reckless

Abbas Araghchi says despite ‘snapback’ sanctions process, Iran is open to a ‘realistic and lasting bargain’.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Britain, France and Germany of pursuing a “reckless” strategy on his country’s nuclear programme, warning that their alignment with Washington will only diminish Europe’s global standing.

Writing in The Guardian on Sunday, Araghchi said the decision by the so-called E3 to trigger a process that could reinstate United Nations sanctions “lacks any legal standing” and is bound to fail.

“The truth is that they are intently pursuing a reckless course of action … This is a grave miscalculation that is bound to backfire,” Araghchi wrote.

In August, Germany, France and the United Kingdom – Europe’s largest economies – triggered a 30-day process to activate “snapback” sanctions over what they called “significant” violations of a 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme.

The United States, which bombed three nuclear facilities in June as part of an Israeli assault on Iran, has welcomed the European countries’ move.

Araghchi accused the three powers of ignoring the fact that it was the US, not Iran, that withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While Tehran took what he described as “lawful remedial measures” under the accord, the E3 failed to uphold their own obligations.

Araghchi noted that European leaders once pledged to protect trade with Iran after US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018. “None of it materialised,” he wrote, adding that Europe’s promises of “strategic autonomy” collapsed under US pressure.

Instead, he argued, Europe has acted as a bystander, cheering Washington’s aggressive approach. “Openly cheerleading illegal military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities protected by international law – as Germany’s chancellor has done – does not constitute ‘participation’” in the deal, he wrote.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested in June that the West is benefitting from the Israeli assault against Iran.

“This is dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,” he said.

Araghchi stressed in his Guardian column that Tehran remains open to dialogue. “[Iran] is ready to forge a realistic and lasting bargain that entails ironclad oversight and curbs on enrichment in exchange for the termination of sanctions,” he said.

He cautioned that ignoring this chance could plunge the region into deeper instability, especially amid escalating tensions with Israel. “The powerful armed forces of Iran are ready and able to once again pummel Israel into running to ‘daddy’ to be bailed out,” Araghchi warned, arguing that Israeli provocations risk dragging the US into costly conflicts.

The Trump administration had also claimed that the door remains open for talks with Iran.

“The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran – in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement following the E3 announcement on sanctions last month.

“Snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”

A round of nuclear talks between US and Iranian officials was set to take place on June 15. But Israeli bombs started falling on Tehran two days before the scheduled negotiations, postponing them indefinitely.

Washington insists that Iran cannot enrich uranium domestically, but Iran insists that its right to enrichment is non-negotiable.

The 2015 nuclear deal – which Trump nixed during his first term as US president – gives Iran the right to enrich uranium at a low level for civilian purposes under a strict monitoring system.

The snapback mechanism in the JCPOA gave any party to the agreement – the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia or China – the power to kick-start a process to revive six UN Security Council sanctions resolutions.

And the snapback is veto-proof, meaning Russia and China, both allies of Iran, cannot block the restoration of the sanctions.

In 2020, the US tried to activate the snapback clause of the JCPOA, but the effort failed because Washington was no longer a participant in the agreement.

As many Brits up and down the country prepare to jet off on their summer holidays, the Mirror takes a look at some of the worst passengers ever to cross the airport tarmac

When boarding a plane for a sunny summer holiday, many of us will be praying for a seatmate who doesn’t make us wish for the aircraft to simply turn around.

From passengers sticking their bare feet on the armrest to vicious spats about seat swaps, there are a number of cabin faux pas that can seriously dampen your holiday mood before you’d even had a chance to sample the drinks trolley.

But perhaps next time you sit next to a thunderous snorer, or an enthusiastic Pringles chewer who sprays crumbs all over your lap, you’ll remember that really, it could be so, so much worse.

Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the most obnoxious passengers of all time, from potty-mouthed ranters to those whose selfish actions have posed a serious health and safety risk…

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Reckless emergency door act

Back in May, a young man caused chaos during a flight from Changsha, China, to Kunming Changshui International Airport after opening the emergency exit.

Just as China Eastern Airlines flight MU5828 was taxiing on the runway, he yanked the emergency handle and deployed the evacuation slide, causing complete panic onboard.

As witnesses later reported, he’d opened the exit to “get some fresh air”. His reckless actions resulted in a 20-minute delay for passengers wishing to disembark the aircraft.

The unnamed man was eventually escorted off the plane by police officers and taken for questioning. Thankfully, nobody was injured.

Depending on the plane and circumstances, those flying in China can face fines for opening an emergency exit ranging from £10,482 to £20,985 (CNY 100,000 and 200,000), China Eastern Airlines was previously approached for comment.

Cruel meltdown over seat

Shocking footage emerged this week of an allegedly intoxicated passenger cruelly raging that she had “sit next to a f***ing fat lady” during a flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Kansas City.

Videos taken in the early hours of Monday, June 16, aboard a Southwest Airlines flight show the unamed woman pulling at another female passenger’s hair, spitting in her face and kicking her. Other clips show her screaming at the other passenger, and making nasty jibes about her physical appearance.

Slurring her words, she lashed out in an unacceptable rant, appearing to say: “Look at this fat lady. Look at this fat a** b****.”

The alleged foul-mouthed passenger also ridiculed the victim’s decision to wear a face mask, screeching: “It’s horrible. Look at her outfit. Look at this fat a** b****. Hilarious. You can’t even show your mouth because you’re embarrassed.”

Another passenger who recorded the scene told the Daily Mail that the woman had even “knocked the glasses off the Southwest employee”.

They claimed: ‘”When she first started saying stuff, I called out, ‘Why don’t you be nice?” She turned around and called me ugly a few times, and that I could never get a boyfriend or have sex. I looked at her and said I’ve been married for almost 20 years, lady’.”

Eventually, the ranting woman was escorted off the plane and was not permitted to return, Southwest Airlines informed the publication. The Port Authority Police Department also confirmed they’d been called at approximately 1.10 am following reports of an ‘intoxicated passenger’, who was then taken for hospital evaluation before being remanded into custody at New York City Department of Correction, on charges of aggravated assault.

A Southwest spokesperson stated: “We commend our Team for their professionalism during the incident.” The woman, a 32-year-old New York resident, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Punching cabin crew

In May this year, an aggressive passenger was escorted off a flight from Gran Canaria to Birmingham after allegedly punching a member of cabin crew in the face.

The passenger, who witnesses say was inebriated, had to be led off the plane in handcuffs following an hour-long ordeal that left air hostesses in tears.

Staff even had to use a ‘restraint kit’ in a desperate bid to get the situation under control. An eyewitness told The Sun: “It all kicked off just before 1 am as we were landing in Birmingham from Las Palmas.

“When they slammed the brakes, he was shouting that the plane was going to crash. He started shouting at the hostesses and got up to go to the toilet compartment.

“The stewardess told him to sit back down, which he did, but then he got back up for the second time and went to the same place. There was a lot of screaming and shouting between him and the crew, and then he punched an air hostess in the nose.”

They continued: “Air hostesses were screaming for police in panic – they were shook up and crying. People had to tell them to stop screaming because it was scaring the kids – it was a nightmare.”

Cheers rang out across the cabin as West Midlands Police arrived to deal with the violent troublemaker, who reportedly resisted arrest.

Failed exit dash

An entitled woman who was in a frantic rush to be the first one off the plane following an already tiresome eight-hour flight ended up getting more than she bargained for when the captain publicly called her out, to the delight of her seatmates.

Showing no care whatsoever for seat etiquette, the passenger determinedly leapt from her seat as soon as the plane hit tarmac, making a beeline for the exit. The seatbelt sign was still on, and flight attendants pleaded with her to return to her seat until they came to a safe stop. However, she paid them no heed.

Having none of her antics, the captain himself then decided to get involved, revealing that he had a “special guest onboard”, whom he would be greeting after they arrived at the gate. Recalling the incident in a Reddit post, a passenger who witnessed the brazen dash wrote: “The woman stood there awkwardly until we did the whole rolling into the gate thing, and whatever planes do when they land, for about 15 to 20 minutes.

“Everyone sat there waiting to see what the captain was talking about. Eventually, the captain came out and asked the lady to please move back a little to get to his special guest, then a little more, then a little more. He was looking from row to row, trying to find a specific person. Everyone is watching and looking around to see who it could be.”

The pilot continued ushering the cheeky traveller back one row at a time until, finally, they were at the very back of the plane. He then requested that she sit down for a moment while he grabbed the intercom. The Reddit user continued: “He said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to announce our special guest sitting in seat 42C. Let’s give her a round of applause’. The whole plane went wild with laughter and applause. I loved every moment of that.”

Reclining seat karma

A ticked-off woman decided to exact a “14-hour revenge” against an elderly power couple who “gloated” after buckling themselves into seats which had been reserved for her and her then-husband. When they confronted the couple, they refused point-blank to move, as “they had scored three seats to their two bottoms, whereas the row in front had a very slim girl at the window”.

A flight attendant got involved, by which point the audacious couple played “the age card” to get their own way. The woman and her now ex were asked to sit in front, next to the “slim girl who took up no room whatsoever”.

When they overheard the couple “loudly gloating” about their brazen behaviour, they began taking petty revenge, reclining in order to reduce their leg room. Then, as the indignant passenger put it, “Karma took a dump on the gloating couple’s lap”.

Taking to Reddit, the now-vindicated woman revealed: “So here we were settled when this man started walking up the plane. he was a very, very large man, long, long dreadlocks, shoving a baguette in his mouth as he made his way up the aisle. My husband just looked at me and smiled as he realised the only spare seat was that window seat, which would have been next to mine.

“Karma took a dump on the gloating couple’s lap as the man asked them to move so he could get into his seat. Once settled, he took up a lot of the space, and once in the air, the lady called a hostess down and started having a strop about how we had stolen their seats and that we had refused to move when they boarded.”

“Sadly for the lady, our argument at the start of the flight had been witnessed by the staff as everyone else was settled by then so she was shut down by the staff who refused to move us.”

To the amusement of their new enemies, the seat thieves endured a “miserable” 14-hour flight, with their unexpected seatmate repeatedly getting up for the toilet, and to grab extra snacks and beverages.

‘Inexcusable’ Ryanair damages

Back in January, Ryanair announced it would be pursuing legal action against an unruly passenger, whose “completely unacceptable” behaviour resulted in a Dublin to Lanzarote flight having to be diverted to Porto, Portugal.

Revealing that they would be suing the unnamed passenger to the tune of £12,500, the airline told of how the flight had been delayed overnight, causing 160 passengers to “face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday”.

The damages sought were intended to cover accommodation costs plus any other expenses for passengers affected by the “inexcusable” antics. It was also hoped that the legal action taken would deter any other future troublemakers from following suit.

Describing the incident as a “major clampdown”, a spokesperson released the following statement on the Ryanair website: “It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.”

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America’s debt-addicted government just lost its triple-A credit rating from Moody’s, as it previously had from fellow rating agencies S&P and Fitch. Many in Washington shrugged the move off as minor or as unfair treatment of the Trump administration. The truth is more sobering: a flashing red signal that the United States is no longer seen as a “perfect” credit risk and that politicians should stop pretending economic growth alone can bail us out.

Yes, the mess is real, and it’s because habitual deficit financing — the very disease fiscally minded founding father Alexander Hamilton warned against — has become business as usual.

The reckoning comes as House Republicans push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts with a “big, beautiful bill.” If handled correctly, it’s a good idea. But while the legislation aims to avoid tax hikes, it pairs modestly pro-growth provisions with a smorgasbord of costly special-interest giveaways. Worse, it assumes we can afford yet another $3 trillion to $5 trillion in debt without serious consequences. That’s the kind of magical thinking that spurred the credit downgrade.

Starting with Hamilton, American politicians long understood the importance of fiscal policy guided by the ethos of balanced budgets, low taxes and steady debt reduction. Their vision, combined with a deep respect for contractual repayment and financial responsibility, made America a creditor nation.

Washington abandoned that honorable legacy in recent decades. U.S. national debt held by the public is racing toward $30 trillion, and the cost of servicing it is ballooning. Interest payments are now one of the fastest-growing parts of the budget — $1 trillion in 2026 — crowding out core priorities and leaving us vulnerable to economic shocks. The Congressional Budget Office warns that even modest interest-rate increases could lead to hundreds of billions of dollars in added annual costs. It’s not a theoretical problem; it’s a real, compounding threat.

Which brings us back to the downgrade. Historically, downgrades like those from S&P in 2011 or Fitch in 2023 haven’t caused immediate crises, but they do raise borrowing costs and gradually erode investor confidence. The downgrades are not the problem, but symptoms of a deeper illness: lack of credible fiscal discipline. Market participants aren’t worried because Moody’s wrote a negative report; they’re worried because what Moody’s wrote is true.

If our political class continues to ignore warnings, the market will do what rating agencies only hint at: impose real discipline through higher borrowing costs, weaker currency demand and tighter credit conditions. Already, China and other countries have reduced holdings of U.S. Treasuries from 42% in 2019 to 30% today.

Meanwhile, the tax plan so far embodies Washington’s worst habits. It makes only temporary the most important pro-growth provisions of the 2017 tax cuts — like full expensing for equipment and research and development — while rendering permanent a raft of unrelated policies catering to favored industries and constituencies. That’s not tax reform; it’s pork-barrel politics dressed up as populist economics.

Worse still, the bill’s Republican supporters in the House justify it with the fantastical claim that it’s fiscally responsible based on the notion that it will raise trillions in growth-generated revenue. Even the most optimistic models show the current bill barely moving the growth needle. The administration claims growth will be enormous once it deregulates and sells off assets, but these distinct policies take a long time to bear fruit.

What a missed opportunity. According to Tax Foundation experts, making just four cost-recovery provisions permanent — bonus depreciation, R&D expensing, full expensing for factories and reforming the business-interest limitation — would more than double the tax bill’s long-run growth benefits.

That’s where legislators should be focused. Not on tax breaks for hand-picked industries or energy credits for hand-picked technologies — on structural reforms that maximize American investment, innovation and capital formation. Even such pro-growth tax policy must be paired with real spending restraint, something we haven’t seen in earnest since the 1990s. Otherwise, any gains from better tax policy will have red ink spilled all over them.

The lesson from Moody’s, and from history, is that America cannot borrow its way to prosperity. That was Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s view in the 1920s, and it remains true today. Mellon quietly prepared for debt defaults by building budget surpluses, knowing that while international repayments might fail, American citizens still had to be paid. That was back when Treasury secretaries respected taxpayers.

Now, as then, we stand at a crossroads. Will we restore Hamiltonian principles of fiscal prudence or continue down a path where downgrades become defaults and our creditors decide the terms of American fiscal policy? The next move belongs to Congress. Legislators can’t say they weren’t warned. If they fail the fiscal prudence test again, we’ll all pay the price.

Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate.