26/03/2026

THURSDAY | MAR 26, 2026

9 ‘US negotiating with itself’

ALARM OVER NUCLEAR PLANT STRIKE MOSCOW: The situation at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant continues to develop along a worst-case scenario, the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said yesterday. The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday said it had been informed by Iran that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr NPP. Likhachev said the strike, which caused no casualties, occurred at around 1800 GMT on Tuesday (Wednesday 2am in Malaysia) and hit an area near an operational power unit. He said Rosatom had begun a third phase of personnel evacuation, with one group departing by road towards the Armenian border yesterday and two more groups set to leave shortly. Until the situation stabilises, Rosatom is reducing the number of staff at the plant to a minimum. – Reuters TURKIYE PUSHES FOR DE-ESCALATION ISTANBUL: Turkiye “is playing a role passing messages”between Iran and the US to encourage de-escalation and direct talks, said Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party. He did not elaborate on the messages but said they were also being conveyed to Gulf nations, which have been caught up in the regional war. Nato member Turkiye had sought to mediate US-Iran talks before the attacks began nearly a month ago and has repeatedly called for an immediate halt to hostilities. Erdogan has said it would continue working to secure peace. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said Ankara was conveying “friendly” advice to Tehran to avoid widening the war and that he was also in touch with Washington to understand where the sides stood. – Reuters UKRAINE HITS MAJOR RUSSIAN PORT MOSCOW: Russia yesterday said a Ukrainian attack sparked a fire at a major port in the country’s northwest in a barrage of almost 400 drones, launched a day after a record Russian aerial assault on Ukraine. A power plant in Estonia was also hit by a drone that had flown into the Nato member from Russian airspace, while another crashed into Latvian territory, with officials in Riga saying that it was likely a Ukrainian drone gone astray. The attack came after Russia fired nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine over a 24 hour period starting late Monday, killing a total of eight people across the country, hitting the historic centre of Lviv and residential houses in western Ukraine during Tuesday evening rush hour. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 389 Ukrainian drones, mostly in regions that border Ukraine and near Moscow. The attack triggered a fire at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, an oil exporting hub. – AFP PUTIN ALLIES MEET IN NORTH KOREA PYONGYANG: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began his first visit to North Korea yesterday for talks that will cement ties between two close allies of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has provided Moscow with millions of rounds of ammunition for its war in Ukraine, and sent troops to help Russia expel Ukrainian forces who invaded its western Kursk region in August 2024. Belarus allowed itself to be used as a launchpad for Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles on its territory. North Korea and Belarus have both lived for years under international sanctions. – Reuters

o Iran rejects claim of talks

BR I E F S

CAIRO: Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes yesterday, as Iran again rejected President Donald Trump’s claim the United States was in negotiations to end to the war which has roiled energy and financial markets, saying the US is negotiating with itself. The rejection of negotiations by the unified command of the Iranian Armed Forces, which is dominated by the hardline elite Revolutionary Guards, comes amid reports the US has sent a 15-point plan for discussion to Tehran. “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with yourself?” the top spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, said on Iranian state TV. “People like us can never get along with people like you. “As we have always said ... no one like us will make a deal with you. Not now. Not ever.” Iran’s leadership has previously said it cannot negotiate with the US as it has attacked the country twice during high-level negotiations in the past two years. Four weeks into the war that has killed thousands, created the worst energy shock in history and sparked global inflation fears, there was no let-up in airstrikes from Iran and Israel yesterday. The Israeli Defence Forces said in a Telegram post it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. SNN News Agency said the strikes hit a residential area in the city, with rescuers searching the rubble. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they had repelled fresh drone attacks, without stating where they originated. Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday the US was in “negotiations” with “the right people” in Iran to end the war, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly. Stocks rose and oil prices fell on Wednesday on reports the US is seeking a month-long ceasefire and had sent a 15-point plan to Iran Since his return to power, President Donald Trump has targeted cultural and historical institutions – from museums to monuments to national parks – to remove what he calls “anti American” ideology. His declarations and executive orders have led to the dismantling of slavery exhibits, the restoration of Confederate statues and other moves that civil rights advocates say could reverse decades of social progress. “These policies are becoming a template for other governments as well as some private institutions,” Mahama said, speaking at an event on slavery reparations at the United Nations. “At the very least, they are slowly normalising the erasure.” Mahama said that in the US, Black history courses were being removed from school curricula, institutions were being mandated to stop teaching the “truth of slavery, segregation and racism”, and books addressing these subjects were increasingly banned. Asked about Mahama’s remarks, a White

Iranian rescue workers pull a child from a damaged building in Tehran. – I R ANIAN R ED C R ESCENT SOCIETY/ R EUTE R SPIC

between the US and Iran on ending the war. Despite reports of negotiations, the Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The forces will add to the 50,000 US troops already in the region and accelerate Washington’s military buildup. – Reuters Africa, calling them an insult to Africans. Mahama is in New York to propose a resolution at the UN General Assembly to recognise transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime in the history of humankind” and to call for reparations. The West African nation has been a leading advocate for reparations, a cause that has gained significant momentum in recent years, even as a growing backlash has emerged. Several Western leaders have opposed even discussing the subject, with critics arguing that today’s states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical wrongs. The draft resolution, seen by Reuters, urges member states to engage in dialogue on reparations, including issuing formal apologies, returning stolen artifacts, providing financial compensation, and ensuring guarantees of non repetition. The resolution has been backed by the nations of the African Union and the Caribbean Community, as well as countries like Brazil. Ghana Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa said the European Union and the US had already communicated they would not back the resolution. The EU and US missions to the UN did not reply to a request for comment. – Reuters

for discussion, raising hopes for a resumption of oil exports out of the Persian Gulf. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the plan. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday he was willing to host talks

US normalising erasure of Black history: Ghana NEW YORK: Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, speaking in New York on Tuesday, criticised the US administration for what he described as normalising the erasure of Black history, warning that such policies could have ripple effects elsewhere.

Mahama ... proposes UN resolution on reparations. – R EUTE R SPIC

House spokesperson said Trump had done more for Black Americans than any other president, and that he was proud to have received “historic support” from the Black community in the 2024 election. “He is working around the clock to deliver for them and make our country greater than ever before,” the spokesperson said. Mahama, who last year announced a deal to accept West Africans deported by the US, previously criticised Trump for his false claims of white genocide and land seizures in South