US aims to hold fourth round of talks with Iran this weekend, White House envoy says

The man, whose family reportedly owns prominent businesses in Iran, is described as “very well connected” to Tehran’s leadership.

His arrest was part of a coordinated national operation involving Counter Terrorism Policing and UK Special Forces that resulted in raids across several cities, including London, Rochdale, Manchester, Stockport, and Swindon, according to the Met Police.

Authorities believe the group was just hours away from launching an attack on what police described as a “specific premises.”

Four of the men, aged between 29 and 46, continue to be held under the Terrorism Act 2006 after police secured extended detention warrants. A fifth man, aged 24 and arrested in Manchester, has been released on conditional bail.

The potential involvement of the Iranian suspects in a plot marks a concerning shift in Iran’s tactics, which have typically relied on criminal proxies to carry out operations abroad.

This case, if confirmed, could point to a more direct engagement in overseas activities by Iranian nationals themselves.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said the investigation remains in its early stages but stressed its complexity and national scale.

“We are working incredibly hard, with public safety at the forefront of our ongoing efforts,” he said, urging the public to avoid speculation and report any suspicious activity.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the work of security services, calling it one of the most significant counter-terrorism and counter-state threat operations in recent years.

Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani warned in a letter to the UN Security Council that "the responsibility and consequences of any unlawful and reckless aggression against Iran will fully and unquestionably fall on the United States and Israel."

"Iran has no need to enrich uranium other than to build a nuclear weapon. And Iran is building a missile program that can hit the United States," the X account of US Senate Republicans Caucus said on Monday.

"This is not just a threat to our allies — it’s a threat to us," the post reads.

“A fundamentalist group runs state TV behind the scenes,” moderate cleric and former MP Rasoul Montajabnia asserted last week, pointing to a recent broadcast that insulted Sunni Muslims. “(They) deliberately seek to sow discord among Muslims.”

On a daytime live show last week, a guest recited a derogatory poem about Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam. The network later issued an apology, removed the episode from all its platforms and opened an investigation.

The measures were deemed too little too late by several prominent clerics who accused the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) of insulting religious sanctities.

Leading theologian Hossein Nouri Hamadani questioned the decisions made at IRIB. “There are many learned clerics at the seminary … It is unclear why the network invites those who make unfounded statements about Islam,” he said late last week.

At least two more prominent clerics, Hossein Ansarian and Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, weighed in on the subject, urging the broadcaster to change course.

This level of public criticism from within is rare—and significant—because the head of Iran’s state television is directly appointed by the Supreme Leader, and its political output is closely monitored by his office.

Even the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News denounced certain broadcasts as “examples of bad taste,” leaving little choice for IRIB officials to issue rare public apologies—to viewers, authorities, and even neighboring countries.

“I do not deny there are oversights and mistakes,” IRIB chief Payman Jebelli told moderate conservative outlet Khabar Online, affirming his reverence for the clergy and their concerns.

Curiously, Khabar Online had carried an editorial alleging that “radical groups have infiltrated the national network,” and are driving the public away with their biased coverage of politics, especially the nuclear talks with the administration of US president Donald Trump.

Shortly after the second round of talks last month, state TV aired a live show in which an ultraconservative commentator warned of dire consequences including civil war if Tehran's engagement with the Trump administration continued.

“We have tried to deliver accurate news and stay aligned with the negotiators,” Jebelli told Khabar Online when asked about the show, adding IRIB backed the government in general even though some programs may contradict official policy.

Much of the criticism against the broadcaster has centered on Vahid Jalili—a senior IRIB official whose brother Saeed Jalili is the face and voice of Iran’s ultraconservatism and once led Tehran’s nuclear negotiations.

The brothers are seen by moderates as key to IRIB’s vision and direction.

The backlash against the state broadcaster, amplified by religious authorities and hardline outlets, suggests a growing divide not just between factions within the political elite, but potentially within the very institutions that project and preserve the state’s ideological authority.

“This should never have happened on a platform that’s under the leader’s supervision,” Montajabnia told Khabar Online, accusing the hardline faction of defying Ali Khamenei.

Asked if IRIB chief Jebelli could intervene to stop the broadcaster’s drive against the administration of president Masoud Pezeshkian, he said: “Only the supreme leader can resolve this.”

The negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic are in a fragile state and require reassessment by Tehran and courage in decision-making, Iranian political analyst Alireza Namvar Haghighi told Iran International.

He said if Iran does not reach an agreement with the US, it will face a range of economic, diplomatic, and cyber pressures that the ruling establishment will not be able to withstand.