One week after Ali Larijani’s assassination, Tehran quietly tapped IRGC veteran Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as its new security council chief, tightening hardline control just as Donald Trump claimed “very good” back‑channel talks led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf publicly torched that story as “fake news” meant to game oil markets and “escape the quagmire” Washington and Israel had created, insisting there were no negotiations and that Iranians demanded “remorseful punishment” of aggressors. Meanwhile, Netanyahu praised US gains but kept warning Israelis to prepare for a long war.