Was Iran behind the US-Houthi ceasefire?

Iranian daily Farhikhtegan reported Saturday that Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s trip to Riyadh includes delivering a response to a letter from Saudi King Salman, citing informed sources.

“One of the key points of Araghchi’s visit to Saudi Arabia is delivering a reply to the letter sent by King Salman,” the paper wrote.

In April, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman visited Tehran and delivered a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, according to Iranian state media.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left for Jeddah on Saturday for meetings with senior Saudi officials, Iranian media reported.

Araghchi is also set to travel to Doha later in the day to attend the Arab-Iranian Dialogue Conference.

Iran’s ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, managed by a representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned Saturday that Tehran should not be deceived by US President Donald Trump’s apparent diplomatic overtures, including his calls for negotiations or signs of retreat.

“Trump is not a temporary phenomenon but a mindset rooted in narcissism, delusions of superiority, and threat-based tactics,” Kayhan wrote in an editorial. “He seeks to keep the world in a constant state of fear and uncertainty.”

The editorial argued that Trump’s behavior—friendly or hostile—should be seen as tactical rather than sincere. “Do not be fooled by smiles, talk of negotiation, or gestures of retreat,” the paper said. “Both Trump’s friendship and enmity are tools of deception, not indicators of real boundaries.”

Kayhan also dismissed reports of a rift between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran, calling such narratives a “deception operation” meant to justify continued talks. “Trump’s posture is dangerous, but it reflects deeper US power structures—not just personal choices,” the paper added.

Former Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said US President Donald Trump is steering nuclear talks with Iran away from Israeli involvement, pursuing what he called a “fully American” framework, Iranian news agency ILNA reported Saturday.

“In the past, Obama and even Biden kept Israel informed during talks. Now, Trump is pursuing a mechanism that is entirely American,” said Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former chair of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee.

He said Trump’s focus appears to be economic, not military. “His priority is new investments and mutual ties, from his private businesses to US national interests,” Falahatpisheh added.

The Trump administration enters a new round of nuclear talks with Iran in Oman without a clear position on key demands, as internal divisions persist, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

While President Trump has described the negotiations as “going well,” officials told the Journal that the US approach has been “mixed” and marked by “significant internal debate.”

Special envoy Steve Witkoff has held three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian counterparts and is expected to meet again this weekend. He has proposed lifting sanctions and taking military action off the table if Iran agrees to dismantle its nuclear program and purchase enriched uranium from the US.

However, “there’s no firm US position on what dismantlement looks like,” one official said. Trump, who previously called for “total dismantlement,” said Wednesday, “We haven’t made that decision yet.”

So far, Iran has sought to keep its centrifuges and shown no sign of dismantling any of its nuclear work, the Journal reported.