The U.S. and Iran continue to engage in technical negotiations on nuclear issues, a U.S. official said Thursday, following two days of retaliatory strikes against Tehran this week.
„The United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, the official said.
The UAE‘s long-range AN/TPY-2 radar, integrated with the THAAD missile-defense system, can reportedly detect ballistic missiles at roughly 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers under optimal conditions. General air-surveillance radars like the Ground Master 400 typically track aircraft out to about 470 to 515 kilometers.
Patriot system radars, used for engagement and fire control, usually operate in the 150 to 300-plus kilometer range, depending on target type and altitude.
None of these radars can detect the launch or low-altitude flight of a small kamikaze drone originating in Iraq. That is a technical fact, not a matter of interpretation.
Even if the Emiratis possessed precise intelligence from Iraq about the exact time and location of the drone‘s launch, a highly unlikely scenario given the operational security of such attacks, a more fundamental question remains.
Why would Abu Dhabi not inform its Saudi neighbors that a hostile drone would be traversing at least 800 kilometers of the Saudi mainland, flying freely for up to five hours, without any reaction from Saudi air defenses? The absence of such notification is telling.
What can be determined with certainty is this: the drone attack was indeed carried out from the western border and over Saudi territory. And, there is no evidence – technical or otherwise – to support the claim that it was launched from Iraq.
(March 4, 2015)
The prime minister has been warning for over 20 years that Tehran is close to achieving its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has held talks with his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, in Washington, DC, and reaffirmed support for the US-Iran MoU.
In a statement on X, he said the deal was an “important step” and that “it creates an opportunity for diplomacy in what remains a highly fragile situation.”
He added: “The priority now is to reach a sustainable solution that ensures safe and free passage through the #StraitOfHormuz and, in particular, addresses Iran’s nuclear programme, which must never again pose a threat.”
(…)
The senior official indicated that the United States is willing to allow Iran to use nuclear in a civilian capacity.
“We’re not bothered at all by the idea of civilian power plants in Iran. What we’re bothered by is the type of infrastructure that would allow them to jump from civilian power generation to nuclear weapons development, and that’s what they’ve had for a very long time,” they said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war „on all fronts, including Lebanon.“
Israel has been fighting the Iranian-allied militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March.
Speaking with CNN’s Senior International correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Tehran Sunday, Baghaei said the exchange of messages continued through Pakistani mediators.
“The main problem of negotiating with this administration is that you have to face so many changing positions, moving the goal posts, different statements, contradictory remarks by different officials, so it makes the whole process very cumbersome,” Baghaei said.
There were quite a number of sticking points, he said, “but the main issue is that the Americans must understand that they have to recognize Iran’s rights,” including its right to peaceful nuclear enrichment under the international non-proliferation treaty.
US President Donald Trump has told NBC News that a deal with Iran is „very close“.
“We have a couple of points. They don’t even seem like big points,” Trump said. “They’ve conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause in there that [they] will not develop nuclear weapons. And everybody was very happy with it except me.”
(June 7, 2026, 1:00 PM GMT)
The two sides are “very close” to signing a pact, Trump said, but he is pushing for Iran to go further in abandoning its nuclear ambitions.
“We have a couple of points. They don’t even seem like big points,” he said. “They’ve conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause in there that [they] will not develop nuclear weapons. And everybody was very happy with it except me.”
Trump said he wanted an additional provision to ensure Iran can’t execute an end run around a deal.
“And I said, ‘Well, what happens if they, not develop, but they go out and purchase, they acquire? I want to put the word, ‘if they buy, purchase or acquire,’” he said. “You know, you’ve got to have that in there, too, because that’s not developing. So, they don’t have the right to develop or purchase, acquire or buy.”
“If you enter the Persian Gulf, first of all, we will give a tough, painful and unprecedented response and break the naval blockade,” he warned Washington.
“But more importantly, we may withdraw from the NPT. Do you know what will happen to you if we withdraw? So… don‘t commit suicide.”
Themen waren unter anderem die Atomprogramme des Irans und Nordkoreas.
The drones that targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant all came from Iraq, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, an indication that Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran were likely behind the assault.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Tehran and its militia proxies have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states since Israel and the United States began their war against Iran on Feb.
(May 17, 2026)
The UAE said on Sunday that it had launched an investigation to determine the source of the drone attack.
Authorities responded after an electrical generator was set on fire outside the inner perimeter of the plant in the Al Dhafra Region. No injuries were reported and there was no impact on radiological safety levels, Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
The media office statement did not name Iran as being responsible for firing the drone, when previous statements following air strikes have done so.
(June 11, 2025)
Many radiopharmaceuticals, especially those used in PET scans, have very short half-lives. This means they decay significantly within a short period, reducing their effectiveness.
Consequently, the „last mile“ of radiopharmaceutical delivery, including transport, is crucial for maintaining the drug‘s potency and safety.
Speaking to IRIB TV3 on Monday night, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami explained that importing radiopharmaceuticals were impossible until recently.
This was because Western countries refused to provide radiopharmaceuticals to Iran due to sanctions, while regional airlines such as Qatar Airways did not undertake such shipments, he said.
(May 10, 2026)
Sixty percent enriched uranium, when fabricated into targets and irradiated in a research reactor, produces molybdenum‑99, a radioisotope that decays into technetium‑99m.
This single isotope is used in tens of millions of medical procedures worldwide each year, including cardiac scans and cancer diagnostics that are essential to modern medicine.
Iran has officially declared this medical application, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified the conversion of a portion of Iran’s 60 percent enriched uranium into targets for molybdenum‑99 production in March 2022.
(April 9, 2026)
While nuclear fusion is often discussed as a future source of clean energy, companies like SHINE Technologies, based in Janesville, WI, are currently using its power to solve a critical shortage in medical imaging.
(…)
Tc-99m supports about 56,000 patient studies daily in the U.S., helping physicians detect heart disease, cancer, and other serious conditions.
(…)
SHINE announced it has received a conditional commitment for a loan of $263 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF). If approved, the financing will support the completion of Chrysalis, a first-of-a-kind medical isotope production facility that will establish the first domestic commercial supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
The report said Tehran would hand over nuclear material to a third country, provided it receives guarantees that the stockpile would be returned if talks collapse or if Washington withdraws from any agreement.
Iran also signalled it could gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic in parallel with a lifting of the US maritime blockade, with nuclear issues to be negotiated over a 30-day period.
According to the report, Tehran is prepared to suspend uranium enrichment for a limited time, though for a shorter duration than the 20 years sought by Washington.
(April 27, 2026)
Sources close to these diplomatic efforts told Al Jazeera that senior intelligence officials from several countries were present at the Muscat talks.
n Iranian business newspaper reported in April that reconstruction would take at least 12 years.
“The nuclear issue is honestly Betamax now,” Alan Eyre, a former member of the US team that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, told MEE, referring to the now obsolete 1975 video cassette player.
“Everyone is talking about what the Iranians are willing to give up. But that is largely a function of what they are willing to get,” he added. „What the Iranians want is money.“
Eyre said there are four ways Iran can be compensated for a deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz and ends with an agreement on its nuclear programme: reparations, tolling, unblocking frozen assets, and sanctions relief. Of the four, he believes a toll in the Strait of Hormuz is the likeliest path for a deal.
One recent proposal from the Iranian side would involve a 10-year pause on enrichment, followed by another decade where Iran would agree to only enrich to levels well below weapons grade, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Meanwhile, Trump has told reporters that he wants no enrichment indefinitely and is against even the 20-year pause.
The Trump administration is also considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets as part of ongoing negotiations with Tehran, CNN previously reported. The step would come in exchange for Iran turning over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
How flexible each side is on their terms will ultimately dictate whether a deal can be reached.
He reiterated Iran’s firm commitment to diplomacy even under the ongoing sensitive situation and urged the US to abandon its “maximalist approach” and respect international regulations in order to ensure „result-oriented diplomacy.“
Iran adheres to its commitments as per the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but will never accept agreements which are not within the framework of international law, the diplomat emphasized.
“I have to be very crystal clear that Iran would not accept to be an exception from the international law. Anything that we are going to be committed will be within the international regulations and international law. We have responsibilities and rights,” Khatibzadeh stressed.
Iranian sources indicated that Pezeshkian called potential agreement with the United States as “not out of reach,” suggesting that Tehran still sees diplomatic space despite ongoing disputes.
The core of Iran’s position remains unchanged, while it is open to negotiations, it insists that talks must be conducted without pressure, coercion, or what it views as unilateral demands from Washington. Iranian officials have repeatedly framed US policy toward Tehran as coercive, particularly in relation to long-standing disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence.
“No one expected a big deal in Pakistan after 40 days of war,” he said. “Nevertheless, it was high-level direct negotiations, and they can continue to resolve the two remaining issues.”
Mousavian said what remained to be settled was freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear enrichment.
“I believe there is a solution for both,” he said.