Sunni Imam Says 'Vast Majority' Of Iranians Are Dissatisfied
Molavi Abdolhamid, the imam of Sunni Friday Prayers in Zahedan, the capital of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran near the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, says the "vast majority" of Iranians are dissatisfied and that "no scholar who is on the path of moderation" would consider the January "massacre" of protesters permissible.
The province is home to Iran's largest Sunni Muslim community in the predominantly Shi'a country.
In his Friday Prayer sermon on February 7, he described the recent regime crackdown on protesters as "very heartbreaking and shocking."
Abdolhamid said that the "root of Iran's problems" were in the country's constitution, adding that after the 1979 Islamic revolution, "religious and ethnic views" became dominant in the country.
The imam, citing the “narrow-mindedness” and “tough decisions” behind parliamentary and governmental constraints, noted that even reforms in Iran ultimately lead nowhere.
He noted that the country’s atmosphere has gradually shifted toward “security” and “militarization,” stressing that even “religion” in the Islamic Republic has become securitized.
US Sanctions Iran's Oil Sector As Oman Talks End
The United States announced new sanctions on Iran's oil exports, targeting 15 entities and 14 shadow fleet vessels as US and Iranian negotiators wrapped up a day of indirect talks in Oman.
"The United States will continue to act against the network of shippers and traders involved in the transport and acquisition of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement released on February 6.
The statement added that the United States would order a block of any transactions with 14 vessels said to transport Iranian oil, including ships flagged from Turkey, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said a round of talks in Oman was a good start as the two sides looked to overcome a "wall of mistrust" to reduce rising tensions that have sparked fears of a major military escalation in the Persian Gulf.
The current confrontation between Tehran and Washington was sparked by more than two weeks of unrest in Iran that saw authorities launch a deadly crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands of civilians.
US officials have yet to comment on the talks and Araqchi gave few details other than to say the session focused solely on the issue of Tehran's nuclear program.
To read our latest news wrap on Iran, click here.
The Iran-US nuclear negotiations have officially started in Muscat, Oman.
The talks are being chaired by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, with Oman acting as mediator, according to the Iran state-affiliated Mehr news agency.
Araqchi Meets Omani FM Ahead Of US Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has met his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, in Muscat ahead of the US-Iran talks.
According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, the two discussed bilateral and regional issues.
Araqchi and his team are now reportedly heading to the venue for the talks with the United States.
IRGC Showcases Ballistic Missile Ahead Of Talks With US
Hours before the start of a new round of negotiations with the United States set to take place on February 6, the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) showcased the Khoramshahr 4 missile as "one of Iran's most advanced hypersonic ballistic missiles."
According to Iranian media, the missile was displayed at the "unveiling ceremony of a new missile city affiliated with the Aerospace Force, in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the commander of this force, Majid Mousavi."
The IRGC's latest move came as new talks between Iran and the United States are scheduled to take place in Muscat, the capital of Oman, this morning.
Good morning.
Iranian and US officials are set to meet in Oman on February 6 for a round of high-stakes diplomacy seen as a last-chance effort to avert a major military escalation in the Persian Gulf.
The US Virtual Embassy for Iran issued an updated travel alert on February reiterating previous calls for Americans to immediately depart Iran. The alert calls on US citizens to "Leave Iran now. Have a plan for departing Iran that does not rely on US government help."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called for "mutual respect" ahead of talks with the United States in Muscat. "Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year. We engage in good faith and stand firm on our rights. Commitments need to be honored. Equal standing, mutual respect and mutual interest are not rhetoric -- they are a must and the pillars of a durable agreement," Araghchi wrote on X.
According to its latest aggregated data on February 5, the US-based rights group HRANA reports the number of confirmed deaths as 6,941, including 6,495 protesters, 171 children, 214 military–government forces, and 61 civilian nonprotesters. In addition, 11,630 cases remain under review. The number of seriously injured civilians stands at 11,021, the total number of arrests at 50,921, student arrests at 109 cases, forced confessions at 307 cases, and summonses at 11,047 cases.
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning at 7:30am Central European time to follow all the latest developments in Iran.
Trump Has Options Beyond Diplomacy, Says White House
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on February 5 that US President Donald Trump will be monitoring the upcoming talks between the United States and Iran in Oman to see if a deal with Tehran is possible, while warning the Islamic republic not to misread US intentions.
“[W]hile these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” she said.
Nonetheless, she also clarified that a diplomatic solution would be Trump's preferred choice.
“Look...diplomacy is always his first option when it comes to dealing with countries all around the world, whether they're our allies or our adversaries," she said. "And so special envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling to Oman for those talks tomorrow, and we will see what comes of those. The president is standing by for an update from them.”
She also said that Trump has been "quite clear in his demands of the Iranian regime."
"Zero nuclear capability is something he's been very explicit about, and he wants to see if a deal can be struck," she said.
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to represent the United States at the negotiations in Muscat on February 6.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also departed for Oman on February 5.
His spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said in a post on X that Tehran would engage "with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable, and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue."
"We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, realism, and seriousness," he added.
In An Anthem For Protesters, Iranians Sing 'I Am Still Alive'
As Iranians mourn thousands of protesters killed in a brutal state crackdown, two artists living outside Iran have published an anthem for the protest movement. Pooyan Moghaddassi, a Vienna-based poet who wrote the words, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the title draws on a slogan used by the protesters as a way to keep hope alive in the face of tragedy.
Filmmaker Panahi Says Iranian People 'Have No Representative' In Iran-US Talks
Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi said he fears ordinary Iranians could be “sacrificed” in upcoming talks between Iran and the United States on February 6, adding that the country remains “in shock” after the recent deadly crackdown on protests.
In an interview in Paris with the AFP news agency on February 6, Panahi said that “whatever happens in these negotiations they will not be in the people’s favor,” arguing that “the people have no representative in these negotiations, and their interests are never taken into account. They can easily be sacrificed in these exchanges.”
Panahi’s comments reflect concerns in some quarters that the talks between US and Iranian officials scheduled to take place in Muscat might help consolidate the power of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rather than address domestic grievances.
Panahi, who has been living outside Iran for several months, is widely regarded as one of Iran’s most acclaimed and outspoken filmmakers, whose work has repeatedly confronted social and political issues and brought him into conflict with the Iranian government.
His films have been banned or censored at home, and he has faced prison for alleged “propaganda activities" against the state.
Nonetheless, he has continued to make movies and receive major international recognition, including the Palme d’Or at last year's Cannes festival for his most recent film It Was Just An Accident, which is also in the running for Best International Feature at the Oscars next month.