IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS SET FOR PAUSE: REPORT

Negotiations in Vienna aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal are set to be suspended on Friday so that European diplomats can review proposals by the Islamic republic, state media said.

Iran said a day earlier that it had submitted two draft proposals for the nuclear agreement, which has been in tatters since the United States’ withdrawal in 2018.

“After the handing over of the text of the Iranian proposal to the P4+1 group (Britain, China, France and Russia plus Germany) and the European Union, a meeting of the joint committee of the nuclear deal will be held on Friday,” said Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

Meanwhile, France announced the signing on Friday of a $18bn sale of 80 of its Rafale warplanes to the UAE. The deal offers a shot in the arm for France’s defence industry after the collapse of a $66bn contract for Australia to buy 12 French submarines.