'IAEA is eye of Mossad and CIA,' Supreme Leader's daily says

Some users said that when requesting reasons for losing services from providers, they were advised to contact the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Command or the Cybercrime Prosecution Office of the General Prosecutor's Office.

Upon contacting the offices, users received written instructions to verify their identity, sign a pledge not to criticize the state and post twenty messages of praise for the Islamic Republic on social media, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Tuesday.

The disconnection of SIM card services was implemented without prior warning or judicial order, it added.

One user shared a message from the Prosecutor’s Office identifying the service disruption and required actions.

“Your hostile and malicious activities on social media, contrary to the country's laws and interests, have been monitored and identified by the intelligent AI systems of the prosecutor's office. Accordingly, your internet account and SIM card services have been restricted or blocked,” the message to users read.

“To lift the restrictions and blocks, you are required to write the following pledge on a piece of paper, sign it, and provide your fingerprint. Additionally, you must publish at least twenty posts with positive content supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran on social media. These posts must not be shared simultaneously,” the message adds.

The pledge says that the "offending" individual accepts they will face legal prosecution if they repeat "malicious" activities, adding that all activities of such users will be under “constant AI monitoring,” HRANA said.

The report indicated the phenomenon was not new but appears to be becoming more widespread.

“They disconnect SIM cards with no due process, then force people to sign the pledge and remove content they don’t like," Iranian lawyer Mohsen Borhani warned this month on X. "Sadly, this is all illegal, but it’s becoming a common practice."

Thornberry, who leads the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, said a broad deal resembling a 2015 agreement from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in his first term would likely be needed to resolve the nuclear impasse.

“Donald Trump egged on by Netanyahu decided to turn his back on it and he thought there were other ways that he could get what he wanted," she said.

"Clearly he hasn't, and there's been bombing in between and bombing with Israel and America. We need to get back into an agreement and I suspect we need to get back into something that's going to look very much like the JCPOA."

Her remarks are a rare critique of US policy toward Iran by a prominent member of the ruling party of a key US ally. US attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites capped off a 12-day war between Israel and Iran last month.

Trump said the attacks had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program and has been ambivalent about the need for further talks.

European powers including Britain have mooted triggering renewed United Nations sanctions on Tehran if it does not return to negotiations on its nuclear program.

Iranian threats on UK soil

The UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) last month warned that Iran poses one of the gravest state-based threats to British national security, on par with adversaries like Russia and China.

Asked whether Iran might be more dangerous following the war, Thornberry stressed the need for talks to defuse tensions.

"I think any country, if they feel isolated is likely to be more dangerous. That's the reason, one of the many reasons, why we want to be able to talk to Iran and bring them in," she said.

"We cannot accept it, and we have to make sure that we protect people. I've had people come to talk to me who personally feel threatened by the Iranian regime," she added. "We need to be able to live peacefully with one another and we need to be a center of free thought and an open discussion."

British interior minister Yvette Cooper said in May that Iran posed an "unacceptable threat" to domestic security after authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law following a major counter-terrorism investigation.

The sharp statement came after the arrests of Iranian nationals on UK soil in terrorism-related cases.

In two separate operations on May 3, eight men including seven Iranians were arrested by the British counter-terrorism police.

Three of the Iranian nationals were later charged with offences under the National Security Act, accused of acting on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service and carried out surveillance targeting Iran International journalists.

Though short-lived, the war inflicted deep symbolic and political damage on Tehran.

Strikes on strategic infrastructure, the killing of top commanders and damage to air defense systems raised serious doubts about the Islamic Republic’s capacity to provide security.

Far from healing old wounds, the war exposed and deepened the theocracy’s core weaknesses.

From water and power shortages to currency volatility, from political gridlock to widening social divides, nearly every facet of life in Iran bears the mark of dysfunction.

Instability is now normalized. It’s not the exception but the constant.

The new normal

Even before the war, Iran faced a web of interlocking crises: economic collapse, institutional decay, mass emigration, widespread social discontent, and deep political distrust.

Some political actors believed tactical flexibility or resource redistribution might restore order. Others foresaw collapse as inevitable. Both camps, in different ways, assumed that transformation—whether internal or external—was still possible.

The war has shifted that assumption.

Iran’s ruling establishment no longer appears capable of restoring legitimacy or reorganizing itself, but viable alternatives also seem more fractured than ever.

The opposition is scattered, the political class adrift, and grassroots movements are fragmented and organizationally thin.

Much of society is caught in a suspended state: disillusioned but not mobilized, angry but exhausted.

The Islamic Republic has tightened control—erecting checkpoints, increasing Revolutionary Guards and Basij presence and policing public spaces.

The message is blunt: We are still here. But this is not stability born of legitimacy. It is the visibility of power imposed on restless cities.

Today’s urban order rests not on consent, but on continuous police presence.

A collapsing narrative

The 12-day war exposed the hollowness of official narratives: deterrence, security and regional authority no longer carry weight.

Iran’s vulnerability wasn’t just military. It was discursive. The state’s security narrative took a direct hit.

Worse, the war ended without a lasting peace or credible guarantee against future conflict. Peace itself has become unstable. It’s more of an anxious interlude, not a resolution.

With explosions and air defense activity continuing in multiple regions, many expect a new, possibly more intense, confrontation.

Living With Crisis

The long-held notion that the Islamic Republic feeds on crisis is no longer sufficient.

In the past, crises were instrumental—tactics to manage society and consolidate power. Today, crisis is not just a means of rule but the system’s very foundation.

Crises are no longer resolved; they are extended, normalized, and embedded into daily life. The system doesn’t merely survive crisis—it is sustained by it.

This condition has been made possible by a combination of factors: the absence of a unifying alternative, the suppression of public discourse, the fragmentation of dissent, and the systematic blocking of political imagination.

The state has succeeded in minimizing mobilization through control—but it offers no vision for legitimacy in return.

Power has become form without content—a hollow repetition of authority sustained by imposed hopelessness.

Yet this persistence is not stability.

Chronic instability may appear contained—thanks to force and habituation—but the cracks are widening. The theocracy is more detached than ever from the economic, social and institutional foundations that once upheld it.

The drift into slow, grinding dysfunction leaves the country vulnerable to sudden shocks: social uprisings in neglected regions, systemic failures in water, health, or energy, or collective protests triggered by seemingly small sparks.

The Islamic Republic may still be standing—but the ground beneath it has never been shakier.

“The nuclear issue, uranium enrichment, and human rights are just excuses,” Khamenei said during a ceremony marking the 40th day after the deaths of Iranian military commanders and scientists killed during a recent 12-day conflict with Israel.

“Their real problem is Iran’s religion, knowledge, and national unity under the banner of Islam and the Quran.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed surprise at Tehran’s continued insistence on uranium enrichment despite last month’s American airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, vowing renewed strikes if Iran restarts nuclear work.

Speaking at the Imam Khomeini Hosseiniyeh at his residence in Tehran on Tuesday, Khamenei addressed families of the deceased and government officials.

“The world has now seen the full capability of the Islamic Republic up close,” he said. “These events are not new for us. For 46 years, we have resisted coups, wars, political unrest, and all types of plots.”

Khamenei added that Iran would not abandon its twin foundations of “religion and knowledge” despite mounting international pressure.

“With God’s help, we will continue to take great strides in strengthening our faith and deepening our scientific achievements,” he said. “To the dismay of our enemies, we will elevate Iran to the height of progress and pride.”

Iran’s nuclear program has long been a flashpoint in its relations with the West, with the US and European powers accusing Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusation, saying its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.

“I drafted a proposal and requested it be reviewed as a double-urgency item,” Tehran lawmaker Hamid Rasaei said in parliament. “According to this proposal, any negotiations with the US must be tied to the end of the Gaza siege. I keep following up, but this proposal is not being raised.”

Rasaei said the proposal also covers negotiations with France, Germany and the UK, and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. “This is not just about the US,” he said. “The crimes in Gaza are happening with the full backing of Europe, and the agency cannot be treated as neutral while silence continues.”

He called the proposal a direct response to Western support for Israel’s war in Gaza. “Even the German chancellor says the Zionist regime is doing their dirty work,” Rasaei said. “So long as Gaza is under siege, Iran cannot continue talks as if nothing is happening.”

Trump blames Iran, warns of military action

Trump on Monday accused Iran of playing a role in blocking ceasefire efforts. “I think they got involved in this negotiation, telling Hamas, giving them signals and orders,” Trump said while visiting the UK. “And that’s not good.”

He also threatened military action if Iran resumes its nuclear program. “If they do, we’ll wipe it out faster than you can wave your finger at it,” he said.

Iran rejected the accusations and accused Washington of shifting blame. The foreign ministry said the US is directly responsible for enabling Israel’s actions in Gaza and called Trump’s remarks a form of deflection.

Speaker defends delay in parliament

Rasaei also criticized parliament’s leadership for delaying the bill, despite a rule that requires committee review of proposals within ten days when backed by ten members. “It has not even been sent to the commission,” he said.

Deputy Speaker Hamidreza Hajibabaei acknowledged the delay but said some bills carry broader consequences. “I agree proposals should be reviewed, but in some cases, they affect the whole system,” he said. “That doesn't mean your proposal won’t be examined.”

Rasaei insisted the urgency of the matter cannot be ignored. “This is the least we can do while Gaza is being bombed and starved. Let the people see where each lawmaker stands.”