UN chief calls for Ukraine peace deal respecting ‘territorial integrity’

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk is criticizing the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, a significant fracture in a partnership that was forged during last year’s campaign and was poised to reshape American politics and the federal government.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who supported Trump’s candidacy with at least $250 million and has worked for his administration as a senior adviser, said he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “big beautiful bill.”
The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. While speaking to CBS, Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”

His CBS interview came out Tuesday night. Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation.
“I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said.
Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he said. “It’s got a way to go.”
Republicans recently pushed the measure through the House and are debating it in the Senate.
Musk’s concerns are shared by some Republican lawmakers. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said he was “pretty confident” there was enough opposition “to slow this process down until the president, our leadership, gets serious” about reducing spending. Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, he added that there was no amount of pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson has asked senators to make as few changes to the legislation as possible, saying that House Republicans reached a “very delicate balance” that could be upended with major changes. The narrowly divided House will have to vote again on final passage once the Senate alters the bill.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, saying “the House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings.”
The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorized spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE’s cuts. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the package will include $1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and $8.3 billion in foreign assistance.
Musk’s criticism come as he steps back from his government work, rededicating himself to companies like the electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. He’s also said he’ll reduce his political spending, because “I think I’ve done enough.”
At times, he’s seemed chastened by his experience working in government. Although he hoped that DOGE would generate $1 trillion in spending cuts, he’s fallen far short of that target.
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,” he told The Washington Post. “I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”
Musk had previously been energized by the opportunity to reshape Washington. He wore campaign hats in the White House, held his own campaign rallies and talked about excessive spending as an existential crisis. He often tended to be effusive in his praise of Trump.
“The more I’ve gotten to know President Trump, the more I like the guy,” Musk said in February. “Frankly, I love him.”
Trump repaid the favor, describing Musk as “a truly great American.” When Tesla faced declining sales, he turned the White House driveway into a makeshift showroom to illustrate his support.
It’s unclear what, if any, impact that Musk’s comments about the bill would have on the legislative debate. During the transition period, he helped whip up opposition to a spending measure as the country stood on the brink of a federal government shutdown.
His latest criticism could embolden Republicans who want bigger spending cuts. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted a Fox News story about Musk’s interview while also adding his own take on the measure, saying there was “still time to fix it.”
“The Senate version will be more aggressive,” Lee said. “It can, it must, and it will be. Or it won’t pass.”
Only two Republicans — Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted against the bill when the House took up the measure last week.
Davidson took note of Musk’s comments on social media.
“Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the Big Beautiful Bill where the House missed the moment,” he wrote. “Don’t hope someone else will cut deficits someday, know it has been done this Congress.”
The Congressional Budget Office, in a preliminary estimate, said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would reduce spending by slightly more than $1 trillion over the same period.
House Republican leaders say increased economic growth would allow the bill to be deficit neutral or reducing, but outside watchdogs are skeptical. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the bill would add $3 trillion to the debt, including interest, over the next decade.
 

VIENNA: Any deal between Iran and the US that would impose fresh nuclear curbs on Iran should include “very robust” inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.

The two countries are holding talks meant to rein in Iranian nuclear activities that have rapidly accelerated since President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that strictly limited those activities.

As that deal has unraveled, Iran has increased the purity to which it is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent, close to the roughly 90 percent of nuclear arms-grade, from 3.67 percent under the deal. It has also scrapped the extra IAEA oversight imposed by the 2015 pact.

“My impression is that if you have that type of agreement, a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA ... should be a prerequisite, and I’m sure it will be, because it would imply a very, very serious commitment on the part of Iran, which must be verified,” Grossi said.

He stopped short, however, of saying Iran should resume implementation of the Additional Protocol, an agreement between the IAEA and member states that broadens the range of IAEA oversight to include snap inspections of undeclared sites. 

Iran implemented it under the 2015 deal, until the US exit in 2018.

Asked if he meant the protocol should be applied, Grossi said “I’m very practical,” adding that this was not a subject in the talks. While the IAEA is not part of the talks, he said he was in touch with both sides, including US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

“I don’t think they are discussing it in these terms. I don’t see the discussion as being a discussion on legal norms to be applied or not. I tend to see this as more of an ad hoc approach,” said Grossi.

Iran, meanwhile, said it may consider allowing US inspectors with the IAEA to inspect its facilities if a deal is reached with the US.

“Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years — we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries,” Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said, referring to staff from the IAEA. Tehran “will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency” if “an agreement is reached, and Iran’s demands are taken into account,” he added.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that “consultations are ongoing regarding the time and location of the next round of talks, and once finalized, they will be announced by Oman.” 

Eslami said: “The enrichment percentage depends on the type of use. When highly enriched uranium is produced, it does not necessarily mean military use,” he said.

Baqaei meanwhile said: “The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country’s nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable.”