UK police working with Iran International to counter threats, commander says

Wang, who has been outspoken about opposing nuclear negotiations with Iran, recently joined the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

Wang was held for 1,216 days in Tehran’s Evin Prison and released in 2019 in exchange for an Iranian scientist convicted in the US of violating sanctions.

He had traveled to Iran as a Princeton graduate student with permission from the Iranian foreign ministry before being arrested and imprisoned on espionage charges.

In a 2021 lawsuit, Wang accused Princeton University of failing to support him during his detention and of pressuring his family to stay quiet. “They sent me to Iran and left me there,” Wang said at the time.

The US and Iran are set to begin a fifth round of indirect talks in Rome on Friday in spite of remarks from Iran's Supreme Leader this week doubting they will be able to reach an agreement if US terms remain set on stopping Iran's uranium enrichment.

The Trump administration has ruled out any Iranian uranium enrichment, calling it a red line in negotiations with the Islamic Republic — a condition Iran considers unacceptable.

Iran’s foreign ministry recently sent a message to Omani officials, urging them to implore Washington to soften its demands, the sources told Iran International on condition of anonymity.

“Given the dependency of Iran’s financial markets—currency, gold, and stocks—on the outcome of the negotiations, the message emphasized that a diplomatic compromise is possible if the United States moderates its position,” one source said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Tehran was reviewing the possibility of holding a new round of negotiations with Washington—an indication that Iran was awaiting a response from the US via Oman, the sources told Iran International.

Oman's foreign minister announced on Wednesday that Iran and the United States will hold the fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome on Friday, May 23.

No clear alternative

Iranian officials, the sources added, are concerned about the absence of a clear diplomatic alternative if talks collapse.

There is currently no alternative strategy to manage the crisis and govern the country in the event of the negotiations’ failure, they said, stressing that maintaining the diplomatic track remains a priority for Tehran.

Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing three unnamed Iranian sources, that the Iranian leadership has no clear contingency plan should the nuclear talks fail.

The sources suggested that while Iran might pivot toward China and Russia as an alternative strategy, such a path would be fraught with challenges. China is entangled in a trade war with the US, and Russia remains mired in its military conflict in Ukraine.

The alternative plan is simply to continue the pre-negotiation strategy, Reuters reported citing a senior Iranian official, suggesting that Iran would avoid escalating tensions while reinforcing ties with allies such as Russia and China

The UAE's state-owned The National reported on Monday citing two Iranian officials, that the negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled due to disagreements over uranium enrichment levels, and Tehran has not yet accepted Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US.

On Tuesday Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed US demands to halt uranium enrichment as “nonsense and excessive.” He also warned that the likelihood of successful negotiations remains low, signaling a toughening stance at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Oman on May 27–28 at the invitation of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the president's office announced on Wednesday.

While Oman is mediating nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, the nuclear issue is not currently on the official agenda for Pezeshkian's visit.

The bill passed with 191 votes in favor, 8 against, and 2 abstentions out of 201 ballots cast, according to state media.

The agreement, initially signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on January 17, was ratified by Russia’s State Duma in April.

While the pact does not include a mutual defense clause, it commits both nations to enhanced military-technical cooperation, joint military exercises, and coordination in the face of what they define as shared security threats.

“The strategic treaty is vital from economic, security, geopolitical, and diplomatic perspectives,” said Tehran lawmaker Hamid Rasai during the parliamentary debate. “Both Iran and Russia are under heavy Western sanctions. This partnership can help reduce dependence on the dollar and strengthen national and military security.”

Rasai added that Russia could potentially provide Iran with advanced weapons systems, including air defense technologies, fighter jets, and naval equipment.

Another MP, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi from Rasht, voiced support for the pact, saying, “It is in our interest to align with those who oppose America.”

The development comes against the backdrop of deepening military collaboration since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022.

Western governments have accused Iran of supplying drones and missiles for Russia’s use on the battlefield, leading to economic sanctions, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.

Economically, the pact aims to ease bilateral trade and financial transactions, with provisions to expand interbank cooperation and promote the use of national financial instruments.

The move comes as both Tehran and Moscow remain under extensive Western sanctions.

Last week, a separate free trade agreement between Iran and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union came into effect, reducing tariffs to boost trade flows between the two economies.

In an article titled “Building a new reality for the region: Toward stability, sovereignty and solidarity in West Asia,” Araghchi painted a sobering picture of mounting challenges in the region, including protracted conflicts, environmental degradation, and humanitarian crises.

He argued that externally imposed security arrangements have repeatedly failed to deliver long-term stability.“The people of this region have paid the price for policies that were drafted without their consent or participation,” he wrote.

The top Iranian diplomat said the current geopolitical disorder is rooted in decades of unresolved conflicts, worsened by foreign interference.

He warned that issues like water scarcity, refugee displacement, and economic fragility are shared threats requiring regional cooperation rather than competitive power politics.

“Security in West Asia must no longer be treated as a zero-sum game,” Araghchi stressed. “It should be a collective endeavor based on mutual respect and inclusive dialogue.”

However, he warned that no regional security architecture would be complete without addressing the role of Israel, which he accused of persistent destabilization and operating outside international disarmament norms.

“A regime that systematically violates international law and enjoys unchecked military privilege cannot be part of any sustainable security framework,” Araghchi said, citing Israel’s nuclear ambiguity and history of regional military activity.

Araghchi called for West Asia to embrace a “homegrown paradigm of security” rooted in shared sovereignty and common prosperity, inviting global powers to support, rather than dictate, this transition.

“The future of West Asia will not be written in distant capitals,” he concluded. “It will be authored by the peoples of the region, based on frameworks reflecting their histories, cultures, and collective will.”

Araghchi’s article comes as indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States appear stalled, with both sides holding firm on uranium enrichment — a key sticking point each describes as a red line.

It also comes in the wake of a weakening of some of Iran's key military allies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and allied groups in Syria, once a military stronghold for Tehran under the presidency of ousted President Bashar al Assad.

The attacker, identified as Yasin Hoseinzadeh, stormed the embassy in January 2023, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle.

He broke through the security post and opened fire, killing the head of the embassy’s security service, Orkhan Asgarov, and injuring two others — Vasif Taghiyev and Mahir Imanov — who tried to stop the attack, according to APA.

At the time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the attack on social media, calling it a “terrorist act” and “unacceptable.”

Iranian authorities said the attacker acted on a personal motive, believing his wife was inside the embassy and refusing to see him.

He was sentenced to death for murder, illegal possession of firearms, and disturbing public order. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, and the sentence was carried out on Wednesday morning.

The attack led to the suspension of Azerbaijan’s embassy operations in Iran. Diplomatic staff and their families were evacuated shortly after the incident, and the mission only resumed work at a new location in July last year following negotiations between the two countries.

Relations between the two neighbours have been tense, with Azerbaijan accusing Iran of mistreating its ethnic Azeri population, and Tehran expressing concern over Baku’s close ties with Israel and possible regional border shifts following the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.