FBI offers $200,000 reward for info on ex-agent accused of spying for Iran

“If war breaks out and ‌Bahrain once again makes US bases available for attacks against us, we will strike them so hard that they will forget their name,” Iranian MP and former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned.

He also accused Bahrain of pushing anti-Iran measures after US and Israeli strikes, saying Manama had backed a Security Council resolution against Tehran “instead of expressing sympathy with us over the killing of Ali Khamenei.”

Mottaki said Bahrain had also tried to pass an anti-Iran resolution at the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Istanbul last month, but Tehran had blocked a vote on it through “diplomatic prudence” and support from some countries.

Six Arab states demanded full legal compensation from Iran for damages and rejected Tehran’s claims of unilateral control over the Strait of Hormuz, Bahrain News Agency reported.

The letter, signed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, was sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

“No single country … may claim the right to impose unilateral administration,” the letter said.

Iran’s first vice president Mohammadreza Aref said on Thursday the government does not blame elites for leaving the country, but will support them if they decide to return.

His remarks came one day after Iran executed civil engineering graduate Ehsan Afrashteh who had returned to Iran from Turkey two years ago, on accusations of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel.

Earlier this week, Tehran also executed Erfan Shakourzadeh, a top-ranking graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology specializing in satellite technology, on spying charges.

US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping “would like to see a deal made” with Iran and offered to help, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“Look, anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with him,” Trump said.

“But he said, ‘I would love to be a help. If I could be of any help whatsoever...’” “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open,” Trump added.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said host countries of the FIFA World Cup are obligated to ensure equal and non-discriminatory treatment for all qualified teams, warning against what he called the politicization of the tournament.

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Gharibabadi said Iran had secured its place at the World Cup “through official FIFA channels” and that any restrictions on Iranian players, officials or staff would violate the principles of international sport.

“The World Cup is a global event and is incompatible with political discrimination,” he wrote, adding that FIFA’s statutes prohibit discrimination against countries and individuals.

His remarks come amid growing concerns in Tehran over possible visa and entry restrictions for Iranian officials and team members linked to the IRGC ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.