IRGC says one officer, 13 militants killed in clashes in southeastern Iran

"They're just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organized crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding," Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Mike Burgess told reporters on Tuesday.

Younes Ali Younes, 20, appeared in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with stealing a car and setting fire to the Adass Israel synagogue on December 6.

He did not seek bail or enter a plea. Another man, Giovanni Laulu, 21, was charged last month on the same counts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that investigators uncovered a “supply chain” of payments leading from local criminals to Tehran.

“Security forces have done extraordinary work to trace the source of the funding of these criminal elements who’ve been used as tools of the Iranian regime,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

A tip-off from Israeli intelligence assisted ASIO during the inquiry, Sky News reported on Wednesday, with confidential sources confirming Israel provided a lead in relation to one of the firebombings.

Most of the work, however — including mapping networks of suspects and breaking through encrypted messaging — was conducted by ASIO investigators.

The attack was captured on CCTV showing three hooded figures unloading jerry cans of fuel from a stolen car before igniting the synagogue’s entrance and fleeing. Police said lives were endangered as people were inside at the time, though no injuries occurred.

Albanese on Tuesday expelled Iran’s ambassador after receiving a briefing from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, joining other Western governments accusing Tehran of covert operations abroad.

Security agencies in Britain and Sweden have previously warned of Iran’s use of criminal proxies, while London has reported foiling 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022.

Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the accusations.

Victoria state’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team described the arson as politically motivated and involving offshore direction, while Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said local perpetrators likely had no knowledge of who ultimately ordered the attack.

Araghchi stressed that no agreement had yet been finalized with the UN nuclear watchdog regarding a broader framework for cooperation.

He also said the law passed by parliament after the June Israeli and US strikes — requiring all IAEA inspections to be approved by the Supreme National Security Council — had been observed. “All IAEA requests go to the Supreme National Security Council, which makes decisions in accordance with the law,” he said.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also defended the move, saying on Wednesday that the inspectors’ return was lawful and complied with the terms of the new legislation. “The law passed by parliament in this regard has been observed,” he said.

Hardline lawmakers push back

Despite these assurances, several lawmakers sharply criticized the decision. MP Amirhossein Sabeti said a document claiming to outline the terms of a new deal between Iran and the IAEA had reached parliament and called it “a disaster.”

“If it’s false, deny it — we’ll be glad,” he said. “But if it’s true, this agreement guarantees the next war,” warning that the document required Iran to hand over pre- and post-attack data that could guide future Israeli strikes.

Kamran Ghazanfari also objected, saying the return of inspectors violated the parliament’s legislation. “This is a clear breach of the law,” he said, warning that legal action could be taken against the head of the SNSC if cooperation continued without meeting parliamentary conditions.

No finalized text with IAEA, Araghchi says

Addressing these concerns, Araghchi emphasized that no finalized agreement—referred to by some as a new “modality” framework—had been reached with the IAEA. “Some texts have been exchanged and positions presented, but no draft has been finalized,” he told Khaneye Mellat, parliament’s official outlet.

“I don’t know where the text referenced by the lawmaker came from, but it is not a negotiated or agreed document,” Araghchi added.

IAEA inspections resume amid international pressure

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed on Tuesday that the agency’s inspectors had returned to Iran for the first time since their expulsion during the June conflict. “Now the first team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran, and we are about to restart,” he said.

France, Germany, and the UK are tying Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA to their decision on whether to trigger the UN snapback sanctions mechanism by the end of August. Tehran has rejected the legality of such a move.

“There could be another cycle [of conflict] because the military operations have not resolved anything,” the diplomat said. “There’s debate about how severely the nuclear facilities have been damaged, but it’s not so damaged that the programme is destroyed.”

Although Israeli and US strikes severely damaged Iran’s nuclear facilities, its programme has not been destroyed, the FT said. The report added that the longer there is no diplomatic solution, the greater the risk of renewed conflict.

A new round of nuclear talks between Iran and France, Germany and the United Kingdom concluded in Geneva on Tuesday without progress, as the three European powers consider triggering the snapback mechanism to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Tehran.

The snapback, part of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, allows parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to restore previous UN sanctions if Iran is found to be in serious non-compliance.

Western officials told media outlets that Iran had offered vague proposals in Geneva, lacking detail or concrete deliverables. “Very little to work with,” one source told Axios. The E3 envoys are expected to report back to their foreign ministers before deciding whether to activate the process in the coming days.

Israel launched a 12-day air campaign against Iran in June, with brief support from the United States, targeting nuclear sites and killing senior military officials and nuclear scientists. The strikes crippled much of Iran’s air defense network and damaged a significant portion of its ballistic missile arsenal, Israel said.

Army chief: No choice but to grow stronger

Iran must become more powerful to protect its sovereignty, the Armed Forces commander Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami said on Wednesday in Tehran.

“In such a world, we have no path but to grow stronger,” Hatami said. “We need a powerful army to protect our nation.” He said military strength depends on every unit fulfilling its role, including the armed forces’ medical services.

Iran warns next war will target new regions

Iran will expand future conflicts across new geographic, political and economic fronts if attacked again, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday.

“In the next possible war, our restraint will end,” Ghalibaf told lawmakers. “New geographic areas and targets will be added to our response.”

His remarks follow comments by Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, who said Iran now possesses a more advanced generation of missiles and claimed Iranian strikes became more accurate as the June war progressed. He said Israel’s missile defense systems failed to intercept most Iranian missiles by the end of the conflict.

Divided voices inside Iran weigh postwar strategy

Political figures quoted by the Financial Times offered differing perspectives on how Iran’s leadership should respond to the fallout from the June war.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president, said Tehran faces a growing disconnect with society. “There’s a 20-year gap between the people’s demands and the system,” he said, adding that bridging that divide will not be easy.

Abdollah Momeni, a longtime political activist, said the war undermined the state’s credibility as a security guarantor. “With this war, the only thing they had left — security — was lost,” he said.

Foad Izadi, an analyst close to hardline circles, said the leadership may respond with greater resolve. “The military capacity is less, but the willingness to use it is more,” he said, pointing to the emergence of a new generation of Revolutionary Guard commanders.

“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London expresses deep concern about the repeated publication of biased and unfounded reports on Iran by the Daily Telegraph,” the mission said in a statement carried by IRNA.

“These articles, based on vague and unreliable sources, lack credibility and present a distorted and misleading picture of realities in Iran.”

The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Iranian officials were considering reducing enrichment from 60% to 20% under the guidance of Ali Larijani, the country’s new security chief, in order to avert further Israeli and US airstrikes and avoid the reimposition of UN sanctions.

Citing unnamed officials, the paper said Larijani was trying to convince Iran’s leadership that lowering enrichment levels could ease external pressure.

The embassy dismissed the report. “These unfounded claims are categorically rejected,” it said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei had earlier criticized the newspaper’s reporting practices, saying that the outlet had previously attributed news to “nonexistent informed sources” when producing stories on Iran.

The report coincided with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rejection of proposals from within Tehran’s reformists camp for direct talks with Washington.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have warned Iran they will trigger a snapback of UN sanctions by the end of August unless Tehran reenters negotiations and delivers concrete results on its nuclear program.

The snapback is part of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under Resolution 2231, any party to the accord can file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance. If no agreement is reached within 30 days to maintain sanctions relief, all previous UN sanctions automatically return, including arms embargoes, cargo inspections, and missile restrictions.

The hardline daily Kayhan said Australia is tied to Britain through the monarchy and, Britain should be held responsible. “When a dog bites someone, the owner is punished,” the piece said, comparing Canberra’s actions to those of a subordinate power.

The column described Australia’s decision as a move to “please the Zionist regime” following “massive protests by hundreds of thousands of Australians against genocide and the crimes of the Zionist regime,” and called it “a show to cover up pressure from the people.”

Australia accuses Iran of directing attacks on Jewish sites

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards orchestrated two arson attacks in 2024, one at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and another at the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher restaurant in Sydney.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said.

He added that Iran’s ambassador and three diplomats had been ordered to leave the country, and that Australia’s embassy in Tehran had suspended operations. It was the first expulsion of a foreign envoy by Canberra since World War II.

Tehran rejects charges, says Canberra is scapegoating

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied the allegations and said Iran was being punished for public support for Palestine. “Iran is paying the price for the Australian people’s support for Palestine,” he said on social media.

Araghchi said it made “zero sense” to accuse Iran of attacking Jewish sites abroad while it protects synagogues at home, and repeated criticism of Albanese. Quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he wrote, “I am not in the habit of joining causes with wanted war criminals, but Netanyahu is right about one thing: Australia's PM is indeed a weak politician.”

Netanyahu says pressure worked, Australia denies link

Netanyahu’s spokesperson said the Israeli prime minister’s criticism of Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood may have pushed Canberra to act. “It’s welcome that after the prime minister’s intervention, these actions were taken,” the spokesperson said.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected that claim. “Complete nonsense,” he said. “There was not a minute between us receiving this assessment and working through our response.”

Court hears case tied to Melbourne synagogue fire

A 20-year-old man appeared in court in Melbourne on Wednesday in connection with the synagogue fire that caused millions of dollars in damage and destroyed sacred texts. Two other suspects have also been charged.

Burke said the individuals were unlikely to have known they were acting under Iranian direction, but added that this did not diminish the seriousness of the case.