Lawmaker says Iran's missiles can target US cities and Europe

President Masoud Pezeshkian formally signed the tax bill on Friday, passed by parliament in late June.

The law targets capital gains on real estate, vehicles, gold, jewelry, silver, platinum, foreign currency, and even cryptocurrencies.

“For properties held between two and five years, 50 percent of inflation is considered,” said Mehdi Movahedi Beknazar, spokesperson for Iran’s Tax Administration in July. “If the property is held for more than five years, full inflation adjustment is applied.”

In effect, tax will be levied on the profit plus 50 percent of the increase in asset prices due to inflation.

For example, if a citizen buys an apartment in 2024 for 50 billion rials (about $55,500) and, due to 40 percent inflation, its value rises to 80 billion rials (about $88,800) in 2025, the 30 billion rial increase (about $33,300) is treated as profit, and therefore is taxable.

Iran’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 41.2% last month, marking the highest level in two years, according to Iran's Statistical Center.

The Ministry of Economy has been tasked with creating a smart system that links to registries of deeds, the stock exchange, customs and the Central Bank to identify transactions subject to the law.

A first-of-its-kind approach

State media have praised the law for “taking inflation into account,” framing it as a tool against hoarding in a country where inflation often exceeds 40 percent.

Under the 28-article law, assets sold within a year will be taxed at 20–40 percent, with lower rates applying to longer holding periods. Exemptions include primary homes, one family car, and production-related properties such as farms and factories.

Penalties for evasion include blocked property transfers, bans on commercial activity, and fines of up to twice the tax owed.

Global benchmarks

Most nations impose capital gains taxes, but none explicitly tax inflation in the same way.

The United States taxes nominal gains without inflation adjustment. Britain used to allow inflation indexation until 1998 but abolished it. Chile and Brazil adjust long-term gains for inflation, while Australia offers a 50-percent discount for assets held over a year.

Authorities argue the law will curb speculative activity in housing, cars, and gold sectors, where prices have soared and wealthier Iranians often shelter assets.

“In the current situation, the conditions for negotiations with the United States are not ready,” said Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications and information at the president’s office, in an interview with Iranian media.

“Today this possibility does not exist, but 40 days from now, when the president is in New York, the situation may be different. We live in a state of uncertainty,” he said, referring to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s upcoming visit for the UN General Assembly in late September.

Tabatabaei added that any decision on talks with Washington would not rest solely with the government and would require final approval from the Supreme Leader.

“The considerations of the Supreme National Security Council are always taken into account, but its resolutions only gain effect when approved by the Supreme Leader.”

He added that Iran’s president, who also heads the Supreme National Security Council, remains bound by the authority of Ali Khamenei.

“In the case of the president, there is complete alignment and obedience to the considerations, strategies and views of the Supreme Leader,” he said.

Asked whether there had been differences in the past, Tabatabaei said, “At one point, the president’s view was to negotiate, but the Supreme Leader was not in agreement. The president said that the Supreme Leader’s opinion comes first, even if it is against his own view. Later, when conditions changed, the decision for negotiations also changed, and the government implemented it.”

“If conditions remain as they are now, no, there will be no talks. But it is not possible to rule out changes by then,” he said.

Tabatabaei also rejected suggestions of division within the leadership over Iran’s foreign policy, saying, “The coordination that exists today between the branches of government and the Supreme Leader is extraordinary. This unity of view and trust helped the country overcome the recent aggression by the Zionist regime and the United States.”

According to a recent report by Reuters, Supreme Leader and the country’s power structure have reached a consensus to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States, viewing them as vital to the Islamic Republic’s survival.

Amid deteriorating ties with Europe and the looming threat of another war with Israel, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian is under mounting attack from Tehran’s hardliners, who question both his competence and his political judgment.

Allegations of a “shadow government” meddling in Iran’s foreign policy have also reignited concerns about the country’s diplomatic direction, just as high-stakes nuclear talks with the West hang in the balance.

Mohammad Ayyad was convicted by a Lebanese military tribunal latein July for his role in the fatal attack on a UN convoy near the village of Al-Aqbiya, south of Beirut. He was not present at the trial, and Lebanese authorities have not disclosed his whereabouts.

“We suspect he is in Iran and it is unlikely anyone will hand him over to face a death penalty,” one diplomatic source told the newspaper. “It is not a satisfactory situation but all we can do is keep the pressure on and see if we can get justice for Seán and his family.”

Rooney, 23, from Dundalk, was killed on December 14, 2022, when a group of armed men opened fire on the peacekeepers’ vehicle as they travelled towards Beirut airport. Three other Irish soldiers were injured in the attack.

According to Sunday World, several other Lebanese men received lighter sentences over the shooting, including short jail terms, fines, or acquittals. The Beirut government has appealed the verdicts following pressure from Ireland and Rooney’s family, the paper said.

Irish Defense Minister Simon Harris said last week that Dublin continues to press for accountability. “The Government has repeatedly stressed the need for justice to be served in this case. We have raised the issue with the UN and the Lebanese authorities,” he said after meeting Rooney’s mother, Natasha.

Lebanon has not carried out an execution in more than 20 years, and Irish officials have indicated they would prefer Ayyad serve a life sentence rather than face capital punishment.

An Irish coroner’s inquest into Rooney’s death has been postponed, while an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the attack, led by barrister Michael Delaney, is underway and expected to conclude in the autumn.

The public relations office of the Quds Base of the Guards’ ground forces said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency that “two terrorist teams were destroyed in coordinated operations in the north and south of the province.”

The IRGC’s Quds Base in southeast Iran — one of its 10 regional commands — oversees forces in Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman provinces, and is separate from the Quds Force, the Guards’ overseas unit.

The statement said that “six trained terrorists who intended to carry out sabotage and terrorist operations were killed and others detained.”

The Guards said they found “25 kilograms of explosives, ready-to-detonate bombs, detonators, remotes, blasting cord, radios and other equipment” in a raid on a safe house in Chabahar, in the province’s southeast.

The statement added that another militant hideout in the north of the province was also struck.

The Guards praised local residents for their cooperation and urged them to report suspicious activities via designated hotlines.

The operations come amid a surge of violence in the province, where the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl has carried out a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks.

On Friday, a police officer was killed and another wounded in the city of Iranshahr after gunmen opened fire on a military vehicle, according to police. Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility.

Earlier in August, Iranian police said three militants and one officer were killed in a clash in Saravan, while in late July nine people died in an assault on a courthouse in the provincial capital Zahedan, which the group also claimed.

Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been the scene of unrest involving Sunni militants, drug traffickers, and security forces.

Jaish al-Adl, designated a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States, says it is fighting for the rights of Iran’s Baluch minority but Tehran accuses it of links to cross-border militant networks.

“We must not allow others to destabilize the region. Instead, we should preserve stability along this path. That is why we signed an important security agreement with Iraq,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a televised interview about his recent visit to Baghdad and Lebanon.

The agreement includes “a mutual commitment to prevent any disruption by individuals, groups, or third countries, in such a way that no party can use the other’s territory against the other side or create breaches in security,” Larijani said.

He linked the deal to recent regional tensions, saying that “even in the past 12-day war this issue was taken into consideration; part of the war was supported from the skies of some countries," referring to nations Iran says supported Israel's attacks on Iran.

On Wednesday, however, Iraq’s National Security Advisory issued a clarification rejecting reports of a new agreement, stressing instead that a memorandum of understanding on border security had been signed.

The advisory said the agreement builds on a 2023 protocol concerning Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. It emphasized that “there is no security agreement between the two countries; rather, it is a security memorandum of understanding.”

Washington voices opposition

Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qassem al-Araji met with US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Fagin on Saturday to discuss the deal, which Washington has opposed.

In their meeting, Araji “reviewed the details of the security memorandum of understanding signed between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding border control, which contributes to supporting regional security and stability, preventing smuggling and infiltration,” his office said.

Washington, however, has argued the deal undermines Iraqi sovereignty. “We oppose any legislation that is inconsistent with the goals of our bilateral security assistance and partnership and runs counter to strengthening Iraq’s existing security institutions,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday.

“We support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into an Iranian satellite state,” she added.