New documents suggest that NSA and the UK’s Spy Agency Launch a Joint Cyberattack on Iran

New documents suggest that NSA and the UK’s Spy Agency Launch a Joint Cyberattack on Iran

    Monday, February 23, 2015   No comments

New documents suggest that NSA and the UK’s Spy Agency Launch a Joint Cyberattack on Iran

An NSA document newly published today suggests two interesting facts that haven’t previously been reported.

The Intercept, which published the document, highlighted that in it the NSA expresses fear that it may be teaching Iran how to hack, but there are two other points in the document that merit attention.

One concerns the spy tool known as Flame; the other refers to concerns the NSA had about partnering with the British spy agency Government Communications Headquarters and Israeli intelligence in surveillance operations.

Full story: http://www.wired.com/2015/02/uks-spy-agency-partner-nsa-cyberattacks-iran/
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Report: Leaked intelligence document shows Mossad didn't think Iran sought nuclear weapon
Al Jazeera says one of hundreds of intelligence documents it has obtained shows that Mossad assessment of Iranian nuclear threat differed with Netanyahu's statements on the issue.

A new leak of secret intelligence documents obtained by Al Jazeera shows that the Mossad expressed the belief that Tehran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon just a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Islamic Republic was a year away from becoming nuclear-armed.

The Qatari television network, in collaboration with Britain's Guardian will be publishing "The Spy Cables" in the coming days.

The documents, spanning the period of 2006-2014, were written by members of South Africa's State Security Agency (SSA). The documents, according to Al Jazeera, highlight the SSA's dealings with the intelligence services of its allies, including the Mossad and the CIA.

full story: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Leaked-intelligence-document-shows-Mossad-didnt-think-Iran-sought-nuclear-weapon-391902

U.S. officials, in blunt language, say Israel is distorting reality of Iran talks

U.S. officials, in blunt language, say Israel is distorting reality of Iran talks

    Thursday, February 19, 2015   No comments

The Obama administration on Wednesday accused the Israeli government of misleading the public over the Iran nuclear negotiations, using unusually blunt and terse language that once again highlighted the rift between the two sides.

In briefings with reporters, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki and White House spokesman Josh Earnest suggested Israeli officials were not being truthful about how the United States is handling the secretive talks.

“I think it is safe to say not everything you are hearing from the Israeli government is an accurate reflection of the details of the talks,” said Psaki, who acknowledged that the State Department is withholding some details from the Israelis out of concern they will share them more broadly.

Earnest said U.S. officials routinely speak with their Israeli counterparts. But, he added, the administration “is not going to be in a position of negotiating this agreement in public, particularly when we see that there is a continued practice of cherry-picking specific pieces of information and using them out of context to distort the negotiating position of the United States.”

A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

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Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower's leaks prompt US to make control of internet truly worldwide

Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower's leaks prompt US to make control of internet truly worldwide

    Wednesday, March 19, 2014   No comments

The web may be thought of as being worldwide, but from its inception the internet was created, controlled and overseen largely by a single country: the United States. Now, however, the US Government has said it intends to yield the reins to the global digital community.

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The internet was developed as a US Defence Department initiative during the 1960s, and it remained an American project even as it grew into a global consumer tool. In order to maintain a unified, worldwide web, a single master list of web addresses was created, called the Domain Name System (DNS). Jon Postel, a computer scientist at the University of California in Los Angeles, was the first person responsible for DNS, a privilege that earned him the nickname “God”.

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RUSSIA WARNS WEST IT MAY CHANGE ITS STANCE ON IRAN

RUSSIA WARNS WEST IT MAY CHANGE ITS STANCE ON IRAN

    Wednesday, March 19, 2014   No comments

 Russia may revise its stance in the Iranian nuclear talks amid tensions with the West over Ukraine, a senior diplomat warned Wednesday.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency, that Russia didn't want to use the Iranian nuclear talks to "raise the stakes," but may have to do so in response to the actions by the United States and the European Union.

The statement is the most serious threat of retaliation by Moscow after the U.S. and the EU announced sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

Ryabkov, who is Russia's envoy to the Iranian talks, said that Russia considers the "reunification" with Crimea as far more important than the developments surrounding the Iranian nuclear program.

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Report: Obama pushes Israel to stop assassinations of Iran nuclear scientists

Report: Obama pushes Israel to stop assassinations of Iran nuclear scientists

    Sunday, March 02, 2014   No comments

President Barack Obama is pressuring Israel to stop carrying out assassinations of top nuclear scientists in Iran as the Islamic Republic continues its negotiations with world powers over its uranium enrichment program, according to a new book.

Apart from pressure from Washington that Israel give up the assassination program, sources close to Israel's intelligence agencies told CBS News’s Dan Raviv that Mossad itself viewed the campaign as too dangerous to continue. Raviv, who was updating a book he co-wrote about the history of Israel's intelligence agencies, said the pressure form the Obama administration was “more than a hint.”

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Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told defense officials on Saturday the country had given up its nuclear program because owning weapons of mass destruction is a sin.

“Even if there were no NPT (nuclear non-proliferation treaty) or other treaties, our belief, our faith, our religion and principles tell us not to seek weapons of mass destruction,” Rouhani said.

In November, Iran agreed to stop enriching uranium beyond 20 percent and to dilute its already enriched stockpiles in return for an estimated $7 billion in sanctions relief. That deal came into effect January 20.

Following the latest round of Iran nuclear talks in Vienna on February 20, Iran and the P5+1 agreed to a framework on which to strike a final agreement within the coming months. Both sides have agreed to hold an additional round of talks in Vienna later this month.

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Iran’s Rouhani Puts U.S.-Saudi Ties to the Test

Iran’s Rouhani Puts U.S.-Saudi Ties to the Test

    Thursday, February 27, 2014   No comments

by David Ottaway

The opening of a dialogue between the United States and Iran has stirred  deep-seated fears in Saudi Arabia that the Obama administration may be headed for a “grand bargain” with Tehran at the Saudis’ expense, raising further doubts about Saudi dependence on Washington for its security. The Saudis have already sensed flagging U.S. support in their confrontation with Iran over Iraq and Syria as they wage a bitter battle with the Iranians for Arab and Muslim world leadership.

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