Tehran calls the American offer "excessive," demands war reparations, sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and guarantees against future strikes – as US officials dismiss the demands as "ridiculous and unrealistic."
Western diplomatic sources say the supreme leader’s son maintains his role in decision-making while power shifts toward an IRGC military junta led by Ahmad Vahidi and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
The US is seeking a deal on terms Iran finds hard to accept, and even harder to sell to hardline elements in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iranian representatives have reportedly signaled flexibility on nuclear issues they previously rejected, likely fueling the president’s public optimism.
Months of Iranian strikes on their energy infrastructure and mounting fears over Hormuz have pushed Riyadh and Abu Dhabi toward a decision they long avoided, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Street voices from Iran's capital express deep distrust of any US-Iran negotiations after the president revealed details of an emerging deal with Iran.
The president disclosed terms of an emerging deal with Tehran, including joint management of the Strait of Hormuz.
24 hours after threatening to destroy Iran's power infrastructure over the Strait of Hormuz, the president says talks are now underway. "Trump backs down from attacking energy infrastructures after Iran's firm warning," the Iranian embassy in Kabul says.
US and Israeli intelligence sources told the Washington Post that Mojtaba Khamenei has not responded to messages – and that his absence has left the Revolutionary Guards in command.
Rights groups warn over 100 protest detainees face death sentences as Tehran presses ahead with crackdown despite Israel-US war.
With less than a day left on Trump's 48-hour deadline, the Revolutionary Guards threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz completely and bomb energy facilities across the region – as Reza Pahlavi urged strikes on the regime's repression apparatus, not civilian infrastructure.
