Reactions and statements from the international community
Negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States will commence on Saturday, April 22, in Islamabad, following 40 days of military operations by Israel and the United States and a subsequent two-week ceasefire.
Reuters reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources inside Iran, that Mojtaba Khamenei was severely injured in the face and one or two legs during Israel's strike on Tehran. Khamenei, introduced as his father Ali Khamenei's successor after the attack, remains in treatment and participates in government decisions via audio.
Massoud Rajavi, leader of the MEK/NCRI, and Mojtaba Khamenei, current leader of the Iranian regime, were both injured and disfigured in separate airstrikes—Rajavi by the Royal Air Force in Iraq and Mojtaba by the Israeli Air Force in Tehran, leading them to avoid public appearances.
U.S. officials expressed pessimism about upcoming talks with Iran in Islamabad, citing deep divides over issues like sanctions relief and asset unfreezing, making rapid progress unlikely. Officials also warned of the persisting risk of renewed tensions despite any potential agreement.
On Saturday, a U.S. aircraft carrying senior American officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and two special envoys, landed in Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks with Iran aimed at ending the six-week war involving the United States, Iran, and Israel. Iranian officials have indicated they will not participate unless Lebanon joins the ceasefire and Israel halts attacks on Hezbollah.
On April 21, an Iranian delegation led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Parliament, and Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister, arrived in Islamabad to negotiate with the United States and Israel. The delegation includes senior political, military, and economic officials, amid a U.S.-led ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump on April 17, which halted airstrikes but did not resolve other conflicts.
Iran has reiterated its preconditions for entering negotiations with the United States, including extending a ceasefire to Lebanon and releasing frozen Iranian assets, according to Tasnim News Agency. Iran's delegation will meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday morning before potential US negotiations later that day.
The account @Babak Taghvaee on social media has been identified as belonging to the IRGC Intelligence Organization, which is reportedly using it for espionage, intelligence gathering, and distributing spyware. The administrator attempted to lure the account holder from Athens to Paris to set a trap, prompting a call for information on the individuals involved, including their names, ranks, and units.
Two Tiger HAD attack helicopters from the French Army Light Aviation were deployed to the UAE to intercept and neutralize Iranian one-way attack drones, including the Shahed 107, in what appears to be a test and operational experiment for the French military and a marketing effort for the helicopters to Gulf states.
The dreams of Iran's Kurdish separatists were shattered following U.S. military operations against the Islamic Republic regime in 2025-2026. The current president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the new regime leader, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, are both Kurds, a fact separatists are struggling to accept and publicize as evidence of oppression.
Images show damage to an AN/FPS-132 early warning radar at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, caused by one-way attack drones from the IRGC Aerospace Force. The radar, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, was crucial for detecting ballistic missiles up to 5,000 km away and feeding data to THAAD and Patriot PAC-3 batteries.
JD Vance, a U.S. diplomat, is participating in peace talks with the Islamic Republic in Islamabad under high-risk conditions and with limited leverage, according to The Guardian. The report highlights disagreements over Lebanon's inclusion in the ceasefire and Tehran's demands for the release of frozen assets, posing significant challenges for Vance.
