Connect with us

RSS

Iran Open to ‘Indirect Negotiations’ With US Over Nuclear Program, Foreign Minister Says

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Iran is open to “indirect negotiations” with the US over its nuclear program if Washington drops its “maximum pressure” campaign against the regime

“The way is open for indirect negotiations,” Araghchi said, claiming that Tehran won’’ be open to discuss its nuclear program with the White House “until there is a change in the other side’s approach toward the Islamic republic.”

US President Donald Trump last month reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran, aiming to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon through harsh sanctions.

Days later, however, Trump also expressed a willingness to talk to Iran’s leaders, stating his desire to reach a “nuclear peace agreement” to improve bilateral relations with Tehran while insisting that the Iranian regime must not develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected the idea of negotiating with Washington, calling such a move “unwise” and “dishonorable.”

Araghchi similarly dismissed the possibility of nuclear talks with the United States.

“There will be no possibility of direct talks between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as the maximum pressure is applied in this way,” Araghchi said late last month during a joint press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. “We will not negotiate under pressure, threat, or sanctions.”

Nonetheless, Trump earlier this month sent a letter to Iran’s leadership saying he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and suggesting talks with the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei rejected Trump’s letter as deceptive, saying his demands would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed similar sentiments.

However, Iranian officials have said a diplomatic response is coming.

“Trump’s letter was more a threat, but it claims to have opportunities. We paid attention to all points held in the letter and will consider both threat and opportunity in our response,” Araghchi said last week. “There is an opportunity behind every menace.”

On Monday, Iran’s top diplomat echoed those comments and promised a response soon.

“Letters and correspondence make part of diplomacy” he said, cautioning that they can also be “part of pressure and threats.”

Araghchi’s comments come on the heels of demands from White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz for Tehran to dissolve the entire Iranian nuclear program or suffer severe “consequences.”

“This isn’t some kind of, you know, kind of tit-for-tat that we had under the Obama administration or [former US President Joe] Biden,” Waltz said. “This is the full program. Give it up or there will be consequences.”

In addition, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, claimed on Sunday that although the Trump administration would prefer to negotiate with Tehran, the US would be willing to use military force if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“Our signal to Iran is let’s sit down and see if we can, through dialogue, through diplomacy, get to the right place. If we can, we are prepared to do that. And if we can’t, the alternative is not a great alternative,” Witkoff said. 

Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level.

At the time, the UK, France, and Germany said in a statement that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Tehran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”

The US government has for years described Iran, which is governed by an Islamist theocracy, as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, expressing deep concern about the potential ramifications if such a regime obtained nuclear weapons.

The post Iran Open to ‘Indirect Negotiations’ With US Over Nuclear Program, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Israeli Cycling Team Banned From Italy Race Over ‘Public Safety’ Concerns, Expected Pro-Palestinian Protests

Giro dell’Emilia 2024 – 10t th Edition- Vignola- San luca, 216 km- Italy- 05-10-2024 in San Luca, Italy, October 05 2024. Photo: IPA/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

An Israeli cycling team has been excluded from an upcoming race in Bologna, Italy, because of security concerns regarding pro-Palestinian protests that might disrupt the competition if the team participates, organizers announced on Saturday.

Organizers of the Giro dell’Emilia street cycling race made the decision about the team Israel-Premier Tech after thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators repeatedly disrupted the final stage of the recent Vuelta a Espana race in Madrid, Spain, in protest of the team’s participation. Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Madrid and caused such widespread disruption to several parts of the race that organizers were forced to cut the race short and without a podium ceremony. The demonstrators saod they targeted the Israeli team because of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas terrorists who orchestrated the deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Giro dell’Emilia is a one-day men’s race, held annually in the Bologna region of northern Italy, that is scheduled for Oct. 4. Israel-Premier Tech said in a released statement, obtained by The Algemeiner, that the team was told their invitation to join the race “has been withdrawn.”

“The organizers have cited security concerns linked to planned protests that threatened to disrupt the race,” the cycling team said. “We find it extremely regrettable that threats of violence have disrupted our sport. We wish the organizers a successful race.”

The move comes after pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police in Milan on Monday during a nationwide strike organized by trade unions in protest of Palestinians killed in Gaza during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Adriano Amici, president of the Giro dell’Emilia race, told AFP on Saturday that the Israeli team “will unfortunately not be present at our race” and that organizers made the decision “for reasons of public security.”

“The atmosphere is very tense. There’s too much danger for both the Israel Tech riders and others. The race’s final circuit is run five times, so the possibility of the race being disrupted is very high,” Amici explained. “It’s a decision I regret having to make from a sporting perspective, but I had no other choice for public safety.”

Bologna’s councilor for sport Roberta Li Calzi welcomed the decision. “We believe that sport is a vehicle of universal values ​​of sharing, fair competition, solidarity between people,” he said on Saturday. “We are satisfied to learn that this opinion is shared by the organization of the race, which today officially confirmed to us that the Israeli team will not take part in the Giro dell’Emilia. I thank them for this sensitivity, which I believe is shared by a large part of our community.”

The councilor previously called for Israel-Premier Tech to be excluded from the race because of what he described as Israel’s “serious crimes against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli cycling team is co-owned by Israeli Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams and its main sponsor, Premier Tech, is a Quebec-based company. The team is registered in Israel and features the name of the country in their branding. Premier Tech announced recently that it expects the cycling team to change its name to exclude “Israel,” leading “to a new identity and branding for the team.” The team took part in the Giro dell’Emilia last year and their best-placed finisher was Canada’s Mike Woods in fourth place.

Earlier this month, organizers of the Spanish stage race O Gran Camiño said they will not invite Israel-Premier Tech to participate in its race next year. Local councils in Spain have already called for Israel-Premier Tech to be boycotted from next year’s Vuelta a España race in Gran Canaria as well as Tour de France’s Grand Depart in Barcelona. The president of the Gran Canaria council even threatened that the Spanish island will not host the final stages of the 2026 Vuelta if Israel participates in the race.

The president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body of cycling, insisted on Friday that the UCI will continue to allow Israeli athletes at its competitions despite pressure to exclude the Jewish state. David Lappartient was re-elected for his third, four-year term as UCI president at the UCI Congress on Thursday and made the comments about Israel while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, according to Reuters.

“It is perfectly normal for them to be here, because we believe — and I am speaking on behalf of the UCI, but I could almost say that these are also Olympic values — that sport is not a tool for punishment,” said Lappartient, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“The IOC has confirmed our position,” he noted. “We are not a tool for sanctions, we are a tool in the service of an ideal of bringing people together with the unifying power of sport, with the aim of promoting peace. And peace does not come through exclusion. So yes, Israeli athletes are welcome, just as Palestinian athletes are welcome when we host them at our competitions, just like all athletes from around the world. That is truly the power of the Olympic movement.”

He added: “We believe that no athlete should be deprived of the opportunity to participate in a competition.”

Continue Reading

RSS

X Acted on Just 12% of Top Antisemitic Conspiracy Posts, Study Finds

A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the X logo are seen in this illustration taken Jan. 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A new year-long study released on Monday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) reveals the extent to which X has allowed an epidemic of antisemitic invective to infect the platform in the years since billionaire Elon Musk purchased the popular social media site for $44 billion in 2022.

Researchers used OpenAI’s GPT-4o model to analyze English-language posts between February 2024 and January 2025, identifying 679,584 posts containing antisemitic content that collectively received 193 million views.

The report, first reported by CNN, concluded that antisemitic conspiracy theories thrive on the site

“Antisemitic conspiracies are rampant on X. These conspiracies are not new and can be separated into three categories: Jewish control or power conspiracies, Jewish satanic conspiracies, and Holocaust denial. Of the total antisemitic posts, 59 percent were identified as being conspiracy theories,” the report stated. “Despite this being just over half of the posts, they accounted for 73 percent of all likes. There is a clear pattern that posts promoting antisemitic conspiracies seem to be more likely to generate likes and engagement than other forms of antisemitic content.”

Posts relating to allegations of secret Jewish power proliferated and succeeded in engagement metrics. They represented 30 percent of the yearly sample but accounted for 44 percent of total likes and views. “These online conspiracies cannot be taken in isolation,” the report warned. “They are linked to real-world harm. The FBI and extensive other research have warned that antisemitism is a ‘persistent driver’ of violent extremism, with many attackers referencing the tropes in manifestos or online interactions. Alarmingly, polling indicates that teens who heavily use social media are more likely to support the Jewish power conspiracy.”

Enforcement was rare, even against the most visible posts. By identifying the 100 most-viewed posts from each conspiracy category, a set of 300 posts, researchers found that only four had a publicly visible Community Note — just over one percent — including only two of the top 100 Holocaust denial posts. Together, the 296 posts without corrective notes amassed 86 million views.

In total, X only took action on 36 of the 300 posts promoting antisemitic conspiracies, equivalent to 12 percent. Of those, 21 posts had their visibility limited, six were removed, four displayed Community Notes, three were from deleted accounts, and two were from suspended accounts. Even with reduced visibility, the flagged posts drew a combined 2.8 million views.

The study also exposed the role of a small number of influential accounts. “Of all the posts identified as antisemitic, ten individual ‘antisemitism influencers’ account for 32 percent of total likes on posts in our sample. The other 68 percent of likes were from 159,055 users, displaying the disproportionate levels of influence that the top ten antisemitism influencers have,” the report said. Six of these ten purchased verification through X Premium, giving their content boosted reach, and five ran ads or subscriptions that generated revenue. Researchers estimated that X could earn more than $140,000 annually from ad placements near such accounts.

The authors stressed that their numbers likely undercount the true scale of antisemitism on the site due to current technical limitations.

“Our analysis is limited to the text content of posts on X, and therefore cannot identify posts containing antisemitic images, videos, or audio. Another key limitation is that the third-party tool used to study posts does not provide view data for posts without engagement, making the total number of views for posts in our study a low estimate,” the report explained.

CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed and JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick called for X to change course.

“The old conspiracy theories that simmered in the margins of society now thrive in plain sight, amplified by X’s ineffective content moderation policies. In many cases, the platform not only tolerates this content but allows users to monetize it, giving antisemitic influencers both reach and revenue,” Ahmed and Spitalnick wrote in the study’s introduction. “At a time when polarization, extremism, and violence are rising at home and abroad, the unchecked spread of antisemitism online is a direct threat to public safety … Unless platforms change course, live up to their terms of service, and stop the spread of antisemitism and broader hate and extremism, it will likely, and sadly, lead to further violent incidents targeting our communities and our democracy.”

These findings add to years of research and a catalog of controversies. In July, Musk’s Grok chatbot echoed a longstanding antisemitic trope about Jewish executives in Hollywood, sparking alarm about how training AI on X’s content could replicate extremist biases. In January, a coalition of major Jewish organizations announced they would cease posting on X after Musk’s apparent Nazi-style salute at a Trump rally and Holocaust jokes.

However, these issues manifested earlier. In September 2023, 100 Jewish leaders from across the spectrum urged advertisers and app stores to sever ties with Musk’s platform, citing its embrace of extremist discourse. That same month, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt challenged Musk for amplifying campaigns against the ADL, while Musk threatened to sue the watchdog group for lost ad revenue, earning the praise of white supremacists.

In August 2023, the Auschwitz Memorial criticized X for refusing to remove a reported antisemitic post, warning that such decisions normalize hate. And in February 2023, the Combat Antisemitism Movement documented a surge of neo-Nazis flocking to the website immediately after Musk’s takeover, seeing him as an ally who would loosen restrictions.

Musk has defended his approach as protecting free expression, saying after reinstating Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes that “it is better to have anti whatever out in the open to be rebutted than grow simmering in the darkness.” He has praised Community Notes as a corrective tool, but the new study concluded that in practice the feature has almost no effect.

Musk’s approach has carried consequences beyond X, with Tesla and his broader business empire enduring the damage.

In April 2025, Tesla reported a 13 percent drop in deliveries — its weakest quarter since 2022 — with The Guardian citing brand damage as a factor. That same month, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm sold $230 million in company stock, more than half in the wake of Musk’s political interventions.

Continue Reading

RSS

EU Confirms It Has Reinstated Sanctions Against Iran as UK, France, Germany ‘Continue to Pursue’ Diplomacy

People walk near a mural of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The European Union confirmed on Monday that it had reinstated sanctions against Iran, following a similar move against Iran by the United Nations.

“Today, the EU reinstated sanctions against Iran in response to its continued non-compliance with the nuclear agreement. The door for diplomatic negotiations remains open,” said the EU presidency in a statement.

The EU said the sanctions included freezing the assets of the Iranian Central Bank and other Iranian banks, as well as travel bans on certain Iranian officials.

The EU was also banning Iran‘s purchase and transportation of crude oil and the sale or supply of gold and certain naval equipment.

On Sunday, the United Nations reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program following a process triggered by European powers that Tehran has warned will be met with a harsh response.

Britain, France, and Germany, known collectively as the E3, initiated the return of sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council over accusations it had violated a 2015 deal that aimed to stop it developing a nuclear bomb. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

The E3 will “continue to pursue diplomatic channels and negotiations” despite the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran, the countries said in a joint statement circulated by the German Foreign Ministry on Monday.

“The reinstatement of UN sanctions does not mean the end of diplomacy,” the statement said. “We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory actions and to resume compliance with its legally binding obligations regarding safeguards.”

Meanwhile, the British government sanctioned dozens of Iranian-linked individuals and entities on Monday in moves aimed at curbing what Britain described as Iran‘s nuclear proliferation efforts.

Specifically, Britain added 71 new designations to its sanctions list including senior officials in Iran’s nuclear program and major financial and energy institutions. Those facing British sanctions will now be subject to asset freezes, financial restrictions, and travel bans.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News