Iran lawmaker says Trump’s Abraham Accords comments are propaganda

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.

Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said any new regional security framework should be formed by countries in the region and exclude US involvement and Israeli influence.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Moscow Security Conference, Bagheri Kani said the recent US and Israeli attacks showed the need to define a new framework for peace and stability in the region. He said that position had been welcomed by countries attending the conference.

Bagheri Kani also rejected the Abraham Accords as a model for peace, calling them a “Pharaoh pact” and saying they would not guarantee regional stability.

He said the region would not become stable as long as plans such as what he called a US-led “Greater Middle East” or an Israeli pursuit of “Greater Israel” remained in place.

“The formation of any new security mechanism must take place with the participation of countries in the region and without US interference or Israeli influence,” he said.

Iranians have sent messages to Iran International describing worsening economic hardship, job losses, stalled trade and shortages of some essential medicines.

One message from Tehran said Jadenu tablets and Novartis-made Desferal injections, key medicines for thalassemia patients, had become unavailable.

The sender said domestic alternatives were low-quality, ineffective and carried serious side effects, warning that without proper medicine, 23,000 thalassemia patients could face heart and liver failure and painful death.

Another person, who said they work in Eshtehard Industrial Town, Alborz province, said many companies had laid off workers, while some had cut wages by half and removed lunch and transport services.

A message from the southern port city of Genaveh said the local market had stalled because traders could no longer bring goods from the UAE.

The sender said stocks of mobile phone accessories, clothes, shoes and other goods usually imported from the UAE were running out.

The head of Iran’s parliament National Security Committee said Tehran does not intend to transfer its enriched uranium stockpile to a third country, rejecting one of the issues raised in discussions around a possible agreement with Washington.

Ebrahim Azizi told Russia’s Sputnik that the United States had not been trustworthy in negotiations and that no agreement would be reached if Washington did not change its conduct.

Azizi also said the Islamic Republic was pursuing permanent management of the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as a long-term policy rather than a temporary measure.

His remarks came as Iranian officials continue to frame Hormuz as a central source of leverage in talks with the United States, while Washington has said any agreement must ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.