US in strong position regardless of Iran negotiations outcome, Vance says

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said IRGC-linked individuals sought entry into the United States with Iran’s World Cup delegation, Politico reported on Tuesday.

Mullin said Iranian officials attempted to bring into the country multiple individuals with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including personnel who had not previously travelled with the national team.

"Two individuals presented as media members had connections to IRGC intelligence, and another applicant was the subject of an international arrest warrant," he said.

Mullin added no World Cup delegation required more attention from US officials than Iran, and defended strict travel restrictions imposed on the Iranian team, including limited entry windows and immediate departure after matches.

"Iran posed the most significant security challenge of any participating delegation," Mullin said. "US officials spent more time dealing with Iran than any other team.'

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and head of its negotiating team said in an interview with state TV aired on Tuesday that $12 billion of Iranian assets will be placed at the disposal of the central bank under a memorandum of understanding, allowing the funds to be used in any currency and for any type of purchase.

In response to US President Donald Trump that part of Iran’s released assets would only be spent on buying grain from American farmers, said the statement was “not true.”

"Islamic Republic holds $24 billion in assets in various locations. Under a memorandum of understanding, $12 billion of that amount would be placed at the disposal of the central bank, allowing it to be used in any currency and for the purchase of any goods," Ghalibaf said. "The critics do not want to accept that the agreement has lifted restrictions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and ended the blockade.”

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Tuesday praised Ellie Cohanim after she was appointed as a senior policy adviser at the US mission to the United Nations. Cohanim, an Iranian-American diplomat, was named to the role at USUN, according to the announcement.

"Few know the Iranian regime like Ellie. Born in Tehran, raised in Queens-just like President Trump-she’s a fighter. For America. Against antisemitism. For our freedom. Glad to have her in the fight," Waltz posted on X.

Iran’s parliament media center said on Tuesday that parts of an interview with Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were cut from the state TV broadcast.

It said the omitted segments included remarks on claims about an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection, efforts to secure the release of frozen assets, and a $300 billion reconstruction credit included in a memorandum of understanding.

The cut material also included comments addressing what it described as “misinformation” by US President Donald Trump, as well as the “strategic message” of Iran’s Supreme Leader delivered on June 18.

The spokesperson for the funeral committee said on Tuesday the bodies of the Ali Khamenei and his family members have not been buried or laid to rest, and have been preserved under “religious and legal standards.”

“For the first time we announce that the pure body of our martyred Imam and his family members, with full respect and care, have been preserved in accordance with Sharia and legal standards,” Iman Attarzadeh said, adding that the bodies have neither been buried nor formally entrusted elsewhere.

“Rumors circulating on social media that the body of the martyred leader of the revolution was buried at the shrine of Masumeh in Qom are completely false and have no validity,” Attarzadeh posted on X.