Rubio says US won't let Iran become untouchable nuclear threshold state

The Telly Awards, established in 1979, honor excellence in video and television across all screens.

Rajabian whose compositions have been featured in several Mercedes-Benz promotional materials, was recognized at the 46th edition of the awards.

His music was featured in teasers for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, the brand's most expensive model, and for Earth Day campaigns.

"The award has previously been given to the creators of teaser music for BMW, Toyota, Meta, Adidas, Apple, and Netflix, as well as to producers of content from The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Fox News, NBC, Bloomberg, Warner Bros., and others," Rajabian said on his Instagram, dedicating the prize to his fans.

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The Iranian artist was honored in 2023 with the United Nations' Minority Artist Award, which recognized his efforts to highlight issues of discrimination and human rights through his art.

"Happiness is a collective event, and unfortunately, no one is happy here [Iran]. The situation has changed completely after the recent protests. No award can be a criterion for determining an artist's artistic value, but it can certainly be a platform for the voice of human rights and artistic freedom,” said Rajabian in a statement on his UN award.

He previously faced imprisonment in Iran for his musical activities, enduring solitary confinement and a hunger strike.

Rajabian was arrested in 2013 for releasing underground music and was charged with “propaganda against the government”. He was put in solitary confinement for three months and then released on bail.

He was again arrested in 2015 for his album The History of Iran Narrated by Setar, a lute-like instrument used in traditional Persian music.

In Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, Rajabian began a 40-day hunger strike that led to his release on parole in 2017.

Rajabian was arrested again in 2020 for his album Middle Eastern but did not spend time in jail and was released on bail. He was accused of “encouraging prostitution” because females were singing in the album.

“Iran is the head of the terrorist octopus that promotes terrorist activity directly and through the terrorist organizations it supports against leaders and against all citizens of the state of Israel,” Katz said in a statement Tuesday.

Two Israeli suspects, Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 25 and childhood friends, were arrested at the end of April accused of intelligence-gathering missions and placing explosives in the community where Katz lives.

Israel Police said in a statement on Tuesday: “The investigation revealed that during 2025, Roy was in contact with Iranian terrorist elements and carried out a large number of different security missions for them, some of them together with his friend Almog, while the two understood that they were acting under Iranian direction and that their actions were intended to harm the security of the state due to financial gain.”

The police statement said that Mizrahi was communicating with his handler through a dedicated application on a new cell phone he had bought for the operation.

“Later, he was asked by his handlers to move a bag buried in the ground from one point to another, which, according to his understanding, contained an explosive device. Roy carried out the transfer of the bag in accordance with his handlers' instructions,” the statement said.

Israel's Mako reported that after carrying out minor tasks such as photographing street signs, the pair’s activities included trying to install cameras at the minister’s home.

“The more serious task, which came after they successfully completed the first tasks, was purchasing a camera with a SIM card that allows for remote control, and installing it outside the defense minister's home,” the report said.

“First, they installed the cameras throughout Haifa and Nesher and gave the Iranians a code with which they could remotely control the cameras. Another time, they arrived at the driveway outside Minister Katz's house to install the camera - then they saw a Shin Bet vehicle and fled the scene," Mako added.

The case is the latest in a string of plots foiled since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, with dozens of Israelis allegedly hired by Iranian operatives to carry out operations targeting the country’s top political and military echelons.

Other targets have included the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar.

In the coming days, the Central District Attorney's Office is expected to file a serious indictment against the two suspects.

The statement, read aloud by parliamentary presidium member Ahmad Naderi during an open session, described the UK’s move as “reckless and hostile”.

“The UK’s potential designation of the IRGC violates fundamental principles of international relations and will provoke lawful, reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Naderi said.

The parliament’s response came amid rising tensions between Tehran and London following the arrest and charging of three Iranian nationals in the UK under its National Security Act.

British authorities allege the men acted on behalf of Iranian intelligence and conducted surveillance targeting journalists from Iran International, a London-based Persian-language broadcaster critical of the Islamic Republic.

The charges follow counter-terrorism raids earlier this month in which eight people, including seven Iranian nationals, were detained.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that the Islamic Republic poses an “unacceptable threat” to Britain’s domestic security.

“We will not tolerate growing state-backed threats in the UK,” Cooper told parliament.

Amid pressure from lawmakers, UK officials are reviewing options to strengthen legal measures against IRGC affiliates.

A government terrorism advisor on Monday proposed new powers to sanction individuals and entities linked to the IRGC, calling for measures to criminalize public displays of support, including insignia, and expand arrest and deportation capabilities under what he termed a "Statutory Alert and Liability Threat (SALT)" notice.

The Iranian parliament’s statement listed a long history of grievances against the UK, including the 1953 CIA- and MI6-backed coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, the occupation of Iran during World War II, the 1917 famine, and British support for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war.

“These black marks in British history against the Iranian people are undeniable and shameful,” the statement said.

It also warned that if the UK proceeds with the designation, Iran would respond under Article 7 of a 2020 domestic law mandating reciprocal measures.

According to the law, British military forces and bases in West Asia and the Persian Gulf could be labeled as hostile entities and subjected to retaliatory measures.

“The Revolutionary Guards are a constitutional and sovereign force charged with defending Iran’s territorial integrity,” the statement read. “Labeling them as terrorists amounts to aggression against Iran’s national sovereignty and a breach of the UN Charter.”

Lawmakers in Tehran ended the session with chants of “Death to England,” and Parliament Deputy Speaker Hamidreza Haji Babai said: “The British have never stood with the Iranian people. They have always been our enemy.”

The UK has not formally designated the IRGC a terrorist organization, though it has imposed sanctions on many of its commanders and affiliated institutions. The United States added the IRGC to its list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in 2019.

“There’s a chance that there could be a nuclear deal that doesn’t have some of the shortcomings of the previous nuclear deal that could enable the lifting of sanctions progressively and so forth as confidence is built,” Petraeus said during a panel discussion at the Qatar Economic Forum 2025.

“And that could lead to them being a more constructive player in the region than they certainly have been for many decades.”

Asked whether Iran could be “brought back into the fold” like Syria, Petraeus responded: “That’s overly optimistic.”

He pointed to Iran’s role in supporting its allied forces in the region such as the Houthis in Yemen. “Assuming Iran then also stops some of the terrible activities that they’re doing through proxies in the region which have been so destabilizing, then you can start to see the contours of something that could be much more positive.”

Petraeus said there are signs of narrowing differences between Washington and Tehran, and a possible compromise could include restrictions on uranium enrichment for a limited period.

“Maybe that ends up being for three years and then you have an opportunity to do something small again. But you can actually see this deal starting to come together,” he said.

Amid indirect Iran-US talks, US President Donald Trump has insisted Iran must fully cease enrichment, leading Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to warn on Tuesday that talks look unlikely to progress under those conditions.

On Sunday, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News: “We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability. Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that.”

On the question of regime change, Petraeus dismissed it as unrealistic. “You have to deal with the world the way it is, not the way you would like it to be. And I never thought that regime change was at all realistic, frankly.”

"Indirect negotiations took place (under Raisi) as well—just like now—but without results,” Khamenei said during a memorial ceremony for the late president and others killed in a helicopter crash last May. “We do not think it would yield results now either. We do not know what will happen.”

Turning to US calls for zero uranium enrichment, Khamenei said: “Since negotiations have come up, I want to give a warning to the opposing side. The American side that engages in these indirect talks and have discussions, should try not to spout nonsense.

"Saying things like 'we won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium' is way out of line. No one is waiting for anyone’s permission. The Islamic Republic has its own policy, its own approach, and it will continue to pursue it."

US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East on Sunday said Washington will not accept any level of uranium enrichment in a potential agreement with Tehran.

“We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability,” Steven Witkoff told ABC News. “Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that.”

Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful and Khamenei said that he would explain "at a later date" why the issue of enrichment is such a key focus of the talks, leaving the issue open.

On Monday, the United Arab Emirates-based The National cited an Iranian official as saying that Iran had not accepted Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US due to take place in Rome.

The American officials' insistence on "zero enrichment" has left Iran uncertain about the usefulness of more talks, the report said.

"Iran does not want to have another round of talks and them to fail", the official was quoted as saying. "With zero enrichment, we don't have a deal."

Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material.

Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had increased to 275 kg, enough to theoretically make about half a dozen weapons if Iran further enriches the uranium.

Earlier in the day before Khamenei's speech, deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran has received a proposal for the next round of indirect negotiations with the United States.

“We have received a proposal about the next round of negotiations with the US, and it is under review,” Gharibabadi told state media without providing further details.