The United States has military options to ensure Iranian nuclear sites remain inaccessible, senior US officials told Reuters, as Washington seeks to prevent Tehran from restoring its nuclear capabilities.
Recent US intelligence assessments show no indication of a new, specific plot by Iranian actors to kill President Donald Trump, but officials have detected continued chatter about such intentions, CNN reported on Friday citing two sources.
“US intelligence officials are also aware of Israeli concerns over being left out of Iran-related decision-making and efforts by Israel to influence the Trump administration’s policy toward Tehran,” the report added.
A day after Ali Khamenei was buried, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran over while agreeing to continue negotiations and warning of overwhelming retaliation if Tehran targeted him, as Iranian officials and clerics intensified calls for revenge.
“We have agreed to Iran talks, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is over,” Trump said Friday, after renewed military exchanges raised questions over the future of a temporary memorandum signed last month.
Trump also told the New York Post that he had left instructions for Iran to be bombed at unprecedented levels if Tehran succeeded in killing him. “I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” he said.
The warning came as calls to target Trump and avenge Khamenei spread across official and religious platforms in Iran. Ahmad Reza Hajati, the Friday prayer leader in Ahvaz, urged anyone with missiles or drones to kill the US president and “purge the earth” of his existence.
IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi said punishing those who carried out, ordered or supported the killings of Khamenei and several Iranian military commanders would remain a “certain, legitimate and unforgettable demand.” Other senior clerics and hardline politicians also called revenge a national, legal or religious right.
Diplomatic contacts nevertheless continued. Axios reported that a new round of US-Iran talks was expected next week, possibly in Switzerland, while Al Arabiya said technical teams from the two countries were due to meet in Pakistan on Sunday, July 12.
The Trump administration is also pressing Iran to issue a public statement acknowledging that the Strait of Hormuz is open and pledging to stop firing on commercial ships, Axios reported Friday citing US officials.
Iran publicly disputed the accounts. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had not requested negotiations with Washington, but had accepted a regional mediator’s request to visit Iran and discuss recent developments. He said the meeting took place Friday in Mashhad and that Iran conveyed its positions to the Qatari side.
As regional diplomacy continued, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to travel to Oman on Saturday at the head of a diplomatic delegation for talks on regional developments, particularly the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, state-run IRNA reported. The report gave no details about his planned meetings.
A source close to Iran’s negotiating team separately denied that preparations for new talks had been finalized, IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported.
Qatar and Pakistan continued mediation efforts, seeking to de-escalate tensions, preserve the diplomatic track and address disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
The military warnings also extended to Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X Friday that the Israeli military was prepared “at all times for any scenario in attack and defense.” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr warned that any attack on Iranian infrastructure would draw a reciprocal response and that Israel would not be spared.
Senior US officials said Washington had military options to ensure Iran’s nuclear sites remained inaccessible, Reuters reported Friday.
The day ended with both sides signaling readiness for talks while trading threats that left the prospect of renewed conflict firmly in view.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Oman on Saturday as part of ongoing consultations over arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz under a memorandum of understanding that ended the war.
“Iran accepted clear responsibility regarding the establishment of normal arrangements and maritime services related to vessel traffic in the strait, and has been very determined and firm in this regard,” Baghaei said.
“Technical meetings have already been held several times, both in Tehran and Muscat, and this visit is part of continuing those consultations to help facilitate safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said on Friday Tehran may no longer consider itself bound by the US-Iran memorandum of understanding if the United States continues what he described as violations of the agreement.
“Iran remains committed to the faithful implementation of the memorandum of understanding, provided that the United States fully and faithfully complies with its own obligation. However, should the United States continue to violate its obligations under the MoU, Iran will no longer be bound to fulfill its obligations under the MoU,” Iravani said.
“Under the Islamabad MoU, responsibility for maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, including its due planning on all necessary demining operations, rests exclusively with Iran,” he added.
Former Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said talks in Islamabad were part of what he called a US deception and urged Iran's negotiators to accept that the process was intended to mislead them, adding that those who disagree should hear arguments from officials who hold that view.
“Islamabad was a plan, a broader scheme of deception and maneuvering against by the United States. The Americans had a plan that they thought they could finish within two or three days and achieve their goal, which was to bring an end to the Islamic Republic. They failed,” Mottaki said in a state TV interview.
“They still have not given up. They are not seeking negotiations, nor are they looking for messages or back-channel communications. They only want to finish the job. Now, however, this has become clear. They want to reach that goal by any means possible: a targeted war, a temporary war, a short-term war,” he added.
