Exiled Iranian prince urges Trump to go hard on Iran
Iran's exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi has called on US President Donald Trump to enforce his maximum pressure campaign against Tehran over its nuclear program and support for terrorism, in an interview with The New York Post.
“This regime, in its DNA, is simply incompatible with the free world as we know it. Expecting them to change their behavior is a waste of time,” Pahlavi said in an interview.
He praised Trump’s current approach and said his previous term had weakened Iran’s ability to fund military operations. “We’ve seen … under the first administration of President Trump, that maximum pressure did pay some dividends. It isolated the regime more. It curtailed their means to be able to finance and fuel their war machine,” he said.
Asked about the prospect of government change in Iran, Pahlavi said: “There’s this rationale that says, ‘Well, option one is diplomacy, but if option one doesn’t work, then option B is striking their facilities or dismantling them,’” he said.
An Iranian lawmaker has called on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to reconsider Iran’s nuclear weapons doctrine if negotiations with the United States do not lead to sanctions relief.
“If the negotiations result in lifting sanctions, they should continue,” Nadergholi Ebrahimi said. “Otherwise, we demand the talks be stopped and request the Supreme Leader reconsider Iran’s nuclear weapons doctrine.”
Ebrahimi suggested that the United States should not be trusted in the negotiations, saying, “Even if America holds a flower in its hands, it is our enemy, and its appearance should not hide its true nature from our sharp eyes.”
"Despite ongoing challenges and disputes in the current negotiations between Tehran and Washington, both sides appear to be making mutual concessions in pursuit of a deal," Iranian political analyst Alireza Namvar Haghighi told Iran International.
"Ultimately, because both sides are aiming for an agreement, they would meet each other halfway," Namvar Haghighi said.
He suggested that the United States may have agreed to accept Iran’s uranium enrichment—either in a frozen state or at a limited level—while, in return, Iran is prepared to accept stricter verification measures.
According to Namvar Haghighi, this compromise could serve as the basis for a potential agreement between the two sides.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, "We engage in dialogue because we seek peace. However, the notion of completely dismantling Iran's nuclear facilities is unacceptable to us."
"Some people mistakenly believe we are weak and make such claims in the media," he added.
"We need nuclear energy for healthcare, technology, agriculture, the environment, and industry, and we are not going to hand over this achievement so easily," Pezeshkian said.
"Iran will not give up its peaceful nuclear rights," Pezeshkian said. However, he added that "we can assure you Iran has never sought, is not seeking, and will never seek nuclear weapons."
He also said "we are engaged in serious negotiations and seeking an agreement."
"We are by no means seeking unrest in the region," Iran's president said, adding that it is Israel that is creating instability in the region.
“If no agreement is reached today, I can say without a doubt that the American side is to blame,” said Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former Iranian foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator.
“There may have been times in the past when I couldn’t say this, but today I say it with complete certainty: our side has entered the talks with the will and authority to make a deal,” Zarif added during a speech at the Tehran Book Fair, shortly after the conclusion of the fourth round of Iran-US negotiations in Oman.
Zarif, the architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, said that “if the other side does not want to reach an agreement and instead looks for excuses, the blame lies with them.”
Araghchi, the current Iranian foreign minister and chief negotiator, served as Zarif’s deputy during the negotiations that led to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.
Iranian political prisoner Ehsan Faridi has been sentenced to death on charges of “spreading corruption on earth,” a ruling quietly issued months ago but only recently made public, according to information obtained by Iran International.
Faridi, a 22-year-old student from the northwestern city of Tabriz, was studying manufacturing engineering at the University of Tabriz when he was first arrested by Iran’s Law Enforcement Intelligence Organization in March 2024.
He was released on bail after nearly a month in detention, only to be re-arrested in June that year after appearing before Branch 15 of the Tabriz Prosecutor’s Office, which handles so-called national security cases.
His death sentence was handed down in February 2025 by Judge Ali Sheykhlou of Branch 3 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, a figure known for issuing harsh rulings against dissidents.
The verdict was based on reports from the police intelligence unit and an indictment issued by a prosecutor who was later sacked for corruption. The ruling was delivered despite objections raised by Faridi and his lawyer, and without what sources describe as sufficient evidence.
Corrupt prosecutor
Faridi's indictment had been issued by Ali Mousavi Aghdam, a former prosecutor for Branch 15 of the Tabriz Prosecutor’s Office.
Aghdam was arrested in November 2024 — less than three months after filing the charges — for forming a corruption ring within the judiciary, accepting bribes, forging documents, and fabricating cases. He was later convicted and dismissed from the judiciary.
Faridi's case is currently under review by Iran’s Supreme Court. According to a source familiar with the proceedings, the lack of credible evidence in the file and the court's past record of overturning similar sentences issued by Judge Sheykhlou has given Faridi’s family hope that the ruling will be annulled.
Faridi had already been sentenced to six months in prison on a separate charge of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” prior to the death penalty case.
The revelation comes amid a surge in executions in Iran, particularly targeting political prisoners. Human rights groups reported that at least 230 people — including 8 women — were executed across Iranian prisons in the first three months of 2025, more than double the number from the same period the previous year.
As of early May, human rights monitors estimate that around 60 individuals facing political or security-related charges are currently on death row in Iran.
