According to ISNA, follow-ups with the Turkish Embassy in Tehran confirm that claims published by some social media channels about Ankara removing Turkish nationals from Iran are not accurate.
Earlier, several online accounts had alleged that Turkey was taking such action due to developments in Iran and the region.
The embassy, however, dismissed these reports as unfounded.
This comes amid ongoing protests against Iran’s economic downturn and hiking prices.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book “The World Ahead: Discourses on the Global Order”, Zarif said the current international system can no longer be described as clearly bipolar or multipolar.
He argued that the world has entered a “post-polar” phase in which power is fragmented across military, economic, and technological domains.
Referring to Venezuela, Zarif said the country’s experience demonstrated that loyalty does not work in today’s global system, noting that neither China nor Russia came to Caracas’s aid.
He added that a similar lesson was learned by Iran during the recent war with the US-Israeli coalition, when expectations of meaningful sacrifice or support from major powers proved misplaced.
Zarif also pointed to developments in the US, NATO, and transatlantic relations as evidence of shifting global dynamics, citing US positions on Ukraine and remarks by US President Donald Trump regarding Greenland.
According to Zarif, clinging to outdated, bloc-based views of the world leads to flawed analysis and conspiracy theories.
He stressed that Iran and other countries must adopt a new understanding of the international system to better anticipate global trends and protect their national interests.
Residents from across the province joined the ceremony, expressing condemnation of violent unrest.
Lieutenant Aghajani, a member of the provincial law enforcement forces, was fatally shot in the chest during the confrontation with protesters on Tuesday. Despite efforts by medical teams, he succumbed to his injuries.
Three other officers were wounded in the same incident and transferred to medical centers for treatment.
Participants in the funeral emphasized that economic and livelihood-related demands should be pursued through legal and peaceful channels, while denouncing acts of violence.
Meanwhile, the southeastern city of Zahedan was also in mourning as residents held a solemn funeral for Lieutenant Mahmoud Haghighat, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Iranshahr.
According to official reports, Haghighat was shot by members of the so-called Jaish al-Adl militant group while on duty. The group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Haghighat is survived by two young children.
Cities across Iran have been witnessing growing protests for 11 days amid runaway prices and plunging national currency value.
Officials say they recognize peaceful protests but will not tolerate violent acts and will respond to them proportionately.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry said the US’s positions were not driven by concern for the Iranian people, but were aligned with a policy of “maximum pressure, threats, and interference” in the Islamic Republic’s domestic affairs.
According to the statement, the meddlesome stance seeks to incite violence and terrorism and undermine stability in the country.
The statement emphasized that, under the Iranian Constitution, peaceful protests were recognized and that the government spared no effort to address legitimate public demands within the framework of the law. It added that, while Iran is taking steps to alleviate economic difficulties, a significant portion of these challenges stemmed from the United States’ own all-out economic and financial war against the country through illegal and unjust sanctions.
The ministry noted that Washington’s actions against Iran extended beyond economic pressure and included psychological warfare, media campaigns, spread of false information, threats of military intervention, and incitement to violence and terrorism.
It underlined that such conduct contradicted the principles of the United Nations Charter, peremptory norms of the international law, and the foundations of the international human rights system.
Recalling the long record of US hostility and interference in Iran’s internal affairs, the ministry referred to the 1953 coup against the country’s then-democratically-elected government, US support for Iraq’s Ba’athist regime during the latter’s eight-year-long imposed war on the Islamic Republic, participation alongside the Israeli regime in Tel Aviv’s illegal war on the country in June, and imposition of the unilateral sanctions.
It reminded that these adversarial measures underscored the responsibility of the United Nations and international institutions to uphold the international law, particularly concerning respect for national sovereignty and non-interference.
The ministry called on the international community to recognize the illegal and inhumane nature of unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States, saying the bans directly affected the livelihoods and daily lives of Iranians and constituted crimes against humanity.
The statement concluded by asserting that the Islamic Republic would confront foreign meddling through vigilance, reliance on its Islamic heritage, and strengthened national cohesion, and not allow US policies to undermine its sovereignty, independence, and dignity.
The remarks came after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi similarly addressed Washington’s uncalled-for statements, reiterating that Iran’s internal affairs were solely the concern of its people.
Recently, President Donald Trump and other American officials alleged that the United States would resort to fresh military aggression against Iran in the event of, what they called, Tehran’s “suppression” of sporadic riots that have followed the decline of rial, the Iranian currency.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly stressed that it would exert due effort to address economic protests, but stands firmly in the face of attempts at derailing protests towards disorder.
Senate Republicans have talked for months about voting on a strong Russia sanctions bill sponsored by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that would impose major sanctions on countries that buy Russian uranium and petroleum products.
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Sen. Blumenthal and many others,” Graham said in a statement released Wednesday evening.
“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham added.
“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine.”
The South Carolina senator made the announcement the same day Russia deployed a submarine to deter the U.S. Coast Guard from seizing a tanker flying the Russian flag that attempted to evade a U.S. blockade of Venezuelan oil exports.
The tanker was initially flying under the flags of Comoros and Guyana before the Coast Guard closed in on its pursuit of the vessel, which had been headed toward Venezuela before the U.S. interdiction attempt.
The Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill would authorize the president to increase tariffs on countries that knowingly purchase Russian oil or uranium to 500 percent.
It would also ban U.S. exports of energy products to Russia and prohibit investments in Russian energy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had talked about moving the sanctions legislation before the August recess, but it stalled amid wavering support from Trump while he was attempting to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
A companion House measure sponsored Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has more than 150 co-sponsors.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said over the summer that he wanted to wait to move the House version of the Russia sanctions bill until after a 50-day deadline set by the White House for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Fatemeh Mohajerani wrote in a post on the social media platform X, “Protesters are our children, and the shedding of even a single drop of blood causes deep sorrow for the government”.
She added that by listening to the voices of protesters, the government will not allow demonstrations to be exploited or appropriated by particular political currents.
According to Mohajerani, the president has instructed all ministries and government bodies to take action, in line with their respective responsibilities, to engage in dialogue with the public and follow up on people’s demands.
Protests have been recently held in many Iranian cities over dire economic conditions, most notably soaring foreign currency prices and rising inflation.
Originally called the Bella 1, the tanker was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating within a “shadow fleet” of tankers transporting illicit oil.
The Russian military had started to move around naval assets and a Russian submarine to protect the Bella 1 leading up to the US seizure of the tanker, according to a US official. But it’s unclear how close those vessels were to the tanker when it was seized on Wednesday.
The tanker was seized by the US is roughly 190 miles off the southern coast of Iceland in the northern Atlantic Ocean, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.
The site shows the tanker taking a sharp turn south around the time that reports emerged of its seizure.
The US separately seized another vessel in the Caribbean on Wednesday, the US Southern Command announced on X. Southern Command announced that the vessel is considered to be stateless and alleged that it was “conducting illicit activities.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the two seizures in a social media post, saying, “The world’s criminals are on notice. You can run, but you can’t hide. We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period.”
The US Coast Guard had tried to seize the Bella 1 tanker last month when it was near Venezuela, but US forces did not board it after the ship turned around and fled.
The US continued to pursue the vessel as it headed northeast, and US P-8 surveillance aircraft were deployed out of RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, to surveil the tanker for days ahead of its seizure as it made its way north and past the UK coast, according to open-source flight data.
Noem also stated in the social media post that the US Coast Guard Cutter Munro had been following the ship “across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud.”
At some point while being pursued, the crew of the tanker painted a Russian flag on its hull, claiming it was sailing under Russian protection.
Shortly thereafter, the vessel appeared on Russia’s official register of ships under a new name — the Marinera. Russia filed a formal diplomatic request last month demanding that the US stop pursuing the vessel.
By claiming Russian status, the legalities of seizing the tanker became more complicated, but two sources familiar with the matter said the Trump administration hasn’t recognized that status and considers the vessel to be stateless.
At a briefing with key lawmakers Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US believed Russia could not just claim the tanker, according to a source familiar with the briefing. Rubio discussed the matter only briefly and he did not make clear if the message was conveyed directly to the Russian government.
The US repositioned military assets to the UK ahead of seizing the tanker, CNN has reported.
At least 12 US C-17s landed at Fairford and Lakenheath airbases between January 3 and 5, many originating from airfields in the US.
V-22 Ospreys were also active in the UK over the past several days, with flight data appearing to show them running training missions in the eastern UK out of Fairford air base. And two AC-130 gunships were seen arriving at Mildenhall base in the UK on Sunday.
The UK provided support to the US, according to the British defense ministry.
“UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to US military assets interdicting the Bella 1 in the UK-Iceland-Greenland gap following a US request for assistance,” the ministry announced in a statement.
The UK’s RFA Tideforce tanker provided support for US forces “pursuing and interdicting” the vessel, while its air force “provided surveillance support from the air,” it continued.
The US last used Special Operations Forces and assets to help interdict a sanctioned tanker on December 11, when it supported a US Coast Guard operation near the coast of Venezuela to seize the Skipper, a very large crude carrier that was falsely flying Guyana’s flag.
President Donald Trump last month announced a “complete blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers attempting to enter or leave Venezuela, as a way to pressure the government of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The US captured Maduro from a compound in Caracas early Saturday morning, and Rubio has stated the US will continue to enforce the blockade as “leverage” over the interim Venezuelan government.
Speaking about the protests over dire economic conditions in Iran, Ghaempanah said that peaceful demonstrations are recognized by the government, particularly those related to rising prices and labor-related demands.
He stressed, however, that incidents involving violence fall into a different category.
Referring to an incident in Ilam several days ago, Ghaempanah said when a group occupies a hospital, law enforcement authorities cannot remain passive and must act to restore order.
He drew a clear distinction between protesters and rioters, saying individuals who resort to weapons, knives, or firearms, or who attack military and security centers, are clear examples of unrest and disorder. Ghaempanah added that the president has explicitly ordered that, to the extent national security is not undermined, there should be no crackdown on protesting citizens.
He also noted that Central Bank’s Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati presented a report at the cabinet meeting, adding that measures are planned to control the foreign exchange rate and that currency fluctuations are natural during an ongoing economic restructuring process.
Regarding those detained during the protests, the executive deputy said security institutions would deal with them with maximum leniency. Ghaempanah underlined that individuals who have not committed acts of violence or have no links to foreign actors will be treated with Islamic compassion.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Araqchi reacted to the interventionist remarks by US President Donald Trump and his support for rioters, saying that Iran’s internal issues are solely related to the Iranian nation.
He noted that the government and the people are engaged in interaction and dialogue with one another.
Araqchi also said that the present conditions are not appropriate for negotiations with the US because of the policies pursued by Washington.
Iran has never left the negotiating table and has always been ready for talks based on mutual respect and shared interests, but such an approach is currently absent in the US administration, the top Iranian diplomat stated.
Araqchi further announced that he will depart for Lebanon on Thursday, adding that Iran’s relations with Lebanon, encompassing the entire Lebanese establishment and its government, have long existed and that Tehran seeks to expand those ties.
He noted that an economic delegation would accompany him on the visit to Beirut.
© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
