Khamenei faces gravest crisis of his 36-year rule - Reuters

An Iranian lawmaker said the presence of US warships near Iran does not necessarily mean war is imminent and downplayed public concern.

Salar Velayatmadar, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said concern about war was limited to a small part of society who, in his words, listen more to “enemy media.”

He also said the presence of the CENTCOM commander at talks was a publicity move and added: “If necessary, the Islamic Republic has the ability to target bases within range.”

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of California indicted Samaneh Ghandali, 41, Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, and Soroor Ghandali, 32, on counts including conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice. The three, all residents of San Jose, were arrested and made initial court appearances on Thursday.

According to the indictment, the defendants gained employment at major technology companies involved in developing mobile computer processors. Samaneh Ghandali and her sister Soroor Ghandali worked at Google before moving to another firm identified as Company 3, while Khosravi, who is married to Samaneh Ghandali, worked at a separate company identified as Company 2.

Prosecutors allege the defendants used their positions to access confidential information, including trade secrets related to processor security and cryptography. The indictment says they transferred hundreds of sensitive files to unauthorized third-party platforms, personal devices, and work devices linked to each other’s employers, as well as to Iran.

“As alleged, the defendants exploited their positions to steal confidential trade secrets from their employers,” United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian said. “Our office will continue to lead the way in protecting American innovation and we will vigorously prosecute individuals who steal sensitive advanced technologies for improper gain or to benefit countries that wish us ill.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani described the alleged conduct as a “calculated betrayal of trust,” saying the defendants took deliberate steps to evade detection, including submitting false affidavits and manually photographing computer screens to avoid digital tracking.

The indictment also details travel to Iran in December 2023, when prosecutors say some of the exfiltrated material was accessed from a personal device.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison for each trade secret-related count and up to 20 years for obstruction of justice.

Iran’s oil minister said on Friday cooperation with the United States in the oil and gas sector is possible as the two countries continue nuclear negotiations.

“Everything is possible,” Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said, according to state media, when asked about potential energy cooperation between Tehran and Washington.

Hamid Qanbari, deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy, said this week that mutual interests in oil and gas, shared fields, mining investment and even aircraft purchases had been included in talks with the United States.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace initiative in Washington, Trump hinted at a narrow timeframe for progress and reiterated US demands on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal; otherwise, bad things happen,” Trump said. “And you’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”

He added that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” and must halt actions Washington views as threatening to regional stability, suggesting that military measures could follow if diplomacy fails.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is weighing an initial, limited strike on Iran as leverage to compel Tehran to accept US conditions in nuclear talks.

The report said Trump is reviewing targeted military options that could be executed within days if Iran refuses to halt enrichment activity, with the aim of strengthening US negotiating leverage without immediately triggering a broader conflict.

Also on Thursday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz doubled down on Washington’s pressure campaign in media appearances, accusing Tehran of stalling negotiations and saying that economic sanctions have strained the Iranian leadership.

“Even in the face of world condemnation over the killing of somewhere between 18,000 and 40,000 of their own people — an industrial-sized massacre,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox News.

Waltz said sustained pressure would continue even as diplomatic engagement moves forward.

'Obvious gap remains'

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, said on Thursday that an “obvious” gap remains between the United States and Iran over uranium enrichment after attending talks in Geneva on Tuesday.

“It is clear that there is, there is this gap which is, which is obvious, between the position of the United States, which is demanding… no enrichment at all, and what Iran would like to continue to be doing,” Grossi told CNN. He added that while the agency has been allowed back into Iran, inspectors have not been granted access to the nuclear sites targeted in US-Israeli airstrikes in June.

Grossi said he believes the 400 kg of enriched uranium remains “where it was” before the bombings and has not been moved.

US Senator John Fetterman said Thursday that Tehran should be confronted with military force over its nuclear program, adding that the Islamic Republic can only be dealt with through “strength and power.”

“I think I clearly… how could you allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb?” Fetterman said in an interview on Fox News. “Now we’ve demonstrated that the only thing Iran ever responds to is strength and power… you can’t negotiate with cancer. You have to attack it and go right at it with superior force.”

Fetterman, who was the only Democrat last year to publicly advocate for stronger action, questioned why the US has not struck Iran’s stockpiles of near weapons-grade uranium. “If they have 900 pounds of near weapons-grade uranium, why wouldn’t you strike that? Why wouldn’t you hold them accountable that way?” he said.