Iran says hasn't reached a final decision on deal with US

Iran on Friday said it had not reached a final decision on a deal with Washington after US President Donald Trump announced a "great settlement" to end the war.

"So far, Iran has not reached a final conclusion on the agreement," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, after Trump said he expected a deal to be signed in Europe in the coming days.

The Tasnim news agency noted that Trump had announced a deal was imminent 38 times in the previous two months.

"Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded the same as his previous messaging," it warned.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the US’s gross violation of the ceasefire, emphasizing that the US administration bears responsibility for the highly dangerous consequences of this provocation.

The Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the crimes of the US terrorist regime in its extensive aggression against Iran overnight, stressing that the US administration is accountable for the very dangerous repercussions of this incendiary act.

The statement noted that the US’s illegal and criminal attacks in recent hours not only constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and the fundamental rules of international law concerning respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of states but have also effectively rendered the ceasefire of April 8 meaningless.

Furthermore, the statement added that the continued use of the territory and facilities of certain regional countries by the US terrorist army to prepare and carry out aggressive operations against Iran places those countries alongside the aggressor parties.

The Islamic Republic, while strongly reminding all regional countries of their legal and moral obligation to prevent the US terrorist army from using their territory, facilities, and resources to commit the crime of aggression against Iran, emphasized its determination to neutralize the origin and source of aggressive attacks against Iran in exercising its inherent right to legitimate defence against US military aggression and its accomplices.

Iran also highlighted the shared responsibility of all UN member states to explicitly oppose the gross violation of fundamental principles and objectives of the UN Charter by the United States and the Zionist regime.

There is no doubt that silence and inaction in the face of the US and the Zionist regime’s law-breaking and bullying will drive the world further toward chaos and insecurity, the statement noted.

Iran reminded the UN Security Council and all its members of their legal duty to fulfill the Council’s responsibility for international peace and security, and also stressed the legal and moral responsibility of the UN Secretary-General before the human conscience and international public opinion to explicitly state the existing facts.

Issuing vague and general statements at a time when there is no doubt whatsoever about the aggressive nature of the actions of the US and the Zionist regime cannot be considered a responsible act, and will only embolden the aggressor parties to continue violating the law and further breaching the fundamental principles and rules of the UN Charter and international law.

Top commander warns US

The commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has warned the US over a "false and futile cycle" of lies and contradictions in its behaviour, after Washington first threatened to strike Iranian energy infrastructure and then claimed negotiations had been approved.

"The United States, on one hand, speaks of agreement and negotiation, and on the other hand commits villainy," Major General Ali Abdollahi said in a statement on Thursday. 

His warning came after resident Donald Trump first threatened to "hit Iran very hard tonight" and seize Kharg Island, then hours later announced he had "cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening," claiming negotiations had been "brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved."

Iran delays Khamenei funeral

The mayor of Tehran said Thursday that the state funeral of late supreme leader Ali Khamanei, killed by US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the Middle East war, would be postponed until the end of June or early July.

Iran had earlier said it planned to hold the three-day event in early Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which would have put in early June.

But Mayor Alireza Zakani, in a statement carried by the Fars news agency, said the ceremony had been postponed until after the first 10 days of Muharram to allow the faithful to complete their annual mourning of the Imam Hussein, the revered early Shia leader who was slain at the battle of Karbala in 680 CE.

This would mean Khamenei's funeral would take place in the second 10 days of Muharram, between June 26 and July 5. Tehran officials have previously said they expect 20 million people to attend.

Khamenei, who led the Islamic republic for nearly 37 years, was killed in his home in central Tehran on February 28. A state funeral initially planned for March 4 was postponed due to the war.–Agencies