New Zealand will reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over concerns that Tehran has failed to comply with its nuclear obligations under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced on Friday.

The sanctions, which will take effect on October 18, follow similar moves by Britain, France, and Germany, who cited Iran’s continued breaches of the nuclear accord.

The reimposition reflects growing global frustration over Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment and its refusal to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“This reimposition of U.N.-mandated sanctions reflects the international community’s deep concerns about Iran’s non-compliance with its nuclear obligations and unjustifiable levels of uranium enrichment activity,” Peters said in a statement.

“New Zealand has consistently supported diplomatic efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons from any source. We strongly encourage Iran to re-engage in negotiations and resume full cooperation with the IAEA.”

The renewed sanctions will impose a freeze on Iranian assets, travel bans on designated individuals, and restrictions on imports and exports of certain nuclear and military-related goods.

The measures also place a duty on New Zealand citizens and businesses to exercise vigilance in their dealings with Iran.

Peters added that New Zealand will introduce a compulsory registration scheme for nationals intending to conduct business with Iran, which will come into effect on February 1, 2026.

The decision comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Western nations. In August, Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador after accusing Tehran of orchestrating two antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, underscoring growing international concern over Iran’s regional and global activities.

The 2015 JCPOA was designed to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but compliance has deteriorated since the U.S. withdrawal in 2018.

Efforts to revive the agreement have repeatedly stalled, and Iran’s nuclear program has advanced significantly, raising fears of a renewed nuclear crisis.

Source: Reuters

Written By Rodney Mbua

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to hold another summit focused on ending the war in Ukraine, a surprise development that came as Moscow expressed alarm over potential new U.S. military aid to Kyiv.

Speaking to reporters at the White House after a more than two-hour phone call with Putin, Trump said the two leaders may meet within the next two weeks in Budapest, though no exact date was provided. The Kremlin confirmed plans for the summit.

“My whole life, I’ve made deals,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to have this one done, hopefully soon.”

The announcement came just ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington on Friday, where he is expected to press for additional U.S. support, including long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory.

While the White House had recently signaled readiness to approve new military support for Ukraine, Trump’s conciliatory tone following his call with Putin cast doubt on the timing and scale of any such assistance.

The shift rekindled European fears that Washington could ease pressure on Moscow in pursuit of a peace deal.

Since taking office in January, Trump has alternated between threatening tough measures against Russia and pulling back after discussions with Putin.

A previous attempt to broker a ceasefire at an August summit in Alaska yielded no results. Analysts say Putin may again be seeking to buy time and weaken U.S. resolve.

“Putin is trying to derail the momentum toward greater pressure on Russia,” said Dan Fried, a former senior U.S. diplomat. “The chances of moving toward a ceasefire by pushing Russia to get serious seem to have diminished.”

According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin cautioned Trump during their call that providing long-range missiles to Kyiv would harm peace efforts and damage U.S.-Russia relations.

Trump later quipped to reporters, “What do you think he’s going to say, ‘Please sell Tomahawks’? No, he doesn’t want them given to Ukraine. They’re a vicious weapon.”

Zelenskyy, already in Washington ahead of his meeting with Trump, said Moscow’s sudden openness to dialogue showed “it is on the defensive.” He wrote on X, “We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks.”

The planned Budapest meeting has drawn scrutiny, given Putin’s limited travel options due to an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes. The location also highlights Hungary’s growing distance from NATO allies and its warmer ties with Moscow.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close Trump ally and one of Europe’s most Russia-friendly leaders, welcomed the upcoming summit. “The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world,” Orban posted on X. “We are ready!”

Preparations for the summit will follow talks next week between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, though the venue has yet to be announced. Trump said he would brief Zelenskyy on the Russia talks during their Oval Office meeting on Friday.

Despite diplomatic overtures, the war shows no signs of abating. Ukraine reported massive overnight Russian attacks on Thursday involving more than 300 drones and 37 missiles targeting energy infrastructure.

Kyiv retaliated with strikes on Russian oil facilities, including one in the Saratov region.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for long-range missiles that could put Moscow and other major Russian cities within range, arguing that expanded strike capability is key to forcing Russia into genuine negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump said India had agreed to curb its purchases of Russian oil, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the commitment in recent talks.

India has not confirmed such an agreement, and along with China remains one of Moscow’s largest trading partners.

As preparations advance for the Trump-Putin Budapest summit, analysts say the meeting could either mark a turning point in efforts to end the conflict,or a moment that tests U.S. credibility among its allies.

Source: Reuters

Written By Rodney Mbua

A Polish court will decide on Friday whether to extradite a Ukrainian diver, identified as Volodymyr Z., to Germany, where he is wanted in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions that severed key Russian gas links to Europe.

While Warsaw maintains that the decision rests solely with the judiciary, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has publicly voiced opposition to handing the suspect over, saying it would not be in Poland’s national interest.

Earlier this month, Tusk remarked that the problem was “not that the pipelines were blown up, but that they were built at all,” underscoring long-standing tensions between Warsaw and Berlin over Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.

The September 2022 explosions off the Danish island of Bornholm crippled the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which had carried Russian gas to Europe. The attacks marked a major escalation in the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intensified the continent’s energy crisis.

According to Germany’s federal prosecutors, Volodymyr Z. is suspected of helping rent a sailing yacht and planting explosives on the pipelines as part of a group operation. He faces charges of conspiring to commit an explosives attack and “anti-constitutional sabotage.”

His Polish lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, rejects the accusations, arguing that the case concerns “the destruction of Russian property by a Ukrainian at a time of war,” questioning whether it should even be considered a criminal act.

Polish regional prosecutor Piotr Skiba said that, from a legal standpoint, it would be difficult not to hand Volodymyr Z. over to Germany, though the final decision lies with the Warsaw court.

Under Polish law, extradition can be denied if it violates the suspect’s human rights or if proceedings for the same offence are already underway in Poland. Warsaw has opened its own investigation into the Nord Stream bombings, but Volodymyr Z. is being treated as a witness, not a suspect.

Diplomatic tensions have risen between Poland and Germany, two of Ukraine’s key allies, over the politically sensitive case.

One German diplomat told reporters that Tusk’s remarks risk straining bilateral cooperation, though another downplayed the prospect of open conflict, saying Berlin’s investigation would continue regardless of the court’s ruling.

In a related case, another Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., won a temporary reprieve in Italy on Wednesday after the country’s top court upheld an appeal against his extradition to Germany on procedural grounds. That case will return to an Italian court for further consideration.

The Warsaw court’s decision on Volodymyr Z.’s fate could have broader implications for European cooperation on the investigation into one of the continent’s most consequential acts of sabotage in decades.

Source: Reuters

Written By Rodney Mbua