European leaders are sounding the alarm about so-called hybrid Russian warfare over confirmed and suspected aerial incursions in recent weeks in several countries. Russian drones have entered Polish and Romanian airspace, Russian fighter jets have entered Estonian airspace, a Russian jet flew over a German Navy frigate in the Baltic Sea, airports in Denmark and
Hamas has a matter of days to decide whether it will agree to President Donald Trump‘s latest effort to end the war in Gaza, a plan that has some support from several Arab nations that want to see the conflict end permanently. Trump revealed the content of his 20-point peace plan on Monday alongside Israeli
President Donald Trump will attend Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s address to hundreds of senior military officials on Tuesday morning at Quantico, a Marine Corps base in Virginia, though many details about it are still shrouded in secrecy. The unusual directive was sent to officials internationally last week, and while Pentagon officials confirmed the order
The Biden administration is aiming to see Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of next week after negotiators made significant progress this week in Doha, Qatar.
U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari leaders met in Doha on Thursday and Friday and discussed the latest proposal with the Israeli and Hamas sides. The meetings, according to a senior Biden administration official, “probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months.”
These leaders will meet “again in Cairo before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal,” the official added. “This is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.”
Mediators have gone back and forth with various proposals for several months to try to get both Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal that would include the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and a surge of humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip for civilians desperately in need.
“We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago,” President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” he added, saying the deal is not done yet, but “we’re close.”
Biden spoke with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar and separately spoke with President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt on Friday to discuss the progress negotiators made during the two days of discussions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Saturday to continue the diplomatic efforts to get the deal over the finish line.
Should all sides get this agreement completed, it would end the most destructive iteration of fighting between Israel and Hamas. The Gaza Strip has been decimated, nearly the entire population has been displaced and faces hunger and sanitation concerns, and the Hamas-controlled health ministry said this week that more than 40,000 people have been killed, though that total does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israel Defense Forces have killed 17,000 Hamas fighters, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said this week. Hamas intentionally lives and operates within civilian communities and in tunnels underneath those areas, using the people as human shields, with the intent of having Israeli operations incur civilian deaths and injuries.
Israeli forces have killed several of Hamas’s top leaders, and the last remaining primary orchestrator of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be hiding in tunnels far below the surface of Gaza.
Biden laid out the framework for a deal on May 31 and added, at the time, that there were still hurdles to overcome but that the framework was ready to be advanced past the finish line. Israel proposed a deal on May 27, which was the basis for the Biden publicized speech days later.
More than a month later, on July 3, Hamas came back with a response that included “a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable,” the official added.
Israel further clarified their proposal on July 27.
As of the conclusion of the talks Friday, mediators have now put down bridging proposals from where both sides currently stand to cover every matter in these negotiations, the official said.
Mediators are hoping that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas could simmer escalating tension in the region, primarily between Iran and its proxies against Israel. Iranian leaders have vowed to avenge the assassination of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was murdered in Tehran.
Hamas ignited the current conflict on the morning of Oct. 7, when thousands of terrorists overwhelmed the border fence and went through local southern Israeli communities, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others. It was the largest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
About half of the hostages were released during the weeklong ceasefire in late November, but Hamas has not released any of the others since, though a handful have been rescued during Israeli operations. It’s unknown how many of the hostages are still alive. Five Americans are believed to be alive in Gaza.
Hezbollah, similar to Hamas, is one of Iran’s proxies and has exchanged rocket and missile cross-border attacks since shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that ignited the current conflict. Lebanese Hezbollah is considered a much larger terrorist group and is believed to have a much more robust arsenal.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
It’s unclear what Iran’s response could look like, but the official warned, “The consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.”
U.S. leaders have publicly and privately warned Iran not to attack Israel. The U.S. military has increased its presence in the region to aid Israel if an attack were to occur.
2024-08-16 20:02:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2F3124466%2Fceasefire-negotiators-aim-conclude-deal-end-next-week%2F?w=600&h=450, The Biden administration is aiming to see Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of next week after negotiators made significant progress this week in Doha, Qatar. U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari leaders met in Doha on Thursday and Friday and discussed the latest proposal with the Israeli and Hamas sides. The,
The Biden administration is aiming to see Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of next week after negotiators made significant progress this week in Doha, Qatar.
U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari leaders met in Doha on Thursday and Friday and discussed the latest proposal with the Israeli and Hamas sides. The meetings, according to a senior Biden administration official, “probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months.”
These leaders will meet “again in Cairo before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal,” the official added. “This is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.”
Mediators have gone back and forth with various proposals for several months to try to get both Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal that would include the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and a surge of humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip for civilians desperately in need.
“We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago,” President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” he added, saying the deal is not done yet, but “we’re close.”
Biden spoke with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar and separately spoke with President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt on Friday to discuss the progress negotiators made during the two days of discussions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Saturday to continue the diplomatic efforts to get the deal over the finish line.
Should all sides get this agreement completed, it would end the most destructive iteration of fighting between Israel and Hamas. The Gaza Strip has been decimated, nearly the entire population has been displaced and faces hunger and sanitation concerns, and the Hamas-controlled health ministry said this week that more than 40,000 people have been killed, though that total does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israel Defense Forces have killed 17,000 Hamas fighters, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said this week. Hamas intentionally lives and operates within civilian communities and in tunnels underneath those areas, using the people as human shields, with the intent of having Israeli operations incur civilian deaths and injuries.
Israeli forces have killed several of Hamas’s top leaders, and the last remaining primary orchestrator of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be hiding in tunnels far below the surface of Gaza.
Biden laid out the framework for a deal on May 31 and added, at the time, that there were still hurdles to overcome but that the framework was ready to be advanced past the finish line. Israel proposed a deal on May 27, which was the basis for the Biden publicized speech days later.
More than a month later, on July 3, Hamas came back with a response that included “a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable,” the official added.
Israel further clarified their proposal on July 27.
As of the conclusion of the talks Friday, mediators have now put down bridging proposals from where both sides currently stand to cover every matter in these negotiations, the official said.
Mediators are hoping that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas could simmer escalating tension in the region, primarily between Iran and its proxies against Israel. Iranian leaders have vowed to avenge the assassination of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was murdered in Tehran.
Hamas ignited the current conflict on the morning of Oct. 7, when thousands of terrorists overwhelmed the border fence and went through local southern Israeli communities, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others. It was the largest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
About half of the hostages were released during the weeklong ceasefire in late November, but Hamas has not released any of the others since, though a handful have been rescued during Israeli operations. It’s unknown how many of the hostages are still alive. Five Americans are believed to be alive in Gaza.
Hezbollah, similar to Hamas, is one of Iran’s proxies and has exchanged rocket and missile cross-border attacks since shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that ignited the current conflict. Lebanese Hezbollah is considered a much larger terrorist group and is believed to have a much more robust arsenal.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
It’s unclear what Iran’s response could look like, but the official warned, “The consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.”
U.S. leaders have publicly and privately warned Iran not to attack Israel. The U.S. military has increased its presence in the region to aid Israel if an attack were to occur.
, The Biden administration is aiming to see Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of next week after negotiators made significant progress this week in Doha, Qatar. U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari leaders met in Doha on Thursday and Friday and discussed the latest proposal with the Israeli and Hamas sides. The meetings, according to a senior Biden administration official, “probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months.” These leaders will meet “again in Cairo before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal,” the official added. “This is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.” Mediators have gone back and forth with various proposals for several months to try to get both Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal that would include the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and a surge of humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip for civilians desperately in need. “We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago,” President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “I don’t want to jinx anything,” he added, saying the deal is not done yet, but “we’re close.” Biden spoke with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar and separately spoke with President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt on Friday to discuss the progress negotiators made during the two days of discussions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Saturday to continue the diplomatic efforts to get the deal over the finish line. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media after meeting with families and supporters of Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, during his visit to Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Jack Guez, Pool Photo via AP) Should all sides get this agreement completed, it would end the most destructive iteration of fighting between Israel and Hamas. The Gaza Strip has been decimated, nearly the entire population has been displaced and faces hunger and sanitation concerns, and the Hamas-controlled health ministry said this week that more than 40,000 people have been killed, though that total does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Israel Defense Forces have killed 17,000 Hamas fighters, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said this week. Hamas intentionally lives and operates within civilian communities and in tunnels underneath those areas, using the people as human shields, with the intent of having Israeli operations incur civilian deaths and injuries. Israeli forces have killed several of Hamas’s top leaders, and the last remaining primary orchestrator of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be hiding in tunnels far below the surface of Gaza. Biden laid out the framework for a deal on May 31 and added, at the time, that there were still hurdles to overcome but that the framework was ready to be advanced past the finish line. Israel proposed a deal on May 27, which was the basis for the Biden publicized speech days later. More than a month later, on July 3, Hamas came back with a response that included “a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable,” the official added. Israel further clarified their proposal on July 27. As of the conclusion of the talks Friday, mediators have now put down bridging proposals from where both sides currently stand to cover every matter in these negotiations, the official said. Mediators are hoping that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas could simmer escalating tension in the region, primarily between Iran and its proxies against Israel. Iranian leaders have vowed to avenge the assassination of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was murdered in Tehran. Hamas ignited the current conflict on the morning of Oct. 7, when thousands of terrorists overwhelmed the border fence and went through local southern Israeli communities, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others. It was the largest terrorist attack in Israel’s history. About half of the hostages were released during the weeklong ceasefire in late November, but Hamas has not released any of the others since, though a handful have been rescued during Israeli operations. It’s unknown how many of the hostages are still alive. Five Americans are believed to be alive in Gaza. Hezbollah, similar to Hamas, is one of Iran’s proxies and has exchanged rocket and missile cross-border attacks since shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that ignited the current conflict. Lebanese Hezbollah is considered a much larger terrorist group and is believed to have a much more robust arsenal. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER It’s unclear what Iran’s response could look like, but the official warned, “The consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.” U.S. leaders have publicly and privately warned Iran not to attack Israel. The U.S. military has increased its presence in the region to aid Israel if an attack were to occur., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/benjamin-netanyahu-israel-iran.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
Ryan Corbett, a father of three, was detained by the Taliban two years ago Saturday and remains held by them in Afghanistan.
His wife, Anna, is raising their children without him and is his most loyal advocate frequently traveling to Washington to make sure the government is exhausting all its options and resources attempting to secure his release. She spent this past week in Washington and will be “getting away” with their two younger children this weekend as a “distraction” from the anniversary, she told the Washington Examiner.
Anna Corbett, during her 13th trip to Washington this week, met with State Department officials in the office of the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, which handles wrongful detention cases, and met with staffers of members of the House and Senate.
She also met with White House officials but was unable to meet with President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, whom she met with last in January, and said her “emails were left ignored.”
“I would like to see responses to emails, keeping promises when a promise is made that Jake Sullivan will meet with me again, and does not. Seven months later, no response,” Anna Corbett said. “That’s just disrespectful, and I don’t appreciate that. How am I supposed to believe that Ryan is important and valuable if that’s the way the family is treated when I’m fighting so hard for his life and for his release? I would like to see effort made to prioritize the situation.”
A White House official told the Washington Examiner that another meeting between Sullivan and the Corbett family “is in the works.”
The Corbetts moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and Ryan Corbett started a consulting and microfinance company in 2017. The family evacuated Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in August 2021 as U.S. troops were departing. Ryan Corbett first returned to Afghanistan in January 2022 to help his business that was still running and had no problems coming home, but he was detained the next time he went to Afghanistan, and has been held since.
Anna Corbett expressed concern about Ryan Corbett’s health, which she said is growing worse with time.
Anna Corbett said that in her limited conversations with Ryan Corbett, he has shared details about “discolored extremities, struggling to stand up or he faints, and that his knees are really weakening,” and she said, “The fear at this time is that his body is so deteriorated and weak, and if his mental capacity has decreased so much that if something hits him, he’s just gonna decline and die really rapidly.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said they are “deeply concerned” about Ryan Corbett’s well-being, as well as that of other Americans detained in Afghanistan.
“When we say we’re not forgetting anyone, we mean it, and we have the record to back that up,” he said during Thursday’s briefing. “And we will continue to use every resource the United States Government has to try and bring Ryan and other wrongfully detained Americans home.”
Biden administration officials have said this month that they have secured the release of more than 50 Americans held abroad over the course of the administration.
“The Biden administration remains fully committed to doing everything we can to bring home Americans who are wrongfully detained abroad, including Ryan Corbett,” a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“For months, senior officials from the White House and State Department have met with the Corbett family to keep them updated on the Administration’s tireless to bring him home,” the official added. “We will continue to do so, and we will continue the ongoing efforts to bring Ryan Corbett and all other wrongfully detained Americans home. We also continue to warn Americans, as we have for years, and especially since our withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, that they should not travel to Afghanistan.”
Last week, the U.S. pulled off a complex prisoner exchange that included 24 people and involved seven countries. In particular, the U.S. was able to secure the release of four Americans, including two journalists Evan Gershovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, from Russia.
2024-08-10 08:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2F3116668%2Fwife-of-american-wrongfully-detained-by-taliban-airs-frustration%2F?w=600&h=450, Ryan Corbett, a father of three, was detained by the Taliban two years ago Saturday and remains held by them in Afghanistan. His wife, Anna, is raising their children without him and is his most loyal advocate frequently traveling to Washington to make sure the government is exhausting all its options and resources attempting to,
Ryan Corbett, a father of three, was detained by the Taliban two years ago Saturday and remains held by them in Afghanistan.
His wife, Anna, is raising their children without him and is his most loyal advocate frequently traveling to Washington to make sure the government is exhausting all its options and resources attempting to secure his release. She spent this past week in Washington and will be “getting away” with their two younger children this weekend as a “distraction” from the anniversary, she told the Washington Examiner.
Anna Corbett, during her 13th trip to Washington this week, met with State Department officials in the office of the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, which handles wrongful detention cases, and met with staffers of members of the House and Senate.
She also met with White House officials but was unable to meet with President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, whom she met with last in January, and said her “emails were left ignored.”
“I would like to see responses to emails, keeping promises when a promise is made that Jake Sullivan will meet with me again, and does not. Seven months later, no response,” Anna Corbett said. “That’s just disrespectful, and I don’t appreciate that. How am I supposed to believe that Ryan is important and valuable if that’s the way the family is treated when I’m fighting so hard for his life and for his release? I would like to see effort made to prioritize the situation.”
A White House official told the Washington Examiner that another meeting between Sullivan and the Corbett family “is in the works.”
The Corbetts moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and Ryan Corbett started a consulting and microfinance company in 2017. The family evacuated Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in August 2021 as U.S. troops were departing. Ryan Corbett first returned to Afghanistan in January 2022 to help his business that was still running and had no problems coming home, but he was detained the next time he went to Afghanistan, and has been held since.
Anna Corbett expressed concern about Ryan Corbett’s health, which she said is growing worse with time.
Anna Corbett said that in her limited conversations with Ryan Corbett, he has shared details about “discolored extremities, struggling to stand up or he faints, and that his knees are really weakening,” and she said, “The fear at this time is that his body is so deteriorated and weak, and if his mental capacity has decreased so much that if something hits him, he’s just gonna decline and die really rapidly.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said they are “deeply concerned” about Ryan Corbett’s well-being, as well as that of other Americans detained in Afghanistan.
“When we say we’re not forgetting anyone, we mean it, and we have the record to back that up,” he said during Thursday’s briefing. “And we will continue to use every resource the United States Government has to try and bring Ryan and other wrongfully detained Americans home.”
Biden administration officials have said this month that they have secured the release of more than 50 Americans held abroad over the course of the administration.
“The Biden administration remains fully committed to doing everything we can to bring home Americans who are wrongfully detained abroad, including Ryan Corbett,” a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“For months, senior officials from the White House and State Department have met with the Corbett family to keep them updated on the Administration’s tireless to bring him home,” the official added. “We will continue to do so, and we will continue the ongoing efforts to bring Ryan Corbett and all other wrongfully detained Americans home. We also continue to warn Americans, as we have for years, and especially since our withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, that they should not travel to Afghanistan.”
Last week, the U.S. pulled off a complex prisoner exchange that included 24 people and involved seven countries. In particular, the U.S. was able to secure the release of four Americans, including two journalists Evan Gershovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, from Russia.
, Ryan Corbett, a father of three, was detained by the Taliban two years ago Saturday and remains held by them in Afghanistan. His wife, Anna, is raising their children without him and is his most loyal advocate frequently traveling to Washington to make sure the government is exhausting all its options and resources attempting to secure his release. She spent this past week in Washington and will be “getting away” with their two younger children this weekend as a “distraction” from the anniversary, she told the Washington Examiner. Anna Corbett, during her 13th trip to Washington this week, met with State Department officials in the office of the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, which handles wrongful detention cases, and met with staffers of members of the House and Senate. She also met with White House officials but was unable to meet with President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, whom she met with last in January, and said her “emails were left ignored.” “I would like to see responses to emails, keeping promises when a promise is made that Jake Sullivan will meet with me again, and does not. Seven months later, no response,” Anna Corbett said. “That’s just disrespectful, and I don’t appreciate that. How am I supposed to believe that Ryan is important and valuable if that’s the way the family is treated when I’m fighting so hard for his life and for his release? I would like to see effort made to prioritize the situation.” Ryan Corbett, center, has been held by the Taliban since August 2022. His wife, Anna, second from the right, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and administration officials regarding their efforts to secure the release of her husband. (Credit, Corbett family) A White House official told the Washington Examiner that another meeting between Sullivan and the Corbett family “is in the works.” The Corbetts moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and Ryan Corbett started a consulting and microfinance company in 2017. The family evacuated Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in August 2021 as U.S. troops were departing. Ryan Corbett first returned to Afghanistan in January 2022 to help his business that was still running and had no problems coming home, but he was detained the next time he went to Afghanistan, and has been held since. Anna Corbett expressed concern about Ryan Corbett’s health, which she said is growing worse with time. Anna Corbett said that in her limited conversations with Ryan Corbett, he has shared details about “discolored extremities, struggling to stand up or he faints, and that his knees are really weakening,” and she said, “The fear at this time is that his body is so deteriorated and weak, and if his mental capacity has decreased so much that if something hits him, he’s just gonna decline and die really rapidly.” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said they are “deeply concerned” about Ryan Corbett’s well-being, as well as that of other Americans detained in Afghanistan. “When we say we’re not forgetting anyone, we mean it, and we have the record to back that up,” he said during Thursday’s briefing. “And we will continue to use every resource the United States Government has to try and bring Ryan and other wrongfully detained Americans home.” Biden administration officials have said this month that they have secured the release of more than 50 Americans held abroad over the course of the administration. “The Biden administration remains fully committed to doing everything we can to bring home Americans who are wrongfully detained abroad, including Ryan Corbett,” a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER “For months, senior officials from the White House and State Department have met with the Corbett family to keep them updated on the Administration’s tireless to bring him home,” the official added. “We will continue to do so, and we will continue the ongoing efforts to bring Ryan Corbett and all other wrongfully detained Americans home. We also continue to warn Americans, as we have for years, and especially since our withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, that they should not travel to Afghanistan.” Last week, the U.S. pulled off a complex prisoner exchange that included 24 people and involved seven countries. In particular, the U.S. was able to secure the release of four Americans, including two journalists Evan Gershovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, from Russia., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ryan-Dec-2023-1024×590.jpeg, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
Several groups with ties to Iran have ramped up their online influence campaigns targeting the United States ahead of November’s election, according to a new report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center.
One group, Mint Sandstorm, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit, sent a spear phishing email to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior adviser. Microsoft did not identify which campaign it notified.
“Microsoft has not notified us of any campaign accounts having been targeted in this manner,” a Harris campaign official told the Washington Examiner.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The same group, days later, unsuccessfully attempted to log into a former presidential candidate’s account. The former candidate has been notified.
“Looking forward, we expect Iranian actors will employ cyberattacks against institutions and candidates while simultaneously intensifying their efforts to amplify existing divisive issues within the U.S., like racial tensions, economic disparities, and gender-related issues,” the report said.
Another Iranian group, Storm-2035, has set up four fake partisan news websites posing as legitimate designed to inflame tensions. One site the group set up, called Nio Thinkers, is designed to look like a left-wing news site. It insulted former President Donald Trump, calling him an “opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop” and a “raving mad litigiosaur.”
The Savannah Times, another site they prop up, claims to be a “trusted source for conservative news in the vibrant city of Savannah.” It focuses on conservative perspectives on cultural topics, including LGBTQ and trans rights.
Microsoft said these sites likely use AI-enabled services to plagiarize the articles on them from actual U.S. publications.
Another group, Sefid Flood, specializes in impersonating activists to stoke chaos, and its efforts may go as far as to try to incite violence against political figures. In May, a different group with links to the IRGC, known as Peach Sandstorm, compromised a county-level official’s account as a part of a broader password accumulation operation from the group.
Tehran is “primarily focused on fueling distrust in the U.S. political institutions and increasing social discord,” an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters in late July, though it is also working to avoid a second Trump administration.
“Since our last update, the IC has observed Tehran working with the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive with increased tensions with the United States. Iran’s preference is focused on this core interest,” the ODNI official said.
The official would not directly affirm that Tehran was working against Trump, instead saying it is operating in the same way it did ahead of the 2020 election. The ODNI revealed back in 2021 that Tehran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut Trump’s reelection.
Microsoft’s report also details some Russian interference efforts designed to inflame tension in the U.S. but also to its own benefit in Ukraine. One group, Storm-1516, pushes disinformation via fake news sites as well, and since April, it has pushed false narratives that the CIA directed a Ukrainian troll farm to disrupt the election, that Ukrainian soldiers burned an effigy of Trump, and that the FBI wiretapped Trump’s residence.
Iranian officials have also publicly vowed to avenge the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq in January 2020, by going after the U.S. officials involved in that strike.
Most recently, earlier this week, a Pakistani man with connections to the IRGC was arrested after attempting to hire hitmen, really undercover agents, to carry out the assassination of unnamed government officials.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Several former officials involved in the strike still have government-provided protection, while other lower-level officials do not.
In 2022, the Department of Justice unsealed charges accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and IRGC member, of attempting to arrange the murder of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who was in that role when the Soleimani strike took place. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay a million dollars for the source to accomplish.
2024-08-09 16:06:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fdefense%2F3116500%2Firan-steps-up-efforts-influence-2024-election-microsoft-says%2F?w=600&h=450, Several groups with ties to Iran have ramped up their online influence campaigns targeting the United States ahead of November’s election, according to a new report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. One group, Mint Sandstorm, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit, sent a spear phishing email to a high-ranking official,
Several groups with ties to Iran have ramped up their online influence campaigns targeting the United States ahead of November’s election, according to a new report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center.
One group, Mint Sandstorm, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit, sent a spear phishing email to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior adviser. Microsoft did not identify which campaign it notified.
“Microsoft has not notified us of any campaign accounts having been targeted in this manner,” a Harris campaign official told the Washington Examiner.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The same group, days later, unsuccessfully attempted to log into a former presidential candidate’s account. The former candidate has been notified.
“Looking forward, we expect Iranian actors will employ cyberattacks against institutions and candidates while simultaneously intensifying their efforts to amplify existing divisive issues within the U.S., like racial tensions, economic disparities, and gender-related issues,” the report said.
Another Iranian group, Storm-2035, has set up four fake partisan news websites posing as legitimate designed to inflame tensions. One site the group set up, called Nio Thinkers, is designed to look like a left-wing news site. It insulted former President Donald Trump, calling him an “opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop” and a “raving mad litigiosaur.”
The Savannah Times, another site they prop up, claims to be a “trusted source for conservative news in the vibrant city of Savannah.” It focuses on conservative perspectives on cultural topics, including LGBTQ and trans rights.
Microsoft said these sites likely use AI-enabled services to plagiarize the articles on them from actual U.S. publications.
Another group, Sefid Flood, specializes in impersonating activists to stoke chaos, and its efforts may go as far as to try to incite violence against political figures. In May, a different group with links to the IRGC, known as Peach Sandstorm, compromised a county-level official’s account as a part of a broader password accumulation operation from the group.
Tehran is “primarily focused on fueling distrust in the U.S. political institutions and increasing social discord,” an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters in late July, though it is also working to avoid a second Trump administration.
“Since our last update, the IC has observed Tehran working with the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive with increased tensions with the United States. Iran’s preference is focused on this core interest,” the ODNI official said.
The official would not directly affirm that Tehran was working against Trump, instead saying it is operating in the same way it did ahead of the 2020 election. The ODNI revealed back in 2021 that Tehran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut Trump’s reelection.
Microsoft’s report also details some Russian interference efforts designed to inflame tension in the U.S. but also to its own benefit in Ukraine. One group, Storm-1516, pushes disinformation via fake news sites as well, and since April, it has pushed false narratives that the CIA directed a Ukrainian troll farm to disrupt the election, that Ukrainian soldiers burned an effigy of Trump, and that the FBI wiretapped Trump’s residence.
Iranian officials have also publicly vowed to avenge the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq in January 2020, by going after the U.S. officials involved in that strike.
Most recently, earlier this week, a Pakistani man with connections to the IRGC was arrested after attempting to hire hitmen, really undercover agents, to carry out the assassination of unnamed government officials.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Several former officials involved in the strike still have government-provided protection, while other lower-level officials do not.
In 2022, the Department of Justice unsealed charges accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and IRGC member, of attempting to arrange the murder of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who was in that role when the Soleimani strike took place. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay a million dollars for the source to accomplish.
, Several groups with ties to Iran have ramped up their online influence campaigns targeting the United States ahead of November’s election, according to a new report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. One group, Mint Sandstorm, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit, sent a spear phishing email to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior adviser. Microsoft did not identify which campaign it notified. “Microsoft has not notified us of any campaign accounts having been targeted in this manner,” a Harris campaign official told the Washington Examiner. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The same group, days later, unsuccessfully attempted to log into a former presidential candidate’s account. The former candidate has been notified. “Looking forward, we expect Iranian actors will employ cyberattacks against institutions and candidates while simultaneously intensifying their efforts to amplify existing divisive issues within the U.S., like racial tensions, economic disparities, and gender-related issues,” the report said. Another Iranian group, Storm-2035, has set up four fake partisan news websites posing as legitimate designed to inflame tensions. One site the group set up, called Nio Thinkers, is designed to look like a left-wing news site. It insulted former President Donald Trump, calling him an “opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop” and a “raving mad litigiosaur.” The Savannah Times, another site they prop up, claims to be a “trusted source for conservative news in the vibrant city of Savannah.” It focuses on conservative perspectives on cultural topics, including LGBTQ and trans rights. Microsoft said these sites likely use AI-enabled services to plagiarize the articles on them from actual U.S. publications. Another group, Sefid Flood, specializes in impersonating activists to stoke chaos, and its efforts may go as far as to try to incite violence against political figures. In May, a different group with links to the IRGC, known as Peach Sandstorm, compromised a county-level official’s account as a part of a broader password accumulation operation from the group. Tehran is “primarily focused on fueling distrust in the U.S. political institutions and increasing social discord,” an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters in late July, though it is also working to avoid a second Trump administration. “Since our last update, the IC has observed Tehran working with the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive with increased tensions with the United States. Iran’s preference is focused on this core interest,” the ODNI official said. The official would not directly affirm that Tehran was working against Trump, instead saying it is operating in the same way it did ahead of the 2020 election. The ODNI revealed back in 2021 that Tehran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut Trump’s reelection. Microsoft’s report also details some Russian interference efforts designed to inflame tension in the U.S. but also to its own benefit in Ukraine. One group, Storm-1516, pushes disinformation via fake news sites as well, and since April, it has pushed false narratives that the CIA directed a Ukrainian troll farm to disrupt the election, that Ukrainian soldiers burned an effigy of Trump, and that the FBI wiretapped Trump’s residence. Iranian officials have also publicly vowed to avenge the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq in January 2020, by going after the U.S. officials involved in that strike. Most recently, earlier this week, a Pakistani man with connections to the IRGC was arrested after attempting to hire hitmen, really undercover agents, to carry out the assassination of unnamed government officials. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Several former officials involved in the strike still have government-provided protection, while other lower-level officials do not. In 2022, the Department of Justice unsealed charges accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and IRGC member, of attempting to arrange the murder of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who was in that role when the Soleimani strike took place. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay a million dollars for the source to accomplish., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/arizona-voting-centers.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
The leaders of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, the three countries that have acted as mediators for ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, have urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.
President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani released a joint statement on Thursday evening calling on both parties “to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
“The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework agreement that is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude,” the leaders added. “There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.”
The leaders announced that they expect all parties to meet next Thursday in either Doha or Cairo and that they “are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties.”
While the leaders emphasized the importance of getting a deal done, a senior U.S. official noted that they do not expect an agreement to come out of Thursday’s meeting.
“We’re not anticipating the deal being ready to close on Thursday,” the official said. “There’s still some, a lot of work here to be done. But we think getting this moving later next week will be unhelpful and constructive.”
“It’s not like on Thursday, we’re gonna sit in a room and sign the deal,” the official added. “There’s work to be done. And both sides have positions on about four or five issues. And I say both sides have very firm positions. And if you just look at them, they might be unbridgeable. But you treat each issue one by one.”
The U.S., Egypt, and Qatari negotiators have desperately sought for several months to get this deal over the finish line but with little to show for it this year. Israel and Hamas agreed to a weeklong ceasefire deal in late November, during which about a hundred Israeli hostages were released. No deal has been agreed upon since then.
It’s not clear who will lead Hamas’s negotiations following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau and the lead negotiator. Haniyeh was killed last week while visiting Tehran for the Iranian president’s inauguration.
Hamas’s top leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar, and he was just chosen to replace Haniyeh. Sinwar is believed to be hiding in Hamas’s extensive tunnel system underneath Gaza, continuing to evade Israeli forces hunting him.
“With regard to Mr. Sinwar, he has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the ceasefire,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week. “It is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire … and that, besides changing everything for people in Gaza — bringing the hostages home, giving us an opportunity to build a more enduring peace for Gaza — also opens up other possibilities, other prospects, more broadly, in terms of de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability.”
Looming over this meeting is Iran’s expected retaliatory attack against Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, even though Israel has not publicly taken credit for it. It’s unclear when Iran could attack Israel, or what such an assault will look like.
Iran has a number of proxy forces it supports in the Middle East, including Hamas, some of which could also be involved in their response. While Hamas has been severely weakened during the war that has devastated Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to attack Israel’s northern community.
While Israeli forces have operated within Gaza, Israel and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, have continuously attacked each other in rocket and missile fires over their shared border. These attacks have gone on since right after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Tens of thousands of civilians have been and remain evacuated from their homes due to the fires.
Hezbollah’s arsenal is much more sophisticated than Hamas’s, and they have the ability to hit targets anywhere within Israel with precision-guided missiles if they choose to escalate the current conflict.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Iran also supports the Houthis in Yemen, which have fired about 200 drones and missiles toward Israel since the war began, according to the Israeli military. A Houthi drone recently evaded Israeli air defenses and killed one civilian in Tel Aviv. They have primarily, since Oct. 7, targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea forcing global shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
There are also militias in Iraq and Syria that Iran supports. They have primarily fired missiles, drones, and rockets toward U.S. bases in the region in time time since Oct. 7. Earlier this week, they fired three rockets at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, two of which hit it. Five U.S. personnel were injured in the attack, three of whom had to be evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Two others, not included in the five, had “very minor injuries and returned to duty right away,” the deputy Pentagon press secretary said on Thursday.
2024-08-08 23:44:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2F3116090%2Fceasefire-mediators-urge-israel-hamas-to-resume-negotiations-next-week%2F?w=600&h=450, The leaders of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, the three countries that have acted as mediators for ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, have urged both sides to return to the negotiating table. President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani released a joint,
The leaders of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, the three countries that have acted as mediators for ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, have urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.
President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani released a joint statement on Thursday evening calling on both parties “to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
“The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework agreement that is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude,” the leaders added. “There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.”
The leaders announced that they expect all parties to meet next Thursday in either Doha or Cairo and that they “are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties.”
While the leaders emphasized the importance of getting a deal done, a senior U.S. official noted that they do not expect an agreement to come out of Thursday’s meeting.
“We’re not anticipating the deal being ready to close on Thursday,” the official said. “There’s still some, a lot of work here to be done. But we think getting this moving later next week will be unhelpful and constructive.”
“It’s not like on Thursday, we’re gonna sit in a room and sign the deal,” the official added. “There’s work to be done. And both sides have positions on about four or five issues. And I say both sides have very firm positions. And if you just look at them, they might be unbridgeable. But you treat each issue one by one.”
The U.S., Egypt, and Qatari negotiators have desperately sought for several months to get this deal over the finish line but with little to show for it this year. Israel and Hamas agreed to a weeklong ceasefire deal in late November, during which about a hundred Israeli hostages were released. No deal has been agreed upon since then.
It’s not clear who will lead Hamas’s negotiations following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau and the lead negotiator. Haniyeh was killed last week while visiting Tehran for the Iranian president’s inauguration.
Hamas’s top leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar, and he was just chosen to replace Haniyeh. Sinwar is believed to be hiding in Hamas’s extensive tunnel system underneath Gaza, continuing to evade Israeli forces hunting him.
“With regard to Mr. Sinwar, he has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the ceasefire,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week. “It is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire … and that, besides changing everything for people in Gaza — bringing the hostages home, giving us an opportunity to build a more enduring peace for Gaza — also opens up other possibilities, other prospects, more broadly, in terms of de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability.”
Looming over this meeting is Iran’s expected retaliatory attack against Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, even though Israel has not publicly taken credit for it. It’s unclear when Iran could attack Israel, or what such an assault will look like.
Iran has a number of proxy forces it supports in the Middle East, including Hamas, some of which could also be involved in their response. While Hamas has been severely weakened during the war that has devastated Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to attack Israel’s northern community.
While Israeli forces have operated within Gaza, Israel and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, have continuously attacked each other in rocket and missile fires over their shared border. These attacks have gone on since right after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Tens of thousands of civilians have been and remain evacuated from their homes due to the fires.
Hezbollah’s arsenal is much more sophisticated than Hamas’s, and they have the ability to hit targets anywhere within Israel with precision-guided missiles if they choose to escalate the current conflict.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Iran also supports the Houthis in Yemen, which have fired about 200 drones and missiles toward Israel since the war began, according to the Israeli military. A Houthi drone recently evaded Israeli air defenses and killed one civilian in Tel Aviv. They have primarily, since Oct. 7, targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea forcing global shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
There are also militias in Iraq and Syria that Iran supports. They have primarily fired missiles, drones, and rockets toward U.S. bases in the region in time time since Oct. 7. Earlier this week, they fired three rockets at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, two of which hit it. Five U.S. personnel were injured in the attack, three of whom had to be evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Two others, not included in the five, had “very minor injuries and returned to duty right away,” the deputy Pentagon press secretary said on Thursday.
, The leaders of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, the three countries that have acted as mediators for ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, have urged both sides to return to the negotiating table. President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani released a joint statement on Thursday evening calling on both parties “to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.” “The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework agreement that is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude,” the leaders added. “There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.” The leaders announced that they expect all parties to meet next Thursday in either Doha or Cairo and that they “are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties.” While the leaders emphasized the importance of getting a deal done, a senior U.S. official noted that they do not expect an agreement to come out of Thursday’s meeting. “We’re not anticipating the deal being ready to close on Thursday,” the official said. “There’s still some, a lot of work here to be done. But we think getting this moving later next week will be unhelpful and constructive.” “It’s not like on Thursday, we’re gonna sit in a room and sign the deal,” the official added. “There’s work to be done. And both sides have positions on about four or five issues. And I say both sides have very firm positions. And if you just look at them, they might be unbridgeable. But you treat each issue one by one.” The U.S., Egypt, and Qatari negotiators have desperately sought for several months to get this deal over the finish line but with little to show for it this year. Israel and Hamas agreed to a weeklong ceasefire deal in late November, during which about a hundred Israeli hostages were released. No deal has been agreed upon since then. It’s not clear who will lead Hamas’s negotiations following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau and the lead negotiator. Haniyeh was killed last week while visiting Tehran for the Iranian president’s inauguration. Iranians follow a truck, center, carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Hamas’s top leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar, and he was just chosen to replace Haniyeh. Sinwar is believed to be hiding in Hamas’s extensive tunnel system underneath Gaza, continuing to evade Israeli forces hunting him. “With regard to Mr. Sinwar, he has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the ceasefire,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week. “It is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire … and that, besides changing everything for people in Gaza — bringing the hostages home, giving us an opportunity to build a more enduring peace for Gaza — also opens up other possibilities, other prospects, more broadly, in terms of de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability.” Looming over this meeting is Iran’s expected retaliatory attack against Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, even though Israel has not publicly taken credit for it. It’s unclear when Iran could attack Israel, or what such an assault will look like. Iran has a number of proxy forces it supports in the Middle East, including Hamas, some of which could also be involved in their response. While Hamas has been severely weakened during the war that has devastated Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to attack Israel’s northern community. While Israeli forces have operated within Gaza, Israel and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, have continuously attacked each other in rocket and missile fires over their shared border. These attacks have gone on since right after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Tens of thousands of civilians have been and remain evacuated from their homes due to the fires. Hezbollah’s arsenal is much more sophisticated than Hamas’s, and they have the ability to hit targets anywhere within Israel with precision-guided missiles if they choose to escalate the current conflict. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Iran also supports the Houthis in Yemen, which have fired about 200 drones and missiles toward Israel since the war began, according to the Israeli military. A Houthi drone recently evaded Israeli air defenses and killed one civilian in Tel Aviv. They have primarily, since Oct. 7, targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea forcing global shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. There are also militias in Iraq and Syria that Iran supports. They have primarily fired missiles, drones, and rockets toward U.S. bases in the region in time time since Oct. 7. Earlier this week, they fired three rockets at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, two of which hit it. Five U.S. personnel were injured in the attack, three of whom had to be evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Two others, not included in the five, had “very minor injuries and returned to duty right away,” the deputy Pentagon press secretary said on Thursday., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Congress-Netanyahu-Speech-Hostages_Hamas_Israel_52525.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
The Department of Justice has filed charges against a Pakistani man who allegedly has ties to Iran with planning to hire hit men to carry out the assassination of unidentified U.S. government officials.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, who is accused of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme, was arrested on July 12, though the complaint was not unsealed until Tuesday. According to the FBI, his scheme is believed to be tied to Iran’s repeated and public vow to get revenge against Trump administration officials who were involved with the January 2020 assassination of Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
Merchant, upon arriving in the United States in April, reached out to a person he believed could help carry out his plan, but that individual went to law enforcement and became a confidential informant. That informant later introduced Merchant to two purported hit men, who were actually undercover U.S. law enforcement officials.
In June, they met at a hotel in New York, where Merchant explained to the informant and then again when they met up with the hit men that he wanted them to steal documents or USB drives from the target’s home, planning a protest, and killing a government official.
Merchant allegedly paid the alleged hit men, actual undercover officers, $5,000 in cash as an advance deposit.
This is not the first arrest made as it relates to Iran’s targeting of Trump administration officials involved in the Soleimani strike.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Justice Department unsealed charges in August 2022 accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member, of attempting to arrange the murder of then-Trump national security adviser John Bolton. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay $1 million for the source to accomplish.
Recent intelligence of the Iranian threat toward Trump prompted the National Security Council to inform the Secret Service, though this threat stream is unrelated to the failed assassination attempt against the former president at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally last month.
2024-08-06 21:31:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fdefense%2F3112913%2Fpakistani-man-iranian-ties-charged-in-plot-to-assassinate-us-officials%2F?w=600&h=450, The Department of Justice has filed charges against a Pakistani man who allegedly has ties to Iran with planning to hire hit men to carry out the assassination of unidentified U.S. government officials. Asif Raza Merchant, 46, who is accused of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme, was arrested on July 12, though the complaint,
The Department of Justice has filed charges against a Pakistani man who allegedly has ties to Iran with planning to hire hit men to carry out the assassination of unidentified U.S. government officials.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, who is accused of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme, was arrested on July 12, though the complaint was not unsealed until Tuesday. According to the FBI, his scheme is believed to be tied to Iran’s repeated and public vow to get revenge against Trump administration officials who were involved with the January 2020 assassination of Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
Merchant, upon arriving in the United States in April, reached out to a person he believed could help carry out his plan, but that individual went to law enforcement and became a confidential informant. That informant later introduced Merchant to two purported hit men, who were actually undercover U.S. law enforcement officials.
In June, they met at a hotel in New York, where Merchant explained to the informant and then again when they met up with the hit men that he wanted them to steal documents or USB drives from the target’s home, planning a protest, and killing a government official.
Merchant allegedly paid the alleged hit men, actual undercover officers, $5,000 in cash as an advance deposit.
This is not the first arrest made as it relates to Iran’s targeting of Trump administration officials involved in the Soleimani strike.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Justice Department unsealed charges in August 2022 accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member, of attempting to arrange the murder of then-Trump national security adviser John Bolton. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay $1 million for the source to accomplish.
Recent intelligence of the Iranian threat toward Trump prompted the National Security Council to inform the Secret Service, though this threat stream is unrelated to the failed assassination attempt against the former president at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally last month.
, The Department of Justice has filed charges against a Pakistani man who allegedly has ties to Iran with planning to hire hit men to carry out the assassination of unidentified U.S. government officials. Asif Raza Merchant, 46, who is accused of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme, was arrested on July 12, though the complaint was not unsealed until Tuesday. According to the FBI, his scheme is believed to be tied to Iran’s repeated and public vow to get revenge against Trump administration officials who were involved with the January 2020 assassination of Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani. “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.” Merchant, upon arriving in the United States in April, reached out to a person he believed could help carry out his plan, but that individual went to law enforcement and became a confidential informant. That informant later introduced Merchant to two purported hit men, who were actually undercover U.S. law enforcement officials. In June, they met at a hotel in New York, where Merchant explained to the informant and then again when they met up with the hit men that he wanted them to steal documents or USB drives from the target’s home, planning a protest, and killing a government official. Merchant allegedly paid the alleged hit men, actual undercover officers, $5,000 in cash as an advance deposit. This is not the first arrest made as it relates to Iran’s targeting of Trump administration officials involved in the Soleimani strike. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The Justice Department unsealed charges in August 2022 accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member, of attempting to arrange the murder of then-Trump national security adviser John Bolton. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay $1 million for the source to accomplish. Recent intelligence of the Iranian threat toward Trump prompted the National Security Council to inform the Secret Service, though this threat stream is unrelated to the failed assassination attempt against the former president at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally last month., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/merrick-garland-doj-antisemitism.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
The Biden administration is preparing for an Iranian attack on Israel in the coming hours or days.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by the national security team on Monday afternoon about the “threats posed by Iran and its proxies to Israel and to U.S. servicemembers in the region,” the White House press office said in a statement.
It’s unclear how exactly Iran intends to attack Israel, but it has vowed to after last week’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran while he was there to celebrate the Iranian president’s inauguration.
The administration has vowed to aid Israel in defending against an attack from Iran or its proxies, and the United States has troops in Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, which have come under attack in recent months by Iranian proxy militias in the latter two countries.
In preparation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the Europe and Middle Eastern area, the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, and an increase in readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense.
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla is in Israel meeting with his counterparts there.
Biden spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss efforts “to de-escalate regional tensions.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged every party in the Middle East not to escalate the current conflict further during public remarks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“We are engaged in intense diplomacy pretty much around the clock, with a very simple message: All parties must refrain from escalation. All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone’s interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity,” he said. “It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead.”
All of Iran’s proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria — have carried out attacks against U.S. military personnel or Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
Israel carried out a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed a senior Iranian commander and other senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. The Iranians waited a couple of days and then launched an unprecedented number of rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel from its own territory, a rarity, and had its proxies also launch their own projectiles at Israel.
The Israelis, with the help of several allies including the U.S., were able to intercept nearly all of the projectiles, significantly limiting the damage.
U.S. forces at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq were attacked on Monday, and there were reportedly casualties.
“The President and Vice President were briefed on the attack at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq,” the White House readout said. “They discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing.”
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have come under rocket or missile attack more than 170 times since the attacks began in the weeks following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people.
In late January, the militias killed three U.S. troops at Tower 22, a small U.S. base in northeast Jordan, which prompted a strong U.S. military response, and the attacks largely stopped after that.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Israel also assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander, whom the Israelis said was responsible for a prior rocket attack that killed a dozen teenagers on a soccer field in the Golan Heights days before the Haniyeh assassination. Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border attacks — mainly missiles, rocket, or drone attacks — since the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
The cross-border attacks have forced tens of thousands of civilians to evacuate their homes on both sides of the border. Experts warn that if Israel and Hezbollah were to have an all-out war, it would be extremely destructive and deadly for both sides even though they believe Israel would likely end the conflict ahead.
2024-08-06 00:19:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fdefense%2F3111519%2Fus-vows-full-court-press-to-help-israel-ahead-of-attack-by-iran%2F?w=600&h=450, The Biden administration is preparing for an Iranian attack on Israel in the coming hours or days. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by the national security team on Monday afternoon about the “threats posed by Iran and its proxies to Israel and to U.S. servicemembers in the region,” the White,
The Biden administration is preparing for an Iranian attack on Israel in the coming hours or days.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by the national security team on Monday afternoon about the “threats posed by Iran and its proxies to Israel and to U.S. servicemembers in the region,” the White House press office said in a statement.
It’s unclear how exactly Iran intends to attack Israel, but it has vowed to after last week’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran while he was there to celebrate the Iranian president’s inauguration.
The administration has vowed to aid Israel in defending against an attack from Iran or its proxies, and the United States has troops in Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, which have come under attack in recent months by Iranian proxy militias in the latter two countries.
In preparation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the Europe and Middle Eastern area, the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, and an increase in readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense.
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla is in Israel meeting with his counterparts there.
Biden spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss efforts “to de-escalate regional tensions.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged every party in the Middle East not to escalate the current conflict further during public remarks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“We are engaged in intense diplomacy pretty much around the clock, with a very simple message: All parties must refrain from escalation. All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone’s interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity,” he said. “It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead.”
All of Iran’s proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria — have carried out attacks against U.S. military personnel or Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
Israel carried out a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed a senior Iranian commander and other senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. The Iranians waited a couple of days and then launched an unprecedented number of rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel from its own territory, a rarity, and had its proxies also launch their own projectiles at Israel.
The Israelis, with the help of several allies including the U.S., were able to intercept nearly all of the projectiles, significantly limiting the damage.
U.S. forces at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq were attacked on Monday, and there were reportedly casualties.
“The President and Vice President were briefed on the attack at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq,” the White House readout said. “They discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing.”
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have come under rocket or missile attack more than 170 times since the attacks began in the weeks following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people.
In late January, the militias killed three U.S. troops at Tower 22, a small U.S. base in northeast Jordan, which prompted a strong U.S. military response, and the attacks largely stopped after that.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Israel also assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander, whom the Israelis said was responsible for a prior rocket attack that killed a dozen teenagers on a soccer field in the Golan Heights days before the Haniyeh assassination. Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border attacks — mainly missiles, rocket, or drone attacks — since the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
The cross-border attacks have forced tens of thousands of civilians to evacuate their homes on both sides of the border. Experts warn that if Israel and Hezbollah were to have an all-out war, it would be extremely destructive and deadly for both sides even though they believe Israel would likely end the conflict ahead.
, The Biden administration is preparing for an Iranian attack on Israel in the coming hours or days. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by the national security team on Monday afternoon about the “threats posed by Iran and its proxies to Israel and to U.S. servicemembers in the region,” the White House press office said in a statement. It’s unclear how exactly Iran intends to attack Israel, but it has vowed to after last week’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran while he was there to celebrate the Iranian president’s inauguration. The administration has vowed to aid Israel in defending against an attack from Iran or its proxies, and the United States has troops in Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, which have come under attack in recent months by Iranian proxy militias in the latter two countries. In preparation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the Europe and Middle Eastern area, the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, and an increase in readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense. U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla is in Israel meeting with his counterparts there. Biden spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss efforts “to de-escalate regional tensions.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged every party in the Middle East not to escalate the current conflict further during public remarks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. “We are engaged in intense diplomacy pretty much around the clock, with a very simple message: All parties must refrain from escalation. All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone’s interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity,” he said. “It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead.” All of Iran’s proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria — have carried out attacks against U.S. military personnel or Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Israel carried out a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed a senior Iranian commander and other senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. The Iranians waited a couple of days and then launched an unprecedented number of rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel from its own territory, a rarity, and had its proxies also launch their own projectiles at Israel. The Israelis, with the help of several allies including the U.S., were able to intercept nearly all of the projectiles, significantly limiting the damage. U.S. forces at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq were attacked on Monday, and there were reportedly casualties. “The President and Vice President were briefed on the attack at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq,” the White House readout said. “They discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing.” U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have come under rocket or missile attack more than 170 times since the attacks began in the weeks following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people. In late January, the militias killed three U.S. troops at Tower 22, a small U.S. base in northeast Jordan, which prompted a strong U.S. military response, and the attacks largely stopped after that. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Israel also assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander, whom the Israelis said was responsible for a prior rocket attack that killed a dozen teenagers on a soccer field in the Golan Heights days before the Haniyeh assassination. Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border attacks — mainly missiles, rocket, or drone attacks — since the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. The cross-border attacks have forced tens of thousands of civilians to evacuate their homes on both sides of the border. Experts warn that if Israel and Hezbollah were to have an all-out war, it would be extremely destructive and deadly for both sides even though they believe Israel would likely end the conflict ahead., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Biden-Situation-Room.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
A couple of Russian spies living in Slovenia posing as Argentinians were included in Thursday’s massive prisoner exchange, though they were so deep undercover that their own two children were unaware of their true identity.
The family of four, the Dultsevs, were among eight Russians who were sent back to their home countries from the United States, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway, in exchange for the release of three Americans, an American green card holder, five Germans, including one from Belarus, and seven Russian political dissidents.
The children were not aware of their family’s connection to Russia, according to the Kremlin.
“Before that, they didn’t know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, per Reuters. “The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them (in Moscow). They didn’t even know who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was. This is how the ‘illegals’ work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work.”
When their plane touched down in Russia, Putin was there to greet them and did so in Spanish because the children don’t speak Russian.
Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultsev were arrested in Slovenia in late 2022. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple. The Ljubljana regional court recently sentenced the duo to more than 1 1/2 years in prison, equivalent to time served, and ordered their expulsion from Slovenia as a part of the prisoner exchange, Slovenia’s 24.ur news portal reported.
Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar praised the way the exchange operation was conducted.
“Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly and with great sensitivity with our allies and partners in prisoner exchange which successfully concluded yesterday,” she said on X. “I would like to pay respect and compliment everyone involved in this difficult action that saved lives.”
Among the other people who were returned to Russia in the deal was Vadim Krasikov, an FSB hitman who was arrested and convicted in Germany for committing the murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park in 2019.
He was convicted for the killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, who was gunned down from behind near Kleiner Tiergarten. Witnesses saw the gunman throw the gun and a wig into the Spree River nearby but he was arrested shortly thereafter. During his trial, German judges said he was acting on the orders of Russian authorities.
The Biden administration had desperately sought to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Russia in 2018, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in March 2023, but the U.S. no longer had any high-value Russian assets in U.S. custody after giving up Konstantin Yaroshenko and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in two separate swaps in 2022.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In the negotiations, Russia made its desire to get Krasikov home known. He became the lynchpin, but the U.S. had to convince a hesitant German government to release him, which President Joe Biden eventually did.
Biden thanked the allies involved in the deal in comments alongside the families of the Americans who were brought home in the deal.
2024-08-02 16:11:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2F3108755%2Fchildren-of-freed-russian-spies-learned-of-heritage%2F?w=600&h=450, A couple of Russian spies living in Slovenia posing as Argentinians were included in Thursday’s massive prisoner exchange, though they were so deep undercover that their own two children were unaware of their true identity. The family of four, the Dultsevs, were among eight Russians who were sent back to their home countries from the,
A couple of Russian spies living in Slovenia posing as Argentinians were included in Thursday’s massive prisoner exchange, though they were so deep undercover that their own two children were unaware of their true identity.
The family of four, the Dultsevs, were among eight Russians who were sent back to their home countries from the United States, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway, in exchange for the release of three Americans, an American green card holder, five Germans, including one from Belarus, and seven Russian political dissidents.
The children were not aware of their family’s connection to Russia, according to the Kremlin.
“Before that, they didn’t know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, per Reuters. “The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them (in Moscow). They didn’t even know who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was. This is how the ‘illegals’ work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work.”
When their plane touched down in Russia, Putin was there to greet them and did so in Spanish because the children don’t speak Russian.
Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultsev were arrested in Slovenia in late 2022. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple. The Ljubljana regional court recently sentenced the duo to more than 1 1/2 years in prison, equivalent to time served, and ordered their expulsion from Slovenia as a part of the prisoner exchange, Slovenia’s 24.ur news portal reported.
Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar praised the way the exchange operation was conducted.
“Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly and with great sensitivity with our allies and partners in prisoner exchange which successfully concluded yesterday,” she said on X. “I would like to pay respect and compliment everyone involved in this difficult action that saved lives.”
Among the other people who were returned to Russia in the deal was Vadim Krasikov, an FSB hitman who was arrested and convicted in Germany for committing the murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park in 2019.
He was convicted for the killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, who was gunned down from behind near Kleiner Tiergarten. Witnesses saw the gunman throw the gun and a wig into the Spree River nearby but he was arrested shortly thereafter. During his trial, German judges said he was acting on the orders of Russian authorities.
The Biden administration had desperately sought to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Russia in 2018, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in March 2023, but the U.S. no longer had any high-value Russian assets in U.S. custody after giving up Konstantin Yaroshenko and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in two separate swaps in 2022.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In the negotiations, Russia made its desire to get Krasikov home known. He became the lynchpin, but the U.S. had to convince a hesitant German government to release him, which President Joe Biden eventually did.
Biden thanked the allies involved in the deal in comments alongside the families of the Americans who were brought home in the deal.
, A couple of Russian spies living in Slovenia posing as Argentinians were included in Thursday’s massive prisoner exchange, though they were so deep undercover that their own two children were unaware of their true identity. The family of four, the Dultsevs, were among eight Russians who were sent back to their home countries from the United States, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway, in exchange for the release of three Americans, an American green card holder, five Germans, including one from Belarus, and seven Russian political dissidents. The children were not aware of their family’s connection to Russia, according to the Kremlin. “Before that, they didn’t know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, per Reuters . “The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them (in Moscow). They didn’t even know who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was. This is how the ‘illegals’ work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work.” When their plane touched down in Russia, Putin was there to greet them and did so in Spanish because the children don’t speak Russian. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultsev were arrested in Slovenia in late 2022. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple. The Ljubljana regional court recently sentenced the duo to more than 1 1/2 years in prison, equivalent to time served, and ordered their expulsion from Slovenia as a part of the prisoner exchange, Slovenia’s 24.ur news portal reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets Artyom Dultsev, left, upon the arrival of freed Russian prisoners on Aug. 1, 2024, at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow. The United States and Russia have made their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar praised the way the exchange operation was conducted. “Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly and with great sensitivity with our allies and partners in prisoner exchange which successfully concluded yesterday,” she said on X. “I would like to pay respect and compliment everyone involved in this difficult action that saved lives.” Among the other people who were returned to Russia in the deal was Vadim Krasikov, an FSB hitman who was arrested and convicted in Germany for committing the murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park in 2019. He was convicted for the killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, who was gunned down from behind near Kleiner Tiergarten. Witnesses saw the gunman throw the gun and a wig into the Spree River nearby but he was arrested shortly thereafter. During his trial, German judges said he was acting on the orders of Russian authorities. The Biden administration had desperately sought to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Russia in 2018, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in March 2023, but the U.S. no longer had any high-value Russian assets in U.S. custody after giving up Konstantin Yaroshenko and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in two separate swaps in 2022. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER In the negotiations, Russia made its desire to get Krasikov home known. He became the lynchpin, but the U.S. had to convince a hesitant German government to release him, which President Joe Biden eventually did. Biden thanked the allies involved in the deal in comments alongside the families of the Americans who were brought home in the deal., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Dultsevs.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Mike Brest,
