Khamenei endorses US talks if Iran's interests safeguarded, aide says

Abolfazl Shekarchi said the late Revolutionary Guard commander Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, widely regarded as the father of Iran’s ballistic-missile program and killed in a 2011 explosion at an IRGC base west of Tehran, had “carried the wish to see Israel wiped out,” adding: “With God’s help, this wish will be fulfilled.”

He said Iran’s aerospace forces grow “more powerful by the day” and insisted the Islamic Republic becomes stronger when its commanders are killed.

“We never become weak — with every martyr we become more steadfast,” he said.

Other senior commanders used the same gathering to revisit the twelve day June war with Israel. Deputy IRGC chief Ali Fadavi said “all the world stood with Israel but they did not succeed,” adding that Iran had “acted on its duty” during the fighting and that “when duties are carried out, the promises of God are fulfilled.”

Vahid Azizi, head of parliament’s national security committee, said Tehran viewed the conflict as “an opportunity to understand the shortcomings and the needs” and as a chance to “prepare for what may come next.”

Growing signals of a new confrontation

The messaging reflects broader signals in Tehran, where several officials have spoken more openly in recent weeks about the prospect of fresh fighting with Israel. Some have said Iran is ready for “all scenarios” as political and military rhetoric intensifies.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset this week that Iran “remains a threat,” yet was weakened in the June war. He said Israel had “distanced and neutralized the nuclear threat and the ballistic threat alike” and warned that any next clash would be “much more aggressive” and could last far longer than twelve days.

The reports said the test is part of a technical review of the Cell Broadcasting system used to warn residents during earthquakes, floods and other emergencies. Officials said the alerts will appear automatically on some phones, may include sound and vibration, and require no action from the public. They stressed the exercise does not reflect any real threat.

The test follows weeks of warnings from senior figures in Tehran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the country expects “any aggressive act” from Israel and is preparing for all scenarios, while former parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the war “is not over.” In Israel, former intelligence officials have also warned of a second round of fighting.

Tehran council chief says only 'special places' have new shelters

The drill comes as Tehran’s city council chief Mehdi Chamran said no new public shelters had been built for civilians, saying only “in special places” had new structures been prepared. “It is not necessary to say where,” he told the council, adding that the locations were not intended to be publicly disclosed.

Chamran said some metro stations were designed as shelters, including for chemical incidents, and were inspected during the twelve-day June war with Israel. He said work to complete these areas was ongoing, while stressing that he hoped no conflict would erupt.

His remarks echoed earlier comments from Iran’s passive defense agency, which said most residents would still rely on metro stations, underground car parks and basements in an emergency. The agency noted that limits on services and sanitation prevent the wider use of metro stations as full shelters.

During the June conflict, senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, took cover in secure underground sites, while ordinary residents had no designated public shelters, prompting criticism. Tehran council members later admitted that no citywide shelter plan had been built in the past decades.

Joe Bennett said his mother, Lindsay Foreman, told him in a brief phone call that “not eating was the only power she’s got.” The call, he said, ended without warning. Foreman and her husband, Craig, were arrested in January while travelling through Iran on a motorbike tour and deny the charges.

The family says the pair entered the country with valid visas, a licensed guide and a cleared itinerary, but were detained after Foreman asked locals routine questions for a personal project. Both were first held in Kerman, where they spent 30 days in solitary confinement, before being transferred to separate cells in Evin.

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  Verdict nears for British couple detained in Iran as diplomacy sours

Bennett said his mother is isolated among inmates who do not speak English, while his stepfather is suffering from an untreated tooth abscess. He said the couple had been promised a visit with each other last Sunday, but it did not take place.

The couple were tried in October as tensions between Tehran and European capitals deepened following new nuclear-related sanctions. Rights groups say their case fits a wider pattern of detentions used to gain political leverage, an accusation Iran denies.

Bennett has urged officials to secure the pair’s release and said the charges against them are “completely bonkers.” He said the couple had praised Iran before their arrest, calling it “a beautiful country.”

“Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist networks, and will stand as a committed partner in the global effort to secure peace,” Barrack wrote, saying the pledge came during Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa’s visit to the White House, the first by a Syrian head of state since independence.

Al Sharaa told the Washington Post this week that Syria had driven out Iranian and Hezbollah forces and was ready for a new phase with the US after decades of strain. He said Syria and Israel were in direct talks and had made progress toward a deal, and he said Israel should pull back to its pre Dec 8 lines to seal an accord. He said President Donald Trump backed the push.

He added that Syria wanted a working tie with Russia to secure its vote at the UN Security Council even as the two sides tried to settle the future of former president Bashar al Assad, who is in Russia. He said Syria wanted to bring Assad to justice and would press its case.

Washington has suspended most sanctions on Syria for 180 days while keeping curbs tied to Iran and Russia. US officials removed al Sharaa from a terror list before the visit as part of the effort to reopen ties.

Jamaran news website said the incident occurred in the capital's subway system, but provided no names, charges, or further details on the arrests.

A video circulating on social media showed the pair unfurling the green-white-red banner emblazoned with the Lion and Sun emblem— a potent symbol of the ousted Pahlavi monarchy and frequent emblem in anti-government protests—on a crowded platform.

Bystanders film as the men, in camouflage fatigues, pose defiantly amid commuters.

The Jamaran report said they were wearing imitation military uniforms. Iran International cannot independently verify whether they were members of the armed forces.

Jamaran said metro security forces swiftly intervened, detaining the duo for "disrupting public order."

The pre-revolution flag, banned under the Islamic Republic, has surged in visibility during nationwide unrest, from the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests to recent economic demonstrations, representing calls for secular governance and fundamental change.

'Call to action'

Another video surfaced on social media on Wednesday showing a man introducing himself as Colonel Ebrahim Aghaei Kamazani, delivering a speech to the people of Iran and calling on them to act.

“The fact is that we, the people of Iran, have handed our country over to the enemy for 47 years. People of Iran, come to Iran's aid. The criminal regime has done nothing but create poverty, vice, and Iran's destruction,” the man is heard saying.

“We too are playing a role in the country's destruction through our indifference. Rise up on November 25. People, hear your son's voice. Long live the Shah; long live Iran,” he said.