Iran demands explanation from Austria over intelligence report on nuclear program

The United States said Thursday that negotiations with Iran are making progress and remain anchored in President Donald Trump’s red lines: that Tehran must never develop a nuclear weapon and must halt uranium enrichment.

At a State Department briefing, spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to respond directly to remarks by Iran’s foreign minister, who said earlier on X that media reports were speculating about an imminent Iran-US deal.

“People are speculating because maybe somebody goes on the radio and starts to speculate and starts to talk and starts to gossip. We don’t do that,” Bruce said. “Discussing the details of something as sensitive as peace negotiations or a ceasefire does not help.”

Bruce emphasized that talks have been productive and consistent with Trump’s conditions. “Iran is at the table, and progress has been made based on the lines of President Trump—what his lines are: that there will never be a nuclear weapon, that there will not be enrichment,” she said.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday that President Donald Trump sent her to Israel to underscore his “resolve that Iran must never obtain or develop nuclear weapons.”

In a post on X, Noem said she met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a “candid conversation” about Trump’s “commitment to peace in the region and his resolve that Iran must never obtain or develop nuclear weapons.”

Earlier this week, Noem told Fox News that Trump had specifically sent her to Israel to discuss Iran and to “stay united and let this process play out,” referencing ongoing regional security concerns.

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.