Iranian athletes arrested in South Korea over alleged sexual assault

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, spoke with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday evening, according to an official Egyptian readout.

Abdelatty expressed Cairo’s support for the talks, saying, “The US-Iranian talks represent a critical opportunity to achieve calm and de-escalation in the region and prevent its slide into total chaos.”

Araghchi arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with senior Egyptian officials focusing on bilateral relations.

On Monday, Araghchi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo.

Earlier in the day, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that during Araghchi’s visit to Egypt, the foreign minister may discuss ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States.

Responding to reports of a planned meeting between Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Egypt, Baghaei said the meeting “cannot be confirmed.”

According to the report, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued the order last week, halting measures that had been part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing "maximum pressure" campaign.

The directive was passed to senior officials at the National Security Council, the Treasury Department, and the State Department, the report said.

While the White House did not deny the sanctions pause, deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to the Journal: “Any new decisions with regard to sanctions will be announced by the White House or relevant agencies within the administration.”

The report said that Trump officials view the move as a temporary slowdown aimed at reviewing potential sanctions more carefully amid sensitive nuclear negotiations, and that it was overinterpreted somewhere along the chain.

Others expressed concern that key policymakers have been out of the loop and surprised by the sweeping pause.

Abolfazl Zohrehvand, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said the 2003 agreement, which led to the Tehran Declaration, was a "strategic mistake" that should not be repeated.

In October 2003, Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and permit enhanced inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and avoid referral to the United Nations Security Council.

The agreement was signed by Iran's then-Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rouhani, along with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany at Tehran's Saadabad Palace. It temporarily averted escalation of the nuclear dispute.

However, following the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, Iran resumed uranium conversion activities at the Isfahan facility in August 2005 and enrichment at the Natanz facility in early 2006. By April 2006, Iran announced it had successfully enriched uranium to a purity level of approximately 3.5%, marking a significant advancement in its nuclear capabilities.

Zohrehvand said in an interview with Didban Iran that Tehran agreed in 2003 to suspend enrichment, signed the Saadabad agreement, and fulfilled its commitments by sealing the Natanz enrichment facility and the yellowcake production facility in Isfahan.

However, despite several rounds of negotiations, Iran’s request for reciprocal measures from the West went unmet, he added.

He said during that period, President Mohammad Khatami had tried to formally transfer a centrifuge to Tehran University to demonstrate Iran’s mastery of centrifuge technology. However, he said, then-Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi contacted British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to coordinate the move, only to be told it was not permitted and that all centrifuges had to be dismantled.

Zohrehvand also noted that following a visit to Tehran, the German foreign minister went directly to Israel and announced, “We told the Iranians to dismantle their enrichment program entirely.”

According to Zohrehvand, today’s Western demands echo the same expectations as those of two decades ago.

“This same model is being repeated again,” he warned.

Zohrehvand said while a temporary suspension of enrichment in return for sanctions relief might now be acceptable, it would be naïve to believe that the United States would be satisfied with such a deal.

“If resolving the issue merely means suspending or halting enrichment, it could happen—there’s no problem with suspending enrichment for a few years in exchange for the suspension or lifting of sanctions,” Zohrehvand said.

“But believing that the Americans would be content with that is simplistic.”

A commentary published Sunday by Tasnim News, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, accused Britain, France and Germany of “blackmailing” Iran by threatening to invoke the snapback clause of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

The so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Iran can technically be restored automatically if any party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deems Iran to be non-compliant with the deal.

“Much of the Europeans’ audacity stems from their perceived ability to trigger the snapback clause,” the article said. “Increasing the cost of their strategic choices is the only viable countermeasure.”

The conservative daily Khorasan struck a similar tone, warning Western powers that any military action or invocation of the snapback clause would provoke a fundamental shift in Iran’s defense doctrine. The paper said Iran could produce 10 atomic bombs and that its intercontinental ballistic missile capability should not be underestimated.

“If the snapback mechanism is activated, it means all of Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEAI) has yielded nothing,” the editorial said.

All eyes on IAEA Board

The UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium now exceeds 400 kg—enough for developing 10 nuclear weapons if further enriched. It also accused Tehran of running a secret nuclear program using unreported material.

The findings have convinced the United States, Britain, France, and Germany to submit a draft resolution on Iran non-compliance for adoption by the agency’s board at its upcoming meeting during the week of June 9, diplomats said Saturday.

The last time the IAEA Board formally declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation commitments in 2005, it led to Iran’s referral to the UN Security Council and triggered a round of international sanctions.

Iran's warning

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday spoke by phone with the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, warning against political pressure on the nuclear watchdog ahead of its board meeting.

“Iran will respond appropriately to any improper moves by European parties,” Araghchi said.

“The responsibility for any fallout will lie with those who use the Agency and its mechanisms as tools to advance their political agenda against Iran.”

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and foreign ministry dismissed the IAEA’s new report, accusing the agency of relying on “forged Israeli documents.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also condemned the report as a Western effort to reopen previously settled issues, saying it was “based on a series of fabricated data provided by the Zionist regime.”

US proposal

Iran and the United States are now engaged in diplomatic talks aimed at clinching a deal that would curb Iran's nuclear program and provide some sanction relief for Tehran.

Washington has floated proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock in nuclear talks with Iran. Axios reported over the weekend that the US is considering recognizing Iran’s right to uranium enrichment in exchange for a suspension of enrichment or the creation of a regional fuel consortium.

The idea was shared with Iran in a proposal from US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, relayed via Oman’s foreign minister during a brief visit to Tehran on Saturday.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would respond in line with its “national interests and rights,” but officials made clear that enrichment will remain central to Iran’s nuclear posture—regardless of pressure or inducement.

Enrichment a red line for Tehran

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said, “Enrichment is a national value and a symbol of independence ... No negotiation over the principle of enrichment is meaningful."

Another lawmaker, Vahid Ahmadi, raised the possibility of a temporary nuclear deal with the United States while indirect talks continue if there is a softening on American demands to totally halt uranium enrichment.

“If the Americans show some retreat in their stance, there is a possibility of reaching a temporary understanding,” he said in remarks published by ISNA. However, he insisted that “there is no way we will accept shutting down enrichment.”

Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to Grossi.

The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material.

In the latest crackdown, nine citizens were arrested in Qazvin province, northwestern Iran, in connection with the truckers' strike, according to provincial police chief Mohammad Ghasem Tarhani.

“Using intelligence and technical monitoring, officers recently identified and arrested suspects who were disrupting traffic by throwing stones at passing trucks and filming the acts for social media,” Tarhani said on Sunday.

He accused the detainees of using personal vehicles and motorcycles to block roads, disrupt public order, and hinder economic and livelihood activities.

Tarhani said the detainees were charged and sent to prison on judicial orders.

The strike began on May 22 in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and spread quickly. Within two days, drivers in dozens of cities joined.

Drivers are demanding better working conditions, higher freight rates, and relief from high insurance costs and fuel restrictions.

Truckers in 155 cities and towns are on strike now, according to the Alliance of Iran Truckers and Truck Drivers’ Unions (AITTD).

Footage verified by Iran International on Sunday showed empty roads and freight terminals in several regions across the country.

The Marand–Jolfa highway in East Azerbaijan province was deserted, while no trucks were seen at the main freight terminal in Tehran, the capital. Similar scenes were reported on the Karaj highway in Alborz province and in the Dashti neighborhood of Isfahan, central Iran.

Last Friday, US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 20 people had been arrested across Iran since truck drivers' strike began.