Mossad Chief Hands over Evidence of Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions to Washington

A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Mossad Chief Hands over Evidence of Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions to Washington

A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Twitter account of his consultations with Mossad chief David Barnea last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Mossad chief David Barnea concluded his visit to Washington, where he held talks with senior US officials and presented them with sensitive intelligence information confirming Iran’s dishonesty in its nuclear negotiations with the US and world powers, according to Tel Aviv political sources.

According to evidence carried by Barnea, Iran is pushing onward with its efforts to enrich uranium and its project for nuclear armament.

Barnea told US military and political officials that Israel fears that the free world has missed its chance and that Iran is on the verge of producing nuclear weapons.

The Mossad chief held meetings with CIA counterpart William Burns, FBI director Christopher Wray, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and senior officials at the State Department.

“The enrichment of uranium to 60 % means that they now have the tools and can make at least one nuclear bomb,” Barnea told US officials, accusing Iran of deceiving the international community.

Israeli sources said that Barnea is working alongside other Israeli officials to persuade US and European officials to harden their positions on Iran and prevent it from reaching its nuclear ambitions.

Israeli officials are trying to get International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states to ratify a resolution against Iran considering a new report issued by the UN.

The UN report had confirmed that the amount of enriched uranium that Tehran possesses may be sufficient for producing a nuclear bomb if Iran chose to continue enriching uranium to 90 %.

A return to a nuclear deal with Iran is unlikely to take place before the US holds its midterm elections in November, a European diplomatic source told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.



US Imposes Sanctions on Entities in Iran, Russia over Election Interference

A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
TT

US Imposes Sanctions on Entities in Iran, Russia over Election Interference

A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the 2024 US election.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement the entities - a subsidiary of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an organization affiliated with Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) - aimed to "stoke socio-political tensions and influence the US electorate during the 2024 US election".

"The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.

"The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy."

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and Russia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Republican Donald Trump was elected president in November, beating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House.

The Treasury said the Cognitive Design Production Center planned influence operations since at least 2023 designed to incite tensions among the electorate on behalf of the IRGC.

The Treasury accused the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) of circulating disinformation about candidates in the election as well as directing and subsidizing the creation of deepfakes.

The Treasury said CGE also manipulated a video to produce "baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate." It did not specify which candidate was targeted.

The Moscow-based center, at the direction of the GRU, used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation distributed across a network of websites that were designed to look like legitimate news outlets, the Treasury said.

It accused the GRU of providing financial support to CGE and a network of US-based facilitators in order to build and maintain its AI-support server and maintain a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations.

CGE's director was also hit with sanctions in Tuesday's action.

An annual US threat assessment released in October said the United States sees a growing threat of Russia, Iran and China attempting to influence the elections, including by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake or divisive information.