Iran, Tehran speaks with the IAEA. Pressure on Trump to avoid attack. latest news

Pressuring Trump against an attack

Meanwhile, there are several people around Donald Trump who are advising him to avoid an attack on IranRepublican Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios, specifying that he suggested the tycoon ignore this advice. While, Axios highlights, in the inner circle around Trump there are also those who doubt the opportunity of a “regime change” in the Islamic Republic.

Graham has been in the Middle East in recent days. He has held talks in Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. He is convinced there is the possibility of a “historic change” in Iran. “I understand the concerns about a large-scale military operation in the Middle East,” he told Axios. “However, the voices advising against getting involved seem to ignore the consequences of allowing evil to go unchecked.” Graham speaks of “voices” for ‘no’ that are “getting louder and louder”.

Tehran’s retaliation against the EU

Meanwhile, Iran, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that it had designated “the naval and air forces of all EU member countries” as “terrorist organisations”. This is what the Iranian media have reported in recent hours, specifying that the ministry speaks of the “principle of reciprocity” in “response” to the “illegal and unjustified” decision by the EU on the Guardians of the Revolution, the Iranian Pasdaran. Last Thursday the European Council formalized the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the list of EU terrorist organisations.

Protests on university campuses: “Death to the dictator”

But protests against the ayatollahs’ regime do not stop in Iran. Students organized rallies at various universities in memory of the people killed in the recent protests.

London-based Iran International quotes Telegram channel United Students as saying that at Tehran University, students gathered outside the central library and chanted the slogan ‘Death to the dictator’. Similar initiatives have been reported at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, Iranian University of Science and Technology, Sharif University of Technology and Khajeh Nasir University in the capital. According to the university’s student newsletter, access to the Seyed Khandan campus was limited to a single entrance and Basij units entered the campus in coordination with security forces. Attempts to identify students reported. Yesterday there were reports of protests and clashes on campuses with slogans against the regime, after the harsh repression of the demonstrations that broke out in December. The new protests take place while in many areas of Iran the victims of repression are commemorated – 40 days after their death, a ritual rooted in Iranian society.

NYT: Khamenei towards succession

In this context, according to the New York Times, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is working ‘after him’. The Supreme Leader of Iran would have given directives to his men on how to move forward in the event of being killed in a possible American or Israeli attack. That’s what he was going to work on. According to the newspaper, last month Khamenei ‘promoted’ Ali Larijani, former commander of the Pasdaran, veteran of Iranian politics, head of Parliament for 12 years considered among the most trusted men of the Supreme Leader and now secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, to a crucial role, effectively placing him at the helm of the country with an ascension that sidelined President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The NYT cites interviews with six high-ranking Iranian officials, two former diplomats of the Islamic Republic, three men from the Guardians of the Revolution and local media reports according to which the 67-year-old Larijani – who is not considered a possible successor to Khamenei – has been charged with the repression of recent protests, keeps dissent in check, supervises negotiations with the US on the controversial nuclear program of the Islamic Republic, manages diplomatic work with Tehran’s allies, such as Russia (where he was recently welcomed by Vladimir Putin), and regional players such as Qatar and Oman, which mediates in indirect negotiations with Washington. According to the NYT, it is also defining plans for managing the country in the event of an attack on Iran.