Russia’s Rosneft chief says US oil firms benefit most from Iran war

A Politico opinion piece by Daniel Miller said Iran’s World Cup appearance in Los Angeles is forcing many Iranian Americans to choose between celebrating their heritage and rejecting the Islamic Republic, whose flag appears on the national team’s jerseys.

The piece focused on Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, and said some Iranian Americans do not see Team Melli as representing the Iranian people because they view it as tied to the Islamic Republic.

“I cannot stand the Islamic Republic flag at all,” Los Angeles restaurateur Roozbeh Farahanipour told Politico, adding that more than 20 of his friends and relatives had been killed by the Islamic Republic. “To me, this is not the Iranian team; this is the Islamic Republic’s team.”

Politico also cited exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi as saying football had become “a weapon” in the Islamic Republic’s “war against the Iranian people.” Pahlavi called on fans attending the World Cup to show solidarity with Iranians.

The article said the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag, widely used by opponents of the Islamic Republic, has become common at protests in Los Angeles but is banned by FIFA under restrictions on political expression by fans.

Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles before facing Egypt in Seattle.

The team’s base camp was moved to Tijuana, Mexico, and that it will fly in and out of the United States for matches, in part because the US government did not want the team staying in the country.

The piece also noted the possibility of a politically charged US-Iran knockout match in Dallas if both teams finish second in their groups.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned renewed Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait after seven ballistic missiles were launched toward the two countries early Saturday and intercepted.

The ministry said the attacks were a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty of both countries, the UN Charter and international norms, and a threat to security and stability in the Persian Gulf region.

It also said the attacks violated UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which it said condemned Iran’s “unjustified attacks” and any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz or obstruct international navigation there.

“Security is not built with missiles and drones, and stability is not preserved by laying mines,” the ministry said.

Bahrain called on Iran to immediately stop the attacks, move toward peace, open the Strait of Hormuz fully and without restrictions or fees, disclose the locations of naval mines and cooperate in removing them.

The ministry also called for a safe humanitarian corridor to allow civilian vessels to pass and for more than 20,000 stranded sailors to leave safely and return to their families.

Bahrain said it remains committed to peace and stability in the region, but warned that its patience should not be read as weakness and that defending its sovereignty, security and people is a red line.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iran’s growing power had reshaped the regional balance and forced President Donald Trump to seek a temporary deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“The West’s long-feared nightmare has materialized,” Velayati wrote on X, adding that Iran’s rising power had changed the “strategic map.”

He claimed Reuters and The Guardian had acknowledged that Trump needed a temporary agreement to reopen Hormuz, calling it “the collapse of the Iran pressure doctrine” and “a victory for the resistance.”

Velayati also warned regional states against what he described as the “illusion of appeasement,” saying the emerging balance of power would not be built on weakening Iran-backed groups.

“Diplomatic wishful thinking carries a heavy price – lasting peace grows from a balance of power, not from hollow, unbacked commitments,” he wrote.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s claim that Tehran was using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States.

Aoun said Friday that Iran was using Lebanon in its talks with Washington and that the Lebanese people were paying the price for Tehran’s interests.

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  Lebanon emerges as new obstacle to Iran-US talks

“Had Lebanon been bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago,” Araghchi wrote on X on Saturday. “Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President.”

His remarks came as Lebanon has become one of the disputed issues around the US-Iran talks, with Iranian officials and hardliners insisting that any understanding with Washington must address the conflict involving Hezbollah.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted and stopped one of four oil tankers that had been attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz after receiving an IRGC warning at 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

In a statement, the IRGC said the other vessels turned back after the warning.

The Guards also said US drones struck a communications tower on Qeshm Island and another tower in Sirik at around 2:30 a.m. using two projectiles.

The IRGC said its aerospace forces responded by launching ballistic missiles at the US Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait and facilities belonging to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

US Central Command said US forces intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and that there were currently no reports of injuries to US personnel and denied IRGC claims that the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain had been damaged.