Iranians speaking via Iran International's submission line doubted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s declaration of victory over the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Thursday.
The judiciary’s official news outlet, Mizan, reported on Wednesday that Edris Aali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Mohammad were put to death at Urmia Central Prison in northwest Iran.
The three were charged with "corruption on earth" and "enmity against God," accusations often levied in cases involving alleged collaboration with foreign governments.
Authorities said the men had worked to smuggle components hidden in shipments of alcoholic beverages, which they claim were ultimately used in the assassination of a high-ranking Iranian official.
While Iranian state media did not name Fakhrizadeh directly in its recent coverage, the allegations correspond with earlier reports linking the men to his killing.
Fakhrizadeh, a senior officer in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and a prominent figure in its nuclear development efforts, was shot dead in an attack east of Tehran in November 2020. Iran has blamed Israel for orchestrating the assassination.
Contested confessions and accusations of torture
Human rights organizations have raised concerns about the case. According to an exclusive report by Iran International, all three men—reportedly Kurdish cross-border porters known as kolbars—were convicted based on confessions obtained under severe duress.
Aali and Shojaei were reportedly detained for months in Ministry of Intelligence facilities before being transferred to Urmia Prison.
Family members told media outlets the men denied involvement and said their televised confessions were extracted under torture. Ahmad Mohammad, an Iraqi national from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, was arrested two years after the killing, allegedly after his phone number was found in Aali’s contact list.
Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the assassination, though officials have not denied involvement. In the years following the incident, Israeli media and intelligence sources have described it as a remote-controlled, AI-assisted operation using a weapon smuggled into Iran in parts and reassembled inside the country.
An Israeli intelligence officer told Channel 12 in 2022 that the operation relied on facial recognition to avoid harming Fakhrizadeh’s wife, who was in the car with him, and took less than three minutes to carry out.
Iran’s former Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said in 2022 that efforts to apprehend the main perpetrators had failed, with several suspects fleeing the country shortly after the attack.
Fakhrizadeh, long described by Western intelligence agencies as the architect of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, was sanctioned by the United Nations and had survived previous assassination attempts.
According to the report, the arrests targeted what authorities described as an “active espionage and sabotage network” that intensified operations after Israel’s attack on June 12, which killed several senior Iranian military and nuclear figures.
Those killed included IRGC commanders Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri, nuclear scientist Ali Akbar Tehranchi, and former nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbasi, the report said.
Those detained are accused of conducting intelligence operations for Israel, including controlling micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) and suicide drones, building improvised explosives, photographing sensitive military installations, and transmitting data to Israeli forces. Fars said more than 10,000 MAVs were seized in Tehran alone.
The arrests were based on public tips and security operations and were concentrated in the provinces of Kermanshah (126), Isfahan (76), Khuzestan (62), Fars (53), Lorestan (49), and the capital Tehran, where exact figures have not been released. The official numbers exclude detained foreign nationals.
The US-based human rights website HRANA reported on Wednesday that 823 Iranian citizens were on political or security-related charges since the outbreak of the war.
According to the report, 286 people were detained for their online activities, including sharing content about Israel’s attack on Iran.
The total number of arrests made by Iranian security and law enforcement forces on national security grounds has reached 537, HRANA said.
Iran’s judiciary announced that three men convicted of espionage for Israel — Majid Mosayebi, Esmail Fekri, and Mohammad Amin Mahdavi-Shayesteh — were executed over the past two weeks.
Emergency bill for war espionage
Iran’s parliament passed an emergency bill this week to increase penalties for espionage and collaboration with “hostile states,” allowing suspects to be tried under wartime conditions.
Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said those arrested in the context of Israel’s recent attacks would be prosecuted under “wartime legal provisions.”
Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on state TV that current espionage laws are “too general” and inadequate for addressing recent cases, adding that legal reforms are needed to handle detainees linked to the conflict with Israel.
The bill, passed with 221 votes in favor, none against, and one abstention out of 223 members present, would bar the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspectors from accessing Iran’s nuclear facilities. The legislation must now be ratified by the Supreme National Security Council.
IAEA access blocked unless 'security guaranteed'
Parliamentary presidium member Alireza Salimi said the bill prohibits IAEA inspectors from entering Iran unless the safety of Iran’s nuclear facilities and peaceful activities is “guaranteed”—a determination that would fall to the Supreme National Security Council.
The legislation’s conditions for resuming cooperation with the IAEA include, full assurance of Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, guarantees of Iran’s right to uranium enrichment under Article 4 of the nuclear Non-ProliferationTreaty (NPT), confirmation that the UN Security Council will not trigger the “snapback” mechanism under Resolution 2231.
The bill further criminalizes any act of allowing IAEA inspectors into the country without such guarantees and applies to both safeguards and additional protocol cooperation.
Parliament also voted to impose penalties on officials permitting unauthorized access.
“This legislation is a response to attacks on our sovereignty and peaceful nuclear infrastructure by the Zionist regime and the United States,” Salimi said.
Tehran says it does not seek nuclear weapons and suggests a resolution adopted this month by the IAEA declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations paved the way for Israel's attacks.
The move comes amid a halt in fighting between Iran and Israel, after 12 days of missile and drone attacks that saw unprecedented strikes on Israeli cities and Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure.
No peace, only pause
While the guns have fallen silent for now, Iranian lawmakers stressed that the current calm does not constitute a ceasefire agreement, calling it "only a pause in attacks.”
During a meeting of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, spokesperson Ebrahim Rezai said, “We have not entered a truce. There is no peace. If the Zionist regime commits another act of aggression, we will respond with greater force.”
According to Rezaei, Iran received the request to halt fire indirectly from the United States through a third-party regional intermediary.
Rezai also said that Iran has the legal right under Article 10 of the NPT and Article 60 of the 1969 Vienna Convention to suspend cooperation with the IAEA due to “attacks on the peaceful nuclear infrastructure” by Israel and the US.
Lawmakers accuse IAEA of espionage and bias
Parliament members criticized the IAEA and its Director General Rafael Grossi, accusing the agency of providing “false reports,” politically biased behavior, and facilitating espionage against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Rezai said there are plans to file formal complaints against IAEA officials for alleged misconduct and spying.
Lawmakers also called for international legal action against Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging war crimes proceedings and demands for reparations.
Ali Khezrian, a key proponent of the bill, accused the US, European powers, and the IAEA of exploiting Iran’s transparency to enable military targeting of its facilities.
“They have weaponized technical reports and paved the way for Israel's acts of sabotage,” he said.
Khezrian argued that Iran’s nuclear cooperation had consistently exceeded legal obligations, and accused Western powers of demanding Iran cease uranium enrichment entirely — a right enshrined under Article 4 of the NPT. “They attack our nuclear sites and then ask to inspect the damage. How can we trust such a system?” he said.
Iran has had a fractious relationship with the UN watchdog, barring a third of its inspectors two years ago, calling the organization politically motivated. In another move in 2022, Iran removed several of the agency's monitoring cameras.
Iran to accelerate nuclear program
Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a fiery speech before the vote, praised the armed forces and warned the West not to underestimate Iran’s capabilities.
“We remain fully armed and ready to retaliate. Our peaceful nuclear program will now advance even faster,” he said.
Ghalibaf added that Iran’s missile responses had forced both the US and Israel to backtrack on their strategic goals while Israel says the country has achieved its objectives.
The speaker's remarks were met with chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” from lawmakers in the chamber.
Also on Wednesday, IAEA chief Grossi said the inspectors' return to Iranian nuclear facilities is the organization's number one priority.
“If the killing of the Revolutionary Guards' top commanders in the first 10 minutes of war counts as a victory, then let Khamenei live in his delusions," said one person, whose identity was withheld for their safety.
"The people have seen and felt the Islamic Republic’s defeat and humiliation"
Comments were submitted by viewers of the Persian-language broadcaster.
“The fact that Netanyahu walks among his people without bodyguards, and this shameless coward is sending videos from a rat hole says everything,” said another. “Even a 13-year-old can analyze what really happened.”
Khamenei appeared in a pre-recorded video aired Thursday, speaking from what observers believe is a fortified underground facility in an undisclosed location. The video setting matched hisprevious wartime address.
The veteran leader declared Israel had been “brought to its knees” and the United States had “gained nothing.”
Many Iranians expressed anger at his absence as average people fretted and fled.
“You disappeared for twelve days. Now you crawl out and call this 'victory'? Not a word for the people who were terrified," another person wrote."Not even an image, not a sentence for those who were dying."
“During those twelve days, mothers hugged their children so the last missile wouldn’t take them,” one woman added. “Now you return like some fake hero and say ‘we won’? Won what—destroyed cities? Dead children in Tehran? Protesters arrested for nothing?”
The US-based human rights website HRANA reported on Wednesday that 823 Iranian citizens had faced political or security-related charges since the outbreak of the war.
According to the report, 286 people were detained for their online activities, including sharing content about Israel’s attack on Iran.
Say 'I beat them'
Another viewer sarcastically referenced a line from one of the most iconic soliloquies in a so-called Film-Farsi movie from before the Islamic Revolution to describe Khamenei's claim of victory.
In the scene, a character recounts a fight in which he was badly beaten and collapsed before he could even draw his knife—but still boasts about winning.
He said, half-pleading, half-boasting: “Now, I told everyone I beat them. You say I did too; it doesn’t look good.”
Some also directly criticized Khamenei’s personal safety measures: “If he’s telling the truth, let him come out and speak. He’s still hiding in the sewers. These cowards only speak from a distance.”
Some replies even mocked the Supreme Leader’s physical appearance. “He looked pale and shaken,” one person wrote.
“He says 90 million Iranians are standing behind the armed forces. I’d like him to come out of his bunker and see for himself how many people actually support this regime.”
Massive costs
One of the most repeated themes in the reactions dwelt on the costly destruction the war wrought. Many commenters pointed to the toll on ordinary Iranians, saying the only outcome had been ruin.
“Nothing has come out of this except the destruction of Iran, massive costs and making life even worse for the people — and nothing else ever will,” read one message.
“All this destruction, all these deathsxand now they talk peace?” another said. “Khamenei wasn’t crushed? Just look at his voice—shaky, scared. He’s hiding underground, while we’re left in the rubble.”
Accountability
Another recurring theme was frustration over the perceived lack of accountability.
“The country is in ruins," one person said. "Did you even offer condolences for your own commanders who died overnight? You only care about those close to you. The rest of us don’t matter.”
The responses also reflected exhaustion with decades of problems.
One viewer said: “It’s been forty years of war, sanctions, and lies. Enough. We can’t breathe anymore.”
Another emotional message said: “We’ve been living in this Islamic Republic for half a century. We’ve learned to reverse whatever they say. If they say Israel was crushed, it means we were.”
Call for referendum
Some viewers called for a referendum to determine whether Iranians truly support continued conflict with Israel or financial support for proxy groups abroad.
“They’ve gotten so used to privilege and plundering public wealth that they refuse to let go, no matter what," one message read. "Enough is enough — for God’s sake, hold a referendum and see how many people actually support this regime.”
“Conduct a free and independent poll and find out how many Iranians really want to fight Israel or support Hezbollah and others. We don’t want war, we don’t want disaster — what are we supposed to do now? Just sit and wait for them to build a nuclear bomb and officially turn us into another North Korea?”
Others condemned what they described as the Islamic Republic's weaponization of Shia identity and historical symbols, accusing it of betraying the values of Imam Hussein by taking the Iranian people hostage.
“Imam Hussein didn’t use the people of Mecca and Medina as human shields to fight Yazid,” one viewer said. “Why are we being held hostage for your battles? You’re not fighting tyranny—you are the tyranny.”
