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WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice on Friday charged an Iranian man in a murder-for-hire plot to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump and two others in a plot to kill an American journalist critical of Tehran. The three who were charged are Farhad Shakeri of Iran; Carlisle Rivera of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathan Loadholt, of Staten Island, New York. Around Oct. 7, the Iranian official tasked Shakeri with providing a plan within seven days to kill Trump, he told law enforcement in recorded interviews, the complaint says. Shakeri told FBI officials that he didn’t intend to propose a plan to assassinate Trump in the timeframe set by the IRGC, it says. Trump was also briefed by U.S. intelligence officials after the attempt in September about threats from Iran to kill him.
Persons: WASHINGTON, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Damian Williams, Qasem Soleimani, Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, Shakeri, surveil, Steven Cheung, , Rivera, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, Loadholt, realDonaldTrump, Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, , Biden Organizations: The Department, Justice, Southern, of, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, U.S, Trump, FBI, White, Prosecutors, NBC News, Fairfield University, Service, Emergency Economic Locations: American, Tehran, U.S, of New York, Iran, Brooklyn , New York, Staten Island , New York, New York City, Sri Lanka, United States, Afghan, New York State, Brooklyn, Loadholt, Staten Island, Republic, America, Florida, New York
CNN —The Justice Department on Friday announced federal charges in a thwarted Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump before the presidential election. According to court documents, Iranian officials asked Farhad Shakeri, 51, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. But IRGC officials told Shakeri on October 7 to focus only on Trump, court documents say, and that he had seven days to formulate an assassination plan. Shakeri would pay these criminal associates, like his two co-conspirators, to monitor the victims Iranian officials sought to assassinate, according to court documents. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that all three men were specifically charged in the plot against Donald Trump.
Persons: Donald Trump, Farhad Shakeri, Trump, Shakeri –, , Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, General Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, ” Garland, , Qasem, , Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, Rivera, Loadholt Organizations: CNN, The Justice Department, Justice Department, Prosecutors, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump, Justice, FBI Locations: Iran, Afghan, Tehran, New York, United States, US, New, American, Sri Lanka, New York City
U.S. officials expect that in the coming weeks, Iran is likely to contact individual Americans directly to try to influence how they vote, stir societal divide or incite violence, according to three sources with knowledge of U.S. intelligence reporting on the issue. The U.S. intelligence community noted this month that Iranian hackers appear to have gained access to some Americans’ voting records, as they did in 2020. Last week, U.S. intelligence officials told reporters that both Iran and Russia were continuing propaganda operations to influence American voters and society. A spokesperson for Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t respond to a request for comment, but officials for Tehran have routinely denied American accusations of election influence campaigns. In the leadup to the 2020 election, U.S. officials announced that Iran was behind an ambitious effort to sow election discord.
Persons: , John Hultquist, Donald Trump, ” Max Lesser, we’ve, IRGC, desecraters Organizations: Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, United Nations, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, NBC News, , Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Department, Trump militia, Google, Haaretz Locations: Iran, U.S, Sweden, Israel, Russia, Tehran, Florida, Swedish
Israel openly said it conducted “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran. “Israel now has broader aerial freedom of operation in Iran,” Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, touting achievements in the attack. The idea was that if Israel were to strike Iran, Tehran would retaliate by unleashing its militias against Israel. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they have no intention of weaponizing the country’s nuclear program, while simultaneously using its potential as leverage in negotiations with the West. “Even the more hawkish American presidents have not favored taking military strikes because the most likely outcome is that, at some point, that will make Iran turn nuclear,” Parsi said.
Persons: CNN —, Israel, Israel didn’t, , , Daniel Hagari, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Benjamin Netanyahu, Nicole Grajewski, Hassan Nasrallah, ” Mohammad Ali Shabani, Amwaj.media, Trump, Fatemeh, Parsi, Grajewski Organizations: CNN, Schools, Iran’s, Quincy Institute, Responsible, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Israel, West, Bushehr Nuclear Power, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: CNN — Iran, Republic, Israel, Iran, Islamic Republic, Israeli, Damascus, “ Israel, Tehran, Washington, Syria, Israel’s, Gaza, Lebanon, London, Iraq, Bushehr
The charges made public Tuesday against the official, Ruhollah Bazghandi, are the first to accuse an Iranian government official by name in the alleged plot to kill journalist Masih Alinejad. Prosecutors allege they were enlisted to carry out the assassination of Alinejad in the United States. Bazghandi allegedly discussed the plot to murder Alinejad with a second defendant, Haj Taher. Taher, in turn, communicated about the plot defendants Hossein Sedighi and Mohammad Forouzan, prosecutors say, including about payment for the murder. Taher, Sedighi and Forouzan also have connections to the Iranian government, prosecutors allege.
Persons: Ruhollah Bazghandi, Masih Alinejad, Bazghandi, Alinejad, General Merrick Garland, ” Alinejad, Ali Khamenei’s IRGC, , , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Christopher Wray, ” Wray, General ”, Qasem Soleimani, Javad, Haj Taher, Taher, Hossein Sedighi, Mohammad Forouzan, Sedighi, Forouzan, Rafat Amirov, Amirov, Polad, Zailat, CNN’s Kara Scannell Organizations: CNN, Federal, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Eastern, , Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Treasury Department, Qods Force, Amirov Locations: New York, Iran, United States, Iran’s, American, Iranian, New York City, IRGC, Syria, , France
New York CNN —Former President Donald Trump’s campaign connected with Elon Musk’s X last month to discuss hacked Trump campaign materials circulating on the social media platform before X blocked links to the files and banned the independent journalist who published the materials, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. A person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday that the Trump campaign had a conversation with X officials about the hacked materials before Klippenstein was banned and links to his newsletter were blocked. The person said the campaign did not push X officials to remove links to the materials and that X had made the decision. The New York Times first reported the Trump campaign’s correspondence with X officials in an article on Musk “going all in” to elect Trump. In July, Politico flagged that its reporters had received emails from an individual offering a similar trove of private documents from inside the Trump campaign.
Persons: Donald Trump’s, Elon Musk’s, Ken Klippenstein, Sen, JD Vance, Trump, Klippenstein, Klippenstein’s Instagram, Hunter Biden, Musk, reelect Trump, Tucker Carlson, Kamala, Harris, Organizations: New, New York CNN, Elon, CNN, Trump, New York Times, X, Politico, Times, Washington Post, New York, Hunter Biden . Company, Twitter, PAC Locations: New York, , New, Pennsylvania
The terror attack has helped push the Middle East to the brink of a wider regional war. One year after the massacre, the Middle East has only plunged deeper into violence and is on the brink of a broader war. Globally, the immediate concern is that oil supplies will diminish significantly should conflict spill over to the rest of the Middle East. Everyone but Biden can see this," wrote Andrew Exum, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy, in The Atlantic last week. The global economy on edgeWhen the conflict began a year ago, there were fears that wider conflict in the Middle East could impact the global economy.
Persons: , Israel, Chuck Frielich, Frielich, Yemen's Houthi, Mohammed Hamoud, barraged, Ammar Safarjalani, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Fuad Shukr, Hasan Nasrallah, Qasem Soleimani, JOSEPH EID, JALAA MAREY, Nasrallah, bode, Benjamin Netanyahu, Carmel Gat, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Biden, Andrew Exum, Brent, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, The Washington Institute for Near East, Getty Images Iran, Getty, Israel's, United Nations General Assembly, Citigroup, Iranian, US, Middle, Business, Bank of Israel, Reuters, IMF Locations: Israel, Iran, Gaza, Suez, Aden, Red, Palestine, Syria, Damascus, Xinhua, Tehran, Beirut, Haniyeh, Shukr, Lebanon, AFP, Hezbollah's, United States, Ukraine
Hamas says its top leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. AdvertisementHamas said its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, and several of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. AdvertisementAs the head of Hamas' Lebanon branch, el-Amin reportedly oversaw the organization's recruitment of operatives and arms acquisition efforts there. His reported death comes after Israel said it killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Lebanon on Saturday. Related storiesIn July, when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran just hours after he attended Pezeshkian's inauguration, with the finger being pointed at Israel, Iran vowed to retaliate but has not yet done so.
Persons: Fateh Sherif Abu el, Amin, , el, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, Nabil Qaouk, Masoud Pezeshkian, Ismail Haniyeh, Nasser Kanaani, Elias Hazrati, Naim Qassem Organizations: Service, NBC, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Air Force, Reuters Locations: Lebanon, Fateh, Al, Israel, Bas, el, group's, Beirut, Iran, Tehran, Lebanese
Former FAA contractor Abouzar Rahmati was indicted over claims he was spying for Iran, the DOJ said. AdvertisementA former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor has been indicted over claims that he used his position to spy for Iran, the Department of Justice said. Before working for the FAA, Rahmati was a First Lieutenant in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from around June 2009 until roughly May 2010, according to the indictment. Related storiesWhile working for the company, the department said he downloaded "sensitive non-public" documents related to the FAA and took them to Iran in April 2022. AdvertisementThe DOJ and the Islamic Republic of Iran did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Persons: Abouzar Rahmati, Rahmati, , Abouzar, Iran —, Robert Wells Organizations: FAA, DOJ, Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, NAS, FBI's National Security Branch Locations: Iran, Iranian, Islamic Republic of Iran
CNN —US federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian government-linked hackers in connection with a hacking operation aimed at Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi are accused of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud for their hacking efforts on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Separately, the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on seven people as part of a sweeping response to Iranian efforts “to influence or interfere” in the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections. The alleged Iranian hack threw a twist in the presidential campaign in August when multiple news outlets reported receiving emails from a pseudonymous email account peddling documents stolen from the Trump campaign. The hacking operation began in June, when the alleged IRGC-linked hackers targeted longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and used access to his email account to target campaign staff.
Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Balaghi, , JD Vance —, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris ’, Roger Stone, Harris Organizations: CNN, Court, District of Columbia, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, US Treasury Department, Trump, Biden, FBI, The, Department, Washington Post, Fox Locations: Russia, China, Iran, Russian, Ukraine
“The (US intelligence community) considers AI a malign influence accelerant, not yet a revolutionary influence tool,” an ODNI official told reporters. Iran, for example, has used AI to generate content in Spanish about immigration, which Tehran perceives as a divisive US political issue, the ODNI official said. Russia has generated the most AI content related to the US election of any foreign power, according to the ODNI official. Foreign operatives have also embraced plenty of old-school influence techniques this election cycle, such as staging videos rather than generating them with AI. This isn’t the first general US election where foreign powers have considered deploying AI capabilities.
Persons: , Donald Trump’s, Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Donald Trump, Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence, Foreign, Microsoft, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Iran, Tehran, Israel, Gaza, China, San Francisco, Russian
Almost exactly 24 hours later, walkie-talkies detonated in a fresh wave of explosions Wednesday across Lebanon, a security source told CNN. In response, Israel launched “Operation Wrath of God” and spent years tracking down those involved in the Munich Massacre. Mahmoud Zayat/AFP/Getty ImagesIranian nuclear scientistsSince 2010, five Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in foreign-linked assassinations, as Israel tries to prevent its greatest adversary from developing nuclear weapons. Iranian officials said the weapon had used artificial intelligence and facial recognition to detect Fakhrizadeh and open fire, before the car, reportedly packed with explosives, self-destructed. Top Iranian officials blamed Israel for the assassination.
Persons: Israel, God ”, Mahmoud Hamshari, , , Yahya Ayyash, , Ayyash, Mahmoud Zayat, Moshe Ya’alon, Der Spiegel, , Stuxnet, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's, David Kennedy, ” Kennedy, Ismail Haniyeh Organizations: CNN, Hezbollah, Munich, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Firefighters, Getty, Israeli, , Military, Iranian Defense Ministry, US National Security Agency, The New York Times Locations: Lebanon, Iran, Munich, Palestinian, Palestine, Paris, Italian, Gaza, Saida, AFP, United States, Iranian, Bushehr, Israel, Tehran, Nissan
CNN —Iranian hackers sent unsolicited information they stole from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to people who were affiliated with Joe Biden’s campaign over the summer, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The law enforcement statement Wednesday said that the hackers’ efforts to send information to US media outlets have continued. Law enforcement officials have previously said that those efforts also included an unsuccessful attempt to hack the Biden-Harris campaign. The Iranian hackers did breach the email account of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone to target campaign staff in June, CNN has reported. Investigators believe the suspected Iranian hackers breached Stone’s account and then used that email account to try to break into the account of a senior Trump campaign official as part of a persistent effort to access campaign networks.
Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden’s, , Biden’s, Trump’s, Kamala Harris ’, , Biden, Morgan Finkelstein, Harris, “ We’re, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vance, Roger Stone, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, Trump, Politico, The New York Times, Washington Post, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Investigators Locations: stoke
CNN —Microsoft said Tuesday that Russian operatives have in recent weeks intensified their online attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign by producing and disseminating videos promoting “outlandish conspiracy theories” aimed at stoking US racial and political divisions. One of the inauthentic videos, which Microsoft said had been viewed millions of times, claimed to show Harris supporters attacking an attendee of a Donald Trump rally. Russian operatives promoted the latter story through a website pretending to be a local San Francisco media outlet, Microsoft researchers said. CNN has requested comment on the Microsoft report from the Harris-Walz campaign and from the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. Tehran has conducted a covert social media activity in an effort to undercut Trump’s candidacy, US officials have said.
Persons: Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Donald Trump, denigrate, , haven’t, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Walz, , Biden, , ” Clint Watts Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Russian, Ukraine, National Intelligence, Russian Embassy, Democratic, The, Department, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Monday, Trump, FBI Locations: San Francisco, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Washington , DC, Iran, Tehran
CNN —The Justice Department is expected to soon announce criminal charges against the Iranian government-backed hackers who carried out a hack-and-leak operation targeting former President Donald Trump’s campaign, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The criminal charges against the Iranian hackers could be unveiled as soon as next week, two of the sources said. The Iranian hackers stole internal Trump campaign documents and shared them with news organizations in an attempt to sow discord during the presidential election, according to US officials. The hackers breached the email account of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone to target campaign staff in June, CNN has reported. CNN has requested comment from the Justice Department on the pending move against the hackers.
Persons: Donald Trump’s, Roger Stone, Matthew Olsen, , ” Olsen, China — Organizations: CNN, The Justice, Trump, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Justice Department, The Washington, Columbia Law, Department’s Locations: Russian, Iran, China, United States
Meta said Friday that it blocked a "small cluster" of WhatsApp accounts linked to an Iranian hacking group that was targeting officials associated with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The company said in a blog post that the bogus WhatsApp accounts appeared to originate from the Iranian threat actor dubbed APT42, which other tech companies like Google previously described as an "Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor." Meta said its security team was able to spot APT42's involvement after analyzing suspicious messages that an unspecified number of users reported receiving from the fraudulent WhatsApp accounts. "These accounts posed as technical support for AOL, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft," Meta said in the blog post. In 2019, Microsoft said it had identified several hackers linked to the Iranian government who were believed to have targeted an unspecified U.S. presidential campaign in addition to other government officials and media.
Persons: Meta, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, APT42 Organizations: Google, Meta, Facebook, AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Tech Locations: Israel, Palestine, Iran
For the third presidential election in a row, the foreign hacking of the campaigns has begun in earnest. But this time, it’s the Iranians, not the Russians, making the first significant move. On Friday, Microsoft released a report declaring that a hacking group run by the intelligence unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had successfully breached the account of a “former senior adviser” to a presidential campaign. From that account, Microsoft said, the group sent fake email messages, known as “spear phishing,” to “a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign” in an effort to break into the campaign’s own accounts and databases. The facts were murkier, and it is unclear what, if anything, the Iranian group, which Microsoft called Mint Sandstorm, was able to achieve.
Persons: , Donald J, Trump, ” Biden Organizations: Microsoft, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian Government
Read previewThe campaign of former President Donald Trump on Saturday said it had been hacked following Politico's receipt of internal campaign documents from an anonymous email account. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. So far, Politico has been unable to pinpoint the identity of the person behind the email account or the individual's reasoning for sending the materials to their outlet. Cheung did not disclose to Business Insider whether the campaign had contacted Microsoft or law enforcement officials. AdvertisementThe report did not identify the presidential campaign that was targeted.
Persons: , Donald Trump, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Trump, Steven Cheung, Trump's, Cheung, Robert, Vance, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio Organizations: Service, Politico, Republican National Convention, Business, Democratic, Microsoft, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump Locations: Ohio, United States, Iranian, Florida
CNN —Iranian operatives have ramped up their attempts to influence and monitor the US presidential election by creating fake news outlets targeting liberal and conservative voters and by trying to hack an unnamed presidential campaign, Microsoft said in research published late Thursday. Microsoft said it notified the campaign of the hacking attempt, but declined to say publicly which campaign it was. CNN has requested comment from the Trump campaign. The Iranian, Russian and Chinese governments routinely deny allegations of election influence operations. As president, Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, and he withdrew from a multilateral deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.
Persons: Donald Trump, ” Clint Watts, , Kamala Harris ’, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Russia “, China “, , Qasem Soleimani Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Microsoft, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, CIA, FBI, National Intelligence, Russian, Ukraine, Service, Department Locations: MAGA, Iran, Savannah , Georgia, Russian, Ukrainian, Trump, Russia, U.S, China
Top NewsA rocket attack targeting U.S. personnel housed at a base in Iraq’s western desert injured several American troops late on Monday, according to U.S. defense officials. Initial reports were that at least five people were injured in Monday’s attack and that the wounded included both U.S. troops and contractors. Those Iraqi militants have typically attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and targeted Israel using longer-range rockets. The chief goal of Iran-backed groups in Iraq is to force the U.S. troops to leave the country entirely. There are about 2,500 American troops in Iraq, as well as 900 in Syria, where the Islamic State has once again become active.
Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Fuad Shukr, Israel, Haniyeh’s, Biden, Kamala D, Harris, Asad, Organizations: Asad, Asad Air Base, U.S, Hamas, Mr, Iraqi, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Revolutionary Guard, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Pentagon, Islamic Locations: Ain, Asad Air, Iran, Gaza, U.S, Syria, Israel, Tehran, Beirut, Yemen, Iraq, Damascus, Al Asad Air, Islamic State, Jurf al, Baghdad
CNN —Hamas announced Tuesday that its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, will replace Ismail Haniyeh as the head of its political bureau, it said in a statement. The Iranian government and Hamas say that Israel carried out the assassination. A longtime figure in the Islamist Palestinian group, Sinwar was responsible for building up Hamas’ military wing before forging important new ties with regional Arab powers as the group’s civilian and political leader. He was elected to Hamas’ main decision-making body, the Politburo, in 2017 as the political leader of Hamas in Gaza branch. However, he has since become the Politburo’s de facto leader, according to research by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, ” Israel, , Haniyeh, Israel, Sinwar Organizations: CNN, Israel, Hamas, , European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Gaza, Tehran, Israel
The plot revealed by US prosecutors on Tuesday adds to a growing list of detailed Iranian plans to allegedly kill Trump, according to national security officials. Although Merchant is a Pakistani national, prosecutors say he spent time in Iran and has family there. Once in the United States, Merchant allegedly contacted someone who he believed would assist him in the murder-for-hire plot. Merchant allegedly then told the confidential human source that the work was not a one-time opportunity and made a “finger gun” motion with his hand. Merchant planned to leave the country before the assassination, prosecutors say, but was arrested before he could go.
Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Asif Merchant, Merchant, Qasem, John Bolton, , General Merrick Garland, ” Merchant Organizations: CNN, The Justice, FBI, US, Service, Iranian, United Nations, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: New York City, Brooklyn , New York, United States, Pennsylvania, Butler , Pennsylvania, Iran, US, Pakistani, New York
CNN —Iran has claimed that the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week was carried out by a “short-range projectile” and a “severe explosion” outside a guest house where he was staying. The Iranian government and Hamas say that Israel carried out the assassination. On Saturday, Iran warned that “blood vengeance” for the killing was “certain.”An image published by the New York Times shows the building where Haniyeh is believed to have been assassinated. US officials were briefed on the operation by Israeli officials only after the assassination, the source said. Iran calls Israel the Zionist regime.
Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, , Israel “, Daniel Hagari, ” Hagari Organizations: CNN, Hamas, New York Times, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Zionist, Israel Defense Forces, IDF Locations: Iran, Tehran, Israel
For months, diplomats and analysts in foreign capitals have worried that prolonged political upheaval in the United States could invite aggression abroad, whether in Russia’s waging of war in Ukraine, North Korea’s rogue nuclear ambitions or China’s expansionist designs in the South China Sea. Now, less than 100 days before Americans elect a new president, that broader geopolitical crisis has erupted in the familiar theater of the Middle East. The targeted killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran have deepened fears of a regionwide conflict — one that the United States, caught up in its own political drama at home, may have little capacity to avert or even contain. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States had not been involved in, or even informed of, the operation in Tehran, which the Iranian government swiftly blamed on Israel. To some, Mr. Blinken’s statement confirmed a dangerous power vacuum in the region.
Persons: Antony J, Blinken Locations: United, Ukraine, North, South China, Beirut, Tehran, United States, Israel
Iranian state media and Hamas previously indicated that Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired from outside the building in which he was staying. An image published by the New York Times shows the building where Haniyeh is believed to have been assassinated. He had a full schedule of public appearances and meetings before he was assassinated, according to Iranian state media press reports. Haniyeh was first pictured on Tuesday, before the inauguration, meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Afterwards, Iranian state media published images of Haniyeh meeting with Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, Haniyeh’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Masoud Pezeshkian, IRNA, Iran’s, , Muhammad ibn Abd al, Umm, Abed, , Fu’ad Shukr, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Shukr, Mustafa Badreddine, Israel’s, Daniel Hagari, ” Hagari, Magen David Adom, , Mohammed Deif, Deif, Khan Younis, CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Tamara Qiblawi, Kareem Khadder, Tamar Michaelis, Tim Lister, Eyad Kourdi, Paul P, Murphy Organizations: Israel CNN, CNN, The New York Times, Hamas, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, New York Times, Iranian, Islamic, Assembly, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, MDA, Kibbutz, Thursday Locations: Haifa, Israel, Tehran, Doha, Iran, Qatari, Wahhab, Lusail city, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, Yemen, Syria, Haniyeh, Kibbutz Afek, Al, Gaza, Qatar’s
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