US resumes dollar shipments to Iraq after pressure over Iran ties – NYT

Former US national security adviser H R McMaster said on Wednesday Iran is benefiting from indirect US-Iran negotiations, adding Tehran is “getting everything that they wanted.”

McMaster said sanctions relief and eased oil restrictions were providing Iran with “big paychecks,” which he argued could help it rebuild its military capabilities and regional proxy networks, speaking on CBS.

"They're getting the infusion of cash they desperately needed to get themselves up off the mat," he added.

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.”