BAKU: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of &quot;terrorism&quot; and threatened retaliation after drone attacks Thursday targeted an airport and a school in an Azerbaijani border region, an incident that could drag yet another country into the Mideast war.&nbsp;Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan&#39;s ally, of trying to stage a provocation.&nbsp;The midday attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan&#39;s exclave of Nakhchivan bordering Iran, with one hitting the airport and another exploding near a school, Baku said.&nbsp;Video footage published by Azerbaijani media showed what appeared to be a drone crashing into the ground and exploding near the school, followed by loud screams from children in the building.&nbsp;AFP could not verify the footage.&nbsp;&quot;Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan,&quot; Aliyev told a hastily convened security council meeting.&nbsp;Azerbaijan&#39;s military &quot;have been instructed to prepare and carry out retaliatory measures ... placed on mobilisation level number one, and must be ready to conduct any operation,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;Those dishonourable people who committed this terrorist act against us will regret it. Let them not test our strength... This stain will never be erased from their dirty and ugly face,&quot; he added.&nbsp;The Azerbaijani defence ministry said it had detected four drones launched by Iran&#39;s army.&nbsp;&quot;One of them was disabled by the Azerbaijani army, while the others were directed at civilian infrastructure, including a secondary school building during class hours. Fortunately, the drone targeting the school did not reach its objective and instead fell and exploded near the school,&quot; it said.&nbsp;The Nakhichevan Airport terminal was damaged, with video showing grey smoke rising above the building after the strike.&nbsp;Four people were hospitalised with &quot;traumatic brain injuries,&quot; Sahib Abuzarov, head of emergency services at a hospital in Nakhichevan said later.&nbsp;The general staff of Iran&#39;s armed forces said it did not carry out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel.&nbsp;&quot;Such actions by the Zionist regime, aimed at disrupting relations between Muslim countries in various ways, are not unprecedented,&quot; it said in a statement.&nbsp;Azerbaijan-Israel partnershipFrance&#39;s foreign ministry said the &quot;unjustifiable&quot; attack &quot;constitutes a blatant violation of Azerbaijan&#39;s sovereignty and of international law.&quot;&nbsp;Turkey&#39;s foreign ministry condemned strikes &quot;which target third countries in the region and increase the risk of the war spreading.&quot;&nbsp;Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku over the incident.&nbsp;&quot;We demanded from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case and conduct investigation,&quot; foreign ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizada, told AFP.&nbsp;Analysts have said Azerbaijan&#39;s Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline -- which runs through neighboring Georgia and Turkey and carries around a third of Israel&#39;s oil imports -- could become a potential target for the Iranian military.&nbsp;In 2024, Azerbaijan exported 2.37 million tonnes of oil to Israel via the pipeline, director of the Baku-based Centre for Oil Research, Ilham Shaban, told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;The pipeline is buried underground along most of its route, making it difficult to disable,&quot; he said, adding that &quot;above-ground facilities -- such as terminals and pumping stations -- could still be vulnerable to Iranian drone strikes.&quot;&nbsp;Iran has long expressed concern that Israel -- a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier -- could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks.&nbsp;Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Tehran that it would not allow such use of its territory after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets.&nbsp;Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran&#39;s 83 million citizens.

Asia

Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching drones into Nakhchivan, damaging an airport and near a school, injuring four. President Ilham Aliyev ordered retaliatory readiness, escalating regional tensions. Iran denied involvement, blaming Israel.

Azerbaijan vows retaliation after Iran's 'terrorist' drone strikes

TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday urged the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop the Islamic republic&#39;s war with Israel and the United States.&nbsp;&quot;The United Nations Security Council has a duty... if it wishes, it can certainly act, because there is no obstacle to its action except its own will,&quot; said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a foreign ministry briefing.

Iran asked the United Nations Security Council to help stop its war with Israel and the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the council can take action if it wants to and has the will to do so.

Iran urges UN Security Council to move to stop war

NEW YORK: First Lady Melania Trump presided over a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, calling for cause of children affected by conflict as fighting continued in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Ambassadors from all of the Security Council&#39;s members, including Washington&#39;s rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council&rsquo;s rotating presidency.&nbsp; She opened the session with a ceremonial strike of the gavel, thanking the United Kingdom for its previous month-long presidency, and spoke again later apparently to honor US service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;The US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours,&rdquo; she said, without directly referencing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.Later, she paid tribute to American service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;To the families who have lost their heroes who sacrifice their lives for freedom, their bravery and dedication will always be remembered,&rdquo; she told the packed chamber. She added that &ldquo;enduring peace will be achieved when knowledge and understanding are fully valued within all our societies.&rdquo; Ambassadors from all 15 Council members, including rivals Russia and China, attended the meeting and greeted the First Lady. Greece&rsquo;s ambassador Aglaia Balta addressed her as &ldquo;Madam President,&rdquo; while France&rsquo;s envoy drew comparisons to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a noted human rights advocate. Even Russia offered polite praise, steering clear of direct mention of Iran. Bahrain, a close US ally, was the only Council member to explicitly reference the conflict. However, criticism emerged from Iran. Its UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, called it &ldquo;deeply shameful and hypocritical that on the very first day of its presidency of the Security Council, the United States convened a high-level meeting on protecting children.&quot;&nbsp; Moments later the First Lady said &quot;the US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours&quot; &nbsp;without referring directly to the attacks across the Middle East. She was warmly received by the countries represented in the Council however, with Greece&#39;s ambassador Aglaia Balta saying &quot;thank you madam president,&quot; while France&#39;s envoy compared her to the celebrated former first lady and activist Eleanor Roosevelt.&nbsp; Even Russia joined the chorus of polite praise, avoiding any mention of Iran, which was mentioned only by Council member and Washington&#39;s staunch ally Bahrain. &quot;I wish you all strength and resolve to succeed in preserving peace and security throughout the world,&quot; Trump said as she closed the two-hour meeting.&nbsp; &nbsp;Financial, political tensions&nbsp;Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed that Trump&#39;s appearance was the first time a first lady or first gentleman had presided a Security Council meeting. The United States holds the Council&#39;s rotating presidency for March. President Donald Trump&#39;s third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.&nbsp; Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, paid tribute to her &quot;for her work to give visibility to the issue of children in conflict, and particularly for her personal engagement to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.&quot; Political and financial tensions have mounted between the United States and the United Nations in recent years, with Washington chafing at its role as the main contributor to the body&#39;s cash-strapped budget.&nbsp; Many observers say the US president intends to bypass the Security Council with his new &quot;Board of Peace,&quot; which held its inaugural session in Washington last month, with several countries pledging funds and personnel to rebuild Gaza. At the meeting, Trump repeated his stance that the UN had failed in its mission. Since returning to the White House last year, he has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, including the World Health Organization. The world body has recently launched a reform program, and a few days ago Washington paid $160 million into the organization&#39;s regular budget after paying nothing in 2025.&nbsp; But the United States is still $4 billion in arrears to the UN for its regular budget and its peacekeeping budget, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of imminent financial collapse.&nbsp;

US First Lady Melania Trump chairs a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York on March 2, 2026.

Americas

Ambassadors from all of the Security Council's members, including Washington's rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council’s rotating presidency. 

Melania Trump leads UN Security Council as Iran war rages

GENEVA: Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that the United States must drop its &ldquo;excessive demands&rdquo; if the two sides are to reach a deal, following their latest round of talks in Geneva. In a phone call with Egypt&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said that &ldquo;success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,&rdquo; according to Iranian state media. Araghchi did not specify which demands he considered excessive. However, Washington has consistently pointed to Iran&rsquo;s ballistic missile program and its uranium enrichment capability as a red line. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Tehran had &ldquo;already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they&#39;re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.&rdquo; Also on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Iran is &ldquo;not enriching right now, but they&#39;re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can,&rdquo; adding that Tehran &ldquo;refuses&rdquo; to discuss its ballistic missile program and that &ldquo;that&#39;s a big problem.&rdquo; Iran has repeatedly defended its missile program as a core element of its defensive capabilities and has ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment. Iranian officials maintain that the country&rsquo;s nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and complies with international law.&nbsp; Iran and the United States, longtime adversaries, held their third round of Omani-mediated nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva. The negotiations aim to prevent further military escalation as Washington increases its military presence in the region. Both Iran and Oman reported progress after the talks. Technical-level discussions are scheduled for Monday in Vienna, ahead of a fourth round of high-level negotiations expected next week.

In this handout photo released by the Iran's Foreign Ministry on February 26, 2026, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) speaks with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi during their meeting in Geneva.

Middle East

In a phone call with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said that “success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,” according to Iranian state media.

Iran urges US to drop 'excessive demands' to reach deal 

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s government on Monday advised all its citizens in Iran to leave the country immediately, citing a worsening security situation, according to the Indian Embassy in Tehran. The advisory covers students, pilgrims, business travelers, and tourists in Iran. The embassy in Tehran recommended departure by any available means, including commercial flights. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/hVDwTTdhja" style="font-size: 18px;">pic.twitter.com/hVDwTTdhja</a>&mdash; India in Iran (@India_in_Iran) <a href="https://twitter.com/India_in_Iran/status/2025823016672710921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="font-size: 18px;">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote></div> The advisory asked citizens to carry passports and identification, avoid protest areas, monitor local media, and stay in contact with the embassy for assistance.&nbsp;Emergency helplines were provided for immediate support. The warning comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s visit to Israel on Wednesday.&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Modi&rsquo;s trip would help build a new partnership to counter what he called &ldquo;radical&rdquo; threats. Modi first visited Israel in 2017, and Netanyahu visited India the following year.&nbsp;Modi said on Sunday that he looks forward to talks during the visit. &ldquo;India values its long-standing friendship with Israel, based on trust, innovation, and a shared commitment to peace and progress,&rdquo; he wrote on social media.&nbsp; India has expanded cooperation with Israel in defense, agriculture, technology, and security. US-Iran talks The move follows rising regional tensions and ongoing indirect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iranus-talks-expected-thursday-despite-fears-of-strikes" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;" rel="noopener noreferrer">US-Iran negotiations</a>. Talks are scheduled to resume in Geneva on Feb. 26, 2026. Oman&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi will act as mediator, according to the Omani Foreign Ministry. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that &ldquo;guiding principles&rdquo; had been agreed upon, though technical details remain unresolved, AFP reported. US officials confirmed that progress was made but many issues are still under discussion, as per the US Department of State. Relations sour Relations between Iran and India have soured in recent months, with tensions increasing after India seized three Iranian-linked oil tankers on Feb. 17, 2026, enforcing US sanctions. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the move as a &ldquo;serious concern&rdquo; for trade and energy cooperation, as per official statements. The Chabahar Port project, a key trade route, faces uncertainty amid US sanctions. India holds a conditional waiver from the US Treasury valid until April 26, 2026, as per the Indian&nbsp;Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. India has transferred $120 million for port equipment, while a $250 million credit line remains unfulfilled due to sanctions, according to the MEA. Iranian authorities also detained 16 Indian seafarers aboard the MT Valiant Roar since Dec. 8, 2025, over alleged diesel smuggling, according to the MEA.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/crash-pakistan-airspace-ban-push-air-india-toward-16-billion-annual-loss" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indian airline</a>&nbsp;carriers, including IndiGo, have suspended flights over Iranian airspace and nearby hubs until at least Feb. 28, 2026, citing security risks.

India advised all citizens in Iran to leave immediately, recommending any available transport including commercial flights. (Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA)

Indian nationals in Iran are advised to leave immediately with the embassy in Tehran urging nationals to carry travel documents, avoid protests, and stay updated on local media.

India advises citizens to leave Iran over security concerns

GENEVA: Iran said Tuesday it had agreed with the United States in <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-us-hold-new-geneva-talks-as-khamenei-warns-of-sinking-us-warship" style="color:#0073e6;">talks</a> in Geneva on &quot;guiding principles&quot; for a deal to avoid conflict, but Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-warns-iran-of-consequences-of-not-making-a-deal" style="color:#0073e6;">red lines</a>. The Omani-mediated talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Iran&#39;s nuclear program, weeks after the cleric-run state killed thousands of people as it crushed mass demonstrations. Iran&#39;s supreme leader had warned earlier in the day that the country had the ability to sink a US <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-aircraft-carrier-located-near-iran-as-washington-increases-military-pressure" style="color:#0073e6;">warship</a> recently deployed to the region, after President Donald Trump alluded to &quot;consequences&quot; should the two sides fail to strike a deal. &quot;Ultimately, we were able to reach broad agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will move forward and begin working on the text of a potential agreement,&quot; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television after Tuesday&#39;s talks, which he described as &quot;more constructive&quot; than the previous round earlier this month. He added that once both sides had come up with draft texts for an agreement, &quot;the drafts would be exchanged and a date for a third round (of talks) would be set.&quot; In Washington, Vance also appeared to indicate that the United States preferred diplomacy but painted a more mixed picture. &quot;In some ways, it went well; they agreed to meet afterwards,&quot; Vance said in a Fox News interview. &quot;But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through,&quot; Vance told &quot;The Story with Martha MacCallum&quot; program. &quot;We&#39;re going to keep on working it. But of course, the president reserves the ability to say when he thinks that diplomacy has reached its natural end,&quot; Vance said. Key gaps&nbsp;Araghchi also acknowledged that it &quot;will take time to narrow&quot; the gap between the countries after the talks with Trump&#39;s friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff and the president&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Iran for years has been seeking relief from sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States, including a US-imposed ban on other countries buying its oil. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the two sides had made &quot;good progress,&quot; but likewise cautioned &quot;much work is left to be done.&quot; Washington has ordered two aircraft carriers to the region as it piles on pressure. The first &mdash; the USS Abraham Lincoln, with nearly 80 aircraft &mdash; was positioned about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Iranian coast as of Sunday, satellite images showed. Its location puts at least a dozen US F‑35s and F‑18 fighter jets within striking distance. A second carrier was dispatched over the weekend. &quot;A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,&quot; Khamenei said in a speech Tuesday. Iran has insisted the talks be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed, including Tehran&#39;s ballistic missiles program and support for armed groups in the region. War games&nbsp;Iran has also sought to display its military might, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps beginning a series of war games Monday in the Strait of Hormuz to prepare for &quot;potential security and military threats,&quot; state television said. Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a strategic route for oil and gas. A previous attempt at diplomacy collapsed last year when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. The West fears Iran&#39;s nuclear program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated in an interview published Tuesday that Tehran was &quot;absolutely not seeking nuclear weapons.&quot; &quot;If anyone wants to verify this, we are open to such verification to take place,&quot; he said. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Berlin-based Centre for Middle East and Global Order, said Iran was faced with an &quot;existential dilemma.&quot; &quot;Giving in to US demands could bring sanctions relief that it would desperately need to stabilize the regime and fund its repressive apparatus,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;However, any significant concessions on the nuclear, ballistic missile and regional proxies issues would sensitively undermine its ideological and military standing.&quot;

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a speech during a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian talks on February 17, 2026. (AFP)

Tehran and Washington hold a second round of negotiations after talks last year collapsed following Israel's attack on Iran in June; talks continue after Washington deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following Iran's deadly crackdown last month on anti-government protests, first sparked by economic hardships.



Iran upbeat after US talks but Vance says 'red lines' not met

ISLAMABAD: The Pentagon has ordered the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as President Donald Trump weighs taking military action against Iran, AFP quoted what the US media reported on Thursday. Washington and Tehran began indirect talks last week over the future of Iran&#39;s nuclear program, and Trump on Thursday warned of &quot;very traumatic&quot; consequences for the country if it failed to make a nuclear deal. Late last month, Trump sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships to the Gulf as Trump ramped up threats against Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests. The vessels remain in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln, however, is from the &lsquo;Nimitz class&rsquo; of US &lsquo;Supercarriers&rsquo;, which are the predecessors of the &lsquo;Ford class&rsquo;.&nbsp;The Ford-class carriers are more advanced, designed to increase sortie generation rates by 25% while reducing crew size by 500&ndash;900, according to the National Security Journal.&nbsp; Key upgrades include electromagnetic catapults (EMALS), advanced arresting gear, triple the electrical power, and a more flexible deck layout.AFP reports that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will join that strike group after officials ordered it to the Middle East from its current deployment in the Caribbean Sea, multiple US media outlets reported. The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and CBS News reported on the Pentagon&#39;s preparations and the expected deployment of the second carrier, citing unnamed officials. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions from AFP. The USS Gerald R. Ford initially deployed in June and was soon directed to the Caribbean as part of Trump&#39;s pressure campaign on Venezuela, according to the New York Times. Some of the carrier&#39;s warplanes participated in the deadly January 3 operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times reported. It was not clear how long the USS Ford or the USS Lincoln would remain in the Middle East.

US media says the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to deploy to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln amid rising tensions with Iran; Trump warns of “traumatic consequences" if nuclear talks fail.

Pentagon 'orders deployment of another aircraft carrier' to Middle East

PARIS: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-us-talks-with-iran-very-good-more-negotiations-expected" style="color:#0073e6;">negotiations</a> with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States. Washington first threatened to intervene over Tehran&#39;s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, with authorities on Sunday arresting three prominent reformists accused of anti-government rhetoric. They also imposed another hefty prison sentence on Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested before the protests, on charges of harming national security. Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by AFP that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously. He later said Iran was consulting with its &quot;strategic partners&quot;, China and Russia, about the talks. &quot;Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour,&quot; Araghchi said at the forum. &quot;Their military deployment in the region does not scare us,&quot; he added, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea. The United States and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday in Oman for the first time since Israel&#39;s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June of last year, which the US briefly joined. Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be &quot;a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear program.&quot; Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East&#39;s only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which the Islamic Republic denies. &quot;They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say &#39;no&#39; to the great powers,&quot; Araghchi said. The US and Israel want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear question and include Iran&#39;s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region, issues Iran refuses to include in the talks. &#39;Peace through strength&#39;&nbsp;Washington&#39;s lead negotiators, envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, visited the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, the US <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-launches-onewayattack-drone-force-in-middle-east" style="color:#0073e6;">military&#39;s</a> Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The ship was dispatched to the Middle East several weeks ago as part of a military buildup in the region, following US President Donald Trump&#39;s threats against Iran. In a social media post, Witkoff said the carrier and its strike group were &quot;keeping us safe and upholding President Trump&#39;s message of peace through strength.&quot; The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks &quot;very good&quot; and Iran&#39;s President Masoud Pezeshkian said they &quot;constitute a step forward.&quot; Following Friday&#39;s first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for fresh tariffs on countries still doing business with Iran. The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran&#39;s oil exports. At the Tehran forum on Sunday, Araghchi said ongoing &quot;sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations.&quot; Arrests, sentencingThe talks between the two foes and the US <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-military-to-prioritize-homeland-and-curbing-china-limit-support-for-allies" style="color:#0073e6;">military</a> buildup in the region follow Iran&#39;s crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December, sparked by economic grievances. Iranian authorities on Sunday arrested three reformist figures, including the head of Iran&#39;s Reform Front coalition, Azar Mansouri, the Fars news agency reported, listing charges that included &quot;targeting national unity&quot; and &quot;coordination with enemy propaganda,&quot; among others. After the demonstrations began, Mansouri posted on Instagram that &quot;when all avenues to be heard are closed, protest takes to the streets,&quot; later calling the death toll a &quot;great disaster.&quot; Meanwhile, jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was sentenced on Saturday to six years in prison on charges of harming national security and one-and-a-half years for &quot;propaganda&quot; against Iran&#39;s Islamic system, her foundation said in a statement. She was arrested after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony in December. The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders. International organisations have put the toll far higher.

Men look at Iranian daily newspapers reporting on the first round of talks between Iran and the United States at a kiosk in Tehran. (AFP)

Iran’s foreign minister rejects abandoning uranium enrichment as talks with the United States resume, while questioning Washington’s sincerity amid new sanctions, military deployments and threats of war during renewed nuclear negotiations.

Articles tagged with "US-Iran talks"