Iran is ‘getting everything it wanted’ in US-Iran talks, McMaster says

Former hostage Siamak Namazi said on Wednesday Iran's calls for "national reconciliation" are contradicted by recent detentions, adding that environmental activists Houman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, along with Kashani’s sister, Sima, were detained during a security raid.

"According to their lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, who was also my lawyer in Iran, no one has said which security agency made the arrests, where they are being held, or what charges, if any, they face. The arrests were carried out just before a long holiday, when the courts are effectively closed and families have nowhere to turn," he posted on X.

"The Islamic Republic speaks of the need for "national reconciliation." Then explain this to me. Explain how dragging away two of Iran's finest people, along with a woman with MS who was caring for her recovering father, without charges, without transparency, and without due process is reconciliation," Namazi added.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's command, not CENTCOM's," adding that a military meeting in Bahrain cannot establish a legal or security order for the Persian Gulf.

"Hormuz is defined under Iran's command, not CENTCOM. A military summit in Bahrain cannot establish legal order and security for the Persian Gulf," he posted on X. "The region's security will be ensured through the end of interventions and the US withdrawal from the area, respect for countries' sovereignty, and acceptance of new geopolitical realities—not under the military umbrella of America."

US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers have departed RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom after a deployment linked to US military operations against Iran, aviation observers reported on Wednesday.

"Six aircraft reportedly left the base in two waves on Tuesday, marking the end of a months-long deployment following the outbreak of hostilities," the report said.

Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari said the war between the United States and Iran left “everybody worse off,” citing US military casualties, Iranian civilian deaths, higher costs for Americans, and a more repressive political environment in Iran.

Ansari said 13 US service members were killed, thousands of Iranian civilians were killed, Americans faced higher prices, and Iran had become a “younger, more repressive regime.”

Hardline lawmaker Kamran Ghazanfari said what he described as a “political coup” is being carried out against Iran’s supreme leader, adding that efforts are underway to scale back street ceremonies and reduce the influence of institutions aligned with him.

"Pezeshkian and those around him are strengthening the Supreme National Security Council and diminishing the role of the supreme leader and parliament. They have devised a plan to sideline the leadership of the system. Their plan is to make the Supreme National Security Council the sole decision-making body. It is a kind of political coup that they are advancing step by step. The people must remain mobilized to neutralize this conspiracy," he said in a video posted on X on Wednesday.

Ghazanfari said large sums of money were being used to discourage eulogists and speakers from taking part in nightly public gatherings.

"A letter has been sent to the Basij instructing them not to support these gatherings. Parliament has also been effectively shut down for four months so that representatives cannot protest this so-called political coup against the leadership of the system," he added.