Regional

Trump says US close to a nuclear deal with Iran

Published

1 year ago

May 16, 2025

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms.

“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump said on a tour of the Gulf, according to a shared pool report by AFP.

“We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this… there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he said.

However, an Iranian source familiar with the negotiations said there were still gaps to bridge in the talks with the U.S. Oil prices fell by about $2 on Thursday on expectations of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions easing.

Talks between Iranian and U.S. negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear programme ended in Oman on Sunday with further negotiations expected, officials said, as Tehran publicly insisted on continuing its uranium enrichment.

The Trump administration gave Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations on Sunday, a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Axios.

But a senior Iranian official said Tehran had not received any fresh proposal from the United States to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, adding that Iran would never compromise on its right to enrich uranium on its soil.

Though Tehran and Washington have both said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the dispute, they remain divided on several red lines that negotiators will have to circumvent to reach a new deal and avert future military action.

In an interview with NBC News published on Wednesday, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was willing to agree to a deal with the U.S. in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Ali Shamkhani, the adviser, said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons and getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, NBC reported.

However, the senior Iranian official told Reuters that “the idea of sending enriched uranium above 5% is not new and has always been part of negotiations with the U.S.”

“It is a complex and technical issue and depends on the other party’s readiness to effectively and verifiably lift sanctions on Iran,” the official said.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly said that among Tehran’s red lines was reducing the amount of highly enriched uranium stockpile to a level below what was agreed under Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers, which Trump ditched in 2018.

‘RED LINE’

U.S. officials have publicly stated that Iran should halt uranium enrichment, a stance Iranian officials have called a “red line” asserting they will not give up what they view as Iran’s right as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, they have indicated a willingness to reduce the level of enrichment.

Iran’s clerical establishment is ready to accept some limits on its uranium enrichment, Iranian authorities have said, but in return Tehran wants the lifting of crippling sanctions imposed since 2018 and also watertight guarantees that Trump would not again ditch a nuclear pact.

Iranian sources, close to the negotiation team, said that while Iran is prepared to offer what it considers concessions, “the issue is that America is not willing to lift major sanctions in exchange.”

Regarding the reduction of enriched uranium in storage, the Iranian sources said: “Tehran also wants it removed in several stages, which America doesn’t agree with either.”

There is also disagreement over the destination to which the highly enriched uranium would be sent, the source added.

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Regional

Saudi Arabia says debris from intercepted missiles falls in Mecca region

The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said in a statement.

Published

20 hours ago

November 12, 2026

Ariana News

Saudi Arabia said debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted by its air defences fell in the Mecca ‌region on Wednesday, as the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis continued to trade attacks in an escalating conflict.

Saudi state television identified the locations as Sabuhah village, about 35 km (22 miles) northeast of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and Wadi al-Maghmas, about 21 km east of the ⁠mosque, Reuters reported.

The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said in a statement.

The Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi accusations that they target Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities, saying their military operations are directed at military and strategic targets elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.

Mecca, home to sites sacred to Muslims worldwide, is the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which ‌millions ⁠of Muslims undertake each year.

“This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia,” Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said early on Thursday.

The Houthis seized ⁠Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.

A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely froze ⁠the conflict, but hostilities resumed earlier this year, with the Houthis launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory and Riyadh carrying out airstrikes ⁠in Yemen.

The latest escalation has threatened the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Regional

Iran defends two-day proposal for peace talks after US rejects conditions

Iran defended a proposal on Monday to restart peace talks in as few as two days as the ‌most reasonable offer on the table, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some of Iran’s conditions “outrageous and ridiculous”.

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2026

Ariana News

“Is it unreasonable that Iran demands that US illegal sanctions ⁠and its naval blockade must be lifted before negotiations start and that the war should end on all fronts?” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press conference in response to Rubio’s remarks.

Iran defended a proposal on Monday to restart peace talks in as few as two days as the ‌most reasonable offer on the table, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some of Iran’s conditions “outrageous and ridiculous”.

Regional

Explosions heard in areas in southern Iran, Iranian media report

Earlier on Saturday, Tasnim news agency ‌said ⁠two missiles struck Qeshm Island with no official information on possible damage.

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2026

Ariana News

Explosions were heard on Saturday evening in several areas in southern Iran, including on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reported.

Iran’s state TV suggested that the explosions might be linked to ‌Iranian military activities in the strategic waterway, which has become subject to repeated attacks on commercial shipping since the war erupted between the US and Iran in February.

It said Iranian officials have not confirmed any missile strikes on the areas, while the semi-official Tasnim news agency cited a source as saying that the explosions heard on Qeshm ⁠Island were not related to missile strikes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said early on Sunday that two oil tankers were on fire after hitting mines as they attempted to pass through an “unauthorized route” in the strait. It was not immediately clear if the incidents referred to by the IRGC were linked to the sound of explosions heard in southern Iranian areas.

Iran has hit vessels it says have violated its restrictions on passage through the waterway, as it seeks to assert control over the strait and exert pressure on Washington.

Earlier on Saturday, Tasnim news agency ‌said ⁠two missiles struck Qeshm Island with no official information on possible damage.

The reported explosions come days after the US carried out strikes on the island. A US official said those strikes were limited and not a resumption of major combat operations.

The US military said on Saturday evening that its forces disabled a commercial ⁠vessel that tried to get through the US blockade of Iran.

The US Central Command said one of its aircraft fired at the vessel’s stern and disabled the ship after it attempted to violate the ⁠blockade.

Countries in the region had been anticipating that US President Donald Trump, who has held off on strikes on Iran during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, could ⁠restart attacks once the voting was over. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to new attacks by striking at US and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.