Iran deputy FM denies saying fresh conflict with Israel highly likely

An unnamed senior Iraqi official told the paper he “did not respond to the Iranian message because of political and security complications.” The report said Iranian networks of smugglers in Syria and Lebanon have recently stepped up attempts to deliver funds despite tighter monitoring.

Asharq Al-Awsat, citing political sources, said US Senator Lindsey Graham told Lebanese lawmakers last month that Washington had intelligence of millions of dollars reaching Hezbollah and wanted to know how the funds were smuggled.

In 2020, the US State Department estimated that Iran gave Hezbollah $700 million a year.

Pressure to disarm Hezbollah

The report comes as Lebanon faces internal and external pressure over Hezbollah’s arsenal. Last month, President Joseph Aoun told visiting Iranian security chief Ali Larijani that no group should bear arms or rely on foreign backing. He warned against interference while affirming openness to cooperation based on sovereignty and mutual respect, according to Al Arabiya.

Larijani responded by saying Iran did not interfere in Lebanon’s affairs and that “any decision taken by the Lebanese government in consultation with the resistance is respected by us.” He urged Beirut to “always appreciate the value of resistance,” describing Israel as Lebanon’s real enemy.

Hezbollah rejects disarmament

Days later, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned that efforts to strip the group of weapons could lead to war. “The resistance will not hand over its weapons,” he said at a rally in Baalbek, vowing a “Karbala-like battle” if necessary.

Qassem described Hezbollah’s arsenal as central to Lebanon’s sovereignty and credited Iran for its financial, military and political support. He also warned the Lebanese government against confronting the group, saying such action would leave “no life” in the country.

Lebanon’s cabinet had ordered the army last month to collect Hezbollah’s weapons, the most detailed disarmament push yet, with US backing. Tehran strongly criticized the move, calling it a Western-imposed plan.

One proposal would prevent Iranian officials from shopping at wholesale clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club without State Department permission. The AP said such stores have long been favored by Iranian diplomats, who buy large quantities of goods unavailable in Iran and send them home.

Three years ago, footage of then-President Ebrahim Raisi’s delegation in New York drew wide attention on social media, showing aides loading piles of goods with US retail labels into a truck outside their hotel.

The internal memo seen by AP also outlined possible curbs on delegations from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Brazil.

The report follows the Trump administration’s decision to revoke visas for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and more than 80 officials, blocking them from the UN meeting. Palestinian diplomats accredited to the UN mission were allowed to remain.

Security review for Iran

The State Department said last week that visas for Iran’s UNGA delegation are subject to a security review. In response to a query from Iran International, a spokesman said Washington “will not waver in upholding American law and the highest standards of national security and public safety in the conduct of our visa process.”

The spokesman added that ensuring foreign visitors pose no threat to US national security “remains a paramount priority.” The Department declined to say whether Iranian officials will be issued visas this year, citing visa confidentiality rules.

The decision to admit President Masoud Pezeshkian and his delegation last year drew criticism from Iranian diaspora groups and activists, despite their movements being restricted to a few blocks around the UN headquarters.

In 2019, then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was granted a visa under similar limits. The US has also refused visas in past years, including to Iran’s 2014 UN ambassador nominee over his role in the 1979 embassy takeover.

Syria waiver highlights contrast

The AP memo said the Trump administration last week lifted long-standing travel restrictions on Syria’s delegation to the UN. The move followed the ouster of President Bashar Assad last year and Washington’s effort to integrate Damascus into the Middle East.

In Iran, the term “guaranteed purchase of wheat” refers to a government program whereby the Government Trading Corporation (GTC) commits to buying wheat from domestic farmers at a pre-established, fixed price.

The government says the policy shields farmers from volatile market prices and ensures a stable income by offering a predictable price while also enabling the government to manage reserves of the staple crop and guarantee supply.

However, state-guaranteed purchases had dropped to 700,000 tons, Attaollah Hashemi, head of the National Wheat Farmers Foundation, told ISNA news agency on Thursday.

'Risks ahead'

“This year’s guaranteed purchases have decreased by 35 percent compared to last year, a decline that is a direct result of reduced production caused by drought and insufficient rainfall,” he said.

The government still owes some farmers payments for wheat deliveries but promised settlement soon, Hashemi added. He warned that “reliance on wheat imports could bring serious risks for the country.”

According to US Department of Agriculture data, the country's wheat production for the 2024/25 season is projected at around 16 million metric tons.

Despite these figures, Iran’s import needs can vary: the FAO projects wheat import requirements for the 2024/25 marketing year (April–March) at 1.3 million tons.

However, due to drought-induced production shortfalls, imports are expected to rise in the current calendar year to about 4.5 million tons, according to state media.

Water crisis

Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezaljeh recently described the situation as unprecedented. “From the perspective of food security, we are in the most difficult circumstances,” he said, citing poor economic conditions and what he called the worst droughts in memory.

Production had fallen by 35 to 40 percent due to energy shortages and irrigation problems, Ghadamali Bourbour, deputy head of the Wheat Farmers Foundation, said in late August.

“This decline is rare in Iran’s agricultural history,” he said, adding that the trend would also push up dairy and meat prices.

Despite repeated water cuts across cities, official data show that 80 to 90 percent of Iran’s consumption still goes to agriculture, much of it under traditional methods.

With procurement falling and drought intensifying, the government faces rising pressure to reform or risk deeper food insecurity.

His comments appeared aimed at addressing widespread frustration with rising costs of living and other woes set to deepen if European powers succeed in triggering international sanctions on Iran due at the end of the month.

Speaking at a meeting with the board of Iran’s Academy of Medical Sciences, Pezeshkian raised concerns over the management of resources in healthcare and other public services.

“Why should the country’s resources be handed over without reason to institutions and bodies that have no benefit or usefulness? If we correct this situation, we will have no problem in securing resources,” state media cited Pezeshkian as saying.

Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon by profession, argued that a merit-based system should be introduced in governance, adding that bureaucrats in the capital should not get complacent.

“Many protests stem from the fact that individuals and groups have not received their fair share, and parts of society feel their rights have not been fulfilled. Meanwhile, a few in the capital, imagining themselves to be all-knowing, make decisions for everyone,” he said.

“If appointments were made on the basis of merit and justice, all people would step forward with a sense of responsibility,” he added.

Iran is currently grappling with energy shortages, struggling to provide water and electricity nationwide.

A recent study of hospital managers, conducted this year, highlighted structural problems in public sector management that may reflect broader governance issues.

“Managers at senior, mid-level, and frontline levels lack adequate training in core management competencies, such as strategic planning, resource management, and leadership skills,” the study found.

Using the Management Competency Assessment Partnership (MCAP) tool, the survey covered managers at 162 public hospitals across 19 provinces.

While focused on healthcare, the findings point to systemic shortcomings across the public sector, including outdated recruitment practices and limited investment in professional management training.

“When an organization produces no output, why should it receive money from the taxpayers and treasury? The people should not have to pay the price for the incompetence of managers,” Pezeshkian said.

“One of our problems is that we view everything politically and, instead of solving issues, everyone seeks to change people,” he added.

Iran ranks among the most corrupt countries globally, scoring 23 out of 100 and placing 151st of 180 countries in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International.

Former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday called for the exit of intelligence and security forces from the economy on Wednesday in a rare sweeping call for reform by a former key player in Tehran's political and security establishment.

"The Government has long recognised there is a persistent and growing physical threat to people posed by Iran to the UK. Direct action against UK targets has substantially increased over recent years," the government wrote.

The report came in the form of point-by-point responses to a July 10 Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee on Iran which said Iran poses one of the gravest state-based threats to British national security, on par those from Russia and China.

"We have taken significant steps to ensure the safety of UK citizens and ensure our
world-leading law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the tools they need to
disrupt and degrade the threats that we face from Iran," the government added.

'Degrading interference'

The UK government cited its designation of the Iranian state in its entirety on the enhanced tier of its new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS). The move means that anyone working for or directed by the Iranian state to conduct activities in the UK must declare those activities or face up to five years in prison.

“This includes members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). FIRS is a critical disruptive tool for the UK,” the report said.

“We are conducting extensive work to understand and degrade Iranian interference and malign influence activity in the UK, looking at potential vectors of concern, including cultural centers and educational facilities that may have links to the Iranian government or support its political objectives,” the report added.

The original parliamentary report concluded Iran is increasingly willing to carry out assassinations, espionage and cyber attacks within the United Kingdom

Tehran's embassy in London at the time rejected the allegations as "baseless, politically motivated and hostile claims."

Use of criminal gangs

The government confirmed parliament's findings that Iranian intelligence has developed close ties with criminal gangs "to expand the capability of its networks and obscure their involvement in malign activity."

“We continue to work with our allies to better understand, expose, and condemn Iranian actions—and to bring Iranian-linked criminals to justice wherever in the world they may be,” it added.

The government added that cyber espionage is “almost certainly a core and enduring objective” of Iranian state-linked cyber activity.

“Iranian-linked cyber actors also have access to several powerful disruptive and destructive tools at their disposal,” the government response said.

Asked by parliament to consider the feasibility of proscribing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, the government declined to specify if the move was under consideration.

"The Government recognises the serious threat posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," adding that it was dedicated to implementing recommendations "to create a new State Threats Proscription-like Tool."

Legislation to advance that mechanism would be it advanced when parliamentary time allows, it added, without elaborating.