US urges Syria to curb Iran influence at UN meeting

Mostafa Pourmohammadi, secretary of the Combatant Clergy Association and a former interior and justice minister, said Iran would get a fair deal after initial posturing and an expected back and forth.

“You want to buy a house. The seller says one million. You walk away. He tells you to wait and brings in a broker. Then suddenly the asking price drops. In your mind, you're thinking 500 or 600 is reasonable. The broker says 750, and the deal is done,” the veteran insider and conservative said in comments carried by state media.

“Neither the seller really intended to sell for 750, nor were you ready to buy at that price. But in the end, it gets resolved. That’s negotiation.”

Pourmohammadi broadly defended Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s approval of negotiations with the United States, in remarks that appeared aimed at easing concerns in conservative quarters.

Khamenei’s evolving stance, he said, reflected “wise leadership” in a rapidly changing world. “You cannot say the Leader’s words at one time apply to all times and all cases,” Pourmohammadi said in remarks carried by local media.

“The world is turning moment by moment. We must have the power to make wise and timely decisions. This is the logic.”

Khamenei had in February called negotiations with Washington “unwise, undignified, and dishonorable.” His recent support for talks mediated by Oman and taking place during Donald Trump’s return to the presidency marks a notable shift, particularly given longstanding hardline distrust of US intentions.

Pourmohammadi said President Trump’s public threats were part of a broader political strategy. Referring to a letter Trump sent to Khamenei in March, he said: “If Trump had written in his letter what he said in public, he would never have received a reply. But his formal letters had a different tone, revealing his real politics.”

The cleric framed the current moment as part of a broader strategic contest. “It’s not as if there’s only one moment, one issue,” he said. “This is a psychological war, and the Leader is managing it with wisdom.”

Pourmohammadi has held several senior roles across administrations but is widely known for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 while serving on a state-appointed committee at Evin Prison.

Human rights organizations and exiled dissidents have linked him to the killings, which Amnesty International described as crimes against humanity. Pourmohammadi has defended the executions in past interviews, saying they were in line with the Islamic Republic's wartime policy.

Speaking at Friday prayers in Tehran, interim Friday prayer leader Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard said that Iran’s nuclear policy is rooted in a religious and political doctrine that prioritizes peaceful development while resisting external pressure.

"The Islamic Republic’s strategy is based on transparency about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the development of nuclear technology, and the lifting of oppressive sanctions," he said.

His remarks come against the backdrop of renewed indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, facilitated by Oman, with the second round held in Rome and third slated for Muscat on Saturday.

According to Aboutorabi-Fard, the talks were initiated "at the repeated request of the highest-ranking US official and are proceeding with caution due to America’s repeated breaches of previous commitments, especially the unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has characterized the Muscat-hosted dialogue as a test of American sincerity. "The talks in Oman are a test to gauge the seriousness of the US," Aboutorabi-Fard quoted the minister as saying. "Complete sanctions relief and legal guarantees can pave the way for real progress."

The Omani Foreign Ministry, which hosted the recent talks in Rome, said the goal is to reach a “fair and lasting nuclear agreement” that ensures Iran is free of nuclear weapons and also free from sanctions—while maintaining its right to peaceful nuclear development.

Tehran views the Omani statement as aligning closely with its own strategic roadmap. "This declaration reflects the correct direction of negotiations in line with Iran’s strategy," Aboutorabi-Fard added.

The Tehran cleric, like several other Friday prayer leaders representing the Supreme Leader, portrayed the current diplomacy as a product of strength.

“Without the slightest doubt, the negotiations began from a position of dignity and power,” he said. “Iran has the upper hand in defining the topics and principles of the negotiations.”

Aboutorabi-Fard added that effective diplomacy must be backed by national strength—particularly technological and military power. “Diplomacy without power is ineffective in securing national interests,” he said. “The accumulation of scientific capacity, especially in nuclear technology, is one of the pillars of Iran’s national strength.”

He added that the country’s deterrent military capabilities bolster the negotiating team. “Our defensive power and enhanced deterrent strength are reliable assets for the Muscat negotiations.”

While advocating for the removal of sanctions, Aboutorabi-Fard echoed Khamenei’s frequent warnings against relying too heavily on external negotiations to solve domestic problems.

“Sanctions relief can help create conditions for sustainable economic growth,” he said, “but without transforming our economic and administrative structures, and without cutting the dependency of the budget on oil, real economic progress will remain out of reach.”

He urged the parliament and government ministers to focus on structural reforms regardless of the outcome of talks with the United States.

Other Friday prayer leaders across Iran echoed similar sentiments, praising Iran’s scientific achievements while cautioning against overreliance on diplomacy.

The cleric in Ilam quoted Khamenei, saying: “The diplomacy apparatus should do its work, but don’t tie the country’s future to the negotiations.”

In Yezd, Mohammad-Reza Naseri warned: “Don’t trust the enemy’s slogans. Real progress comes from self-reliance and heeding the Leader’s advice.”

And in Shiraz and Shahrud, Friday prayer leaders marked the anniversary of the failed US military operation in Tabas in 1980 -- Operation Eagle Claw -- as a reminder of “divine protection” and resilience against foreign intervention.

Mashhad firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda questioned whether, "After witnessing so many miracles, is it right to still hinge our hopes on America as a problem solver?""Conditioning our lives on negotiations demonstrates a lack of faith in God's power."

“Sure,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine when asked if he would be willing to meet Iran’s top leaders.

The comments come as the third round of indirect negotiations is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Oman. The talks, which began earlier this month, aim to revive diplomacy after years of tension following Trump’s 2018 decision to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

"I think we're going to make a deal with Iran. Nobody else could do that," he said during the interview.

Earlier this year, Trump reinstated his administration’s maximum pressure policy on Iran, while also expressing openness to dialogue.

In February he also said he was prepared to speak with his Iranian counterpart and voiced hope for a peaceful resolution. “I really want to see peace, and I hope that we're able to do that,” Trump said at the time. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, but Trump has warned of catastrophic consequences if a new deal is not reached swiftly. He has also said military action remains a possibility to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In the Time interview, Trump rejected reports that he had stopped Israel from launching strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, but said he preferred a diplomatic solution. “I didn’t stop them. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack,” he said. “It’s possible we’ll have to attack because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”

Asked if he was concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might draw the United States into a broader conflict, Trump replied, “No.”

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.”

During his visit to Moscow for the 18th session of the Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission, Paknejad said on Thursday that the deals form part of broader efforts to expand strategic cooperation across sectors, including energy, finance, and agriculture.

“The potential for trade between Iran and Russia is far greater than the current $5 billion level,” he said, adding that additional memoranda of understanding are under negotiation in the oil and gas sectors. “Expert groups are actively working to finalize these talks and turn them into binding contracts.”

The oil minister also announced plans for a new nuclear power plant to be constructed in the country, financed by a credit line from Moscow.

Paknejad also said that discussions are underway on importing natural gas from Russia in an initial phase, followed by gas swaps and transit to other countries. “This is one of the key areas of interest for both sides,” he said. “We have had detailed negotiations, and only a few items remain before finalizing the first-phase import volumes.”

The minister added that the latest agreements follow the ratification of a long-term strategic cooperation treaty between Tehran and Moscow. “This is the first joint commission meeting since the treaty’s approval last week, and it opens new pathways for economic collaboration,” he said.

Separately, Saeed Tavakkoli, managing director of Iran’s National Gas Company, said progress has been made on an earlier agreement with Russia to transfer gas to northern Iran, where domestic production is limited. “This plan will help meet energy needs in northern provinces and contribute to Iran’s goal of becoming a regional gas hub,” he said.

Tavakkoli added that while further technical assessments are needed, current negotiations have been effective, and the project aligns with the targets of Iran’s seventh development plan.

The agreements come as Western sanction -- isolating Russia over Ukraine and Iran for its nuclear program, regional role, and human rights -- have spurred a rapid deepening of their ties.

Their shared predicament, alongside a common interest in countering US influence, underpins their growing partnership. Both nations are also exploring ways to bypass these restrictions, including using national currencies and alternative financial channels for trade.