After attacks on Iran, new questions about its leader
Over the 36 years of his rule, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has outmaneuvered his rivals, set a confrontational course for Iran's foreign policy and ensured his firm grip over Iran's military forces. Throughout it all, he has maintained ultimate power despite persistent opposition in some quarters to his rule and no shortage of domestic and foreign crises.
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Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran carries out wave of arrests and executions in wake of Israel conflict
Iranian authorities have carried out a wave of arrests and multiple executions of people suspected of links to Israeli intelligence agencies, in the wake of the recent war between the two countries. It comes after what officials describe as an unprecedented infiltration of Iranian security services by Israeli agents. Authorities suspect information fed to Israel played a part in a series of high-profile assassinations during the conflict. This included the targeted killings of senior commanders from the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and nuclear scientists, which Iran attributes to operatives of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency working inside the country. Shaken by the scale and precision of these killings, authorities have been targeting anyone suspected of working with foreign intelligence, saying it is for the sake of national security. But many fear this is also a way to silence dissent and tighten control over the population. During the 12-day conflict, Iranian authorities executed three people accused of spying for Israel. On Wednesday - just one day after the ceasefire - three more individuals were executed on similar charges. Officials have since announced the arrest of hundreds of suspects across the country on accusations of espionage. State television has aired alleged confessions from several detainees, purportedly admitting to collaboration with Israeli intelligence. Human rights groups and activists have expressed fears over the latest developments, citing Iran's longstanding practice of extracting forced confessions and conducting unfair trials. There are concerns that more executions may follow. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence claims it is engaged in a "relentless battle" against what it calls Western and Israeli intelligence networks - including the CIA, Mossad, and MI6. According to Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, since the beginning of Israel's attack on Iran on 13 June, "the Israeli spy network has become highly active inside the country". Fars reported that over the course of 12 days, Iranian intelligence and security forces arrested "more than 700 individuals linked to this network". Iranians have told BBC Persian they received warning text messages from Iran's intelligence ministry informing them their phone numbers had appeared on social media pages related to Israel. They were instructed to leave these pages or face prosecution. The Iranian government has also stepped up pressure on journalists working for Persian-language media outlets abroad, including BBC Persian and the London-based Iran International and Manoto TV. According to Iran International, the IRGC detained the mother, father, and brother of one of its TV presenters in Tehran to pressure her into resigning over the channel's coverage of the Iran-Israel conflict. The presenter received a phone call from her father - prompted by security agents - urging her to quit and warning of further consequences. When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation 'We are exhausted' - how Iranians are feeling after fragile ceasefire After the conflict began, threats directed at BBC Persian journalists and their families have become increasingly severe. According to the journalists recently affected, Iranian security officials contacting their families have claimed that, in a wartime context, they are justified in targeting family members as hostages. They have also labelled the journalists as "mohareb" — a term meaning 'one who wages war against God' — a charge that, under Iranian law, can carry the death penalty. Manoto TV has reported similar incidents, including threats against employees' families and demands to cut all ties with the outlet. Some relatives were reportedly threatened with charges such as "enmity against God" and espionage - both capital offences under Iranian law. Analysts view these tactics as part of a broader strategy to silence dissent and intimidate exiled media workers. Security forces have also detained dozens of activists, writers and artists, in many cases without formal charges. There are also reports of arrests targeting family members of those killed during the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" anti-government protests. These actions suggest a broader campaign aimed not only at current activists but also at those connected to previous waves of dissent. During the war, the Iranian government severely restricted access to the internet, and even after the ceasefire, full access has not yet been restored. Limiting internet access during crises, especially during nationwide protests against the government, has become a common pattern by Iran. Additionally, most of the social networks like Instagram, Telegram, X and YouTube, as well as news websites such as BBC Persian, have long been blocked in Iran and cannot be accessed without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) proxy service. Human rights advocates and political observers have drawn parallels to the 1980s, when the Iranian authorities brutally suppressed political opposition during the Iran-Iraq War. Many fear that, in the wake of its weakened international standing after the conflict with Israel, the Iranian authorities may again turn inward, resorting to mass arrests, executions, and heavy-handed repression. Critics point to events of 1988, when, according to human rights groups, thousands of political prisoners - many already serving sentences - were executed following brief, secretive trials by so-called "death commissions." Most victims were buried in unmarked mass graves.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump admin launches full-court press defending Iran strikes as questions remain
President Donald Trump on Thursday offered enthusiastic praise of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's briefing at the Pentagon, where he provided more information about the U.S. strikes on Iran and defended the president. "One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!" Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform, where earlier he had encouraged followers to tune in. Hegseth's news conference came amid a full-court press from Trump's top officials disputing a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that said the bombings may have only set Iran's nuclear program back by a few months. MORE: 'Obliterated': The firestorm over how Trump described damage to Iran nuclear sites "You want to call it destroyed. You want to call it defeated. You want to call it obliterated. Choose your word. This was an historically successful attack and we should celebrate as Americans," a defiant Hegseth said from the podium as he railed against the news media coverage of the events and the leaked initial intelligence assessment. "This is preliminary but leaked because someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn't successful," Hegseth said. "Classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad," he added. The day prior, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted statements saying their intelligence supported Trump's description of the damage inflicted by the U.S. military operation. "CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes," Ratcliffe wrote in a statement. Gabbard wrote on X: "New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do." MORE: Trump, Hegseth slam news coverage of US intel report on Iran attack, say B-2 pilots upset Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who on Sunday had said it was "way too early" to make complete damage assessments, at Thursday's news conference declined to give a detailed damage assessment. "By design, we don't grade our own homework. The intelligence community does," Caine said. "But here's what we know following the attacks and the strikes on Fordo," Caine continued. "First, that the weapons were built, tested and loaded properly. Two, the weapons were released on speed and on parameters. Three, the weapons all guided to their intended targets and to their intended aim points. Four, the weapons functioned as designed, meaning they exploded." "We know this through other means, intelligence means that we have that we were visibly able to see them," Caine added. "And we know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function and the pilots stated quote this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight.'" Caine was asked if he felt any political pressure on how to describe the strikes or their impact. 'No, I have not, and no, I would not,' Caine responded. Hegseth momentarily interrupted the questioning. "The chairman here, who's not involved in politics, he doesn't do politics. That's my lane -- to understand and translate and talk about those types of things. So, I can use the word 'obliterated,'" Hegseth said, the term Trump has used repeatedly. Still, several questions remain not fully answered, particularly how far exactly the strikes set back Iran's nuclear capabilities and whether Iran was able to move uranium away from the Fordo site before the bombings. MORE: Trump administration plans to limit classified info it shares with Congress on Iran attack Hegseth and Caine were asked about the uranium during their 45-minute news conference. Neither provided a clear answer. Hegseth first attacked the news reporter who asked the question, before saying: "We're looking at all aspects of intelligence and making sure we have a sense of what was where." Later, Hegseth said on uranium: 'I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be -- moved or otherwise." President Trump, who was watching the news conference, took to his social media account to weigh in on speculation that Iran may have moved uranium because of satellite images showing trucks lined up at Fordo in the days leading up to the attack. "The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!" Trump wrote on his social media site. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked at her own briefing on Thursday what Trump's social media post was based on. "Look, the president shared that statement with all of you. And I already answered the question about whether uranium was moved prior to the strike. And the answer is no," Leavitt said. Leavitt was also asked if the Defense Intelligence Agency report on the U.S. strikes would be made public. The initial assessment that was reported on this week was produced by DIA with the help of U.S. Central Command. "I don't think this administration is going to get into the habit of sharing classified top-secret information," she said. "Those classifications exist for a reason. And I wish everyone who had the privilege of looking at these documents would respect that."
Washington Post
39 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Give Trump the Nobel Peace Prize — before he bombs Oslo
Two days after dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iran, President Donald Trump strode onto the South Lawn and deployed another weapon from his armory: the f-bomb. Scolding Iran and particularly Israel for continuing their attacks on each other after a Trump-imposed ceasefire, the president told reporters that the two countries have 'been fighting so long and so hard, that they don't know what the f--- they're doing. Do you understand that?'
