US strikes on Iran meant to ‘escalate to de-escalate,’ Rubio says

The paper said the discussions would be indirect, with the mediator acting as a go-between, and would cover both Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s demand for compensation over damages from the June war with Israel and the United States.

The United States has dismissed Iran’s compensation demand as “ridiculous,” with State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott saying earlier this month that Tehran should instead “stop funding terrorist death squads” and “stop wasting money on a nuclear program that isolates them further.”

Iran and the US held five rounds of talks between April and May this year in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy. A sixth round was scheduled to take place in Muscat on June 15, but was indefinitely suspended after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran two days earlier.

The ensuing 12-day conflict in June included US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, and Israeli strikes that destroyed critical infrastructure, killing several senior military and scientific figures as well as hundreds of civilians. Iran responded with missile strikes that killed at least 27 Israeli civilians.

Norwegian visit to Tehran

Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Kravik visited Tehran this week and met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. While the official readout made no mention of nuclear talks, the Tehran Times linked the trip to the mediation effort. Norway was among the few Western states to join 120 countries in condemning Israel’s June strikes on Iran.

Israeli attack was US-directed, Iranian president says

President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the Israeli June strikes were conducted “with the guidance and support of America” and aimed to spread unrest through “blind strikes” and the assassination of military commanders, scientists and civilians. “When it comes to the security and independence of the country, all differences fade and the principle is Iran,” he said, adding that even political opponents joined in defending the country.

Trump calls Iran a ‘very evil place’

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that American action had prevented wider wars in the Middle East by “stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon.” He called Iran “a very evil place” and warned that if Tehran restarted its program, “we’ll be back as soon as they start.”

“Mister Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Velayati told IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News, referring to the route included in Friday’s US-brokered Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal.

“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” he said, dismissing the idea as “impossible” and “political treachery” aimed at undermining Armenia’s territorial integrity.

He stressed that Iran has “always opposed” the so-called Zangezur corridor, saying it would alter borders, fragment Armenia, and restrict Iran’s own regional access. He said that when Turkey and Azerbaijan previously pushed the plan, Iran staged multiple military drills on its northwestern frontier to signal readiness to block it.

US-brokered deal signed in Washington

Velayati’s remarks came a day after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a US-brokered peace agreement at the White House alongside US President Donald Trump.

The accord grants Washington exclusive development rights to a strategic transit route across Armenia that would link mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave, without passing through Iran or Russia. The White House said the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” would boost energy exports and trade across the region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in conflict since the late 1980s over Nagorno-Karabakh, fighting several wars, most recently in 2023 when Baku regained full control of the enclave. Russia mediated in past years, but its influence has waned since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Tehran warns of foreign interference

Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday said it “welcomes” the peace text as an “important step” toward lasting stability, but warned that projects near its borders should be implemented “within the framework of mutual interests, with respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and without foreign interference.”

Velayati echoed that line, saying “whether with Russia or without Russia, we will move to protect the security of the South Caucasus” and adding that he believes Moscow is also opposed to the corridor on strategic grounds.

NATO ‘snake’ at the border

Calling the corridor “a political plot, not just a trade passage,” Velayati said it would open the way for NATO to position itself “like a viper” between Iran and Russia. He argued that no Armenian government could legitimately agree to the “partition” of its territory, regardless of US pressure, and claimed that even Prime Minister Pashinyan had previously told Iranian leaders he opposed the route.

“The Zionist regime, with the guidance and support of America, attacked Iran, and this attack was in line with America’s objectives,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said in remarks broadcast on state TV. He said the aim was to create chaos through “blind strikes” and the assassination of military commanders, scientists and civilians.

Twelve-day war

Iran and Israel fought a 12-day conflict in June that included US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, and Israeli strikes that destroyed critical infrastructure, killing several senior military and scientific figures as well as hundreds of civilians. Iran responded with missile strikes that killed at least 27 Israeli civilians.

Pezeshkian said the attackers aimed to spread unrest but failed. “The people, with their presence on the scene and their resistance, were victorious,” he said, adding that even prisoners and political opponents joined in defending the country. “When it comes to the security and independence of the country, all differences fade and the principle is Iran.”

Trump’s comments on Iran

President Donald Trump on Wednesday described Iran as “a very evil place” and credited US action with preventing wars across the Middle East by crippling Tehran’s nuclear program. “We have stopped wars in the Middle East by stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon,” he said. “They can say they’re going to start all over again. But that’s a very dangerous thing for them to do, because we’ll be back as soon as they start.”

“We express our concern about the negative consequences of any foreign intervention, especially in the vicinity of our shared borders, that could harm the region’s lasting security and stability,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said Iran “welcomes the finalization of the peace text by the two countries” as “an important step in achieving lasting peace in the region,” but added that projects near its borders should be developed “within the framework of mutual interests, with respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and without foreign interference.”

Agreement signed in Washington

The announcement came a day after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed the agreement at the White House with US President Donald Trump. The agreement includes exclusive US development rights to a strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus that the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.

That route will connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by a 32-kilometer-wide (20-mile-wide) patch of Armenian territory. The deal includes an agreement that will create a major transit corridor to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the White House said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have long been in conflict over territory and fought several wars. Russia acted as the main mediator for years, but its influence has declined since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Tehran calls for regional framework

The ministry said Iran is ready to continue “constructive cooperation” with Armenia and Azerbaijan through bilateral and regional channels, including the 3+3 mechanism, which brings together Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with Iran, Russia and Turkey to address regional issues without outside powers.

"The appointment of Ali Larijani as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council by the Iranian regime reflects its continued reliance on the same old figures and outdated strategies," the State Department said in a post on its Persian X account.

Earlier this week, Larijani was reappointed to a role from which he resigned two decades ago after clashes with ultra-hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Larijani’s return to a role he held nearly two decades ago signals the leadership’s preference for failed solutions over forward-looking approaches," the State Department said.

"The people of Iran deserve a model of governance that embraces accountability, progress, and innovative ideas."

For much of his career, Larijani was known as a staunch conservative.

He vocally opposed reformist President Mohammad Khatami and the broader reform movement, using his position as head of the state broadcaster IRIB to discredit Iranian intellectuals.

Yet by 2015, Larijani emerged as a key supporter of the Iran nuclear deal, helping secure its approval in parliament in under 20 minutes despite conservative opposition. The move aligned him with then-president Hassan Rouhani and marked a dramatic pivot from his earlier hardline stance.

Khamenei publicly praised Larijani at the time as a "problem-solver," though his growing closeness to Rouhani reportedly raised eyebrows in the Supreme Leader’s inner circle.

Despite being sidelined in recent presidential elections—disqualified by the Guardian Council in both 2021 and 2024 allegedly over his daughter studying abroad—Larijani has evidently regained the trust of Iran's theocrat.

Following President Ebrahim Raisi’s death last year, he was handed two sensitive tasks: overseeing the Iran-China strategic accord and acting as an intermediary with Russia after Israeli strikes on Iranian soil.

While many establishment figures kept a low profile during the crisis, Larijani reemerged as a visible supporter of the Islamic Republic and its top leadership.