'Missed opportunity': Iran moderates' call to join Gaza summit falls flat

Abbas Araghchi said a subsequent invitation was extended for him to attend the summit instead, state media reported.

Araghchi later said on his X account that he too will not attend the Sharm El-Sheikh summit.

"While favoring diplomatic engagement, neither President Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us," he said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told IRNA Iran appreciates Egypt’s invitation but has no plans to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.

The leaders of over twenty countries will participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit which will be held in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh on the afternoon of Monday, October 13, 2025, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Donald Trump, the Egyptian presidency said.

Axios on Saturday cited an unnamed source as saying the Trump administration had invited Iran to attend the summit. Sky News Arabia also said the list of invited leaders included President Pezeshkian of Iran.

IRGC-affiliated Fars News on Sunday confirmed that Tehran had received the invitation but said Pezeshkian would decide on Sunday night whether to attend the summit. However, the report added that Tehran’s participation in the meeting was unlikely.

Fellow IRGC outlet Tasnim, meanwhile, quoted an informed source as saying that Iran would not attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit despite receiving the invitation.

"The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip, strengthen efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and open a new chapter of regional security and stability," according to the Egyptian presidency.

President Trump is expected to visit the Middle East for a signing ceremony in Egypt to formalize the Gaza peace deal, a move that could signal the end of the two-year war between Israel and Tehran-backed Hamas militants, according to media reports.

The trip comes a few days after Trump's announcement early Thursday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Trump is set to begin his visit in Israel on Monday, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and deliver an address to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Israeli media reported.

The Jewish State is not among those invited to the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, Axios reported.

Leaders or foreign ministers from Germany, Spain, France, the UK, Italy, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Indonesia are expected to participate in the summit, according to Euro News.

Under Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Israel would maintain a military presence along Gaza’s border, while an international force — made up largely of troops from Arab and Muslim nations — would oversee security inside the territory. The United States would lead a major, internationally funded reconstruction effort in the war-ravaged enclave.

Iran has expressed its support for "parts" of Trump's plan, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“Contrary to many analyses and comments, the Al-Aqsa Storm operation was a mistake,” the paper wrote in an editorial on Sunday.

The newspaper said the attack caused significant damage to what it described as “anti-Israel movements” across the region, from Iran to Lebanon.

It also cited the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government as “major losses” for what it described as the regional anti-Israel front.

It added that the paper's editorial board had believed from “the very first moments” the attack was a miscalculation, adding that, two years later, “our belief in this mistake has only grown stronger.”

The paper said in aftermath of the Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June — including the joint Israeli and US bombings of Iran’s Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow nuclear facilities — had severely damaged the country’s military and nuclear command structure, setting its nuclear program back “considerably.”

Jomhouri Eslami — like Kayhan and Ettela’at — is overseen by Khamenei’s representative but is known for its more moderate tone under managing editor Massih Mohajeri, a Shia cleric who has at times criticized parts of Iran’s establishment and defended reformist figures such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Khamenei has previously praised Hamas’s October 7 attack, calling it a step toward “removing America from the region” and saying the operation “overturned the table of US policies.”

"The Iranian nation sent aid to the Lebanese people, including $60 million and oil supplies, but the Lebanese government refused to accept it because Iran is under sanctions," Amani said in an interview with Lebanon's LBCI TV.

He said the aid could have helped address part of the Lebanese people’s problems at a time when the country is struggling with economic and social crises.

"The Americans have been promising assistance to Lebanon for three years but have failed to deliver on their promise," the envoy said.

Given the tightening of US and UN sanctions against Iran, any financial dealings or aid from Tehran face international restrictions and sensitivities.

Earlier, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said during a visit to Lebanon that Iran was ready to cooperate in the country’s reconstruction following Israeli attacks.

Hezbollah disarmament

Iran has no information regarding weapons held by Hezbollah, the Iranian ambassador in Beirut said, amid mounting calls by the US and the international community for the Tehran-backed group's disarmament.

Amani said he did not have precise information on whether Hezbollah would again use its weapons against Israel, but said that Sheikh Naim Qassem, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, has said the group is ready to confront any war or attack.

Amani said resistance "is not limited to weapons but stems from willpower — a will that can expel the occupier."

Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun told Larijani in August that no group may bear arms or depend on foreign support, stressing that cooperation must remain within “national sovereignty and mutual respect.”

The issue has gained urgency as the United States pushes a new plan for Hezbollah’s disarmament, delivered by President Donald Trump’s regional envoy Tom Barrack. The proposal lays out Washington’s most detailed steps yet to remove the group’s weapons after its war with Israel last year.

Founded in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political organization, with capabilities surpassing the national army. The group has fought multiple wars with Israel and repeatedly rejected demands to dismantle its military wing.

In August, the Lebanese cabinet ordered the army to draw up plans to disarm Hezbollah as part of a broader effort to consolidate state control over weapons under a US-backed truce with Israel. Tehran condemned the move, accusing Western powers of seeking to weaken Lebanon’s defenses.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned in August that any attempt to seize the group’s arsenal “would plunge Lebanon into war,” vowing the Iran-backed movement would not give up its arms.

“Keeping war away from the country is one of the government’s key goals, and we are pursuing it through diplomacy,” she said in her weekly briefing. Mohajerani added that while improving living standards remains a major concern, Iran cannot suspend broader progress under international pressure and years of sanctions.

Her comments come amid shifting regional dynamics following a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended two years of conflict in Gaza. The agreement, backed by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, includes the release of hostages and prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week he had resisted pressure to halt the war earlier, arguing Israel’s security depended on “eliminating the nuclear and ballistic threat from Iran” and “breaking the Iranian axis, of which Hamas is a central part.”

US President Donald Trump said Iranian authorities had recently expressed support for the Gaza deal and a willingness to “work on peace,” though Washington has maintained sanctions and tensions remain high following US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Iran International that Iran and its regional allies remained “the main obstacle to peace,” accusing Tehran of backing groups that threaten the new truce.

Iran, however, has said it supports any agreement that ends what it calls Israel’s “genocidal war” and ensures Palestinian rights, while continuing to urge what it describes as a regional solution based on “mutual respect and diplomacy.”

Kamran Abdoli, deputy head of the Tehran Fire Department for prevention, said schools have lagged far behind hospitals, offices, and newer residential buildings in meeting safety requirements. He blamed chronic underfunding and weak oversight for the failure.

“Compared to other buildings, schools have made little progress in improving safety,” Abdoli told ISNA. “Funding shortages and neglect of safety regulations are the main reasons for this situation.”

He said the city’s fire department had repeatedly inspected schools and issued safety instructions, but only 43 safety files had been formally opened and just three had been approved. “We’ve provided the guidelines and even offered to phase the upgrades to make them affordable, but implementation has been minimal,” he said.

Abdoli warned that the lack of fire alarms, faulty wiring, and unsafe heating equipment were behind most past school fires, adding that small, low-cost measures like staff fire safety training could prevent future tragedies.

The official called for greater cooperation between the Education Ministry, school administrators, and private donors to fund safety upgrades. “With the current structure of schools, safety improvements actually cost less than in other buildings,” he said. “What we need most is determination and follow-through from officials.”

Broader safety crisis in the capital

His warning comes amid wider safety concerns in the capital. Last year, Tehran’s Fire Department identified 18,000 “high-risk” buildings, citing major incidents such as the Plasco Tower collapse in 2017, which killed 20 firefighters, and the 2024 Gandhi Hospital fire.

Officials say thousands of older buildings — including schools, dormitories, and training centers — have been converted from other uses without upgrades to handle larger crowds. Abdoli said this makes evacuation difficult and heightens the risk of mass casualties in the event of a fire.

“The city cannot afford another tragedy,” he said. “Ensuring fire safety in schools must become a national priority.”