Khamenei's son built secret overseas property empire - Bloomberg

Iran’s US- based former ambassador to Germany Hossein Mousavian said that the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian should invite Trump to Tehran as a step toward de-escalating tensions which could crescendo into an attack that threatens the Islamic Republic’s rule.

“Trump genuinely wants direct talks with Iran,” he told outlet Ensaf News in an interview.

“Pick up the phone and speak to him. Do not waste time as the situation is critically dangerous … I repeat: if you do not act immediately, Iran may face military confrontation with the United States, Israel, and NATO.”

In a more sober assessment, Iranian political commentator Reza Nasri warned “unlike his predecessors, Trump can wage a swift and clean war against Iran without imposing additional costs on US taxpayers or repeating past mistakes.”

Nasri warned against complacency about some Trump’s more conciliatory messaging, saying “any premature optimism about de-escalation can lead to dangerous miscalculations by lowering the state of alert and imposing heavy costs on Iran’s security.”

The US threat comes after Trump vowed to come to the defense of protestors before authorities unleashed one of the deadliest crackdowns on unrest in modern history, killing thousands.

Nasri, cleaving to the theocracy’s official discourse, described the demonstrations as “one of the most difficult and complex threats in Iran’s recent history and a project aimed at disintegrating the country and collapsing its political system.”

“This project has failed for now,” he added. “But a combination of domestic crisis, foreign threats and economic and psychological warfare still looms.”

Meanwhile, hardline Tehran commentator and social media personality Ali-Akbar Raefipour raised the alarm to an even louder pitch, saying without providing evidence that foreign preparations for a complex armed attack were already underway.

“Mutiny and targeted assassination cells may be activated if Iran is attacked. Their goals include killing prominent individuals and seizing sensitive centers,” he wrote on X.

“In recent days, we have seen equipment flowing into Iran for these groups.”

Seyrafi was detained on January 26 outside his home in Tehran, they said. Authorities have not issued any statement on his arrest.

An informed source told Iran International he has been accused of cooperating with Israel's foreign intelligence agency Mossad.

Seyrafi had previously been imprisoned on national security-related charges and was released in October 2020 after serving seven years in prison.

Iran’s judiciary had accused him of spying for the United States and “collaboration with a hostile government,” charges frequently used against political detainees, activists and individuals working in sensitive fields like IT.

Human rights organizations have identified Seyrafi as one of dozens of prisoners previously held in Ward 7 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, where detainees facing national security accusations are commonly imprisoned.

A 2019 report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) listed Seyrafi among prisoners charged under Iran’s penal code provisions related to espionage and alleged ties to “enemy states.”

But Seyrafi has also been referenced in international cybersecurity research examining Iran’s early hacker networks.

A report published in 2013 by the ICT Cyber Desk at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in Israel identified Seyrafi — also known online as “Iman” or “iM4n” — as the first leader of a hacker group known as the “Emperor Team.”

The report credited him with involvement in the defacement of websites and subdomains belonging to major international platforms, including MSN and Yahoo.

Seyrafi and other members, it added, initially formed the group to gather information before later shifting into what he described in past interviews as “security activities,” including the development of basic cyber tools.

Some of the assertions cited in the report could not be independently verified.

Seyrafi’s rearrest comes amid increasing concern from rights advocates that Iranian authorities are treating digital expertise itself as a national security threat.

The cell carried out reconnaissance around the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey and used commercial activity as cover, the paper said.

Investigators said the network was directed by Iranian intelligence officers Najaf Rostami, known as “Haji,” and Mahdi Yekeh Dehghan, referred to as “Doctor,” according to Daily Sabah.

The investigation found that one of the suspects, Iranian national Ashkan Jalali, based in Ankara, planned the transfer of armed unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkey to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot administration through companies he owned, Bulaq Robotics and Arete Industries, it said.

Jalali and another suspect, Alican Koç, attended specialized drone training sessions in Iran in August and September 2025, according to the report.

Police detained defense industry company owners Erhan Ergelen and Taner Özcan, textile businessperson Cemal Beyaz, Remzi Beyaz, Koç and Jalali in Istanbul-centered raids. An Istanbul court later arrested all six on charges of “obtaining confidential state information for political or military espionage,” Daily Sabah said.

The paper said Ergelen and Özcan traveled to Iran in October 2025 and played roles in drone shipment plans to Greek Cyprus. In testimony, Remzi Beyaz said he was offered money to take part in assassination plots targeting Iranian dissidents.

The network used encrypted messaging under the code name “Güvercin” and financed its activities by disguising operations as commercial drone trade, the paper added.

“Foreign terrorist organizers are NOT welcome in our country,” ICE wrote, announcing that Ehsan Khaledi, Mohammad Mehrani and Morteza Nasirikakolaki were returned to Iran over the weekend.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the three men as former IRGC members and said they were among 14 Iranian nationals on a deportation flight to Tehran, the first such flight since widespread anti-government protests in Iran were met with a deadly crackdown.

According to DHS, Mehrani and Khaledi entered the United States illegally in Southern California in 2024, while Nasirikakolaki entered illegally in November 2024 and was apprehended by Border Patrol near San Luis, Arizona. The White House said all individuals deported had final removal orders issued by a federal judge.

The IRGC is Iran’s elite military force, separate from the regular army and reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, citing its role in supporting militant groups and carrying out operations targeting US interests and allies.

The deportations come amid sharply rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the Trump administration has signaled it is prepared to use military force if Iran continues executions and violent repression linked to nationwide protests. The United States has also stepped up its military presence in the region in recent weeks.

The judiciary identified him as Hamidreza Sabet Esmailipour and said he was arrested on April 29, 2025. It said he was convicted of “espionage and intelligence cooperation,” alleging he communicated with an intelligence officer and handed over documents and classified information.

In a detailed account published by Mizan, the judiciary’s official media outlet, authorities said Sabet Esmailipour had carried out logistical and support tasks for what they described as Israeli intelligence operations, including moving vehicles between provinces and transferring funds. The report alleged some of the vehicles contained explosives intended for sabotage operations, claims that could not be independently verified.

Mizan said the man acknowledged cooperating with Mossad during interrogations and court proceedings, and that his death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court before being carried out by hanging.

• 

  Iran hangs man accused of spying for Mossad

• 

  Iran publicly executes man on alleged murder charges

Iran has executed more than a dozen people in recent months on charges of spying for Israel, cases that human rights groups say often involve opaque legal proceedings.

Iranian authorities have said more than 700 people were detained on suspicion of espionage or collaboration with Israel following the conflict in June.

US-based rights group HRANA said in a report earlier this month that at least 313 prisoners were executed by hanging during a period of nationwide protests between late December and late January, adding that executions surged alongside mass arrests and a security crackdown as unrest spread and internet access was widely restricted.