THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CEST
Exclusive: Iran’s Supreme Leader Taken to Secure Location, Sources Say
DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been taken to a secure location inside Iran amid heightened security, sources told Reuters, a day after Israel killed the head of Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in a strike on Beirut.
The move to safeguard Iran’s top decision-maker is the latest show of nervousness by the Iranian authorities as Israel launched a series of devastating attacks on Hezbollah, Iran’s best-armed and most well-equipped ally in the region.
Reuters reported this month that Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, the ideological guardians of the Islamic Republic, had ordered all of members to stop using any type of communication devices after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah blew up.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed
DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed.
The group said in a statement it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”.
Israel said earlier on Saturday it had killed Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier.
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CEST
Three IRGC Cyber Actors Indicted for ‘Hack-and-Leak’ Operation Designed to Influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Iranian nationals, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) employees, Masoud Jalili, 36, also known as مسعود جلیلی, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34, also known as, سید علی آقامیری, and Yaser Balaghi, 37, also known as, یاسر بلاغی (the Conspirators), with a conspiracy with others known and unknown to hack into accounts of current and former U.S. officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns. The activity was part of Iran’s continuing efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and unlawfully acquire information relating to current and former U.S. officials that could be used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC, including ongoing efforts to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC – Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Agents Attempting to Interfere in U.S. Elections
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated seven individuals as part of a coordinated U.S. government response to Iran’s operations that sought to influence or interfere in the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections. Iranian state-sponsored actors undertook a variety of malicious cyber activities, such as hack-and-leak operations and spear-phishing, in an attempt to undermine confidence in the United States’ election processes and institutions and to interfere with political campaigns. The designations undertaken today pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13848, complement law enforcement actions taken by the Department of Justice against a variety of Iranian election interference actors.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CEST
Israel Says It Struck Hezbollah’s Headquarters in A Huge Explosion That Shakes Lebanese Capital
BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday it struck the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut, where a series of massive explosions leveled multiple buildings, sending clouds of orange and black smoke billowing in the skies.
The strikes in the suburbs south of Lebanon’s capital came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N., vowing that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue. His comments further dimmed hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire aimed at preventing a spiral into all-out war.
U.S. Indicts Iranian-American for Espionage and Sharing Solar Energy Secrets with Iran
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement on Friday, September 27, that an Iranian named Abouzar Rahmati, 42 years old, a U.S. citizen and resident of Virginia, who was a former contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has been indicted and tried for espionage and selling classified information to the Iranian government.
According to the Department of Justice, Rahmati’s first court hearing was held on Friday in Washington, D.C.
The indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice charges Abouzar Rahmati with collaborating with Iranian intelligence agents, being employed as a contractor for the FAA, and transferring classified information from the U.S. solar energy industry to Iranian entities.
Iran’s Shared Oil and Gas Fields Are in Dire Condition
With Kuwait and Saudi Arabia completing their studies for developing the “Al-Durra” (Arash) field, Abdolreza Abed, the commander of the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, has issued a warning and requested that this institution be involved in the field’s development.
Abed also claimed that Khatam al-Anbiya has the capability to develop the Esfandiar and Farzad fields, which are shared with Saudi Arabia.
Iran has 28 shared oil and gas fields with neighboring countries, in almost all of which it has fallen behind its neighbors.
Khamenei justifies his regime’s warmongering, calls for “vigilance”
In a speech on Wednesday, September 25, Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei defended the Iran-Iraq war and reiterated his warmongering claims and rhetoric. He also issued strict orders for “vigilance” in all areas. Both his defense of the war and the call for vigilance had one goal: preserving the clerical regime. In today’s social and political climate in Iran, this clearly translates to confronting potential uprisings.
In a meeting with a group of the regime’s forces and so-called “veterans of the Iran-Iraq war,” Khamenei attempted to justify Ruhollah Khomeini’s insistence on prolonging the war for eight years. He stated, “This war wasn’t just about defending the homeland… The issue was bigger than that; it was about defending Islam [i.e., preserving the regime].”
Political Prisoner Amir Moavi Imprisoned 13.5 Years Without Furlough
Amir Moavi, a political prisoner in Iran, has been imprisoned for over 13.5 years without being granted a single day of furlough. His ordeal began following a series of protests in 2011 in Malashieh, a district in Ahvaz, which resulted in the death of a police officer.
Moavi, along with five others—Abbas Heydarian, Nasser Heydarian, Abbas Heydari, Ali Sharifi, and Ali Heydarian—was arrested by Iran’s intelligence services on April 20, 2011. The arrests occurred in connection with clashes between local protesters and security forces. Following their arrest, the detainees were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture in an effort to extract forced confessions. After enduring prolonged interrogations, Moavi and the other prisoners were transferred to Karun Prison in Ahvaz. When Karun Prison closed, they were relocated to Sheiban Prison.
Photo and Book Exhibition in Paris: Iranians Stand Against Regime Atrocities
On September 25, 2024, in Paris, France, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and freedom-loving Iranians organized a photo and book exhibition. This event was held in solidarity with the ongoing Iranian Revolution and served as a protest against the alarming increase in executions carried out by the Iranian regime.