Araghchi: 'Good chance' Iran will reach agreement with US | LIVE

Oman confirms new talks between the United States and Iran on Thursday in Geneva

The Omani Foreign Minister confirmed on Sunday that talks between the United States and Iran would be held on Thursday in Geneva, corroborating statements made by his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, reports AFP.

"I am pleased to confirm that negotiations between the United States and Iran are now scheduled for Thursday in Geneva, with a positive willingness to take the extra step to finalize the agreement," Badr al-Busaidi said on X.

US-Iran negotiations: New talks scheduled for Thursday, according to US official

A U.S. official has confirmed that nuclear talks with Iran are scheduled for Thursday, Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported on his X account.

South Lebanon: Israeli army fires four artillery shells at Aita al-Shaab

According to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army fired four artillery shells at the old quarter of the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) in the late afternoon. No damage has so far been reported.

Iran discusses new talks with the United States, 'probably on Thursday in Geneva,' according to AFP

On Thursday, Iran's foreign minister mentioned a possible new meeting with the U.S. delegation in Switzerland on Thursday to discuss the nuclear program, which is ostensibly the core issue between the two countries.

In an interview with the American channel CBS, Abbas Araghchi said he was working "on the elements of an agreement". "I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva, we will be able to work on these points, prepare a good text and quickly reach an agreement," he added.

"For now, we are only negotiating on nuclear issues, and no other topics are being discussed," the diplomat added, while the United States also wants to discuss Iran's ballistic missiles and its support for armed groups in the region that are hostile to Israel.

Students gather for rallies in Tehran

Iranian students gathered on Sunday for the second consecutive day in Tehran for pro- and anti-government rallies, more than a month after the widespread protests that shook the country.

These rallies come as the new academic semester began on Saturday and as the United States steps up its military pressure on Iran, despite talks.

Read more on this here.

Iran asserts its 'right to defend itself' in the event of a U.S. attack

On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Minister reaffirmed his country's right to respond to any American attack, at a time when the United States has carried out a massive military deployment in the region.

"If the United States attacks us, we have every right to defend ourselves," Abbas Araghchi said on CBS. In the face of an "act of aggression," any response "is justified and legitimate."

"Our missiles cannot reach American soil. So we obviously have to find another solution ... and strike the American base in the region," he added, without giving further details.

Iran reportedly concluded a secret deal in December to purchase Russian weapons worth €500 million, according to the FT

Iran reportedly signed a secret €500 million ($589 million) deal with Russia to purchase thousands of sophisticated missiles fired from portable launchers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters.

The deal, which was reportedly signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to delivering 500 Verba portable launchers and 2,500 9M336 missiles over a three-year period, the FT said, citing leaked Russian documents seen by the FT and several people familiar with the deal.

Reuters was unable to immediately verify this information.

Iran says there's a 'good chance' of reaching agreement with the US, reports AFP

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that he was "working on elements" of the agreement with the United States on its nuclear program, believing that there was a "good chance" of resolving its differences with Washington through diplomatic channels.

"We are continuing our negotiations, while working on the elements of an agreement and on a first draft of the text," he said in an interview with the U.S. channel CBS.

"I believe there is still a good chance of reaching a diplomatic solution on a win-win basis," he said, adding that Iran, "as a sovereign country, has every right to decide" on uranium enrichment.

Read more on this here.

South Lebanon: Israeli army fires incendiary bombs on the Wazzani region

Shortly after 5 p.m., the Israeli army fired several incendiary bombs on the region between Sarda and Wazzani (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

The area around Sarda had already been targeted less than an hour earlier.

IDF forces fatally shoot Palestinian teenager in West Bank, health officials say

A 17-year-old Palestinian who was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Saturday has succumbed to his wounds, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.

The teenager, Mohammed Wahabi Abdul-Aziz Hannani, was shot by Israeli forces in the village of Beit Furik, near Nablus. He was evacuated to a hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

Hamas soon to have a new leader

Hamas, which was decapitated during the war with Israel in Gaza, "has completed its internal elections" ahead of the upcoming appointment of its new leader, a Palestinian movement official told AFP on Sunday.

Two Hamas leaders are competing for the position, the official said on condition of anonymity: Khaled Meshaal, 69, former head of the political bureau who currently heads the diaspora bureau, and Khalil al-Hayya, 65, the man who negotiated with Israel via mediating countries, leading to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The elections took place over several weeks in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and among Hamas militants abroad, at a time when the movement is seeking to define its long-term strategy and secure a role in the post-war period.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel "will create an entire system — a kind of hexagon of alliances — around or within the Middle East," citing India, Greece, Cyprus, as well as unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries, in comments reported by The Times of Israel. He is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Israel, on Wednesday.

"The goal is to create an axis of countries that perceive reality, challenges and goals in the same way, as opposed to radical axes," he said.

"Both the radical Shiite axis, which we have hit very hard, and the emerging axis — the radical Sunni axis," the Prime Minister explained.

The Iranian axis in the Middle East has been greatly weakened over the past two years, particularly following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 to a Sunni Islamist coalition.

South Lebanon: Israeli army drone launches stun grenade, no injuries reported

An Israeli army drone launched a stun grenade near one of the residents of the border town of Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil), without causing any injuries, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Graham urges Trump to ignore voices calling for restraint on Iran, according to Axios

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios on Saturday that several people in President Donald Trump's circle were advising him not to attack Iran, and encouraged the president to ignore them.

"I understand the concerns about major military operations in the Middle East, given past commitments. However, the voices advising against engagement seem to ignore the consequences of letting evil run unchecked," said the senator, a far-right hawk close to the president.

"It is becoming increasingly clear to me that the voices opposing engagement and the risks associated with decisive action are growing louder. Time will tell how this will play out," he said.

Negotiations with the United States are progressing, Iran is not relinquishing control of its resources

Iran and the United States have differing views on the scope and mechanism of lifting sanctions against Tehran in exchange for limiting its nuclear program, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

He added that new negotiations were planned for early March and could lead to a provisional agreement.

In order to move forward with negotiations on the nuclear agreement, the official said that Tehran could seriously "consider a combination of measures including exporting part of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, diluting its purity level and creating a regional consortium to oversee nuclear activities," while reaffirming that "Iran's right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty must be recognized."

On Saturday, the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) called on its fighters to defy the new Syrian authorities in its first audio message in two years.

According to its spokesman Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, members of the group in Syria must fight "the new Syrian regime, with its secular government and national army" and "make this their priority."

He last spoke in January 2024, in response to Israel's war on Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, operation.

In a recording entitled "And kill them wherever you find them," he called on IS sympathizers to attack the Jewish community around the world.

Trump is 'curious' to know why Iran has not yielded to US demands, according to Witkoff

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not "capitulated" in the face of Washington's military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.

The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington dispatched two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to the region to back its warnings.

In a Fox News interview with Trump's daughter-in-law Lara, Witkoff said the president was "curious" about Iran's position after he had warned them of severe consequences in the event they failed to strike a deal.

"I don't want to use the word 'frustrated,' because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he's curious as to why they haven't... I don't want to use the word 'capitulated,' but why they haven't capitulated," he said.

Read more on this here.

Building evacuated in district of Sour following hoax

It was another restless night in southern Lebanon, two days after deadly Israeli strikes targeted Ain al-Hilweh and several towns in the Bekaa Valley.

According to our correspondent in the region, Israeli artillery fired more than five shells at Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), between 9-10 p.m.

At around the same time, Israeli drones flew at very low altitude over the district of Saida.

In Bazourieh (Sour), a building was evacuated after one of its residents received a call warning that the building was going to be targeted. Security forces organized the evacuation and closed the road leading to the building while they checked the credibility of the call, which turned out to be a hoax. Residents were able to return to their homes shortly afterwards.

After 10 p.m., an Israeli quadcopter drone dropped two explosive charges on a house already damaged by previous bombings in a neighborhood east of Mais al-Jabal.

The Israeli army then fired machine guns from the recently established occupied site between the towns of Markaba and Houla, in the direction of the former, in the district of Marjayoun.

Also, Israel fired towards the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) from a new site it occupies in Jabal Blat.

Hello and welcome to our live news blog

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of events happening in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iran, and elsewhere in the region and beyond.

Israel has attacked southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley with particular force this weekend, with at least 12 people killed in various strikes on Friday. Read our round-up piece here.

We are also keeping a close eye on developments between the U.S. and Iran, with the possibility of a U.S. attack at an all-time high. Read more about what's at stake in Mounir Rabih's focus piece here.