Pentagon budget set to condition Iraq military aid on curbing Iran

The forces were part of the IRGC’s Quds Base unit and were killed during what authorities described as an encounter with armed militant groups near the border in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

State media said pursuit operations were under way, but added that few details had been released so far.

Iran’s southeast, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been a focus of unrest and armed violence. The mainly Sunni Baluch region has seen repeated attacks on security forces, courts and government buildings by militant groups.

The incident follows a deadly attack earlier this year on a courthouse in Zahedan in which nine people, including three assailants, were killed, according to state media. Militants opened fire inside the building before shooting at civilians outside.

Jaish al-Adl, a Baluch Sunni militant group, later said it carried out the courthouse attack. The group has staged previous assaults on Iranian security forces and is designated a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States.

Israel mauled the group at the tail end of a year-long war which ended in November of last year, after which the Lebanese government tasked the army with confiscating Hezbollah's arsenal by 2026.

Iran has resisted the initiative to defang the group which it founded in 1982, saying continued Israeli attacks justify what it calls Hezbollah's resistance.

In a written reply published by Lebanon’s foreign ministry on X, Raji said not accepting the visit “does not mean rejecting discussion,” adding that “the favorable conditions are not available.”

He renewed an invitation to Araghchi to meet in “a neutral third country to be agreed upon.”

Raji said Lebanon was ready to establish “a new phase of constructive relations” with Iran, but only if ties were based “exclusively on mutual respect and absolute respect for the independence and sovereignty of each country and non-interference in internal affairs under any pretext.”

“Building any strong state cannot happen unless the state alone, through its national army, holds the exclusive right to carry arms and the sole authority over decisions of war and peace,” he added, saying Araghchi was welcome to visit Lebanon.

Iran invitation amid Hezbollah debate

Iran invited Raji to Tehran earlier this month to discuss bilateral ties, according to Iran’s foreign ministry, amid growing debate in Lebanon over the future of the Iran-aligned Hezbollah group and calls for state control over weapons.

The exchange followed criticism in Beirut of comments by Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, who said Hezbollah’s existence was more important than “bread and water” for Lebanon.

Responding at the time, Raji wrote on X: “What is more important than bread and water for us is our sovereignty, freedom and independent decision-making,” rejecting what he described as outside interference.

Lebanon’s stance comes as Israel and Lebanon expand contacts through a committee monitoring their 2024 ceasefire, with Beirut saying the group could verify Israeli accusations that Hezbollah is re-arming.

Israel continues to occupy outposts on Lebanese territory and has launched a series of deadly attacks which it says targets Hezbollah militants despite the ceasefire.

Karadi told the Cyber Week 2025 conference at Tel Aviv University that Tehran launched 1,200 separate information campaigns including text messages and social media posts during the conflict, each targeting thousands of Israelis simultaneously.

“Iran tried to reach every citizen in Israel – and not just once,” Karadi said. “They had hacked into parking and other road cameras to track the movements of Israeli VIPs, with the aim of building operations to target and harm them.”

The extent of the cyber war between Iran and Israel during the June conflict has not been fully detailed by the Mideast arch-foes, which both claimed vast successes in the cyber arena.

“When the Weizmann Institute was hit by a missile, the attack did not start there. A short time before, the attacker sent threatening emails to faculty members. At the same time, they took control of a street camera overseeing the building that had just been bombed,” Karadi said.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, located in Rehovot, is one of Israel’s most prominent research institutions and is known for its pioneering work in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computer science.

“In addition, they published leaked data to deepen fear. This is another example showing that enemies today do not differentiate between physical attacks and cyberattacks,” he added.

An outlet tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards disclosed in September that a Ministry of Intelligence documentary used archival images from the internet, despite presenting them as exclusive material obtained from Israel.

Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib appeared in the program, calling the operation “a major infiltration” that yielded “a treasure of top-secret intelligence.” He described the outcome as the result of “months of complex planning and multiple successful operational phases inside the enemy’s structure.”

“On the last Yom Kippur, the attack on Shamir Medical Center was halted. At first it looked like classic ransomware. The Chilean ransomware group claimed they had stolen sensitive data. But after a short time, the ransom demand vanished because it became clear the real actor was Iran, using them as a front and trading on their tools,” Karadi continued. “It is a clear example of how some nation-states hide behind ransomware groups.”

Karadi said Israeli defenses prevented widespread damage, though he declined to give details or the full extent of the breaches.

A US cyber-security official attending the conference named Iran as among the most serious cyber threats to the United States.

“Russia, Iran, and North Korea are also major cyber threats, but China is the greatest,” Nick Andersen, executive assistant director for the Cybersecurity Division of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said.

“China is trying to use cyber weapons to pre-position the United States and the West for societal havoc and chaos in civilian infrastructure in the event of a conflict,” he added.

Alikordi, a 46-year-old prominent lawyer for jailed protesters and a former political prisoner, was found dead under unclear circumstances on Friday night, prompting some attorneys and activists to suggest possible Islamic Republic involvement.

"He devoted his life to defending Iranians who were fighting for freedom — including imprisoned protesters and the families of those killed by the Islamic Republic — even though he knew it meant putting his own life at risk," the State Department said in a post on its Persian-language X account.

"Years ago, he wrote: 'If I am killed, I am just one person — it is nothing. Do not let my homeland fall into the hands of the vile.' He never fought for himself alone; his struggle was for the people of Iran and for his country."

His death, the State Department said, "is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those who fight for their rights in Iran."

"The United States continues to stand with the people of Iran in their pursuit of freedom and justice."

Alikordi died of cardiac arrest in his office in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, according to a report on Saturday by Iranian lawyers news agency (Vokala Press).

His body was transferred to the forensic institute for determination of “the main cause of cardiac arrest,” while police restricted entry to and from the office, according to media reports.

However, fellow lawyer Marzieh Mohebbi wrote on X that Alikordi died from “a blow to the head”, according to what she called "trusted contacts". Security officers, she said, removed cameras from the area and that access to his family had become impossible.

Alikordi, originally from Sabzevar and living in Mashhad, had represented political detainee Fatemeh Sepehri, several people arrested during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and bereaved families including that of Abolfazl Adinezadeh, a teenager killed during protests.

“We find his death highly suspicious and do not believe he died of a heart attack," Adinezadeh's sister Marziyeh said in an Instagram post about their lawyer's death.

The briefing, described by several participants, said Iran is rapidly restoring its missile manufacturing capacity after suffering heavy damage in June strikes.

The IDF official warned that Tehran’s missile program is “recovering at a fast pace” and remains a top strategic priority for Iran’s military planners.

The warning came as Iran intensified missile and drone testing during large-scale military exercises in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

Last week, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy said a new missile tested during the drills had a range beyond the length of the Persian Gulf, without specifying the exact distance. “The Persian Gulf is 1,375 kilometers long – this missile’s range is beyond that,” Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said on state television.

Tangsiri said the weapon, built domestically by the IRGC Navy, “can be guided after launch” and demonstrated “very high precision.” State media said the exercises also involved ballistic and cruise missile fire, drone operations, and air defense maneuvers around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s southern islands.

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 urged Tehran to limit missile development to under 500 kilometers — a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected.