No nuclear talks held with US yet, Iranian official says

Mohammad Akbarzadeh, the political deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was killed after his car overturned in Iran's southeastern Kerman province, the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

Fars said police and emergency responders attended the scene after the crash and Akbarzadeh was taken to a medical centre, where he died from the severity of his injuries.

The report said said authorities had launched an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the crash.

Earlier this month, Akbarzadeh was among those sanctioned by the European Union over support for measures restricting freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper met senior civilian and military leaders in Israel and Lebanon during an ongoing trip to the Middle East.

In Lebanon, Cooper and his staff met President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Armed Forces Commanding General Rodolphe Haykal to discuss the path forward in implementing a framework agreement signed in Washington on Friday, CENTCOM said in a statement on X.

Cooper also visited deployed US troops in Israel, where he recognized service members for “outstanding mission contributions.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Monday that demining the Strait of Hormuz would be carried out only by Iran under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, warning France not to complicate the situation with what he called “provocations.”

Gharibabadi made the remarks after French President Emmanuel Macron said France would cooperate with Oman and other partners on demining the strait to secure maritime routes and ensure free passage.

“Demining is to be carried out exclusively by Iran and by no other country,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X. “In principle, we will not allow any other country to do so. The situation is sensitive and complex. We strongly advise France not to make it more complicated with its provocations.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would still be in power if Israel had accepted Hamas's terms for ending the war in Gaza.

“If we had done that, Deif, Sinwar, Haniyeh, Nasrallah, Khamenei, Assad – everyone would still be in place,” Netanyahu said during a multi-front military assessment. “With all their weapons, with all their organization, in the exact same place.”

Netanyahu said he had rejected calls to withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages, arguing that doing so would have amounted to “a massive defeat.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday he had ordered the military to prepare an independent strike plan against Iran, warning that Israel could go to war with Tehran “tomorrow” if it fired missiles at Israeli territory.

“If Iran fires missiles at Israel, Israel will strike Iran with force,” Katz told military and diplomatic reporters. “There is no equation we will accept in which Iran fires at Israel. This has also been made clear to the Americans. The IDF is just waiting for it and is on alert. There are targets.”

“My directive to the IDF is to prepare for a blue-and-white operation in Iran,” he added, referring to an operation carried out independently by Israel.

Katz said Israel did not want to disrupt US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts with Iran but added: “When it comes to defending ourselves, there are no compromises, not in Lebanon and not in Iran.”