US professor suspended after advocating Iran attack on American military facility

As Congress works through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), two prominent Democrats have pushed for legally binding disclosures related to the June 22 strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), who frequently crosses partisan lines to vote with Republicans, introduced an amendment requiring the Department of Defense to disclose all costs associated with the strikes. It passed on Wednesday.

“The American people deserve to know how much we spent, and how much our increased troop and force deployment to the Middle East will cost taxpayers,” Khanna wrote on X.

Another Democrat and more strident critic of President Donald Trump, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), proposed an amendment calling for a full battle damage assessment (BDA) of the strikes.

His proposal would have required the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense to deliver the assessment within 90 days. It did not pass amid Republican opposition.

“The Republican majority is refusing to consider my amendment to the Defense funding bill on Trump’s failed strike on Iran and the disastrous consequences of his withdrawal from the Iran Deal. What are they trying to hide?” Nadler wrote on X, referring to a 2015 international deal from which Trump withdrew in his first term.

Lawmakers reacted swiftly to the President’s surprise announcement of the strikes last month. Republican hawks largely celebrated the move, while many Democrats voiced strong criticism.

An initial Pentagon assessment suggested the attacks had only set Iran's nuclear program back by months, but subsequent analysis released by the Central Intelligence Agency said it would take Tehran years to recover.

Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars News reported Wednesday that Iran’s Ministry of Communications sent the complaint in a letter dated June 23 to the ITU’s Radio Regulations Board.

The report included a copy of the letter, which alleges that Starlink operated in Iran without the required license.

The complaint follows Starlink’s activation in Iran during the 12-day war with Israel last month, when Iranian authorities imposed widespread internet shutdowns.

On June 14, Starlink’s founder Elon Musk confirmed on X that “the beams are on,” indicating the satellite service was active inside Iran.

Starlink's role in Iran has grown significantly over recent years. The number of its users in the country has now surpassed 100,000, according to Pouya Pirhosseinlou, head of the Internet and Infrastructure Committee at Iran’s E-Commerce Association.

"Over 30,000 unique users are utilizing satellite internet, suggesting that the total number of satellite internet users exceeds 100,000," Pirhosseinlou told Iran's ILNA news agency earlier this year.

Despite being officially prohibited in Iran, Starlink’s appeal lies in its unrestricted access and high-speed service—an alternative to the heavily filtered and controlled local internet where Iran ranks among the world's lowest for internet freedom, according to Freedom House.

Last weekend, Iran's judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said authorities would take legal action against individuals and entities using Starlink.

According to a new proposed espionage-related bill, penalties ranging from six months to 10 years would apply to the use or distribution of unauthorized communication equipment, including satellite internet services like Starlink, depending on scale and intent.

“If you look at the map, you sometimes find yourself tens or even hundreds of kilometers from your real location—sometimes in another country or even in the middle of the Caspian Sea!” said Amir-Ali, a company accountant in Tehran.

Another Tehran resident said friends were nearly stranded after a navigation app misled them. “They ended up in a remote valley far from the usual trail. Luckily, they made it back before dark.”

Lost drivers, cold meals

“Even ordering food has become a pain,” said Taraneh, a language instructor. “Drivers can’t find you or show up at the wrong place. By the time it gets to you—if it does—it’s cold or your lunch break is over.”

Elham, also in Tehran, said she spent over 30 minutes guiding a delivery driver who kept circling the neighborhood. “I was directing him down dead ends and one-way streets. It was maddening.”

Public transportation hasn’t been spared.

A commuter told the Sharq newspaper that both he and his bus appeared in the wrong location on the app, causing delays. A bus driver said his GPS took him off route while covering for a colleague.

“I only realized something was wrong when passengers started complaining,” he said.

Even religious routines have been affected, with worshippers across Iran reporting botched timing for calls to prayer.

“Automated call-to-prayer systems rely on GPS to determine location,” said network expert Ali Rad. “If they receive incorrect signals, they may miscalculate the time and broadcast too early or too late.”

Spoofing comes home

GPS jamming involves blocking signals while spoofing sends false ones. Both are military tools used to confuse enemy drones, hide troop movements or disrupt missiles. Iran has long deployed both but seldom so broadly.

In 2011, Tehran said it diverted a US drone using spoofing. It was also suspected of GPS interference during a period of heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf in 2019-2020.

Israel has used similar methods. In late 2023, the Israeli military acknowledged GPS restrictions in combat zones to disrupt enemy targeting.

The interference sometimes spilled over into civilian devices, triggering widespread signal errors.

During peak hostilities in June, flight-tracking platforms like Flightradar24 recorded major GPS disruptions over Iran and neighboring airspace.

Pilots reported signal loss and instrument malfunctions, prompting airlines to reroute flights.

At sea—especially in the Strait of Hormuz—spoofed signals caused ships to veer off course or appear to sail over land. Over 1,600 vessels per day were affected, according to The Guardian.

Shipping companies paused nighttime operations. The economic fallout was swift: supply chain disruptions, delays and rising insurance costs dogged the industry.

What began as a military tactic is now reshaping daily life in Iran, compounding already grave economic and security worries among ordinary Iranians.

The United States attacked the Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites with long-range bombers and submarine-launched missiles on June 22.

Trump called the strikes "the most perfect military maneuver that anybody's seen — probably in 50 years," in a White House appearance alongside Bahrain's crown prince.

“We knocked out their entire potential nuclear capacity. And it was obliterated," he added. "It turned out it was more than obliterated. They can't go back.”

An initial Pentagon assessment suggested the attacks had only set Iran's nuclear program back by months, but subsequent analysis released by the Central Intelligence Agency said it would take Tehran years to recover.

In the first public remarks by a Persian Gulf leader apparently praising the attacks, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa - who also serves as Prime Minister - said, “I definitely believe that the volatility of the situation has been reduced.”

On the possible resumption of talks, Al Khalifa added, “I believe the ball is in their court. That is the true reality of where we stand today. They are the ones that stand to benefit from a negotiation.”

Following a June 24 ceasefire which paused the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, Trump questioned whether further nuclear diplomacy was needed given the scale of damage to Iranian nuclear sites.

European countries have called for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear impasse while Iranian officials have not ruled out further talks.

“They want to negotiate,” Trump added on Wednesday. “They want to negotiate badly. We're in no rush. We could have made a deal. They should have made a deal — and then we bombed the hell out of their various places.”

Hours before the White House meeting, the United States and Bahrain signed an agreement to enhance cooperation on the development of a civil nuclear program.

Iran’s nuclear program has long been a source of unease for its Persian Gulf neighbors. A Shi’ite-majority island kingdom ruled by a Western-backed Sunni monarchy, Bahrain has long viewed Tehran’s regional policies with suspicion. It also hosts major US and British military bases.

CENTCOM said the National Resistance Forces (NRF) confiscated over 750 tons of advanced weaponry including anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, warheads, hundreds of drone engines, air defense equipment, radar systems and communications equipment.

The NRF is an anti-Houthi force led by General Tareq Saleh, nephew of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and operates independently of the internationally recognized government.

CENTCOM added that many of the systems were manufactured by a company affiliated with Iran’s defense ministry and included manuals in Farsi.

“We commend the legitimate government forces of Yemen who continue to interdict the flow of Iranian munitions bound for the Houthis," General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM said in a statement.

"The interdiction of this massive Iranian shipment shows that Iran remains the most destabilizing actor in the region. Limiting the free flow of Iranian support to the Houthis is critic to regional security, stability, and freedom of navigation,” he added.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Yemen’s Houthis have launched missiles, rockets, and drones toward Israel and enforced a maritime disruption in the Red Sea, in what it describes as support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Last month, the group's rivals in Yemeni government said that Iran is transferring parts of its military industry, including ballistic missile and drone production to Houthi-controlled areas in Saada, Hajjah, and the outskirts of Sanaa.

The Houthis resumed attacks on the high seas following a June 24 ceasefire ending a 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

Houthi forces sank a Liberian-flagged carrier on July 6 with rockets and explosive drone boats. The group, which controls most of Yemen's population centers, says its maritime attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.