Iran War Enters 25th Day: Tehran Denied Having ‘Productive’ Talks with U.S.

The Iran War entered its 25th day on Tuesday as Israeli strikes hit energy and water infrastructure across Iran overnight. The strikes come less than a week after President Donald Trump told the Israelis not to repeat strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. That followed Israeli strikes on the South Pars Gas field, which triggered costly retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Iran’s Fars News said strikes on Isfahan damaged a gas administration building and a gas reduction station, along with nearby homes. In Khorramshahr, a projectile reportedly struck the area around a power plant gas line. Iranian media said a desalination facility and the adjacent meteorological office in Bushehr were also hit. 

Israeli Channel 12 reported at least three buildings were completely destroyed in Tel Aviv by Iranian attacks.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported that Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed last week. Zolghadr is seen as a hardliner, whereas Larijani had been seen as a more pragmatic figure and potential negotiating partner.

Iran on Monday rejected Trump’s claim that Washington and Tehran had held “productive” talks to end the war, with senior Iranian officials calling the assertion “fake news” aimed at manipulating oil and financial markets. A senior Iranian official told Drop Site News that no direct negotiations were taking place and that U.S. messages had only been relayed indirectly through third countries. The official said Tehran’s conditions for ending the war include a simultaneous ceasefire in Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq, while ruling out any negotiations over Iran’s ballistic missile program.

On Tuesday, the New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has privately urged President Trump to press ahead with the war on Iran, portraying the U.S.–Israeli campaign as a “historic opportunity” to reshape the Middle East and potentially topple Iran’s government. The report said MBS argued Iran’s ruling system poses a long-term threat to the Gulf, though Saudi officials publicly denied he had pushed to prolong the war, insisting Riyadh supports a peaceful resolution even as it remains under Iranian attacks.

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited but not fully halted, with tracking data showing several vessels crossing since Monday, suggesting Iran may be selectively allowing passage rather than imposing a complete closure.

Gas prices continued to rise on Tuesday. AAA reported the national average gas price at $3.98.

As Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military is flattening buildings in southern Lebanon in line with what he called “the model of Gaza,” the Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued that Israel must extend its borders into Lebanon. “The Litani must be our new border with the state of Lebanon, just like the ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza and like the buffer zone and peak of the Hermon in Syria,” Smotrich said on Monday.

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