Families of three French prisoners protest their continued detention in Iran

The nuclear program is a pillar of our development, but not its entirety, he said on Saturday, stressing that despite his direct role in past negotiations, its scope must remain within defined limits.

"The nuclear issue is part of our national strength, but it is not all of it. People must live their lives, and progress must be achieved in various fields. The nuclear agreement [JCPOA] preserved nuclear knowledge, ensuring its continuation, but reduced the number of centrifuges from 9,000 to 5,000," Larijani, who is considered a moderate conservative in the Islamic Republic's political spectrum, argued.

His comments come as Iran’s leadership wrestles with the idea of re-engaging with Washington over the nuclear program in order to reduce US economic sanctions.

Mahmoud Vaezi, the former chief of staff to ex-President Hassan Rouhani, suggested that Tehran should talk to President Donald Trump through key figures inside the US rather than third countries.

"Trump today is different from before—he’s got four years of experience under his belt," Vaezi said on Saturday. "It’s better to talk to him through certain people in the US rather than countries with their agendas." It was unclear whether Vaezi was referring to those who have long advocated for accommodation with Tehran or other intermediaries.

Vaezi also warned against letting Israel dictate Iran’s place on America’s foreign policy agenda. His stance echoes that of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who recently said that while Tehran is open to discussions, any new deal will be much harder to achieve than in 2018.

"The situation is different and much more difficult than the previous time," Araghchi said. "Lots of things should be done by the other side to buy our confidence … All we have heard is just nice words, and this is obviously not enough."

After Trump said earlier this month that it would be "nice" to resolve the nuclear crisis without escalation or military action from Israel, reactions in Iran have been anything but uniform.

While some officials hint at a willingness to explore diplomacy, hardline clerics are having none of it. Mohammad-Mehdi Hosseini Hamedani, the Friday prayer Imam of Karaj and the Supreme Leader’s representative in Alborz province lashed out at those pushing for talks, accusing them of misleading the public.

"The enemy threatens us daily, yet some still talk about negotiations," he warned. Another cleric, Abdolnabi Mousavi-Fard, called any broad discussions with Washington a "surrender to illegitimate American demands."

Their pushback comes after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made an ambiguous statement earlier this week, telling officials to “know their enemy” before entering any talks. Some see this as a quiet nod to negotiations, while others insist it’s just another reminder to stay wary of the US.

The debate over whether to engage with Trump is exposing deep divisions in Iran’s leadership. While some see an opportunity, hardliners are digging in, warning that diplomacy could mean dangerous compromises. Reformists argue that isolation is not a sustainable strategy and that engagement with global powers, including the US, could help lift sanctions and improve Iran’s economy.

"We are preparing ourselves to confront any enemy, at any scale, in any manner, and in any geography," said IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri after unveiling the new underground missile city.

The missile bases are unveiled as a message to Iran's enemies, IRGC Chief Commander Hossein Salami said, calling on them to "make more precise calculations and to ensure they do not make mistakes that would put both themselves and others in trouble."

Should they make any mistake, "all these systems you see will be activated," he warned.

The IRGC also unveiled a new cruise missile, named Ghadr-380, which has "anti-jamming capabilities" and a range of more than 1,000 km (more than 600 miles), according to IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri.

"Cruise missiles with the capability of countering enemy destroyers' electronic warfare are stationed in the IRGC's new underground missile city," the IRGC-affiliated Sabereen News reported.

"These missiles, with significant upgrades to their weapon systems and electronic warfare countermeasures, are ready for deployment in the shortest possible time," the report added.

This is the third underground missile base being unveiled by the Revolutionary Guard over the past month.

On January 18, the IRGC Navy unveiled an underground naval missile base at an undisclosed Persian Gulf location, two days before Trump's return to the White House.

The base is one of several built underground for vessels capable of launching long-range missiles and carry out distant warfare, IRGC Chief Commander Hossein Salami said after visiting the secret base during war games.

Footage released by IRGC-affiliated media and the state TV showed tunnels with long rows of "a new version of Taregh-class radar-evading speedboats which can launch cruise missiles."

Also on January 10, the IRGC's Aerospace Force unveiled what state TV called an underground missile city.

The base was used in the Iranian missile attacks against Israel in what the Islamic Republic codenamed operations True Promise 1 and 2 in April and October 2024, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim said.

"The volcano lying under these mountains can erupt in the shortest time possible," state TV's report said.

Iran has been conducting multiple military exercises in the past few weeks, including air defense drills near nuclear sites like Natanz and a 110,000-strong Basij mobilization in Tehran, to showcase its capabilities and project a message of strength in the region, following consecutive defeats for its allies since September.

IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami said earlier this month that the ongoing military exercises aim to make the enemies refine their assessments of Iran’s defense capabilities and demonstrate that the country’s deterrence is unaffected by external events, a tacit reference to the fall of Tehran’s longtime ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

The Indian Ministry of External Affair said it has formally requested assistance from the Islamic Republic to locate the missing individuals.

"Three Indian nationals who had gone to Iran for business purposes, they are missing. We are in touch with their families. We have taken up the matter with the Iranian Embassy in Delhi and with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly briefing.

Jaiswal said the Indian Embassy in Tehran is in touch with local officials to make sure about the missing people's safety.

According to Indian media, 33-year-old Yogesh Panchal arrived in Tehran on December 5 but lost contact with his family two days later. Mohammad Sadeeque also traveled to Iran in December, while Sumeet Sud entered the country in January.

Past cases have seen Indian nationals detained in Iran, often as crew members aboard foreign vessels held in Iranian waters. Over the years, Iranian intelligence arrested many foreigners and kept them as de facto hostages, according to Amnesty International and other human rights groups.

Iran’s foreign ministry has yet to comment on the situation.

The dual crisis has become so severe that schools across Iran have been forced to close for 24 days in the past three months. Government offices and businesses are faring no better.

“Iran loses approximately 50,000 lives annually due to air pollution. This is the human cost of air pollution," Iran’s Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarghandi announced.

The financial cost of air pollution in Iran is at least $12 billion annually, he added, a figure that some estimates say could rise to $20 billion.

These vast human and financial costs come alongside a significant reduction in the domestic use of cleaner fossil fuels which are set aside for profitable export abroad.

Meanwhile, Iran has ramped up the consumption of highly polluting fuels like mazut, or heavy fuel oil.

In the absence of official statistics, Iran International has found evidence that Tehran has significantly increased its exports of cleaner fuels such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and kerosene while sharply increasing domestic consumption of highly polluting fuels like mazut.

The latest statistics from Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority show that in the first 11 months of last year, Turkey increased gas imports from Iran by 40%, reaching nearly 6.5 billion cubic meters. Iran also exports gas to Iraq, though no official figures on the volume are available.

Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, followed by LPG (a combination of propane and butane).

Data from energy consultancy Kpler obtained by Iran International shows Iran’s LPG exports have grown significantly over the past four years, peaking at 337,000 barrels per day in 2024 or more than double the amount exported in 2020.

Radio Farda recently published a report citing a confidential Ministry of Petroleum document indicating Iran has also increased kerosene exports while nearly halving its domestic consumption.

The same document indicates that domestic mazut consumption in the first seven months of current fiscal year beginning in late March last year rose by over half compared to the same period last year.

In contrast, Iran’s exports of mazut - the most polluting fossil fuel - have been on a consistent downward trend in recent years while domestic use has surged.

Kpler data seen by Iran International shows Iran exported an average of 232,000 barrels per day of mazut last year—a 42% drop compared to 2021.

Iran has reduced its mazut exports because the mazut it produces contains 3.5% sulfur—seven times higher than the standard required for marine fuel. This high sulfur content has created significant challenges for exporting the fuel.

If Iran halted the export of cleaner fuels like natural gas or LPG, there would be no need to rely on mazut domestically, and diesel consumption would also halve.

Currently, Iran consumes around 700,000 barrels of diesel and 780,000 barrels of gasoline daily.

Greenhouse gas emissions up

According to the latest data from the Global Carbon Project, Iran’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 reached about 818 million tons, marking a 10% increase since 2020, a rise by nearly half since 2010 and a staggering 155% surge since 2000.

Globally, despite its relatively middling population size, Iran is the six biggest emitter of greenhouse gas.

Natural gas accounts for 70% of Iran’s energy consumption and over the past decade, Iran’s gas production and consumption grew by more than 5% annually.

However in recent years this growth has plummeted to just 2%, and the International Energy Agency reported in January that it dropped below 2% last year and was expected to shrink to just 1% in 2025.

Despite slowing gas production and mounting shortages, President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government has allocated the export of 16 billion cubic meters of gas in the upcoming fiscal year, or nearly double the amount for the target this year.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, despite all opposing statements, firmly supports the resistance in the region, and this is a definitive decision," said Saturday Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.

Senior Iranian official Vahid Jalalzadeh backed this position, portraying Hezbollah as a key player in Lebanon’s trajectory. "Today, in this place, we announce that we are witnessing the defeat of the enemy," he said, describing the group's ongoing struggle amid regional tensions.

Iran’s renewed backing comes at a time of crisis for Hezbollah. During Israeli strikes last year, the group suffered some of its worst losses in years. In a series of coordinated attacks in September and October, thousands of Hezbollah operatives were eliminated through targeted explosions and airstrikes. Key figures, including Nasrallah himself, were killed, dealing a severe blow to the group’s leadership and command structure.

The funerals of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Executive Council Chief Hashem Safieddine will take place on Sunday, February 23, according to Al Hadath.

Meanwhile, Israel has accused Iran of funneling millions of dollars to Hezbollah through secret cash deliveries. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Iranian envoys have been flying into Beirut with suitcases stuffed with US dollars, while Turkish nationals have allegedly been acting as couriers to transfer additional funds from Istanbul. These allegations have been raised in formal complaints to the US-led ceasefire committee, though existing ceasefire terms focus on arms smuggling rather than financial transactions.

Washington, too, is increasing pressure on Lebanon’s leadership. As Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam assembles his cabinet, US officials are urging Lebanese leaders to prevent Hezbollah or its allies from controlling key positions, particularly the finance ministry. US diplomats have warned that Lebanon’s ability to secure vital international aid for post-war reconstruction could be at risk if Hezbollah maintains its political grip.