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Summary
A loud explosion was reported Saturday at Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, local media said
Summary
The Iran-US talks are not limited to Tehran’s disputed nuclear program but also include its missile program, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an Iranian official.
Iran’s minister attends Pope Francis’ funeral under heavy US security presence
Iran’s Minister of Culture Abbas Salehi represented the Islamic Republic at the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, appearing alongside global dignitaries in a rare display of Tehran’s diplomatic outreach.
Domestic Politics
Iranian hardliners, officials fall in line behind Khamenei’s shift on US talks
Iran’s political and religious establishment is closing ranks to defend Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s backing of renewed negotiations with the United States, with clerics and hardliners urging the public to view flexibility as a continuation of revolutionary goals.
Iran seeks 'controlled narrative' at home on US talks
Cautious statements from some Iranian officials and a paucity of disclosures by the tightly-controlled media on ongoing talks with the United States suggests an official desire to control the public discourse on the hyper-sensitive dossier.
Technical details may bedevil US-Iran talks, former US negotiator says
US-Iran talks are set to get trickier as the two foes thrash out technical details deciding the limits to Iran's nuclear activity and the scope of inspections, a former senior US negotiator told Eye for Iran.
With holy history allusion, Khamenei blesses 'temporary' US deal
To signal and justify possible nuclear concessions in ongoing US talks, Iran's Supreme Leader has once again alluded to a historic concession by a Shi'ite Muslim leader to buy time against a stronger foe.
Senior Iranian cleric likens Trump talks to a real estate deal
A top Iranian cleric has described ongoing talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump led by his special envoy and fellow property magnate Steve Witkoff as akin to a real estate negotiation in which Iran will prevail.
Sweden urges Iran to release death row scientist as he pleads from prison
Sweden on Friday called on Iran to immediately release Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic detained and sentenced to death nine years ago after he released an appeal from prison warning he was at his breaking point.
Canada identifies 20 senior Iranian ex-officials on its soil - Global News
Twenty senior Iranian officials have now been found living in Canada, Global News reported on Friday, citing immigration officials, as Ottawa moves to crack down on top former Islamic Republic figures amid pressure from the Iranian diaspora.
Mideast Crisis
US urges Syria to curb Iran influence at UN meeting
The United States urged Syria’s interim authorities to prevent Iran and its allied groups from exploiting the country’s territory, while Iran accused Washington of worsening Syrians' suffering through sanctions, during a UN Security Council meeting on Friday.
Human Rights
Beyond the hijab: discrimination against women pervades Iranian law
Camel-denominated blood money and minutes-long temporary marriages are among the peculiar features of a medieval theocratic legal system by which Iran systematically enforces second-class citizenship on women.
Iran's Nuclear Program
Iran opens door to restoring nuclear surveillance, UN watchdog says
Iran has agreed to allow a technical team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss restoring camera surveillance in Iranian nuclear facilities, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday.
Iran expands security at buried nuclear sites – think tank
Iran is constructing a new security perimeter around two underground tunnel complexes near its Natanz nuclear site, according to a report by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) released Wednesday.
Economy
Iran signs $4bn deal with Russian firms to develop oil fields, minister says
Iran has finalized four agreements worth a total investment of $4 billion with Russian companies to develop seven oil fields, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said.
Netherlands accuses Iran of targeting dissident on its soil
The Netherlands summoned Iran's envoy on Thursday after Dutch intelligence accused Tehran of an attempted assassination of an Iranian dissident in the country.
Paraguay designates Iran’s Guards as terror group, US applauds
Paraguay has formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and expanded its classification of Hamas and Hezbollah to include all components of both groups.
State TV faces internal purge after sectarian slur airs on Iranian broadcast
Iranian state television dismissed several senior staff members and triggered a legal crackdown after a segment insulting Sunni Islamic figures was broadcast, drawing public outrage and prompting official apologies to contain the fallout.
In Case You Missed It
Court aide carried out January assassinations of Tehran judges
The man who shot dead two Iranian Supreme Court judges in a rare assassination of top officials in January has been identified as Farshid Asadi, a 31-year-old court service aide, a source familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Tehran Insider
No deal for us: how Iran–US talks affect ordinary Iranians
I’ve grown the habit of checking the dollar exchange rate every few hours, even though I sold all that I had a few months ago—or perhaps because I sold all that I had a few months ago.
'Martyr families': Iran's last war leaves bitter legacy
My 23-year-old cousin, Ali, newly married and the father of a two-month-old baby, was killed in the Iran-Iraq war in 1985. From that moment, everything in my uncle’s family changed.
Whether it's talks or war, we'll suffer all the same
Eye for Iran Podcast
Tehran needs US talks to live, ex-Iranian diplomat says
The Islamic Republic will seek a new lease on life in US talks, former Iranian diplomat Hossein Alizadeh told the Eye for Iran podcast, adding that Iran's rulers will never abandon their hardline ideology against the West.
