Finland’s security service names Iran as espionage threat for first time

Prince Khalid bin Salman delivered the message from King Salman during a closed-door meeting in Tehran on April 17, according to two sources close to regional governments and two Iranian officials. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were present at the talks, the sources said.

The prince, who previously served as Saudi ambassador to Washington, conveyed that Trump’s team had limited patience for prolonged negotiations and that a failure to reach an agreement could raise the risk of an Israeli strike, according to the sources.

The same sources said Prince Khalid indicated it would be preferable to reach a deal with the United States rather than face the consequences of escalating tensions.

Iran says it's open to deal but not at any cost

Iranian officials responded that Tehran was interested in a deal to ease economic pressure, but raised concerns about the Trump administration’s “unpredictable” negotiating style.

One Iranian source said Pezeshkian conveyed that while Tehran was eager to reach a deal, it was not prepared to give up its enrichment program solely to satisfy US demands.

The message from Riyadh came as talks between Washington and Tehran, mediated by Oman, enter a critical phase. No date has been announced for a sixth round, though Trump said this week that “we are very close to a solution,” adding that Iran appears willing to engage seriously. “If we can make a deal, I’d save a lot of lives,” he said.

Enrichment, inspections, and Iranian goals under scrutiny

According to CNN, negotiators are exploring a framework that may include a multinational consortium to produce nuclear fuel for Iran’s civilian program and possible US investment. Iran has denied a separate report that it was considering a temporary pause in enrichment in return for sanctions relief and recognition of its right to civilian enrichment.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, “The continuation of enrichment in Iran is a non-negotiable principle.”

Iran says its program is peaceful, while US and Israeli officials continue to express concern that Tehran is approaching nuclear weapons capability. A recent report by Austria’s intelligence agency described Iran’s weapons program as “far advanced,” in contrast with the US public assessment that Iran has not yet decided to build a bomb.

Tehran has also indicated it may consider allowing US nuclear inspectors under a future deal, a shift from its current restrictions, while IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said any agreement would require “very robust inspection.”

With the aim of infiltrating phones and computers to gather sensitive intelligence for the assassinations, phishing attempts targeted senior Israeli security officials, politicians, journalists and academics.

The attacks were carried out via fake Google Meet links, individually tailored to each target, the Shin Bet said.

There has been a marked rise in attacks in recent months, according to a statement from Shin Bet which said had aimed to gather information such as home addresses, personal relationships and routine locations.

The information would then be handed to operatives on the ground in Israel, as growing numbers of civilians are being recruited by Tehran in plots targeting the country's top political and military echelons, in addition to highly sensitive sites.

Oded Ailam, a former head of counter-terrorism at Mossad, wrote in Israel Hayom: "Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has discarded the slow, resource-heavy traditions of classical espionage: no more lengthy vetting, grueling training, or elaborate cover stories.”

"Instead, they’ve embraced a model that’s raw, direct, and disturbingly effective. Through aggressive mass campaigns on social media, thousands of Israelis are being approached."

He said that via messages like “Want to earn some easy cash?”, vulnerable communities are now being targeted by Iran to carry out work which until now, had been unheard of in the Jewish state.

But in the wake of the Gaza war, there have been dozens recruited, as Tehran infiltrates the digital landscape.

"This is Iran’s version of digital marketing applied to espionage: blanket targeting, no filters. And like any marketing effort, only a tiny fraction need to respond for the campaign to succeed.”

"To Tehran, even a one percent success rate from a thousand messages is worth it. It’s a chillingly rational approach: volume will eventually produce the quality they seek. And sadly, it works," Ailam said.

Israel Hayom quoted a Shin Bet official who said: "We are witnessing continued, relentless efforts by hostile actors as part of the campaign Iran is waging against Israel.

"The public must remain vigilant and cautious, these cyberattacks can be prevented through awareness, skepticism and proper online conduct, particularly by avoiding clicks on unidentified links."

Earlier this month, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said a spy plot against him had been thwarted in what Israel says is the 20th Iran-backed operation thwarted in the country since the Gaza war began.

Two Israeli suspects, Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 25 and childhood friends, were arrested at the end of April accused of intelligence-gathering missions and placing explosives in the community where Katz lives.

The case is the latest in a string of plots foiled since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, with dozens of Israelis allegedly hired by Iranian operatives to carry out operations targeting the country’s top political and military echelons.

Other targets have included the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar.

In a letter to the United Nations Children's Fund, a copy of which was seen by Iran International, Ebadi wrote: “The Iran branch of your organization has been active for years. However, for reasons unclear to me and my compatriots, it has failed to take effective measures to fulfill its legal obligations.”

She said UNICEF’s Iran office has remained silent despite repeated reports of juvenile executions, violations in healthcare and education, and harmful content in school textbooks.

“Numerous issues exist that UNICEF should have addressed in Iran. Yet we have only witnessed silence from this organization,” she wrote.

She also condemned what she described as the Islamic Republic’s use of children to pressure political and civil activists.

“Children are unjustly imprisoned under baseless allegations to coerce their parents into silence or collaboration with the government,” she wrote.

Ebadi cited the summons of 17-year-old Nima Khandan, son of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and jailed activist Reza Khandan, over what she said was a baseless charge of insulting an officer at Tehran's Evin Prison.

"The initiation of this case based on false accusations is solely intended to harass this family of civil activists and to force them into silence and cooperation," Ebadi wrote.

Ebadi called on UNICEF Iran to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory.

The Truckers and Drivers Union said on Thursday that strikes had expanded to over 141 cities, vowing to continue until demands are met.

“This unity and solidarity is the result of your determination,” the union wrote in a statement. “Thanks to all the drivers, small freight operators, teachers, retirees, workers and free citizens who joined us. Our path is clear and we will persist.”

Truck drivers first walked off the job on May 22 to protest surging fuel costs, a lack of insurance coverage, and stagnant freight rates. Despite efforts by authorities to suppress the action—including arrests and interrogations in multiple provinces—footage from cities such as Bandar Abbas and Marivan shows major highways emptied of heavy vehicles.

Strikes go beyond occupational grievances

Over 180 rights and student organizations aligned with Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom movement announced their backing for the truckers.

“We do not see this as a purely professional dispute,” they said in a joint statement released on Thursday. “It is part of a broader political and nationwide struggle to reclaim livelihood and dignity.”

They urged other sectors—teachers, factory and service workers, healthcare staff, shopkeepers, students—to form coordination councils and join the movement through synchronized action.

Student groups from Tehran, Kordestan, and Isfahan also lent support, along with teachers’ collectives and grassroots youth organizations.

Iran Labor Confederation, based abroad, called the strike emblematic of systemic repression.

“The truckers’ strike is a response to persistent economic abuse and denial of independent union rights,” the group wrote to the International Labor Organization. It demanded the expulsion of Iranian state delegates from the ILO and the release of detained labor activists.

Iran’s freight industry is unusually fragmented. According to official data, more than 550,000 drivers operate 433,000 trucks, but just 7% are owned by companies. The remaining 93% are controlled by individual owner-operators, making collective pressure harder to dissolve.

“Dispersed ownership is exactly why this strike is so hard to break,” said Firooz Khodaei, head of the truckers union. He confirmed the government has temporarily suspended a tiered diesel pricing plan and invited trucker representatives to participate in policy talks.

Leaked records reviewed by C4ADS showed that the Iranian company Sahara Thunder collaborated with the Russian firm Alabuga JSC to transfer the technology and expertise needed to produce a variant of the S-136 drone, which Russia used in military operations against Ukraine.

“This collaboration spanned multiple years and persisted in the face of global censure and sanctions against both countries,” the report said.

C4ADS said Sahara Thunder was “deeply embedded in state defense networks” and operated as “a prime example of Iran’s use of middlemen to carry out its activities,” while Russia leveraged Alabuga JSC for defense industrial use. Both firms had long-standing ties to their respective governments, the report said.

The investigation found that the companies used a UAE-based intermediary to conduct parts of their partnership, allowing them to “minimize evidence of direct contact in the UAE’s low-barrier business environment.”

Alabuga JSC made payments through wire transfers via the UAE and gold shipments. “The combination of the two offered agility in circumventing sanctions,” the report said.

C4ADS said the cooperation expanded beyond the drone project. “Reciprocal visits by both parties served not only to expand UAV localization but also focused on other defense industrial domains,” it said.