US re-designates Francesca Albanese under ICC-related sanctions

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said on Wednesday that the Czech Republic, a landlocked NATO member with no navy, is prepared to support the Trump administration’s effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz by offering “unique passive surveillance capabilities” to counter what he described as Iran’s growing threat to the strategic waterway, Fox News reported.

“Prague has already begun discussions on contributing specialized assets to ensure freedom of navigation,” he said, describing Iran as a four-pronged global threat, including nuclear proliferation, drones and ballistic missiles, international terrorism, and the Strait of Hormuz itself.

Deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani said on Wednesday Tehran is not prepared to negotiate over its stockpile of enriched uranium, adding that shipping procedures in the Strait of Hormuz will change following recent regional conflict.

“Until we reach an agreement on all issues, we believe we have reached no agreement on anything,” official media cited him as saying, adding that indirect contacts between Iran and the United States continue and that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is not on the negotiating agenda.

“Iran and Oman, as neighboring coastal states, are jointly negotiating a new mechanism for the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Bagheri said. “The conditions and procedures for passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be completely different from the conditions before the start of the conflict involving Iran.”

Head of Iran’s parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi said on Wednesday Iran will not be pushed back from its “red lines,” including uranium enrichment rights, possession of enriched uranium, control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of sanctions.

"Iran will not be pushed back by Trump’s rhetoric from its red lines: the right to enrich uranium, possession of enriched uranium, authority over the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of sanctions. It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement," he posted on X.

Democratic member of the House of Representatives and Armed Services Committee member Seth Moulton said on CNN on Wednesday that the war with Iran “has been a failure every step of the way,” arguing that the United States is “losing the war.”

“This war has been a failure every step of the way. And amazingly, the Trump administration seemed to finally realize this, which is why they’ve backed off and are seeking a deal with Iran. Let’s be clear, it’s not Iran begging for a deal. It’s the Trump administration,” Moulton, a former Marine, said.

“But it’s still the best course of action that they can take at this point, because escalating it only risks getting us more deeply involved and makes it harder to pull out. At this point, we’re losing the war. We’ve got to cut our losses and go home,” he added.

Iran’s partial restoration of international internet access after nearly three months of blackout has opened a new fight inside the ruling system, with hardliners accusing President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government of bypassing powerful security and cyberspace institutions.

The dispute centers on a “special headquarters” set up earlier this month under First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref to determine how and when broader access to the global internet should resume after wartime restrictions imposed during the recent conflict between Iran and Israel.

Hardliners have portrayed the body as a parallel institution created to sideline opponents inside the Supreme National Security Council and the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, two of Iran’s most influential policymaking bodies on security and internet governance.

The backlash intensified after the headquarters voted on Monday to move forward with restoring international internet access.

In response, four hardline members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace filed a complaint with Iran’s Administrative Justice Court, seeking to halt implementation of the decision and dissolve the newly formed body.

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