The US state department announced on Wednesday it would target more construction-related materials for sanctions, saying the sector was under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It said the materials, which include sodium perchlorate, magnesium ingots, austenitic nickel-chromium alloy, tungsten copper and various other metals could aid Iran's nuclear and missile programs.
"With these determinations, the United States has broader sanctions authorities to prevent Iran from acquiring strategic materials for its construction sector under IRGC control and its proliferation programs," the state department said in a statement.
An ad displayed in Tehran’s metro cars that many perceived as a bizarre attempt to criticize birth control has stirred controversy over Iran's official measures to combat shrinking population growth.
“The nurse who healed my mother’s wounds, you are a great lady,” read the caption over an image that many observers at first interpreted as a condom crinkled over a phallic shape.
Below was written: “The nurse who was never born” and “Giving an opportunity to future heroes to be born.”
Social media posts suggested the ad was understood as an anti-condom message promoted by the hardline-dominated municthey have
“Looks like they have seriously used an image of a broken condom in the metro to campaign for childbirth. Since when have they become so open-minded,” user @nah__r asked on X.
The controversial ad in Tehran metro cars
“This ad is dangerously misleading! Condom use is not just for preventing pregnancy, it plays a much more vital role in maintaining sexual health and preventing sexually transmitted diseases,” London-based Iranian hemato-oncologist Dr. Shahram Kordasti weighed in in a post on X.
“Incomplete information is harmful and a sign of the utter irresponsibility of its publishers.”
Design misfire
But the apparent message was due to a misfire in design. Some social media users later clarified that the graphic was intended to show a hospital bed with a bedsheet—not a condom.
The ad, other images bore out, was part of a broader campaign to warn about a future shortage of critical workforce—such as firefighters, emergency responders, and border guards—if Iran’s birth rate continues to fall.
Other versions showed the same shape variously pocked with bullet holes, burnt and frozen, praising the heroism of 'unborn' border patrols, firefighters and rescue workers.
“I realized that that (the opaque covering) was supposed to represent hospital sheets, not condoms after I investigated the ad,” @adameaval posted on X, blaming the campaign’s designers for the confusion.
Towards a pro-birth policy
Iran’s first condom factory was launched in 1987 by the Ministry of Health, part of a wider effort to curb explosive population growth that had exceeded five percent in the early 1980s.
In the 1990s, Iran’s family planning program was considered among the most effective globally, providing free contraceptives through public health services and promoting smaller families.
But over the past decade, authorities have reversed that approach in response to a steep drop in birth rates. According to the latest official statistics, the population growth rate is now just 0.7 percent.
In 2022, the Health Ministry banned free distribution of contraceptives and required a prescription for purchases. Yet demand continues, and illegally imported condoms and contraceptives are still available—sold discreetly through online shops and some pharmacies.
At the same time, abortion crackdowns have intensified. Abortions in Iran are only allowed during the first four months of pregnancy and only in cases of severe fetal abnormalities or when the mother’s life is at risk. Screening kits for congenital anomalies that may encourage abortions have also been banned.
Babies with benefits
The government is now offering financial and other incentives to encourage childbearing, including bonuses for childbirth, free land and extended maternity leave.
In a bid to support infertile couples, the government recently expanded insurance coverage. On April 27, Iran’s Health Insurance Organization announced it would cover 90% of costs for IVF and ICSI in public hospitals, and 70% in private ones.
Speaking at a National Population Day event on May 19, Mohammad-Jafar Ghaempanah, executive deputy to President Masoud Pezeshkian, warned that the recent 7.4 percent drop in births compared to the previous year is a “serious alarm.”
He added that reversing the trend would require “economic stability, improved livelihoods, and job security.”
However, Iran’s struggling economy complicates these ambitions. The Misery Index—defined as the combined rate of unemployment and inflation—has jumped from 19.3 percent in 2016 to 40.3 percent in 2024, with inflation hovering above 32.5 percent for years.
“A government that hasn’t been able to provide welfare or at least the minimum of it for its current population is not well-positioned ethically to tell its people to have more children,” sociologist Saeed Payvandi told Iran International TV from Paris.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country would welcome any Iran-US deal that prevents Tehran from enriching uranium and acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"We are, of course, in full coordination with the United States, constantly in dialogue, and we hope an agreement is achieved that will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
"That means preventing Iran from enriching uranium. If that can be achieved—certainly—we will welcome it," he added.
But in any case, Netanyahu added, the Jewish state "reserves the right to defend itself against a regime that threatens to annihilate us."
The Israeli prime minister said his country "struck Iran’s air defense capabilities and other vital infrastructure. But I want to say clearly: Iran remains a very serious threat to Israel."
"The E3, the European three, are on the verge of instituting snapback sanction provisions against (Iran) by October of this year," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Senate committee on Wednesday.
Britain, France and Germany - as signatories to a mostly lapsed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran - have until October to trigger United Nations sanctions on Tehran if they deem it non-compliant.
"If you asked Iran, they say, we're not interested in a nuclear weapon. We're just interested in enrichment," Rubio continued, justifying the US stance in ongoing talks against any Iranian uranium enrichment.
"The problem is that if you can enrich at any level, 3.67 or whatever, you're 80% of the way there. All that's required now is a few months or weeks of time to get to the weapons grade. It makes them a threshold of nuclear power."
Iran has asked Oman to intervene and help persuade the United States to ease its hardline position in the ongoing nuclear negotiations, two diplomatic sources in Tehran told Iran International.
Iran’s foreign ministry recently sent a message to Omani officials, urging them to implore Washington to soften its demands, the sources told Iran International on condition of anonymity.
“Given the dependency of Iran’s financial markets—currency, gold, and stocks—on the outcome of the negotiations, the message emphasized that a diplomatic compromise is possible if the United States moderates its position,” one source said.
Iran has asked Oman to intervene and help persuade the United States to ease its hardline position in the ongoing nuclear negotiations, two diplomatic sources in Tehran told Iran International.
The Trump administration has ruled out any Iranian uranium enrichment, calling it a red line in negotiations with the Islamic Republic — a condition Iran considers unacceptable.
Iran’s foreign ministry recently sent a message to Omani officials, urging them to implore Washington to soften its demands, the sources told Iran International on condition of anonymity.
“Given the dependency of Iran’s financial markets—currency, gold, and stocks—on the outcome of the negotiations, the message emphasized that a diplomatic compromise is possible if the United States moderates its position,” one source said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Tehran was reviewing the possibility of holding a new round of negotiations with Washington—an indication that Iran was awaiting a response from the US via Oman, the sources told Iran International.
Oman's foreign minister announced on Wednesday that Iran and the United States will hold the fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome on Friday, May 23.
No clear alternative
Iranian officials, the sources added, are concerned about the absence of a clear diplomatic alternative if talks collapse.
There is currently no alternative strategy to manage the crisis and govern the country in the event of the negotiations’ failure, they said, stressing that maintaining the diplomatic track remains a priority for Tehran.
Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing three unnamed Iranian sources, that the Iranian leadership has no clear contingency plan should the nuclear talks fail.
The sources suggested that while Iran might pivot toward China and Russia as an alternative strategy, such a path would be fraught with challenges. China is entangled in a trade war with the US, and Russia remains mired in its military conflict in Ukraine.
The alternative plan is simply to continue the pre-negotiation strategy, Reuters reported citing a senior Iranian official, suggesting that Iran would avoid escalating tensions while reinforcing ties with allies such as Russia and China
The UAE's state-owned The National reported on Monday citing two Iranian officials, that the negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled due to disagreements over uranium enrichment levels, and Tehran has not yet accepted Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US.
On Tuesday Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed US demands to halt uranium enrichment as “nonsense and excessive.” He also warned that the likelihood of successful negotiations remains low, signaling a toughening stance at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Oman on May 27–28 at the invitation of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the president's office announced on Wednesday.
While Oman is mediating nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, the nuclear issue is not currently on the official agenda for Pezeshkian's visit.
