October 22, 2025: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah ALI KHAMENEI attends a meeting in Tehran. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
On October 18, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced the expiration of all of Tehran’s commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), effectively ending international monitoring of its nuclear program, according to a publication by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The announcement comes four months after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in June disabled Iran’s key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. At the same time, analysis of new satellite imagery reveals that Iran has accelerated construction of a new, heavily fortified underground facility, even as its nuclear program faces the loss of senior scientists and a sweeping internal crackdown.
The U.S. strikes on June 22 — dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer— targeted three major sites: the uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz, and the uranium metal processing plant in Isfahan. Recent satellite images of all three sites show no activity or attempts at restoration. In Natanz, vital transformers and generators destroyed in the attack have yet to be replaced. In Isfahan, debris continues to block access roads to several damaged buildings. The images indicate that the strikes effectively halted nuclear activity at these critical facilities.
However, while activity at known sites has ceased, Iran has accelerated construction at the Pickaxe Mountain site — a deep underground complex located about 1.6 kilometers south of Natanz. Construction began in 2020, following a fire widely attributed to sabotage at the Natanz centrifuge assembly hall. At the time, Iran’s then–nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that a new hall would be built “in the heart of the mountain near Natanz.”
Analysis of imagery from June and September shows that since the strikes, a perimeter security wall has been built around the entire site, and two underground tunnels have been expanded and are now covered with gravel and sand. The facility’s full purpose remains unclear, with speculation ranging from the construction of a new centrifuge plant, to the relocation of disrupted activities such as uranium metal processing from Isfahan, or even the development of a covert enrichment site. On September 26, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian dismissed the significance of the satellite photos and invited IAEA inspectors to visit — even as Tehran continues to deny them access.
In addition to infrastructure damage, the June Israeli strikes included the targeted killing of senior members of Iran’s scientific leadership. According to Israeli Ambassador Joshua Zarka, at least 14 senior nuclear scientists were killed. The loss of such expertise — requiring years of specialized training — is expected to severely impact Iran’s ability to preserve critical knowledge for advancing its program.
The security failures have also triggered a harsh domestic crackdown. On June 25, Iranian intelligence forces reported the arrest of more than 700 citizens accused of spying for Israel. In September, two men accused of meeting with Mossad operatives were executed. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights reports that Iran executed at least 1,000 people in 2025. This wave of arrests and executions has created what the organization describes as a “culture of fear” within Iran’s nuclear establishment. According to The Telegraph, surviving scientists have expressed distrust in their security teams and requested replacements.
The termination of the nuclear agreement and expulsion of inspectors — alongside the construction of secret facilities and threats to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — have raised deep international concern. According to U.S. assessments, voiced by Vice President J.D. Vance in June), Iran may still possess a stockpile of 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.
Iran's secret move of it enriched uranium stockpile to Pickaxe Mountain
Pud says: The world's hard left controlled mainstream media & the appeaser governments of the West are ignoring Iran's preparations for the next war, avoiding applying biting financial and political sanctions & even military action against Iran and leaving the burden of defeating Iran to Israel & possibly the USA whilst Trump remains POTUS.
A US official reveals to the Daily Mail that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard had a plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Mexico.
The plot to kill Einat Kranz Neiger was hatched at the end of 2024 and was active through the first half of this year.
By late 2024, Western intelligence agencies had tracked an alleged assassination plot tied to Hasan Izadi, a senior officer in Iran's Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for foreign operations and support to allied militias across the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Investigators say Izadi, who goes by the alias Masood Rahnema, was directing an effort to kill the Israeli ambassador, working as a double-agent.
Izadi had been posted as second adviser at Iran's embassy in Venezuela, a diplomatic role that US and allied officials now believe doubled as a cover for lethal operations targeting American and Israeli officials.
During his time in Caracas, he reportedly stayed in regular contact with Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon.
Intelligence reports shown to the Daily Mail indicate Izadi has traveled through Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, cultivating a network of informants and facilitators across Latin America.
The Quds Force plays a central role in Iran's foreign military and intelligence strategy, asserting influence across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and beyond.
Four of the plotters meeting at an apartment in Venezuela. IRGC-QF officer Hasan Izadi, known as Masood Rahnema (center), Iranian intelligence officer Majid Dastjani Farahani (far left), and Iranian intelligence officer Mohammad Mahdi Khanpour Ardestani (far right)
The FBI is currently seeking information on Farahani (far left) for recruitment of individuals inside of the US to lethally target current and former US government officials
IRG-QF officer Hasan Izadi aka Masood Rahnema (far right) at an event with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to memorialize the death of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) marching during the annual 'Sacred Defence Week' military parade
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured speaking to members of Iran's air force in Tehran on February 7, 2025. Khamenei has urged his government not to negotiate with the United States, saying it would be 'unwise'
Israel's Ambassador to Mexico, Einat Kranz Neiger
'This is just the latest in a long history of Iran's global lethal targeting of diplomats, journalists, dissidents, and anyone who disagrees with them, something that should deeply worry every country where there is an Iranian presence,' the US official who requested anonymity told the Daily Mail.
The source tells the Daily Mail the plot was contained and does not pose a threat at this time.
Kranz Neiger remains in Mexico City in her role as ambassador. Izadi is alive and still in Iran, according to US intelligence.
Since the 1979 revolution, the IRGC has become the main instrument of the Iranian regime's hidden operation. Over the past four decades it has been linked to dozens of assassination plots in Europe, The Middle East and America.
The IRGC has been implicated in several recent murder‑for‑hire plots targeting high-profile US officials.
Federal prosecutors say that in September 2024, the IRGC asked Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national living in Iran to assassinate President Trump. Iran has denied this.
Another high‑profile case fell apart in New York: federal prosecutors in March 2025 convicted two Eastern European organized‑crime figures for their involvement in a murder-plot to kill outspoken anti-regime Iranian‑American journalist Masih Alinejad.
According to court documents, the Iranian government paid roughly $500,000 and enlisted a network of operatives to surveil and target Alinejad.
In August 2022, US prosecutors charged Iranian national Shahram Poursafi for arranging a $300,000 payment to have former National Security Adviser John Bolton killed, allegedly in retaliation for the January 2020 US strike that killed IRGC‑QF commander Qasem Soleimani.
A US official reveals to the Daily Mail that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard had a plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Mexico. The plot to kill Einat Kranz Neiger was hatched at the end of 2024 and was active through the first half of this year. By late 2024, Western intelligence agencies had tracked an alleged assassination plot tied to Hasan Izadi, a senior officer in Iran's Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for foreign operations and support to allied militias across the Middle East, including Hamas , Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The IRGC has been implicated in several recent murder‑for‑hire plots targeting high-profile US officials. Federal prosecutors say that in September 2024, the IRGC asked Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national living in Iran to assassinate President Trump.
Mexico City
Venezuela's Maduro. Many terrorist plots are hatched in the Iranian embassy in Venezuela.
Chaos broke out in city centres last night with more than 30 people arrested as Bonfire celebrations descended into mayhem across the UK.
Footage shows members of the public running for cover when fireworks were set off in Birmingham city centre as police battled to regain control.
In Liverpool, a teenager was arrested on suspicion of arson after police and firefighters attended a tower block blaze.
A total of 21 people, aged between 14 and 25, were also arrested in Birmingham following shocking scenes that took place less than 200 metres from the city's Children's Hospital.
Offences included violent disorder, assaulting a police officer, breach of the peace and firing fireworks in a public place.
A police officer in Bradford was left needing hospital with reports of youths with baseball bats throwing fireworks in the city, as a total of 11 people were arrested on suspicion of affray.
In terrifying footage, hooded men in Birmingham are seen holding large roman candles and multi-shot barrages, aiming them at bystanders.
West Midlands Police sent in riot teams but the sheer number of people outnumbered officers who attempted to use shields and batons to keep the crowds at bay.
In terrifying footage hooded men in Birmingham are seen holding large roman candles and multi-shot barrages, aiming them at bystanders
West Midlands Police sent in riot teams but the sheer number of people outnumbered officers who attempted to use shields and batons to keep the crowds at bay
Footage shows fireworks being set off in Birmingam as police battle to regain control amidst scenes of chaos and disruption
Fireworks were launched towards people, vehicles and the police as members of the public run for cover
West Midlands Police sent in their riot teams but the sheer number of people outnumbered the officers who used shields and batons to keep the crowds at bay
A total of 21 people, aged between 14 and 25, were also arrested in Birmingham following shocking scenes that took place less than 200 metres from the city's Children's Hospital
Video posted on social media shows the blaze on a third floor balcony in Huyton, Liverpool
In Liverpool, emergency services duck for cover as fireworks explode overhead on Bonfire Night after being thrown by thugs
Officers had predicted the night of chaos by placing a Section 60 order around the city centre, allowing police to stop and search anyone without reason.
'Behaviour like what we have seen overnight will not be tolerated, and those responsible will be held accountable,' Inspector Matthew Minton of West Midlands Police said.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) took 831 calls on November 5, the highest figure on Bonfire Night since 2016 and a 20 per cent rise on last year.
Disturbances in the capital included a grass fire caused by an out of control bonfire, a flat fire caused by fireworks and a burning tree, LFB said.
Chaos also broke out in Liverpool last night as both police and fire service crews were targeted by thugs as they attended the fire on a balcony in a high rise block of flats in Huyton.
Merseyside Police said in a statement that they arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after emergency services were called to Knowsley Heights on Primrose Drive in Huyton.
Firefighters extinguished the fire on the third floor block of flats, but fireworks were also fired towards police officers and firefighters attending the scene, resulting in a female police officer suffering a minor injury to the leg.
The teenager remains in custody while enquiries are ongoing, police confirmed.
Fireworks are launched towards a police riot van in Birmingham as Bonfire celebrations descend into chaos
Hooded men in Birmingham were seen holding large roman candles and multi-shot barrages, aiming them at innocent bystanders
Officers had predicted the night of chaos by placing a Section 60 order around Birmingham, allowing police to stop and search anyone without reason
Police in Birmingham said they seized weapons and fireworks using Section 60 powers to stop and search
Fireworks were set off in Birmingham city centre causing mass disruption
The shocking moment thugs hurled fireworks at police officers and firefighters in Liverpool
Pictured: Knowsley Heights tower block where a fire broke out on the third floor
Merseyside fire services released a statement at 8.30pm stating that their firefighters had been targeted and attacked with fireworks while attending a fire in Huyton
Chief Inspector Kevin Chatterton said: 'We will not tolerate this type of disgraceful behaviour, particularly when it involves emergency services staff being targeted in such a way.
'It is only by sheer good fortune that nobody was seriously injured.
'Officers were quickly at the scene and spoke to a number of youths and parents to advise them about their behaviour.
'One teenage male was arrested and will be questioned.'
Shocking video footage on social media shows police being attacked by youths and firefighters being hit with fireworks as they struggled to battle the tower block's flames.
Merseyside Police for South Liverpool announced at 7.41pm that they had introduced a Section 60 order for the entire area of Garston Under the Bridge this evening. The order gives officers additional powers to search people suspected of involvement in criminality and disorder.
Mersey Fire released a statement at 8.30pm saying: 'While attending a fire in Huyton, firefighters were targeted and attacked with fireworks.
'These attacks are unacceptable. Our firefighters are out to protect our communities - not to be attacked.
'All fire engines are fitted with CCTV and is sent to Merseyside Police.'
In Northumberland, a three-year girl was left it agony after fireworks were thrown towards the pushchair she was in.
Her family were making their way to a Bonfire Night display in North Shields, when they came acros a group of hooded youths hurleing fireworks in the street, according to ChronicleLive.
Nevaeh Porter-Baggott was lucky to escape serious injury after a firework exploded underneath the push chair.
She was taken to the burns unit at the at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle were her wounds were dressed.
'It was all happening so quick. We were literally surrounded in fireworks, there were literally going off everywhere we looked. We were all running away, absolutely terrified, and she's screaming,' her mother Freya said.
Meanwhile, a total of 11 arrests were made in Bradford after police were called to reports of 'a group of young people seen with baseball bats and throwing fireworks.'
West Yorkshire Police said an officer was left needing hospital treatment for an eye injury.
'Officers attended and fireworks were thrown towards officers and members of the public,' a spokesperson for the force said.
'This resulted in damage to a police car, and an officer attended hospital for treatment to an eye injury.'
Dispersal orders were also put in place in multiple locations in Greater Manchester.
Footage shows fireworks being launched across a park next to a busy main road in Salford, as cars and pedestrians attempted to avoid the stray explosions
Footage shows fireworks being launched across a park next to a busy main road in Salford, Greater Manchester
CCTV image issued by Police Scotland of fireworks being let off near police officers in Sighthill Park, Edinburgh
Police said those involved dispersed when officers arrived and there were no more serious offences
According to the Manchester Evening News, fireworks were set off into the roads by groups of youths, narrowly missing cars and buses in Bolton.
In North Yorkshire, children were reportedly injured in a horrific firework incident on Scarborough beach.
Emergency services rushed to the beach after reports that two children had fireworks go off in their hands and faces, according to local reports.
The two children were said to be left seriously injured after suffering burns, Yorkshire Live reported.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it responded to 751 emergency calls over an eight-hour period, with two attacks being recorded against fire service personnel.
Police Scotland said two people were arrested on Wednesday evening, while 25 Dispersal Orders were issued in Edinburgh - with a further 20 in Glasgow.
In Glasgow and Edinburgh, Firework Control Zones (FCZs) were put in place - three in Glasgow and nine across Edinburgh.
FCZs in Scotland are defined geographical areas designated by local authorities where it is a criminal offence for a member of the public to set off fireworks, including on private property.
Police and firefighters in Glasgow reported fireworks being directed at their vehicles, with a police car having to be taken away after being damaged.
In Edinburgh, officers were called to reports relating to antisocial behaviour and youths throwing fireworks in a local park.
One man suffered a minor injury to his shoulder after a rear window of the vehicle he was travelling in was smashed by a firework.
However, police said those involved dispersed when officers arrived and there were no more serious offences.
Meanwhile, in Lewes, the annual Bonfire Night saw huge effigies of Keir Starmer paraded through town
An effigy of the Prime Minister at the wheel of a tractor without a steering wheel was paraded through the town centre
The chaos came as the rest of Britain flocked to displays across the country for Bonfire Night - as huge effigies of Keir Starmer burned during the world famous celebrations in Lewes, East Sussex.
Colourful fireworks and bonfires were visible in many places as the nation commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of November 5 1605 - when Guy Fawkes and his conspirators tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and assassinate King James I.
In Lewes, Sussex, torch bearers in historic garb paraded through the town centre in one of the UK's largest and most famous Bonfire Night celebrations, as police warned of road closures and safety concerns.
The monstrous Starmer effigy, designed by artist Andrea Deans, will be burned at the Edenbridge Bonfire Society's annual bonfire night celebrations on November 8.
Earlier this year Labour's inheritance tax raid on farmers sparked protests throughout the UK as the party was warned it would spell the end of farm shops.
Edenbridge Bonfire Society has gained a reputation for using their effigies to poke fun at celebrities, as well as politicians and their decision-making since 1994.
Among their previous targets include Liz Truss, as well as London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his ULEZ policy.
The Keir Starmer effigy in Lewes was on the move as it is paraded through the town
Participants of Lewes' famous annual Bonfire Night festivities parade through the town with flaming torches
Participants bearing torches march through the town of Lewes, holding aloft flaming crosses
Lewes Bonfire Night in Sussex is one of the largest and best known in the UK, attracting huge crowds to the town centre
Attendees donned costumes for the proceedings in Lewes to designate their 'society' before heading to one of several bonfires
Earlier, local businesses in Lewes had prepared for the annual bonanza by boarding up their shopfronts
This year however, the creators wanted to take the tradition back to its more political roots.
Bill Cummings, chairman of the Bonfire Society, said: 'This decision is a great opportunity to remind everyone why we have Bonfire Night in the first place, a message that has perhaps been forgotten over more recent years.'
Sir Keir also has his own links to the area having been raised in nearby Oxted and is said to have been part of one of the local football teams in Edenbridge.
Andrea Deans, one of the creators of this year's effigy, said: 'We feel the public have chosen well this year when you look at how the current government is treating its citizens.
Members of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society unveiled their 'Celebrity Guy' for 2025 - Keir Starmer
Pictured: a huge community bonfire and fireworks display in Penrhys, Rhondda Cynon Taff in South Wales
Pictured: an effigy of Guy Fawkes is paraded through the town in Lewes
Police officers patrol the streets in Edinburgh, Scotland. Firework Control Zones have been put in place in nine areas across Scotland's capital
'There were so many elements we could include on the effigy, and it was interesting working out how these could be represented visually.'
Other contenders for the 2025 event included Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Andrew Tate, Baroness Michelle Mone and MP Angela Rayner.
'Many of my friends are from the farming community and I know they will be delighted with who we have chosen this year,' said Reece Hook, another effigy creator.
Edenbridge Bonfire Society has been celebrating Bonfire Night for nearly a century but began the tradition of burning giant effigies in the mid-1990s.
Sir Winston Churchill is one of several famous figures to have opened the Kent town's Bonfire Night celebrations.
More than 500 people were expected to take part in the torchlit parade through Edenbridge High Street.
One bonfire attendee in Lewes held a cutout skull with a sign below reading 'No popery' - in reference to both the Gunpowder Plot and a group of Protestant martyrs burned at the stake in the town
The streets in Lewes were packed tonight as crowds gathered to watch the festivities
Some participants at Lewes pictured wheeled flaming barrows behind them
From 1850, Bonfire Night developed into the more formalised processions seen today, commemorating the seventeen Protestant martyrs.
Bonfire Societies across the UK usually parade through their towns and villages, with the night ending with the burning of effigies.
The Lewes bonfire night is the biggest celebration across the UK, organised by six local bonfire societies, which each have their own fireworks, fire sites, costumes and processions. The first recorded event was in 1795.
Each year effigies, often reflective of the political climate, are burnt on the fields outside the town.
Last year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had the dubious honour of having an effigy resembling him, alongside one of a diver in polluted seawater.
Before then, it was the turn of then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Jeremy Hunt driving a train with HS2 scrawled on the sign.
In previous years, effigies have included former Prime Minister's Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Tony Blair, as well as the under-fire pandemic health secretary Matt Hancock and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Lewes parade commemorates Guy Fawkes and his failed gunpowder plot, as well as the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt alive in the 1550s in the centre of Lewes, represented by 17 burning crosses.
It also marks a two-year martyrdom known as the Marian Persecutions.
Bloody Mary infamously ordered the burning of 288 Protestants and 17 were killed in Lewes between 1555 and 1557.
