US vows to intensify economic pressure on Iran, Treasury Secretary says
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday Washington will use all available economic tools against those supporting Iran’s “terrorist activities,” following talks with Britain’s finance minister.
The United States plans to play a more active role in efforts to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The official said the administration of US President Donald Trump intends to support Lebanese government efforts to curb Hezbollah’s military capabilities and is prepared to use American resources to achieve that goal.
“Trump wants this to happen, so this time the US will be far more involved,” the official was quoted as saying.
Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qa’ani said Hezbollah has emerged as the “victor” in the confrontation with Israel, commenting after US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon earlier on Thursday.
“People in Lebanon and the region know that the victor in this decisive battle is the heroic Hezbollah,” Qa’ani said in a message carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Qa’ani said that if a ceasefire takes place, it would be the result of “the steadfast resistance of Lebanon and the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
US officials have told European allies that some previously contracted weapons deliveries may be delayed as the Iran war continues to draw on American weapons stocks, Reuters reported citing three sources familiar with the matter.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the communications were not public, said several European countries could be affected, including nations in the Baltic region and Scandinavia.
Some of the weapons were purchased through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program but have not yet been delivered, the sources said.
US immigration authorities have arrested an Iranian national accused of lying about past ties to a paramilitary organization linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Iran International.
Homeland Security Investigations agents, working with the FBI, arrested Yousof Sadat Azizi on April 13 on charges related to alleged fraud and misrepresentation in his visa application, a DHS spokesperson said.
Authorities said Azizi had denied being a member of Iran’s Student Basij Organization when applying for a US visa, despite allegedly belonging to the group between 2006 and 2010. The Basij is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
According to DHS, Azizi entered the United States in September 2013 on a student visa and studied at the University of Michigan before transferring to Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Officials said his student visa status was later terminated after he failed to re-enroll for the Fall 2025 semester.
Azizi is currently being held in immigration detention pending a hearing before an immigration judge, the statement said.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” the DHS spokesperson said.
The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of Iranian nationals in the United States following the recent war between Iran and Israel and rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Several other cases involving individuals linked to prominent Iranian political figures have also drawn attention in recent weeks.
Among them was the arrest of the son of former Iranian vice president Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was detained in the United States along with his wife and child.
In a statement on Saturday the State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had terminated the green card status of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi and their son, who were placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal.
Rubio had earlier terminated the lawful permanent resident status of the niece and grandniece of former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani, leading to their arrest by federal agents earlier this month.
The State Department said Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pending removal from the United States.
The department alleged that Soleimani Afshar had publicly supported Iran’s government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while living in the United States, including through social media posts praising attacks on US forces and promoting regime messaging.
“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” Rubio said in a statement.
The cases have circulated widely on Iranian social media and Persian-language media, where they have been cited by critics of Washington as evidence of increased pressure on Iranians abroad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to a temporary 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon to allow time for US President Donald Trump’s initiative to forge a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon.
In a video statement, Netanyahu said any agreement would need to include the dismantling of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
He also said Trump had assured him that the United States would continue enforcing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and pursue efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
