Khamenei to end Eje'i’s judiciary tenure after one term

The 2025 Report on the Protection of the Constitution, released by Germany’s Interior Ministry and setting out findings by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said Russia, China and Iran were the main foreign powers carrying out intelligence activities in Germany.

On Iran, the report said one priority of Tehran’s intelligence activities was spying on and taking action against opposition groups and individuals inside and outside the country.

It said intelligence-related spying against pro-Israeli and pro-Jewish targets in Germany was again observed in 2025, adding that the United States and Israel have long been viewed as enemies by Tehran.

The report said Iranian intelligence services also try to achieve their aims through state-sponsored terrorism. It said this had increasingly been the case since the beginning of the Iran war in late February this year and the resulting heightened threat to pro-Jewish, pro-Israeli and US targets.

Iranian cyber espionage activities were mainly directed against the Iranian diaspora in Germany, the report said. It said targets of attack campaigns by the APT group Charming Kitten included Iranians in exile, opposition members, regime critics, journalists, human rights activists and women’s rights activists.

The BfV said Iranian procurement activity in Germany linked to Tehran’s delivery-technology and missile programs remains “persistently high.”

The report said large parts of Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure were “severely damaged or destroyed” during the 12-day war last June, leaving the Islamic Republic “dependent on cutting-edge technology from Europe and Germany” to repair and rebuild facilities and obtain replacement systems, including for its delivery systems.

Germany remained one of the most important targets for foreign intelligence services because of its economic strength and role in organisations such as the EU and NATO, the report said.

The report said foreign powers use illegal or illegitimate methods to obtain information, steal know-how, spread disinformation and conduct sabotage and espionage operations, with the aim of influencing political decision-making, eroding trust in democracy and undermining defence capabilities.

The report said the BfV is pursuing a three-part strategy of “detection, disruption and prevention” to counter foreign intelligence threats. It said the strategy includes early identification of threats, disrupting hostile intelligence operations and strengthening preventive measures.

The agency said it provides security warnings, specialist advice and practical support to companies, universities, research institutions, political bodies and government agencies to help protect them against espionage, cyberattacks and illicit procurement.

The directive by the Supreme National Security Council said that, with programs linked to what it called the “historic funeral procession of the martyred Leader of the Revolution” beginning Friday, media outlets should help preserve national cohesion and maintain a focused media narrative.

It recommended that issues related to follow-up on the Islamabad memorandum of understanding — including the “balanced implementation of commitments,” especially over Hormuz, developments inside Lebanon, what it called the destructive role of the Lebanese government, the need to end Israeli attacks and opposition to externally imposed solutions — be gradually removed from media priority over the next 48 hours.

Instead, the directive said media capacity should mainly be used to explain the “personal, intellectual, cultural, political, historical and national dimensions of Iran’s martyr,” reflect “the presence and solidarity of the people,” and provide the “most magnificent possible coverage” of the ceremonies.

It said that if any “transgression or aggression” by enemies occurred during the period, “the issue of continuing defense alongside the holding of extensive ceremonies related to the funeral procession will naturally receive attention.”

The directive also urged outlets to avoid amplifying “internal political disputes, factional disagreements, media controversies” and issues that could polarize public opinion or divert attention from what it called a “national and historic occasion.”

News and analysis related to “negotiations, the agreement and other political and regional developments” should be covered “only to the extent necessary,” it said, warning media outlets not to turn those issues into the main focus of coverage or reproduce and amplify “rival media narratives about Iran’s defeat or retreat.”

The IRGC Ground Forces said the six-member team was engaged in the mountains between Mahabad and Piranshahr after entering Iran's northwestern border region.

“The team entered the country's northwestern border region with the aim of carrying out sabotage and terrorist operations,” the IRGC's Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada base said.

The Guards said four bodies, along with weapons and military equipment, were recovered after the clash, which it said involved fire support.

Two IRGC members killed in Paveh

Earlier on Tuesday, the IRGC's Kermanshah provincial public relations office said two local Guards members were killed and two others wounded after gunmen opened fire outside a home in Paveh county on Monday evening.

The dead were identified as Khaled Khaledinia and Borhan Krisani. Authorities said they were investigating the shooting and working to identify those responsible.

The Kurdish human rights group Hengaw identified the two wounded men as Kamel Shabrang, also known as Kamel Hajiji, and Kamal Abdi, adding that Hajiji was in a coma because of his injuries.

Hengaw also said a newly formed group calling itself Khori Hiva, meaning "Sun of Hope" in Kurdish, had claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Khaledinia participated in the crackdown on protesters in Javanrud during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Conflicting accounts emerged over whether civilians were also killed. Hardline outlet Raja News reported that Khaledinia's sister and niece died in the attack, but Paveh governor Farzad Almasi rejected that account, telling ISNA that all four people targeted were men serving with the local IRGC unit, with two killed and two wounded.

Almasi said two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire before fleeing the scene and that efforts to identify and arrest the attackers were continuing.

The separate attacks underscored continuing security challenges in Iran's Kurdish-populated western and northwestern regions, where clashes between Iranian security forces and armed Kurdish groups have continued intermittently.

The problems began on June 13, when customers of several Iranian banks reported failures in mobile banking services and routine financial transactions.

Iran's Central Bank attributed the disruption to a cyberattack on banking infrastructure, saying customer information remained secure and no unauthorized access to banking data had occurred.

However, messages sent to Iran International show that many of the problems remain unresolved more than two weeks later.

Customers said mobile and internet banking services, card-to-card transfers, check processing, balance inquiries and other routine transactions continue to suffer from errors, delays or complete failures.

Several people reported that money had been deducted from their accounts but never reached the intended recipient.

One customer said fifty million rials transferred on June 28 from a bank to another was withdrawn from the sender's account but never credited to the recipient.

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A retiree in Tehran said 500 million rials disappeared from a newly opened Bank Saderat account following the disruption without explanation.

Another customer said funds deposited into an account at Bank Tejarat on June 24 could not be located by bank staff despite the customer presenting a transaction reference number.

Payment failures disrupt daily life

Customers also described widespread failures of point-of-sale terminals, disrupting routine shopping.

In some cases, money was deducted from customers' accounts without reaching merchants, with several people saying banks, including Bank Melli, had not provided clear answers about the missing transactions.

Others said alternative payment methods such as card-to-card transfers through banking applications were also unavailable, making purchases impossible.

"Online shopping isn't possible, card-to-card transfers don't work, point-of-sale purchases fail and there is no normal access to bank accounts," one citizen wrote. "Alongside inflation and poverty, these problems have only increased pressure on people."

A business owner said delayed settlements had disrupted operations. "Payments are not reaching my account, and it has affected my business," the person said.

Frozen accounts and delayed salaries

People said the disruption extends beyond failed transactions to broader restrictions on account access.

Several reported that transaction notification messages had stopped arriving, account statements were unavailable and balance inquiries could not be completed.

Others said bank accounts at institutions including Bank Melli, Bank Sepah, Bank Saderat, Bank Refah and Bank Saman had been frozen.

The restrictions have complicated access to salaries and pensions for many customers.

"Employees still haven't been paid," one customer wrote. "My account has been blocked just when my monthly salary should be deposited."

The disruption has also affected checks and loan payments.

A resident of Isfahan said a check issued to purchase a television was bounced despite sufficient funds being available in the account.

Questions over cause of disruption

After services at Bank Melli, Bank Tejarat and Bank Saderat failed on June 23, Informatics Services Corporation attributed the outage to a cyberattack.

Some customers questioned that explanation, arguing the restrictions reflected deliberate measures rather than technical failures.

One customer suggested banks were trying to discourage deposit withdrawals by disrupting transactions. Another said authorities had frozen funds because of financial pressures following the recent conflict.

The Central Bank rejected the allegations on Monday that it had directed banks to use a particular information technology provider to restore services, saying each bank independently selects contractors within existing regulations.

Despite repeated assurances from Iranian officials that banking services would soon return to normal, customers continue to report widespread disruptions.

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Technology news website CITNA reported on Monday that service outages and instability remain widespread, causing significant disruption to businesses and eroding public confidence.

Tehran Chamber of Commerce chairman Mahmoud Najafi Arab told CITNA the disruption had inflicted serious damage on the business environment at a time when the country needed faster financial services.

“Unfortunately, some groups, in line with the psychological operations of hostile media, are trying to weaken this achievement by attacking the negotiating team and questioning national decisions,” he said.

He added that the memorandum of understanding was reached within the framework of the Islamic Republic’s broader policies and with the support of the Supreme National Security Council.

Pezeshkian made the comments during a meeting with members of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, an influential body of senior Shi'ite clerics.

The remarks came as Pezeshkian’s government faced mounting pressure from ultraconservative factions over the memorandum of understanding with the United States.

In recent weeks, some hardline figures have accused the president and the negotiating team of making concessions and questioned whether key security decisions had the backing of the Supreme Leader.

The attacks have exposed divisions within Iran’s conservative camp, with some establishment-aligned conservatives pushing back against the most radical critics.

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  Far-right overreach against Pezeshkian exposes cracks in the hardline camp

At Tuesday’s meeting, Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom Chairman Ayatollah Hashem Hosseini Bushehri voiced support for the negotiating team and said running the country under current conditions was difficult.

Other members of the group reportedly raised concerns including alleged violations of parts of the Iran-US memorandum of understanding, the need to explain the talks more clearly to the public.

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The president insisted that Iran would not retreat from its national rights or core principles, adding that the dominant view in the Supreme National Security Council had been to use diplomacy to consolidate gains made on the battlefield and protect national interests.

Pezeshkian said his government had pursued negotiations from a position of “dignity, power and national interest” and would not give in to imposed demands.

He said the final text of the agreement with the US had been reviewed by expert and security bodies before receiving what he called firm backing from the Supreme National Security Council.

Pezeshkian also said much of his government’s capacity over the past two years had been spent managing crises.

“Over the past two years, a large part of the government’s management capacity has been spent on managing crises, reducing the effects of foreign pressure and preventing the consequences of these challenges from being transferred to people’s daily lives,” he said.