A few weeks to save the Iran nuclear deal + Gaza ceasefire is holding
The clock is ticking in Iran nuclear talks: The EU has drafted a final revised text for bringing the US and Iran back into the 2015 nuclear agreement, and has given the two countries a few weeks to decide whether or not they will re-enter the accord, according to Bloomberg. Talks in Vienna finished yesterday with a draft agreement that must now be approved by the US and Iranian presidents.
The Gaza ceasefire is holding: The truce between Israel and Gaza militants negotiated by Egypt on Sunday held up yesterday, leading to Israel reopening it’s border crossing with Gaza and the Strip’s only power plant restarting operations, the Associated Press reports. Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, thanked President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for Egypt’s efforts in a phone call yesterday, according to an Ittihadiya statement.
The US is expected to shell out one of its biggest security assistance packages to Ukraine yet, with USD 1 bn in munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles included in the package, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday. The package would bring total US aid to Ukraine since the start of the invasion to almost USD 10 bn.