Iran should raise geopolitical stakes to break nuclear deadlock - Khorasan
Iran must shift from technical diplomacy to strategic political risk-taking to break the deadlock in nuclear talks, the conservative Khorasan daily wrote in an editorial addressed to Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader.
The paper criticized past reliance on technical negotiations, arguing that US flexibility was driven by domestic economic needs, not Iranian concessions. Now, with Washington demanding full elimination of enrichment, Tehran must recalibrate its strategy.
Khorasan urged Iran to increase economic and geopolitical pressure on the US by initiating controlled regional tensions, deepening strategic talks with China and Russia, and reducing dependence on direct negotiations with Washington.
The editorial warned that continued reliance on US talks weakens Iran’s position globally and regionally, and called on Shamkhani to lead a new, comprehensive strategic plan involving regional diplomacy and alliances.
Nearly two years after stepping down as the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Shamkhani appears determined to maintain influence over Tehran’s nuclear diplomacy.
Iran could take far-reaching steps beyond nuclear measures if Western powers trigger the snapback mechanism following an expected resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors, the hardline Farhikhtegan daily warned on Sunday.
Citing unnamed officials, the paper said Tehran's response may include boosting uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels, installing advanced centrifuges at the underground Fordow site, and reducing cooperation with the IAEA — including curbing inspections and disabling surveillance cameras.
The paper also said that Iran’s threat to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), first issued years ago, remains on the table but is now seen as a minimum response, given Iran's enhanced enrichment capabilities.
“The time for symbolic threats is over,” Farhikhtegan wrote.
US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks and actions suggest a dwindling interest in diplomacy with Iran, despite five rounds of indirect nuclear talks, according to an analysis published by the Tehran Times.
The Tehran Times argued that Trump's “zero-sum demands” and fresh US sanctions show a preference for pressure over compromise.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump once again said that Iran cannot enrich uranium inside the country, adding, “There is not going to be enrichment [of uranium in Iran].”
“Donald Trump’s strategy regarding Iran’s nuclear program is characterized not by a sincere intent to achieve a fair and enduring agreement, but by maneuvers focused on enforcing unilateral conditions," read the article.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has said that the United States has no alternative but to accept uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.
“America knows well that it has no option but to accept enrichment in Iran,” said Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
Shahriari also emphasized the importance of continued diplomatic engagement. “We should not leave the negotiating table, because Iran’s presence in talks demonstrates that the Islamic Republic is seeking a solution.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday criticized the US proposal on nuclear talks, saying it lacked any commitment to lifting sanctions and dismissed it as one-sided and irrational.
“America smiles on one hand and speaks of economic relief measures for Iran, but in practice, it seeks to deprive us of our internationally recognized right to enrich uranium,” Ghalibaf said in a televised address to parliament, according to state broadcaster IRIB. “Even worse, it does not even promise sanctions relief. No rational mind would accept such an imposed agreement.”
The speaker added that he recently represented Iran at the BRICS parliamentary summit in Latin America, holding bilateral talks with senior officials from Venezuela, Cuba, and Brazil to expand political and economic ties.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Iran uses its overseas missions to covertly surveil dissidents and fund influence operations via state-backed cultural initiatives, multiple former Iranian diplomats and embassy staff members told Iran International.
Their accounts document a sprawling overseas network operating under direct orders from the Supreme Leader’s office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence arm well out of step with common diplomatic practice.
“Every embassy has a list. People to watch. People to engage. People to silence,” an Iranian former diplomatic employee told Iran International.
“It’s not foreign policy—it’s field execution,” another told Iran International. “The people sent abroad are on assignment, not appointment.”
Their account outlines a foreign service shaped not by diplomacy but by ideology, surveillance and illicit finance.
According to these individuals—whose names are withheld for their safety—Iran’s diplomatic missions double as intelligence gathering hubs tasked with tracking dissidents, surveilling student communities and delivering cash and equipment under the protection of diplomatic immunity.
UK authorities detained eight men in May, including three charged under the National Security Act for surveilling Iran International journalists on behalf of Tehran between August 2024 and February 2025.
It was not clear whether the charges related in any way to the Iranian embassy in London.
Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the charges as politically motivated, but former officials say such actions are core to the Islamic Republic’s overseas agenda.
Iran’s embassies maintain the outward structure of any diplomatic mission—ambassadors, attachés and advisers—but according to the sources, the roles often serve as cover.
“A person listed as a translator might actually coordinate funds for proxy groups,” said one of the former diplomats. “Titles are just for appearances.”
In one high-profile case, Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi used his status to transport explosives intended for an opposition rally in Paris. His 2021 conviction in Belgium exposed how far such dual roles can go.
Former Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi arrived in Tehran on May 26, 2023 after he was released from a jail in Belgium.
Another ex-staffer recalled colleagues arriving in Istanbul and Baku with briefcases of undeclared dollars. “They know no one will search their bags,” he said.
Cultural attachés, especially those linked to the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization, are said to organize religious events abroad that double as screening grounds for potential recruits.
Germany shuttered the Islamic Center of Hamburg in July over its ties to Tehran and what the Interior Ministry called promotion of extremism and antisemitism.
Mourning Ceremony for the third Shia Imam at the Embassy of Iran in Muscat, Oman on July 8, 2024.
The diplomatic corps itself, sources say, is dominated by the sons of clerics and system insiders.
“Your father is a Friday prayer leader? Your uncle is close to the Supreme Leader? You’re in,” said one.
Posts rarely align with professional background; language skills and experience are often secondary to loyalty.
Though often expelled or exposed, the structure endures. Loyal staff are rotated across continents with little interruption.
Iranian ambassadors meet with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on May 20, 2023.
“Each post is a mission. If you complete it to the system’s satisfaction, you’re held in reserve for the next,” one former diplomat said.
The network’s reach is enhanced by front organizations. The Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation has been linked to Hezbollah financing. The Iranian Red Crescent has faced accusations of being used by Quds Force operatives for weapons transport. IRGC members have admitted posing as aid workers during the Bosnian war.
File photo of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Herat
IRIB outlets—Press TV, Al-Alam, Hispan TV—have functioned as propaganda arms and intelligence fronts. France expelled one of their journalists in 2011 for spreading state messaging.
The Iranian Red Crescent and the IRGC officially denied these remarks, saying that any such actions were unauthorized and not representative of their organizations.
Hekmatollah Ghorbani receives a warm welcome at Tehran airport after being recalled following sexual misconduct.
Despite the rhetoric of resistance, many live in luxury. One former ambassador’s Paris residence cost over €40,000 per month.
“They send their kids to secular schools while preaching Islamic values,” said another. Leaked records show senior envoys receiving up to $12,000 monthly, with generous stipends and ceremonial budgets.
“It’s both reward and insulation,” an ex-diplomatic employee said. “The system buys loyalty with luxury—and distances them from the reality of ordinary Iranians.”
What emerges is not a diplomatic corps, but a global extension of Iran’s security state—trained, titled, and deployed to safeguard the Islamic Republic, not represent it.
