The head of Iran’s Basij domestic militia on Wednesday alleged that the recent renaming of the US Department of Defense to the Department of War signals that Iran and Israel are pursuing new wars.
Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij, said at an event in the holy city of Mashhad that the move reflects America’s intention to “ideologize its army” on a global scale, according to Iranian state media.
The group he leads, formally called the Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed, is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a sprawling military body which oversees Tehran's support for armed affiliates in the Middle East.
"The renaming of the US Department of Defense to the Department of War shows that (Washington) has stationed its forces worldwide to threaten nations and seeks to ideologize his army. The future of nations will be shaped by war,” Soleimani said.
“The enemy has imposed not only military and media wars on Iran but also an economic war—our front-line fighters today are producers and merchants,” he added.
Problems at home
In September, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order rebranding the Department of Defense to the Department of War, its name for nearly 160 years before 1947.
The move aims, in the administration's framing, to refocus US military attention on deterring foes and winning wars but has not yet been ratified by Congress.
Iran is currently grappling with high inflation and rising prices amid the reimposition of UN sanctions last month, which the government claims have little effect on the economy or markets but have throttled the Iranian currency.
The IRGC is reeling from a punishing 12-day June war in which its top leadership was assassinated in Israeli attacks and its missile stocks were largely destroyed.
'US may collapse soon'
The Basij commander, whose force is under US sanctions, alleged that Iran is among the countries labeled as threats by the United States and Israel.
“America and the Zionists see five main threats: China, Russia, Venezuela, Bagram Air Base,and Iran—a historical irony,” Soleimani said.
In September, Trump also demanded that the Taliban return control of Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base to the United States, warning that “bad things are going to happen” should it not comply.
“If America fails to achieve its goals by 2025, its global power will collapse,” Soleimani added. “This echoes the words of Zionist lobbies, which shape the thinking of America and Trump.”
The Basij was sanctioned by the United States in 2011 for human rights violations and has been accused by human rights groups of torture, rape and repressing peaceful protests with deadly force.
Political Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the envoys and heads of European missions were called in after the EU-GCC communiqué questioned Iran’s sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf and criticized its missile and regional activities.
“The summons followed the meddlesome allegations in the joint statement of the EU and GCC foreign ministers regarding Iran’s islands and its defensive issues,” Takht-Ravanchi said, according to state media.
The move is a response to an EU-GCC meeting whose final statement backed the UAE’s claim to Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb -- urging a peaceful settlement or referral to the ICJ -- and called for a strictly peaceful Iranian nuclear program, and curbs on the proliferation of missiles, drones and related technology.
Tehran rejects the UAE’s claims, says the three islands are integral Iranian territory, and accuses Western and Persian Gulf states of undermining its sovereignty.
The statement also called on Iran to restore full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. It also pressed Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis to join UN-led talks, halt Red Sea attacks and free detained aid workers.
The move comes amid heightened tensions after UN sanctions were reimposed and renewed Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear and regional activities.
Speaking at the EU-GCC High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation in Kuwait, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc sought to “encourage Iran to act as a responsible power in the Middle East” while acknowledging that the return of UN sanctions was “a setback but not the end of diplomacy.”
Kallas also linked instability in the Red Sea to Iran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi group and urged continued dialogue to reduce tensions.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also accused Tehran of “projecting destabilizing influence” through its regional proxies and warned that Houthi attacks were endangering both Israel and international shipping routes.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed such criticism as politically motivated.
Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that “those who reimposed restrictions on Iran and accuse us of destabilization have no right to lecture us,” describing the remarks as shameful and hypocritical.
Baghaei added that European governments, which he said spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on advanced weaponry, were in no position to question Iran’s indigenous defense capabilities.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland presented the bill to Parliament, saying it aims to close a major legal gap in Australia’s counterterrorism framework by permitting the listing of state-backed organizations accused of supporting or conducting terrorist acts.
The move follows findings by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) that the IRGC was involved in two anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in 2024.
Rowland said the new Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 would strengthen Australia’s ability to respond to “malicious foreign actors” and serve as a warning to any state seeking to threaten the country through violence or coercion.
“This bill strengthens Australia’s counterterrorism framework, creating an environment in which it is more difficult, more risky, and more costly for foreign actors to cause harm,” she told Parliament.
Under the proposed law, the government would gain the power to list foreign state agencies or entities as state sponsors of terrorism if they are found to have directly or indirectly planned, supported, or financed acts of terrorism against Australia.
Once listed, it would become a criminal offence to collaborate with, fund, or provide material assistance to those entities. Limited exemptions would apply for diplomatic or legal obligations.
The legislation introduces new criminal offences, including preparing or participating in state-sponsored terrorist acts and offering material support to listed state actors. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies would also receive expanded powers to investigate and disrupt suspected state-linked terrorism.
ASIO findings link IRGC to attacks in Australia
The bill comes after a series of actions by Canberra against Tehran. In August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expelled Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi following ASIO’s conclusion that the IRGC directed two arson attacks on Jewish sites -- one at a kosher restaurant in Sydney and another at a synagogue in Melbourne.
“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement,” Albanese said.
He described the incidents as “extraordinary acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.”
The proposed law would align Australia more closely with allies such as the United States, which designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2019.
The group, established in 1979 after Iran’s Islamic Revolution, reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and wields significant military, political, and economic influence at home and abroad. Its Quds Force oversees operations that have supported armed groups in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Syria.
Australia’s move follows its decision last week, along with New Zealand, to implement revived United Nations sanctions on Iran after European powers triggered the snapback mechanism over Tehran’s nuclear program. The sanctions reimposed restrictions on arms, finance, and missile activities.
Canberra has also joined G7 nations in condemning Iran’s repression of dissidents abroad and intimidation of diaspora communities. In September, Australia warned of “transnational repression” targeting journalists and Jewish groups.
Rowland said the latest legislative step reflects Australia’s evolving security environment. “The threats we face are changing,” she said. “This bill ensures that our national security laws remain fit for purpose -- robust, balanced, and capable of protecting all Australians.”
“The wound is very open,” he told Iran International.
“Forty-eight people are still in Gaza, nine from my community. Every time we mark this date, it feels like a funeral all over again.”
Daniel’s grandparents, Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz, were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Gaza border that lost more than a quarter of its residents that day, killed and captured.
They were lifelong peace activists who ferried Gazan patients to Israeli hospitals and spent decades advocating coexistence.
Yocheved, then 85, was released after 16 days — frail and traumatized. Oded, 83, was shot and dragged unconscious into Gaza, where he later died in captivity.
“He was a journalist, the first (Israeli) to interview Yasser Arafat,” Daniel said. “He warned everyone about Hamas.”
During captivity, Yocheved came face-to-face with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who assured her in Hebrew she would soon be freed.
“She was only released because she was hours from dying,” Daniel said. Even now, he added, “she wakes every morning saying she still feels like she’s in a tunnel.”
Daniel was in Paris when the attack began; his mother and daughter had left the kibbutz just hours earlier. His best friend, Dolev Yahud, was murdered, while Dolev’s sister, Arbel, spent 482 days in captivity before her release.
Although Daniel blames Iran’s longtime backing of Hamas for making the massacre possible, his message this year is clear: no more war.
Earlier this year, Daniel spoke at a two-state solution conference in Paris, where he called for renewed education and engagement between Israelis and Palestinians. “Everything begins with education,” he said.
“We don’t want any war between Israel and Iran,” Daniel said. “Change in Iran must come from the Iranian people.”
But Daniel also directed anger toward Israel’s own leadership, saying years of complacency and misjudgment left the country vulnerable.
“I do blame 100 percent our Prime Minister,” he said. “He’s been the Prime Minister for the last 20 years, and it’s his decision to neglect the diplomatic arena.”
Reflecting on Israel’s past strategy toward Hamas, Daniel said leaders wrongly believed the group could be managed or pacified through financial incentives.
He praised the Iranian diaspora for their empathy and courage. “The only people outside Israel who truly understood our pain were Iranians abroad,” he said. “They know what it’s like to live under terror.”
Standing on Tel Aviv’s Pinsker Street — one of those struck by Iranian missile fire earlier this year — Daniel reflected on resilience. “If we lose compassion, we lose who we are.”
Israel says the attack by Palestinian militants two years ago killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 people captive in Gaza, of whom some 20 are believed to be still alive there.
Palestinian health authorities say Israel's subsequent ground incursion and air attacks have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said this week that Iran had sent “a very strong signal” it wanted progress toward a Gaza agreement, describing “tremendous progress” in talks.
Iranian spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani responded that Tehran would support any “lasting peace that benefits the people of Palestine and helps stop genocide.”
For Daniel, those diplomatic signals matter most if they lead to the end of the war and the return of the hostages.
“I hope the mark of two years will bring us to a year of healing,” he said. “Not another year of trauma.”
Daniel says he now carries his grandfather’s mission with him — the conviction that peace, empathy, and education are the only weapons strong enough to outlast war.