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ISLAMABAD: The United States will host senior military leaders from across the Western Hemisphere next month for a high-level conference, aimed at strengthening regional security cooperation, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported on Saturday quoting Reuters.&nbsp;According to the report, defense chiefs and senior military representatives from 34 nations have been invited to attend the inaugural Western Hemisphere Chiefs of Defense Conference, scheduled for February 11.&nbsp;&nbsp;The meeting will be chaired by Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, ABC reported.&nbsp;The conference is intended to provide a platform for military leaders to exchange views on shared security concerns, enhance coordination, and reinforce partnerships across the region, it added.&nbsp;The US military said countries in the hemisphere are bound by longstanding historical connections and mutual interests that underscore the importance of regional stability.&nbsp;&ldquo;Chiefs of defense and senior military representatives from 34 nations will meet to build shared understanding of common security priorities and strengthen regional cooperation,&quot; ABC said.&nbsp;Military officials from countries outside the Americas but with territories in the region, including Denmark, the United Kingdom and France, are also among those invited to participate, according to US media reports.&nbsp;The conference comes amid heightened US military activity in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, where Washington has intensified operations targeting drug trafficking networks and transnational criminal organizations.&nbsp;The meeting is expected to align with the Trump administration&rsquo;s broader national security strategy, which places renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere and calls for governments in the region to work closely with the United States on counter-narcotics efforts, border security, and regional stability.&nbsp;This will mark the first time the Pentagon has convened defense leaders from across the entire Western Hemisphere under a single forum, US media said, describing the gathering as a milestone in regional military engagement.

Americas

The United States will host defense chiefs from 34 Western Hemisphere countries on February 11 to discuss shared security priorities, strengthen military cooperation, and address regional stability and transnational threats, the US military said.

US to host all Western Hemisphere military leaders

TEHRAN: Iran condemned on Sunday the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on its nuclear program, calling the move &ldquo;unjustifiable&rdquo; after the collapse of talks with Western powers and strikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian nuclear sites. The sanctions, which restrict activities linked to Tehran&rsquo;s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, were reimposed after Western nations triggered the &ldquo;snapback&rdquo; mechanism of the 2015 nuclear accord. The measures took effect at midnight in Geneva, ending months of diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations. Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that &ldquo;the reactivation of annulled resolutions is legally baseless and unjustifiable&rdquo; and urged countries not to recognize what it described as an &ldquo;illegal situation.&rdquo; It vowed to defend Iran&rsquo;s national rights and respond firmly to any action that undermines its interests. The return of sanctions followed a series of setbacks in talks earlier this year, including Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said dialogue channels remained open and urged Iran to accept &ldquo;direct talks held in good faith.&rdquo; He also called on all UN members to implement sanctions immediately. Foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, which supported the snapback mechanism, said in a joint statement they remained committed to finding &ldquo;a new diplomatic solution to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,&rdquo; while cautioning Tehran against escalation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Washington&rsquo;s proposal to lift some restrictions in exchange for Iran handing over its entire stockpile of enriched uranium was unacceptable. Russia and China opposed the snapback, but their efforts to delay the measures until April failed in the Security Council. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told the UN General Assembly his country had &ldquo;no choice&rdquo; but to act, citing Iran&rsquo;s noncompliance with its commitments. He stressed that diplomacy should continue despite the renewed sanctions. Russia, however, declared it would not enforce the measures, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accusing Western powers of &ldquo;blackmail and pressure.&rdquo; The sanctions, which had been lifted in 2015 under the landmark nuclear agreement, add to US restrictions already in place since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. Iran recalled its envoys from Britain, France and Germany for consultations on Saturday. On the streets of Tehran, residents voiced concern about the economic fallout. The Iranian rial hit a record low of 1.12 million to the dollar on the black market, raising fears of further inflation. &ldquo;The situation was already very difficult, but it&rsquo;s going to get worse,&rdquo; said Dariush, a 50-year-old engineer. &ldquo;Prices are rising and our standard of living is much lower than two or three years ago.&rdquo; The European powers and the United States said they remain committed to preventing nuclear proliferation while leaving the door open to renewed negotiations. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

FILE - The Iranian flag flies in front of a U.N. building where closed-door nuclear talks take place at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, on June 18, 2014. 

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Central Asia

Iran condemned on Sunday the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on its nuclear program, calling the move “unjustifiable” after the collapse of talks with Western powers and strikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian nuclear sites.

Articles tagged with "Western powers"

US to host all Western Hemisphere military leaders

Iran denounces 'unjustifiable' return of UN sanctions