Iran says no room for ceasefire talks while military attacks continue

The threat was issued in a statement by the Office of the Prosecutor General, which said such cooperation, if deemed harmful to national security, could bring confiscation of all assets and other legal penalties.

The statement cited Article 1 of a law passed in October that increased penalties for espionage and cooperation with Israel and other countries deemed hostile to Iran’s national security and interests.

Under that law, operational or intelligence activities carried out on behalf of Israel, the United States or other “hostile” governments or groups can lead to the confiscation of all assets and the death penalty, the statement said.

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  Iran watchdog clears tougher espionage law targeting Israel, US cooperation

The warning came after some members of the Iranian diaspora seeking change in Tehran gathered in cities across Europe and the United States to celebrate the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

At the same time, newly created Telegram channels have published details about prominent Iranians abroad who criticized Iran’s clerical establishment and backed the US-Israeli airstrikes that began on February 28.

Between 5 million and 10 million Iranians are estimated to live abroad, mostly in the United States and Western Europe, according to Iranian official data and domestic media reports.

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The vessels – the Shabdis and the Barzin – are operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), a state-owned carrier under sanctions by the United States, Britain and the European Union. Washington has accused IRISL of transporting materials used in Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The ships recently docked at Gaolan port in Zhuhai on China’s southeastern coast, a facility experts say handles large volumes of industrial chemicals, including sodium perchlorate, a key precursor used to produce solid rocket fuel.

Experts tracking the vessels said the cargo likely includes sodium perchlorate, which Iran requires for missile propellants.

“Given the track record, the most parsimonious explanation is that they’re loading the same commodity they’ve been shuttling for the past year-plus,” Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

Kardon said Beijing could have delayed the ships’ departure using administrative or customs procedures but did not do so.

“China could have held these vessels at port, imposed an administrative delay, invented a customs hold – any number of bureaucratic tools, but didn’t,” he said, calling the decision notable at a time when the United States and Iran are engaged in direct military confrontation.

As of Saturday, both ships were in the South China Sea. The Barzin had anchored off the coast of Malaysia while en route to Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, about 4,000 miles away, where it is expected to arrive next week. The Shabdis is sailing toward Iran’s Chabahar port, with an estimated arrival of March 16.

Both destinations lie along the Strait of Hormuz and host major Iranian naval facilities.

US sanctions announced last year targeted the transfer of sodium perchlorate and other chemicals from China to Iran, citing their use in solid propellants for ballistic missiles. Sodium perchlorate is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, a core component in missile fuel.

U.S. officials have long accused China of allowing transfers of missile-related materials to Iran, allegations Beijing has denied, saying the United States exaggerates commercial or dual-use trade.

Since the start of the year, at least a dozen other IRISL vessels have visited Gaolan port, with draft data suggesting most departed carrying cargo. Some of those ships later unloaded at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port near Bandar Abbas, the country’s main container terminal.

The latest departures come days after US and Israeli strikes targeted Iranian missile facilities and other military infrastructure.

Analysts say that damage may have increased Iran’s need for rocket fuel components.

“Tehran’s need for propellant precursors just went from urgent to existential,” Kardon said.

In a video message published earlier in the day, Pezeshkian said authorities had ordered the armed forces to halt missile strikes on neighboring countries unless attacks originate from their territory.

“The temporary leadership council approved yesterday that neighboring countries should no longer be targeted and missiles should not be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries,” Pezeshkian said.

“The armed forces have so far acted with a kind of ‘fire at will’ authority, but they have now been notified that from now on they must not attack neighboring countries or target them with missiles,” he said, adding that he “apologizes personally” over the matter.

Lawmakers push back

Mohammad Manan Raeisi, a lawmaker representing Qom, described the remarks as “humiliating” and said they showed the Assembly of Experts should quickly move to select a new leader.

“Did neighboring countries not place their land, assets and hotels at the disposal of our enemies? Should our military not have struck those bases and assets of the enemy that you are now apologizing for so humbly?” Raeisi wrote.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, wrote on X that all US and Israeli bases in the region were “legitimate and lawful targets” in the ongoing conflict.

“The Islamic Republic has no red line in defending national interests. This battle continues,” Azizi wrote.

Media figures question message

Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former culture minister and ex-head of state broadcasting, wrote that the remarks created confusion about the conduct of the war.

“We did not understand what happened. But neither did the armed forces act on a fire at will basis, nor can the regional war mentioned by the ‘martyred imam’ be interpreted in different ways,” Zarghami wrote.

Meisam Nili, a conservative media activist, also criticized the comments.

“Why retreat from the military strategy of the ‘martyred imam’ when we are on the verge of selecting a new leader? Any ceasefire is treason,” Nili wrote.

Former lawmaker Jalal Rashidi Koochi also criticized the president’s message, saying it showed weakness.

“An apology happens when a mistake has occurred. We made no mistake. Your message showed no sign of authority,” Rashidi Koochi wrote.

Pezeshkian’s remarks came as explosions were reported on Saturday at Dubai International Airport and loud blasts were heard in Abu Dhabi, according to multiple reports.

Trump comments

US President Donald Trump said after Pezeshkian remarks that Iran had apologized to its Middle East neighbors and promised it would not fire missiles at them anymore.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran made that promise only because of what he called relentless US and Israeli attacks.

“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East,” Trump wrote.

Trump also warned that Iran could face further strikes.

Iran, he added, would be “hit very hard” on Saturday and said additional areas and groups of people were under consideration for targeting, citing what he described as Iran’s “bad behavior.”

Four men were arrested early Friday as part of a counterterrorism investigation into suspected offences under the UK’s National Security Act 2023, police said.

Detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London detained the suspects shortly after 01:00 at addresses in Barnet and Watford during what authorities described as a pre-planned operation.

The investigation concerns suspected surveillance of locations and individuals connected to the Jewish community in the London area.

“Today’s arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it,” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said.

“We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us,” Flanagan added.

Arrests and searches

Police said the four suspects include one Iranian national and three men who hold dual British-Iranian citizenship.

Two of the men – aged 40 and 55 – were arrested at addresses in the Barnet area. Searches are ongoing at those locations.

A 52-year-old man was arrested in Watford. Officers are searching that property as well as another in Wembley.

A fourth suspect, a 22-year-old man, was arrested in Harrow.

Six additional men aged 20 to 49 were arrested at the same Harrow location on suspicion of assisting an offender. One of them was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

All ten men have been taken into custody.