Mossad sent 100 operatives into Iran to destroy missile launchers - Israeli TV

“My teacher wanted me to take off my clothes,” said Farid, a survivor who spoke to the reformist Shargh newspaper under a pseudonym.

The paper’s reporter collected detailed, often graphic recollections from men who described being touched, groped or coerced into sexual acts in settings where they expected safety.

Amir-Ali, now 32, recalled a taxi ride in which a passenger repeatedly pressed his body close and then placed a hand on his thigh. He said he felt powerless, ashamed and unable to tell friends or family.

“I didn’t speak to anyone — I thought I’d be mocked,” he told the reporter.

Majid described being molested on a crowded metro: the man next to him repeatedly adjusted his hand until the touching became unmistakable. He said he moved away without protest because embarrassment and fear made him freeze. “It was so strange and scary,” Majid added. “I just wanted to get off at the next stop.”

Far more sustained abuse appears in other accounts. Javid recounted grooming and repeated sexual exploitation by a 25-year-old assistant coach at a youth football class. He says the coach showed explicit videos, demanded sexual acts and pressured boys to comply, leaving Javid depressed and withdrawn for years.

Some victims described telling only a single friend or, in a few cases, later raising the matter in therapy — and even then withholding details.

Another survivor, Sepehr, said a close relative forced him into sexual acts from the age of ten and that he has only ever disclosed the abuse in psychotherapy. He feared family fallout and shame: “I was scared that people in the family would find out,” he told Shargh.

Shame, silence and long-term harm

The dominant theme is shame, according to psychologist Parisa Pouyan, who works on social-harm issues.

“They often feel their masculinity and sexual identity are questioned; for many, the violation is deeply humiliating,” she added. Pouyan warned that the silence compounds harm: survivors commonly suffer depression, social withdrawal and difficulties forming intimate relationships long after the assaults.

Legal advocates say institutional barriers deepen invisibility. Although Iran’s statutes do not formally distinguish male and female victims, “in practice, the numbers and the follow-through are very different,” Monica Nadi, a lawyer experienced in social-harm cases, told the paper.

She pointed to stigma, a lack of male-oriented support services and the legal difficulties of proving sexual crimes — lost physical evidence, absent witnesses and delayed reporting — as reasons why men rarely pursue judicial remedies.

Settings and system failures

Shargh’s investigation found incidents in boys’ schools, sports clubs, family homes, barracks, prisons, taxis and metro cars.

Several interviewees said suspected perpetrators were later moved between institutions rather than removed from positions of authority after being exposed for their harassment, risking further abuse.

The paper’s reporting calls for targeted steps: breaking cultural taboos, expanding counselling and support services for male survivors, training educators and staff, and improving mechanisms for reporting and evidence collection.

Survivors and experts warned that without systemic reform, many victims will continue to carry trauma in silence and cycles of abuse may persist.

“We have prepared three special issues for primary, middle, and high school students in the form of a book, which will provide students with an extraordinary and beautiful narrative of the 12-day war,” he said.

Figures including the Supreme Leader and commanders in the Revolutionary Guards have declared the war a victory for Iran.

Kazemi added that 20 educational packages were being rolled out in addition to the 12-day war, including themes such as the Iran’s missile program, and a unit called “Hard Slap.”

The phrase was first used to describe Iran’s limited missile strike on the US Ain al-Asad base in Iraq following the killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

School books were later updated to include tributes to the slain commander. Other material added to textbooks includes references to militants killed in Syria, officially commemorated by the Islamic Republic as “defenders of the shrine.”

“We warn the government of Ecuador not to serve the global domination system, America and Israel, and not to assist the false and satanic front,” the military body said in a statement carried by state media on Sunday.

Ecuador’s government on Tuesday designated the IRGC, along with Hamas and Hezbollah, as terrorist organizations.

The three groups, the decree added, pose a direct threat to public security and sovereignty of Ecuador.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the decision on Tuesday.

“Ecuador’s courageous step sends a clear message against Iran’s terror network and strengthens global security,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on X expressing his thanks to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld.

Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have similarly blacklisted the IRGC.

Paraguay designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in April and expanded its classification of Iran's Gaza and Lebanon-based military allies, Hamas and Hezbollah, to include all components of both groups.

The statement concluded that Iran’s military would continue to stand with Palestinians, Lebanon and Gaza, and that “no threat will weaken our resolve.”

Zahra Ershadi, director-general for the Americas at Iran’s foreign ministry, also criticized Ecuador’s move, describing it as “inappropriate”, warning that it would inflict serious damage on bilateral ties.

The council, in a meeting chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, concluded that despite months of engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, “the path of collaboration will in practice be suspended" following the Europeans' push for reinstating UN sanctions on Iran, state media reported.

The foreign ministry was also tasked with continuing diplomatic outreach in line with the Council’s decisions.

On September 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed an agreement in Cairo that set out procedures for inspections, notifications, and reporting obligations.

However, Araghchi said at the time that the agreement would be scrapped if European powers proceed with reimposing UN sanctions on Iran through the so-called "snapback" mechanism.

President Pezeshkian in remarks made on Saturday rejected what he described as Western pressure over the country's nuclear program.

“They have decided to bring back the snapback (sanctions),” he said. “They can close the paths, but minds and ideas will build new ones. They can strike Natanz and Fordow, but people will create Natanz and even more important than Natanz. They cannot stop us.”

The UN Security Council on Friday rejected a South Korean-sponsored draft resolution that sought to permanently lift sanctions suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal. With that proposal defeated, all international sanctions are due to automatically snap back into place on September 28.

Iran’s currency weakened further on Saturday after the UN Security Council's vote. The dollar, which opened the day around 1,013,000 rials on the free market, rose above 1,035,000 by midday and later reached 1,036,700, according to local exchange trackers.

“Two nights ago, we tested one of the country’s most advanced missiles, which had not been tested so far, and it was successful,” Mohsen Zanganeh told state broadcaster IRIB.

“I want to say that even under these circumstances, we are conducting a security test of an intercontinental missile.”

Residents across Tehran and in nearby cities including Gorgan, Sari and Semnan reported seeing the missile’s trajectory in the night sky. Eyewitness videos posted on social media showed arcs of smoke and light, while a Revolutionary Guards-affiliated channel shared images of the launch without claiming direct responsibility.

A local official confirmed missile tests had taken place around the capital on Thursday evening.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)

Less than a month after the end of June's 12-day war with Israel, Iran conducted a suborbital test using a satellite launch vehicle in a move experts said showcased its defiance and determination to advance its strategic goals.

A 2019 report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that expertise in space launch vehicles “can be used as a test bed for developing an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missiles).”

While the Islamic Republic has gained multi-stage launch capabilities through its satellite projects, there is no evidence yet of a fully developed intercontinental ballistic missile, Shahin Modarres, an international relations scholar and security analyst, told Iran International.

“Now the knowledge is there, but until this moment there has been no test and no sign of a built intercontinental weapon,” he said.

“If such a missile had been developed, Israel would already be within range, but the danger would also extend to Europe, while questions remain over whether they have the guidance systems or technology to reach the United States.”

Western governments have repeatedly voiced concern over Iran’s satellite launches, warning that the same rocket technology can be used for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Tehran, however, says its space program is peaceful.

Push for atomic bomb

Hardline voices in Iran's parliament are pushing for escalatory steps after the UN Security Council voted against lifting sanctions against Iran ahead of the so-called "snapback" of UN embargoes on September 28.

“Withdrawing from the NPT, adopting a policy of ambiguity and ultimately testing the atomic bomb is the only option that can spare Iran the fate of Iraq and Libya,” Ahmad Naderi, a member of the parliament’s presiding board said on Saturday.

"Experience has shown that countries without nuclear deterrence eventually become victims of invasion or regime change. The time has come to make hard but necessary decisions."

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons citing a fatwa by the Supreme Leader and insists that its missile program is defensive. Yet several high-ranking officials have in recent years talked about the necessity of developing an atomic bomb and the possibility of changing the "nuclear doctrine".