12 pro-Iranian fighters in Syria killed; Iranian-America indicted for spying for Iran

12 pro-Iranian fighters in Syria killed; Iranian-America indicted for spying for Iran
by AFP Staff Writers
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Sept 29, 2024

Twelve pro-Iranian fighters have been killed in air strikes of unknown origin in eastern Syria, a war monitor said Sunday, adding that a large number of people were wounded.

"Twelve pro-Iranian fighters were killed in air strikes of unknown origin targeting their positions in the city of Deir Ezzor and to the east of the city, as well as the Boukamal region, near the border with Iraq," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The strikes were not immediately claimed by any entity, according to the monitor.

Five of the strikes had targeted military positions near Deir Ezzor airport, it added.

Iran has been providing military aid to Syria since the civil war there began in 2011, while Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes targeting pro-Iranian groups in eastern Syria. The United States has also targeted such groups in the country's east.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.

Israel has launched an intense bombing campaign against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon in recent days, intensifying fears of a regional war.

The Israeli army has also repeatedly targeted the movement's arms supply routes on the Syrian-Lebanese border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Iranian-America indicted for spying on U.S. for Iran
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 28, 2024 - A naturalized U.S. citizen lied to obtain employment with a contractor and gain access to sensitive information that he shared with the Iranian government, the Department of Justice said.

Former Federal Aviation Administration contractor Abouzar Rahmati, 42, formerly was an officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and on Friday was indicted for allegedly acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the Iranian government in the United States.

Rahmati "conspired with Iranian officials and intelligence operatives, even lying to obtain employment as a U.S. government contractor only to then share sensitive government materials with Iran," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a news release.

The DOJ said Rahmati conspired with Iranian government officials and intelligence operatives from at least December 2017 through June 2024 by meeting with Iranian intelligence officers in Iran and communicating with co-conspirators.

Rahmati allegedly used a cover story to hide his activities and gain employment with an FAA contractor that had access to sensitive and non-public information on the U.S. solar industry, which Olsen said he shared with Iranian intelligence.

Rahmati "is charged with infiltrating a U.S. agency with the intent of providing Iran with sensitive information vital to our national security," U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said.

Rahmati resided in Great Falls, Va., and was a first lieutenant in the IRGC from June 2009 to May 2010 and lied to U.S. government officials to enter the United States and gain employment with a federal contractor, DOJ said.

The indictment said Rahmati in August 2017 offered his services to the Iranian government and in December 2017 traveled to Iran to meet with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials.

The Iranian government allegedly tasked Rahmati with learning about the U.S. solar industry and providing public and non-public information to Iran.

Rahmati then applied for several positions with U.S. government entities and private contractors to access sensitive information.

He gained employment with a company that supported the FAA's National Airspace System by providing power and electrical architecture.

Rahmati also is accused of obtaining information regarding solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports and air traffic control towers, which he allegedly provided to his brother, who is an unnamed co-conspirator, according to the DOJ.

Rahmati "betrayed his country by transferring sensitive U.S. information to a foreign power," FBI executive assistant director Robert Wells said. "This alleged betrayal not only undermines our national security but also puts U.S. jobs and livelihoods at risk."

The federal indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C., where Rahmati appeared Friday afternoon for his arraignment hearing.

Iran VP says Hezbollah chief's killing will lead to Israel's 'destruction'
Tehran (AFP) Sept 28, 2024 - Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said Saturday that the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in the Lebanese capital will bring about Israel's "destruction".

"We warn the leaders of the occupying regime that the unjust bloodshed... especially of Hezbollah's secretary general, martyr Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, will bring about their destruction," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Aref as saying.

Lebanon's Hezbollah group, armed and financed by Iran, confirmed on Saturday that Nasrallah had been killed, after Israel said it had "eliminated" him in an air strike on Hezbollah's bastion in Beirut's southern suburbs the previous day.

Aref said that Iran will "stand by the Islamic resistance".

President Masoud Pezeshkian offered his condolences over Nasrallah's death and accused the United States of "complicity" in his killing.

A black flag of mourning was hoisted at the Imam Reza shrine in Iran's second city of Mashhad, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Mourners gathered waving yellow Hezbollah flags and chanting: "Death to Israel", state TV footage showed.