Iran says no details agreed on enrichment limits, only framework discussed

After 30 days of a ramped-up campaign against the Islamist militia amid its blockade of commercial shipping in the Red Sea region, US strikes had used around $1 billion of weapons and munitions.

In addition, two $67 million F/A-18 Super Hornets from America’s flagship aircraft carrier tasked with conducting strikes against the Houthis accidentally tumbled off the carrier into the sea.

On day 31 of the operation to quash the blockade in the key maritime trade route, Trump is reported to have requested a report, in which the numbers began to reflect an ever costly operation against the group only becoming more adamant in its own mission.

The Houthis shot down several American MQ-9 Reaper drones and continued to fire at naval ships in the Red Sea, including an American aircraft carrier, with the US failing to gain even air superiority over the group the US has listed as a terrorist organization.

“In those first 30 days, the Houthis shot down seven American MQ-9 drones (around $30 million each), hampering Central Command’s ability to track and strike the militant group,” the NYT reported.

“Several American F-16s and an F-35 fighter jet were nearly struck by Houthi air defenses, making real the possibility of American casualties,” the NYT said, according to multiple US officials.

When two pilots and a flight deck crew member were injured in the two episodes involving the F/A-18 Super Hornets, which fell into the Red Sea from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman within 10 days of each other, that fear became a reality.

The Pentagon reported that American strikes had hit multiple command and control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapons storage locations.

More than a dozen senior Houthi leaders had been killed, according to the US military, but the cost was mounting with the deployment of two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and THAAD air defenses, to the Middle East, officials told the NYT.

A White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said in a statement to The New York Times that the US military had carried out more than 1,100 strikes, killing hundreds of Houthi fighters and destroying their weapons and equipment.

The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said the operation was always meant to be limited. “Every aspect of the campaign was coordinated at the highest levels of civilian and military leadership,” he said in an emailed statement to the NYT.

Under former President Joe Biden, the US was leading a more than 20-nation coalition against the Houthi blockade, which had seen targeted strikes on the group’s infrastructure, but in a bid to free up global shipping, Trump cracked down on the Iran-backed group, before the costs began to raise eyebrows.

But now, while the Houthis have paused attacks on commercial shipping since the Oman-mediated ceasefire with the US, the group has continued targeting Israel, with one ballistic missile missing the country’s main airport by just meters earlier this month.

Ben-Gurion Airport in central Israel remains a target from the group, which has issued multiple statements warning it is no longer safe.

The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and they will not stop until a full ceasefire in Gaza.

Since the US agreed to the ceasefire, Israel has begun to step up its own operations against the Houthis independently of the US agreement.

Iran's insistence on indirect negotiations with the United States remains a weakness given the sensitive circumstances surrounding the nuclear talks, reformist Shargh daily wrote on Tuesday.

The newspaper acknowledged that an agreement could potentially be reached through text exchanges, but argued this approach is disproportionate to the high stakes of the discussions.

Given Iran's insistence on maintaining domestic enrichment, the newspaper expressed concern that the talks might not achieve progress under such conditions.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander briefed lawmakers on the country’s military posture, asserting that Iran's defense capabilities are stronger than ever and that no credible military threat currently exists against the Islamic Republic.

Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, addressed members of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in a closed-door session, the committee's spokesperson, Ebrahim Rezaei, told Tasnim news agency.

General Hajizadeh provided a detailed report on regional security dynamics and adversarial activities, emphasizing Iran’s growing missile and drone capabilities. He said that Iran has significantly increased its deterrence power and operational readiness in recent years.

According to Rezaei, the IRGC commander described “True Promise 2”attack on Israel as the largest missile strike in the world to date, claiming over 75% of missiles launched in the operation hit designated targets. He said the strike sent a “clear message” to adversaries, particularly Israel.

The October attacks, while more successful at saturating Israeli air defenses than in April, did not appear to cause extensive damage. Israel said it had shot down most of the missiles and there had been no harm to its air force's capabilities.

Hajizadeh dismissed recent reports suggesting a decline in Iran’s defense strength as part of what he called a Western and Israeli media campaign aimed at undermining Iran’s image.

Fox News reported last year that Iran’s four Russian-made S-300 air defense systems allegedly destroyed by Israeli strikes, one in April and three in October 2024, constituted the entirety of the Islamic Republic's S-300 inventory.

Hajizadeh added that the country’s offensive capabilities have expanded, and that Iran’s adversaries are now more vulnerable to retaliation than ever before.

Committee members expressed unanimous support for the IRGC Aerospace Force and urged further investment in Iran’s defense sector, according to Tasnim.

Ali Larijani, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said the United States faces multiple global challenges and that Iran is not the only case on its foreign policy agenda.

“For example, one of the concerns of major powers like the United States is China’s future position,” Larijani said.

“Westerners believe Iran does not have a suitable economic situation, and therefore think pressure on Iran should be increased — in other words, they aim to strike at the body of Iran’s social capital,” he added.

Larijani warned that some in the West believe this is the right time to “settle accounts” with Iran.

Iran’s Farhikhtegan daily on Tuesday highlighted both potential benefits and significant risks of a proposed nuclear consortium involving Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The paper said that one of Iran’s proposals in Sunday’s negotiations with the United States was to allow regional oversight of uranium enrichment as a way to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. It noted that similar plans had been discussed by Iranian officials in previous administrations.

Supporters of the idea, the daily wrote, believe “this proposal could help break the deadlock in negotiations and strengthen ties with regional countries.”

However, Farhikhtegan warned the plan lacks clarity, asking: “If enriched material is transferred to a Persian Gulf state and placed under their supervision, what will be the mechanism for its storage, and where exactly will it be held?”

The editorial also questioned Iran’s ability to respond if pressure is applied through regional actors: “If the American side, through influence, pushes these countries to destroy the enriched material, what mechanism does Iran have to counter that?”