Asharq Al-Awsat Series on Libya Details Gaddafi’s Funding of Western Presidential Campaigns

Late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi recieves Nicolas Sarkozy in Libya in 2007. (AFP)
Late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi recieves Nicolas Sarkozy in Libya in 2007. (AFP)
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Asharq Al-Awsat Series on Libya Details Gaddafi’s Funding of Western Presidential Campaigns

Late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi recieves Nicolas Sarkozy in Libya in 2007. (AFP)
Late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi recieves Nicolas Sarkozy in Libya in 2007. (AFP)

As part of its exclusive series on Libya during the rule of late leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, Asharq Al-Awsat examines the regime’s ties with local and foreign powers, including its attempts to finance western presidential campaigns, particularly in France, the United States and Ukraine.

Witnesses from the former regime said that Tripoli had spent some 50 million euros in 2007 to fund the campaign of French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. Lebanese businessman Ziad Takeieddine, who was present at Sarkozy’s meetings with Gaddafi revealed that the “figures were much higher than that.”

Tripoli also pumped 5 million dollars in the presidential campaign of a candidate running in the 2004 US elections and 4 million euros for the campaign of Yulia Tymoshenko, who ran in the 2010 Ukraine elections.

Sarkozy has denied charges that he received Libyan funds, but one of the closest aides of Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, refuted his claims. The aide, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, said that he was present at the closed-door meetings that used to take place between Libyan and French officials at the time. He added that Sarkozy had, in return for Libya’s funding of his campaign, pledged to improve his country’s ties with Tripoli and Africa.

The financing of the US candidate took place through a mediator, who was a close friend to both Seif al-Islam and a high-ranking American official. The candidate had pledged to Tripoli that should he win the elections, he would remove Libya off terrorism blacklists. The financing of his campaign took place through transferring funds through a third country. The agreement between the Libyans and Americans took place after a meeting in the US city of Toledo in Idaho.

Tymoshenko gained famed after she took part in what was called the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004. She afterwards became her country’s prime minister before later running for president. Seif al-Islam’s aide revealed that he himself had delivered the funds for her campaigns

“I had them in a briefcase and I traveled to Ukraine on a private jet. I arrived at Kiev airport and delivered the case to the deputy prime minister,” he said.

Former members of the Libyan regime said of those days that other countries also played a part in funding presidential campaigns. This role was not restricted to Libya, they stressed.

The negotiations to fund Sarkozy’s campaign took place at the Corinthia Hotel Tripoli where Libyan officials sought to obtain a pledge from him to drop the case of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing that implicated Gaddafi’s brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi. Senussi himself was present at the Tripoli meeting.

This case and others were on the negotiations table at the hotel, where Sarkozy stayed in September 2005. Among the gatherers was Bashir Saleh, who was known as the “director of Gaddafi’s office.” He now resides in South Africa and often denies having any links to financing Sarkozy’s campaign. Asharq Al-Awsat was unable to reach him for comment.

Takeieddine and Seif al-Islam’s aide confirmed that Saleh was present at the Tripoli talks. They said that Saleh was one of the most-informed officials in the case along with Alexander al-Jawhari, a French businessman of Algerian descent, who is currently detained in London.

Seif al-Islam’s aide recalled: “Of course Sarkozy was interior minister before he was elected president. He had arrived in Libya at the insistence of his aide Claude Gueant, as well as Takieddine.”

“We felt while talking with him that he had great ambitions to become president of France. He asked for support from Libya to fund his campaign,” he revealed.

Others present at the Corinthia Hotel meeting quoted Sarkozy as saying: “If you back me in the elections, then I will stand by Libya. We will work together in Africa.”

Seif al-Islam’s aide said that the French official had also pledged to drop the in absentia charges against the four suspects linked to the UTA flight crash.

Asked if Sarkozy had requested a certain sum to finance his campaign, the aide replied: “No, he only asked for funding. At a later stage, Sarkozy, al-Senussi and Takieddine met with Gaddafi and they agreed to fund the campaign.”

The financing was done through various ways, such as hard cash in large briefcases and money transfers.

French officials have since denied receiving funds, while Takieddine said: “You cannot imagine the amount of money that was transferred to the campaign.”

“It is a good thing that the majority of those involved are still alive. I predict major scandals in the future over this case,” he added.

After Sarkozy’s victory in the elections, he held a telephone call with Gaddafi to thank him for Libya’s cooperation, vowing that he will fulfill his pledges, revealed Seif al-Islam’s aide.

A voice recording of this May 27, 2007 conversation was released, confirming Libyan and French involvement in the financing.



How Israel Used Spies, Smuggled Drones and AI to Stun and Hobble Iran 

Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
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How Israel Used Spies, Smuggled Drones and AI to Stun and Hobble Iran 

Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision.

Guided by spies and artificial intelligence, the Israeli military unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and armed drones smuggled into Iran to quickly incapacitate many of its air defenses and missile systems. With greater freedom to fly over Iran, Israel bombarded key nuclear sites and killed top generals and scientists. By the time Iran mustered a response hours later, its ability to retaliate — already weakened by past Israeli strikes — was greatly diminished.

This Associated Press account is based on conversations with 10 current and former Israeli intelligence and military officials, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss clandestine operations.

It was not possible to independently verify some of their claims. But the former head of research at Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, confirmed the basic contours of the attack, saying she had inside knowledge of how it was planned and executed.

“This attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran's nuclear program,” said Sima Shine, the former Mossad research director who is now an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies.

Israel's element of surprise was enhanced by Iranian officials' apparent assumption that Israel wouldn't attack while talks over its rapidly advancing nuclear program were ongoing with the US.

A sixth round of talks had been planned for last Sunday in Oman, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu activated “Operation Rising Lion” on Friday after his country first notified President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu has for years said neutralizing Iran's nuclear program was vital for Israel's security, and Israel had previously taken steps to set back Iran's ability to enrich uranium to weapons grade. But Netanyahu said a more aggressive attack proved necessary, as Iran kept advancing its enrichment program despite US diplomatic efforts and warnings from UN watchdogs.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. Iran's political leaders say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it was the only country without the bomb to enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels.

Smuggling drones into Iran

The Mossad and the military worked together for at least three years to lay the operational groundwork, according to a former intelligence officer who said he had knowledge of the attack. This person spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.

The attack built off knowledge Israel gained during a wave of airstrikes last October, which “highlighted the weakness of Iranian air defenses,” said Naysan Rafati, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group.

To further diminish Iranian air defenses and missile systems at the start of last week's attack, Mossad agents had smuggled precision weapons into Iran that were prepositioned to strike from close range, according to two current security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the missions. Those weapons included small, armed drones, which agents snuck into the country in vehicles, according to the former intelligence officer.

Mossad agents stationed weapons close to Iranian surface-to-air missile sites, Shine said. The agency works with a mix of people, both locals and Israelis, she said.

Using AI and human intelligence to select targets

To analyze information it gathered, Israel used the latest artificial-intelligence, or AI, technology, said an intelligence officer involved with selecting individuals and sites to target. He said AI was used to help Israelis quickly sift through troves of data they had obtained.

That effort began last October according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media; it was one month before Netanyahu said he had ordered the attack plans.

An investigation by The Associated Press earlier this year uncovered that the Israeli military uses US-made AI models in war to sift through intelligence and intercept communications to learn the movements of its enemies. It's been used in the wars with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The intelligence officer involved in identifying the possible targets said options were first put into various groups, such as leadership, military, civilian and infrastructure. Targets were chosen if they were determined to be a threat to Israel, such as being deeply associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary force that controls Iran's ballistic missiles.

The officer was tasked with putting together a list of Iranian generals, including details on where they worked and spent their free time.

Among the high-level military officials killed since Friday's attack were Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and Gen. Mohammed Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces.

In addition to AI, the Mossad relied on spies to identify top nuclear scientists and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to one security official. At least eight members of the Guard, including the head of its missile program, were killed in a single Israeli strike on an underground bunker.

Targeting Iranian vehicles

Another facet of the attack was to strike Iranian vehicles used to transport and launch missiles.

Shine said the strategy was similar to a Ukrainian operation earlier this month in Russia. In that operation, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones snuck into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.

In an interview with Iranian state-run television, the country's police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, said “several vehicles carrying mini-drones and some tactical drones have been discovered.” He added: “a number of traitors are trying to engage the country's air defense by flying some mini-drones.”

How far back does this go?

The Mossad is believed to have carried out numerous covert attacks on the Iranian nuclear program over the years, including cyberattacks and the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists. But it rarely acknowledges such operations.

In the 2000s, Iranian centrifuges used for enriching uranium were destroyed by the so-called Stuxnet computer virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation.

In 2018, Israel stole an archive of Iranian nuclear research that included tens of thousands of pages of records, said Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired general and former military intelligence researcher who now directs the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.

In July 2024, Israel killed a senior leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, with a bomb in a bedroom of a government guesthouse in Tehran.

Israel's blistering attack last week on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure didn't come out of nowhere, said retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who heads the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank.

It was the result of “Israeli intelligence working extensively for years in Iran and establishing a very strong robust presence,” he said.