Addressing Trump's comments on Iran's regional presence, Araghchi reiterated Tehran's position that Israel is the source of threat in the region with the strikes and killing in the Gaza Strip, where the Israel Defense Forces say that they are fighting Hamas militants.

The United States targeted two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators with new sanctions on Thursday for their role in coordinating financial transfers to the Iran-backed group, the Treasury Department said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and the United States held a fourth round of negotiations Sunday over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, just ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump to the Middle East this week.

President Trump on Thursday teased that the U.S. and Iran were inching closer to an agreement on a nuclear deal, saying the two sides were in “very serious negotiations” for “long-term peace.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms.

Iraq is one of Iran’s last allies in the region, and Iran wants to show its clout in Iraq and pressure Baghdad.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in a face-to-face with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq

Iran's top arbitration body has approved a bill that could help remove Tehran from the blacklist of a global financial crime watchdog, state media reported on Wednesday, potentially advancing efforts to widen trade and investment opportunities.