EU's Kallas affirms full support for IAEA chief amid Iranian threats

Iranian lawmakers on Sunday stepped up accusations against UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi while denying the existence of the ceasefire with Israel.

“There is no ceasefire in place, and we are currently in a temporary pause phase of the war,” Esmail Kowsari, a member of Iran’s parliamentary National Security Committee said.

“Although our attack on the US base in Qatar caused no human casualties, that base, which is the American command center and very well equipped, was destroyed by our attack,” he added.

Separately, Abolfazl Zohrevand, another member of the National Security Committee, accused Grossi of aiding US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.

“The role of Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in inciting and aiding US and Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and the assassination of nuclear scientists is completely clear,” he said.

“Grossi has shown that he is unfit to hold this position and should be dealt with.”

Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, expressed skepticism about the longevity of the current ceasefire during a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s defense minister.

He said that Iran is prepared to respond to any attack.

“We have doubts about the durability of the ceasefire and are prepared to respond to any aggression,” Mousavi added.

Despite some limited card reactivations, Pasargad’s most banking services remain offline, leaving customers unable to perform routine transactions.

In Tehran, customers report that banks are refusing to process checks, urging clients to wait days for resolution.

During the recent Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, a cyber battle erupted targeting critical Iranian infrastructure.

Sepah Bank, Pasargad Bank, and Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed cyberattacks against their systems.

Internet banking, mobile banking, and ATMs of these banks remain largely nonfunctional.

A physical malware intrusion in Sepah Bank’s systems prevents successful data backup restoration, prolonging the outage, Rouydad 24 website reported Sunday.

The pro-Israel hacker group Predatory Sparrow, known for prior cyberattacks on Iran’s fuel infrastructure, claimed responsibility for disabling Sepah Bank, writing on X that they paralyzed the state bank.

The bank is responsible for processing the payments of military personnel.

Predatory Sparrow also hacked Nobitex. According to the cryptocurrency exchange's CEO Amir Rad, hackers extracted approximately $100 million from the platform.

While no hacker group has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack against Pasargad Bank, Iranian media are portraying it as part of Israel’s campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt expressed support for Israel’s recent attacks on Iran during a visit to Israel on Sunday, according to a report by Tagesschau.

Speaking on Sunday at a rocket impact site in Tel Aviv alongside Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Dobrindt said Germany backs Israel’s efforts in recent weeks to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.

“We must deepen our support for Israel,” Dobrindt said.

Sa'ar for his part, thanked Dobrindt for "coming on a solidarity visit to Israel," and urged the E3 countries - UK, Germany and France - to activate snap back sanctions against Iran.

"Israel acted to remove an immediate existential threat and did so successfully. Now, the international system has a duty to take concrete steps against the Iranian nuclear program, in light of the Iranian regime's attacks on the IAEA and its announcement that it will stop cooperating with it," Sa'ar said, according to a statement by Israel's foreign ministry.

The Iranian people demonstrated their appreciation for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s “wise and courageous management” during funerals for senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a Sunday speech at the parliament.

The US and Israel suffered a “historic and severe defeat” in the recent 12-day war, he said again.

The official funeral was held in Tehran yesterday, but Khamenei, who has remained hidden in a protected underground bunker since the start of the Israel-Iran conflict, did not attend.