‘You got beat to hell’: Trump says he saved Khamenei from death

“All unauthorized foreigners must exit the country,” the national police command was instructed, according to Iranian state media.

“Any home or property rented to Afghans will have its lease annulled and the property sealed and confiscated,” Border police chief Brigadier General Ahmad-Ali Goudarzi warned.

Afghans targeted in phone seizures after ceasefire

The directive follows a wider security sweep across Iran, with Afghan migrants increasingly targeted for alleged ties to Israel.

According to Afghanistan International, Iranian police in multiple cities have been confiscating Afghan migrants’ mobile phones, claiming suspicion of “communication with Israel.”

Eyewitnesses told Afghanistan International that plainclothes and uniformed officers have raided workplaces and migrant housing, issuing receipts for seized phones and telling migrants they could retrieve them after weeks.

Migrants, even those with valid residency, reported being stopped at checkpoints or unable to travel to work out of fear of arrest.

Hundreds detained, mass deportations underway

Iran has arrested around 700 people on suspicion of collaborating with Israel in recent weeks. State media has broadcast forced confessions, including from two individuals identified as Afghan nationals from Badakhshan. The circumstances of the confessions remain unclear.

Tehran’s provincial governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, said arrests and deportations of Afghan migrants have increased three to fourfold. Taliban officials in Herat said over 30,000 Afghans were deported or returned voluntarily on a single day this week.

Taliban authorities have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in western Afghanistan due to the rapid influx.

From June 1 to 20, China imported over 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude — the highest level recorded by ship-tracking firm Vortexa. Kpler, another data firm, estimated Iran’s June oil and condensate exports to China at 1.46 million bpd as of June 27, up from around one million in May.

The rise reflects a surge in Iranian oil shipments in May, when loadings reached a multi-year high of 1.83 million bpd, according to Kpler. Since Iranian crude typically takes several weeks to reach China, much of that volume arrived in June.

“Iranian shipments rose sharply before the recent conflict in the region, and China’s independent refineries increased demand for discounted barrels,” said Xu Muyu, senior analyst at Kpler.

Analysts said the June surge may reflect improved demand and shipping trends, while a possible easing of US sanctions enforcement could support future Chinese buying, according to Reuters. Trump said this week that Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign remains official policy, but signaled a potential shift, saying China “can now buy Iranian oil.”

Despite the remark, all US sanctions on Iranian oil remain legally in place, and no formal change has been announced. Industry analysts say the market impact may be limited by Iran’s constrained production and export capacity.

Prices for Iranian Light crude have also narrowed relative to benchmark Brent, with discounts tightening to around $2 per barrel, down from earlier levels of $3.30 to $3.50, traders said. The shift came amid concerns over shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. ICE Brent crude was trading at $68 per barrel on Friday.

Constraints on future growth remain

While shipments have increased, Iran’s ability to sustain higher export levels is in doubt. A confidential Oil Ministry report, seen by Iran International, suggests Iran cannot significantly boost exports even if sanctions were fully lifted.

The report, citing Kpler data, said Iran averaged 1.4 million bpd in oil and condensate exports to China in the first half of 2025 — a 12 percent drop from last year. Structural issues, including aging oil fields, rising domestic consumption, and low investment, are limiting capacity.

“Even if all US sanctions were lifted, Iran’s daily oil exports probably couldn’t exceed 1.7 million bpd,” said Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior energy analyst.

Iran’s floating storage — unsold oil held at sea — has reportedly risen to 40 million barrels, reflecting difficulties in clearing inventory. Meanwhile, small Chinese “teapot” refineries remain Iran’s main buyers, but rely on deep discounts and face growing financial pressure.

The arrests come as President Donald Trump’s administration increases enforcement targeting Iranian nationals, while officials warn of possible retaliation following recent US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Fox News reported.

Suspected ties to IRGC, Hezbollah among cases

“The presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude,” former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Fox & Friends.

Federal officials told Fox News that some of those arrested had criminal convictions for drugs, weapons, and domestic violence. “We don’t know who they are, where they came from, why they’re here,” former border czar Tom Homan said. “This is the biggest national security vulnerability we’ve ever seen.”

Former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey said the situation worsened under the previous administration’s policies. “We have probably 2 million known gotaways come through the last administration… we have no idea who went through,” he said.

Fox News also reported that one of the individuals arrested “had served as a sniper in the Iranian military within the last four years,” and that “some of those arrested have criminal histories, including charges related to drugs, weapons and domestic violence.”

The report said that roughly half of the 1,500 Iranian nationals released into the US during the Biden administration were released into the interior.

A Supreme Court ruling that permits deportation to third-party countries may apply to some of those currently in custody, though legal proceedings are ongoing, Fox News added.

Homeland Security identifies key suspects in earlier announcement

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security released specific details about a subset of the same group of arrests. Eleven Iranian nationals were taken into custody in multiple states, including individuals with past deportation orders, terrorism concerns, and criminal records.

Among them was Ribvar Karimi, a former Iranian army sniper arrested in Alabama, who entered the US in 2024 on a fiancé visa and never adjusted his immigration status. Agents found him with an Iranian military ID. In Minnesota, DHS said agents arrested Mehran Makari Saheli, a former IRGC member who admitted ties to Hezbollah and had a prior felony conviction.

Other arrests occurred in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Mississippi, and New York. Some individuals had been ordered removed years ago but remained in the country. One man was carrying a loaded pistol; others had histories involving domestic violence, drug trafficking, or immigration fraud.

All remain in federal custody pending removal, DHS said.

"This damage has not been minor—serious harm has been done to our facilities. They are currently conducting a thorough assessment of the damage," he said in an interview with the state broadcaster, referring to Iran's Atomic Energy Agency.

Araghchi said Tehran would not allow the UN nuclear watchdog chief Raphael Grossi into the country as the parliament considers exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which mandates inspections.

"For now, we do not intend to allow Mr. Grossi into Tehran. As for the inspectors, it still needs to be reviewed—if their presence aligns with parliamentary law, we’ll consider it. But clearly, if they want to inspect the destroyed facilities, it means they’re trying to assess the extent of the damage."

A US domestic political row has escalated over how effective US strikes on the nuclear facilities had been, with US President Donald Trump saying they "obliterated" their targets by senior Democrats still wary.

'Come, let's negotiate'

Aragchi detailed alleged diplomatic communications during the conflict in which he accused the United States and Israel of starting a conflict despite US-Iran nuclear talks.

"Europeans would call and say, 'Stop the war and return to diplomacy,' and I responded, 'What do you mean? We were in the middle of diplomacy!' They were the ones who started the war," Araghchi said.

The foreign minister, who was the chief interlocutor with the United States in two-month talks which ended with Israel's surprise attack earlier this month, warned against the triggering of United Nations "snapback" sanctions.

"Iran’s nuclear issue will become far more complex and difficult if the snapback mechanism is triggered—just as they made things more complicated by launching a war," Araghchi added, signaling a hard line on reviving talks or making a nuclear deal.

"They thought they could destroy our nuclear facilities, leave us empty-handed at the negotiating table, and then say, 'Come, let’s negotiate.' That didn’t happen.'"

The presentation in line with common government practice was made by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine.

“The briefing raised more questions than it answered," Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said baldly.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he left the briefing unsure about whether the US President Donald Trump was telling the truth and urged talks.

"Ultimately, the only way to truly constrain Iran's nuclear program is diplomacy. You cannot bomb knowledge out of existence. No matter how many scientists you kill, there are still people in Iran who know how to work centrifuges," he told reporters.

"To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months," the Connecticut lawmaker added.

"I just do not think the President was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated. There's certainly damage done to the program, but there is still significant remaining capability."

Rallying to Trump's defense, Arkansas Republican and Iran hawk Senator Tom Cotton said the president's detractors must be mentally ill.

"Some Democrats, some in the media, seem that's such a case of Trump derangement syndrome that they're rooting for the survival of Iran's nuclear program versus celebrating the success of our pilots and their crews," Cotton said.

"I think we've caused catastrophic damage to Iran's nuclear program," Cotton insisted.

"If you look at the whole span of what happened over 12 days, the targeting of Iran's nuclear scientists, the underground bunkers, the centrifuges, the centrifuge manufacturing sites, the gas to metal conversion sites, that's why we're confident - since all of those are single points of failure in an effort to get a nuclear weapon - that we have had an extraordinary success," he added.