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Good morning from Abu Dhabi. Iran is setting the groundwork for potential crucial talks with the US concerning its nuclear programme and its regional role.

Sources told The National that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani visited Iraq last week to help maintain the unofficial truce between militant groups and the US after Gaza’s ceasefire fell apart.

While Iran has said it will not negotiate directly, it has acknowledged that US President Donald Trump’s approach presents opportunities and is reportedly considering engaging. Maintaining the status quo remains Iran's goal, at least for now, to ensure no regional conflicts overshadow its broader strategy.

Read our exclusive story here.

Mohamad Ali Harisi
Foreign Editor


TOP STORIES

Hamdan Ballal is released from a police station in the occupied West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. AP

‘They beat me and threatened me with guns': Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal recounts Israeli settler attack

The No Other Land director is being treated in a hospital in Hebron, fellow director says

Palestinian girls leave their homes after the Israeli army issued eviction orders for Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 25, 2025. Reuters

Egypt's Gaza ceasefire proposals make little headway

Egypt's latest proposals to reinstate the ceasefire in Gaza are making little progress, with Israel and Hamas continuing to hold talks with mediators but refusing to budge on their demands, sources told The National.

Members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces carry images of comrades killed in US air strikes in western Iraq, at a funeral procession in Baghdad. EPA

Iraq moves to give PMF greater role in state security

Iraq’s parliament is considering a bill to cement the role of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition of militias dominated by groups with ties to Iran, as a fully fledged arm of the state's security forces.

Demonstrators face police during protests in Istanbul in support of the city’s incarcerated former mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Getty Images

Hundreds to appear before Turkish judiciary

About 500 people were due to appear before judicial authorities in Turkey after protests erupted following the detention of the Istanbul’s popular mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, the country's Interior Minister has said.

From left, US President Donald Trump, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP

Ukraine and Russia agree to safe navigation in Black Sea

The White House on Tuesday said it has made separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to introduce a ban on strikes targeting energy facilities in the two countries.


HAPPENING TODAY


  • Turkey's FM visits the US
  • French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives in Beirut
  • Lebanese security delegation travels to Syria
  • Istanbul Municipal Assembly to elect an interim mayor

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