US to deploy second carrier to Middle East despite Iran talks

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Two sets of diplomatic negotiations, on Ukraine and Iran, are set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.

A US delegation, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will meet with the Iranians on Tuesday morning, the source said. Witkoff and Kushner will then participate in trilateral talks with representatives from Russia and Ukraine in the afternoon, the source said.

A Palestinian paramedic from Gaza has died while in Israeli detention amid reports of torture and medical negligence.

Hatem Ismail Rayyan, a 59-year-old paramedic, was pronounced dead at the Negev prison, a press statement from the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society announced on Thursday evening.

Rayyan was detained by Israeli forces on 27 December 2024 from the premises of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, alongside his injured son Moaz Rayyan who remains in Israeli detention.

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The US military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two US officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

The disclosure by officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the ongoing diplomacy between the United States and Iran.

Authorities in war-torn Gaza have urged the newly established National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to "urgently" enter the enclave as it pledges full cooperation.

This came amid reports that a Palestinian ambulance officer from Gaza had died in Israeli detention. 

On Thursday, the Government Media Office in the war-devastated enclave issued a statement urging the US-backed committee for Gaza - established to oversee the territory's future administration under the second phase of President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan - to enter Gaza and begin carrying out its mandate. 

"In light of the ongoing political and administrative developments, and out of keenness to ensure the regular functioning of institutional work and the continuity of essential services, we renew our welcome to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and stress the importance of its urgent presence to assume its tasks and national responsibilities," the Gaza government media office said. 

It confirmed the government's "full readiness to transfer relevant powers and to take all necessary measures within professional and legal frameworks that safeguard the rights of citizens and employees and ensure the uninterrupted provision of services with the highest levels of efficiency and transparency". 

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US President Donald Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the "best thing that could happen," as he ordered a second aircraft carrier to head to the Middle East.

"Seems like that would be the best thing that could happen," Trump told reporters at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina when a journalist asked if he wanted "regime change" in Iran.

"For 47 years, they've been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we've lost a lot of lives while they talk," he told reporters.

Several Palestinians suffered from smoke inhalation after Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters during their raid in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, Wafa reports.

Israeli forces fired the canisters at Palestinians and their shops, while also taking over rooftops of several homes and shops, turning them into military observation points.

Israeli forces shot a Palestinian man after Israeli forces raided the town of Tuqu‘, southeast of Bethlehem, Taysir Abu Mafreh, head of the Tuqu Municipal Council, told Wafa​​​​​​.

Abu Mufreh, 20, was hit in the thigh after a confrontation broke out with the residents and the forces. Mafreh said Israeli forces opened fire, fired tear gas, stun and flash grenades. 

The exiled son of Iran's last shah renewed calls for international intervention to support the Iranian people on Friday, as the opposition figure urged Iranians at home and abroad to continue demonstrations against the Islamic Republic.

US-based Reza Pahlavi, who has not returned to his country since before the 1979 Iranian revolution that ousted the monarchy, said Iran needed an "equalising factor" to oust the clerical authorities, while speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

"I think a lot of Iranians inside and outside hope that an intervention that will neutralise the regime's instrument of repression will finally give us an opportunity for a final solution," he said.

"We are asking for a humanitarian intervention to prevent more innocent lives being killed in the process."

President Donald Trump told U.S. troops on Friday that Iran has been "difficult" in nuclear negotiations and suggested that instilling fear in Tehran may be necessary to resolve the standoff peacefully.

"They've been difficult to make a deal," Trump said of the Iranians before an audience of active-duty soldiers at Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina, after US officials said they were sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

"Sometimes you have to have fear. That's the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of."

During his address, Trump also referenced the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites last June.

Earlier, he said the deployment of the world's largest aircraft carrier was being made so "we'll have it ready" should negotiations with Iran fail.

Iran on Friday released on bail three prominent reformist figures arrested last week amid a sweeping government crackdown on dissent, one of their lawyers told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Lawyer Hojjat Kermani said the freed activists included Azar Mansouri, head of the moderate Reform Front coalition, as well as Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh.

He said he was not told what charges his clients may face. The releases come as authorities try to quell the country's bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Iranian Revolution through a campaign of mass arrests and intimidation.

The US-based rights group HRANA said about 53,000 people have so far been arrested, and the total number of killed has reached 7,008, including 6,509 protesters.

Reuters could not independently verify the figures, and Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Writings and correspondence from jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti will be collected in a new book due out later this year, with his family expressing hope on Friday that it would give a new audience insight into his mindset.

Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine will be published in November and feature "private letters to his family, letters to public figures, press interviews, public statements, important historical documents", and personal photos, according to publisher Penguin Random House's Vintage division.

It will also include excerpts from his previous book, 2011's "1000 Days in Solitary Confinement", which was previously only available in Arabic, Vintage said.

Sometimes called the "Mandela of Palestine" by his supporters, Marwan Barghouti, 66, was one of the leaders of the second intifada, the Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, and is often cited as a possible successor to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Indian writer Arundhati Roy said Friday she was cancelling her planned participation in the Berlin Film Festival over comments from jury president Wim Wenders that the festival had to "stay out of politics".

The Booker Prize-winning author said in a statement sent to AFP that she was "shocked and disgusted" by the celebrated German director's response to a question on Gaza at a press conference on Thursday, adding: "With deep regret, I must say that I will not be attending the Berlinale."

The Trump administration smuggled thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran in January amid an internet shutdown, as tensions persist over the possibility of direct US military action on the country.

According to US officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, the US covertly shipped approximately 6,000 of the  satellite-internet kits into Iran at the height of the regime's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

The Internet was shut down in Iran on January 8, amid reports that thousands of protesters had been killed by government security forces.

The shipment marks the first time the US has directly sent Starlink infrastructure to the country with the scope of assisting activists and civilians in circumventing the widescale internet outage imposed by the government, which left the country largely offline for more than 20 days.

Starlink is owned by the right-wing billionaire Elon Musk. The state department had previously bought nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals in the preceding months, according to the WSJ.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi said Friday that reaching an accord with Iran on inspections of its processing facilities was possible but "terribly difficult".

The International Atomic Energy Agency director general told the Munich Security Conference that inspectors had returned to Iran after attacks by Israeli and US forces last year but had not been able to visit any of the sites targeted.

The United States has positioned one aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, and US media say a second group could arrive within two weeks amid reports that US President Donald Trump is considering new military action.

Grossi said the dialogue with Iran since the inspectors' return last year had been "imperfect and complicated and extremely difficult, but it's there".

He said an accord with Iran on returning to the damaged sites was "absolutely possible" but would be "terribly difficult".

"The big question of the moment is how to define these steps for the future. And we know perfectly well what needs to be checked and how to check it."

US President Donald Trump said Friday a second aircraft carrier group would be heading to the Middle East soon, upping the military threat against Iran amid negotiations over its nuclear program.

"It'll be leaving very shortly," Trump told journalists when asked about reports the USS Gerald R. Ford would be moved from the Caribbean to the Middle East. "In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he held a meeting with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and a prominent voice in the opposition, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

"We discussed the importance of strengthening sanctions against the Iranian regime and any other dictatorial regimes," he said on X, adding that they both condemned cooperation between Russia and Iran.

Spain's FM has said that he is ready to deploy troops to Gaza as part of the 'International Stabilisation Force' in the enclave. 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Jose Manuel Albares said: "Spain is ready to participate, including with troops", but that Spain needs a "clear mandate from the United Nations and to see the Palestinian Authority at the center of the whole process." 

Iranian authorities on Friday released the leader of the country's reformist coalition on bail, days after she was arrested following anti-government protests, local media reported.

Azar Mansouri, head of the Reformist Front, "was released from prison a few minutes ago after posting bail", her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told the ISNA news agency less than a week after her arrest.

 Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday he was committed to holding a parliamentary election as scheduled on May 10, despite calls from some politicians to postpone the vote.

Several politicians have called for a delay, citing security concerns in southern Lebanon, where Israel has carried out air strikes targeting Hezbollah.

Berri, a Shia leader allied with Hezbollah, said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency that he had informed President Joseph Aoun and the government of his position.

"It is not permissible that, at the start of a new era, we obstruct its launch by disrupting, postponing or extending the most important constitutional entitlement, which is the foundation for forming authorities and producing political life," Berri said.

The exiled son of Iran's last shah has called for anti-government actions in his homeland to coincide with protests in Germany and other countries, as the key opposition figure was due to speak at the Munich security conference.

US-based Reza Pahlavi, who has not returned to his country since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, called for protests on Saturday in Munich, Toronto and Los Angeles to demand international action on Iran.

In an X post on Thursday, Pahlavi urged Iranians inside the country to join in by chanting slogans from their homes and rooftops, after street protests that peaked in January were violently suppressed by authorities in a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.

Pahlavi said that Iranians abroad would demonstrate on Saturday "to mobilise broader international support" for what he described as "Iran's Lion and Sun Revolution", a reference to the insignia on the imperial flag.

"In this spirit, I invite you, on the evenings of February 14 and 15 at 8:00 pm, to raise your voices and chant from your homes and rooftops. Shout your demands. Show your unity. With an unbreakable will, we will prevail over this occupying regime," he added.

Pahlavi is due to address the Munich Security Conference at 17:45 GMT on Friday, a rare chance for him to speak at an international event.

Former chiefs of Israel's Shin Bet security agency have pinned the blame for Israel's failures surrounding Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Five former chiefs and 31 former department heads in the agency signed a joint statement, saying they signed the letter because of the "unprecedented attacks on former service chief Ronen Bar and on directors, combatants and employees who served in the organisation on October 7."

Referring to Netanyahu and his governing coalition, the letter read: "This is despicable conduct on the part of the person primarily responsible for the policy that led Israel to one of the gravest failures in its history."

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with "very traumatic" consequences if Tehran fails to make a deal on its nuclear program, adding that he hoped for a result within the next month.

"We have to make a deal, otherwise it's going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don't want that to happen, but we have to make a deal," Trump said when asked about his talks on the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

"This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don't make a deal."

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Friday, the ministry said.

The two ministers discussed the situation around Iran and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it said. 

The United States Central Command said on Friday it had completed the transfer of thousands of detained Islamic State group suspects held in Syria to Iraq.

The detainees had been held in Syria for years in camps overseen by Kurdish-led forces, but the recapture of surrounding territory by Damascus prompted Washington to step in.

CENTCOM said it "completed a transfer mission following a nighttime flight from northeastern Syria to Iraq on Feb 12 to help ensure ISIS detainees remain secure in detention facilities."

"The 23-day transfer mission began on Jan 21 and resulted in US forces successfully transporting more than 5,700 adult male ISIS fighters from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody," it added in a statement.

The US had previously announced it would transfer around 7,000 detainees

"Job well done to the entire Joint Force team who executed this exceptionally challenging mission on the ground and in the air with great focus, professionalism, and collaboration with our regional partners," said Admiral Brad Cooper.

"We appreciate Iraq's leadership and recognition that transferring the detainees is essential to regional security," he added.

Israeli forces fired tear gas towards worshippers at a mosque in the town of Kafr Malek, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa, which added that Israeli forces stormed the town, threw stun grenades and fired tear gas canisters during the raid.

About 3,000 Islamic State detainees have so far been transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq and the process is continuing, Iraq's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that Baghdad was in discussions with some countries to repatriate them soon.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Fuad Hussein said Baghdad would need more financial assistance to deal with the influx, and warned that there had been a recent uptick in Islamic State activity in Syria.

He said that, while Baghdad took the United States' signals seriously, the nomination of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to take up the role again was an internal issue.

The British government's ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation is unlawful, London's High Court ruled on Friday after a legal challenge by the group's co-founder.

Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly targeted Israel-linked defence companies in Britain with "direct action", often blocking entrances, or spraying red paint.

The High Court upheld two grounds of challenge, with Judge Victoria Sharp saying: "Proscription did result in a significant interference with the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom of assembly."

Sharp added that the ban would remain in place to give the parties' lawyers time to address the court on the next steps.

A Palestinian man was shot and wounded by Israeli forces in the town of Al-Ram, north of occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

 The US is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran, US media outlets reported late on Thursday.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will be sent to the Middle East from the Caribbean, the New York Times, which first reported the news, said, citing US officials.

The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump had said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran.

The first aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East in January.

The Iranian government announced on Friday the establishment of a commission of enquiry to look into protests against the high cost of living that turned into anti-government rallies that left thousands dead.

"A fact-finding committee has been formed with representatives from relevant institutions and is collecting documents and hearing statements," Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the local news agency ISNA.

The spokeswoman did not specify whether the commission would only focus on the economic demands that triggered the protests, or whether it would also investigate deaths during the protests.

"The final report will be published for public information and further legal action after the process is completed," she stated.

On Thursday, the government website published comments by President Masoud Pezeskhian saying "We have assigned teams to investigate the causes (of the unrest), without providing further details.

Iranian authorities have released on bail two senior reformist figures who were arrested in recent days following anti-government protests in January, local media reported.

"Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh were released a few minutes ago after posting bail," their lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, said in an interview with the ISNA news agency published on Thursday evening.

Asgharzadeh is a former member of parliament and Emam is the spokesman of the Reformist Front, the main coalition of the reformist camp.

They were accused of "undermining national unity" and "coordinating with enemy propaganda," the Fars news agency reported at the time of their arrests.

The lawyer expressed hope that the release of Azar Mansouri, head of the Reform Front since 2023 could come "in the next few days when her arrest warrant is revoked".

Mansouri, 60, an adviser to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, was arrested on Sunday alongside two other reformists.