Rouhani Comes under Criticism over Call to ‘Curse White House’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaking in a pre-recorded message played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, September 22, 2020. (UNTV via AP)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaking in a pre-recorded message played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, September 22, 2020. (UNTV via AP)
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Rouhani Comes under Criticism over Call to ‘Curse White House’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaking in a pre-recorded message played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, September 22, 2020. (UNTV via AP)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaking in a pre-recorded message played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, September 22, 2020. (UNTV via AP)

The Iranian government came on Sunday under heavy criticism after President Hassan Rouhani urged the people to curse the White House over Iran’s recent financial woes.

Iranian activist and prominent journalist Abbas Abdi reiterated that Rouhani should step down to end the political deadlock locally and in its relations with the UN.

In a commentary in the September 27 edition of the reformist daily Etemad in Tehran, Abdi referred to Rouhani’s televised remarks, in which the President said, “We haven’t seen such an extent of savagery ... The address for Iranian people’s curses and hatred is the White House.”

Abdi suggested that Rouhani should resign not in protest, but to open the way for others to solve the problem.

Ten months ago, Abdi voiced a similar request.

The reformist movement is trying to distance itself from Rouhani’s government mainly after protests erupted across the country in November over the rising price of gasoline.

The Iranian journalist wrote that the people couldn't care less about the differences between hardliners in the parliament and Rouhani, but they are suffering because of the dispute.

"No problem has been solved in the past ten months, and new problems have emerged. It is not wise to go on like this,” Abdi said.

Abdi said the US presidential election and the characteristics of those who hold political power in Iran are key elements in solving the deadlock between Tehran and Washington.

The writer expected the two countries to return to the negotiation table sooner or later.

Also commenting on Rouhani’s statements, the reformist Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper published an article entitled, “A Curse On Washington D.C., But You Are Guilty.”



Still a Long Way to Go in Talks on Ukraine, Russia's Lavrov Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia, 09 February 2026.  EPA/RAMIL SITDIKOV / POOL
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia, 09 February 2026. EPA/RAMIL SITDIKOV / POOL
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Still a Long Way to Go in Talks on Ukraine, Russia's Lavrov Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia, 09 February 2026.  EPA/RAMIL SITDIKOV / POOL
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia, 09 February 2026. EPA/RAMIL SITDIKOV / POOL

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there was no reason to be enthusiastic about US President Donald Trump's pressure on Europe and Ukraine as there was still a long way to go in talks on peace in Ukraine, RIA reported on Tuesday.

Here are ‌some details:

The ‌United States has ‌brokered ⁠talks between Russia and Ukraine ‌on various different drafts of a plan for ending the war in Ukraine, but no deal has yet been reached despite Trump's repeated promises to clinch one.

* "There is still a long way to go," Lavrov ⁠was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

* Lavrov said that ‌Trump had put Ukraine ‍and Europe in their places ‍but that such a move was ‍no reason to embrace an "enthusiastic perception" of the situation.

* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that any deal would have to exclude NATO membership for Ukraine and rule out the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine, Izvestia ⁠reported.

* At stake is how to end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two, the future of Ukraine, the extent to which European powers are sidelined and whether or not a peace deal brokered by the United States will endure.

* Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, triggering the biggest confrontation between ‌Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.

 


Iran Security Chief Visits Oman after Talks with US

FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
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Iran Security Chief Visits Oman after Talks with US

FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo

The secretary of Iran's top security body arrived in Oman on Tuesday, days after a new round of nuclear talks was held in Muscat between officials from Washington and Tehran.

Ali Larijani, who heads the Supreme National Security Council, will hold talks with Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, and Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.

They will discuss the latest regional and international developments as well as economic cooperation between Iran and Oman, the news agency said.

The visit comes after Iran and the United States resumed dialogue in Oman on Friday for the first time since the 12-day Iran-Israel war last June, which was briefly joined by the US military.


US Justice Department Opens Unredacted Epstein Files to Lawmakers

This combination of three undated pictures provided by the US Department of Justice on January 30, 2026 as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files show an Austrian passport Jeffrey Epstein used under the assumed name of Marius Robert Fortelni (AFP) 
This combination of three undated pictures provided by the US Department of Justice on January 30, 2026 as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files show an Austrian passport Jeffrey Epstein used under the assumed name of Marius Robert Fortelni (AFP) 
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US Justice Department Opens Unredacted Epstein Files to Lawmakers

This combination of three undated pictures provided by the US Department of Justice on January 30, 2026 as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files show an Austrian passport Jeffrey Epstein used under the assumed name of Marius Robert Fortelni (AFP) 
This combination of three undated pictures provided by the US Department of Justice on January 30, 2026 as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files show an Austrian passport Jeffrey Epstein used under the assumed name of Marius Robert Fortelni (AFP) 

The US Justice Department opened the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files to review by members of Congress on Feb 9 as several lawmakers expressed concern that some names have been removed from the publicly released records, according to AFP.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA), passed overwhelmingly by Congress in November, compelled the Justice Department to release all of the documents in its possession related to the convicted sex offender.

It required the redaction of the names or any other personally identifiable information about Epstein’s victims, who numbered more than 1,000 according to the FBI.

But it said no records could be “withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, is among the members of the House of Representatives questioning some of the redactions in the more than three million documents released by the Justice Department.

Khanna posted examples on his Facebook page. The name of the sender of a 17 January 2013 email to Epstein is blacked out in the released files.

“New Brazilian just arrived, sexy and cute. She is 9 years old,” the message said.

The name of the sender of a 11 March 2014 email to Epstein is also redacted. “Thank you for a fun night,” the message said. “Your littlest girl was a little naughty.”

Khanna said the names of the senders of the emails need to be revealed.

“Concealing the reputations of these powerful men is a blatant violation of the Epstein Transparency Act,” he said.

Epstein, who had ties to business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking minor girls.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, is the only person convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein. She was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking underage girls to the financier and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Republican committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell had invoked her right to not incriminate herself, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions,” Comer told reporters. “This is obviously very disappointing.”

“We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed as well as questions about potential co-conspirators,” he said.

Maxwell's lawyers told the House panel that the former British socialite was prepared to testify only if she was first granted clemency by President Donald Trump, Comer said.

The lawyers had pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity in order to testify, but lawmakers refused.

Trump fought for months to prevent release of the vast trove of documents about Epstein – a longtime former friend – but a rebellion among Republicans forced him to sign off on the law mandating release of all the records.