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United States President Donald Trump has threatened to \u201cdecimate and destroy all areas of Iran\u201d if he faces any assassination attempt, as a statement from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says avenging his \u2060slain predecessor and father is \u201cthe demand of \u2060the nation\u201d and \u201cmust certainly\u201d happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe pledge to \u2060avenge the blood of \u2060the martyred leader \u2060and all the martyrs of these two wars from the \u200ccriminal and disgraced killers,\u201d Khamenei wrote in the statement read out on state television.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n However, despite the exchange of ultimatums<\/a> and US air attacks on five Iranian provinces earlier in the week, high-stakes diplomatic talks are continuing behind the scenes, and Qatari mediators have travelled to Tehran.<\/p>\n In Oman, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, met his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi, in the capital, Muscat, on Saturday.<\/p>\n A post on Araghchi\u2019s official Telegram page said they \u201cexchanged views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz\u201d, in accordance with the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).<\/p>\n Following the meeting, al-Busaidi posted on X that the two sides agreed to continue talks at technical and political levels to reach the necessary agreements in accordance with international law. He said talks were held \u201cregarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure its safety and freedom in light of the facts and implications arising from recent developments\u201d.<\/p>\n According to a CNN report, Oman proposed managing traffic in the strait using two separately controlled routes, but the agreement has yet to be finalised.<\/p>\n \u201cOmanis have talked about this formula before, but so far it hasn\u2019t been accepted by Iranians,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cTehran prefers a single management that includes Iranians and Omanis, as it sees that two separate managements on each side will eventually cause Iran to be bypassed and Tehran to lose its biggest leverage. Today, this was brought up again, but we don\u2019t know how Iran reacted or whether there has been any progress on it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n US negotiators, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were also expected to meet Araghchi on Saturday.<\/p>\n Mojtaba Khamenei, who senior sources have said suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the US-Israeli strike that killed his father and four other family members on the first day of the war on Iran, has not been seen by Iranians since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8.<\/p>\n There was no sign of him during the week-long series of processions and formal funeral events for his father that culminated in his burial late on Thursday.<\/p>\n At least 15 million people thronged the streets for funeral processions in Tehran and Qom in Iran, as well as Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before final burial in Mashhad \u2013 his home town. Iranian sources have claimed the total was more than 30 million.<\/p>\n Banners and chants calling for Trump to be killed were widespread at the events.<\/p>\n In a typically bellicose post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump wrote: \u201c1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cOrders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, \u2060for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran \u2013 PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!\u201d<\/p>\n Israel warned the US earlier in the week about a new and specific Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, US media reported.<\/p>\n Sources told CNN that the new Israeli intelligence detailed a highly specific, active plot. The Wall Street Journal also confirmed the threat was \u201cfresh\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite his fiery rhetoric, Trump said talks on finalising a peace deal were continuing. He has also insisted that the provisional ceasefire with Tehran has been over since Iranian attacks on Qatari and Saudi tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday led to US air raids on Iran \u00a0and retaliatory Iranian attacks,<\/p>\n \u201cThe Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue \u2018talks.\u2019 We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n In response to the mounting pressure from Washington, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator and Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran would never surrender to the US.<\/p>\n He emphasised that Iran remains fully prepared to defend itself if Washington backs out of the Pakistani-brokered MoU that underpins the unravelling ceasefire.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have never stopped preparing to defend our country, and if at any moment the Americans betray the understanding, we are ready for full-scale defence,\u201d Ghalibaf said. \u201cEnding the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone should know that this conflict will never end with Iran\u2019s surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite reports of ongoing diplomacy \u2013 including the expected meeting between Vance, Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner and Araghchi \u2013 Iran\u2019s Fars news agency has quoted a source as saying there would be no negotiations until the US retreated from its positions.<\/p>\n A US official has told Al Jazeera that, despite launching attacks this week, Washington remains committed to negotiations with Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a flurry of diplomatic activity to rescue the stalled talks following the latest round of de-escalation,\u201d said Al Jazeera correspondent Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, Iranian officials remain highly sceptical of American intentions, especially after the latest US strikes and President Trump\u2019s statements.\u201d<\/p>\n Al Jazeera US correspondent Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said \u201cthe United States insists that for there to be a deal, Iran must agree to nuclear limits and deliver its nuclear material. Senior US officials say conversations have been productive, but they have issued an ultimatum following recent Iranian targeting of commercial vessels\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Trump: \u20181,000 missiles locked and loaded\u2019<\/h2>\n
Threats and talks<\/h2>\n
A flurry of diplomatic activity<\/h2>\n
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