Russian corvette Stoikiy docks in Iran ahead of joint naval drill

Iran’s nuclear negotiations are being conducted at the “peak of coordination” between the government and the armed forces, Elias Hazrati, head of the government’s information council, said.

“In all periods, there has been good coordination between the field, the armed forces and our diplomatic sector,” he said. “Now we are at the height of this coordination and unity prevails.”

Hazrati added that “everyone speaks with one voice and has one plan” managed and directed by the Supreme National Security Council, chaired by the president, and that all are moving “under the flag of the Supreme Leader.”

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said a military confrontation between the United States and Iran could begin in the coming days, even as diplomatic efforts continue.

“We are much closer than we were before,” Yadlin told Israel’s Channel 12, adding that a superpower does not go to war in a matter of days and that a diplomatic path must first be exhausted.

Yadlin, who now heads a national security consultancy, said the statement that “all options are on the table” was backed by a credible military threat, pointing to US preparations off Iran’s coast and in the skies.

Students at Iran University of Science and Technology have received a new wave of disciplinary summonses over the January protests in dormitories, the Amirkabir Newsletter student platform reported.

According to the text message cited in the report, students who failed to appear at an earlier summons were told the notice was being treated as a second summons and that they had until the end of office hours on Sunday to submit a written defense.

“In the first step, your meal card will be deactivated for one week, and in later stages appropriate decisions will be taken in your absence,” the message said.

Student sources said the messages were sent widely to a large number of students and warned that failure to comply could lead to disciplinary rulings issued without their presence.

Iran and Russia will conduct joint naval drills on Thursday in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

The exercise comes days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards held military drills in the Strait of Hormuz.

The main goals of the drill include boosting coordination to counter threats to maritime security and combat maritime terrorism, Iranian navy commander Hassan Maghsoodloo said, according to Fars.

Ambassador Michael Waltz, the US representative to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Washington made clear to Tehran the conditions for easing tensions over its nuclear program.

“Well, I’m not going to get ahead of the President or advertise his decision space, but the US has the greatest military in the world. We can project around the world, anytime, anywhere. Obviously, there has been a convergence of forces. But if the president decides to keep that posture for the foreseeable future, we have the capability,” Waltz said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt show.

“Step forward and step up to finally walk away from enrichment, walk away from long-range ballistic missiles, walk away from its terrorist proxies, and don’t slaughter your own people. These shouldn’t be anything near controversial for any reasonable government that seeks to get along with its neighbors and the international community," he added.