IRGC-linked paper calls diplomacy Trump’s only option
A hardline Iranian newspaper affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that recent US military posturing lacks economic and strategic backing, and said Washington has no choice but to rely on diplomacy with Iran and China.
“Military threats and gestures of war not only lack economic backing but result in failure against Iran and China,” the paper said.
The editorial said the United States “can only rely on diplomacy” and criticized US President Donald Trump’s envoy, saying “Steve Witkoff exaggerates to shape the news ahead of the fifth round of talks.”
Witkoff said earlier this week that the United States “can’t allow Iran to retain even 1% enrichment capability,” according to remarks aired by ABC News.
On the talks, Javan said Iran would only engage in “clear nuclear cooperation” if sanctions are lifted at the beginning of any agreement.
The paper added: “If new sanctions are used, there will be penalties and costly measures against the US and European economies. These sanctions will include restrictions and bans in areas under control.”
Iran has received a proposal for the next round of indirect negotiations with the United States, deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday.
“We have received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks between Iran and the US, and it is under review,” Gharibabadi, who serves as deputy for legal and international affairs, said in remarks published by the state media.
No further details about the content or timing of the proposed negotiations have been released.
The comments come a day after a Wall Street Journal reporter said that the next round of Iran-US nuclear talks is expected to take place this weekend in Rome.
However, citing an Iranian official, the United Arab Emirates' based The National reported that Iran has "not accepted" Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US.
It said that American officials' insistence on "zero enrichment" has left officials in Iran uncertain about the usefulness of more talks.
Iran has received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks with the United States and is currently reviewing it, a senior Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.
“We have received a proposal about the next round of negotiations with the US, and it is under review,” Kazem Gharibabadi, deputy foreign Minister for legal and international affairs, told state media without providing further details.
On Monday, Wall Street Journal correspondent Laurence Norman said on X that the next round of nuclear-related talks between Tehran and Washington is expected to take place in Rome this coming weekend.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that no final decision has been made and that Tehran is evaluating the matter in light of what it called Washington’s “contradictory and constantly changing positions.”
Iran has "not accepted" Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US due to take place in Rome this Friday, the UAE's state-run The National website reported citing an Iranian official.
The American officials' insistence on "zero enrichment" has left officials in Iran uncertain about the usefulness of more talks, the report said.
Iran "does not want to have another round of talks and them to fail", the official was quoted as saying. "With zero enrichment, we don't have a deal."
"If the US attacks Iran, we won’t just target Washington — all its interests, bases, airspaces, seas, and territories used to launch an attack on us will be considered legitimate targets," said Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a former top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader and an Islamic Republic insider.
“Right now, the US says don’t enrich uranium. A bit later, they’ll say don’t even learn physics or math. From their perspective, we probably shouldn’t work in the field of science at all — we should focus on music, dance, and singing instead.”
Iran’s oil revenues should be deposited into a national fund before being spent, the country’s budget chief said on Monday, urging greater transparency and fiscal discipline as the military's share of the revenue continues to rise.
A third of Iran’s projected oil revenue for the year ending March 2026—worth $12.4bn—will go directly to the armed forces and military projects, three times more than last year.
The rest of the oil income, along with $33.5bn in gas revenues, will be split between the government’s budget, the National Development Fund (NDF), and the national oil company.
“The best course of action is to deposit all oil revenues into the National Development Fund,” the head of Iran’s planning and budget organization Hamid Pourmohammadi told a forum in Tehran on Monday.
“This way, we can determine at the start of the year how much the government needs, and based on that, the government can plan how much it can spend by year’s end.”
Pourmohammadi offered no detail on the existing arrangements which allow the fund to be bypassed and institutions such as the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) access a portion of Iran’s oil revenue before it reaches the government’s coffers.
He conceded, however, that the administration of moderate president Masoud Pezeshkian lacks consensus on how to implement the NDF-takes-it-all idea.
The NDF was established in 2010 to replace the Foreign Currency Reserves Fund (FCRF). While the FCRF was meant to safeguard oil income for future generations, the NDF has increasingly been used to cover budget deficits, despite the state objective of investing oil revenues.
The fund has long operated under the direct control of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with administrations needing his approval for withdrawals.
One of Pezeshkian’s first moves in office was to request funds to pay wheat farmers.
In recent years, billions have been syphoned to the IRGC and the state broadcaster, functioning as main vehicles of Khamenei’s hard and soft power.
The NDF’s share of oil and gas revenues dropped from 40% to 20% in the two years ending December 2024, according to Didban Iran citing a deputy of Iran’s budget office Hamid Amani Hamadani.
Iran’s private sector owed $7bn to the fund in January 2025, according to senior NDF official Mehdi Ghazanfari. This is a debt repaid slowly in local currency, which the fund must convert to dollars at below-market rates.
Ghazanfari put the total pay-outs from the fund to the administration at just above $103bn in 12 years. He also said $45bn had been loaned to private-sector in the same period—often to firms with ties to the IRGC or the supreme leader’s office
