Israel Kills Islamic Jihad Commander As Group’s Leader Visits Iran

This is the second mass congregation for Friday prayer by supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- who seeks to curb the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iraqi politics. The protests are a show of force by the firebrand cleric whose party won the highest number of seats in the October 2021 elections but withdrew after failing to form a government with Sunni and Kurdish allies in Iraq's hectic power-sharing system.

Iran-backed parties have dominated many state institutions for years. 

Protesting against corruption and political mismanagement, hundreds of followers of Sadr occupied the country's parliament on Saturday, July 30, after mounting concrete barricades on roads leading to Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies.

The protesters stressed the need for an independent government in Baghdad, emphasizing that they do not want an Iranian-linked government or a subordinate one. They especially rejected a Tehran-backed prime ministerial nominee. On Monday, July 25, the Coordination Framework -- a coalition of Shiite parties close to Tehran -- nominated Mohammed al-Sudani as the prime minister, a decision opposed by Sadr. 

According to Iran International correspondent in Baghdad Truske Sadeghi, Sadr also held a meeting with Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the special representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, to break the months-long deadlock.

Sadr, reportedly, has also agreed to meet with Hadi al-Amiri, the head of a Shiite political party and military organization close to Tehran and the de facto leader of Iran-backed Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi, to talk about an early election in the country. 

Two Western security officials told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity on Thursday that the satellite, dubbed “Khayyam” after a 12th-century Persian polymath, will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East, including near-continuous monitoring of sensitive facilities in Israel and across the Persian Gulf. 

Russia's Roscosmos space agency has announced August 9 as the launch date of the satellite by a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan to fulfill a deal negotiated with Iran over nearly four years. Russia agreed to build and launch the Kanopus-V system but Iran may not be able to take control of the satellite right away as Moscow has told Tehran that it plans to use the satellite for several months, or longer, to enhance its surveillance of military targets for its invasion of Ukraine. 

The pending launch is the latest indicator of increased military and political cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned twice in July that Moscow appears to be looking at buying Iranian drones and Russian officers even visited a drone base in Iran’s Kashan to review their options.

The developments come as talks have resumed in the Austrian capital Vienna in what some officials describe as a last-ditch effort to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear accord. The Biden administration is pressing Iran to return to compliance with the deal, which Tehran essentially abandoned after the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018.

Cybersecurity firm Mandiant expressed “moderate confidence” the attackers were acting in support of Tehran’s efforts to disrupt a conference of the exiled Albania-based opposition group Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK).

In its report, the company said that several factors reveal that the attack was carried out by pro-Iran hackers, including the timing, the content of a social media channel used to claim responsibility, and similarities in software code used with malware long used to target Farsi and Arabic speakers.

On July 18, Mandiant identified a new ransomware family dubbed ROADSWEEP, which drops a politically themed ransom note suggesting it targeted the Albanian government, and a group named “HomeLand Justice” claimed credit for the disruptive activity.

The “HomeLand Justice” posted a video of the ransomware being executed on its website and Telegram channel alongside documents purported to be Albanian residence permits of MEK members.

The July 23-24 conference by the dissident group, titled The Free Iran World Summit, was canceled following warnings from local authorities of a possible terrorist threat. The conference was scheduled to be held at Ashraf 3 camp in Manez -- 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Albania’s capital, Tirana – where 3,000 MEK members live. Several US lawmakers were also among the invitees.

In July, Iran's Foreign Ministry sanctioned a group of US officials and lawmakers over their alleged support for the MEK group, that Tehran considers a terrorist organization.

A statement by the ministry said that the arrests took place over the past three days in two locations in western and southern Iran, adding that the 10 were captured in possession of explosives, communication devices and weapons. 

The militants injured two Iranian intelligence agents in an exchange of fire before being detained, the statement added, without specifying where or when the clash took place.

The ministry claimed that it had them under surveillance before they entered the country from Iraq and Turkey to bomb the gatherings for the Islamic month of Muharram, which started on July 30.

It also alleged that the militants were hired by Israel to make up for a failed attack at a facility in the central Iranian province of Esfahan last month by a Mossad-linked sabotage team who were purportedly members of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group Komala. 

Recently the Intelligence Ministry claiming has been making similar claims of uncovering alleged spy networks and thwarting operations following a major reshuffling of it rival, the IRGC intelligence and counter-intelligence leadership, widely attributed to reported Israeli infiltration and the inability of Iran’s security bodies to deal with the situation. Since May, several Revolutionary Guard personnel were killed or died in Iran, which Iran blamed on Israel.

Velayati made the remarks during a meeting with the leader of the group Ziyad al-Nakhalah in Tehran on Tuesday, saying, “We have a close and serious relationship with the Islamic Jihad movement and the Palestinian resistance.”

The senior international affairs adviser of Ali Khamenei also highlighted the significance of visits by officials of neighboring states to Tehran. 

Praising the support by the Islamic Republic and the growing power of the regional resistance front against Israel, Nakhalah said that today Israel has found itself encircled from all directions by the resistance axis.

He added that the enemies and the United States have adopted a “very weak” policy in the face of the Islamic Republic’s influence, claiming that Iran plays a very effective role in the region.

Earlier on Tuesday, Nakhala also held a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, in which Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s commitment to continue to support Palestinian groups against Israel. 

Nakhala also met with Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, who also told the Palestinian official that Israel has been caught off guard and is besieged by the resistance front. 

Israel and most regional Arab countries have been concerned over Iran’s support for militant groups and its interference in affairs of other countries.