Iranian political prisoner faces imminent execution, rights group says

Britain said on Wednesday it had secured a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) worth about $5 billion a year in the long run, deepening economic ties with allies in a region dealing with the fallout from the Iran war.

The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The British government said the deal would be worth £3.7 billion, or $4.96 billion, each year in the long term, more than double a previous estimate of £1.6 billion.

“At a time of increased instability, today's announcement sends a clear signal of confidence - giving UK exporters the certainty they need to plan ahead,” Britain’s trade minister Peter Kyle said.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington was dealing with “reasonable people” in negotiations with Iran but insisted there would be no sanctions relief until an agreement is reached.

“We’re dealing with reasonable people,” Trump told reporters, adding that the United States would wait “a few days” for Tehran’s response to the latest proposal exchanged through mediators.

Trump also stressed that “we’re not doing any relief until a deal is reached” and said Washington “has to get the right answer.”

IRGC-linked Tasnim News says Tehran has received the latest proposal from Washington through mediators and is currently reviewing it, but has not yet issued a response.

Citing an informed source, Tasnim said the proposal had been delivered to Tehran through intermediary channels.

Earlier, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi was in Tehran to facilitate the exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had honored its commitments and kept all diplomatic paths open, warning that forcing Tehran to surrender through coercion was “an illusion.”

“Iran has consistently honored its commitments and explored every avenue to avert war; all paths remain open from our side,” Pezeshkian said on X.

“Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion. Mutual respect in diplomacy is far wiser, safer, and more sustainable than war,” he added.

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, Axios reported, citing three sources.

The report said Qatar and Pakistan, with input from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, drafted a revised peace memo aimed at bridging gaps between Washington and Tehran.

Trump told Netanyahu that mediators were working on a “letter of intent” that the US and Iran would sign to formally end the war and begin a 30-day negotiation period on issues including Iran’s nuclear program and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the report said, citing a US source briefed on the call.

Two Israeli sources cited by Axios said the leaders disagreed over the way forward, while the US source said Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after the call.

Netanyahu has been highly worried at previous stages of the negotiations, even as deals failed to materialize, the report said citing the Israeli sources.

The report cited two Arab officials and an Israeli source as saying that Qatar recently presented the US and Iran with a new draft. A fourth source said there was no separate Qatari draft and that Qatar was trying to bridge gaps from the previous Pakistani proposal, according to the report.

One Arab official said Qatar sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks with Iranian officials about the latest draft.

The aim is to secure more tangible Iranian commitments on steps regarding its nuclear program and more specific US commitments on the gradual release of frozen Iranian funds, the report added, citing an Arab official.

All three sources said it was unclear whether Iran would accept the new draft or significantly shift its position.