TOP STORIES
Iran Could Resume Uranium Enrichment in ‘Months,’ Says IAEA Chief | Politico
Iran could begin producing enriched uranium again in “a matter of months,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, as damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities was “severe” but “not total.”
Trump Says He Would Consider Bombing Iran Again, Drops Sanctions Relief Plan | Reuters
President Donald Trump sharply criticized Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei, on Friday, dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. Trump reacted sternly to Khamanei’s first remarks after a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended when the United States launched bombing raids last weekend against Iranian nuclear sites. Khamanei said Iran “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack against a major U.S. base in Qatar following last weekend's U.S. bombing raid. Kham[e]nei also said Iran would never surrender. Trump said he had spared Khamanei's life. U.S. officials told Reuters on June 15 that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader. . . . Trump also said that in recent days he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions on Iran to give it a chance for a speedy recovery. He said he has now abandoned that effort. . . . Trump said at a White House news conference that he did not rule out attacking Iran again when asked about the possibility of new bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if deemed necessary at some point. “Sure, without question, absolutely,” he said. . . . Trump also said he does not believe Iran wants to still seek a nuclear weapon after U.S. and Israeli bombing raids. He described Iran as “exhausted.”
Iranian Cleric Declares Trump, Netanyahu ‘Enemies of God’ | Iran International
A senior Shiite cleric in Iran has declared US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “mohareb” (enemies of God) over what he described as their threats against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Moharebeh is an Islamic-Arabic term that [is] in the lexicon of the Islamic Republic and its punishment is death. Naser Makarem Shirazi called on all Muslims to make Trump and Netanyahu regret their words and actions. “If anyone suffers hardship or loss in this path, they will receive the reward of a warrior in the way of God,” he said.
UANI IN THE NEWS
The Islamic Republic is more isolated than ever. Its regional allies are weakened. Its military has been humiliated, and its economy is in freefall. Its people are restless. These vulnerabilities are not permanent. But they create a rare moment of leverage for the United States and the international community. In the next round of negotiations, a narrow nuclear deal will not be enough. Only a comprehensive agreement that fuses security guarantees with political and ideological reforms can break the cycle of confrontation. That will not be easy. But the alternative is worse: another war, one that may not be so containable.
After Attacks on Iran, New Questions About Its Leader—and a Successor | Washington Post
Khamenei is still by far the most powerful person in Iran’s political system, said [UANI Senior Advisor] Saeid Golkar, a scholar at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an expert on Iran’s security apparatus. Khamenei created a “personalistic” system after taking power in 1989, Golkar said, which means that he is still the ultimate decision-maker, and no political or military actors dare criticize him openly. “There are a lot of institutions, a lot of groups that are helping him to make the decisions and implement them, but this is a guy who is the center of gravity of the system,” Golkar said. Indeed, open talk of who will eventually replace Khamenei, much less explicit criticism of his failures, is still taboo within Iran, where the government maintains firm control over the media. But in news reports and social media commentary, there have been signs of discontent.
UANI Research Director Daniel Roth Discusses the U.S. Strikes on Iran | Sky News
“Beyond the damage to the physical infrastructure, this has really set a line in the sand and it has signaled very clearly to the Iranians and to the regime there in Tehran, that when the West—and specifically the U.S. and Israel—say you’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, they do actually mean it. I don’t think that very clear until, really, last week,” says UANI Research Director Daniel Roth on Sky News.
U.S. Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites Set Up “Cat-and-Mouse” Hunt for Missing Uranium | Reuters
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday it was highly likely the sensitive centrifuges used to enrich uranium inside Fordow were badly damaged. It’s far less clear whether Iran's 9 tonnes of enriched uranium—more than 400 kg of it enriched to close to weapons grade—were destroyed.
Western governments are scrambling to determine what's become of it. . . . [UANI Senior Advisor] Olli Heinonen, previously the IAEA's top inspector from 2005 to 2010, said the search will probably involve complicated recovery of materials from damaged buildings as well as forensics and environmental sampling, which take a long time. “There could be materials which are inaccessible, distributed under the rubble or lost during the bombing,” said Heinonen, who dealt extensively with Iran while at the IAEA.
Does Iran Face a Regime Change Threat, and What Would It Look Like? | SBS News
Jason Brodsky, policy director of the US-based non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran, said strikes have “set back the nuclear program a number of years.” He said there’s also a psychological impact of US bombings, reversing doubt within Khamenei's mind that the US was unwilling to employ force against the regime.
“The E3—Britain, France, Germany—must activate the sanctions reintroduction mechanism," Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, told Iran International. "”his will reinstate U.N. resolutions demanding a complete suspension of uranium enrichment and strengthen the U.S. stance on zero enrichment,” he said, stressing that the arms embargo and missile restrictions would be reinstated.
Jason Brodsky, policy director at the US-based United Against Nuclear Iran, said Khamenei appeared “frail and hoarse” and also “detached from reality” in insisting that Iran’s nuclear programme did not suffer significant damage. “Nevertheless, I remain sceptical of the theories that Khamenei has been sidelined,” he told AFP. I have no doubt the war will prompt a debate within the Islamic Republic’s political elite as to how best to rebuild the system’s capabilities, but in the end, the buck has always stopped with Khamenei,” he said.
Iran Honors Victims of Israeli Attacks as MPs Want Harsher Espionage Sentences | Amwaj Media
In 2023, Iran intensified its confiscation of Starlink terminals following a campaign by the US-based advocacy group “United Against Nuclear Iran” (UANI) to buy and smuggle such devices into the country. The stated aim of the campaign was to help Iranians circumvent Internet restrictions.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Khamenei-Linked Daily Calls for Execution of UN Nuclear Chief | Iran International
The hardline Kayhan newspaper, overseen by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has called for the arrest and execution of Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “It must be officially announced that upon entering Iran, he will be tried and executed on charges of spying for Mossad and participating in the killing of the oppressed people of our country,” Kayhan wrote.
Britain, France and Germany Condemn ‘Threats’ Against Head of IAEA Watchdog | Reuters
Britain, France and Germany condemned on Monday what they described as threats against the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, and called on Iran to guarantee the safety of IAEA staff on its territory. “France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn threats against the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the Agency and the DG in carrying out their mandate,” said a joint statement issued by the foreign affairs ministries of those three countries.
Iran Reportedly Bans IAEA Chief, Surveillance Cameras from Nuclear Plants | Politico
Iran decided to ban the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency from its nuclear facilities and to remove surveillance cameras from them, claiming it discovered Israel’s government obtained “sensitive facility data,” according to media reports Saturday.
Israel and U.S. Smashed Iran Nuclear Site That Grew After Trump Quit 2015 Accord | New York Times
Israeli and American strikes appear to have created a major roadblock to Iran’s manufacture of atomic bombs, even if its cache of uranium fuel remains untouched, analysts say. That’s because attacks on one of the sites, in Isfahan, shattered gear that Iran was preparing to use for the transformation of enriched uranium gas into dense metal. That process, known as metallization, is among the last steps in making the explosive core of an atomic bomb.
Construction Activity Visible at Iran’s Bombed Fordo Nuclear Facility | BBC News
Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows heavy construction equipment operating at the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran—one of the sites targeted by the US military. . . . According to nuclear weapons expert David Albright, who analysed imagery of the same site taken on 28 June, the construction work may include backfilling the craters, carrying out engineering damage assessments and radiological sampling.
Iran’s Nuclear Enrichment ‘Will Never Stop’, Nation’s UN Ambassador Says | Guardian
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Sunday that the Islamic republic’s nuclear enrichment “will never stop” because it is permitted for “peaceful energy” purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
12 Days of Attacks Later, Could Iran Make an Atomic Bomb? | New York Times
Israel and the United States bombarded Iran in an attempt to eliminate its ability to build a nuclear weapon. Before the attack, U.S. intelligence agencies had assessed that Iran had not decided whether to make a bomb. Since the attack, the debate over Iran’s intentions and capabilities has only intensified. Here are the main steps to build an atomic weapon—and what the attack may mean for Iran’s ability to take each one, if it now decides to go for it.
Intercepted Call of Iranian Officials Downplays Damage of U.S. Attack | Washington Post
The United States obtained intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials discussing this month’s military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected, said four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government. The communication, intended to be private, included Iranian government officials speculating as to why the strikes directed by President Donald Trump were not as destructive and extensive as they anticipated, these people said.
President Donald Trump is insisting that his strikes on Iran last week left the country’s nuclear program “obliterated like nobody’s ever seen before” . . . Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo he doesn’t think the satellite images of trucks at two of the nuclear sites later hit by American pilots mean the country smuggled out much of its enriched uranium. . . . And Trump doesn’t think Iran has any incentive to rebuild its beleaguered nuclear program as the country contemplates its future following a damaging war with Israel and a tentative ceasefire. “The last thing they want to do right now is think about nuclear,” he said. “They have to put themselves back into condition, in shape.”
Trump Dismisses Reports US Is Weighing Up to $30 Billion Civilian Nuclear Deal for Iran | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed media reports that said his administration had discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program. . . . “Who in the Fake News Media is the SleazeBag saying that ‘President Trump wants to give Iran $30 Billion to build non-military Nuclear facilities.’ Never heard of this ridiculous idea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late on Friday, calling the reports a “HOAX.”
Macron Says ‘Worst-Case Scenario’ Is If Iran Exits Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty | Le Monde
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, June 26, that US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were “genuinely effective” but the “worst-case scenario” would be if Tehran now quits the global non-proliferation treaty. . . . Macron said that in a bid to maintain the treaty—that is meant to limit the spread of nuclear weapons—he would speak in the coming days to the five members of the United Nations Security Council.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS
Israel Suggests It Could Strike Iran Again to Counter New Threats | New York Times
Israel’s defense minister said he would pursue a “policy of enforcement” against Iran despite a cease-fire, aiming to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its air power, advancing nuclear projects or developing “threatening long-range missiles.” . . . [Minister Israel] Katz told Channel 12 that Israel does not need U.S. approval to attack Iran in the future. “We are saying unequivocally, once the Iranians violate, we will strike.” He said Israel’s policy would be similar to what it has done in the aftermath of its war against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The United States brokered a truce to end that war as well after Israel killed most of the group’s leadership. Since then, Israel has bombed targets in Lebanon frequently, even though Hezbollah has refrained from attacks on Israeli territory. Israel has justified some of those strikes by saying that they were aimed at preventing Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm. Mr. Katz told another network, Channel 13, that Israel’s policy on Iran would be “like in Lebanon—just times 100.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, warned that “Iran is not Lebanon,” in an interview with state television on Friday.
The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear sites last weekend because the site is so deep that the bombs likely would not have been effective, the US’ top general told senators during a briefing on Thursday. The comment by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, which was described by three people who heard his remarks and a fourth who was briefed on them, is the first known explanation given for why the US military did not use the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb against the Isfahan site in central Iran. US officials believe Isfahan’s underground structures house nearly 60% of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, which Iran would need in order to ever produce a nuclear weapon.
Israeli Spies ‘in Iran for Years’ Before War on Nuclear Sites | Times of London
Israel’s spies infiltrated the heart of Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes to wage years of covert intelligence-gathering and assess that Tehran’s weapons-building infrastructure was far more extensive than previously thought. Leaked intelligence documents shared with western allies, including the US and Britain, and seen by The Times, appeared to reveal the full extent of Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions. The conclusion of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, as well as other military intelligence arms, was that the capability, knowledge and components of the regime’s development was racing ahead and it was far more extensive than just the main sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Israel Killed 30 Iranian Security Chiefs and 11 Nuclear Scientists, Israeli Official Says | Reuters
Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official said on Friday in summarizing Israel’s 12-day air war with Iran.
How Israel Killed Iran’s Top Nuclear Scientists | Wall Street Journal
When Israel’s attacks on Iran began before dawn on June 13, explosions shattered the homes of some of Iran’s top scientists, killing nine people who had worked for decades on Tehran’s nuclear program. All nine were killed in near-simultaneous attacks to prevent them from going into hiding, according to people familiar with the attacks.
Iran Confirms Death of IRGC Quds Force General in Israeli Strikes | Iran International
Iran has confirmed the death of IRGC Quds Force general Abolfazl Nikooei, known as Haj Younes, during the 12-day conflict with Israel.
At least 71 people were killed in Israel’s attack on Tehran’s Evin prison, a notorious facility where many political prisoners and dissidents have been held, Iran’s judiciary said on Sunday. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir posted on the office’s official Mizan news agency website that those killed on Monday included staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families. It was not possible to independently verify the claim. . . . Iran had not previously announced any death figures, though on Saturday confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar—whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, led to widespread criticism by human rights groups — had been killed in the attack.
Tehran Prison Chief Flees After Israel Contacts Son Before Airstrikes | Fox News
The notorious director of Tehran’s brutal Evin Prison, Hedayatollah Farzadi, escaped the compound ahead of Israeli strikes following threats to his life – and an alleged exchange between Jerusalem and his adult son. Israeli authorities reportedly contacted Amir Husseini Farzadi, telling him that if he convinced his father to release political prisoners, his life would be spared in the impending attack.
How to Assess the Damage of the Iran Strikes | Eliot Cohen in the Atlantic
In the absence of full information, cumulative expert judgment also deserves some consideration—and external experts such as David Albright, the founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, have concluded that the damage was indeed massive and lasting. Israeli analysts, in and out of government, appear to agree. They are more likely to know, and more likely to be cautious in declaring success about what is, after all, an existential threat to their country. For that matter, the Iranian foreign minister concedes that “serious damage” was done.
PROXY WARS
Iran Remains a Menace in the Americas | Mary Anastasia O’Grady in the Wall Street Journal
In the days following Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 11 Iranian foreign nationals across eight states. One detainee is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. CBS News reported that ICE officials said he has “admitted connections to Hezbollah.” Another is on the terrorist watch list. Five have previous criminal convictions, according to CBS. We don’t know what these people might have been doing in the U.S. But the arrests raise an issue to think about in the aftermath of the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities: What will Tehran do with the platform of proxies and military alliances that it has spent decades building in the Western Hemisphere now that it’s been humiliated by U.S. air power?
SANCTIONS, SHIPPING, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Trump Says Ready to Lift Iran Oil Sanctions If It Starts to Behave | Iran International
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would consider lifting sanctions against Iran, including those targeting its oil exports, if the country shows it is willing to stop hostile behavior and pursue a more peaceful course. “Sanctions cost us a lot of money but I would . . . start waiving them for countries like Iran, if they behave themselves, where they can sell oil and they can do the things that you want to be able to do,” Trump told Fox News . . .
Iran Says Trump Shifting Stance on Sanctions Amounts to ‘Psychological and Media Games’ | Reuters
Iran criticised on Monday U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting stance on whether to lift economic sanctions against Tehran as “games” that were not aimed at solving the problems between the two countries. “These [statements by Trump] should be viewed more in the context of psychological and media games than as a serious expression in favour of dialogue or problem-solving,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Crackdown Deepens with Speedy Executions and Arrests | ABC News
Three Iranian men were executed this week on alleged charges of collaborating with Israel, according to the Islamic Republic judiciary, bringing the total number of people put to death on similar charges during the 12-day war between Tehran and Tel Aviv to six. The hangings were part of the “season of traitor-killing,” according to Iran’s ISNA News Agency, as Iranian authorities pushed the executions through less than 48 hours after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced on Monday. Iran’s judiciary said the men were convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. However, human rights activists claim the men were Kurdish day-laborers with no access to classified information and were denied fair trials. . . . Additionally, on June 25, Iran's judiciary announced changes to what it called the “Espionage Law for Dealing with Citizens,” with the Intelligence Ministry announcing the formation of a new special committee tasked with monitoring citizens’ online activities—a campaign state media has labeled an “intelligence jihad,” highlighting it as part of a broader “national defense” effort.
Life in Iran After the Strikes: Executions, Arrests and Paranoia | Wall Street Journal
As soon as U.S. and Israeli bombs stopped raining down on Iran, the country’s theocratic leaders and the security forces emerged from their bunkers and began waging a new campaign—this time against their own people, targeting alleged spies, dissidents and opposition figures. Checkpoints have sprung up across Tehran as the authorities seek to reassert control and hunt people they suspect helped Israel’s attacks on air defenses, nuclear sites, and top officers and atomic scientists in a 12-day air war that exposed the state’s inability to defend itself. As the smell of high explosives hung in the air of the capital, police and intelligence officers arrested hundreds of people, and are detaining more each day. Armed paramilitary police are patrolling the streets. People are being stopped and having their cars, phones and computers searched. The government announced the hasty execution of at least six men. . . . The Shia Islamist regime has also stepped up efforts to enforce strict rules governing what it considers to be appropriate behavior and dress. “The morality police are back,” said a 44-year-old woman who said she had fled Tehran during the war. “The police even stopped us and questioned us, because the socks of the woman with me were too see-through.”
After Israeli Attacks, Iran Hunts Enemies from Within | New York Times
Ever since Israel’s attack, the Iranian authorities have asked citizens to alert them to anyone carrying bags, wearing sunglasses at night or even donning hats—an uncommon accessory in Iran. They have urged the public to report stolen license plates, pickup trucks with covered beds, or vans traveling at odd hours. All of these, they warn, could be the telltale signs of enemies operating from within. Reeling from the scope and scale of the Israeli strikes this month, Iran is conducting an intensive manhunt for suspected infiltrators and spies, and enlisting the public in the campaign. As authorities have swept up hundreds of people, the government has sped up trials and executions of alleged spies, and fast-tracked a law to broaden the use of the death penalty for anyone convicted of espionage.
Iran's Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Cooperation with Israel, US | Iran International
Iran’s parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty for cooperation with Israel, the US, or hostile groups, while also criminalizing unauthorized use of tools like Starlink to bypass internet restrictions. The legislation classifies any collaboration with Israel and the United States as “corruption on earth”, which is punishable by death.
The Iranian government has officially outlawed the use of Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as part of a broader crackdown on unauthorised internet access and what authorities describe as “foreign interference in national communications infrastructure.” The announcement was made via a statement from Iran’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), declaring that the operation, sale, or possession of Starlink equipment is now illegal within Iranian territory.
Woman in Iran Tells Israeli TV That She Saw Arrest of 10 Iranian Jews | Times of Israel
Following unconfirmed reports that several Jewish community leaders in Iran have been arrested in recent days on suspicion of having ties to Israel, a resident of the Islamic Republic tells Channel 12 that she witnessed the arrest of 10 Iranian Jews.
Jewish Community Targeted in Iran After Israel War, Rights Group Says | Iran International
Iranian authorities have summoned and interrogated at least 35 Jewish citizens in Tehran and Shiraz over their contact with relatives in Israel, the US-based human rights group HRANA said. The inquiries, which focused on personal ties with relatives in Israel, mark the most expansive state action against Iranian Jews in decades, HRANA reported. “Emphasis was placed on avoiding any phone or online communication with abroad,” the rights group cited a source close to the families as saying.
Iranian Prisoners Without Water After Transfer Following Israeli Strike on Evin | IranWire
Inmates at Greater Tehran Prison have been without access to fresh drinking water for three days, according to information received by IranWire. The prison’s water supply is not safe for drinking. Prisoners use it to make tea and prepare food but must purchase bottled water from the prison store for drinking. Sources say the prison store has run out of bottled water, leaving inmates without any access to drinking water for the past three days. The water shortage follows the transfer of some prisoners from several wards of Evin Prison to Greater Tehran Prison (Fashafoyeh), after Israel’s attack on Evin.
CYBERSECURITY MATTERS
Iran’s Hackers Keep a Low Profile After Israeli and US Strikes | NBC News
After Israeli and American forces struck Iranian nuclear targets, officials in both countries sounded the alarm over potentially disruptive cyberattacks carried out by the Islamic Republic’s hackers. But as a fragile ceasefire holds, cyber defenders in the United States and Israel say they have so far seen little out of the ordinary—a potential sign that the threat from Iran’s cyber capabilities, like its battered military, has been overestimated.
Banking Disruptions Persist in Iran After Cyberattacks Target Major Banks | Iran International
Iran’s banking sector continues to face severe service disruptions, with Sepah and Pasargad banks still struggling to fully resume operations after cyberattacks blamed on Israeli-linked groups. Despite some limited card reactivations, Pasargad’s most banking services remain offline, leaving customers unable to perform routine transactions.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Chants of ‘Death to America’ at Funeral for Iranian Military Commanders and Scientists | Sky News
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Tehran to mourn top military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Iran's 12-day war with Israel. . . . Chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” could be heard. Attending the funeral were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures, including Ali Shamkhani who was seriously wounded during the fighting and is an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader. There was no immediate sign of the supreme leader in the state broadcast of the funeral.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Senate Rejects Limiting Trump’s Military Authority on Iran | Axios
The Senate on Friday rejected a resolution that would have blocked U.S. military action in Iran without authorization from Congress. . . . The vote is a win for the White House and a sign of how much leeway Republicans and some Democrats are willing to give President Trump to take unilateral military action against Tehran.
What Senators Are Saying After Being Briefed on the US Strikes on Iran | CNN
Emerging from a highly anticipated classified briefing on Thursday, Democratic and Republican senators were not in agreement over exactly how much US strikes on Iran set back that country’s nuclear program. Many Republicans said that they believe it will now take Iran years longer to build a nuclear weapon, though some acknowledged the threat is not completely neutralized. But Democrats said the picture is far less clear – and one said the US strikes set Iran back only by months.
Democrats Fume at “Waste of Time” Trump Admin Briefing on Iran | Axios
House Democrats left a Friday morning briefing on Iran from Trump administration officials largely grumbling at what they described as “propaganda” and a “waste of time.” . . . “Most of what I heard [in the briefing] is in the public domain already,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Axios. “I didn’t find it to be that constructive.” House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said it was “really important” for the briefing to be held, but that “there was a little too much focus on tactical stuff.” “We’ve got a cornucopia of adjectives ranging from ‘obliterated,’ to ‘destroyed,’ to ‘set back,’” said Himes. “The question is: Did we significantly set back their [nuclear] program? And we still don’t have a good answer.”
Cornyn, Lankford: U.S. Shouldn’t Ease Up on Iran Sanctions Without a Deal | Jewish Insider
Two Senate Republicans are urging the administration against lifting any sanctions on Iran in absence of real concessions from the regime, following comments from Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff indicating the U.S. had already rolled back some sanctions. . . . Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told Jewish Insider he had heard Trump and Witkoff’s comments and that he was not sure what they were referring to, but said no sanctions should be removed until Iran ends its support for terrorism and guarantees that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have access to facilities in Iran. . . . Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said that sanctions relief should “[depend] on what we get for it. If we get complete denuclearization and a peace between Israel and Iran, that might be worth talking about.” He said that the U.S. should not remove any sanctions preemptively.
McConnell Sees Iran Strikes as a Teachable Moment for Trump | Politico
McConnell’s hope is that after the success Israel and the U.S. have jointly had over the skies of Iran, he can be something of an evangelist to convert Trump to the peace-through-strength gospel of interventionism that the octogenarian lawmaker has prioritized in the final Congress of his four-decade Senate career. Particularly with Trump irritated at broadcaster Tucker Carlson, who McConnell faults for polluting so many Republican minds, the senator sniffs opportunity.
ISRAEL & IRAN
Rishon Lezion Man Accused of Spying on Apartments, Car Dealership for Iran | Times of Israel
State prosecutors filed an indictment against a Rishon Lezion resident accused of espionage for Iran, charging him with contact with a foreign agent and providing intelligence to the enemy. Dennis Lyakhov, 30, is thought to have come into contact with an Iranian agent via the Telegram messaging app and carried out various tasks at his behest in exchange for money.
CANADA & IRAN
Iranian Officials are Banned from Canada—but This Former Regime Member Landed in April | CBC News
Mahdi Nasiri let the world know he was on his way to Canada in April. The former high-profile Iranian official posted a series of farewell photos—including a goodbye hug—on Instagram for his more than 250,000 followers and anyone else to see. He has been in Canada ever since. But now, according to a source, his name has been reported to the RCMP. And Canadian security authorities are facing calls from the public to investigate why he was allowed to enter in the first place—and if he should be kicked out.