Mohsen Rezaei on Friday set out four Iranian conditions for an agreement with the United States, another sign that the former IRGC commander who once championed an “offensive doctrine” may be moving from advocating war to contemplating a deal at the right price.
Three regional mediators have visited Tehran in three days in an intensifying diplomatic push to revive Iran-US talks, even as the two sides remain deeply divided over the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s economic pressure campaign.
Regional diplomacy around Iran appears to be gathering pace, with Pakistan, Oman and potentially Qatar seeking to turn an emerging agreement over the Strait of Hormuz into a path back to negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
As Washington intensifies its economic campaign, Iranian politicians and analysts are offering sharply different prescriptions for dealing with the United States: from resistance and phased negotiations to new trade routes or waiting Donald Trump out.
For years, diplomacy between Iran and the United States has largely been conducted through a familiar group of intermediaries.
President Donald Trump has halted diplomatic engagement with Iran until further notice, the White House said on Tuesday, as Tehran hardens its position over the Strait of Hormuz and presses Washington to meet its demands.
Allegations by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry that two French diplomats briefly detained in Tehran last month were involved in espionage are “completely false,” a French diplomatic source told Iran International.
Canada has deported a former Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman who served during the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests in November 2019, Global News reported.
The 60-day period associated with the Iran-US interim peace deal ended Monday without a breakthrough, with Washington rejecting an extension and a senior Iranian official saying the US had a few weeks to meet the agreement’s terms before further talks.
Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani played a role in relaying messages between the United States and Iran and in efforts to ease tensions, a spokesperson confirmed to Iran International on Sunday.
Iran is doubling down on control of the Strait of Hormuz, with some in Tehran now arguing the strategic leverage it provides is more valuable than a nuclear weapon.
Germany's embassy in Tehran remains on emergency operations because of the security situation in Iran, with its visa section closed to regular visitors and no regular visa appointments being issued, the German Foreign Office told Iran International on Tuesday.
Washington likely underestimated Iran’s ability to withstand the initial US-Israeli strikes, making a negotiated settlement harder to achieve and deepening mistrust, foreign-policy expert Paul Saunders told Iran International.
The public execution of two protesters in Isfahan has renewed calls for the German city of Freiburg to end its 25-year twinning with the Iranian city, with activists arguing the partnership lends legitimacy to a state punishing dissent with death penalty.
A return to the pre-war status quo between Iran and the United States now appears out of reach for both sides, despite their competing claims of victory.
Iran is exploring using two of Pakistan’s ports to keep trade moving amid the US blockade of its own ports, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
Donald Trump's decision to abandon a planned large-scale military strike against Iran has accelerated regional diplomatic efforts to revive US-Iran negotiations, while deepening political divisions inside Tehran over engagement with Washington.
Formal backchannel negotiations between Iranian and Western envoys resumed in Muscat on Monday after President Donald Trump suspended strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure over the weekend, even as Tehran publicly denied direct contacts with Washington.
Diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz accelerated on Sunday after US President Donald Trump called off a planned attack on Iran, with Tehran saying negotiations with Oman were nearing completion and mediators outlining a proposal to revive US-Iran talks.
Amid threats of war and mounting fears of economic collapse, Iran's government is seeking to reinforce its case for moderation in a fractured and deeply polarized political landscape.
Venezuela summoned Iran’s ambassador to deliver a formal note of protest over comments that authorities deemed "contemptuous and inappropriate," the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ukraine's attack on an Iranian merchant ship has sparked a debate in Tehran over whether retaliation would restore deterrence or draw Iran into a broader confrontation involving Europe and NATO.