Homeland Security chief says Trump remains resolved to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran

With the aim of infiltrating phones and computers to gather sensitive intelligence for the assassinations, phishing attempts targeted senior Israeli security officials, politicians, journalists and academics.

The attacks were carried out via fake Google Meet links, individually tailored to each target, the Shin Bet said.

There has been a marked rise in attacks in recent months, according to a statement from Shin Bet which said had aimed to gather information such as home addresses, personal relationships and routine locations.

The information would then be handed to operatives on the ground in Israel, as growing numbers of civilians are being recruited by Tehran in plots targeting the country's top political and military echelons, in addition to highly sensitive sites.

Oded Ailam, a former head of counter-terrorism at Mossad, wrote in Israel Hayom: "Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has discarded the slow, resource-heavy traditions of classical espionage: no more lengthy vetting, grueling training, or elaborate cover stories.”

"Instead, they’ve embraced a model that’s raw, direct, and disturbingly effective. Through aggressive mass campaigns on social media, thousands of Israelis are being approached."

He said that via messages like “Want to earn some easy cash?”, vulnerable communities are now being targeted by Iran to carry out work which until now, had been unheard of in the Jewish state.

But in the wake of the Gaza war, there have been dozens recruited, as Tehran infiltrates the digital landscape.

"This is Iran’s version of digital marketing applied to espionage: blanket targeting, no filters. And like any marketing effort, only a tiny fraction need to respond for the campaign to succeed.”

"To Tehran, even a one percent success rate from a thousand messages is worth it. It’s a chillingly rational approach: volume will eventually produce the quality they seek. And sadly, it works," Ailam said.

Israel Hayom quoted a Shin Bet official who said: "We are witnessing continued, relentless efforts by hostile actors as part of the campaign Iran is waging against Israel.

"The public must remain vigilant and cautious, these cyberattacks can be prevented through awareness, skepticism and proper online conduct, particularly by avoiding clicks on unidentified links."

Earlier this month, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said a spy plot against him had been thwarted in what Israel says is the 20th Iran-backed operation thwarted in the country since the Gaza war began.

Two Israeli suspects, Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 25 and childhood friends, were arrested at the end of April accused of intelligence-gathering missions and placing explosives in the community where Katz lives.

The case is the latest in a string of plots foiled since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, with dozens of Israelis allegedly hired by Iranian operatives to carry out operations targeting the country’s top political and military echelons.

Other targets have included the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar.

In a letter to the United Nations Children's Fund, a copy of which was seen by Iran International, Ebadi wrote: “The Iran branch of your organization has been active for years. However, for reasons unclear to me and my compatriots, it has failed to take effective measures to fulfill its legal obligations.”

She said UNICEF’s Iran office has remained silent despite repeated reports of juvenile executions, violations in healthcare and education, and harmful content in school textbooks.

“Numerous issues exist that UNICEF should have addressed in Iran. Yet we have only witnessed silence from this organization,” she wrote.

She also condemned what she described as the Islamic Republic’s use of children to pressure political and civil activists.

“Children are unjustly imprisoned under baseless allegations to coerce their parents into silence or collaboration with the government,” she wrote.

Ebadi cited the summons of 17-year-old Nima Khandan, son of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and jailed activist Reza Khandan, over what she said was a baseless charge of insulting an officer at Tehran's Evin Prison.

"The initiation of this case based on false accusations is solely intended to harass this family of civil activists and to force them into silence and cooperation," Ebadi wrote.

Ebadi called on UNICEF Iran to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory.

Top security officials believe a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites is both possible and necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Ynet reported on Thursday, citing unnamed Israeli officials.

"Israel will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons," the report quoted the officials as saying, adding that Israel was preparing for every scenario.

The officials said no nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran can be considered good unless Tehran dismantles its nuclear program, which they described as central to Iran’s strategic doctrine.

Ali has been living in Canada for eleven years. When he and his wife immigrated, the Islamic Republic's embassy in Ottawa had already been closed, with diplomatic ties severed two years earlier.

Although Ali has never returned to Iran since arriving in Canada, his wife has made necessary trips back and had to renew her Iranian passport through the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic in Washington, DC.

One of these renewals contained legal errors — leaving her stranded in Iran at the time of the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.

On January 8, 2020, amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US following the killing of Qassem Soleimani, Flight PS752 was shot down by two missiles fired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) just six minutes after takeoff from Tehran.

All 176 people on board — as well as an unborn child — were killed.

Of those passengers, 138 were ultimately headed to Canada. The loss of 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents turned the downing into a national tragedy and further deepened the diplomatic rift between Ottawa and Tehran.

Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran and shut down its embassy in Tehran in 2012, citing several concerns: Iran’s support for the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war, its defiance of United Nations resolutions on its nuclear program, ongoing threats against Israel, and security risks to Canadian diplomats after the British embassy in Tehran was attacked in breach of the Vienna Convention.

Iran’s message to Canada’s new government

In a rare development, CBC's senior international correspondent Margaret Evans was granted access to Iran earlier this month. During a press conference, she asked Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about the future of diplomatic relations with Canada.

Baghaei responded: "The relationship was frozen unilaterally by Canada, not by Iran, and we never welcomed that decision because we think that decision was not for the benefit of either of the two nations."

He added: "I think it's for Canada to decide what course of action they want to take. I think the first step they have to take is to unravel the many sanctions and restraints that they have imposed on themselves and on our bilateral relations. We were never in favor of severing ties. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians live in Canada, and they were the first to suffer from this situation."

But for many in the Iranian-Canadian community, the presence of an Iranian embassy in Canada is not seen as benign — nor missed.

A matter of security and influence

Many Iranian Canadians argue that Iranian embassies abroad function less as diplomatic institutions and more as extensions of the regime’s intelligence and influence operations.

Critics say these missions monitor dissidents and facilitate connections with proxy groups abroad.

Ali, for one, opposes any effort to reopen the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Canada. "Despite weak immigration enforcement that has allowed many former regime officials to settle here," he says.

"The continued closure of the Islamic Republic's embassy in Ottawa has at least prevented further infiltration and harmful activity."

Canada’s official position: no plans to reengage

The Canadian government has made it clear that it has no intention of reestablishing diplomatic ties under current conditions. In response to a request from Iran International, Global Affairs Canada stated:

“Iran must make fundamental changes in its behavior — both domestically and internationally — before the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Canada can be considered.”

The statement went on to say that Canada remains deeply concerned about:

• Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East
• Violations of international human rights commitments, especially against women, girls, and minority groups

Until meaningful change is seen, Canada will continue its pressure campaign, which includes:

• Listing Iran as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act
• Listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code
• Imposing targeted sanctions

Conservatives: No normalization with a terrorist state

Since the beginning of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in 2022, Canadians have repeatedly expressed support for the Iranian people. In 2024, the Canadian government officially listed the IRGC as a terrorist organization — a move long advocated by Conservatives.

Garnett Genuis, the Conservative MP who first introduced a motion in 2018 to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity, reaffirmed his party’s position in an exclusive comment to Iran International:

“Proposals to re-establish ties with this extremist, terrorist-supporting regime are completely unacceptable. While the Liberals have historically supported reopening relations, Conservatives are proud of our record of standing up to the regime and supporting the Iranian people.”

“The Iranian people deserve the opportunity to choose a government that reflects their aspirations for justice and peace. We stand with the people of Iran — not the regime. That will not change.”

Diplomacy — or expanded access for the Islamic Republic?

Some argue that diplomatic relations might help resolve bilateral issues — such as the investigation into the downing of PS752. Others believe such ties only give the Islamic Republic more room to maneuver. They point to countries like Sweden and the UK, where Iranian embassies exist but have done little to increase Tehran’s accountability.

Iranian Canadians have voiced their stance clearly in recent years. Tens of thousands have participated in public rallies, demonstrating not only their distance from the clerical establishment, but also their commitment to keeping Canada informed about the real demands of the Iranian people.

Today, many like Ali say they are willing to accept the consular complications that come with the absence of an embassy — if it means limiting the Islamic Republic’s access and influence in Canada.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended his country’s right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes in an interview with Oman’s state-run newspaper Oman Daily, saying it will not stop enrichment as it is permitted under international law.

"International laws are the fair and just conditions under which any country can conduct scientific and specialized research related to uranium enrichment and benefit from the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” Oman Daily quoted him as saying.

The paper added that Pezeshkian stressed that Iran does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons at all, but rather to benefit from enrichment in the fields of medicine, energy, and the economy.