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Zarif Softens Critique of ‘Strategic’ Law After Khamenei Endorsement

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a news conference, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a news conference, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily/File Photo
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Zarif Softens Critique of ‘Strategic’ Law After Khamenei Endorsement

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a news conference, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a news conference, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily/File Photo

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced that President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian’s government is ready to negotiate to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
This comes alongside adhering to the “Strategic Action Plan to Lift US Sanctions and Protect Iranian Nation’s Interests,” which led Iran to suspend many of its nuclear commitments.
Zarif, appointed by Pezeshkian to lead a committee for selecting candidates for 19 key government positions, had previously criticized the “Strategic Action Plan.” However, he has now stated that the law is binding and must be followed, calling his earlier stance “personal.”
In a recent message to the UN, Zarif held the US and three European countries accountable for their failures under the deal, which he says harmed the Iranian people and triggered legislative reactions.
Zarif emphasized that it is in these countries’ interest to correct their behavior and allow Iran to benefit from the agreement. He added that Iran has taken compensatory actions within its rights under the deal.
Despite this, Zarif stressed that Pezeshkian’s administration is open to good faith negotiations based on the nuclear agreement and Iranian laws to ensure both sides uphold the deal.
Zarif’s change of position seems to align with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s support for the 2020 law.
Khamenei has urged parliamentarians to approve Pezeshkian’s government and avoid disputes, stressing the need for a unified stance on major issues.
Pezeshkian had previously expressed his intention to review and amend the law with parliament.
Zarif had criticized the law for blocking US President Joe Biden’s return to the nuclear deal and suggested that Iranian oil sales have been facilitated by the Biden administration’s flexibility.
He also predicted that if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins the November elections, he might return to a maximum pressure strategy.
Khamenei’s recent reaffirmation of support for the law, which mandates government compliance and could lead to legal action against non-compliant officials, is the first since the elections.
In a related development, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Reza Najafi said indirect negotiations with the US, mediated by Oman, are ongoing. However, he noted that the US is not ready for serious talks on lifting sanctions due to its internal issues.
Najafi highlighted that Pezeshkian’s positions suggest negotiations will continue, but the US needs to be ready for serious discussions, and the future US administration’s policy will be crucial. He reaffirmed Iran’s readiness to continue talks.

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World

Iran Warns Protesters Who Joined ‘Riots’ to Surrender

Iranians drive near an anti-US mural in street in Tehran, Iran, 19 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive near an anti-US mural in street in Tehran, Iran, 19 January 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Warns Protesters Who Joined ‘Riots’ to Surrender

Iranians drive near an anti-US mural in street in Tehran, Iran, 19 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive near an anti-US mural in street in Tehran, Iran, 19 January 2026. (EPA)

Iran's top police officer issued an ultimatum on Monday to protesters who joined what authorities have deemed "riots", saying they must hand themselves in within three days or face the full force of the law.

But the government also pledged to tackle economic hardships that sparked the demonstrations, which were met with a crackdown that rights groups say has left thousands dead.

The protests constituted the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violence yet to emerge amid an internet blackout.

National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan on Monday urged young people "deceived" into joining the "riots" to turn themselves in and receive lighter punishment.

Those "who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers", and "will be treated with leniency", he told state television.

Officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before descending into chaos fueled by Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel in an effort to destabilize the nation.

The heads of the country's executive, legislative and judicial branches on Monday all pledged to work "around the clock" in "resolving livelihood and economic problems", according to a joint statement published by state television.

But they would also "decisively punish" the instigators of "terrorist incidents", said the statement from President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

Alarm has grown over the possibility that authorities will use capital punishment against protesters.

The United Nations on Monday warned the country was using executions as "a tool of state intimidation".

Iran -- the world's most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups -- reportedly executed 1,500 people last year, UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Security officials cited by Iran's Tasnim news agency said late last week that around 3,000 people have been arrested in connection with the demonstrations, but rights groups say the number could be as high as 20,000.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists".

The scale of the crackdown has emerged piecemeal as Iran remains under an unprecedented internet shutdown that is now in its 11th day.

Despite difficulty accessing information, the Iran Human Rights NGO says it has verified that 3,428 protesters were killed by security forces, warning the actual toll could be far higher.

Internet access would "gradually" return to normal this week, Hossein Afshin, Iran's vice president for science, technology and the knowledge economy, said Monday on state television, after limited access briefly returned the day before.

Images from the capital Tehran showed buildings and billboards destroyed during the rallies.

In Iran's second-largest city of Masshad, damage to public infrastructure exceeded $15 million, Mayor Mohammadreza Qalandar Sharif told state television.

World

Türkiye’s Erdogan Hopes Iran Unrest Will Be Resolved Through Diplomacy

An Iranian woman walks on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
An Iranian woman walks on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Hopes Iran Unrest Will Be Resolved Through Diplomacy

An Iranian woman walks on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
An Iranian woman walks on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday described the unrest in Iran as a "new test" for Tehran, pledging Türkiye would "stand against any initiative" that would drag the region into chaos. 

"We believe that, with a ... policy prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy, our Iranian brothers will, God willing, get through this trap-filled period," Erdogan said in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting. 

That was the first time Erdogan spoke about the protests gripping the country, during which thousands of people have been killed. 

Before the latest bout of unrest, the Iranian government was already battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions, as well as recovering from the June war against Israel. 

"Our neighbor Iran, following the Israeli attacks, is now facing a new test that targets its social peace and stability," Erdogan said. 

"We are all watching the scenarios that are being attempted to be written through the streets," he added. 

"With our foreign policy centered on peace and stability, we will continue to stand against any initiative that risks dragging our region into uncertainty." 

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday said Ankara opposed a military operation against Iran, a strategy US President Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed as a way of aiding the Iranian people over the crackdown on protests. 

World

EU Executive Arm, Russia and Thailand Asked to Join Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza

US President Donald Trump - The AP news.
US President Donald Trump - The AP news.
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EU Executive Arm, Russia and Thailand Asked to Join Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza

US President Donald Trump - The AP news.
US President Donald Trump - The AP news.

The European Union's executive arm, Russia and Thailand on Monday were the latest to be asked to join US President Donald Trump's new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan, as a top Israeli official said the initiative is “bad for Israel” and should be scrapped, The AP news reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin received the invitation and that the Kremlin is now "studying the details" and would seek clarity of “all the nuances” in contacts with the US. The Thai Foreign Ministry said it was also invited and that it was reviewing the details.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, received an invitation and would be speaking to other EU leaders about Gaza. Gill didn't say whether the invitation has been accepted, but that the commission wants "to contribute to a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict.”

It's unclear how many leaders have been invited to join the board. But a Trump reference in the invitation letters that the body would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict" suggested it could act as a rival to the UN Security Council, the most powerful body of the global organization created in the wake of World War II.

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday dismissed the Board of Peace as a raw deal for Israel and called for its dissolution.

“It is time to explain to the president that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and to cancel it," Smotrich said at a ceremony inaugurating the new Yatziv settlement in the occupied West Bank. "Gaza is ours, its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s. We will take responsibility for what happens there, impose military administration, and complete the mission.”

Smotrich even suggested that Israel renew a full-scale offensive on Gaza to destroy Hamas if it doesn't abide by a “short ultimatum for real disarmament and exile.”

On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the formation of the committee wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy.”

The US is expected to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Board members will oversee an executive committee that will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the Gaza peace plan that includes the deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-devastated territory.

A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership on the board with the money going to rebuild Gaza, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity about the charter, which hasn't been made public. A three-year appointment has no contribution requirement.

But details of how this will also work remain murky. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday the UK is talking to allies about the Board of Peace. Although the UK hasn't said whether Starmer has been formally invited to join, he said it's necessary to proceed with the Gaza peace plan's second phase and that his country has "indicated willingness, to play our part, and we will.”

Running Gaza Egypt’s top diplomat on Monday met with the leader of the newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs during the second phase of the peace plan.

Foreign Minister Bader Abdelatty met with Ali Shaath, a Palestinian engineer and former official with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, who was named last week as chief commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza

Abdelatty expressed the Egyptian government’s “complete support” to the committee and affirmed its role in running Gaza’s daily affairs until the Palestinian Authority takes over the territory, a statement from the Egyptian ministry said following the meeting.

He also underscored “the importance of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territories, ensuring geographical and administrative continuity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.”

More aid getting through but situation still fragile The UN World Food Program on Monday said it has “significantly expanded” its operations across Gaza 100 days into the ceasefire, reaching more than a million people each month with hot meals, bread bundles and food parcels. But it warned the situation remains “extremely fragile” even as critical progress has been made in pushing back famine.

It noted that malnutrition has been prevented for 200,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as children under 5, while school snacks are reaching 235,000 children in 250 temporary schools.

Still, the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis in December indicates that 77% the population is facing crisis levels food insecurity with over 100,000 people experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger.

The WFP said access to nutritious food such as fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy is limited with most families still can't afford more commercial goods entering Gaza.

Palestinian teen shot dead Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager in southern Gaza, hospital authorities said Monday.

Hussein Tawfiq Abu Sabalah, 17, was shot in the Muwasi area of Rafah Monday morning, according to Nasser Hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he crossed into or came close to an Israeli-controlled area.

More than 460 people have been killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals since the ceasefire went into effect, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.