Iran turns to Oman and Qatar to mediate on US talks: Report

Iran has asked Oman and Qatar to mediate between Tehran and Washington with the aim of resuming nuclear negotiations, on the condition that Israeli attacks cease, Israel Hayom reported. Oman, which previously hosted US-Iran talks, confirmed it is pursuing this track, but the US has shown no urgency in responding, the report said. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said the latest round of talks, set for Sunday in Muscat, has been canceled.  Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Saturday that the United States is not a party to the military conflict with Iran and must be distinguished from the Israelis. “If Israeli attacks end, there is a possibility of returning to the negotiating table,” he added. Gharibabadi said no one has the right to demand restraint from Iran. “Have we ever attacked the United States or assassinated anyone there? Then why are there so many American military bases surrounding Iran?” He defended Iran's missile attacks on Israel and said, “Our attack on Israel was a legitimate act of self-defense and fully legal.”
A senior US diplomat told Israel Hayom that Iran now holds “a significantly weaker position” than before the Israeli strike. “They either failed to understand or deliberately ignored the president’s warnings,” the diplomat was quoted as saying, accusing Tehran of stalling talks while rapidly advancing its nuclear program.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart that the Islamic Republic will not sit at the negotiating table under pressure from unreasonable demands, double standards, or while Israeli attacks continue. "Instead of accepting our arguments, world powers chose to believe the lies of a regime that seeks to destabilize the region," Iran's president told Macron, referring to Israel's warnings about Tehran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart, called for a decisive response from the international community to the Israeli attacks.
Khosro Hassani, deputy intelligence chief of the IRGC Aerospace Force, has been killed in the Israeli airstrikes, according to Iranian media outlets. He was killed alongside IRGC Aerospace Force commander Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, Iranian media said. Another Iranian nuclear scientist, Ali Mansour Bakouei, has been killed in the Israeli airstrikes, the governor-general of Iran's Mazandaran province announced. As per local media report, Iranian student activist Motahareh Gounei was re-arrested after posting criticism of Iran’s leadership on X. Freed from prison in Marchthis year, she wrote: “This hell may have many fueling its flames, but it was built by one devil alone: religious despotism.” Gounei, a final-term dental student at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, had previously been barred from continuing her studies.