Iranian authorities have arrested several individuals accused of filming ongoing truckers’ strike activity in the south of the country and sending the footage to foreign-based media, Iranian media reported.
According to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Khuzestan province, the suspects were identified and detained following intelligence operations.
The suspects are accused of trying to create “media pressure” against the state by sharing videos of strike scenes with what officials described as “hostile networks.”
“These individuals, with the goal of fueling media pressure against the Islamic Republic, had recorded and sent multiple videos of truckers’ gatherings and strikes to anti-Iranian networks,” the statement said.
The arrests come as a nationwide truckers’ strike enters its second week, disrupting freight transport across Iran. The protest, launched over fuel quotas and working conditions, has affected major transport hubs and drawn increased attention from security forces.
The IRGC said the detainees have been handed over to judicial authorities for further proceedings.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a new nuclear agreement with Iran was close despite persistent public disagreement over enrichment, though media reports citing sources close to the talks suggested various novel ways out of the impasse.
“We are very close to a solution,” Trump said on Wednesday. “If we can make a deal, I’d save a lot of lives," adding that Iran appears willing to engage seriously and that they had constructive discussions.
The talks mediated by Oman have entered crunch time with no date and location yet announced for a sixth round.
The United States and Iran are nearing a broad agreement on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, CNN reported on Wednesday, with talks progressing in recent weeks toward a framework that could be finalized at a future meeting.
Washington and Tehran are considering a potential multinational consortium—possibly including regional partners and the International Atomic Energy Agency—to produce nuclear fuel for Iran’s civilian reactors and may include US investment, CNN reported citing source familiar with the talks.
A White House official, speaking to Fox News, said nothing had yet been agreed on Iran’s nuclear energy program.
Iran denies enrichment freeze proposal
Tehran says its nuclear program is purely peaceful but Western countries and its Mideast adversary Israel doubt its intentions.
Iran says it is keen to reach a nuclear deal but has maintained a right to domestic enrichment despite US demands to shutter it.
Iran on Thursday denied a Reuters report citing two Iranian officials saying they were mulling a proposal to halt uranium enrichment for a year and ship part of its highly enriched stockpile abroad or convert it into fuel plates for civilian nuclear purposes.
“The continuation of enrichment in Iran is a non-negotiable principle,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Wednesday.
The suggestion mulled by Iranian officials, according to the sources cited by Reuters, envisions the disbursement of funds frozen by Washington and the recognition of Tehran's right to enrich uranium for civilian use in return for the pause.
Meant as a political deal that could pave the way for a broader accord, the proposal not yet been floated in the talks, Reuters cited the Iranian sources as saying.
Austria on alleged Iranian nuclear arms ambitions
Austria’s domestic intelligence agency released a report this week saying Iran's program to develop nuclear arms is far advanced, in wording which appeared to outstrip that of its Western counterparts.
"Nuclear weapons are intended to make the regime untouchable and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Near and Middle East and beyond," the Austrian Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said in its annual report.
"The Iranian program for the development of nuclear weapons is far advanced."
The United States has publicly assessed that Iran has not yet decided to build a nuclear weapon but maintains that its nuclear program is aimed at becoming a nuclear threshold state to deter foreign attack.
The Austrian report further alleged that Tehran aims to develop long-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads, without citing any evidence.
"An arsenal of ballistic missiles is ready to carry nuclear warheads over long distances."
Iran open to US inspectors
In an apparent policy shift, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Tehran may reconsider its longstanding ban on US nuclear inspectors if current talks with Washington lead to a successful agreement.
Mohammad Eslami said American inspectors affiliated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could be allowed into Iranian sites under a future deal, despite current restrictions on personnel from adversary states.
“It is normal that inspectors from hostile countries are not allowed, but if a nuclear deal is reached, we might allow American inspectors,” Eslami said.
Later on Wednesday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said any deal between Tehran and Washington that would impose fresh nuclear curbs on Iran should include very robust inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog.
"My impression is that if you have that type of agreement, a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA ... should be a prerequisite," he said.
"I'm sure it will be, because it would imply a very, very serious commitment on the part of Iran, which must be verified."
US officials have repeatedly said that any new nuclear deal with Iran to replace a lapsed 2015 accord between Tehran and six world powers must include a commitment to halt enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had increased to 275 kg, enough to theoretically make about half a dozen weapons if Iran further enriches the uranium.
Trump has previously warned that if no agreement is reached, military options remain on the table. “We can blow up a lab,” he said, referring to a hypothetical enforcement scenario under a possible inspection regime, “but nobody’s going to be in the lab.”
Trump, speaking to reporters, also confirmed that he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to interfere with ongoing US-Iran negotiations.
The comments followed a New York Times report citing Israeli officials saying the Jewish State was preparing for a potential strike on Iranian nuclear sites even if Tehran and Washington clinch a deal.
A week into a sweeping truckers’ strike in Iran, the protest appeared to be continuing unabated despite increased arrests by authorities according to sources close to the movement.
Initially launched to protest fuel quotas and working conditions, the industrial action has brought freight traffic to a standstill. Videos from Bandar Abbas, Marivan, and the Kahak-Qom highway show deserted routes normally busy with cargo trucks.
Authorities have escalated efforts to suppress the strike with arrests, sources close to the strikers told Iran International, adding that security forces have summoned many drivers and detained some.
The truckers union on Wednesday called for immediate and unconditional release of those arrested, reporting crackdowns in several provinces including Isfahan, Hormozgan, Fars, Kermanshah, Ardabil and Khuzestan.
On Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Kerman province announced it had dismantled an “organized anti-security network,” though it gave no details or clear link to the strike.
Drivers are calling for better working conditions, higher freight rates, and relief from high insurance costs and fuel restrictions.
IRGC-affiliated vehicles have been spotted transporting goods, in what appears to be an attempt to break the strike.
One citizen who filmed an IRGC-marked truck told Iran International the force was stepping in to cover routes abandoned by striking drivers.
Hard to break
The government faces a logistical and political challenge. Despite efforts since 2018 to increase corporate control of the freight industry—doubling the number of company-owned trucks and drawing figures like Babak Zanjani into the sector—most trucks remain in private hands.
Official data shows that 552,000 drivers operate 433,000 trucks nationwide. Of those, just under 7% (around 30,000) are company-owned, while the rest are controlled by individual owner-operators, many of whom are now aligned with the strike.
The action could be poised to spread beyond truck drivers, with some working for ride share company Snapp voicing solidarity.
In messages sent to Iran International, one driver said he would continue to strike alongside the truckers; another urged colleagues and other professions to join the movement.
Officials announced on Wednesday that a plan to introduce a tiered diesel pricing system was suspended—in appeared to be a government response to a key demand of the strikers.
“All aspects of fuel allocation will be reviewed with the participation of trucker representatives,” head of truckers union Firooz Khodaei said.
Widespread power outages are crippling daily life across Iran, according to voice messages sent to Iran International by residents in cities including Tehran, Shiraz, Ahvaz and others.
Some of the accounts describe isolation in sweltering apartments, lack of essential services and increasing anger over government inaction.
In Ahvaz, where daytime temperatures top 45°C, one man said midday cuts had left families without air conditioning.
A resident of Pardis near Tehran reported being stranded in a high-rise: “On the 14th floor, we’re cut off from the world for two hours a day—no power, no water, no communication.”
In Shahreza in Isfahan province, a woman filmed a gas station rendered defunct by power cuts.
Iran faces a shortfall of nearly 20,000 megawatts, a crisis fueled by extreme heat, dwindling hydropower, and years of underinvestment.
Messages show burned-out appliances, food spoilage, and even fire damage. “This fire started because of power flickers,” said one man, gesturing to a scorched storefront. “This is one of the blessings of the Islamic Republic.”
Some residents complained about bathing children with bottled water and elderly citizens stuck in buildings without functioning elevators or water pumps.
“No bread, no water, no electricity, no internet, no clean air,” one voice said. “This already is hell.”
The outages have hit mobile networks and small businesses alike, with dead batteries at relay stations shutting down service and shopkeepers counting losses. “The fuse blew. Everything spoiled. I paid a heavy price,” said a Gelato shop owner.
Despite vast oil and gas reserves, Iran’s government has failed to upgrade infrastructure or build renewables.
Authorities continue to cite illegal cryptocurrency mining as a strain. Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said such operations now consume over 1,000 megawatts—about 5% of the shortfall.
But the broader collapse in services continues. In high-rise buildings, electricity cuts disable water pumps, leaving residents without running water. “We haven’t showered in two days,” said a woman in one video. “We use bottled water for the toilet. At least open the public baths.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied any systematic corruption in Iran in a speech on Wednesday amid days of union protests and after a harsh critique of Tehran by US President Donald Trump this month.
“Some have tried to prove that corruption in the Islamic Republic is systemic. That is a lie,” Khamenei said. “Corruption is like a seven-headed dragon that won’t vanish easily, but the system itself is healthy.”
Addressing provincial governors in Tehran, he called on people in power to avoid conflicts of interest and personal business ventures, saying corrupt officials face double divine punishment.
His remarks follow a withering speech by US President Donald Trump in Riyadh this month in which he accused Iran’s leadership of theft and mismanagement.
"Iran's leaders have focused on stealing their people's wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad. Most tragic of all, they have dragged down an entire region with them," Trump said.
The latest Corruption Perceptions Index from watchdog Transparency International ranks Iran 151 out of 180 countries in terms of public sector corruption.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded to Trump last week in a speech to parliament, accusing the US of hypocrisy and exploitation.
“The master thieves of the planet who rob every country now accuse others,” he said. “They came here to plunder.”
The Supreme Leader's remarks come as nearly daily protests linger across Iran.
Union members from the trucking, baking and other sectors are coordinating in ongoing nationwide strikes while pensioners have held scattered demonstrations over unpaid benefits in recent days.
Almost a third of Iranians struggle to afford basic necessities and millions live below the poverty line amid sharply rising inflation and stagnant wages.
Three Indian nationals who traveled to Iran earlier this month are missing, India’s embassy in Tehran said on Wednesday, adding that urgent rescue efforts are underway.
“Family members of 3 Indian citizens have informed the Embassy of India that their relatives are missing after having travelled to Iran,” the embassy said in a statement.
“The Embassy has strongly taken up this matter with the Iranian authorities, and requested that the missing Indians should be urgently traced and their safety should be ensured.”
The missing men — Hushanpreet Singh, Jaspal Singh, and Amritpal Singh — are all from the northern Indian state of Punjab and reportedly lost contact with their families shortly after landing in Tehran on May 1.
According to Indian media, they had planned to travel to Australia via Dubai and Iran, reportedly with the help of an agent based in Hoshiarpur who is now also missing.
Relatives said the men were kidnapped and that a ransom was demanded.
The embassy said it is in regular contact with the families. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.