Iranian paper repeats calls to 'shoot Trump in skull'

Nikolay Plotnikov, director of the Center for Scientific and Analytical Information at the Russian Academy of Sciences told Iran's state news agency IRNA, “We are ready to serve as a mediator between Iran and the United States if that helps solve problems through dialogue."

As Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has until now rejected direct talks, the option of mediation is now essential as US President Donald Trump threatens Iran with military action if it does not reach a nuclear deal within two months.

Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin have had better relations than most US presidents with Moscow, though the relationship is still complex, making Moscow an unlikely choice of mediator.

A recent letter from Trump to Iran's Supreme Leader was delivered by the United Arab Emirates.

But the academic, from an institution closely associated with the Putin administration, said diplomacy is the only viable path to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

“There is no evidence Iran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that Tehran is under “closer inspection by the IAEA than many other countries.”

In the interview in which he discussed a recently signed strategic partnership agreement between the two governments, he said the two allies remain firm friends in the face of global sanctions.

“With cooperation between Russia and Iran, neither Washington nor Brussels can bring us to our knees,” said the academic known to move among Russia's political and business elite.

Moscow and Tehran have increased their military cooperation in recent years, particularly in Syria, where both backed former President Bashar al-Assad.

Additionally, Russia has deployed Iranian-made drones and and possibly missiles in Ukraine, despite Tehran’s official denials.

The strengthening of ties between Russia and Iran has accelerated in recent years, driven by mutual isolation stemming from Western sanctions – imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and on Iran for its nuclear program, support for regional armed groups, and human rights abuses – as well as a shared strategic interest in countering US influence in the region.

However, some media outlets and commentators in Iran, who are in favor of resolving differences with the West, have warned about Russia's true intentions in recent months.

Both countries are also seeking ways to circumvent the sanctions, with recent discussions exploring the expansion of trade using national currencies and alternative financial mechanisms.

Plotnikov also pushed back against Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear intentions in spite of UN reports saying Iran has enough uranium for six nuclear weapons.

Asked whether Moscow could distance itself from Tehran under Western pressure, Plotnikov said that Russia’s foreign policy doctrine in fact prioritizes its relationship with Iran.

“I recommend that you carefully study doctrinal documents such as the concept of Russia’s foreign policy and its priorities. Iran is one of the countries whose relations with Russia are being developed as a priority,” he said.

The IRGC affiliated Tasnim News Agency called the Saturday announcement by Muammar Al-Eryani "psychological warfare”. Al-Eryani is the minister of Yemen's official government, which is at war with the Houthis.

"It seems that this false news has been published in the context of psychological warfare and in order to push the region towards an all-out war, while officials and military commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly announced that the Yemeni Ansarullah forces are fighting the US and Israel completely independently,” Tasnim wrote.

Al-Eryani said in a press statement that the attack targeted a point that was "used to plan terrorist attacks against commercial ships and tankers in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden” amid the Houthis’ maritime blockade.

The Houthis maintain a narrative of victory when publicizing information on engagement with US military action.

A press statement this week said: "We are in an advanced position on the maritime front, and the American aircraft carrier 'Truman' is in a constant state of retreat, with pursuit ongoing,” the US vessel on the frontline of the maritime conflict.

The US has carried out multiple airstrikes across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen since last month as it cracks down on the Iran-backed group which has been imposing the blockade since November 2023 in the wake of the Gaza war.

The group began the blockade targeting Israeli-linked ships, claiming to be working in allegiance with Hamas in Gaza but has since targeted multiple international vessels and killed international seamen.

US President Donald Trump has warned that any firing by the Houthis in Yemen will be directly attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran and will have serious consequences for Tehran.

"From this moment on, every shot fired by the Houthis will be considered a shot fired by Iranian weapons and leadership. Iran will be held responsible, it will bear the consequences, and these consequences will be serious," he wrote in a message on his social media account, Truth Social.

In spite of denials from Tehran that they are controlling the group, Trump continues to attribute blame to Iran for funding and arming the group, the blockade initiated on the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Al Khamenei.

”Let no one be fooled! The hundreds of attacks carried out by the Houthis, these evil thugs and thugs based in Yemen who are hated by the Yemeni people, all originate from and are directed by Iran,” Trump said.

According to the Associated Press this week, satellite images show the deployment of at least six nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Camp Thunder Bay on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which is within striking distance of both Iran and Yemen.

Tensions also remain high between Iran and the US over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The B-2 would be crucial in potentially bombing Iran’s underground nuclear sites and has been used in combat to target the Houthis in the past.

In a letter published by government-affiliated media outlets, President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote that the Antarctic vacation, “even if paid for personally,” could not be justified while “economic pressures remain severe and many in our country live in deprivation.”

Shahram Dabiri Oskuei has not commented publicly but shortly after the photos began circulating on March 25, the state-run IRNA news agency cited a member of his office denying the trip took place this year.

“The photo being shared is from past years,” the unnamed official said.

The controversy erupted after multiple images were posted on social media appearing to show Dabiri alongside a woman near a cruise ship and other landmarks in Buenos Aires.

Pezeshkian wrote that an internal review confirmed Dabiri had been on a recreational tour over the holiday.

However, the trip to Antarctica is not the VP's first controversial episode. In 2020, he was arrested on financial charges though in the end, the charges were dropped.

The holiday comes while one third of Iran is living below the poverty line in the worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic, the average monthly income in Iran now as low as $200 for a family of four.

The ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, published under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, mocked Trump’s threats of military action should Iran fail to reach a new agreement on nuclear weapons.

Speaking about Trump’s threats and tariffs even against US allies, Kayhan wrote, “He’s way out of line! Any day now, in revenge for the blood of Martyr Soleimani, a few bullets are going to be fired into that empty skull of his and he’ll be drinking from the chalice of a cursed death.”

After President Trump’s threats of a military strike, Tehran has agreed to indirect talks, despite a previous ban by Khamenei. However, Trump has said he prefers direct negotiations.

Kayhan, mocking the US president also wrote, “He makes threats and then backs down! The result? The situation in America gets worse by the day. Just yesterday, it was announced that his actions have caused $3 trillion in damage to the US economy, American exports are facing serious problems, and top officials in the military, CIA, and elsewhere have either resigned or been dismissed…”

The US military has in recent days deployed long-range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase amid escalation of tensions with Tehran, a move which presaged major bombing campaigns against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

In an exclusive interview with Iran International, former CENTCOM commander and CIA chief David Petraeus described the deployment as a step toward preparing for military action against Iran if it failed to reach a deal with the Trump administration over its disputed nuclear program.

"They are also steps to show that we are very serious and that you should not do this, and therefore trying to deter Iran from doing what would be unacceptable and would force the United States to take action," he said.

Petraeus said, "There's great concern about how close Iran is to the possibility of having a nuclear weapon. They're literally just one turn of the enrichment process from having weapons-grade uranium. That is something that President Trump has said he will never allow the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon."

Trump has warned Iran would be bombed if it did not agree to a new nuclear deal, prompting Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to say on Monday that the Islamic Republic would deal a "strong blow" in retaliation for any attack.

Iran's retaliation

Iran has threatened to target American interests in the region, including its strategic Diego Garcia naval base in the Indian Ocean if it is attacked by the US.

However, Petraeus says Trump would not stop at a limited attack on the nuclear sites and would go after the Islamic Republic's air defense and missile capabilities.

"You probably have to take out some of the retaliatory capacity of Iran as well because you don't want to just take out the nuclear program and then have them go after the bases where we have forces, and that would then bring in all these other countries, of course," he said.

"This is not just a surgical attack on discrete nuclear capabilities. This is against the retaliatory capabilities, against the defense capability, and that's what has to be done if you're going to carry out this operation."

Plan to destroy Iran's nuclear program

Petraeus said he actually developed the plan to destroy Iran's nuclear program over 15 years ago when he was the commander of the US Central Command.

"It's publicly known that we actually rehearsed that plan one time inside the United States, with all the planes flying all the distances that they would have to fly, the refuelers, all the command and control, the jammers that drop, the munitions that we would drop, and so forth. And it all worked."

"We were prepared one time actually, to set the theater, in other words, to identify all the locations from which the planes would fly, where they would be based. The munitions were in place, the food, fuel, water, etc. All was set. We thought there was a likelihood of this. We told the White House we probably should get more prepared than we were."

'Israel proved it's possible'

Petraeus said Iran currently "does have more effective, more elaborate air and ballistic missile defenses" than in the past. However, he said, "Israel penetrated them twice, showing that that can be done."

Last October, Israeli air strikes against Iran's military sites knocked out the country's last three Russian-provided S-300 air defense missile systems, leaving the country "naked", Fox News reported citing US and Israeli officials.

The surface-to-air S-300s were the last in the Islamic Republic's arsenal after one was destroyed in an attack in April 2024 also likely carried out by Israel, Fox News quoted a senior US official as saying.

Still, Petraeus says Iran has "more retaliatory capability in terms of missiles and so forth, even though Israel dramatically reduced the ability of Iran to make solid fuel rocket engines from several per day to one or two per week."

Bunker busters

The former CENTCOM commander said the US military has bombs like the 30,000-pound GBU-57, aka Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), that "is very accurate and can penetrate very hardened targets".

"It would be used against the most deeply buried hardened targets... you can imagine which target that might be," he said, adding that the use of such bunker busters is "not just possible but would be necessary" in a potential strike against Iran.

Iran’s most secretive nuclear facility, known as Fordow, has been carved deep into a mountain in central Iran, and is reportedly some 90 meters (295 feet) deep. It is also protected by several feet of reinforced concrete.

In 2012, defense experts contacted by Reuters believed the chances of a US strike against Fordow succeeding are slim. However, Petraeus says, "they can do enormous damage and destruction".