Vance says Iran uses ‘Persian trick’ in talks with US
“One of the things that I find both interesting and frustrating about the Iranians is they’ll say no, there’s no peace talks going on, but then there’s technical negotiations going on between Washington and Tehran about a peace deal,” US Vice President JD Vance told the Michael Knowles Show on Tuesday.
“It’s a negotiating tactic or Persian trick that I don’t understand,” he added.
Vance said negotiations with Iran still had “a lot more game to play,” adding that President Donald Trump was “constantly trying to figure out how to gain an edge for the American people.”
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei plans to remove judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje'i at the end of his first five-year term and appoint a new figure to lead the judiciary, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Sources inside Iran told Iran International that Khamenei does not intend to extend Eje'i’s term for another five years, breaking with a practice followed for nearly four decades in which judiciary chiefs have usually served two consecutive five-year terms.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision is not aimed at judicial reform but is part of a broader reshaping of power after the recent war.
They said the new supreme leader is seeking to replace key officials in major state institutions with figures more closely aligned with him.
Eje'i’s expected removal could mark one of the first major signs of Khamenei’s effort to rebuild control over the Islamic Republic’s judicial, security and political apparatus after the transfer of power.
Hardliners step up pressure on Eje'i
The decision comes amid growing criticism of Eje'i from hardline figures after the names of Supreme National Security Council members who voted in favor of a memorandum of understanding with the United States were disclosed.
Critics say Eje'i’s vote was at odds with Khamenei’s stated position, after the leader said in a letter that he had, in principle, held a different view on the memorandum of understanding.
Signs of dissatisfaction with Eje'i’s five-year record have also appeared in recent official and semi-official commentary close to the power structure.
In a message marking Judiciary Week, Khamenei did not clearly endorse Eje'i’s continuation in office. Instead, he addressed the judiciary as an institution and called for the “actualization” of demands previously made by former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The message repeated calls for the implementation of the judicial transformation document, fighting corruption inside the judiciary, reviving public rights, blocking the use of recommendations and lobbying, and improving communication with the public.
Eje'i seeks to defend his record
A day later, Eje'i published a letter to Khamenei in deferential language, defending the judiciary’s performance and pledging to continue the path of “judicial transformation.”
“I and all components of the judiciary consider ourselves obliged to carry out Your Excellency’s binding commands precisely, swiftly and without any reduction,” Eje'i wrote.
Media outlets and figures close to the establishment criticized Eje'i for not publishing such a letter before Khamenei’s message. Some also described the new leader’s renewed emphasis on his father’s demands as a negative assessment of Eje'i’s record, arguing that their repetition showed the judiciary had failed to deliver practical results under him.
Rival factions inside the establishment have also stepped up attacks on Eje'i, accusing him of distancing himself from the leadership’s demands.
Media close to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian have described the attacks as part of an effort by the faction aligned with Saeed Jalili, a member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the Paydari Front to create divisions among senior officials and weaken the postwar political path.
Media close to the judiciary and Eje'i’s supporters have sought to portray his five-year record as successful, citing reduced imprisonment, electronic court proceedings, shorter trials, anti-corruption efforts and public outreach.
Rights groups point to record of repression
Human rights groups and activists say Eje'i is not a reformist figure but a long-standing part of the Islamic Republic’s repressive judicial and security apparatus.
They point to his record in the Special Clerical Court, the Ministry of Intelligence, and later as first deputy and head of the judiciary, saying his tenure has been marked by continued heavy sentences against protesters, political activists, journalists, prisoners of conscience and minorities.
Rights advocates say the judiciary under Eje'i has continued to act as the legal and executive arm of security institutions in political and security cases.
They also argue that replacing Eje'i alone would not bring meaningful change without structural reform, an end to security interference in judicial cases, guaranteed access to lawyers, a halt to forced confessions, the annulment of political verdicts and respect for fair trial standards.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would not enter further negotiations until conditions set out in the memorandum of understanding are met, adding that current meetings were aimed at fulfilling its commitments.
“The announcement of the end of the war by Pakistan’s prime minister and Donald Trump’s tweet about the lifting of the maritime blockade were among the major successes of the memorandum of understanding,” Ghalibaf said.
“In implementing the end of the war, differences will certainly arise,” Ghalibaf added.
“We are following up the process of talks to implement Article 13 of the memorandum of understanding,” he said.
Article 13 says that after the memorandum of understanding is signed, and subject to the start and continuation of measures under paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11, the United States and Iran will begin negotiations on a final deal exclusively on the remaining paragraphs.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that technical talks between Iran and the United States were continuing directly and indirectly despite recent escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, but there were no current high-level meetings between the two sides.
The ministry cited spokesperson Majed Al Ansari as saying US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Doha to meet Qatari officials and mediators on regional files, including Iran negotiations and Lebanon, without direct talks with Iranian officials.
“There are currently no high-level meetings between the Iranian and American sides under the approved mechanism for the negotiations,” Al Ansari said.
He said the Strait of Hormuz was among the key issues in the talks, alongside Iran’s nuclear program and the broader regional situation, adding that Qatar rejected any obstruction of maritime navigation through the international waterway.
Al Ansari said the first phase of understandings concerned removing mines and securing passage through the strait, with priority given to the safety of ship and tanker crews.
On frozen Iranian funds, he said Qatar did not own the money and was only acting as a financial mediator under a 2023 US-Iran humanitarian channel agreement.
“The State of Qatar does not own these funds, but rather plays the role of financial mediator in managing these accounts within the framework of the agreement,” he said.
He added that any transfer of the funds depended on agreement between the United States and Iran and progress in negotiations, “which has not happened so far.”
Iran was among the main foreign powers carrying out intelligence activities against Germany in 2025, targeting opposition groups, pro-Israeli and pro-Jewish targets and the Iranian diaspora, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said in a security report published Tuesday.
The 2025 Report on the Protection of the Constitution, released by Germany’s Interior Ministry and setting out findings by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said Russia, China and Iran were the main foreign powers carrying out intelligence activities in Germany.
On Iran, the report said one priority of Tehran’s intelligence activities was spying on and taking action against opposition groups and individuals inside and outside the country.
It said intelligence-related spying against pro-Israeli and pro-Jewish targets in Germany was again observed in 2025, adding that the United States and Israel have long been viewed as enemies by Tehran.
The report said Iranian intelligence services also try to achieve their aims through state-sponsored terrorism. It said this had increasingly been the case since the beginning of the Iran war in late February this year and the resulting heightened threat to pro-Jewish, pro-Israeli and US targets.
Iranian cyber espionage activities were mainly directed against the Iranian diaspora in Germany, the report said. It said targets of attack campaigns by the APT group Charming Kitten included Iranians in exile, opposition members, regime critics, journalists, human rights activists and women’s rights activists.
The BfV said Iranian procurement activity in Germany linked to Tehran’s delivery-technology and missile programs remains “persistently high.”
The report said large parts of Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure were “severely damaged or destroyed” during the 12-day war last June, leaving the Islamic Republic “dependent on cutting-edge technology from Europe and Germany” to repair and rebuild facilities and obtain replacement systems, including for its delivery systems.
Germany remained one of the most important targets for foreign intelligence services because of its economic strength and role in organisations such as the EU and NATO, the report said.
The report said foreign powers use illegal or illegitimate methods to obtain information, steal know-how, spread disinformation and conduct sabotage and espionage operations, with the aim of influencing political decision-making, eroding trust in democracy and undermining defence capabilities.
The report said the BfV is pursuing a three-part strategy of “detection, disruption and prevention” to counter foreign intelligence threats. It said the strategy includes early identification of threats, disrupting hostile intelligence operations and strengthening preventive measures.
The agency said it provides security warnings, specialist advice and practical support to companies, universities, research institutions, political bodies and government agencies to help protect them against espionage, cyberattacks and illicit procurement.
Talks in Doha will focus primarily on the release of Iran’s frozen funds and a ceasefire in Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Baghaei said Iran had no plans to hold talks with the United States in the coming days, adding that an expert delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi was being sent to Doha to follow up on the implementation of a memorandum of understanding, with Qatar as the counterpart.
He said the war in Lebanon must end before negotiations can begin, and that the United States was obligated under the bilateral memorandum of understanding to compel Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.