Iran denies report it sought to delay US strike via Witkoff

Israel’s foreign minister said a “massacre of unimaginable proportions” was taking place in Iran, speaking on Monday during talks with Azerbaijani officials in the capital Baku.

“Now, the ayatollah regime is brutally murdering and oppressing its own people as they struggle for their freedom,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said at a joint press appearance with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, according to i24 news.

“We hear the chilling stories,” Sa’ar said, adding that reports were emerging despite an internet shutdown in Iran. He said a government that acts violently toward its own people could not be expected to behave differently toward others.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group threatened new attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, as a US aircraft carrier moved toward the region amid rising tensions over Iran, AP reported on Monday.

The Houthis released a short video showing images of a burning ship with the caption “Soon,” without giving details. The group has attacked more than 100 vessels in the Red Sea in the past, saying the campaign was meant to pressure Israel over the war in Gaza. The attacks paused after a ceasefire, though the group has repeatedly warned it could resume them.

The threat comes as the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying destroyers head toward the Middle East.

Golden Owl, an open-source intelligence research initiative, said its investigation found thousands of coordinated accounts on X and Instagram working in support of the Iranian state, amplifying regime narratives while targeting opposition voices.

The group said it analyzed nearly 8,000 account records on X, identifying more than 7,500 unique accounts operating in what it described as a state-aligned network.

According to the findings, about 500 accounts acted as high-impact “originators” producing narratives, while more than 2,500 others functioned as amplifiers, reposting content at volumes consistent with centralized or automated control.

Golden Owl said the network showed clear signs of coordination, including synchronized messaging, mass account creation around major geopolitical events and sustained activity during periods when Iranian authorities imposed internet blackouts at home.

The researchers said more than a quarter of the accounts were created after October 7, 2023, and that the network expanded further during periods of regional escalation and protest crackdowns.

Activity remained high during Iran’s internet shutdown, which Golden Owl said suggested privileged access or operations conducted from outside Iran.

Content promoted by the accounts included praise for Iran’s leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, attacks on opposition movements – particularly supporters of the exiled Pahlavi family – and anti-Semitic rhetoric, the report said.

Some accounts also pushed narratives aligned with separatist or fringe opposition groups, which the researchers said appeared aimed at fragmenting dissent.

Declared locations for many accounts were outside Iran, including in the United States, Britain and Germany, which Golden Owl said pointed to a focus on influencing Western public opinion rather than domestic audiences.

Golden Owl said the findings were based on reproducible data and that some datasets had been published for independent verification.

It called on social media platforms to investigate the accounts and on policymakers to recognize what it described as the scale of Iranian state-linked influence operations.

Russia said on Monday that a possible US strike on Iran would seriously destabilize the Middle East and urged restraint from all sides, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“This would undoubtedly mark another step toward serious destabilization of the situation in the region,” Peskov said, referring to reports that Washington might consider military action against Iran.

“Russia continues its efforts to de-escalate tensions,” he added. “In this situation, we would like to see restraint from all parties involved as well as their focus exclusively on peaceful negotiations to address the issues they consider relevant,” he said.

Israeli media reported earlier that the US had been preparing to strike Iran during the past week and that preparations for the attack may be complete.

Russia has previously warned that any strike on Iran could destabilize the region and urged diplomacy to prevent escalation.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group designated by the US as a terrorist organization, said it was preparing for what it called a wider conflict in support of Iran.

“Today the forces of misguidance have gathered to force Iran into submission,” the group’s secretary general said in a statement. “We warn the enemies that war against the Islamic Republic will not be a picnic,” he said, calling on fighters to ready themselves for battle and urging supporters to prepare for what he described as a “comprehensive war.”

Kataib Hezbollah is part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces and has carried out attacks on US and allied targets in the region.