Lebanon president confronted Iran envoy over Hezbollah, withdrawn report says

"Iran does want to make a deal. I think they very badly want to make a deal. I am totally open to it, and we're talking to them, and we start a process," Trump said.

"It would be a nice thing to have a deal with Iran," he added during a joint press conference at the White House with Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince, who promised boost Riyadh's investment in the United States to $1 trillion.

Washington engaged in talks with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program earlier this year with a 60-day ultimatum.

On the 61st day, June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign which was capped with US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear sites in Esfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

Trump said on Tuesday his administration could have reached an agreement with Tehran before the June war, "but that didn't work out."

"Something will happen there. But they would very much like, I mean, they may say something else, but they would very much like to have a deal."

Trump also defended the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, calling it "the right thing to do".

Addressing the crown prince Trump added, "We put you in a very good position."

Riyadh ready to help

The crown prince told the same press conference he was ready to help Iran and the United States reach a deal that would also benefit the Middle East.

"I will be working closely together on the (Iran) issue, and we will do our best to help to reach a deal between America and Iran," he said.

"We believe it's good for Iran's future to have a good deal that that would satisfy the region and the world. So we will do our best to see that they happen."

The surprise Israeli attacks that started on June 13 were publicly condemned by Iran's Arab neighbors in the Persian Gulf which oppose what they see as Iran's bid for hegemony in the region but seek calm to boost domestic growth agendas.

Following the 12-day war, they were quietly relieved that the campaign weakened the Islamic Republic, security experts told Iran International at the time, though Tehran's Arab rivals prefer a defanged Iran to a regime change that would lead to instability.

The campaign saw Israel gain control of Iran's airspace within days as it assassinated top military leaders and degraded Iranian missile capabilities.

However, any prolonged conflict or upheaval inside Iran would be viewed as a potential risk to the regional countries' tourism, trade and foreign investment, a taste of which was offered by the closing of air space across the Persian Gulf and crashing stock markets amid the conflict.

Across Iran’s rice-producing provinces, several main varieties are prized, and priced, above others, including the premium Tarom Hashemi, and the cheaper Fajr and Shiroudi varieties.

Research by Iran International shows that premium Tarom Hashemi rice is now being sold for up to four million rials (about $3.56) per kilogram.

A year ago, it sold for around 1.2 million rials (about $1.07) – a rise of more than 230% in just twelve months.

“Last year I bought this same rice for 1.2 million rials,” said Farhad, 38, from Karaj. “Now it’s 3.5 million, and I am sure it's not as genuine as it once was. Khamenei has spent over four decades chasing war, missiles and chanting ‘death to this or that.’ Now we can’t even afford rice.”

In Tehran, Fereshteh, a mother of two, said prices have soared in recent months. “Five months ago, it was 1.87 million rials (about $1.66). Today in the supermarket, it’s 3.57 million (about $3.17),” she told Iran International.

Rising inflation and a weakening currency have helped drive up costs of living in Iran and economic pain has deepened as Western and European-triggered international sanctions compound the country's international isolation.

A standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program lingers as negotiations to resolve the impasse appear elusive. Tehran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, rejects US demands to end domestic enrichment and rein in its missile capabilities and support for armed allies in the region.

The latest figures from Tehran’s Municipal Market Organization – where goods are sold below retail – show Tarom Hashemi rice each priced at 3.35 million rials (about $2.97) per kilogram, with other varieties ranging between 2.1 million rials ($1.87) and 2.75 million rials ($2.44).

Yet shoppers say such prices are deceptive as they allege stores mix low-grade grains into premium brands. True top-quality rice, they say, now costs between 3.5 million rials ($3.11) and 4 million rials ($3.56) per kilo.

Mid-range varieties also more pricey

Recent market data show that Shiroudi rice, which sold for 830,000 rials (about $0.74) per kilogram last November, now ranges between 2.1 million rials (about $1.87) and 2.35 million rials (about $2.09). Based on the lowest price, this marks a 153% annual increase.

Fajr rice has followed a similar trajectory: it rose from 900,000 rials (about $0.80) per kilogram last year to 2–2.75 million rials (about $1.78–$2.44) today – an increase of at least 122%.

One kilogram of Iranian rice feeds about five people.

Iran International’s analysis shows that each plate of rice now costs 800,000 to 1 million rials (about 71-89 cents), while even a single spoonful costs at least around 40,000 rials (about 4 cents).

For a family of four, consuming rice once daily – about 15 to 20 kilograms per month – means spending 70 to 100 million rials (about $62–$89), nearly half the average Iranian monthly income, which stands below $200.

Rice, once described as the daily heartbeat of Iranian cuisine, has become a measure of economic despair.

“I grew up in Gilan where rice was sacred,” said Mitra, 51, a retired teacher. “Now I can’t even afford one bag. What kind of country turns its own staple into gold?”

“Iranian rice has a unique aroma, texture, and flavor that perfectly matches our cuisine,” said Banafsheh, 44, from Tehran. “Foreign varieties – Indian, Pakistani, or Thai – can never replace it in Iranian cooking.

"Our rice is what we serve at gatherings; it’s a sign of respect for guests," she added. "But now, many of us can’t even fill our own plates with it. We’ve been forced to switch to foreign rice, and even that is becoming unaffordable.”

Profiteering, mismanagement

“While the global price for premium rice is about one dollar per kilogram, Iranian consumers pay the equivalent of over three dollars,” Agricultural economist Amir Aghajanian, a member of the Rice Producers Association, told the state-run Fars news agency.

Production costs for northern farmers, he said, are around 1.45 million rials (about $1.29) per kilogram, but middlemen push retail prices above 3.5 million rials (about $3.11). “Excessive profit-taking and weak market oversight have inflated prices far beyond production costs,” Aghajanian asserted.

Iran’s agriculture minister recently revealed that one importer earned $250 million in illicit profit through price manipulation and hoarding, highlighting deep flaws in import oversight.

Other agricultural experts say the crisis runs deeper: rising input costs, fragmented farmlands and outdated tools all push production expenses higher.

“When farmers use traditional methods on small plots, costs rise naturally,” one rice market analyst in Lahijan told Fars. “But when corrupt traders control imports, consumers suffer twice.”

For centuries, rice has anchored Iranian cuisine – from Chelo Kabab, the classic dish of steamed rice served with grilled meat, to Zereshk Polo, rice cooked with barberries and saffron next to chicken.

But in today’s Iran, families ration it like medicine. “Even foreign rice is slipping out of reach,” Farhad from Karaj added. “Our dinner tables are shrinking while the government talks about resistance and dignity.”

As one grocer told Iran International, “Rice was the food of everyone – rich and poor. Now it’s become the food of memory.”

"The reports of the IAEA Director General speak for themselves, as they highlight Iran’s ongoing violations of its key obligations. This particularly concerns the still-unclarified whereabouts of the stocks of highly enriched uranium," the spokesperson said.

Last week, in a confidential report cited by Reuters, the IAEA said Iran has yet to allow UN inspectors to visit nuclear sites hit by Israeli and US airstrikes in June, adding that the verification of Tehran’s enriched uranium is “long overdue.”

“The Agency’s lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification is long overdue,” the IAEA said in the report to member states.

Under its obligations as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran must submit a detailed report on the status of the bombed facilities “without delay,” but has yet to do so, the IAEA added. Only after such a report is received can inspectors return to the damaged sites.

The spokesperson added that the E3 — Germany, France and the United Kingdom — have repeatedly raised their concerns on Iran's violations publicly and they were the reason the troika triggered the so-called snapback of sanctions.

The E3 triggered the snapback mechanism under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 which led to the restoration of UN sanctions on Iran in late September.

European states are expected to discuss a draft resolution critical of Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting later this week.

According to the spokesperson, no specific agenda item is planned on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, but Berlin said the issue will still be addressed based on reporting from the IAEA director general and the UN resolutions that re-entered into force following the snapback mechanism.

European countries and the United States have called for renewed talks between Washington and Tehran, but Iran says it will not renounce domestic uranium enrichment or discuss its missile program and its support for regional armed groups.

"Germany, together with its E3 partners France and the United Kingdom, continues to advocate for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program," the spokesperson added.

Earlier this month, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said although the June attacks on Iran's Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow nuclear sites “severely damaged” the country's nuclear program, the country retains the knowledge and material “to manufacture a few nuclear weapons."

Before the attacks, inspectors had verified about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity—enough, if further refined, for roughly 10 nuclear weapons under IAEA criteria.

Iranian officials, including Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, have repeatedly said the enriched uranium is buried "under rubble" left from the June strikes.

Tehran denies seeking a bomb but Western powers and Israel doubt its intentions.

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said it appeared the network helped identify Iranian targets on the ground rather than relying on intelligence gathered from Israel.

“It seems that the Mossad network formed inside Iran leaked information showing our officials were targeted, not that there was a center in Israel obtaining it,” Bakhshayesh said, according to Iranian media.

He said Iran’s counterintelligence services had already detained and executed several people accused of cooperating with Israeli intelligence.

Bakhshayesh added that Israel, the United States, and NATO acted together during the June conflict, but said the attacks failed to weaken Iran.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, deputy foreign minister and head of the ministry’s political studies center, told CNN that Iran’s nuclear program “cannot be shut down,” adding that infrastructure had been damaged in recent conflicts but the program rests on “domestically developed knowledge spread across the country.”

He added US officials must abandon the idea of leveraging diplomacy to achieve goals they failed to secure through military pressure.

“We cannot enter a negotiation that is doomed to fail and ultimately becomes a pretext for another war. If the other side accepts the logic of negotiation – meaning give-and-take – sets aside certain illusions, and stops trying to use political and diplomatic tools to obtain what it could not achieve through a military campaign, then we can move forward within the framework outlined by the Supreme Leader.” 

Khatibzadeh said Iran remains prepared to avoid further escalation in the region but warned that the country “is not an easy target,” citing the 12-day conflict with Israel earlier this year. “Iran is the oldest continuous living civilization on Earth,” he said. “The only language we respond to is the language of respect and equal-footing dialogue.”

Asked about US demands over Iran’s nuclear activities, he said international law makes clear that Tehran is entitled to the full range of peaceful nuclear rights as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and under IAEA oversight. 

“Iran will not accept being treated as an exception,” he said. “Ideas such as halting enrichment entirely or restricting Iran’s basic rights are unacceptable.”

Prospect of another war 

Khatibzadeh said Iran had already begun rebuilding its defensive posture after the ceasefire.

“The other side is preparing for another war,” he said. “Every legitimate defensive capability must be strengthened. No country compromises on its national security and Iran is no exception.”

He added that Iran’s goal remains to prevent another conflict. “We are trying to change the strategic calculations in Tel Aviv and Washington,” he said. “We are ready for any adventure they may attempt, but we are doing everything to avoid war.”

He rejected suggestions that Iran’s missile strikes during the conflict were ineffective. 

“They claimed Iran could not respond,” he said. “They censored the reality and said our missile penetration rate was 10%, then later 30–40%. The truth is much higher. With our advanced missiles we were able to penetrate multiple defense layers and strike wherever and whenever we chose.”

Khatibzadeh said Iran maintains multi-layered relations with Russia and a strategic partnership with China, and would continue cooperation with both countries. 

He also dismissed speculation that Iran might reassess its position on nuclear weapons. “We are members of the NPT and the IAEA. Even after hostile actions by the Trump administration and the bombing of peaceful nuclear facilities, we did not leave the NPT,” he said. “Our nuclear program is peaceful and supported by the Leader’s fatwa.”