Iran says new US national security strategy serves Israel

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the GCC position repeated in the bloc’s closing communiqué after its Bahrain summit on Wednesday relied on “baseless and absurd claims encouraged by outside actors.”

Such language, he said, violated principles of territorial respect and good-neighborliness.

The GCC statement reiterated its backing for the United Arab Emirates, which claims Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa – territories controlled by Iran since 1971, when the Shah’s government took over the islands following Britain’s military withdrawal.

Tehran rejects any challenge to its sovereignty, and figures across Iran’s political spectrum oppose UAE claims.

Long-running dispute resurfaces

The islands issue has become a standard feature of GCC ministerial meetings and joint statements with partners including the EU and China. These declarations routinely “support UAE efforts” to resolve the dispute and encourage negotiations or referral to the International Court of Justice.

Iran typically answers such communiqués with statements and diplomatic protests. It summoned EU representatives after the bloc issued similar language in October, and lodged objections with Beijing in 2024 when China echoed the call for a “peaceful settlement.”

The territories, Ghalibaf said, were “pieces of Iran’s body,” urging regional states to avoid actions that could escalate tensions.

Although the three islands remain the core flashpoint, a newer dispute over the Arash/Durra gas field has entered GCC statements.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia assert joint ownership, while Iran maintains overlapping claims, adding another layer of friction to an already crowded Persian Gulf maritime file.

Chad dismantled two networks accused of being tied to Iran, the report said quoting Chadian security forces.

Officials described a strategy of infiltration, indoctrination and promises of support for coups aimed at expanding Tehran’s influence in Africa.

According to Infobae, the interrogations detailed how the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) allegedly recruit and train African citizens for operations targeting Western and Israeli interests.

In 2023, Israel asked visiting Chadian President Mahamat Deby to reduce the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in Africa’s Sahel region, four years after the Muslim-majority country in central Africa restored its relations with the Jewish State.

Déby visited Israel to open Chad’s new embassy in the country, where he also made a rare stop at Mossad headquarters, a signal that the renewed ties carry national-security weight.

The alleged push for influence in Chad is not an isolated case, as Iran has been reportedly sending military equipment to Chad's eastern neighbor Sudan whose army is fighting against the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces.

Iran's alleged recruitments in Chad

The Infobae report says one of those detained by Chadian authorities admitted to investigators that he had been recruited by Iran's intelligence ministry. The detaine, identified as Ali Abdoulaye Mahamat, said the process began after studying at the Al-Mustafa International University in Iran's Qom.

Mahamat told authorities he met Iranian intelligence officers in hotels in 2022 and 2023. He said he was instructed to identify American, Israeli and French activity, recruit new members and map links between local rebel groups and Iranian handlers, according to the report.

He also described an intelligence officer named Karim, who he said escorted him to hotels, restaurants and secret locations and confiscated his phone. Mahamat told officials Karim demanded detailed information on foreign military movements and intelligence services operating in Chad.

Pressed by his handlers, Mahamat said he eventually provided names of Chadian intelligence officers and individuals allegedly in contact with Israelis.

Chad’s authorities say another detainee, Abdoulaye Ahmat Sheikh Alamine, confessed to being recruited by the Quds Force. During his interrogation, he said the cell he belonged to was directed by Department 400, which operates in Iraq, Africa and other regions.

He told investigators he received weapons training — including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and KFX systems — and traveled to Iraq under the guise of religious trips, where the group met Iranian contacts and trained alongside Shia militias, according to the report.

Mahamat also told investigators that MOIS officers posing as Iranian Foreign Ministry representatives instructed him to collect information on international presence in Chad, recruit assets for military training and assess the needs of rebel groups such as FACT.

According to Infobae, Chad’s security services say the revelations show a coordinated Iranian approach combining religious indoctrination, military training and promises of political power in exchange for attacks on Western and Israeli interests.

Chadian officials told the outlet their operations disrupted, at least temporarily, what they describe as Tehran’s efforts to expand influence and destabilize the region.

Last month, Iran International revealed an alleged Iranian plot targeting the Israeli embassy in Senegal and Israeli personnel in Uganda, which were thwarted by Mossad.

The operation was directed by the Quds Force, the IRGC’s overseas arm, which relied on a proxy network of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals based in Iran, alongside locally recruited operatives in Africa — many of whom were said to have been enlisted through social media.

“Nobody in the GCC wants Iran to go down the drain,” Albudaiwi said at a panel titled Iran and the Changing Regional Security Environment during the Doha Forum 2025.

“We are here to talk about the present and the future – how to make our region as peaceful, as stable, as prosperous as possible along with our brothers and sisters in Iran.”

He said the GCC seeks a cooperative relationship with Iran based on dialogue, respect for the UN Charter, and non-interference in regional affairs. “We need to take the right steps towards trust-building measures,” he said.

“But there are really serious measures that we would like our brothers in Iran to take. The policies that Iran sometimes take really shake the stability of the region.”

Albudaiwi cited Iran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi group as an example of destabilizing activity and said Arab states astride the Persian Gulf had already taken steps toward de-escalation, including Saudi Arabia’s 2023 normalization agreement with Tehran and mediation efforts by Oman.

“We have put the right steps toward Iran,” he said. “What the GCC wants from Iran is simple and basic – like any normal neighborhood.”

He described Iran as part of the region’s shared culture and history but said progress required concrete change. “Iran is our neighbor, our history, our culture,” Albudaiwi said. “We have so much to share with Iran. It’s the present and the future that we should concentrate on.”

Meanwhile former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran remains resilient despite recent challenges, stressing that the country has endured hardship throughout its history.

“We’ve had our ups, and certainly today is not one of our ups,” Zarif said at the Doha Forum. “Iran has gone through storms for almost seven millennia – we’ve been invaded, we’ve been occupied, but we never went down the drain. We are still standing up and we will continue to stand up.”

“The Persian Gulf is 1,375 kilometers long – this missile’s range is beyond that,” Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said in an interview with state television. He added that the weapon, built by the IRGC Navy, is fully indigenous and “can be guided after launch.”

His remarks came as the IRGC carried out the second phase of its naval drill, which began Thursday with ballistic and cruise missile fire at targets in the Oman Sea. State media said the exercise also included drone operations and air defense maneuvers around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s southern islands.

Tangsiri said all weapons used in the drill were domestically made, including a new ballistic missile with “very high precision.” “Our enemies have seen its accuracy,” he said.

Iran’s missiles have a declared range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which officials say is sufficient for deterrence and covers Israel. The United States and its allies have called on Tehran to restrict missile development to under 500 kilometers, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected.

The agreement was reached at the fifth meeting of the Iran–Russia Joint Working Group on Communications and Information Technology, held in Moscow, according to the Iranian broadcaster IRIB.

The document was signed by Meysam Abedi, Iran’s deputy minister of communications for technology and innovation, and Alexander Shoitov, Russia’s deputy minister of digital development, communications and mass media.

The accord covers cooperation in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital economy, smart government, blockchain and fintech, as well as technology parks and private-sector partnerships.

Abedi said the signing confirmed “the determination of both governments to expand cooperation in communications and information technology.” He said joint work would continue on data transit, e-government, and developing AI tools, adding that both countries aim to use each other’s experience to deliver “better products and services” to their citizens.

The new agreement follows the ratification of a 20-year strategic partnership between Iran and Russia earlier this year. That treaty, originally signed by Presidents Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Putin in January, commits the two nations to closer coordination in defense, trade, and technology.

Iran’s parliament approved the pact in May with broad support. Lawmaker Hamid Rasai said it was “vital from economic, security, geopolitical, and diplomatic perspectives,” noting that both Tehran and Moscow face heavy Western sanctions.