Macron voices concerns over Iran's nuclear program
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday expressed his concerns regarding Iran's nuclear program again.
During his visit to Egypt, Macron warned of heightened regional instability if the issue remains unresolved.
He said that France and Egypt seek a diplomatic solution, and France, with its allies, aims to severely limit Iran's nuclear activities and address its regional interference and missile program.
Iran's Press Supervisory Board issued a rare warning to the ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper for threats of assassination against President Donald Trump for the 2020 killing of IRGC's Qasem Soleimani.
The supervisory board announced that it had issued an official warning to Kayhan’s managing editor following the publication of a provocative, anonymous daily column in Kayhan’s Saturday edition, written in a satirical style, that openly supported violent revenge against Trump. The piece mocked the US president’s past threats and invoked Soleimani’s death, declaring, “A few bullets are going to be fired into that empty skull of his.”
The board’s statement reiterated that the Islamic Republic’s official policy regarding revenge for Soleimani is the legal prosecution of his killers, particularly Trump, in an international tribunal.
The rhetoric was escalated further in a follow-up column on Sunday. "The shot hasn’t even been fired yet, and already a bunch of local lackeys and US bootlickers are totally freaking out …They’ve gotten scared because their skulls are as empty as Trump’s," the outlet wrote on Sunday referring to extensive criticisms voiced by public figures on social media.
Trump and several of his aides were placed on an Iranian hit list after Soleimani's killing. However, in recent months, the issue had somewhat faded amid Trump’s renewed 'maximum pressure' campaign and growing calls to renegotiate a new nuclear deal.
Though unattributed, the column, which often voices very controversial views, is widely believed to have been written by Kayhan’s ultra-hardliner editor-in-chief, Hossein Shariatmadari.
As the Supreme Leader’s official representative at Kayhan Publications, Shariatmadari’s statements are often seen—both inside and outside Iran—as indicative of the thinking of at least some elements within Ali Khamenei’s inner circle. He has held the position for 32 years and is widely known for his hardline views, including repeated calls to close the Strait of Hormuz and frequent threats against the United States, Israel, and regional countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"Such threats ring hollow the demands of Iranian officials for there to be ‘mutual respect’ during future negotiations with the United States," Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), was quoted as saying in an article published by Fox News Digital on Saturday.
“Kayhan has been aligned with the regime’s past plots that US law enforcement has disrupted,” Brodsky added. He urged US officials to make it clear that negotiations are impossible while Iran is “threatening and plotting to kill American citizens.”
Referring to the Fox News article, Iranian media and public figures have widely criticized Kayhan newspaper and Shariatmadari for what they say is very damaging rhetoric to Iran's possible talks with the United States.
A commentary titled “Causing crisis, Shariatmadari style”, published by Rouydad 24 website in Tehran on Sunday, said when Shariatmadari speaks, “the story is different, and it boils down to creating a crisis." Another commentary described his statements as a "shooting diplomacy in the heart".
Ettela’at newspaper, also overseen by Khamenei's office, also sharply criticized Kayhan and other hardline media outlets for advocating nuclear armament, the assassination of Trump, and retaliatory attacks following Israel’s strike on Iran in October. “At such a critical juncture in Iran’s confrontation with the United States, these calls are damaging the credibility and stature of the armed forces and the government in both the media and public opinion,” the commentary said. “If this trend continues, we may find ourselves fighting a domestic fifth column masquerading as super-revolutionaries.”
The recent warning against Kayhan is notably mild compared to actions taken against reformist publications. In these cases, the board has suspended or revoked licenses and referred journalists for prosecution under national security charges. Such unequal enforcement has long fueled criticism that the board operates with double standards, cracking down harshly on reformist voices while tolerating or excusing hardline rhetoric.
Kayhan and Ettela’at, which is also under Khamenei's control, are among Iran’s oldest newspapers.
Both newspapers have a circulation of less than 5,000 and are mainly distributed to government offices, but carry political weight.
Iran's state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has commissioned thousands of hours of backup programming from production companies affiliated with the government, according to a report by IranWire.
The move aims to ensure that provincial television networks can continue broadcasting even if main facilities are targeted in potential attacks, an unnamed source told IranWire.
According to the report, a special budget has been allocated for this contingency planning. The commissioned content includes a wide range of programs, such as entertainment, competitions and historical documentaries.
Satellite images show that US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has entered the Indian Ocean via the Malacca Strait, marking a step up in the US military's presence in the region amid tensions with Iran, Newsweek reported on Monday.
The report said that the move signals the potential for a more aggressive US stance in the coming days and weeks, amid rising tensions between Iran and Yemen's Houthis which continues to target US vessels amid its blockade of the Red Sea.
The imagery showed that the USS Carl Vinson, originally deployed in the western Pacific, has now moved into the Indian Ocean, on its way to join the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East, which has specifically come under fire from the Houthis.
The two aircraft carriers were deployed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Associated Press (AP) reported last month citing a US official.
AP's report said that Hegseth signed orders on March 20 to keep the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month and ordered the USS Carl Vinson, which had been operating in the Pacific, to make its way toward the Middle East, extending its scheduled deployment by three months.
The rare deployment intended to bolster US strikes against the Houthis, whose primary benefactor is Iran. This buildup follows persistent Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, which the group frames as a response to the Israeli war in Gaza.
Last month, the US military deployed long range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase, a spokesperson told Iran International, as Washington ramped up rhetoric against Iran and continued strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen.
"B-2 Spirit bombers have arrived at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia," a US Strategic Command spokesperson said, referring to the strategic British territory.
Trump recently said that all military actions carried out by the Houthis will be attributed to Iran, though Tehran denies it controls the group.
The US has launched multiple strikes on Houthi infrastructure, which has stepped up in recent weeks as Trump vows to end the blockade which, while intended to target Israeli-linked ships, has disrupted global shipping on the key maritime route.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia is ready to do everything possible to resolve the issues surrounding the Iranian nuclear program through political and diplomatic means.
"This process will continue, including in the near future. And, of course, 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 told reporters.
Moscow also said it is in constant consultation with its Iranian partners, including discussions regarding the nuclear deal.
"We are in constant consultations with our Iranian partners, including on the topic of the nuclear deal."
The Kremlin added that these consultations will continue, including in the near future.
Mithal al-Alusi, a former Iraqi lawmaker and the founder of Iraqi Ummah Party, has disputed a Reuters report suggesting that several Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups are prepared to disarm.
In response to a question from Iran International, Alusi dismissed the Reuters report as incorrect,suggesting that the disarmament claims might be a nominal measure only “to acquit some political names involved with the militias.”
Mithal al-Alusi
He added that "in practice, the real militias have received advanced weapons, and their participation on the battlefield may be completely evident."
His comments contradict the Reuters account, which cited senior Iraqi commanders and officials saying the militias were prepared to disarm to avert conflict with the US.
