Wednesday, August 19, 2026

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The French government expelled Niloufar Shadmehri, the cultural counsellor at Iran’s embassy in France, on Wednesday. Hours earlier, France’s foreign minister had formally announced that, in a reciprocal move, two Iranian embassy staff members would be expelled from France. The name and position of the second person to be expelled have not yet been announced. After Iran’s Foreign Ministry declared two former employees of the French embassy in Tehran persona non grata in a statement, France also announced reciprocal action against two Iranian diplomats. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement said that, in view of the “activities in violation of international law, particularly the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” by two officials working at the French embassy, the two had been declared persona non grata and would not be allowed to return to Iran. In recent days, it has emerged that the two were employees of the French embassy’s cultural section and had apparently met with two Iranian graphic designers in connection with a cultural project. The two designers have been in detention since then. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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During a visit to the site of the new helipad being built at the White House, Donald Trump was asked by reporters about the possibility of talks with Tehran. He said that conditions were favorable at the moment, but negotiations could take place in the future. Stressing Washington’s position on Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said: “It’s very simple: They have to give up nuclear weapons completely. Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, because it would use them, and we will not allow that.” The US president went on to make clear that Iran must not—and will not—acquire nuclear weapons. @VahidOOnLine Trump announced an increase in the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and said the United States had full control of the waterway. He said that many ships had passed through the strait last night and described Iran’s actions, including occasional shots at drones, as “harassment.” The US president also said that not all ships were expected to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but traffic through the waterway was continuing. Trump had previously also claimed that the United States had full control of the Strait of Hormuz, a claim Iranian officials have rejected. @VahidOOnLine Trump says people are finding alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz for their oil supplies, naming Texas, Alaska, and Louisiana among the options. He said buyers were turning to the United States for oil. He said one reason oil prices had not reached $300 or $350 a barrel was the increase in supply and buyers’ shift to alternative sources. He added that oil was now priced at around $83 to $85 a barrel and would fall much lower once the current situation ended. Stressing that the United States had enough oil, the US president said: “People are finding alternatives. One of those alternatives is Texas. Another is Alaska, and another is Louisiana. They’re coming to the United States to get oil.” @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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On Wednesday, 28 Mordad, the Financial Times reported, citing two senior officials from the Islamic Republic, that if Donald Trump decides to escalate the war, Iran will consider targeting military bases in southeastern Europe. According to the report, a military base in Bulgaria and a NATO base in Cyprus could be among Iran’s new targets if the conflict intensifies. Last month, Bulgaria’s parliament approved the United States’ use of one of the country’s military bases. The same two unnamed officials said the Islamic Republic’s armed forces had separately considered attacking undersea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if tensions escalated. @VahidOOnLine A NATO official told Anadolu Agency: “NATO is prepared to counter any threat and will always do whatever is necessary to defend all its allies.” The remarks came after reports that Iran had considered attacking U.S. military targets in Europe if Donald Trump further escalated the war. The NATO official also referred to the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles earlier this year, saying NATO air defenses had intercepted missiles heading toward Turkey on four separate occasions. He described this as evidence of the strength and effectiveness of NATO’s deterrence and defense posture. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Global oil prices continued to rise as the outlook for negotiations on reopening the Strait of Hormuz grew more uncertain. On Wednesday, 28 Mordad, Brent crude reached $92 a barrel, up 1 percent from the previous day. On Tuesday, Donald Trump said, “There are no negotiations or talks underway with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no negotiations or talks have been planned.” @ VahidHeadline Foreign currency prices on Iran’s open market rose sharply again on Wednesday, 28 Mordad, with the U.S. dollar reaching 191,000 tomans. This is the dollar’s highest exchange rate against the Iranian rial in three weeks. Reports from websites tracking currency and gold prices show that the euro has once again topped 220,000 tomans, while the UAE dirham has passed 52,000 tomans. On Wednesday, a gold coin also traded at 194 million tomans. The rise in foreign currency and gold prices follows the United Arab Emirates’ announcement that it is halting all trade and financial exchanges with Iran. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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According to Ynet, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that if he returned to power, he would change the deterrence equation, and every Hezbollah attack would lead us to target Iran. Bennett also pledged to declare Qatar an “enemy state.” The former Israeli prime minister went on: “We will remove Turkey and Qatar from Gaza and bring Egypt in instead, while preserving Israel’s freedom of action in Gaza.” @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has once again warned countries along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf against providing “any kind of assistance” to the U.S. military. In a message published by Iranian media on Wednesday, 28 Mordad, and attributed to Ali Abdollahi, Iran’s Chief of the General Staff told the Gulf countries that “nothing escapes our notice,” adding that “it seems unlikely that this number of military aircraft—especially refueling aircraft—could be at regional bases without the host countries’ knowledge.” The commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters offered no further details in his warning. Last night, the United Arab Emirates announced that it had suspended all financial and trade dealings with Iran until further notice. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported Wednesday morning that an Emirati oil tanker detained in the northern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz had changed course and was heading toward Bandar Abbas. According to the report, the tanker’s original destination was Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates, but after it was detained, it was diverted toward Iranian waters. Fars did not identify the tanker, its owner, its flag, its cargo, or the official reason for its detention—adding to uncertainty about the nature of the action. Reports republished by Fars also say the tanker was stopped while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, within a corridor designated by Iran. The report came a day after the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of firing two missiles at the country. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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The Constitutionalist Party of Iran (Liberal Democrat) announced that its secretary-general, Fouad Pashaei, was the target of an “assassination attempt” and has been admitted to intensive care. According to the party’s statement, the incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. on August 17 (26 Mordad), Los Angeles time. The party also says the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident, and that further “confirmed” information will be released by the party later. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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HRA: Armin Noorani, a rap singer known as “Khojasteh,” was arrested and later released after signing an undertaking. Following his arrest, a video of his forced confessions was released. In the video, which was recorded under unknown circumstances, Mr. Noorani expresses regret over some of his previous statements and positions regarding the protests and his support for protesters. It should be noted that, aside from the violation of human dignity involved in recording and broadcasting forced confessions, a person is legally presumed innocent until a final conviction is handed down by a court. Any punishment imposed before conviction constitutes a violation of that person’s civil and human rights. hra_news 📡 @VahidOnline

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Hiva Seyfi-Zadeh, an Iranian singer who was arrested in Esfand 1403 while performing solo at Emarat-e Roo-be-Roo, announced in a video released on Wednesday, 28 Mordad, that a court had sentenced her to four years in prison on the charge of “encouraging corruption and prostitution.” In the video, Ms. Seyfi-Zadeh challenged the court’s initial ruling, asking: How can reciting Saadi’s poetry and singing Iranian music constitute “encouraging corruption and prostitution”? @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline