Iran & The Gulf

Ali Shamkhani warned that any US military action would have global consequences as regime forced government workers to attend Revolution Day rallies across the country.

Iranian authorities have launched a campaign of promises and threats toward the public ahead of the marking of “Unity Day” on February 12. Civil servants will be required to attend rallies organized by the regime. At the same time, signs of resistance continue to break through the tightening grip of repression. 

New satellite imagery reveals that Iran has fully covered the tunnel entrances at its nuclear facility in Isfahan with earth, rendering the central and southern access points unrecognizable, according to an analysis suggesting Tehran is preparing for a potential US Israeli airstrike or special forces raid. 

Iran’s National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani is set to meet Omani officials on Tuesday following US-Iran talks that ended without major breakthroughs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said Tehran might be willing to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in return for the full removal of sanctions.

Forces loyal to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have arrested Azar Mansouri, the head of the faction that helped propel Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to office, after she criticized the regime’s killing of protesters. Two additional senior figures from the reformist camp were also detained, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tightens its grip across the regime’s institutions

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that his country would under no circumstances agree to stop uranium enrichment, stressing that talks with the US are focused solely on the nuclear issue. “Our atomic bomb is the ability to say no,” he said.

There is a significant gap between statements in Iran claiming that only the nuclear issue is on the table in talks with the Americans. Diplomatic sources familiar with the discussions who say that talk of a “positive atmosphere” is merely diplomatic wording for the absence of any real agreements.

US Embassy warns of escalating danger amid diplomatic talks, tells citizens to flee to Armenia or Turkey.

Behind the impression of firm American resolve, it is becoming clear that in the secret talks held in Oman, Iran initially managed to bend the agenda to its advantage. What concessions are being weighed behind the scenes, who actually defused the crisis, and is the regime heading toward a dangerous internal confrontation?