Iran announces working groups
Technical discussions in Switzerland, as part of the ongoing talks between Iran and the United States, ended with the establishment of working groups focusing in particular on nuclear power and the lifting of sanctions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday June 23.
At the end of these consultations, following on from Sunday’s talks, “it was decided to set up four working groups on the lifting of sanctions, nuclear power, reconstruction and economic development (of Iran) as well as a monitoring group”, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, a specialist in legal issues, told the Irna agency.
Iran says it will administer Hormuz
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said conditions in the Strait of Hormuz would not return to pre-war conditions and that the route would be “administered” by his country, according to state media.
“Everyone must know that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never return to what it was before the war,” said the man who is leading negotiations with the United States to put a lasting end to the war in the Middle East, quoted by the Irna agency. “Of course, international rules will be respected, but Iran will administer the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.
Trump threatens to stop helping NATO countries
Donald Trump threatened NATO countries not to help them if they asked, justifying it by the fact that they did not support his military operation against Iran.
“We spent all this money. And then when we want to have help perhaps on a small thing (…) they say no, we prefer not to help,” said the American president during an exchange with the press in the Oval Office. “It’s stupid to say that, because we can tell them that too, and we might do that,” he added.
The war is dragging Africa into a “difficult period”
African countries are going through a “difficult time” due to the economic repercussions of the war in the Middle East, underlined the director of the Africa department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Even if there is a ceasefire today, we know that the disruptions will take time to resolve,” Zeine Zeidane also pointed out during a press briefing at the organization’s headquarters in Washington.
“Most (Gulf countries) say it takes six, seven months before a full recovery of production and exports” of energy, added the official, who was deputy director of the Middle East and Central Asia department of the Fund.
