Iraqi PM met Iran's speaker for talks on ending war, Guards-linked outlet says
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi held talks with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during a brief visit to Tehran on Friday about Baghdad's efforts to end the war involving Iran, the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars news agency reported Monday, citing an informed source.
Ghalibaf said that Washington must respect Iran's rights under the proposed framework for negotiations to move forward, Fars quoted the source as saying.
File photo by CENTCOM shows a U.S. Air Force crew chief directing a Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft in preparation for takeoff from a base in the Middle East.
Iran signaled a willingness to negotiate an end to its confrontation with the United States on Monday, but insisted Washington must first lift measures imposed since the Islamabad understanding, as disputes over nuclear activities and control of the Strait of Hormuz continued.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had instructed officials to end the country's prolonged state of uncertainty between war and peace, opening the door to negotiations.
"The supreme leader ordered us to end the no-war, no-peace situation," Pezeshkian said. "We can hold talks with dignity and bring the matter to an end with dignity."
The president also called for changes in how Iran is governed, saying the country's resources should not leave its people struggling to meet basic needs.
"I cannot accept that anyone in the country goes to bed hungry," Pezeshkian said.
Iran sets conditions for two-day proposal
The president's remarks came as the foreign ministry outlined conditions for a proposed diplomatic arrangement that it said could restore regional security within two days.
Iran would fulfill its commitments under the proposal if Washington lifted sanctions, the naval blockade and other measures imposed since the Islamabad understanding, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
The proposal was a shortened version of an earlier seven-day plan, Baghaei said, adding that Qatar and Pakistan remained in regular contact with both sides.
The demands drew a sharp contrast with Washington's position after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iran's terms as unacceptable.
Baghaei rejected the criticism and accused Washington of imposing unreasonable conditions on negotiations.
"We have made it very clear that if the United States meets the Islamic Republic's demands, security will return to the region within two days," Baghaei said.
Nuclear disputes remain unresolved
Iran will not transfer its enriched uranium abroad, and inspections of nuclear facilities damaged by US attacks cannot proceed under existing conditions, Baghaei said separately in an interview with Lebanon's Al Mayadeen television.
The spokesman said International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors had visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant several days earlier and that Iran remained in contact with the UN nuclear watchdog.
However, he argued that the attacks had complicated Iran's ability to fulfill its safeguards obligations.
The remarks coincided with comments from Iranian lawmakers about the country's nuclear capabilities and future policy.
Esmail Kowsari said US strikes during the 12-day war had destroyed aboveground buildings near nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan but had not damaged centrifuges or uranium enriched to 60%.
Another lawmaker, Hamidreza Gudarzi, argued that Iran should acquire nuclear weapons to deter future threats, while acknowledging that decisions on changes to the country's nuclear doctrine rested with senior authorities.
Hormuz dispute and regional diplomacy
Beyond the nuclear issue, Iran and the United States continued to dispute the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Revolutionary Guards denied that US forces had cleared any naval mines from the strategic waterway.
"No war mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz, and this claim is an outright lie," Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said.
The disagreement came as regional governments sought to prevent further military escalation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had told US President Donald Trump during a recent telephone conversation that Ankara opposed another round of attacks on Iran and favored a diplomatic solution.
The United Arab Emirates also warned that a comprehensive settlement between Washington and Tehran remained difficult.
The consequences of the war could persist for years, requiring stronger defense capabilities and sustained diplomatic engagement, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said.
China pursued its own diplomatic contacts, with special envoy Zhai Jun meeting Iranian security official Ali Bagheri Kani during a regional tour that also includes Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Beijing emphasized that the widening Middle East conflict could not be resolved through military force.
Monday's developments left Iran and the United States expressing sharply different conditions for ending their confrontation, with nuclear disputes, sanctions and maritime security remaining central obstacles to a negotiated settlement.
Mohammad-Parsa Amini was killed during Iran's January 2026 protests.
A 17-year-old Iranian teenager shot dead while helping a wounded protester in January had previously been abducted and tortured by security forces at age 13 for taking part in anti-clerical moves during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, Iran International has learned.
Mohammad-Parsa Amini was repeatedly detained and interrogated over his participation in school protests and a protest tactic known as "turban tossing," a source close to his family told Iran International.
The practice spread during nationwide demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, with protesters knocking turbans off clerics' heads to express opposition to the Islamic Republic.
Shot while helping a wounded protester
Amini left home on the evening of January 8 to join anti-government protests, telling his worried family, "My blood is no more precious than anyone else's."
The teenager was shot by security forces that night while trying to help an injured protester. He died after being taken to a medical clinic in Fardis, near Karaj.
A nurse at the clinic telephoned his family and urged them to retrieve his body before security forces could take custody of it, an informed source said.
The family brought his body home and kept it there overnight before transferring it to Behesht-e Sakineh cemetery in Karaj the following morning to complete the necessary burial procedures.
The process of obtaining permission to bury Amini took five days, after which his family laid him to rest beside his grandfather at Imamzadeh Ebrahim cemetery in Malard under tight security restrictions.
Abducted and beaten at age 13
Amini had previously faced repeated detention, interrogation and intimidation by security forces during the nationwide protests of 2022, when he was just 13, according to a source close to his family.
Four unidentified masked men intercepted him in an alley near his home in Fardis as he was returning home on one occasion, the source said.
The men knocked him to the ground, covered his mouth and forced him into a car before driving him to a deserted area near his neighborhood.
Two of the men sat on either side of Amini in the back seat, beating, insulting and threatening him throughout the journey, the source said.
The assailants injured his head and face and forced him to put a pill in his mouth. Amini managed to spit it out after being released, according to the source.
The threats continued after the abduction, prompting his family to move to another home for safety.
Iran is using oil terminals and storage facilities in China to keep sanctioned tankers operating despite US restrictions, according to a confidential document obtained by Iran International and information from Oil Ministry sources.
The document is a confidential letter from Hamid Bovard, the former head of the National Iranian Oil Company and current acting oil minister, responding to a highly confidential letter Ali Shamkhani, a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, sent to then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Shamkhani, who served as Khamenei's political adviser, had described oil sales under President Masoud Pezeshkian as disastrous. Both Shamkhani and Khamenei were killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026.
In his letter, Bovard criticized the administration of former President Ebrahim Raisi for its policy of using newer vessels and described an arrangement developed under Pezeshkian with what he characterized as covert cooperation from China.
According to Bovard, Iranian authorities instructed trusted oil intermediaries to continue using sanctioned vessels capable of docking at designated ports.
Bovard said Iran's Foreign Ministry negotiated with China to acquire port facilities and oil terminals, establishing a hub for sanctioned Iranian crude.
Tehran also secured long-term leases on large oil storage facilities in several Chinese locations, allowing it to sell Iranian crude directly in the Chinese market.
Under the arrangement, vessels belonging to Hossein Shamkhani, Ali Shamkhani's son and the owner of a fleet of tankers commonly described as a shadow fleet, transport Iranian oil to docks in China controlled by Tehran. The facilities allow the vessels to continue delivering oil despite US sanctions.
The arrangement is designed to reduce the impact of US sanctions on Hossein Shamkhani's shipping operations. The US Treasury has sanctioned 51 vessels linked to him.
For years, Iran has worked with China to sell oil through trusted intermediaries to small independent Chinese refineries, known as "teapot" refineries. The United States has repeatedly sanctioned companies involved in these transactions, but the use of intermediaries helps shield China's major banks and three largest oil companies from US sanctions.
Iran's oil terminals and storage facilities in China
Two sources in Iran's Oil Ministry told Iran International that Tehran has acquired control of port facilities at three locations in China. One is in the Ningbo-Zhoushan free trade zone, where Iran gained control of a terminal by helping build several smaller transit facilities.
Tehran also secretly acquired stakes in smaller docks at the ports of Qingdao and Pant in China's Shandong province, according to the sources.
The docks are located near pipelines, allowing Iranian crude to reach Chinese refineries quickly without being transferred to other vessels.
Iran has also purchased seven oil storage tanks in China, allowing it to ship crude to the country before securing buyers.
Four large Iranian-owned oil storage tanks are located at the ports of Dalian and Huizhou and in the coastal cities of Dongying and Weifang.
The Oil Ministry controls three other large storage tanks in the Zhoushan area of the Ningbo-Zhoushan archipelago, according to Iran International's sources. They are the Kamergi tank on Aoshan Island, a tank at the Shulanghu Island terminals and another in the Zengyamuo oil zone.
Two months ago, Iran International published a document showing that Mohammad Javad Bavand, a special assistant to the oil minister, instructed oil intermediary Mohammad Hadi Momenin, who owed $2 billion, to use a vessel belonging to Hossein Shamkhani to deliver oil for storage at one of the Chinese ports.
China also earns revenue from storing Iranian oil. Nearly two years ago, Reuters reported that 25 million barrels of Iranian crude were stranded in storage facilities in China and that Tehran had paid $450 million in storage fees.
China distances itself from Iranian oil
Despite these arrangements, the confidential correspondence suggests that Tehran was facing growing pressure from its main oil buyer.
Bovard's confidential letter to Khamenei's office indicates that China had begun distancing itself from Iranian oil even before the 40-day war. According to the letter, Beijing rejected Tehran's request to increase crude oil import quotas for Chinese refineries, increased imports from Venezuela and demanded deeper discounts on Iranian oil.
Two months ago, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the launch of an initiative to economically isolate Iran that China and the United States had more in common than differences. He said China obtained 50 percent of its energy needs from the Persian Gulf and supported the free flow of maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hossein Shamkhani's grip on Iranian oil trading in Dubai
Throughout the confidential letter, Bovard criticizes Ali Shamkhani, suggesting that his primary concern was protecting his son's interests in the oil trade rather than Iran's oil sales.
Bovard alleged that Hossein Shamkhani used Iranian government loans to purchase vessels but deployed them to transport Russian oil rather than Iranian crude.
According to Bovard, Hossein Shamkhani received Iranian oil on consignment without providing collateral and sold it on the market. Bovard portrayed the United Arab Emirates as Shamkhani's exclusive trading domain, saying the Oil Ministry had effectively become his agent rather than the other way around.
Former lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani recently said the then-head of NICO, the National Iranian Oil Company's international trading arm, had barred Hossein Shamkhani and three other oil intermediaries from selling Iranian crude because they owed several billion dollars.
According to Bovard's confidential letter, Ali Shamkhani told Khamenei that Iranian oil had been sold at a discount of 50 cents per barrel under former President Ebrahim Raisi, compared with $9 per barrel under Pezeshkian. The Oil Ministry disputed Shamkhani's figures.
In September, Iran International reported that Mohammad Javad Bavand, a special assistant to the oil minister, had assigned four oil intermediaries, including Hossein Shamkhani, to sell 86 million barrels of Iranian crude at an 8.5 percent discount. The arrangement followed the transfer of oil sales from a network linked to the Intelligence Ministry to one linked to the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Oil intermediaries discussed possible collapse of Islamic Republic
Former lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani said during a debate that four oil intermediaries met at Charlie restaurant in Dubai hours after Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes. He said they declared that the Islamic Republic was collapsing and that they no longer needed to return proceeds from Iranian oil sales.
The Islamic Republic remained in power, but Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad was later dismissed following Shamkhani's letter to Khamenei.
Two weeks ago, Hossein Ghorbanzadeh, a board member of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Company and an associate of parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told the Fars news agency that Paknejad's dismissal, carried out three weeks earlier, had originally been planned for Esfand, the Iranian calendar month spanning February and March.
Ghorbanzadeh said President Masoud Pezeshkian had told a cabinet meeting that Khamenei asked him to dismiss Paknejad over his handling of the crisis involving oil intermediaries. Khamenei's death and the outbreak of the 40-day war delayed the dismissal, he said.
People wearing Halloween masks gather on a street in Tehran during celebrations on October 30, 2026.
Two bookstores on Tehran's Iranshahr Street were reportedly sealed Saturday, days after security forces cracked down on Halloween gatherings in the popular cultural hub, drawing criticism on Iranian social media.
Dey Bookstore and Arsa Book House, located opposite each other, were shut down, journalist Yaghma Fashkhami wrote on X. Dey also announced that it would remain closed until further notice and could not deliver or dispatch books this week.
Dey was previously sealed in October 2023 during a crackdown on businesses accused of violating mandatory hijab regulations.
Book-focused YouTuber Melika Ghanami linked the closures to recent pro-government gatherings on Iranshahr Street.
"Just yesterday or the day before, they flooded Iranshahr Street carrying flags. Now we're hearing that Dey Bookstore and Arsa Book House have been sealed too. It seems every corner of Tehran where there's even a little life is going to be taken away from us somehow," she wrote on X.
Since the outbreak of war in February, supporters of the Islamic Republic have held nighttime rallies in Tehran and other cities. More recently, Iranshahr Street itself has hosted pro-government gatherings, with images circulating of participants waving Islamic Republic flags.
Halloween crackdown
The closures come after security forces dispersed Halloween gatherings on Iranshahr Street on October 30. Police blocked the street near Artists Park before Basij members and plainclothes security personnel moved in to disperse the crowd. Witnesses told Iran International that people were beaten and detained and nearby cafes were forced to close.
The operation also affected families visiting Artists Park, who were ordered to leave. "It was like the protests. They were running after people and shouting, 'Disperse!'" one eyewitness told Iran International.
The witness also reported seeing people carrying Islamic Republic flags in another part of the street.
The operation followed a directive by Iran's Chamber of Guilds banning Halloween celebrations in public venues and businesses and warning cafes, restaurants and other establishments of closure and legal action for hosting or advertising such events.
Journalist and translator Emily Amraee criticized the bookstore closures in a post on X, linking them to the authorities' response to Halloween celebrations.
"Halloween has really gotten under their skin. They've gone crazy and started shutting down bookstores and cafes and sealing them off. The cultural renaissance is in full swing, dear Mohsen!" she wrote.
Amraee's reference was directed at musician Mohsen Namjoo, who returned to Iran in August after nearly two decades abroad and has since made public remarks defending the Islamic Republic's handling of cultural and social life, describing the changes he sees in Iran as a "cultural renaissance."
Concerns over public spaces
Hardline supporters of the Islamic Republic who advocate mandatory hijab had previously criticized women for appearing without hijab on Iranshahr Street and called on authorities to take action in social media posts.
Sociologist, translator and urban studies researcher Iman Vaghefi criticized what he described as a broader campaign against public spaces.
"The destruction of street furniture on Sanai Street, the attack on Iranshahr Street, the closure of bookstores and cafes, the prosecution of sports clubs, the deployment of morality patrols in smaller cities — these are different but interconnected parts of a planned assault on the foundations of collective urban life," he wrote on X.
"Under the pretext of war, they are targeting the destruction of shared public spaces."
Journalist Saeed Barabadi, organizer of the independent visual arts project Chizha (Things), also questioned the timing of a municipal initiative called Iranshahr Markets.
"At the same time, and quite coincidentally, the municipality has launched a project called 'Iranshahr Markets,'" he wrote on X.
"So it's not just about dispersing people from a street that, rightly or wrongly, has become a gathering place. The point is that the same name, Iranshahr, must be attached to the project so everyone knows who builds and who profits."
US President Donald Trump campaigns ahead of midterm elections, in San Antonio, Texas, US, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that further strikes on Iran were unlikely if negotiations produced a strong agreement, even as fresh explosions in southern Iran and attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz underscored the risk of renewed fighting.
In a telephone interview with CNN, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that another attack would be necessary if Iran agreed to a strong deal. He nevertheless warned that the United States had identified potential infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges that he said could be destroyed within an hour if fighting resumed.
The US and Israeli militaries had prepared for the possibility of renewed strikes against Iran over the weekend, but Trump ultimately issued no order to attack, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday, citing two sources.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials Friday, while two diplomatic sources told the newspaper that Trump had given Vice President JD Vance and other senior administration officials “a few days” to reach an agreement with Tehran.
The comments came amid Qatar's efforts to mediate between Washington and Tehran. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had submitted a nuclear proposal through Doha, but further discussions depended on Washington meeting Iranian demands, including sanctions relief, access to frozen assets and war reparations. The United States insists that nuclear issues be addressed in initial talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that mediators had been inactive for several days following the US midterm elections and that more time was needed before diplomatic efforts could resume.
He also reiterated Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if its conditions were met, including an end to hostilities on all fronts, warning of military retaliation if Washington chose renewed war.
Explosions and maritime confrontation
The diplomatic uncertainty coincided with a series of explosions reported along Iran's southern coast, where the Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of the confrontation.
Iranian media reported four explosions on Qeshm Island and further blasts in Bandar Abbas on Sunday, following reports of explosions around Qeshm, Jask and Sirik on Saturday.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported Sunday that a projectile fired by US forces had struck Qeshm, but the claim could not be independently verified.
Earlier, Tasnim had reported that two missiles struck the island during Saturday's incidents, while Iranian state television said officials had not confirmed missile strikes on Iranian territory and suggested that some explosions might be related to Iranian military activity.
Washington had previously acknowledged limited strikes against Iranian air defenses on Qeshm on November 2, describing the operation as a defensive response to Iranian surface-to-air missile activity against US assets.
The confrontation has also continued at sea, where Washington and Tehran are imposing competing restrictions on commercial shipping.
The IRGC said two oil tankers had caught fire after striking mines while attempting to pass through what it called an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz. The semi-official Fars news agency separately reported that a third tanker had suffered an explosion and caught fire. The claims could not be independently verified.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported Sunday that a tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile while sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Another tanker caught fire near Khasab, Oman, prompting its crew to evacuate. It was unclear whether these incidents were connected to those reported by Iran.
The shipping incidents came alongside a US operation Saturday in which American forces said they disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman after its crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach Washington's naval blockade of Iran.
The US military said an aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, disabling the vessel.
Washington is also seeking to extend its restrictions beyond maritime routes. US Central Command announced Task Force Iron Gate, an initiative intended to disrupt the movement of advanced weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials and illicit revenue through Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.
Trump said Sunday that the task force was operating at full strength and claimed the naval blockade had severely restricted the movement of goods into and out of Iran. The IRGC dismissed the initiative, saying efforts to isolate Iran through its land borders would fail.
Regional attacks deepen the disruption
Regional tensions also intensified Sunday as the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis toward Riyadh and other parts of the kingdom.
Falling debris damaged an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh's financial district, although Saudi authorities reported no casualties. The Houthis said they had targeted Saudi oil and other facilities, while Saudi officials did not establish a direct link between the interceptions and the damage to the building.
In Iraq, an explosive-laden drone struck the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaymaniyah province, causing a fire and prompting a suspension of production. The regional electricity ministry said nearly 2,800 megawatts of electricity generation had been lost from the grid. Responsibility for the attack remained unclear.
The attacks added to the regional disruption caused by the confrontation, particularly to energy supplies and infrastructure, while Washington and Tehran remained divided over the terms of a settlement.
The strait remains central to both the military confrontation and diplomatic negotiations. With Iranian forces continuing to enforce their own shipping restrictions and Washington expanding its blockade, Trump's willingness to avoid further strikes has yet to resolve the dispute over access to the waterway.
