Iran must be patient and not bend to Trump's diktats, Khamenei advisor says
US President Donald Trump hosts his first cabinet meeting, Washington, D.C., U.S., February 26, 2025.
Iran will persevere in its defiance of US President Trump's bossy orders, a top foreign policy advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, adding Iran is ready for talks based on mutual respect.
The remarks by former foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi appear to signal some flexibility in Iran's position vis-à-vis talks with the United States that Khamenei this month expressly rejected.
"We don’t run away from negotiation; after all, we have negotiated many times before," state media outlet IRNA quoted Kharrazi as saying on Wednesday. "However, it is not compatible with our revolutionary and Iranian spirit to yield to the excessive demands and diktats of others.
"At present, there is no choice but to exercise maximum patience, unless a situation arises where the other side also shows a willingness for genuine negotiation rather than dictation," he added.
Trump reinstated the "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions from his first term and has mooted military action on Iran's disputed nuclear program, prompting foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to say Tehran would not talk amid threats and pressure.
"Mr. Trump’s way is to unilaterally impose his will and expect others to simply obey his orders. We are witnessing this approach today even with regard to Europe," Khamenei's advisor said.
"We must resist until they approach us not with bossiness, pressure, and sanctions, but based on the principle of equality and mutual respect."
Kharrazi heads the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and has hinted before that Iran could ditch its stated opposition to acquiring nuclear weapons.
Members of the body he leads are by handpicked by Khamenei and its reports and advisories have often presaged major policy shifts by the ruling system.
Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons and an existential threat could cause a rethink of Khamenei's injunction against them, he said last year.
A five-year-old was killed and his mother lost her unborn child when Iran's security forces opened fire on the family's vehicle in the country's turbulent province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Halvash, a local news website, reported that the child, Yousef Shahli-Bar, who had sustained five gunshot wounds, died after a prolonged wait for medical attention due to the absence of a surgeon.
The mother, Maryam Shahli-Bar, remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Khatam al-Anbiya Hospital in Iranshahr.
Halvash reported that after firing on the vehicle, tactical unit forces transported the injured to a hospital before leaving the scene.
The driver of the vehicle, Ramin Shahli-Bar, was arrested by security forces in plain clothes and taken to an undisclosed location, the report added.
No official explanation has been provided regarding the reason for the shooting.
Security forces in Iran have previously been accused of unjustified shootings at vehicles. According to statistics compiled by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 484 civilians were shot by military personnel in Iran in 2024, with 163 killed and 321 injured.
HRANA reported that in 2023, 402 civilians were targeted, and in 2022, the number was 845.
The shooting comes amid heightened tensions in the Sistan and Baluchestan region following armed clashes between Iranian military forces and Jaish al-Adl, a militant group operating in the region.
A video showing drones flying over Jakigour, a district in Rask County, caused concern among residents.
In Chabahar port, Iranian security forces on Tuesday launched a raid on a residential building using light and semi-heavy weapons, including rocket propelled grenade.
According to Halvash, the house was completely destroyed, and surrounding buildings were damaged. Iranian authorities confirmed that two members of Jaish al-Adl were killed and six arrested. However, in a statement, Jaish al-Adl disputed this, saying no members were detained.
The recent escalation follows a series of attacks attributed to the group. On Saturday, a sound bomb explosion damaged the Chabahar Rural Development Organization headquarters.
In a separate incident, gunmen attacked the Housing Foundation of Sistan and Baluchestan, injuring one staff member. Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility, saying the attacks were in response to government actions against Baloch communities. The minority group is among the most persecuted in Iran, according to rights groups.
The 2025 report from Human Rights Watch said: "The Iranian government also discriminates against some religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, and restricts cultural and political activities among the country’s Azeri, Kurdish, Arab, and Baluch ethnic minorities.
Jaish al-Adl has been designated as a terrorist organization by both the Iranian government and the United States.
The group has carried out multiple attacks against Iranian security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan in recent years, the region a hotbed of clashes.
Countries such as the UK sanctioned individuals and entities in Iran following the violent crackdown on protests in the 2022 uprising, including in Sistan and Baluchestan, where in one day, over 80 people were killed by security forces in Zahedan.
Ray Hunt, a 71-year-old Alabama resident, has been sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating the export of US-manufactured industrial equipment to Iran, defying US trade sanctions.
Hunt, operating under aliases including Abdolrahman Hantoosh, Rahman Hantoosh, and Rahman Natooshas, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to charges under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Court documents show that Hunt, through his company Vega Tools LLC, engaged in a systematic effort to supply equipment for Iran's oil, gas, and petrochemical industries.
From at least 2015 until his arrest in November 2022, he worked with two Iranian companies based in Tehran to help them circumvent sanctions.
Hunt's scheme involved a complex network of third-party transshipment companies located in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), designed to obscure the true destination of the exported goods.
He also used UAE-based banks to conceal financial transactions.
Hunt deliberately provided false information to shipping companies about the value of his exports, thereby avoiding the mandatory filing of Electronic Export Information with US authorities.
He also misrepresented the intended recipients of the equipment, falsely claiming they were destined for Turkey and the UAE, while fully aware they were ultimately bound for Iran, according to the US Department of Justice.
He also provided false statements to US Customs and Border Protection officers regarding his business operations during questioning following a 2020 trip to Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not deliver a message from the United States during his visit to Tehran and added that no such message was anticipated.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Araghchi also addressed Iran’s ongoing negotiations with European countries, saying that a new round of talks began in Geneva two days ago, focusing on nuclear issues and other matters.
Earlier in the day, former lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said on X that Lavrov came to Tehran with a message: “Russia and the United States have drawn common red lines for Iran in Riyadh."
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced the revitalization of sanctions under his “maximum pressure” policy. He underlined that his main demand is for Iran never to acquire nuclear weapons.
Iran, facing a serious economic crisis, needs to reach an agreement with the Trump administration if it wants to reduce or eliminate the sanctions, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this month banned talks with Washington. Iranian officials insist that they will not negotiate under Trump’s pressure.
Araghchi added that discussions with Europe would continue despite their complexities, as several key questions remain unresolved.
Regarding his talks with Lavrov, Araghchi described them as extensive, covering a wide range of bilateral and regional issues.
He added that the Russian diplomat provided a detailed report on Moscow’s negotiations with Washington and other regional players.
Lavrov’s visit to Tehran sparked speculation in Iranian media about whether he is carrying a message from Washington or pushing Moscow’s own agenda at Iran’s expense.
Iranian media, analysts, and the public had closely scrutinized recent visits by high-ranking foreign officials to Tehran, including Lavrov and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week. These visits are widely interpreted as potential mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington or as channels for delivering messages from the Trump administration.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani discussed Iran’s regional influence, Iraq’s energy independence, and US business investments during a call on Tuesday, the US State Department said.
According to spokesperson Tammy Bruce, both sides emphasized the need for Iraq to reduce reliance on external energy sources, swiftly reopen the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline, and uphold contractual commitments to U.S. companies to attract further investment.
Bruce added that "the two sides also discussed reducing Iran’s malign influence and continuing efforts to prevent ISIS from resurging and destabilizing the broader region."
US Senator Lindsey Graham said Washington was not interested in negotiating with Tehran anyway after Iran said it would not hold talks as long as President Donald Trump's so-called maximum pressure campaign remains in place.
"I don't want to negotiate with Iran either," Graham told Iran International, when asked about foreign minister Abbas Araghchi's comments on the subject.
In a press conference with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Tehran, Araghchi ruled out direct negotiations with the United States over the country’s disputed nuclear program as long as the sanctions persisted.
"Iran's position in the nuclear talks is completely clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions," he said. "There is no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the US as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this manner."
The South Carolina Republican is a foreign policy hawk who maintains a close relationship with Trump. Graham co-sponsored a bill this month calling for denying Iran a nuclear bomb by any means necessary, days after US President Trump appeared to downplay a military option.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but the United States assesses that it has stepped up enrichment in order to quickly attain the capability should it wish.
Trump this month reimposed the policy of tough sanctions on Iran from his first term, aimed at driving Iran's oil exports down to zero.
Still, Trump called any reports that a US-Israeli strike would deal Iran a devastating blow "greatly exaggerated" and said he much preferred a deal.
Republican lawmakers appeared less charitable, with West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito telling Iran International that Tehran cannot be believed.
"The way I see it, Iran is a country of terrorism that foments terror certainly acrpss the the Mideast and around the world. I can't imagine that I would trust anything they would say."
Florida Senator Rick Scott said denying Iran a bomb was a main priority.
"I don't think we can allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, and so I think we've got to do everything under our power to make sure they don't have nuclear weapons."