Iranian Defense
Saif
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Trump says US will 'come to their rescue' if Iran kills protesters
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilise the region.
en.prothomalo.com
Trump says US will 'come to their rescue' if Iran kills protesters
AFP Paris, France
Published: 02 Jan 2026, 17: 16
US President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on 2 December, 2025. AFP
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilise the region.
Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated.
Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread into a protest movement with political demands that has swept into other parts of the country.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."
"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," he added.
That prompted the head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, to warn Trump that "US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilising the entire region and destroying America's interest".
The US president "should be mindful of their soldiers' safety", Larijani added on X.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said any US intervention would "be exposed to a response" calling Iran's security a "red line".
Iranian leaders including Larijani and President Masoud Pezeshkian have in recent days described peaceful protests over Iran's dire economy as legitimate and understandable.
Pezeshkian said on Thursday that he and his government would "end up in hell", in the religious sense, if they failed to address economic hardship.
At the same time, officials have warned of a firm response to any instability.
On Friday, the prosecutor of the district of Lorestan, Ali Hasavand, was quoted on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan website as saying "any participation in illegal gatherings and any action aimed at disturbing public order, destroying property, disobeying law enforcement, inciting illegal gatherings... constitute crimes and will be treated with the greatest firmness by the courts".
"Certain opportunistic and hostile individuals are trying to undermine public security and peace by sowing chaos, disorder and committing murder. The justice system and the police will act with firmness and without any leniency against the rioters and those who undermine public security," he added.
Battered economy
Iran's economy has been battered by years of crushing international sanctions over its nuclear programme, with raging inflation and a collapsing currency.
The protest movement comes at a time in which Iran has been weakened following major blows dealt to its regional allies, including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Iran's Fars news agency reported on Thursday that two people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province.
State television reported earlier that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.
The protests have affected 15 cities, largely in the west of the country, according to reporting in Iranian media.
The demonstrations are smaller than the last major incident in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.
Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead including dozens of members of the security forces.
Iran was also gripped by nationwide protests that began in late 2019 over a rise in fuel prices, eventually leading to calls to topple the country's clerical rulers.
AFP Paris, France
Published: 02 Jan 2026, 17: 16
US President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on 2 December, 2025. AFP
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilise the region.
Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated.
Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread into a protest movement with political demands that has swept into other parts of the country.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."
"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," he added.
That prompted the head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, to warn Trump that "US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilising the entire region and destroying America's interest".
The US president "should be mindful of their soldiers' safety", Larijani added on X.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said any US intervention would "be exposed to a response" calling Iran's security a "red line".
Iranian leaders including Larijani and President Masoud Pezeshkian have in recent days described peaceful protests over Iran's dire economy as legitimate and understandable.
Pezeshkian said on Thursday that he and his government would "end up in hell", in the religious sense, if they failed to address economic hardship.
At the same time, officials have warned of a firm response to any instability.
On Friday, the prosecutor of the district of Lorestan, Ali Hasavand, was quoted on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan website as saying "any participation in illegal gatherings and any action aimed at disturbing public order, destroying property, disobeying law enforcement, inciting illegal gatherings... constitute crimes and will be treated with the greatest firmness by the courts".
"Certain opportunistic and hostile individuals are trying to undermine public security and peace by sowing chaos, disorder and committing murder. The justice system and the police will act with firmness and without any leniency against the rioters and those who undermine public security," he added.
Battered economy
Iran's economy has been battered by years of crushing international sanctions over its nuclear programme, with raging inflation and a collapsing currency.
The protest movement comes at a time in which Iran has been weakened following major blows dealt to its regional allies, including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Iran's Fars news agency reported on Thursday that two people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province.
State television reported earlier that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.
The protests have affected 15 cities, largely in the west of the country, according to reporting in Iranian media.
The demonstrations are smaller than the last major incident in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.
Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead including dozens of members of the security forces.
Iran was also gripped by nationwide protests that began in late 2019 over a rise in fuel prices, eventually leading to calls to topple the country's clerical rulers.
............
PakistanProud
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Saif
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Iran marks revolution anniversary under shadow of US threat
Iran’s president vowed on Wednesday that the Islamic republic would not bow to outside aggression, as it marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with events overshadowed by the looming threat of US military action...
www.newagebd.net
Iran marks revolution anniversary under shadow of US threat
Agence France-Presse . Paris, France 11 February, 2026, 22:44
Women march with a sign depicting US president Donald Trump with bloodied hands in Tehran on Wednesday, during a rally marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. | AFP photo
Iran’s president vowed on Wednesday that the Islamic republic would not bow to outside aggression, as it marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with events overshadowed by the looming threat of US military action.
Protesters, meanwhile, renewed anti-government chants from the balconies of residential blocks, in defiance of an on-going crackdown on opposition to the clerical system, which rights groups say has seen security forces shoot thousands dead.
US president Donald Trump has not ruled out strikes against Tehran although he has tied his decision to a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme rather than treatment of protesters. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants a tougher stance against Tehran, was due to hold talks with Trump on Wednesday.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff held indirect talks on the nuclear issue in Oman on Friday, although it remains unclear when, or even if, a new round might be held, despite optimistic statements from Tehran.
Iran’s supreme national security council head Ali Larijani followed this up with talks in Oman on Tuesday and he was now heading for discussions in US ally Qatar, one of the Gulf states seeking to mediate a peaceful outcome.
Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Trump in a telephone call meanwhile discussed ‘international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace’, the royal court said Wednesday.
In a speech at Azadi Square in the capital for the 47th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not yield to ‘excessive demands’ from Washington.
‘Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighbouring countries in order to establish peace and tranquillity in the region,’ he said.
The West believes that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon but Pezeshkian again insisted the atomic programme was entirely peaceful and that Iran was ready for ‘any verification’ by inspectors.
He was speaking as people filled the square and others across the country waving flags of the Islamic republic to mark its main revolutionary holiday.
February 11, or Bahman 22 according to the Persian calendar, marks the anniversary of the resignation of the ousted shah’s last prime minister and the formal assumption of power by revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.
People brandished images of Trump with the slogan ‘we will disappoint our enemies’, an AFP journalist said.
The protests and threat of US military action have posed a major challenge for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s number one who took up his post for life in 1989 after the death of Khomeini.
Late Tuesday as authorities set off fireworks to mark the event, people took to balconies in Tehran to chant slogans including ‘death to Khamenei’ and ‘death to the dictator’, according to footage shared by widely-followed protest monitor channels on Telegram and X including Vahid Online and Mamlekate.
AFP verified three such videos posted by Mamlekate.
According to US-based group Human Rights Activists News Agency, 6,984 people, including 6,490 protesters, were killed during the protests as authorities launched the crackdown.
Meanwhile, at least 52,623 people have been arrested in the ensuing crackdown, it added.
Those arrested most recently have included figures in the reformist movement inside Iran who supported Pezeshkian’s 2024 election campaign.
The chanting of the slogans late Tuesday marked a ‘continuation of the nationwide protests despite the prevailing security atmosphere and widespread control measures,’ HRANA said.
Agence France-Presse . Paris, France 11 February, 2026, 22:44
Women march with a sign depicting US president Donald Trump with bloodied hands in Tehran on Wednesday, during a rally marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. | AFP photo
Iran’s president vowed on Wednesday that the Islamic republic would not bow to outside aggression, as it marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with events overshadowed by the looming threat of US military action.
Protesters, meanwhile, renewed anti-government chants from the balconies of residential blocks, in defiance of an on-going crackdown on opposition to the clerical system, which rights groups say has seen security forces shoot thousands dead.
US president Donald Trump has not ruled out strikes against Tehran although he has tied his decision to a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme rather than treatment of protesters. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants a tougher stance against Tehran, was due to hold talks with Trump on Wednesday.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff held indirect talks on the nuclear issue in Oman on Friday, although it remains unclear when, or even if, a new round might be held, despite optimistic statements from Tehran.
Iran’s supreme national security council head Ali Larijani followed this up with talks in Oman on Tuesday and he was now heading for discussions in US ally Qatar, one of the Gulf states seeking to mediate a peaceful outcome.
Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Trump in a telephone call meanwhile discussed ‘international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace’, the royal court said Wednesday.
In a speech at Azadi Square in the capital for the 47th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not yield to ‘excessive demands’ from Washington.
‘Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighbouring countries in order to establish peace and tranquillity in the region,’ he said.
The West believes that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon but Pezeshkian again insisted the atomic programme was entirely peaceful and that Iran was ready for ‘any verification’ by inspectors.
He was speaking as people filled the square and others across the country waving flags of the Islamic republic to mark its main revolutionary holiday.
February 11, or Bahman 22 according to the Persian calendar, marks the anniversary of the resignation of the ousted shah’s last prime minister and the formal assumption of power by revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.
People brandished images of Trump with the slogan ‘we will disappoint our enemies’, an AFP journalist said.
The protests and threat of US military action have posed a major challenge for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s number one who took up his post for life in 1989 after the death of Khomeini.
Late Tuesday as authorities set off fireworks to mark the event, people took to balconies in Tehran to chant slogans including ‘death to Khamenei’ and ‘death to the dictator’, according to footage shared by widely-followed protest monitor channels on Telegram and X including Vahid Online and Mamlekate.
AFP verified three such videos posted by Mamlekate.
According to US-based group Human Rights Activists News Agency, 6,984 people, including 6,490 protesters, were killed during the protests as authorities launched the crackdown.
Meanwhile, at least 52,623 people have been arrested in the ensuing crackdown, it added.
Those arrested most recently have included figures in the reformist movement inside Iran who supported Pezeshkian’s 2024 election campaign.
The chanting of the slogans late Tuesday marked a ‘continuation of the nationwide protests despite the prevailing security atmosphere and widespread control measures,’ HRANA said.
Saif
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US military preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations
The disclosure by the officials raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.
en.prothomalo.com
US military preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations
ReutersWashington
Published: 14 Feb 2026, 08: 28
An upside-down U.S flag flutters at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, 5 February 2026. Reuters
The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.
The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.
U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the region, raising fears of new military action.
U.S. officials said on Friday the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower capable of waging attacks and defending against them.
Trump, speaking to U.S. troops on Friday at a base in North Carolina, said it had "been difficult to make a deal" with Iran.
"Sometimes you have to have fear. That's the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of," Trump said.
Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained U.S. military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "President Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran."
"He listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the final decision based on what is best for our country and national security," Kelly said.
The Pentagon declined to comment.
The United States sent two aircraft carriers to the region last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
However, June's "Midnight Hammer" operation was essentially a one-off U.S. attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. base in Qatar.
Risks increasing
The planning underway this time is more complex, the officials said.
In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The official declined to provide specific detail.
Experts say the risks to U.S. forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.
The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over a period of time.
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and crushing of internal dissent. On Thursday, he warned the alternative to a diplomatic solution would "be very traumatic, very traumatic."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, they could retaliate against any U.S. military base.
The U.S. maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday, saying that if an agreement with Iran were reached, "it must include the elements that are vital to Israel."
Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
ReutersWashington
Published: 14 Feb 2026, 08: 28
An upside-down U.S flag flutters at the former United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, 5 February 2026. Reuters
The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.
The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.
U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the region, raising fears of new military action.
U.S. officials said on Friday the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower capable of waging attacks and defending against them.
Trump, speaking to U.S. troops on Friday at a base in North Carolina, said it had "been difficult to make a deal" with Iran.
"Sometimes you have to have fear. That's the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of," Trump said.
Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained U.S. military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "President Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran."
"He listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the final decision based on what is best for our country and national security," Kelly said.
The Pentagon declined to comment.
The United States sent two aircraft carriers to the region last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
However, June's "Midnight Hammer" operation was essentially a one-off U.S. attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. base in Qatar.
Risks increasing
The planning underway this time is more complex, the officials said.
In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The official declined to provide specific detail.
Experts say the risks to U.S. forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.
The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over a period of time.
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and crushing of internal dissent. On Thursday, he warned the alternative to a diplomatic solution would "be very traumatic, very traumatic."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, they could retaliate against any U.S. military base.
The U.S. maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday, saying that if an agreement with Iran were reached, "it must include the elements that are vital to Israel."
Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
Lulldapull
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Discover Iran: Chabahar port, Iran’s oceanic gateway bridging continents and global commerce
Chabahar Port anchors the INSTC, giving Iran direct Indian Ocean access while linking India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe, reshaping regional trade, bypassing chokepoints, and strengthening strategic connectivity across Eurasia.
www.presstv.ir
Big diff between chahbahar vs Gwader no?
Saif
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Iran says would respond ‘ferociously’ to any US attack
Iran warned the United States on Monday that any attack would be met ‘ferociously’ in response to president Donald Trump’s threat of limited strikes, while students staged new protests against the Islamic republic.
www.newagebd.net
Iran says would respond ‘ferociously’ to any US attack
Agence France-Presse . Paris, France 24 February, 2026, 00:18
Protesters hold up portraits of Iranian dissident politician Maryam Rajavi and Massoud Rajavi, right, during a demonstration in front of the United Nations Offices on the side-line of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday. | AFP photo
Iran warned the United States on Monday that any attack would be met ‘ferociously’ in response to president Donald Trump’s threat of limited strikes, while students staged new protests against the Islamic republic.
Tehran and Washington’s threats came as both sides worked to reach a deal in indirect talks due to restart in Switzerland on Thursday.
As Iran grappled with US pressure backed by a build-up of military force in the Middle East, university students started a new semester with anti-government protests, reviving slogans from nationwide protests that peaked in January and which were met by a deadly crackdown.
Trump last week said he was weighing a limited strike if Iran did not cut a deal, but Tehran’s foreign ministry reiterated Monday that any strike, even limited, ‘would be regarded as an act of aggression. Period’.
‘And any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defence ferociously so that’s what we would do,’ ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran attended by an AFP journalist.
Iran has been working on a plan for an agreement on its nuclear programme, and said it would be ready to deliver a draft proposal to mediators in coming days.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian use but the West believes it is aimed at building an atomic bomb.
And while Iran has insisted the talks with the US focus solely on its nuclear programme, Washington also wants to discuss Tehran’s missiles and its support for militant groups in the region.
Trump said on Thursday Iran had at most 15 days to make a deal, suggesting the United States would attack if it did not using the arsenal of aircraft and ships built up in the region in recent weeks.
The two countries concluded a second round of indirect talks in Switzerland last week under Omani mediation and were due to continue on Thursday, a schedule confirmed by Iran and Oman but not yet by the US.
In an interview with Fox News broadcast over the weekend, US negotiator Steve Witkoff said Trump was wondering why Iran has not ‘capitulated’ in the face of Washington’s military deployment.
Baqaei responded Monday by saying that Iranians had never capitulated at any point in their history.
The European Union, which has been side-lined in mediation on Iran, called for a diplomatic solution ahead of the talks.
‘We don’t need another war in this region,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. ’It is true that Iran is at its weakest point that they have been. We should be really using this time to find a diplomatic solution.’
Iran’s clerical authorities have faced recent steep challenges, including the recent mass protests, last year’s 12-day war with Israel, and the weakening of Iran’s regional proxies.
On Monday videos geolocated by AFP and circulated on social media showed students at a university in Tehran burning the Iranian flag adopted by the Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy.
Agence France-Presse . Paris, France 24 February, 2026, 00:18
Protesters hold up portraits of Iranian dissident politician Maryam Rajavi and Massoud Rajavi, right, during a demonstration in front of the United Nations Offices on the side-line of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday. | AFP photo
Iran warned the United States on Monday that any attack would be met ‘ferociously’ in response to president Donald Trump’s threat of limited strikes, while students staged new protests against the Islamic republic.
Tehran and Washington’s threats came as both sides worked to reach a deal in indirect talks due to restart in Switzerland on Thursday.
As Iran grappled with US pressure backed by a build-up of military force in the Middle East, university students started a new semester with anti-government protests, reviving slogans from nationwide protests that peaked in January and which were met by a deadly crackdown.
Trump last week said he was weighing a limited strike if Iran did not cut a deal, but Tehran’s foreign ministry reiterated Monday that any strike, even limited, ‘would be regarded as an act of aggression. Period’.
‘And any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defence ferociously so that’s what we would do,’ ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran attended by an AFP journalist.
Iran has been working on a plan for an agreement on its nuclear programme, and said it would be ready to deliver a draft proposal to mediators in coming days.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian use but the West believes it is aimed at building an atomic bomb.
And while Iran has insisted the talks with the US focus solely on its nuclear programme, Washington also wants to discuss Tehran’s missiles and its support for militant groups in the region.
Trump said on Thursday Iran had at most 15 days to make a deal, suggesting the United States would attack if it did not using the arsenal of aircraft and ships built up in the region in recent weeks.
The two countries concluded a second round of indirect talks in Switzerland last week under Omani mediation and were due to continue on Thursday, a schedule confirmed by Iran and Oman but not yet by the US.
In an interview with Fox News broadcast over the weekend, US negotiator Steve Witkoff said Trump was wondering why Iran has not ‘capitulated’ in the face of Washington’s military deployment.
Baqaei responded Monday by saying that Iranians had never capitulated at any point in their history.
The European Union, which has been side-lined in mediation on Iran, called for a diplomatic solution ahead of the talks.
‘We don’t need another war in this region,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. ’It is true that Iran is at its weakest point that they have been. We should be really using this time to find a diplomatic solution.’
Iran’s clerical authorities have faced recent steep challenges, including the recent mass protests, last year’s 12-day war with Israel, and the weakening of Iran’s regional proxies.
On Monday videos geolocated by AFP and circulated on social media showed students at a university in Tehran burning the Iranian flag adopted by the Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy.
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[🇧🇩] Dr. Yunus----His performance in running the country.
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