Iraq urges restraint amid renewed Strait of Hormuz tensions

Iranian student activist Motahare Goonei said she had been ordered to appear before Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on alleged charges of “propaganda against the system.”

In a post on X on Sunday, she said she had been warned that publishing the summons would itself be considered “a crime.”

Goonei, a former dentistry student, has been repeatedly arrested and prosecuted over her activism and social media posts. She previously served time in Evin Prison and was sentenced in 2025 to 21 months in prison on charges including “propaganda against the establishment” and “insulting the supreme leader.”

Judge Afshari was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in December 2022 as part of measures targeting Iranian judicial officials involved in prosecuting protesters, and by the European Union in January 2026 over serious human rights violations.

A Western intelligence service warned the United States that Iran intended to assassinate President Donald Trump on Turkish soil, prompting a last-minute switch of his aircraft, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported.

The outlet said senior Iranian officials viewed Trump’s visit as a rare opportunity, but the intelligence service alerted US authorities in advance.

Channel 12 also reported that Israeli officials currently assess Iran does not intend to attack Israel, believing such a move would return the conflict to high-intensity warfare and risk an uncontrolled escalation.

US Senator Lindsey Graham spoke with President Donald Trump by phone on Saturday night and was told that Trump was preparing fresh strikes against Iran following another attack on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.

Graham had briefed Trump on his recent trip to Ukraine and a Russia sanctions bill he wanted the Senate to consider soon. Shortly afterward, he told another person that he was feeling unwell but planned to seek medical attention on Sunday morning after appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,” Graham joked.

Graham passed away several hours later, the report said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate end to renewed military confrontations involving Iran and the United States, warning that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the region and global economy.

“These attacks must all stop,” Guterres wrote on X.

“I urge Iran and the US to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy,” he added.

US forces have the capability to take control of the Strait of Hormuz if President Donald Trump chooses to pursue that course, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, a former commander of US Central Command, said on CBS News’ Face the Nation program.

“The US Navy doesn’t love to do that, but they’re very good at it,” McKenzie said, adding that the operation would involve deploying US ships into the narrow waterway.

He said Iran’s leadership typically responds to military force and intense pressure as Trump seeks a diplomatic solution.

“If you want to gain concessions from Iran, you have to directly pressure the regime, and you have to do so in a way that perhaps is existential to them,” McKenzie said.