Iran's Foreign Minister to Visit Türkiye for Talks on Tensions with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
TT

Iran's Foreign Minister to Visit Türkiye for Talks on Tensions with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Türkiye on Friday for talks with his counterpart Hakan Fidan on the recent developments in Iran and tensions with the United States, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next US attack would be far worse. Trump has sent an "armada" to the Middle East ‌and warned ‌Tehran against killing anti-government protesters or ‌restarting ⁠its nuclear ‌program.

Tehran, which brutally cracked down on large protests this month and killed or arrested thousands, responded with a threat to strike back against the United States, Israel and those who support them.

Iranian officials blame the unrest, the biggest since the 1979 revolution, on Iran's foes, ⁠Israel and the United States.

Türkiye, a NATO member that shares ‌a border with Iran, has said ‍it opposes any foreign ‍intervention on its neighbor and urged Washington to ‍resolve its issues with Iran "one by one".

It has reached out to both sides, warning that destabilization in Iran would exceed the region's capacity to manage at this time.

The source said Fidan would tell Araghchi that Türkiye closely followed developments in Iran, and that ⁠Iran's security, peace, and stability were of "great importance" for Ankara.

Fidan will also repeat Türkiye’s opposition to any military attack on Iran and warn that such a move will "create risks on a global scale", the source said, adding that he would offer Türkiye’s support in helping resolve tensions with Washington.

Fidan will "note that Türkiye supports finding a solution on Iran's nuclear program as soon as possible, and that it stands ready to help ‌on this issue if it is needed," the source said.

 



Iranian-American Journalist Jailed in Tehran Pleas for US Help

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
TT

Iranian-American Journalist Jailed in Tehran Pleas for US Help

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

An Iranian-American journalist sentenced to 10 years in a notorious Tehran prison called on Washington to provide medical help for him and other US detainees, CBS News reported Friday.

Reza Valizadeh, who holds both Iranian and US citizenship and worked for US-funded Persian-language Radio Farda, is in prison on charges of collaborating with a hostile government, according to his lawyer.

A voice message from the journalist obtained by CBS News comes amid a shaky truce as Tehran and Washington conduct slow-moving negotiations to resolve a war launched by President Donald Trump in February.

Valizadeh said in the two-minute recording that he and three other Americans held at Tehran's Evin prison were sick and being denied medical treatment.

"While the four of us are suffering from various diseases and are deprived from real medical services, the US government could have at least demanded real medical services for us in exchange for the release of Iranian sailors," he says.

"Even if treating our diseases is a big demand, it would have at least asked the Iranian authorities to reduce not all the physical pressure and mental torture against us in captivity, but at least some of it."

AFP was not able to verify the authenticity of the recording. CBS News said the recording was recent and had been made after Iranian authorities loosened wartime communication restrictions last week.

Valizadeh's lawyer Ryan Fayhee told CBS News that Valizadeh was suffering from persistent coughing, back pain and dental problems.

"He's survived an airstrike on the prison, he survived the prison itself," Fayhee said, referring to an Israeli strike which damaged parts of the facility in June last year.

The United States said in 2024 it was aware of Valizadeh's detention and called on Iran to free him.

Rights groups have denounced conditions in Iran's prisons, where detainees suffer from overcrowding and shortages of food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine and medical care.


Iran Army Says Fired 'Warning Missiles' at US Destroyers in Gulf of Oman

This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
TT

Iran Army Says Fired 'Warning Missiles' at US Destroyers in Gulf of Oman

This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP

Iran's army said Friday it had fired "warning missiles" at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman, forcing the vessels to leave the area, according to state media.

"In continuation of operations to counter maritime misconduct and harassment, as well as the hijacking of commercial vessels and oil tankers by the terrorist naval forces of the United States, following the firing of warning missiles, the hostile destroyers DDG-103 and DDG-8 have left the Gulf of Oman towards the Indian Ocean," the army said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

Earlier, the US Indo-Pacific Command said US forces had intercepted the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T DAVINA ⁠in the Indian Ocean overnight.

"We ‌will ‌continue global ​maritime enforcement ‌to disrupt illicit networks ‌and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," it said ‌in a post on X.

The exchange ⁠comes ⁠amid heightened tensions over maritime security around Iran, as Washington enforces sanctions on Iranian oil shipments and Tehran has repeatedly threatened shipping in and around the Strait of ​Hormuz.

 

 

 


Ukraine and Russia Exchange 185 Prisoners of War Each in Swap

Ukrainian soldiers carry a 152mm shell before firing it towards Russian forces at a frontline position in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on April 9, 2026 (Reuters)
Ukrainian soldiers carry a 152mm shell before firing it towards Russian forces at a frontline position in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on April 9, 2026 (Reuters)
TT

Ukraine and Russia Exchange 185 Prisoners of War Each in Swap

Ukrainian soldiers carry a 152mm shell before firing it towards Russian forces at a frontline position in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on April 9, 2026 (Reuters)
Ukrainian soldiers carry a 152mm shell before firing it towards Russian forces at a frontline position in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on April 9, 2026 (Reuters)

Ukraine and Russia each exchanged 185 service personnel in the latest prisoner of war swap on Friday, officials in both countries said.

Most of the Ukrainians brought back were in Russian captivity since 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X, Reuters reported.

Russia also returned one civilian, he added.

The oldest Ukrainian being brought back is 62, according to Kyiv's general staff.

Friday's swap is the second one under an agreement between the countries to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each, as part of a three-day ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. in early May.

The United Arab Emirates, which brokered previous rounds of swaps, also mediated the Friday exchange, the Russian defense ministry said on the Telegram app.