Israeli Strikes Sow Fear and Anxiety in Tehran

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News24
17 minutes ago
- News24
US hits Yemen Houthis with new sanctions over ‘shady businesses' smuggling oil
The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group. The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis. 'The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system,' said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender. 'These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes.' Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen. Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organisation, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area. In May, the US announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel. The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.


Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Apple Issued A New Spyware Warning To Iranians—What To Know
Researcher believed Iran's government is behind the Apple spyware attacks. Apple has been issuing spyware warnings for some time, to alert those targeted by the dangerous malware so they can take action. Recently, one of these warnings was targeted at Iranian dissidents living in the country and overseas, according to a report in Bloomberg. The claims come from a report by Miaan Group, a digital rights organization that focuses on Iran, and Hamid Kashfi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher who lives in Sweden. The pair told TechCrunch they had spoken to Iranian iPhone users who have received the Apple notifications over the last year. 'Two people in Iran come from a family with a long history of political activism against the Islamic Republic. Many members of their family have been executed, and they have no history of traveling abroad,' Amir Rashidi, Miaan Group's director of digital rights and security, told TechCrunch. 'I believe there have been three waves of attacks, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.' Iranian iPhone Users Targeted Ahead of Iran-Israel War The spyware victims' iPhones were hit ahead of the Iran-Isarel war, raising interesting questions about who could have been behind the attacks. More than a dozen Iranian iPhone users were identified as having been targeted by the government spyware, but human rights groups estimate that this is just a fraction of the total. The attacks could have been perpetrated by another nation state, such as Israel — or even in a joint initiative with the U.S. This has happened before, in 2010, when the two are alleged to have been behind a devastating attack on an Iranian nuclear facility using a worm called Stuxnet. However, Miaan Group's Rashidi told TechCrunch he believes Iran's government is behind the Apple spyware attacks. Further investigation is needed, but there is no reason for members of civil society to be targeted by anyone else, he said. It is unclear which spyware maker is behind the recent attacks on iPhones. However, the most recent reports have seen Paragon Graphite target devices. The news that Iranian dissidents were targeted comes as researchers at Lookout identified Iranian government affiliated threat group MuddyWater using DCHSpy spyware to attack Android users. DCHSpy collects WhatsApp data, accounts, contacts, SMS, files, location and call logs — and can record audio and take photos. I asked Apple to comment on this latest report and will update this article if the firm replies. Spyware Targeting iPhones — What To Do I have covered numerous reports of spyware targeting iPhone users, with variants including Pegasus and LightSpy which take advantage of unpatched software vulnerabilities. It's therefore integral that people who could be attacked keep their iPhones up to date. In addition, turning your iPhone on and off again can disrupt the malware, temporarily disabling it. Apple itself recommends Lockdown Mode, which reduces the functionality of your iPhone but also stops spyware from taking hold. If you do think you're a victim of spyware, or if Apple has sent you a notification, contact Access Now or Amnesty for help.


UPI
8 hours ago
- UPI
U.S. sanctions Houthi petroleum smuggling network
The U.S. Treasury under Secretary Scott Bessent sanctioned two people and five companies on Tuesday on accusations of being a Houthi petroleum smuggling network. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- The United States has blacklisted two Yemeni nationals and five companies on accusations of laundering money and importing petroleum products for the Houthi rebels. The Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, work with privately owned companies to ensure continued shipments of petroleum products into areas of Yemen under their control. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, 38, and three companies his connected to, as well as Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir, 44, and two of his companies, for facilitating those petroleum product transactions. "The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes." The long proxy war between Iran and Israel exploded into the open on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, another Iran-backed militia, attacked Israel. Israel responded by devastating the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships that transit the important trade route, in solidarity with the Palestinians, nearly 60,000 of whom have been killed by Israel. The United States, under both the Biden and Trump administrations, has been hammering the Houthis with sanctions, seeking to corrode their ability to make war, with President Donald Trump re-designating the Iran-proxy militia as a foreign terrorist organization in January. "The United States is committed to disrupting the Houthis' illicit revenue generation by maintaining pressure on the financial facilitators that fuel the Houthi enterprise," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "Today's action builds on a series of measures targeting Houthi revenue generation and weapons procurement, reaffirming our resolve to counter terrorism, promote regional security and uphold freedom of navigation."