The hacker group Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a cyberattack targeting Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s oldest financial institutions with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army.
The group alleged it had “destroyed all data” at the bank.The claim comes amid reports of widespread banking disruptions in Iran.
Several Bank Sepah branches were closed on Tuesday, and customers told Iran International they were unable to access their accounts.
Bank Sepah has 1,800 branches in Iran and others in Britain, France, Germany and Italy. The United States imposed sanctions on Bank Sepah in 2019 after it withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.
Users also reported that cards issued by Kosar and Ansar -- both linked to Iran’s military --banks were not functioning. Ansar was also under US sanctions.
Iranian authorities have not commented on the outages or the cyberattack. However, IRGC’s Fars news said that the issue at Sepah Bank will be resolved within a few hours
Predatory Sparrow, which has previously claimed cyber operations against Iranian steel plants and fuel stations, said in a social media post that Bank Sepah had been used to finance military programs and circumvent international sanctions.
The group, which Iran has previously accused of having foreign backing, notably from Israel, said it had targeted the bank for its alleged role in supporting Iran’s missile and nuclear efforts.
A new poll shows 83% of Jewish Israelis support Israel’s Friday strikes on Iran while just 12% of Arabs do, according to a poll carried out by academics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Respondents were asked: "On the night between Thursday and Friday, Israel launched an attack against military targets in Iran. In response, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles at targets within Israel. What is your position?"
The results show a clear national divide between Jewish and Arab Israelis, the latter comprising 20% of the population.
“While Jewish Israelis largely see the Iran strike as unifying and justified even at high cost, Arab Israelis view it as divisive, dangerous, and diplomatically unjustified — underscoring a profound gap in public sentiment across Israeli society," the report said.
The research was carried out by Gayil Talshir and Nimrod Nir from the Department of Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When asked, “Do you support Israel carrying out military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities?” 58% of Jewish Israelis expressed support for strikes even without US backing, 40% favored military action only with American cooperation, and 2% preferred a diplomatic approach.
Among Arab Israelis, 11% support striking Iran’s nuclear facilities even without American backing, 6% support military action only with US cooperation and 73% prefer a diplomatic route.
When asked, “Do you think Israel can completely destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and eliminate the military threat Iran poses to Israel without American military assistance?” 27% of Jewish respondents said yes, compared to just 9% of Arab respondents.
Only one-third (33%) of Jewish respondents say Israel should comply with US requests to halt the campaign if asked, compared to 78% of Arab respondents who believe Israel should stop the attacks to pursue an agreement preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Goal of Israeli attacks
Respondents were also divided on the campaign’s ultimate goal. When asked, “What should be the ultimate goal of Israel’s action against Iran’s nuclear program?”, only 14% of Arab Israelis supported a full military dismantling of Iran’s capabilities, compared to 56% of Jewish respondents.
The report surveyed 1,057 Israelis aged 17-86 on the attacks on Iran, what Israel calls operation Rising Lion.
So far, 24 deaths have been reported in Israel since Friday, with hundreds more injured, but speaking to Iran International, former military intelligence officer Miri Eisin, said the operation is going far better than could have been expected, with minimal casualties compared to what had been prepared for and massive gains, including taking control of Iranian air space.
Iran says more than 200 people have been killed since Friday amid extensive Israeli strikes, which have killed scores of the country's military leadership.
Even Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been supportive of the operation, seeing a changing sentiment towards the long-time premier.
US President Donald Trump on Monday issued evacuation warnings to Tehran, suggesting he will back Israel in its attacks in a bid to quash the threat of a nuclear armed Iran.
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he added.
Israel’s military campaign against Iran continued through Monday, and Iran fired another salvo of missiles towards Israel, but the headlines were grabbed by President Trump calling for immediate evacuation of Tehran.
Here's a brief summary of major developments as the conflict entered its fifth day.
Trump's remarks, US role
Israel hits Tehran air and intel sites
Iran launches more missiles, vows fight
Rising toll from ongoing hostilities
Civilians flee Tehran as strikes widen
Nuclear infrastructure suffers major damage
Diplomatic efforts
War impacts air travel, oil, and trade
A resolution introduced on Monday by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine aims to keep the United States out of a war with Iran, he told Iran International, while US President Trump attempted to head off some dissent among populist supporters.
"My main focus is i want to try to keep the United States out of another war in the Middle East," the Virginia lawmaker said. "I really want to focus on the United States side of this, so I filed a resolution this morning to say the United States should not be at war with Iran without a vote of Congress," Kaine added.
"Obviously, if Iran were attacking the United States, then we need to defend ourselves and you don't need to vote in Congress to do that but we should generally not be involved," he added.
Meanwhile Trump appeared keen to scotch some prominent dissent from luminaries in his populist coalition who voiced disapproval with American involvement in the conflict.
"AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Some of Trump's supporters have criticized Trump's hawkish stance on Iran as a deviation from his populist and anti-war campaign promises.
"Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, 'IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'" Trump added, referring to a top right-wing commentator who opposes conflict with Iran.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Green meanwhile torched fellow supporters of President Trump who call for the United States to attack Iran.
"Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA," @RepMTG posted on X. "We are sick and tired of foreign wars."
Kentucky Republic Thomas Massie said the United States had no place in the conflict and would aim to ensure congressional approval for any military action.
"This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution," he wrote on X. "I’m introducing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement."
For his part, left -wing stalwart Senator Bernie Sanders warned against more costly military entanglements in the region.
"Another war in the Middle East could cost countless lives, waste trillions more dollars, and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, and more displacement," Sanders wrote on X.
US President Donald Trump on Monday called for an exodus from Tehran in a major escalation to the Iran-Israel conflict which was entering its fifth day.
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he added.
"AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
Trump was set to depart a G7 summit in Canada to address the crisis, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
"Because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier on the day that while Israel does not aim to harm civilians, residents of Tehran must evacuate areas near government and military sites that could be targeted.
An illustrated depiction of the Tehran evacuation zone published by the Israeli military encompassed an area around 30 square kilometers, an area home to several hundred thousand people.
Israel stepped up its attacks against Iran on Monday with an attack on state media headquarters as the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of a large swath of Tehran and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for regime change.
Iran kept up its salvos of missile fire on Israel which have killed at least 24 people since the start of the conflict, while US President Donald Trump called for an exodus from Tehran.
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he added. Still, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters Trump had proposed an Israel-Iran ceasefire "to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions."
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iran International that Israel's military campaign against Iran is giving its people a chance to topple the Islamic Republic, adding that the ruling system's days were numbered.
"A light has been lit—carry it to freedom,” Netanyahu said.
“This is the time,” he said. “Your hour of freedom is near—it’s happening now.”
While there have been some chants of "death to the dictator" cursed by residents from apartment blocks in Tehran by night according to videos sent to Iran International, so far no cases of concrete defiance of the Iranian system.
Iran's judiciary warned of harsh punishment for any unrest.
Netanyahu had previously mooted assassinating Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an interview with ABC News.
Khamenei's death "is not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict," Netanyahu said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was still interested in diplomacy but focused on confronting Israel, a day after he visited his ministry which was bombed by Israel earlier in the day.
Before Trump's threat, earlier on Monday Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that while Israel does not aim to harm civilians, residents of Tehran must evacuate areas near government and military sites that could be targeted.
An illustrated depiction of the Tehran evacuation zone published by the Israeli military encompassed an area around 30 square kilometers, an area home to several hundred thousand people.
Israeli attacks since Friday had killed 224 people and wounded 1,277, spokesman for Iran’s health ministry Hossein Kermanpour said on social media on Sunday.
More current death tolls from Iran were not immediately forthcoming.
State TV attack
Israel bombed the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) headquarters in Tehran on Monday, briefly knocking its main news channels off the air and igniting a fire that continued burning late into the night.
The strike targeted a facility used by Iran’s armed forces “to advance military operations under civilian activity,” Israel's military said.
A video sent to Iran International showed smoke still pouring from the building after nightfall.
A state media presenter denounced the attacks as they were occurring during a live broadcast, only for a large blast and a plume of smoke to send her fleeing the set as crew members defiantly chanted, "God is great!"
The Israeli military also said it destroyed two Iranian F-14 fighter jets were struck on Monday during airstrikes against an airport in Tehran.
Call for diplomacy
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told three European counterparts that Tehran is serious about diplomacy and never left negotiating table but that its focus now was to confront Israel's "aggression", state media reported on Monday.
A sixth round of US-Iranian talks set for Sunday was cancelled but Tehran has yet to close the door on their resumption definitively.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said he still hoped for a negotiated solution.
"As I've been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign," Trump told reporters on Monday while attending the G7 summit in Canada.
Foreign ministers of 22 Arab and Islamic nations called for an immediate halt to Israel’s campaign against Iran on Monday, warning of serious harm to region.
The states including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt - traditional rivals of Tehran - urged respect its neighbor's sovereignty and of international law.
“Diplomacy and dialogue are the only viable path,” the statement said, urging a return to nuclear talks
5,000 Israeli deaths previously forecast
A former senior Israeli military official told Iran International that the Iranian response so far was far more muted than what it would have expected in a full-on clash.
“We had estimated 5,000 deaths - we expected more barrages - and the risk of Hezbollah and the Houthis joining in simultaneously,” said Miri Eisin, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Counter-terrorism and a retired Israeli colonel.
“We do a guesstimate of what they can do based on worst case scenarios and expecting that the system is overwhelmed. You have to have the estimates as the hospital needs to be ready."
Meanwhile eight members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij forces were killed in the early hours of Monday in Khondab, in central Iran amid what authorities described as “attacks and insecurity caused by the Zionist regime."