Tehran backs ceasefire deal, Cybertruck spotted in Iran—and more
The Iranist for the week of October 10, 2025
Read my latest analysis on the current mood inside Iran three+ months post-war.
THE هفت/SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
۱/1 Iran signals support for Gaza ceasefire deal
In response to the news, on October 9, Ali Akbar Velayati, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s foreign policy advisor, wrote on X:
“The beginning of the ceasefire in #Gaza may be behind the scenes the end of a ceasefire elsewhere. #Iraq_Yemen_Lebanon”
On the same day, while in a cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump said:
“Iran wants to work on peace now, they’ve informed us. They’ve acknowledged that they are totally in favor of this deal. They think it’s a great thing, so we appreciate that, and we’ll work with Iran… I think the attack was very important on Iran, because let’s say that didn’t happen, they’d probably, by now, have a nuclear weapon, numerous nuclear weapons, and therefore, even if we signed a deal, there’d be a big dark cloud over it, and it wouldn’t be the same thing. As you know, we have major sanctions on Iran and lots of other things. We would like to see them be able to rebuild their country too, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon.” (Newsweek)
Just days prior, on October 6, Trump warned he’d strike Iran again if Tehran revives its nuclear program (Iran International).
Read how Iranians are reacting to the ceasefire deal (Iran International).
۲/2 Amirhossein Mousavi’s forced confession aired
On October 6, state media aired political prisoner Amirhossein Mousavi’s forced confession, alleging that he spied for Israel and worked with monarchists during the 12-day war with Israel (IranWire/X). In the broadcast, a controversial Haaretz article published last week was cited, which reported that the Israeli government indirectly funded Persian-language online campaigns aimed at overthrowing the clerical establishment, including a campaign to reinstate the monarchy. Before his arrest, Mousavi was active on an anonymous X account; state media alleged that Israeli intelligence operatives had communicated with him there (HRANA/IranWire).
On October 8, in a letter from prison, Mousavi rejected the accusations, writing:
“Nearly all the sentences I said in that interview were the result of the interrogator’s imposition. Even those statements were broadcast with extensive cuts and distortions.” (IranWire)
More importantly, he noted that the allegations were baseless because he was arrested on December 19, 2024—six months before the 12-day war took place.
Separately, on October 4, Iran executed six prisoners it alleged had carried out attacks on behalf of Israel (AP). According to the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) annual report, between October 10, 2024 and October 8, 2025, at least 1,537 individuals were executed (HRANA).
This week, the Guardian Council, a vetting body, finalized revisions to an espionage law introduced after the 12-day war, dramatically expanding punishments for Iranians accused of “espionage and collaboration with hostile states”—in other words, Israel and the United States (Al-Monitor). As Al-Monitor notes:
“Activists and legal experts, however, have warned that the new provisions blur the line between actual espionage and dissent, granting security institutions broad discretion to criminalize ordinary activities, including posting on social media and participating in protests.”
The new law allows any “intelligence activity, espionage, or operational action” to be considered as “corruption on earth,” a charge that carries the death penalty. This is why Mousavi’s case is very worrisome.
Meanwhile, at the end of September, the US State Department called for Kurdish-Iranian activist Pezeshkian Azizi, who is on death row, to be immediately released (X). On October 7, an audio recording surfaced in which Azizi stated that if the US cares about human rights, it should stop “warmongering,” the “genocide” in Gaza, and sanctions (X). Some have commented on social media that the recording was coerced, but Azizi has not issued any statement confirming or denying this.
۳/3 Putin claims Israel not interested in another war
Meanwhile, on October 6, during an interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that Iran is developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that could “put New York City, Boston, Washington, or Miami under their atomic guns.” (Jerusalem Post) Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the comments were fabricated as a pretense to start a new war with Iran (Iran International).
Various elements of the clerical establishment are offering conflicting assessments on whether a new war will happen (IranWire).
۴/4 French-German cyclist freed from prison
On October 8, French-German national Lennart Monterlos, 19, a bicyclist accused of espionage, was released and returned to France (AP). Monterlos was arrested in the southern city of Bandar Abbas on June 16, the third day of the Iran-Israel war. He was acquitted of his charges on October 6 by an Iranian court.
The same day of the news, French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X:
Our compatriot Lennart Monterlos is finally free. He had been detained in Iran since June 16. The Nation shares his relief and that of his loved ones. Thank you to all those who worked toward this release. I also think of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who are still being arbitrarily detained and in inhumane conditions in Iran. They must be released immediately.
As noted in the French president’s comments, Kohler and Paris, who face espionage allegations on behalf of Israel, remain imprisoned in Iran. Separately, in February, Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari was arrested in France on charges of promoting terrorism on social media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, “The decision regarding the release of these two individuals and Ms. Esfandiari is being reviewed by the relevant authorities.” (France24)
More than two dozen dual and foreign national hostages and wrongful detainees remain in Iran (Washington Institute).
۵/5 China secretly paying for Iranian oil despite sanctions
۶/6 Plan to remove four zeros from rial approved
۷/7 Cybertruck spotted in Iran
This week, two friends, known as the CyberLocos, drove a Tesla Cybertruck to Iran. They are traveling through 80 countries in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most countries visited in an electric pickup truck (X). They have since departed Iran and are in Afghanistan (Instagram).
OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:
Human Rights
۰ Four prisoners executed in Dastgerd Prison of Isfahan (HRANA)
۰ Nine prisoners executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj (HRANA)
۰ Two imprisoned activists on hunger strike, families say (IranWire)
۰ Six Baha’i in Alborz province ordered to begin prison sentences (IranWire)
۰ Human rights activist faces new charges in prison (IranWire)
۰ Rapper summoned by intelligence office while under electronic monitoring (IranWire)
۰ IRGC arrests Baluch children in southeastern Iran (IranWire)
۰ Iran moves female political prisoners from Qarchak back to Evin prison (IranWire)
۰ September to October report: Iran escalates crackdown on Baha’i minority (IranWire)
۰ Iran prosecutes Instagram users over likes, legal group says (Iran International)
۰ Deaths of inmates reignite calls for closure of Iran’s ‘uninhabitable’ women’s prison (RFERL)
۰ Qarchak prison: A place of death that must be closed (CHRI)
۰ Iran lures transgender foreigners for surgery but forces operations on locals (New York Times)
Domestic Issues
۰ 7 men face charges for raping 15-year-old girl (IranWire)
۰ Iconic lake in western Iran dries up amid worsening water shortages (Iran International)
Foreign Policy + Security
۰ Rights lawyer sees grim turn in US detention of Iranian green card holders (Iran International)
۰ Israeli officials see no sign of imminent Iran strike (Iran International)
۰ Iran summons European envoys over EU-GCC statement on islands and missiles (Iran International)
۰ Shin Bet says it foiled Iranian attempt to smuggle advanced weapons to West Bank terror ops (Times of Israel)
۰ Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets (Iran International)
۰ Deported Afghans describe brutal treatment by Iran—yet are desperate to return (Sky News)
۰ Will Turkey’s sanctions against Iran actually change anything? (IranWire)
Iran Deal + Sanctions
۰ Iran says it has no plans for nuclear talks, no IAEA inspectors currently in the country (IranWire)
۰ Russia, Iran deepen nuclear cooperation with focus on small reactors (Al-Monitor)
۰ UN nuclear chief says military action cannot destroy Iran nuclear program (Iran International)
۰ US imposes sanctions on China refinery, others for Iran oil purchases (Reuters)
۰ Chinese units of US chip firm sanctioned over ties to Iran (Bloomberg)
۰ How Iran ships oil around the world despite sanctions (DW)
Economy + Trade
۰ Iran discovers new oil and gas reserves within Pazan field (Global Data)
Diaspora
۰ The lasting words of an Iranian Holocaust survivor (IranWire)