Bolton seeks sequel to Iran-Israel war: 'Surrender of the Ayatollahs'

During a 12-day Iran-Israel war last month, Trump said Washington was aware of Khamenei's hiding place and mooted potentially green lighting the killing of Iran's head of state.

Days after the conflict ended, two top Shi'ite clerics Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani issued religious decrees or fatwas condemning to death those who would threaten the Supreme Leader. The fatwas were cited by Alireza Panahian, a cleric close to Khamenei, to repeat the call for killing Trump.

“The Iranian regime’s medieval and barbaric threats against the US president and others cannot be ignored – and must not go unanswered,” UANI said in a written statement.

UANI called on the US government to put sanctions on the Iranian leader and his son and all who ordered or repeated such a religious decree.

Shirazi said in his statement: “Any regime or individual threatening the leaders of the Islamic nation and acting on those threats qualifies as a mohareb (enemy of God).”

In Shi'ite jurisprudence, the declaration of mohareb and the issuance of a fatwa make it religiously obligatory for devout Muslims to act.

“These calls are incitements to homegrown terrorist attacks and pose a serious threat to the president and US nationals—they should be treated accordingly,” UANI's statement said.

In dozens of messages sent to Iran International's submissions line, Iranians lambasted Khamenei for what they called a false triumph narrative delivered from underground.

“This shameless coward sends messages from a rat hole while the Israeli prime minister walks among his people,” one person said. “Even a kid can tell what really happened.”

In a June 26 speech broadcast from an unknown location, the 86-year-old theocrat said Israel “was nearly brought to its knees" and that Iran had dealt the United States “a harsh slap”.

“If he’s telling the truth, let him come out and speak," another person told Iran International. "He’s still hiding in the sewers."

Mockery was sharp and specific in almost all messages. Another described the leader as “a baby-faced coward high on his own smoke, completely out of touch.”

A leader underground, a public exhausted

A Tehran resident added: “We’ve lived under this regime for nearly fifty years. We’ve learned to reverse everything they say. If he says we crushed them, it means we were crushed.”

Khamenei’s continued isolation was a recurring theme for contributors.

“He hasn’t seen sunlight for weeks. He’s delusional from being underground too long,” one message read. “Come up and see if even a dozen people still believe your story.”

Several messages questioned why, if victory had truly been achieved, key Iranian figures like Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly had to request safe passage from Israel just to leave Iranian airspace. Others said even funeral processions of senior commanders were clearer signs of defeat than any speech.

“You weren’t leading anything,” said another viewer. “You hid while others died. Then you reappeared to lecture us from a camera.”

“We’re tired. We’ve survived forty-six years of war, lies and plunder. Enough,” said another.

One contributor predicted there would be no refuge from an inevitable popular backlash: “One day, the people will raise a new flag with bare hands. That day, there will be no bunker and no lie left for you to hide behind.”

Ali Khamenei has not appeared at any public gathering or event since the start of the 12-day war with Israel. He skipped the funerals of slain military commanders and nuclear scientists, and did not even attend the annual mourning ceremonies held at the Hussainiyah in his Tehran compound.

IHR said many of the espionage trials were rushed and relied on confessions obtained under torture.

Among those hanged on espionage charges were political prisoners Esmail Fekri who was executed after a 10-minute trial without access to a lawyer, Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh who allegedly confessed under torture and three Kurdish men including an Iraqi national accused of assisting in the 2020 assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, according to IHR.

“The Islamic Republic is at its weakest point in its history, and in order to survive, it needs to carry out more executions to intimidate what it sees as its greatest threat: the Iranian people,” said IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

The group said 98 people were executed in total across Iran in June alone. Nearly half were executed for drug-related offenses, while 32 were carried out under the Islamic law of retribution for murder, IHR's report said.

Among those put to death were Afghan nationals, members of Iran’s Kurdish, Arab, and Baluch minorities and one woman.

IHR's report comes amid an escalating crackdown on dissent following the conflict in which Iran's military and nuclear program were dealt big setbacks.

Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, a Kurdish political prisoner arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests, was sentenced to death on charges including plotting to assassinate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his daughter told Iran International on Thursday.

At least 612 people were executed in the first half of 2025 — a 119% increase compared to the same period last year, the report added.

Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, according to Amnesty International, in what the rights group deems an ongoing official campaign to suppress dissent.

In a statement on X, the agency said Director General Rafael Grossi had “reiterated the crucial importance” of holding talks with Iranian authorities to resume the IAEA’s “indispensable” monitoring and verification work “as soon as possible.”

The inspectors had remained in Tehran throughout the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

The announcement follows a report by the Wall Street Journal that the inspectors were pulled out over safety concerns and transported by road to Armenia in a departure coordinated with Iranian authorities.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported that the agency had been trying to arrange the exit for several days and chose ground transport to reduce visibility and risk.

The move comes after weeks of rising tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog. On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian enacted a law requiring the suspension of cooperation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty’s safeguards agreement unless Iran’s demands for security guarantees are met.

Tehran has accused the IAEA of sharing sensitive data with Israel and the US, and of failing to condemn last month’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

While Iran has denied ending cooperation entirely, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said coordination with the agency would now be managed through Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

This is while hardline Iranian media have called for Grossi's arrest and execution, and a senior judiciary official said Grossi could face trial in absentia for “deceptive actions.”

It remains unclear when or whether IAEA inspectors will return. WSJ reporter Laurence Norman said there is “no reason to feel confident” they will be back in Tehran anytime soon, adding that it could be years before monitoring operations resume.

"The IDF achieved remarkable successes in thwarting Iran’s nuclear program and missile production system—the two threats that posed the greatest danger to Israel,” Katz said during a joint situational assessment with senior military officials.

He added that the Israeli army “must prepare both intelligence-wise and operationally to ensure air superiority over Tehran and to prevent Iran from rebuilding its capabilities.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who also took part in the briefing, said the recent operation marked a major milestone in Israel’s defense strategy. “The operation is over — but the campaign is not,” he said, describing it as the result of years of planning, intelligence gathering, and operational preparation.

US says Iran’s nuclear program set back by up to two years

The comments came as the US confirmed that strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last month caused major setbacks. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Wednesday that the June 22 attacks, carried out with bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles, had set Iran’s program back by one to two years.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Fordow site had sustained heavy damage but insisted the nuclear program would continue. “Our peaceful nuclear program has turned into a matter of national pride and glory,” he told CBS News.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Iran retains the technical ability to resume enrichment within months. In response to the strikes, Iran’s parliament passed a law requiring the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA until the security of its nuclear sites and scientists is guaranteed. The Supreme National Security Council has been tasked with assessing those guarantees, and the government must report to parliament every three months on the status of implementation.

Araghchi denied that Iran had ended its cooperation entirely, calling such claims “fake news.” He said Iran remains committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement with the IAEA, and that future cooperation would now be coordinated through the National Security Council due to heightened security concerns.