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☆ Russia's fighter jets have gone from harassing US aircraft to actually breaking them as Moscow flexes its muscles where it still can
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russian fighter jets have harassed US military drones on numerous occasions throughout July. That incident is just one of several demonstrations of Russian aggression around US military drones this month. Russian military Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft employ flares in the flight path of a US MQ-9 aircraft on July 6, 2023 over Syria. A press officer who goes by callsign Damian looks at a destroyed Russian military vehicle in Novodarivka village, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine. "These maneuvers, they are to some extent intended to demonstrate Russian military strength," which could appease the country's domestic audience.

Persons: Nicholas Lokker, Alexus Grynkewich, Sabrina Singh, Su, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Damian, Putin, Lokker, Assad, Äzzeddin Kasim, Paul Lushenko, Lushenko, Christopher Sommers, AFCENT Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Center, New, New American Security, Islamic, US Air Force, ISIS, US Air Forces Central Command, Pentagon, Donetsk Regions, US, Anadolu Agency, Getty, US Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, U.S . Central Command Locations: Wall, Silicon, Syria, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, New American, Moscow, Syria . Washington, Islamic State, Washington, CNAS, Belarus, Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Region, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, Iran, Idlib, United States, Western

☆ How Chainalysis helped Israel disrupt alleged terrorism financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Talia Kaplan | Kaan Oguz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow Chainalysis helped Israel disrupt alleged terrorism financingErin Plante, VP of investigations for Chainalysis, explains how the firm's tools helped Israeli authorities disrupt alleged financing for Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force. She also reveals what other countries Chainalysis is working with to help detect illicit activity.

Persons: Chainalysis, Erin Plante Organizations: Iran's Quds Force Locations: Israel, Iran's Quds

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBlackRock refiles for spot bitcoin ETF, and Binance.US faces falling market share: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Erin Plante, VP of investigations for Chainalysis, explains how the firm's tools helped Israeli authorities disrupt alleged financing for Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force.

Persons: explainers, Erin Plante Organizations: BlackRock, CNBC Crypto, CNBC, Iran's Quds Force Locations: Iran's Quds

CNN —Iran smuggled weapons and military equipment into Syria using humanitarian aid shipments as a cover following a devastating earthquake there in February, two sources familiar with US intelligence and an Israeli defense official told CNN. Intelligence officials believe the weapons were destined for Iranian proxy groups in Syria, who have repeatedly attacked US military personnel stationed there as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. “The humanitarian assistance of Iran to Syria was used as an umbrella of moving weapons capabilities into the region,” the Israeli defense official said. Reuters earlier reported that regional and western officials believed Iran was smuggling the weapons under the guise of earthquake relief. Foreign aid poured into Syria and Turkey after February’s earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - As Iran's oil exports rise despite U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program, senators from both parties urged President Joe Biden to enable a federal government agency to seize Iranian oil and gas shipments. Senators Joni Ernst, a Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a letter to Biden that the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office has not been able to seize an Iranian oil shipment for more than a year. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while the United States suspects Tehran wants to develop a nuclear bomb by enriching uranium. Iran's oil exports have reached their highest level since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, Iranian oil minister Javad Owji said last month. Last year the U.S. tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil around Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf.

☆ Shooting attack in Jerusalem, clashes in West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Israeli security force members search and patrol the area following a shooting incident in East Jerusalem, April 18, 2023. On Monday, Israel's domestic security service said it had uncovered an attempt by Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force to recruit Palestinian operatives in the West Bank. U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem collapsed almost a decade ago and show no sign of revival. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East War when it also captured Gaza and the West Bank, in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their own future capital.

☆ The US and its allies are stuck in a violent cycle with Iran-backed militias who want blood but don't want to 'poke the bear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But even still, miscalculation is possible, and these deadly exchanges nearly sent the US and Iran to war just a few years ago. In response, two US Air Force F-15E fighter jets carried out airstrikes later that evening against IRGC Quds Force facilities in Syria, killing eight Iran-backed militants. Angel Ruszkiewicz"We do not seek conflict with Iran, we don't seek escalation with Iran," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. "As soon as the Iranian special forces and their proxies showed up in Syria, the Israelis started hitting them. The next day, Iran-backed militias attacked US forces near Hasakah, killing the American contractor.

☆ Iran Is Recruiting Militant Allies to Launch Attacks Against Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Summer Said | Benoit Faucon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The long shadow war between Iran and Israel is moving into an unpredictable new phase after one of the Islamic Republic’s most powerful military commanders began rallying allies across the Middle East to launch a fresh wave of attacks on Israeli targets. People familiar with the discussions said Esmail Qaani , who leads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, has held a series of clandestine meetings with militant leaders across the region in recent weeks, including some operating in Syria and Iraq.

Summary Sources: Military equipment disguised as relief suppliesSyria is a conflict zone for Israel and IranIsrael mounts swift campaign against IraniansAMMAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defences against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The supplies included advanced communications equipment and radar batteries and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria's Iran-provided air defence system in its civil war, said the sources, two regional sources and a Western intelligence source said. Regional sources told Reuters that Israel quickly became aware of the flow of weapons into Syria and mounted an aggressive campaign to counter it. A radar station used for drones was also hit on April 3, the regional source added, corroborating what two Western intelligence sources had told Reuters.

A large fire last year destroyed a portion of the country's largest oil terminal, Matanzas, and has created obstacles to discharge fuel imports. The Panama-flagged supertanker Nolan this week is loading 400,000 barrels of fuel oil for power generation at Venezuela's Jose terminal. Seeking to avoid its own fuel crisis, Venezuela's oil supplies to Cuba last year fell about 6% to 53,600 barrels per day (bpd), independent data based on tanker movement showed. PDVSA, Venezuela's oil ministry and Cuba's Center for International Press did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The tanker has not sent a signal from its transponder since mid-December while in Venezuela, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel monitoring data.

☆ Syria says Israel attacks areas around southern Damascus city
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The Syrian army said on Monday that Israel struck parts of southern Damascus in the latest string of strikes that regional intelligence sources say target Iran-linked assets. Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian backed militia targets in Syria, saying its goal was to erode Tehran’s military presence which Western intelligence sources say has expanded in recent year in the war-torn country. Two regional intelligence sources say the strikes hit an outpost by Iran’s Quds Force and militias it backs, whose presence has spread in Syria in recent years. They say the Iranians have a strong presence in the Sayeda Zainab neighbourhood of southern Damascus where Iranian backed militias have a string of underground bases. Iran’s proxy militias led by Lebanon’s Hezbollah now hold sway in vast areas in eastern and southern Syria and northwest as well as several suburbs around the capital.

"Ayan has established business contracts to sell Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to buyers," in China, the United Arab Emirates and Europe, the statement says, adding that he then funneled the proceeds back to the Quds Force. The Treasury action will freeze any U.S. assets of those designated and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran and has looked for ways to increase pressure as efforts to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran have stalled. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions. Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Don Durfee and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Sanctions Turkish Businessman It Says Brokered Oil Sales for Iran’s Military
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration on Thursday levied sanctions against several Turkish businessmen and more than two dozen Turkish companies that officials said were selling oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s terror-listed military unit. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. PREVIEW Mr. Ayan owns or controls the sanctioned companies, including the Turkish energy conglomerate ASB Group, which launders proceeds from the oil sales into Europe and Asia under an agreement he allegedly reached in 2017 with Iranian officials, the Treasury said. Neither Mr. Ayan, contacted through ASB Group, nor the firm immediately responded to a request for comment. Daniel Roth, a research director for the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, said the Treasury’s action represented a “giant stride” toward thwarting the IRGC’s illicit oil exports.

☆ Iran's violent crackdown against protesters escalates in parts of the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The group, which focuses on human rights in Iranian Kurdistan, said that at least 1,500 people have been injured. Scenes from reported clashes in the northeastern Iranian city of Javanrud, shared by a Kurdish human rights group on Tuesday. The regime-aligned agency blamed the violence on “rioters” and “Kurdish separatists” who infiltrated crowds of protesters and attacked an IRGC base. Some protesters have called for an overthrow of the regime and “death to the dictator” — meaning Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These have been condemned by Kurdish officials and the Iraqi government, despite the latter being dominated by parties close to Iran.

☆ Sanctioned oil tanker floating free after stranding in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S.-sanctioned oil supertanker Young Yong is moving away from shallow waters in Indonesia after more tugboats were deployed on Thursday to free the stranded vessel, shipping data showed. The ten tugboats that had surrounded the ship were also dispersing, data on Refinitiv Eikon and MarineTraffic website showed. The United States has allowed some transactions necessary to dock and anchor the Young Yong safely and make repairs as part of the efforts to free the vessel. The Young Yong was among the vessels sanctioned through its ownership. The supertanker is filled with about 2 million barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil after receiving the cargo through ship-to-ship operations last month, according to vessel monitoring services.

The Indonesian navy has been trying to free the Djibouti-registered ship, Young Yong, which ran aground off Indonesia's Riau Islands on Oct. 26 near a gas pipeline. The Young Yong was among the vessels sanctioned. Capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, the stranded tanker is almost full, according to shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon. allows transactions to free sanctioned oil tanker, Young Yong, which has been stranded in Indonesian waters since Oct. 26CHALLENGESThere are operational challenges in refloating the ship like the risk of an oil spill and strong currents in the surrounding waters, said Jacob Hogendorp, managing partner of Global Salvage Consultancy. He added that part of the cargo onboard Young Yong would likely have to be transferred to another ship before refloating commences.

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File PhotoHOUSTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A grounded oil supertanker under U.S. Treasury Department sanctions being refloated in Indonesia is filled with Venezuelan fuel, according to vessel monitoring services. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control last week imposed sanctions on the stranded tanker, Young Yong, for its part in an international oil smuggling network that Washington said supports Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force. Both tankers had departed between late July and early August carrying fuel oil supplied by Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters and TankerTrackers.com, which confirmed the vessels' identities. The Panama-flagged Eagle Brenda, identified on PDVSA shipping schedules as "Eagle I," also carried some 1 million barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil, the documents showed. The tanker was in Venezuelan waters at least twice since last year, where it loaded Venezuelan crude and fuel for exports, according to PDVSA's schedules and TankerTrackers.com.

☆ U.S. imposes sanctions on oil smuggling network backing Iran's Quds Force, Hezbollah
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday issued sanctions against an international oil smuggling network it said supports Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force, targeting dozens of people, companies and tankers as Washington sought to mount pressure on Tehran. The latest U.S. move against Iranian oil smuggling comes as efforts to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and ties between the Islamic Republic and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The move targeted a Gulf-based network that the Treasury said as of mid-2022 were blending and exporting Iranian oil. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions.

☆ Canada imposes new sanctions over human rights violations in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Canada imposed sanctions on six individuals and four entities on Wednesday that it said were among the worst offenders that have participated in or enabled "gross human rights violations" in Iran. "Canada will continue to support them by using all tools at our disposal to respond to the Iranian regime's violations of human rights and its threats to regional peace and security," Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement. The sanctions list includes Mohammad Karami of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, a hardline watchdog body called the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, which responsible for selecting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's successor. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ismail Shakil in OttawaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Shannon StapletonUNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The United States and Iran clashed on security and human rights on Wednesday, with Iran's president demanding U.S. guarantees to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the U.S. president vowing Tehran would never get an atomic bomb. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"There is a great and serious will to resolve all issues to revive the (2015 nuclear) deal," Raisi told the U.N. General Assembly. In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal and unilaterally reimposed sanctions that have hobbled Iran's economy. "We have before us the experience of America's withdrawal from the (deal)," Raisi said. "The Islamic Republic considers the double standards of some governments in the field of human rights as the most important factor in the institutionalization of human rights violations," Raisi said in a text of his speech released by his office.

☆ Trump thought he'd be assassinated after he authorized the deadly drone strike that killed top Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani: book
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump worried that he'd be assassinated by the Iranian government for authorizing a strike that killed the Iranian military commander. Trump told several of his Florida friends about his fears at a cocktail party, two journalists wrote in an upcoming book. In public, though, Trump bragged about the strike, saying he took out a "noted terrorist." Trump told several confidantes about his fear, according to a report from The Guardian, which obtained an advance copy of the forthcoming book "The Divider" by journalists Susan Glasser and Peter Baker. In public, though, Trump talked up the drone strike to Republican donors in Florida, recounting the minutes that led up to the deadly event.

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