Iranian-American Citizen Pleads Guilty To Dodging US Export Laws

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

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. 

As Group of Seven (G7) leaders are discussing the viability of a price limit on Russian oil on the second day of their meeting at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps on Monday, a French presidency official said that France wants a planned mechanism to cap the price of oil to be as broad as possible and not be limited to Russian output.

While the leaders adopted a declaration pledging to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his government “for as long as it takes,” Zelenskiy told G7 leaders that the conditions were not right to negotiate with Russia and wanted to be in a position of strength before began any negotiations.

On Sunday, France announced that G7 leaders will discuss the prospect of reviving the Iran nuclear talks after the European Union's foreign policy chief met senior officials in Tehran.

Discussions took place on Sunday at a dinner between the G7 leaders with more detailed talks scheduled for Tuesday morning between France, Britain, Germany and the United States.

The three European powers are parties to the nuclear deal, which then-US President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018.

The pact appeared close to being revived in March after 11 months of talks, when the process came to a halt. Tehran insisted that Washington remove the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Iran's indirect talks with the United States will resume soon in Qatar.

Iran agreed on Saturday [June 25] to resume nuclear talks with the United States after the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Tehran and held talks to restart stalled nuclear negotiations.

Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaking at his weekly media briefing thanked Borrell and said, “We confirm that there have been agreements regarding the format, essence and topics” for the new round of talks. “The most important aspect of the talks was that America has given assurances to act based on the entirety of the JCPOA and issues covered by resolution 2231, taking into account Iran’s [expected] economic benefits” from a renewed nuclear agreement.

Khatibzadeh also seemed to hedge Iran’s bets, saying, “We must wait and see if the Americans will part with Trump’s legacy and Borrell’s messages become a reality. We will continue the talks with seriousness and decisiveness with the caveat of not fully trusting America.”

Year-long talks in Vienna came to a sudden halt in March after diplomats said that a draft agreement was 99 percent ready to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The sticking points apparently revolved around Iran’s demand that the US should lift all sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump when he withdrew from the deal in 2018.

However, many sanctions, including the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist organization were not directly related to Iran’s nuclear program and the Biden Administration has so far not accepted Tehran’s demands.

Lately, Tehran has reportedly argued that the demand to remove sanctions related to terrorism is because they would prevent full economic benefits for Iran even if the nuclear deal is restored. Khatibzadeh’s statement that the US has accepted to consider Iran’s “economic benefits” points to Tehran accepting a promise from Washington, rather than a formal removal of all sanctions.

Some observers in Iran have suggested that perhaps the issue of remaining sanctions and other differences will be dealt with after the JCPOA is restored through additional talks.

Iran’s regional aggressive behavior and its missile threat are long-standing problems that the United States and its regional allies are keen to address. The lifting of terrorism and other sanctions could evolve into a new round of talks aimed at Iran’s overall foreign and military policies.

The new talks Borrell agreed with the Iranians seem indeed to differ from the Vienna format. The talks, which Khatobzadeh said will start in a few days, are slated to take place not in Vienna but in a Persian Gulf country, most likely Qatar.

Although many details are still unclear, the talks will not take place with the direct participation of Russia and China as was the case in Vienna. It is not clear if the United Kingdom, France and Germany, as European signatories of the JCPOA will be present or only the EU will mediate in what would be indirect talks, as Iran still refuses to negotiate with the US face to face.

According to a notice issued on June 23, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State, following consultations with the US Attorney General, have determined that the ban shall not apply with respect to an individual who provided insignificant or limited material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (such as IRGC) under routine social transactions, as they do not “pose a national security or public safety risk.” The decree did not mention Iran or the IRGC.

Provided that the individual satisfies the relevant agency authority that he did not voluntarily and knowingly engage in terrorist activity on behalf of a designated terrorist organization, they are not barred from admission to the United States and from obtaining immigration benefits or other status. 

The individual should also prove that he/she has not provided the material support with any intent or desire to assist any terrorist organization or terrorist activity; or any support directly be used to engage in terrorist or violent activity; or support for targeting noncombatant persons, US citizens, or US interests, the decree said. 

The United States designated the IRGC as a “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” in 2019 as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign that then-President Donald Trump imposed on Iran after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

According to multiple reports, Iran is demanding lifting of US sanctions on the IRGC and its affiliates before it agrees to revive the 2015 nuclear deal known as JCPOA.