Published on: 02/08/2026 - 08:53 Modified on: 02/08/2026 - 23:45
The American military deployment in the Gulf "does not frighten us", declared Sunday the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi. Iran will not give up uranium enrichment, the subject of dispute with the United States, "even if war is imposed on us", he added. Here is the thread for February 8, 2026.
This is the end of this live broadcast from Sunday February 8, thank you for following it. You can find all the news from Iran on our website and on the France 24 television channel.
Iran arrests three figures from the reform camp (Fars agency)
Iranian authorities have arrested three figures from the reform camp, the Fars news agency reported.
“Azar Mansouri, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh were arrested,” the agency said, adding that they were notably accused of “undermining national unity,” “coordinating with enemy propaganda” and “creating secret subversive mechanisms.”
Azar Mansouri, aged 60, has been the head of the Reformers' Front, the main coalition of reformers, since 2023. She served as an advisor to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami. Ebrahim Asgharzadeh is a former member of Parliament and Mohsen Aminzadeh is a former foreign affairs official.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi sentenced to six years in prison
An Iranian court sentenced Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, to six years in prison, her lawyer told AFP.
The human rights activist, aged 53, was arrested on December 12 in the city of Mashhad (north-east) with other activists, after speaking at a ceremony in tribute to a lawyer found dead. “She was sentenced to six years in prison for assembly and collusion to commit crimes,” said her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, adding that she was also banned from leaving the country for two years.
“Iran, the massacred revolt”, a documentary by Mariam Pirzadeh, Bahar Makooi, Ershad Alijani and Julie Dungelhoeff
This film traces the chronology of the uprising in Iran from December 28, 2025, with a strike at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, until January 18, 2026.
While Internet access is cut, the largest massacre committed in Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 will take place behind closed doors, between January 8 and 11.
⚠️ This report contains scenes of great violence, which should not be viewed by young audiences.
🎥 Iran, a month of protests and bloody repression told in pictures
On the France 24 set, Bahar Makooi and Mariam Pirzadeh, journalists, as well as Sepideh Farsi, director, look back on the massacres perpetrated from January 8 to 11 by Iranian security forces against demonstrators across the country. A story reconstructed from numerous testimonies and videos received from Iranian sources on site, despite the risks involved and a global shutdown of the internet network.
From the first days of January, a team of "cross-functional" journalists, with Mariam Pirzadeh, editor-in-chief at France 24, Bahar Makooi, journalist at France24.com, and Ershad Alijani, journalist at Observateurs de France 24, identified and validated the multiple videos that reached them before, after, and sometimes during the internet black hole. Their documentary “Iran, the massacred revolt”, released on February 6, retraces the chronology of these five days of horror.
Iran says it is wondering about the "seriousness" of the United States for negotiations
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghtchi, said he questions the "seriousness" of the United States in continuing nuclear negotiations with Iran, while no date has yet been announced for new discussions.
“The imposition of new sanctions (against Iran) and certain military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and preparation of the other party to carry out real negotiations,” he declared, indicating that his country “will evaluate all the signals and decide on the continuation of negotiations”, during a press conference in Tehran in which AFP participated.
American military pressure “does not frighten” Iran, says its head of diplomacy
The American military deployment in the Gulf "does not scare us", also declared Abbas Araghtchi.
“Their military deployment in the region does not frighten us,” he assured, the day after the visit of Donald Trump’s envoy for the Middle East to the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, in the Gulf region.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper observe flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, February 7, 2026. US Navy via Reuters.
“We are a people of diplomacy, we are also a people of war but that does not mean that we seek war,” he added.
Nuclear: Iran will not give up enrichment even in the event of “war”
Iran will not give up uranium enrichment, the subject of dispute with the United States, "even if a war is imposed on us", declared the head of Iranian diplomacy, Ababs Araghtchi, two days after talks on nuclear power with Washington.
“Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear program and for the enrichment of uranium,” he underlined during a forum in Tehran.
“Why do we insist so much on (uranium) enrichment and we refuse to give it up even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our conduct,” insisted the diplomat, who spoke in Oman on Friday with the American envoy Steve Witkoff.
Summary of the main events of the day before
>> Watch live from Saturday February 7 here
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