MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We are following two timelines of the story of Iran. One is the schedule of talks with the United States. Negotiators met yesterday and talk of meeting again. The other is a timeline deeply rooted in Iranian culture. It's 40 days of mourning for the dead. Analysts have been watching to see what Iranians do when they emerge 40 days after the killing of thousands of protesters in January. In a few minutes, we'll speak with one of those analysts who has experience in crafting Middle East strategy. But first, let's get the latest information.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is following both timelines. Jackie, good morning.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: First, what's happening in Iran?
NORTHAM: What we're seeing is people there are starting to have ceremonies to honor those killed in the protest by the regime. Iranians mark the end of mourning on the 40th day after the deaths, which is right about now. And NPR has talked to a number of people in Iran, and they say the regime is intolerant to these ceremonies. There are undercover agents at the services, and people are told they have to be held at night. No flowers, no filming. And in some cases, the government is simply not allowing the ceremony to take place at all. And there have been plenty of social media posts coming out over the past couple of days where you can see security forces opening fire at 40th day ceremonies. But I have to say, Steve, NPR could not independently verify those social media posts.
INSKEEP: We'll continue to try to gather more information day by day and be frank with you about what we know and what we don't. Let's talk also about the meeting over Iran's nuclear program. What happened there?
NORTHAM: Well, most of the information we're getting is from Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who held these indirect talks in Geneva yesterday with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. And afterwards, Araghchi described the meeting as constructive with some progress, but said that there was still more to do before the next meeting, which is now expected to be in a couple of weeks. Araghchi didn't say anything about Trump's core demand, which is zero enrichment. Trump doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. But Iran insists that it has the right to enrich uranium for, you know, research and civilian use.
INSKEEP: Yeah. U.S. officials have made a variety of statements, sometimes indicating there was progress, sometimes indicating there was not nearly enough, a little bit hard to tell. And, of course, the U.S. continues to gather military force in the region. How is Iran responding to that?
NORTHAM: Well, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned ahead of the talks that Iran could retaliate if the U.S. launches a strike. And, you know, perhaps to press that point, Iran temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz - which is a vital global shipping lane - to conduct military exercises. Trump indicates he's willing to give diplomacy a chance, but there is a growing call for action against Iran from hawks in government, such as South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. My colleague, Daniel Estrin, asked Graham if that meant regime change.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: We've got a chance here to stop this regime. History would judge us poorly if we let the ayatollah off the hook. How many times could we have stopped Hitler? A bunch.
NORTHAM: And Graham was speaking Monday while he was in Israel, which not only wants an end to Iran's nuclear program, as Trump does, but also wants to eliminate its ballistic missiles arsenal and its backing of proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah in the region. And yesterday, a former Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said that the conditions for striking Iran are coming together.
INSKEEP: NPR's Jackie Northam. Thanks for the update.
NORTHAM: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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