Europeans to test Iran’s appetite for nuclear compromise as sanctions loom
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Trump says he will help Afghans stuck in the UAE
President Donald Trump says he will try to save Afghans in UAE from deportation. Trump suspended refugee resettlement after he took office in January. In April, the Trump administration terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the U.S. Nearly 2 million Afghans were returned from Iran and Pakistan in the past seven months, U.N. said last week. The UAE, a close security partner of the United States, agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul as the Taliban ousted the U-S.-backed government during the final stages of the U.-S.-led withdrawal. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s comments on the issue.
Summary Trump expresses support for Afghan refugees despite policies
Trump says he will try to save Afghans in UAE from deportation
Countries deporting Afghans back to Taliban-controlled country
Advocacy group urges Trump to protect refugees who were wartime allies
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would help Afghans detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing their country when the United States pulled out and the Taliban took power.
Trump, a Republican who promised a far-reaching immigration crackdown, suspended refugee resettlement after he took office in January. In April, the Trump administration terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the U.S.
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“I will try to save them, starting right now,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social that linked to an article on the Afghans held in limbo there.
Trump cited news website “Just the News” as saying that UAE officials were preparing to hand over some Afghan refugees to the Taliban. Reuters has not confirmed the report.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The UAE, a close security partner of the United States, agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul as the Taliban ousted the U.S.-backed government during the final stages of the U.S.-led withdrawal.
Nearly 200,000 Afghans were brought to the U.S. by former President Joe Biden’s administration since the chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal from Kabul.
Canada agreed in 2022 to resettle about 1,000 of the Afghans still held in the UAE after a U.S. request. It is unclear how many remain in the Gulf country.
Some countries have forced Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan. Nearly 2 million Afghans were returned from Iran and Pakistan in the past seven months, the United Nations said last week.
Germany on Friday deported 81 Afghan men to Afghanistan amid a tightening of refugee admissions. Some other European countries are pushing to tighten asylum rules in the bloc.
In the United States, Democrats have urged Trump to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government in place since 2021.
Refugees include family members of Afghan-American U.S. military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war.
Shawn VanDiver, president of the #AfghanEvac advocacy group, urged Trump to follow up on his post with action.
“President Trump has the authority to do the right thing. He should instruct DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the Department of State to expedite processing, push for third-country partnerships, and ensure that we never again leave our wartime allies behind,” he said in a statement.
Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rod Nickel
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Iran could hold nuclear talks with European powers next week, Tasnim reports
Iran, Britain, France and Germany could hold talks next week on Tehran’s nuclear programme, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised, it said. The report comes a few days after the foreign ministers of the so-called E3 nations, as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
“The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised,” Tasnim reported, quoting a source informed on the matter.
The report on possible talks comes a few days after the foreign ministers of the so-called E3 nations, as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the United States withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
The E3 have said they would restore U.N. sanctions on Tehran via the so-called “snapback mechanism” by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the U.S. before the Israel-Iran air war do not resume or fail to produce concrete results.
“If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the ‘snap-back’ for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground,” Araqchi said earlier this week.
The snapback mechanism can be used to restore U.N. sanctions before the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18.
Prior to the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimise any risk of weaponisation.
Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Europeans to test Iran’s appetite for nuclear compromise as sanctions loom
Talks between the U.S., EU and Iran will take place in Istanbul on Friday. The talks are aimed at reaching a deal to end sanctions against Iran. The deadline for the end of the sanctions is October 18. Iran has threatened to withdraw from the NPT if it is not given more time to make changes to its nuclear programme. It has also threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal if it does not get more time for changes to be made to the deal. The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution to end the sanctions on Iran on Monday. The vote will be followed by a vote in the UN Security Council on whether to extend the sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The decision will be made on whether or not to extend them beyond the October 18 deadline.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal – from which the US withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
Friday’s talks between senior diplomats from the so-called E3 group and Iran’s negotiating team will be held in Istanbul.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which US President Donald Trump, said had “obliterated” a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.
European and Iranian diplomats say there is no prospect of Iran re-engaging with the US at the negotiating table for now.
But the Europeans say negotiations must be revived due to a halt in inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and as an October 18 deadline for the expiration of the 2015 deal draws closer.
They also want answers over the location of 400 kg (880 pounds) of near-weapons grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts have not been known since last month’s strikes.
“We are determined to do everything to reach a diplomatic solution,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a press conference in Paris on July 18.
SNAPBACK OR EXTENSION?
Under the terms of the UN Security Council resolution enshrining the 2015 deal, UN sanctions could be reimposed before the agreement expires – a process that would take about 30 days.
The E3, who do not want to lose leverage by letting the deal expire, have warned that unless there is a new nuclear accord they will launch the “snapback mechanism”, which would restore all previous UN sanctions on Iran, including on the oil, banking and defence sectors.
With Russia – an ally of Iran – taking over the Security Council presidency in October, the three European countries have signalled that the latest window to reactivate the sanctions would be the end of August.
Three European, one regional and an Iranian diplomat said the meeting in Istanbul would focus primarily on the issue of the snapback mechanism.
They said the E3 would float the possibility to Iran of extending the snapback mechanism by up to six months.
In return, Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the IAEA, and accounting for its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Speaking to reporters at the UN on Wednesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who will be in Istanbul, said Tehran had agreed to allow a technical team from the IAEA to visit in the coming weeks.
He warned that a triggering of the snapback mechanism would be met with a strong response from Tehran. It has previously threatened to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) over the issue.
Gharibabadi added that he had heard about the possibility of an extension.
“That’s very premature now to discuss the issue of the extension. We have almost about three months actually, till the deadline of 18th of October,” he said.
A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US was “coordinated” with the E3 when asked whether Washington was discussing the reimposition of sanctions with them, but declined to elaborate.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Paris on Thursday and due to meet French officials for talks on various subjects, including Iran, four sources said.
Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying it wanted to remove any chance of its arch-foe developing nuclear weapons.
French farm bill sparks record-breaking petition signatures
Petition against French farm bill gathers 1.3 million signatures. Petition could prompt parliamentary debate. Draft law would reauthorise the use of neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid. European food safety agency EFSA has assessed it as representing a risk to bees. France is the EU’s top sugar beet grower and home to major producers such as Tereos and Cristal Union, which have signed up to the petition. The petition poses a fresh challenge for President Emmanuel Macron, already under strain over his cost-cutting budget. and is the first petition on the National Assembly website to surpass 500,000.
Summary Petition against farm bill gathers 1.3 million signatures
Petition could prompt parliamentary debate
Farmers argue pesticide vital for sugar beet production
PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) – A petition against a French farm bill loosening environmental rules for farming, including over the use of a pesticide accused of harming bees, has set a record for signatures, increasing pressure on the government to revisit the law.
Launched by a 23-year-old student this month, the petition , opens new tab poses a fresh challenge for President Emmanuel Macron, already under strain over his cost-cutting budget.
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It had gathered 1.3 million signatures by Monday morning, becoming the first petition on the National Assembly website to surpass 500,000.
In France, petitions with over half a million signatures can prompt a parliamentary debate, but do not require a new vote. National Assembly chairwoman Yael Braun-Pivet and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal are among those who have said they would back a debate.
The draft law, proposed by conservative Laurent Duplomb, would reauthorise the use of neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid, one of a group that European food safety agency EFSA has assessed as representing a risk to bees.
It also aims to simplify approvals for livestock breeding facilities, and to ease irrigation rules. The petition, however, calls it a “scientific, ethical, environmental, and health aberration”.
French farmers protested in Paris in May against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to the bill, which it said would help them compete with EU peers. France is the EU’s top sugar beet grower and home to major producers such as Tereos and Cristal Union.
Growers argue that acetamiprid, allowed in other EU countries, is vital to fight yellows disease, which cut yields by 30% in 2020 and slashed sugar output.
“We need to maintain our means of production, and I believe there’s a lot of exaggeration in the comments being made,” the head of France’s largest farm union FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau told franceinfo radio.
The government defended the bill, but acknowledged the outcry.
“We must listen (to this petition),” government spokesperson Sophie Primas said. “Perhaps we haven’t explained or reassured enough. The aim of this law is to put French farmers back on an equal footing with their European counterparts.”
Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Jan Harvey
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Russia passes law punishing searches for ‘extremist’ content
WhatsApp faces possible block in Russia. Russians will face fines if they search online for “extremist” content under a new law. Law could have sweeping ramifications for digital privacy and the fate of WhatsApp. Opponents say the fines could open the door to tougher charges and penalties. Lawmakers who regulate the IT sector said Meta-owned WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market as it was likely to be added to a list of restricted software. The law applies only to the search for extremist materials, but there is no guarantee that the list could be expanded in a couple of days. It is not immediately clear how the authorities would determine intent in an online search. The bill was approved with 68% of the vote. There were 67 votes against the legislation in the Duma, and 22,000 abstentions or 14.9% in the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, before it becomes law on September 1.
Companies Law sets fines for accessing banned material
Opponents fear it could open door to tougher criminal charges
WhatsApp faces possible block in Russia
July 22 (Reuters) – Russians will face fines if they search online for “extremist” content under a new law that tightens censorship and could have sweeping ramifications for digital privacy and the fate of WhatsApp in the country.
The legislation, approved on Tuesday by parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, has drawn criticism from some pro-government figures, as well as opposition activists. Opponents say the fines it prescribes, of up to 5,000 roubles ($63.82), could open the door to tougher charges and penalties.
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The Ministry of Justice’s list of extremist materials stretches to more than 500 pages. Entities banned in Russia for carrying out “extremist activities” include late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund, the “international LGBT movement” and U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab
On Friday, lawmakers who regulate the IT sector said Meta-owned WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market as it was likely to be added to a list of restricted software.
The new legislation targets people who knowingly search for extremist materials online, including through virtual private networks (VPN) that millions of people across Russia use to bypass censorship and access banned content.
“This bill concerns a very narrow group of people, who look for extremist content because they themselves are already one step away from extremism,” Sergei Boyarsky, head of the Duma’s information technology committee, told Duma TV.
ONLINE SELF-CENSORSHIP
Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev said law enforcement would have to prove that users intended to view extremist materials and that merely accessing platforms would not be penalised.
It was not immediately clear how the authorities would determine intent in an online search. The lack of clarity has left many feeling uneasy.
Yekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia’s League for a Safe Internet, a body founded with the authorities’ support, criticised the law’s “vague wording” and warned the law could spark a wave of fraud, blackmail and extortion.
A general view shows the headquarters of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, State Duma, in central Moscow, Russia, July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
“For now, the law applies only to the search for extremist materials, but there is no guarantee,” Mizulina wrote on Telegram. “The list could be expanded in a couple of days.”
Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of digital rights group Roskomsvoboda, said he expected people to start unsubscribing from certain channels and deleting apps.
“I think this is one of the main tasks that has been set: to create fear, to create such uncertainty so as to increase the level of self-censorship among the Russian internet audience,” Darbinyan told Reuters.
Shadaev told the Duma that fines on the Russian population were preferable to banning platforms like WhatsApp and Google in Russia.
Moscow has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services, including a new state-backed messaging app, MAX, but many people across Russia still rely on foreign platforms.
POLITICAL PROTEST
Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who tried unsuccessfully to run against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election last year, led a protest outside the Duma on Tuesday and promised to continue protesting the bill’s passage through the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, before it becomes law on September 1.
“These amendments have caused a level of resistance in Russian society that has not been seen for a long time,” Nadezhdin said, pointing to the surprisingly high number of lawmakers voting against the proposed legislation in the Duma, which rarely sees serious dissent.
The law was approved with 68% of the vote. There were 67 votes against the legislation, or 14.9%, and 22 abstentions.
($1 = 78.3500 roubles)
Reporting by Alexander Marrow in London and Moscow newsroom, Editing by Mark Trevelyan
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