Iranian Guard Killed In Clashes On Afghanistan Border

Defense minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that an IRGC cyber unit called “Shahid Kaveh” was involved in the alleged project.

Britain's Sky News reported similar allegations last year, saying the Iranian embassy in London had not responded to them.

Gantz hinted that Israel -- which is widely believed to have waged cyber war against Iran's nuclear facilities and other infrastructure -- may retaliate physically against enemy hackers.

"We know who they are, we target them and those who direct them. They are in our sights as we speak - and not just in the cyber-space," he said. "There is a variety of possible responses to cyber-attacks - in and outside of the cyber-domain."

Gantz also charged the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah of conducting a cyber operation designed to disrupt a UN peacekeeping mission on the border between the countries.

He said "Iranian security institutions in cooperation with Hezbollah (recently) launched a cyber operation with the aim of stealing materials about UNIFIL activities and deployment in the area, for Hezbollah's use".

"This is yet another direct attack by Iran and Hezbollah on Lebanese citizens and on Lebanon's stability," he told a cyber conference at Tel Aviv University, without elaborating.

Established in 1978, UNIFIL patrols Lebanon's southern border. It is charged with monitoring the ceasefire that ended the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Reporting by Reuters

His Iranian Paris-based lawyer, Saied Dehghan, said Tuesday that an Iranian appeals court has upheld the sentence on charges of “spying” and “propaganda against the regime” and Briere was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison.

The appeals court said in its verdict that Brière is "an agent in the service of an enemy state," and mentioned “sympathy with the victims of the Ukrainian plane” [Flight 752 downed by Iran]”, “IT expertise", and "possession of more than one hard drive and mobile phone” as reasons behind the decision.

The airliner referred to in the verdict was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on January 8, 2020, as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport killing all 176 people onboard.

Briere’s other lawyer Philippe Valent, said his case was being "instrumentalized" by the Iranian authorities. Accusing Iran of holding him as a "hostage." He added, "It's shocking and dramatic."

“It is unacceptable that Benjamin Briere remains a hostage to negotiations on the part of a regime that persists in its desire to arbitrarily detain a French citizen and use him as a bargaining chip,” he added, urging “the French, American and British authorities to make the liberation of hostages a pre-condition for the resumption of [nuclear] negotiations.”

"Benjamin Brière has obviously not - nor has he ever - been given a fair trial before impartial judges. He was not given any right to defend himself, no access to the prosecution's case, no opportunity to prepare and present a defense before the judges of the Revolutionary Court," Valent said in a statement, adding that he would appeal. "The family of Benjamin Brière is now calling on the French authorities to take immediate steps to allow his repatriation".

On Tuesday, France's foreign ministry said that the sentence had no basis in fact and was "unacceptable".

His sister Blandine Brière told AFP that her brother was a "political hostage," saying that "It is clear that this is a useful political trial for Iran, which sends a message to the French government. We are nothing in the face of this, we feel like pawns in a diplomatic game."

Briere, a 36-year-old travel blogger, has been held in Iran since May 2020, when he was arrested after flying a recreational helicam -- a remote-controlled mini helicopter used to obtain aerial or motion images -- in a national park near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. He went on hunger strike at Valikabad prison in Mashhad in December to protest his detention conditions.

In the past decade, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on unproven allegations of espionage and breach of security, in what human rights organizations have said is essentially hostage taking.

The sentence comes as indirect or "proximity" nuclear talks between Iran and the United States began Tuesday with negotiators in different parts of a hotel in Doha, Qatar.

Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired year-long talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), is acting as a mediator between the teams led by Rob Malley, the United States special envoy, and Ali Bagheri-Kani, a deputy Iranian foreign minister.

Assistant to the Russian President for Foreign Policy Yuri Viktorovich Ushakov said on Tuesday that the meeting will take place on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the heads of state of the Caspian Sea littoral states. 

This is Putin's first known trip abroad since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would return to Moscow Wednesday evening.

The meeting is the second between the two presidents since Raisi took office in August 2021. They met in the Russian capital Moscow in January 2022.

Raisi is also scheduled to hold separate meetings with his counterparts from the other three participating countries in the summit, namely Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan Republic.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of these countries kicked off on Tuesday to “review cooperation in the Caspian Sea and discuss the further collaboration modalities for the upcoming meeting of leaders of five Caspian littoral states.”

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, "The meeting, organized on the eve of the Fifth Caspian Summit, witnessed the signing of a historical Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.”

Addressing the event, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, “We support Russia's recent proposal to develop and establish a structure of cooperation in the Caspian Sea. This initiative strengthens and systematizes the five-way cooperation in the Caspian Sea.”

Revolutionary Guard’s commander Hossein Salami in a meeting with the visiting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Pakistan General Nadeem Raza Nishan on Tuesday, also said that “Israel is the enemy of the Islamic world and humanity.” 

A military alliance is being formed in the region under the leadership of Washington with many Arab countries starting to coordinate with Israel as the member of CENTCOM, the US Central Command, covering the Middle East. 

Seriously concerned about the growing ties, the Islamic Republic is repeatedly warning neighbors against allowing Israel to establish a presence in the Persian Gulf region.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addressed Iran saying, “You can no longer hit Israel indirectly and through proxies and think you’ll get away with it.”

The outgoing premier said “wreaking havoc in Tehran” is not a policy, “Our policy is, if you mess with Israel, you’ll pay a price,” apparently referring to air raid sirens that sounded in Jerusalem and Eilat last week, reportedly triggered by a cyberattack possibly by Iranian hackers. On Monday, Iran’s major steel companies were hit by a cyberattack.

Israel intends to ask the US to approve the delivery of an Israeli laser-powered air defense system to Arab countries aligned against Iran, including Saudi Arabia, as part of a US-led effort to establish the regional alliance. 

In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal – the JCPOA, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – would be coordinated by the European Union.

Ali Bagheri-Kani, leading the Iranian delegation, arrived in Doha Tuesday morning. Welcoming him, Tehran’s ambassador Hamidreza Dehghani, tweeted, "Without any prejudice and expression of unrealistic pessimism or optimism, I wish them success in carrying out their important mission.”

United States special envoy Robert Malley met Tuesday with Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The US embassy said they discussed “the strong partnership and our joint diplomatic efforts to address issues with Iran.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reiterated Monday that restoring the JCPOA was the best way to preclude any possible Iranian path to a nuclear weapon, and reiterated that Washington put the onus on Tehran to make the necessary moves. “There is a deal available on the table to Iran, and it’s up to Iran to decide whether or not it wants to take it,” Sullivan said.

Some analysts portray the talks – which, although US and Iran still talk indirectly, are separate to stalled Vienna talks between Iran and six world powers – as the last chance for Washington and Tehran to revive the JCPOA.