Beril Canakci
23 June 2025•Update: 23 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday with, including Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arriving in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the UN nuclear watchdog chief saying underground damage at Iran's Fordo site caused by US strikes remains unassessed, and France’s president warning that “no strictly military response can produce desired effects” following US strikes on Iran.
TOP STORIES
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the recent strikes by Israel and the US against nuclear sites in Iran, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Araghchi plans to consult Monday with Putin and senior Russian officials on regional and international matters following the attacks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief warned that the recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have put the global nuclear non-proliferation regime "on the line," saying no one can currently assess the underground damage at the Fordo facility.
"The nuclear non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century is on the line," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at a UN Security Council emergency session, noting that the latest bombardments by the US caused a "potential widening of the conflict."
French President Emmanuel Macron warned against a "military response," underlining that it would not produce the "desired effects" following the US attacks on Iran.
"It is clear that we are all calling for de-escalation, convinced that no strictly military response can produce the desired effects, and that the resumption of diplomatic and technical discussions is the only way to achieve the goal we all seek," Macron told journalists before a National Defense and Security Council meeting on the situation in the Near and Middle East.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites represents a "perilous turn" in a region already "reeling" from conflict, calling on all parties to prioritize diplomacy and restraint.
- A senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any country in the region that allows the US to use its territory against Iran will be considered a legitimate target by Iranian armed forces.
- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the recent US and Israeli attacks on Iran in a draft resolution issued after its 51st Council of Foreign Ministers session held in Istanbul.
- “The world is on the edge of a dark abyss,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said following US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
- A member of the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group opened fire inside Mar Elias Church in the east of Damascus before blowing himself up, killing at least 15 people and injuring several more, said the Syrian Interior Ministry.
- Germany, France and the UK issued a joint statement urging Iran not to take any further action that could destabilize the region following US attacks on its nuclear facilities.
- South Africa's presidency expressed "a great deal of anxiety" about the US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict following US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) issued the Istanbul Declaration after a ministerial meeting, strongly condemning Israel's recent attacks on Iran, Syria and Lebanon and calling on the international community to take immediate deterrent measures.
- Iran has the right to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) after US strikes on its nuclear facilities, said a senior Iranian lawmaker.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- DR Congo extends cobalt export ban by 3 months
The Democratic Republic of Congo has extended its temporary suspension of cobalt exports by an additional three months, citing persistent oversupply in the global market.
The Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) said in a statement that the extension was “due to the continued high level of stock on the market.”
- Africa’s heads of state, government arrive in Angola for US-Africa Business Summit
African heads of state and government have arrived in Angola's capital, Luanda, for the 17th US-Africa Business Summit, which runs from Sunday to Thursday.
The summit's spokesperson, Jeronimo Pongolola, told reporters that the 2,700 delegates include seven African presidents, six heads of government, 19 ministerial delegations and six representatives from international and regional organizations.
