Foreign ministry says Iran's top clerical body backs talks strategy

Iran and the United States will hold a fourth round of indirect talks in Muscat on Sunday, focusing on "humanitarian and security issues", Iran’s semi-official Nour News reported.

“The talks, built upon three rounds of intensive consultations in recent months, are directly focused on humanitarian issues and certain security concerns of both sides,” Nour News quoted an informed source as saying.

The outlet, linked to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the discussions are not expected to directly address the nuclear file.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the progress of talks between Iran and the United States with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.

Putin expressed Russia’s readiness to help facilitate dialogue aimed at reaching a “fair agreement.” The two leaders also discussed bilateral ties, including cooperation on major energy projects.

In a post on the social media platform X, Shamkhani described the attack as a "strategic blow to the illusion of the decline of resistance."

Shamkhani's comments came a day after the Israeli military launched airstrikes against the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen, saying it was used for the transfer of Iranian weapons used to attack Israel.

The raid was carried out in response to repeated drone and ballistic missile attacks by the Houthi rebels against Israel, it said.

On Saturday the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that hit near Israel's main Ben Gurion Airport. Shortly after, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation.

"The events of 2022 resulted in approximately 90,000 legal cases,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Tuesday. “The defendants and convicts in these cases came from various segments of society. Among them were, in some cases, teachers, school students, and university students.”

He said widespread prosecutions would have allowed "enemies" to exploit the unrest, so the judiciary sought assistance from non-judicial bodies.

“At that point, we sought help from seminaries, the Basij, academics, and teachers. With their presence in detention centers, the majority of those convicted in 2022 were admonished and guided,” Ejei said.

“Criminals who committed violent acts or engaged in organized operations were a separate matter,” he said. “They were dealt with legally and were not included in these measures,” he added.

The 2022 protests erupted after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody following her arrest by Iran’s morality police over alleged hijab violations.

Human rights groups say thousands were detained, including minors, and at least eight people have been executed in connection with the protests.

A senior Iranian official said a recent missile strike on Israel by Iran-backed Houthis had shaken Israel’s psychological security and demonstrated the growing strength of Tehran’s regional allies.

“The missiles from Sanaa targeting Ben Gurion [Airport] shook Israel’s psychological security,” Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote Tuesday on X.

He described the attack as “a strategic blow to the delusion of the Resistance’s collapse,” using the term Iran applies to a network of allied armed groups across the region, including in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Yemen. “The front now holds the initiative, with an ever-growing presence from Lebanon and Gaza to Iraq and Sanaa,” Shamkhani said.

The missile, fired from Yemen by the Iran-backed group, landed near the main terminal of Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday morning, according to Israeli authorities.