While Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi showed willingness to negotiate the nuclear program "on equal terms" (rejecting to touch on the missile issue), Ali Larijani, Secretary of Security, assured after meeting with Vladimir Putin that "the launch of a negotiation framework is advancing", dismissing what he called "war propaganda".
Incidents and naval maneuvers
Tension was palpable in the streets with rumors of sabotage in the port city of Bandar Abbas and in Parand, near the capital, which authorities rushed to deny, attributing them to gas leaks or small fires.
In this volatile context, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) alerted that the Islamic Revolution's Guards will start "a two-day naval exercise with live fire" in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, urging them to avoid "unprofessional behavior".
The head of the Iranian army, Amir Hatami, issued a stern warning: "If the enemy makes a mistake, it will undoubtedly put its own security, the region's security, and the security of the Zionist regime at risk".
Between the military threat and diplomacy
Despite the martial tone, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to lower the temperature during a conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, assuring that "a war would benefit neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region".
On the diplomatic front, the signals are mixed but hopeful.
Paris, January 31 (NA) -- On a day marked by escalation of rhetoric and military movements, Iran sent a double message to the international community. On the one hand, it warned the United States and Israel that its armed forces are in "maximum alert" after the arrival of American warships in the Gulf; on the other, high-ranking officials of the regime recognized "advances" in the formation of a framework to negotiate with the Donald Trump administration.
According to the Argentine News Agency, based on reports from international agencies, the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier set off alarms in Tehran.
