White House: Iran Could Be Contributing to War Crimes by Sending Drones to Russia 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP)
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White House: Iran Could Be Contributing to War Crimes by Sending Drones to Russia 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP)

Iran could be contributing to war crimes in Ukraine by providing drones to Russia, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday. 

"Their weapons are being used to kill civilians in Ukraine and to try to plunge cities into cold and darkness which, from our point of view, puts Iran in a place where it could potentially be contributing to widespread war crimes," Sullivan told reporters. 

He added that he would be discussing threats posed by Iran when he makes a trip to Israel to meet with the country's new government. 

Sullivan, speaking to reporters during a trip by President Joe Biden to Mexico, said the US government has made clear that a nuclear agreement with Iran is not a priority at the moment and that it continues to believe that diplomacy is the right away to ensure that the country does not obtain a nuclear weapon. 

Sullivan said the Biden administration would have an opportunity to engage with the new Israeli government about the issue. 

"We will work through any differences we have on tactics," he said. 

He confirmed that he would be traveling to Israel but did not say when that trip would take place. 



Rubio: Iran Will Not Be Allowed to Charge Tolls in Strait of Hormuz Under Any Final Deal with US

 Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Rubio: Iran Will Not Be Allowed to Charge Tolls in Strait of Hormuz Under Any Final Deal with US

 Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 22, 2026. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that ‌Iran ‌would not ‌be ⁠able to charge ⁠tolls in the Strait of ⁠Hormuz ‌as part ‌of any ‌final ‌agreement with the US, saying ‌that such an arrangement ⁠would ⁠be contrary to international law.

Oman and Iran agreed on Tuesday to press on with discussions about the future administration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, including maritime services in the strategic waterway and the costs associated with them.

In a joint statement issued after talks in Muscat, the two countries said a joint working group involving their foreign ministries ‌would be ‌formed to continue the discussions and ‌that they ⁠would consult other ⁠littoral states and relevant parties.

The move appears to implement a provision of the memorandum of understanding signed last week that calls for Iran to hold talks with Oman and other states on the future management of ⁠navigation and maritime services in the strait, ‌a vital waterway ‌for global oil supplies.

The agreement was announced following a ‌visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf ‌and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who met Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and held talks with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.

In the statement, Oman and ‌Iran, the two states bordering the strait, reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring ⁠safe ⁠passage through the waterway in accordance with international law while underlining sovereignty over their territorial waters.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in February, the strait has been largely closed to commercial shipping. The United States blockaded Iranian ports after Iran started effectively blocking the strait.

Oman and Iran reaffirmed their commitment to the strait being a secure and open route for international navigation and to promoting maritime safety, freedom of navigation and regional stability.


Tehran Gets Three-Day Holiday for Ali Khamenei Funeral

An Iranian man walks past a banner depicting slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
An Iranian man walks past a banner depicting slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Tehran Gets Three-Day Holiday for Ali Khamenei Funeral

An Iranian man walks past a banner depicting slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
An Iranian man walks past a banner depicting slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026. (AFP)

Iran announced Tuesday three days of public holidays in the capital Tehran for late supreme leader Ali Khamenei's funeral ceremonies, state television reported.

"The farewell ceremony and prayers for the martyred leader's body will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th, in Tehran's Grand Mosalla, and the funeral will be held on Monday, July 6th, and Tehran province will be off for these three days," Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Hassan Hassanzadeh, in charge of the ceremonies, was quoted as saying.

Earlier, state media said Tehran would be on holiday on July 4 and 5, while the rest of the country will join it on July 6.

Tehran authorities expect an attendance of around 20 million.

The northern city of Qom will also host a tribute on July 7.

Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest on July 9 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, his birthplace.

These two cities will also observe public holidays.

Neighboring Iraq has scheduled ceremonies for July 8.

The funeral was originally planned for March but was postponed due to the war in the Middle East, which was triggered by the US-Israeli attacks in February that killed Khamenei.

Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba succeeded his father as supreme leader in early March, becoming the third person to hold the position since the regime was established in 1979.

Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the bombing that killed his father and other officials. He has not been seen in public since his appointment and communicates solely through official statements.


China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Sails Through the Taiwan Strait

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts a maiden sea trial on May 7, 2024. (Ding Ziyu/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts a maiden sea trial on May 7, 2024. (Ding Ziyu/Xinhua via AP, File)
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China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Sails Through the Taiwan Strait

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts a maiden sea trial on May 7, 2024. (Ding Ziyu/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts a maiden sea trial on May 7, 2024. (Ding Ziyu/Xinhua via AP, File)

China’s newest and most powerful of its three aircraft carriers sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the Taiwanese defense ministry said, a day after Taiwan began a five-day military exercise on responding to a Chinese attack.

The Fujian carrier first sailed through the narrow body of water separating China and Taiwan in a trial run last September. It later transited the strait for the first time as a fully commissioned military vessel in December.

China claims the self-governed island as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. China regularly sends navy vessels and war planes towards Taiwan in military exercises that have become more frequent in recent years to where they now occur almost daily.

Taiwan on Monday kicked off its own five-day exercise to support its response in case of a possible Chinese military invasion.

The US Navy sends warships through the strait periodically, as do some of its allies, in a warning to Beijing against any attempt to use force to establish its claim to the island.

The Fujian was commissioned in November 2025. It is world’s largest nonnuclear-powered warship, according to the US Naval Institute, and is considered more advanced than China's other two carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning.