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Austria: Main Suspect in Taylor Swift Concert Plot Backed ISIS

Parked trucks at the Ernst Happel Stadium after all three of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's concerts were canceled by the organizer due to the risk of an attack, in Vienna, Austria, 08 August 2024. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
Parked trucks at the Ernst Happel Stadium after all three of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's concerts were canceled by the organizer due to the risk of an attack, in Vienna, Austria, 08 August 2024. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
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Austria: Main Suspect in Taylor Swift Concert Plot Backed ISIS

Parked trucks at the Ernst Happel Stadium after all three of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's concerts were canceled by the organizer due to the risk of an attack, in Vienna, Austria, 08 August 2024. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK
Parked trucks at the Ernst Happel Stadium after all three of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's concerts were canceled by the organizer due to the risk of an attack, in Vienna, Austria, 08 August 2024. EPA/MAX SLOVENCIK

Authorities found ISIS group and al-Qaeda material at the home of the second and final suspect in a foiled plot to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift shows in Austria. No other suspects are being sought after the two were arrested, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Thursday in Vienna.
“The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented,” he said.
The head of Austria's Directorate of State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) said there is no current information suggesting a specific threat to upcoming events in Austria, but security measures remain high.
Austrian security authorities said the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian citizen with Turkish and Croatian roots, was arrested by special police forces near the stadium where the concerts were supposed to take place this week. A 19-year-old Austrian had also been arrested. The suspects' names were not released in line with Austrian privacy rules.
Austrian security officials alleged the two young men wanted to commit an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or self-made explosives.
They told reporters at a press conference in Vienna that the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, fully confessed his attack plans. They said he was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the ISIS group and thinks it is right to kill infidels.”
The second suspect was employed a few days ago by a facility company providing services at the venue during the concerts. Investigators said they found extensive material related to the ISIS group and al-Qaeda at his home.
The cancellations of three sold-out concerts this week devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria’s expensive capital city for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.

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Iranian Calls to Confront Geopolitical Shifts in the South Caucasus

A photo of a previous meeting of the 3+3 group on the South Caucasus in Tehran (archive - Iranian Foreign Ministry)
A photo of a previous meeting of the 3+3 group on the South Caucasus in Tehran (archive - Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iranian Calls to Confront Geopolitical Shifts in the South Caucasus

A photo of a previous meeting of the 3+3 group on the South Caucasus in Tehran (archive - Iranian Foreign Ministry)
A photo of a previous meeting of the 3+3 group on the South Caucasus in Tehran (archive - Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Tension between Iran and Russia is mounting over the Zangezur Corridor in the South Caucasus, with both reformist and conservative politicians in Tehran suggesting that Moscow is deliberately hindering the revival of the nuclear deal with the West.
The controversy began when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, specifically the provision to open the Zangezur Corridor, which would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared this a “red line” that cannot be crossed.
Disrupting Strategic Trade Routes

Tehran argues that the opening of the Zangezur Corridor would sever a vital trade route linking Iran to Europe. Former Iranian MP Ali Motahari criticized Russia’s focus on the Ukraine war, saying it is disregarding Iranian interests.
Iranian MP Ahmad Naderi voiced his frustration, arguing that Iran’s previous lack of response to Russian actions undermining its national interests has only emboldened Moscow. In a post on X, Naderi stressed that Moscow must understand that strategic cooperation does not equate to compromising national interests, and called on Iran’s Foreign Ministry and military to develop a clear plan to counteract Russia’s “geopolitical ambitions.”
Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Dedov was summoned to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, where he was reminded of Iran’s opposition to any changes in the geopolitical landscape of the Caucasus. This move reflects the ongoing divergence in Moscow and Tehran’s positions on regional dynamics, especially after Russia reaffirmed its commitment to opening the corridor.
Russia and the Nuclear Deal
While the surface-level dispute over the Zangezur Corridor appears to be about trade routes, some Iranian politicians believe it has deeper implications, connected to Russia’s efforts to thwart Iran’s diplomatic engagement with the West and hinder the revival of the nuclear deal.
Former MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, who once chaired Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin is launching a “preemptive strike” to prevent any potential rapprochement between Tehran and Washington.
Falahatpisheh, in comments published by reformist media, argued that Russia is using the Zangezur Corridor as leverage to exert pressure on Tehran, ignoring Iran’s “red lines” in regional politics. He claimed that Moscow prefers an isolated Iran, viewing any reduction in tensions between Tehran and the West as a threat to its own interests.
He also argued that Iran has had to make significant concessions to Russia, with the nuclear deal becoming a casualty of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Iran had reportedly supplied Russia with hundreds of drones during the two-and-a-half-year war, and the potential transfer of ballistic missiles is viewed as a deeply concerning escalation by some insiders.
No Secret Nuclear Program

 

In parallel, Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, denied allegations of a secret nuclear program.
“For the past two decades, the West has used various tactics to pressure the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into investigating Iran,” Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
Eslami reiterated that Iran had agreed to limit its uranium enrichment under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and placed its nuclear activities under strict oversight, with the goal of resolving any concerns about a potential nuclear weapons program. Despite this, he noted that the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement, even though Iran had adhered to its commitments.
Eslami further criticized the three European signatories of the JCPOA—France, the United Kingdom, and Germany—along with the US, accusing them of spearheading a campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.