‘Tactical cooperation’ marks Iran-al-Qeda ties, experts say
Iran has for years faced accusations of cooperation with al-Qaeda despite stark ideological differences, but while mutual interests may have sometimes converged, any relationship has been marked by distrust, analysts say.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claim — made just a week before President Donald Trump leaves office — that Iran was the “new Afghanistan” for al-Qaeda militants surprised observers, who said there was no evidence of the country being used as a base.
He also stated publicly for the first time that al-Qaeda’s number two, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was assassinated in Tehran in August, buttressing allegations that Iran has at times offered sanctuary to the extremists.
Iran has for years faced accusations of cooperation with al-Qaeda despite stark ideological differences, but while mutual interests may have sometimes converged, any relationship has been marked by distrust, analysts say. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claim — made just a week before President Donald Trump leaves office — that Iran was the “new Afghanistan” for al-Qaeda militants surprised observers, who said there was no evidence of the country being used as a base. He also stated publicly for the first time that al-Qaeda’s number two, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was assassinated in Tehran in August, buttressing allegations that Iran has at times offered sanctuary to the extremists. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claim — made just a week before President Donald Trump leaves office — that Iran was the “new Afghanistan” for al-Qaeda militants surprised observers, who said there was no evidence of the country being used as a base. He also stated publicly for the first time that al-Qaeda’s number two, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was assassinated in Tehran in August, buttressing allegations that Iran has at times offered sanctuary to the extremists. Iran-al-Qeda Iran-al-Qeda Iran-al-Qeda
IRGC Qods Force Denies Casualties in Israeli Attacks on Syria
Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Qods Force for Political Affairs Ahmad Karim Khani rejected some media reports claiming that Israeli attacks on Syria have taken a toll on the IRGC and resistance forces.
“The attacks left no human casualties,” Karimkhani told FNA on Thursday, in response to the claims made by pro-West media report that the Israeli airstrikes have killed and injured dozens of IRGC members and Fatemyoun and Hezbollah resistance forces.
He added the extensive internal protest rallies in Israel have posed major security, political and social challenges to Netanyahu as well as Israel’s fear of Iran and the resistance front’s harsh revenge have made Tel Aviv launch blind attacks on Syria without any strategic target.
Iran and the resistance front have vowed harsh revenge from the US and Israel in reprisal for the last year assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Tehran has also underlined harsh revenge for the Israeli assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
“Despite their fake propaganda, the Zionists do not dare to attack the Iranian and resistance groups’ centers and positions in Syria,” Karimkhani said. He added that Israel is well aware of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resistance groups’ redlines in Syria and knows that attacks against the resistance forces’ positions in Syria will certainly face a harsh reaction. Earlier today, Afghanistan’s Fatemiyoun Brigade, a resistance group involved in the regional fight against terrorism, had also dismissed media claims that Israel’s Wednesday airstrikes in Deir Ezzur have killed a number of its fighters.”The fighter jets of the Zionist regime in their latest attacks targeted the Syrian army positions.
Iran-linked spies used Christmas as cover for spearphishing, researchers say
A cyber-espionage group linked to the Iranian government timed a mobile phishing campaign with the Christmas holidays, using email and text messages to target individuals at think tanks, universities and elsewhere, according to new research.
Known as Charming Kitten, APT35 or Phosphorous, the group sent fake text messages from “Google Account Recovery” and fake emails with Christmas content, reports the cybersecurity organization CERFTA, which specializes in Iran-related research. The goal was to use malicious web pages to capture login credentials and “steal sensitive data from their victims,” CERTFA said.
“The group started the new round of attacks at a time when most companies, offices, organizations, etc. were either closed or half-closed during Christmas holidays and, as a result, their technical support and IT departments were not able to immediately review, identify, and neutralize these cyber incidents,” CERTFA says. “Charming Kitten has taken full advantage of this timing to execute its new campaign to maximum effect.”
A cyber-espionage group linked to the Iranian government timed a mobile phishing campaign with the Christmas holidays, using email and text messages to target individuals at think tanks, universities and elsewhere, according to new research. Known as Charming Kitten, APT35 or Phosphorous, the group sent fake text messages from “Google Account Recovery” and fake emails with Christmas content, reports the cybersecurity organization CERFTA, which specializes in Iran-related research. The goal was to use malicious web pages to capture login credentials and “steal sensitive data from their victims,” CERTFA said. “The group started the new round of attacks at a time when most companies, offices, organizations, etc. were either closed or half-closed during Christmas holidays and, as a result, their technical support and IT departments were not able to immediately review, identify, and neutralize these cyber incidents,” CERTFA says. “Charming Kitten has taken full advantage of this timing to execute its new campaign to maximum effect.” Iran-linked spies Iran-linked spies Iran-linked spies
Exclusive: Iran Positions ‘Suicide Drones’ in Yemen As Red Sea Tensions Rise
Iran appears to have sent deadly drones to its allies in Yemen as Middle East tensions heat up across the Red Sea, another major flashpoint where rival forces operate, Newsweek has learned.
Imagery seen by Newsweek and confirmed by an expert who follows Iranian activities in the region indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also called “suicide drones,” deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel movement.
“The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs,” the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. “They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range.”
Iran appears to have sent deadly drones to its allies in Yemen as Middle East tensions heat up across the Red Sea, another major flashpoint where rival forces operate, Newsweek has learned. Imagery seen by Newsweek and confirmed by an expert who follows Iranian activities in the region indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also called “suicide drones,” deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel movement. “The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs,” the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. “They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range.” “The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs,” the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. “They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range.” Iran Positions Iran Positions Iran Positions
840 Iranian academics ask IRGC Aerospace commander to fire on any intruding B-52s
840 Iranian university professors who teach or conduct research in various fields of soft power and soft warfare have called on Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh to open fire on any intruding U.S. warplanes, especially B-52s, and warships that may violate Iran’s borders in water and sky.
“A sum of 840 university professors in the fields of soft power and soft war, in a letter to Brigadier General Hajizadeh, urged him to shoot down any hostile warplane and warship, especially the American B-52s, as soon as they are detected in the territorial waters and skies of Iran,” the academics said in an open letter on Monday, according to the Fars news agency.
In their letter the academics also described General Hajizadeh as the “Conqueror of Ein Al-Assad”, an open reference to IRGC Aerospace Force’s missile strikes on the U.S. airbase in southwestern Iraq in 2020 in reprisal for the U.S. assassination of top Iranian anti-terror Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
Pointing to the United States’ empty power which has been magnified by the Western, Zionist, and Arab media outlets, the academicians asked General Hajizadeh to shatter this unreal and fabricated image.
The U.S. military first deployed B-52 bombers in West Asia on November 22. On December 10, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) also said that two B-52 bombers had been flown nonstop from Louisiana to West Asia Persian Gulf region on an alleged short-notice mission.
The bombers were accompanied by aircraft from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at various points in their mission.
According to CNN, the U.S. military also flew B-52 bombers to West Asia on December 30 which CENTCOM claimed is intended “to underscore the U.S. military’s commitment to regional security and demonstrate a unique ability to rapidly deploy overwhelming combat power on short notice.”
Since coming to power in 1979, the Iranian regime, through The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been implicated in more than three hundred sixty assassinations, terrorist plots, and terrorist attacks in more than forty countries [1]. This does not include arrest, torture, and killing of thousands of political activists or journalists inside Iran. The hierarchy of all these terrorist activities starts with IRGC then trickles down to Ministry of Intelligence, Intelligence Organization of IRGC, and ultimately reaches Quds Force and Embassies who jointly execute the plan. Iranian diplomatic personnel, most of whom are either members of IRGC or Iranian Intelligence, have repeatedly been implicated in these assassinations. The IRGC has also been using criminal gangs, drug cartels, and other third parties to carry out its assassination plots around the world.
Iran To Execute Second Wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini Amid Outcry
The Iranian regime is set to execute a second wrestler just months after it hanged champion athlete Navid Afkari amid international pleas for clemency.
Mehdi Ali Hosseini, 29, was arrested in 2015 and charged with murder following a group brawl.
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported that he is expected to be imminently executed because the victim’s family refused to pardon him.
Ali Safavi, an official from the foreign affairs committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Arab News that the NCRI and other regime critics “strongly condemn the ruling religious dictatorship for its intention to execute” Hosseini.
The Iranian regime is set to execute a second wrestler just months after it hanged champion athlete Navid Afkari amid international pleas for clemency. Mehdi Ali Hosseini, 29, was arrested in 2015 and charged with murder following a group brawl. Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported that he is expected to be imminently executed because the victim’s family refused to pardon him. Ali Safavi, an official from the foreign affairs committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Arab News that the NCRI and other regime critics “strongly condemn the ruling religious dictatorship for its intention to execute” Hosseini. The Iranian regime is set to execute a second wrestler just months after it hanged champion athlete Navid Afkari amid international pleas for clemency. Mehdi Ali Hosseini, 29, was arrested in 2015 and charged with murder following a group brawl. Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported that he is expected to be imminently executed because the victim’s family refused to pardon him. Ali Safavi, an official from the foreign affairs committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Arab News that the NCRI and other regime critics “strongly condemn the ruling religious dictatorship for its intention to execute” Hosseini.
Iran has become al-Qaeda’s ‘new home base’, Mike Pompeo alleges
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, without providing hard evidence, that al-Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran and the United States had fewer options in dealing with the group now it was “burrowed inside” that country.
With just eight days left in office for President Donald Trump, Pompeo alleged that Iran has given safe haven to al-Qaeda leaders and support for the group, despite some scepticism within the Abu Muhammad al-Masri intelligence community and Congress.
The New York Times reported in November that al-Qaeda’s Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, was gunned down by Israeli operatives in Iran. Iran denied the report, saying there were no al-Qaeda “terrorists” on its soil.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, without providing hard evidence, that al-Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran and the United States had fewer options in dealing with the group now it was “burrowed inside” that country. With just eight days left in office for President Donald Trump, Pompeo alleged that Iran has given safe haven to al-Qaeda leaders and support for the group, despite some scepticism within theAbu Muhammad al-Masri intelligence community and Congress. The New York Times reported in November that al-Qaeda’s Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, was gunned down by Israeli operatives in Iran. Iran denied the report, saying there were no al-Qaeda “terrorists” on its soil. The New York Times reported in November that al-Qaeda’s Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, was gunned down by Israeli operatives in Iran. Iran denied the report, saying there were no al-Qaeda “terrorists” on its soil.
IRGC, Army naval forces on full alert in Persian Gulf waters
Iranian naval forces are on full alert and in complete control of the Persian Gulf waters and the Sea of Oman against any external provocations, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy said.
Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said on Monday that the IRGC Navy monitors all movements by extra-regional forces that are present in these waters, adding, “Any attempt for violation of our land, water, and air will be met with a rapid response.”
He made the remarks on the fifth anniversary of the arrest of American forces trespassing on the country’s territorial waters.
Tangri added, “The naval forces of the IRGC and the Iranian Army are present in the Persian Gulf and this presence continues through the southern waters to the Indian Ocean.”Stressing that the Persian Gulf is full security, he said, “The navy of the IRGC and the army is fully prepared against any aggression.”In earlier remarks on Sunday, the IRGC Navy commander underlined that deterrence in the face of hostile forces cannot be achieved through mere political means, but it can only be achieved “if your power exceeds that of your enemy.”He said every time that the Iranian naval forces get prepared to stage military drills, the enemy sees their operational and missile power, and this acts as a deterrent factor in the face of the enemy. Commenting on acts of provocation by hostile forces in the Persian Gulf, he said the Americans’ Persian Gulf strategy has failed, adding, “We have barred the enemy from implementing its strategy and this is why the Persian Gulf is secure.”Two US Navy crafts, carrying 10 Marines, reached three miles into the waters.
Pompeo says US to designate Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis a terror group
The United States will designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, a late-term move that aid groups fear will worsen a humanitarian crisis.
With just 10 days left before US President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the action appeared aimed at complicating the new administration’s efforts to restart diplomacy with Iran, which has ties to the Houthis and other terror groups in the region, and to reassess the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has led a brutal offensive in Yemen.
“The designations are intended to hold Ansar Allah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping,” Pompeo said in a statement, using the official name of the Houthi movement.
It has led a brutal campaign that has “killed many people, continues to destabilize the region and denies Yemenis a peaceful solution to the conflict in their country,” he added.
The United States will designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, a late-term move that aid groups fear will worsen a humanitarian crisis. With just 10 days left before US President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the action appeared aimed at complicating the new administration’s efforts to restart diplomacy with Iran, which has ties to the Houthis and other terror groups in the region, and to reassess the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has led a brutal offensive in Yemen. “The designations are intended to hold Ansar Allah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping,” Pompeo said in a statement, using the official name of the Houthi movement. It has led a brutal campaign that has “killed many people, continues to destabilize the region and denies Yemenis a peaceful solution to the conflict in their country,” he added. Yemeni Houthis Yemeni Houthis Yemeni Houthis
