Iran says no direct talks with US, but messages received via Pakistan

Flames were seen at an oil refinery in Haifa following an Iranian and Hezbollah missile attack, Israeli media reported.

Footage aired on Channel 12 showed a fire at the Bazan refinery, though it was unclear whether the site was directly hit or struck by shrapnel from an interception.

Iran’s adversaries must pledge not to strike the country again and recognize all of its international rights, Iran first vice president said on Monday.

“They must say, ‘We will no longer attack Iran and we recognize all of Iran’s international rights,’” Mohammad Reza Aref added.

He said the adversaries were seeking talks over the Strait of Hormuz and that it remained unclear whether they were ready to make such commitments.

The first vice president also said Iran’s armed forces were among the most powerful in the world.

Iran’s judiciary said on Monday it had revoked the residency permits of 1,200 citizens of the United Arab Emirates living in Iran and ordered them to leave within a week.

In a statement, the judiciary said the move required the affected individuals to exit the country within seven days.

The decision comes amid a widening regional conflict that began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, after which Tehran launched missile and drone attacks on targets across the region, including the UAE.

The move also follows reports that Emirati authorities had canceled residency visas of Iranian nationals, leaving some stranded abroad.

Mohammad Reza Mohseni-Sani said a bill to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) could be approved soon if conditions allow, including in a virtual or formal parliamentary session.

Mohseni-Sani, a member of parliament’s national security commission, said the proposal was likely to pass with strong support among lawmakers.

The NPT is a global agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting peaceful use of nuclear energy and advancing nuclear disarmament. Iran is a signatory to the treaty.

Islamic Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Monday that naval commander Alireza Tangsiri had been killed, days after Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had been killed in an Israeli strike in Bandar Abbas.

In a statement, the IRGC said Tangsiri was injured while organizing forces and strengthening defenses along Iran’s coasts and islands and later died from the severity of his injuries.

The IRGC praised Tangsiri’s decades of service and said its naval forces would continue operations despite his death.

Katz said on Thursday that the strike was a “message” to Iran’s Guards, adding: “The IDF will hunt you down and eliminate you one by one.”