US rejects Iranian account of Gulf of Oman encounter

Two Romanian men were found guilty on Friday of wounding Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati with intent following an attack outside his Wimbledon home in March 2024.

Jurors at Woolwich Crown Court unanimously convicted George Stana and Nandito Badea on charges of wounding with intent. Prosecutors said the pair were part of a three-man team that carried out surveillance on Zeraati before stabbing the journalist in the leg and fleeing Britain.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 3. The judge would give her full opinion on Badea and Stana when passing sentence, including the reasoning behind any sentencing tariff.

The offence can carry a sentence of up to life imprisonment for grievous bodily harm with intent.

A US naval force that had sought to enter the Persian Gulf dispersed after operations by Iran's navy, Iranian state television reported on Friday, citing satellite imagery from the past 48 hours.

A state TV correspondent said the images showed US vessels that had been heading toward the Persian Gulf had scattered, describing the development as the result of action by the Iranian navy.

Separately, the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had instructed commercial vessels carrying essential goods such as fuel and food to notify Iranian authorities before transiting the Strait of Hormuz so their security could be ensured and passage plans arranged after obtaining permission.

A source close to Iran's negotiating team rejected a report on Friday that Tehran had agreed to transfer part of its enriched uranium stockpile to a third country, calling the report inaccurate.

The source told Fars News Agency that no agreement had been reached on moving any portion of Iran's enriched uranium inventory abroad, dismissing the report by Al Arabiya as false.

Access by IAEA inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities remains limited and Tehran continues to determine which sites inspectors can visit, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday.

Speaking at a news conference, Grossi said the agency had made repeated efforts to resume verification activities following the 12-day war and subsequent military developments.

Iran is obligated to provide information and access to inspectors, Grossi said, but wartime conditions had prevented such activities. Despite a relatively lengthy ceasefire, the IAEA has only been able to conduct work at facilities selected by Tehran, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant and several other locations, according to him.

Iran's navy fired warning missiles and drones at US warships in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, accusing the US Navy of harassing maritime traffic and seizing commercial vessels and oil tankers, Iranian state media reported.

The report came after the US Indo-Pacific Command said American forces had intercepted the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T DAVINA in the Indian Ocean overnight.

"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the command said in a post on X.