Israel and the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities, resulting in what Trump has described as "total obliteration" of three sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Israel said Iran had nuclear ambitions that posed an existential threat to its existence.

Iran will continue to engage with the UN’s nuclear watchdog even after it announced the suspension of cooperation, the country’s top diplomat said, boosting hopes for oversight of its contested atomic program despite Israel’s attacks.

The arrests are a sign of the uncertainty felt by Iran's security establishment after the Israeli and U.S. attacks. Authorities have escalated a security crackdown on alleged Mossad agents following the 12-day conflict in which Israel attacked nuclear and military sites across the country,

Asghari, 35, is among tens of thousands of Afghans whom Iran has deported home in the past few weeks, in the fallout of a conflict the United Nations says risks further destabilising Afghanistan, already battling a humanitarian crisis.