Kuwait condemns Iranian attacks as violation of sovereignty

Esmail Kowsari, a member of Iran’s parliament National Security Committee, said Washington has offered to release $24 billion in Iranian assets and accepted that half of the amount be paid through Qatar, but Tehran would not accept the pledge until it is implemented in practice.

“The Americans have said they will release $24 billion of Iran’s assets and have accepted that half of it be paid through Qatar, but until this is implemented in practice, we do not accept it,” Kowsari told the Didban Iran website.

He also said the US blockade must be lifted.

His remarks come as frozen Iranian assets, the blockade and control of Hormuz remain central sticking points in talks between Tehran and Washington.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of using the consequences of US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites to create “ambiguity” about Tehran’s nuclear program.

Writing on X after a recent IAEA report and media remarks by agency chief Rafael Grossi, Gharibabadi said comments about lack of access to some damaged facilities, the status of Iran’s uranium stockpile and what the agency calls a loss of “continuity of knowledge” did not emerge “in a vacuum.”

He argued that safeguarded nuclear facilities had been hit in US and Israeli military attacks and criticized Grossi for not condemning those strikes.

Gharibabadi also rejected the agency’s focus on Iran’s 60% enriched uranium and possible weapons-related scenarios, saying the Non-Proliferation Treaty does not set a numerical cap on enrichment levels and that the legal test is whether nuclear material is diverted to military purposes.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, though the IAEA has repeatedly sought fuller access and answers on Tehran’s uranium stockpile and monitoring gaps.

Gharibabadi said the agency could not report the consequences of military attacks, ignore those responsible and then ask Iran to bear the technical and political cost of the insecurity created.

“If the agency wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must avoid turning technical reports into tools of political pressure,” he wrote.

Gholamreza Tajgardoun, head of parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee, said Iran remains in conditions of economic war and can no longer continue with its previous budget, currency policies and economic framework.

Tajgardoun said the country had been in wartime conditions, had fought and was still at war, adding that reconstruction was now necessary and that the tools for managing the situation must be put in place.

He said continuing on the previous path would not meet the country’s current needs and that a shift in economic policy was necessary.

Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian oil producer Rosneft, said US oil companies are the main beneficiaries of the Iran war because they are selling oil at higher prices, Reuters reported.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin said US oil and gas companies could receive more than $60 billion in additional profit this year, citing estimates by Rystad Energy.

Sechin, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also said China was the country best prepared for a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of what he described as its balanced energy security policy and realistic assessment of risks.

He said any closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas exports, would amount to an attempt to change global energy market regulation in US interests.

Sechin also said OPEC+ had lost some of its potential after the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from the alliance.

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.