Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday it will never negotiate on its defense capabilities, even as a third round of talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded and further exchanges with the European Union over snapback remain under review.
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang works closely with the Cartel of the Suns, a network of military elites long accused of moving cocaine in collaboration with Hezbollah, the report said.
“President Trump has taken numerous actions to curtail Iran’s terrorist proxies like Hezbollah,” State Department spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
“The president has proven that he will hold any terrorist group accountable that threatens the national security of our country by smuggling narcotics intended to kill Americans.”
Hezbollah’s role: laundering and logistics
Brian Townsend, a retired DEA special agent, called last week’s US maritime strike near Venezuela “a decisive blow against narco-terrorists.” He said Hezbollah’s role is pivotal yet often out of view.
“They don’t get their hands dirty. Instead, they launder and provide networks to help cartels send money through the Middle East. Simply, they take a cut from the drug trade, which then funds their operations in the Middle East,” he said, adding that Hezbollah has become “a main finance and money launderer for narco-terrorism groups like Tren de Aragua.”
Townsend and other experts pointed to state complicity as the key enabler. Under Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan officials and infrastructure have been tied in US indictments and sanctions designations to cocaine shipments protected by senior officers in the Cartel of the Suns, they said, with Hezbollah-linked facilitators processing portions of the proceeds.
Diaspora links and state support
Danny Citrinowicz, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Hezbollah’s reach hinges on the region’s Lebanese Shia diaspora. “Hezbollah is the connector between the diaspora and Iran,” he said.
Through family ties, imams, religious centers and educational programs, he added, the group forges contacts with local cartels, sells drugs and channels profits back to Lebanon via elaborate schemes.
Citrinowicz cast Venezuela as Iran’s anchor in the Western Hemisphere, pointing to deepening military and economic ties -- from Iranian-assembled UAV production for the Venezuelan army and regular Quds Force flights via Africa, to training on sanctions evasion and billions in capital injections.
He said Tehran’s footprint is effectively tethered to Nicolás Maduro’s rule and would lose its most important Latin American stronghold if he left office.
“As long as Maduro is there, the Iranians will be there,” he said. “If Maduro goes, Iran will lose the most important stronghold of its activity in Latin America.”
Townsend argued the most effective leverage is financial: target facilitators, disrupt logistics, pursue indictments, and squeeze the money flows so cocaine shipments become less profitable.
“The priority is to attack the financial and logistical networks, indict everyone we can and pressure Maduro,” Townsend said. “If we can cut off the financial arteries, the cocaine won’t be as profitable.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will under no circumstances negotiate about its defensive capacities,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at his weekly briefing.
“The Iranian nation will not allow talks on the tools necessary for defending our dignity and independence.”
On possible withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said the issue remains with parliament and no decision has been made.
EU mechanism under review in Tehran and Brussels
Baghaei confirmed that EU contacts continue after Britain, France and Germany triggered the snapback mechanism on August 28, demanding wider access for IAEA inspectors and accounting for Iran’s uranium stockpile.
“Contacts between the two sides continue on a rolling basis—both at ministerial level and among deputies,” he said.
He called the foreign minister’s meeting with EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas in Doha “useful” and confirmed Tehran is reviewing proposals exchanged with Brussels.
“We and the European side must examine and finalize these proposals in the relevant bodies,” he said, adding that further exchanges are likely but no timetable has been fixed.
A third round of talks with the IAEA ended on Saturday and is now being assessed in Tehran. “After the final assessment, the next stage of negotiations will be announced,” Baghaei said.
Moscow and Beijing stance
Baghaei pointed to a joint letter signed with Russia and China rejecting the European attempt to restore sanctions under Resolution 2231.
“Both countries believe that the three European states lack the legal competence to restore UN sanctions, because they have repeatedly and continuously breached their obligations,” he said.
A growing number of Security Council members share that view and argued that reverting to pre-2010 measures would be “illegal, unjustified and damaging,” he argued.
Tehran has been preparing “for all scenarios” in coordination with Moscow and Beijing, Baghaei added, describing them as key partners in the Security Council, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He confirmed Iran will present a resolution at the IAEA General Conference later this month, aimed at prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities. The draft, he said, reflects existing international law and criticized Washington for threatening to halt agency funding if it is adopted.
Broader politics
Baghaei addressed Iran’s outreach to Venezuela, saying support is based on “principles of international law and awareness of the dangers of unilateralism and bullying.”
On China, he said Tehran’s 25-year cooperation agreement with Beijing is also progressing “without particular problems,” though oversight is required to address challenges as they arise.
On US limits to Iranian participation at the UN, Baghaei called the restrictions a violation of international rules but confirmed President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the General Assembly in New York.
The spokesman ended by criticizing Washington’s proposed renaming of its defense department, saying it “explicitly declares its hostility to the principles and norms of international law.”
Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, reviving the title the agency held from 1789 until 1947.
