Clerics reject talks on Hormuz, say negotiations equal surrender
Senior clerics in Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is not open to negotiation and warned against engaging with the United States.
“The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are no longer negotiable,” Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari said on Friday, adding a new legal framework would be pursued with Oman.
“Negotiating with America means surrender,” Mashhad Friday Prayer Imam Ahmad Alamolhoda said, adding Iran could leverage control of Hormuz without talks.
The Iran war shows how smaller powers can still disrupt much stronger militaries and economies through cheap drones, cyber tools and chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argued in an opinion piece.
Friedman wrote that President Donald Trump is betting the US blockade of Iranian oil exports will force Tehran to negotiate on Washington’s terms, while Iran is betting that pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and higher energy prices will eventually force Trump to retreat.
The columnist argued that the larger lesson is not only about Iran, but about the changing nature of power. He said the war has shown how asymmetric warfare has evolved, allowing states and armed groups to use relatively cheap tools to create major disruption.
Friedman cited Iran’s use of low-cost drones to strike Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, saying the attacks caused far larger economic and service disruption than the price of the weapons would suggest. He also compared Iran’s tactics to Ukraine’s drone attacks inside Russia and Hamas’s use of improvised rockets against Israel.
He said the next stage could be even more dangerous as artificial intelligence gives smaller states, militant groups and hackers access to far more powerful tools. Friedman warned that AI agents could make cyberattacks cheaper, faster and more autonomous, giving actors that once had few options new ways to threaten advanced societies.
The argument, he wrote, is that Trump may be misreading the conflict if he assumes Iran has “no cards.” In Friedman’s view, the war is a preview of a world where even weakened states can use drones, cyber capabilities, infrastructure attacks and AI to create what one expert called “mass disruption.”
Iran’s foreign minister accused the Pentagon of misrepresenting war costs, saying US spending has reached $100 billion, far above official figures.
“The Pentagon is lying. Netanyahu's gamble has directly cost America $100b so far, four times what is claimed,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, adding that US households face about $500 in monthly costs and warning that indirect expenses are significantly higher.
Dozens of residents in Tehran displaced by a 40-day war with the US and Israel said municipal authorities ordered them to vacate temporary hotel housing despite unsafe homes and limited aid, according to interviews published by Etemad newspaper on Thursday.
Several of those affected said they were told to leave by the end of the week after calls from Tehran’s crisis management body, even though official inspections had deemed their homes uninhabitable.
“I was told I had to leave the hotel by the end of the week, even though my home is unsafe and I have nowhere to go,” one resident said, describing a call from a municipal official who noted reconstruction had not begun due to lack of funds.
People inspect the site of a residential building damaged by a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Karaj, Iran, April 3, 2026.
Unsafe homes, no rental support
A resident, who lived in a seventh-floor apartment damaged by a nearby missile strike in March, described shattered windows and debris that rendered both the unit and building access unusable. Emergency services later confirmed the structure was unsafe.
Despite this, the resident said no rental assistance or deposit support had been offered. “They told me I should find housing myself because there is no budget,” the resident added.
Other displaced residents reported receiving similar instructions. Many said they lacked the financial means to rebuild or secure new housing, leaving them at risk of homelessness.
Under earlier municipal pledges, affected households were to receive temporary accommodation, rental support, and reconstruction assistance.
Updated figures increased aid for household goods to 4 billion rials (about $2,200), rental deposits to 20 billion rials (about $11,000), and monthly rent support to 400 million rials (about $220).
However, residents said these commitments have not been consistently fulfilled.
Average income in Iran is around $150 to $200 per month, while the minimum wage is typically below $100.
Civilians react on a street as tensions rise during the US–Israeli conflict with Iran, with one man speaking on the phone while others look on in concern.
Delays and conditions on compensation
Some families whose homes were destroyed said they were instructed to pay for basic household items upfront and submit receipts for reimbursement, which could take up to 10 months.
Others said even smaller grants had limited impact. One resident who received 2.5 billion rials (about $1,400) said it was insufficient to replace essential items such as a refrigerator, stove, and bedding.
“We lost everything in the strike and could not even recover clothes,” the resident said. “With that money, we could only buy a few basic items.”
In some cases, families forced to leave hotels reported moving into improvised spaces. One household said they had lived for months in a 30-square-meter storage room after being unable to afford rent.
Residents with damaged vehicles described similar difficulties in seeking compensation. Several said they were told by representatives of insurance that earlier claims from a previous conflict in June had not yet been settled.
“They told me there is no timeline for paying these damages,” one vehicle owner said after visiting an insurance office.
Official figures show that thousands of vehicles and tens of thousands of residential units were damaged in the 40-day conflict, adding to earlier destruction from a previous 12-day escalation in June.
A man inspects a car buried under rubble inside a damaged building following strikes during the US–Israeli conflict with Iran.
City council response highlights gaps
A spokesperson for Tehran’s city council acknowledged reports of inconsistencies and said cases of forced eviction without support should be reviewed.
“This should not happen, and if such cases exist, they must be followed up,” Alireza Nadali said, adding that municipal policy ties the end of hotel stays to securing alternative housing.
The official also pointed to the scale of damage and budget constraints, adding that assistance programs were introduced voluntarily and may face delays.
At the same time, the council emphasized that reconstruction responsibilities differ depending on the level of damage and local planning rules, which has led to varied outcomes across districts.
The accounts raise questions about the oversight role of the city council and the implementation of municipal commitments. Residents interviewed said many promises remained unfulfilled months after the initial damage.
Efforts to obtain direct comment from municipal crisis officials were unsuccessful, according to the report.
Iran’s internet blackout has reached 63 days, totaling more than 1,488 hours of disruption, NetBlocks said on Friday, warning the prolonged restrictions are limiting communication with the outside world.
The group said the shutdown is preventing many families abroad from checking on relatives’ safety and wellbeing as connectivity remains severely restricted.
Canada’s government is under pressure to explain how Mehdi Taj, Iran’s football chief and a former intelligence officer of the Revolutionary Guards, was briefly allowed into the country after being granted a special permit despite Canada’s IRGC ban.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney declined to discuss Taj’s case, citing privacy laws, but defended the government’s position on the IRGC.
“Members of the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guard rightly have been prohibited from entering this country and they will not enter this country,” he said.
The comments followed reporting by Iran International on how Taj, president of Iran’s football federation and a former intelligence commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, received a Temporary Resident Permit, or TRP. The permit allows Canadian authorities to admit a person who would otherwise be barred under immigration law.
The issue moved quickly to Parliament. At Thursday’s meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in Ottawa, Conservative MP Frank Caputo pressed Immigration Minister Lena Diab to explain how a person deemed inadmissible had received permission to enter Canada.
Caputo said “the rule of law demands transparency” and asked “who gave him a visa,” saying it took Iran International’s reporting to bring the case to public attention.
Taj, the president of Iran’s football federation, has longstanding ties to the Islamic Republic’s security establishment. After the 1979 revolution, he served as an intelligence commander in the IRGC in Isfahan, where units were involved in monitoring internal dissent, including among Kurdish populations.
Canada listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity in 2024, a move that makes people linked to the force inadmissible. Even so, Taj was issued a TRP to attend the FIFA Congress in Vancouver.
Sources who spoke to Iran International said Taj arrived in Canada but was turned back within hours. He and two people accompanying him left at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday after being questioned by authorities.
The immigration ministry commented only after his departure. It declined to name him, citing privacy laws, and said broadly that people linked to the IRGC are not welcome in Canada.
Taj’s brief presence came just before the FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre, where members of the Iranian diaspora had planned protests after Iran International’s report.
A protester holds demonstration placards outside the Vancouver Convention Centre during the 76th FIFA Congress on April 30, 2026.
Political backlash in Ottawa
The case has put the government under pressure from opposition figures who say Taj’s short stay does not answer the central question of why he was issued a permit at all.
Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government publicly, raising concerns about how a person deemed inadmissible was granted entry in the first place.
Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman also pointed to Iran International’s reporting as she pressed the government for answers.
“Good riddance. He didn’t just get on a plane and come here to be sent back. Did the Liberal government issue him a permit? Yes or no?” she said.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner rejected the argument that the system had worked because Taj was ultimately refused entry.
“Come on, this guy was issued a permit. They made a conscious decision,” she told reporters Thursday in Ottawa.
She has described the case as evidence of serious immigration screening failures and called for accountability.
In the Senate, opposition leader Leo Housakos pressed the government in sharper terms.
“Your government can't seem to show the IRGC the door, but it can find a way to roll out the welcome mat… What’s the point of listing the IRGC if you're not serious about throwing him out of our country?” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand suggested the permit may have been granted and later revoked.
“It’s not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional,” she said, pointing to a possible breakdown in the process.
International coverage and fallout
The case, first reported by Iran International, has since moved into wider international coverage. The New York Times, USA Today, Agence France-Presse and The Canadian Press have all covered the incident, citing the reporting that brought Taj’s entry to light.
The episode has turned a single immigration decision into a broader test of Canada’s policy toward officials tied to the Islamic Republic.
Canada has formally listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity, barring people linked to it from entering the country, yet discretionary tools like Temporary Resident Permits allow authorities to override that inadmissibility.
For critics, Taj’s case has exposed the space between the government’s public position and the way exceptions can be made in practice.
The controversy also comes amid deep anger over the Islamic Republic’s human rights record, including what has been described as one of the deadliest crackdowns in modern history earlier this year, adding to concern among Iranian-Canadians over how Western governments handle officials tied to Tehran.
Demonstration placards are seen outside the Vancouver Convention Centre during the 76th FIFA Congress
Questions still facing the government
Taj’s brief entry and rapid removal have left the government facing the same basic issue that first put the case in public view: who approved the permit, why it was granted despite Canada’s inadmissibility rules, and what safeguards are in place to prevent a similar decision.
What began with Iran International’s reporting has become a political fight in Ottawa, one that now sits at the crossing point of immigration law, national security and Canada’s approach to the Islamic Republic.
