Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for national unity in the face of external threats while insisting that his government is willing to negotiate over its nuclear programme, at a huge public ceremony in Tehran commemorating the 47th anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic.

Large crowds gathered in the capital and other cities around the country in a show of support for the government as Iran observed the 1979 anniversary amid one of the most difficult moments in the country’s recent history.

Following the latest round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, United States President Donald Trump has continued to threaten Tehran with potential military attacks if it does not accede to Washington’s demands on issues ranging from nuclear enrichment to ballistic missiles, with the US leader reportedly considering sending another aircraft carrier group to the region.

Alongside the threats from the US, Iran is grappling with bitter internal divisions amid the fallout from its deadly crackdown on protests earlier this year, in which thousands of protesters were killed, and a cratering economy.

Addressing the crowds in Tehran’s Azadi Square, Pezeshkian called for solidarity amongst Iranians in the face of “conspiracies from imperial powers”.

“We are standing together … in solidarity in the face of all conspiracies targeting our nation,” he said, adding that the strength and unity of the Iranian people “gives rise to worry within our enemy”.

“We should continue to stand side by side.”

Regarding the nuclear talks, he said Iran was “not seeking nuclear weapons” and was “ready for any kind of verification”.

However, he said, the “high wall of mistrust” created by the US and Europe “does not allow these talks to reach a conclusion”.

“At the same time, we are engaging with full determination in dialogue aimed at peace and stability in the region alongside our neighbouring countries,” he added.

Pezeshkian apologises

Addressing the recent protests, which began with demonstrations over the high cost of living and the plummeting currency before broadening into other grievances against the government, Pezeshkian apologised for the government’s shortcomings, and said it was making “every possible effort” to fix the problems.

“We are ready to listen to the voice of the people. We are servants of the people. We are not seeking to confront the people,” he said.

He blamed “malicious propaganda” circulated by Iran’s enemies for inflaming the unrest, which he referred to as riots.

“The efforts that our enemies are making to create deep wounds in society and widen divisions, we must heal these wounds,” he said.

Iran ‘open to deal’

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tehran, Ali Akbar Dareini, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic Studies, said Pezeshkian’s speech signalled Iran was “open to a fair and balanced deal with the United States”.

“While he did not go into any details, saying Iran is open to that means that Iran, at the same time, will resist unrealistic demands from the United States that seek to disarm Iran or deny Iran of its sovereign rights,” he said.

He said Pezeshkian’s speech acknowledged that the public’s grievances with the government were legitimate, stressing his government would do its best to resolve the problems.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said the anniversary commemorations were taking place at a critical moment for Iran, as the country faced external threats and significant internal division.

“There’s a huge demand for change,” he said, adding that meanwhile, “the establishment wants to show it has the people’s support.”

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a call on Tuesday for Iranians to turn out and join the celebrations, which were attended by senior political, military and religious figures.

US, Israeli flags burned

The commemorations featured prominent symbols of anti-US and anti-Israeli sentiment, with people burning and trampling the flags of those countries.

Iranian media showed images of symbolic coffins draped in US flags and bearing the names and portraits of US military commanders, while Iranian missiles and the wreckage of Israeli drones shot down during last year’s 12-day war were displayed.

In the streets, people waved images of Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Some chanted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Dareini, from Tehran’s Centre for Strategic Studies, said the commemorations were a significant manifestation of solidarity at a critical juncture for Iran.

“Israelis and Americans have been seeking to break national solidarity in Iran, but today’s rallies around the country are a manifestation of solidarity,” he said.

Diplomatic push continues

The commemorations in Iran have come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts surrounding the nuclear negotiations with the US, as Washington has continued to threaten military action.

On Wednesday, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani left Oman, where he had met with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said and the country’s foreign minister to discuss the results of talks between US and Iranian officials in the sultanate last week, for Qatar.

Qatar, which hosts a major US military installation that Iran attacked in June after Washington’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, has been a key negotiator in the past with Iran.

Larijani is expected to meet with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad ⁠Al Thani ⁠during the visit, which comes shortly after the emir discussed efforts for regional de-escalation and stability in a phone call with Trump, the ⁠Emiri Diwan said on Wednesday.

The emir and Trump discussed “supporting diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing ‌crises through dialogue and peaceful means”, the Diwan said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington on Wednesday, where the Israeli leader is expected to present his government’s concerns over any potential deal with Iran.

Netanyahu has said he will present Trump with “principles” for negotiating with Iran during the visit, where he is also scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is refusing to consider Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology, the company announced Tuesday.

The news is the latest sign of the FDA’s heightened scrutiny of vaccines under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., particularly those using mRNA technology, which he has criticized before and after becoming the nation’s top health official.

Moderna received what’s called a “refusal-to-file” letter from the FDA that objected to how it conducted a 40,000-person clinical trial comparing its new vaccine to one of the standard flu shots used today. That trial concluded the new vaccine was somewhat more effective in adults 50 and older than that standard shot.

The letter from FDA vaccine director Dr. Vinay Prasad said the agency doesn’t consider the application to contain an “adequate and well-controlled trial” because it didn’t compare the new shot to “the best-available standard of care in the United States at the time of the study.” Prasad’s letter pointed to some advice FDA officials gave Moderna in 2024, under the Biden administration, which Moderna didn’t follow.

According to Moderna, that feedback said it was acceptable to use the standard-dose flu shot the company had chosen — but that another brand specifically recommended for seniors would be preferred for anyone 65 and older in the study. Still, Moderna said, the FDA did agree to let the study proceed as originally planned.

The company said it also had shared with FDA additional data from a separate trial comparing the new vaccine against a licensed high-dose shot used for seniors.

The FDA “did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns with our product” and “does not further our shared goal of enhancing America’s leadership in developing innovative medicines,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.

It’s rare that FDA refuses to file an application, particularly for a new vaccine, which requires companies and FDA staff to engage in months or years of discussions.

Moderna has requested an urgent meeting with FDA, and noted that it has applied for the vaccine’s approval in Europe, Canada and Australia.

In the last year, FDA officials working under Kennedy have rolled back recommendations around COVID-19 shots, added extra warnings to the two leading COVID vaccines — which are made with mRNA technology — and removed critics of the administration’s approach from an FDA advisory panel.

Kennedy announced last year that his department would cancel more than $500 million in contracts and funding for the development of vaccines using mRNA.

FDA for decades has allowed vaccine makers to quickly update their annual flu shots to target the latest strains by showing that they trigger an immune response in patients. That’s a far more efficient approach than running long-term studies tracking whether patients get the flu and how they fare. In an internal memo last year, Prasad wrote that the streamlined method would no longer be permitted – leading more than a dozen former FDA commissioners to pen an editorial condemning the statements.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Police clashed with anti-Israel demonstrators in Sydney during protests against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, prompting national leaders to urge calm and call for demonstrations to remain peaceful. 

Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, after violence broke out Monday evening when authorities moved to clear thousands of protesters gathered near Sydney’s Town Hall.

The unrest unfolded as Herzog arrived in Australia for a visit centered on solidarity with the Jewish community after the Dec. 14 terror attack at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.

FORMER AUSTRALIAN MINISTER SAYS ‘RADICAL ISLAM PULLED THE TRIGGER’ IN AUSTRALIA’S WORST TERROR ATTACK

Herzog traveled to Bondi during the trip, where he met bereaved families and participated in memorial events honoring the victims. In a post on X, he wrote, “Together with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the community’s leader, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, bereaved families, and members of the Jewish community, we united in memory of the 15 victims of the Bondi terror attacks. The terrorists sought to instill fear in the Jewish people—and we respond with renewed Jewish pride, by choosing life and hope.”

Herzog also warned of rising antisemitism during the visit, calling it a global emergency and defending Israel’s actions in Gaza when asked about the protests.

Demonstrations opposing Israel’s war in Gaza and Herzog’s presence erupted across Australia, with the largest confrontation unfolding in Sydney. Authorities imposed restrictions on protest routes and used pepper spray to disperse crowds after tensions escalated.

Police said officers were met with violence and acted to maintain order, while protesters and some politicians accused authorities of excessive force.

Talking to Sky News Australia, former Australian Jewish Association president David Adler called the violence “a disgraceful display,” noting that Australia has a system of law and order and that a court decision establishing an exclusion zone for the protests was ignored by the “radical activists,” which “left the police with an impossible situation.”

Commenting on Sydney police actions against the agitators, Adler said there was some “rejoicing in our community to finally see a bit of pushback from the New South Wales police, because, for two years and a half, almost, there’s been a lack of law enforcement when it comes to the incitement, the antisemitism and we’ve seen the emboldenment and the dreadful incidents which have occurred right across the country culminating (on Dec. 14) with the massacre at Bondi Beach. So maybe we’ve seen a little bit of a flicker of pushback in law enforcement, which we certainly welcome,” he said.

AUSTRALIA BANS PRO-ISRAEL INFLUENCER WEEKS AFTER BONDI BEACH TERROR ATTACK

Andrew Wallace, a member of parliament said, “Australians who live in a democracy have a right to protest peacefully and lawfully,” Wallace told Sky News, “What we saw last night was not peaceful, and it certainly was not in accordance with directions given by police.”

Australian leaders called for restraint and warned against importing overseas conflict into domestic streets.

A timeline compiled by the American Jewish Committee notes that the December Bondi Beach attack came after a sustained rise in anti-Jewish threats and violence across Australia, including vandalism of synagogues and Jewish schools, arson attacks and public harassment since Oct. 2023. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry documented more than 1,600 anti-Jewish incidents between Oct. 2024 and Sept. 2025, following more than 2,000 incidents the previous year.

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Israeli leaders have pointed to the Bondi attack as evidence of growing risks facing Jewish communities abroad and have criticized Australian authorities for failing to prevent the terrorist attack.