After successfully delivering NASA’s first asteroid sample collected in space, the OSIRIS-REx mission, now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, is embarking on a new journey — this time to study an asteroid that will closely approach Earth in just a few years.

Apophis, a space rock roughly 1,200 feet (366 meters) across, will come within 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) of Earth in about 5 ½ years, which is closer than satellites that orbit our planet and 10 times nearer than the moon. The asteroid was named for the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness and is believed to be shaped like a peanut.

One hour after Apophis makes its close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029, OSIRIS-APEX — which is short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-APophis Explorer — will use Earth’s gravity to enter an orbit around the asteroid and closely study it for 18 months.

It’s an extensive new chapter for a spacecraft that has already been on quite the journey. As OSIRIS-REx, it spent seven years on a round trip to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, which included time spent surveying, touching down on and collecting a sample from the space rock.

Now, the sample is at its new home in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where an analysis of the rocks and soil collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu could reveal insights into the origin of our solar system and the composition of asteroids that could collide with Earth in the future.

The spacecraft won’t be able to collect a sample from Apophis, because the sample collection head was included in the capsule with the Bennu sample delivered to Earth. But OSIRIS-APEX will use its gas thrusters in an attempt to kick up dust and small rocks both on and below Apophis’ surface to study them about 15 months after orbiting the asteroid.

What Apophis could reveal

Apophis is of interest because it’s an S-type, or stony, asteroid, in contrast to Bennu, which is a C-type, or carbonaceous, asteroid.

C-type asteroids are made of clay and silicate rocks, while S-types are comprised of silicate materials and nickel-iron.

The spacecraft’s ability to closely orbit the asteroid can reveal the surface strength of stony asteroids and how much weathering the asteroid endures in the space environment.

But planning to defend Earth is another key motivation for the extended mission. Stony asteroids are part of the most common class of potentially hazardous asteroids that pose a threat to our planet. Understanding their composition and other details that can only be obtained from a close orbit could help agencies such as NASA and its partners determine how best to deflect such asteroids if they are predicted to be on a collision course with Earth.

“Apophis is one of the most infamous asteroids,” said Dani DellaGiustina, principal investigator of OSIRIS-APEX. “When it was first discovered in 2004, there was concern that it would impact the Earth in 2029 during its close approach. That risk was dismissed after subsequent observations, but it will be the closest an asteroid of this size has gotten in the 50 or so years asteroids have been closely tracked, or for the next 100 years of asteroids we have discovered so far.

“It gets within one-tenth the distance between the Earth and moon during the 2029 encounter,” added DellaGiustina, an assistant professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona. “People in Europe and Africa will be able to see it with the naked eye, that’s how close it will get. We were stoked to find out the mission was extended.”

Observations of Apophis’ orbit around the sun in 2021 ruled out the risk of the space rock impacting Earth in 2068, according to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

The center maintains a risk list, tracking asteroids with orbits that bring them close to Earth — close enough to cause concern over a potential impact. Scientists at the center use radar and telescopes to study near-Earth objects and understand the dangers they may pose to the planet.

Keeping an eye on Apophis during and after its close approach to Earth will enable scientists to see whether there are any shifts in its orbit that could affect the likelihood of it hitting Earth in the future, as well as any changes in the asteroid’s surface or rotation rate.

DellaGiustina has a long history with the spacecraft and also currently works as the deputy principal investigator for the analysis of the Bennu sample. As a freshman at the University of Arizona in 2004, she took an asteroids seminar taught by Dante Lauretta, regents professor of planetary sciences and principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission.

“(DellaGiustina) led a student experiment design for a discovery version of what we called Osiris back then,” Lauretta recalled. “Now, she takes the spacecraft on to the next adventure.”

The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons has apologized after celebrating a Ukrainian veteran who fought for a Nazi military unit in World War II.

Speaker Anthony Rota recognized 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka in a speech given Friday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the Canadian parliament on Friday and lauded Hunka as a Ukrainian and Canadian veteran.

The speaker hailed Hunka as a war hero who served in the First Ukranian Division and “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russian aggressors then, and continues to support the troops today.”

“I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so,” Rota said in a statement shared by his office Sunday. He added, “I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.”

Several human rights and Jewish organizations have condemned the recognition, saying Hunka served in a Nazi military unit known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.

“Hunka, who immigrated to Canada after serving in the 14th Waffen SS – a Nazi unit whose members swore allegiance to Adolf Hitler during WWII – received a standing ovation from members of Parliament and senators in attendance,” Jewish human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada said in a statement.

B’nai Brith Canada’s CEO, Michael Mostyn, said in a statement that the parliment’s recognition of Hunka is “beyond outrageous.”

“We cannot allow the whitewashing of history. … Canadian soldiers fought and died to free the world from the evils of Nazi brutality,” Mostyn said.

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division was part of the Nazi SS organization that was declared a criminal organization by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, which determined the Nazi group had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

B’nai Brith in its statement condemned the Ukrainian volunteers who served in the military unit as “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who “dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing.”

The human rights organization says it expects an apology from parliament.

Rota said he takes full responsibly for the acknowledgment of Hunka, who he said is from his electoral district.

“I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them,” Rota said. “This initiative was entirely my own, the individual in question being from my riding and having been brought to my attention.”

Brian May has once again proven why he is rock royalty. Not only is he the Queen guitarist, but he is also an astrophysicist who recently helped NASA return its first ever asteroid sample to Earth.

May said he was “immensely proud” to be part of the team that collected the sample from the asteroid Bennu.

“Hello NASA folks, space fans, asteroid aficionados. This is Brian May of Queen as you know probably, but also immensely proud to be a team member of OSIRIS-REx,” the 76-year-old musician said in a clip aired on NASA TV Sunday.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth on Sunday, seven years after it was launched to space to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. It collected the sample from the more than 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid in 2020 before setting off on its return journey to Earth, specifically Utah, in 2021.

May played a crucial role in the mission, creating stereoscopic images from the spacecraft’s data that allowed the leader of the mission, Dante Lauretta, and the team to locate a safe site to land and collect a sample.

In the clip, May apologized for not being with the team on the momentous occasion.

“I’m rehearsing for a Queen tour but my heart stays with you as this precious sample is recovered,” he explained.

“Happy sample return day, and congratulations to all who work so incredibly hard on this mission, especially my dear friend Dante.”

“God bless you all,” he added.

After dropping off the sample capsule in Utah, OSIRIS-REx is continuing its travels to study a different asteroid, named Apophis, the space agency said.

The sole survivor of a poisoning involving suspected death cap mushrooms that killed three others in Australia has been released from hospital following a remarkable recovery that could now help police piece together what happened.

Ian Wilkinson, a 68-year-old reverend, was left critically ill in late July after eating a beef wellington meal in the rural town of Leongatha that had been cooked and served by Erin Patterson, according to Victoria Police.

Within days, Gail Patterson, 70, and her sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital, followed by Gail’s 70-year-old husband, Don, a day later.

Watkins clung on, critically ill and reportedly in need of a liver transplant but made enough of a recovery to leave Melbourne’s Austin hospital last Friday.

“We are pleased to announce that Ian Wilkinson has made significant progress in his recovery,” according to a statement shared by a spokesperson for his family that also thanked medical staff for his care. “This milestone marks a moment of immense relief and gratitude for Ian and the entire Wilkinson family.”

Patterson, who has not been charged, has denied any wrongdoing, telling local media she had no idea the mushrooms she used in the recipe were dangerous.

Those attending the meal were Patterson’s former parents-in-law and her mother-in-law’s sister and husband.

“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved,” Patterson said in statement she gave to police, cited by public broadcaster ABC.

In the same statement she claimed she bought the mushrooms used in the meal from two separate stores.

Victoria Police said Monday the investigation into the deaths is ongoing.

When news of the investigation emerged in early August, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas with the Victoria Police homicide squad said Patterson was a suspect because she cooked the meal, and was the only adult at the lunch who didn’t fall ill.

The symptoms suffered by Patterson’s guests were consistent with poisoning by death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides), Thomas said in August, though no toxicology reports to show exactly what they consumed have yet been made public.

He said Patterson had separated from her husband, Simon, whose parents died after the meal, but described their relationship as “amicable.”

“We have to keep an open mind in relation to this. It could be very innocent,” Thomas said at the time. “But again, we just don’t know at this point … four people turn up and three of them pass away, with another one critical, so we have to work through this.”

As the lone survivor, Wilkinson – a reverend at Korumburra Baptist Church – will be a key witness as to what might have happened that evening.

In their statement, his family expressed gratitude for the support of their community but asked for privacy despite the public interest in the case.

“This collective kindness has been a pillar of strength for Ian and the family, reinforcing the sense of unity and compassion that defines our community. As Ian continues his journey towards full recovery, the Wilkinson family kindly requests that their privacy be respected,” the statement said.

“We understand the public interest in Ian’s recovery, but we urge everyone, including the media, to act with consideration and respect the family’s wishes.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Ian Wilkinson’s surname.

The first refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh have arrived in Armenia, days after Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive and said it had taken back full control of the breakaway region.

Around 4,850 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh by midday Monday, according to a statement from the Armenian government quoted by state news outlet Armenpress.

Azerbaijan’s brief but bloody offensive last week killed more than 200 people and injured many more, before Karabakh officials agreed to a Russia-brokered ceasefire in which they agreed to dissolve their armed forces. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Baku had restored its sovereignty over the enclave “with an iron fist.”

Azerbaijan has insisted that ethnic Armenians who choose to remain in Nagorno-Karabakh will have to apply for Azerbaijani citizenship.

The Karabakh presidency told Reuters that the majority of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in the enclave did not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and that they would leave for Armenia because they feared persecution and ethnic cleansing.

Images shared on social media showed residents of Stepanakert, the region’s capital, packing their belongings into cars and vans, and searching for gas. The region had been blockaded by Azerbaijan-backed activists for nine months, causing chronic shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

Most of those fleeing Karabakh were women, children and the elderly, the deputy mayor of the Armenian town of Goris, Irina Yolyan, told Armenpress Monday. Goris lies close to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, near the Lachin corridor – the only road connecting the enclave to Armenia.

The Armenian government said it was providing accommodation to all those who did not have a place to stay, according to Armenpress.

Refugees who reached Armenia told Reuters they believed the history of their breakaway state was finished.

“No one is going back – that’s it,” Anna Agopyan, who reached Goris, a border town in Armenia, told the agency. “The topic of Karabakh is over now for good I think.”

More than a decade after he became the first former migrant worker to soar into space as a NASA astronaut, José Hernández reached another milestone this month.

The film about his remarkable journey from the fields of California to the International Space Station debuted as the most popular movie streaming on Amazon Prime and has been earning praise from critics and audiences since its September 15 launch.

Actor Michael Peña stars as Hernández in “A Million Miles Away,” which tells the story of a boy who grew up picking cucumbers and cherries but kept his eyes trained on the stars.

Hernández, an engineer, made history aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009, the first shuttle mission sending two Latino astronauts into space.

“Who better to leave this planet and dive into the unknown than a migrant farmworker?” Hernández says in the film, quoting his cousin at a press conference as he gets ready to fly on that mission.

What growing up in a family of migrant workers taught him

For years, Hernández grew up in a family of migrant workers who followed the harvest back and forth from California and Mexico. His parents were originally from the Mexican state of Michoacán. Hernández was born in California.

“I’d sit them down in the back seat of the car. They were all very dusty. I’d tell them, they’d better start taking school seriously because if they don’t do that, they will be all the time working in the fields. … That will be their future.”

It’s a scene viewers of the film will recognize, portrayed almost word for word by actor Julio César Cedillo.

Hernández says his dream of becoming an astronaut began after he watched the Apollo 17 moon landing in 1972, holding up the rabbit-ear antenna to get reception on his family’s black and white television. When he shared his dream, Hernández says his father offered him crucial advice.

In the film, director Alejandra Márquez Abella uses those five ingredients as chapters in her retelling of Hernández’s story:

•       Find your goal
•       Know how far you are
•       Draw a roadmap
•       If you don’t know how, learn
•       When you think you’ve made it, you probably have to work harder

How he persevered without losing sight of his goal

With these steps in mind, Hernández did everything he could to further his education. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering and went on to work for 15 years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

But his goal of becoming a NASA astronaut remained elusive.

The film portrays Hernández’s perseverance as the space agency rejected Hernández’s astronaut applications 11 times before selecting him for the program in 2004. And it shows what a critical role Hernández’s family played supporting him along the way.

In the film, actress Rosa Salazar portrays Hernández’s wife, Adela, with emotional grit as someone who both holds her husband accountable and pushes him not to give up.

“The sixth year that NASA rejected me, I crumpled up the rejection letter and threw it on the bedroom floor. I was going to quit trying, but she talked me out of it,” Hernández said.

His wife’s words: “’Let NASA be the one to disqualify you. Don’t disqualify yourself.”

The husband and wife’s determination paid off when Hernández became an astronaut against the odds.

“I was 41 when I became an astronaut,” Hernández said. “The average age of new astronauts is 34.”

Soon after returning from space, he made a controversial comment

In an interview with Televisa after returning from space, Hernández made a comment that was controversial at the time, telling the Mexican TV network that he hoped the Obama administration would pass comprehensive immigration reform. He noted that viewing Earth from outer space, there were no borders.

His comments caused NASA to take its own stand. In a statement released to the media, NASA said Hernández’s opinions were his own and did not represent the space agency. The statement added that Hernández had every right to express his personal views.

Hernández has reiterated his initial point over the years.

“That is to say, from my perspective, down below, we were all one. How sad that humans invented the concept of borders to divide us.”

“I would ask more that they be more tolerant, and that they make the environment better for our migrants,” he said. “Because right now everything is anti-immigrant in our country.”

What turning his life into a film was like

The former astronaut has an on-screen cameo, helping Peña suit up as he heads into space. But he said his role in the movie went far beyond that appearance.

“I was involved in the process because Alejandra took the time to get to know our family. When she was writing the script, she would send it to me and I would give her comments,” Hernández said. “Some were incorporated and others they couldn’t because of time. It’s difficult to put a whole life into two hours, right? So sometimes it wasn’t included. But she did a great job putting together the story and getting it on screen.”

The film is based on Hernández’s 2012 memoir, “Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut.” Hernández says he hopes that bringing the story to the screen will help an even larger audience.

One thing the movie doesn’t show: His ‘next big dream’

“I am still the same person. Family keeps your feet firmly on the ground,” he said. “I keep being a father and a husband and taking the trash out every Thursday. I have my chores at home that I have to complete.”

These days, when he’s not doing those chores, promoting the new movie, working as an aerospace engineering consultant or telling his story as a motivational speaker, the 61-year-old sometimes finds himself back in the fields working alongside his father.

This time, they’re working in California at a winery they own together.

On its website, Tierra Luna Cellars is described as the “next big dream” for Hernández, with a line of wines inspired by the constellations he saw from space.

Armenia’s prime minister has called his country’s security relationships “ineffective,” in a swipe at Russia after Azerbaijan claimed the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh following a swift military campaign.

Armenia is part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-dominated group of six post-Soviet states, that, similar to NATO, requires members to come to each other’s aid when under attack.

But this week, Azerbaijan forced the surrender of ethnic Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh, seemingly bringing to an end a conflict that has simmered for decades and raising the question whether Armenia could rely on long-term ally Russia.

“Armenia has never refused from its allied obligations and has never betrayed its allies,” Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said according to Armenia’s public radio, going on to say that recent events had exposed the country’s “vulnerabilities.”

Pashinyan has previously criticized Russia for failing to inform him of Azerbaijan’s plans, while some Russian commentators have mocked the prime minister for being unable to protect ethnic Armenians beyond its borders.

Although internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is home to 120,000 ethnic Armenians, who make up the majority of the population, and have created their own de facto government, rejecting Azerbaijani rule.

Presently, the Armenian government is working with partners to develop international mechanisms that will protect the rights of people in Nagorno-Karabakh. But if these efforts fail, Armenia will accept their “brothers and sisters… with all care,” Pashinyan said.

“But this will not only fail to address the existing issues, but will further aggravate those,” he warned.

Pashinyan’s comments come as the first group of civilians arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh.

A group of around 30-40 people, mainly women, children and elderly individual, are being registered at a humanitarian office, according to Armenia’s Public Radio.

One local official in the disputed region, said that the bulk of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population would leave for Armenia.

“Our people do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan. Ninety-nine point nine percent prefer to leave our historic lands,” David Babayan, an adviser to Samvel Shahramanyan, the president of the self-styled Republic of Artsakh, told Reuters Sunday. The region is known as Artsakh to Armenians.

Azerbaijan says it will guarantee the rights of those living in the region. But Pashinyan and international experts have repeatedly warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in the enclave.

“The fate of our poor people will go down in history as a disgrace and a shame for the Armenian people and for the whole civilized world,” Babayan said, adding that those responsible will have to answer before God for their sins.

“If the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are not provided with real conditions to live in their homes and if no practical mechanisms of protection from ethnic cleansing are created, the probability that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will see the departure from their homeland as the only salvation will increase,” Pashinyan said.

Both his and Babayan’s comments come as the first aid since the ceasefire began, arrived in the landlocked region Saturday.

A convoy was transported along the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The road has been blockaded since December 2022 by Azerbaijan, making it inaccessible to civilian and commercial traffic.

Azerbaijan’s brief offensive ended in a Russia-brokered ceasefire in which separatist Armenian fighters agreed to surrender and lay down their arms.

At least 200 people were killed and over 400 others wounded in Azerbaijan’s military operation, officials said.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards protested in Madrid on Sunday against possible plans by acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to grant an amnesty to Catalan separatists to keep himself in office after an election he failed to win.

Waving Spanish flags, supporters of the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) traveled from across Spain to attend the rally in Madrid. Authorities estimated the size of the crowd at 40,000.

Sanchez, who came second in an election in July, could stay in office if he wins the support of exiled former Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont, whose Junts per Catalunya party controls seven seats in parliament.

Puigdemont, wanted in Spain for attempting the region’s secession, has demanded that legal action be dropped against fellow separatists as a condition for his support.

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the PP which won the most votes on July 23, said he would never concede to demands for an amnesty for organizers of a 2017 independence referendum in Catalonia, which was held despite courts ruling it was illegal.

Withdrawing criminal cases against the separatists would amount to granting an amnesty to “coup plotters,” he told supporters at the Madrid rally.

Gregorio Casteneda, 72, a pensioner, had traveled from Santander on Spain’s north coast to show his opposition to any amnesty.

“I am not in favor of the government that we have. To me this is a disaster because it is going to divide Spain totally,” he told Reuters.

Sanchez held his own political rally in Gava, near Catalonia’s regional capital Barcelona, on Sunday. He did not mention an amnesty but said the Socialists wanted to heal social divisions over the Catalan crisis.

“We are trying to turn the page,” he told supporters.

In 2021, Sanchez granted pardons to nine separatists jailed over their roles in the independence push.

Feijoo will take the first stab at a vote to become prime minister on Sept. 27, but his chances of winning are seen as slim since the PP opposes any concessions to separatists. If Feijoo fails, Sanchez will get a chance to see if he can muster support.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has defended his country’s enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels, claiming it was a response to European states not living up to their end of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran announced that it was enriching uranium to 60% in 2021, following an attack on its above-ground nuclear facility in Natanz, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

The move alarmed the West, as it shortened Iran’s so-called “breakout time” to build a nuclear weapon, which requires uranium that is enriched above 90%. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said earlier this month that Iran was the only country without a nuclear weapon that was enriching uranium to 60% purity, and in March the agency announced that uranium particles enriched to 84% were found at Iran’s Fordow plant.

This month, Reuters cited a confidential IAEA report stating that Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous quarter.

Nuclear power, which Iran says is the purpose of its nuclear program, requires uranium to be enriched to 3% to 5%.

There is also concern that if Iran’s nuclear program is not kept in check, it could lead to further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Wednesday that if Iran acquires a nuclear bomb, “we have to get one.”

He also reiterated Tehran’s long-standing claim that it does not plan to acquire a nuclear bomb.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the 2015 deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program was known, was signed between Iran and world powers including the United States and the European Union. The agreement capped Iranian uranium enrichment at 3.67% in exchange for sanctions relief.

The US withdrew from the deal in 2018 under President Donald Trump, then launched a wave of sanctions designed to crippled Iran’s economy. JCPOA signatories have since 2021 attempted to bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiation table. The parties have held on-and-off talks but have so far failed to return to an agreement.

While it was only the US that pulled out of the deal, that withdrawal affected European trade with Iran, said Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at International Crisis Group think tank.

Tit for tat

Iran has long argued that after the US’ withdrawal, other JCPOA signatories have also failed to stick to their parts of the deal, continuing instead to impose sanctions against Tehran.

Tehran has recently expressed frustration with mounting Western sanctions against it, as well as the refusal by the UK, France and Germany (the E3) to lift a number of sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Iran’s missile, nuclear, and other weapons programs, which under the 2015 nuclear pact were due to be lifted next month.

This month, the E3 said they will not be lifting sanctions on Iran’s missile programs as scheduled, but will instead be transferring them into domestic laws “in response to continued Iranian non-compliance with their JCPOA commitments and ongoing nuclear escalation.”

Iran’s foreign ministry called the decision “illegal,” and that it “amounts to a tension-building measure, which is taken in bad faith,” Iranian media reported.

Iran this month barred several UN inspectors from conducting verification activities on its nuclear program, the IAEA said, adding that Tehran has “effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran.”

In a joint statement, the three European countries and the US on Monday demanded that Iran immediately reverse its decision and “fully cooperate with the Agency.”

The European signatories to the JCPOA have lost a lot of credibility in the eyes of the Iranians, Vaez of Crisis Group said, adding that the Iranians see them as having “overpromised and underdelivered.” This view, he added, is taken up by hardline politicians like Raisi, as well as more moderate ones.

“Now, you see that the Iranians and the Americans have reached an understanding that has toned down Iran’s nuclear program, in which Europe played no role,” Vaez said.

In a sign of a diplomatic breakthrough, Iran this week released five American prisoners in a Qatar-mediated deal that also included the unfreezing of some $6 billion in Iranian funds and the release of five Iranian prisoners in the US.

The deal was a sign of what analysts described as a method of unwritten arrangements between Washington and Tehran, with smaller exchanged concessions in lieu of a wider, formal agreement.

Kosovo police said they killed three armed attackers and arrested another Sunday during a shootout in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo.

The standoff between police and 30 armed men began just hours after an ambush incident left one police officer dead and another injured. Some of the shooting is taking place near a monastery in the village, police said.

“Three gunmen have been killed, two gunmen and four suspects have been arrested, the latter were found in illegal possession of radio communications, and who are suspected of being related to a terrorist group,” said Kosovo police in a Facebook post.

According to the police, the “security situation continues to be tense” although “the intensity of attacks on police officers has decreased.”

Authorities previously said they found “logistical equipment, suspected military vehicles, military uniforms as well as weapons and ammunition of different calibers” at a residential location being used by the attackers.

“Kosovo Police continues to call on criminal groups to surrender to the justice authorities and at the same time invites citizens to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies, in the interest of calming the situation and general security,” the statement read.

The incident is a serious escalation in a region already prone to unrest. Kosovo is majority Albanian, but like other villages in the north, Banjska is predominantly Serbian.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia sees Kosovo as a breakaway state. Kosovo’s Serbs view themselves as part of Serbia, and see Belgrade as their capital, rather than Pristina.

Overnight Saturday into Sunday, a border police unit noticed two heavy trucks without license plates blocking the entrance to a bridge in Banjska, according to N1. Police units were deployed to the area.

When police officers arrived at the scene, they encountered resistance, shots were fired, and during the exchange of fire one police officer was killed and another was injured, according to N1. Kosovo police said they were shot at with “an arsenal of firearms,” including hand grenades and stun guns.

In a post on Facebook Sunday morning, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the shooting in the village of Banjska as a “terror attack” conducted by what he said were “Serbian criminal gangs.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied his country’s involvement in the clash. He said the men killed were Serbs from Kosovo.

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), which oversees the Banjska monastery, issued a statement saying calm has returned to the monastery and that police are now in control of the situation.

“The Raška-Prizren Diocese (SOC) informs the public that the situation at the Banjska monastery is presently stable,” the statement reads. “The armed individuals who breached the gate earlier today have left the premises, and there is now a presence of Kosovo police and EULEX at the entrance and within the monastery’s courtyard.”

In a statement Sunday, EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the attack and called for a de-escalation of the situation.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the hideous attack by an armed gang against Kosovo Police officers in Banjska/Banjskë in the north of Kosovo, which left one police officer dead,” he said in a statement. “The responsible perpetrators must face justice.”

“More innocent lives are at risk in ongoing hostilities in the surroundings of Banjska Monastery. These attacks must stop immediately,” he added.

The EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, “is on the ground and in close contact with the authorities and KFOR,” the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, Borrell said.

“The EU and its Member States repeatedly urge all actors to work to de-escalate the situation in north of Kosovo,” he said.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated in recent months with violent protests erupting in May over controversial local elections. Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured in the clashes at the time.

Kosovo’s Serbs have increasingly demanded greater autonomy from the ethnic Albanian majority.