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A hardline Iranian lawmaker on Thursday said that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are now barred from entering Iran under a new parliamentary law but also acknowledged that exceptions remain possible.
Ali Khazaei told reporters that “IAEA inspectors are banned from entering the country” and that the law is binding on the government. He accused the agency of passing classified nuclear information to Iran’s enemies and said enforcement of the law was essential to “preserving national authority.”
However, Khazaei also cited a clause in the law that allows inspections in “specific locations” if the Supreme National Security Council approves and protective protocols are observed.
The missile barrages launched by Iran earlier this year caused record destruction in Israel, with more than 53,500 damage claims filed in just 12 days of fighting, the Israel Tax Authority said, according to a report by Ynet on Thursday.
“The direct damage is now estimated at no less than NIS 4 billion ($1.1 billion), and the indirect damage, which has yet to be calculated, will amount to several billion more,” Tax Authority Director Shay Aharonovich said.
Major institutions, including the Weizmann Institute of Science and Soroka Medical Center, suffered heavy losses, while many businesses were forced into prolonged shutdowns, he added.
Israel launched the 12-day air campaign against Iran in June, with brief support from the United States, targeting nuclear sites and killing senior military officials and nuclear scientists. The strikes crippled much of Iran’s air defense network and damaged a significant portion of its ballistic missile arsenal, Israel said.
Property losses made up the bulk of claims. Of 41,962 filings for damaged structures, 36,928 involved private residences, with hundreds of homes completely destroyed.
The state will have to fund alternative housing for displaced families until rebuilding can be completed, a process expected to take months if not years, officials said.
The commercial sector was also hit hard. Businesses filed 5,108 claims, including hundreds of shops and offices destroyed beyond repair. Vehicle damage reached unprecedented levels, with at least 5,400 cars damaged or destroyed.
9,803 claims were submitted through a fast-track process, while 28,129 direct-damage claims were processed within two months, according to the authority.
So far, the Property Tax Compensation Fund has paid out NIS 1.6 billion ($430 million) for direct damages.
Claims for indirect losses, such as business interruptions, nearly doubled direct claims, reaching 98,569 in just under two weeks of fighting. About 60,000 of these have already been processed, with NIS 1 billion ($270 million) in partial compensation paid.
Officials cautioned that the final tally—factoring in both direct and indirect damages—will end up several times higher than the current estimates, underscoring the unprecedented financial cost of Operation Rising Lion.
Iran will stop cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if European powers activate the UN snapback mechanism, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday.
“We told them that if this happens, the path we have opened for cooperation and engagement with the IAEA will be completely affected and halted,” he said, according to state media.
He added that triggering snapback would mean “Europe will, in effect, remove itself from the diplomatic arena,” and future talks would be confined to the UN Security Council framework.
Gharibabadi said Iran had made clear to the E3 and EU what retaliatory steps it would take and emphasized that the choice now lies with Europe. “They can choose a path of confrontation or a path of cooperation,” he said. “We are ready for both.”
Iran has charged comedian Zeinab Mousavi over her satire of Ferdowsi, the 10th-century Persian poet behind the epic Shahnameh, using the controversy to stir patriotism after the war with Israel.
Iran has charged a comedian over a satirical sketch mocking Ferdowsi, the 10th-century poet behind the epic Shahnameh, after the performance provoked uproar across society.
The sketch, which recited verses of the Shahnameh with irreverent commentary, drew condemnation online and from prominent cultural figures who called it an insult to Iran’s heritage.
The Shahnameh, chronicling Iran’s mythical past and heroic kings, is widely regarded as a cornerstone of national identity.
The comedian at the center of the storm, Zeinab Mousavi—known by her stage name Empress Kuzcooo—said she had not intended for the recording to circulate.
But prosecutors accused her of producing “offensive content”, framing it as an insult to Ferdowsi and a provocation to public sentiment.
‘Symbol of noble land’
The move appears aimed at rallying patriotic sentiment in the aftermath of the June war with Israel—underscored by interventions from hardline corners not usually associated with nationalist discourse.
Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, cast the affair in those terms.
“Hostility toward Iran is one of the round-the-clock activities of Zionists and their agents. Just as the brave Iranian people defended the country against attacks from the United States and Israel, they will also defend the symbols of this noble land.”
Mousavi told Rouydad24 that the YouTube program scheduled to air the sketch had promised to cut the segments, and she was unaware of their circulation on social media.
“Comedy has no boundaries,” she said. “I have harmed no one.” She did not issue an apology.
Clerics vs Ferdowsi
Some hardline Shia clerics have long viewed Ferdowsi with disdain over the Shahnameh’s anti-Arab verses and his praise for pre-Islamic monarchy.
Under their influence, murals depicting scenes from the epic were removed from Mashhad, and a statue of Ferdowsi was blocked from installation at Ferdowsi University.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, has downplayed these objections, presenting Ferdowsi as a devout Shia and framing the Shahnameh as consistent with Islamic thought.
Critics call the state’s current posture opportunistic.
“Until yesterday they were erasing Shahnameh murals,” wrote one user, Soroush. “Now, to preserve the regime in wartime, they wave nationalist symbols. Tomorrow they might even parade Achaemenid soldiers.”
Since the 12-day war with Israel and the United States, officials have leaned heavily on patriotic messaging, even infusing this year’s Muharram mourning ceremonies with nationalist songs and imagery.
Free speech debate
Mousavi, a 35-year-old software graduate, is no stranger to controversy. Her biting humor, scathing critiques of clerics and politicians, and occasional sexual references have repeatedly attracted the authorities’ attention.
She has been arrested several times on charges such as “insulting religious sanctities,” often over satire targeting compulsory hijab laws.
Her Instagram account was deleted in 2022 after she mocked President Ebrahim Raisi’s televised prayers in Moscow.
The case has reignited debate about freedom of expression and the limits of satire in Iran.
“Insulting Ferdowsi and his enduring masterpiece, the Shahnameh, is an affront to our cultural roots. It deserves criticism, but the response should not be prison,” wrote reformist politician Azar Mansouri on X.
“Judicial punishment neither builds culture nor fosters respect.”
Journalist Milad Alavi echoed the point: “Zeinab Mousavi’s jokes about Ferdowsi were at times offensive, but they were not a crime. Criminal prosecution undermines freedom of expression and erodes the rule of law.”
The Islamic Republic has never closed the door to negotiations with the United States but insisted that any new round of talks must begin with clear evidence of American good faith, a senior member of Iran’s Expediency Council said on Thursday.
“We have never shut down the path of negotiation, but this time they must prove their honesty,” said Mohammadreza Bahonar.
Turning to the nuclear issue, the council member pointed to Iran’s current membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We are now part of the NPT, and the Agency must defend the interests of its members, including Iran,” he said.
“If the International Atomic Energy Agency does not defend our rights, if it fails to condemn attacks on our nuclear facilities, if it does not raise our case in the international system and voice our victimization, then what benefit is there for us to remain in the NPT? There is no reason.”
