Iranian official tells CNN that US uses nuclear talks as 'trap'

Arya was criticizing Araghchi for visiting Pakistan before traveling to India for talks aimed at deescalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The clip quickly circulated online, prompting a public response from the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. In a statement, the embassy said: "Respect for guests is a long-standing tradition in Iranian culture. We Iranians consider our guests 'beloved of God. What about you?"

Following the Iranian reaction, the Indian embassy in Tehran issued its own clarification, writing: "The Embassy of India in Iran wishes to clarify that the person in this video is a private Indian citizen."

"His comments do not reflect the official position of the Indian government, which finds the disrespectful language used in the video inappropriate," the Indian embassy added.

Major Gaurav Arya is a very popular Indian personality with nearly two million followers on X including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His program "Chankaya Dialogue" also has over four million subscribers on YouTube.

"Military action depends on them [Iran], in whether or not they believe in taking President Trump seriously," Israel's Channel 12 reported citing US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

In the Saturday interview, Huckabee emphasized that there will not be nuclear weapons in Iran.

"There won't be a deal that involves Iran with nuclear capacity."

"Iran insists on its right to use peaceful nuclear energy and that includes uranium enrichment," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said one day before the fourth round of talks with the US in Oman.

"We will not back down from the Iranian nation's nuclear rights. If the goal is to prevent Iran from accessing its legitimate right to peaceful nuclear energy, that will never happen," he said.

Araghchi, who was addressing an event held in Doha, said "Iran, in its indirect talks with the United States, emphasizes its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and clearly states that it is not seeking nuclear weapons."

"Iran continues the negotiations in good faith, and if the goal of these talks is to ensure non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, an agreement is possible. However, if the aim is to restrict Iran’s nuclear rights, Iran will never back down from its rights."

4o

Esmaeil Baghaei in a statement on Saturday praised the two countries’ leaders in halting the conflict as a responsible and prudent move and expressed hope that the situation between India and Pakistan would return to normal as soon as possible.

He also emphasized "the importance of both countries seizing this opportunity to ensure a reduction in tensions and the sustainability of peace in the region."

Following a tense day of escalating conflict that risked spiraling out of control, India and Pakistan unexpectedly reached an agreement on an immediate ceasefire, putting an end to the most intense clashes in decades between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan reported that India had launched missile attacks on several of its military bases, prompting Pakistan to retaliate with strikes on Indian bases.

The pause in hostilities was first announced by US President Donald Trump, who shared on social media that the agreement followed a night of American-led mediation efforts.

The panel of Middle East specialists said the surprise deal mediated by Oman and announced by President Donald Trump highlights the US leader's maverick stances and Tehran's flexibility as it tries to clinch a deal to avoid war with Washington.

Iranian and US negotiators are due to meet in Muscat for a fourth round of talks on Sunday after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff rejected enrichment by Iran and for the first time mooted ending the talks if Tehran does not budge.

"Trump is totally unpredictable. Nobody knows what's going to happen with him the next day. This is something that is coming across all over the region," said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official and current Mideast analyst.

Shock ideas like taking ownership of Gaza and the sudden end of American attacks on the Houthis keep friend and foe alike off balance, he added, and provide a moving target that may scramble any independent plans they have of their own.

"I don't know whether to even to call it policy but basically steps or measures that ... because they are so flexible, vague and unpredictable, create a dynamic that in a convoluted way could be sometimes constructively contributing to stability."

At the same time, according to Yemeni-American policy analyst Fatima Abo Alasrar, the Yemen truce likely signaled the influence of their Iranian backers over their armed proxies in the explosive region.

"It's an amazing strategy by Iran regime's officials to throw in something to show good faith and that they're serious, but also it shows power," said Abo Alasrar, a senior policy analyst at the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies.

"When you're able to stop your proxy... it shows how much power Tehran has in the region. This demonstrates to the US president, look at us, we can do this - we can turn this region upside down if we want to."

Wait and See

The truce between the theocratic guerrilla group and the populist president may prove fragile, and any breakdown between Tehran and Washington could inflame it anew.

"They are talking about nuclear agreement and a nuclear deal with Iran and that therefore Iran will make concessions, etc. And the Houthis maybe will be part of it," said Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute.

"It's more of a let's wait and see situation, precisely because a lot of these things are unpredictable."

Not just Washington's Houthi enemies but its Israeli allies seem not to be able to discern Trump's next move.

Israel pounded Yemen's main airport and several power plants the morning before Trump's truce announcement, escalating its military campaign just as their American backers ended theirs.

"This does suggest at least a certain amount of friction or a certain amount of uncoordination between the United States and Israel, at least when it comes to the policy towards the Houthis," said Gregory Brew, senior Iran analyst at Eurasia Group.