Iran’s Araghchi says US threats undermine call for negotiations

Iran’s army said on Friday it stood “powerfully” alongside the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to confront terrorism, after the European Union designated the Guards as a terrorist organization.

In a statement, the army accused European countries of backing Iraq during the 1980–1988 war, saying they provided “chemical weapons and advanced military equipment” to Saddam Hussein’s forces and later gave refuge to militant groups.

“Today, to please the United States and the Zionist regime, they have placed the largest anti-terror organization in the region and the world on a fabricated and self-made terrorist list,” the army said.

It added that Iran’s armed forces “will continue to stand against terrorism supported by the West.”

An Iranian lawmaker warned on Friday that Iran could target US interests beyond American military bases, responding to the presence of US naval forces in the region.

“If the United States and Donald Trump are worried about the lives of their soldiers, they should withdraw their forces from the region,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for parliament’s national security commission, according to state media.

Rezaei said Iran’s objectives were “not limited to US bases” and that “all US interests are within range,” adding that Iran’s armed forces had the ability to target American interests, assets and troops.

President Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday that Turkey was ready to play a facilitator role between Iran and the US to help ease tensions, the Turkish presidency said.

“President Erdogan emphasised that Turkey was ready to take up a facilitator role between Iran and the United States to ease tensions and resolve issues,” the presidency said in a statement on X.

It added that Erdogan would also receive Iran’s foreign minister during his visit to Turkey for talks with his Turkish counterpart.

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned on Friday that Tehran would take immediate countermeasures after the European Union designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

Ali Shamkhani said in an X post that the West was misusing the concept of terrorism, accusing the US and Europe of double standards.

“The West doesn’t define terrorism, it uses it,” Shamkhani wrote, adding that labeling the Guards while backing what he described as violence elsewhere showed how the concept had been distorted. “Countermeasures will be immediate,” he said.

Iran’s parliamentary education commission said some students under 18 were detained during recent protests and that police have yet to respond to questions about arrests and casualties among schoolchildren.

Alireza Monadi Sefidan, head of the commission, said it sent a letter to the national police asking whether any students were among those detained and seeking information on students killed or injured, according to the ILNA news agency.

“We have not yet received a response to this letter,” Monadi said, adding that the request was sent through parliament’s security office.

The commission’s deputy head, Farshad Ebrahimipour Noorabadi, said it was clear that “there are some students under 18 among those detained,” and that the education ministry should step in to address their cases.

Ebrahimipour said people under 18 are subject to specific legal procedures and that the aim was for them to return to their families as soon as possible.