Iran Arrests ‘Assassination Cell’ Linked to Israel

Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib (left) and head of the judiciary's security department Ali Abdollahi. (Mizan)
Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib (left) and head of the judiciary's security department Ali Abdollahi. (Mizan)
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Iran Arrests ‘Assassination Cell’ Linked to Israel

Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib (left) and head of the judiciary's security department Ali Abdollahi. (Mizan)
Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib (left) and head of the judiciary's security department Ali Abdollahi. (Mizan)

Iranian security forces arrested a terrorist cell linked to Israel in the northwestern region of the country, said an official at the security department in the Iranian judiciary.

Fourteen members of the cell were arrested in West Azerbaijan province, said head of the security department Ali Abdollahi, according to the Mizan agency that is affiliated with the judiciary.

Abdollahi revealed that the terrorist cell had plotted to assassinate several figures.

Last week, the intelligence ministry said it had arrested members of an "espionage" network on charges of collaborating with a foreign intelligence agency to obtain information about Iranians traveling abroad.

Tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv escalated after Iran made progress in its program to enrich uranium by 60 percent, at a rate close to weapons-grade.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out assassinations of scientists and officials in its nuclear program, as well as targeting its atomic facilities.

On May 21, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said the security services arrested a "terrorist" group linked to Israel on the western border with Iraq, calling on the Iraqi government to cooperate.

Head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) ground forces Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour threatened to resume bombing Iraqi Kurdistan if Baghdad did not implement a security agreement both countries signed in March.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian received Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji in Tehran.

Ahmadian called for the urgent need to activate the agreement.



IAEA’s Board of Governors Finds Iran Isn’t Complying with Nuclear Obligations

The IAEA flag flies in front of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters, United Nations seat, Vienna, Austria, 09 June 2025. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
The IAEA flag flies in front of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters, United Nations seat, Vienna, Austria, 09 June 2025. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
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IAEA’s Board of Governors Finds Iran Isn’t Complying with Nuclear Obligations

The IAEA flag flies in front of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters, United Nations seat, Vienna, Austria, 09 June 2025. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
The IAEA flag flies in front of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters, United Nations seat, Vienna, Austria, 09 June 2025. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran isn’t complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board, which represents the agency’s member nations, voted for the resolution at a meeting in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.

In the draft resolution seen by The Associated Press, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers “without delay” in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites.

Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.

The resolution was put forward by France, the UK, and Germany, as well as the United States.

“Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement,” the draft resolution says.

Under the so-called safeguards obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.

The draft resolution also finds that the IAEA’s “inability ... to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.”