Impossible to convince Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program, says ex-US negotiator

Iran will take "appropriate measures" if European powers move to reimpose UN sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

“If Europe uses the snapback mechanism, Iran will take a proportional action,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, told state news agency Mizan.

Last week, talks in Istanbul between Iran and European powers turned tense, with Britain, France and Germany proposing a “snapback-plus” clause to restore UN sanctions without US backing, media in Iran reported.

“Europeans know that such a move would destroy the space created for diplomacy,” Gharibabadi said. “This would not go unanswered by the Islamic Republic.”

He urged European countries to stop making threats. “We hope they think about the consequences and explain how they plan to contribute positively to diplomacy instead,” he said.

New US intelligence indicates Israel is actively preparing for possible strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN reported Tuesday, citing multiple officials familiar with the intelligence.

“It has gone up significantly in recent months,” one source told CNN, referring to the likelihood of Israeli action. The same source said chances of a strike would increase if the US reached a nuclear deal that left Iran’s uranium stockpile intact.

The report, based on intercepted Israeli communications, observations of military movements and internal Israeli deliberations, said the preparations included air munitions transfers and completed air drills. CNN noted divisions within the US government over whether Israel will ultimately proceed.

The White House and Israeli officials declined immediate comment, according to Reuters.

Earlier Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed US demands to halt uranium enrichment as “excessive and outrageous,” casting doubt on prospects for a negotiated settlement under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The 'Artemis Act' unveiled on Tuesday honors Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old asylum seeker who was expelled to Panama by the Trump administration after entering the US via its southern border.

She was denied a legally mandated interview and placed on a military flight without notice, her attorney said.

“Artemis Ghasemzadeh was denied the due process afforded to asylum seekers by law, plain and simple,” Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari. “Returning to the Islamic Republic of Iran would mean immediate—potentially deadly—danger for her, both as a woman and a Christian convert.”

“People like Artemis who are fleeing religious persecution should not be subject to expedited removal. They deserve a chance to plead their case–that's what my bill will guarantee,” she wrote on X.

Ghasemzadeh fled Iran after members of her underground bible study group were arrested. She told Iran International she was misled about her transfer, held in a jungle detention camp in Panama, and forced to subsist on contaminated water and stale bread.

“The food just helps us stay full and not die,” she said at the time, using a shared phone before being cut off.

The proposed Artemis Act would prohibit deportations to any country listed by the US government as committing “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” aiming to prevent removals like Ghasemzadeh’s.

Her lawyer has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against both US and Panamanian authorities.

The SNSC directive, a copy of which was obtained by Iran International, warned that failure to comply would be considered an act of threatening national interests and security.

It instructed media outlets and editors to only rely on official statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry—namely, the foreign minister and the ministry’s spokesperson—for any coverage related to the ongoing talks.

The directive was published hours after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that the current indirect nuclear talks with the United States are unlikely to succeed.

"Translating or republishing negotiation-related news from foreign sources including foreign state or non-state media, social networks, online activists, or any other sources is strictly prohibited and considered contrary to national interests and security," the notice said.

The council also warned against publishing any analysis, interpretation or speculation—whether supportive or critical—about the content or outcome of the negotiations.

"Media outlets are also expected, in order to maintain national unity, preserve public psychological calm, support the negotiating team, and convey a unified message to both domestic and international audiences," it continued.

Outlets must "refrain entirely from publishing any analysis, prediction, interpretation, or independent commentary regarding the details of the negotiations, the positions of the opposing parties, or conclusions based on unofficial reports," it added.

The directive emphasized that the restrictions are aimed at preventing the spread of misinformation and ensuring consistency in the country’s foreign policy messaging.

The 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries assessed, citing state control of the media landscape and the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of journalists before revolutionary courts.

Optimism in Tehran about nuclear talks with Washington has waned after a stern public rebuke from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday to US demand that Iran totally halt uranium enrichment.

Some supporters of a hard Iranian line said a US moratorium on Iranian enrichment, which Tehran maintains is its national right, would scupper the talks.

“The Leader stood up to America's excesses. The US will be directly responsible if the negotiations bear no result. They have no right not to recognize (Iran's) right to enrichment,” hardline cleric Ehsan Ebadi posted on X.

But the sharp speech also raised alarm about the stakes of the talks' collapse.

“The failure of the negotiations is definitely a loss for Iran, not the US. Iran should not let the negotiations fail,” Iranian teacher Ali Ghiasi-Farahani posted on X.

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