Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday briefed the Assembly of Experts for Leadership in the holy city of Qom on the latest developments in the country's foreign policy, including ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States.
Speaking to the Tasnim news agency on the sidelines of the Assembly's meeting, Araghchi said that members of the influential clerical body expressed their appreciation for the Foreign Ministry's effort.
He added that the ministry's approach continues "with dignity within the framework of national consensus."
Araghchi detailed the topics covered in his briefing, which included responses to questions and concerns from Assembly members regarding various foreign policy areas.
These included indirect talks with the US, the rationale behind the foreign ministry's approach, relations with regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, US policies of pressure and threats, and future prospects, according to Tasnim.
Iran’s state-run television is facing sharp criticism from senior clerics and political figures over inflammatory religious commentary and what they call biased coverage of negotiations with the United States.
“A fundamentalist group runs state TV behind the scenes,” moderate cleric and former MP Rasoul Montajabnia asserted last week, pointing to a recent broadcast that insulted Sunni Muslims. “(They) deliberately seek to sow discord among Muslims.”
On a daytime live show last week, a guest recited a derogatory poem about Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam. The network later issued an apology, removed the episode from all its platforms and opened an investigation.
The measures were deemed too little too late by several prominent clerics who accused the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) of insulting religious sanctities.
Leading theologian Hossein Nouri Hamadani questioned the decisions made at IRIB. “There are many learned clerics at the seminary … It is unclear why the network invites those who make unfounded statements about Islam,” he said late last week.
At least two more prominent clerics, Hossein Ansarian and Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, weighed in on the subject, urging the broadcaster to change course.
This level of public criticism from within is rare—and significant—because the head of Iran’s state television is directly appointed by the Supreme Leader, and its political output is closely monitored by his office.
Even the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News denounced certain broadcasts as “examples of bad taste,” leaving little choice for IRIB officials to issue rare public apologies—to viewers, authorities, and even neighboring countries.
“I do not deny there are oversights and mistakes,” IRIB chief Payman Jebelli told moderate conservative outlet Khabar Online, affirming his reverence for the clergy and their concerns.
Curiously, Khabar Online had carried an editorial alleging that “radical groups have infiltrated the national network,” and are driving the public away with their biased coverage of politics, especially the nuclear talks with the administration of US president Donald Trump.
Shortly after the second round of talks last month, state TV aired a live show in which an ultraconservative commentator warned of dire consequences including civil war if Tehran's engagement with the Trump administration continued.
“We have tried to deliver accurate news and stay aligned with the negotiators,” Jebelli told Khabar Online when asked about the show, adding IRIB backed the government in general even though some programs may contradict official policy.
Much of the criticism against the broadcaster has centered on Vahid Jalili—a senior IRIB official whose brother Saeed Jalili is the face and voice of Iran’s ultraconservatism and once led Tehran’s nuclear negotiations.
The brothers are seen by moderates as key to IRIB’s vision and direction.
The backlash against the state broadcaster, amplified by religious authorities and hardline outlets, suggests a growing divide not just between factions within the political elite, but potentially within the very institutions that project and preserve the state’s ideological authority.
“This should never have happened on a platform that’s under the leader’s supervision,” Montajabnia told Khabar Online, accusing the hardline faction of defying Ali Khamenei.
Asked if IRIB chief Jebelli could intervene to stop the broadcaster’s drive against the administration of president Masoud Pezeshkian, he said: “Only the supreme leader can resolve this.”
As Tehran and Washington cautiously inch forward their nuclear negotiations, the United Kingdom is positioning for a stronger hand in shaping any potential agreement amid Iranian-linked security threats and a standoff over detained Britons.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s high-level meetings with Omani officials on April 27—just one day after Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Rome under Omani mediation—underscored the United Kingdom's efforts not to remain a bystander in one of the region’s most consequential diplomatic processes.
The UK was also set to meet Iranian officials along with France and Germany on May 2 just before the planned fourth round of US-Iran talks in Rome. However, that meeting was canceled following the postponement of the latest round of Tehran-Washington negotiations. No further plans have been announced yet.
The UK or any of the other signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) has until October to activate the JCPOA’s so-called snapback mechanism which would reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran.
Lammy had already signaled alignment with Washington in late March, expressing a shared commitment to ensuring Iran "never develops or acquires a nuclear weapon." On April 15, he also discussed Iran’s nuclear program with Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Saar during a meeting in London.
Iranian nationals, terror charges
Meanwhile, the diplomatic backdrop was further complicated by a counter-terrorism operation in the UK. On May 4, British police arrested seven Iranian nationals on terrorism-related charges in two separate operations.
Iran’s foreign ministry and state television have remained silent on the arrests. While some domestic outlets cautiously reported the news by citing international coverage, they refrained from offering analysis or commentary. In contrast, the hardline Quds daily responded swiftly and critically on Monday.
In a commentary titled “Security Dossier to Disguise Diplomatic Blackmail,” Quds accused the UK of exploiting the arrests for political leverage in the nuclear talks. “The latest move comes at a time when indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington are taking place, and in this context, London's decision seems meaningful.”
Tehran-based analyst Sohrab Sadreddin quoted in the piece suggested that the arrests were intended as a signal to the US—especially Trump-aligned factions—that Iran remains a strategic threat to the West.
Sadreddin added that Britain, France and Germany are keen to be included in any future agreement between Washington and Tehran: "If an agreement is to be reached, Europe must also be included in it.”
Adding another layer of complexity and pointing to the recent arrest of two British nationals in Iran, the commentary also raised suspicions about a possible prisoner swap strategy.
In January, Iran detained a British couple in Kerman in southern Iran. The couple in their early 50s, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, were on an around the world motorbike tour through Iran. Iran's judiciary in February accused the Foremans of espionage.
The Foremans are not the only UK-linked detainees in Iran. Mehran Raouf, a 68-year-old British-Iranian labor activist, has been imprisoned since October 2020. He is currently serving a 10-year sentence on charges related to national security offenses.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality, has a long history of detaining dual citizens and foreigners on security-related charges, often using them as bargaining chips in its dealings with Western powers, including Britain.
In April 2022, British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri -- both accused of espionage -- were released following Omani mediation, after Britain settled a long-standing £400 million debt owed to Iran.
Iran remains committed to pursuing diplomatic engagement with the United States amid delays to talks, but expanding negotiations beyond the nuclear issue is unacceptable, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
“We have announced our commitment to continuing the path of dialogue and diplomacy. We have shown our full readiness by participating in several rounds of negotiations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.
“The decision regarding the timing of the negotiations was made based on the proposal of the Omani side and with the coordination of both parties," he said, Oman a key mediator.
"The decision to postpone was logistical,” Baghaei said.
Talks between Iran and the US remain focused on nuclear-related issues and sanctions relief, the spokesman emphasized, pushing back against French calls to expand the negotiations to include non-nuclear matters.
“Such statements are not new, and they are not acceptable to us,” he said. “The scope of the talks is limited and confined to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s recent comments that Iran does not need nuclear energy given its fossil fuel reserves, Baghaei said, “Our peaceful nuclear program is based on rights enshrined in international law and dates back to the 1970s, when Iran’s energy needs were even less than today.”
Addressing recent Israeli military threats, Baghaei warned that Iran would respond decisively to any aggression. “The Iranian armed forces will respond to any act of hostility or adventurism in the strongest possible manner. There should be no doubt about that,” he said.
Baghaei criticized what he called Washington’s mixed signals that include both sanctions and calls for dialogue but reaffirmed Tehran’s willingness to continue diplomacy.
“If the US is sincere in its claim that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, many issues can be resolved,” he said. “We have already declared clearly, and shown in practice, that we are not seeking to weaponize our nuclear program.”
Baghaei maintained that Iran is not orchestrating military actions through proxies, particularly in Yemen. “Iran needs no proxies in the region,” he said. “Yemen’s decisions are sovereign and independent, and the accusations are baseless.”
The US, which has designated the group a terrorist organization, has repeated warnings to Tehran that a failure to curb the Houthis' military attacks on the US and Israel, in addition to the militant group's blockade on global shipping, will result in military consequences for Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader has said the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj is a fundamentally political act and urged Muslim nations to unite against the United States and Israel, in remarks likely to revive tensions with Saudi Arabia ahead of the annual pilgrimage season.
“Hajj is a duty whose very structure is political,” Ali Khamenei said during a meeting with Hajj officials in Tehran. “It brings people together at a specific time and place, and this gathering has an inherently political nature.”
He added that the pilgrimage should serve the interests of Muslims, with the greatest benefit being unity among Islamic nations. “If Muslims were united, Gaza and Palestine would not suffer like this.”
While calling for Muslim solidarity, Khamenei implicitly warned Riyadh against rapprochement with Israel, saying that cooperation with Washington and Tel Aviv amounted to “oppression.”
His remarks follow reports of renewed Saudi-Israeli contacts brokered by US officials following the Gaza war.
The speech comes just weeks after Khamenei told visiting Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman that closer ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be mutually beneficial and should overcome hostile interference.
However, the tone of his latest address contrasts with that message, returning to the combative rhetoric that has historically strained Iran-Saudi ties—especially over the politicization of Hajj.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly warned against using the pilgrimage for sectarian or political activity, implementing strict rules to prevent disruptions.
Since the Gaza war, multiple pilgrims wearing the Palestinian flag have been removed from the holy site.
According to regulations released by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in August, pilgrims are forbidden from bringing any prohibited items, such as pictures, books, flags, slogans, political publications, or other banned materials, into Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi Gazette.
The kingdom’s 1987 clash with Iranian demonstrators during Hajj led to hundreds of deaths and a long diplomatic rift, which only began to heal with a China-brokered rapprochement in 2023.
A series of incidents unfolded in Alborz Province, west of Tehran, on Saturday evening, including two fires, reports of an explosion, and a magnitude 4.0 earthquake, according to official statements and eyewitness accounts.
One major blaze broke out at a cardboard manufacturing factory in the city of Nazarabad.
Stormy weather in the area caused the fire to spread to 12 nearby units, a local governor said, adding that efforts are underway to bring the blaze under control.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, and there have been no reports of casualties.
Around the same time, another fire was reported near the Montazer Ghaem power plant in the city of Fardis.
The state-run YJC news agency initially released a video that purportedly showed no fire at the facility.
However, Iranian officials later confirmed the report. Hossein Ashouri, head of the Fardis fire department, said the fire began around 8:41 p.m. in a portable cabin next to a waste platform near the power station.
Strong winds caused the flames to spread over approximately 2,000 square meters. Nine additional fire trucks were deployed, and the blaze was brought under control.
Preliminary findings suggest the fire was caused by negligence on the part of the person stationed in the cabin.
Reports of explosion
Iranian officials have denied any link between the fire and the power plant's operation. However, widespread power outages were reported in several areas of the province.
Residents across Alborz Province told Iran International they heard an explosion shortly before 9 p.m., moments before experiencing an earthquake.
Iran’s Seismological Center confirmed that the 4.0-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 8 kilometers near Mahdasht, on the border of Alborz and Tehran provinces.