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Israel Calls Report on Iran Nuclear Talks 'Fake News'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)
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Israel Calls Report on Iran Nuclear Talks 'Fake News'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel on Thursday rejected a report in the New York Times that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to disrupt talks on a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran by striking Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities.

Netanyahu's office issued a statement in response to the article which said simply: "Fake news.”

Citing officials briefed on the situation, the New York Times said that Israeli officials were concerned that US President Donald Trump was so eager to reach a deal with Iran that he would allow Tehran to keep its nuclear enrichment facilities, a red line for Israel.

It said Israel was particularly concerned about the possibility of any interim deal that would allow Iran to maintain its nuclear facilities for months or even years while a final agreement was reached.

The report said US officials were concerned that Israel could decide to strike Iran with little warning, and said US intelligence estimated that Israel could mount an attack on Iran in as little as seven hours.

According to Reuters, it added that Israeli officials had warned their US counterparts that Netanyahu could order a strike on Iran even if a successful diplomatic agreement is reached.

The newspaper said that Netanyahu's minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer and David Barnea, head of the foreign intelligence agency Mossad, met Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in Rome on Friday.

The two then travelled to Washington for a meeting on Monday with CIA director John Ratcliffe before Dermer met Witkoff again on Tuesday.

One of the main sticking points in the talks between US and Iranian officials has been the US insistence that Iran must give up its nuclear enrichment facilities, a demand that Iran rejects.

On Monday, US Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem said she had had a "very candid conversation" with Netanyahu on the negotiations with Iran.

She said she had told the Israeli prime minister that Trump had asked her to convey "how important it is that we stay united and let this process play out.”

Trump bypassed Israel on his trip to the Middle East this month and has made policy announcements that have shaken Israel's assumptions about its relations with the US.

Netanyahu has dismissed speculation about a falling out with the US administration, while Trump has also brushed off any suggestion of a break.

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World

UK, US and Netherlands Issue Advisory on Iran-Linked Spyware

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
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UK, US and Netherlands Issue Advisory on Iran-Linked Spyware

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)

Britain, the United States and the Netherlands on Tuesday issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iranian state-linked actors to target dissidents, activists and journalists.

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said Iranian state-linked cyber actors had used a spyware family known as "CHOSEN ‌BRICK" to steal ‌emails, messages and other ‌sensitive information ⁠through "spear-phishing" campaigns on ⁠messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

"The details of this cyber campaign reveal how Iran ruthlessly uses digital surveillance in pursuit of its aim to repress critics of the regime, stealing emails and messages and accessing ⁠devices," Paul Chichester, NCSC Director of Operations, ‌said in ‌a statement.

Iran's embassy in London did not immediately ‌respond to a request for comment.

The malware, ‌according to the advisory, can collect information from contact lists, emails and social media accounts, capture screen content and access a device's microphone. ‌The NCSC said some victims' personal details had later appeared on pro-Iranian ⁠leak ⁠sites.

The NCSC said the attackers often posed as trusted contacts on messaging apps and tailored their approach to individual targets. In some cases, it said, they used fake documents, including fabricated MRI test results, to persuade victims to download the malware.

The NCSC, alongside the FBI and the Netherlands' AIVD intelligence service, said Iran "almost certainly" uses cyber operations to help suppress people it sees as threats.

World

EU Must Impose ‘Greater Cost’ on Russia to Curb ‘Hybrid Attacks’, Says Kallas

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
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EU Must Impose ‘Greater Cost’ on Russia to Curb ‘Hybrid Attacks’, Says Kallas

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)

The European Union must ramp up measures against the Kremlin, including reviewing the issuance of tourist visas to Russians, to counter Moscow's "hybrid attacks", foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.

"Despite international efforts to end the war, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin chooses to intensify his war of aggression against Ukraine and hostilities against Europe, and one thing is very clear: Putin will not stop unless he is stopped," Kallas told the European Parliament.

"So, as Russia is willing to take greater risks, Europe must impose a greater cost."

Europe is grappling with what Kallas called a "steady increase in hybrid attacks" by Russia designed to weaken support for Ukraine.

Fears rose over the summer when an explosive-laden drone was discovered at a German airport in an incident Berlin blamed on Moscow.

Beyond ramping up support for Kyiv and sanctioning the Kremlin, Kallas said the EU should look to increase controls on Russians coming into the bloc.

"We can tighten control further over the movement of Russian diplomats within Schengen. We can ban issuing visas for Russian ex-combatants, and we should review the issuance of tourist fissures to Russian citizens," she said.

"We must reduce the pool of people conducting attacks on European soil."

Kallas also urged EU states to better share intelligence and step up the use of artificial intelligence to tackle Russian disinformation.

While the EU eyes more measures, officials admit that the West is struggling to halt actions from Moscow that float in a grey zone beneath open conflict.

"We have all the response options we need when it comes to hybrid. It will not always be visible and public, what we do," NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday.

"The most important one, of course, is making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight."

World

Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit China on Wednesday

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
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Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit China on Wednesday

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Beijing this week and meet with his counterpart Wang Yi, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The two men -- who also met on the sidelines of the BRICS conference in Delhi last week -- will hold talks on Wednesday, the ministry said, as Beijing seeks to mediate in Iran's months-long war with the United States.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

The talks between their foreign ministers come just one week before an expected trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington, where he will meet President Donald Trump.

The war in Iran will be a closely watched topic at that meeting, among other thorny issues ranging from trade to competition over artificial intelligence.

Beijing refuted reports this week that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base housing US troops in Jordan, before and after an Iranian strike killed three American soldiers.

"We firmly oppose groundless suspicion and accusations without evidence," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference on Monday.

The reports by the Wall Street Journal threaten to deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of the expected Trump-Xi meeting next week.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies in May for enabling Iran's military operations.