Iran extends dog walking bans to more than 20 cities as crackdown widens

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported on Saturday that Iranian intelligence services had obtained a large volume of sensitive material from Israel, including documents related to the Jewish state's nuclear and strategic facilities.

Asher Ben-Artzi, a former head of Israel’s Interpol, told Iran International, “I know that the relevant information is well-guarded in Israel and it does not seem to me that hackers can access it."

He warned that the intelligence may not be as significant as claimed. “Iran wants to tell the world that their intelligence personnel are professionals, but they probably think that their use of disinformation will increase their achievements,” he said.

Intelligence analyst Ronen Solomon also said, “We don’t know if it’s something scientific or operational, and it could possibly be something like details of the supply chain. Nobody in Israel has confirmed this officially so it could also be a psychological operation.”

"Iran is attempting to replicate what Israel did to Tehran’s nuclear archives in 2018," he said, referring to the Israeli intelligence operation that allegedly seized Iranian nuclear files from a warehouse in Tehran.

In 2018, Israel said it had stolen Iran's nuclear documents including 55,000 pages and 55,000 digital files from a warehouse in Tehran's Shourabad area through an intelligence operation.

Iran has since been accusing the UN nuclear watchdog of using those documents in its reports about the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

Iran says it will release documents soon

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said on Sunday that Tehran had obtained “a vast collection of strategic and sensitive documents, including plans and data on the nuclear facilities of the Zionist regime,” referring to Israel. He added that the documents would be published soon.

According to Iran’s state news agency ISNA, Khatib said the material would enhance Iran’s “offensive power” and added that the documents also contained data about the United States, European countries, and others.

“Complete nuclear documents have been obtained and transferred,” he said.

He described the operation as broad, multi-dimensional, and complex, involving infiltration, recruitment, and increased access to Israeli sources.

“The transfer method is just as important as the documents themselves. We ensured the documents reached us securely, and we are protecting the methods as well,” Khatib said, adding that the transfer process itself would remain classified for now.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB had earlier reported that the documents were already outside Israeli territory and under review, but provided no evidence.

The reports come as Israeli authorities investigate the arrest of Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, two Israelis accused of conducting surveillance for Iran, allegedly in the town of Kfar Ahim, home to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Iran’s media linked their arrest to the intelligence haul, saying it happened after the data had been exfiltrated.

Israeli officials have accused the two of cooperating knowingly with Iranian handlers, and that they carried out tasks including the transfer of a suspected explosive device.

A report by Microsoft last year that Israel had surpassed the United States as the primary target of Iranian state-backed cyberattacks following the war in Gaza.

“Meat consumption in Iran is deeply unequal—some eat nothing, while others manage 20 kilograms a year,” Rasouli said on Sunday, pointing to the vast economic inequalities in the country.

Iran once averaged 18 kilograms of meat consumption per person annually, while the global average remains around 32 kilograms, he added.

“In some countries, especially in South America, people consume up to 100 kilograms of meat per year,” Rasouli said.

Rasouli added that a kilogram of mutton now costs about 10 million rials—around $13—while the average monthly income in Iran is just $200 to $250. With the rial trading near 830,000 to the dollar, even basic food items have become inaccessible for many.

Rasouli added that processed items like sausages and cold cuts have become more expensive than fresh meat.

After years of crippling inflation, averaging around 40 percent annually for five consecutive years, over 30 percent of the population now lives below the poverty line. Food, housing, and healthcare costs have risen sharply, cutting deeply into household consumption.

In April, a World Bank brief about Iran said that with a projected contraction in per-capita GDP, poverty is expected to increase to 20 percent in 2025-2026.

"Poorer households are disproportionately rural, uneducated, female-headed, and have not historically benefited from periods of economic expansion," the report said.

A report released in September by The Statistical Center of Iran showed that since 2022, the divide between rich and poor in Iran continues to widen.

Their accounts document a sprawling overseas network operating under direct orders from the Supreme Leader’s office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence arm well out of step with common diplomatic practice.

“Every embassy has a list. People to watch. People to engage. People to silence,” an Iranian former diplomatic employee told Iran International.

“It’s not foreign policy—it’s field execution,” another told Iran International. “The people sent abroad are on assignment, not appointment.”

Their account outlines a foreign service shaped not by diplomacy but by ideology, surveillance and illicit finance.

According to these individuals—whose names are withheld for their safety—Iran’s diplomatic missions double as intelligence gathering hubs tasked with tracking dissidents, surveilling student communities and delivering cash and equipment under the protection of diplomatic immunity.

UK authorities detained eight men in May, including three charged under the National Security Act for surveilling Iran International journalists on behalf of Tehran between August 2024 and February 2025.

It was not clear whether the charges related in any way to the Iranian embassy in London.

Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the charges as politically motivated, but former officials say such actions are core to the Islamic Republic’s overseas agenda.

Iran’s embassies maintain the outward structure of any diplomatic mission—ambassadors, attachés and advisers—but according to the sources, the roles often serve as cover.

“A person listed as a translator might actually coordinate funds for proxy groups,” said one of the former diplomats. “Titles are just for appearances.”

In one high-profile case, Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi used his status to transport explosives intended for an opposition rally in Paris. His 2021 conviction in Belgium exposed how far such dual roles can go.

Another ex-staffer recalled colleagues arriving in Istanbul and Baku with briefcases of undeclared dollars. “They know no one will search their bags,” he said.

Cultural attachés, especially those linked to the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization, are said to organize religious events abroad that double as screening grounds for potential recruits.

Germany shuttered the Islamic Center of Hamburg in July over its ties to Tehran and what the Interior Ministry called promotion of extremism and antisemitism.

The diplomatic corps itself, sources say, is dominated by the sons of clerics and system insiders.

“Your father is a Friday prayer leader? Your uncle is close to the Supreme Leader? You’re in,” said one.

Posts rarely align with professional background; language skills and experience are often secondary to loyalty.

Though often expelled or exposed, the structure endures. Loyal staff are rotated across continents with little interruption.

“Each post is a mission. If you complete it to the system’s satisfaction, you’re held in reserve for the next,” one former diplomat said.

The network’s reach is enhanced by front organizations. The Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation has been linked to Hezbollah financing. The Iranian Red Crescent has faced accusations of being used by Quds Force operatives for weapons transport. IRGC members have admitted posing as aid workers during the Bosnian war.

IRIB outlets—Press TV, Al-Alam, Hispan TV—have functioned as propaganda arms and intelligence fronts. France expelled one of their journalists in 2011 for spreading state messaging.

The Iranian Red Crescent and the IRGC officially denied these remarks, saying that any such actions were unauthorized and not representative of their organizations.

Despite the rhetoric of resistance, many live in luxury. One former ambassador’s Paris residence cost over €40,000 per month.

“They send their kids to secular schools while preaching Islamic values,” said another. Leaked records show senior envoys receiving up to $12,000 monthly, with generous stipends and ceremonial budgets.

“It’s both reward and insulation,” an ex-diplomatic employee said. “The system buys loyalty with luxury—and distances them from the reality of ordinary Iranians.”

What emerges is not a diplomatic corps, but a global extension of Iran’s security state—trained, titled, and deployed to safeguard the Islamic Republic, not represent it.

The material was transferred out of Israeli territory and is under examination, the report said citing informed sources.

The state-run media described the documents as highly sensitive but did not provide evidence to support the assertions.

In April, Israel's Shin Bet arrested Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 24, residents of Nesher in northern Israel on suspicion of conducting intelligence-gathering missions on behalf of Iran, in the town of Kfar Ahim, where Defense Minister Israel Katz resides.

"The arrest of these individuals, if related to the documents obtained by Iran, took place after the documents were shipped out of the occupied territories (Israel)," Iran's state TV said in its report on Saturday.

According to The Times of Israel, Mizrahi and Atias were recruited via an encrypted Telegram channel and carried out tasks that included transferring a suspected explosive device. Israeli officials have accused them of knowingly cooperating with Iranian handlers throughout 2025.

In response to the arrests, Defense Minister Katz thanked security services for “foiling an Iranian plot” and Israeli authorities have signaled plans to file serious indictments.

The case is part of what Israeli security officials describe as a growing trend of Iranian efforts to recruit Israeli citizens—often for small sums of money—to carry out intelligence and sabotage operations.

In 2018, Israel said it had stolen Iran's nuclear documents including 55,000 pages and 55,000 digital files from a warehouse in Tehran's Shourabad area through an intelligence operation.

Iran has since been accusing the UN nuclear watchdog of using those documents in its reports about the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

The response came after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning most travelers from a dozen nations, citing terrorism and national security concerns.

Alireza Hashemi Raja, director general for Iranian Affairs Abroad at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said the move reflected “a supremacist and racist mindset” in Washington.

"This decision targets Iranian nationals solely based on their religion and nationality,” he said in a statement. “It constitutes racial discrimination and systemic racism within the American ruling establishment.”

He added that the ban showed "deep-seated hostility toward the Iranian people and Muslims" and amounted to a violation of international legal norms, including the prohibition of discrimination and basic human rights.

Hashemi Raja urged the United Nations and international rights groups to oppose the order, saying Iran would take “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens abroad.

US cites Iran's terror record, lack of cooperation

The proclamation said Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and regularly fails to cooperate with US security agencies. It added that Tehran has historically refused to take back its deported nationals.

“Iran is the source of significant terrorism around the world,” the statement said.

Trump defended the order on Thursday, saying countries on the list “don’t have things under control.” Speaking to reporters at the White House, he added: “We want to keep bad people out of our country.”

Ban includes 12 nations, partial limits for 7 more

Effective June 9, the directive restricts travel from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Seven additional countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela — face partial restrictions.

The White House said the decision followed a security review that found “persistent failures” in identity verification, criminal recordkeeping, and counterterrorism cooperation.

Exceptions and past cases cited by US

The order exempts US permanent residents, valid visa holders, and individuals deemed to serve national interests. It also excludes persecuted ethnic or religious minorities from the ban.

Trump cited recent violent incidents involving foreign nationals — including a Molotov cocktail attack in Colorado — as evidence of the need for stronger screening. The suspect in that case was Egyptian, a country not affected by the ban.