Iran Insistent On Uranium Enrichment
- By RFE/RL
Iran's foreign minister insisted on his country's right to enrich uranium, striking a defiant note as a US naval strike force sailed in regional waters amid weeks of unprecedented domestic turmoil inside Iran.
Abbas Araqchi's comments followed talks between US and Iranian officials in Oman over the fate of Iran's nuclear programs. Tehran says its programs are peaceful in nature, aimed at generating electricity; Washington and other countries suspect Tehran is striving to build an atomic weapon.
"Zero enrichment can never be accepted by us," Araqchi was quoted as saying on February 8. "Hence, we need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes."
"Iran's insistence on enrichment is not merely technical or economic [...] it is rooted in a desire for independence and dignity," he said. "No one has the right to tell the Iranian nation what it should or should not have."
The talks, which took place in Oman, came amid an American military buildup in the Middle East.
Tensions have spiked in recent weeks as Iran has been roiled by unprecedented street protests in Tehran and other cities.
Read more here
Here's a short clip of White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who headed the negotiations in Oman, visiting the USS Abraham Lincoln yesterday along with the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper.
“Today [we] met with the brave sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, her strike group, and Carrier Air Wing 9 who are keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength,” Witkoff said on social media.
He was joined by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has played a central role in negotiations as well.
Teachers Council List Of Student Fatalities Rises To 200
The Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Trade Associations announced on February 8 that its list identifying students killed in the latest wave of nationwide protests has risen to 200.
The umbrella body of independent teachers' unions in Iran has also published the names and details of all the deceased students in a video posted on X.
Last week, Amin Hossein Rahimi, the Islamic republic’s justice minister, acknowledged that security forces had detained children under the age of 18 and said that some of them remain in custody for “investigations.”
On February 8, the deputy minister for cultural and student affairs at Iran's Health Ministry said that “nearly 100 students across the country” were killed during protests in January.
Rights Group Reports Executions Of 13 Prisoners In Iran
The Human Rights News Agency (HRANA) reported on February 7 that “at least 13 prisoners” were executed in several cities across Iran.
According to HRANA, a US-based Iranian human rights monitoring group that tracks arrests, executions, and abuses, the prisoners had been “sentenced to death on charges related to drug offenses and murder.
The executions were carried out in the cities of Khorramabad, Sanandaj, Dezful, Aligudarz, Kermanshah, Yasuj, Nahavand, Zahedan, Hamedan, and at the central penitentiary in Karaj.
While the Tehran government has launched a new wave of executions over the past year — resulting in a record high globally -- a fresh round of protests at the turn of the year and the arrest of thousands of demonstrators have raised concerns that those detainees may also face death sentences.
On February 4, Iran Human Rights – a Norway-based rights group documenting executions and repression in Iran -- warned in a report that many of those detained in the protests could be “facing an escalating risk of mass death sentences, executions and extrajudicial killings.”
Iranians Rally In Dozens Cities Worldwide In Support Of Protesters
Iranians held gatherings and protest marches in dozens of cities around the world on February 7 in support of the people of Iran.
Rallies also took place in Washington, London, Manchester; Berlin, Frankfurt; Hamburg, Bern, Nice, Barcelona, Malmo; and several other European cities, with participants emphasizing the need for international support -- particularly from the US government.
In Orange County in Southern California, a large number of Iranians assembled in the city of Irvine and carrying pre-Islamic Revolution lion-and-sun flags, called on the international community to stop the ongoing killings in Iran.
Protests were also held in the Australian cities of Perth and Brisbane.
WATCH: Hundred Iranians living in Washington, D.C. march on February 7 in support pf protesters in Iran.
WATCH: Protesters rally in Manchester on February 7, supporting protesters in Iran on February 7
WATCH: Rallies are held in Hamburg and Bern on February 7 in solidarity with Iranian protesters.
Good morning.
We'll begin today’s live blog with updated casualty figures from the Hrana human rights group, which has been tracking and verifying victims of the authorities’ harsh crackdown on the recent protests in Iran.
The organization reports that the overall death toll has climbed to 6,961 people and that there have been 51,465 arrests.
In its latest daily assessment of the situation, the group also highlighted "the continuation and expansion of security and judicial crackdowns against protesters and their supporters, ranging from political activists and journalists to medical staff, students, adolescents, and citizens in various cities."
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning at 9:30am Central European time to follow all the latest developments in Iran.
Iranian Authorities Arrest Activist For Endorsing Critical Statement
A well-known Iranian activist, Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad, was arrested for his contribution to a statement critical of Iran's authorities, which was written amid the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests against the regime, the Iranian daily Shargh reported.
"We call for holding a free, transparent referendum...with the aim of establishing a national and inclusive government and enabling a democratic transition," said the statement by Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iranian opposition figure and former prime minister, who is under house arrest since 2011.
Behzadian-Nejad, who was part of Mir Hossein Mousavi's 2009 presidential campaign, "was arrested at his home this afternoon," Shargh wrote on February 7.
The arrest followed a series of detentions of Iran's public figures who endorsed the statement. Film director Mehdi Mahmoudian, a co-writer of the picture awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, was also among those arrested.
Witkoff Visits Marines Aboard US Aircraft Carrier Deployed To The Middle East
US envoy Steve Witkoff visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group, which are currently stationed in the Arabian Sea.
"We thanked the sailors and Marines, observed live flight operations, and spoke with the pilot who downed an Iranian drone that approached the carrier without clear intent," Witkoff wrote on X on February 7.
He added that the US contingent aboard the carrier was "upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength."
Trump, Netanyahu Set To Discuss Talks With Iran
US President Donald Trump is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 11 in Washington, where they are set to discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on February 7.
The announcement came, a day after delegations from Iran and the United States held talks mediated by Oman.
While neither side reported concrete outcomes, both suggested that negotiations over Iran's nuclear program could continue in the near term, even as Tehran ruled out any compromises on its missile program and uranium enrichment.
Earlier in the week, US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, who have been advocating for any deal with Iran to include the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, an end to Tehran's financing of its regional proxies, and limits on its ballistic missile program.