Iran regime accused of killing 19 Christians in anti-regime protests as persecution continues: watchdog
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s atrocities against demonstrators opposed to the regime has reportedly resulted in security forces killing at least 19 Iranian Christians, according to Article 18, an organization that promotes religious freedom in Iran.
Article 18 reported on Feb. 9 that “The total number of Christians confirmed to have been killed during the protests is at least 19, including members of Iran’s recognized (Armenians and Assyrians) and unrecognized (converts) communities.”
According to the Article 18 statement, the Islamic Republic’s “brutal response to last month’s mass demonstrations” resulted in the security forces murdering Iranian Christians Nader Mohammadi, 35, and Zahra Arjomandi, 51, who were both shot dead on Jan. 8 in separate protests 1,000 miles apart.
INSIDE TRUMP’S IRAN WARNING — AND THE UNEXPECTED PAUSE THAT FOLLOWED
Mohammadi was the father of three young children, and was killed in Babol in northern Iran. Arjomandi, who was a mother of two children, died in her son’s arms on the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm, in southern Iran, noted Article 18.
The Iranian Christian website Mohabat News stated that regime security forces refused to release Arjomandi’s body for six days. Mohabat reported that her body was only released for burial under “strict security measures”, which included a media blackout and prohibiting a memorial service.
Mansour Borji, the executive director for Article 18, told Fox News Digital that, “Today, Christians, like millions of other Iranians, seek the freedom and justice that they have been denied for nearly five decades, and they know well that this comes at a price. Every year many Christians are arrested and imprisoned under torturous conditions for practicing their right to religious freedom, where a simple act like praying together in house-churches seems like an act of civil disobedience.”
IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS
He continued, “Our organization considers the Islamic Republic’s massacre of all peaceful protesters a crime against humanity that should not go unpunished. There must be an end to the impunity that, for far too long, has enabled this regime to commit crimes like at home and abroad. Branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ is nothing but scapegoating.”
He warned that “The Islamic Republic’s regime has, since its inception, demonstrated all traits of a totalitarian state. Most Iranians have now come to realize that their fundamental rights have been taken away from them, including the freedom to choose one’s own religion or belief, political self-determination and even their lifestyle choices. Christians were some of the earliest to experience this, when an Anglican priest and convert to Christianity, Rev. Arastoo Sayyah, was killed in his church office less than 200 hours after the 1979 revolution.”
A comprehensive 2025 report titled, “The Tip of the Iceberg” about the persecution of Iranian Christians was released by Article 18 in collaboration with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern.
According to the “The Tip of the Iceberg” report, Mohammad Nasirpour, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran and head of the 33rd District Prosecutor’s office, stated in his indictment against four Iranian Christians on June 2022: “Armenian and Assyrian Christians in the Protestant denomination, with their evangelical nature and mission to Christianize Iran, are perceived as a security threat to the Islamic Revolution, aimed at undermining the Islamic foundation of the Islamic Republic. It could be said that Persian-speaking evangelical movements are supported by fundamentalist evangelical Christians and Zionists.”
According to a Feb. 10 report on the website of Christianity Today, Iranian Christians want President Trump to intervene to stop the Ayatollah’s regime from continuing with its massacre of Iranians.
RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
“That’s probably one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole situation right now,” said Shahrokh Afshar, founder of Fellowship of Iranian Christians. “Everyone was hoping he would do something,” Afshar told the outlet after the Iranian authorities killed thousands of protesters in January, according to some estimates.
Fox News Digital has reported over the decades on the Islamic Republic’s high-intensity persecution of Iranian Christians in the wake of the growing popularity of Christianity in the Muslim-majority country. Iran’s regime targets diverse groups of Christians, including Evangelicals and Catholics. In 2017, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested two Christians – a mother and her son – as part of a brutal crackdown on Catholicism in the country’s West Azerbaijan Province.
STATE DEPARTMENT DEMANDS IRAN HALT EXECUTION OF 19-YEAR-OLD WRESTLING STAR AS IOC REMAINS SILENT
The family’s bibles and literature on Christian theology were also seized during the raid.
The United States State Department has designated Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC)” because the Islamic regime has “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” with respect to violations of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
The Iranian regime -controlled statistical center of Iran claims there are 117,700 Christians of recognized denominations as of the 2016 census, according to the most recent U.S. State Department report on the plight of Iranian Christians.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
However, the State Department noted that, “The Christian advocacy NGO Article 18 estimates there are 500,000 to 800,000 Christians in the country, while the Christian advocacy NGO Open Doors International estimates the number is 1.24 million. Christian NGOs report many Christians are converts from Islam or other recognized faiths.” The population of Iran is roughly 92 million.
USS Ford ordered to the Middle East, the second aircraft carrier being sent to the region
The USS Gerald R. Ford has been ordered to move from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to take military action against Iran amid tensions in the region, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.
This will put two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
The USS Ford, which set out on deployment in June 2025, was sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last fall as the administration established a significant military presence ahead of the operation to strike Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro.
SCOTT BESSENT SAYS IRAN UNDERSTANDS ‘BRUTE FORCE’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS AMID NUCLEAR STANDOFF
On Thursday, Trump warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with the U.S. regarding its nuclear program would be “very traumatic” after the two countries held indirect talks in Oman last week.
“It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly,” he told reporters.
Trump held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he insisted to the Israeli leader that negotiations with Iran must continue.
TRUMP SAYS IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI SHOULD BE ‘VERY WORRIED’ AMID TENSIONS
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Netanyahu is calling on the Trump administration to push Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.
Uproar after Iran named vice-chair of UN body promoting democracy, women’s rights
UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s election as vice-chair of the United Nations Commission for Social Development is being slammed by human rights advocates and policy analysts, who have condemned the U.N.’s hypocrisy when it comes to its treatment of undemocratic regimes.
The leadership role was approved without objection during a meeting of the commission, where delegates adopted agenda items and organizational decisions by consensus.
The United Nations has faced continued criticism over its inaction towards the regime’s violent crackdown against protesters in December and January. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres faced criticism for congratulating Iran on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
UN CHIEF BLASTED AS ‘ABJECTLY TONE-DEAF’ OVER MESSAGE TO IRAN MARKING REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz criticized the development, writing on X: “Yet another reason why we are not a member of, nor do we participate in, this ridiculous ‘Commission for Social Development.’”
Alireza Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat and deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also criticized the decision. “Having the Iranian regime in the leadership of a U.N. body tasked with promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence is appalling and like fox guarding the hen house,” Jafarzadeh said. “The vast majority of the Iranian people are calling for regime change because the mullahs are the world’s leading human rights violators, misogynist to the core, and they slaughter the voices of dissent by thousands.”
He argued that Iran should face scrutiny rather than institutional advancement. “Instead, the Iranian regime must be a subject of intense investigation and accountability by all U.N. bodies for crimes against humanity and genocide, from the 1980s to January 2026 uprisings,” Jafarzadeh said. “Decades of inaction by Western governments have emboldened the regime. This must stop now.”
G7 THREATENS IRAN WITH NEW SANCTIONS OVER NATIONWIDE PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
“By electing Iran to help lead a commission devoted to democracy, women’s rights and non-violence, the U.N. makes itself into a mockery,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. “This is a regime that brutalizes women for not covering their hair, and that just massacred tens of thousands of its own civilians in two days.”
Neuer argued that governments had the ability to block the appointment but chose not to act. “The EU states know how to stop abusive regimes from winning these seats — they’ve done so in the recent past with Russia — but this time on Iran, they chose silence and complicity,” he said. “By rewarding the Mullahs right after their slaughter of innocents, the U.N. has now sent a very dangerous message to Tehran.”
Lisa Daftari, an Iran analyst, said the optics of Iran holding a leadership role in a commission centered on social development and rights were deeply troubling.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
“For Iranian women who risk prison or worse just for taking off a headscarf, watching Tehran get a vice-chair on a U.N. social-development commission feels like a slap in the face.”
She added that broader patterns in U.N. voting and resolutions contribute to perceptions of bias.
“When the same U.N. system has spent the last decade passing roughly 170-plus resolutions against Israel and only around 80 on all other countries combined, you don’t need a PhD to see there’s a bias problem,” Daftari said. “When the U.N. has churned out well over a hundred anti-Israel resolutions in recent years while managing a fraction of that number on the world’s worst dictatorships, it looks less like moral leadership and more like political theater.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Daftari rejected that procedural nature of United Nations committees and committees.
“Some diplomats will wave this away as a procedural formality, but at the U.N. nothing is ever purely symbolic,” she said. “The bottom line is that handing Iran’s regime a gavel on ‘social development’ confirms yet again that the place is biased and deeply hypocritical.”
MORNING GLORY: President Donald Trump’s most important decision is coming
One door is marked “Truman/Reagan” and the other door is marked “Carter/Obama/Biden.”
President Donald Trump has to choose one. Again. And this time, the choice will define Trump’s place in history.
On three different occasions, the 45th and 47th president of the United States has walked through the first door.
Trump ordered the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, on January 3, 2020.
IRAN POSES A FAR MORE DANGEROUS MILITARY TEST FOR THE US THAN VENEZUELA, EXPERTS WARN
Trump followed that up with his second-term order to conduct Operation Midnight Resolve against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities in June of last year and again with Operation Absolute Resolve to snatch Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro in January of this year.
President Trump ventured boldly three times and won big for the United States three times, restoring American deterrence along the way.
Trump had to restore American deterrence in 2020 because the Iranian regime had thoroughly worked over former President Barack Obama with the infamous “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” of 2015, a plan that secured for Iran billions in cash, hundreds of billions in sanctions relief and a guaranteed path to nuclear weapons. It was a surrender of the Middle East to the mullahs disguised in dense language and absurd timelines. But the Iranian theocrats knew they had won.
TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP CREATES ‘RARE OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CHANGE IN IRAN, FORMER IRANIAN POLITICAL PRISONER SAYS
President Trump has called the JCPOA the “worst deal in history” scores of times, and he’s always been right. It was the equal of the “Munich Agreement” between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler. The damage to the world was immense.
While President Joe Biden’s disastrous and chaotic retreat from Afghanistan did not concern Iran directly, it did deeply damage America’s standing in the world and define the Biden presidency as one mired in catastrophic failure from the jump.
President Trump worked to reverse the damage created by the JCPOA with the strikes on Soleimani and the Iranian nuke facilities.
IRAN PROTESTS PROMPT NEW TRUMP WARNING OVER DEADLY GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWNS
Now, however, the Iranians are countering with thousands of ballistic missiles which already threaten American bases across the Middle East, Israel and our Gulf allies. The nature of the regime has been fully revealed even to the appeasers on Team Obama and Team Biden: The ayatollahs ordered tens of thousands of their citizens gunned down or murdered with machetes this January. Does anyone doubt they would turn their missiles on American cities as soon as they develop the range? Crazed killers are going to kill, again and again and again.
Because of Presidents Obama and Biden, Ayatollah Khamenei and his IRGC thugs believe America always “blinks” in the end. They still don’t believe Trump is different from Obama and Biden. They see the one-day missions from Trump as brief aberrations from the Obama-Biden pattern of appeasement. The Iranians do not fear Trump. Yet.
The Iranians build enormous missiles with enormous warheads. There are more than a thousand missiles in their arsenal already, and they have accelerated the production of thousands more after the Trump strike on their nuclear weapons facilities last year.
IRAN RESPONDS TO TRUMP PRESSURE WITH WARNING OF RETALIATION: ‘FINGERS ON THE TRIGGER’
The Iranians are working to extend the range of their missiles. The longest range Iranian missiles can probably reach Europe now. They will threaten the U.S. sooner rather than later, and we don’t have Trump’s “Golden Dome” — yet.
So Trump must decide now what to do about those missiles and about the mass murderers who run Iran. Trump has ordered an immense build-up of American military assets build-up of American military assets within striking range of Iran, and deployed the defensive systems that we have to protect our bases and our allies.
Now he has to decide which door to walk through.
HEGSETH SAYS DEPARTMENT OF WAR ‘WILL BE PREPARED TO DELIVER’ WHATEVER TRUMP WANTS FOLLOWING IRAN WARNING
Truman and Reagan (and both Bushes) would order the strike.
Carter, Obama and Biden would back down and pretend they had defused a crisis when, in fact, they had decapitated American deterrence.
Rarely do we see such a stark choice presented to a president — a fork in his personal road as far as history is concerned, and very much a fork in America’s road for its future.
Trump can be remembered as the man who brought help to the Iranian people after nearly 50 years of fanatical dictatorship and secured America from an unfolding threat, or as the president who backed down more spectacularly than any president before him.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
On August 26, 1990, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talked to President George H.W. Bush about Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. “This was no time to go wobbly,” the PM told the president.
That was probably the least necessary encouragement ever, as the old fighter pilot from WWII was not the sort of man to back down. (HW was shot down twice and back flying his missions after both.) But Thatcher’s line went down in history because it is both so very British and so very useful in many contexts.
IRAN’S COLLAPSE OR SURVIVAL HINGES ON ONE CHOICE INSIDE THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD
It is useful now. President Trump simply cannot go wobbly no matter how attractive the Carter/Obama/Biden door looks as an exit. Put another way, Trump “cannot go Obama.”
To repeat: President Trump’s choice will define his place in history. Everything else in his eight years will be secondary to what he decides in the near term.
Every other achievement will be secondary. Every criticism will be irrelevant when destroying the Iranian regime’s threat to the world is put on the table.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
President Trump can choose to do what no other president since Jimmy Carter has dared to do: Cripple or end the fanatical regime in Iran that already works to threaten and destabilize the Middle East every day and which will soon be able to threaten the U.S. if not stopped.
Pray he chooses wisely. America’s national security and the hope of the Iranian people and the future of the Middle East depends upon this decision.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT
Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received “credible reports” of “life-threatening mistreatment” of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
“The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,” committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. “Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.”
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present “to chant norm‑breaking slogans” and “disturb the peace,” Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,” it said.
Scott Bessent says Iran understands ‘brute force’ as Trump weighs options amid nuclear standoff
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed whether President Donald Trump may need to pull another Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran as its leadership refuses to negotiate over its nuclear program.
Joining “America Reports” Wednesday, Bessent discussed the U.S. economy, midterm elections and ongoing nuclear talks with Iran.
“What the Iranians understand is brute force, whether it’s in the financial markets, whether it’s on the military field and at Treasury, we have exercised maximum pressure,” he told Fox News. “We’re continuing to do that.”
Bessent’s remarks come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the president at the White House earlier Wednesday, where the two had what Bessent described as “very detailed talks.”
RETIRED GENERAL ARGUES MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN IS ‘BEST OPTION’ AS TRUMP FACES ‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’
Trump said “nothing definitive” was reached with Netanyahu in a post on Truth Social after an hours-long meeting.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote. “If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be… Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them.”
The president has been steadily increasing pressure on Iran to agree to the United States’ demand that it dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
NIKKI HALEY URGES TRUMP TO MAKE IRAN ACTION A ‘LEGACY-DEFINING MOMENT’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
Trump issued a warning to Iran in January if it refused to negotiate a nuclear deal.
“As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” the president wrote Jan. 28 on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the United States’ nuclear demands, maintaining that the country will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program.
TRUMP SAYS IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI SHOULD BE ‘VERY WORRIED’ AMID TENSIONS
Bessent said he has received clear orders from the president to keep pressure on the Islamic regime, telling Fox News Trump ordered him last March to exert maximum pressure against Iran, including sanctions, and the strategy has “worked.”
When asked whether Trump may have to resort to military action similar to last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, Bessent said he didn’t want to get ahead of current talks, but that administration officials are positioning assets and weighing options.
“The president and Secretary Hegseth are moving military assets toward Iran, and they’re going to have some decisions to make,” he said.
TRUMP PRESSURES IRAN TO ‘COME TO THE TABLE’ AS ‘MASSIVE’ US ARMADA DRAWS NEAR
The secretary also revealed that Trump feels more confident about securing U.S. nuclear demands on Iran after Operation Midnight Hammer decimated the nation’s nuclear facilities.
“He believes that he can get a much better deal from the Iranians now after Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, but it’s up to the Iranians,” Bessent said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Bessent also detailed what he may do at the Treasury to continue pressure on Iran.
“We are tracking the Iranian leadership, the money that they’re sending around the world,” he said. “And if we are called upon, we will recover it for the Iranian people.”
Trump meets Netanyahu, says he wants Iran deal but reminds Tehran of ‘Midnight Hammer’ operation
Iran dominated the agenda in Wednesday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with both leaders signaling that diplomacy with Tehran remains uncertain and that coordination will continue if talks fail.
In a post on Truth Social following the meeting, Trump said he pushed for continued negotiations but left open other options.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be… Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them.”
Netanyahu’s office said the leaders discussed Iran, Gaza and broader regional developments and agreed to maintain close coordination, adding that the prime minister emphasized Israel’s security needs in the context of negotiations.
FROM GAZA TO IRAN: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN TRUMP-NETANYAHU MAR-A-LAGO TALKS?
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu formally joined the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, signing onto the initiative ahead of the meeting after weeks of hesitation. The move places Israel inside a forum that includes Western partners as well as Turkey and Qatar, whose involvement in Gaza has drawn criticism in Jerusalem.
Experts say the decision reflects strategic calculations tied to both Gaza and Iran.
Dr. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said Netanyahu’s participation is directly linked to cooperation with Washington and to shaping postwar arrangements in Gaza.
“It is in Israel’s interest for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the Board of Peace. He needs a place at that table even alongside adversarial powers such as Muslim Brotherhood-aligned countries Qatar and Turkey. Netanyahu’s membership in the Board of Peace is an important element in his cooperation with President Trump to help implement the 20-point plan, with deradicalization, disarming Hamas and demilitarization as the first three non-negotiable actions.”
ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN
Diker said the decision is also tied to Iran. “More strategic reason that Netanyahu’s membership on the Board of Peace is important is that it represents an element of cooperation to counter the Iranian regime. Netanyahu is likely counting on action against the Iranian regime from the Iranian people themselves and from the United States in the coming weeks. In exchange, Netanyahu continues to cooperate in implementing the 20-point plan in Gaza as part of a quid pro quo.”
Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, described Israel’s move as a pragmatic choice shaped by the incomplete implementation of the Gaza deal and the broader regional threat environment.
“The implementation of the Gaza peace deal leaves much to be desired. Hamas, despite being given 72 hours to release all hostages, took over 100 days to do so; Hamas has still not disarmed; there is neither an International Stabilization Force nor any countries jumping at the chance to join it; and the Board of Peace comprises countries that have shown themselves enemies of peace with Israel.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
He said Israel ultimately chose engagement over isolation. “Proceeding with the deal — including joining the Board of Peace — is Israel’s least bad option. Israel has a better chance of countering or balancing Turkish and Qatari influence on the Board of Peace by being in the room with them, rather than outside it.”
Misztal also linked the timing to Iran. “With the United States having a real chance to disarm, or even topple, the Iranian regime and the risk that Tehran might yet lash out at Israel, there is no interest in doing anything that would risk restarting the war in Gaza.”
UN chief blasted as ‘abjectly tone-deaf’ over message to Iran marking revolution anniversary
UNITED NATIONS: U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres sent a congratulatory message to Iran marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, a move that drew sharp criticism from anti-regime Iranian voices and human rights advocates.
In a letter addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guterres “extended his warmest congratulations on the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” describing such anniversaries as an opportunity to reflect on a country’s path and contributions to the international community, according to Iranian state and regional reporting published Wednesday.
The message comes weeks after the U.N.’s top human rights body condemned Iran over abuses tied to a violent crackdown on anti-government protests and mandated further investigation into alleged violations, with some reports citing casualty figures that could reach 30,000, pending verification.
RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
Furthermore, according to the NGO U.N. Watch, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is expected to address the U.N. Human Rights Council on Feb. 23.
Against that backdrop, critics said the secretary-general’s congratulatory message risked sending a conflicting signal.
“The U.N. secretary-general’s congratulatory message is not merely diplomatic routine — it is abjectly tone-deaf,” said Iran analyst Banafsheh Zand. “At a time when the Iranian people continue to endure executions, repression and systemic abuse at the hands of the Islamic Republic, offering formal congratulations to the architects of that suffering reads as a moral failure.”
Zand added that such gestures “erode [the U.N.’s] credibility and deepen the wound for those still fighting for freedom inside Iran.”
Andrew Ghalili, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), said the message amounted to legitimizing a repressive system.
AMBASSADOR MIKE WALTZ LAYS OUT ‘AMERICA FIRST’ VISION FOR US LEADERSHIP AT THE UN
“The United Nations is legitimizing a regime built on repression, executions and the systematic destruction of basic freedoms,” Ghalili said. “Offering celebratory recognition to the Islamic Republic on the anniversary of its revolution ignores the bloodshed, the repression of protesters and the ongoing hostage-taking of innocent people.”
Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that impunity has enabled ongoing abuses in Iran, urging U.N. member states to pursue accountability for what they describe as systemic violations and mass killings of protesters.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general, told Fox News Digital during a press briefing that the message to Tehran was part of a long-standing U.N. protocol.
IRAN’S TOP DIPLOMAT SAYS NATION’S POWER LIES IN DEFYING PRESSURE: ‘NO TO THE GREAT POWERS’
“The letter that came out from the secretary-general is a standard letter. Every year, each member state gets the exact same letter… congratulating them on the national holiday and conveying best wishes to the people of that country.”
The spokesperson added that similar letters were sent the same day to other countries marking national holidays and “should not be interpreted… as an endorsement of whatever policies may be put in place by the government.” He said the message “doesn’t change the secretary-general’s view” on Iran, noting Guterres has previously spoken out against the crackdown and violence.
On reports that Iran’s foreign minister is expected to address the Human Rights Council later this month, the spokesperson said the matter falls under the council’s authority.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“That’s a decision of the Human Rights Council,” he said. “This is a membership organization. Every member state has a right to address legislative bodies… It’s not within the secretariat’s authority to bar member states from addressing a legislative body.”
Vance warns Iran that ‘another option on the table’ if nuclear deal not reached
Vice President JD Vance warned Iran that there is “another option on the table” if the regime does not make a nuclear deal with the U.S.
Vance made the statement while speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two on Tuesday. A reporter referenced President Donald Trump‘s musings about potentially deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East.
“How confident are you in going the diplomatic route? Do you think that is still going to be successful or are we leaning more towards a military strike?” the reporter asked.
“The president has told his entire senior team that we should be trying to cut a deal that ensures the Iranians don’t have nuclear weapons,” Vance responded.
TRUMP, NETANYAHU TO MEET AT WHITE HOUSE IN HIGH-STAKES TALKS ON IRAN, GAZA PLAN
“But if we can’t cut that deal, then there’s another option on the table. So I think the president is going to continue to preserve his options. He’s going to have a lot of options because we have the most powerful military in the world. But until the president tells us to stop, we’re going to engage in these conversations and try to reach a good outcome through negotiation,” he continued.
Vance went on to downplay pushes for regime change in Iran, saying a removal of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s regime would be up to “the Iranian people.”
He said the Trump administration’s only focus is preventing the current Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
NIKKI HALEY URGES TRUMP TO MAKE IRAN ACTION A ‘LEGACY-DEFINING MOMENT’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
Vance’s comments come a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, with Iran expected to take center stage in the meeting.
In a phone interview with Axios, the president said Tehran “very much wants to reach a deal,” but warned, “Either we make a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough — like last time.”
IRAN PUSHES FOR FRIDAY NUCLEAR TALKS IN OMAN AMID RISING TENSIONS WITH US FORCES: SOURCE
Netanyahu, speaking before departing Israel for Washington, said he intends to present Israel’s position.
“I will present to the president our concept regarding the principles of the negotiations — the essential principles that are important not only to Israel but to anyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he told reporters.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. and Iranian officials resumed talks in Oman this week for the first time since last summer’s 12-day war. The United States continues to maintain a significant military presence in the Gulf, a posture widely viewed as both deterrence and for holding leverage in negotiations with Tehran.
Trump, Netanyahu to meet at White House in high-stakes talks on Iran, Gaza plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday in a visit expected to center on Iran, as Washington weighs diplomacy against the threat of military action and Israel pushes to shape the scope of negotiations.
Trump has signaled the Iranian file will dominate the agenda. In a phone interview with Axios, the president said Tehran “very much wants to reach a deal,” but warned, “Either we make a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough — like last time.”
Netanyahu, speaking before departing Israel for Washington, said he intends to present Israel’s position. “I will present to the president our concept regarding the principles of the negotiations — the essential principles that are important not only to Israel but to anyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” he told reporters.
IRAN PUSHES FOR FRIDAY NUCLEAR TALKS IN OMAN AMID RISING TENSIONS WITH US FORCES: SOURCE
The meeting comes days after U.S. and Iranian officials resumed talks in Oman for the first time since last summer’s 12-day war, while the United States continues to maintain a significant military presence in the Gulf — a posture widely viewed as both deterrence and for holding leverage in negotiations with Tehran.
From the U.S. perspective, Iran is seen as a global security challenge rather than a regional one, according to Jacob Olidort, chief research officer and director of American security at the America First Policy Institute. “It’s an important historic time of potentially seismic proportions,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Iran is not so much a Middle East issue. It’s a global issue affecting U.S. interests around the world,” he added, calling the regime “probably the world’s oldest global terror network… [with] thousands of Americans killed through proxies.”
Olidort said the administration’s strategy appears to combine diplomacy with visible military pressure. “The president has been clear… should talks not be successful, the military option cannot be off the table,” he said. “Military assets in the region serve as part of the negotiation strategy with Iran.”
ISRAELI UN AMBASSADOR SENDS STARK WARNING TO IRAN AMID GROWING UNREST
For Israel, the main concern is not only Iran’s nuclear program but also its ballistic missile arsenal and regional network of armed groups.
Trump indicated to Axios that the United States shares at least part of that view, saying any agreement would need to address not only nuclear issues but also Iran’s ballistic missiles.
Israeli intelligence expert Sima Shein has warned that negotiations narrowly focused on nuclear restrictions could leave Israel exposed. “The visit signals a lack of confidence that American envoys, Witkoff and Kushner, alone can represent Israel’s interests in the best way. They were in Israel just a week ago — but Netanyahu wants to speak directly with Trump, so there is no ambiguity about Israel’s position,” she added.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN CALLED ‘NUMEROUS’ TIMES TO MAKE DEAL AS CARRIER ENTERS MIDDLE EAST WATERS
Shein says Iran may be stalling diplomatically to see whether Washington limits talks to nuclear issues while avoiding missile constraints. Her analysis further suggests that a sanctions-relief agreement that leaves Iran’s broader capabilities intact could stabilize the regime at a moment of internal pressure while preserving its military leverage.
“An agreement now would effectively save the regime at a time when it has no real solutions to its internal problems. Lifting sanctions through a deal would give it breathing room and help stabilize it,” she said.
“If there is an agreement, the United States must demand the release of all detainees and insist on humanitarian measures, including medical support for those who have been severely injured. Washington would need to be directly involved in enforcing those provisions.”
IRAN DRAWS MISSILE RED LINE AS ANALYSTS WARN TEHRAN IS STALLING US TALKS
Netanyahu said before leaving Israel that he and Trump would discuss “a series of topics,” including Gaza, where a U.S.-backed postwar framework and ceasefire implementation remain stalled.
According to Israeli reporting, Netanyahu plans to tell Trump that phase two of the Gaza peace plan “is not moving,” reflecting continued disputes over disarmament, governance and security arrangements.
The timing of Netanyahu’s visit may also allow him to avoid returning to Washington the following week for the inaugural session of the Board of Peace, Shein said, noting the initiative is controversial in Israel’s parliament.
“Israel is deeply concerned about the presence of Turkey and Qatar on the board of peace and their malign influence on other members as well as on the Palestinian authority’s technocratic government,” Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital.
“Hamas’s control of Gaza has not weakened, while international commitments to disarm Hamas have appeared to weaken,” he added, “The longer the U.S. waits before taking action against the Iranian regime, the more compromised Israel is in its ability and determination to forcibly disarm Hamas, both of which require the sanction and the blessing of the new international structures on Gaza.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“The prime minister’s deep concern is the stalled state of affairs both against the Iranian regime and apparently in Gaza. Timing is critical on both fronts. And for Israel, the window seems to be closing,” Diker said.
Nikki Haley urges Trump to make Iran action a ‘legacy-defining moment’ before leaving office
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said President Donald Trump nipping Iran in the bud would be a “legacy-defining” move for the commander in chief during an interview Tuesday on Fox News.
Haley discussed ongoing tensions in the Middle East, GOP midterm strategy and more in a wide-ranging interview with “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier.
“You can either have Obama 2.0 where you negotiate another nuclear deal and give them sanction relief and watch this whole thing happen again, or you can actually be strong and nip this in the bud so that we never have to deal with it again,” Haley said. “Call it what you want. It’s the right thing to do.”
Haley’s remarks come days ahead of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which they will discuss Iran and days after the United States held nuclear talks with Iran.
TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP CREATES ‘RARE OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CHANGE IN IRAN, FORMER IRANIAN POLITICAL PRISONER SAYS
Both the United States and Iran said the talks went well. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the United States’ nuclear demands, maintaining that the country will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program.
Haley said it is important the United States maintain its demands, including an end to nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile activity, freedom for the Iranian people and no funding for Iranian proxies.
“Iran’s never going to agree to that, and that’s why I think the president needs to take his moment and make this a legacy-defining moment,” she told Fox News.
Trump issued a warning to Iran in January if it refuses to negotiate a nuclear deal.
NETANYAHU HEADS TO US FOR TRUMP TALKS ON GAZA, IRAN, AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC FACES PRESSURE TO MAKE NUCLEAR DEAL
“As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” the president wrote Jan. 28 on Truth Social.
Baier noted that U.S. military assets are in place, ready to take action in the Middle East at the president’s direction.
“My guess is he’s moved all those resources there for a reason,” Haley said.
Haley also noted that the use of U.S. forces should not be squandered, insisting that the United States must end Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“The one thing you don’t want to do is you don’t want to send all these resources over there and then still have the Iranian regime standing,” she said.
“They need to work closely with Israel on making sure that this is finished.”
IRAN’S PRESIDENT STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON NUCLEAR TALKS AFTER TRUMP’S WARNING THAT ‘BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN’
The former South Carolina governor applauded the administration’s Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 that decimated Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Iran has never been weaker than they are right now,” she said. “He did a great thing when he did Operation Midnight Hammer and weakened them. He stood with Israel and made sure that we weakened their proxies.”
Haley also said U.S. momentum against Iran cannot waver, while saying that Trump must resolve this issue before the end of his term.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“At the end of the day, what you don’t want is to give them a hand to step back up again,” Haley said.
“What would be horrible is for President Trump to leave office and Iran once again show that they’ve been enriching nuclear material, they’ve been suppressing their people, they’ve been paying off military proxies. All those things come back up, and all this will be for nothing,” she added.
Top Iran security official seen in Oman days after indirect nuclear talks with US
A top Iranian security official was spotted in Oman just days after Tehran and the U.S. held indirect nuclear talks in the Mideast sultanate.
Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country’s Supreme National Security Council, was likely in the country to discuss what comes next after the initial round of talks, The Associated Press reported. The outlet noted that Larijani’s team shared photos of him with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chief intermediary in the U.S.-Iran talks.
Iranian media reportedly said Larijani would deliver an important message, but later state television said al-Busaidi “handed over a letter” to the Iranian official without elaborating on the letter’s origins, according to the AP.
IRAN VOWS TO ‘TARGET US BASES’ IF AMERICAN FORCES LAUNCH AN ATTACK: REPORT
While in Oman, Larijani also met with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq for nearly three hours, according to the AP, which cited the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency. Additionally, the outlet said that Larijani was set to travel to Qatar, which houses the U.S. military installation that bombed Iran’s nuclear sites in 2025.
Larijani accused Israel of playing a “destructive role” in the talks just before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s expected visit to Washington, D.C.
“Netanyahu is now on his way to the United States. Americans must think wisely and not allow him, through posturing, to imply before his flight that ‘I want to go and teach Americans the framework of the nuclear negotiations.’ They must remain alert to the destructive role of the Zionists,” Larijani wrote on X.
Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in the summer of 2025 which culminated in the U.S. bombing Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Iran, which has been grappling with mass anti-government protests, has blamed Israel and the U.S. for various grievances.
IRAN RAMPS UP REGIONAL THREATS AS TRUMP CONSIDERS TALKS, EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF REGIME VIOLENCE EMERGE
Officials from both the U.S. and Iran have said that the first round of talks went well and suggested that they would continue.
“The Muscat meeting, which was not a long one, it was a half-day meeting. For us, it was a way to measure the seriousness of the other side, and to find out how we could continue the process. Therefore, we mostly addressed the generalities,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a news conference Tuesday in Tehran, according to the AP.
“Our principles are clear. Our demand is to secure the interests of the Iranian nation based on international norms and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Baghaei said, according to the AP. “So as for the details, we should wait for the next steps and see how this diplomatic process will continue.”
SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ACTIVITY AT IRAN NUCLEAR SITES BOMBED BY US, ISRAEL
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said 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.
President Donald Trump also expressed optimism about the indirect talks, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that “Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We’ll have to see what that deal is.”
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.
“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.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“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.”
Israeli officials reportedly warn Iran’s ballistic missiles could trigger solo military action against Tehran
As U.S.-Iran diplomacy remains primarily focused on Tehran’s nuclear program, Israeli officials and analysts warn that ballistic missiles remain a central red line for Jerusalem and could shape any decision on unilateral action.
Before departing for his trip to Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to press Israel’s priorities in the talks. “I will present to the president our views regarding the principles of the negotiations — the important principles — and, in my view, they are important not only for Israel, but for anyone in the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East.”
Those priorities, Israeli officials say, extend beyond the nuclear file and include Iran’s missile capabilities. Israeli defense officials have recently warned U.S. counterparts that Iran’s ballistic missile program constitutes an existential threat to Israel and that Jerusalem is prepared to act alone if necessary, according to reporting by The Jerusalem Post.
‘ISRAEL IS ONLY THE APPETIZER’: HUCKABEE WARNS IRAN THREAT LOOMS AS NETANYAHU EYES TRUMP TALKS
The outlet reported that Israeli security officials conveyed in recent weeks their intent to dismantle Iran’s missile capabilities and production infrastructure through a series of high-level exchanges with Washington. Military planners outlined potential operational concepts aimed at degrading the program, including strikes on key manufacturing and development sites.
A spokesperson for Israel’s defense minister declined to comment on the issue.
Sima Shine, a former senior Israeli intelligence official and current senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that limiting talks to the nuclear issue risks missing what Israel considers the broader threat.
IRAN REPORTEDLY DEVELOPING CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL MISSILE WARHEADS AS PROTESTS SPREAD OVER COLLAPSING ECONOMY
“If negotiations deal only with the nuclear file and ignore the missiles, Israel will remain exposed,” Shine said. “Iran treats its ballistic missile program as its main deterrence and will not give it up.” She stressed that Tehran views them as a defensive and deterrent capability dictated by the supreme leader. 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. Shine described that stance as a fundamental red line for Israel.
She also warned that Tehran may be stalling diplomatically while assessing whether Washington will limit the talks to nuclear constraints alone.
“They have room to show flexibility on enrichment,” she said, noting that activity slowed after strikes on facilities, “but missiles are different. That they would not discuss.”
Israeli concerns extend beyond the negotiating table. A former intelligence official familiar with strategic planning said Israel retains the capability to strike independently if necessary.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN, DELAYS STRIKES AS RED LINE DEBATE ECHOES OBAMA’S SYRIA MOMENT
“Israel can act by itself if there is no choice,” the former official said, adding that missile expansion and regional threats would be key triggers.
Shine says the optics of Israeli pressure on Washington could complicate matters.
“If missiles become the central public demand, it may look as if Israel is pushing the U.S. toward military action,” she said. “If that fails, Israel could be blamed.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
She added that Iran’s missile arsenal is not aimed solely at Israel but forms part of a broader deterrence strategy against the United States and regional adversaries.
For Israel, the implication is clear. A nuclear agreement that leaves Iran’s missile infrastructure untouched could be seen in Jerusalem as stabilizing the regime while leaving the most immediate threat in place. That calculation, Israeli analysts say, defines the red line.
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.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS
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, an 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.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“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.”
ZELENSKYY ANNOUNCES NEXT ROUND OF TALKS WITH US, RUSSIA AS UKRAINE AIMS FOR ‘REAL AND DIGNIFIED END TO THE WAR
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.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
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.