logo
Iran Hangs Three For Alleged Espionage & Mossad Ties Amid Ceasefire With Israel

Iran Hangs Three For Alleged Espionage & Mossad Ties Amid Ceasefire With Israel

Time of India5 hours ago

TOI.in
/ Jun 25, 2025, 12:01PM IST
Just one day after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect, Iran executed three men accused of spying for the Mossad. The Iranian judiciary claimed the men had attempted to import assassination tools into the country. Separately, Iranian security forces announced they had captured a terror cell allegedly backed by Israel, armed with explosives and drones. Tehran has ramped up arrests and executions tied to foreign intelligence as tensions with Israel remain high. Rights groups continue to warn of Iran's rising execution rate, now second only to China.#Iran #execution #irgc #Israel #mossad #khamenei #netanyahu

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iran Parliament votes to suspend cooperation with IAEA, says IAEA credibility 'up for auction'
Iran Parliament votes to suspend cooperation with IAEA, says IAEA credibility 'up for auction'

United News of India

time26 minutes ago

  • United News of India

Iran Parliament votes to suspend cooperation with IAEA, says IAEA credibility 'up for auction'

Tehran, June 25 (UNI) Iran has decided to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until the Agency (IAEA) guarantees security of its nuclear facilities. Iran which has been a member of the IAEA since 1958, said the Agency's international credibility is 'up for auction.' Reports quoting Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the IAEA had put its international credibility 'up for auction' by not condemning the US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. 'The International Atomic Energy Agency, which refused to even marginally condemn the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, put its international credibility up for Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran will suspend its cooperation with the IAEA until the security of the nuclear facilities is guaranteed,' he said. Iran's MEHR News Agency (MNA) said Iranian Parliament had approved the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA after an overwhelming vote. In today's open session of the parliament, during the consideration of the general outline of the plan requiring the government to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, lawmakers agreed to the general outline of the plan with 221 votes in favor, no votes against, and one abstention out of a total of 223 representatives present in the session. The decision followed U.S. strikes on several Iranian nuclear sites, ''in violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter,'' MNA said. Iran has said it reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people, with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) declaring that the attack violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and would not prevent Iran from developing its peaceful nuclear program. MNA quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as criticising the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for failing to protect Iran's peaceful nuclear program, saying that Tehran may change its stance regarding the NPT cooperation. He said Iran had tried to demonstrate its compliance with the Treaty but this Treaty had failed to protect Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Twenty years of transparency and trust-building about Iran's peaceful nuclear program had not yielded positive results. Therefore, Iran may change its stance on the nuclear program and the NPT cooperation, he said. Araghchi further said Iranians had made significant efforts to acquire peaceful nuclear technology. Therefore, no one would stop obtaining this technology. Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said there is still a path for diplomacy. ''We must take it. Otherwise violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels and the global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century, could crumble and fall,' he said in his statement to the Board of Governors of the IAEA. Iran, Israel and the Middle East need peace, he asserted and said that for peace a number of steps need to be taken. All parties should return to the negotiating table and for that IAEA inspectors should be allowed to go back to Iran's nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium, including, most importantly, the 400 kg enriched to 60 percent. He said IAEA inspectors remain in Iran ready to undertake the required tasks when agreed with Iran and reiterated that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place. UNI RB GNK

Netanyahu Planned Iran Strike Months Before Bringing In Trump: Report
Netanyahu Planned Iran Strike Months Before Bringing In Trump: Report

NDTV

time27 minutes ago

  • NDTV

Netanyahu Planned Iran Strike Months Before Bringing In Trump: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already set the country on a warpath with Iran months before his Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump, The Washington Post has reported citing Israeli and US officials. The report claims that after Israel dismantled Iran's air defences and severely weakened its proxy Hezbollah in October last year, Netanyahu issued a general order to prepare for a strike. Israeli intelligence began compiling lists of nuclear scientists and military commanders for targeted killings, while the air force launched operations to neutralise air defence systems across Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. By March this year, Israeli officials had already decided to strike Iran by June, with or without US involvement, citing concerns that Tehran would soon rebuild its air defences, sources said. This decision reportedly came weeks before Netanyahu met Trump on April 7. "It is true there was no better time: Israelis have never been more well-practised, and Iran and their proxies have never been weaker," said an Israeli official. "But that's not enough for us to operate. The reason we operated is necessity and understanding there is no alternative." The June 13 strike was not pushed by fresh intelligence suggesting an imminent Iranian breakout toward a nuclear weapon, but rather by a strategic opportunity to cripple Tehran's nuclear infrastructure while it was vulnerable. In recent interviews, Netanyahu said he made the "difficult" decision months earlier but finalised the timing just two weeks before the attack. "Those were my instructions. We're going after the scientists, take them out," Netanyahu said on Israeli TV. Israel's intelligence services spent years tracking the scientists, with Mossad running a covert campaign that involved smuggling kamikaze drones and missile launchers into Iran. The assassination campaign and airstrikes that followed are said to have killed at least 10 top scientists and damaged key elements of Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. While Israeli officials believed Iranian scientists were quietly resuming work on weaponisation, US intelligence, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, maintained that Iran's leadership had not ordered a nuclear bomb. Trump, however, dismissed that assessment, telling reporters he believed Iran was "very close" to acquiring one. While the Israeli security establishment largely backed the decision as a "preventive strike", some officials questioned the wisdom of launching an attack while diplomatic talks led by Trump's envoy were ongoing. "We should have given the political route a chance," said Danny Citrinowicz, a former senior Israeli intelligence official. "We got operational achievements, but the risks are enormous." Netanyahu has for over 30 years maintained that Iran's nuclear ambitions warrant military intervention. "All the scientists who were sneaking around," said a close adviser to Netanyahu, "most of them are now sneaking around in hell."

Despite bombs, backlash: Why Iran's nuclear programme matters to it
Despite bombs, backlash: Why Iran's nuclear programme matters to it

First Post

time31 minutes ago

  • First Post

Despite bombs, backlash: Why Iran's nuclear programme matters to it

A preliminary US intelligence report indicates Iran's nuclear programme could resume within one to two months despite weekend strikes on sites like Fordow and Natanz. Trump insists the facilities were 'obliterated', but analysts say satellite imagery cannot fully reveal underground damage. Iran's pursuit of uranium enrichment dates to 1957 and reflects its enduring quest for independence read more Members of the Iranian Parliament participate in a vote of trust for the cabinet of President Masoud Pezeshkian at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, August 21, 2024. File Image/WANA via Reuters Targeted airstrikes by the United States and Israel over the weekend aimed to neutralise Iran's uranium enrichment capabilities. While senior US officials and US President Donald Trump have declared the operation a strategic success, conflicting assessments from the American intelligence community and historical context suggest a far more nuanced picture. Did the US strikes achieve their objective? According to sources familiar with a preliminary US intelligence assessment, the American strikes on key nuclear sites in Iran — including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — have caused damage that might delay the programme by only a few months. Three individuals with access to the classified findings indicated to Reuters that the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which produced the initial report, assessed that Iran could resume uranium enrichment activities within as little as one to two months. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These estimates stand in stark contrast to statements from the Trump administration. While addressing reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump acknowledged the ambiguity in the intelligence — 'The intelligence was … very inconclusive' — but asserted, 'I think we can take the 'we don't know.' It was very severe. It was obliteration.' He went further to claim, 'Iran's nuclear deal had been set back basically decades, because I don't think they'll ever do it again.' This position was echoed by White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who responded to reports about the assessment by stating: 'Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.' Despite these pronouncements, officials involved in the intelligence review have pointed out that the report includes several uncertainties, conditions and is expected to evolve as more data becomes available. A US official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, confirmed that even now, Washington does not fully grasp the scale of the impact on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Evaluating the destruction of highly fortified sites like Fordow, located deep underground, remains technically difficult, especially if assessments rely on satellite imagery. A satellite image shows the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran, January 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies via Reuters The DIA is also not the only agency responsible for the damage assessment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What if Iran had a bomb? Debates about Iran's nuclear capabilities inevitably raise the question: what happens if Tehran crosses the threshold and becomes a nuclear-armed state? Analysts hold divergent views — ranging from alarm over regional instability to cautious recognition of nuclear deterrence dynamics. While fears of Iran sharing nuclear material with non-state actors or extremist groups exist, history offers limited precedent for such scenarios. According to the Arms Control Association, only one known case — the Soviet Union's transfer of uranium-235 to China in the 1950s — ever involved a state transferring bomb-grade material to another actor. More relevant is how a nuclear Iran would reshape its security calculus in West Asia. Nuclear weapons, particularly for a country like Iran, are seen less as tools of aggression and more as strategic deterrents. These weapons could serve multiple deterrence objectives: dissuading conventional military aggression from regional non-nuclear states, forestalling nuclear threats from powers like Israel, India or Pakistan, and deterring interventions by external powers such as the United States or Russia. Analysts often reference the doctrine of 'proportional deterrence,' a concept initially crafted in Cold War-era France. It proposes that a relatively less capable nuclear state can still effectively deter stronger nuclear adversaries by threatening to destroy high-value targets, even while absorbing significant damage itself. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This form of second-strike capability ensures that any country contemplating an attack must reckon with irreversible consequences. This logic, however, cuts both ways. Iran itself remains vulnerable to deterrence by Israel's nuclear arsenal, and even its missile advancements may not necessarily indicate nuclear ambitions. Some experts argue that Iran's precision missile development could be aimed at bolstering conventional deterrence — targeting strategic sites in Israel or elsewhere without resorting to nuclear arms. While a nuclear-armed Iran would not automatically destabilise the region, the psychological and political implications would be profound. The sheer perception of a shift in power dynamics could alter regional alignments, defence planning and diplomatic engagements. Most crucially, however, it is unlikely that regional or global powers will allow Iran to acquire such a capability uncontested. How did Iran's nuclear programme come about? Iran's nuclear journey began not in defiance, but under American sponsorship. In 1957, the US and Iran launched a civil nuclear partnership as part of the 'Atoms for Peace' initiative. By the 1970s, under the pro-Western Shah, Iran was planning an ambitious programme that included building 23 nuclear reactors. Washington, including then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, raised no objection. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran's nuclear development was envisioned as a symbol of modernity and a tool for regional leadership, with plans to export electricity to neighbouring states. But the Iranian Revolution of 1979 transformed the landscape entirely. The ousting of the Shah and the rise of the Islamic Republic introduced a new political order driven by anti-imperialist rhetoric and religious ideology. Western fears of weaponisation of Iran's nuclear capabilities began almost immediately. Iran's insistence on the right to enrich uranium has been a flashpoint in every round of nuclear negotiations since. To many in Washington, this insistence is incomprehensible if Iran's aims are purely peaceful. As US Vice President JD Vance remarked: 'It's one thing to want civilian nuclear energy. It's another thing to demand sophisticated enrichment capacity. And it's still another to cling to enrichment while simultaneously violating basic non-proliferation obligations and enriching right to the point of weapons-grade uranium.' Iran, however, has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. It remains a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), under which it has pledged not to develop a nuclear weapon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued multiple fatwas condemning nuclear arms as 'un-Islamic.' So why is Iran's nuclear programme so important to it? The roots of Iran's nuclear intransigence run deep — far deeper than its centrifuges. One of the revolution's founding principles, as handwritten by Ayatollah Khomeini in a 1979 declaration, was 'independence.' This idea, grounded in a long history of colonial subjugation, remains central to the Islamic Republic's identity. Iran's experience of foreign domination stretches back centuries: squeezed between Russian and British imperialism in the 19th century, subjected to the exploitation of oil resources by British corporations in the 20th, and politically undermined by direct foreign interventions. In 1953, the US and UK orchestrated a coup to remove then-Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh after he sought national control over Iran's oil. This episode is widely regarded as a defining national trauma. Author and analyst Vali Nasr, in his work Iran's Grand Strategy, traces Iran's emphasis on nuclear self-sufficiency back to this legacy of external coercion. He argues that the drive for civil nuclear power and the right to enrich uranium is not just about energy — it is about reclaiming sovereignty. 'Before the revolution itself, before the hostage crisis or US sanctions, before the Iran-Iraq war or efforts to export the revolution… the future supreme religious guide and leader of Iran valued independence from foreign influence as equal to the enshrining principles of Islam in the state,' Nasr notes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Khamenei himself once explained the significance of the revolution by stating, 'now all decisions are made in Tehran.' This desire for autonomy — manifested in Iran's refusal to rely on imported enriched uranium from countries like Russia — has consistently obstructed nuclear agreements. Yet, from Iran's perspective, conceding on enrichment would be tantamount to surrendering the very ideals upon which the Islamic Republic was built. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store