IRGC Admits to 9 Deaths during Clashes with US Navy

IRGC speedboats and helicopters during military training (Tasnim)
IRGC speedboats and helicopters during military training (Tasnim)
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IRGC Admits to 9 Deaths during Clashes with US Navy

IRGC speedboats and helicopters during military training (Tasnim)
IRGC speedboats and helicopters during military training (Tasnim)

The Commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, announced that nine sailors have died in direct clashes with the US Navy in the Persian Gulf, without further details.

Tangsiri said that his forces had dealt nine unforgettable blows to the US avenging the death of his troops, which made Washington realize “the sovereignty of the Iranian Republic in the maritime arena.”

Speaking at a gathering of Basij students at the former US embassy compound in Tehran, the Rear Admiral indicated that Iranian youth should know “the importance of the Persian Gulf and the fact that our country is of great geographical significance,” he said.

Tangsiri added that many of the incidents had not been reported by the media, noting that the seizure of the Vietnamese oil tanker last month is one of those slaps.

Iran’s national army navy and the IRGC naval forces share the tasks of protecting Iranian waters in the south.

The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are the IRGC area, while the navy is active in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean.

Tensions in the waters have been exacerbated since former US President Donald Trump decided to tighten oil sanctions on Iran in May 2019, a year after withdrawing from the nuclear agreement.

A drone raided a Japanese oil tanker operated by an Israeli businessman, killing a Briton and a Romanian last month. The United States, Britain, and Israel held Iran directly responsible for the incident.

The US and Iran gave contradictory accounts about the seizure of the tanker in the Sea of ​​Oman, which occurred on October 24.

The IRGC announced that its forces had foiled a US attempt to seize an oil tanker loaded with Iranian oil, adding that its navy landed on the deck and diverted it into Iranian waters.

The US forces attempted to pursue the tanker with helicopters and warships but failed to catch it.

The Pentagon denied the Iranian claims, saying they are false and untrue.

On November 10, the Revolutionary Guard released the Vietnamese oil tanker less than a week after it announced the details of the accident. Vietnam had confirmed communication with Iran to release the tanker.

Days after, IRGC published a video showing Iranian commandos boarding a helicopter and landing on a tanker with machine guns pointed at the crew. Several speedboats circled the tanker, and a voice in English warned a US ship to leave the area.

US Defense Department spokesman John Kerry said the helicopter flew 25 yards away and circled the tanker three times.

The New York Times reported a US official saying that Washington did not publicize the event because of current diplomatic sensitivities with Iran, in reference to attempts to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

Iran revealed the details of the incident hours after it announced its return to the negotiating table to revive the nuclear agreement in Vienna at the end of November.



Chinese Hackers, User Lapses Turn Smartphones into a 'Mobile Security Crisis'

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
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Chinese Hackers, User Lapses Turn Smartphones into a 'Mobile Security Crisis'

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism.

The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user, The AP news reported.

The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past.

Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in US cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts.

It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say.

“The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,” said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. “No one is watching the phones.”

US zeroes in on China as a threat, and Beijing levels its own accusations US authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.

“They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China.

Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign.

The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the US of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market.

“The US has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries’ secrets,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants.

US intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to US economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict.

Mobile networks are a top concern. The US and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say.

Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the US — a growing concern to lawmakers.

“The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,” US Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their US operations.

Mobile devices have become an intel treasure trove Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security.

The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making.

The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls.

It’s unclear how the person obtained Wiles’ connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the newspaper reported.

While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware.

Federal officials launched a program this year creating a “cyber trust mark” for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn’t lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command.

“They’re finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,” said Antani, now CEO of Horizon3.ai, a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy.

Risks emerge when smartphone users don't take precautions It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say.

Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported.

Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information.

China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University.

“They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,” Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly.”