Nearly 200 Iranian sports figures urge US to back exiled prince
A group of 197 Iranian athletes and sports figures in an open letter on Thursday urged the US Congress to recognize exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the legitimate representative of the Iranian people and as leader of a unified democratic opposition.
“In our view, his leadership represents a unifying force for many Iranians inside the country and throughout the diaspora, and may contribute to guiding a peaceful, orderly, and non-violent transition … toward a democratic and secular system based on the rule of law,” the letter said.
Addressed to members of Congress, the signatories also called for a reassessment of engagement policies toward Tehran to ensure international actions do not unintentionally contribute to repression inside Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat on Thursday ahead of talks with the United States, on a flight that was deliberately listed as departing from “Tabas” rather than Tehran in what the state media called a symbolic move.
Tabas is the site of the failed 1980 US hostage rescue mission, when a sandstorm and equipment failures forced Washington to abort Operation Eagle Claw, killing eight American servicemen.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has departed for Muscat ahead of Friday’s “nuclear negotiations” with the United States, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a post on X.
“This diplomatic engagement is being carried out with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and honorable understanding regarding the nuclear issue,” he added.
Baghaei also thanked neighboring and regional countries for what he called their responsible role in facilitating the process and said Iran hopes the United States will participate with “responsibility, realism and seriousness.”
Canada condemned the killing of protesters and use of violence by Iranian authorities after a video shared by Iran International showed an armored vehicle operated by Iranian security force running over demonstrators in Ardabil, northwest of Iran.
The video shows the incident taking place at Yahyavi Square during protests on January 8 and 9. At least one woman is believed to have been killed and three others injured.
“Canada strongly condemns the killing of protestors, the use of violence, arbitrary arrests, and intimidation tactics by the Iranian regime against its own people,” Canada’s foreign ministry said in a written response to Iran International.
The ministry added that Canada “will continue to hold Iran accountable for its violations of human rights,” citing measures taken over the past two years to maintain pressure on Tehran and its allies.
It noted that Canada listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization in June 2024.
Canada has further designated Iran as a foreign state supporter of terrorism, a designation the government reconfirmed in December 2025, it said.
Last month, Iran International reported that more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during the January 8-9 crackdown on nationwide protests, making it the deadliest two-day protest massacre in history.
On January 15, Canada said that one of its citizens has died in Iran at the hands of Iranian authorities, according to a statement by the country’s foreign minister.
“Our consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada and my deepest condolences are with them at this time,” Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand said in a post on X.
“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people - asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations - has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” she added.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in a decree appointed Ali Shamkhani as the Secretary of Iran's Supreme Defense Council.
Shamkhani, a navy admiral, was already serving as the Supreme Leader's representative at the Defense Council. He previously served as Iran's defense minister, secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and a navy commander.
Iran established the Defense Council under the SNSC, aiming to centralize military decision-making and prepare for crises ranging from war to potential leadership transition following the June war with Israel.
According to a statement by the SNSC Secretariat in August 2025, the council’s core responsibility is to enable swift, centralized defense decisions in wartime or national emergencies.
As Iran and the United States reshuffle the format and venue of their talks amid military threats, deep mistrust, and hardline red lines, skepticism over a breakthrough appears widespread.
The talks, originally scheduled for Friday in Istanbul with several regional countries expected to attend, were moved to Oman at Iran’s request and narrowed to bilateral discussions between Tehran and Washington.
Tehran had also reiterated its insistence on indirect negotiations, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sitting in a separate room from Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, relying on Omani mediators to shuttle messages between the two sides.
State media further reported that the talks would focus exclusively on the nuclear issue, as in previous rounds.
However, The New York Times reported on Thursday that while Iran’s nuclear program would be the main focus, the two sides agreed that negotiations would also cover missiles and Tehran’s support for militant groups.
The newspaper cited three Iranian officials and one Arab official as saying the US agreed to hold the talks in Oman and exclude regional actors, while Iranian officials agreed to face their American counterparts.
Negotiations to avoid war—or merely delay it?
While diplomats maneuver, hardliners continue to float threats of preemptive strikes on Israel and closing the Strait of Hormuz, while claiming that Iran’s military posture has forced Trump to reconsider his repeated threats of military action.
Former foreign minister and lawmaker Manouchehr Mottaki said the likelihood of a US attack has dropped “from 100 percent to around 50 percent,” attributing the change to Washington’s doubts about achieving victory.
Journalist Hossein Yazdi, however, cited three developments over the past few days—the IRGC’s harassment of a US vessel in the Persian Gulf, the US downing of an IRGC Shahed-139 surveillance drone in the Arabian Sea, and Iran’s insistence on moving talks to Oman without Arab observers—as evidence that negotiations are not serious.
“Both sides have their hands on the trigger,” he wrote.
Iran’s red lines remain intact
It remains unclear whether Iran, facing Trump’s threats and the risk of war, is willing to reconsider positions that contributed to the collapse of previous negotiations.
“Any decision regarding these stockpiles must be designed with maximum distrust toward the other side’s intentions,” he wrote. “Handing them over in one go—under any title—is not goodwill or strategic rationality. It is voluntary disarmament under military threat.”
Others echoed familiar red lines. Esmail Kowsari, a member of parliament’s national security committee, said Iran’s missile capabilities and regional activities are “absolutely none of America’s business.”
Former deputy speaker Ali Motahari likewise cited enrichment rights, missile range, support for the so-called Axis of Resistance, and refusal to recognize Israel as all non-negotiable.
Few expect a breakthrough
Given Iran’s insistence on these red lines, its past negotiating record, and recent mass killings of protesters that have plunged the Islamic Republic into a severe legitimacy crisis, few analysts express optimism.
Political analyst Ruhollah Rahimpour told Iran International that the Islamic Republic is, for the first time, confronting both a real external threat and a profound internal legitimacy crisis. “This combination is deadly,” he said, adding that Tehran can no longer assume it can cross Trump’s red lines and face only rhetorical consequences.
Former diplomat Nosratollah Tajik was blunt: “It is unlikely this round of mediation will go anywhere due to structural issues, the gap between goals and expectations, and the unfinished business of the previous two stages of Iran–US conflict.”
Mottaki also expressed doubt, saying: “These talks will not produce tangible results, but they may deter the US from imposing war.”
Yazdi argued there are no signs of serious negotiations, noting that Iran wants to resume narrow nuclear talks in Oman, while Trump and Israel seek far broader concessions. “From their perspective, destroyed nuclear facilities are no longer the top priority,” he wrote.
A user on X warned that failed talks would only make a Trump-led war against Iran appear more justified in the eyes of the international community.
Who really decides?
President Masoud Pezeshkian weighed in with a rare post on X on Tuesday, saying he had instructed the foreign minister to pursue talks “if there is a suitable, threat-free atmosphere.”
The wording sparked controversy, as few doubt that foreign policy is ultimately controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A community note was even added to the post.
"The person who makes the decisions in Iran is the Supreme Leader. The President doesn't really matter," US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Wednesday.
"The Foreign Minister seems to talk to the Supreme Leader and that's mainly the person that we've communicated with. But it's a very weird country to conduct diplomacy with when you can't even talk to the person who's in charge of the country."
Researcher Abbas Gheidari interpreted Pezeshkian’s phrase “I instructed” as an attempt to preemptively assume responsibility for a potential nuclear concession to protect Khamenei.
Vice President Jafar Ghaempanah tried to soften the debate, writing: “No war is good, and not every peace is surrender.” Some conservatives such as Abdolreza Davari read this as a sign of an imminent deal. Ultra-hardline lawmaker Mehdi Koochakzadeh, however, warned that “the peace imposed by the architects of the JCPOA will bring humiliation worse than surrender.”
Protesters’ anger and pressure on Trump
Some Iranian activists and social media users have reacted angrily to what they describe as Trump’s flexibility, saying Tehran is once again buying time.
“This is what they’ve done for nearly 30 years,” one user wrote. “Trump prioritizes extracting concessions, not regime change—otherwise he wouldn’t have stopped Israel in the 12-day war.”
One image sent by a citizen to Iran International showed graffiti reading: “President Trump: Don’t negotiate with the killers of the Iranian people.”
