Tag: iran

U.S. Is Scattering Landmines From Air Near Iranian Missile Bases

The United States military is scattering landmines from the air near Iranian missile bases to hunt launchers, and Iranian media has already reported civilian casualties.

The accusations first came on March 26 from Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which shared photos of what appear to be BLU-91/B scatterable anti-tank landmines.

“These explosive packages resemble ready-made canned food, are somewhat larger than tuna cans, and contain explosives that detonate after being opened, causing casualties,” Tasnim wrote on Telegram. “These packages have been dropped in the skies over the southern suburbs of Shiraz, especially in the village of Kafari, and unfortunately have caused the martyrdom of several people in these areas.”

Canadian lawyer and activist Dimitri Lascaris — who is currently in Shiraz in the southwestern Iranian province of Fars — shared footage showing the remains of similar landmines that exploded right between homes in Kafari, and at least three others some two kilometers away from the entrance to what is reported to be Shiraz South Missile Base, an Iranian “missile city.”

The landmines were likely scattered there to hit any launcher leaving the base, which had been already bombarded by the U.S.

This is the first time such a weapon has been used against Iran since the start of the American-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic around a month ago.

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Furious Republicans storm out of secret Iran briefing as shifting objectives spark panic

Furious Republicans stormed out of a classified briefing on Iran on Wednesday amid fears the US is preparing to invade the country as Tehran refuses Donald Trump‘s peace overtures. 

With almost 7,000 US ground forces deploying or en route to the Middle East – including from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and the Marines – speculation is swirling about Trump’s rapidly developing plans for the war. 

Congresswoman Nancy Mace walked out early, venting that ‘we were misled,’ while pro-Trump committee chair Mike Rogers warned ‘we’re not getting answers,’ as Pentagon chiefs briefed the House Armed Services Committee, sparking fireworks on Capitol Hill. 

Now, a Daily Mail source inside the room has revealed stark new details, including a shifting set of objectives separate from those publicly touted by the administration. 

‘We were told nukes were not a military objective,’ they said, noting how the Pentagon has repeatedly stated they were. 

It marks a stark shift from the four goals the White House has publicly stated: destroying Iran’s missiles, navy, armed proxies, and nuclear capabilities. 

It comes as Trump extended his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants by 10 days to April 6, after saying peace talks are ‘going very well’ on Thursday. 

The lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged the White House to answer questions about Kharg Island, Iran’s crucial oil export hub; its nuclear material; and regime change. 

The lawmaker said that the White House must answer for its plans, particularly regarding Kharg Island and troops on the ground.

The answers are ‘jaw-dropping’ and ‘will blow your brains out’, the lawmaker said. 

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US soldiers ‘seriously’ wounded and planes damaged after Iranian missile attack on air base

Around a dozen US soldiers have reportedly been wounded and multiple planes damaged following an Iranian missile strike at a base in Saudi Arabia. 

The service members were on Prince Sultan Air Base when it was struck by at least one missile and several unmanned aerial vehicles on Friday, according to multiple US and Arab officials.

Twelve American soldiers were wounded in the attack, according to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. 

Two service members are ‘very seriously injured’ while eight others are ‘seriously injured’, both a separate category under the military’s classification system, according to CBS News. The condition of others is unknown.

At least two KC-135 refueling planes suffered ‘significant damage’ in the combined missile and drone attack, according to the NYT. Satellite photos appeared to reveal the full extent of damage to the aircraft.

Friday’s strike represents one of the most serious breaches of US air defenses since the monthlong war with Iran began, as well as at least the second hit on Prince Sultan Air Base. 

An earlier March 1 strike on the base damaged five US refueling aircraft and claimed the life of 26-year-old Army Sgt. Benjamin N Pennington just days after he was wounded. 

Over 300 US troops have been wounded and at least 13 killed in the ongoing conflict, including about 225 with traumatic brain injuries from missile blasts, the US Central Command announced on Friday.

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Houthis join Iran war, Israel accuses Yemen of entering conflict

The Houthis, the Iranian-backed militant group, took to X to announce they have joined the Iran war, saying they have launched a salvo of ballistic rockets at military targets in southern Israel.

It came after Israel’s military said it had detected a missile launched from Yemen toward its territory and that its aerial defence systems were engaged to intercept the incoming threat.

Earlier, explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus as well as the Lebanese capital of Beirut, despite the United States saying it was “hopeful” that peace meetings with Iran would take place this week.

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Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director’s personal email, publish excerpts online

Iran-linked hackers on Friday claimed they had accessed ​FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email inbox, publishing photographs of the ‌director and other documents to the internet.

On their website, the hacker group Handala Hack Team said Patel “will now find his name among the list of ​successfully hacked victims.” The hackers published a series of personal photographs ​of Patel sniffing and smoking cigars, riding in an antique ⁠convertible, and making a face while taking a picture of ​himself in the mirror with a large bottle of rum.

A Justice Department ​official confirmed that Patel’s email had been breached and said the material published online appeared authentic. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for ​comment. The hackers did not immediately respond to messages.

Handala, which ​calls itself a group of pro-Palestinian vigilante hackers, is considered by Western researchers to ‌be ⁠one of several personas used by Iranian government cyberintelligence units. Handala recently claimed the hack of Michigan-based medical devices and services provider Stryker (SYK.N), opens new tab on March 11, claiming to have deleted a massive trove of ​company data.

Reuters was ​not able to ⁠independently authenticate the Patel emails, but the personal Gmail address that Handala claims to have broken into ​matches the address linked to Patel in previous ​data breaches ⁠preserved by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. Alphabet-owned Google, which runs Gmail, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A ⁠sample ​of the material uploaded by the hackers ​and reviewed by Reuters appears to show a mix of personal and work correspondence ​dating between 2010 and 2019.

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BlackRock CEO does U-turn on Iran war optimism

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has warned of an impending global recession if the US-Israeli war on Iran drags on and oil prices remain above $100 a barrel. The stark prediction comes just weeks after Fink framed the conflict as a good long-term investment opportunity.

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC this week, Fink said oil prices could stay above $100 per barrel for years if Iran “remains a threat,” potentially hitting $150 and sparking “a probably stark and steep recession.”

He described two scenarios for the conflict – one in which Iran is “accepted again by the international community,” allowing oil to fall below pre-war levels, and another in which tensions persist, leading to sustained high energy costs with “profound implications” for the global economy.

However, earlier this month, Fink, whose company holds significant stakes in major US defense contractors, struck a markedly different tone. During an appearance on Fox News, he dismissed the notion of a prolonged war, predicting that oil would “revert back to where it was and maybe even lower” once the conflict ends.

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U.S. Postal Service seeks 8% fuel surcharge for package deliveries as Iran war raises oil prices

The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday said it is seeking to impose a temporary 8% fuel surcharge for package and express mail deliveries to deal with rising transportation costs, which include higher oil prices as a result of the Iran war.

If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the surcharge would take effect April 26 and remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027, the Postal Service said in a notice on its website.

The 8% surcharge would apply to postage on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select products. First-class stamps and other mail services would not be affected.

Oil prices have jumped more than 40% since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

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ABHORRENT: Terrorist Sympathizers in Philadelphia Celebrate Fallen U.S. Soldiers, Back Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran While Torch­ing American Flags — “For Every U.S. soldier Who Returns Home in a Casket, We Cheer!”

A mob of masked terrorist sympathizers descended on City Hall Wednesday evening for a so-called “Hands Off Iran” rally and proceeded to cheer the deaths of U.S. soldiers, openly praise Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and set American flags on fire while waving Palestinian and Iranian flags.

This wasn’t some fringe gathering hidden in the shadows. This was brazen, in-your-face anti-American extremism happening in broad daylight in a major U.S. city.

Video footage captured by independent journalist Frank Scales of Surge Philly shows the crowd erupting in cheers as a speaker in a bright red hoodie said:

“Until we have done everything in our power to bring the United States to its knees, let us not lose sight of the enemy. For every U.S. military base that crumbles, and for every U.S. soldier who returns home in a casket, we cheer!”

The speaker didn’t stop there. He went full-throated in support of America’s deadliest enemies:

“Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansar Allah [the Houthis], and all the resistance forces – we celebrate these popular forces on the ground. They spend every waking moment in direct confrontation with Zionism, and they rely on a strong Iranian state to maintain their fighting capacity. Do you hate America? May a Hamas rocket blow up your family’s home.”

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Pentagon Weighs Sending Another 10,000 Ground Troops To Middle East, Suggests Seizing Iran-Controlled Islands

Just hours after President Trump said he was pausing strikes on Iran’s energy sector for 10 more days, to April 6, so peace negotiations can take place, the WSJ reported that the Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give the US President more military options even as he weighs peace talks with Tehran, according to unnamed Department of War officials. 

The force, which would likely include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and the thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who have already been ordered to the region.  The will join well over 50,000 servicemembers already deployed to air and army bases, as well as on naval ships, across the Middle East in the lead up and since the start of Operation Epic Fury.

It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub off Iran’s coast.

Trump has repeatedly said he will open the Strait of Hormuz, with or without the help of U.S. allies, and it is increasingly looking like 

“All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War. As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal,” said Anna Kelly, the deputy White House press secretary. A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle East, declined to comment.

Pentagon suggests seizing Iran-controlled islands in Persian Gulf

The Pentagon has suggested seizing the Iran-controlled Islands of Larak or Abu Musa, located in the eastern Persian Gulf near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 40 miles from both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, sources tell Axios. In interviews with Axios, officials and sources familiar with the internal discussions describe four major “final blow” options Trump could choose from:

  • Invading or blockading Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.
  • Invading Larak, an island that helps Iran solidify its control of the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic outpost hosts Iranian bunkers, attack craft that can blow up cargo ships and radars that monitor movements in the strait.
  • Seizing the strategic island of Abu Musa and two smaller islands, which lie near the western entrance to the strait and are controlled by Iran but also claimed by the UAE.
  • Blocking or seizing ships that are exporting Iranian oil on the eastern side of the Hormuz Strait.

The U.S. military has also prepared plans for ground operations deep inside the interior of Iran to secure the highly enriched uranium buried within nuclear facilities. Instead of conducting such a complicated and risky operation, the U.S. could instead carry out large-scale air strikes on the facilities to try to prevent Iran from ever accessing the material.

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Days Before Iran Strikes, DOJ Charged Silicon Valley Engineers in Case Involving Tech Secrets Sent to Tehran

With the United States forces engaged in destroying the Iranian military, it’s easy for Americans to think the enemy is on the other side of the world.

But a Department of Justice operation that resulted in the arrests of three Iranian-born computer engineers on the virtual eve of Operation Epic Fury has a different kind of message:

The danger can be much, much closer to home.

As the New York Post reported Monday, two sisters and the husband of one of the women were arrested in mid-February, 10 days before military operations against Iran began, and charged with stealing trade secrets from Google and other Silicon Valley powerhouses.

A Department of Justice news release from Feb. 19 identified the trio as Soroor Ghandali, 32; Samaneh Ghandali, 41; and Samaneh Ghandali’s husband, Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40.

The Ghandali sisters are former Google engineers who went on to work at another unidentified tech company; Khosravi worked at a third tech company, the release said.

And they apparently operated like trained professionals.

“As part of the alleged scheme to commit trade secret theft, the defendants used their employment to obtain access to confidential and sensitive information,” according to the DOJ release.

“The defendants then exfiltrated confidential and sensitive documents, including trade secrets related to processor security and cryptography and other technologies, from Google and other technology companies to unauthorized third-party and personal locations, including to work devices associated with each other’s employers, and to Iran.”

In official terms, the three are charged with “conspiring to commit trade secret theft from Google and other leading technology companies, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice,” according to the news release.

But as the U.K.’s Daily Mail noted, “trade secrets” in this case sounds more like a euphemism for technology that can pose a direct danger to American troops, and the country itself.

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