Barrot said in an interview with French media that the U.S. Embassy in France had commented on the tragedy, which he described as concerning “the national community,” prompting France to call in the ambassador.
Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Embassy said on X account that “violent left-wing extremism is on the rise, and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” adding that it would continue to monitor the situation and hoped those responsible for the violence would be brought to justice.
According to French media, the incident followed the death of Deranque, a far-right activist who was seriously injured during a clash between radical groups during a conference given by a member of French hard-left party La France Insoumise in Lyon on Feb. 12.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot addresses the audience during a plenary session on the second day of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, June 10, 2025.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi said on Sunday that the next round of U.S.-Iran talks will take place on Thursday in Geneva.
“Pleased to confirm U.S.-Iran negotiations are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal,” the minister said on social media platform X.
In a phone call on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi stressed the importance of “constructive engagement and using the path of dialogue” to achieve a sustainable nuclear agreement, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.
This followed Araghchi’s remarks on Friday in an interview with the U.S. media outlet MSNBC that Tehran will prepare the draft of a possible nuclear deal with the United States within two to three days and submit it to the U.S. delegation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi addresses a UN disarmament conference in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026.
In a CBS News interview broadcast on Sunday, Araghchi reiterated Tehran’s willingness to resolve its differences with Washington through negotiations.
Araghchi said he may meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday in Geneva, noting that it is still possible to find a diplomatic solution between Tehran and Washington.
He said the two sides are working on elements of a potential deal, and may discuss a preliminary draft for the deal on Thursday.
Araghchi said the deal should include Iran’s “peaceful nuclear program” as well as lifting U.S. sanctions against Iran, reaffirming Tehran’s resolve to secure its right to uranium enrichment under the national nuclear program.
He added that Iran and the United States can reach a nuclear deal better than the one signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015, noting unlike the previous negotiations, where the involved parties went into so many details, “this time, there is no need for that many details, and we can agree on basic things and make sure that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever and, at the same time, more sanctions would be lifted.”
He also stressed that Tehran has right to self-defense if the United States attacks Iran. “We have to hit, you know, the American base in the region.”
Also on Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said recent negotiations with the United States have “yielded encouraging signals,” while cautioning that Iran is prepared for “any potential scenario.”
“Iran is committed to peace and stability in the region. Recent negotiations involved the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals. However, we continue to closely monitor U.S. actions and have made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario,” Pezeshkian said in a post on social media.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at the celebrations for the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2026.
A senior Iranian official has told Reuters that significant differences remain between the two sides, even over the “scope and mechanism of sanctions relief.”
“Both sides need to reach a logical timetable for lifting sanctions,” said the unnamed official, adding that any roadmap must be “reasonable and based on mutual interests.”
Washington has said that any deal with Iran must include a ban on uranium enrichment, the removal of its enriched material, limits on long-range missiles, and a rollback of support for regional proxies. But analysts have said such conditions would be “very difficult” for Iran to accept.
The diplomatic maneuvers occurred against a backdrop of escalating U.S. military pressure. Media reports said the United States had recently deployed a large number of fighter jets and transport aircraft to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, marking a noticeable increase compared with the base’s usual level of deployment.
Located about 100 km northeast of Amman, the capital of Jordan, Muwaffaq Salti is considered one of the main U.S. military bases in the Middle East. At other U.S. military bases in the region, there have also been reports of significant military build-ups.
The development came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, and followed two rounds of indirect nuclear talks between the two sides this month, with the first held in Muscat on Feb. 6 and the second in Geneva on February 17.
“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
He added that during the next short number of months, his administration will “determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”
U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday morning in a 6-3 vote that Trump’s tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was illegal.
Infuriated by the ruling, Trump signed an order imposing a 10 percent tariff on imports from all countries hours later.
US President Donald Trump has used tariffs against both friends and adversaries since returning to office.
“I can tell you and reiterate yet again that we are very concerned about the heightened rhetoric we’re seeing around the region, by the heightened military activities, war games, or just increased military naval presence in the region,” Dujarric said at a daily briefing in response to a question posed by Xinhua about a letter the Iranian permanent mission sent to the UN chief and the president of the Security Council on Thursday.
“And we encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences,” he said.
In the letter, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the country will respond “decisively and proportionately” to any military aggression, exercising its right to self-defense under the UN Charter, and urged the Security Council and the UN secretary-general to “act without delay, before it is too late.”
According to Dujarric, the letter has gone to the Security Council and to the General Assembly, as requested by Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general
The move will come upon the police concluding investigation around him, according to media report.
Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday, but was released after hours in custody.
The move came amid renewed scrutiny over his past association with the dead American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Following the further release of millions of court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, we are aware of the suggestion that London airports may have been used to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement issued on Friday, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
King Charles III said on Thursday that “the law must take its course,” and the police had his “full and wholehearted support and co-operation.”
Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal and military titles last October and moved out of Royal Lodge. He has since been referred to as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and relocated to “alternative private accommodation.”
Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, at Magdalene Church in Sandringham on December 25, 2023. Photo AFP
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026 that President Donald Trump exceeded his constitutional powers when he imposed sweeping tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The court’s 6–3 decision rejected Trump’s expansive view that the president could unilaterally impose broad tariffs under emergency economic powers without specific congressional authorization.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by a mix of conservative and liberal justices, holding that IEEPA does not grant the president open-ended authority to regulate imports through tariffs.
By limiting the president’s ability to act without explicit approval from Congress, the ruling serves as a major check on executive power particularly in economic and trade policy and injects uncertainty into future administration actions.
The decision could have far‑reaching financial effects. Economists estimate that more than $175 billion in U.S. tariff collections could be subject to refunds because the tariffs were struck down as unlawful, affecting trade partners and U.S. importers alike.
Trump reacted angrily to the court’s decision, criticizing the justices including two whom he originally appointed and vowing to pursue alternative legal avenues for imposing tariffs. Despite his remarks, legal experts say any new approach would likely be slower and require greater justification and involvement from Congress.
The ruling arrives as the U.S. approaches midterm elections, a period when legal and political constraints on federal power can have significant national impact. By affirming that Congress, not the president alone, holds the ultimate authority over major trade policies, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed a central constitutional principle: that executive power has defined limits under the law.
Photo taken on June 22, 2022 shows the White House and a stop sign in Washington, D.C., the United States.
In a statement released Thursday, the monarch emphasized that the case is “being investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” adding that those authorities have the Royal Family’s “full and wholehearted support and cooperation.” He further underscored that “the law must take its course.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed that a man in his sixties from Norfolk had been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Several media organizations have identified the individual as Mountbatten-Windsor.
The arrest follows earlier changes to his status. Last October, he was stripped of his royal and military titles and vacated Royal Lodge, later relocating to private accommodation. Since then, he has been referred to by his birth name rather than a royal title.
The development has also revived scrutiny of his past links to the late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Britain’s King Charles III attends the opening show of London Fashion Week 2026, in London, Britain, on Feb. 19, 2026.
Speaking at a regular press briefing, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said the Board of Peace should concentrate on the situation in Gaza. He noted that France would refrain from participating as long as uncertainties remain regarding the board’s mandate and scope.
Confavreux added that France was “surprised” by the EC’s reported attendance, emphasizing that the commission “does not have a mandate from the European Council to attend and participate in this meeting.” He said the EC would be expected to clarify its involvement after returning.
According to U.S. media reports, Trump hosted the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday.
Trump officially launched the board on Jan. 22 during a charter-signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Several major countries and longstanding U.S. allies have declined to join the initiative.
Yoon said in a statement that he deeply apologized to the public for the frustrations and hardships caused by his own shortcomings, although his decision to declare the emergency martial law was solely for the nation and the people.
He stressed that his desperate decision to save the nation was slandered as an insurrection, noting that the court’s ruling was unacceptable as it convicted him of insurrection because of the military entering the National Assembly building.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Thursday that the crux of Yoon’s martial law case was the fact that troops were deployed to the National Assembly, saying the impeached leader attempted to prevent the parliament from functioning properly for a significant period.
The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.
The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April of 2025, officially removing him from office.
Yoon was indicted under detention in January of 2025 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.
S. Korea’s ex-president Yoon has regretted not living up to expectations.
“I would think that would be enough time,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“We’re either going to get a deal or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” Trump said.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump said at the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace” that the outcome of the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks will be decided over the next 10 days, calling Iran “a hot spot right now.”
“It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the second round of the U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday showed “some” positive signs but key U.S. red lines remain unmet.
A Trump adviser estimated a “90 percent chance” of strikes within weeks if talks fail, Axios reported Tuesday.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford was approaching Gibraltar on Wednesday as it made its way from the Caribbean to join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in waters near Iran, according to local media reports.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed in waters near Iran in the past few weeks.
