United States

By suspending talks with Washington over Israel's campaign in Lebanon, Tehran has raised the stakes of postwar diplomacy and posed a critical question: is it successfully increasing its leverage, or overplaying its hand?

The Iran war left the Islamic Republic weaker than it had been in years. The question now is whether Washington will turn that weakness into leverage – or give Tehran room to recover through a new deal.

Reports of a possible agreement between Washington and the Islamic Republic have triggered anger and frustration among Iranians, with messages sent to Iran International reflecting deep distrust toward both foreign powers and Iran’s ruling establishment.

Iran and the United States appeared to move closer Saturday to a framework to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said an agreement had been largely negotiated and regional leaders urged Washington to accept a deal.

The Trump administration’s most powerful pressure point against Tehran may not lie in military action but in China’s deep financial and energy ties with Iran, a former US Treasury sanctions official told the Eye for Iran podcast.

Even as Tehran engages in hardheaded diplomatic maneuvering with Washington, it is advancing a parliamentary proposal offering a €50 million reward for President Trump’s killing.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iranians should expect inflation, shortages and economic hardship because the country is at war and facing mounting pressure on its energy infrastructure and oil exports.

The Iran war has entered a more ambiguous phase, with the regime battered but not broken, the US struggling to define victory, and the Strait of Hormuz emerging as Iran’s most potent bargaining tool, two Middle East experts said at an Iran International townhall in Washington DC.

Iran's parliament is reviewing a bill that requires the government to pay €50 million to any individual or entity that kills US President Donald Trump in retaliation for the killing of Iran's leader and commanders, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday.

Iran sought to rally BRICS countries against US and Israeli military action on Thursday, casting the regional conflict as resistance to American power as concerns over maritime security and energy disruption dominated the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.

Iran described its latest proposal to the United States as “reasonable and generous” on Monday and said Tehran’s immediate priority remained ending the war rather than deciding the future of its nuclear program.

Renewed deal talk between Washington and Tehran has angered many Iranians, who questioned in messages to Iran International whether another agreement would reward the Islamic Republic while ordinary people bear the cost.

The United States is close to an interim agreement with Iran to end the war and launch nuclear negotiations, with Tehran expected to respond on key points within 48 hours, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials and two other sources briefed on the issue.

Graffiti in support of Iran’s theocracy has appeared in one of the most prominent Iranian-American neighborhoods in the United States, prompting concern among some residents about intimidation and the spillover of political tensions into diaspora communities.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States is not seeking conflict with Iran as it launches a temporary operation to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Iranians need access to weapons to challenge their rulers, President Donald Trump said on Monday, arguing that protesters would fight effectively if armed but are currently outmatched by government forces.

The United States has asked partner countries to join its newly formed Maritime Freedom Coalition to help secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf waterways, according to a State Department cable.

With US-Iran talks in Pakistan in doubt after Iran's foreign minister left Islamabad and President Trump canceled the planned trip by US negotiators, veteran journalist Eli Lake says Washington should use its leverage not only on the nuclear file, but to help the people of Iran.