Graham says he backs Trump’s Iran deal demands

In the letter sent on Sunday, Pezeshkian stressed that the president and the government have effectively been excluded from major and vital decision-making processes in the country, and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs, the source said.

Pezeshkian added that under such circumstances he is unable to run the government and carry out his legal responsibilities, and for that reason has requested to step down immediately.

It is not yet clear whether Mojtaba Khamenei will accept the president's resignation, but the contents of the letter point to a deep and unprecedented rift at the highest levels of power.

This comes after months of tensions between the government and the Islamic Republic’s military-security institutions. Iran International previously reported that the IRGC had gradually restricted many presidential powers and effectively taken control of key parts of the government.

According to informed sources, the situation has left Pezeshkian’s administration trapped in a political and executive deadlock, preventing diplomatic negotiations from moving forward and the completion and implementation of desired changes to the cabinet structure.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to urge a quick agreement between the United States and Iran.

"To all of them, I delivered the same message: it is essential that an agreement between the United States and Iran be reached quickly," Macron said in a post on X.

He said the priority must be a ceasefire and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without conditions and in accordance with international law.

Macron said France was ready to help resume maritime traffic, support nuclear talks and contribute to establishing a regional security framework.

Four US service members and three contractors suffered minor injuries related to an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a Kuwaiti air base last week, CBS News reported, citing a US official.

All seven returned to duty within 24 hours, the official was cited as saying.

Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait at 10:17 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, CENTCOM had previously said. The missile was intercepted by Kuwaiti forces.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday it had targeted an American base in retaliation for US strikes on the southern part of the country, though it did not specify where the base was.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran made a "big mistake" by attacking its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, leading regional allies to cooperate more closely with Washington on freezing Iranian funds.

"We had many very good allies who maybe weren't completely transparent with us on the money — Iranian money that was in their banking systems — all of a sudden became very compliant in terms of being willing to turn over accounts or help us freeze block accounts," Bessent told Fox News.

"And then the third part was the incredible blockade. I really think it's the economic blockade of funds and the physical blockade of the ships not going in or out of the Iranian ports," he added.

"Kharg Island is shut down. That's their big oil loading facilities, and that means that they're going to have to start taking down the wells," Bessent said.

President Donald Trump has toughened the terms of a potential framework for a deal to end the war in Iran and sent the proposed changes back to the country for consideration, the New York Times reported, citing three officials.

It was not immediately clear what changes had been made to the text of the agreement, the report said.

Trump has been concerned about parts of the potential deal that would include unfreezing funds for Iran, the report said, citing two officials.

Trump has also been frustrated by how long it has taken for Iran to respond to US proposals, one official said.

The proposals have been hammered out with the involvement of intermediaries, including from Pakistan, the report said.

One official added that Trump’s changes were potentially intended to speed up the process by putting pressure on Iran to accept the framework already sent to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, for approval.