Iran reacts to Mamdani win: from Islam triumphant to democracy masterclass

The individuals helped move Iranian funds through both licensed and unlicensed exchange companies, the Treasury said, allowing Hezbollah to rebuild its military infrastructure and sustain its paramilitary units.

“Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure, but that can only happen if Hizballah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control,” said John K. Hurley, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.

Efforts to curb Hezbollah’s military power have intensified but borne little fruit since a ceasefire with Israel in June 2024.

The Lebanese group argues that its weapons are needed to defend the country’s from Israel, but rival factions in Lebanon’s fragmented political landscape say the group undermines the state and serves Tehran’s interests.

This message was delivered by Iran's President Joseph Aoun directly to Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, during his visit to Lebanon in late September.

Larijani rejected accusations of interference, saying those pushing for disarmament, not Tehran, were meddling in Lebanese affairs.

‘Cash network’

The latest measures target Hezbollah operatives who, according to US officials, oversee the influx of Iranian money generated through covert dealings which contravene US sanctions, including the sale of oil and other goods.

According to the Treasury, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps–Quds Force has transferred more than $1bn to Hezbollah since January 2025.

Among those sanctioned is Ossama Jaber, a Hezbollah member accused of collecting and converting tens of millions of dollars between September 2024 and February 2025.

Washington also moved against figures linked to Hezbollah’s finance team, whose structure has been in flux since the death last year of its long-time chief, Muhammad Qasir, and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria — a key financial bridge to Iran for decades.

Qasir’s responsibilities were split among several relatives and associates, including his son Ja’far and nephew Ali, both of whom have already been sanctioned by the US.

Hezbollah has been listed by the US as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.

Milo Sedarat was detained at his father’s home in Montclair, New Jersey, on Wednesday in connection with a foiled attack that investigators said was planned for Halloween.

Roger Sedarat, Milo’s father, is an award-winning Iranian-American poet and professor at Queens College in New York City.

Another 19-year-old from Montclair, Tomas Kaan Guzel, was also arrested according to the report.

The arrests came after five other alleged co-conspirators, including one minor, were charged last week following an investigation by the FBI and the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Bureau.

Authorities said the suspects intended to replicate Islamic State's 2015 Paris attacks.

Police sources told the Post that Guzel moved his travel plans forward after learning of FBI raids on other suspects’ homes in Detroit.

Authorities said the raids uncovered multiple firearms, including three AR-15-style rifles, two shotguns, four pistols, and over 1,600 rounds of ammunition, along with tactical vests, GoPro cameras, and combat gear.

FBI Director Kash Patel said before Halloween weekend that the suspects were planning a “violent attack.”

Sedarat and Guzel are expected to face charges in federal court in New Jersey.

Roger Sedarat has authored four collections of poetry including Dear Regime: Letters to the Islamic Republic and most recently an academic work, Emerson in Iran: the American Appropriation of Persian Poetry.

Mohammad Maljoo, a left-leaning scholar and prominent public intellectual, was summoned and detained alongside several other left-leaning authors and researchers a few days after a YouTube debate in which he discussed the roots of extremism in Iran.

In the program, hosted and published by moderate outlet Entekhab, Maljoo argued that “extremists in Iran gained a foothold in the political power center after the war with Iraq in the late 1980s and under the second leadership, when they were given institutional backing that empowered and activated them.”

The phrase “second leadership” was widely understood as a reference to Khamenei, who became Supreme Leader after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death in 1989.

Rights observers said his arrest fits a pattern of detentions targeting academics, journalists, and intellectuals in recent weeks, as authorities seek to contain public debate in the aftermath of Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

‘At the state’s core’

Before the program aired, participants had agreed to use the term extremist to describe hardliners who obstruct dialogue and disrupt normal political and social life.

Maljoo contended that these forces survive because of their relationship with the ruling elite.

“Without backing from the hard core of the government, extremists would not be heard,” he said, adding that Iran’s central power structure is “neither interested in, nor capable of excluding them.”

He described extremists as pressure groups acting on behalf of the power center while occasionally defying it. Their proximity to power, he said, “turns every outburst into an official directive.”

In return for enforcing ideological red lines—such as mandatory hijab, censorship, and control over key state appointments—they gain “wealth, status, and legitimacy.”

The interview aired as small hardline groups in Tehran were demanding the arrest of former president Hassan Rouhani, accusing him of “creating trouble for the government” after he called for renewed engagement with the West to ease economic pressures.

‘Foolish or traitor’

The other participant in the discussion, conservative political scientist Sadeq Haghighat of the Imam Khomeyni Research Center, largely concurred.

“Extremists are either foolish or traitors,” he said, adding that they seized control of the political arena soon after the 1979 revolution and later justified their dominance through ultraconservative cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, who taught that rulers need no public legitimacy once they control the state.

Haghighat traced the roots of extremism to Iran’s enduring political culture. “Regime changes—from Qajar to Pahlavi to the Islamic Republic—did not change the behavior of extremists,” he said.

Maljoo, for his part, argued that the ruling establishment occasionally tries to restrain extremists when their demands threaten stability.

“At times, the power center encourages moderates and reformists to push back,” he said. “But extremists are never satisfied and constantly seek more.”

The probe focuses on billions of dollars in money movements between firms overseen by oil tycoon Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Bloomberg said.

According to the report, the probe has drawn on information from insiders within Shamkhani’s business network and from Wall Street banks that had relationships with entities linked to him.

The main target of the investigation is Shamkhani, rather than the banks, Bloomberg said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., ABN Amro Bank NV, Marex Group Plc, Standard Chartered PLC, Emirates NBD PJSC and National Bank of Fujairah PJSC are among the institutions under review, the report said citing several people familiar with the probe.

Bloomberg said spokespeople for the Justice Department, JPMorgan, ABN Amro, Marex and Standard Chartered declined to comment. National Bank of Fujairah said it is “not under investigation by the US Department of Justice,” while Emirates NBD said it has not received any communication from US authorities.

Bloomberg said Shamkhani did not respond to a request for comment the news agency sent to his lawyers.

Bloomberg reported last November that the US Treasury Department was examining JPMorgan’s relationship with a hedge fund said to be overseen by Shamkhani.

According to Bloomberg's latest report, the Justice Department’s probe is broader in scope, aiming to map out the tycoon’s global financial network and pursue potential indictments or arrests of his associates, with cooperation expected from authorities in the United Arab Emirates, a key hub for his operations.

Shamkhani, who operates mainly from Dubai, was sanctioned by the United States in July along with dozens of individuals, companies and vessels linked to his network in what the US Treasury described as its largest Iran-related action in seven years. The UK and European Union also imposed sanctions in recent months.

US officials said Shamkhani used his father’s political influence to build a fleet of tankers and container ships that transported Iranian and Russian oil worldwide through shell companies. The Treasury said he used aliases including “H,” “Hector” and “Hugo Hayek” to conceal his dealings.

Following the sanctions, Dominica revoked Shamkhani’s passport issued under the Hayek pseudonym, and Panama de-flagged several vessels tied to his firms.

Bloomberg's report said some of Shamkhani's companies have since shifted operations to Oman.

Another Bloomberg investigation last year found that Shamkhani’s network had become a key channel for Iranian and Russian oil exports and had established a hedge fund with offices in London, Dubai and Geneva to manage proceeds from the trade.

Lawmakers said Iran must pursue official complaints before international courts over what they called crimes committed against the Iranian nation, according to state media.

They did not give details of the complaints, but Iran has previously accused Grossi of political bias and of failing to condemn US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Earlier this year, hardline media called for Grossi’s arrest and execution, while a senior judiciary official said he could face trial in absentia for “deceptive actions.” Tehran has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of sharing sensitive nuclear data with Israel and the United States.

The appeal came a day after parliament marked the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran, when lawmakers chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” During that session, Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad said Iran would not yield to foreign pressure and accused Washington of decades of interference.

'No plan for US talks'

Tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high after a June conflict that saw US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that any possible future talks with the United States would only concern the nuclear issue, adding that Tehran currently has no plans to hold talks with Washington.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry last week confirmed that messages between Tehran and Washington continue through intermediaries but said they do not amount to negotiations.

Iran’s parliament, dominated by conservatives, has repeatedly pressed the government to hold Western leaders accountable for sanctions and military actions. Lawmakers said the justice minister should take the lead in pursuing such complaints through international tribunals.