Iran culture minister warns against 'legitimizing Trump narrative in talks'

A letter published on Wednesday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) urged First Lady Melania Trump to draw attention to human rights abuses in Iran, particularly against women, alongside ongoing US focus on nuclear talks and energy policy.

"Iran’s current Islamic revolutionaries are not less radicalized than their predecessors. They are not interested in turning over a new leaf, nor are they looking to help their country," FDD founder Clifford May wrote in letter.

"They are Khomeinists, which means they are eager to kill - and die - to reestablish Islamic supremacy far and wide," he added. "All I am asking is that you bring your clear-eyed and worldly perspective to the people around you — as loudly as possible."

Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday that the Senate should, “to the extent possible,” re-vote a War Powers resolution related to Iran and defeat it, arguing the earlier vote could embolden Iran during ongoing negotiations.

"I believe it is imperative that to the extent possible the Senate re-vote the Iran War Powers resolution – and defeat it. The president’s concern about Iran being emboldened by this vote in the middle of negotiations to end this war is not unwarranted. Frankly, it’s just common sense. What’s ironic is that votes like this have the unintended consequence of extending the conflict," Graham posted on X. "If possible, we should re-vote."

Former Iranian vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi said on Wednesday oil is expected to be sold at full price under the recent memorandum of understanding and that revenues would go directly to the public without intermediaries.

Abtahi said opposition to the agreement may be linked to the loss of income for those involved in oil-trading networks under sanctions.

"We had nearly ten years of oil sanctions. Oil network intermediaries took heavy losses to bypass the sanctions in order to bring only a small amount of oil revenue into the treasury. Countries that did not comply with the sanctions drove our oil prices down and bought it cheaply," Abtahi posted on X.

"Now, for the first time after the recent agreement, oil is expected to be sold at market price, with the money going directly into people’s pockets without intermediaries. Could this unprecedented attack on the agreement possibly be related to the cutting off of this source of income?" he added.

US President Donald Trump criticized several NATO members on Wednesday for what he described as a lack of support during the conflict with Iran, singling out the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain.

Trump said Washington had been "disappointed" by the positions taken by some allies, adding that Spain was "terrible."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not ask President Donald Trump for permission before Israel’s June 2025 campaign against Iran, saying he only informed the US president of Israel’s plan.

“I did not ask for permission. I simply informed him of our plan,” Netanyahu said at the Muni Expo conference in Tel Aviv, adding that he was pleased Trump “ultimately joined in toward the end of this very important action.”

Netanyahu defended Israel’s preemptive security doctrine, saying Israel had to “initiate” and “attack” rather than wait for enemies to act, and said one of its most important achievements in recent conflicts was to “break the barrier of fear.”