Israel's covert attack teams destroyed Iran's air defenses - ProPublica

The group rejected involvement in the 2010 killing of physics professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi and the 2011 killing of nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, calling the allegations “pure lies fabricated by the intelligence services” of the Islamic Republic to “demonize the MEK.”

Response to renewed allegations
The statement followed comments by Vida Mehrannia, wife of Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali, in an interview with Iran International’s “Cheshmandaz” program, in which she noted that some Iranian state media outlets had accused the MEK of aiding in the scientists’ assassinations.

Djalali was arrested in 2016 while visiting Iran at the invitation of universities in Tehran and Shiraz and later sentenced to death on espionage charges. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying they stem from his refusal to cooperate with the Revolutionary Guards in spying on Western countries.

Past denials and nuclear disclosures

The MEK said it has repeatedly condemned Djalali’s death sentence and called for his immediate release, adding that it had previously, including in a 2012 statement, categorically denied involvement in the nuclear scientists’ killings.

While rejecting the assassination allegations, the group emphasized its history of exposing Iran’s nuclear activities. It said to have made 133 disclosures in the past 34 years aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including a May report to Fox News alleging the existence of a secret nuclear site in Semnan province, and a 2020 report that facilities in Tehran and Abadeh were linked to weapons production.

The deal seeks to end decades of conflict between the two countries and includes a 43.5-kilometer corridor across Armenian territory, Axios reported. The route, to be developed by the United States and called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, will connect Azerbaijan’s mainland with its Nakhchivan exclave, which borders Iran and Turkey.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought over Nagorno-Karabakh since the late 1980s, most recently in 2023 when Azerbaijan seized the territory. The corridor would enable travel and trade between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asia without crossing Iran or Russia. Iran has opposed the project, saying it would cut off its only direct land route to Armenia and reduce its influence in the South Caucasus. Russia has also criticized it, while Turkey supports it.

Washington’s quiet diplomacy

Axios said the Trump administration’s work began in March when White House special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Baku after a trip to Moscow at Qatar’s request. According to a US official who spoke to Axios, Witkoff then asked Aryeh Lightstone, a former aide to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and close to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to lead the talks. Lightstone made five trips to the region to negotiate with both sides.

The same US official told Axios that negotiators pitched Pashinyan on the idea that by allowing a US-developed route, Armenia would gain a strong partner in Washington and a safeguard against future pressure from Baku. Armenia dropped its long-standing objection to the corridor during these talks.

Geopolitical and economic stakes

The route is expected to boost regional trade by billions of dollars a year, US officials told Axios. It would also limit the role of Russia and Iran, whose influence in the South Caucasus has been challenged since the Ukraine war.

The US official said Tehran fears the corridor will leave it more dependent on Azerbaijan for access to Russia and Europe.

The same official described the plan as “very Trumpian,” focusing on trade and economic growth rather than framing it purely as a security issue, and said the deal opens Armenia to the world and gives it the United States as a key partner instead of Iran.

From quiet talks to public signing

Trump called the upcoming gathering a Historic Peace Summit and praised both leaders for “doing the right thing” for their people in a post on Truth Social.

“Peace is not finalized there is still more work to do, but the accord sets out the main issues and steps to resolve them,” the US official told Axios. The agreement will begin with government-to-government cooperation, with hopes it will grow into warmer relations between citizens over time.

"In the past few months, the regime has been escalating its efforts to target civilians in Europe and North America, not least those from within the Iranian diaspora and Jewish community," United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said in a statement.

"These acts of transnational repression, which are a flagrant violation of Europe and North America’s territorial sovereignty, must be met with severe consequences," UANI Chairman Governor Jeb Bush and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said.

On July 31, the United States and thirteen allied countries accused Iran of plotting to kill, kidnap and intimidate individuals in Europe and North America, citing violations of sovereignty and links to international criminal networks.

“These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials,” the US State Department said in a joint statement with European countries.

The UANI statement applauded the US and its European allies for condemning what it called the Islamic Republic's "continuous acts of transnational repression on Western soil."

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  UK parliamentary report classes Iran among greatest foreign threats

However, Bush and Wallace stressed that such statements "need to be paired with a diplomatic isolation campaign, sanctions, and the credible threat of targeted military force."

"These cases cannot be handled solely as law enforcement matters where once the authorities thwart the terror plots, the situation is brushed under the rug. This only emboldens the Islamic Republic’s terrorism as it will calculate the benefits outweigh the costs."

The UANI statement urged Western governments to “be on heightened alert for terror plots targeting Jewish communities as well as the Iranian diaspora,” citing explicit death threats from Iran’s intelligence ministry against 45 Iran International journalists.

"It is time to hold #Iran's regime accountable for transnational repression. Just today the regime threatened to execute @IranIntl journalists and their families. It's unacceptable," former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said in a post on X.

Iran International on Tuesday filed an urgent appeal with United Nations experts urging them to take action against Tehran over serious risks to the lives and safety of their journalists worldwide and relatives inside Iran.

Over the past six weeks, the Iranian authorities have intimidated and threatened 45 journalists and 315 of their family members with death unless they stop working for Iran International by specific deadlines, Iran International said in a statement.

Since its formation in 2017, Iran International journalists have been targeted by the Iranian authorities for their reporting. However, since the start of a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in mid-June, the situation has deteriorated rapidly and there is now a real risk to the lives of multiple Iran International staff and to their family members.

“If the liberation of Iran happens, it will happen because we delivered a very strong blow to Iran’s seeming invincibility, and the people will rise from within,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he was pleased with the responses he said he received from Iranians following his direct video messages addressed to the Iranian people advocating for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

“I’m amazed. Millions and millions of responses from Iran, sometimes with their names, even their faces. You can't believe they’re doing that, but it shows the thirst for liberation there,” he said.

Israel prime minister’s remarks on regime change in Iran came on the same day Tasnim News, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called the goal of regime change in Iran a futile scheme by Israel.

“In the recent war, Israel bet heavily on political and social collapse in Iran, expecting the public to turn against the Islamic Republic. But what actually happened was the complete opposite of their expectations,” Tasnim said.

Asked about the prospect of more countries in the region normalizing ties with Israel in the so-called Abraham Accords, Netanyahu said he remains hopeful that even Iran might eventually do so.

“Iran could be too, if the people of Iran rise,” he said. “I think many of them want that, they want to relieve themselves of that tyranny.”

Israel launched a series of strikes on June 13 targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior commanders and killing hundreds of civilians. In retaliation, Iranian missiles killed 29 Israeli civilians.

Asked whether Iran was discussed during a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu suggested Iran's superpower ally did not approve of its uranium enrichment.

“I took note of the fact that (Putin) said Iran should not have nuclear enrichment, which is the American position and our position. I thought that was very good,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu had previously said during a visit to Washington in July that Israel had rolled back parts of Iran’s nuclear program, but suggested that the confrontation with the Islamic Republic is far from over.

A June 24 ceasefire ended a surprise 12-day Israeli military campaign which killed hundreds of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. 29 Israeli civilians were killed in Iranian counterattacks.

“The war has not ended. We are in a state of temporary pause,” Brigadier General Majid Khademi said in a speech marking the 40th-day memorial ceremony in Mashhad for his predecessor, Mohammad Kazemi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict.

“The enemy is conducting cognitive operations, intelligence warfare and psychological attacks, pinning its hopes on creating internal crises. Therefore, the people and officials must enter the field with vigilance,” he added.

On June 13, Israel commenced heavy bombing of Iran’s nuclear and military sites in a conflict capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on June 24.

Among those killed during the war were several senior military leaders, including Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh and IRGC Deputy for Operations Mehdi Rabbani.

Tasnim, a news outlet affiliated with the IRGC, on Thursday published a lengthy article saying Iran's repaired air defenses and intact missile stocks could wreak even more damage on Israel in a renewed conflict.

Warning to E3 over snapback threat

Khademi also warned United Kingdom, France and Germany—the so-called E3— against triggering the so-called snapback mechanism triggering United Nations sanctions under a 2015 nuclear deal, accusing Israel of trying to manipulate them as it did the United States.

“Today as well, the Zionist regime is trying to push the Europeans into the same strategic mistake witnessed in the snapback mechanism case. Just as they previously misled the United States, they are now steering Europe toward taking hostile actions against Iran. We are issuing this warning explicitly.”

His comments come amid growing concern in Tehran that Britain, France and Germany may move to trigger the snapback mechanism before the 2015 nuclear deal’s 10-year term expires in October.

The snapback, created under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, lets any party to the 2015 nuclear deal restore UN sanctions if Iran is found non-compliant. If no resolution is passed within 30 days to extend sanctions relief, all previous measures return automatically.

Last Saturday, Iran's government spokeswoman said that Tehran is holding talks with the E3 on its nuclear program, but no negotiations aimed at reaching a new agreement are currently underway.