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Iran Covertly Ramping Up Nuclear ‘Weaponization’ Work, Dissident Group Reveals
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visits the Iranian centrifuges in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2023. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has covertly accelerated activities to construct nuclear weapons despite publicly declaring that its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes, a coalition of Iranian opposition groups revealed on Thursday.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which seeks to overthrow the country’s Islamist regime, held a press conference in Washington, DC in which it disclosed what it described as new findings about the Iranian nuclear program.
“The Iranian regime is covertly working on the weaponization aspect of its nuclear project to build a warhead, effectively obstructing verification through deceit,” said Soona Samsami, a representative for NCRI in the US.
According to NCRI, the regime has ramped up activity in the Center for Research and Expansion of Technologies on Explosions and Impact (METFAZ), which is part of the country’s bomb-making operation, the Organization for Advanced Defense Research (SPND). The dissident group contends that the regime has intensified research on manufacturing devices to enable nuclear detonation.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI’s US Office, detailed the group’s findings, which it said were based on extensive research and reports from dissident networks inside Iran.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), presenting new revelations about Iran’s nuclear program in Washington, DC on Dec. 19, 2024. Photo: Provided by NCRI
METFAZ carries out its nuclear enrichment efforts through a shell company called Arvin Kimia Abzaar, which is under the control of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an internationally designated terrorist organization, according to NCRI. Arvin Kimia Abzaar, which was established in 2018, publicly claims that its actions are done for the legitimate purpose of expanding Iran’s “oil industry.”
Despite the company’s public declarations, however, NCRI says that the company’s “key personnel” work for the Iranian regime in the field of nuclear advancement. Two members of the company — Saeed Bori and Akbar Motallebizadeh — held major roles in the SPND Organization and worked on nuclear weapons production for Iran. Borji has maintained a role in the IRGC since 1980 and has held important positions in METFAZ. Moreover, Borji has allegedly been instructed on how to build nuclear detonators.
The company has conducted operations in the Sanjarian area, a zone in east Tehran, since April and named the area of its facilities the “Meshkat Complex,” according to NCRI.
The dissident group said that Iran “demonstrates the lowest level of transparency in building a nuclear bomb (compared to other aspect of its nuclear program) and is rapidly advancing toward bomb production” and that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, should “absolutely” visit Tehran to inspect the site.
Samsami claimed that “appeasement” efforts toward Iran have been a total failure and that the regime’s leaders have “exploited this window of time to advance its nuclear program and move closer to acquiring nuclear weapons.” The NCRI representative argued that the Iranian regime needs to be held “accountable” for its actions.
Though Samsami did not give specific advice for the incoming Trump administration, he urged the next White House to adopt an unabashedly adversarial posture against Iran.
Once US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, his administration is widely expected to re-implement sanctions on Iran and adopt a “maximum pressure campaign” against the regime.
The sanctions levied on Iran under the first Trump administration crippled the regime’s economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized the Biden administration for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.
Many argue that the Biden administration’s decision to reverse some sanctions on Iran allowed the regime to increase funding to terrorist groups. During campaign speeches, Trump has repeatedly argued that the current White House’s approach to Iran allowed the regime to inject resources into the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which perpetrated the invasion of and massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
Samsami argued that Iranian leaders have been “severely weakened” in the aftermath of the fall of long-time ally Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this month. With some of its proxies weakened across the Middle East — including Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which had been fighting Israel for over a year — many observers have questioned whether Iran may dash toward a nuclear weapon as a means of self-preservation.
“The only long-term solution to prevent the world’s most dangerous regime from obtaining the world’s most dangerous weapon is its overthrow by the people and the organized resistance — a goal that is more attainable now than ever before,” Samsami said.
Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the IAEA reported earlier this month Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade at its Fordow site dug into a mountain. The UK, France, and Germany said in a statement this week that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Iran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
In April, a senior IRGC commander suggested that the Iranian regime could reassess its position on nuclear weapons.
Israel has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge echoed by lawmakers in many allied nations. Leaders in Middle Eastern countries have also expressed concern about Tehran covertly trying to build nuclear weapons.
The post Iran Covertly Ramping Up Nuclear ‘Weaponization’ Work, Dissident Group Reveals first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.