Iran harbors no optimism toward the United States and views any negotiations through a lens of deep mistrust, an informed source told Tasnim News Agency on Sunday, stressing that even if a preliminary understanding is reached, Tehran will not rely on Washington’s commitments.

“Iran has no goodwill toward America, and the exchange of messages through the Pakistani mediator is constantly conducted with mistrust of the US government,” the source said.

The source added that no final understanding has been achieved so far, and disagreements persist over certain clauses.

“Even if an initial understanding is reached, it does not mean Iran has changed its view of America or that it trusts the current administration to fulfill its obligations,” the source said.

“The Americans have a very bad record in negotiations, which reinforces and entrenches mistrust. Therefore, even if an understanding is reached, Iran will monitor US actions throughout the post‑agreement process. If America breaches its commitments at that stage, Iran will retain its leverage to respond.”

Israeli media report dismissed as false

Another report by Tasnim also rejected an Israeli media report claiming that US officials have said Iran will receive no relief on frozen assets until it begins transferring its enriched uranium stockpiles.

According to Tasnim’s information, such a claim is completely untrue and Iran refuses to link the release of its frozen assets with nuclear material issues.

“Iran insists that part of its frozen assets must be released immediately upon any possible announcement of an understanding, and must be fully accessible to Iran. The bitter past experience of asset releases, which were effectively sabotaged by American procrastination, must not be repeated,” the report said.

The report also stated that Iran has made no commitment regarding the details of the nuclear issue at this stage.

Asset release in the first step has no connection to nuclear material matters.

Moreover, any preliminary understanding must focus exclusively on “ending the war.”

“If the release of frozen assets does not happen, one of Iran’s red lines will have been crossed, and there will be no understanding,” the report emphasized.

The remarks came as US President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday he had told his negotiators not to “rush.”

Source: Presstv

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have jointly condemned the recent US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, calling for dialogue as the only way to end the destabilizing conflict.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, Putin, who is on a state visit to China, and Xi stressed that both countries agreed that the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran violate international law and the basic principles of international relations, and seriously undermine stability in West Asia region.

The two leaders emphasized the necessity for the conflicting sides to return to dialogue and negotiations as quickly as possible, with the aim of preventing the expansion of the conflict.

Putin and Xi also called on the international community to adopt an objective and neutral stance, to help de-escalate tensions in the West Asia region, and to jointly uphold the fundamental principles of international relations.

The United States, in close collaboration with Israel, waged an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28, killing more than 3,300 people and devastating civilian infrastructure.

Iranian armed forces responded with daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in Israeli-occupied territories and US military bases and facilities across the Persian Gulf region.

Forty days into the war, a two-week Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement due to Washington’s excessive demands. US President Donald Trump later extended the truce unilaterally and indefinitely.

Iran has closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, to ships belonging to the US and its allies that participated in or supported the aggression, triggering a significant spike in oil prices, as the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports.

Tehran says the illegal US blockade on Iran’s ports should be lifted before the next stage of talks for ending the war begins, as Trump constantly threatens to resume strikes on Iran if his excessive demands are not met.

Separately on Wednesday, the Chinese president called for a lasting peace in the region and warned about the possible resumption of war.

“A comprehensive ceasefire is imperative, restarting war is even more unacceptable, and adhering to negotiations is particularly important,” Xi stressed.

Source: Press TV

Iran has reportedly submitted its latest proposal in 14 points through the Pakistani intermediary for talks with the United States aimed at ending the illegal US-Israeli war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

A source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Tasnim news agency on Monday that Pakistan will `deliver Iran’s new proposal to Washington.

The source said the proposal is focused on the subject of the negotiations and confidence-building measures by the American side.

The Americans had recently sent a text in response to Iran’s previous proposal, which was also presented in 14 points, the source added.

“In line with the recent practice of exchanging messages, Iran has also once again submitted its text in 14 points through the Pakistani mediator after making amendments,” the source explained.

On April 10, Iran submitted its response to the American side’s proposed text to end the war, which was later dismissed by Donald Trump, the president of the US, who said it was “totally unacceptable.”

Tehran maintains that at the current stage, negotiations will only focus on ending the war in the region and that other issues, including the nuclear program, may be discussed later.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Monday that Islamabad has shared with the United States a revised proposal from Iran to end the war in the region.

The source warned that Tehran and Washington “don’t have much time” to narrow their differences.

The source gave no details of Iran’s revised proposal but noted that the sides “keep changing their goalposts.”

“We don’t have much time.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also told reporters on Monday that despite the American side’s dismissal of the Islamic Republic’s previous peace proposal, Tehran received “a set of corrective points and considerations” from the Pakistani mediator.

“As announced yesterday, our points of view were presented to the American side in return. Therefore, the process continues through Pakistan,” he said.

On April 8, forty days into the US-Israel war, a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US took effect.

Negotiations ensued in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, but stopped short of an agreement amid Washington’s maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.

Since then, Iran has demanded that the US lift an illegal blockade it has imposed on Iranian vessels and ports for the diplomatic process to resume.

Tehran says as long as the blockade is still in place, it has no intention of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: Press TV

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that he plans to bring American financial aid to the Tel Aviv regime down to zero within the next decade, blaming social media platforms for “manipulating” the American public opinion towards Israel.

In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes aired on Sunday, Netanyahu was asked whether it was time for the Israeli regime to “reexamine and possibly reset” its financial relationship with Washington.

“Absolutely. I’ve said this to President Trump. I’ve said it to our own people. Their jaws drop,” he claimed.

“I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have,” the Israeli prime minister said, stating that the process should “start now” and be completed “over the next ten years.”

Netanyahu noted that he is well aware of declining support for Israel in the US.

The remarks come as a recent Pew poll revealed that six in ten Americans have a very or somewhat unfavorable view of Israel, up seven percentage points since last year and nearly 20 points since 2022.

The Israeli prime minister dismissed the notion that the regime’s genocidal war in Gaza might have “contributed to this negative impression of Israel,” blaming the shift almost entirely on social media.

“Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war,” he claimed.

“We have several countries that basically manipulated social media with bot farms with fake addresses, to break the American sympathy to Israel.”

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.

Netanyahu’s comments come irrespective of the fact that the Israeli regime remains the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid since World War II, having received more than $300 billion in economic and military assistance from Washington since 1948.

Under a ten-year agreement signed in 2016, the US committed $38 billion in military aid to Israel through 2028, including $5 billion for the so-called Iron Dome anti-aircraft missile system.

Overall, American assistance accounts for roughly 16% of the regime’s military budget.

US Senator Bernie Sanders filed three resolutions in March, seeking to block nearly $660 million in arms sales to Israel.

He pointed out that three-quarters of Democrats and two-thirds of independents oppose Washington sending weapons to the Tel Aviv regime.

Source: Press TV

Iran has submitted its official reply to the latest US proposal for reaching a deal that allows a permanent end to the US-Israeli war of aggression against the country.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said in a Sunday report that the country had submitted its reply to the US proposal to Pakistan, which has mediated efforts aimed at ending the war of aggression.

IRNA said the reply insists that current negotiations between Iran and the US should solely focus on efforts to end the war, and other issues, including disputes surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, should be discussed at later stages of the talks.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced earlier this week that the country would submit its final response to the US proposal after carrying out deliberations and thorough examinations.

The US proposal had come in response to a 14-article plan submitted by Iran to allow a complete halt to the US-Israeli war of aggression.

The latest Iranian reply is focused on efforts to end the aggression on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and to guarantee the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Iran and the US held an intensive day of negotiations on April 11–12 in Islamabad, four days after Pakistan mediated a ceasefire to halt the US-Israeli aggression on Iran that had started in late February.

The talks collapsed over US maximalist demands, Iranian officials said. 

A key sticking point in the current negotiations between Iran and the US is the restoration of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Persian Gulf, which has come under Iranian control since the early days of the aggression.

Iran has indicated it is ready to reopen the Strait if the aggression ends permanently and the US lifts its illegal sanctions and blockade on the country.

Authorities in Tehran have said that a first phase of efforts to reach a deal must concentrate on shipping and sanctions, while signaling they are ready to discuss the country’s nuclear program in later stages of the talks with the US.

Source: Press TV

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says its forces inflicted significant damage on US naval assets in a large-scale combined operation on Thursday evening, forcing three American destroyers to flee the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, the commander of the IRGC Navy noted that the operation was launched in response to two provocative actions by the US military.

The first was a violation of the ceasefire involving an attack on an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask, which was followed by the approach of US Navy destroyers toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz despite clear warnings against it.

According to the commander, Iranian forces responded to the US military adventurism with “highly extensive and precise combined operation.”

The retaliatory operation involved a variety of advanced weaponry, including anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and destructive drones.

He added that the weapons were equipped with high-explosive warheads and were fired directly at the enemy destroyers.

The commander stated that intelligence monitoring conducted by Iranian forces has since confirmed “significant damage” to the American military assets as a result of the strike.

Facing the devastating and precise Iranian firepower, the IRGC Navy commander said, three aggressor enemy vessels “fled the Strait of Hormuz area immediately.”

In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Thursday that Iranian forces gave an immediate response to a series of US military aggressions in the strategic waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari noted that the “aggressive, terrorist, and outlaw” US military, in violation of a ceasefire, targeted an Iranian oil tanker.

The spokesperson warned that the “criminal and aggressive” US and its allies must recognize that the Islamic Republic of Iran will, as it has in the past, deliver a crushing response to any act of aggression or violation “powerfully and without the slightest hesitation.”

These developments come amid continued US maritime banditry and piracy in the strategic waterway that remains closed to US and allied vessels.

Source: Presstv

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is hospitalized in “critical but stable condition,” his spokesman said Sunday, without disclosing what ails the 81-year-old former politician.

“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” spokesman Ted Goodman said in an X post.

Goodman did not say where Giuliani was receiving care or how long he had been there, but he asked “that you join us in prayer for America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani.”

The New York Times reported that Giuliani was hospitalized in Florida.

Giuliani earned the moniker of “America’s mayor” for leading New York City through the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in Manhattan.

Earlier in his career, he gained fame as the fearless Mafia-busting prosecutor whose aggressive use of racketeering laws brought down New York’s organized crime families.

But Giuliani experienced a stunning fall from grace in recent years, including in 2023 when a federal jury ordered him to pay $148 million to two election workers after defaming them by falsely tying them to alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Giuliani, a Republican, became a fierce defender of President Donald Trump, joining his personal legal team in Trump’s first White House term.

He came under scrutiny by the Manhattan US attorney’s office in 2019 over his activities connected with investigations about Ukraine and apparent efforts to dig up dirt on Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Giuliani was also part of the effort to reverse his client’s clear election loss to Biden in 2020. But one by one, the post-election court challenges were withdrawn or dismissed as groundless.

He has since been disbarred in New York and Washington.

Giuliani was facing criminal charges in Arizona related to the 2020 election and other legal issues when Trump issued him a sweeping pardon last November.

On Sunday Trump hailed Giuliani as a “true warrior” and New York’s best-ever mayor.

“What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!” Trump added.

“They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”

Source: AFP