Iran Plans "Doomsday Weapon" with Russian Funding Amid Negotiation Breakdown

Security sources in Tel Aviv have disclosed a plan reshaping the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's regional preparations in case ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapse following the memorandum of understanding.

According to Israel's Channel 14, the Iranian plan rests on three pillars: financing by Russia, management by the Quds Force under Ismail Qaani, and the Houthis arming themselves. This arrangement aims to transform the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb into a "Doomsday weapon" controlled by Iran, serving as a global pressure tool against the international community, as described by the Israeli channel.

The plan seeks to convert the two most critical global maritime chokepoints—the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb—into Iran's strongest economic weapon. This would enable Tehran to exert pressure on the United States and the world by disrupting global trade flows.

Channel 14 reports that the Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi and Quds Force leader Ismail Qaani are overseeing the plan's activation in coordination with Russia, ready to launch it immediately if the current Iranian negotiations with the United States fail.

Russia's involvement behind the scenes is attributed to its status as the largest user of the Bab al-Mandeb maritime route following European sanctions. Iranian awareness of this fact has led them to rely on Moscow to secure the highest funding source for the plan.

The individual responsible for managing relations with Russia on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard in this matter is Kamaleddin Nabi Zadeh, a businessman and former diplomat of Afghan origin. His name is linked to obscure international financing networks and major financial corruption allegations connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Reports indicate that Nabi Zadeh is tasked by Tehran's plan leaders with transferring funds received from Russia to the Quds Force under Qaani. From there, the money is forwarded to the Houthis in Yemen, either as cash or weapons, according to sources in Tel Aviv.

Channel 14 also hinted that the Iranian officials managing this plan are senior figures previously implicated in a corruption scandal exposed by the same channel a few months ago. The scandal involved the embezzlement of nearly $700 million from the Revolutionary Guard's treasury.

Despite the embezzlement, both Qaani and Nabi Zadeh were reinstated in their positions within the Revolutionary Guard, amid expectations that the Iranian security establishment depends on their capabilities to raise funds abroad to alleviate the severe financial crisis facing the regime.

This leak about Iran's plan coincides with observers reporting Iran's failure or possible retreat from imposing transit fees, although it has placed the Strait of Hormuz at the center of negotiations as a bargaining chip. Analysts note that the current developments mark a shift in the strait's dilemma from a closure crisis to a governance process.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Iran informed the United States there would be no transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that negotiations would end immediately if this information proved false.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that the United States would not accept any transit fees imposed by Iran on the strait, describing it as an international passage that does not belong to any party.