The China Mail - Iran says progress made towards US talks despite attack jitters

Washington has deployed a naval battle group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran's shores, after Trump threatened to intervene in the wake of a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

The arrival of the flotilla has raised fears of a direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies -- notably Israel -- in the event of an attack.

But Trump has said he believes Iran will prefer to seal a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face American military action -- and Tehran has said it is ready for nuclear talks if its missiles and defence capabilities are not on the agenda.

"Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing," said Ali Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, a day after the Kremlin said he held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami earlier warned the US and Israel against any attack, saying his forces were "at full defensive and military readiness" to respond.

"If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," Hatami said, according to official news agency IRNA.

He said Iran's nuclear technology and expertise "cannot be eliminated".

With tensions heightened, Iranian authorities rushed to deny that several incidents on Saturday were linked to any attack or sabotage, including an explosion in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas that local firefighters said was caused by a gas leak.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied that any of the buildings belonging to its naval forces had been targeted, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency.

The Tasnim agency on Saturday also denied "assassination rumours" surrounding the commander of the Guards' navy Alireza Tangsiri.

- 'Own turf' -

On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the IRGC would conduct "a two-day live-fire naval exercise" in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.

In a statement, CENTCOM warned the IRGC against "any unsafe and unprofessional behaviour near US forces".

It drew criticism from Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

"Operating off our shores, the US military is now attempting to dictate how our Powerful Armed Forces should conduct target practice in their own turf," he wrote on X.

The United States designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation in 2019, a move the European Union followed on Thursday, prompting angry reactions from Tehran.

The US carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel's 12-day war against its regional foe.

Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living then erupted on December 28, before turning into a broader anti-government movement that peaked on January 8 and 9 in what authorities called "riots" blamed on the US and Israel.

- 'Want to be free' -

The official death toll from the authorities stands at 3,117.

However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed 6,563 deaths, including 6,170 protesters and 124 children.

On Saturday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian urged his government to heed public grievances after the demonstrations and "serve the people".

Some Iranians at the Kapikoy border point that separates Iran and Turkey, where a little over 100 people crossed on Saturday, say they want freedom from the clerical leaders in Tehran.

"We want to be free too, to see tourists like in Turkey... Everyone sees us as terrorists. With the mullahs, we've gone back 100 years," said Shabnan, using a pseudonym.

"They were shooting us in the back. We were even targeted through our windows. Everyone has lost loved ones, friends, neighbours, acquaintances."

Rosa, a 29-year-old travelling to Istanbul from the crossing, said American pressure over the protests was not enough.

"It's much too late now. We know they won't come for us, but for the oil. For their own interests. We don't count," she said.

On Saturday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the shrine of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic republic's founder, offering prayers on the occasion of 10-day celebrations marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

K.Leung--ThChM