Russia Mulls Ceasefire, EPA Rollbacks, Iran Rebuffs Trump

0:01Russia is reviewing a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Ukraine. This, as an American envoy is in Moscow to negotiate the plan Ukraine has already accepted. Will he seal the deal or will Russia press for more concessions? I mean, Martinez, that's Michelle Martin. And this is Up First from NPR News. The Trump administration is gutting environmental rules, calling it a win for business. But critics say the EPA rollbacks could lead to more pollution and health risks. They're going to take our country back to a time when rivers caught on fire and kids couldn't go outside without seizing up from an asthma attack.

0:37And the president sent a letter to Iran proposing nuclear talks. Can't let them have a nuclear weapon. But the Supreme Leader is not buying Trump's offer. He calls it a deception. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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1:38You can invest and trade on your own. Plus, get advice and more comprehensive wealth solutions to help meet your unique needs. With award-winning service, low costs, and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more. This message comes from Dell Technologies, The new Dell PC with Intel Core Ultra helps you fast forward through busy work, leaving more time for U-Time. Get a new Dell PC at dell.com slash ai dash pc. A top White House envoy is in Moscow today seeking Russia's response to the offer of a 30-day ceasefire. That's the same offer the U.S.

2:20brokered with Ukraine earlier this week. Under the proposal, the U.S. promised to restore military and intelligence support to Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine promising an end to attacks on Russia. The question is, would Russia reciprocate? Early signs suggest Russia remains skeptical. Joining us to talk about this is NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maines. Charles, good morning. Morning. So what do we know about these talks and the Kremlin's position going into them? Well, yesterday the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow wanted to hear detailed information directly from the Americans. and today we learned they're getting it on multiple fronts.

2:53White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived this morning for talks with Kremlin officials. That's his second trip to Moscow since he negotiated the release of an American school teacher last month. Meanwhile, Putin's advisor, Yuri Ushakov, said he'd been in direct telephone contact with U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Waltz was one of the key U.S. negotiators in talks with the Ukrainians, and Ushakov made clear Moscow found the U.S. proposal lacking. So here Ushakov says Russia saw the ceasefire as simply an opportunity for Ukraine to regroup and rearm. And he went on to repeat that Moscow wants a long-term end to the conflict that takes into account Russia's security interests, something the Kremlin has said often, frankly.

3:34All right. So, look, it's a negotiation. But does this mean, does this, I don't know what you want to call this, sort of signaling mean that the ceasefire proposal has already failed, that the talks are over before they began? Not necessarily. I mean, that's what Witkoff is in Moscow to discuss. But clearly, these two sides are far apart. Keep in mind, Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said quite explicitly he would not accept a temporary ceasefire because he wanted a peace that addressed, in his words, the root of the conflict. Now, that's Kremlin speak for Russia's demands that NATO retreat from Russia's borders and, of course, forego Ukraine.

4:07There's also this. So last night, Putin dressed in military camouflage with state media cameras in tow, visited army headquarters in the Russian region of Kursk. Now, that's where Russian troops appear to be finally on the verge of driving out occupying Ukrainian forces who've been there for months. So this was essentially a propaganda tour. And while Putin made no mention of the Ukrainian ceasefire offer, it certainly felt like he was signaling he preferred a military solution. He told his generals to essentially crush the enemy. So is the message here or is the message what he's trying to signal is why bother negotiating over what you're winning anyway?

4:42Well, that's certainly the point made by more nationalist voices inside Russian society. They say this proposal by Ukraine is really an attempt to use diplomacy to stave off defeat militarily. The catch is that while that may be true in Kursk, where it seems as though Russian forces are genuinely making big gains, it's a harder slog in actual occupied Ukraine. Meanwhile, polls show a majority of Russians want an end to the conflict in some fashion. And so given that, you know, does Putin risk alienating Donald Trump, given what at least so far has been a very favorable climate of negotiations?

5:16Well, to that end, that Trump has been criticized so far for seeming to cut a deal almost exclusively on Moscow's terms. Has that changed? Well, we'll have to see. You know, Trump has suggested at times that he'll get tough with Moscow through new sanctions if the Kremlin fails to sign on to this deal. But Trump team has already gone on record also saying no to Ukraine's membership in NATO, no to Ukraine regaining all its territory. And it's put in doubt its commitments to European allies. So you have to think that even if Putin doesn't agree with this ceasefire deal as it's presented now, he'll be looking for ways to present counteroffers and keep the White House engaged.

5:51That is NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maines. Charles, thank you. Thank you.

6:04The Trump administration is moving to dismantle decades of key environmental and climate rules and policies. That announcement came yesterday in what Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin called the most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history, rolling back more than two dozen regulations. Environmental groups predict this will lead to a future with more pollution. Jeff Brady from NPR's Climate Desk is here to tell us more about this. Good morning, Jeff. Good morning, Michelle. So which regulations are being targeted? You know, probably the most significant is something called the endangerment finding.

6:37In 2009, the EPA determined that human-caused greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are heating up the planet, those endanger public health and welfare. This decision was years in the making. Litigation that led to it went all the way to the Supreme Court. And now it's the basis for many of the country's climate regulations. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin put out a video statement that suggests he thinks it's not constitutional. I've been told the endangerment finding is considered the holy grail of the climate change religion. For me, the U.S. Constitution and the laws of this nation will be strictly interpreted and followed.

7:16No exceptions. What are some of the other regulations the EPA is reconsidering? Zeldin said the agency will reconsider rules that limit climate pollution from power plants and from cars and trucks. Also regulations that limit soot and mercury in the air. other rules that Zeldin claims are hurting the economy and costing trillions of dollars. But that leaves out the fact that pollution also costs the country, you know, and health costs and cleanup. It's not clear whether EPA plans to get rid of these rules or weaken them. Those details should come later. And what are environmental groups saying about this?

7:51You know, this is even more dramatic than what they expected and certainly more aggressive than the policies Trump pursued during his first administration. One group, the Environmental Integrity Project, said the EPA is driving, quote, a dagger straight into the heart of public health. I talked with Matthew Tejada at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called this an all-out assault on the law, science, and the administrative part of the government that keeps people safe. They're going to roll these things back, and they're going to take our country back to a time when rivers caught on fire and kids couldn't go outside without seizing up from an asthma attack.

8:30Just as the country is making this big transition from fossil fuels that are heating the planet to cleaner energy, Tejada says the Trump administration is tying the country to oil and gas for another century. And what about the oil industry? How's the oil industry responding to this EPA announcement? Well, they're pretty happy. The American Petroleum Institute said voters picked Trump for cheaper energy, and now his administration is answering that call. And much of this fits with API's policy priorities. And we've already seen some of the biggest oil and gas companies reorient themselves from climate change concerns and back to fossil fuels.

9:06And Jeff, before we let you go, what are the next steps here? There just aren't many details in this announcement, but just that the EPA is going to reconsider these regulations. So assuming the typical process is followed, we should see some proposed rules, then comment periods before final rules. But, you know, environmental groups already say court challenges are coming. That's Jeff Brady with NPR's Climate Desk. Jeff, thank you. Thank you.

9:37President Trump sent a letter to Iran about opening new talks over its nuclear program. But the president says he won't rule out military options either. We're down to the final moments. We're at final moments. Can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Joining us now to explain Iran's response and what's at stake here is NPR international correspondent Aya Batraoui in Dubai. Aya, good morning to you. Good morning, Michelle. So let's start with this letter. Trump has said the letter to Iran would be proposing nuclear talks to avert military action. So what can you tell us about Iran's response so far?

10:12So this letter was delivered by a senior Emirati official from Abu Dhabi who traveled to Tehran and met with Iran's foreign minister yesterday. But before it was even read by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had this to say.

10:30So he's speaking to university students yesterday in televised remarks, saying the U.S. is trying to deceive global public opinion with this letter and that Iran is not ready to negotiate. And referring to Trump, he says this is the same person who tore up and threw out a signed agreement. Now, he's talking about Trump's decision in his first term as president to withdraw the U.S. from a nuclear deal that was reached under President Obama and included China, Russia, and European countries. That deal put caps on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

11:04So Khomeini says how could one possibly negotiate with such a person? And he warned Iran can defend itself against threats. Yeah, so he's referring here to what we call Trump's maximum pressure campaign on Iran in his first term. And it did ramp up tensions in the region where you are. So what can you tell us about how things are, where things stand right now? Well, despite Khamenei's sharp words, Michelle, Iran's mission to the United Nations struck a different tone, saying in a post on X that if the objective of negotiations is to address concerns about the potential of nuclear weapons, these discussions may be subject to consideration, but that Iran would not dismantle its peaceful nuclear program.

11:41And it's important to note here, Iran's position has been that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes and that it's not interested in building a nuclear weapon. That said, since Trump scuttled the nuclear deal in 2018, Iran has been increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium, according to UN inspectors. But also, you know, the US and Israel, which has hit nuclear targets in Iran before, they're not the only countries involved here. The UK, France and Germany have continued talks with Iran about its nuclear program. And tomorrow, China, Russia, and Iran are meeting in Beijing to discuss Iran's nuclear program and the sanctions that are crippling its economy.

12:16And what is the view there from the Gulf Arab states like the UAE, which is where you are? Right. So the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, these Gulf Arab states are playing the role of mediator on many different files, whether that's on Iran or Ukraine, as we just heard from Charles, or in Gaza. And so the reason they can do this, though, is because while they view the U.S. as the most important military superpower, it's not the only player on the block. They've kept warm relations with Russia, for example, and it was China, if you recall, that brokered the deal that repaired ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia a few years ago.

12:47So they're balancing ties and they're super focused on their own economic growth right now. And so, yes, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they want hard curbs on Iran's missile program and its nuclear ambitions. And they would like to see its Shia militias in the region wiped out, but they do not want a region on edge or the kind of attacks on oil targets in the Gulf that we saw under Trump's first term when tensions were soaring. That is NPR's Air Batrawi in Dubai Air. Thank you. Thanks, Michelle.

13:17And that's Up First for Thursday, March 13th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Mia Martinez. Thanks for listening to Up First. You can find more in-depth coverage of the stories we talked about today and a lot more on NPR's Morning Edition. That's the radio show that Michelle Martin, Steve Innsky, Leila Faddle, and I host. You can find Morning Edition on your local NPR station at stations.npr.org. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Neela Banerjee, Kevin Drew, Alice Wolfley, and Mohamed Elbardisi. It was produced by Zia Dbach, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange.

13:51We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

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