Iran to attend China parade as Putin and Kim join Xi in show of defiance to West
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan July 3, 2024.
Iran will join Russia and North Korea at a major military parade in Beijing next week, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, marking a rare public appearance by leaders under Western sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will stand alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping during the September 3 event, which marks the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will also attend, the ministry said.
China said 26 heads of state and government will participate in the parade, including leaders from Belarus, Serbia, Indonesia, and Slovakia. The only EU leader attending will be Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, according to the ministry.
The parade will feature tens of thousands of Chinese troops and advanced weapons systems on display at Tiananmen Square, including hypersonic missiles, fighter jets and air defense platforms.
UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua will represent the United Nations at the event, which Beijing has framed as a show of international solidarity with the Global South.
Iran’s attendance comes months after President Pezeshkian was notably absent from Russia’s Victory Day parade in May, despite Tehran’s deepening military and diplomatic ties with Moscow.
The lack of visible representation led to domestic debate in Iran over the optics of its relationship with Russia.
Unusually strident criticism by a commentator on state media likening dovish politicians calling for diplomacy to hated traitors of early Islamic heroes has stoked a backlash even by prominent conservatives.
Hardline propagandist Mohammad Hassan Rajabi Davani, in a state TV appearance that subsequently went viral, likened former President Hassan Rouhani and former top nuclear negotiator Mohammad-Javad Zarif to two historical figures who betrayed early leaders of imams of the Shi'ite community.
The anchor in the televised segmented added his own criticisms. Deemed by some observers as potentially life-threatening, the incendiary remarks were met with swift criticism.
Reformist groups issued a manifesto last week calling for direct talks with Washington and suspension of uranium enrichment to defuse a nuclear standoff, while Rouhani and Zarif have also publicly urged diplomacy.
"Radicalism is contagious and can spread from one political front to another," Conservative commentator Nasser Imani said.
Two conservative dailies harshly criticized state television for the segement.
"While Israel believes its war against Iran is ongoing and seeks to exploit internal discord to bring Iranians into the streets and facilitate societal collapse, leveling accusations against political figures is tantamount to playing into Israel’s hands," the Farhikhtegan newspaper wrote.
“Not only do the accusations against the two politicians fail to reduce radicalism in Iran, but they are like pouring gasoline on fire,” it added. "Polarization will not remain confined to the political sphere. It will deal blows to society and undermine the spontaneous solidarity that emerged following Israeli attacks."
Meanwhile, Massih Mohajeri, managing editor of the conservative daily Jomhouri Eslami, wrote in an editorial: "Suspicious individuals have infiltrated state television. They sow new discord daily and seek to destroy the nation’s sense of sympathy and solidarity."
"Purging state television is more essential than ever," Mohajeri, a long-standing critic of the state broadcaster, said. "Willingly or otherwise, the broadcaster’s programming and approach are likely to bring Iran’s social foundations to the verge of collapse by leveling accusations against various individuals and the government.”
According to Khabar Online, Davani appeared keen to turn the page on the controversy by moving onto a new one in his latest appearance on state TV.
“It is currently being said among the people that Iran should move toward making a nuclear bomb, Davani said. "There is a demand among the people for making a nuclear bomb, and people in the world say Iran has a right to make it.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister warned on Wednesday that if three European countries move to trigger international sanctions at the United Nations, progress toward resuming the work of nuclear inspectors would be thwarted.
Kazem Gharibabadi added that France, Germany and the United Kingdom are not authorized to invoke provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 nuclear deal, since they are no longer active participants in the agreement.
“"If the snapback mechanism is activated, the current path with the IAEA will be affected and halted,” Gharibabadi told official Iranian media on Wednesday.
Iran said this week that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency had re-entered the country after being barred amid a 12-day war with Israel in June. No agreement has yet been reached on the resumption of their work, however.
The European troika dubbed the E3 are likely to begin a process to trigger the so-called snapback of international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program after talks on Tuesday with Tehran yielded little progress, Reuters reported citing sources.
The move could come as early as Thursday, four diplomats cited by Reuters said, but the countries hope Iran will make diplomatic concessions within the next 30 days.
“We told them, if you’re truly implementing the JCPOA, provide a report showing how. The indicators and information we have contradict their claim," Gharibabadi added. "Not only has Europe failed to implement the JCPOA, but new sanctions have been imposed over the years, the latest being only a few months ago against Iran’s shipping and aviation industries.”
The snapback mechanism, part of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 which endorsed the deal, allows any party to the accord to file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance.
If no resolution is reached within 30 days, all previous UN sanctions would automatically be reimposed, including arms embargoes, cargo inspections and missile restrictions.
The three European countries have warned Iran they will restore UN measures unless talks resume and produce results by the end of August.
Agency inspectors at Bushehr
Gharibabadi also responded to domestic criticism over the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in Iran, saying their access was necessary in the case of a nuclear power plant.
“Without IAEA inspectors in Iran, the Bushehr power plant’s operations would be disrupted. Do some really want our Bushehr plant shut down? The return of IAEA inspectors to facilities is a specific case, conducted with necessary coordination and approvals,” Gharibabadi said.
The Bushehr facility, which uses nuclear fuel supplied by Russia’s Rosatom, requires IAEA monitoring for re-fueling with low-enriched uranium.
“In about a month, it’s time to replace the fuel at the Bushehr power plant, and this must be done in the presence of Agency inspectors,” Araghchi said last week.
Since then, Iran and the three European countries have held two rounds of negotiations, one in Istanbul in July and another in Geneva on August 26, but no concrete progress was announced.
An investigative report by the Sydney Morning Herald citing court documents reveals that gangsters allegedly hired by Iran to carry out anti-Semitic attacks badly bungled their mission, hitting incorrect targets and fleeing when spotted by bystanders.
Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador to the country after it accused Tehran of backing attacks on Jewish targets in the country, including arson on a synagogue, in a separate case involving other suspects..
Australia said Iran guided arson attacks on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne December 2024 and Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney last year.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said it had traced funding to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran has denied the allegations.
Detailed communications among the alleged perpetrators show the ringleader of the attack on the restaurant was a man named Sayed Moosawi, according to the documents cited by the newspaper.
Moosawi, it added, recruited another individual, Wayne Ogden, to plan an attack on the Curly Lewis Brewery — a site with no apparent connection to the Jewish community or faith.
Ogden, together with another suspect Joun Amoui, drove to the brewery wearing masks and rubber gloves one of them armed with a sledgehammer. However, Signal messages indicate that Amoui panicked and fled the scene when spotted by a member of the public.
Moosawi, who referred to himself as “James Bond” in the messages, reacted furiously, cursing at the two and berating them for their ineptitude.
The pair later regrouped with two new accomplices, Guy Finnegan and Craig Banfoft, in a renewed attempt to torch the brewery. That arson attempt failed as well, with sprinklers extinguishing the fire and limiting damage.
In subsequent messages, one of the accomplices even joked that the group might be targeting the wrong site. Eventually, in October 2024, the team succeeded in setting fire to the Curly Lewis Brewery’s kitchen, causing extensive damage.
According to court evidence, Moosawi allegedly paid $12,000 in total and offered $4,000 to the two accomplices to complete the attack. He has a prior criminal record and arrived in Australia in 2005 with his family on refugee status.
The prime minister said the government’s actions sent a clear message that foreign-directed aggression on Australian soil would not be tolerated.
One member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was killed and another wounded during armed clashes in Sistan-Baluchestan province on Wednesday, the IRGC’s Quds base said in a statement.
According to the statement, 13 militants were killed and others arrested in three separate operations across the cities of Iranshahr, Khash, and Saravan — areas that have seen a surge in violence in recent weeks.
According to the rights group Haalvsh, the Iranshahr operation began around 5 a.m. in the Chah-Jamal area and continued for several hours, with residents reporting the sound of sustained gunfire and visible plumes of smoke. Images sent to Haalvsh showed two destroyed vehicles being towed away by a crane.
In Saravan, local sources reported that IRGC forces surrounded a house in the village of Houshak and struck it with heavy weapons and drones, resulting in a large explosion and fire.
The Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, designated a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States, issued a statement acknowledging it had suffered casualties in the confrontations but said details were still being verified.
The operations come less than a week after gunmen killed five Iranian police officers in an ambush near Iranshahr, which authorities blamed on militant groups. Jaish al-Adl previously claimed responsibility for that attack, as well as earlier assaults in Saravan and Zahedan.
In response to that violence, the IRGC said it had destroyed two militant cells in the province, seizing explosives and communications equipment. The Guards said the militants were planning sabotage and bombings with the help of safe houses identified by local informants.
Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been a center of insurgency by Sunni militant groups and is considered one of Iran’s most restive regions.
Australia’s intelligence agency says it traced money behind last year’s arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, though the young men accused of carrying it out may not have known who was directing them.
"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.
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.
