Iran’s use of cluster munitions in Israel violates humanitarian law, Amnesty says

The move comes a month after US and Israeli attacks targeted Iranian nuclear sites and before European and Iranian envoys are due to meet in Istanbul for nuclear talks on Friday.

“A window now exists to completely change the trajectory of the Middle East for the better, but that window will close unless we convince Iran that its nuclear weapons program will never be tolerated, period,” Senator Pete Ricketts said in a floor speech on Wednesday.

“That’s why this resolution urges the E3 (UK, Germany and France) to snapback sanctions as soon as possible. We must not let Iran off the hook,” Senator Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, said.

Any party to a now lapsed 2015 nuclear agreement is entitled to file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance, renewing sanctions the deal had suspended.

Despite heavy blows suffered during the conflict, Iran has refused to relinquish enrichment and insists its nuclear program is a peaceful national achievement.

“In order to seize this moment, the US and our allies must impose maximum pressure to the highest extent possible to force Iran to agree to permanently and verifiably end its nuclear program, including its capacity to enrich,” Ricketts added.

Speaking to Iran International, co-sponsor of the resolution Senator Jim Risch said the lawmakers wanted the European countries to trigger snapback "immediately".

"It is obvious that the intent of the Iranian regime is to build a nuclear weapon. We cannot have that, that’s got to stop," the Idaho Republican said.

"The president has re-enacted the maximum pressure campaign that we have had on Iran. It worked in the past, it can work again and that is what we are going to pursue."

"In the absence of a deal, the United States continues to impose maximum diplomatic and economic pressure to constrain any activities, like the pursuit of a nuclear weapon that would threaten the security of US citizens, personnel, and partners in the region," acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Shea said Tehran must choose between continuing to block international oversight while supporting it's regional allied groups, or engaging in “meaningful, time-bound diplomacy” that could pave the way for peace and reintegration into the global economy.

“Iran can continue its current path of defying the NPT(Non-Proliferation Treaty)-mandated safeguards obligations in a bid to reconstitute its nuclear program in secrecy,” she said.

Iran passed the law suspending cooperation with the IAEA following last month's US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this week that Tehran has not ended cooperation with the agency. Instead, he said future coordination with inspectors would now be managed by the country’s Supreme National Security Council.

“Already, Iran's law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has obscured international visibility into its program.”

Snapback looms

Shea's warning comes amid growing pressure from the US and its European allies, who have set an end-of-August deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal or face the reimposition of full UN sanctions under the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism.

The snapback mechanism, created under UN Security Council Resolution 2231—which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal—allows any party to the agreement to reimpose sanctions if Iran is found non-compliant.

If no resolution is passed within 30 days to continue sanctions relief, all prior UN measures automatically come back into force.

Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with European powers including Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Friday in Istanbul. However, talks with the United States remain stalled after a planned sixth round in Muscat was cancelled on the eve of the Israel's June 13 strikes on Iran.

"The Supreme Leader’s misguided strategies and miscalculations have placed the Islamic Republic in its weakest and most fragile state ever,” Mostafa Tajzadeh said in the statement released on his official Telegram channel.

"In this critical situation, Mr. Khamenei has no option but to apologize to the Iranian people and accept fundamental reforms in line with national demands, including by forming a constituent assembly based on completely free and fair elections," he added, "or to resign and step down."

Mostafa Tajzadeh is a reformist politician who served as deputy interior minister during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.

He is closely aligned with Iran’s reformist political faction and has been imprisoned for 10 of the last 16 years, currently on charges including acting against the state, spreading falsehoods and propaganda.

Critical of Khamenei’s handling of tensions with the United States and Israel, Tajzadeh outlined a series of steps the Supreme Leader should take.

Tajzadeh said the change ought to resemble the 1905-1911 Constitutional Revolution which transformed the Qajar monarchy into a modern government through the establishment of a parliament.

Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks during a 12-day war last month killed hundreds of Iranians including civilians, military personnel and nuclear scientists. Iran's retaliatory missile strikes killed 27 Israeli civilians.

"It must be admitted with great sadness that the result of unnecessary and costly anti-Americanism, as well as the conflict with the will of the majority of the people, has been nothing but a bankrupt economy (and) a bleak outlook," Tajzadeh added.

Iran is currently facing water shortages and electricity outages across the country as decades of sanctions and mismanagement deepens economic hardship.

In a letter to the United Nations, 301 rights defenders organized by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) urged immediate action to stop what they described as an “escalating wave of political executions and entrenched impunity.”

“The risk of another mass atrocity, reminiscent of the 1988 massacre, is alarmingly real,” the letter read.

The warnings follow a series of troubling signals from Iranian authorities in the aftermath of the 12-day war with Israel in June.

Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said Wednesday that about 2,000 people had been arrested during and after the conflict, with some detainees accused of collaborating with Israel potentially facing the death penalty.

“In our law, anyone who cooperates with a hostile state during wartime must be arrested and prosecuted,” he told state TV.

Re-run of a crime?

Iran’s IRGC-linked Fars News Agency has gone further, explicitly calling for mass executions “in the manner of 1988” for those allegedly aiding Israel through espionage or arms smuggling.

Earlier this month, UN experts also sounded the alarm, urging Iranian authorities to halt what they described as a post-war crackdown marked by executions, arbitrary detentions, and censorship.

In the summer of 1988, thousands of prisoners—many already serving sentences for dissent—were executed in secret after a fatwa by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, following a surprise cross-border attack by the armed opposition group MEK from Iraq, just days after Iran accepted a UN ceasefire to end the eight-year war with its neighbor.

Amnesty International estimates the death toll at no fewer than 5,000.

Victims were buried in unmarked graves, and families were never formally notified. Iran has never acknowledged the full extent of the killings, while survivors and families continue to face harassment and denial of burial rights.

Crowds chanted “Shameless, shameless” after the crackdown, according to footage sent to Iran International.

Residents rallied outside the Sabzevar governorate, denouncing outages that have paralyzed daily life amid extreme heat. Videos show men and women shouting, “If we don’t get our rights, we won’t leave,” along with “Only the streets will give us our rights” and “Water, electricity, life—our absolute rights.”

Officials have blamed the crisis on “unprecedented drought.” Iran is experiencing its second-driest year in five decades, with rainfall down 43% from last year. Major dams, particularly those supplying Tehran, are at critically low levels.

In Tehran, residents in districts including Pounak, Amirabad, and Pardis shouted “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator” from their windows during extended outages. In Sadra, near Shiraz, demonstrators echoed the same chants late Tuesday.

In an unusual move, Tehran’s Water Company announced plans to distribute plastic-bagged water—then withdrew the statement hours later without explanation.

Government data shows 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces are under water stress, affecting cities such as Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Isfahan.

On Wednesday, amid rising public anger, authorities declared a holiday in 23 provinces, citing “heat and energy management.” Other regions cut working hours to mornings only.

Years of sanctions, aging infrastructure, and mismanagement have strained Iran’s energy systems, with summer blackouts a recurring pattern.

But conditions appear to have worsened following last month’s 12-day war with Israel. Iranians report more frequent and severe outages on the back of a surge in use as more people were forced to stay at home amid the government shutdowns.

Hardline Tehran MP Amirhossein Sabeti warned Wednesday that without major water savings, shutdowns may extend through summer, potentially closing the capital for up to four days a week.

“If necessary, every week may be off from Tuesday or Wednesday [until Saturday],” he said, suggesting the goal is to drive residents out of the city to cut demand.

The IRGC-linked Moj News acknowledged the toll of the crisis, warning that shortages are damaging mental health, fraying family life, and fueling tensions between communities.

The outlet said growing competition for access to water is already triggering local disputes, and without urgent management, broader social unrest could follow.