President Donald Trump said US attacks on Iran nuclear sites in June had paved the way for a deal agreed by Hamas and Israel to wind down the war in Gaza and expressed hope Tehran would join a Mideast peace.
"Iran was about one month, maybe two months, away from having a nuclear weapon. And if I allowed that to happen, this deal would not have been possible," Trump told Fox News in a phone interview on Wednesday evening.
"It's a very much different Iran. And frankly, we've had some very good conversations. And as you saw, they blessed the deal. They put out a few hours ago a statement that they agree with the deal, and they blessed the deal," he added, without elaborating. "That's a tremendous thing."
Tehran had not published any official reaction to the announcement by the United States, Hamas and Israel that the parties had agreed to the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a partial pullback of Israeli forces and the freeing of Palestinian political prisoners.
US planes and submarine-launched missiles attacked three key Iranian nuclear sites on June 22, capping off a surprise Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic which battered its arch-foe.
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, called the attacks illegal and has vowed to resist what it calls Israeli aggression. Still, officials have long said they would support any peace deal agreed by Palestinians.
Iran has backed Palestinian militants and armed affiliates throughout the Middle East it calls a "Resistance Axis" opposed to Israel and the United States.
"I believe if they had a nuclear weapon, there would be a whole different even if we made the deal, it would have, literally, a very dark cloud over it because of what could potentially happen," Trump added.
"And by the way, I believe Iran is going to be actually a part of the whole peace situation," he added.
The investigation, led by research firm Kharon and backed by a US civil forfeiture case, reveals how the network used intermediaries across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas to conceal its Iranian military end-users.
“With its use of layered intermediaries, third-country brokers and seemingly legitimate front companies in Western Europe, the helicopter-parts network demonstrates the growing sophistication of the illicit supply chains that support sanctioned military programs,” Kharon said.
The US Treasury’s October 1 sanctions followed the UN’s snapback on Iranian restrictions and targeted the Iran-based Pasargad Parvaz Kish Helicopter Company (PHC) and its Germany-based chief executive, Mehdi Shirazi Shayesteh. Treasury said PHC procured aircraft and spare parts for Iran’s state helicopter maker, PANHA, using a “transnational procurement network.”
Corporate filings show that PHC’s ownership ties extend into the investment arm of the sanctioned Pasargad Bank, embedding it within Iran’s restricted financial system.
According to a civil forfeiture complaint reviewed by Kharon, Shayesteh and his Iran-based partner, Amirhossein Salimi—the head of Uruguay’s Perfect Day SA—set up a joint venture in Portugal in 2021 called Business United Unipessoal LDA. Their first deal was the acquisition of a US-origin helicopter, which was routed through the network and eventually sold to PHC.
A US link in the chain
Among the entities linked to the operation was Cobra International, a Union City, New Jersey–based supplier that advertises itself as serving “civilian and military markets.” Between 2021 and 2023, Business United carried out several transactions with Cobra, including a $209,000 purchase of a used helicopter engine that US authorities later seized.
Kharon’s review found Cobra’s business connections also reached companies tied to Russia’s defense sector.
Court filings identified Dubai-based Indian broker Krishnamurthy Shekar as a key facilitator who sought helicopter engines from Cobra in 2023 on behalf of Business United. He maintains professional links to several aviation suppliers in the UAE and India.
In Europe, Swedish national Ramtin Emami directed two companies—Nordic Air and Heli Invest AB—that received US-origin parts from Cobra and re-exported them to Iran. Business United requested that the shipments be routed through Sweden before their final delivery to PHC, according to Kharon’s findings.
The case underscores the growing complexity of Iran’s defense procurement networks, which rely on Western intermediaries, layered brokers and front companies to mask their military objectives.
