TOP STORIES
Iran Operated Fake Human-Resources Firm To Root Out Unfriendly Spies, Researchers Say | Reuters
An Iranian hacking group ran a fake professional recruiting business to lure national security officials across Iran, Syria and Lebanon into a cyber espionage trap, according to new research by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a division of Alphabet's Google Cloud. Researchers said the hackers are loosely connected to a group known as APT42 or Charming Kitten, which was recently accused of hacking the U.S. presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump. APT42 is widely attributed to an intelligence division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an expansive military organization based in Tehran. The FBI has said it is investigating APT42’s ongoing efforts to interfere in the 2024 U.S. election.
Mapped: U.S. Rushes Warships To Middle East In Show Of Force To Iran | Axios
The U.S. has positioned about 18 warships including two aircraft carriers in and around the Middle East as it seeks to deter Iran and its proxies from conducting attacks that could evolve into all-out war with Israel. The big picture: This is a frantic year for the U.S. Navy. Some of the vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been combating the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels for months, while more Navy and Air Force assets are being brought in now as a show of force. Zoom in: In addition to two carrier strike groups now operating in the Middle East, an Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron has already arrived in the region and the USS Georgia — a guided-missile submarine — is lurking nearby.
Germany Orders Deportation Of Iran-Linked Cleric In Hamburg | Iran International
The head of the Islamic Center of Hamburg (IZH), Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, has been ordered to leave Germany after the center and its affiliates were banned for promoting radical Islamist goals. The Hamburg Interior Department issued a deportation notice to Mofatteh, 57, mandating his departure within two weeks, German media reported Thursday. If he fails to comply, he will be forcibly expelled from Germany at his own expense by September 11. He is also prohibited from re-entering or residing in Germany, with a penalty of up to three years in prison if he disobeys the order.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Aframax Tanker Tied To Dark Activities Sold For Recycling At Very Low Price | Tradewinds
…Although not officially sanctioned by US authorities, its appearance on pressure group United Against a Nuclear Iran’s list of ships that have allegedly carried US-sanctioned Iranian crude made it untouchable for any mainstream shipowner looking to buy and older aframax, according to market experts.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Five Police Officers Arrested For Torture And Death Of Iranian Man | Iran International
Following the circulation of shocking images of a tortured man's body on Iranian social media, authorities announced the arrest of five police officers implicated in the detainee's death. The arrest comes amid growing outrage after a video surfaced showing the severe injuries inflicted on Mohammad Mir Mousavi while in custody, intensifying concerns about the systemic use of violence and torture by Iranian security forces. On August 24, Mir Mousavi was arrested by police officers in northern Iran from a special unit during a local altercation. He was subsequently taken to a police station in Lahijan district, where he was subjected to torture, resulting in his death.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
A Gas Leak In An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Center Kills 2 And Injures 10 | Associated Press
A gas leak caused the death of two people and injured 10 others at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard center, Iranian state television reported Thursday. The leak occurred Wednesday night at a workshop belonging to the guard in Isfahan province and the injured people were transferred to a hospital for treatment, it said. The Isfahan Provincial Guard identified the dead as Captain Mojtaba Nazari and Lieutenant Colonel Mokhtar Morshedi, the report said. It did not say how the people were injured or give other details.
At Least 10 Killed As Israeli Military Steps Up West Bank Raids | New York Times
Hundreds of Israeli troops backed by drones and armored vehicles carried out raids in the occupied West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Wednesday, a growing third front in conflicts that extend from the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip to southern Lebanon. At least 10 Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in what Israeli officials described as an ongoing operation targeting militants and concentrated in Jenin and Tulkarm, two West Bank cities that an Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said have become militant strongholds. The Israeli military said it had killed nine militants.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran’s President Calls For Investigation Into Case Of Death In Custody | Reuters
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the death in custody of a defendant in the northern city of Lahijan, state media reported on Thursday. "Following the tragic incident in Lahijan, the president ordered the interior minister to form a committee to investigate all aspects of this incident and report its results to the cabinet as soon as possible," the head of government public relations Elias Hazrati said.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Yemen's Houthis Will Let Salvage Crews Access Oil Tanker They Set Ablaze In Red Sea | Reuters
Yemen's Houthi group has agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach a damaged crude oil tanker in the Red Sea, Iran's mission to the United Nations said on Wednesday, after the Iran-aligned militants attacked the Greek-flagged vessel last week. The Sounion tanker is carrying 150,000 tonnes, or 1 million barrels, of crude oil and poses an environmental hazard, shipping officials said. Any spill has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in recorded history. "Several countries have reached out to ask Ansarullah (the Houthis), requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area," Iran's U.N. mission in New York said.
IRAQ & IRAN
New Iranian President To Visit Iraq In September | The Jerusalem Post
The new Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has indicated he will soon visit Iraq. It would be his first foreign trip, indicating the trajectory of his policies and the importance he places on Iran’s foreign relations. Iran has close ties to Iraq. In addition, Iran backs a number of militias in Iraq that have carried out attacks on Israel over the last 10 months. The militias have also attacked US forces in Iraq and Syria more than 100 times in the past year. Kataib Hezbollah, one of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, murdered three US soldiers in Jordan in a January drone attack.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
8 Iranian Army Engineering Units Working to Seal Afghanistan Border | Afghanistan International
Nozar Nemati, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force, announced that eight engineering units from the Iranian Army are working on sealing the border with Afghanistan. The IRIB News Agency reported that Nemati inspected the border wall project between Iran and Afghanistan. On Tuesday, IRIB quoted Nemati as saying, "The technical and operational work on this significant national project spans 300 kilometers along the shared borders of Khorasan Razavi province with Afghanistan." He stated that the border-sealing process between Iran and Afghanistan has progressed well, with the necessary infrastructure in place to continue the work using regional and local resources.
CYBERWARFARE
US Says Its Organizations Are Under Attack By Iran-Based Hackers | Iran International
Iran-based hackers supporting the Islamic Republic continue to enable ransomware attacks against organizations in the US, Azerbaijan Republic, Israel, and the UAE, US intelligence services warned. In a joint report released on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) warned that Iran-backed hackers continued their attacks in August against organizations in the US and other countries, including Israel, Azerbaijan, and the UAE. According to the report, sectors such as education, finance, healthcare, defense, and local government agencies in the US were targeted by hackers based in Iran.