Trump open to meeting Iran's Supreme Leader or president

Instead of directly naming Khamenei, the commentaries were careful to use terms such as "leadership," "governance" and "decision-makers," as directly exhorting Iran's theocrat is mostly off-limits in public discourse.

Iranian nuclear scientist and former diplomat Ali Khorram, who served as Iran's ambassador to the UN headquarters in Geneva in the 80s, said in an interview with the pro-reform Arman Melli newspaper that Iran's leadership should take rational decisions which take into account future threats.

Khorram, who studied nuclear physics and international law in the United States, expressed optimism that US President Donald Trump could preside over a genuinely improved relationship

"Trump genuinely wants to improve relations between Tehran and Washington and elevate them to the level of friendship."

Reformist political commentator Abbas Abdi in an interview with pro-government reformist daily Etemad, said authorities should forge an agreement not just with the United States but with its own people.

"The people in Iran are no less important than an agreement with America" for the survival of the political establishment, he said.

Abdi highlighted the divide between the government and the nation, exacerbated by waves of protests since 2017 and the violent suppression of the demonstrators by security forces, and called for pluralism and improved governance.

"Almost certainly, the Iranian side has made a decision at the top level of the government to reach an agreement" with the United States, Abdi said, adding that the rapid progress in talks suggested that some essential agreements were already in place before the two sides met.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the former chief of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the pro-reform website Fararu that Tehran must abandon certain taboos if it seeks genuine progress.

"If Iran does not break those taboos, any achievement in the negotiations will not last long," he said.

The politician has previously spoken extensively about the need to move beyond Tehran's anti-Americanism, its reliance on China and Russia and its acknowledgment of past mistakes in its relationship with the Iranian people.

Iran's primary challenge, Falahatpisheh added, is on the home front, warning that persistent tensions could become increasingly costly.

Iran’s Sharia-based legal system contains a litany of provisions that discriminate against women, particularly in the areas of criminal, family, and inheritance law.

The measures go far beyond state enforcement of the Islamic face veil, which has become a symbol of the system's attempt to control and dominate women for the Islamic Republic's near-half-century existence.

Under Iran’s interpretation of Shia Islamic law, the age of legal responsibility differs significantly between girls and boys. Girls are considered legally responsible at the age of 9 lunar years (approximately 8 years and 9 months), while boys reach legal responsibility at 15 lunar years.

This age disparity has been repeatedly criticized by child rights advocates and international organizations. Some have proposed that the age of criminal responsibility for both girls and boys be equal, with a minimum threshold of at least 18 years. However, no such legal reform has been enacted to date.

Moreover, in criminal proceedings, the testimony of two women is considered equivalent to that of one man in most cases.

The concept of blood money (diyeh)—financial compensation paid by an offender to the victim’s family in cases of murder or manslaughter—is also unequal.

The amount paid for a female victim is half of what is paid for a male victim. The base amount is determined annually by Iran's Chief Justice, based on the value of 100 camels.

In some cases, women may face harsher penalties than men. Women can receive the death penalty for killing their children, whereas the legal response is legally and practically often less when a man commits a similar crime.

In addition to legal punishment for murder or manslaughter, for instance, a woman who kills her child must pay blood money to the father. Fathers and paternal grandfathers, however, are exempt from paying blood money to the mother in such cases due to their sole legal entitlement to their children’s blood money.

Marriage, Polygamy and Divorce

Regardless of age, women require the consent of their father or paternal grandfather to enter into a first marriage. Men, however, face no such restriction.

Men are also legally permitted to engage in polygamy, with the possibility of marrying up to four wives simultaneously through a court order.

They may enter into temporary marriages (known as sigheh or mut'ah) for a fixed period—ranging from minutes to years—without court approval or official registration.

These marriages automatically dissolve when the agreed-upon time expires.

For divorce, men legally hold the unilateral right to dissolve a marriage at will. Women, on the other hand, must apply to a court and present proof of their husband’s failure to fulfil obligations such as providing housing, food or healthcare.

They must also demonstrate that they have fulfilled their own marital duties, including obedience to their husband in areas such as sex and permission to leave the home.

Iranian law allows men to prevent their wives from traveling or taking up certain jobs, unless the woman obtains a power of attorney from her husband—either at the time of marriage or afterward—granting her the right to travel, work or initiate divorce.

Guardianship and Custody

Fathers have exclusive legal guardianship over their children. Mothers can only obtain guardianship if the father is dead and the paternal grandfather does not object.

In divorce cases, mothers retain custody only until the child reaches age seven, after which custody typically reverts to the father. Once a girl reaches 9 and a boy reaches 15 (the ages of adulthood in Shia law), they may choose which parent they will live with.

However, the father - or paternal grandfather, if the father has passed away - continues to be the legal guardian of children, often maintaining control over key aspects of their lives.

Additionally, women automatically lose custody of their children if they remarry, as long as the father is still alive.

Inheritance

In inheritance, a woman’s share is half that of a male heir in comparable circumstances.

For example, a daughter inherits half the amount her brother does. A widow is entitled to one-eighth of her husband's estate if they had children, or one-fourth if childless. The remaining assets typically go to the husband’s family.

Israel received three new F-35I fighter jets on Thursday, bringing its fleet to 45 ahead of the third round of indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

The aircraft landed at Nevatim Airbase and joined the Israeli Air Force’s 140th Squadron, the military said.

The F-35s, widely considered the world's most advanced fighter jets, are part of an initial order of 50, with an additional 25 ordered last year amid rising regional tensions.

The presidential decree issued Thursday cited the Guards’ systematic involvement in human rights violations and participation in terrorist activities on a global scale as justification for the blacklisting. The move was swiftly applauded by the United States as well as Israel.

The US State Department welcomed the decision, calling it “a critical blow to Iran’s terror network in the Western Hemisphere.”

“The important steps Paraguay has taken will help cut off the ability of the Iranian regime and its proxies to plot terrorist attacks and raise money for its malignant and destabilizing activity, including in the Tri-Border Area Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil," spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in reference to a region long suspected of financial activity linked to Hezbollah.

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s decree also broadens Paraguay’s 2019 designation of the military wings of Hezbollah and Hamas to include their political and social branches, citing their failure to separate military activity from political engagement.

“With these decisions, Paraguay reaffirms its unwavering commitment to peace, international security, and the strict respect for human rights,” Peña said in a statement. He called on the international community to act in a coordinated manner to dismantle terrorist networks.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised the move, urging more nations to join in designating the IRGC. “Iran is the world's leading exporter of terrorism and extremism... more countries should follow suit,” he wrote on X.

The United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019 under the Trump administration — the first time Washington had assigned such a label to part of another country’s official military.

Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain have similarly blacklisted the group. However, within Europe, only a few nations have taken such steps independently.

The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution in early 2023 calling on the EU to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, citing its role in human rights abuses and external operations.

However, the European Union has so far declined to make the designation official, citing legal and diplomatic concerns. Canada listed it in 2014.

The move remains under discussion in the UK as critics of the move argue that an IRGC designation would sever communication between the two.

The IRGC, a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces, oversees the Quds Force, which is responsible for overseas operations and is accused by Western governments of orchestrating attacks and funding proxy groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas. All three organizations have been widely sanctioned or designated as terrorist groups by the US, Canada, and several other nations.

The Paraguayan decree comes at a time of renewed nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States. A third round of indirect talks is expected to take place this weekend in Oman, amid growing concerns over Tehran’s nuclear advancements.

“The United States will continue to work with partners such as Paraguay to confront global security threats,” Bruce said. “We call on all countries to hold the Iranian regime accountable and prevent its operatives, recruiters, financiers, and proxies from operating in their territories.”

A senior Iranian military official warned Friday that any hostile action against Iran would be met with a powerful response, referencing recent regional operations and past military victories.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War’s Operation Bazideraz, Brigadier General Majid Khademi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Protection Organization, said, “If today the enemy makes a wrong move, our forces will act in a way that makes Storm of Al-Aqsa feel like a dawn breeze, and Operation True Promise just a warm-up.”

Tehran refers to its direct strikes on Israel as Operation True Promise, with the first launched in April and the second in October of last year. It has also referred to Hamas’s assault on Israel as the Al-Aqsa Storm.

Khademi’s comments come amid indirect diplomatic engagement between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. While officials on both sides have signaled cautious interest in de-escalation, Iranian military leaders continue to stress deterrence and readiness.

“The enemy knows that military confrontation will be damaging,” Khademi said, without naming a specific country. He also warned of non-military threats, accusing foreign powers of conducting a “soft war” through disinformation and psychological operations aimed at weakening public trust and national unity.

“The battlefield has shifted from territory to minds,” he said, adding that Iran’s adversaries are targeting the “faith, hope, and will” of the younger generation through social media and information warfare.