Iran's foreign minister says US in talks because it has no military option

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief said US President Donald Trump is an enemy of the Iranian people, accusing him of blocking access to medicine and ordering the killing of IRGC General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

“The Iranian people know their friends and enemies well, and you are at the center of their hostility … Trump has sanctioned the Iranian people and is trying to block medicine from reaching the sick in this land,” Hossein Salami said in a speech on Thursday. “The Iranian people consider you the murderer of their most beloved and greatest national hero, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.”

“Mr. President, a few years ago you called the Iranian people terrorists and said Iran was a terrorist nation. How is it now that you portray yourself as a friend of this people?” he added. “Think carefully about what image of yourself exists in the minds of Iranians.”

Former Iranian vice president Eshaq Jahangiri said he felt ashamed when US President Donald Trump gave what he described as a false portrayal of Iran during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

“I suffered, I was ashamed when the president of the United States, in Saudi Arabia, gave a false description of Iran, saying that Iran doesn’t have water or electricity,” Jahangiri said in a speech on Thursday.

Speaking before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other top Saudi and US officials, President Donald Trump spent much of a lengthy speech on Tuesday criticizing Iran while urging a deal over its disputed nuclear program.

The US Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators in Iran and Lebanon for coordinating overseas funding for the group.

The individuals, identified as Mu’in Daqiq Al-‘Amili, Jihad Alami, Fadi Nehme and Hasan Abdallah Ni’mah, are accused of helping move large sums of money, including funds from Iran to Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack.

“These actions underscore Hezbollah’s global financial reach, particularly through Tehran,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities,” he added.

Former Iranian vice president Eshaq Jahangiri said he felt ashamed when US President Donald Trump gave what he described as a false portrayal of Iran during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

“I suffered, I was ashamed when the president of the United States, in Saudi Arabia, gave a false description of Iran, saying that Iran doesn’t have water or electricity,” Jahangiri, who served from 2013 until 2021 in Hassan Rouhani's government, said in a speech on Thursday.

Speaking before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other top Saudi and US officials, President Donald Trump spent much of a lengthy speech on Tuesday criticizing Iran while urging a deal over its disputed nuclear program.

Iran has not received any new proposal from the United States to resolve its nuclear standoff, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed senior Iranian official, denying reports of recent written offers.

The official said Tehran would only consider sending enriched uranium abroad if US sanctions are lifted “verifiably and effectively.”

Sending uranium enriched above 5% abroad has always been part of Iran’s nuclear discussions with the United States, the official added.

Earlier in the day, Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff had delivered a written proposal to Iran during talks in Oman, marking the first such offer since negotiations resumed in April.