In brief: Kerry: Iran’s past not key to deal

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that a full accounting of Iran’s possible past atomic weapons research is not necessarily critical to reaching a nuclear deal with Tehran. His comments came amid concerns the Obama administration is backing down on demands that Iran resolve concerns about previous work as part of an agreement that would curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Kerry said the U.S. and its negotiating partners are “not fixated” on the issue of so-called “possible military dimensions” because they already have a complete picture of Iran’s past activities. He said they are more concerned that those activities have stopped and about what Iran might do in the future. Negotiators are concentrating their efforts on that as they race to meet a June 30 deadline to reach a deal, Kerry said.

Former president of Turkey dies

ANKARA, Turkey – Suleyman Demirel, one of the dominant figures in Turkey’s politics for the past half-century, died early today, hospital officials said. He was 90.

Demirel died at 2:05 a.m. today at Ankara’s Guven Hospital of heart failure and a respiratory tract infection, doctors at the hospital said in an announcement broadcast on Turkish television.

Demirel served as president from 1993-2000, the culmination of a four-decade career that saw him serve seven spells as prime minister – two of them ending in his government’s overthrow by military coups.

Egypt calm after ruling on Morsi

CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Tuesday confirmed the death sentence of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi over a mass prison break during the country’s 2011 uprising, making him the first leader in Egypt’s modern history to potentially face execution.

While this is the first death sentence for Morsi, courts have handed out hundreds of similar sentences against Islamists in mass trials since his 2013 overthrow and a mass crackdown on dissent.

The ruling, which will be automatically reviewed by Egypt’s highest appeals court, brought no immediate outcry on the streets as thousands remain imprisoned, though the country faces threats from Islamic extremists, including an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

It is not clear if Morsi will be executed.