Graham questions Pakistan’s role as mediator in Iran-related diplomacy

Exiled prince Reza Pahlavi on Tuesday condemned the issuance of death sentences for four Iranian people, describing the move as further evidence of what it called the Islamic Republic’s use of executions as a tool of repression, his media office said.

In a statement, the office said the individuals - identified as Milad Armoon, Mohammad mehdi Hosseini, Mehdi Imani, and Navid Najaran - were among protesters from Iran’s 2022 demonstrations targeted by a judicial system it said had been turned into an instrument of intimidation and control.

"The silence from the international community in the face of executions of Iranian protesters amounted to a moral and political failure and continued inaction allows the authorities to intensify repression," the statement said.

Bahrain foreign minister said on Tuesday Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global energy markets and trade, and caused significant economic losses, while prompting emergency measures in several countries to protect consumers.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani called on Iran to comply with its international obligations and the principles of good neighborliness, adding the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and other international waterways, and to end support for proxy groups and destabilizing activities.

Several viewers said joy was impossible after what the country had endured.

“I am not happy that the internet has been restored, because 40,000 other people will never come online again,” one viewer wrote, referring to the victims of Iran's crackdown on thousands of protesters in January.

Another viewer said the restoration should not erase the memory of those killed.

“We were finally able to connect to the internet after some time, thank God,” the viewer wrote. “In memory of the fallen, whose names live on.”

A third message struck a similar tone: “Now that the internet is back, let’s remember our fallen even more. Hoping for freedom.”

For many, the return of access was framed as a right that should never have been taken away.

“Hello, we're finally connected, but it was not fair to be cut off for 88 days,” one person said.

Another viewer from Mahallat in central Iran wrote: “After 90 days, from Mahallat, we are supposed to get excited about the restoration of something that is every human being’s right.”

A viewer wrote: “Today, after three months, I connected. My dear people, please don’t lose hope. This is not the final battle.”

No favor

Others welcomed the reconnection but rejected any portrayal of it as a government favor.

“People of Iran, the internet is our natural right,” one viewer wrote. “Be happy, but don’t think this is a privilege they have given us. We will not surrender.”

Another message said: “I am pleased that international internet has been restored for the public. This is every citizen’s natural and basic right. Very good and bright things await the Persians and this land. Wait a little. Javid Shah, Payandeh Iran.”

Some viewers said the authorities had failed to use internet access as leverage.

“After several days, they opened the internet again,” one person wrote. “They thought they could fool us with the internet.”

Another message said the connection had returned only partially: “The internet has finally been restored, of course with a thousand hardships and low speed.”

A young viewer described exhaustion with daily life in Iran.

“I was only just able to connect,” the viewer wrote. “I am a girl from the 2010s generation. Even I am tired now. Every day the situation is getting worse and worse. I just hope that in the end all of us will see our Iran free. Long Live the Shah.”

Internet Pro

Several messages focused on the so-called “Internet Pro” plan, a tiered internet access system rolled out during the blackout, praising those who refused to use it despite being able to.

“From Bojnourd: I wanted to send my greetings to everyone who had the option of using Internet Pro but honorably chose not to,” one viewer wrote. “Freedom is your right more than anyone’s.”

“The Internet Pro plan failed. Thanks to those who did not submit to this humiliation and shame, and I feel sorry for those who did," a user wrote.

Another viewer linked the restoration to wider economic pain, using sarcasm to address officials.

“Bless your hand for ordering the international internet to be restored,” the viewer wrote. “Now, if it is not too much trouble, order those whose online businesses were destroyed to return to work, those whose lives fell apart to return to their homes and families, and those who were thrown onto the streets because of rent to go back to their homes.”

Others were skeptical of the motives behind the restoration.

“Don’t be too happy about the internet being restored,” one person wrote. “They restored the internet so they can activate their mining farms, and that means seven or eight hours of power cuts a day.”

For some, the strongest feeling was not relief but a sense of permanent rupture.

“After more than 80 days, we connected with difficulty,” one viewer wrote. “Once again, as always, we realized that no one is thinking about us, and in the end it is just us and ourselves. Even if everything goes back to the way it was, we will not go back.”

President Donald Trump lashed out at major US media outlets and Democrats in a Truth Social post, saying they would portray even Iran’s hypothetical full military surrender as a “Masterful and Brilliant Victory” over the United States.

"If Iran surrenders, admits their Navy is gone and resting at the bottom of the sea, and their Air Force is no longer with us, and if their entire Military walks out of Tehran, weapons dropped and hands held high, each shouting “I surrender, I surrender” while wildly waving the representative White Flag, and if their entire remaining Leadership signs all necessary “Documents of Surrender,” and admit their defeat to the great power and force of the magnificent U.S.A., The Failing New York Times, The China Street Journal (WSJ!), Corrupt and now Irrelevant CNN, and all other members of the Fake News Media, will headline that Iran had a Masterful and Brilliant Victory over The United States of America, it wasn’t even close."

"The Dumacrats and Media have totally lost their way. They have gone absolutely CRAZY!!!" Trump said.

In a fiery Hajj message, Mojtaba Khamenei described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” nearing the “final stages” of its existence, praised the October 7 attacks and repeated his father’s prediction that Israel would not survive beyond 2040.

The statement came as Hezbollah sharply increased attacks on Israel’s northern border, including explosive drone strikes near civilian communities, and as the Trump administration signaled progress toward a possible deal with Tehran.

The parallel escalation has raised questions over whether Tehran may be trying to strengthen its hand in talks with Washington, using Hezbollah as leverage while publicly hardening its posture toward Israel.

On X, Iran analyst Arash Azizi described Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement as “remarkable for how extremely eliminationist it is toward Israel, even by the regime’s standards.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to Mojtaba Khamenei's remarks by invoking the fate of his slain father and pointing to the new supreme leader’s absence from public view since the February 28 attack, which killed several members of his family and left him injured.

“Sounds familiar. I remember someone with a similar surname who used to say it. BTW, where are you?” Sa’ar wrote.

Hezbollah as leverage against US

Reuters reported Tuesday that Israeli troops had expanded ground operations beyond a demarcation line established after the April ceasefire, while Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli forces using explosive drones, rockets and artillery.

For Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Research and Education Center, the timing of Hezbollah’s escalation is no coincidence.

“There is no doubt they are doing that under the order of Tehran,” Zehavi told Iran International.

“They intensify the attacks while there is a lot of pressure on Iran to get a deal and the gaps between the Americans and the Iranians are really big,” she said.

Zehavi argued that Iran is using Hezbollah as leverage against Washington, either to pressure the United States into concessions or to prolong negotiations while the Islamic Republic rebuilds.

“They are using Hezbollah as a leverage of pressure on the Americans."

The escalation is already having deadly consequences inside Israel. Zehavi’s cousin’s son, Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, 23, was killed last week by a Hezbollah drone strike near the northern border, weeks before he was due to complete his military service.

100%

“In the process people are being killed,” Zehavi said.

Zehavi said Hezbollah’s escalation may also be intended to provoke a wider Israeli response in Lebanon, allowing Tehran to blame Israel if the diplomatic track collapses.

“They are dragging Israel to attack in Beirut at this specific time,” she said, “and that way blame Israel for any dead-end in the negotiations.”