Speculation grows over Saudi role in Iran–US negotiations

The meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump drew significant attention for discussions on selling F-35 fighter jets and sharing nuclear technology with Riyadh. But inside Iran, what made the trip even more notable was a written message that Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian sent to the Saudi leader the day before he departed.

Although Iran’s government spokesperson downplayed the message as merely a note thanking Saudi Arabia for its assistance with Iranian Hajj pilgrims, media outlets close to the government suggested it carried greater significance.

These outlets suggested that Mohammed bin Salman could serve as a new mediator in talks between Tehran and Washington, which may explain why Pezeshkian sent the message.

On Wednesday, many newspapers that support Pezeshkian ran the story on their front pages, while hard-line papers did not cover it at all.

The Etemad daily ran the headline, “News Bombshell of Messaging to Riyadh,” while the Sharq daily published the headline, “A Message Just Before Boarding.”

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Sharq wrote: “The close relationship between Mohammed bin Salman and Donald Trump increases the chance that Riyadh could act as a mediator between Iran and the US.”

The paper also stressed the possible importance of the crown prince’s role in Tehran–Washington negotiations, “If Tehran can handle this new situation wisely and accept Saudi Arabia’s role in facilitating indirect talks, the path to stalled nuclear negotiations could reopen.”

Another paper, the Arman Emroz daily, also led with the headline, “Will Bin Salman Become the Ambassador of Peace Between Iran and the US?” The article discussed Riyadh’s potential role in resolving the dispute over Iran’s enriched uranium.

Arman wrote that Bin Salman might agree to Iran’s proposal for a regional nuclear consortium – an idea that could also help Riyadh pursue its own nuclear goals, including building a regional nuclear uranium bank.

Mismanagement at root of Tehran’s water shortage

Residents of Tehran spent last week facing alarming news about the risk of a full water shortage and even the possibility of evacuating the capital. The warning was first raised by President Massoud Pezeshkian and quickly drew wide reactions.

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Experts stress that evacuating Tehran is not the solution. Instead, they say the city needs to use water-saving equipment and shift to modern water management methods. They argue that, alongside the ongoing drought, poor management of water resources is a major cause of rationing in the capital.

Esmail Kahrom, a well-known environmental expert in Iran, said the heart of the crisis lies in the government’s misguided policies and the involvement of non-experts in environmental decision-making.

He said: “Most of the methods used so far have had many flaws and were often below standard. There is no doubt that we are mismanaging the country’s water resources. Mismanagement will only make things worse.”

Another expert, Hassan Akhani, responded to the government’s comments by pointing out that officials ignored earlier warnings.

“We said years ago that Tehran’s ecological capacity had reached its limit and no one paid attention,” he said. “The fact that no one listened is not our fault, and there is nothing more we can do.”

Colleagues mourn journalist as suicide cases rise

News of another journalist taking his own life in Tehran has once again sparked criticism of the heavy pressures facing Iranian society, particularly journalists.

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The death of Fowad Shams on 12 November drew widespread attention. He had been arrested and interrogated by intelligence services before taking his own life, and many viewed it as a response to the daily pressures faced by ordinary people in Iran.

Journalist Shahrzad Bahadori wrote: “Fowad Shams was not just a desperate person; he represented a tired and pressured generation whose voice is lost in endless bureaucracy and restrictions.”

In November last year, journalist Kianoosh Sanjari died by suicide in Tehran to protest the arrest and imprisonment of journalists and political activists.

In January, Iranian satirist and journalist Ebrahim Nabavi, who lived in exile, also ended his life.

Asadollah Amraee, an Iranian journalist and translator and a close friend of Nabavi, wrote on Facebook after Shams’ death: “It doesn’t matter what his beliefs are, or what ideology you follow. These deaths trouble all of us.”

Visa delays push students to rally at foreign embassies

Iranian students who have been accepted to universities in Europe have taken to protesting outside embassies in Tehran. They say they still cannot get visa appointments, even though more than two months have passed since the start of the academic year in Europe.

It is common for Iranian students to have their visa applications rejected, even when they have been accepted to universities in Europe, North America, or Australia.

Students say the situation has now become even worse, with embassies such as Italy, Germany and Portugal refusing to give them appointment dates to submit the required documents.

Although an Iranian student filed a complaint in an Italian court, and the court in Turin ordered the foreign ministry and the Italian embassy in Tehran to schedule appointments and review visa requests, BBC Persian reported that students are still waiting with no progress.

The Turin court called the treatment of Iranian students “discriminatory”, but there has been no change in the behaviour of embassies.

According to BBC Persian, alongside the group gathered outside the Italian embassy, another group of Iranian students has assembled outside the German embassy with the same complaint. They are demanding that the embassy at least give them an appointment to submit their documents.

*Iranian press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.