Revolutionary Guards killed two Kurdish brothers, rights group says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iranian people must endure economic and political pressure as part of its confrontation with the United States, adding that Iran would not pursue “humiliating” diplomacy or seek nuclear weapons.

“If we stood against the world’s strongest power, we must accept the hardships,” Pezeshkian said on Thursday, according to the state media.

Pezeshkian also blamed Israel for instability in the region and said foreign powers had expected unrest inside Iran after military strikes but were "surprised by continued public support for the government more than 80 days into the conflict."

US and Iranian negotiators have reached a memorandum of understanding on a 60-day ceasefire extension and the launch of talks over Iran’s nuclear program, but President Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The news was first reported by Axios.

Al Arabiya also reported citing a diplomatic source that any agreement between Washington and Tehran would be carried out in two phases.

According to the report, the first stage would involve the signing of a memorandum of understanding, with a formal signing ceremony expected to take place in Pakistan.

An Iranian lawmaker said negotiations with the United States had made “good progress” and that most of Tehran’s proposals had been accepted, but added that President Donald Trump’s "unpredictability" remained a major concern.

“The negotiations have seen significant qualitative and quantitative progress,” national security committee member Fadahossein Maleki told Iranian media on Thursday.

Some Iranian demands, Maleki said, still needed to be addressed by Washington and pointed to recent attacks on Iranian ships, adding: “Our only concern is Trump’s unpredictability and his failure to honor commitments.”

He also said parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s recent visit to Qatar focused on frozen Iranian funds and payment mechanisms, describing the outcome as positive for Tehran.

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran said Iran’s armed forces were at “peak readiness” and had launched new military drills immediately after fighting stopped.

“The mechanisms are designed in a way that allows a response to any enemy action in the shortest possible time,” Hassan Hassanzadeh said on Thursday.

Hassanzadeh also said attacks on Basij centers during the conflict had failed to weaken support for the paramilitary force.

US and Iranian negotiators have reached a draft 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and begin talks on Iran’s nuclear program, but President Donald Trump has not yet given final approval, Axios reported on Thursday citing two US officials and a regional source involved in the mediation effort.

According to Axios, US officials said the terms of the agreement were largely finalized by Tuesday, pending approval from senior leaders on both sides. The officials said Iranian negotiators later informed mediators they had secured the necessary approvals and were ready to sign, although Tehran has not publicly confirmed that account.

“The president relayed to the mediators that he wants a couple of days to think about it,” one US official told Axios after Trump was briefed on the details of the proposed agreement.

The memorandum would guarantee unrestricted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and require Iran to remove naval mines from the waterway within 30 days, the report said. “This means no tolls and no harassment,” a US official told Axios.

The agreement also includes an Iranian commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon and outlines negotiations over Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its enrichment activities. The United States will commit to discuss sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets and mechanisms to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries to Iran, according to the report.