House and Senate Republicans urged U.S. President Donald Trump to reject any nuclear deal with Iran that allows the Islamic Republic to continue enriching nuclear material. “The scope and breadth of Iran’s nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium,” House and Senate Republicans wrote (Read more at JNS).
The US on May 14 unveiled fresh sanctions against six people and 12 firms – including several Chinese nationals – for their support of Iran’s ballistic missile programme. The May 14 sanctions are aimed at organisations involved in “efforts to help the Iranian regime domestically source the manufacturing of critical materials needed for Tehran’s ballistic missile programme”, according to the US Treasury Department (Read more at Straits Times).
“We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran,” he said. “I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.” Trump said he was basing his optimism on new statements by Iran. “You probably read today the story about Iran. It’s sort of agreed to the terms,” he said (Read more at Aljazeera).
An Iranian official told NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday that Iran was willing to agree to a deal with the U.S. in exchange for lifting economic sanctions (Read more at Reuters).
“He [Trump] thinks he can come here, chant slogans, and scare us. For us, martyrdom is far sweeter than dying in bed. You came to frighten us? We will not bow to any bully,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said (Read more at Aljazeera).
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei slammed U.S. officials for their "contradictory" remarks about what they sought to achieve in the talks, stressing that the other side should regulate their minds and refrain from making contradictory comments. Baghaei said Iran is steadfast in the negotiations and its positions are "determined, clear and unchangeable," adding that Iran has entered the talks seriously as "we have always entered negotiations to achieve results, not to use talks as a tool to waste time." (Read more at Xinhua)
Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, talks about the Trump administration’s diplomacy with Iran. He discusses the failures of the first Trump administration’s and the Biden administration’s approaches to Iran, why Trump’s second time around could lead to a new nuclear deal, Iran’s changing regional geopolitical position, and why a more peaceful US-Iran relationship serves US interests in the Middle East (Listen here).
Offering what he described as both a final warning and a potential opening for diplomacy, Trump said Iran has a choice between continuing its "chaos and terror" or embracing a path toward peace. "I want to make a deal with Iran," he said. "But if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch..., we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure." (Read more at AOL)
Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, talks about the Trump administration’s diplomacy with Iran. He discusses the failures of the first Trump administration’s and the Biden administration’s approaches to Iran, why Trump’s second time around could lead to a new nuclear deal, Iran’s changing regional geopolitical position, and why a more peaceful US-Iran relationship serves US interests in the Middle East (Listen Here).
These sanctions are intended to “delay and degrade” Iran’s ability to research and develop nuclear weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Those sanctioned are involved in activities that currently or could potentially materially contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Read more at JNS).
After about three hours of negotiations on Sunday, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the talks as “difficult but useful talks to better understand each other’s positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences” (Read more at Aljazeera).
The U.S. Treasury designated the Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group refinery and three companies for operating a terminal at Dongying Port in Shandong province. It said they had purchased or facilitated the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil. It was the latest independent Chinese refinery targeted by the Trump administration after it re-imposed a policy of "maximum pressure" that aims to cut off Iran's export revenue to pressure Tehran into a deal to curb its nuclear program and stop the funding of militant groups across the Middle East (Read more at Iran Oil Gas).
Iran can have a peaceful nuclear program if the Islamic Republic doesn’t enrich uranium, according to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.). (Read more at JNS)
It is related to a deadly drone attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan carried out by Iran-backed militants last year. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ruled, opens new tab that the risk that Mahdi Sadeghi might flee was too great to allow him to be released on bond while he awaited trial on charges that he engaged in a scheme to violate U.S. export control and sanctions laws (Read more at Reuters).
Although Trump has the authority to alter the official US designation, he cannot enforce a global consensus on the name. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), which includes the United States as a member, is responsible for ensuring that all the world's seas, oceans, and navigable waters are uniformly surveyed and charted (Read more at The Mirror).
The spokesperson added that Tehran was flexible regarding the timing of talks and was waiting for details from mediator Oman regarding the next round of negotiations with the U.S. "What matters for us is the behaviour and stances of the U.S. negotiating team," Baghaei said, adding that contradictory statements from U.S. officials were "unhelpful" and would not impact Tehran's determination to defend its fundamental positions, including its right to enrich uranium domestically (Read more at Reuters).
"If this war is initiated by the US or the Zionist regime (Israel), Iran will target their interests, bases and forces - wherever they may be and whenever deemed necessary," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said (Read more at Business Standard).
Trump's remarks in an "Meet the Press" interview aired Sunday are the first time he's publicly announced the ambitious goal since nuclear talks began with Iran a month ago. GOP senators, evangelical leaders and other Trump supporters have called on the president in recent days to make his position clear regarding Iran's nuclear program (Read more at Axios).
"The continuation of these illegal behaviours will not change Iran's logical, legitimate and international law-based positions," a foreign ministry statement said, condemning what it called "pressure on Iran's trade and economic partners". It added that such sanctions have created "deep suspicion and mistrust about the seriousness of America on the path of diplomacy" (Read more at Channel News Asia).
Trump’s renewed hardline stance toward Tehran—issued just as U.S.-Iran nuclear talks stalled—jolted oil traders and triggered a nearly 2% rise in crude prices. The move could further destabilize global energy markets already facing uncertainty from OPEC+ supply decisions and weakening economic signals from the U.S (Read more at Mehrnews).
Iran yesterday accused the United States of “contradictory behaviour and provocative statements” after Washington warned Tehran of consequences for backing Yemen’s Houthis and imposed new oil-related sanctions on it in the midst of nuclear talks. Yesterday, Washington imposed sanctions on entities it accused of involvement in the illicit trade of Iranian oil and petrochemicals (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
“They have to walk away from sponsoring terrorists, they have to walk away from helping the Houthis (in Yemen), they have to walk away from building long-range missiles that have no purpose to exist other than having nuclear weapons, and they have to walk away from enrichment,” Rubio said in a Fox News interview (Read more at Dawn).
“Message to Iran: We see your deadly support for the Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know what the US military is capable of, and you have been warned. You will face the consequences at a time and place of our choosing,” Hegseth wrote on social network X (Read more at UATV).
"U.S. sanctions on Iran during the nuclear talks are not helping the sides to resolve the nuclear dispute through diplomacy," an official said. Oman, which mediated earlier sessions of the U.S.-Iran talks, said on Thursday the next round of nuclear discussions provisionally planned for May 3 would be rescheduled for "logistical reasons" (Read more at Reuters).
The United States has imposed sanctions on a network based in Iran and China that it accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to increase pressure on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it was targeting six entities and six individuals as part of the action, which comes as the Trump administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program (Read more at Iran Front Page).
Iran's reach out to Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, suggests Tehran is keeping its options open, but also wants to assess where the Europeans stand on the possible re-imposition of U.N. sanctions before October, when a resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires (Read more at AOL).
The senior U.S. official said the third round of talks lasted over four hours and included direct and indirect engagement between the U.S. and Iranian teams. Araghchi said in a briefing with his traveling press that he is satisfied with the progress and pace of the negotiations and stressed both sides are serious. "Some differences are serious, some less so. I'm hopeful about reaching a deal, but yet cautious," Araghchi added (Read more at Axios).
“The continued imposition of sanctions against various economic sectors of Iran is in clear contradiction with the US claim for dialogue and negotiation and indicates the lack of goodwill and seriousness of the US in this regard,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei said (Read more at Arab Weekly).
An official reiterated Iran's longstanding position that it would not make any further concessions on its missile programme beyond those agreed in a previous deal in 2015, saying Iran's defensive capabilities "are not up for negotiation". The U.S. State Department declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment (Read more at Yahoo News).
Asked whether he was open to meeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, Trump replied: "Sure." When asked if the U.S. would join a war against Iran should Israel take action, he responded: "I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack." (Read more at Straits Times)
Trump made the remarks ahead of technical talks between the US and Iranian delegations in Oman on Saturday. "I think we're doing very well on an agreement with Iran. ... That one is well on its way - we could have a very, very good decision," Trump said (Read more at Mehrnews).
“China has always been committed to a political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and is opposed to resorting to force and illegal unilateral sanctions at every turn,” China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Wang said China appreciated Iran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, respected the country’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and supported its dialogue with all parties, including the US (Read more at South China Morining Post).
If Washington sticks to the position taken by Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, in the third round of talks in Oman on Saturday, the two sides will have hit their first major negotiating hurdle. They are trying to reach an agreement that blocks off Iran’s access to a nuclear bomb in return for relief from economic sanctions. The Rubio plan is an attempt at compromise between those inside the US administration who say the only certain way to close off Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb is to dismantle its entire nuclear programme and those that say Iran should be allowed to enrich low purity uranium subject to a full external inspection. That proposal is similar to the system set up in the 2015 nuclear deal from which Donald Trump withdrew the US in his first term (Read more at Guardian).
“If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries can have one, and that is they import enriched material,” Rubio said. Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian energy use and says it does not seek to make weapons-grade uranium to build atomic bombs (Read more at AP).
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told White House envoy Steve Witkoff during nuclear talks on Saturday that it might not be possible to reach a final nuclear accord on President Trump's proposed timetable and asked whether the sides should first negotiate an interim deal. If a deal isn't reached, Trump could order a U.S. military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities or support an Israeli strike (Read more at Axios).
Anton is a low-profile and increasingly powerful administration official who worked on the National Security Council in the first Trump administration and later served as a fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute. He has not yet staked out a public stance on the Iran file. “He is the perfect man for the job given his experience and intellect. Most importantly, he will ensure that President Trump’s agenda on this file is followed through,” an administration official said (Read more at Politico).
Iran is ringing two deeply buried tunnel complexes with a massive security perimeter linked to its main nuclear complex. David Albright, the institute president, said the new perimeter suggested that the tunnel complexes, under construction beneath Mount Kolang Gaz La for several years, could become operational relatively soon (Read more at Yahoo).
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) “magnate” Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network, for his role in shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets. Emamjomeh’s expansive network includes a vessel, the 2024-built Tinos I, which intended but failed to load cargo last year on its maiden voyage off the coast of Houston (Read more at Splash 247).
According to the mission, the cancellation came as a result of the organizer’s decision to shift the format from a solo speech to a debate. The Iranian delegation expressed regret over the change and confirmed that the full text of Araghchi’s prepared remarks would be published at an appropriate time (Read more at Profile News).
Tehran has confirmed that the discussions have led so far to an understanding on the broad framework of the negotiations. Iran has praised the continuing talks with the US as the two sides prepare for further meetings, saying it hopes they could lead to investment and help revive its ailing economy (Read more at The National).
Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the talks resulted in an agreement to move towards the next phase of negotiations aimed at sealing “a fair, enduring and binding deal”. The next step would ensure “Iran is completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintains its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy”, it added. “This time we managed to reach a better understanding on a series of principles and goals,” Mr Al Busaidi told Iranian state TV (Read more at The National).
"Given the contradictory positions we have heard from various U.S. officials over the past few days, we expect the U.S. side to first provide an explanation in this regard and to remove the serious ambiguities that have arisen regarding its intentions and seriousness," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said (Read more at Japan Times).
Former US President Joe Biden, whose administration unsuccessfully tried to reinstate the 2015 pact, was not able to meet Tehran's demand for guarantees that no future US administration would renege on it. While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades (Read more at Business Standard).
It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement. The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to "review the experts' work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement (Read more at MSN)
When asked to comment on the possibility of a military action against Iran, Trump said: "I wouldn't say [I] waved off [this option]. I'm not in a rush to do it, because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death. And I'd like to see that. That's my first option. If there's a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran. And I think Iran is wanting to talk. I hope they're wanting to talk. It's going to be very good for them if they do." (Read more at Tass)
Both sides will try to establish what the baseline for the talks is and, hopefully, set up a framework from which they can probably reach an initial deal. They can then set out the guidelines for negotiating a longer-term agreement which would, on the one hand, restrict Iran's nuclear programme and, on the other, provide a large measure of sanctions relief (Read more at The National).
Trump administration officials revealed to the New York Times that Israel had sought Washington’s assistance to carry out an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in May. According to the Times, the plan and its possible maneuvers were under consideration for months. But during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House last week, Trump told the Israelis he would not support an attack. The president instead publicly announced the direct talks with Tehran (Read more at Defense Post).
The U.S. on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based "teapot refinery", as President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran and drive Iranian oil exports down to zero (Read more at Yahoo Finance).
Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi was responding to a comment made on Tuesday by the US top negotiator, Steve Witkoff, who said Tehran must “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment” to reach a deal with Washington. “We have heard contradictory statements from Witkoff, but real positions will be made clear at the negotiating table,” Araqchi said. “We are ready to build trust regarding possible concerns over Iran’s enrichment (of uranium), but the principle of enrichment is not negotiable.” (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Europe this week for talks about ending Russia's war in Ukraine and laying the groundwork for a nuclear deal with Iran (Read more at AOL).
Officials are divided over which route is more likely to be successful. But they agree that without a deal, there will likely be war. "The Iran policy is not very clear, mainly because it is still being figured out. It is tricky because it's a highly politically charged issue. One camp, unofficially led by Vice President Vance, believes a diplomatic solution is both preferable and possible and that the U.S. should be ready to make compromises in order to make it happen. This camp also includes Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It also gets outside support from MAGA influencer and Trump whisperer Tucker Carlson. The other camp, which includes national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is highly suspicious of Iran and extremely sceptical of the chances of a deal that significantly rolls back Iran's nuclear program (Read more at Axios)
The Iranian spokesperson said that Araqchi will visit Moscow before the next round of talks is scheduled to be held on April 19 in Oman. Russia has previously expressed interest in mediating the relationship between the U.S. and Iran. "Russia is ready to make every effort, to do everything possible to contribute to this problem's resolution by political and diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 7 (Read more at Kyiv Independent).
Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does." Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon. He believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States (Read more at Business Standard).
CENTCOM published a post in Hebrew on its X account, referencing a previous joint drill with Israel. The image attached to it showed Israeli and American fighter jets, with the phrase “All units ready”—a clear reference to the popular song titled “Harbu Darbu“—Arabic slang for “War and Pain”—by Israeli hip hop musicians Ness and Stilla (Read more at JNS).
The renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran will concentrate on capping uranium enrichment and enforcing stringent verification measures to block Tehran’s path to nuclear weapons, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said. However, Witkoff later wrote in a statement on X that Iran “must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote on X that he “completely agree[s]” with Witkoff’s tweet about eliminating Iranian uranium enrichment “because that is how you make a nuclear weapon.” (Read more at JNS)
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA director John Ratcliffe and other top officials participated in the situation room meeting on Tuesday (Read more at Axios).
When asked at a daily briefing if Russia would accept Iran's uranium reserves and if Tehran had discussed this with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "I will leave that question without comment."(Read more at Mehr News)
Even the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, does not know where Iran keeps some vital equipment, like parts for centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. Israel could take out most of those sites by itself, military experts say, but it would be a risky operation involving repeated attacks and would have to deal with Russian-supplied anti-aircraft systems - although it managed to do so in far more limited strikes on Iran last year. A strike by the United States could probably cause more damage than an Israeli strike, but in either case you're talking about buying time and there's a real risk that it drives Iran toward rather than away from a bomb (Read more at AOL).
The US defense secretary reiterated Sunday that the United States hopes for a diplomatic solution to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, but if that failed the military was ready “to go deep and to go big.” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that while President Donald Trump hoped to never have to resort to a military option, “We’ve shown a capability to go far, to go deep and to go big.” “Again, we don’t want to do that, but if we have to, we will to prevent the nuclear bomb in Iran’s hands.” (Read more at Defense Post)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that France, the UK and Germany will be vigilant regarding nuclear talks between the United States and Iran to ensure they conform to European interests (Read more at Brussels Morning).
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he had met with his advisers regarding the negotiations and anticipated action soon. “We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” he stated, offering no further details (Read more at Media Line).
Saturday's exchanges were indirect and mediated by Oman, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded. "I think we are very close to a basis for negotiations and if we can conclude this basis next week, we'll have gone a long way and will be able to start real discussions based on that," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state television. Trump said, "Nothing matters until you get it done, so I don't like talking about it, but it's going OK. The Iran situation is going pretty good, I think" (Read more at Business Standard).
President Donald Trump wants Iran to know that there will be “all hell to pay” if it does not abandon its nuclear program, his press secretary told reporters on Friday ahead of talks on Saturday between U.S. and Iranian delegations (Read more at Ariana News).
Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University who was involved in negotiating the original nuclear deal, said the odds of an agreement are “much lower” this time around. “I was the only member of the team who was convinced that we were going to get a deal – basically the entire time, I never went below 50 per cent,” Mr Nephew said, explaining that the previous negotiations had the benefit of starting with a clean slate. “We didn't have years of bad blood having built up, but we do now, and particularly with this president, and in particular with an Iranian system that didn't fully believe that we would commit to a deal in the first place.” (Read more at The National)
Although there is little optimism in Tehran that the talks will go far, the political establishment appears confident in Araqchi's ability to play Iran's hand with deftness and guile. Western diplomats involved in the talks between Iran and six world powers described him as "serious, technically knowledgeable and a straightforward diplomat" (Read more at MSN)
Iranian oil exports recovered under Joe Biden, who became president after Trump's first term, and so far in 2025 have yet to show a decline, according to industry data. China, which opposes unilateral sanctions, buys the bulk of Iran's shipments. "That's actually very doable. President Trump actually did it in the first term," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said when asked how the United States can enforce its maximum pressure policy on Tehran. "We can follow the ships leaving Iran. We know where they go. We can stop Iran's export of oil." (Read more at AOL)
The sources said the Iranians think reaching a complex and highly technical nuclear deal in two months is unrealistic and they want to get more time on the clock to avoid an escalation. The Iranians seem to believe that a sustainable deal is unlikely to be achieved in the timeframe that President Trump has in mind. It might therefore be necessary to consider an interim agreement as a way station toward a final deal (Read more at Axios).
“If necessary, absolutely ... If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump said. "Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us, but we do what we want to do." (Read more at France 24)
As many as six B-2 bombers relocated in March to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. There are only 20 B-2 bombers in the Air Force's inventory so they are usually used sparingly. Experts say that puts the B-2s, which have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons, in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East (Read more at Business Standard).
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Guangsha Zhoushan Energy Group Co, LTD that it said operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal on Huangzeshan Island in Zhoushan, China. The terminal knowingly engaged with oil from Iran and is directly connected through the Huangzeshan–Yushan Under Sea Oil Pipeline to an independent refinery known as a "teapot" plant, the U.S. State Department said (Read more at Marine Link).
“We hope that’ll lead to peace. We’ve been very clear what Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think that’s what led to this meeting,” Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump (Read more at Daily Maverick).
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on five Iran-based entities and one person based in Iran for their support of Iran's nuclear program with the aim of denying Tehran a nuclear weapon. The action comes after Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister said the discussions in Oman would be indirect (Read more at AOL).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was aware of the “quite harsh rhetoric” and that Tehran was taking preventative measures. He suggested that the focus should be on contacts rather than confrontation. “Indeed, the world is growing tired of the endless threats against Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright launched a nearly two-week tour of three Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, marking his first visit as a U.S. official to the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. "So absolutely, I would expect very tight sanctions on Iran, and hopefully drive them to abandon their nuclear program," Wright said in an interview with CNBC (Read more at AOL).
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia backs both direct and indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme, as they could lead to a de-escalation of tensions between the two sides. The Kremlin has previously offered to help facilitate talks between Tehran and Washington (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
“The continuation of external threats and Iran being in a state of military attack may lead to deterrent measures, including expulsion of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and cessation of cooperation,” Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said on the social media platform X. “Transfer of enriched materials to secure locations may also be considered,” he added, referring to the country’s uranium enrichment (Read more at Aljazeera).
While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demonstrated Tehran’s willingness to engage on Tuesday, insisting amid the threats that the talks would nevertheless be “indirect”, he issued a note of warning, saying “Iran prefers diplomacy, but it knows how to defend itself”. “Trump wants a new deal: end Iran’s regional influence, dismantle its nuclear programme, and halt its missile work. These are unacceptable to Tehran. Our nuclear programme cannot be dismantled,” a senior Iranian official said (Read more at Aljazeera).
President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the U.S. delegation for nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday in Oman, two sources familiar with the plan tell Axios (Read more at Axios).
1. Trump said the U.S. would hold direct talks starting Saturday with Iran over its nuclear weapons programs. 2. Trump said the U.S. is working to get hostages released by Hamas and put in place a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. 3. Trump appeared to raise U.S. military assistance to Israel as potential leverage amid trade negotiations. 4. Trump said to Netanyahu, “Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve. I mean, as long as you’re reasonable, you have to be reasonable. We have to be reasonable.” (Read more at The Hill)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said direct talks made no sense with a country “that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials.” On Thursday, the US president said he favored “direct talks,” arguing they were “faster” and offered a better understanding than going through intermediaries (Read more at Defense Post).
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he wanted “direct talks” with Tehran on a nuclear deal, after he threatened to bomb Iran if it develops nuclear weapons. Trump has given Iran’s leaders a two-month deadline to reach an agreement on the country’s nuclear program, which has strained relations with Western nations for decades (Read more at Defense Post).
US Treasury Secretary imposed the sanctions on those entities and individuals, accusing them of responsibility for procurement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) components on behalf of a leading manufacturer for Iran's drone program (Read more at Global Times).
As many as six B-2 bombers have relocated in the past week or so to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Experts say that puts the B-2s, which have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons, in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East (Read more at Business Standard).
The letter was addressed to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, who described Trump’s threats as a “violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations" and urged the Council to condemn them (Read more at New Region).
Relations between Iran and the United States - once strong allies - have often been mistrustful and sometimes openly hostile since Iran's 1979 revolution. Here are some key dates (Read more at MSN)
“Threats are indeed heard; ultimatums are also heard. We consider such methods inappropriate; we condemn them, we consider this a way to impose our own will on the Iranian side,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. “Russia is ready to offer its good services to Washington, Tehran, and everyone who is interested in this,” he added (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
"The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran," Trump said on his Truth Social platform (Read more at New Arab).
Trump says he will wait "a couple of weeks" before deciding on tariffs. In Trump's first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, he told NBC News that U.S. and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate (Read more at Reuters).
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressed that if enemies commit evil against Iran, they will definitely receive a strong and reciprocal blow. "And If they seek to create sedition within the country, the (Iranian) nation itself will (give a proper) answer to them." (Read more at Mehrnews)
Oil prices held steady on Monday as investors adopted a cautious, wait-and-see stance after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil and warned Iran of possible military action if it did not agree to a deal over its nuclear program. Some analysts believe that Trump may not act on his threats, a view that is putting a cap on oil prices (Read more at USNews).
Trump's comments came after Iran responded to the letter the president sent the country's supreme leader three weeks ago, which threatened military action if no deal is reached in two months. "Iran is very high on my list of things to watch. ... We will have to talk it out or very bad things are gonna happen to Iran, and I don't want that to happen," Trump said. "My big preference is that we work it out with Iran, but if we don't work it out, bad, bad things are gonna happen to Iran." (Read more at Axios)
"The Americans are well aware of how vulnerable they are. If they invade Iran, it would be like adding a spark to a powder keg, and it would ignite the entire region. In such a case, their bases and those of their allies won’t be safe anymore," the senior Iranian lawmaker said in an address on International Quds Day (Read more at Tass).
The US is amassing B-2 bombers capable of carrying 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs. Their basing at Diego Garcia puts the bombers within 4,000 kilometres from Houthi territory and 5,300 kilometres of Iran, well within their refuelling range of approximately 11,000 kilometres. In the late 1990s, the US was conducting sporadic bombing runs against Saddam Hussein’s military, but Saudi Arabia dragged its feet about allowing the US to launch warplanes from their airfields (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The Iranian response, seen as an attempt to jumpstart talks over Tehran's nuclear program, was appropriately sent through Oman. No details have been released of the Iranian response nor the contents of Trump's letter (Read more at Daily Sabah).
It is part of a long-running campaign by the U.S. targeting Triliance Petrochemical Co., a Hong Kong-based broker with branches in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Germany, that the U.S. says is a well-known Iranian front company supporting Iran’s petrochemical industry (Read more at Maritime Executive).
The sanctions on Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, and Taqi Daneshvar of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security are the latest linked to the disappearance of the former FBI agent, who Washington believes was abducted in Iran and died in captivity. As a result of the sanctions, any property of the men under U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and Americans are generally barred from dealing with them. Foreign persons also risk blacklisting for dealing with them (Read more at Reuters).
China and Russia stood by Iran on Friday after the United States demanded nuclear talks with Tehran, with senior Chinese and Russian diplomats saying dialogue should only resume based on “mutual respect” and all sanctions ought to be lifted. In a joint statement issued after talks with Iran in Beijing, Beijing and Moscow also said they welcomed Iran’s reiteration that its nuclear programme was exclusively for peaceful purposes, and that Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy should be “fully” respected (Read more at The Print).
The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and some Hong Kong-flagged vessels that are part of a shadow fleet that helps disguise Iranian oil shipments, the Treasury Department said (Read more at Energy Now).
“If we enter negotiations while the other side is imposing maximum pressure, we will be negotiating from a weak position and will achieve nothing,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. “The other side must be convinced that the policy of pressure is ineffective; only then can we sit at the negotiating table on equal terms” he added (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
The Iraqi prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, Farhad Alaaeldin said most Iraqi power plants run on gas from Iran, with 43% of Iraq's electricity generated by the gas imported from its neighbour to the east. Still, the U.S. was encouraging Iraq to secure gas from other sources, Alaaeldin said (Read more at Reuters).
While Araqchi and Gargash were meeting, Khamenei told a group of university students that Trump's offer for talks was "a deception", state media reported. "When we know they won't honour it, what's the point of negotiating? Therefore, the invitation to negotiate ... is a deception of public opinion," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media. Khamenei said he had not yet seen the letter (Read more at Yahoo News).
"It is unacceptable for us that they (the U.S.) give orders and make threats. I won’t even negotiate with you. Do whatever the hell you want", state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying (Read more at Reuters).
Baghdad is looking to Qatar and Oman as possible options. Baghdad currently receives up to 50 million cubic metres of gas per day from Iran depending on its needs under a five-year deal extension signed in March 2024. Iraq pays $4-5 billion per year to Iran for gas imports (Read more at Yahoo News)
In a statement posted on X, the country’s U.N. mission said: “If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.” “However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place,” Iran’s mission said (Read more at Live5news).
"Some bullying countries insist on talks not to resolve issues but to impose their demands...we will certainly not accept their demands", the Iranian leader said in a meeting with senior officials (Read more at Axios).
"There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal," Trump said. He added, "I would rather negotiate a deal. I'm not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily," Trump said. "But the time is happening now, the time is coming up. Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I've written them a letter, saying I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily it's going to be a terrible thing for them." (Read more at ABCNews)
The U.S. is reviewing all existing sanctions waivers that provide Iran any degree of economic relief, and urging the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible (Read more at US News).
Israel and the US conducted a joint air force drill in the Eastern Mediterranean that included long-range bombers, as some analysts warned that the window for US President Donald Trump to engage Iran on a nuclear deal is closing. Israeli F-35 and F-15 jet fighters took part in drills in the Eastern Mediterranean alongside a US B-52, a long-range strategic bomber, the Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday. The US has long used B-52 bombers, which are capable of carrying bombs to strike Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, as a show of force against Tehran during times of tension (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The Kremlin said today that future talks between Russia and the United States would include discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, a subject it said had been “touched upon” in an initial round of US-Russia talks last month (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Trump expressed an interest to work with Iran on both nuclear matters and Tehran's support for anti-U.S. proxies in the Middle East during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Trump administration officials also discussed communicating with Iran in a meeting with their Russian counterparts at a summit in Saudi Arabia last month (Read more at Newsweek)
"Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its UAV weapons program through new front companies and third-country suppliers," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said China and Iran's cooperation was "reasonable and legal". "China has always firmly opposed the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and citizens," he said (Read more at AOL).
The US sanctioned 30 persons and vessels for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products. Oil brokers in the UAE and Hong Kong and the head of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company were also targeted (Read more at News18).
Iran will not engage in direct talks with the United States on his country’s nuclear programme amid US President Donald Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” against it, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. His remarks came a day after the US imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, the Iran’s main source of income (Read more at Aljazeera).
prices edged higher on Monday as fresh US sanctions on Iran and a commitment to compensate for overproduction by Iraq added to concerns of near-term supply tightness, helping the market recover some of Friday's steep losses (Read more at Khaleej Times).
The United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry on Monday, hitting more than 30 brokers, tanker operators, and shipping companies for their role in selling and transporting Iranian petroleum, the Treasury Department said (Read more at Reuters).
“All options are on the table” to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump is “deadly serious when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch,” Waltz told Fox News Sunday when asked about a potential U.S. military action against Tehran’s nuclear project (Read more at JNS).
The comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem yesterday and said their countries were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
US sanctions on Russia, and Iran tighten oil tanker availability. Iran floating storage at over one-year high, January exports up for 2nd month. Iran's crude discount shrinks to the narrowest in several years. Russian oil on water jumps after January 10 sanctions (Read more at Reuters).
Any act of aggression will have severe consequences, Iran's UN ambassador has asserted, in response to Trump's recent remarks to the New York Post (Read more at Almayadeen).
“Trump says, 'We want to talk', and then he signs in a memorandum all the conspiracies to bring our revolution to its knees,” Mr Pezeshkian said, referring to Mr Trump's reinstatement of sanctions against Tehran this month. “If the US were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us?” he added, saying it was Israel, not Iran, destabilising the Middle East. "They spread propaganda that the country has been weak. We are strong. We never bow to the foreigners." (Read more at The National)
Trump made similar comments on his social media portal Truth Social, saying that wants Iran to “peacefully grow and prosper.” “Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” he posted (Read more at JNS).
The rial plunged to 892,500 to the dollar on the unofficial market on Saturday. Facing an official inflation rate of about 35%, Iranians seeking safe havens for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies, gold or cryptocurrencies, suggesting further headwinds for the rial. The dollar has been gaining against the rial since trading around 690,000 rials at the time of Trump's re-election in November amid concerns that Trump would re-impose his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran with tougher sanctions and empower Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites (Read more at USNews).
U.S. credit card giant American Express identified and closed 30 consumer accounts in 2024 that it said could have had ties to the Government of Iran. The accounts were only used for personal expenses, AmEx said in a regulatory filing on Friday. It also ended its relationship with a third-party ATM network provider, which was connected to an Iranian bank sanctioned by the U.S. government (Read more at Market Screener).
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly condemned a new round of sanctions imposed by the United States on a dozen people and firms that Washington says facilitate Iranian oil shipments. Baghaei said the new sanctions were “entirely illegitimate” and “in contravention of international rules and regulations.” (Read more at IRNA)
“Negotiating with America will solve no problem. Proof? [Past] experience!” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “The Americans did not comply with that very agreement. The very same person who is now in office [in the United States] tore up the agreement,” he said. “The agreement was meant for America’s sanctions to be removed. They were not removed! America’s sanctions were not removed.” (Read more at IRNA)
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, at a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais, urged OPEC members to unite against possible US sanctions on the major oil producer after US President Donald Trump said he would seek to drive Tehran’s oil exports to zero (Read more at Aljazeera).
U.S. concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons are not a complicated issue and can be resolved given Tehran's opposition to weapons of mass destruction, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. "If the main concern is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a complicated issue. Iran’s position is clear: it is a member of the Non Proliferation Treaty, and the Supreme Leader’s fatwa has already clarified our stance [against weapons of mass destruction]," Araqchi said (Read more at Reuters)
President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the U.S. Agency for International Development has been lauded in Iranian state media. The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country’s Shiite theocracy — pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to help democracy worldwide (Read more at AP).
As he signed the memo, Trump described it as very tough and said he was torn on whether to make the move. He said he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to the Iranian leader (Read more at Armen Press).
Iran will respond immediately and decisively if its nuclear sites are attacked, which would lead to an “all-out war in the region”, Tehran’s Foreign Minister said. Araqchi suggested that the United States could free blocked Iranian funds as a first confidence-building step between the two hostile countries (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
But he appeared to suggest that this was a possibility if the Islamic Republic does not accept a deal on its nuclear program. “We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. Hopefully, that can be worked out without having to worry about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, when asked about the possibility of an Israeli strike (Read more at JNS).
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said that the move, which will impose harsher economic penalties than the Biden administration had applied to the Houthis, was “an excuse to apply anti-human sanctions against the Yemeni people” (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
"We did not know about October 7... We were supposed to have a meeting with the Americans on JCPOA renewal on October 9, which was undermined and destroyed by this operation," Zarif said at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Read more at Barrons).
He said, “There’s a one in trillion chance you’ll degrade the Iranian nuclear program through diplomacy...There’s a 90% chance you’ll degrade it through military action by Israel, supported by the United States. So the next topic I will be engaging in with President Trump is to take this moment in time to decimate the Iran nuclear program because they’re so exposed.” (Read more at Politico)
He has pleaded guilty to leaking secret documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran last year during a period of escalating regional tensions linked to Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison (Read more at Aljazeera).
Sala, 29, a freelance reporter for Il Foglio newspaper and a podcaster at Chora News, returned to Italy last week after being released by Iran following her arrest in Tehran on December 19 (Read more at ANSA).
Asked whether Iran is willing to promise that there will be no attempt on Trump’s life, Pezeshkian said, “We have never attempted this to begin with, and we never will.” (Read more at NBC News).
U.S. prosecutors argued on Tuesday that an engineer could flee to Iran if he was granted bail while awaiting trial on charges related to a deadly drone attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan carried out last year by Iran-backed militants (Read more at MSN).
The world must return to a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris on Saturday (Read more at MSN).
The war games take place as Iranian leaders face the risk that Trump could empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iran's nuclear sites, while further tightening U.S. sanctions on its oil industry through his "maximum pressure" policy (Read more at Reuters).
Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa and a co-defendant had previously been charged in April 2022 with drug trafficking and firearms offences, and both were remanded. The military weaponry to be part of the arms deal included surface-to-air missiles (Read more at Guardian).
Abedini is wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone strike against U.S. forces in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement and said last week the detention of the Iranian national amounted to hostage-taking (Read more at DeccanHerald).
A former engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he illegally procured technology for an Iranian firm that made a key component of a drone used in a January attack by Iran-backed militants in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members (Read more at Reuters).
The United States has charged an alleged officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with “terrorism and murder” over the killing of a US citizen in Iraq in 2022 (Read more at Aljazeera).
Washington sees this moment as an opportunity to further push back Iran’s influence in the region. Blinken visited the US embassy in Baghdad and said he spoke to Sudani about the situation in Syria. Blinken and Sudani discussed “the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that, as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that, of course, protects all of the minorities in Syria that produces an inclusive, non-sectarian government,” Blinken said, adding that Syria should not become a “platform for terrorism” (Read more at Arab Weekly).
He also claimed Iranian intelligence had sent warnings to the Assad government about a possible attack for three months and predicted Syrian youth would eventually recapture the country, remarks that are unlikely to make it easier for Iran to build strong relations with the new leaders in Damascus (Read more at Guardian).
Biden’s new document orders various arms of the US government to restructure groups currently organised by region to better focus on issues linking the four countries that span Europe and Asia. The document’s strategies and policy suggestions could be implemented — or rejected altogether — by president-elect Trump (Read more at Selangor).
The Biden administration ramped up its sanctions on Iran, targeting 35 entities and vessels that it said transported illicit Iranian petroleum to foreign markets. The sanctions build on those previously imposed on Oct. 11 and come in response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel and to its announced nuclear escalations (Read more at Boereport).
International Coalition warplanes overnight Monday targeted sites belonging to the Iranian militias in Al-Quriyah and Al-Mayadeen in the countryside of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, using heavy machine guns, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. There is no information about human losses so far (Read more at Jewish Press).
European and Iranian officials made little progress in meetings on Friday on whether they could engage in serious talks, including over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. A European official said there had been nothing of note in the meeting but that Tehran had shown an eagerness to explore how diplomacy could work in next few weeks (Read more at Reuters).
The U.S. agency is scrutinizing whether JPMorgan complied with all rules and regulations when it took on UAE-based hedge fund Ocean Leonid Investments as a client. U.S. federal law requires financial institutions to monitor for suspicious activity in an effort to prevent illicit funds from flowing through the country (Read more at USNews).
“If we look at the recent appointments the president has made, none of them are isolationists and almost all of them have publicly condemned the Iranian terror regime in the strongest possible terms,” said Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (Read more at JNS).
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday strongly denied a reported meeting between Tehran's United Nations envoy and U.S. billionaire Elon Musk (Read more at Ariana).
The meeting between Elon Musk and Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations , if confirmed, could offer an early indication that Trump is not foreclosing the option of diplomacy with Iran. It would also show again the extraordinary influence of Musk, the owner of Tesla and X who has been a near constant presence at Trump’s side, reportedly joining him on telephone calls with world leaders (Read more at Arab Weekly).
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday that New York-based insurer MetLife's (MET.N), opens new tab unit, American Life Insurance Co, agreed to settle its potential civil liability for over 2,300 apparent violations of sanctions against Iran. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $178,421 settlement with the MetLife unit (Read more at Reuters).
Contact was reportedly at Trump-allied billionaire’s request and could be significant for dismal US-Iranian relations. It happened on Monday, a day before Donald Trump named the SpaceX founder as one of the heads of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The meeting was a discussion of how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States (Read more at Guardian).
Stricter targeting of Iranian oil could be tempered by China concerns. Trump will need to determine if sanctions can help achieve his goals. Foreign ports, refineries processing Iran exports could be targeted (Read more at Reuters).
It had been won by family members of troops killed and injured in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court judge should have addressed questions of state law before ruling against Bank Markazi and Luxembourg intermediary Clearstream Banking, a unit of Deutsche Boerse. In a 3-0 decision, the panel also rejected a claim that a 2019 federal law designed to make it easier to seize Iranian assets held outside the United States waived Bank Markazi's sovereign immunity (Read more at Yahoo).
Iran's foreign ministry is aware of reports about the arrest of Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh in Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster, was believed to have been detained by Iran for some months (Read more at Reuters).
“Now … a new scenario is fabricated … as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy,” Araqchi said in a post on X. He was referring to the alleged plot which Washington said was ordered by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Trump. “The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,” Araqchi said (Read more at Iranpost).
“To us it does not matter at all who has won the American election, because our country and system relies on its inner strength and a great and honorable nation,” Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, quoted by the state news agency IRNA (Read more at Arabnews).
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed atomic programme and that he expected to work cooperatively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Grossi had previously said he hoped to go to Tehran ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. vote as he seeks to resolve several long-standing issues that have dogged relations between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western power (Read more at Reuters).
Cracking down on OPEC-member Iran would support global oil prices, but the effect could also be offset by other Trump policies, from measures to expand domestic drilling, the imposition of tariffs on China that could depress economic activity, or an easing of relations with Russia that could unfetter its sanctioned crude shipments (Read more at MSN).
The supreme leader did not elaborate on the timing of the threatened attack, nor the scope. The U.S. military operates on bases throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel. Any further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East, already teetering over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon, into a wider regional conflict just ahead of the U.S. presidential election this Tuesday (Read more at NPR).
Iran faces diminished leverage if Trump wins Nov. 5 US election. Trump could grant Israel green light to hit Iran nuclear sites. Possible US-Saudi defence pact to shift balance of power. Tehran recognises 'new architecture' in making in Middle East. Iran's accelerated nuclear enrichment programme raising alarm (Read more at Reuters).
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the UN said, ""The United States did not participate in this military operation. Rather, we encouraged the government of Israel to shape the operation as it did. Again, a targeted, proportional and direct response to degrade Iran's ability to threaten its neighbors, deter further attacks and reduce the risk of further escalation (Read more at YahooNews).
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tehran against responding to Israel's strikes on military sites in Iran and said he stressed in a call to his Israeli counterpart the opportunities to de-escalate tensions in the region (TRTWorld).
An Iranian hacking group is actively scouting U.S. election-related websites and American media outlets as Election Day nears, with activity suggesting preparations for more "direct influence operations," according to a Microsoft blog (Read more at AOL).
Prosecutors have said that the defendants had plotted to lure Alinejad out of her house by asking her for flowers from her garden then gun her down. U.S. prosecutors have previously charged other suspects in the case, including one man in 2022 and two more in January 2023. Tuesday's filing did not name the alleged victim, but one of the previously charged suspects in the case was arrested for having a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, Reuters reported (Read more at ArianaNews).
"Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran and China, remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans' confidence in the U.S. democratic system. These activities are consistent with what these actors perceive to be in their interests, even as their tactics continue to evolve," said one official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Read more at MSN).
The proposal, which was previewed in March, implements an executive order issued earlier this year by President Joe Biden which aims to keep foreign adversaries from using accessible American financial and genomic data and health data for cyber attacks, espionage and blackmail (Read more at Business Standard).
The decision by the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan could remove legal obstacle to the longstanding case proceeding to trial. Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled Halkbank wasn’t shielded from prosecution by a US statute granting immunity to governments for official acts (Read more at MSN).
"The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran ... as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security," Iran's U.N. mission said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council (Read more at USNews).
The documents marked top secret first appeared online via a channel on Telegram based in Tehran, claiming they had been leaked by someone in the U.S. intelligence community, then later the U.S. Defense Department. The information appeared entirely gathered through the use of satellite image analysis. The documents are attributed to the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (Read more at Associated Press).
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has issued a warning to the United States after President Joe Biden said he knows “how and when” Israel would attack Iran. “Anybody with knowledge or understanding of ‘how and when Israel was going to attack Iran’, and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality,” Araghchi said on his X account (Read more at IRNA).
"There's an opportunity in my view and my colleagues agree that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for a while. That ends the conflict, in other words, that stops the back and forth," Biden said. Biden also said he has an understanding of how and when Israel was going to retaliate against missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate (Read more at USNews).
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said indirect talks with the US through its intermediary Oman have stopped as Tehran "does not see a basis" for them amid wars and heightened tension in the region (Read more at The National).
President Biden quietly tasked his National Security Council to warn Iran that the US would view any Tehran-backed assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump as an act of war, according to a report. Behind the scenes, the Harris-Biden administration has reportedly pressed Iran to halt its plottings against Trump and other former members of his administration amid elevated security threats from the US adversary (Read more at New York Post).
The statements from a senior Biden administration official and a spokesperson from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) complement earlier comments from CIA Director William Burns, who stated this week that there is no evidence suggesting that Iran’s leadership has reversed its 2003 decision to halt its nuclear weaponization efforts. “We assess that the Supreme Leader has not made a decision to resume the nuclear weapons program that Iran suspended in 2003,” said the ODNI spokesperson, referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Read more at Matzav).
As part of their attempts to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are also refusing to let Israel fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran and have conveyed this to Washington. The moves by the Gulf states come after a diplomatic push by Tehran to persuade its Gulf neighbors to use their influence with Washington amid rising concerns Israel could target Iran's oil production facilities (Read more at Daily Sabah).
The U.S. State Department and Treasury working in coordination said the actions intensify financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack U.S. partners and allies. "In response to Iran’s attack on Israel, the United States is taking decisive action to further disrupt the Iranian regime’s ability to fund and carry out its destabilizing activity,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen (Read more at Maritime Executive).
U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters, said he has authorized security to protect Trump as if he were a sitting president, and if Trump’s request falls in that category it should be granted (Read more at News Nation Now).
"The Israelis have not concluded what they are going to do in terms of a strike. That's under discussion," Biden said. Biden was also asked if he thought that by not engaging in diplomacy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to influence the Nov. 5 U.S. election in which Republican former President Donald Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. "Whether he is trying to influence the election, I don't know but I am not counting on that," Biden said in response. "No administration has done more to help Israel than I have." (Read more at Reuters)
When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said, “we’re discussing that. I think that would be a little… anyway.” Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel — even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently paid little heed to calls for restraint as he targets the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon (Read more at Defense Post).
US Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Iran's "reckless and brazen" missile attack against Israel "unequivocally." "As I have said, I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias. My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering," Harris said (Read more at Anadolu Agency).
The U.S. CIA on Wednesday launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea, adding to what it says has been a successful effort to enlist Russians (Read more at USNews).
The Republican presidential nominee made the comments after being asked Tuesday if he believed he "should have been tougher on Iran" following the attack. "What does injured mean? You mean because they had a headache? Because the bombs never hit the fort?" Trump said (Read more at Axios).
Other US officials warned Iran would face “severe consequences”, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller telling reporters he was not “ruling anything out”. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett explicitly called for such an attack in a post on X, saying Israel must “act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program”. “We have the justification. We have the tools”, Bennett said (Read more at Aljazeera).
Two U.S. guided-missile destroyers destroyed a handful of Iranian missiles using a combination of weapons, including the Standard Missile 3, a U.S. official confirmed to USNI News on Wednesday. USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) and USS Cole (DDG-67) fired about a dozen interceptors at Iranian missiles fired at Israel, the Pentagon said Tuesday (Read more at US Navy Institute).
The United States warned Iran that it would face severe consequences for its ballistic missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, saying the barrage marked a significant escalation but appeared to have been thwarted. Biden was reported to have urged Netanyahu to “take the win” and refrain from retaliation after Iran’s April attack to avoid a wider regional war, given that Israel was largely unscathed (Read more at Swissinfo).
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart late on Tuesday, hours after Iran's missile attack on Israel following Israel's military campaign in Lebanon, and said Washington was "well-postured" to defend its interests in the Middle East. "The minister and I expressed mutual appreciation for the coordinated defense of Israel against nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran and committed to remain in close contact," Austin said separately in a post on X (Read more at AOL).
Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel in a two-wave attack on Tuesday that U.S. and Israeli officials say was largely repelled. This was Iran's largest-scale attack ever against Israel (Read more at Axios).
The president said the attack appears to have been "defeated and ineffective." "This is testament to Israeli military capability and the U.S. military," Biden said in his first on-camera remarks on the issue. "It's also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack we expected." "Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel," Biden added (Read more at ABC).
In the statement, Tehran called Israel’s Friday assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah a war crime that breached Lebanon’s territorial integrity. It also put the blame directly at Washington’s feet. "The U.S. government is directly responsible and complicit in the Zionist regime’s crime as a supporter and accomplice in continuing to commit various international crimes and terrorist acts." (Read more at TehranTimes)
The three men -- Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi -- were trying to undermine Trump's campaign, Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference on Friday. "We are seeing increasingly aggressive Iranian cyber activity during this election cycle," he said. The indictment says the three men used fake email accounts to trick several campaign officials into believing they were dealing with a trusted source, and then got them to click on links that allowed the hackers to steal emails and other internal documents, such as debate preparation material and profiles of potential vice presidential candidates (Read more at USNews).
Former Federal Aviation Administration contractor Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, was indicted today for acting and conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the Iranian government in the United States (Read more at DOJ)
Iran said on Thursday that accusations it had targeted former U.S. officials were baseless, after former U.S. president Donald Trump implicated Iran, without offering evidence, in assassination attempts against him. "It is obvious that such accusations are just a part of creating the election atmosphere in the U.S...., and not even worth a response," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement (Read more at AOL).
Four ships associated with the fleet of Syrian shipping magnate, Abdul Jalil Mallah, who was sanctioned by the US in 2021, and his brother, Luay Al-Mallah, were among the vessels included in Wednesday’s action, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Luay Al-Mallah was designated under US sanctions on Wednesday. The brothers have “continued to use their shipping empire to support Iran’s malign activities and those of its proxies,” Treasury said (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
“President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence [ODNI] regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” Steven Cheung, the ex-president campaign’s communications director, said in a statement (Read more at The Hill).
The incidents that occurred before Biden suspended his campaign mark "the latest example of Iran's multipronged approach" to "stoke discord and undermine confidence" in the U.S. electoral process, per a joint statement from the FBI, CISA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Read more at Axios).
