Iran's Nuclear Activities and Diplomacy Spark Concerns

The State Department and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Jim Risch warn of Iran's activities posing significant threats to national security in Africa, including buying uranium, supplying drones in Sudan, and spreading terrorism and Islamist fundamentalism. Iran is accused of negotiating a sale of $56 million worth of uranium oxide, also known as "yellow cake," from which 300 tons could yield enough material for 30 nuclear weapons. Additionally, Iran is reportedly supplying Mohajer-6 drones to Sudan's government, violating a UN arms embargo, and promoting its influence in Africa, with a strategy to export its ideology into local populations.

European diplomats met with Iranian officials in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday for the first time since Israel and the US bombed Iran last month, in a "serious, frank and detailed" four-hour meeting. The talks, held between Iran and Europe's E3 nations (Britain, France, and Germany), aimed to negotiate Iran's nuclear program and potentially prevent the reimposition of sanctions that were lifted in 2015. European leaders warned that sanctions could be reinstated by the end of August if there is no progress, but floated a possible delay in triggering "snapback" sanctions if Iran resumes cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and addresses concerns about its highly-enriched uranium stockpile.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei allegedly spends his days sleeping and using drugs, according to a social media account linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. The account, which claims to be the official Mossad spokesperson in Farsi, has made several posts about Khamenei's health and the state of Iran, including its lack of clean water and electricity. The account's claims are supported by two intelligence experts, who say some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad. Khamenei's alleged drug use has been suggested in the past, with an Iranian academic claiming in 2022 that the Supreme Leader uses drugs and has a special village in Balochistan where they are produced.