Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Hamas official Bassem Naim that the Iranian negotiating team will raise the Palestinian issue, as well as the issue of Israel's "ongoing aggression," in talks in all international forums, Iran's semi-official Tasnim agency reported.
Tasnim News Agency reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed to Hamas official Bassem Naim that the Iranian negotiating team will raise the Palestinian issue in ongoing negotiations.
In a phone call, Araghchi told Naim that the Iranian team will alsoShow more
The International Atomic Energy Agency will inspect Iran's nuclear facilities, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday, noting that the inspections are clearly a part of the agreement signed by the United States and Iran.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Wednesday.Credit: 川澄裕生,AP International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Wednesday.Credit: 川澄裕生,AP
"Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in ten days, it's important but not essential. This is going to happen," Grossi told reporters at a press conference at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Tuesday in Tehran that no inspections of war-damaged nuclear facilities by the IAEA were currently planned. These include facilities where near weapons-grade uranium is stored.
Grossi, by contrast, referred to the U.S.-Iran framework agreement, according to which the uranium is to be diluted under IAEA supervision. He said this had been agreed by Iran's and the United States' heads of state. "Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect," he said.
Work would begin shortly on the relevant timelines and procedures, Grossi said. The inspections would be carried out in cooperation with the Iranian government, he stressed.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said at the end of his most recent talks with the Iranian delegation in Switzerland that Iran wanted to allow IAEA inspectors back into the country. There was no timetable for this yet, Vance added.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Beirut.Credit: AFPIran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Beirut.Credit: AFP
Iran's parliamentary speaker said on Wednesday that regional countries alone should determine the Middle East's political and security order, rejecting external involvement and calling for expanded intra-regional cooperation.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made his remarks at a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as Iran and the United States seek to conclude a lasting peace agreement. His comments were broadcast on state television.
More than 250 women officers serving in the IDF called on Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to disavow "the exclusion of women in the military" and warned of harm to national security in response to religious leaders' calls against the integration of women in combat roles.
Women officers at the combat officers' graduation ceremony, 2025.Credit: IDF Spokesperson's UnitWomen officers at the combat officers' graduation ceremony, 2025.Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
"Succumbing to external pressures is a reckless security failure and a dismantling of the 'people's army' from within," 257 women officers wrote in a letter to the IDF chief. "We demand a total disavowal of the rabbis' letters and the exclusion of women in the military, and we warn against harm to national security. Stop this madness immediately."
In recent weeks, the rabbis of 25 hesder yeshivas, which combine Jewish religious study with army service, have announced that they will no longer allow their students to serve in the armored corps "due to the integration of women combat soldiers."
The women officers, who include several senior military officials, wrote: "Female combat soldiers are not a subject for debate or a problem to be curbed, but a done operational fact and a strategic asset. The apology for our presence has ended."
The second round of Israel-Lebanon talks is set to take place in Washington on Wednesday under U.S. mediation, focused on defining the south Lebanon pilot zones to be handed to Lebanon's Armed Forces, as well as ways to strengthen the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported.
Beaufort Castle is pictured from the town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANIBeaufort Castle is pictured from the town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANI
According to the report, U.S. Central Command has been tasked with establishing a military operations room to oversee, monitor and track the situation in southern Lebanon. The reporting suggests that this new operations room will work with the "deconfliction cell" whose creation was announced at U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland this week, paving the way for the dismantling of the existing mechanism that was set up in 2024 between Israel, the United States and Lebanon.
According to Lebanese daily Al Akhbar, Israel is demanding that Lebanon's army be stationed in the Ali al-Taher ridge and destroy Hezbollah's facilities under U.S. supervision. Israel is also demanding that Lebanon disclose the fate of the Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who went missing in Lebanon in 1986, and propose an offer to return his remains before Lebanese POWs are released, the report said. Also according to the report, Israel is seeking to keep a foothold in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon and is requesting direct military coordination with Lebanon to carry out these measures.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said the military will continue to work to expand the integration of women in key positions and in combat roles without compromise. The army chief made the remarks at a meeting with yeshiva rabbis from the Religious Zionist community.
Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani said there is a mechanism in place to prevent escalation in Lebanon that includes verifying the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, the Financial Times reported.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speaks prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday.Credit: Fabrice Coffrini,AP Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speaks prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday.Credit: Fabrice Coffrini,AP
Al-Thani also told the paper that Israel is exaggerating its response to clashes instead of de-escalating, and that coordination between Beirut, Washington, Tehran and mediators was working to prevent escalation.
On the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure for much of the war with Iran has affected the global economy, al-Thani said the Strait remains open and that no order has been issued to close it. Establishing a direct line between Washington and Tehran would be essential for the removal of mines and keeping the waterway open, the prime minister told the Financial Times.
Qatar will also oppose any Iranian plan to charge tolls on crossing the Strait, al-Thani said, adding that it would be unacceptable for the world's gateway to be under the control of a single party. Any model for managing the Strait of Hormuz must be discussed with Iran, Oman and the Gulf states, the Qatari prime minister told the Financial Times.
The Qatari leader also said that the four-way talks in Switzerland laid the foundation for negotiations on a permanent settlement and that the work was just beginning. The regional goal now is to build a new security framework between Iran and the countries in the region, al-Thani said.
Four vessels operated by South Korean shippers have exited the Strait of Hormuz and are sailing to their destinations, one to South Korea and the others to third countries, the country's maritime ministry said on Wednesday.
Eighteen of the 26 vessels that had been stranded since the start of the Middle East conflict remain in the Gulf, it said.
Earlier, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported two vessels operated by HMM 011200.KS, including a very large crude carrier destined for South Korea, had passed the strait.
Oman said on Tuesday it had coordinated with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to provide a temporary maritime corridor for vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency reported.
The vessels wanting to use the temporary corridor would need to coordinate with the IMO, based on coordinates announced by the organisation and Omani authorities, it added.
The measure was aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway in line with international law and the law of the sea, which uphold freedom of navigation without imposing transit fees.
