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America’s presidential election next week comes just after Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis — and for many, tensions between Tehran and Washington feel just as high as they did then. Iran remains locked in the Mideast wars roiling the region, with its allies — militant groups and fighters of its self-described “Axis of Resistance” — battered as Israel presses its war in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and its invasion of Lebanon amid devastating attacks against Hezbollah. At the same time, Iran still appears to be assessing damage from Israel’s strikes on the Islamic Republic last Saturday in response to two Iranian ballistic missile attacks. Iran’s currency, the rial, hovers near record lows against the dollar, battered by international sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program of enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran Claims It Killed And Arrested Separatists Linked To Israel | The Times Of Israel
Iranian state media says intelligence services killed a member of a separatist group, which it accuses of links to Israel, and arrested two others in the country’s northwest. “Intelligence service agents killed one of the main members of this terrorist group, and two others were arrested,” state television reports, adding that their weapons were seized. It says they were detected trying to enter Iran’s West Azerbaijan province from northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where several exiled Iranian Kurdish groups are based, “with the aim of causing riots, terror and insecurity.” It does not specify what group the members belonged to, only that it was a “group affiliated with the Zionist regime,” referring to Israel.
Israeli Couple Arrested On Suspicion Of Spying For Iran: Police | Barron’s
Israeli police said Thursday they had arrested an Israeli couple on suspicion of spying for Iran, barely a week after two groups allegedly working for Tehran were detained. "The thwarting of Iran's efforts to recruit Israelis continues," said a statement from the police and Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet. The two Israelis, a couple from the central city of Lod, had been involved in gathering intelligence on "national infrastructures, security sites and tracking a female academic," the statement alleged. "Rafael and Lala Goliev... residents of Lod, were arrested after they carried out tasks on behalf of an Iranian cell that recruits Israelis from the Caucasus countries in Israel." Police charged that the couple were recruited by Elshan (Elhan) Agayev, an Azerbaijani national acting on behalf of Iranian officials. It was unclear if Agayev is based in Israel.
UANI IN THE NEWS
As the United States faces mounting threats worldwide, the foreign policy choices the next president makes will be the most significant since 9/11 — particularly with regard to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Will we continue with a weak and indecisive approach to Iran’s terrorism-sponsoring regime or reinstate a muscular policy that manifested pronounced success in the past? In contrast, the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy showed that well-enforced sanctions could cripple Iran’s economy and significantly weaken its malign activities — without harming American consumers or triggering a spike in global oil prices. The next president should restore that policy.
A little-known but influential body handpicked by Iran's Supreme Leader may provide the spur Ali Khamenei needs to ditch his avowed refusal of nuclear weapons and reach for the ultimate deterrent in the wake of punishing Israeli attacks. Iran’s ongoing conflict with Israel has led to calls for weaponization of the country’s nuclear program, first from hardline commentators, then MPs, then top advisors. Khamenei has so far resisted all such calls publicly. His rejection of weapons of mass killing on religious grounds is regularly cited by Iranian officials as proof that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful and cannot be otherwise.
Beyond The Ballot: Middle East In Turmoil Amid Rising Iran-Israel Tensions | Al-Arabiya
The deadly cycle of reprisals between Israel and Iran continues to unfold. In a marked escalation of the long-standing hostility between the two countries, the Israeli airstrikes over the weekend on Iranian military sites have raised regional and global concerns over the potential for further violence....According to Golkar, senior advisor to the United Against Nuclear Iran advocacy group, as both sides brace for possible all-out conflict, Iran is expected to deploy its full arsenal: expanded attacks through its militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, intensified missile and drone strikes, and coordinated efforts by sleeper cells across the region. “Those would aim to undermine not only Israel but also US and Arab interests throughout the Middle East.”
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
How Israel Could Be Changing Iran’s Nuclear Calculus | The Atlantic
The latest salvo in the decades-long conflict between Iran and Israel lit up the predawn sky over Tehran on Saturday. Israeli aircraft encountered little resistance as they struck military targets in retaliation for an Iranian attack earlier this month. Although Iran appeared to downplay its impact, the strike was Israel’s largest ever against the Islamic Republic. It raised not only the specter of full-scale war but also a prospect that experts told me has become much more conceivable in recent weeks: the emergence of Iran as a nuclear-armed state. Think of Iran’s defenses as a stool with three legs. Two of them have suddenly gone wobbly. The first is Iran’s regional proxy network.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Mohammad Reza Farzin Stays As Iran Central Bank Head, State Media Cite Decree | Reuters
Mohammad Reza Farzin will stay in post as the head of Iran's Central Bank according to a decree signed by the country's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, state media reported on Wednesday. Farzin was appointed as central bank chief in December 2022 by the late President Ebrahim Raisi and tasked with controlling the value of foreign currency in Iran's economy, which has been battered by U.S. sanctions.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
IDF Eliminates Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, Radwan Force Deputy Commander | The Jerusalem Post
The IDF eliminated Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, the Deputy Commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the area of Nabatieh, in a targeted airstrike on Wednesday, the military reported. The Radwan Force is the Lebanese terror group's elite unit. The Israel Air Force used precise intelligence to locate and eliminate the commander, the military added. Shahadi was reportedly responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against Israel.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
How U.S. Elections Could Shape Israel’s Multifront Middle East War | Washington Post
The Biden administration spent weeks persuading Israel not to strike oil or nuclear facilities in Iran, fearing it could propel the region into an even more dangerous phase just before Americans head to the polls. After relatively limited Israeli attacks over the weekend, the Middle East appears to have edged back from the cliff. But the reprieve could be short-lived. U.S. and Israeli officials, as well as diplomats and regional experts, see Tuesday’s election as a critical inflection point — with the outcome likely to inform Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions not just in Iran, but in Gaza as well.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Sources told Afghanistan International that the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran arrested General Ikramuddin Sari, the former police chief of Takhar, and released him after interrogation. The authorities of the Islamic Republic have not yet commented on the reason for the arrest of this former military man. Sari was the former police chief of Takhar province. He went to Iran after the return of the Taliban to power. A number of former military personnel have gone to Iran and Pakistan fearing reprisal from the Taliban, and some of them have been deported to Afghanistan over the past three years due to lack of legal documents. Some of them, who live in Iran and Pakistan, are worried about being deported to the country.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Biden Envoys Set To Head To Israel To Discuss Lebanon Truce Plan | Bloomberg
Israel is considering a US-led proposal to end the conflict in Lebanon and keep Hezbollah fighters away from the countries’ frontier. It is set to host White House mediators in what appears to be a push by Washington to make progress before the American presidential election on Tuesday. Six weeks after launching a campaign of sabotage, air barrages and ground incursions against Hezbollah, Israel says it has driven back and cut down the Iranian-backed faction, whose cross-border rocket and drone launches persist but at a reduced rate. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met top aides late on Tuesday to discuss a fresh proposal, his spokesperson said.
Israel Moves To Dismantle Iran’s Backbone | The Jerusalem Post
Professor Amatzya Baram, an expert in Middle East and Persian Gulf Studies, spoke with Maariv on Monday and raised significant points about Hezbollah’s capabilities and Iran's policy regarding the use of precise long-range missiles. "Hezbollah operatives are doing everything they can except for one thing – using the heavy and precise strategic missiles," noted Baram. He estimated that the Iranians have been deliberately preserving these missiles and directing Hezbollah not to launch them.
In his first speech since taking over Hezbollah’s leadership, the group’s new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, vowed Wednesday to continue the war against Israel, just as Israeli warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes in the eastern city of Baalbek and Tyre in the south. In his speech, Qassem vowed that under his leadership, Hezbollah would "continue to implement the war plan that (his slain predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah) developed with the leadership of the resistance.” Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in heavy fighting since the Iran-backed group began firing rockets at northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of Hamas in Gaza, which carried out its cross-border assault on southern Israel the day before.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Former UK Soldier Accused Of Helping Iran Tells Jurors He Is Against Tehran | Reuters
A British soldier accused of passing sensitive information to people linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and of then breaking out of prison told jurors on Wednesday that he and his family were opposed to the Iranian government. Daniel Abed Khalife allegedly collected sensitive information between May 2019 and January 2022, prosecutor Mark Heywood told jurors at the start of the trial at London's Woolwich Crown Court. Khalife, who is no longer a member of the British armed forces, is also accused of leaving a fake bomb on a desk and absconding from his barracks in 2023, and then escaping from prison, sparking a brief nationwide manhunt.
Canada Labels Iran A Major Cyber Threat In New Security Report | Iran International
Canada has identified Iran as one of its top strategic cyber threats in its 2025 National Cyber Threat Assessment, citing Tehran's expanding cyber activities and surveillance of global opponents as a growing security risk. “Iran’s persistent efforts to track and monitor regime opponents through cyberspace present a growing cyber security challenge for Canada and our allies,” the report says. Iran has become a player in global cyber warfare, conducting increasingly sophisticated attacks on regional and international targets. Iranian cyber capabilities have evolved over the past decade, with state-sponsored groups targeting a variety of sectors, including government, finance, energy, and media.