Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq

Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
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Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq

Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)

Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, revealed that her father sought an end to the Iran-Iraq war.

He proposed ending the war to then supreme leader Khomeini, but he refused, she revealed in an interview to Asharq television.

Moreover, she revealed that her father sought openness towards Saudi Arabia and backed restoring Iran’s relations with the United States.

He did not oppose ties with any country, except for Israel, she added.

Rafsanjani, who is a member of the reformist Executives of Construction Party, slammed the ruling conservatives in Iran, saying they are not seeking a nuclear deal with the West because they are actually benefitting from it.

She noted how many conservatives often slam the US and European countries, while their children purse an education in the West.

She doubted that a nuclear deal would be reached during the term of US President Joe Biden, noting that the Iranians and Americans were awaiting the outcome of the US Midterm elections.

Rafsanjani’s father had pursued reform in Iran and sought openness with neighboring countries and the West.

His daughter called on her country “to be open to the world” because few Iranians really support being closed off from it.



Iran Warns Any Israeli-led Attack Would be 'Devastating' for Global Markets

FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Iran Warns Any Israeli-led Attack Would be 'Devastating' for Global Markets

FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any Israel-instigated attack would have a "devastating impact" on global markets.

"Devastating impact on int'l markets of any Israel-instigated military misadventure” in the Arabian Gulf region “remains major concern for both gas suppliers and consumers," Araghchi said in a post on X.

His post came as Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal on Sunday to end the war with the US and Israel, and Tehran is expected to send a response to the draft by the end of the week, an official briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday.

The new draft being considered by Iran sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran's and Washington's concerns, laying out daily confidence-building ⁠steps that each ⁠side must take, the official said.

The timeline could begin early next week and several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official added.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war that the ⁠US and Israel launched in February. The conflict has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and spilled over across other parts of the Middle East.


Qatari Mediators Present Iran with New Deal to End the War, Official Says

People drive next to a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People drive next to a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Qatari Mediators Present Iran with New Deal to End the War, Official Says

People drive next to a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People drive next to a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal on Sunday to end the war with the US and Israel, and Tehran is expected to send a response to the draft by the end of the week, an official briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday.

The new draft being considered by Iran sets a seven-day timeline ‌addressing both Tehran's ‌and Washington's concerns, laying out daily ‌confidence-building ⁠steps that each ⁠side must take, the official said.

The timeline could begin early next week and several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official added.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war that the ⁠US and Israel launched in ‌February. The conflict has disrupted ‌global shipping and oil supplies and spilled ‌over across other parts of the Middle East.

There ‌were concerns ahead of Sunday's meeting in Tehran that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fighting for another term in a general election, could resume attacks ‌on Iran this week, the official briefed on the negotiations said.

On ⁠Friday, ⁠US President Donald Trump repeated threats to strike Iran again.

Earlier mediation efforts helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unraveled.


Zelensky Fears New Yalta at Russia-China-US Summit

This handout photograph taken by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 27, 2026 shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 27, 2026 shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Zelensky Fears New Yalta at Russia-China-US Summit

This handout photograph taken by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 27, 2026 shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 27, 2026 shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in comments published Wednesday that an expected meeting between Russian, US and Chinese leaders could offer a platform to redistribute influence, similar to what happened after World War II.

"We really don't want this to turn into 'Yalta 2, 3, 4', with a redistribution of influence," he said, referring to the 1945 summit of Soviet, US and British leaders on dividing up the post-World War II map.

The Kremlin has indicated that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US and Chinese counterparts, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit next month is under preparation.

"What China, Russia, and the United States might discuss has not yet been clearly defined today," Zelensky said in comments to journalists.

Russia has for years been seeking a comprehensive agreement with Washington on Europe's security architecture, and in particular an end to NATO's expansion near Russia's borders.

It casts its full-scale invasion of Ukraine as countering a threat posed by NATO -- a position widely rejected in Kyiv and the West, which says the invasion is an imperialistic land-grab by Putin.

"Russia wants this meeting more than anyone," Zelensky said, warning against handing Moscow "another major diplomatic advantage".

His comments came as Russia and Ukraine are due to meet next month with US envoys in the United Arab Emirates in a bid to revive talks towards ending Europe's worst conflict since World War II.

No date has yet been set for the meeting, but Zelensky said Ukraine wanted it to take place before the potential three-way talks between the Russian, US and Chinese leaders.

Zelensky also urged the United States to increase its supplies of Patriot air defense missiles, crucial to intercepting Russian attacks.

Ukraine had been receiving 12 a month from the United States this year, but has "to shoot down 150 ballistic missiles a month," Zelensky said.

Kyiv is also seeking a joint agreement to halt attacks on energy infrastructure ahead of winter and a maritime ceasefire to help safeguard its grain exports.

But Russia has rejected the idea of partial pauses in fighting before a final peace agreement has been reached.