The Taliban Lay Claim To Stretch Of Iranian Border Area

Residents of the region reported repeated blasts which came from "the warehouses of pro-Iran militias" in a mountainous area east of the capital, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria.

The head of the war monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman, said they do not know if the blasts were from an airstrike or ground operation, adding that it was still unclear if anyone was wounded or killed in the explosion. 

Israel has been attacking what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria since 2017, to prevent Islamic Republic forces getting entrenched near its northern borders and weapons reaching the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The most recent reported Israeli strike was on August 7, when weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus were targeted. At least four Syrian army soldiers were killed in the attack.

Iran intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2011 to save Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which had close ties with Tehran and allowed weapons and assistance to flow to Hezbollah in Lebanon. With crucial Iranian and Russian military assistance Assad has regained most of the territories lost to the rebels but remains highly dependent on Moscow and Tehran.

Iran says its officers serve in an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of Damascus. Hundreds of Iranian forces and thousands of proxy militiamen including senior officers have been killed in Syria during the war.

A Hezbollah member and a Christian resident were killed in Wednesday's exchange of fire in the village of Kahaleh, near Beirut, which began when a Hezbollah truck carrying ammunition turned over while driving through the area.

It was the deadliest confrontation between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Lebanese who oppose it since clashes in Beirut two years ago, further rocking the stability of a country already suffering deep political and economic crises.

In his sermon on Sunday, cleric Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai called for "all parties" and other elements of the country "to unite under the banner of the state, especially regarding the use of weapons".

"It is not possible to live on one land with more than one state, more than one legitimate army, more than one authority, and more than one sovereignty," Rai said, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah's arsenal.

Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, is Lebanon's most powerful group. Its arsenal has long been a point of conflict in Lebanon, where its opponents accuse the group of undermining the state.

Lebanon has been suffering a four-year-long financial collapse that has marked its most destabilizing episode since the 1975-90 civil war. It was caused by decades of corruption and profligate spending by ruling politicians.

(Report by Reuters)

The Javan newspaper highlighted several aspects, including the "withdrawal of US forces, ensuring political and security stability, increasing transparency, and reducing corruption," as positive aspects of the Taliban's governance.

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the Taliban returning to power, the newspaper stated that "despite the decline in support and financial aid [to Afghanistan] from the United States and NATO, the Taliban has successfully maintained the security, political, and economic structures of the country over the past two years."

Javan's article stated, "Corruption has diminished, and Afghanistan's position on the global transparency index has improved."

The IRGC outlet declared the most significant Taliban accomplishment was "the withdrawal of US and NATO forces" from Afghanistan. It also claimed that curbing the activities of Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), an affiliate of ISIS operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, was another achievement.

Furthermore, the report acknowledged the suppression of armed resistance led by Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, as an achievement during the past two years of Taliban rule.

Nonetheless, the paper also acknowledged shortcomings during the two years of Taliban rule, such as strict measures against girls and women, restrictions on ethnic and religious minorities, and an "imbalanced foreign policy," particularly a hopeful stance towards the US.

Earlier in the week, Fars News Agency – another IRGC-affiliated media outlet -- strongly objected to a tweet by Iran’s foreign minister criticizing the Taliban, alleging that it could have adverse consequences for bilateral ties.

The stark warning shows tensions remain high in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran seized tankers in late April and early May, while Washington and Tehran are implementing a deal to free five US citizens held hostage in Iran and the US allowing $6 billion in Iranian funds held in South Korea to be unfrozen. The US Navy has warned in recent weeks that the Islamic Republic staged more than 15 attacks and seizures of vessels in the past two years.

"The International Maritime Security Construct is notifying regional mariners of appropriate precautions to minimize the risk of seizure based on current regional tensions, which we seek to de-escalate," Commander Timothy Hawkins, spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet, said late on Saturday.

"Vessels are being advised to transit as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible."

The warning also shows that Washington has little trust in Tehran’s intentions, even though they have secretly negotiated the latest deal. Some sources say that the agreement goes beyond freeing the hostages, and the United States will agree to the release of all Iranian funds frozen abroad, including in Iraq ($11 billion) and Japan ($3billion) in exchange for Tehran agreeing not to enrich uranium beyond 60-percent purity. Tehran is said to have already accumulated enough enriched uranium for producing at least two nuclear bombs.

The Biden administration has been beefing up US forces in the Persian Gulf region for weeks, deploying F-16 and F-35 warplanes, additional naval vessels, and Marines, as it has been working on the deal with Iran. The US on August 1 offered to provide armed troops to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway where it is difficult to stay far away from Iran’s territorial waters.

Iran has also been putting up a show of force in recent weeks. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) held drills around three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf contested by the United Arab Emirates, and claimed that it has added a 600-kilometer-range new missile to its arsenal “for defending the islands’ territory.”

Hossein Salami the commander of the IRGC delivered another speech on August 5, praising what he called unprecedented advances the Islamic Republic has made in naval power. In typical veiled language Salami said that “the enemy’s presence instead of posing a threat became an opportunity…and we expanded our defense and military” capabilities.

About a fifth of the world's crude oil and oil products pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

If reports about a larger unwritten deal between Tehran and Washington, including issues other than hostages are true, it will come at an opportune moment for political leaders in both countries.

Some believe that President Joe Biden wants to reduce the likelihood of incidents and tensions with Tehran, especially a nuclear breakout before his re-election bid next year. Iranian hardliners who control the government, face serious economic and political challenges at home. Renewed mass protests and deteriorating economic conditions have left them with little choice but to negotiate for terms that would offer them some financial relief.

A Jewish Iranian individual was apprehended upon entry into the country with a seemingly innocuous tissue box that concealed surveillance equipment.

The detained individual, who has family ties in Israel, confessed during interrogation at Ben Gurion Airport that he had been dispatched by Iranian security operatives to spy on Israeli targets. Discovered in possession of cellphones, power banks, and currency, the individual was denied entry and subsequently deported to Iran.

"The event is indicative of a broader Iranian campaign to establish espionage and terror networks within Israel," stated the Shin Bet in an official release.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York abstained from immediate comment on the matter to news agencies.

In response to queries regarding the deportation rather than legal prosecution of the suspect, a security official, speaking to Reuters, elucidated that the decision took into account various operational considerations. The agency assessed that the suspect had been coerced and driven by financial incentives. The official further noted that the legal viability of prosecution was deemed "low," given the individual's non-Israeli citizenship status.

The ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran has spanned decades, characterized by mutual accusations of sabotage and conspiracy to assassinate.

The World Jewish Congress estimates that before the establishment of the Islamic Republic Iran was home to around 80,000 Jews. Subsequently, most emigrated from the country, still leaving behind what is believed to be the largest Jewish community in the Middle East, outside of Israel.