Iran's Mossad paranoia grows, amid fears of Israeli spies wearing ‘masks, hats and sunglasses'
Since Israeli strikes began Friday, 28 people in the capital have been arrested and accused of spying for Israel, while on Monday, one man arrested on that charge two years ago was hanged in what appeared to be a message to any would-be collaborator.
The Iranian regime has also arrested scores of people across the country for allegedly sharing articles online 'in support of the Zionist regime' – accusing them of disrupting the 'psychological security of society' – including 60 people in Isfahan, where Israel claims to have targeted a nuclear site.
The wave of arrests comes as Tehran reels from the revelation that Mossad operatives smuggled weapons into Iran before Israel's unprecedented attack and used them to target the country from within.
So heightened have Iranian suspicions become since then that its Intelligence Ministry has been asking the public to report suspicious activity and issuing guidance on how to spot collaborators.
One statement from the ministry urges people to be wary of strangers wearing masks or goggles, driving pickup trucks and carrying large bags or filming around military, industrial, or residential areas.
Elsewhere, a poster published by the state-affiliated Nour News – which is close to Iran's security apparatus – singled out for suspicion people who wear 'masks, hats, and sunglasses, even at night' and those who receive 'frequent package deliveries by courier.'
The poster asks people to report 'unusual sounds from inside the house, such as screaming, the sound of metal equipment, continuous banging' and 'houses with curtains drawn even during the day.'
Another poster, attributed to the police and published on state media, advised landlords who had recently rented their homes to notify the police immediately.
Meanwhile, journalists in Iran have told CNN they are prohibited from taking pictures on the street.
The fears of Israeli penetration only amplify the anxieties felt by the increasingly isolated leadership of the Islamic Republic, which has been rocked in recent years by anti-regime protests sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of the country's so-called morality police.
The same force used to crack down on those protests, the Basij (a paramilitary wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard) has been deployed in night patrols to increase 'surveillance' in the wake of the Israeli infiltration, according to Iran's state-controlled media.
In a video statement Monday, Iran's chief of police Ahmad-Reza Radan urged 'traitors' to come forward, suggesting those who realized they had been 'deceived by the enemy' might receive more lenient treatment and be 'honored' by Iran – while those who were caught would be 'taught a lesson that the Zionist enemy is being given now.'
The head of Iran's judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i called for 'swift' punishment of those accused of collaborating with Israel.
'Let's say we have apprehended someone who is collaborating with (Israel), this matter under these war-like conditions … must be prosecuted swiftly and punished swiftly,' he said.
The Iranian regime's rising paranoia comes as more details emerge of the Mossad operation that smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the first strikes on Friday.
According to Israeli officials, operatives established a base for launching explosive drones inside Iran, then used those drones to target missile launchers near Tehran.
Precision weapons were also smuggled in, they say, and used to target surface-to-air missile systems, clearing the way for Israel's Air Force to carry out more than 100 strikes with upward of 200 aircraft in the early hours of Friday local time.
Intelligence gathered by the Mossad in Iran also reportedly gave Israel's Air Force the ability to target senior Iranian commanders and scientists.
Since then, according to Iranian media outlets, the government has seized equipment allegedly used during the Israeli operation – including 200 kilograms of explosives, several suicide drones, launchers and equipment used to manufacture the drones – in the city of Rey in Tehran province.
A video published by the state-affiliated Fars News Agency showed a building with drone parts and other equipment.
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CNN
43 minutes ago
- CNN
‘I will never regret coming': Amid Israel's devastating strikes on Iran, a woman traveling solo had to find her way out
When 24-year-old Ariel Kang Chengxuan went to bed on June 12, she did not expect to wake up in the heart of the latest global conflict. It was the 11th day of her journey through Iran, and Kang, a seasoned Taiwanese traveler, had fallen asleep on a thick dark-red Persian carpet at a homestay in Isfahan, a historic city known for its majestic Persian blue-tiled domes. While she slept, Israel was carrying out an attack on the heart of Iran's nuclear, missile and military complex, beginning 12 days of intense strikes across the country. The next day, Kang heard about the airstrikes through online messages from concerned friends. However, life carried on as usual in Isfahan; she says shops and supermarkets were still open, though there were fewer people out on the streets and less traffic. It wasn't until the morning of June 14 that she became fully aware of the severity of the conflict, when she and her host family were sitting on a gigantic mat, watching TV. 'We were so shocked to see the scene of the missile attack. The family who hosted me said that they experienced similar military conflicts last year so there might be a closure of the airport,' she tells CNN. 'I was quite helpless at first hearing about the attack. I was there alone.' The US, which operates sanctions against Iran, is among several countries that have long warned their citizens to steer clear. 'Do not travel to Iran for any reason,' says the US State Department's Iran travel advisory, citing the risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping or arbitrary arrest. But Kang, a Taiwanese passport holder and a dedicated world traveler, was drawn by the beauty and heritage to make Iran the 51st country she'd visited in the past three years. Since Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran, strangers online suggested she contact the embassy of China, which claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island. After initially getting no answer, Kang was able to reach the embassy eventually, but the staff there told her an evacuation bus was not yet available. Logistics aside, Kang says that the military action didn't rattle her. 'I had heard that the target was the Iranian government, instead of the civilians, so I wasn't too worried about my safety,' she says. Nonetheless, she needed to figure out an exit plan, and fast. Kang began her solo travels in 2022 when she was a university student. With a part-time job providing the funds, she traveled the world during school breaks. She says visits to countries like India and Egypt, which she describes as 'unorganized,' helped prepare her for her journey in Iran. 'I love challenges. They create unforgettable and deeply etched memories — ones I will never forget for the rest of my life,' she says. For her trip to Iran, Kang says she applied for a 15-day visa from a travel agency online, for $15. After seven days she received her visa and paid another $134 when entering the country. Iran is short on tourist infrastructure, she says, and the public transportation is unreliable. 'Traveling in Iran can be daunting,' she says. 'You need strong nerves to handle everything thrown at you.' She booked homestays through a couch-surfing website, and in moments of difficulty, she overcame the lack of tourist support by turning to the people around her. 'You need to have the courage to ask others for help,' she says. 'Paradoxically, it was because of the locals who guided me that the experience became profoundly memorable, and the warmth of human connection felt so special.' Strangers often approached Kang on the street, but she says traveling in similarly challenging countries helped hone her instincts, allowing her to sense who was genuinely friendly. She says people who didn't speak English would show her the words 'you are my guest' on their phone's translation apps, which she enjoyed. 'Everyone, no matter the young or the old, men or women, they all looked at me on the street … They called me someone from the 'Far East',' she laughs. An architecture fan, Kang notes it was the beautiful domes that lured her to Isfahan in the first place. Once one of the most important cities in Central Asia, it was a major stop on the Silk Road, a network of Asian trade routes linking China with the West that was active until the mid-15th century. Today, Isfahan is home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Masjed-e Jāmé, or Friday Mosque, which the global organization says is the oldest preserved edifice of its type in Iran and a prototype for later mosque designs throughout Central Asia. 'I am in love with the unique color of Persian blue that is used in the mosques,' says Kang. 'I was very touched when I first saw them.' On June 14, finding the roads blocked, Kang canceled her plans to travel to northern Iran and stayed home playing card games and cooking with her host family. While seated on the carpets woven with Isfahan patterns, they served her bread, tea and traditional Iranian foods, while she treated them to Chinese spicy hotpot, known as malatang, and to milk tea. That was the last homestay before her long journey out of the country. In the early morning of June 15, she set off to Tehran by bus. On the way, Kang says a police officer stopped the vehicle for a security check, and she was asked to put on a headscarf. 'Approaching Tehran, I saw black smoke, which scared me,' she says. Arriving in the Iranian capital at 2 p.m., she jumped from one bus stop to another, seeking help from locals for tickets to the northwestern city of Tabriz. 'I heard sounds of gunfire, and then a lady at the bus stop screamed. I was pretty calm though… I heard gunfire from far away every 10 minutes,' she says. Although some residents looked frustrated, she says the city was quite calm. During a visit to one restaurant, everyone appeared to be carrying on as normal. However, she says her inability to speak Farsi made it difficult to get a real sense of how people truly felt about the situation. 'Around 50 years ago, this place was known as the 'Little Paris of the Middle East',' she says. 'Now, most people seem to carry a sense of gloom, complaining about the government. Some strike me as highly talented and speak excellent English, yet they feel suppressed by the government and lack the means to travel abroad.' Kang finally got on a bus departing from Tehran at 10 p.m. and fell asleep. The next morning, she awoke to discover the bus had traveled less than 100 kilometers, caught in congested traffic with masses of people leaving the capital. In total, it took her around 15 hours to arrive in Tabriz. 'I was tired and hungry,' she says, adding that there was no bathroom on board the bus. After a few more struggles due to language barriers, she eventually found another bus to Maku. From there, she was able to take a taxi to the Turkish border. Crossing into Turkey at midnight, it then took another 22 hours to get to Istanbul, where she was able to catch a flight to Taiwan. 'I had never expected to run into a war,' Kang tells CNN. Many of the local Iranians she spoke with during her time in the country, she says, had a negative view of their government and wished to leave, blaming it for the poor economy, which has left ordinary citizens struggling. In total, her escape from Iran took 104 hours, but she says she wouldn't do things differently. In fact, she says she considers it one of her five top countries. 'I will never regret coming to Iran, despite the conflict,' Kang says. 'The people there are amazing, with great hospitality.'
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war tests the harmony of Los Angeles' huge Iranian community
LOS ANGELES (AP) — 'Tehrangeles' in West Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. This cultural enclave, also known as Little Persia, is where Iranian Muslims, Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and Bahai have peacefully coexisted for decades. But the recent war between Israel and Iran — a bloody, 12-day conflict paused by a fragile ceasefire — has brought up religious tensions and political debates that rarely surface in this culturally harmonious environment. To complicate matters, the U.S. — an ally of Israel — bombed Iran during the war. Many Iranian Jews in the diaspora have viewed the onset of the war with 'anxious glee,' said Daniel Bral, a West Los Angeles resident whose grandfather, Moossa Bral, was the sole Jewish member of parliament in prerevolutionary Iran. He sees family members and others in the community rejoicing at the possibility of their 'tormentor' being vanquished. But Bral feels differently. 'I'm just nervous and am completely rattled by everything that is happening,' he said. 'I understand and sympathize with people's hope for regime change. But I worry about the safety of civilians and the efficacy of the operation removing Iran as a nuclear threat.' But Bral doesn't see the war itself as a divisive issue in the diaspora because antagonism for the current regime is common across religious groups. 'This hatred for the regime actually unifies Muslims and Jews,' he said. Cultural enclave offers a sense of grounding Kamran Afary, a professor of communication at California State University, Los Angeles, who emigrated from Iran in the 1970s and cowrote a book about identities in Iranian diaspora, said the community, for the most part, has nursed a spirit of tolerance and respect, much like his interfaith family. While Afary is spiritual but not religious, other members of his family practice Judaism, Islam and the Bahai faith. 'Interfaith marriage used to be fraught, but even that is common now,' he said. Afary says for him, Tehrangeles, with its row of grocery stores, ice cream and kebab shops, restaurants, bakeries and bookstores, offers solace and a sense of grounding in his culture and roots. There are about half a million Iranian Americans in the Greater Los Angeles region. The largest wave of Iranians migrated to the area after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini assumed control, establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran. West Los Angeles, in particular, has the largest concentration of Iranian Jews outside Iran. A test for long-held bonds Diane Winston, professor of media and religion at the University of Southern California, said Israel's recent fight against the regime in Iran could test relationships between Iranian Jews and Muslims. 'Muslims, who otherwise would be happy to see regime change, might have felt a little differently about it because their antipathy for Zionism is strong,' she said. Winston also observed that in the diaspora, which is concentrated in wealthy cities like Beverly Hills and Westwood, it is not just religion or culture that brings people together, but also their elevated social status. 'They go to the same schools, parties and cultural events,' she said. 'In general, Iranian Muslims and Jews are not quite as religious as their counterparts back home. Los Angeles is a city where there is room to be orthodox, but also being less religious is not a problem. The less religious Jews and Muslims are, the less antipathy they may have toward each other.' A time of fear and uncertainty Tanaz Golshan was 2 when her family left Iran in 1986. She serves as the senior vice president of Caring for Jews in Need, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles' service arm. She is also the organization's liaison to the Iranian Jewish community. Judaism for Iranians is 'more cultural and familial,' Golshan said. Getting together Friday for Shabbat means having Persian Jewish dishes like 'gondi,' which are dumplings served in soup. 'In my family, we didn't grow up too religious,' she said. 'We don't think about religion when we go to a restaurant or market. You'll find people in both communities that are extreme and don't want anything to do with the other. But in general, we have a lot of love and respect for each other.' And yet this is proving to be a tense and scary time for Iranian Jews in the diaspora, she said. 'What happens globally can affect security locally,' Golshan said, adding the federation's helpline has received calls asking if there are any threats to local Jewish institutions, she said. 'There is real fear that temples and community centers could become targets.' On Monday, Golshan's organization and others hosted more than 350 community members for a virtual event titled, L.A. United: Iranian and Israeli Communities in Solidarity. A call for regime change in Iran Reactions to the war have been nuanced, regardless of religious affiliations. Arezo Rashidian, whose family is Muslim, is a Southern California political activist who favors regime change in Iran. She supports the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the shah, who has declared he is ready to lead the country's transition to a democratic government. Rashidian said she has never been able to visit Iran because of her activism. The only hope for her return would be for the current regime to fall. This is why the ceasefire has stirred mixed feelings for her and many others in the community, she said. 'It's been an emotional roller coaster. No one wants a war, but we were on the brink of seeing this regime collapse. We were so close,' she said. Lior Sternfeld, professor of history and Jewish studies at Penn State University, said Iranian Jews in the diaspora identify with Iran, Israel and the U.S., and that these identities are 'often not in harmony.' 'They don't see the Islamic Republic as Iran any more, but an entity to be demolished,' he said. 'They see Israel more as a religious homeland.' President Donald Trump enjoyed strong support in the diaspora and has now upset his backers in the community because he has stated he is not interested in regime change, Sternfeld said. Desire for unity and common ground There is a push, particularly in the younger generation, for peace and understanding among religious groups in the diaspora. Bral says he is engaged in peacebuilding work through his writing and advocacy. 'We are cousins at the end of the day, as clichéd and corny as that sounds,' he said. Bral's friend Rachel Sumekh, whose parents emigrated from Iran, grew up Jewish in the San Fernando Valley. Sumekh hosts dinner parties with her diverse group of friends as a way of widening her circle across religious lines. In December, she hosted a gathering for Yalda, an ancient Persian festival with Zoroastrian roots, which is observed on the winter solstice as celebrants look forward to brighter days. Last year, Yalda, which also marks the victory of light over darkness, coincided with Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. 'We created a new tradition bringing people of both traditions together to emphasize how much we have in common,' Sumekh said. 'This war is just a reminder that as much as our day-to-day lives may be separate, there is still a lot we share in terms of culture and as a people.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Never mind what you heard — the BRICS summit failed before it began
The BRICS are falling apart. The promising economic group — originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has increased both its membership and its internal rivalries. And the leaders of Russia and China, the group's two superpowers, are not expected to attend this weekend's Summit in Rio de Janeiro. China's authoritarian government is going through a rough patch, and I'm not talking about the Chinese real estate crisis, its lack of purchasing power, its high youth unemployment, low population growth or the economic slowdown that makes its recent 10 percent annual growth feel like a distant memory. No, the new crisis is linked to a strange earthquake prompted by President Xi Jinping, who often disappears for several weeks at a time and announces the renewal of an anti-corruption fight to purge 'undisciplined' military personnel or eliminate potential political adversaries. Gen. Miao Hua, vice admiral the People's Liberation Army, is one of the latest top officials to be purged by the political and military architecture of the Communist regime. Miao was a senior admiral and the director of the political work department of the Central Military Commission, which helps ensure loyalty within the armed forces. Xi's political maneuvers also affect generals and scientists in missiles, nuclear programs and aerospace. China plays a divisive and discordant role in BRICS. Its ambition for greater power and promotion of its geopolitical strategy against the West has led it to double the number of BRICS members, regardless of factors such as economic strength, political stability or positive contributions to the group. In this pursuit, countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Iran have joined as new members. China has also weakened BRICS through its rivalry with India. China maintains close political, military and commercial ties with Pakistan, India's main adversary. Added to this, a silent trade war has deepened, in which China hinders India's industry, generating tensions between two countries. The other BRICS members are not exempt from challenges and confrontations. After President Trump's return to the White House, the so-called leadership of the Global South appears divided and defeated. In April, the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Summit failed to pass a joint resolution, unable to reach agreements to promote the integration of Brazil and South Africa as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The meeting was a bust. The BRICS conflicts do not end there. Vladimir Putin cannot attend Rio in person because there is an international arrest warrant out for him for war crimes in Ukraine. Iran and Saudi Arabia are not necessarily best friends; Ethiopia and Egypt have a tense relationship over the Nile. And the list goes on. The host country, Brazil, also has its own valley of shadows. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has lost international support due to his radical pro-Iran and pro-Russia stances. Domestically, polls show Lula with only 28 percent approval. The Brazilian economy is a disaster, with high interest rates that make credit more expensive, reduce consumption and slow growth. Brazil seeks to promote the candidacy of a woman for U.N. Secretary General and, at the local level, Lula has expressed potential interest in a fourth presidential term to 'prevent the return of the right.' BRICS has utterly failed to break the hegemony of the dollar, and the New Development Bank is a white elephant that lacks the resources or financial strength of Western, U.S.-backed institutions such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. The BRICS summit has already failed before its launch. Perhaps we can expect some agreements on artificial intelligence, the promotion of renewable energy and a general, watered-down call for dialogue and peace in the Middle East and Ukraine. But there won't be much more than that — it's just another brick in the wall. Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University's Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course.
