Trump frustrated with Iran talks as US personnel leave Israel

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Veteran Hollywood star Susan Sarandon on Friday praised the Spanish government's support for Gaza, saying it was "on the right side of history".

"I think Spain is doing an incredible job," Sarandon, her voice trembling with emotion, told reporters in Barcelona.

She lauded Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and actors such as Oscar-winner Javier Bardem for taking a strong public stand in support of Palestine.

"When you turn on the TV and see how strong Spain is and how clear you are morally on these issues, it makes you feel less alone," Sarandon said.

The star of Thelma and Louise called Spain's position "so important" in the United States, which she described as "a place where you feel repression and censorship".

Israel's Supreme Court decided in a ruling published on Friday to freeze a government ban on 37 foreign NGOs working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank pending a final decision.

"Without taking any position, a temporary interim order is hereby issued," the court said in a ruling responding to a petition from more than a dozen NGOs, seeking to reverse the ban after Israel's government revoked their status in Israel.

The decision theoretically allows the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the West Bank until the court issues a final ruling, though aid groups expressed uncertainty as to how the freeze would be implemented.

Iran agreed in talks with the United States never to stockpile enriched uranium, mediator Oman's top diplomat said Friday, in what he called a breakthrough that he hoped would prevent war.

"This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling," Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi told CBS News program "Face the Nation."

The Trump administration accuses Tehran of intending to build a nuclear weapon. But "if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way you can actually create a bomb," Albusaidi told CBS.

The United States on Friday designated Iran a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," its first such move under a new blacklist that could eventually result in a travel ban.

"The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that comes as the United States threatens military action against Iran.

Donald Trump on Friday said he did not want Iran to have any uranium enrichment at all, even for civilian purposes, a day after Washington and Tehran held talks on nuclear and other issues.

"I say no enrichment," Trump told reporters ahead of an event in the Texas port city of Corpus Christi. "Not 20 percent, 30 percent, they always want 20 percent, 30 percent, they want it for civilian, you know, for civil. I think it's uncivil."

Trump also reiterated that he was "not happy with the negotiation."

The French foreign ministry on Friday reiterated its advice to nationals not to travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank even for tourism or family visits as a result of the security situation in Iran.

On its website, the ministry also recommended French citizens already there to show great vigilance and prudence, stay away from demonstrations and rallies and identify shelters.

The UN nuclear watchdog stressed on Friday the "utmost urgency" of its request to verify all nuclear material in Iran, according to a confidential report seen by AFP.

Two new reports are to be discussed at an International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors' meeting next week, as the United States threatens strikes on Iran and presses its biggest military build-up in the Middle East in decades.

The IAEA confirmed technical discussions on Iran's nuclear programme would take place in Vienna next week, according to one of the reports.

It added that a "successful outcome" of Iran-US negotiations would have a positive impact on the effective implementation of safeguards in Iran.

It also urged Iran to cooperate "constructively", stressing "the utmost urgency" of the IAEA request to verify all its nuclear material.

Germany's foreign ministry on Friday "urgently" advised nationals not to go to Israel as it sharpened its travel advice over increasing tensions in the Middle East.

"Travel to Israel and East Jerusalem is urgently discouraged," the ministry said in an advisory on its website.

The advice had previously applied only to certain parts of Israel but now takes in the whole country, a ministry source confirmed.

The German foreign ministry source told AFP its embassy in Tel Aviv remained "fully operational".

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and are in close contact with our embassy in Tel Aviv, including regarding the security situation of our colleagues on the ground and their families," the source said.

Germany is "in close contact with our embassy in Tehran, including regarding the security situation of our colleagues on the ground", the source added.

However, due to diplomatic tensions with Iran, "our embassy in Tehran has not been fully staffed for some time" and is "only able to provide very limited consular assistance on the ground", the source said.

Switzerland's financial market regulator said on Friday that a bank singled out by the US Treasury for dealings with "illicit actors" linked to Russia and Iran had been liquidated.

On Thursday, the US Treasury moved to cut the Zurich-based MBaer Merchant Bank off from the US financial system, accusing it of having "funnelled over a hundred million dollars through the US financial system on behalf of illicit actors tied to Iran and Russia".

In a statement published on Friday, the Swiss banking and financial market regulator Finma said a liquidation order against MBaer had taken effect after the bank dropped an appeal.

Finma said it moved to strip the bank of its licence three weeks ago after concluding "the bank does not have an adequate structure in place for combating money laundering, thus enabling clients to circumvent official asset freezes".

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not happy with Iran and wants to make a deal with Tehran, but warned that "sometimes you have to use military force.

Trump, talking to reporters as he left the White House on a trip to Texas, said Iran was still unwilling to forswear nuclear weapons as demanded by the United States.

Asked about the potential for use of force, Trump said the United States has the greatest military in the world.

"I'd love not to use it but sometimes you have to," he said.

Trump said more discussions on Iran would take place later in the day. He did not specify with whom, but top US defence officials were at the White House on Thursday for talks.

"We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they're not saying those golden words," Trump said.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was frustrated by Iran's position in talks but said he had not yet decided whether to carry out a threatened attack.

"I'm not happy with the fact that they're not willing to give us what we have to have. So I'm not thrilled," Trump told reporters.

Italy's foreign ministry on Friday urged its citizens to leave Iran and advised extreme caution across the Middle East, citing persistently unstable security conditions.

"Italians in (Iran) for tourism or whose presence is not strictly necessary are urged to depart," the ministry said in a statement, adding that travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged.

It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution and remain vigilant.

Several governments have issued similar warnings in recent days. Britain said on Friday it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran and closed its embassy amid rising regional tensions.

The United States has built up a large military presence across the Middle East ahead of a possible strike on Iran, as talks between the two countries over Tehran's nuclear ambitions continue with no sign of a breakthrough. 

US President Donald Trump said more talks were expected to be held on Iran on Friday.

Trump made the remarks to reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Texas.

Poland's foreign ministry calls on citizens to leave Iran, Israel and Lebanon immediately due to the tense situation in the Middle East, it said on social media platform X on Friday.

"The security situation in the Middle East is unstable. The risk of escalation is high! Airspace for civilian traffic may be closed. Return by air may be impossible or significantly hindered," it said in three posts regarding Iran, Israel and Lebanon.

The UK has moved some of its diplomatic staff and their dependants from Israel's city of Tel Aviv to another location in the country, the Foreign Office said Friday, citing "regional tensions".

"We have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily move some of our staff and their dependents from Tel Aviv to another location within Israel," the Foreign Office said in an update to their travel advice for the country, adding its embassy was operating as normal but the situation "could escalate quickly and poses significant risks".

Earlier on Friday, Britain said it had pulled its embassy staff from Iran due to the current "security situation".

French foreign ministry on Friday reiterated its advice to nationals not to travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank even for tourism or family visits as a result of the security situation in Iran.

On its website, the ministry also recommended French citizens already there to show great vigilance and prudence and stay away from demonstrations and rallies and identify shelters.

US President Donald Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, underlining that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Such an attack could trigger a retaliation on Israel, which has already been hit by Iranian missiles in the past.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel next week, where he will discuss Iran, the State Department said in a statement on Friday, as the US has assembled a large military force in the region amid rising tensions with Tehran.

The State Department said Rubio would travel to Israel between 2 and 3 March. He is also set to discuss other regional priorities, including Lebanon and US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Israel's Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked the government from shuttering the Gaza operations of dozens of aid organizations which petitioned the court in a dispute over new Israeli rules requiring them to name Palestinian staff.

Israel in December ordered 37 international organisations including medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Refugee Council to halt work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank within 60 days unless they agreed to the new rules.

Some 17 NGOs and the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) sought an urgent suspension of the decision in a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice on Sunday, warning of devastating humanitarian consequences.

Israel's Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction that would allow the NGOs to continue most of their activities while it considers their petition.

Athena Rayburn, AIDA's executive director, said they were "still waiting to see how the injunction will be interpreted by the state and whether or not this will mean an increase in our ability to operate," adding that the situation inside Gaza remained "catastrophic".

Britain said on Friday it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran citing the security situation in the region.

US President Donald Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, underlining that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Britain's foreign office said its ability to assist British nationals was now extremely limited, with the embassy operating remotely and no in-person consular support available even in emergencies.

Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday and seen by Reuters.

It is the first time the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported where uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, close to the 90 percent of weapons grade, has been stored. The tunnel complex's entrance was hit in US and Israeli military strikes in June but the facility seems largely unharmed, diplomats say.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi will meet with Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday, a source familiar said, after talks to avert potential US strikes on Iran amid a massive military buildup.

The leading candidate to become Iraq's next prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, met with US diplomat Tom Barrack on Friday after refusing to withdraw his nomination despite the US threatening to stop supporting the country if he returns to the post.

Barrack, the US envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, has recently visited Iraq multiple times to meet with senior officials.

Maliki "receives US envoy Tom Barrack", reported the official Iraqi INA press agency.

Last month President Donald Trump intervened in Iraq's affairs by issuing an ultimatum that if Maliki - a two-time former premier with close ties to Iran - was named Iraq's next prime minister, the US would no longer help the country.

Earlier this week, Maliki told AFP he will not withdraw his nomination, while also seeking to allay Washington's concerns.

"I have absolutely no intention of withdrawing out of respect for my country, its sovereignty, and its will", Maliki told AFP in an interview.

Multiple casualties were reported following an Israeli drone strike that targeted tents housing displaced Palestinians inside Iwaa School west of Khan Younis, according to an al-Araby TV correspondent.

At least one person was killed and another injured in an explosion at a market in the Jbela neighbourhood of Deir az-Zour, Syria, according to local media reports.

The Chinese Embassy in Israel has asked the country's nationals to "strengthen security precautions and emergency preparedness" amid soaring regional tensions.

Following the announcement by the US embassy in Jerusalem that it was allowing non-emergency staff to evacuate amid tensions with Iran, residents have told The New Arab that there is a heavy security presence and some roadblocks around the West Jerusalem area hosting the US Embassy, with OSINT accounts on social media suggesting at least one helicopter is flying overhead.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has said to staff that those wishing to leave Israel "should do so today", according The New York Times citing an email to embassy staff sent Friday morning at 10:24 am that was verified by three sources with knowledge of the matter.

He said that the embassy's move to allow staff to leave the country "will likely result in high demand for airline seats today," adding, "focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then travel to DC, but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of country."

"There is no need to panic," the email continued, "but for those desiring to leave, it's important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later."

China has advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Iran and urged those in the country to evacuate as soon as possible, citing the security situation, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday there is "no chance" a strike on Iran - a move his boss Donald Trump is considering - would lead to protracted war in the region, according to a Washington Post interview.

"The idea that we're going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight - there is no chance that will happen," Vance told the paper, essentially rejecting criticism that Washington could get stuck in a military quagmire in the volatile region should Trump order air strikes.

"I think we all prefer the diplomatic option," said Vance, a US Marine veteran who served in the Iraq war. "But it really depends on what the Iranians do and what they say."

The Trump administration meanwhile concluded a third round of US-Iran talks Thursday in Geneva, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the latest round were the "most intense" so far.

The US will permit non-emergency government personnel and family members to leave Israel over safety risks, the US Embassy in Jerusalem said on Friday, amid growing concerns about the risk of a military conflict with Iran.

The embassy did not elaborate on the safety risks leading to the "authorised departure", which allows affected personnel to decide whether to leave. It falls short of the ordered departure instituted this week for some personnel at the US Embassy in Beirut.

The US has built up one of its biggest military deployments in the Middle East as it negotiates with Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. The latest round of talks ended on Thursday with no sign of a breakthrough.

On February 27, 2026, the Department of State authorized the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of U.S. government personnel from Mission Israel due to safety risks.

In response to security incidents and without advance notice, the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/aWzX6Gk36x

— U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (@usembassyjlm) February 27, 2026

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi is scheduled to meet US Vice President JD Vance and other officials in Washington on Friday for talks in an effort to stave off war with Iran, MS Now reported on Thursday.

Israeli warplanes have targeted a police checkpoint at the entrance to the al-Bureij refugee camp, according to The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, following a previous strike on a police checkpoint that killed a police officer.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that in order to reach a deal, the United States will have to drop its "excessive demands", after the two sides held talks in Geneva.

In a phone call with Egypt's top diplomat Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said "success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands."

Araghchi did not clarify what demands he was referring to, but Washington has pointed to Iran's ballistic missile programme and has repeatedly described Tehran's uranium enrichment capability as a red line.

Both Iran and Oman cited progress after the talks, with technical discussions scheduled for Monday in Vienna ahead of a fourth round expected next week.

The UN rights chief said Friday he was "extremely alarmed" at the risk of a regional escalation around Iran, which is facing repeated threats of US strikes.

"I am extremely alarmed about the potential for regional military escalation and its impact on civilians, and I hope the voice of reason prevails," Volker Turk told the United Nations Human Rights Council.