Iran & The Gulf

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price contradicts Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, says that the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is neither imminent nor certain.

The Islamic republic sets up a special security force tasked with protecting sensitive installations and high-profile individuals from sabotage, assassinations.

Russian foreign minister says Moscow received written assurances from Washington that sanctions against Russia over Ukraine would not hinder cooperation within the framework of the agreement.

Kremlin: Russian interests in the Iran nuclear deal would be affected by Western sanctions against Moscow. The US must therefore ensure Russia's national interests are fully taken into account.

Iranian state TV says newly formed Revolutionary Guards Nuclear Command thwarted the alleged sabotage, which was to take place ahead of the Persian New Year.

Islamic republic's state media says 12 missiles were fired at sites in Erbil, reportedly in retribution over the death of two IRGC officers in an alleged Israeli strike near Damascus last week.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues. Tehran denies that its space activity is a cover for ballistic missile development.

As Moscow seeks a US guarantee that sanctions over Ukraine invasion will not affect its trade with Iran, English-language Tehran Times runs unsourced report that draft Vienna deal would allow Iran to retain its centrifuges, nuclear material.

Report by the UN agency says Tehran nears nuclear bomb yardstick. Naftali Bennett speaks with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi ahead of his trip to Tehran "for meetings with senior Iranian officials."

"[Uranium] enrichment ... continues with a maximum ceiling of 60%, which led Westerners to rush to negotiations, and it will continue with the lifting of sanctions by both 20% and 5%," says the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami.