Yasmeen Altaji gives a round-up of today's trends
Trending Middle East
Iran moves away from uranium expansion and Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire talks reach critical stage
This is trending your daily rundown of news from the Middle East and around the world brought to you by The National. From Abu Dhabi, I'm Yasmine Altaji, here are today's headlines. Iran has taken steps to halt the expansion of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The offer to do so is conditional on Western powers abandoning their push for a resolution against Iran over its lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. The agency maintains that Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state to enrich uranium to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent needed for atomic weapons, but the regime has always denied planning to build a nuclear weapon. ceasefire negotiations aimed at ending the war between Hezbollah and Israel have entered a critical stage. Sources close to the discussions told The National. Sources said they hinge on the interpretation of a clause on, quote, "self-defense." We have continued to narrow the gaps through the discussions over the last few weeks, and specifically today we continued to significantly narrow the gaps. The ceasefire proposal suggests a 60-day truce, during which Israel would withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon within seven days in a, quote, "phased manner." Beirut would post its troops to the border. And President Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday held talks in Abu Dhabi with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdir Rahman, Qatar's prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. The talks focused on efforts to end the conflict in the Middle East. The two leaders emphasized the importance of achieving a ceasefire and de-escalation of violence, as Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon persist. State news agency WAM reported they "highlighted the value of preventing the fighting from spreading further to bolster regional security and stability." That's all for this morning's headlines. You can get these stories at our site and visit the national news.com/podcasts for more like this. Yasmin Altaji, The National. (upbeat music)