[🇮🇷] Protests in Iran

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/iran-us-to-hold-nuclear-talks-on-friday-some-regional-countries-to-participate-say-sources

Iran, US to hold nuclear talks on Friday, some regional countries to participate, say sources

REUTERS
Published :
Feb 02, 2026 23:24
Updated :
Feb 02, 2026 23:24

Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and US officials told Reuters on Monday, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would participate.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war.

Turkey and other regional allies have sought de-escalation.

"Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, as well as some other countries, will attend the Istanbul meeting. There will be bilateral, trilateral and other meetings," the diplomat said.

US NAVAL BUILDUP NEAR IRAN

Tensions are running high amid a US naval buildup near Iran, following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.

US President Donald Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was "seriously talking", while Tehran's top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way.

Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for resumption of talks: Zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies.

Iran has long rejected all three demands as unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle.

PREPARATIONS FOR POTENTIAL US-IRAN TALKS

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was considering "the various dimensions and aspects of the talks", adding that "time is of the essence for Iran as it wants the lifting of unjust sanctions sooner".

A Turkish ruling party official told Reuters that Tehran and Washington had agreed to re-focus on diplomacy and possible talks this week, in a potential reprieve for potential US strikes.

Witkoff was expected to visit Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's military chief, two senior Israeli officials said separately on Monday.

'BALL IN TRUMP'S COURT'

The Iranian official said "diplomacy is ongoing. For talks to resume, Iran says there should not be preconditions and that it is ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium, accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution".

However, he added, for the start of talks, Tehran wanted US military assets moved away from Iran.

"Now the ball is in Trump's court," he said.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SOME REPAIR WORK AT IRANIAN SITES

Tehran's regional sway has been weakened by Israel's attacks on its proxies - from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq - as well as by the ousting of Iran's close ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In June last year the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.

Recent satellite imagery of two of the targeted sites, Isfahan and Natanz, appears to show some repair work since December, with new roofing over two previously destroyed buildings. No other rebuilding was visible, according to the imagery provided by Planet Labs and reviewed by Reuters.

Washington-based think tank ISIS said satellite images from late January showed construction work on tunnel entrances at Isfahan that could "indicate a preparation for additional military strikes" as was seen ahead of last year's US strikes.

It could also signal the movement of assets from other facilities, it added.

NUCLEAR TALKS STANDOFF

After five rounds of talks that have stalled since May 2023, several hard-to-bridge issues remained between Tehran and Washington, including Iran's insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment on its soil and refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The UN nuclear watchdog has called on Iran repeatedly to say what happened to the highly enriched uranium stock since the June attacks.

Western countries fear Iran's uranium enrichment could yield material for a warhead. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for electricity generation and other civilian uses.

The Iranian sources said Tehran could ship its highly enriched uranium abroad and pause enrichment in a deal that should also include the lifting of economic sanctions.​

 

[Lulldapull]

JCPOA all over again:

 

[Saif]

Trump hopeful of Iran deal after Tehran warns of regional war

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to a "coup", warning that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict.

en.prothomalo.com

Trump hopeful of Iran deal after Tehran warns of regional war

AFP Paris, France
Published: 02 Feb 2026, 13: 03

US president Donald Trump Reuters file photo

US president Donald Trump on Sunday said he was hopeful of agreeing a deal with Iran after the country's supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war.

Following the Iranian authorities' deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to a "coup", warning that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict.

"The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," he said, telling Iranians they "should not be scared" of Trump's rhetoric.

"They (rioters) attacked the police, government centres, IRGC centres, banks, and mosques, and burned the Koran... It was like a coup," Khamenei said, adding that "the coup was suppressed".

Asked about the Iranian leader's warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday: "Of course he is going to say that.

"Hopefully we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right," he said.

The demonstrations in Iran began as an expression of discontent at the high cost of living, but grew into a mass anti-government movement that the country's leaders have described as "riots" stoked by the United States and Israel.

Iranian authorities nonetheless ordered the release of detained 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani on bail, his lawyer said on Sunday, after Washington warned he was on death row and threatened an attack if any anti-government demonstrators were executed.

He was arrested in January for what Iran's judiciary said were charges of propaganda against Iran's Islamic system and acting against national security.

Washington had warned he was due to be executed, though Tehran said he had never been sentenced to death and that the charges against him did not carry the death penalty.

As tensions heightened between Iran and the United States, Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said he was concerned about "miscalculations" but said he believed Trump was "wise enough to make the correct decision".

He said Iran has lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner, adding that some countries in the region were acting as intermediaries to rebuild trust.

"So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what president Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with CNN.

- 'Terrorist' designations -

Tehran has acknowledged thousands of deaths during the protests, and on Sunday the presidency published a list of 2,986 names out of the 3,117 that authorities said were killed in the unrest.

Of the total, 131 have yet to be identified but their details will be released soon, it said in a statement.

Authorities insist most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts".

However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it has confirmed 6,842 deaths, mostly protesters.

The response prompted the European Union to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, with Iranian lawmakers retaliating on Sunday by slapping the same designation on European armies.

Lawmakers wore the green uniform of the Guards in a display of solidarity at the legislative session, where they chanted "Death to America", "Death to Israel" and "Shame on you, Europe", state television footage showed.

It remained unclear what immediate impact the decision would have.

The step matched similar classifications enacted by the United States, Canada and Australia.

- Threats and dialogue -

Firouzeh, a 43-year-old homemaker who declined to give her full name, said the recent tensions had left her "very worried and scared".

"Lately, all I do is watch the news until I fall asleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to check the updates," she said.

IRGC official Ahmad Vahidi was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying "enemies" sought to create a "war atmosphere".

But Ali Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday: "Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing."

Trump also confirmed that dialogue was taking place, but without withdrawing his earlier threats, adding "we'll see what happens".

The US president previously said he believed Iran would make a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face military action.

Tehran, meanwhile, has said it is ready for nuclear talks if its missile and defence capabilities are not on the agenda.​

 

[Vsdoc]

All these thugs who were trained by the CIA/ Mossad/ MI-6 were infiltrated into Iran over the last 6 months along with weapons and the full backing of the Zionist oligarchs. Same playbook as Ukraine/ Georgia/ Syria over the decades. Its just a desperate regime change attempt, plain and simple.
Kashmiri dalit insurgency was successful in the 80's and 90's because the west covertly supported it. Now its got no oommph in it because India has completely subdued itself to the west. Pakistan being muz-lim was always a CIA asset, just gets told.

If tomorrow the US turns its sights in India, we have literally nothing to protect ourselves with, forget hit back.

 

[Vsdoc]

Sanghis will say, why will US hit us.

We suck his lun so lovingly.

Warm. Wet.

Slurrrrpppppp.

Gimme moaaaaarrrrr daddy.