Iran said no final decision has been made on a proposed agreement with Washington, despite suggestions from U.S. President Donald Trump that a deal could soon be signed in a European capital.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said most of the agreement had been prepared, dismissing media reports and comments by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Tehran and Washington had reached a final decision on signing a peace deal.
“We have already said that the majority of the text was almost finalized. The problem arose as U.S. officials each time rose a new demand or changed their stance, both through their envoys (in mediated talks) and through frequent interviews with the media,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in an interview with state broadcaster IRIB TV on Thursday night.
Baghaei said Iran remained focused on protecting its interests and red lines regardless of U.S. rhetoric and threats.
“Our officials have repeatedly emphasised that regardless of the rhetoric, threats, and claims of the other side, we are focused on securing the interests of the Iranian nation.”
“As soon as we reach a final conclusion,” Baghaei added, “we will definitely announce it officially.”
Semi-official news agencies, citing unnamed informed sources, reported that Tehran could agree to a text guaranteeing its key demands, including lifting restrictions on maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz, releasing frozen Iranian assets, removing economic sanctions, and securing endorsement of the ceasefire agreement by the UN Security Council.
“Whenever we reach the conclusion that it secures the interests of the Iranian nation, we will definitely announce it transparently,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, downplayed threats by the U.S. President to target Iran’s oil infrastructure if Tehran does not agree to a deal soon.
He warned that Iran would cut oil and gas supplies from the region if its energy facilities were attacked.
“Either oil and gas exports are for everyone or it will not be possible for anyone,” official sources quoted the Iranian general as saying.
“We warn that if the U.S. tries to launch attacks against heroic Iran again, it will receive a more severe response than before, and the fire of war will become more widespread in addition to insecurity in the region,” he added, according to the Defa Press website.
His remarks came on the eve of the first anniversary of the Israel-U.S. war on Iran in June last year, which falls on Saturday.
In a separate statement marking the 12-day war, General Abdollahi said Iran’s armed forces were ready to respond to any threat against the country’s security, independence and territorial integrity with “impact-oriented operations”.
“This battle showed that the enemies, with their false and delusional calculations, failed to achieve their sinister and evil goals and faced a strategic and humiliating defeat,” the statement carried by the Sepah News website said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in a statement marking the anniversary of the June 2025 war, said Israel and the U.S. had failed in their efforts to divert Iran from the path of “dignity, independence, and progress”.
“But what happened in reality was a major defeat of the strategic calculations of the Zionist-American front and the recording of a lasting epic in the history of the resistance of the Iranian nation,” the Revolutionary Guards added.
Amid heightened tensions between Iranian and U.S. forces and an exchange of verbal threats, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held telephone conversations on Friday with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
According to Foreign Ministry statements, Iran’s top diplomat said U.S. attacks had rendered the fragile ceasefire “ineffective”.
Araghchi also criticised what he described as the silence of UN member states over repeated attacks on Iran’s territorial integrity, warning that this could “further increase insecurity” at both regional and global levels.
In separate calls with his Saudi and Turkish counterparts following the U.S. attacks, Araghchi reiterated Iran’s right to self-defence.
“He emphasized the inherent right of legitimate defense for a reciprocal response by our country's powerful Armed Forces,” the Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.
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Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Rescuers searched the wreckage of two high-speed trains in central Spain on Thursday as the death toll rose to a provisional 74, making it the country's second fatal high-speed rail disaster this year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia remains willing to rebuild relations with European countries but warned that any wider conflict on the continent would leave no winners, as he commented on recent diplomatic contacts with Nordic leaders and growing security concerns in the Baltic region.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan surged by 330 per cent in 2026 despite a four-year ban, the United Nations said on Thursday. Afghan authorities disputed the findings, while Japan urged continued support for farmers seeking alternative livelihoods.
Central Asia could gain up to $640 million a year from closer energy cooperation, but strained electricity grids threaten to limit those gains, with Kazakhstan particularly exposed to regional power shortages and growing pressure on its network.
Georgia and Azerbaijan are stepping up efforts to boost trade, strengthen transport links between Asia and Europe and resolve a longstanding border dispute, as both countries seek to deepen their strategic partnership.
People travelling between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan could soon be able to pay for purchases using their usual banking apps. Central banks from the five countries are working on linking their national payment systems.
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