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Iran’s currency strengthened modestly on Tuesday, recovering from historic lows as anticipation grew over high-level indirect talks with the United States scheduled to take place this weekend in Oman.
The rial, which hit a record low of 1,050,000 per US dollar last month, bounced back to about 960,000 rials on Tuesday amid growing anticipation of renewed diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani confirmed on Tuesday that the talks will be held indirectly, mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. “In the negotiation, what is important for the people and the national interests will be our focus,” she said.
The Iranian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the US side will be represented by Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, according to Iranian and US media reports.
While US President Donald Trump has said the talks will be direct and at a senior level, Iranian state-affiliated media said otherwise.
Nournews, a site close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described Trump’s comments as part of a “psychological operation” meant to shift blame and shape public perception.
The rial’s gains follow a period of sharp decline, triggered by the absence of negotiations, ongoing US sanctions and Trump's 'maximum pressure' policy on Iran, and escalating regional tensions fueled by Iran's allies.
Inflation in food and other essentials has soared, with local producers citing rising packaging and transport costs as major drivers. Over one third of Iranians now live below the poverty line in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s currency has halved in value since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in August.
Policies pursued by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are pushing Iran towards developing nuclear weapons, according to Mohammadreza Sabbaghian, a member of the Iranian parliament.
Sabbaghian also warned Iranian diplomats to not be deceived by what he described as Trump's "Carrot and stick" approach, and that Trumps ear is to the mouth of the Israeli prime minister.
"Diplomats, decision-makers, remember: in foreign relations, a wise person isn't fooled twice by the same trick. Mr. Pezeshkian,don't be swayed by Trump's empty promises or intimidated by his threats; he's clearly listening to Netanyahu and the Zionists. The solution to our economic problems lies within our own country."
He added that, “Diplomats, understand this: the United States objects to our defense and missile capabilities... It opposes our nuclear technology and enrichment... Recognize that America's fundamental issue is with our system's independence and our unyielding leadership. Why fail to grasp this? Don't be fooled."
Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, according to Amnesty International, in what the rights group says is the government's ongoing campaign of mass suppression of dissent.
The latest figures show an increase of 119 executions from the previous year, when 853 executions were recorded.
Globally, the total number of recorded executions reached 1,518 in 2024, the highest figure since 2015, according to Amnesty International’s annual report on the global use of the death penalty released on Tuesday.
Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were responsible for an overwhelming 91% of the known global executions, a sharp rise from the previous year's 89%.
“Those who dare challenge authorities have faced the most cruel of punishments, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty used to silence those brave enough to speak out,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Amnesty said that the vast majority of the executions in Iran last year were linked to political repression, including those involved in the Woman Life Freedom protests sparked by the death in custody of 22 year old Mahsa Amini over alleged hijab law violations.
“In 2024, Iran persisted in their use of the death penalty to punish individuals who had challenged the Islamic Republic establishment during the Woman Life Freedom uprising.
"Last year saw two of those people – including a youth with a mental disability – executed in connection with the uprising following unfair trials and torture-tainted ‘confessions’, proving how far the authorities are willing to go to tighten their grip on power,” Callamard added.
According to Amnesty's report, in 2024, Iran executed 30 women, four individuals for crimes committed when they were under 18, and four people in public.
Over 40% of global executions in 2024 were for drug crimes, a practice Amnesty has criticized as unlawful and ineffective, as international human rights law restricts the death penalty to the “most serious crimes.”
“Drug-related executions were prevalent in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and, while no confirmation was possible, likely Viet Nam. In many contexts, sentencing people to death for drug-related offences has been found to disproportionately impact those from disadvantaged backgrounds, while it has no proven effect in reducing drug trafficking,” said Callamard.
Amnesty said that the figures reported in its annual report do not include the thousands of executions believed to have occurred in China, which it named the world’s leading executioner, nor those in North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is also extensively used.
Iran is recruiting Swedish teens as young as 14 on social media to carry out attacks from vandalism to bombings and contract murder against Israelis, an investigation by CNN has found.
Messages such as "we need loads of shooters, jobs in all of Sweden", "shooter needed for Denmark shoot to the head" and offers of "$150,000" are among the trove of discussions uncovered by CNN.
The investigation, alongside the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO), revealed plots including murder and a terror attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.
It also reported that a shooting at the Israeli embassy last year was carried out by a boy of just 14, armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, shooting several shots towards the embassy before being detained.
Taking advantage of legal loopholes, targeting such young teens under 18 years old means the youth are unlikely to serve time.
The 14-year-old in question was not prosecuted because he was under-age. Another 15-year-old involved in the operation was convicted of a serious weapons offense and ordered to spend 11 months in a juvenile care home.
Speaking to CNN, the SÄPO said the attempted attacks were among several last year targeting the Israeli embassy in Stockholm by gangs acting on behalf of Iran.
Social media has been manipulated in the process of recruitment as children are easily accessible across a range of platforms.
Last year, two rival Swedish gangs, Foxtrot and Rumba, plotted several attacks targeting the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on behalf of Iran.
Fredrik Hallström, head of operations at SÄPO, told CNN, “It becomes a problem for us when it's another state like Iran that uses these kids as a proxy ... Organized crime in Sweden right now is a huge vulnerability that is being used by state actors."
He said it has stepped up in the wake of the Gaza war, sparked by the Iran-backed Hamas invasion of Israel, which later saw Iran's allies in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq launch attacks on the Jewish state in allegiance with the group designated a terrorist organization by countries such as the UK and US.
“After the 7th of October, we saw this type of modus operandi,” Hallström added.
On Sunday, Israel's Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, revealed documents showing that back in 2021, Hamas had requested Iranian funding for the attack which would transpire on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and seeing over 250 more taken hostage.
A transcript of conversations found in the tunnels of senior Hamas figures in Gaza, he said proves a direct connection between Iran and assassinated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his assassinated military leader Muhammad Deif, as part of Iran's support for Hamas' plan to destroy Israel.
"In the document, they demand that the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards transfer $500 million for the destruction of the State of Israel," he said.
"The head of the Palestinian branch of the Revolutionary Guards, Izadi, accepted the request and replied that Iran – despite its difficult economic situation – and the plight of the Iranian population, will continue to Money for Hamas, because the struggle against Israel and the US is the top priority of the Iranian regime."
In the year before the Gaza war, Israel's chief of Mossad, David Barnea, said 27 Iran-backed plots had been foiled in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.
But this has ramped up since the Gaza war, dozens foiled globally, in addition to plots foiled inside the Jewish state, including an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan and most recently, the attempted murder of a rabbi in Azerbaijan
Ahead of the Jewish holiday of passover next week, Israel's National Security Council has warned the Israeli public to remain vigilant when traveling abroad amid concerns that Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and global Jihadist groups will continue to actively advance attacks against Jews and Israelis worldwide.
It named Iran as "the main instigator of global terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, both directly and through its proxies."
The volume of coverage in Iranian newspapers about potential talks with the United States highlights the significance of the issue for both the public and the government.
Following a flurry of reports on Monday, news broke late in the evening Tehran time that Iran and the US will hold official talks on Saturday—the first since 2022.
Earlier in the day, the reformist and pro-Pezeshkian daily Etemad featured two front-page articles on Iran-US relations. In a report headlined "Tension Before Agreement," columnist Mehdi Beigoghlou reviewed calls for indirect negotiations and quoted prominent reformist figure Ali Shakouri-Rad, who said, "The fact that the top leaders of both countries—Donald Trump and Ali Khamenei—ultimately decide on the negotiations increases the chances of a lasting agreement."
Shakouri-Rad, sounding perhaps overly optimistic, also suggested that direct involvement by the two countries’ top leaders reduces the likelihood of military conflict in the region. “A meeting between Trump and Khamenei in Tehran is more probable than a regional war,” he said.
The article also noted that while some hardliners—including the editor of the Kayhan daily, which is funded by the Supreme Leader’s office—have called for Trump’s assassination, many conservative figures in Iran have distanced themselves from Kayhan’s provocative rhetoric and rejected the suggestion outright.
Meanwhile, in another article in Etemad, prominent commentator Abbas Abdi emphasized that hardliner calls for Iran to pursue nuclear weapons are ultimately futile, as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s decree banning the development of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction remains in effect. He noted that the ruling reflects a principled stance rooted in Islamic values.
Writing in the reformist daily Shargh, columnist Ardavan Amiraslani argued that "the start of negotiations between Iran and the United States is inevitable." He added that "Donald Trump is committed to a policy of non-intervention and has no interest in launching a new war in the Middle East."
However, Amiraslani acknowledged that Iran’s position on negotiations with the United States remains ambiguous. He pointed to the gap between Tehran’s official stance in favor of indirect talks and President Trump’s recent comment suggesting he sensed Iran was beginning to lean toward direct negotiations. Amiraslani also noted internal divisions among Iranian officials—some continuing to back hardline positions, while others recognize the urgent need for an agreement with the United States to address the economic crisis before it poses a serious threat to the system’s stability.
The centrist daily Ham Mihan, in its Monday editorial, sharply criticized the Supreme National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other relevant authorities for their silence over the hardline newspaper Kayhan's call for the assassination of former US President Donald Trump. The editorial argued that Kayhan’s article played directly into the hands of conservative US media, particularly Fox News, and appeared intended to provoke Trump. Ham Mihan also condemned the Culture Ministry’s mild response to the article, saying the warning issued was disproportionate to the severity of the provocation. It added that had any other media outlet published similar content, it would have faced far more serious consequences.
Another centrist daily, Sazandegi, featured an unusually large photo of Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari alongside former US Vice President Mike Pence under the headline "Defenders of War," writing that "warmongers and radicals in both Iran and the United States are escalating tensions and undermining diplomacy." It is not clear why the paper featured Pence’s photo as a warmonger, except perhaps to emphasize his differences with Trump.
The conservative daily Farhikhtegan quoted Amir Ali Abolfath, a US politics analyst, as saying that "the United States is likely to favor a political approach over a military one in dealing with Iran." He added, "Trump wants peace with Iran, but the kind of peace he envisions is certainly different from what Iran has in mind."
