Latest news with #Khamenei
Asharq Al-Awsat
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program Still Active… IRGC Agents Disguised in European Companies
The Austrian intelligence agency said in a report that Iran is continuing with its active nuclear weapons program, which it says can be used to launch missiles over long distances. Also, the IRGC, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, is accused of planting spies in European companies and factories to learn expertise and transfer new technologies, the report showed according to Fox news. It said the intelligence gathering of Austrian officials contradicts the assessment of the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate Intelligence Committee in March that the American intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.' Austria's version of the FBI - the Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service - wrote Monday in the intelligence report, 'In order to assert and enforce its regional political power ambitions, Iran is striving for comprehensive rearmament, with nuclear weapons to make the regime immune to attack and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Middle East and beyond.' In the 211-page report that covers pressing threats to Austria's democracy, the agency said that the 'Iranian nuclear weapons development program is well advanced, and Iran possesses a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long distances.' Shell Companies The report said that Iran's intelligence seeks to exploit its relations with research institutes and academic centers in war zones to use their expertise for its own military-industrial development. According to the intelligence document obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, Iranian regime intelligence actively targets Western technologies and dual-use goods, often using front companies and shell corporations tied to the Revolutionary Guards. These networks enable Iran to acquire components for WMDs and high-tech military equipment. 'Western military technology from war zones - such as captured Israeli or US drones - is disassembled, studied, and replicated,' the report said. 'Iranian intelligence services are familiar with developing and implementing circumvention strategies for the procurement of military equipment, proliferation-sensitive technologies, and materials for weapons of mass destruction,' the Austrian intelligence agency added. In October 2022, the Ukrainian military showcased a captured modern Iranian 'Mohajer-6' attack drone that was recovered from the Black Sea. It said the reconnaissance drone is equipped with an aircraft engine manufactured by the Austrian company Rotax, signaling Tehran's non-compliance with the EU's arms-related sanctions. In October 2020, after the US imposed new sanctions on the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company and the National Iranian Tanker Company 'for their financial support to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force,' Rotax said it stopped selling aircraft engines to Iran. Austria's counter-terrorism authority reported a rise in job applications from Iranians to Austrian companies, particularly those specialized in the metal and electrical engineering industries, raising security concerns about Iran's attempt to seek sensitive knowledge to support its weapons programs. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), also reported an increase in espionage activities, particularly targeting economic and research institutions in Austria by foreign actors seeking to obtain economic and scientific information. Earlier, European countries imposed strict measures on Iranian students applying to technical universities and sectors related to nuclear technology. Noting Iran's interference in regional conflicts, the Austrian intelligence agency said that since the 2010s, the Iranian regime's arms shipments have fueled regional conflicts, especially in Syria and Palestine. Disguised Intelligence Officers The Austrian intelligence findings could be an unwanted wrench in President Trump's negotiation process to resolve the atomic crisis with Iran's rulers because the data outlined in the report suggests the regime will not abandon its drive to secure a nuclear weapon, Fox News said. The report comes as the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose headquarters are in the Austrian capital, will in the coming days publish its own review of Iran's nuclear activities. The Fox news report said, 'Vienna is home to one of the largest embassies of Iran in Europe, which disguises intelligence officers with diplomatic.' The Austrian intelligence report noted that, 'Iranian intelligence services are familiar with developing and implementing circumvention strategies for the procurement of military equipment, proliferation-sensitive technologies, and materials for weapons of mass destruction.' In 2021, a Belgian court convicted Asadollah Asadi, a former Iranian diplomat based in Vienna, for planning to blow up a 2018 opposition meeting of tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents held outside Paris. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's personal lawyer at the time, attended the event in France. When asked about the differences in conclusions between the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Austrian intelligence report, David Albright, a physicist and founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, DC, told Fox News Digital, 'The ODNI report is stuck in the past, a remnant of the fallacious unclassified 2007 NIE [National Intelligence Estimate].' 'The Austrian report in general is similar to German and British assessments. Both governments, by the way, made clear to (the) US IC [intelligence community] in 2007 that they thought the US assessment was wrong that the Iranian nuclear weapons program ended in 2003.' "The German assessment is from BND [Germany's Federal Intelligence Service] station chief in DC at that time. The British info is from a senior British non-proliferation official I was having dinner with the day the 2007 NIE was made public. The German said the US was misinterpreting data they all possessed.' Iran's Response Iran on Friday called for an 'official explanation' from the Austrian government following a recent report by the country's intelligence agency concerning Iran's nuclear program. In a statement, Esmail Baghaei, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, decried the Austrian intelligence agency's report about Iran's 'active nuclear weapons program' as 'false and baseless,' according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. Referring to Iran's membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the obvious fact that Iran's nuclear program is subject to the strictest inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Foreign Ministry spokesman considered Austria's move as undermining the credibility of the IAEA. 'Unlike Austria and some other European countries that are deceitfully silent about the arming of Israel with all kinds of weapons of mass destruction, Iran is strongly opposed to nuclear weapons and other types of mass destruction weapons,' he said. Also, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister and lead nuclear negotiator, responded to the report on Thursday, saying 'Media is speculating about an imminent Iran-US deal. Not sure if we are there yet.' On X, he wrote, 'Iran is sincere about a diplomatic solution that will serve the interests of all sides. But getting there requires an agreement that will fully terminate all sanctions and uphold Iran's nuclear rights -- including enrichment.'
Fox News
a day ago
- General
- Fox News
Fox News Digital's News Quiz: May 30, 2025
Todd and Julie Chrisley walked out of prison this week, and this world leader appeared to be shoved in the face. Do you know the details? Test your news knowledge with this week's Fox News Digital News Quiz. Looking for more fun? Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called a U.S. demand "utter nonsense" in last week's News Quiz. Test yourself on country classics and patriotic practices in this week's American Culture Quiz. If you're looking to play even more, you can find all of our quizzes by clicking here. Check back next week for the latest News Quiz from Fox News Digital. Thanks for playing!
Memri
2 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Nuclear Fatwa Reemerges In Iranian Discourse With Trump Administration
On the eve of the fifth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, the fatwa allegedly issued by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banning Iran's development, possession, and use of nuclear weapons as a guarantee that Iran would not seek to obtain them was brought up by two mouthpieces of the Iranian regime. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed it in a television interview on May 22, 2025, and the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan discussed it in an article published May 21, 2025. Over the years, no such fatwa has ever appeared on either of Khamenei's two fatwa websites, and while the fatwa has been said to have been issued on several different dates and in a range of different versions, no one has ever actually seen it. Although the regime mouthpieces have insisted for two decades that it does exist, the fact is that it does not; its existence was invented for Iranian diplomatic purposes (see Appendix: MEMRI Reports On Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa). The following is background on this nonexistent fatwa, the translation of excerpts of Foreign Minister Araghchi's interview discussing it and Kayhan's article about it, and a list of MEMRI reports over the years about it. Background: The Nonexistent Nuclear Fatwa As A Guarantee That Iran Will Not Seek To Obtain Nuclear Weapons For over two decades, Iranian regime mouthpieces and regime officials have presented the nonexistent fatwa allegedly issued by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a legal and religious guarantee that Iran will not launch, produce, or possess nuclear weapons. The claim about this "nuclear fatwa" has been presented to the West, with which the Iranian regime has been in a dialogue ever since 2002, when Iran's illegal and undeclared nuclear activity was exposed. The fatwa is aimed at achieving legitimacy for Iran's strategic goal of attaining "nuclear threshold state" status, and for conducting on its a full "nuclear fuel cycle," including uranium mining, uranium enrichment, using uranium as fuel, and handling radioactive waste. During the 2002-2006 Iran-EU3 (UK, France, and Germany) nuclear negotiations, Iran presented its position that a fatwa by Khamenei bans nuclear weapons. The EU3 demanded that Iran approve a clause in its state constitution similar to one in the constitutions of the "nuclear threshold states" Germany and Japan vis-à-vis a ban on nuclear weapons. Iran rejected this demand, and, in order to circumvent it, Hassan Rohani, who had headed the Iranian nuclear negotiating team and who would in 2013 become Iran's president, said in a May 2012 interview that it was he who had proposed claiming that Khamenei had published this fatwa in a Friday sermon in November 2004 (see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1022, The Official Iranian Version Regarding Khamenei's Alleged Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa Is A Lie, October 3, 2013). Again, this alleged fatwa has never been found on Khamenei's fatwa webpages, not in November 2004 nor at any other time. Rohani's proposal, as he attested, was to present this alleged fatwa to the Europeans as a guarantee that Iran would not strive to produce nuclear weapons. It is worth noting that while the Iranian regime rejected a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons, it has added articles concerning scientific and technological advances to its constitution, as a result of which there has been extensive investment in space, nuclear technology, and industry. Majlis National Security Committee deputy chairman Abbas Moqtadei stated on May 24, 2025 that "based on the aims and the policy set out in the constitution, we are committed to a precise plan to achieve comprehensive advancement of the nation in a range of aspects. In this context, there have been extensive activities and investment in various scientific areas, including aviation, space, nuclear energy, science and medicine, agriculture, industry, and new technologies."[1] When in 2005 the EU3 demanded to see this fatwa, the regime representatives failed to produce it, and the EU3 did not accept the regime's claim. All Iran would provide was a report by an Iranian news agency purportedly about the fatwa (see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 825, Renewed Iran-West Nuclear Talks – Part II: Tehran Attempts to Deceive U.S. President Obama, Sec'y of State Clinton With Nonexistent Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa By Supreme Leader Khamenei, April 19, 2012). The Obama administration, which took over from the EU3 in conducting the nuclear negotiations with Iran, did accept Iran's position that this fatwa actually existed and that it did indeed serve as an alternative to invasive IAEA oversight. The administration promoted the fatwa as binding, even though it too never saw it.[2] The Obama administration went on to approve the Iranian regime as a legitimate party to the negotiations, erasing Iran's record of NPT violations, and even recognized Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil with President Obama's signature. (See Inquiry and Analysis 1080, U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry In New And Unprecedented Statement: 'President Obama And I Are Both Extremely Welcoming And Grateful For The Fact That [Iranian] Supreme Leader [Khamenei] Has Issued A [Nonexistent] Fatwa' Banning Nuclear Weapons', March 31, 2014, and Special Dispatch No. 5461, President Obama Endorses The Lie About Khamenei's 'Fatwa' Against Nuclear Arms, September 29, 2013.) Since then, Iran has adamantly rejected the Trump administration's demand for "zero enrichment" – that is, it refuses to give up enriching uranium on its soil and argues that its right to do so is nonnegotiable. According to regime representatives, the right to enrich uranium is an Iranian national achievement bought with blood that elevates Iran's status, gives it honor among the nations, and ensures independence from Western countries, as it is a revolutionary country that refuses to submit to the Western world order when it comes to the acquisition of enriched material.[3] This is despite the fact that Iran has no civilian nuclear plants powered by fuel enriched to the very high level that it possesses, as attested to by Iranian Majlis National Security And Foreign Policy Committee Member Ahmad Bakhshayish Ardestani. He said on May 25, 2025: "The 300 kg of uranium stored in Iran is equal to 10 atom bombs – and if Israel continues its threats, we will be able to increase the enrichment level even more."[4] The fatwa, as a legal and religious guarantee that Iran is not striving to obtain nuclear weapons – despite the repeated announcements by Iranian officials about Iran's capability, and right, to possess them[5] – has recently been brought up again in regime mouthpiece claims vis-à-vis the Trump administration. This is in the hope that the latter will follow in the footsteps of the Obama administration that accepted the fatwa even though it does not exist. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi In May 22, 2025 TV Interview: "The Supreme Leader Issued A Fatwa And We Do Not Need Nuclear Weapons In Our Defense Doctrine" Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in his Iranian television interview on May 22, 2025, on the eve of the fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome: "If America's aim is for Iran not to advance toward nuclear weapons, this is achievable. We have no desire to build nuclear weapons. The Supreme Leader issued a fatwa, and we do not need nuclear weapons in our defense doctrine. They [the Americans] imposed sanctions on us due to the enrichment. We were under sanctions for years, but we didn't turn to [nuclear] weapons. Our scientists were assassinated, but we didn't turn to [nuclear] weapons. We came, we negotiated, and we reached an agreement through negotiations, but they [the U.S.] abandoned [the agreement]. We didn't use [nuclear] weapons. Our policy is based on principles and foundations, and nuclear weapons have no place in our defense doctrine."[6] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (Source: Tasnim, Iran, May 22, 2025) Regime Mouthpiece Kayhan, May 21, 2025: "This Fatwa Is Not A Political Tactic, But A Legal And Strategic Position Within The Framework Of The Principles Of Islam" In its May 21, 2025 article, Kayhan quoted Supreme Leader Khamenei's announcement that Iran would continue with its uranium enrichment policy and that it needed no approval from any country. The article stated: "The experience of the past few decades has shown that the West's main problem with Iran is not nuclear weapons. The American administration and the European 'troika' (Britain, France, and Germany) have repeatedly stated that they 'are concerned that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons.' These governments know very well that Iran has the technical know-how to acquire nuclear weapons, but that for religious and moral reasons it will never move towards producing nuclear weapons. "Iran has repeatedly declared [this], and, more importantly, the Supreme Leader [Khamenei] has issued a religious fatwa banning the production and use of nuclear weapons. This fatwa is not a political tactic, but a legal and strategic position within the framework of the principles of Islam."[7] Appendix: MEMRI Reports On Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa Below are MEMRI reports on the nonexistent fatwa published over the years: Renewed Iran-West Nuclear Talks – Part II: Tehran Attempts to Deceive U.S. President Obama, Sec'y of State Clinton With Nonexistent Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa By Supreme Leader Khamenei, April 19, 2012 Release Of Compilation Of Newest Fatwas By Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei – Without Alleged Fatwa About Nuclear Bomb, August 13, 2013 President Obama Endorses The Lie About Khamenei's 'Fatwa' Against Nuclear Weapons, September 29, 2013 The Official Iranian Version Regarding Khamenei's Alleged Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa Is A Lie, October 3, 2013. Iranian President Hassan Rohani In Article In Saudi Daily: While Avoiding Confrontation And Hostility, We Shall Be Diligent In Pursuing Our Supreme Interests, December 23, 2013 U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry In New And Unprecedented Statement: 'President Obama And I Are Both Extremely Welcoming And Grateful For The Fact That [Iranian] Supreme Leader [Khamenei] Has Issued A [Nonexistent] Fatwa' Banning Nuclear Weapons,' March 31, 2014 Tehran Again Offers Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa In Negotiations As A Guarantee That It Is Not Developing Nuclear Weapons – Iranian Regime Continues Its Lies And Fabrications About Supreme Leader Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons, April 6, 2015 Insights Following Exposure Of Iran's Military Nuclear Program – Part I: The Leadership Of Iran's Religious Regime Lies About Essential Islamic Matters, Manipulates Religion To Justify Its Grip On Power, Regional Expansion, May 6, 2018 Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif Reiterates Iran's Lie, Promoted By Obama Administration, That Supreme Leader Khamenei Issued Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons; No Such Fatwa Ever Existed, May 31, 2019 Iran Uses 'Maximum Pressure' On Biden Administration – Part II: Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'If The Islamic Republic [Of Iran] Decided To Obtain Nuclear Weapons, Neither You [The Zionist Clown] Nor Those Greater Than You [The U.S.] Would Be Able To Stop It' , February 23, 2021 Shift In Iranian Regime Statements On Nuclear Weapons: Regime Spokesmen Talk Openly About Them, Aiming For Western Acquiescence To Iran As A Nuclear Threshold State, August 2, 2022 Khamenei's 'Nuclear Fatwa,' Once Again MEMRI Daily Brief Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: 'If It Were Not An Islamic Principle, And If We Had The Will To Build Nuclear Weapons, We Would Do So – Even The Enemies Know That They Cannot Stop Us'; MEMRI: The Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons That Is Attributed To Khamenei Does Not Exist, June 26, 2023. Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1784 - In Advance Of Revival Of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks, Iranian Calls For Iran To Possess Nuclear Weapons Are Again Heard, September 5, 2024. Special Dispatch No. 11833 - Iranian Regime Continues To Lie About The Alleged Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons, February 11, 2025.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Pezeshkian Visits Oman amid its Mediation in the US-Iran Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Oman on Tuesday on a two-day visit. Oman has been mediating the indirect talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. Iranian and US delegations wrapped up a fifth round of talks in Rome last week amid signs of some limited progress. Sultan Haitham bin Tarik welcomed Pezeshkian at the al-Alam palace in Muscat where they reviewed 'the deep-rooted historical relations between the two friendly countries, exchanged views on current developments in the region, as well as efforts to consolidate the Omani-Iranian partnership, notably in the fields of industry, commerce, and education.' They also sought ways to boost cooperation in the fields of logistics and health in a manner that serves the interests of their people, reported Oman's state news agency ONA. Pezeshkian highlighted Oman's 'effective and constructive' role in the indirect talks with the US, said an Iranian presidency statement. 'We hope the negotiations lead to good results,' he said. 'Oman holds a strategic standing in Iran's foreign policy,' he went on to say. Iran 'fully trusts Oman and this trust increases the responsibility on the two sides to bolster relations and pursue deeper and stronger understandings.' Prior to departing to Muscat, the Iranian president had said that the trip aims to bolster relations in various fields. 'It is in line with the general policies outlined by the supreme leader (Ali Khamenei) to establish the best relations with neighboring countries,' Pezeshkian stated. 'We will cooperate with Oman in all possible fields. We will also discuss regional files, starting with the Palestinian cause and situation in Gaza,' he added according to ISNA. Muscat has hosted three of the five rounds of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. Oman's embassy in Rome hosted the other two. On economic ties, Pezeshkian noted that the trade exchange between Iran and Oman stood at around 2.3 billion dollars. He added that he will discuss during his trip issues related to land and air transport, trade and industry, education and technology, communications, and investment. Sultan Haitham and Pezeshkian later oversaw the signing of five cooperation agreements, ten memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and three executive programs. They covered legal and judicial affairs, and the fields of investment, customs, communications and information technology, housing, urban planning, construction, and others.
First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
US-Iran Hold Nuclear Talks in Rome as Uranium Enrichment Tensions Rise Firstpost America
US-Iran Hold Nuclear Talks in Rome as Uranium Enrichment Tensions Rise | Firstpost America | N18G US-Iran Hold Nuclear Talks in Rome as Uranium Enrichment Tensions Rise | Firstpost America | N18G The US and Iran hold their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome, aiming to resolve deep divisions over Tehran's uranium enrichment programme. Ahead of the negotiations, Iran warned there would be no deal if enrichment had to stop. Since returning to the office, President Trump has renewed pressure on Iran for a new agreement, after the 2015 deal was scrapped in 2018. The current round of talks began in April. A public spat followed the previous meeting in Oman, with Iran asserting its nuclear rights. Supreme Leader Khamenei has also expressed doubts about the process. Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Tehran has vowed retaliation and warned the US would be held responsible if complicit. Watch to know more. See More
