Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks to the media on the day of his meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris to discuss recognizing a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, April 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

The Spanish government has unilaterally cancelled a contract to purchase ammunition rounds for its police force from an Israeli firm, a government source said on Thursday, ceding to pressure from its hard-left junior coalition partner Sumar.

Spain, a long-time critic of Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories, pledged in October 2023 to stop selling weapons to Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza and last year widened that commitment to include weapons purchases from Israel.

However, on April 17 as Spaniards geared up for the Easter holiday weekend, the government filed paperwork confirming the deal on the government tenders website.

The purchase, worth 6.6 million euros ($7.53 million), includes the acquisition of more than 15 million 9-mm rounds from Israel’s IMI Systems, owned by Elbit Systems and represented in Spain by Guardian LTD Israel.

The decision drew a sharp rebuke on Wednesday from coalition partner Sumar, with one of the groups within Sumar, Izquierda Unida, threatening to withdraw from the minority coalition government.

The Interior Ministry responded that it had been advised by the state attorney that breaking the contract would mean paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.

On Thursday, a government source said it had decided to stick to its October 2023 commitment not to provide Israeli companies with arms or revenue flows “and nor will it do so in future.”

The source said the Israeli company would be denied permission to import the defense material by the Spanish authorities on “public interest” grounds, the Interior Ministry would rescind the contract and government lawyers would respond to any subsequent legal claims.

Internal divisions over defense spending have already rattled the ruling coalition, threatening to deprive Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of precious votes in parliament to pass legislation.

On Tuesday, Sanchez further angered Sumar, a platform of left-wing parties that controls five ministries led by deputy premier Yolanda Diaz, by announcing a wider plan to boost defense spending by 10.47 billion euros to meet NATO targets.

The minority government has struggled to pass legislation since securing a new term by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties in 2023.

($1 = 0.8767 euros)

The post Spain Scraps Purchase of Israeli Bullets After Internal Pressure first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, with France indicating European powers were also ready for dialogue if Tehran showed it was seriously engaged.

Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States that resume in Oman on Saturday and after talks with Russia and China earlier this week. Its reach out to the European powers party to a 2015 nuclear deal suggests Tehran is keeping its options open.

Since September, Tehran and the three European powers, known as the E3, have already held several rounds of discussions over their ties and the nuclear issue.

The most recent in March were held at technical level, looking at the parameters of a future deal to secure a rollback of the nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.

European diplomats had said they were seeking a new meeting with Iran, although that appeared on ice when Tehran began indirect talks on its nuclear program with US President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this month.

Trump, who abandoned the 2015 pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

The third round of talks is due to be held on Saturday in Oman.

“Iran‘s relations with the E3 … have experienced ups and downs in recent history. Like it or not, they are currently down,” Araqchi wrote on X.

“I once again propose diplomacy. After my recent consultations in Moscow & Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin & London … The ball is now in the E3’s court.”

The European powers, who have voiced concern about their coordination with Washington, have seen their ties with Iran worsen over other issues including its ballistic missile program, detention of foreign citizens, and support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

THREAT OF RENEWED SANCTIONS

When asked about Araqchi’s comments, France’s foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said the E3 favored dialogue but wanted to see how serious Iran was.

“The only solution is a diplomatic solution, and Iran must resolutely engage in this path and it’s a proposal the E3 have put forward many times, so we will continue dialogue with the Iranians,” he told a news conference.

The United States did not tell European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before Trump announced them, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran.

However, according to two European diplomats, the US lead technical negotiator Michael Anton briefed E3 diplomats in Paris on April 17, suggesting that coordination has improved.

The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it denies. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into concessions, making detailed discussions on strategy between the Americans and Europeans vital, diplomats say.

Because the United States quit the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council.

That makes Britain, Germany, and France, known as the E3, the only deal participants capable of and interested in pursuing snapback.

According to diplomats, the E3 diplomats are now looking to trigger snapback by August as opposed to an earlier June timeframe, if no substantial deal can be found by then. That opportunity expires on Oct. 18 when the 2015 accord ends.

The post Iran, France Signal Readiness for Nuclear Talks Amid US Negotiations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani attends a press conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, July 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon‘s foreign ministry reprimanded Tehran’s ambassador to Beirut on Thursday over comments alleging that plans to disarm Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah were a “conspiracy.”

Hezbollah is under mounting pressure to relinquish its arsenal after a 2024 conflict with Israel badly weakened it and left much of southern Lebanon in ruins.

President Joseph Aoun is expected to begin talks with the group on disarmament, seen for years as a taboo subject because of the group’s sway over the Lebanese state.

On April 18, Iran‘s Ambassador to Beirut Mojtaba Amani posted on X that “the disarmament project is a clear conspiracy.”

“We in the Islamic Republic of Iran are aware of the danger of this conspiracy … we warn others not to fall into the trap of enemies,” he wrote.

On Thursday, Lebanon‘s foreign ministry said it had summoned Amani “due to his recent public stances” and that top ministry official Hani Shmaytelli “informed him of the need to adhere to diplomatic protocols … on the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.”

Amani told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed on Wednesday that he had been summoned specifically over the X post, but that he had missed that first appointment — resulting in him being summoned again on Thursday.

Criticism of Iran by top Lebanese officials was unusual for years, particularly given Tehran’s sponsorship of Hezbollah.

Last year, then-prime minister Najib Mikati made a rare rebuke to Iran and said Amani should be summoned over reported comments by a senior Iranian official.

The post Lebanon Reprimands Iran Envoy Over Comments on Hezbollah Disarmament first appeared on Algemeiner.com.