According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News agency and Al Jazeera, the Council of the European Union announced new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday.
The Council stated that eight individuals and one entity linked to Iran have been sanctioned for human rights violations committed outside of Iran, acting on behalf of the Iranian government.
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Russia Today, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on tuesday that the European Union failed to adopt its eighteenth sanctions package against Russia.
Speaking on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Szijjártó said: “The vast majority of those present agree with adopting new sanction packages (against Russia), but today, at least for now, no new package has been approved.”
Szijjártó added that the previous 17 sanctions packages had no effect on Russia.
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and FranceS BFM TV, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that if there is no important progress on Iran’s nuclear program, the European trio-France, the United Kingdom, and Germany-will activate the “snapback mechanism” against Tehran.
Le Drian made this threat ahead of a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting held today in Brussels.
BFM TV quoted Le Drian as saying that France and its partners, Britain and Germany, will trigger the snapback mechanism against Iran if verifiable, tangible progress on Tehran’s nuclear agreement is not achieved before August ends.
Earlier, Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dismissed such threats as political moves aimed at confronting Iran. He stressed that any attempt to activate this mechanism would be met with an appropriate response from Tehran.
Additionally, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, spoke with France’s Le Monde about the troika’s threat.He stated: “Threatening sanctions dose not help diplomacy. If Europe truly wants to play a central role, it must demonstrate independence and neutrality. One sign of such neutrality would be condemning israeli aggression and U.S. attacks on Iranian facilities-which France has so far failed to do. Under these circumstances,how can we expect Iran to abide by international rules?”
araghchi added that Europe could play a constructive role in preserving the nuclear deal and reducing tensions but only if it condemns Israel’s aggressive actions. He emphasized support for constructive engagement by the E3 countries (France, Germany, and Britain) in reviving the JCPOA but warned against provocative measures like threatening snapback activation-a move Iran views as tantamount to a military attack. from Tehran’s outlook this would mark an end to Europe’s role in addressing iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
the English section of webangah News Agency reported, citing Mehr News Agency and BRICS TV, that representatives from BRICS member and partner countries attended the group’s seventeenth meeting titled ”Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence.”
At this event, participants proposed measures to advance multilateral cooperation wiht particular emphasis on governance in artificial intelligence.
On the sidelines of the meeting,Malaysian prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They discussed ways to expand economic cooperation, investment, and technology partnerships. Among topics raised was establishing a campus of India’s Institute of Technology (IIT) in Malaysia.
The United Arab Emirates has also become one of Eurasian Economic Union’s top 10 trade partners. The country’s share in the union’s total foreign trade rose to 2 percent.
Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov participated in a meeting with ASEAN ministers in Kuala Lumpur. Both sides agreed to draft a new document outlining joint cooperation beyond 2025.
In 2024, Egypt’s trade volume with BRICS countries reached $50.8 billion marked by a 19.5 percent increase compared to last year. Egyptian exports to these nations amounted to $9.4 billion.
An Iranian knowledge-based company successfully localized “5G NR” technology which enhances data transfer speeds while reducing latency, boosting security, and improving network stability.
India and Brazil are exploring faster pathways for approving medicines produced by Indian pharmaceutical companies within Brazil’s market; currently about 15 major Indian pharmaceutical firms operate there.
Researchers at Tianjin University in China developed a non-invasive system for measuring blood sodium levels with high accuracy tested on volunteers and animal samples.
Additionally, the Eurasian Economic Union and Indonesia completed negotiations on a free trade agreement that will be formally signed after completing domestic legal procedures.
Mehr News Agency, international Desk – mohammad Amin Niksefat: In November 2024, then-President Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new government department called the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE). Launched with heavy publicity, this project aimed to save resources and improve efficiency across government institutions. After Ramaswamy’s resignation, Elon Musk-renowned for his technological ventures and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals-assumed full leadership of the initiative. According to its manifesto, DoGE intended to save $2 trillion over 18 months by optimizing expenditures through reforms in various departments, contracts, and administrative procedures.
Following the inauguration of Trump’s management, DoGE began by informally recruiting “revolutionary elites” who supported downsizing government and were willing to work without pay. The early measures included merging several agencies,canceling certain contracts,auditing departmental efficiency across government sectors,as well as increasing working hours and imposing stricter oversight on federal employees.
The plan also relied on technology tools such as AI chatbots for data analysis aimed at improving public service delivery in education, housing, healthcare services-and expanding digital infrastructure for data integration. These technologies were expected to help combat bureaucratic corruption while enhancing overall governmental effectiveness; still-even with these efforts-the project collapsed far sooner than anticipated. Official reports show savings of only $175 million during this period-a figure some analysts argue is inflated or significantly overstated.
this raises a critical question: Why did DoGE fail so decisively despite widespread promotion and direction by prominent economic leaders? Moreover, why did this failure contribute to severe tensions between Musk and Trump after Musk left the administration? This issue can be examined from two perspectives: first a ancient view focusing on foundational causes; second an institutionalist perspective addressing contrasting philosophies between DoGE’s principles and U.S. governmental structures.
Historically speaking, modernity swept through every facet of human life like a storm-from arts and literature to technology-shaping political-economic-cultural-social paradigms that fostered distinct lifestyles. Governments underwent profound transformations during this era; eighteenth-century absolutism gave way to institutional developments grounded in social contracts defining new relationships between rulers and citizens. Institutional expansion became hallmark for strong modern states yet DoGE presented essential contradictions with these principles.
Musk entered government not via traditional political pathways but as an outsider known primarily for private-sector success-a move that predictably spurred resistance within bureaucracy accustomed to established norms. For instance, musk often appeared casually dressed at White House meetings, speaking informally contrary to official protocol requiring formal decorum by officials operating under social contract norms where governments serve citizens by maintaining order delivering public goods toward citizen welfare-not merely functioning as economic enterprises selling goods or services.
This reveals a key insight: The atmosphere inside government markedly differs from entrepreneurial or commercial environments.
Saskia sazukato (2013), in her book The Entrepreneurial State, challenges notions about governments’ irrelevance in economic advancement-arguing successful states actively act entrepreneurially through risk-taking investments building infrastructure/markets fostering innovation themselves rather than purely facilitating others’ initiatives.
Despite current bureaucratic weaknesses Doge treated government mainly as an obstacle blocking innovations instead of partner enabling improvements-which contributed significantly toward its downfall according to Sazukato’s framework:
Diverging from historically rooted governmental institutions-which are subject to evaluation reform learning-doge operated over temporary unaccountable platforms offering no continuity or oversight mechanisms which many experts deemed unrealistic given their enterprising claims.
The state presence remains necesary even when limited-with public funding via taxation essential-for funding societal needs including public services; however Doge emphasized cutting costs sharply including scaling back social programs/service quality leading directly toward heightened public dissatisfaction.
A defining feature among modern democracies is transparency coupled with accountability especially concerning fiscal matters & decision-making processes; critics note that DoGE failed profoundly here-with erratic financial reporting & removal later online records relating canceled contracts creating opacity undermining trustworthiness considerably.
The integration ofin technologies into governance ideally creates what is termed GovTech ecosystems enhancing efficiencies collectively; however doge approached governance solely from market lens ignoring intrinsic governmental institutional traits resulting poor cooperation/innovation spillovers limiting private sector efficacy ultimately damaging Elon musk’s reputation whilst negatively impacting Tesla’s stock value further intensifying fallout caused internally within both spheres involved .
a flawed understanding rooted solely in economics coupled with misreading public sector nature led methodological errors derailing DOEG implementation thus failing expectations disastrously;The state does not operate like profit-centered corporations targeting specific customer bases governed exclusively through market dynamics-but rather underpins social existence abiding contractually representing all citizens equally engaged within ecosystem pursuing ordered coexistence prioritizing improved living standards welfare security collectively shared interests consistent throughout governing frameworks .
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Al Mayadeen via Mehr News Agency, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro once again called for a major global peace summit during his weekly program. He stated that the purpose is to prevent the spread of the current world war on Earth, as both the United States and Israel refuse to reach an agreement to end their military conflicts.
Maduro said, “With humility and determination, I reaffirm my proposal to major powers, relevant countries, and world leaders for holding a great global peace summit. Peace will not be achieved by America or Israel; it will come from countries that need it and desire it.”
He added that this call stems from venezuela’s geopolitical stance. “We do not seek to be a military power but rather a Bolivarian power. We have a voice and we tell the truth to the world,” he explained.
Maduro asserted that the world is not avoiding a global war-it is indeed already living through one. ”The issue is not avoiding World War III but preventing its expansion,” he said. “People worldwide must stop its destructive force from spreading, as we are witnessing in palestine today with Israeli genocide.”
He continued: “The massacre of Palestinians by Israel serves as evidence of its intention for world domination and subjugation of nations.”
Maduro also called for making publicly available-and widely disseminated-the report by Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine. He stressed increasing global awareness: “Sooner or later, truth and the Palestinian people will triumph over Nazi-like criminal Zionists who operate with impunity.”
the president criticized U.S.-imposed sanctions against Albanese following her accusation against Israel for genocide. He described these sanctions as clear proof supporting Netanyahu’s genocidal policies toward Palestinians.
Maduro praised rising awareness within social movements across America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America-calling it born from pain-and expressed confidence this awakening would hold accomplices and perpetrators accountable for their actions.
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr news Agency and TASS, Politico quoted a senior White House official saying that although U.S. President Donald Trump approved sending both defensive and offensive weapons to Ukraine yesterday, he continues to believe that Russia has the advantage in the conflict.
The senior U.S. official told Politico: “The president’s view is that Russia will win, and the only question is how long it will take.”
pointing out Russia’s greater economic resources, military capabilities, and manpower compared to Ukraine, the official added: “Even tho Russian forces are advancing slowly, they are still making progress.the president simply wants to stop the killing.”
Othre Trump administration officials have said his shift in policy toward Ukraine was largely a reaction to a “personal grievance” over russian President Vladimir Putin’s indifference toward his mediation efforts for a peace agreement. The U.S. president is also reportedly “not satisfied” with recent Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Yesterday, Trump announced Washington would continue supplying weapons and military equipment to ukraine as long as Europe funds these efforts. According to him, NATO will coordinate this work. He further warned that if Russia fails to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose 100 percent tariffs on Moscow and its trading partners.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, confirmed that Iran and the snapback mechanism under the JCPOA are on today’s agenda for the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, according to webangah News Agency citing Mehr News and Anadolu.
Kallas began by addressing the humanitarian crisis in gaza. She said, “The situation in Gaza remains very, very dire.Until conditions improve, it means we have not made sufficient efforts.” She added that there will certainly be discussions about Gaza and its current state. “We have reached a shared understanding with Israel that humanitarian conditions in Gaza must improve.”
She also stated that EU diplomats will decide on an 18th package of sanctions against Russia during this meeting. Expressing hope for a political agreement soon, she noted that consensus is very close and might potentially be reached today or tomorrow.
Referring back to Iran, Kallas emphasized: ”It is definitely in our interest to return to diplomacy and negotiations. We are ready for this; simultaneously occurring, based on the JCPOA terms, the deadline for triggering the snapback mechanism is approaching.”
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Russia Today, France’s 2025 national strategic document forecasts a major conflict in Europe around 2030 involving France and its allies.
The document states: “It is clear that we are now living in a new era marked by increasing threats of a large-scale war beyond national borders in Europe. France and its allies may become engaged in this war by 2030, and our country could face widespread attacks.”
The report also emphasizes that Russian threats against Europe require close examination. The terms Russia,Russian,and Moscow appear 80 times throughout the document.
Furthermore, the strategic paper suggests there is a likelihood of an attack from Russia targeting Europe within three to five years. It appears European nations have adopted an increasingly pronounced policy of Russophobia compared to previous years.
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and russia Al-Youm, British geopolitical analyst Alexander Mercouris quoted a Ukrainian source revealing that Ukrainian forces are planning to move President Volodymyr Zelensky from Kyiv to western Ukraine.
The report states that Zelensky’s government officials also intend to relocate to a safe place. The presidential election was scheduled for March 31, 2024; though, Zelensky announced that conditions were not suitable for holding the vote at that time.
Mercouris emphasized that this move by Zelensky aims to extend his presidential term.