Day 156 | Trump says US, 'Israel' to hold off on Iran strikes

• Saudi Arabia urges dialogue to avoid wider conflict.
• Leaders review US–Saudi cooperation.
• Both seek stronger bilateral ties.

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call with US President Donald Trump to review regional developments and their broader international ramifications, official state news agency WAS reported.

During the discussion, the Crown Prince stressed the crucial need to prioritize dialogue to cool regional tensions, highlighting that diplomatic efforts remain essential to establishing long-term stability across the Middle East.

Riyadh warns against wider regional conflict

Focusing on the cascading risks facing the region, the Crown Prince underscored the importance of exhausting all possible measures to achieve de-escalation.

He noted that a calm environment is a prerequisite for diplomatic solutions capable of delivering positive, lasting security outcomes.

The Saudi leader cautioned that an unchecked escalation could drag the region into a far wider conflict, warning that the resulting fallout would endanger both regional and international stability.

Review of strategic US–Saudi cooperation

In addition to addressing Middle East security, the two leaders reviewed existing frameworks of bilateral cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

According to the official report from WAS, the call provided an opportunity to discuss mechanisms for enhancing joint initiatives and deepening strategic alignment across key sectors shared by both nations.

• Suspect accused of surveilling RAF Akrotiri.
• UK seeks extradition under National Security Act.
• Investigation linked to regional security threats.

A British-Azerbaijani national from north London has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of conducting hostile surveillance on a key British military airbase and transmitting state security intelligence to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Rashad Sultanov, 44, of Islington, was taken into custody by Cypriot authorities on July 17.

He remains held in Nicosia pending extradition proceedings to the United Kingdom.

First overseas investigation 

The arrest marks a precedent as the first overseas investigation conducted under the UK's National Security Act.

Led by London Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) alongside the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the National Crime Agency, the probe centers on surveillance activities at RAF Akrotiri between May 11 and June 22 of last year.

According to law enforcement sources, Sultanov allegedly used long-lens cameras and mobile devices to photograph secure facilities, draft detailed notes, and monitor aircraft flight frequencies. Investigators allege he compiled encrypted data files and forwarded them to an IRGC-linked handler.

"This case shows we are able to use the National Security Act overseas when British military bases are allegedly targeted by hostile state activity," said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London. "A huge amount of partnership work has been carried out between British and Cypriot law enforcement agencies."

Strategic importance of RAF Akrotiri

RAF Akrotiri is one of two sovereign base areas retained by the United Kingdom following Cyprus's independence in 1960.

Serving as the main staging point for Royal Air Force operations in the Middle East, the installation hosts Eurofighter Typhoons, F-35 fighter jets, and reconnaissance aircraft, having recently supported missions in Iraq, Syria, and against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The espionage allegations follow heightened rhetoric and military actions involving Iran.

Earlier this month, the IRGC threatened to target British facilities supporting U.S. forces, while a Shahed-type drone strike caused minor facility damage at Akrotiri in March.

Following that attack, British defense officials clarified that the base would remain separate from defensive agreements regarding the U.S. use of UK installations.

Extradition proceedings in Limassol remain ongoing as prosecutors prepare for formal transfer under bilateral legal mechanisms.

• Network allegedly tied to gambling and the IRGC.
• Crypto reportedly flowed to major global exchanges.
• Dubai ordered Shelbit to cease operations.

An unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange called Shelbit served as the central hub for an illicit $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion network, linking an offshore illegal gambling operation, Iranian bitcoin mining, and the Central Bank of Iran to global crypto markets, a Reuters investigation revealed.

Operating out of a modest three-room office above a budget hotel in Dubai's Deira neighborhood -registered alongside a watch trading business- Shelbit processed billions in digital assets despite having no functional public website.

Influencer-fronted gambling network linked to IRGC 

According to blockchain data reviewed by Reuters and analyzed by cybersecurity firm Infoblox and independent investigator Rich Sanders, Shelbit’s primary volume was generated by a Farsi-language online gambling network of over 2,000 websites offering slots, blackjack, and roulette.

The network was fronted by two prominent Iranian social media influencers: Sasha Sobhani, the son of a former Iranian diplomat living in a luxury villa in Madrid, and Pooyan Mokhtari, a singer and influencer who was recently expelled from Dubai before returning to Tehran in July.

Both men were convicted in absentia by an Iranian court in 2023 alongside Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour in an illegal gambling case.

Former Iranian security insiders and government officials told Reuters that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) systematically co-opted online gambling over a decade ago, leveraging the Central Bank of Iran’s payment processing system to bypass international banking restrictions.

"This is by far the biggest Iranian illegal gambling network ever discovered and one of the biggest in the world," said John Wojcik, a former UN crime researcher now serving as a senior analyst at TRM Labs, in statements cited by Reuters.

“When it comes to gambling, the IRGC learned the Islamic Republic’s most lucrative lesson early: declare something illegal, then control both the prohibition and the black market,” added Miad Maleki, former associate director of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Hundreds of millions routed to Binance

Blockchain records reviewed by Reuters showed that Shelbit transferred at least $676 million in cryptocurrency to Binance since May 2024.

Roughly $540 million of those transfers occurred after Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined Shelbit for operating without a license.

Responding to Reuters, Binance stated that Shelbit never held a direct account and that transfers were not flagged as high-risk by third-party analytics, adding that it froze relevant accounts and reported them to authorities when compliance flags were triggered.

On July 24, 2025, following inquiries from Reuters, VARA issued an immediate cease-and-desist order against Shelbit, citing severe violations of money laundering and terrorism financing laws that threatened the integrity of the UAE financial system.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the US Treasury Department confirmed to Reuters that OFAC is taking the allegations "very seriously" as part of ongoing efforts to target Iranian digital asset networks.

Both Sobhani and Mokhtari denied any involvement in money laundering, sanctions evasion, or state-backed financial operations in their statements to Reuters, while Kayvanpour, the Iranian government, and local Dubai law enforcement did not respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and 'Israel' had agreed to hold off on planned strikes on Iran at the request of Tehran and other countries in the region, provided a deal is quickly reached.

"The USA is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack," he said. "Based on this request, I have agreed... to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment."

Iran launched drone attacks on Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, with the drones reportedly intercepted, according to the Rojava news channel.

The channel published a video on Telegram that it said showed the US C-RAM air defence system intercepting and destroying Iranian one-way attack drones over Erbil.

Rojava also reported that Iran targeted the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish parties in Sulaymaniyah and Erbil with drones.

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