Graham says Iran talks could pave way for Abraham Accords expansion

Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said on Tuesday during a meeting with Emily Thornberry, chair of the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, and other committee members that any agreement preserving the Islamic Republic or its remnants would fail because the Iranian people would not accept such a deal.

Pahlavi said the meeting focused on the situation inside Iran, Tehran's repression of the Iranian people, and the need to place the people of Iran at the center of UK policy.

"Dealing with a regime that murdered more than 40,000 Iranians in January is not only morally wrong, but strategically misguided," Pahlavi said.

"With or without international support, the people of Iran will overthrow this regime. Freedom will come to Iran," he added.

The potential signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding is currently scheduled for Friday, June 19, at the Bürgenstock resort in central Switzerland, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

"At ‌this stage, the signing ​is scheduled for Friday, June 19, at Buergenstock in ​the canton of Nidwalden. The location was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the U.S. and Iran," ⁠the ministry said in a statement.

Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said on Tuesday that Iran's execution of two protesters arrested during the January uprising was the "consequence of making a deal with this criminal regime," criticizing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding as "morally wrong and strategically misguided."

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency reported that Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi, two men arrested during the January protests in the northeastern Iranian city of Shahrud, were executed.

"This is the consequence of making a deal with this criminal regime. To do a deal with a regime that murdered more than 40,000 protestors in two days in January is morally wrong and strategically misguided," Pahlavi said on X.

Pahlavi said the international community should support the Iranian people's "fight for freedom" and place them at the center of negotiations and Iran policy.

"But let me be clear - with or without international support - this regime will fall. The people of Iran will liberate themselves from tyranny," he added.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref suggested on Tuesday that vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz should pay for doing so, saying many passages had been free because of Iran's "hospitality."

"Many passages through the Strait of Hormuz have been free of charge thanks to the hospitality of the Iranian people. But when a guest's stay becomes prolonged, the guest should pay for their own expenses," Aref said.

Aref also said differences of opinion over negotiations with Washington should not turn into internal disputes.

"Those who are unable to resolve even a dispute between two brothers, how can they provide solutions for resolving the historical and strategic differences between the Islamic Republic and the West?" he said.

Hezbollah has received assurances from Iran that Tehran will not sign a final nuclear agreement with the United States unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon, the Iran-backed group's media relations office said on Tuesday.

Hezbollah said a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a pre-condition for, continuing talks between Tehran and Washington following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries on Friday.

Reuters quoted the Iran-backed group as saying that there would be "no nuclear deal between Iran and the United States unless the Israelis withdraw" from Lebanon.