George Jahn, The Associated Press

  • A general view shows the Iranian nuclear power plant of Natanz, 270 kms south of Tehran, March 30, 2005. (Henghameh Fahimi/AFP)
    Trump: Fate of Iran nuclear deal hangs on tough UN policing

    U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that Washington will walk away from a nuclear deal it agreed to with Iran and five other nations if it deems that the International Atomic Energy Agency is not tough enough in monitoring it.

  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry , left, arrives for Libya talks in Vienna, Austria, Monday May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
    U.S., other powers want to arm Libyan government

    The United States and other world powers said Monday they are ready to supply Libya's internationally recognized government with weapons to counter the Islamic State and other militant groups gaining footholds in its lawless regions.

  • U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, departs London on his way to Vienna, Austria for what is expected to be
    Top U.S., Iranian envoys eye end of sanctions against Iran

    The end of Western sanctions against Iran loomed Saturday as Iran's foreign minister suggested the U.N. atomic agency is close to certifying that his country has met all commitments under its landmark nuclear deal with six world powers.

  • FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015 file photo, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, center, ends his speech in an open session of parliament while discussing a bill on Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, in Tehran, Iran. This week, the bitter debate that for years pitted Iranian denials against U.S. claims of a cover-up is set for an anticlimactic ending, with a final report from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency expected to stop short of proving or disproving the claims. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
    UN believes Iran worked on developing nuclear weapons

    Iran worked in the past on nuclear weapons but its activities didn't go past planning such a program and testing of basic components, the U.N. atomic agency said Wednesday, in what it described as a final report wrapping up nearly a decade of probing the suspicions.

  • UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, left, US Secretary of State John Kerry, second left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, third right, meet with foreign ministers for talks on Syria at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. Kerry is acknowledging that progress will be difficult as he launches a marathon day of talks aimed at ending the Syrian War but is expressing some hope of headway. With 19 foreign ministers and other senior dignitaries attending, participants say the fact that the talks are happening despite deep divisions among key players are in themselves a sign of success. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
    Officials: Nations weigh Syria cease-fire, transition plans

    The United States, Russia and other regional and world powers considered a new plan Friday to set up a cease-fire in Syria within four to six months, followed by the formation of a transition government featuring both President Bashar A

  • FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2014 file photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, speaks with Syrian troops during his visit to the front line in the eastern Damascus district of Jobar, Syria. The country has already been shattered by more than four years of civil war, and with no solution in sight some players on the ground and observers outside have concluded its fate will be to break up along sectarian or regional lines, in a best-case scenario, tenuously held together by a less centralized state. (SANA via AP, File)
    At heart of Syria talks, what to do about Assad

    VIENNA — The success or failure of the Syrian peace talks this week is tied to the fate of one man who's not even at the table: President Bashar Assad.

  • Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir is leaving a hotel after a meeting in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened talks in Vienna on Friday with his Russian, Saudi and Turkish counterparts aimed at reviving a moribund effort to end Syria's civil war. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
    Syria berates Saudi Arabia ahead of talks to end conflict

    Syria berated Saudi Arabia Thursday in bitter comments foreshadowing difficulties ahead for talks gathering key players and focused on ending the conflict.

  • A handout picture released on July 2, 2015 by the official website of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shows him (R) meeting with the head of the UN's atomic watchdog Yukiya Amano during a meeting in the capital Tehran. Amano will have a series of meetings with Iranian officials to try to advance the negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, which are the subject of intense negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group (China, USA, France, UK, Russia and Germany). AFP PHOTO / HO / IRANIAN PRESIDENCY WEBSITE== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT
    Report on Iran side deal angers GOP; House Dems claim votes

    Republican opposition to President Obama's nuclear deal is flaring over revelations of a secret side agreement between Iran and the U.N. agency that inspects nuclear facilities. But House Democrats are shrugging off the report and claiming they have the votes to back up Obama.

  • Unidentified International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors (2nd-3rd L) and Iranian technicians disconnect the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on January, 20, 2014 as Iran halted production of 20 percent enriched uranium, marking the coming into force of an interim deal with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/IRNA/KAZEM GHANE (Photo credit should read KAZEM GHANE/AFP/Getty Images)
    UN to let Iran inspect alleged nuclear work site

    Iran, in an unusual arrangement, will be allowed to use its own experts to inspect a site it allegedly used to develop nuclear arms under a secret agreement with the U.N.

  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, centre, meet with foreign ministers and representatives of Germany, France, China, Britain, Russia and the European Union during the current round of nuclear talks with Iran, being held in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2015. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Iran to make the “tough political decisions” needed to reach an agreement but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused major powers on Friday of backtracking on previous pledges and throwing up new
    Diplomats: Iran announcement planned Monday

    Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce Monday that they've reached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy that would curb the country's atomic program in return for sanctions relief, two diplomats told The Associated Press on Sunday.