Politics
Iran says ‘No talks with US’, and wants end to war on its terms
“We do not intend to negotiate,” Araghchi told state TV. “We seek an end to the war on our own terms.”
US President Donald Trump is ready to “unleash hell” if Iran does not accept a deal to end the nearly four-week Middle East war, the White House warned Wednesday, but a defiant Tehran said it did not intend to negotiate.
The ramped-up rhetoric dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation as violence on the ground showed no sign of abating, with Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire.
Trump insisted later Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, but Tehran is denying it because their negotiators fear being killed by their own side.
“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.
“But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” he said. “They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that Iran was negotiating with the United States, saying an exchange of messages through “friendly countries” did not equate to talks with Washington. “We do not intend to negotiate,” Araghchi told state TV. “We seek an end to the war on our own terms.”
In Pakistan, officials said Islamabad had conveyed to Tehran a 15-point American plan to stop the fighting that began on February 28.
Iran’ state-controlled Press TV cited an unidentified official as saying Tehran had “responded negatively” to the plan and the war would end only on Tehran’s terms, which include guarantees against future attacks.
– ‘Unleash hell’ –
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said talks had been “productive” but declined to say whom the United States was dealing with in Tehran following the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
His son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.
“If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment… Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” Leavitt said. “President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell.”
With thousands more US troops reportedly headed to the Middle East, Iran also threatened to open a new front by targeting Red Sea shipping should the United States launch a ground invasion.
Iran’s military said cruise missiles fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group had “forced it to change its position” and warned of “powerful strikes” when the fleet comes into range.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said the United States had hit two-thirds of Iran’s production facilities for missiles and drones, and drone and missile launch rates were down by 90 percent.
In a video on X, Cooper also estimated that 92 percent of the Iranian navy’s largest vessels had been damaged or destroyed.
“They’ve now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world,” he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war was “out of control” and had “gone too far.”
– Iranian conditions –
According to The New York Times, the 15-point US plan touches on Iran’s contested nuclear and missile programmes as well as “maritime routes.”
Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices.
The Iranian official quoted by Press TV said Tehran had put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end.
They include a robust mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the United States will resume the war, and compensation for war damages.
Iran’s conditions also include a cessation of hostilities on all regional fronts and against all “resistance groups,” a reference to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah that has been under attack from Israel.
Tehran also wants international recognition and guarantees of Iran’s rights to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
In the event of a US ground invasion, Iran would also block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, an unidentified military official told local media.
Iran supports and arms the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, which greatly reduced Red Sea traffic in October 2023 when it began attacking vessels in retaliation for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
– “Closed only to enemies’ –
While striking targets in Iran on Wednesday, Israel also kept up its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, with planes pounding the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces were “expanding” a “buffer zone” in Lebanon, while Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiating with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” for Lebanon.
Lebanon was pulled into the war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,000 people have been killed and upwards of one million people displaced in over three weeks of Israeli strikes.
With the war sending energy prices soaring, fuelling fears of higher inflation and weaker global growth, markets remained focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.
Araghchi said the strait was “closed only to enemies,” adding that “There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass.”
Stock markets rallied and oil prices had tumbled on initial reports of potential negotiations, but on Wednesday the Brent crude benchmark crept back above $100 a barrel.
– US targets missile capacities –
The United States has hit two-thirds of Iran’s production facilities for missiles and drones, and a similar proportion of its naval production, a top officer said.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, also estimated that Iran’s drone and missile launch rates were down by 90 percent, and “we’ve also removed the regime’s ability to rebuild them.”
– Kuwait arrests six over Hezbollah ‘assassinations’ –
Kuwait arrested six people allegedly linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon who were planning “assassinations” in the Gulf state, the interior ministry said.
– ‘Enemies preparing to occupy’ Iran island –
Iran’s powerful parliament speaker warned of the possible invasion of an Iranian island with the support of an unnamed regional country.
“Based on some intelligence reports, Iran’s enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional states,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X.
– Gulf issues Iraq demand –
Several Gulf countries, as well as Jordan, demanded in a joint statement that Iraq act immediately to stop attacks from its territory by armed pro-Iran groups.
The statement was signed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
– US rejects Iran talks rejection –
The United States and Iran are still engaged in peace talks, the White House said, despite Iranian state media saying Tehran had rejected Washington’s plan to end the war.
“Talks continue. They are productive,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about the Iranian report, adding that there were “elements of truth” to media reports on the details of a 15-point US plan setting out demands on Tehran.
– Hormuz ‘toll booth’ legally risky –
Maritime trackers reported that a handful of vessels are still crossing daily through the Strait of Hormuz, which is guarded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with most of them leaving the Gulf.
Shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported that the handful of vessels crossing daily through the strait were taking a new Iranian-approved route dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth”.
At least one vetted vessel paid $2 million to use the corridor around Larak Island just off Iran’s coast, Lloyd’s reported.
MINNEAPOLIS: Massive nationwide protests against US President Donald Trump are expected Saturday as millions of people vent fury over what they see as his authoritarian bent and other forms of cruel, law-trampling governance.
It is the third time in less than a year that Americans will take to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called “No Kings,” the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.
And now they have something new to fume over — the war in Iran that Trump launched alongside Israel, with ever-shifting goals and timelines for completion.
The first such nationwide protest day came in June on Trump’s 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade in Washington that he insisted on holding.
Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco and many places in between.
The second “No Kings” day in October drew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organisers.
The goal now is to bring out even more people on Saturday, as Trump’s approval rating is low at around 40% and midterm elections loom in November, when Trump’s Republicans could lose control of both chambers.
Just as Trump is worshipped by many in his “Make America Great Again” movement, on the other side of America’s wide political chasm, he is disliked or even loathed with equal passion.
Trump foes bemoan his penchant for ruling by executive decree, his use of the Justice Department to prosecute opponents, his embrace of fossil fuels and climate change denial even as the planet warms, his fight against racial and gender diversity programs, and his newfound taste for flexing US military power after campaigning as a man of peace.
“Since the last time we marched, this administration has dragged us deeper into war,” said Naveed Shah of Common Defence, a veterans association that belongs to the “No Kings” movement.
“At home, we’ve watched citizens killed in the streets by militarised forces. We’ve seen families torn apart and immigrant communities targeted. All of it done in the name of one man trying to rule like a king,” Shah said.
Springsteen in Minneapolis
Organisers say more than 3,000 rallies are planned, an increase from the last protest day, in major cities coast to coast and in suburbs and rural areas — even in the Alaskan town of Kotzebue, above the Arctic circle.
Minnesota will be a key focal point, returning to the limelight months after becoming ground zero for the national debate over Trump’s violent immigration crackdown.
Legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen, a fierce critic of the president, is scheduled to perform in St Paul, the capital of the northern state, his song “Streets of Minneapolis.”
It is a ballad he wrote and recorded in the space of 24 hours in memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Americans shot and killed by federal agents during protests in frigid January weather against Trump´s immigration offensive.
“Masked secret police terrorising our communities. An illegal, catastrophic war putting us in danger and driving up our costs. Attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote. Costs pushing families to the brink. Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant,” the “No Kings” movement said.
It said what began in 2025 as a simple day of defiance has mushroomed into a powerful movement of national resistance to the Trump administration.
Organisers say two-thirds of those who plan to rally Saturday do not live in big cities, which in America are often Democratic strongholds — a data point that is up sharply since the last protest.
“America is at an inflection point,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“People are afraid, and they can’t afford basic necessities. It’s time the administration listened and helped them build a better life rather than stoking hate and fear.”
US-Israeli strikes on Iran have martyred several senior political and military figures, hitting the Islamic Republic’s core leadership as the regional war disrupts energy markets and global shipping.
Below are some of the most prominent figures killed:
Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who as Supreme Leader since 1989 built an iron grip over Iran while entrenching hostility towards the US and Israel, was martyred aged 86 in a US-Israeli air strike on his compound on February 28.
His more than three-decade rule was marked by consolidation of power through the security apparatus, and expansion of Iran’s regional influence, even as tensions over its nuclear programme repeatedly brought it into confrontation with the West.
Senior officials
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a veteran powerbroker, was assassinated at 67 in a US-Israeli air strike in the Pardis area on March 17, along with his son and one of his deputies, Iranian media reported.
A former Revolutionary Guards commander and nuclear negotiator, he was a close adviser to the slain Supreme Leader and played an important role in shaping Iran’s security and foreign policy.
Esmail Khatib, Iran’s intelligence minister, was eliminated in an Israeli strike on March 18. A hardliner cleric and politician, he worked in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office and was mentored by him, before heading the civilian intelligence apparatus in August 2021.
Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Khamenei and a key figure in Iran’s security and nuclear policymaking, was cut down in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28.
He had earlier survived an attack on his home during the 12-day June war between Israel and Iran.
Top military commanders
Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Iran’s most powerful military force, was assassinated in the February 28 strikes in Tehran, Iranian state media said.
He rose through the ranks to lead the Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor Hossein Salami was eliminated in the 12-day war in June.
Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defence minister and a career air force officer, was martyred in the same wave of strikes targeting senior leadership in Tehran on February 28, according to sources. He played a key role in military planning and defence policy.
Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was assassinated in the February 28 strikes during what Iranian media said was a meeting of senior leadership in Tehran. He was responsible for coordinating Iran’s military branches and overseeing conventional forces.
Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, was eliminated in US-Israeli strikes on March 17, according to Iranian state media. A senior Revolutionary Guards officer, he led the force central to internal security and the enforcement of state authority.
Behnam Rezaei, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy intelligence chief, was martyred in an Israeli strike in the port city of Bandar Abbas on March 26, according to the Israeli military, which said he was responsible for collecting information on regional countries.
- Trump reiterates claims Tehran ready to make deal.
- Talks ongoing to negotiate end to month-long war: Trump.
- “Tehran’s leadership, nuclear programme suffered damage.”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday insisted Iran must open up the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic to make a peace deal — and dubbed the crucial waterway the “Strait of Trump.”
Trump, who has renamed several buildings in Washington after himself during his second term, said his comment was a “mistake” but then added that “there’s no accidents with me.”
Repeating his claims that Tehran is ready to make a deal despite its denials, the 79-year-old US leader said that talks were underway to negotiate an end to the month-long conflict.
Trump added that Iran was “on the run” and reiterated assertions that Tehran’s leadership, navy, air force and nuclear programme had all suffered significant damage.
“We’re negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up,” Trump told a Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami.
“They have to open up the Strait of Trump — I mean Hormuz. Excuse me, I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake.”
Trump said the media would pounce upon the comment, but then added “there’s no accidents with me, not too many.”
He also talked about how he had ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” shortly after returning to power.
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump said it was “an option” to take control of Iran’s oil as the United States has effectively done with Venezuela — despite the fact that the war is still raging.
Republican Trump, who rose to fame as a property tycoon with his name plastered across his own skyscrapers, made similar teasing comments before renaming Washington’s Kennedy Centre the “Trump-Kennedy Centre.”
A peace institute in Washington was also renamed after Trump last year.
The Strait of Hormuz was open to international shipping before the conflict, but the narrow waterway has since ground to a standstill, leading to a surge in global energy prices.
Earlier Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced alarm that Iran would seek to establish a permanent “tolling system” for vessels in the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil normally transits.
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