Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned that Tehran still faces the risk of military or terrorist attacks, despite reports that a peace agreement with the U.S. could be announced this week.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Tehran does not rule out renewed “military or terrorist attacks”, despite reports of a possible peace agreement with the U.S. to be announced this week.
“We do not underestimate the possibility of a military attack, especially a terrorist attack,” parliament news agency ICANA quoted Iran’s chief negotiator as saying.
Ghalibaf made the remarks in his second audio message in a week to Iranians on Wednesday, focusing on post-war economic woes.
He added that “the enemy” was attempting to undermine national unity through economic pressure, media campaigns and psychological warfare.
His comments on possible military action and terrorist attacks appeared to reference past Israel–U.S. conflicts in June 2025 and February 2026, as well as the killing of Iranian officials, at a time when Iranian and U.S. negotiators were engaged in indirect talks and exchanging draft proposals and counterproposals.
Senior Iranian officials have since stressed that the Islamic Republic does not trust the United States.
“Any effective negotiation requires an end to the war and guarantees that hostile actions will not be repeated,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart in a phone call on Wednesday evening.
According to the President’s Office website, he also said that “U.S. behaviour has diverted the path of diplomacy towards threats, pressure, and sanctions”.
In another sign of distrust, Mohammad Marandi, a member of the media team accompanying Iranian negotiators in Islamabad in April, emphasised Tehran’s readiness for a “potential major attack.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared for a potential major attack before Trump’s trip to China,” he said in a post on X, rejecting Axios reports of an imminent Iran–U.S. arrangement.
Meanwhile, a fresh verbal exchange between Iran and the U.S. emerged after Ghalibaf mocked U.S. media reports of a possible agreement, writing on X that “Operation Trust Me Bro” had failed and been replaced by “Operation Fauxios.”
“Operation Trust Me Bro failed. Now back to routine with Operation Fauxios,” wrote Iran’s top negotiator, dismissing reports of a possible deal after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested an agreement was close and paused a naval escort operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who visited Beijing on Wednesday ahead of the planned visit by the U.S. president on 14–15 May, said he had a “constructive” meeting with his Chinese counterpart and welcomed China’s proposals on regional peace and stability.
“I have had a constructive meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Both sides reaffirmed Iran's right to uphold national sovereignty and national dignity,” he wrote on X.
In an interview with Iran’s state-owned IRIB TV, Araghchi added: “Our Chinese friends also believe that Iran after the war is different from Iran before it” and “has gained an improved international status and proven its capability and authority.”
“Therefore, a new era of cooperation between Iran and other countries is ahead,” he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei urged Washington to avoid “dictation, deception, extortion, and coercion” in a post on X.
“The concept of ‘negotiations’ requires, at the very least, a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute (ICJ, Judgment of 1 April 2011, para. 157). It needs ‘good faith’, then, meaning that ‘negotiations’ is not ‘disputation’; nor is it ‘dictation’, ‘deception’, ‘extortion’ or ‘coercion’.”
In a separate post, also believed to be directed at U.S. officials, Baghaei cited Barbara W. Tuchman’s book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, warning against “wooden-headedness” in state decision-making.
“Wooden-headedness, the source of self-deception, is a factor that plays a remarkably large role in government.
“It consists in assessing a situation in terms if preconceived fixed notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs. It is acting according to wish while not allowing oneself to be deflected by the facts,” Baghaei said.
Local media quotes MP and former foriegn minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, as saying Iran is set to respond to Washington's plan before the weekend.
Trump said the U.S. and Iran were making progress in peace talks, though direct negotiations remain premature. Meanwhile, Israel, reportedly, ...
Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar signed its first export agreement on Wednesday for...
Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned that Tehran still faces the risk of military or terrorist attacks, despite reports that a peace agree...
Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian Karakurt-class small missile carri...
U.S.-Iran diplomacy is gaining momentum after weeks of military escalation, but tensions remain high from the Stra...
Trump said the U.S. and Iran were making progress in peace talks, though direct negotiations remain premature. Meanwhile, Israel, reportedly, struck senior Hezbollah and Hamas figures and tensions over Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear programme continue.
A senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Wednesday (6 May), highlighting ongoing tensions despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
U.S. President Donald Trump has predicted a swift end to the war with Iran, as Tehran considers a U.S.-backed peace proposal that sources say could formally end the conflict but leaves several core disputes unresolved.
Asian stocks surged to record highs on 7 May as investors priced in growing hopes of a potential Middle East peace deal, while oil prices eased and the U.S. dollar weakened amid shifting global risk sentiment.
Trump said the U.S. and Iran were making progress in peace talks, though direct negotiations remain premature. Meanwhile, Israel, reportedly, struck senior Hezbollah and Hamas figures and tensions over Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear programme continue.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran wanted to negotiate and make a deal in comments to reporters on Wednesday (6 May). But earlier, he warned Washington would ramp up attacks if no agreement was reached.
Argentinian authorities are reconstructing the journeys of Dutch citizens who presented with symptoms of deadly hantavirus after visiting Argentina and Chile as part of a luxury cruise trip, the country's Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (6 May)
The United Arab Emirate said it was dealing with missile and drone attacks from Iran for the second day in a row on Tuesday (5 May), despite denials from authorities in Tehran who threatened a "crushing response" if the UAE retaliated.
The 61st Venice Biennale has opened under grey skies and political tension, with disputes over Russia and Israel, resignations on the jury, and protests marking the start of one of the art world’s most high-profile events.
Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar signed its first export agreement on Wednesday for the newly unveiled Bayraktar Kızılelma unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian Karakurt-class small missile carrier in the Caspian Sea near Russia’s Dagestan region on Thursday. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, according to Kyiv.
An Israeli air strike has killed the son of Hamas’ chief negotiator in U.S.-mediated Gaza talks, as group leaders met in Cairo to shore up a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
Reports that Emmanuel Macron planned to cross from Armenia into Türkiye via their closed border - and was reportedly blocked following consultations with Azerbaijan - have sparked renewed debate on South Caucasus diplomacy.
Israel carried out airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday evening, the first such attack there since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon took effect on 16 April, according to the Lebanese broadcaster al‑Jadeed.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment