Kremlin says offer to accept Iran’s enriched uranium still on table

A court in Iran has sentenced four people to death on charges of cooperating with the United States and “hostile groups," according to the human rights monitor HRANA.

The defendants—Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad and Kourosh Zamaninejad—were arrested during the widespread protests in early January and have been convicted of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups.”

The court also sentenced each of them to five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security” as well as confiscation of all their assets as a supplementary punishment, according to the report.

Iran has proposed suspending uranium enrichment for five years as part of negotiations with the United States, according to a report by The New York Times.

The report suggests that Washington had pushed for a suspension of up to 20 years.

The proposal was presented during recent talks between Iranian and American officials aimed at easing tensions following the recent conflict, the newspaper reported, citing officials familiar with the discussions.

Iran also suggested significantly diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium rather than transferring it abroad, the report said.

Neither Washington nor Tehran has publicly confirmed the details of the proposal reported by the newspaper.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday called on Lebanon’s government to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington, reiterating the group’s rejection of direct negotiations with the country.

“We call for a historic and heroic stance by canceling this negotiating meeting,” Qassem said in a televised address.

The remarks came ahead of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that has been engaged in fighting with Israel since March 2, has repeatedly opposed any form of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Iran is demanding compensation from five countries in the region over damages caused during the recent war, according to comments by its ambassador to the United Nations reported by the state news agency IRNA.

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan had breached their international obligations toward Iran and should compensate the country for losses caused during the conflict.

Iravani said the governments had “breached their international obligations toward the Islamic Republic of Iran under international law,” according to IRNA.

In a stark assessment delivered to the president in recent days, senior economic officials said the damage inflicted during the 40-day war with the United States and Israel—combined with Iran’s already fragile economic situation—could take up to 12 years to repair.

Several major airports were damaged during the conflict, while strikes also targeted oil facilities, refineries and petrochemical installations that are central to Iran’s export revenues and industrial supply chains.

Officials involved in the discussions warned that the destruction of production capacity could trigger a sharp surge in inflation in the coming months. According to the assessment presented to the president, inflation could reach as high as 180% if shortages of industrial inputs persist.

The same projections estimate that unemployment could rise by around two million people as factories, service providers and small businesses struggle to resume operations.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati has been urging Pezeshkian to take urgent steps to stabilize the economy, including restoring full internet access and pursuing an agreement with the United States.

Tehran and Washington appear to be exploring the possibility of further talks following the one in Pakistan last weekend. Iranian economists have long argued that a diplomatic thaw and easing of sanctions could be the best path toward economic stabilization.

Iran has maintained a nationwide internet shutdown for weeks during the conflict, a move officials say was intended to counter cyber threats but which has also severely disrupted businesses that rely on global connectivity.

Iran’s digital economy accounts for roughly 5–6% of the country’s GDP, and the shutdown has cut off millions of entrepreneurs from customers, payment systems and online platforms.

Small businesses, freelancers and startup founders have been among the hardest hit. Many rely on services such as Instagram, messaging apps and foreign-hosted websites to reach clients.

Economists inside the government warn that prolonged restrictions could deepen the downturn and slow recovery even further.

The bleak economic projections have heightened concerns among members of Pezeshkian’s team, according to the sources.

Some officials fear that if the economic crisis worsens or the state faces financial collapse, powerful figures within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could seek to shift blame onto the president, they said.

Iran entered the war already under heavy economic strain from years of sanctions, high inflation and currency instability.