Tehran

Officials said a suspicious Sunday blackout at a major uranium enrichment facility was likely orchestrated by foreign actors seeking to disrupt Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Sen. Jim Inhofe is leading a call for the Biden administration to "reset" its approach to nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

"I called on France to ... cease abiding by illegal sanctions imposed by the US," tweeted Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, in follow-up remarks Saturday afternoon.

Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that the "culprits" behind sanctions that stop medicines "will face justice."

There has been outrage at the death of Navid Afkari, 27, who took part in protests in 2018 and said he was tortured into confessing a murder.

Days after the United States lost a bid to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, China and Russia agreed to a summit aimed at avoiding potential conflict between the U.S. and Tehran.

"The end of Ramadan brings us the arrival of the Fortune ship, a sign of the solidarity of the Islamic people of Iran with Venezuela," Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro tweeted on Sunday.

Iran has used the killing to rally support at home and abroad, but now has to walk the tightrope between underwhelming its allies and provoking an all-out war.

"In pursuing the case of the downed plane, justice will be implemented irrespective of any circumstances," Iran's judiciary chief said.

Instead of overreact to every Iranian action, the U.S. needs to keep the scale of the Iranian threat in perspective—and make a pragmatic offer to Tehran.

"The present wave of protests has the potential of developing into a revolution," Hilal Khashan, a professor at the American University of Beirut, told Newsweek.

Trump described Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg as a "lousy mayor," after Buttigieg suggested that Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 was shot down as a result of Trump's reckless actions in the region.

All 176 people aboard the flight are believed to have been killed in the incident, which occurred soon after the aircraft left Tehran's international airport for Kiev.

Robert Malley argued that Trump's policies towards Iran have put Americans "more at risk than they were before" he came into office.

"The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they have inflicted," Hossein Dehghan told CNN.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani also labeled an American-led coalition currently stationed to protect commercial interests in the area "a new means for plundering the region."

"That's a very serious issue if they continue to do that," Trump's national security adviser warned.

The plans are separated into two categories and involve airstrikes, targeted incursions and setting U.S. forces up for a ground invasion.

"We continue to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device," Dan Coats said.

In 2011 the U.S. designated Mahan Air a material supporter of terrorism.

"It definitely rattled people," a former senior U.S. administration official told The Wall Street Journal. "People were shocked. It was mind-boggling how cavalier they were about hitting Iran."

"I'm very worried about his health. He just got over cancer, and I'm worried about his condition. It's very scary to me," Michael White's mother said.

"The Americans happily say that these sanctions are unprecedented in history. Yes, they're unprecedented. And the defeat that the Americans will face will be unprecedented, God willing," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

In the past Gonen Segev was convicted for forgery, drug smuggling and fraud.

"Today, people have difficulties making a living and feeding their children. If we fail to resolve the problem of unnecessary domestic and foreign expenditures, we will bear heavy costs," reformist politician Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi warned.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that his country gets blamed for any problem the president can think of.

"The United States is a regime formed on the basis of capitalism, racial discrimination and hegemonism," Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said.

Tehran is trying to shore up its currency crisis.

The sanctions went into effect on November 5.

"We are in the economic war situation," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned as new U.S. sanctions took effect. "We are confronting a bullying enemy."