CDF Munir to visit Tehran for talks on US-Iran mediation: Iranian media

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is expected to visit Iran on Tuesday for talks on Islamabad's mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington, Iranian media reported on Monday.

CDF Munir is scheduled to meet Iranian officials to discuss diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between Iran and the US, as well as broader regional developments, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Pakistan has played a central mediating role between Washington and Tehran during the conflict, maintaining close contact with both sides. The US and Iran signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in June, establishing a framework for negotiations toward a final agreement.

However, the talks subsequently broke down over disagreements concerning security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway vital to global energy supplies and international trade.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard cites 7 internet cables under Strait of Hormuz, warns of ‘new targets’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Monday that it would unveil new targets and weapons, drawing attention to major undersea internet cables crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions with the United States.

“Seven major internet cables run beneath the Strait of Hormuz,” said IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi, claiming that all internet and commercial data traffic passed through them.

“We just want them to know that new targets will be unveiled. New weapons will be unveiled,” he added.

Mohebbi made the remarks during a ceremony at Tehran’s Sacred Defense Museum, the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.

He also vowed to drive what he called the remnants of US power out of the region.

Earlier this month, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state broadcaster Press TV that Tehran could target undersea internet cables, data centers and artificial intelligence facilities linked to the US if another war broke out.

“We have not yet included these assets among our targets,” Rezaei said, warning that such infrastructure could be destroyed in a renewed conflict.

Hegseth meets Netanyahu in unannounced visit to Israel, Axios reports

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the meeting, but Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

The Pentagon declined comment, while Israel's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

News of Hegseth's trip comes a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week's parliamentary election in Israel - its first vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Read: US 'exhausted and worn out', lacks capability to launch new conflict: IRGC

Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls show.

US Vice President JD Vance, however, declined to endorse Netanyahu in an interview earlier on Monday, saying he was not getting involved in Israeli elections.

"I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on is the midterms," Vance, who traveled to Budapest and endorsed Viktor Orban in Hungarian election earlier this year, said in an interview with digital media outlet 2WAY.

"I'm not anti-endorsing him, but I'm not pro-endorsing him, I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said.

Iran summons German ambassador over ‘repetition of baseless accusations’

Iranian officials summoned German Ambassador to Iran Axel Dittmann over the “repetition of baseless accusations by German authorities” against Tehran, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

Dittmann was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry by Alireza Yousefi, an assistant foreign minister and director general for Western Europe, who conveyed Iran’s protest, the outlet said.

Yousefi “emphasised that making security accusations against Iran was a long-standing practice of the Zionist regime and some Western countries against Iran,” it added.

The Iranian move came after Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador earlier on Monday, accusing Tehran of planning assassination attempts against pro-Israel figures and condemning the alleged plots in the strongest possible terms.

“We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it -- anywhere, and certainly not in Germany,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement on social media.

US 'exhausted and worn out', lacks capability to launch new conflict: IRGC

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said that the United States forces were "exhausted and worn out," and that they lacked the capability to launch a new conflict, Tehran Times reported on Monday.

The spokesperson stated that the US "entered the war with all its might in the past and is certainly not in a position now to launch a new conflict that would yield any additional gains for it." He added that most US bases in the region "have been rendered inactive," and American forces had "withdrawn hundreds of kilometres away from Iran."

"From a technical and military standpoint, the United States lacks the capability to launch a new conflict," Mohebbi said, according to Tehran Times. The spokesperson noted, however, that as US midterm elections approach, "it may seek to manufacture some achievements."

Read More: EU calls ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant 'binding', urges swift enforcement

"We do not rule out any possibilities and are prepared to respond. This time, our response will be much more forceful," he said.

On the IRGC's military capabilities, Mohebbi stated, "Our capabilities have undoubtedly increased significantly, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and are now at least 1.5 times greater than in the past."

According to Tehran Times, the spokesperson added that the production of missiles, drones, and other equipment Tehran needed was never halted. "We have even expanded production, improving range, accuracy, and destructive power, while also developing new weapons," Mohebbi said, adding that if the war escalated, "the IRGC’s surprises will reveal themselves."