Iran's hand in global terrorism remains a threat, Israeli think-tank says

“I would love to be able to take those sanctions off and give them a chance,” Trump said during a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They want to meet and make peace. We have scheduled Iran talks. They want to talk.”

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told reporters that nuclear negotiations between the two countries are expected to take place “in the next week or so,” in what would mark the first official diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran since the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday denied that Iran had requested a meeting with the American side."No meeting request has been made to the American side from our end."

Trump, speaking to reporters before the dinner, said Iran had “taken a big drubbing” from joint US-Israeli strikes but now appeared ready for dialogue. “I hope the war with Iran is over,” he added.

When asked for a specific date for the talks, Trump declined to provide details. “I’d rather not say, but you’ll be reading about it tomorrow or seeing it tomorrow,” he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said this week that he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

"I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," Pezeshkian told conservative US podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview released on Monday.

The US president also spoke warmly about the Iranian potential. “They have the oil power. They have great people, smart people, energetic people—amazing,” he said.

“I would like to see Iran build itself in a peaceful manner. They were the bully of the Middle East and now they are not any more.”

During the dinner, Netanyahu said that Iran’s influence in Syria had waned and described the Islamic Republic as "out of the picture" there, suggesting that this shift could open the door for a new peace process between Israel and Syria. He also told Trump he intended to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump said that Netanyahu had asked for US sanctions on Syria to be lifted—a request that Trump said was granted. “We took the sanctions off because we want to give them a chance,” he said, adding that similar relief could be considered for Iran if progress is made.

Mehrzad Boroujerdi, a US-based Iran analyst, said that the dinner remarks exposed a gap between American and Israeli positions on Iran.

“Netanyahu has never accepted any form of negotiation with Iran and has consistently advocated for the destruction of its nuclear program,” Boroujerdi told Iran International. “His comparison of Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions to ‘cancerous tumors’ shows he seeks perpetual control over Iran’s military activities.”

However, he said that Trump’s remarks reflect a more pragmatic view from the White House. “Trump is entering these talks from a position of strength,” he said. “This isn’t about appeasement—it’s about leverage.”

The dinner was Netanyahu’s first in-person meeting with Trump since the strikes on Iran.

“The (Israeli) regime seeks war, and we doubt Trump would oppose it. We, too, are in a state of full readiness,” state-run Press TV quoted what they called an informed Iranian source as saying.

Iran assesses the meeting due for Monday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump will be no different from their consultations before the 12-day war, the report cited the source as saying.

The source described such meetings as “deceptive,” adding “everything has been agreed upon in advance.”

“If Trump believes that after a military strike on our nuclear program, we would trust a diplomatic agreement with them, then he is not a good dealmaker,” the source said, referring to the possibility of renewed nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

The comments came as Axios reported Israeli officials believe Trump could give them the green light for renewed military action if Iran moves to restore elements of its nuclear program.

Israel is preparing for further strikes, with discussions between Trump and Netanyahu expected to focus on future US nuclear negotiations and potential triggers for renewed Israeli attacks, Axios cited two sources with knowledge of the matter as saying.

Israeli officials cited two scenarios: an Iranian attempt to extract enriched uranium from the damaged Fordow, Natanz or Isfahan sites, or efforts to rebuild enrichment facilities, the report said.

According to Axios, Netanyahu’s top adviser Ron Dermer told colleagues he left Washington last week convinced the Trump administration would support Israeli military action under certain conditions.

Dermer held meetings with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff.

Long seen by hardliners as a strategic partner, Moscow is now facing criticism from Iranian media figures and former officials who accuse the Kremlin of offering symbolic support while withholding meaningful military backing.

President Vladimir Putin’s June 19 comments—downplaying the prospect of assistance and noting that Iran had not formally asked for help—have only deepened the sense of betrayal.

Russia, meanwhile, is offering India 117 Su-35 fighter jets and joint production of the Su-57 stealth aircraft with full technology transfer—the kind of advanced cooperation Tehran has long sought but failed to secure.

Backlash in Tehran

“Russia appears neither willing nor able to offer effective mediation or military backing,” Sohrab Saeddin, a European affairs researcher, told Khabar Online on June 30. “Alignment at the UN may raise Tehran’s diplomatic profile, but one cannot expect a more active role.”

Former deputy parliament speaker Ali Motahari was blunter in a July 1 post on X: “Russia gave the S-400 defense system to Turkey and Saudi Arabia but won’t provide it to Iran—because it might be used against Israel.”

He also reminded Moscow of the hundreds of Iranian drones allegedly used in Ukraine. “This is the kind of strategic cooperation Mr. Putin speaks about.”

Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat now at Princeton, pointed to the India deal.

“Russia has offered India 117 Su-35M fighter jets and joint production of the Su-57 with full technology transfer—even though India is a U.S. ally,” he posted on X.

“Perhaps this reality can help Tehran gain a better understanding of the 'realities of international relations' and the 'imperatives of national interest.’”

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former head of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, echoed the frustration.

“The Iranian nation has already paid more than its fair share of the price for the Ukraine war,” he told Rouydad24. “When Iran brought balance to the battlefield, the Russians simply said Iran hadn’t asked for anything.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s June 23 visit to Moscow—at the height of the fighting—was widely seen as a plea for stronger Russian backing.

But Moscow’s response remained limited, notably omitting any mention of the Su-35 or S-400. It condemned Israel’s attacks, offered to mediate, and proposed taking Iran’s enriched uranium in exchange for nuclear fuel.

Tehran and Moscow’s 20-year strategic partnership, signed in January and ratified in May, lacks a mutual defense clause but commits both sides to joint drills and military-technical cooperation.

Putin reiterated mid-war that the deal does not obligate Moscow to provide military support.

No fighter jets in sight

The stalled Su-35 deal has become another flashpoint. Finalized in late 2023, it was seen as critical to modernizing Iran’s air fleet and countering Israel’s air power.

“The story of the Sukhoi-35 is a tale of a one-sided alliance—one in which Iran delivers critical drones but receives nothing more than hollow promises,” Khabar Online wrote on July 1.

The article claimed Russia is using the jets as leverage in wider negotiations—on Syria, drone cooperation, and the Caspian Sea.

According to Kommersant, Iran received just two of the 50 Su-35s it expected. Delivered in December 2024, the aircraft were transported in parts to Iran’s 3rd Tactical Air Force Base near Hamadan for assembly.

There are no confirmed reports of their use in the conflict.

Russian sources cited production bottlenecks and the Ukraine war as reasons for suspending further deliveries—possibly for up to two years. Not many in Tehran are convinced.

UK foreign office minister Hamish Falconer told parliament on Monday that the British embassy has reopened and a chargé d'affaires is now in place.

“We will continue to play our full role to ensure the safety of British nationals in Iran,” he said.

The Swiss Embassy, which represents US interests in Iran, also reopened on Sunday after nearly two weeks of closure. Services remain limited to consular visits, with visa-related services still suspended, the embassy announced.

Swiss intelligence warns of growing Iranian espionage threat

The reopening comes as Swiss authorities raise security concerns over Iranian espionage. On Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) warned that Iran poses a growing intelligence threat to Swiss diplomats.

In its annual "Security Switzerland 2025" assessment, the agency said Switzerland’s role as Washington’s protecting power in Tehran increases the visibility of Swiss personnel to hostile intelligence services.

The warning followed a joint SRF and RTS investigation aired Tuesday, in which a former IRGC officer said Swiss diplomat Sylvie Brunner was pushed from her Tehran balcony in May 2021 after a failed surveillance operation. Iran ruled it a suicide but has not shared full case files with Swiss authorities.

Brunner’s brother believes she was murdered. A Swiss forensic report found key organs missing, making toxicology tests incomplete. It said suicide was plausible but could not rule out foul play.

Her death was the first of four suspicious cases involving Swiss nationals in Iran. Others include the 2023 death of a defense attaché, the stabbing of a local embassy employee, and the 2025 death of a Swiss tourist in prison.

Swiss officials say they are pressing for full transparency in each case but have no jurisdiction to conduct investigations on Iranian soil. Without access to evidence or cooperation from Iranian authorities, their ability to determine what happened remains limited.

“Netanyahu, as I said, has his own agenda. He wants to drag the US into forever wars… and to bring more insecurity and unrest to the whole region," Pezeshkian told Carlson in the virtual discussion, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister.

Carlson is an outspoken critic of US military action against Iran and a top dissenter from among President Donald Trump's populist base. The US President dismissed his views as "kooky".

Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, has advocated for greater engagement with Washington but hardline Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ultimately decides policy.

Responding to a question on whether two senior clerics had issued a fatwa to kill Trump, Pezeshkian said, “To the best of my knowledge, they have not issued decrees or fatwas against any individual or against Donald Trump. It has nothing to do with the Iranian government or the Supreme Leader of Iran."

"What they actually meant by the fatwa was the condemnation of an insult to a religion or religious personalities … It should not be construed or considered as a threat against an individual.”

Last month, Alireza Panahian, a hardline Iranian cleric close to Iran’s Supreme Leader called on Muslims to kill Trump and Netanyahu in response to their threats against Khamenei, citing fatwas that declare him a mohareb, or “enemy of God.”

Najmuddin Tabasi, a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, said Trump “must be executed” and warned that “the same hand that fired a shot past his ear can put a bullet through his throat.”

Referring to recent fatwas by Ayatollahs Naser Makarem Shirazi and Hossein Nouri Hamedani, Tabasi said he was confident that “brave youth will deprive Trump of security.”

Pezeshkian also denied Iran had sought to kill Trump in an alleged plot detailed by US law enforcement last year.

'No problem' with reviving talks

Iran has never pursued nuclear weapons, Pezeshkian said, citing religious prohibitions and cooperation with international inspectors.

“We have never been after developing a nuclear bomb—not in the past, not presently or in the future—because this is wrong. And this is in contrast to the religious decree or the fatwa which has been issued by the Supreme Leader … so it is religiously forbidden for us to go after a nuclear bomb.”

Ongoing conflict with Israel had sabotaged nuclear negotiations, he said, adding that talks with the US had been progressing when Israel launched attacks on Iran.

“We were sitting at the negotiating table when it happened. And by doing this, they totally ruined and destroyed diplomacy.”

“We see no problem in reentering the negotiations. But how are we going to trust the United States again? We reentered the negotiations. Then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks, the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?”

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week to relaunch nuclear talks, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the preparations.

The meeting would mark the first direct engagement since President Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month. Neither side has publicly acknowledged the planned talks.

Alleged Israeli assassination attempt

Pezeshkian said Israel had attempted to assassinate him, describing a strike on a meeting he attended. There was no immediate Israeli or independent corroboration of his claim.

“They did try, yes, and they acted accordingly, but they failed. I am not afraid of sacrificing myself in defense of my country."

Israeli escalation would only deepen regional instability, he warned.

“Will it bring peace and tranquility and stability to the region? It was not the US that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. But as I told you before, it is God who wills when a person will die.”

Pezeshkian framed the conflict as a product of Israeli ambitions and urged Washington to avoid becoming entangled.

“My proposal is that the US administration should refrain from getting involved in a war that is not America’s war. It is Netanyahu’s war that is having its own agenda … an inhuman agenda, and that is having forever wars, wars that go on and on.”

'Death to America' misunderstood

The Iranian president said that “Death to America” slogans were misunderstood. “They don’t mean death to the people of the United States, or even to the officials. They mean death to crime, death to killing and carnage, death to supporting killing others.”

Pezeshkian also said Ali Khamenei has no objection to the operation of US businesses in Iran even under the currency circumstances, and there has never been any limitation from Tehran’s side, attributing barriers to American sanctions.

"The Supreme Leader told me American investors are welcome in Iran. There is no limitation and there's nothing preventing the US investors from coming to Iran to make investments, even presently," he said.

“It is not to be in the interest of the United States to be involved in any kind of war in my region,” he said. “It is up to the United States president to choose … whether to replace war mongering and bloodshed with peace and tranquility.”