Iran Says US Accountability for Attacks on Nuclear Sites Part of Any Future Talks

 People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP)
People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP)
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Iran Says US Accountability for Attacks on Nuclear Sites Part of Any Future Talks

 People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP)
People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP)

Iran said Monday it would hold the United States accountable for attacks on its nuclear sites in any future negotiations, while ruling out direct talks with Washington.

The United States struck key Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, briefly joining a war launched by Israel that had derailed talks on Tehran's atomic program.

"In any potential negotiation... the issue of holding the United States accountable and demanding compensation for committing military aggression against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities will be one of the topics on the agenda," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a press briefing on Monday.

Asked whether Iran would engage in direct talks with the United States, Baqaei said: "No."

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented attack targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, but also hitting residential areas over 12 days of war, which US forces joined with attacks on nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

The fighting derailed talks that began in April and had been the highest-level contact between Tehran and Washington since the United States abandoned in 2018 a landmark agreement on Iran's nuclear activities.

Following the war, Tehran has suspended cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and demanded guarantees against military action before resuming any negotiations.

Washington has dismissed Tehran's call for compensation as "ridiculous".

Baqaei said on Monday that Iran was committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but criticized what he described as the "politicized and unprofessional approach" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The foreign ministry spokesman said that the IAEA's deputy chief is expected in Iran "in less than 10 days".

Last month, Iran said future cooperation with the UN agency would take on a "new form".

On July 25, Iranian diplomats met with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France, in the first meeting since the war with Israel ended.

The three European powers are parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, which unraveled after the US withdrew during Trump's first term.

In recent weeks, the trio has threatened to trigger sanctions if Tehran failed to agree a deal on uranium enrichment and cooperation with UN inspectors.

Iran has repeatedly called reimposing sanctions "illegal" and insisted on its right to enrich uranium.

Israel and Western nations accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.



Iran Reportedly Arrests 97 People Accused of Working with Israel

People walk in Tehran Bazaar, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People walk in Tehran Bazaar, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Reportedly Arrests 97 People Accused of Working with Israel

People walk in Tehran Bazaar, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People walk in Tehran Bazaar, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's intelligence ministry has arrested 97 people for being "soldiers of Israel", state media reported on Thursday, in the latest round ⁠of a security sweep ⁠that has seen hundreds detained over alleged linked ⁠to Israel and the US since the start of the war.

Earlier on Thursday, state media quoted the police commander of Alborz province ⁠as ⁠saying that 41 people were arrested for sending videos to foreign-based opposition media channels.

More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the US-Israeli war.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire, including a Thai agricultural worker who died overnight after getting hit with shrapnel.

Three people were also killed in the occupied West Bank overnight by an Iranian missile strike, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

At least 13 US military members have been killed.


‘Hollywood-Style’ Narrative in Assassination Campaign Against Iranian Leaders

Israeli F-35 (“Adir”) aircraft during their participation in military operations against Iran (Israeli military)
Israeli F-35 (“Adir”) aircraft during their participation in military operations against Iran (Israeli military)
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‘Hollywood-Style’ Narrative in Assassination Campaign Against Iranian Leaders

Israeli F-35 (“Adir”) aircraft during their participation in military operations against Iran (Israeli military)
Israeli F-35 (“Adir”) aircraft during their participation in military operations against Iran (Israeli military)

Israeli officials are casting a series of alleged operations against senior Iranian figures as precise, intelligence-driven strikes, while analysts warn the narrative risks overstating their strategic impact and fueling a “false sense of victory.”

Among those cited in Israeli accounts are Ali Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Defense Council, and Esmail Khatib, Iran’s intelligence minister.

Israeli descriptions portray the operations as evidence of deep intelligence penetration within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, often framed in dramatic, almost cinematic terms.

Officials say the operation against Larijani involved hundreds of personnel from military intelligence, the air force and special operations forces, relying on human sources and advanced surveillance technology.

He was reportedly tracked for months. After appearing at a Quds Day march last Friday, he was placed under continuous surveillance for 72 hours until what Israeli sources described as a “rare opportunity” - combining actionable intelligence, favorable conditions and intensive coordination - prompting the strike.

Following the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have authorized the military to carry out assassinations of Iranian leaders without prior political approval, an extraordinary departure from standard procedure, which typically requires the PM’s authorization.

According to Israel’s public broadcaster, military intelligence recently gathered what it described as “dramatic intelligence” on Larijani’s location after he reportedly went into hiding early in the confrontation. A “golden tip” received Monday night enabled aerial tracking until a decision to strike was made, aided by improved weather conditions.

Channel 12 reported that Israeli aircraft entered Tehran’s airspace upon receiving the intelligence and remained on standby until authorization. The strike allegedly targeted his sister’s apartment using heavy munitions, destroying the building.

Larijani’s public appearance during the Quds Day march was cited as a key factor in the decision to act. Israeli accounts add that he had tried to evade surveillance by frequently changing locations and operating in secrecy, but intelligence services tracked him nonetheless.

Similar claims have been made regarding Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Israeli sources say they obtained precise, sometimes real-time, intelligence on his movements. For example, they say his security detail changed the timing of a meeting at the last minute - from Saturday evening, Feb. 28, to Saturday morning - yet the adjustment was reportedly known in advance.

Journalists at the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel initially planned a strike for the original time but revised the operation accordingly.

Israeli commentators have questioned how Iran could fail to protect senior officials despite anticipating such threats and deploying extensive security measures. The apparent intelligence breaches raise doubts about the effectiveness of the Revolutionary Guard’s protective apparatus.

However, former Mossad officer Sima Shine, now a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, warned that such assassinations could prove counterproductive. She said Larijani was seen as a pragmatic figure capable of bringing together different factions within Iran’s leadership. His removal, she said, could empower hard-liners, intensifying resistance and prolonging the conflict.

Similarly, former Israeli military intelligence official Danny Citrinowicz said Tehran has sufficient depth in leadership to absorb such losses. He dismissed the idea that assassinations alone could significantly weaken the system or decisively shift the course of the conflict.


At Least 17 African Migrants Drown Off Comoros

File photo: African migrants at sea in the Mediterranean. (AFP)
File photo: African migrants at sea in the Mediterranean. (AFP)
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At Least 17 African Migrants Drown Off Comoros

File photo: African migrants at sea in the Mediterranean. (AFP)
File photo: African migrants at sea in the Mediterranean. (AFP)

At least 17 African migrants have drowned off the Indian Ocean island of Comoros, the interior minister said Thursday.

Survivors said the group was from the Democratic Republic of Congo and thought they had arrived on the French island of Mayotte, Mohamed Ahamada Assoumani told reporters.

"At this time, we have 17 deceased. The coastguard is searching for four missing bodies," he said.