Putin promised Russia-Iran ties won't be influenced by US, Araghchi says

Iran's exiled prince on Friday urged the United States not to clinch an Iran nuclear deal which he said would rescue the Islamic Republic.

“These nuclear talks will not bring peace to the Middle East," Prince Reza Pahlavi said in a statement published by his X account. "This regime does not negotiate in good faith. It uses diplomacy as a tactic—to buy time, ease pressure, and tighten its grip on power."

Nuclear talks with Tehran "will throw a lifeline to a crumbling dictatorship and prolong its export of terror and chaos," the US-based prince said.

"The Islamic Republic is at its weakest point in 46 years. Its leadership is fractured. Its economy is in free fall. Its people are rising. In just the past few weeks, protests have erupted again across the country. Change is already happening. This is not the time to rescue a dying regime."

A US air strike targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement killed at least 74 people and injured 171 according to the health ministry controlled by the group, in what would be the deadliest American strike yet in an ongoing military campaign.

The attack targeted Yemen's Ras Isa fuel port on Yemen's Western Red Sea coast, US Central Command said in a statement on X.

"The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen," CENTCOM said.

"The Houthis, their Iranian masters, and those who knowingly aid and abet their terrorist actions should be put on notice that the world will not accept illicit smuggling of fuel and war material to a terrorist organization."

A Democratic senator has called on the Trump administration not to negotiate with Tehran and to provide Israel with whatever it needs to destroy the Islamic Republic's nuclear capabilities.

"The only purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to create weapons," said Senator John Fetterman in a post on X on Friday. "We can't allow that or negotiate with this regime."

The United States should "provide our comprehensive military support and whatever else Israel requires to destroy Iran's capabilities," the outspoken pro-Israel lawmaker added.

Fetterman made the remarks in reaction to an Axios report about a meeting between Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli officials in Paris about nuclear talks with Iran, a second round of which is slated for Saturday in Rome.

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Iran will never agree to stop its enrichment, destroy its centrifuges or cap enrichment below levels agreed in a previous 2015 nuclear deal, Reuters reported on Friday citing a senior Iranian official

Tehran would not discuss its missile program with Washington either and all those points were considered unacceptable red lines mandated by Iran's Supreme Leader, Reuters cited the official as saying.

"Iran understood in indirect talks in Oman that Washington doesn’t want Iran to stop all nuclear activities, and this can be a common ground for Iran and the U.S. to start a fair negotiation," Reuters quoted the source as saying.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, according to the source cited by Reuters, told the US delegation in talks in Oman on Saturday that the UN nuclear watchdog was the only body that should verify the peaceful aims of Iran's nuclear program.

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman’s visit to Iran reflects the strength of the Islamic Republic, a senior Iranian cleric said on Friday.

“The visit of the Saudi crown prince’s minister to Iran is a sign of the power of this sacred system,” said Saeed Hosseini, the Friday prayer Imam in the central city of Kashan, according to Iranian media.

Hosseini said the visit showed that regional actors were reassessing their attitude toward Iran. He suggested it also signaled that Saudi Arabia does not intend to serve as a channel for future aggression against Tehran, adding that some Persian Gulf states are wary of being caught in the crossfire if tensions escalate.

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