Iran draws missile red line as analysts warn Tehran is stalling US talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would not negotiate on its ballistic missile program, rejecting a core U.S. demand and further dimming prospects for a breakthrough deal.
He again warned in an interview with Al Jazeera that Tehran, Iran, would target U.S. bases in the Middle East if provoked, calling Iran’s missile program “never negotiable.”
The warnings came as U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in early February in Oman, even as Washington continued to build up military forces across the region — a posture U.S. officials say is meant to deter further escalation but which analysts argue also underscores how far apart the two sides remain.
Despite the imbalance in military power, analysts say Iran believes it can withstand U.S. pressure by signaling greater resolve — and by betting that Washington’s appetite for war is limited.
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While the U.S. possesses overwhelming military capabilities, Defense Priorities analyst Rosemary Kelanic said Iran is relying on the logic of asymmetric conflict.
“One country is much stronger, but the weaker country cares more,” Kelanic said. “And historically, the country that cares more often wins by outlasting the stronger one.”
“Iran is trying to signal resolve as strongly as it can, but it likely doubts U.S. resolve — because from Tehran’s perspective, the stakes for Iran are existential, while the stakes for the United States are not,” she added.
IRAN’S PRESIDENT STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON NUCLEAR TALKS AFTER TRUMP’S WARNING THAT ‘BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN’
Behnam Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Tehran’s primary leverage is its ability to threaten wider regional instability, even if it cannot win a prolonged conflict.
“The Islamic Republic’s leverage is the threat of a region-wide war,” Taleblu said, noting that while U.S. and Israeli defenses could intercept most attacks, “something will get hit.”
Iran buying time
Analysts across the spectrum agree that Iran is using negotiations less as a path to compromise than as a way to delay decisive action.
Oren Kessler, analyst at global consulting firm Wikistrat, said Iran is using talks to stabilize its position internally while avoiding concessions on core security issues.
“Both sides want a deal, but their red lines are very hard for the other side to overcome,” Kesler said. “The talks are going well in the sense that they’re happening, but they’re not really going anywhere.”
Taleblu echoed that assessment, arguing that Tehran is treating diplomacy as a shield rather than a solution.
“The regime is treating negotiations as a lifeline rather than a way to resolve the core problem,” he said.
Taleblu added that Iran’s leadership sees talks as a way to deter a strike in the short term, weaken domestic opposition in the medium term, and eventually secure sanctions relief to stabilize its economy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles must be part of any agreement to avoid military action.
“At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage with Iran,” Rubio said in early February. “In order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles. That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.”
Anti-government protests beginning at the start of 2026 led to a brutal crackdown in Iran. The regime has admitted to 3,117 deaths linked to the demonstrations, though human rights groups and Iranian resistance organizations peg the death toll as much higher.
The U.S. also has demanded that Iran give up all enriched uranium stockpiles, which can be used for civilian energy at low levels but for nuclear weapons at higher concentrations.
Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Iran is willing to negotiate on nuclear issues but insisted enrichment is an “inalienable right” that “must continue.”
“We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment,” he said. “The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.”
Iran’s atomic chief said Monday that Tehran would consider diluting its 60% enriched uranium — a level close to weapons-grade — but only in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions.
As negotiations unfolded, the U.S. continued to expand its military footprint in the Middle East.
In late January, the U.S. dispatched a carrier strike group centered on the USS Abraham Lincoln to the North Arabian Sea, accompanied by multiple destroyers and other naval assets. Additional F-15E strike aircraft and air defense systems have also been repositioned at bases across the region, alongside thousands of U.S. troops.
Taleblu said the administration may be using diplomacy to buy time of its own.
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“The charitable interpretation is that the president is buying time — moving assets, strengthening missile defense, and preparing military options,” he said. “The less charitable interpretation is that the United States is taking Iran’s threats as highly credible and still chasing the optics of a deal.”
In 2025, five rounds of talks similarly stalled over U.S. demands that Iran abandon enrichment entirely — talks that ultimately collapsed into Operation Midnight Hammer, a U.S.-led bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities.
As Ukraine war drags on, Trump hits Putin by squeezing Russia’s proxies
President Donald Trump vowed to impose “very severe consequences” on Russia in 2025 if it didn’t commit to a deal to end its war on Ukraine.
As the war nears its four-year anniversary in late February, national security experts tell Fox News Digital that Russia is facing tangible consequences for the war. Those are through its network of proxy countries that have directly endured the might of the U.S. military and subsequently left Russia with fewer streams of revenue and resources, they say.
“The president’s moves as it pertains to Russia are really strategic,” Morgan Murphy, who previously served as the senior public diplomacy advisor to the president’s special envoy to Ukraine in 2025, told Fox News Digital. “So if you look at what he’s done with Iran and with Venezuela, these are two Russian proxies, right? Iran is a close ally of Russia.”
“They sell a lot of drones to Russia,” Murphy, who is running as a GOP Senate candidate to represent Alabama, continued. “Venezuela was again a proxy of Russia here in our hemisphere, and Trump is in the process of taking Iran off the table. He’s certainly taken Venezuela off the chessboard, and that that has to change Putin’s calculus, because he sees in President Trump a president who follows what he says he’s going to do.”
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Russia’s war on Ukraine has persisted since Feb. 24, 2022, about a year after Trump’s first administration ended and during President Joe Biden’s presidency. Trump campaigned on ending the war upon his second inauguration in 2025, but ending the war has proven more difficult than anticipated as the U.S. continues negotiations.
A White House official who spoke to Fox Digital said Trump is driven by humanitarian concerns and wants the conflict ended to stop the needless loss of life. The official added that in recent months his team has made major headway toward a settlement, pointing to Trump’s own remarks that “very good things” are developing between Ukraine and Russia.
According to the official, recent negotiations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, were substantive and constructive, with U.S., Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreeing to a 314-person prisoner exchange — the first in five months. While more work is ahead, the official argued that breakthroughs like this show sustained diplomacy is producing real, measurable progress toward ending the war.
Trump launched a series of strikes on Iran in June 2025 that hobbled the country’s covert nuclear program. Massive protests swept Iran in December 2025 as citizens spoke out against the government and its cratering economy.
Iran violently cracked down on the nationwide protests, with thousands of citizens reportedly killed and the Trump administration warning Iran that it would face U.S. military action if the executions and killings continued.
The U.S. and Iran held discussions in Oman Friday as Tehran, Iran, continues to obscure its nuclear ambitions, with military intervention on the table as the U.S. seeks to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons capabilities.
Iran and Russia have grown into a tighter wartime partnership in recent years, with U.S. and allied officials citing Iran’s supply of armed drones and other defense cooperation that has helped power Russia’s attacks in Ukraine — drawing the two heavily sanctioned regimes closer economically and militarily.
Ret. Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson pointed to the Trump administration’s actions on Iran and Venezuela as evidence of how Trump is strategically pressuring Russia via its proxies to end the war in Ukraine.
“In any campaign, you don’t just target command centers — you cut supply lines and logistics,” Carlson said. “Pressuring Russian proxies does exactly that. Venezuela, Iran, and the shadow fleet are key arteries feeding Russia’s war in Ukraine. Additionally, by pressing Europe to increase NATO spending and move off Russian oil and gas, we are directly altering Moscow’s decision-making.”
WITKOFF SAYS TALKS WITH RUSSIAN ENVOY WERE ‘PRODUCTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE’ AMID TRUMP ADMIN’S PEACE PUSH
Carlson argued that, strategically, the trend lines are moving against Moscow as the U.S. ramps up pressure on Russia’s partners — leaving Putin with fewer backers, tighter resources and less flexibility, and undermining any assumption that dragging out the war comes without a cost.
The retired Air Force general added that Putin and his proxies operate as a single ecosystem: Russia’s campaign relies on outside suppliers and sanctions-busting networks, so hitting any link in that chain can weaken Russia’s revenue and its ability to sustain attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
“But ensuring a lasting and fair peace is not solely about pressuring Russia. As the cold winter continues in Ukraine, there are increasing concerns on Ukraine’s energy needs and air defense systems. U.S. and European support remain vital,” he added.
UKRAINE RACES TO BOLSTER AIR DEFENSES AS PUTIN’S STRIKE PAUSE NEARS END
As tensions with Iran heighten, the Trump administration successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on sweeping narco-trafficking charges in January.
Venezuela is another Russian ally, publicly backing Moscow and maintaining high-level diplomatic ties, while giving Russia a Western Hemisphere foothold through military-technical cooperation and deep dependence on Russian arms — a relationship that has triggered U.S. sanctions actions tied to Venezuela’s oil sector and Russian-linked firms.
“The removal of Maduro stripped Moscow of a key client in our hemisphere, and the increased pressure on Iran threatens the weapons and drone supply chain that Russia uses against Ukrainian civilians,” Carrie Filipetti, executive director of foreign policy group the Vandenberg Coalition, told Fox News Digital. “This is how we have to change Putin’s long-term calculus.”
TRUMP SAYS PUTIN AGREED TO HALT KYIV STRIKES FOR ONE WEEK AMID BRUTAL COLD
“For the first time, the United States has used the power of American diplomacy to bring Ukraine and Russia into trilateral diplomatic talks,” Filipetti added. “Combined with the threat of additional sanctions reliance and increased pressure on the countries that buy Russian energy, these steps are critical to shaking Russia’s assumption that time is on its side.”
Ret. Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton told Fox News Digital that when Trump warned Russia of severe consequences in 2025 if Moscow did not end the war, the threat was followed by tangible consequences that reverberated through the Kremlin.
“Deterrence and leverage requires our adversaries (to) believe we will act,” Newton said. “President Trump is doing just that by disrupting the systems that fund and sustain Putin’s war. The capture of Maduro and the just announced trade deal with India’s Prime Minister Modi — that forces India off of Russian oil — is a major blow to Russia’s war machine.”
The White House said in February that it struck with India to increase U.S. energy imports and stop buying Russian oil. The U.S. tops the world in daily oil production, with Saudi Arabia and Russia following behind.
Filipetti argued that peace in Ukraine is only obtained by forcing Russia to face “real consequences.”
“Vladimir Putin is responsible for a war of aggression marked by atrocities against Ukrainian civilians, and any lasting peace must impose real consequences on Russia itself. And weakening Russia’s proxies and isolating Putin is one of the most effective ways to reduce his ability to wage war,” Filipetti said.
“When it comes to China, North Korea, and Iran — without question these authoritarians are facing a very different calculus than just a few months ago,” she said.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO DISCUSS TERRITORY AS TRUMP SAYS BOTH SIDES ‘WANT TO MAKE A DEAL’
While Newton pointed to a shadow-fleet sanctions package and another sanctions package that are moving through Congress, along with higher NATO spending and a tougher allied military posture, as key pressure points he says could help drive a peace deal.
Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is promoting a sweeping Russia sanctions bill that would tighten the screws on Moscow by punishing countries and companies that keep buying Russian energy with secondary sanctions and tariffs, while a separate bipartisan “shadow fleet” package would target the tankers, insurers and shell networks Russia uses to move oil and evade sanctions.
Murphy argued that Trump already has sketched what he sees as a realistic off-ramp for Moscow — one he says even some Democrats would recognize as the best deal Putin is likely to get — including restoring Russia’s seat at the top diplomatic table, reopening some Western commercial access, and acknowledging Russia’s current occupation of Ukrainian territory without formally recognizing sovereignty.
ZELENSKYY HOLDING UP RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE PROCESS, TRUMP SAYS
Murphy likened that offer to a “golden bridge” for Putin to exit the war, but said the Kremlin has so far declined it, making the next move ultimately Russia’s choice — and raising the question of how many more casualties Moscow is willing to absorb with no clear endpoint in sight.
The war underscores a Russian worldview U.S. negotiators often misread through a Western lens, Murphy said, explaining Russia is shaped by catastrophic losses in World War I and World War II and a deep-seated suspicion that invasion is a recurring threat. He said that unpredictability is why the U.S. military has long used the “Crazy Ivan” moniker for Russian behavior.
Trump is meanwhile putting himself in the Russians’ shoes, Murphy argued, and meeting the moment with a clearer-eyed read of Moscow’s mindset and history.
“It is a decision that the Russians are going to have to make. How many more lives do they want to feed into this meat grinder? How many more deaths are they willing to endure?” Murphy said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in February that the U.S. set a June deadline for Moscow and Kyiv to strike an agreement to end the war, teeing up heightened tensions ahead of the U.S. midterms in November.
Retired general argues military action against Iran is ‘best option’ as Trump faces ‘historic opportunity’
Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane said the U.S. should use military action against Iran while the regime is at its “weakest,” arguing that Tehran continues to lie about its nuclear ambitions even as President Donald Trump keeps the door open to a new deal.
“I think we’re coming down to the reality that the military option is, indeed, the best option here,” Keane said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Trump faces “this historic opportunity that no other president has had” to set the conditions for regime collapse, which could herald enduring peace in the Middle East and be legacy-defining for the president, he said.
The Fox News senior strategic analyst acknowledged that Trump has established a pattern of using diplomatic pressure to achieve his aims, but still pushed for military action against Iran, claiming that “if they [Iran] make any kind of a deal, the first thing they’re going to want is sanction relief.”
He said even a deal favorable to the U.S. wouldn’t be in the best interest of America, the region or the Iranian people because it would extend the life of the ayatollah’s regime, which is now the “weakest” it has been politically, economically and militarily.
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Not only is Iran destabilizing the Middle East, using its proxies to attack Israel and repressing their own people, Keane said, but the regime remains “persistent in the big lie… that they’re really pursuing civil nuclear power.”
“They have one nuclear plant in Iran. It represents… less than 1% of the energy to provide and sustain their electric grid,” he said. “It’s all a bunch of nonsense. They’ve been lying for years about this, and they continue to do it.”
TRUMP’S SPECIAL ENVOY WITKOFF AND KUSHNER VISIT US AIRCRAFT CARRIER AMID IRAN TENSIONS, TALKS
Keane’s comments come after U.S. special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), visited the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on a scheduled deployment Saturday.
Their visit follows Friday’s nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran in Oman, which included Witkoff and Kushner. Trump described the meeting as “very good.”
“Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,” he told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. “We have to see what that deal is.”
He made it clear he will only make a deal with Iran if they agree to no nuclear weapons.
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Iran’s top diplomat says nation’s power lies in defying pressure: ‘No to the great powers’
Iran is prepared to pursue diplomacy while remaining ready to defend itself if challenged, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday, arguing that Tehran’s strength lies in its ability to stand firm against pressure.
“We are a man of diplomacy, we are also a man of war; not in the sense that we seek war, but … we are ready to fight so that no one dares to fight us,” he said, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster.
Araghchi made the remarks in Tehran at the National Congress on the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Policy, two days after Iran and the United States held nuclear talks in Oman.
Fox News previously reported that negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials in Muscat, the capital, were held face-to-face, marking the first such meetings since U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June.
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Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the talks as “intensive and lengthy” in a post on X, saying the meetings allowed both sides to present their positions and concerns.
“It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” the government account said.
It added there was broad agreement on continuing the negotiations, though decisions on timing, format and the next round will be made following consultations in the two capitals, with Oman continuing to serve as the intermediary.
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Araghchi said Sunday that Iran views its nuclear program as a legitimate right and is seeking recognition of that position through negotiations.
“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others,” he said, according to Press TV.
“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers,” the top diplomat added. “The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is to say no to the powers.”
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President Donald Trump has expanded the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer.
Other U.S. naval assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are positioned across key waterways surrounding Iran, from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.
Trump’s special envoy Witkoff and Kushner visit US aircraft carrier amid Iran tensions, talks
U.S. special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff along with Jared Kushner and Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), visited the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on a scheduled deployment Saturday.
The visit comes amid tensions with Iran, and Witkoff said the service members were “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength,” a day after the U.S. and Iran held talks in Oman to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
“We thanked the sailors and Marines, observed live flight operations, and spoke with the pilot who downed an Iranian drone that approached the carrier without clear intent,” Witkoff wrote on X. “Proud to stand with the men and women who defend our interests, deter our adversaries, and show the world what American readiness and resolve look like, on watch every day.”
The aircraft carrier left San Diego in November for the Indo-Pacific region and moved to the Middle East in January.
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“I join the American people in expressing our incredible pride in the sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group,” Cooper told the service members. “Their dedication to the mission and professionalism are on full display here in the Middle East as they demonstrate U.S. military readiness and strength.”
This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to discuss Iran.
IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD ‘A GOOD START’ IN OMAN
“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to Tehran’s support for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
The two leaders last met in September.
Trump described Friday’s Oman talks, which included Witkoff and Kushner, as “very good.”
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“Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,” the president told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. “We have to see what that deal is.”
Kick Iran out of Olympics, World Cup for execution of over 30 athletes, activists demand
A longtime critic of the Iranian regime and the former head of the rogue nation’s national wrestling team are urging sports organizations to ban Iran from competitions just weeks after Tehran executed thousands of anti-government demonstrators.
The sport of wrestling, a national pastime in Iran, has been hit hard by the Iranian regime’s slaughter of protesters seeking to end 47 years of Islamist totalitarian rule in the country.
According to a report Friday from the London-based independent news organization Iran International, the clerical regime killed Parsa Lorestani, a 15-year-old protester and wrestler from the city of Zagheh in western Iran. A government sniper allegedly killed Lorestani in the city of Khorramabad during a protest Jan. 8. The outlet showed video of the young boy wrestling.
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“Another wrestler murdered. Erfan Kari was 20. A champion,” Iranian-American Sardar Parshaei, former head coach of Iran’s national Greco-Roman wrestling, wrote on his X account Friday.
“He could have been an Olympian. Instead, the Islamic regime shot him for protesting. Other wrestlers are still in prison. Be their voice. Save them.”
Prominent dissident Masih Alinejad announced to her 786.800 followers in an X post Friday, “The Islamic Republic has slaughtered over 40,000 protesters, thousands of them athletes, children, teenagers, young people, women, men, and from various sports disciplines. At the same time, the regime shamelessly exploits international sporting events to legitimize itself and whitewash its crimes. With the upcoming FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the United States, we demand that FIFA take a firm and principled stand.”
Alinejad noted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is recognized by the U.S. and European Union as a terrorist organization, controls all aspects of Iranian society, including sports.
“FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and all global sports organizations must refuse to legitimize a system that massacres its own people and athletes for demanding freedom and human dignity,” Alinejad said. “Boycott the Islamic Republic from all international sporting competitions.”
Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, the first American female wrestler to win a medal in world championship competition in 1989, told Fox News Digital the slaughter of protesters in her homeland makes her sick.
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“It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I speak for the Iranian people and the dire situation currently unfolding in my homeland,” she said. “Having been a young girl in Iran during the 1979 Revolution, I vividly remember the feeling of the clocks being turned back 100 years as women’s freedoms and fundamental human rights were stripped away overnight.”
Roshanzamir Johnston said women are denied the basic right to participate in athletics, and young male wrestlers are being tortured and executed.
“We can no longer turn a blind eye to this brutality,” she said. “It is time for a call to action: We must find a way to place undeniable pressure on the regime to end these mass killings without stripping our athletes of their hard-earned opportunities. The world must stand with the people of Iran before more of our bravest souls are lost.”
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS
Parshaei, who was a world champion Greco-Roman wrestler, told Fox News Digital he is also campaigning for the IOC and United World Wrestling to block Iran from competitions.
When asked if the IOC would ban Iran and whether the Olympic body agrees with the U.S. demand that Iran not execute 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, who faces an imminent death penalty, the IOC media team directed Fox News Digital to a Jan. 29 statement on the matter.
“We will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sport diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran.”
LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI’S SECRET DEADLY BLUEPRINT FOR CRUSHING IRAN PROTESTS
Dan Russell, executive director of U.S.-based Wrestling for Peace, said sports and diplomacy can be complicated, but in the current situation, athletes must stand together.
“Neutrality cannot mean indifference when lives are at stake,” Russell said. “Sport must take a stand for peace, respect and human dignity.
“Every option must be considered to demand an immediate halt to executions, the release of imprisoned wrestlers such as Saleh Mohammadi and Alireza Nejati and basic protections for athletes who speak with conscience,” Russell added. “Athletes who represent the best of who we are as the wrestling family. “
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A spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission told Fox News Digital, “The mission declined to comment.”
But not all critics of Tehran’s brutal regime support banning Iran from sports competitions.
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“I am not in favor of banning Iran’s wrestling team,” said Potkin Azarmehr, a British Iranian expert on the Islamic Republic. “If Iran’s wrestling team competes, it’s an opportunity for more defections and protests against the regime by the spectators which will be televised and reach millions of viewers inside Iran, too.
“The ban would just be a blanket victimization of other wrestlers who have trained long hours for this,” he added. “Having said that, the IOC and UWW should make some statement and make sure spectators are allowed to display pictures of the fallen wrestlers.”
Iran vows to ‘target US bases’ if American forces launch an attack: report
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Saturday that Tehran will “target U.S. bases” in the region if American forces launch an attack, a report said.
The remark came after Araghchi said Friday that indirect nuclear talks with the U.S. in Oman were “a good start” and that there was a “consensus” that the negotiations would continue.
“It would not be possible to attack American soil, but we will target their bases in the region” if Iran is attacked by U.S. forces, Araghchi told Al Jazeera Saturday, according to Reuters.
“We will not attack neighboring countries; rather, we will target U.S. bases stationed in them. There is a big difference between the two,” he reportedly added.
IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD ‘A GOOD START’ IN OMAN
The U.S. last June attacked nuclear facilities in Iran in what has come to be known as Operation Midnight Hammer.
In response, Iran launched a retaliatory attack on Al-Udeid, the American airbase in Qatar, which President Donald Trump characterized at the time as a “very weak response.”
“Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered. There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ACTIVITY AT IRAN NUCLEAR SITES BOMBED BY US, ISRAEL
Regarding Friday’s nuclear talks, Araghchi said, “It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met with both Iranian and American officials on Friday, the Foreign Ministry of Oman said on X. The ministry said that al-Busaidi held separate meetings with Araghchi and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
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“The consultations focused on preparing the appropriate conditions for resuming diplomatic and technical negotiations, while emphasizing their importance in light of the parties’ determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability,” the Foreign Ministry of Oman said.
Trump says nuclear talks in Oman were ‘very good,’ claims Iran wants a deal ‘very badly’
The indirect nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran mediated by Oman were “very good,” according to President Donald Trump.
“Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We’ll have to see what that deal is. But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly, as they should. Last time they decided maybe not to do it, but I think they probably feel differently,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Friday.
The president added that the U.S. had a “big Armada” heading toward Iran, something he has spoken about in the past.
When he was pressed on how long the U.S. would be willing to wait to make a deal with Iran, the president indicated some flexibility, saying he believes the two nations can reach an agreement.
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“It can be reached. Well, we have to get in position. We have plenty of time. If you remember Venezuela, we waited around for a while, and we’re in no rush. We have very good [talks] with Iran,” Trump said.
“They know the consequences if they don’t make a deal. The consequences are very steep. So, we’ll see what happens. But they had a very good meeting with a very high representative of Iran,” the president added.
American and Iranian representatives held separate meetings with Omani officials on Friday amid flaring tensions between Washington and Tehran. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the meetings were “focused on preparing the appropriate conditions for resuming diplomatic and technical negotiations.”
IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD ‘A GOOD START’ IN OMAN
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect nuclear talks were “a good start” and that there was a “consensus” that the negotiations would continue.
“After a long period without dialogue, our viewpoints were conveyed, and our concerns were expressed. Our interests, the rights of the Iranian people and all matters that needed to be stated were presented in a very positive atmosphere, and the other side’s views were also heard,” Araghchi said.
“It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” he added.
IRAN SEIZES OIL TANKERS, THREATENS ‘MASSACRE’ IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ HOURS BEFORE US TALKS
While both sides expressed optimism about a possible deal, the U.S. moved to impose fresh sanctions on Iran after the talks. The State Department announced that the U.S. was sanctioning “15 entities, two individuals and 14 shadow fleet vessels connected to the illicit trade in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products.”
“Instead of investing in the welfare of its own people and crumbling infrastructure, the Iranian regime continues to fund destabilizing activities around the world and step up its repression inside Iran,” the statement added.
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“So long as the Iranian regime attempts to evade sanctions and generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund such oppressive behavior and support terrorist activities and proxies, the United States will act to hold both the Iranian regime and its partners accountable.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on the sanctions.
Officials tell Americans in one country to ‘leave now’ due to major safety concerns
The U.S. Virtual Embassy in Iran issued a security alert Friday about land crossings — telling Americans to “leave Iran now.”
“Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions and internet blockages are ongoing,” the alert says.
“The Government of Iran continues to restrict access to mobile, landline and national internet networks. Airlines continue to limit or cancel flights to and from Iran.”
TRAVEL WARNING ESCALATES FOR TOURISTS AS US STATE DEPT FLAGS ‘ARMED CONFLICT’ RISKS
The embassy warned that Americans there should expect continued internet outages. It advises citizens to plan alternative means of communication and to depart by land to Armenia or Turkey.
The Armenian land border at Agarak/Norduz and Turkish land border crossings with Iran are open (Gürbulak/Bazargan, Kapıköy/Razi and Esendere/Serow). Turkmenistan’s land borders are also open.
Azerbaijan’s land borders are closed to routine traffic — and U.S. citizens should not travel to Afghanistan, Iran or the Pakistan-Iran border area, the alert advised.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are part of a U.S. delegation scheduled to meet with Iranian officials on Friday in Oman as part of diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.
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American officials are seeking to press for an end to Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, curbs on ballistic missiles and a halt to support for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
President Donald Trump has also demanded an end to the regime’s violent crackdown on protesters.
The State Department issued a “Level 4 – Do not travel” advisory for the Islamic Republic of Iran in December.
At the time, it urged Americans not to visit the country “due to the risk of terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens and wrongful detention.”
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Officials reiterated that the U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations in Iran.
The Swiss government, acting through its Embassy in Tehran, serves as the protecting power for United States interests in Iran.
The State Department has four travel advisory levels to help travelers assess safety risks before visiting other countries.
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The advisory levels are: Level 1 – Exercise Normal Precautions; Level 2 – Exercise Increased Caution; Level 3 – Reconsider Travel; and Level 4 – Do Not Travel.
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Iranian official says nuclear talks will continue after US, Tehran negotiations had ‘a good start’ in Oman
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that indirect nuclear talks with the U.S. in Oman were “a good start” and that there was a “consensus” that the negotiations would continue.
“After a long period without dialogue, our viewpoints were conveyed, and our concerns were expressed. Our interests, the rights of the Iranian people, and all matters that needed to be stated were presented in a very positive atmosphere, and the other side’s views were also heard,” Araghchi said.
“It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” he added.
IRAN’S KHAMENEI STAYS AWAY FROM TALKS AS JD VANCE SAYS DYNAMIC MAKES DIPLOMACY ‘MUCH MORE COMPLICATED’
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met with both Iranian and American officials on Friday, the Foreign Ministry of Oman said on X. The ministry said that al-Busaidi held separate meetings with Araghchi and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“The consultations focused on preparing the appropriate conditions for resuming diplomatic and technical negotiations, while emphasizing their importance, in light of the parties’ determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability,” the Foreign Ministry of Oman said.
Oman reportedly put out a public statement acknowledging the talks after journalists with The Associated Press saw Iranian and American officials separately visit the palace, the outlet reported. The AP said it was not immediately clear if talks were done for the day, but noted that the palace was empty after the convoys left.
The Iranian representatives reportedly met with al-Busaidi first, and only after their convoy left the palace did another set of vehicles arrive, one of which had an American flag, according to the AP. The outlet said the SUV flying the American flag stayed at the palace for an hour and a half.
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The talks were initially set to take place in Turkey, but were later moved, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who confirmed the change in venue on Wednesday.
“We thought we had an established forum that had been agreed to in Turkey. It was put together by a number of partners who wanted to attend and be a part of it,” Rubio said when taking questions from reporters on Wednesday.
“I saw conflicting reports yesterday from the Iranian side saying that they had not agreed to that. So, that’s still being worked through. At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage in, has always been prepared to engage with Iran.”
Iranian officials also reportedly tried to limit the talks to a bilateral U.S.-Iran format, excluding other Arab and regional countries, according to Axios.
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Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have been high since Washington bombed Tehran’s nuclear facilities in the summer of 2025. Things escalated further as the U.S. condemned Iran’s treatment of anti-regime protesters, with President Donald Trump threatening to act if government actors used violence against demonstrators.
Trump recently said in an interview with NBC News that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “should be very worried,” though the president acknowledged that the two countries were “negotiating.”
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When pressed about why he has not followed through on threats to take action if the regime used violence against protesters, Trump said that the U.S. “had their back” and that the “country’s a mess right now because of us,” referring to the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Trump also told NBC News that the U.S. had learned that Iran was attempting to build a new nuclear site in a different part of the country.
The president said that he issued a threat that if Iran were to build a new nuclear facility, the U.S. would “do very bad things.”
It is not immediately clear whether there will be more discussions over the course of the weekend or if there are any plans for direct discussions between Iranian and American officials.
The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Iran’s Khamenei stays away from talks as JD Vance says dynamic makes diplomacy ‘much more complicated’
As indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran started on Friday in Oman, remarks from Vice President JD Vance earlier in the week questioning the absence of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from talks have raised a core dilemma for Washington — the person with ultimate authority in Tehran is not sitting at the negotiating table.
In the interview, Vance said, “It’s a very weird country to conduct diplomacy with, when you can’t even talk to the person who’s in charge of the country. That makes all of this much more complicated… It is bizarre that we can’t just talk to the actual leadership of the country. It really makes diplomacy very, very difficult,” he said on Megyn Kelly’s podcast.
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The Supreme Leader has no equals
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, has served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989 and remains the country’s highest political and religious authority, with ultimate control over military, security and strategic decisions. That concentration of power means any diplomatic outcome must ultimately pass through him.
Sina Azodi, the director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that Khamenei’s authority stems from direct control over Iran’s core power centers. “He is very powerful because he is the commander in chief of the armed forces and appoints the heads of the IRGC, the Artesh (conventional military), the judiciary and other important institutions.”
Azodi added that protocol and hierarchy also explain Khamenei’s absence from negotiations. “Iranians are very adamant about diplomatic protocols — that since other countries don’t have the equivalent rank, he does not participate in any negotiations because his ‘equal’ rank does not exist,” Azodi said. “Even when foreign heads of state visit him, there is only the Iranian flag, and foreign flags are not allowed.”
Iranian sources familiar with internal discussions described Khamenei as operating from a legacy mindset at this stage of his life. “The supreme leader sees the confrontation with Washington as defining his historical role and believes Iran can retaliate against U.S. interests in the region. Khamenei is not focused on personal risk and views strategic confrontation as part of preserving his legacy,” a Middle Eastern source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Fox News Digital.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Khamenei remains the decisive figure in Iran’s system even as the regime faces pressure at home and abroad.
“He wields great influence in Iran but also exercises the greatest veto in Iran’s political hierarchy”
“He wields great influence in Iran but also exercises the greatest veto in Iran’s political hierarchy,” Ben Taleblu said.
He added, “The Iranian strategy… is to raise the cost of war in the thinking of the adversary,” he said, describing a system that signals willingness to talk while simultaneously preparing for confrontation.
He warned that “regimes that are afraid and lethal and weak can still be dangerous,” and said Tehran may believe threatening U.S. assets could deter a broader war even if such escalation risks triggering a stronger American response.
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“Very difficult to say what Khamenei’s mindset is, but I think that he, along with other senior officials, think that the current conflict is not an isolated phenomenon but rather the continuation of the June 2025 conflict and the recent protests, which he called ‘an American coup,’” Azodi told Fox News Digital.
“I think that he thinks that the U.S. is definitely after a regime change and that needs to be resisted at all costs,” he added.
Inside Iran, frustration with Khamenei has become increasingly visible, according to a journalist reporting from within the country.
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“What people want more than anything else is for Khamenei to die… I hear it every day, everywhere I go — why doesn’t he die?” the journalist told Fox News Digital.
“He is perceived as God’s representative, while leaders of enemy states are viewed as representatives of Satan, which is why he never meets with them.”
“You just open the Twitter of Iranians… the tweet is, why don’t you die? And everybody knows who we are talking about. So a nation is waiting for him to die.”
The journalist said many Iranians no longer believe political reform is possible and instead see generational change as the only turning point.
An Iranian journalist in exile, Mehdi Ghadimi, told Fox News Digital that, “The Islamic government considers itself obligated to enforce Islamic law across the entire world. They harbor hatred toward Iranians and Jews, whom they regard as enemies of Islam,” he explained, “In such a structure, the leader is seen as more than a political ruler; he is perceived as God’s representative, while leaders of enemy states are viewed as representatives of Satan, which is why he never meets with them. If dialogue or compromise were to take place, his sacred image would collapse in the eyes of his supporters.”
He continued, “For this reason, groups labeled as ‘moderate,’ ‘reformist’ or ‘pro-Western’ are created so that the West can negotiate with them,” Ghadimi added. “No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally. The diplomats presented to Western politicians as moderates are tasked with using diplomacy to buy time for Khamenei.”
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The negotiations come amid heightened regional tensions, U.S. military deployments and unresolved disputes over Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities.
Regional analysts say that for the U.S., the central challenge remains unchanged. Diplomats can negotiate, but the final decision rests with one man — a leader shaped by decades of confrontation with the United States, focused on regime survival and determined to preserve his legacy even as Iran enters a new round of talks.
Iran seizes oil tankers, threatens ‘massacre’ in Strait of Hormuz, hours before US talks
Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf Thursday, accusing them of smuggling fuel and detaining 15 foreign crew members ahead of high-stakes U.S.–Iran talks Friday in Oman.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said it intercepted the two ships near Farsi Island, claiming they were carrying about 1 million liters of smuggled fuel, Reuters reported.
The crews, made up of 15 foreign nationals, were taken into custody and referred to Iran’s judicial authorities, according to Iranian state media.
US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN
The IRGC alleged the vessels were part of an organized fuel-smuggling network that had been operating in the region for several months.
Iranian officials said the ships were identified through intelligence monitoring and seized during coordinated naval operations in the Persian Gulf, a vital artery for global energy markets.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Iranian authorities framed the operation as a significant blow to illegal fuel trafficking, though they did not immediately disclose the vessels’ nationalities or destinations.
US MILITARY WARNS IRAN IT WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY ‘UNSAFE’ ACTIONS AHEAD OF LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The seizures come as Iranian rhetoric toward the U.S. has grown hostile.
Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former Iranian minister and ex–state broadcaster chief, issued a warning, threatening violence in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and petroleum product consumption passes.
“I am sure that the Strait of Hormuz will be the place of massacre and hell for the U.S.,” Zarghami said Thursday.
“Iran will show that the Strait of Hormuz has historically belonged to Iran. The only thing the Americans can think of is playing with their vessels and moving them from one place to another.”
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Zarghami later repeated the threat, calling the Strait a potential “killing field” for American forces and signaling Iran’s willingness to escalate amid mounting regional pressure.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Oman Friday.
The pair are traveling from Abu Dhabi after two days of talks related to Russia and Ukraine.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Friday’s talks were still on, stating “diplomacy is always [Trump’s] first option.”
Britain drags feet on IRGC terror designation as Iran-linked center allegedly sells extremist merchandise
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is facing intense criticism over its failure to swiftly outlaw Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The development comes as a London-based Islamic center has been accused of selling merchandise supporting terrorism.
Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran who has written extensively on Iran’s influence operations in the United Kingdom, told Fox News Digital the “Islamic Centre of England is a regime outpost.
“The head of the center is directly appointed by Iran’s supreme leader. The letter of the appointment is publicly read during the inauguration ceremony. There is not a shred of doubt that the center is used to peddle the influence of Iran’s political Islam. It is also used to recruit disgruntled British individuals who are sent to Iran for training.”
The Daily Telegraph reported in late January that U.K. authorities were investigating the Islamic Centre of England for allegedly selling Hezbollah phone cases and pro-Iranian regime key rings. Britain has sanctioned the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist movement, Hezbollah.
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The pro-Hezbollah and pro–Islamic Republic goods were reportedly sold at a bazaar Dec. 14, 2025, according to the paper. One key ring displayed the words, “With the kindness of God, Seyyed Ali [Khamenei] is our leader.” The Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei, would order the murder of thousands of Iranian demonstrators just weeks later.
The bazaar also allegedly had stickers of late IRGC global terrorist Qassem Soleimani, who was responsible for the murders of over 600 military personnel, according to the Trump administration. President Trump ordered a drone strike in January 2020 that killed Soleimani in Iraq.
Emma Schubart, a research fellow at Britain’s Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital, “The Islamic Centre of England is not an isolated religious institution; it is part of a wider ecosystem of Iranian state-linked influence operating openly in the U.K., and at the center of that ecosystem sits the IRGC.
“The U.K. Government is dragging its feet over designating the IRGC. By delaying action, ministers are allowing hostile Iranian networks to continue operating under the cover of civil society and religious life. This is a dangerous blind spot in Britain’s national security.”
The Islamic Centre of England is a registered charity. When asked about reports of the Islamic Center’s role in selling pro-terrorist merchandise, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Charity Commission told Fox News Digital, “As part of our ongoing statutory inquiry into (the) Islamic Centre of England, we have raised concerns with the trustees about material sold by third parties at a recent event hosted at the charity’s premises. We take very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism. Such links are abhorrent and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends.”
Azarmehr, however, countered, “The U.K. Charity Commission, the regulatory body, has been ‘investigating’ the center for five years with no decisions and no updates other than appointing an interim director, but the center carries on business as usual.
“The only tangible result is that every time you make a complaint to the charity about the center, they reply by saying that because they are investigating the center, they cannot comment.
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“The first head of the center, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, is now a member of Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts and a key figure in propagating Iran’s soft power abroad. Araki’s family have U.K. citizenship. The previous U.K. government, in which Alicia Kearns was part of its administration, even paid the center in excess of £100,000 in COVID-19 furlough.”
Kearns, who is the shadow minister for home affairs for the opposition Conservative party, is now demanding that the Islamic Center be shuttered.
“These latest revelations of terrorist tat being sold by the Islamic Centre of England are yet more evidence of why the center must be closed and those responsible for propagating terrorist propaganda face the law,” she told the Telegraph.
“The figures being idealized are responsible for the cold-blooded murder of tens of thousands of young Iranian protesters, adding to the many regional and international crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
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A spokesperson for the Islamic Centre of England told Fox News Digital, “The trustees take all concerns about the center very seriously. We are currently reviewing matters pertaining to the Dec. 14 event and, in light of this, are unable to comment further at this time.”
The EU announced last week that it has classified the IRGC a terrorist entity. The U.S., Canada and Australia have previously designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC played a key role in the massacre of Iranian demonstrators last month.
The proliferation of pro-Iran activism unfolded last weekend in London. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party in the United Kingdom, posted on X, “When people in Britain are chanting support for the thuggish regime in Iran, we are in serious trouble as a nation.”
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Video footage embedded in Farage’s post and other clips on social media shows a mix of pro-Palestinian and pro-Iran regime messaging at the protests.
Multiple Fox News Digital inquiries to the British prime minister’s office went unanswered.