Iran Says Respecting its ‘Red Lines’ Will Lead to Nuclear Agreement

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) attending the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Photo by Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) attending the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Photo by Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
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Iran Says Respecting its ‘Red Lines’ Will Lead to Nuclear Agreement

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) attending the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Photo by Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) attending the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Photo by Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that Tehran is ready to reach an agreement with Western powers regarding its nuclear file if "red lines are respected."

Amir-Abdollahian stated that he had a "friendly conversation" with his counterparts in neighboring countries on the sidelines of the second Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Jordan.

The minister tweeted that he attended the summit to support Baghdad, adding that he met his counterparts from Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, adding that the Saudi minister asserted his country's readiness to continue dialogue with Iran.

Saudi Arabia and Iran began a dialogue in Baghdad in April 2021 to improve relations that were severed in early 2016. However, the talks have stalled in recent months, and the last round was in April 2022, reported Agence France-Presse.

In July, Baghdad announced it was preparing for a public meeting between the Iranian and Iraqi foreign ministers, but a date still needs to be set.

In November, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani confirmed that Tehran would continue to pursue diplomatic efforts with Riyadh.

Minister of Security Esmail Khatib said, in an interview to the website of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, that "our fate and the rest of the regional countries are interconnected."

Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in Jordan: "Whenever Saudi Arabia is ready to return to normal relations, Iran would welcome that."

The FM was accompanied in Amman by his deputy Ali Bagheri Kani Ali Bagheri. Amir-Abdollahian held a two-hour meeting with Josep Borrell and Enrique Mora, the European Union's foreign policy officials.

"In the past two to three months, the US made hypocritical statements and took action that did not match their words," the FM said about the nuclear talks.

Washington "has repeatedly claimed it is ready to take the final step of all parties returning to the agreement in Vienna, but they behaved hypocritically in the media," he added.

Amir-Abdollahian stated that the parties to the talks are returning to "realism," noting that if "red lines are respected, we are ready to take the final steps to reach an agreement."



Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member from the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.

Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other was still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued, reported AFP.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The president has been briefed."

President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: "No, not at all. No, it's war."

On Saturday, there were fresh strikes on Israel, Lebanon and Iran, as well as on Gulf states.

An AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering Tehran's skyline after hearing several blasts over the capital. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

- 'Valuable reward' -

A spokesperson for the Iranian military's central operational command earlier said "an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air defense system".

"The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing."

An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would "receive a valuable reward".

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration.

He wrote on X: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'

"Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."


Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.


Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
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Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)

Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced Saturday’s attack on social media.

The US AP’s military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a US F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region.