Iran says UN council divisions show sanctions move 'lacks legitimacy'

Iranian demand for migration is expected to rise following the return of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Japan's NHK reported Sunday citing a travel agency in Tehran.

Requests for migration spiked more than fivefold after the 12-day war, the agency said.

The company now receives up to 1,600 applications a day, sometimes exceeding the capacity of its safe to hold applicants’ passports, NHK reported.

The current wave of migration is unprecedented in the past decade, an employee of the agency said.

The UN’s reimposition of snapback sanctions proved the Islamic Republic cannot be reformed and Ali Khamenei is responsible for decades of decline, Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said Sunday.

“These sanctions and their consequences are the responsibility of Ali Khamenei and his criminal regime who over 46 years have dragged Iran from prosperity to isolation,” Pahlavi wrote on X.

Sanctions alone would not stop the Islamic Republic’s actions but would weaken its resources, Pahlavi said, calling the move a victory for those pushing for maximum pressure.

“This is a victory for all those who have long called for maximum pressure on this regime as a means of tipping the scales in favor of the Iranian people and their movement for freedom,” Pahlavi said.

Governments must go further by designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group, isolating the Islamic Republic diplomatically and economically, and backing Iranians seeking democracy, Pahlavi said.

“The Iranian people deserve no less,” he added.

Europe had no choice but to trigger the UN snapback mechanism against the Islamic Republic, though the door remains open for talks on a new agreement, Germany’s foreign ministry said late Sunday.

“The Islamic Republic must never acquire nuclear weapons,” the ministry said in a post on X, adding that Iran’s repeated violations of its commitments under the nuclear deal forced Britain, France, and Germany to act.

The three European countries said they would welcome renewed negotiations, but emphasized that sanctions were reinstated in response to Tehran’s failure to comply with its obligations.

Iran must comply with the NPT, cooperate with the IAEA and return to direct talks with the United States to ensure it never obtains a nuclear weapon, Canadian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

“Iran must comply with the NPT, cooperate with the IAEA and return to direct talks with the US on an agreement ensuring it never obtains a nuclear weapon,” the ministry’s X account said.

“Canada stands with the E3 and the US in reimplementing UN sanctions on Iran, and calls on all UN members to comply with this obligation.”

Choubi-asl, described as a database specialist with access to sensitive national projects, was accused of providing information to Israeli intelligence during meetings in several countries, including India, Armenia and Ireland.

Mizan said Mossad officers trained him, provided secure communications tools and paid him for his cooperation.

“The main goal of Mossad in attracting the defendant’s cooperation was to obtain the database of governmental institutions and create a breach in Iranian data centers,” Mizan reported.

It added that Israeli officers also sought information on electronic equipment imports and engaged him in intelligence-gathering missions.

The judiciary said Choubi-asl met Mossad agents in nine foreign trips, held dozens of meetings, and received financial rewards and training.

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  Iran executed at least 1,000 people so far this year, rights group says

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  Iran executes political prisoner accused of spying for Israel

“The defendant’s deliberate and conscious cooperation with the enemy’s intelligence service was proven,” Mizan quoted court documents as saying.

The court convicted him of “corruption on earth” through collaboration with a foreign intelligence service.

The Supreme Court rejected his appeal and upheld the death sentence, which was carried out on Monday morning, Mizan said.

Iran and Israel have been locked in a long-running shadow war that has escalated this year into direct confrontations, including Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in June.

Executions of those accused of spying for Israel have risen in recent months, with at least 10 people put to death on such charges, according to Iranian authorities.