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Several Tehran outlets defied a state-imposed ban on Wednesday by publishing commentary on ongoing nuclear talks with Washington, some striking an optimistic tone that diverged from the Supreme Leader’s skeptical message a day earlier.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ali Khamenei questioned the likelihood of a deal with the United States under President Donald Trump. Within hours, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a directive prohibiting the country’s press from commenting on the negotiations.
Still, major reformist dailies Etemad and Sharq carried pieces backing the talks the next day—one commentator even letting his imagination sail into uncharted territory.
“Not only will Iran and the United States reach an agreement, but they will also pave the way for the reopening of the US embassy in Tehran and consulates in other Iranian cities,” former MP Esmail Gerami Moghaddam said in an interview with Etemad.
“Trump has never said Iran should stop enrichment—only that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons,” he asserted, arguing that Trump’s recent trade agreements with neighboring Arab nations prove he is not seeking escalation in the region.
Sharq’s editorial—titled Does Diplomacy Still Have a Chance?—was not as rosy, denouncing what it called Washington’s excessive demands.
“Iran does not want to participate in talks that collapse before they even begin,” it quoted an unnamed official as saying, arguing that the “zero enrichment” red line advanced by Trump and his team threatens Iran’s sovereignty.
Nevertheless, the editorial ended on a hopeful note that the talks would continue.
Sharq also quoted former nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian—now at Princeton University, where he faces a campaign by Iranian dissidents calling for his removal.
“These problems would not have arisen had there been more direct negotiations with the U.S.,” Mousavian told Sharq, accusing U.S. officials of posturing that, in his words, undermines trust.
This echoed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who on Tuesday accused officials in Washington of leaking sensitive information and called for confidentiality.
In another piece, Sharq highlighted Qatar’s mediation efforts alongside Oman’s as a potential breakthrough. The duo’s involvement, it argued, could help establish a peaceful framework and restore regional stability.
“Qatar, as an experienced mediator, can build upon Oman’s initiatives,” the editorial said, noting that recent statements from Doha about bridging the gap between Washington and Tehran had raised hopes among diplomats.
By offering to mediate between Iran and the U.S., it concluded, Qatar is sending a clear message to President Trump: that his allies in the region prefer diplomacy over confrontation.
Yaron Lischinsky, one of two Israeli embassy employees killed in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, had publicly expressed solidarity with the Iranian people and participated in events supporting democracy in Iran.
Lischinsky, who served as a Middle East affairs advisor at the Israeli embassy in Washington, was killed alongside his fiancée, Sarah Lynn Milgrim, by a lone gunman who opened fire on a group leaving a diplomatic event on Wednesday night.
A suspect, identified by police as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, was taken into custody shortly afterward. Video footage shows him shouting "free free Palestine" after his arrest as police took him into custody.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed that both victims were locally employed staff members who had been active in cross-cultural dialogue and reconciliation efforts.
In previous posts on the social media platform X, Lischinsky had voiced support for the people of Iran, distinguishing them from the Islamic Republic. In a Nowruz message last year, he wrote: "The people of Iran are not our enemies. We wish them all the best and hope that one day peace will return."
Lischinsky had also participated in a conference organized by the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), a US-based advocacy group, where he was seen in photos alongside Iranian opposition figures. One image shared from the event included a flag bearing the historic Lion and Sun emblem of Iran.
The shooting occurred just over a mile from the White House and has been described by Israeli and US officials as a targeted act of violence. Security around Israeli diplomatic facilities worldwide has since been heightened.
Lischinsky, originally from Bavaria, Germany, was remembered by colleagues and community members as a committed and empathetic figure who worked to build bridges in the Middle East.
Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the attack, with the FBI investigating possible hate crime or terrorism motives though no formal terrorism charges have been announced.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote on X "Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence. Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads."
Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters, "We will not tolerate antisemitism ... the FBI's role, of course, as always when there is any possibility of a terrorist act, or acts motivated by hate or other bias, the FBI will be conducting those investigations."
The incident comes amid rising concerns about hate crimes linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Human rights groups have reported increased incidents of both antisemitic and anti-Arab violence in the United States since October 2023.
Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami dismissed direct negotiations with the United States, saying "they are incompatible with honor, rationality, and intelligence."
However, he said indirect talks continue under the Supreme Leader’s guidance.
“Trump portrays himself as a madman so that nations will fear him,” Khatami said. “But the Iranian people will drive him madder, because fear of the enemy has no place in our nation’s code.”
He added that while uranium enrichment is tied to nuclear weapons capability, Iran opposes atomic bombs based on Islamic teachings. “We take our orders from Islam, not America,” he said.
Iran’s hardline Kayhan newspaper, closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned on Thursday that indirect talks with the United States are heading toward a “pre-designed dead-end,” accusing Washington of seeking Iran’s total capitulation on nuclear enrichment.
An editorial warned that the diplomatic process to reach a new nuclear deal is heading toward a “pre-designed dead-end,” accusing Washington of seeking Iran’s total capitulation on nuclear enrichment.
The article came on the eve of the fifth round of negotiations mediated by Oman as Iranian officials expressed growing skepticism over the value of continuing the process.
“The Americans have brought the talks to a dead-end not due to misunderstandings or technical disagreements, but as a direct result of their excessive demands,” Kayhan wrote.
“Their goal is to empty Iran’s hands of nuclear capability and impose their will on a nation that has resisted domination for four decades.”
The remarks echoed comments made earlier this week by Khamenei himself, who publicly rebuked US demands that Iran halt all uranium enrichment and expressed pessimism about the outcome of the diplomatic process.
“We don’t think these talks will succeed, and we don’t know what will happen,” Khamenei said during a speech marking the anniversary of former President Ebrahim Raisi’s death.
Officials from across Iran’s political establishment – including the foreign minister, the parliament, and the first vice president – reiterated that uranium enrichment remains a red line.
Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material.
Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had increased to 275 kg, enough to theoretically make about half a dozen weapons if Iran further enriches the uranium.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Wednesday: “Enrichment will continue in Iran, with or without an agreement. If the other side wants more transparency, we’re open to that, but they must lift sanctions in return.”
He added, “If they want to enter into areas of our peaceful nuclear activities and deprive us of what is our right under the NPT, there will be no room for agreement.”
Iran’s parliament also issued a statement declaring it would “never retreat from the nuclear rights of the Iranian people,” accusing the United States of acting as a “criminal regime” with no legitimacy to dictate terms.
Iran’s Foreign Minister issued a formal warning to the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following reports of Israeli plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
In a message posted on X, he said the threats, leaked by US officials, require “immediate and serious condemnation” by both the UN Security Council and the IAEA.
“Threats from the rogue Israeli regime are nothing new,” he wrote. “But the recent leak citing US officials as divulging Israeli plans for an unlawful attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities is alarming and warrants immediate and serious condemnation from the UN Security Council and the IAEA.”
He said he had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi urging international bodies to take preventive action.
“In a letter to UNSG Guterres and IAEA DG Grossi, I have called on the international community to take effective preventive measures against the continuation of Israeli threats, which if unchecked, will compel Iran to take special measures in defense of our nuclear facilities and materials,” he said.
Describing the letter as “a serious pre-action warning,” he added: “The nature, content, and extent of our actions will correspond and be proportionate to preventive measures taken by these international bodies in accordance with their statutory duties and obligations.”
He also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to sabotage diplomacy while under legal pressure. “Evidently, the Wanted War Criminal Netanyahu—desperate to dictate what the US can and cannot do—spares no effort to derail diplomacy and divert attention from his ICC arrest warrant,” he wrote.
Concluding his message, the Iranian foreign minister said that Tehran “will not hesitate to forcefully respond to any transgression and will stop at nothing to protect its interests and people.”
