Hardline cleric warns diplomats against shaking hands with Khamenei’s killers

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s parliament National Security Committee, said what he called Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz had become established internationally, adding that countries now seek permission, pay fees and cross the waterway under IRGC Navy guidance.

Writing on X, Rezaei said President Donald Trump was the only person who had either not accepted or did not want to accept that reality.

“Every now and then he sends his army to open the strait. They come, get beaten and go back,” Rezaei wrote.

He also addressed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directly, telling him to stop what he called “extra bluster” and instead think about “bowing to the power of Iranians in the Persian Gulf.”

The remarks came as the Strait of Hormuz remains central to US-Iran negotiations, with Tehran framing control of the waterway as leverage and Washington insisting it must remain open to international shipping.

According to the messages, morality patrol activity has resumed in cities including Isfahan, Rasht and Anzali, with officers targeting not only women over mandatory hijab but also men whose clothing is deemed outside official norms, including those wearing shorts.

Several messages said people had been detained and taken to police vans over clothing-related cases. Citizens also reported that officers were photographing people in public spaces.

One person said plainclothes agents in Isfahan had been warning women and girls in the streets over their clothing and putting them under pressure.

In Rafsanjan, one citizen said that after women supporting the government confronted her over hijab, armed officers later went to nearby locations looking for her.

Messages from other areas also pointed to wider controls, including checks of citizens’ mobile phones.

The accounts come alongside reports of shop closures in Rasht over hijab-related cases.

In Arak, a women’s sports club was reportedly sealed after security forces entered the premises and arrested several coaches.

An Iranian lawmaker dismissed President Donald Trump’s remarks about a possible Iranian role in the Abraham Accords, calling them “political delirium,” parliament’s news website reported.

Mohammadreza Mohseni-Sani, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, said Trump’s comments reflected what he called the US president’s “illusions” and “unstable mental state.”

Mohseni-Sani said the decision by countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to join the Abraham Accords had failed to achieve Washington’s goals, describing the agreements as “shaky and rootless.”

He said Trump’s remarks were propaganda aimed at covering up what he described as a US military defeat against the Islamic Republic and repairing Washington’s image internationally.

Mohseni-Sani added that Trump’s comments had “no validity in Iran’s foreign policy doctrine.”

Iranian authorities have sent some prisoners wearing electronic ankle tags to nightly government rallies, according to messages sent to Iran International.

One person wrote that young and teenage prisoners had been temporarily released with electronic tags to take part in government-organized rallies.

The messages add to earlier accounts from citizens saying people had been paid to attend such gatherings or offered incentives including food items such as cooking oil and rice.

Iran International has received multiple accounts in recent days describing efforts by authorities to increase attendance at nightly pro-government events.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Washington for an official visit and is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said Dar was received on arrival by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, and senior embassy officials.

It said Dar and Rubio would discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.

The ministry added that Dar would return to Islamabad later the same day after completing his official engagements.