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Iran’s FM says talks with US on final agreement to begin Friday

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Tehran, June 17: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations between Iran and the United States on a final agreement will begin on Friday following the two sides’ official signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war, according to the official news agency media.

Araghchi made the remarks at a meeting with foreign diplomats in the Iranian capital Tehran while elaborating on the peace MoU that was finalised on Sunday between Iran and the United States, Xinhua news agency reported..

“The new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States on reaching a final agreement will probably begin on Friday at the venue that will be decided,” he said, explaining that owing to the difficulties in reaching an agreement between Iran and the United States that resulted from the US and Israeli “criminal aggression” against the country, “we ultimately decided to divide the negotiations into two stages.”

He said the first stage pertained to the finalisation of an MoU on issues such as the war’s end, the Strait of Hormuz, US anti-Iran naval blockade, Iranian frozen assets and the reconstruction of war damages, adding that in the second stage, negotiations will continue for a 60-day period to reach a final agreement on nuclear issues and the removal of sanctions on Iran.

Araghchi noted that in the first stage, the most important thing that will happen is the declaration of an end to the war, stressing, “Based on the decision we made, the end of the war was also announced on Monday morning when the agreement was finalized, but the official start of the MoU will be on Friday.”

The minister said the “immediate and permanent” end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, is perhaps the most important issue in the MoU, noting that owing to the connection that the war in Lebanon and Israel’s “aggression” against southern Lebanon found with the war against Iran, and the fact that the two fronts became somehow connected to and dependent on each other.

Araghchi described the war’s end in Lebanon as an “inseparable” part of the Iran-US peace MoU, stressing “The war’s end also includes the end of (Israel’s) occupation. The war’s end is not complete without the Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the (Lebanese) territories they occupied in this war.”

Araghchi emphasised that from now on, Iran considers any military attack by Israel against Lebanon and the continued occupation of the Lebanese territories a violation of the peace MoU.

The United States, Pakistan and Iran early Monday announced the finalisation of the MoU on ending the war following weeks of negotiations, adding that it will be officially signed in Switzerland on Friday.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region.

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PM Modi, Egyptian President El-Sisi hold talks on sidelines of BRICS Summit

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New Delhi, Sep 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit here on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, President El-Sisi and PM Modi joined leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, outreach invitees and heads of international organisations for a family photo in New Delhi.

PM Modi welcomed the leaders of the expanded BRICS grouping as they arrived for the second day of the BRICS Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Sunday.

President El-Sisi, several leaders and representatives of nations attended the gala dinner hosted by PM Modi for BRICS leaders at Bharat Mandapam on Saturday evening.

On Saturday, the leaders of 11 BRICS member countries unanimously adopted the ‘New Delhi Declaration’. The declaration commended India for hosting the Outreach/BRICS Plus Dialogue segment of the 18th BRICS Summit, asserting that India’s chairship has injected “new impetus” to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity.

The leaders of BRICS countries reaffirmed their commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus.

India’s BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflecting PM Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First.”

BRICS comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The partner countries are: Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

President El-Sisi arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit. He was warmly received at the airport by the Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Sanjay Seth.

“Warmly welcome the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He was received by MoS Sanjay Seth at the airport. India and Egypt share deep bonds of friendship, as we work together to build a stronger BRICS partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on X.

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Iran, Oman agree on details of Hormuz Strait’s new entry, exit routes

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Tehran/Doha, Sep 13: Iran and Oman have agreed on the details of new entry and exit routes for the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said.

Citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the understanding was reached after “intensive technical and diplomatic talks between Iran and Oman, which culminated in a final agreement in late August.”

Under the understanding, the Gulf’s entry route “lies entirely within Iran’s territorial waters,” and a portion of the exit route also falls “within Iranian territorial waters,” the source said.

The source stressed that the route would operate under Iranian arrangements and the waterway’s southern route will be closed once the new system becomes operational, noting that the United States had insisted that the southern route must be opened.

“The understanding in no way means that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” the source said, adding that Iran has seven conditions for reopening the waterway and has conveyed them to the United States.

The source underlined that the waterway will remain closed unless those conditions are implemented, with reopening depending entirely on the US behavior, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced on Friday that Gulf littoral states’ foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to exchange views on regional issues, including the Iran-Oman talks on designating safe routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to media on Saturday, Baghaei said the gathering would “hopefully” be attended by foreign ministers from Gulf states as well as Iran and Iraq.

“As part of the agenda, we are going to brief the delegations about the results of the Iran and Oman consultations regarding the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding that the two countries had conducted the consultations as “the two coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Late last month, Iran and Oman said in a joint statement that they had exchanged views on a proposed phased framework that includes establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor in the strait.

Following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran restricted passage through the strategic waterway, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports.

The Strait of Hormuz, linking the Gulf with the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most important routes for oil and gas shipments. Oman and Iran sit on opposite sides of the strait and have maintained consultations over maritime security and navigation in the strategic waterway.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping departs from Delhi after attending BRICS Summit

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New Delhi, Sep 13: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday departed from New Delhi after attending the 18th BRICS Summit hosted by India.

Xi Jinping participated in the two-day BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. He joined leaders of BRICS member countries in a joint tree plantation drive in New Delhi. Xi and leaders of other BRICS member countries visited Bharat Innovates Exposition at Bharat Mandapam.

During his visit to India, Xi also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the two leaders emphasised that “differences should not become disputes” and reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long-term perspective of their ties.

“The two leaders welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long term perspective of their ties. Differences should not become disputes. Prime Minister highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals- mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the meeting.

During the meeting, PM Modi stressed that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations.

“He underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border-related issues. The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples,” the MEA statement added.

Both leaders also took note of the progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility between the two countries.

“On economic and trade relations, they underlined the need to address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access,” the statement read further.

According to the MEA, the two leaders agreed that both sides must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues, and in addressing challenges.

“Prime Minister appreciated China’s support for India’s BRICS chairship and its contributions towards the success of the BRICS Summit-2026,” it concluded.

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