed agreement”, and Trump “tore it up”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said that he would not negotiate with the US while being “threatened”, and Iran would not bow to US “orders” to talk. But he had previously said in a speech to the UN that Tehran was “ready to engage”.

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Other Iranian officials have offered some signals over the possibility of negotiations, and the latest meeting in Beijing could indicate its openness for new talks.

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Peru’s Sanchez visits jailed ex-president as votes are counted

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Peru’s Sanchez visits jailed ex-president as votes are counted
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Peruvian presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez visited jailed former president Pedro Castillo as officials counted ballots from the closely contested runoff election against conservative rival Keiko Fujimori.

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Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday

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Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.

“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”

The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

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Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.

The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.

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Suspected Hamas terrorist arrested in Greece for allegedly plotting attack on Israeli cruise ship

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Suspected Hamas terrorist arrested in Greece for allegedly plotting attack on Israeli cruise ship

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A suspected Hamas terrorist, reportedly granted asylum a year from the Gaza war, was arrested by Greek police for allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise line.

The Gaza man, 37, was arrested on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday for his alleged ties to one of four suspected Hamas terrorists previously arrested in Cyprus, having traveled with him to Malaysia, where they allegedly received training in making explosives from commercially available chemical agents.

The Israeli cruise ship MS Crown Iris was the believed target of the attack before it was scheduled to arrive in Crete on Tuesday. Police did not publicly identify the man or name a target in their initial statement.

Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards, The Associated Press reported.

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3 ALLEGED HAMAS MEMBERS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS IN GERMANY

A Wednesday protest at the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, opposing the arrival of the Crown Iris cruise ship was a prelude to the arrest of a suspected Hamas terrorist who is alleged to have plotted an attack. (Costas Baltas/Anadolu)

The suspect, an electrician who has been reportedly living in Crete for the past year and working at a hotel there after being granted asylum, will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.

The suspected terrorist had placed an online order for what police said were “chemical agents” that could be used in the manufacture of explosives, according to the report.

State broadcaster ERT, cited by Israeli and Greek media, reported that police also found laboratory equipment.

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TWO CONVICTED OF TERRORISM IN DENMARK FOR GRENADE ATTACK NEAR ISRAELI EMBASSY

The case appears to be part of a broader regional counterterrorism probe. Cypriot authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after intelligence led investigators to materials in two residences that police said could be used to manufacture explosives. Two more Palestinian men were detained May 29 as part of the same investigation, according to Greek police.

The Crown Iris has become a recurring flashpoint at Greek ports amid anger over the war in Gaza. Protesters gathered near the ship when it docked in Piraeus on Wednesday, June 3, and demonstrations against the vessel have followed it at Greek ports since last year.

Protesters allege that Mano Maritime, the owner of the MS Crown Iris, is profiting from the Hamas-Israel war by selling tourist services to Israel Defense Forces soldiers during breaks from active duty.

In July 2025, Greek police used tear gas and made arrests as demonstrators tried to block the ship at Agios Nikolaos on Crete.

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Greek security forces were forced to protect Israeli tourists traveling on buses to board the Israeli-owned cruise ship MS Crown Iris at the port of Piraeus in Athens on June 3, 2026. (Aggelos Nakkas/AFP)

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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced formal charges against the suspect.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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