EXCLUSIVE The astonishing behind-the-scenes details on Israel's campaign of sabotage and assassination against Iran, the gadget-loving spy chief masterminding it all and what I've been told about Mossad's bold plan for Tehran's future
The father of Iran 's nuclear programme since the 1990s was driving his Nissan Teana luxury saloon with his wife in the passenger seat beside him and his bodyguards travelling in cars ahead and behind them.
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Times
7 hours ago
- Times
Jeffrey Epstein sold Prince Andrew's secrets, new book claims
Jeffrey Epstein sold Prince Andrew's 'most intimate secrets' to foreign intelligence agencies around the world, a new book has claimed. Compromising material on the Duke of York is alleged to have been passed to Israel's Mossad, the Saudi Arabian authorities and the Libyan intelligence services under Colonel Gaddafi. Details of the claims are made in a new book on the prince, by author Andrew Lownie, which describes how the royal was easy prey for a 'rattlesnake' like Epstein. Victims of the US billionaire, who took his own life in 2019, have claimed for years that Epstein kept video recordings of his high-profile friends having sex with women. No proof of any recordings has ever been made public. Lownie, in his new book, credits a documentary by the Canadian journalist Ian Halperin as the source of allegations that Epstein sold Andrew's secrets to foreign agencies in the Middle East and Libya. The claims were 'confirmed' to Halperin by 'many in Andrew's circle', Lownie wrote. Halperin wrote about Epstein in his own book, Controversy: Sex, Lies and Dirty Money by the World's Powerful Elite, which was published on Amazon in 2020. In his book, Halperin claims that he spoke to Epstein in 2001 and quotes the financier at length as he discussed the Duke of York and the rest of the royal family. Epstein is quoted as telling Halperin that he had met Queen Elizabeth and introduced Princess Diana to Dodi Fayed, among other eyebrow-raising claims. The royal family were 'completely brilliant' because they were the 'richest motherf***ers' in the world, while collecting money from British taxpayers, Epstein is alleged to have told Halperin. The Canadian journalist, who wrote a bestselling book about Michael Jackson in 2009, has a colourful past. A September 2007 story on the website Spiked Online, seven months after the death of the model Anna Nicole Smith, said Halperin claimed to have once slept with her in front of Marilyn Monroe's grave. Halperin told The Times that the incident happened. He added: 'When I interviewed Epstein, he made numerous sensational claims. As I've said numerous times, Epstein was a complete sociopath who could not be trusted at all, as far as I am concerned.' Lownie told The Times that he didn't 'buy everything' in Halperin's Epstein book, but added that the information he had put into his own book had been 'verified'. He said: 'The claim about the kompromat, I've got it from other sources.' In his book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, Lownie wrote that 'other sources' alleged Epstein had Kremlin connections and may have been an 'agent of influence' for Vladimir Putin. Epstein played Andrew, Lownie said. He wrote in his book: 'The prince was a useful idiot who gave him respectability, access to political leaders and business opportunities. He found him easy to exploit.' The book also quotes US businessman, and convicted fraudster, Steven Hoffenberg, who knew Epstein, as saying that Andrew was his 'Super Bowl trophy' and Epstein planned to sell Andrew's secrets to Mossad. Hoffenberg said: 'Andrew had a weakness for the girls and fast life, Epstein provided that fantasy. 'Andrew would then give intelligence that Epstein would give to Israel. Andrew didn't understand that he was being used.' The Duke of York, 65, who was friendly with Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for years, was accused of sleeping with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, then known as Virginia Roberts, in London. He later settled with Giuffre in 2022, with no admissions, after she sued him in the US. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. The Duke of York has been contacted for comment.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Brit Channel 4 stars detained in Iran on espionage charges ‘moved to separate prisons after being subjected to torture'
THE British Channel 4 stars currently detained in Iran on espionage charges have reportedly been moved to separate prisons after being subjected to torture. Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent over half-a-year days in jail since being detained during a round-the-world motorbike trip. 6 6 6 The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state. The couple, both in their 50s, were held back in January on unspecified espionage charges. The Iranian government claimed they were 'posing as tourists' to gather intelligence against the Middle East nation. The couple's worried family revealed that they hadn't had any direct contact with them since their initial incarceration. And the Foreign Office said, until recent weeks, it couldn't confirm their whereabouts. Now, it's thought the couple have been cruelly separated and moved from a security detention facility in Kerman, the Daily Mail reports. Lindsay Foreman was recently transferred to Qarchak Prison, meanwhile her husband Craig was moved to Greater Tehran Prison, according to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. The two prisons are over 20 miles from one another. The charity also claimed in a statement that during their detention in Kerman, the Brits were "'subjected to severe pressure and torture aimed at extracting forced confessions". It added how their family has become understandably increasingly concerned and their well-being - especially considering the recent heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Brit brother & sister, 11 & 13, who drowned on Spain beach as dad tried to save them had begged for 'one last swim' The pair first travelled into Iran from Armenia on December 30, and reportedly planned to leave by January 4, as they headed for Australia. While in Iran they visited Tabriz, the capital Tehran, and Isfahan before staying in Kerman. It was here where they were picked up by police and arrested. At the time, the Foreign Office said the couples arrest had "caused significant concern". The couple, who had previously been featured on Channel 4 's A New Life in the Sun, had ignored pleas from friends, family and the Foreign Office (FCDO) not to enter Iran. FCDO guidance explicitly warns against all travel to the country, cautioning that British citizens could be arrested simply for their nationality. Despite this, the pair acknowledged the extreme risk in a social media post on December 30. It read: 'Despite the advice of friends, family, and the FCDO (which strongly advises against travel to Iran for British nationals), we've chosen to keep moving forward. 6 6 6 'Why? Because we believe that, no matter where you are in the world, most people are good, kind humans striving for a meaningful life. Yes, we're aware of the risks. 'We also know the rewards of meeting incredible people, hearing their stories, and seeing the breathtaking landscapes of these regions could far outweigh the fear.' The UK government has been urged to act quickly to try and free the pair. Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was imprisoned in Iran for six years, urged officials to move faster than they did in her case. He said: 'My heart goes out to them, and I hope they are not in for a long ordeal, and that the government is able to respond more promptly than it did in our case." Brits 'face torture and years in hellhole jail' on 'fabricated' espionage charges CRAIG and Lindsay Foreman could be left to languish in a hellhole jail for years, sources fear. Insiders believe Iran's merciless leaders have made a "fabricated case" to use Craig and Lindsay as pawns in their sick game to get Western countries to give in to their demands. United Against Nuclear Iran's (UANI) policy director Jason Brodsky told The Sun while they are unlikely to face execution, they could be jailed for years and face torture. He said: "Iran uses hostage diplomacy as a means to extract concessions from Europe and the United States. "Hostages have languished for years behind bars in Iran. "The Iranian regime has executed dual-nationals previously, or those with Iranian citizenship in addition to American or European nationality. "Since the Foremans do not have dual-nationality, an execution is unlikely but the danger of harm remains. "The Iranian regime employs both psychological and physical torture methods depending on the situation." Insiders and campaigners say it is likely the couple were arrested simply for being British. It is feared they have been taken "hostage" to put pressure on the UK. Hossein Abedini of the National Council of Resistance told The Sun: "All of these actions are aimed at gaining leverage from the country to which the hostages belong therefore, any verdicts could arise. "This is a repetitive process that has occurred many times, but due to the concessions made by the West, the regime assesses this as a profitable business."
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- The Guardian
The US attacks on Iran have backfired horribly – but a path to peace is still possible
Hanging is the preferred method of execution in Iran, although stoning and crucifixion offer alternative options for an ever-vengeful theocracy. Death by hanging is not necessarily quick. Strangulation and suffocation can take several minutes. The UN says more than 600 people have been judicially murdered so far this year. Iran has more executions per capita than any country in the world. Since June's US and Israeli attacks, growing numbers of victims are political dissidents. Fifty days on, nothing remotely positive has resulted from the illegal bombing raids and missile strikes mounted by the US president, Donald Trump, and Israel's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, despite their boasts of world-changing success. Iran's nuclear facilities were not obliterated, as Trump claimed. Tehran has not abandoned uranium enrichment. The regime did not fall, despite Netanyahu's call for an uprising. If anything, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is more defiant. He has since launched a new crackdown on opponents, hence the executions. Deploring last weekend's hanging of political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, Amnesty International linked their fate to the US-Israeli attacks. Arrested in 2022, the two men were charged with rebellion and 'enmity against God'. They were tortured, forced to sign confessions and sentenced last year after a five-minute trial. The decision to execute them now 'highlights the authorities' ruthless use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression in times of national crisis to crush dissent and spread fear', Amnesty said. Hundreds have been arrested since June in a regime drive to unmask spies and collaborators, real or imagined. Glaring intelligence failures that, for example, allowed Israel to locate and bomb a national security council meeting, injuring Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, are officially blamed not on gross incompetence but supposed fifth columnists. Iran's parliament wants to expand use of capital punishment. Up to 60 political prisoners face execution. This typically harsh reaction by clerical hardliners around Khamenei, and within the judiciary and Revolutionary Guards, comes despite a surge in patriotic sentiment after the attacks, which reportedly killed at least 935 people, mostly civilians, and injured more than 5,000. By intensifying repression, the regime squandered a chance to harness public anger, not least against Britain and European governments that turned a blind eye. US-Israeli actions have had other far-reaching, negative consequences. The attacks breached the UN charter and international law, as the Brics group of 'global south' countries noted. They led Tehran to suspend UN nuclear inspections. They exacerbated US-Europe divisions. And, ironically, they increased the likelihood of Iran building a bomb for self-defence. Iran insists it does not possess and does not want nuclear weapons. For all Israel's vaunted intelligence capabilities, neither Netanyahu nor anyone else has definitively proved otherwise. The decision to attack was based on a guess, driven by fear and hatred. It caused serious physical damage, but did not change mindsets. Iran is adamant it will continue to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. The bombing was a bust. Trump's angry threat to strike again is confirmation of failure. What this reckless act of aggression did do is encourage rogue states such as Russia to believe they, too, may attack other countries with impunity. It reinforces the belief in Iranian ruling circles, and not only among rejectionist factions, that the west cannot be trusted and a closer alliance with China is necessary. It strengthens the hand of hardliners whose fondness for regional proxy warfare, and recently documented covert operations against Britain, has entrenched Iran's pariah status. Historically speaking, Iran was and is an avoidable tragedy – one of the west's worst-ever geostrategic own goals. Unthinking support for the shah helped spur the 1979 revolution. The subsequent, far from inevitable ascendancy of conservative clerics plus abiding, irrational US animosity, feeding off memories of the humiliating Tehran embassy siege, rendered the rift permanent. Europe tried and failed to chart a middle path. In 2018, Trump reneged on the US-, UN- and EU-ratified nuclear deal with Tehran and reimposed sanctions. This last of many disastrous policy mistakes led directly to today's impasse. With wiser heads, it could have been very different. All parties to this conflict should study the French Enlightenment philosopher Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, a foe to tyranny in all its forms. Writing in his 1721 bestseller Persian Letters more than 300 years ago, he issues an impressively prescient warning about what were then imaginary weapons of mass destruction. 'You say that you are afraid of the discovery of some method of destruction that is crueller than those which are used now,' his fictitious Persian traveller Usbek writes to a friend. 'If such a fateful invention came to be discovered, it would soon be banned by international law. By the unanimous consent of every country the discovery would be buried.' In the sense that nuclear weapons are outlawed, Usbek's optimistic prediction was correct. But not 'every country' complies. If the US and Israel are sincere about preventing Iran acquiring the bomb, they should set an example and reduce, and ultimately eliminate, their nuclear arsenals. They should stop threatening renewed attacks. And they should back talks on a regional nuclear pact, as proposed by Iran's former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Only then, perhaps, will Tehran come in from the cold. Only then, perhaps, will its paranoid leaders stop hanging innocent people. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
