TOP STORIES
Israel Dismantles Iranian Spy Network And Arrests Seven People, Authorities Say | The New York Times
The Israeli authorities said on Monday that they have dismantled a spy network made up of seven Israelis who were gathering intelligence for Iran, adding that the seven had been arrested. It’s one of the largest such cases involving Iran since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago. The seven Israelis, all from the country’s north, were arrested after an investigation concluded that they had conducted intelligence missions for two years under the direction of two Iranian agents, according to a statement by the Israeli police and Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency. They are suspected of photographing and gathering information on Israeli air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome missile defense systems and a power plant, the statement said.
President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, a White House spokesman said Monday. The Biden administration is still not certain if the classified information was leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. Officials don’t have any indication at this point of “additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain,” he said. Kirby added that the Pentagon is investigating. U.S. officials on Saturday had confirmed an investigation by the administration.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. hopes to revive cease-fire efforts after the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but so far all the warring parties appear to be digging in. Israel is still at war with Hamas more than a year after the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it launched a ground invasion earlier this month. Israel is also expected to strike Iran in response to its ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. Blinken landed just hours after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas and its international airport, but causing no apparent damage or injuries.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Almost a month has passed since Masoud Pezeshkian, the new so-called ‘reformist’ president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, delivered his first speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, where he started a charm offensive. In his efforts to flirt with Western media, the new president has even raised the idea of de-escalating tensions with Israel, suggesting that the regime in Iran could disarm if Israel did the same. But while Pezeshkian’s comments captured his target audience in the West, less reported was the fact that the new president received a huge domestic backlash from some elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its hardline constituency.
Panama Sets Rules to Expedite Revoking Sanction Busters’ Registration | The Maritime Executive
The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) introduced a new legal mechanism enabling the immediate revocation of registration and navigation licenses for vessels in its registry that are placed on international sanction lists. It is the latest in a series of steps Panama is taking to enable it to purge its registry after international pressure and criticism from activists... Panama had historically had a large number of vessels that became involved in these trades. The NGO UANI (United Against Nuclear Iran), for example, highlights that a quarter of all the vessels it has tracked in the Iranian oil trade are registered in Panama.
Panama’s New Rules To Expel Ships On Sanction Lists | Regtech Times
In a significant move, Panama has taken steps to tighten its control over the ships registered under its flag. This new action aims to make it much faster and easier for Panama to cancel the registration of vessels that are violating international sanctions. This change is essential as it comes amid increasing pressure from other countries that want to stop illegal oil trading, especially involving countries like Russia and Iran. […] For example, the UANI (United Against Nuclear Iran) organization reported that about 25% of the ships it tracked that were involved in the Iranian oil trade were registered in Panama. This information has raised alarms, leading to calls for Panama to take action against these vessels. By speeding up the process to remove these ships from its registry, Panama aims to show that it is taking these concerns seriously.
Iran Anticipates Israel’s Retaliatory Attack | i24 News
White House: President Biden “very concerned” over leak of classified documents related to Iran attack preparations. UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky discussed the issue with Benita Levin tonight on The Rundown.
Iran Braces For Israeli Response To Missile Attack | i24 News
Iran might expect Israel to avoid targeting those energy installations that are significant for global economy, yet that leaves Israel with a wide array of domestic targets the Iranians would struggle to defend, UANI Senior Advisor Norman Roule tells Nicole Zedek.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Private Sector Squeezed Out Of Iran's Foreign Trade | Iran International
Recent statistics from Iran’s Central Bank indicate that the private sector has been largely eliminated from large-scale foreign trade and replaced with government entities, which are engaged in billions of dollars of imports. The data shows that these entities were the primary recipients of foreign currencies from the Central Bank that is the repository of US dollars, euros and other stable currencies importers need to conduct business. As large-scale currency trading is controlled by the government, it has set up various rates. For essential imports it provides dollars at half the free market rate, subsidizing food and medicines.
Israel Targets Hezbollah Financial Operations Across Lebanon | The Washington Post
Israel warned of more attacks on Hezbollah on Monday after launching a round of strikes it said had targeted the Iran-backed militant group’s financial operations. In the south, Israeli troops conducted “localized” ground operations to root out militants, the Israel Defense Forces said. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned: “We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.” Smoke billowed above Beirut’s southern suburbs soon after Israel warned people to move away from branches of the Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution al-Qard al-Hasan Association on Sunday night.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Who Was Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s Leader? | The New York Times
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has long been viewed as one of the militant group’s most influential leaders, wielding outsize power while remaining mostly hidden in tunnels beneath Gaza. Israel’s military said on Thursday that he had been killed in Gaza — raising hopes of an end to the conflict. Long considered a planner of Hamas’s military strategy in Gaza, Mr. Sinwar consolidated his power when he was chosen in August to lead the group’s political office as well. He was elevated to that post after the assassination of the group’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
US Unveils New Rules To Block China, Russia And Iran From Accessing Bulk US Data | Reuters
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday proposed new rules to protect federal government data or Americans' bulk personal data from getting into the hands of countries like China, Iran and Russia by placing new limits on certain business transactions. The proposal, which was previewed in March, implements an executive order issued earlier this year by President Joe Biden which aims to keep foreign adversaries from using accessible American financial and genomic data and health data for cyber attacks, espionage and blackmail.
Iran Tells UN: Biden Has Signaled US Approval, Support For Attack On Iran | Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden has signaled "tacit approval and explicit support for Israel's unlawful military aggression against Iran," Iran's mission to the United Nations said on Monday, citing remarks by Biden in Germany last week. "The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran ... as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security," Iran's U.N. mission said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council.
The Defense Department is hunting for the source of the leaked Israeli plans to attack Iran as the National Security Council called the breach “unacceptable.” “I know the Department of Defense is investigating this and I’m sure that as they work through that, they’ll try to determine the manner in which they did become public,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday, adding that the Biden-Harris administration cannot yet say how the classified documents became public. “That is not supposed to happen,” Kirby said, “and it’s unacceptable when it does.”President Biden is “actively monitoring” the investigation, and “remains deeply concerned about any leakage,” Kirby added.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Israel Targets Hezbollah’s Political Base With Strikes On Lebanese Bank | The Wall Street Journal
Israel’s attack on branches of a Hezbollah-linked bank widened Israel’s campaign to degrade the economic and social institutions that back the militant group’s grip on Lebanon. The bombings on Sunday point to the potential for a campaign that goes far beyond Israel’s original stated aims of returning its civilians to communities in northern Israel, to one that aims to weaken Hezbollah as a social and political movement over the long term. The strikes hit several branches of the microlending bank Al-Qard Al-Hassan throughout the country, including one near the Beirut airport, after the Israeli military warned earlier in the day that it would strike the bank.
Iran has received guarantees from its neighbours that they will not allow "their soil and airspace" to be used for any attack against the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday, as it awaits a response to its ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month. Mr Araghchi has been on a regional trip for about two weeks as Israel assesses its response to Iran's ballistic missile attack on October 1. "All the neighbours assured us that they will not allow their soil and space to be used against Iran," he told a press conference in Kuwait. "This is the expectation of all friendly and neighbouring countries and we consider this a sign of friendship."
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel Busts Spy Ring Acting For Iran, Security Services Say | Reuters
Israel's security services have broken up a spy ring that was gathering information on behalf of Iranian intelligence in the latest attempt by Tehran to recruit Israelis for espionage, the Shin Bet and police said on Monday. Seven Israelis from Israel's north, including the port city of Haifa, were arrested after an investigation found they had gathered intelligence on Israeli military bases and energy and port infrastructure, a joint Shin Bet and police statement said.
Israel Says Nasrallah’s Killing Disrupted Flow Of Iran Funds To Hezbollah | Iran International
Israel’s killing of Hezbollah commanders, including Hassan Nasrallah, along with recent airstrikes on its infrastructure, has significantly disrupted the group’s funding from Iran, according to a senior Israeli intelligence official. The Israeli military intensified its campaign against Hezbollah’s leadership with the July 30 assassination of Fuad Shukr, a key aide to Nasrallah, followed by multiple airstrikes over the next two months that culminated in the killing of the group’s leader on September 27. The airstrikes targeting the group’s leaders and infrastructure have created new challenges in Hezbollah's financial operations, which could have far-reaching consequences for its military capabilities, an Israeli intelligence official told reporters in a briefing on Sunday.