U.S.–Iran talks under Omani auspices next week in Geneva | LIVE

Switzerland confirms resumption of U.S.–Iran talks next week in Geneva

Switzerland announced that talks between the United States and Iran will resume in Geneva next week, as Washington pushes Tehran to reach an agreement aimed in particular at limiting its nuclear program.

The sultanate of Oman “will host the talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva next week. Switzerland welcomes and supports these talks,” a spokesperson for the Swiss Foreign Ministry told AFP.

Narges Mohammadi transferred from prison, her husband says

Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate detained since December, has been transferred to a prison in northern Iran without prior notice, her husband said on Saturday, as relatives fear for her health, AFP reported.

The human rights activist, sentenced to six years in prison, was arrested on Dec. 12 in the northeastern city of Mashhad along with other activists after speaking at a ceremony honoring a lawyer who had been found dead.

Before supporters in Munich, Reza Pahlavi says he is ready to lead Iran’s “transition”

The son of the deposed shah, Reza Pahlavi, said he was ready to lead the “transition” toward a “democratic and secular future” in Iran, before around 200,000 supporters gathered in Munich on the sidelines of the Security Conference, AFP reported.

“I am here to guarantee a transition toward a democratic and secular future. I commit to being the leader of the transition” toward a “democratic and transparent process, through the ballot box,” said the exiled Iranian opposition figure, who in recent days has multiplied calls for mobilization, both inside Iran and abroad, against the Islamic Republic.

U.S.–Iran talks under Omani auspices next week in Geneva, Switzerland confirms, according to AFP.

Gaza: Two Palestinians dead and 15 wounded in the past 24 hours; Israeli army reports fire near the “Yellow Line”

New incidents have been reported in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli army gunfire and strikes continue on a daily basis despite the cease-fire.

According to medical sources at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes cited by Al Jazeera, three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire on Saturday morning near the main southern city of the enclave, outside the Israeli army’s deployment areas demarcated by the “Yellow Line.”

For its part, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had opened fire at an individual who allegedly “crossed the Yellow Line” in the northern part of the besieged Palestinian territory.

In its latest statement, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported two additional deaths after the bodies of two people killed in previous Israeli attacks were recovered from the rubble. The figure also includes 15 wounded who arrived at hospitals across the enclave.

In total, at least 591 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the truce on Oct. 10, 2025. This brings the official toll to at least 72,051 dead and 171,706 wounded since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on Oct. 7, 2023.

UNIFIL patrol pushed back by residents of a southern Lebanon village

Residents of Zawtar Gharbieh (Nabatieh district) in southern Lebanon blocked the advance of a UNIFIL patrol after it entered the village without being accompanied by the Lebanese Army, our correspondent in the region.

The village of Zawtar Gharbieh lies north of the Litani River, an area concerned by the second phase of Hezbollah’s disarmament plan being carried out by the Lebanese Army.

Now 200,000 protesters against the Iranian authorities on the sidelines of the Munich conference

Around 200,000 people gathered in Munich this afternoon against the Iranian authorities, police in the Bavarian capital told AFP, revising upward their estimate. The city is hosting the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which brings together world leaders through tomorrow.

Police had earlier put the turnout at around 80,000 demonstrators calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic, following the bloody crackdown that has stifled a broad protest movement since late December.

U.S. aviation strikes more than 30 Islamic State targets in Syria

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday it had carried out about a dozen strikes against more than 30 Islamic State targets in Syria between Feb. 3 and Feb. 12.

“The United States struck IS infrastructure and weapons depots,” it said.

Iran: Shah’s son again urges Trump to “help” the Iranian people

The exiled son of Iran’s former shah, Reza Pahlavi, on Saturday called on Donald Trump to “help” the Iranian people, saying it was “time to end the Islamic Republic.”

“The Iranian people have heard you say that help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them, and history will place you alongside not only the Iranian nation, but also the world’s greatest heroes,” Pahlavi said in a message addressed to the U.S. president.

His remarks came after he renewed a call for foreign “intervention” in Iran a day earlier on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, while urging the public to continue expressing opposition to the leadership in Tehran.

“It is time to end the Islamic Republic. This is the demand that has echoed since the bloodshed of my compatriots, who are not asking us to reform the regime, but to help them bury it,” he added, referring to protesters killed in the crackdown on demonstrations that spread across Iran in late December.

U.S. military prepares for potential weeks-long operations against Iran, Reuters reports

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of prolonged operations against Iran that could last for several weeks if President Donald Trump orders a strike, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

In an extended campaign, the United States could target Iranian public and security facilities, not only nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said, without giving further details.

The same official said Washington fully expects Iran to retaliate, potentially leading to back-and-forth strikes for some time.

U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner to meet Iranian delegation in Geneva

Two sets of diplomatic talks, on Ukraine and Iran, are due to take place Tuesday in Geneva, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters yesterday.

As part of that effort, U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner will meet the Iranian delegation there.

UAE and U.S. pledge more than $1 billion each to Trump’s Gaza Peace Council, NYT says

The United Arab Emirates and the United States have each pledged to allocate more than $1 billion to President Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Council, official sources told The New York Times.

So far, no other council members have announced similar commitments.

For Trump, overthrow of Iran’s leadership “would be the best thing that could happen”

Donald Trump said yesterday that an overthrow of Iran’s leadership “would be the best thing that could happen,” against the backdrop of difficult talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities.

“It seems that would be the best thing that could happen,” the U.S. president told reporters when asked about the possibility. “For 47 years, they talk and talk and talk. And in the meantime we have lost a lot of lives.”

‘The extermination’ of the Palestinian people ‘must stop,’ African Union chief says

“The extermination” of the Palestinian people “must stop,” the chair of the African Union Commission, Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said Saturday at the opening of the organization’s 39th annual summit.

“In the Middle East, Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our conscience. The extermination of this people must stop,” said Ali Youssouf, who was elected to lead the institution in 2025 for a four-year term.

Gaza cease-fire: Abbas calls for ‘all obstacles’ imposed by Israel to be lifted

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday called for the removal of what he described as Israeli obstacles to implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, in remarks broadcast at the opening of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

“We stress the need to lift all obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation on the implementation of the provisions related to the second phase of the agreement, including the work” of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which is tasked with temporarily managing the territory, Abbas said in a speech delivered by Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.

Welcome to our live coverage of developments in the Middle East.

We will follow tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as the situation in southern Lebanon and in Gaza, which continue to face Israeli strikes despite cease-fires.