The Central Intelligence Agency offered help to potential informants in Iran on Tuesday, providing Farsi-language instructions on ways to safely contact the U.S. spy agency as President Donald Trump mulls possible military strikes.

The post is the latest in a series of recruitment pitches in Farsi, Korean, Russian and Mandarin that offered secure ways to contact the CIA. The Farsi-language message posted Tuesday to X, Instagram and YouTube, however, comes at an especially uneasy time in U.S.-Iran relations and as the Iranian theocracy faces new protests at home.

Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks "big lies" to saying negotiations may yield an agreement through "honorable diplomacy."

The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead of Thursday's talks come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades, part of Trump's efforts to get a deal while Iran struggles at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests last month.

Japan's government said Wednesday that a Japanese national has been detained in Tehran since January and demanded the Iranian authorities release them swiftly.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki, asked about foreign media reports on the case, confirmed only that the Japanese citizen was taken into custody on Jan. 20 but gave no further details, citing privacy issues.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit focusing on strengthening security, economic and technological cooperation between the two countries.

Modi has said he would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog and would speak to Israeli parliament on Wednesday evening.

President Donald Trump on Monday denied reports that the top U.S. military officer had flagged the risks of a major operation against Iran, saying Washington would "easily" defeat Tehran in any conflict.

Trump said on Truth Social that General Dan Caine "like all of us, would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won."

Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Worshippers arriving for the day's first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke across the entrance of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus, and stained the ornate doorway.

Iraqi prime ministerial candidate Nouri al-Maliki told AFP on Monday that maintaining a good relationship with the U.S. is essential but that Baghdad's ties with Iran are defined by shared interests.

"I believe that a relationship with the American side is essential for Iraq's progress," Maliki said, adding that he rejects claims his relationship with the U.S. was bad during his first two terms in power from 2006 to 2014.

A dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over their maritime border that reignited over the weekend has prompted Gulf Arab countries to side with Kuwait, putting Baghdad on the defensive on Monday over its demand.

The dispute came after Iraq recently submitted a map and geographic coordinates to the United Nations to delineate what it says are Iraqi areas in the Persian Gulf waters — some of which Kuwait claims infringe on its territory.

The United States began withdrawing on Monday from a major base in Syria still under the control of Kurdish forces, a Kurdish official who requested anonymity told AFP.

An AFP team saw a convoy of dozens of trucks, loaded with armored vehicles and prefabricated structures, on a road linking the Qasrak base in Hasakeh province to the border with Iraq.

Iran said Monday that any U.S. attack, including limited strikes, would be an "act of aggression" that would precipitate a response, after President Donald Trump said he was considering a limited strike on Iran.

"And with respect to your first question concerning the limited strike, I think there is no limited strike," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran attended by an AFP journalist.