Talks with US unlikely to resume soon, Iran’s Araghchi tells CBS

“We must quickly show that we have the ability to reconstruct in all postwar sectors,” Aref said during a meeting with managers from the National Development Group Investment Company. He called postwar reconstruction and renewal the country’s top national priority.

Aref said the government had prepared a war economy plan early in its term, anticipating reduced oil revenues. He said the economic front had held strong during the conflict, adding, “There was not a single flaw in the performance of our economic front during the 12-day war.”

Aref warned against trusting Israel or the United States in the aftermath of the ceasefire. “There is no guarantee of their promises,” he said.

The article said that while the UK Treasury is investigating nine suspected violations of sanctions in 2024, “these sanctions violations are of course concerning, but only constitute a small part of Iran’s clandestine political influence and illicit finance operations in Britain.” The campaign, it said, reflects a longer-standing effort by Tehran to undermine the United Kingdom in response to decades of hostility between the two governments.

Historical context and anti-UK messaging

Tensions between the two countries go back decades, and The Telegraph noted that Iran has consistently framed the United Kingdom as a hostile power.

According to the report, this messaging forms part of a larger strategy aimed at undermining states perceived as adversaries, particularly those aligned with the United States.

Iran-linked media and advocacy in Britain

Press TV, Iran’s state-backed English-language broadcaster, previously held a broadcast license to operate in the UK. The Telegraph said that although the license was revoked in 2012, the channel continues to publish content online that promotes Iranian state positions.

The report also referenced UK-based organizations, including the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which has faced scrutiny for its messaging and continues to organize Quds Day demonstrations in central London. The Telegraph said some of these events included visible support for Hezbollah before the group was designated a terrorist organization in the UK.

Concerns over Iranian banks in London

Iranian financial institutions with past sanctions histories, including Melli Bank and Bank Saderat, still maintain offices in London, The Telegraph said. It noted that these banks operate near the Bank of England and have been raised as a concern by Members of Parliament.

According to the report, both institutions have previously been linked by international authorities to financial activities involving armed groups in the Middle East.

Online disinformation tied to Iran

Iranian influence efforts have also extended to social media, according to The Times. The paper reported that OpenAI identified a network called Storm-2035, which it said was likely linked to Tehran. The network used Persian-language prompts to generate English and Spanish posts on wedge issues, such as austerity, independence movements, and foreign policy.

OpenAI said the content was posted on X by accounts posing as local users. These accounts often used stock images and followed far more users than they had followers.

Scottish independence messaging monitored

The Telegraph also referenced Iranian involvement in online messaging around Scottish independence, citing researchers who linked the activity to broader attempts to exploit domestic divisions in the UK.

According to The Times and Scottish Daily Express, several pro-independence X accounts with apparent Iranian ties went silent after Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure on June 12. The Scottish Daily Express cited research from Clemson University suggesting the network may have been tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Government response limited, Telegraph says

While UK authorities have taken some action, The Telegraph said responses have so far not matched the scale of the challenge. The paper described Iran’s operations as “enabled by years of dereliction from policymakers” and said more sustained coordination would be needed to counter foreign influence campaigns effectively.

“Anyone who tries to kill or threatens to kill Supreme Leader Khamenei is a mohareb (enemy of God),” said Alireza Panahian on Monday, expressing support for recently issued fatwas (religious decree) by senior Shiite clerics.

“Every Muslim anywhere in the world must be willing to give their life and take action to kill them.”

Khamenei has been in a hidden location since the start of the war between Iran and Israel, fearing Israeli assassination attempts. He has not been seen in public, even after the ceasefire between the two countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 16 that killing Khamenei would not “escalate the conflict” but rather “end it.”

Donald Trump said last week that he refused to target Khamenei, despite knowing his exact location.

“I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces—by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World—terminate his life,” Trump posted on social media.

On Sunday, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani issued separate fatwas against Trump and Netanyahu.

Shirazi said in his statement: “Any regime or individual threatening the leaders of the Islamic Ummah (nation) and acting on those threats qualifies as a mohareb.”

Panahian called on Muslims around the world to implement the decrees without delay: “These grand ayatollahs have taken a major step by issuing a mohareb ruling against someone who has threatened the Supreme Leader.”

“No one will delay or hesitate anymore in eliminating them. The ruling of mohareb is a matter of great magnitude,” he said.

Under Shiite jurisprudence, the declaration of mohareb and the issuance of a fatwa make it religiously obligatory for devout Shiite Muslims to act.

In 1989, Iran’s former leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his novel The Satanic Verses.

Despite living under heavy security for decades, in 2022 Rushdie was stabbed by an assailant in New York—an attack widely linked to Khomeini’s earlier fatwa.

Esmail Baghaei said it is “entirely unrealistic” to expect Iran to have normal cooperation with the IAEA, and that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s insistence on continuing cooperation at this time is “not understandable.”

Speaking in a weekly press conference, the spokesman also condemned US President Donald Trump’s remarks against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying, “It is completely clear that such vulgar, insulting, and provocative remarks are wholly rejected and condemned."

"These words have hurt the sentiments of millions of Iranians and Muslims inside and outside Iran and will only increase hatred and resentment toward US policies in the region and against Muslims.”

Talks with Europe

Baghaei said Tehran maintains diplomatic relations and regular communication with Britain, France, and Germany, and Iran’s president recently spoke with his French counterpart.

However, he said no date has been set for the next round of negotiations, which will be announced once finalized.

French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart called for Tehran's return to the negotiating table to address ballistic and nuclear issues, and for the resumption of the IAEA's work in Iran, his X account said on Sunday.

The French president also called on Tehran to respect the ceasefire with Israel and to help restore peace in the region, the post on his X said.

Iran warns neighbors

Baghaei also warned neighboring countries against allowing their territories or airspace to be used for hostile actions by Israel, saying that's prohibited by the international law.

“Without exception, all neighboring countries have assured us that they will under no circumstances permit Israel to misuse their airspace or territory for aggressive actions against Iran.”

Criticism of international responses

Iran is compiling evidence of Israeli attacks on its nuclear sites to present to international bodies, Baghaei said, accusing Israel of “war crimes” and describing it as “an apartheid regime” subject to prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

He said the recent IAEA report provides a pretext for Israeli and US strikes. “The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has clear technical duties and its director general must avoid political influence.”

The Iranian diplomat also slammed Germany and France’s positions on Israel’s attacks as unacceptable and warned that recent German officials’ remarks will leave a “historic and eternal shame” on Berlin.

Baghaei urged the German public and international community to hold their leaders accountable, saying, “I never imagined that the German chancellor would use the same language that was used to justify the racist actions of Hitler. This is something that the people of Germany and the world must demand from their officials.”

“Sanctions cost us a lot of money but I would... start waiving them for countries like Iran, if they behave themselves, where they can sell oil and they can do the things that you want to be able to do," Trump told Fox News in an interview aired on Sunday.

On June 24, Trump declared on Truth Social that that China can now resume purchasing oil from Iran. One day later, he said he was not aiming to cut off Iran’s oil revenues as it needs it to rebuild after the war with Israel.

However, Trump said on Friday that he halted his work on lifting sanctions on Iran to support its recovery following Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's "statement of anger, hatred, and disgust."

In his Sunday interview, Trump denied suggestions that his administration had allowed China to buy sanctioned Iranian oil, insisting that sanctions remained in place.

But he added that “if they do a job, and if they can be peaceful, and if they can show us they’re not going to do any more harm, I would take the sanctions off.”

Trump also touched on the Israel normalization deals called Abraham Accords, saying the Iranian threat had previously been a major obstacle to broader regional peace.

“Iran was the primary problem,” he said. “I actually thought we had a period of time where I thought Iran would join the Abraham Accords along with everybody else. And, frankly, they would have been better off than where they are right now.”

He added that new countries have shown interest in joining the accords following Iran’s setbacks, without naming specific states.