Page 5 - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Trump in dilemma as Israel seeks more US help to crush Iran's nuclear prog

President Donald Trump in about eight hours Monday went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained achievable to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. He was expected to arrive at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with four days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear programme particularly if it gets a little more help from Trump. But deepening American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct US military support, comes with enormous political risk for Trump. He appears to be gradually building the public case for more direct American involvement. Iran should have signed the deal' I t

Israeli missile hits Iranian state-run television HQ; broadcast halted

Iran's state-run news agency reported Monday that state-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after an Israeli strike. During the broadcast, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after the sound of aggression against the homeland. Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera. The broadcast quickly switched to prerecorded programmes. An hour earlier, Israel had issued a warning the evacuate the area of Iran's capital where the TV studios are located.

'I never get credit,' says Trump amid claims of Israel-Iran peace efforts

US President Donald Trump cited India and Pakistan's example to claim that he has made efforts to broker deals between conflict-ridden countries, adding that he did not get the credit

Donald Trump stopped Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, says US official

The decision to block Israel's plan came after officials revealed they had an opportunity to kill Khamenei, but Trump waved them off the plan

Israel's strike on Iran caused radioactive, chemical leak: IAEA tells UNSC

IAEA DG Rafael Grossi said Israel destroyed Natanz's above-ground section; no damage to underground enrichment units, but power loss may hit centrifuges; site shows radioactive, chemical contamination

'It will only get worse': Trump warns Iran after Israel strikes Tehran

Israel launched airstrike on Iran with fighter jets, hitting key military and nuclear sites. Iran retaliated with more than 100 drones targeting Israeli cities

Israel preparing for possible strike on Iran nuclear sites, says US intel

US officials say Israeli strike planning has intensified after Trump's Mideast tour; intercepted comms and air drills cited as signs of escalating intent

Tehran won't seek anyone's permission to enrich uranium: Ayatollah Khamenei

IRNA also reported that Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy foreign minister, said that Tehran had received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks with Washington

Blast at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port kills 40, Khamenei calls for probe

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for a thorough investigation, urging security and judicial officials to identify any negligence

Open to talk about concerns over militarisation of nuclear programme: Iran

Iran said Sunday it would consider negotiations with the United States if the talks were confined to concerns about the militarization of its nuclear program. In a statement posted on X, the country's U.N. mission said: If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis--vis any potential militarization of Iran's nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration. A day earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had rejected talks with the U.S., because he said they would be aimed at imposing restrictions on Iran's missile program and its influence in the region. Khamenei's remarks came a day after President Donald Trump acknowledged sending a letter to him seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the nuclear deal he withdrew America from during his first term in office. Khamenei said U.S. demands would be both military and related to the regional influence of Iran. He said such talks would not solve probl

Why Trump wants to renegotiate Iran nuclear deal he withdrew from in 2018

Donald Trump seeks to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal he abandoned in 2018, but Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei rejects the offer, calling the US a 'bully'

US 'imposing demands, not seeking negotiations', says Iran's Khamenei

The comments came on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he sent a letter to the Iranian leadership seeking to initiate talks on a nuclear deal

Iran puts brakes on hijab laws amid backlash, President hints at law reform

Debate reignites as Iranian police detain Parastoo Ahmadi over her hijab-less performance in an online concert

Who's Iran's next supreme leader? Trace Mojtaba Khamenei's rise to power

Born in Mashhad in 1969, Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the present Supreme Leader of Iran

Khamenei pledges 'crushing response' to US, Israel for actions against Iran

Sharing a post on X, Iran's supreme leader wrote, 'United States of America and the Zionist regime will definitely get a crushing response for what they do against #Iran and the #Resistance Front'

As Israel pressures Iran, Khamenei to give first Friday sermon in 5 years

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will lead Friday prayers for the first time in nearly five years, honouring slain Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli airstrikes on September 27

Reformist Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential runoff election, beats Jalili

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran's Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian's modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels. A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili's 13.5 million in Friday's election.

First candidate drops out of Iran presidential election amid voter apathy

A candidate in Iran's presidential election withdrew from the race late Wednesday, becoming the first to back out in order for hard-liners to coalesce around a unity candidate in the vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi. Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, dropped his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same so that the front of the revolution will be strengthened, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Ghazizadeh Hasehmi served as one of Raisi's vice presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes, coming in last place. Such withdrawals are common in the final hours of an Iranian presidential election, particularly in the last 24 hours before the vote is held when campaigns enter a mandatory quiet period without rallies. Voters go to the polls Friday. Ghazizadeh Hasehmi's decision leaves five other candidates still in the race. Analysts broadly se

Iran's supreme leader calls for maximum turnout for presidential election

Iran's supreme leader called Tuesday for maximum voter turnout in this week's presidential election to overcome the enemy," denouncing politicians who he described as believing that everything good comes from the United States. While not naming any particular candidates, the comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to directly undercut the candidacy of the race's sole reformist candidate, 69-year-old heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian. In recent speeches, Pezeshkian has urged Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and increase its outreach to the West. The one who has the slightest opposition to the revolution ... or the Islamic system, is not useful to you, Khamenei said. He will not be a good colleague for you. Khamenei's comments drew repeated cries of Death to America, death to Israel from a raucous crowd gathered to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir. The 85-year-old Khamenei urged the crowd to quiet themselves several times during his remarks. Friday's

Iran's presidential race: Candidates debate foreign policy ahead of vote

Iran's presidential candidates discussed the country's foreign policy Monday in a three-hour live debate, promising to seek better relations with other nations and work to have sanctions on their country lifted. The televised debate was the fourth in a series of five ahead of Friday's election, which follows a helicopter crash last month that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others. The final debate will be Tuesday. All the candidates pledged to try to have Western sanctions on Iran lifted, but they expressed different attitudes about the issue. "We will definitely negotiate and reach an agreement to revive a nuclear deal with world powers that President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018, said Mohamad Bagher Qalibaf, the hardline pragmatic parliament speaker, who is seen as a prominent candidate. However, he said that under his presidency Iran would choose a gradual policy, taking step in return to step that the other side would take in lifting ...