Trump has taken to insulting Iran\u2019s leaders of late, after calling them much more reasonable than previous leaders less than two months ago, when he signed a memorandum of understanding with Tehran that was supposed to permanently end the war between the two countries and reopen the strait.<\/p>\n
\t The US president is reportedly leaning toward declaring victory over Iran, without securing a deal regarding Iran\u2019s nuclear program as he seeks to disengage from the issue.<\/p>\n But disengaging while maintaining the blockade is likely to keep global gas prices up, while potentially inviting additional Iranian strikes at its neighbors that have destabilized the region.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s interior minister was in Iran on Wednesday to discuss regional security, stability and other developments, his office said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments,\u201d said Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi, whose government has been mediating to end the fighting.<\/p>\n \t Turkey\u2019s Anadolu news agency, citing Pakistani government sources, reported that Tehran and Washington agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire under their interim deal signed in June, but Iran denied this.<\/p>\n There were no discussions between Iran and the United States on extending the ceasefire, a senior Iranian source told Reuters.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no talk of an extension because, from Iran\u2019s perspective, there is no period that began and therefore nothing to extend. The United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the US returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing the commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n \t Also Wednesday, 26 nations, including France, the UK and Canada, condemned the use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying in a joint statement the Islamic Republic was executing protesters to \u201csilence dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n The countries, joined by the European Union\u2019s top diplomat, said they \u201ccondemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty\u201d by Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThe use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n After the initial 26 countries and the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, \u201cother countries joined this declaration,\u201d bringing the number of signatories to 32, the French foreign ministry told AFP.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister brushed off the criticism, saying: \u201cCountries like France should stop lecturing the world about \u2018human rights\u2019 and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing.<\/p>\n \u201cYour backing of Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza \u2014 and aggression against Iran \u2014 has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had,\u201d Abbas Araghchi posted on X, lobbying an accusation at Israel that the Jewish state fiercely rejects.<\/p>\n \t According to the UN, since March 19, at least 56 people have been executed in Iran on national security-related charges, including 27 people in cases linked to the protests.<\/p>\n More than 100 others are at risk of being put to death on similar charges, Turk said. The UN and rights groups have warned of a lack of fair trials and of forced confessions.<\/p>\n Last year, Iran put to death over 2,150 people, according to Amnesty International, making it the world\u2019s second-most prolific executioner, after China, and the per-capita leader.<\/p>\n Arrests and executions have multiplied in the country since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 with the stated goals of ending its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and setting the conditions for the fall of the regime.<\/p>\n The war came after, in January, regime forces in Iran opened fire on protesters amid a wave of mass demonstrations, killing thousands or tens of thousands over two days. The latest arrests and executions have been linked to both the war and those anti-regime protests.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tVehicles drive past a banner reading in English and Farsi, \u2018We will kill Trump,\u2019 and banners showing portraits of the late Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, August 10, 2026. (AP\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26223638741282-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIn this photo released byIn this photo released by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on his private Telegram channel, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, meets Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. (Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry via AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26223799560151-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIranian pro-government demonstrators attend a gathering at a square in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AFP__20260716__C2EA6KG__v1__HighRes__ItalyIranDiplomacyPoliticsDemo-e1785928886119-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIranian protesters hold letters spelling out \u201cStop Execution\u201d as they gather at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome, Italy, on July 16, 2026. (Andreas SOLARO\/AFP)<\/p>\n
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