Iran MP tells US Treasury chief to stop ‘blustering’ over Hormuz

Messages sent to Iran International point to a renewed wave of security and social pressure in several Iranian cities, as prospects for a possible agreement and the continuation of the ceasefire between the Islamic Republic, Israel and the United States have become more serious.

According to the messages, morality patrol activity has resumed in cities including Isfahan, Rasht and Anzali, with officers targeting not only women over mandatory hijab but also men whose clothing is deemed outside official norms, including those wearing shorts.

Several messages said people had been detained and taken to police vans over clothing-related cases. Citizens also reported that officers were photographing people in public spaces.

One person said plainclothes agents in Isfahan had been warning women and girls in the streets over their clothing and putting them under pressure.

In Rafsanjan, one citizen said that after women supporting the government confronted her over hijab, armed officers later went to nearby locations looking for her.

Messages from other areas also pointed to wider controls, including checks of citizens’ mobile phones.

The accounts come alongside reports of shop closures in Rasht over hijab-related cases.

In Arak, a women’s sports club was reportedly sealed after security forces entered the premises and arrested several coaches.

An Iranian lawmaker dismissed President Donald Trump’s remarks about a possible Iranian role in the Abraham Accords, calling them “political delirium,” parliament’s news website reported.

Mohammadreza Mohseni-Sani, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, said Trump’s comments reflected what he called the US president’s “illusions” and “unstable mental state.”

Mohseni-Sani said the decision by countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to join the Abraham Accords had failed to achieve Washington’s goals, describing the agreements as “shaky and rootless.”

He said Trump’s remarks were propaganda aimed at covering up what he described as a US military defeat against the Islamic Republic and repairing Washington’s image internationally.

Mohseni-Sani added that Trump’s comments had “no validity in Iran’s foreign policy doctrine.”

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.