Netanyahu says Israel will keep striking Iran with US coordination

Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called for a negotiated end to the war in an article published on Friday in Foreign Affairs, outlining a potential deal between Iran and the United States.

He later promoted the proposal on X, writing: “As an Iranian, outraged by Donald Trump’s reckless aggression … yet proud of our armed forces … I am convinced that war must end on terms consistent with Iran’s national interests.”

In the article, Zarif said Tehran should “use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory and make a deal,” warning that continued conflict would lead to “further destruction of civilian lives and infrastructure.”

He proposed that Iran could “offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions,” and called for “a comprehensive peace deal” rather than a ceasefire.

Zarif also suggested a “mutual nonaggression pact” with the United States, saying the aim should be to “end 47 years of belligerence” between the two countries.

The United States expelled Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations last year over national security concerns, Axios reported.

The report said the State Department asked diplomat Saadat Aghajani to leave in December under a quiet internal procedure often used in sensitive cases.

It said at least two other Iranian diplomats in New York were also expelled in recent months.

The State Department confirmed it had taken action regarding Iranian personnel but did not provide details, while Iran’s UN mission declined to comment.

A planned vote by the United Nations Security Council on a resolution on the Strait of Hormuz has been removed from the body’s schedule.

The vote, proposed by Bahrain, had been listed for Friday but no longer appears on the UN’s daily agenda.

No reason was given for the change and no new date has been announced.

A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that Iran would continue backing its regional allies despite the ongoing conflict.

Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard said the Islamic Republic’s policy was to continue its current path and support the “axis of resistance,” a term used by Iran to describe allied groups opposed to Israel and US influence in the region.

“The policy of the Islamic Republic is to continue its previous path and support the axis of resistance against enemies, and this path will continue with strength,” he said.

He added that strengthening military capabilities was aimed at deterrence, not expansion, saying the goal was to prevent adversaries from attacking Iran on land, sea or air.

An Iranian army commander warned US forces they would face severe consequences after US officials threatened to push Iran “back to the Stone Age,” state media reported on Friday.

Ali Jahanshahi said US soldiers would be sent “not to the Stone Age, but to before that,” according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

“The soil of Iran is the graveyard of aggressors; if you doubt it, test it,” he said, adding that army special forces were in full readiness.