Weeks after his country was battered by waves of Israeli strikes and the US bombed three of its prized nuclear facilities, Iran’s foreign minister came to a gathering of regional diplomats in China this week with a simple ask.

Hardline ideologues, who advocate for perennial enmity with the west, have railed against the possibility of re-engaging with the US and attacked Iran’s reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian, who this week suggested he remained amenable to negotiations with Washington.

More than 25 cases of Iranian recruitment attempts were uncovered in the past year, resulting in over 35 indictments against Israeli citizens on severe charges. The National Public Diplomacy Directorate and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) launched a national awareness campaign on Wednesday warning Israelis of attempts by Iran to recruit for intelligence and security-related missions.