Milan probes two Iranians over threats to regime opponents

Iran has become an increasingly significant factor in the terror threat facing Denmark, especially against Israeli and Jewish targets and Iranian dissidents, Denmark’s national security and intelligence service said Friday.

“Over the past year state actors have become increasingly important to the terror threat. We assess that this applies in particular to Iran, which poses a threat especially to Israeli and Jewish interests as well as certain Iranian dissidents in Europe, including Denmark,” Finn Borch Andersen, head of PET, said in a statement.

“The threat from Iran emanates from the Iranian intelligence services, which make use of both criminal networks and the recruitment of operatives in Europe to plan and carry out attacks,” he added.

PET said rising hostility between Iran and Israel in recent years, especially since Israeli and US strikes against Iran began in February, has affected the threat environment in Denmark and other Western countries.

A military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Friday that Iran would launch attacks if a US naval blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former chief-commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said the IRGC uses “highly cost-effective drones” and fast boats as key tools of deterrence, adding that Iran is tracking US movements despite what he described as Washington’s attempt to approach “in the dark.”

“The United States is coming toward us in darkness, while we monitor every move they make,” Rezaei said.

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran gains concessions through military pressure rather than dialogue, casting negotiations with Washington as a way to make the United States accept realities created on the battlefield.

“We take concessions not through talks, but with missiles; in negotiations, we only make them understand this,” Ghalibaf said on X.

Ghalibaf, who is also parliament speaker, said Tehran would not rely on guarantees or verbal commitments in any possible agreement with Washington.

“We have no trust in guarantees or words; only actions are the measure,” he said. “No action will be taken before the other side acts.”

He also linked any agreement to future military readiness, saying the side that prepares better after a deal would ultimately benefit most.

“The winner of any agreement is the one who prepares better for war from the day after,” Ghalibaf said.

Mohammad-Mahdi Hosseini Hamedani, the Friday prayer leader of Karaj, said the Islamic Republic should not negotiate over its nuclear program, arguing that the issue was not included in the 10 conditions approved by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

“In diplomacy, the same 10 conditions approved by Mojtaba Khamenei must be the basis,” Hosseini Hamedani said. “There is no reference to the nuclear issue in these conditions, therefore there should be no discussion about nuclear matters.”

He also defended Iran’s missile program, saying missiles were not only a defensive tool but also a foundation for security, reconstruction and development.

Hosseini Hamedani said parliament’s decisions should raise the cost of war for Iran’s enemies.

“The Strait of Hormuz is our instrument of power and should not be easily given up,” he said.

Israel’s military chief said every strike against Hezbollah was also a blow to the Islamic Republic’s regional axis and Tehran’s investment in the region.

According to a statement from the Israeli military, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir made the remarks during a visit to Israeli army positions in the Shebaa Farms, inside Lebanon.

Zamir said the Israeli military remained at a high level of readiness for any possible development, including against the Islamic Republic.

He said no location would become a stronghold or safe zone for Hezbollah.

He added that Israeli forces would continue advancing into new areas if operational needs required it.

Zamir said the aim of Israel’s operations was to intensify pressure on Hezbollah, push threats farther away and strengthen the defense of communities in northern Israel.

He said more than 7,500 Hezbollah members had been killed since the start of the war, including 2,500 since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion.