Iran-US talks await Khamenei approval after gaps resolved - Axios

The Trump administration plans to deport a number of Iranians and other migrants to the Central African Republic under a third-country deportation deal, Reuters reported, citing two lawyers and an official briefed on the matter.

The Iranians include two women who could face torture and persecution if returned to Iran, their lawyer told Reuters, saying one was a Christian convert and the other a pro-democracy activist.

The first flight under the deal was expected to carry about 20 people, including Iranians, Syrians and Afghans, and could leave as early as Thursday, the lawyers said.

The report said hundreds of migrants could ultimately be deported to the Central African Republic under the deal.

President Donald Trump said he canceled scheduled US strikes against Iran planned for Thursday evening.

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others,” he added.

“The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” Trump said.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected a joint statement by the US and 22 other nations accusing Iranian security services of lethal plotting and other actions abroad, calling the allegations political and unsubstantiated.

“The recent joint statement on so-called ‘Iranian state threat activity’ is a collection of political, unsubstantiated and categorically rejected allegations,” Gharibabadi said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any attempt to assassinate, kidnap, intimidate or attack individuals outside the framework of international law,” he added.

The statement, released on Wednesday, condemned what it called actions in Europe, North America and Australia by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards intelligence organization, the Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Gharibabadi said any hostile act or evidence-free accusation against Iran would be met with a firm legal, political and sovereign response.

The commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned that any any further US attacks on Iran would draw a harsher response and risk widening the war.

“We warn that if the United States once again seeks to carry out attacks against heroic Iran, it will receive a harsher response than before, and the fire of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and extensive,” Major General Ali Abdollahi said in a statement, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim.

He said recent US threats against Iran’s oil infrastructure meant oil and gas exports would either be possible for everyone or for no one.

“Either oil and gas exports will be possible for everyone, or they will not be possible for anyone,” Abdollahi said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned by the continued escalation in the Middle East, including US strikes on Iran and Iranian strikes on its neighbors, a UN spokesperson said.

"He ⁠urges the parties to return ‌to ​the full implementation of the ​ceasefire and avoid ⁠any further deterioration, ‌which, as he ​told the Security Council yesterday, could ‌trigger a full resumption ​of the conflict, with unpredictable consequences for the ​region and the world, especially the most vulnerable countries," the spokesperson said.