UK top diplomat says jail terms for Zeraati attackers send message to Iran

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi said on Friday that Bahrain's presentation to the UN Security Council on what it described as Iranian attacks reflected the kingdom's commitment to international law and diplomacy, while reaffirming the bloc's full support for Manama.

The GCC chief also urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to take a firm stance against the attacks and fulfill its responsibility to maintain international peace and security.

Iranian lawmaker Meysam Zohourian said on Friday that some within Iran's leadership argued Tehran should let US President Donald Trump portray the recent war as a victory and strike a deal he could sell politically in the United States, in an interview with SNN.

Zohourian called the idea "profound ignorance and compounded foolishness," adding that such an approach would only strengthen Trump's hand and make it easier for him to take military action against Iran after the November US congressional elections.

"What worries me even more is this same profound ignorance and compounded foolishness surrounding the broader implications of the agreement. We have 14 clauses, but in my view the most important is the 15th: the precedent we have from the United States' past conduct in implementing agreements, which deserves serious attention," Zohourian said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France's mine countermeasure assets would remain deployed in the Middle East and ready to help restore safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle returns to its home port.

"The signing, on June 17 last, of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran constitutes an important step forward for regional stability, particularly by reaffirming freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," he posted on X.

"In light of this favorable development and the changing needs, following the constructive exchanges I had with the Sultan of Oman, I have decided to adapt our deployment," Macron added. "The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is thus returning to its home port in Toulon, while our mine countermeasures assets and their escort remain deployed and ready to intervene alongside our partners."

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday hit back at Donald Trump over his remarks about Iranians struggling with food shortages, saying the US president was projecting America’s own food insecurity problems.

“Imagine having forty-something million of your own citizens on food stamps and calling another nation hungry,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

“This is not a proclamation. This is a projection. Keep your SNAP advice,” he added, referring to the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Ghalibaf said Iran would decide for itself how to use its assets, telling Trump to “mind your malnutrition rates.”

The prisoners arrested in the city of Mahallat have been identified as Erfan Khalili, Ali-Akbar Mahlooji, Hesam Issaei, Hossein Shokouhi and Abolghasem Kazem-Aslani.

They are being held in Arak prison and have only 10 days to appeal the verdicts.

Their verdict was announced on the same day that fellow political prisoner Arghavan Fallahi was sentenced to death on a charge of “baghi,” or armed rebellion, the US-based HRANA news agency reported.

The 24-year-old, held in Evin Prison, was sentenced by Judge Abolghasem Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, HRANA said.

The charge was based on allegations of membership in anti-government groups and involvement in armed activities. Human rights activists say she is accused of links to the exiled opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK).

Salavati also sentenced political prisoner Mehdi Nazer and his fiancée, Mahnaz Chardouli, to death and also 10 years in prison. The couple were arrested in Tehran on January 11, 2026.

The charges include attacking a mosque with Molotov cocktails, taking part in illegal gatherings, “assembly and collusion,” and alleged offenses under Iran’s espionage law, including cooperation with Israel.

The sentences come as rights groups have warned against the Islamic Republic’s growing use of capital punishment following nationwide unrest and the US-Israel war against Iran.

Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty, based in Paris, said in a joint annual report released in April that the Islamic Republic executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest annual figure recorded in Iran since 1989.

The groups said the number marked a 68% increase from 975 executions in 2024 and included 48 women.