Taliban says it would support Iran if US attacks

“The President has made clear he prefers diplomacy and an outcome of negotiated settlement. Now, we are dealing with radical Shiite clerics… We are dealing with people who make geopolitical decisions on the basis of pure theology, and it is a complicated thing,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, referring to negotiations with Iran.

"No one has ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we are going to try,” he added, speaking at a press conference alongside Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Rubio said the United States remains militarily postured in the region to protect its forces but stressed that current efforts are centered on diplomacy.

“We are postured in the region for one simple reason, and that is that we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region… We want to make sure that we have sufficient capacity to defend them if God forbid that were to happen,” he said.

He added that any future decisions would comply with US law and congressional requirements but emphasized negotiations remain the immediate priority.

“Right now we are talking about negotiations. We are focused on negotiations. That is what we are focused on. The President has made that clear,” Rubio said.

Iran’s passive defense chief Gholamreza Jalali said the Islamic Republic is “fully prepared” for what he described as threat scenarios designed by the United States and Israel, Iranian state media reported.

Speaking at the start of a chemical emergency drill in Assaluyeh, in the Persian Gulf, Jalali said Iran’s defense planning has pushed threats from Washington and Israel to a “deterrence” stage, arguing adversaries must calculate the costs before taking action.

He outlined three scenarios he said opponents pursue, including media pressure and threats aimed at intimidation and forcing negotiations, limited and controlled actions, and attempts to trigger a broader regional war.

Jalali also said safety rules in high-risk sectors including chemical and nuclear industries are enforced strictly, and described drills as a way to identify weaknesses and improve coordination in crisis response.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling to hold “important meetings” related to Iran.

Speaking in Bratislava, Rubio said he believes the two aides are en route “right now” for discussions concerning Iran.

Rubio added that Trump still prefers diplomacy in dealing with Tehran.

An Iranian foreign ministry official said Tehran’s talks with Washington include proposals for economic cooperation ranging from oil and gas to mining investment and even aircraft purchases, Iranian media reported.

Hamid Ghanbari, deputy for economic diplomacy at Iran’s foreign ministry, told a meeting at Iran’s Chamber of Commerce that the negotiations include shared interests in areas such as energy, joint oil and gas fields, fast-return mineral investments, urban development and buying planes, according to Fars news agency.

"For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the US also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns... Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations."

He said the previous agreement failed in part because the United States did not secure economic benefits, arguing that any new deal would need opportunities with quick, high returns for Washington to make it durable.

Ghanbari also said any release of Iran’s blocked or restricted funds should be “real and usable,” not symbolic or temporary, and could be carried out step-by-step or in a single move, the report said.

Iran’s education ministry denied reports that security forces entered schools to arrest students during the recent unrest, saying no arrests took place on school grounds.

Ministry spokesman Ali Farhadi told Iranian news outlet ISNA that “no arrests happened,” and said that with follow-up by the education minister and coordination with other officials, no student remained in detention after the early days of the protests.

Farhadi said student safety and psychological well-being are the ministry’s “absolute priority,” and that schools should remain calm and free of tension.

He added that inquiries about detained students or teachers have been pursued through relevant bodies, but said details would be announced by judicial and law enforcement authorities.