Iran Executes Defense Ministry Worker Accused Of Selling Missile Secrets To The CIA

Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for the United States by selling the CIA information on the Islamic republic's missile programme. Pictured: An Iranian missile being launched during a test in June

Daily Mail: Iran has executed an alleged spy for selling information on the country's missile programme to the CIA

* Reza Asgari, an Iranian citizen, was executed last week, regime spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaili said
* Asgari allegedly received money from the CIA to sell information on missiles
* Spokesman said the death sentence for another man convicted of spying is set to go ahead
* Majd is accused of helping US to locate Iranian general Qasem Soleimani before they killed him

Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for the United States by selling the CIA information on the Islamic republic's missile programme.

Reza Asgari, an Iranian citizen, was executed last week, regime spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaili was quoted as saying by the judiciary's official website Mizan Online.

He had worked at the defence ministry's aerospace division for years but retired around four years ago, the spokesman added.

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More News On Iran Executing A Defense Ministry Worker Accused Of Selling Missile Secrets To The CIA

Iran executes man convicted of selling missile information to CIA -- BBC
Iran says it has executed Iranian agent linked to CIA -- Reuters
Iran executes defense ministry staffer as alleged CIA spy -- Politico
Tehran Says It Has Executed Alleged Iranian Spy For CIA -- RFE
Iran says ex-defense worker executed for selling info to CIA -- Times of Israel
Iran executes former defence ministry staffer linked to CIA -- Al Jazeera

Iranian Documentary To Expose How The CIA Operates In Iran

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Coming soon on @PressTV: Mole Hunt ⚡️⚡️⚡️#Iran has dealt a heavy blow to a @CIA spy network. This documentary will shed more light on #Iran’s counter-intelligence operations. pic.twitter.com/mlQ3e8aqft

Mole Hunt is to be aired on July 23, 1:32 GMT

— Press TV (@PressTV) July 20, 2019

Sputnik: Iranian Documentary Reveals How CIA Recruited Agents, Sent Equipment to Assets in Iran (Video)

Earlier Monday, Iranian media confirmed that a major cyber-espionage ring run by US intelligence had been uncovered and dismantled, with some 17 CIA-trained spies said to have been identified, some receiving long prison sentences while military personnel got the death penalty for treason.

Iranian television has aired a Farsi language documentary detailing CIA operations in Iran, including a clip showing one alleged CIA officer in the United Arab Emirates trying to recruit an unidentified Iranian.

“There are many [Iranian] intelligence officers here in Dubai. It is very dangerous,” a woman, speaking Farsi with an accent and appearing to be an American, was shown telling the would-be agent.

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WNU Editor: There is a fierce propaganda war being waged in the Middle East, and this video is just one example among many on what is happening in the region.

Iran Claims To Have Busted A Major CIA Network

The Guardian: Iran claims to have arrested 17 CIA spies

Tehran says some of the Iranians allegedly spying for US have been sentenced to death

Seventeen Iranian nationals allegedly recruited by the CIA to spy on Iran’s nuclear and military sites have been arrested, Tehran said on Monday, adding that some of them had already been sentenced to death.

The arrests took place over the past months and those taken into custody worked on “sensitive sites” in the country’s military and nuclear facilities, an Iranian intelligence official told a press conference in Tehran.

He did not say how many of them had received the death sentence or say when the sentences were handed down.

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More News On Iran Claiming To Have Busted A Major CIA Network

Iran says 17 alleged CIA spies arrested and sentenced, though Trump denies claim -- CBS/AP
Iran says it arrested CIA spies and sentenced some to death -- BBC
Iran says it arrested 17 CIA spies, sentenced some to death -- Al Jazeera
Iranian media releases 1st PHOTOS of ‘captured CIA-linked spies’ -- RT
Iran Says It’s Arrested 17 U.S. “Spies” and Sentenced Some to Death -- VICE
Iran warns West against starting conflict, says not looking for confrontation -- Reuters
Has the CIA's spy network in Iran just been busted open? -- Joseph Fitsanakis, ABC News Online

Iranian Prosecutors Want To Hang Suspected U.S. Spies

NBC: Several suspected U.S. spies 'due to be' sentenced to death, Iran says

NBC News could not independently confirm the reports and the CIA said it had no comment.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for several individuals accused of spying for the United States, Iran’s spokesman for the judiciary announced Tuesday.

Suspected U.S. spies affiliated with the Iranian military are due to be sentenced to death because of the “severity of their crimes,” Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on state television.

Two other suspects who are also accused of spying for Washington but were not affiliated with the military have received “long” jail sentences, he added.

NBC News could not independently confirm the reports and the CIA said it had no comment. A State Department spokesperson said, "We cannot comment on matters of intelligence."

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Update #1: Iran says several suspected U.S. spies face possible death sentences (Reuters)
Update #2: Iran says alleged US spies might face death penalty (FOX News)

WNU Editor: The future is not bright for these "alleged" spies.

Iran Executes Former-Defence Ministry Contractor Over Spying For The CIA And The U.S. Government

Al Jazeera: Iran executes 'defence ministry contractor' over spying for CIA

ISNA news agency says Jalal Haji Zavar confessed to spying for the US spy agency in return for money.

Iran has executed a "defence ministry contractor" convicted of spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA.

"The execution sentence was carried out for Jalal Haji Zavar, a contractor for the defence ministry's aerospace organisation who spied for the CIA and the American government," ISNA reported on Saturday, quoting the Iranian military.

ISNA said he was convicted by a military court and that he was executed at an unspecified time at the Rajayi Shahr prison in the city of Karaj, west of the capital, Tehran.

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More News On Iran Executing An Ex-Defence Ministry Contractor Over Spying For The CIA

Iran executes man on charges of spying for US -- BBC
Iran executes 'defense contractor' over spying for the CIA -- DW
Iran executes former defence employee on charge of spying for CIA -- The Guardian/Reuters
Iran executes Ministry of Defence official on charges of spying for US -- Daily Mail
Iran executes ex-defense ministry official on charges of spying for US -- Washington Examiner
Iran executes ex-defence ministry contractor over spying for CIA and US government -- Middle East Monitor

CIA Report: Iran Will Focus On Its Economy, Not Terrorism

A general view of the Arak heavy-water project, 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Tehran in a January 15, 2011 file photo. Reuters/ISNA/Hamid Forootan/files

L.A. Times: CIA: Iran will focus on its economy, not terrorism, with sanctions money

A secret U.S. intelligence assessment predicts that Iran’s government will pump most of an expected $100-billion windfall from the lifting of international sanctions into the country's flagging economy and won't significantly boost funding for terrorist groups and sectarian militias it supports in the Middle East.

Intelligence officials have concluded that even if Tehran increases support for Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen or President Bashar Assad’s embattled government in Syria, the extra cash is unlikely to tip the balance of power in the world’s most volatile region, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence document.

The controversial CIA report, which has been briefed to key members of Congress, thus provides ammunition to both sides in the battle brewing on Capitol Hill over President Obama’s signature foreign policy achievement, a sweeping deal to block Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons for at least a decade in exchange for the easing of sanctions that have hobbled the country's economy.

WNU Editor: One ex-CIA Director disagrees .... Former CIA Director Woolsey Says Iran Deal is ‘Worse Than Worthless’ (Algemeiner). What's my take .... Iran will use this money to modernize its oil industry, support their allies in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen as well as Hezbollah, and purchase weapons to modernize its military.

Retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson Missing In Iran Was On An Unapproved CIA Mission

American Missing Nearly 7 Years In Iran Was On An Unapproved CIA Mission -- Business Insider/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — In March 2007, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson flew to Kish Island, an Iranian resort awash with tourists, smugglers and organized crime figures. Days later, after an arranged meeting with an admitted killer, he checked out of his hotel, slipped into a taxi and vanished. For years, the U.S. has publicly described him as a private citizen who traveled to the tiny Persian Gulf island on private business.

But that was just a cover story. An Associated Press investigation reveals that Levinson was working for the CIA. In an extraordinary breach of the most basic CIA rules, a team of analysts — with no authority to run spy operations — paid Levinson to gather intelligence from some of the world's darkest corners. He vanished while investigating the Iranian government for the U.S.

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More News On Reports That Retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson Missing In Iran Was Working For The CIA

Ex-FBI agent who disappeared in Iran was on rogue mission for CIA -- Washington Post
Kerry tight-lipped on missing American in Iran -- Washington Post/AP
Report: American missing in Iran worked for CIA -- Al Arabiya/AFP
American who went missing in Iran in 2007 was on rogue CIA mission -- Jerusalem Post
Reports: American Who Went Missing In Iran Worked For CIA -- CNN
CIA was responsible for ex-FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 -- UPI
American Who Disappeared in Iran Worked for CIA: Reports -- Voice of America
Hostage's family: Time for U.S. to "step up" after CIA revelations -- CBS News
Levinson family: Government must ‘step up and take care of one of its own’ -- Washington Post
Family of American who vanished in Iran sees plusses in disclosure he was working for CIA -- NBC
American kidnapped in Iran on CIA mission, Robert Levinson, failed by US government: family -- New York Daily News
Missing American in Iran, Robert Levinson was a CIA Agent on Unapproved Mission: Report -- International Business Times
The White House Has Been Lying About That Ex-FBI Agent Missing in Iran for Seven Years, Bombshell AP Report Says -- The Blaze
Sen. Bill Nelson: I told AP not to run Robert Levinson story -- Washington Post

My Comment: How can anyone go to Iran on an unapproved CIA mission is beyond me .... but the Daily Mail tries to shed some light on this bizarre case.

U.S. Intelligence Has Iran Under It's Watchful Eye

U.S. Intelligence Gains In Iran Seen As Boost To Confidence -- Washington Post

More than three years ago, the CIA dispatched a stealth surveillance drone into the skies over Iran.

The bat-winged aircraft penetrated more than 600 miles inside the country, captured images of Iran’s secret nuclear facility at Qom and then flew home. All the while, analysts at the CIA and other agencies watched carefully for any sign that the craft, dubbed the RQ-170 Sentinel, had been detected by Tehran’s air defenses on its maiden voyage.

“There was never even a ripple,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official involved in the previously undisclosed mission.

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My Comment: I hope they are right .... because many are dependent on their efforts to give an accurate picture on what is happening in Iran.

12 CIA Agents Arrested In Iran

Iran Says Arrests 12 CIA Agents Amid Reports Of Compromised U.S. Ring -- Haaretz

Comment by top Iranian official comes as Intelligence Online says U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers arrives in Beirut to probe reported exposure of U.S. intel squad in Lebanon.

An Iranian official disclosed new details Thursday concerning the reporting exposure of a U.S. spy ring in the Islamic Republic, saying that Tehran arrested 12 CIA agents.

Parliamentarian Parviz Sorouri, who sits on the powerful committee of foreign policy and national security, claimed that the arrested agents planned to strike at Iranian interests with the aid of Israel.

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More News On The Arrest Of CIA Agents In Iran

Iran 'arrests 12 CIA spies' accused of targeting nuclear programme -- The Telegraph
Iran 'arrests 12 CIA agents' -- The Guardian
Report: Iran parliamentarian says 12 CIA agents arrested -- Washington Post/AP
Iran Arrested 12 With Ties to CIA, IRNA Says Citing Lawmaker -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran Claims Arrest of 12 CIA, Mossad Agents -- Arutz Sheva
Dirty dozen: Iran claims arrest of 12 CIA agents -- RT
CIA spies on military mission in Iran -- Press TV (Iran)

Report: U.S. Escalating Covert Operations Against Iran

From The New Yorker:

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.

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News On Covert OPS Against Iran From Other Sources:
U.S. escalating covert operations against Iran -- Reuters
Report: U.S. Escalating Covert Operations Against Iran -- FOX News
US gives 'major' boost to covert ops in Iran: report -- AFP
U.S. Escalating Covert Operations Against Iran: Report -- New York Times
CIA-JSOC Covert Operations against Iran -- Uskowi on Iran
Seymour Hersh claims new Bush regime covert ops against Iran -- People's Geography

My Comment: Iran has been actively attacking and/or supporting groups that attack the U.S. and its allies for decades. This is now blow-back against them, and they should not be surprised. What is surprising is ..... why did it take so long?

My prediction .... with Iraq becoming stable and Iranian influences be defeated, with the Afghan War heating up and dissent growing in Iran among its many ethnic minorities, I predict that our "cold to mild war" with Iran is now going to heat up.

Of all the alternatives, what is disappointing is that the West has so few of them. International cooperation in stopping Iran's nuclear goals and objectives have failed. Dissenters in Iran are either dead, in jail, or abroad. There are no Iranian leaders who can rally the people against the ruling theocracy in the country. Attacking Iran in an overt manner will plunge the region into a tit for tat situation that will continue for years, terrorism will increase and radical elements will use this as a cause to continue their terrorism against us. As for nuclear weapons .... Iran will still continue with its objectives in mind.

A covert war is what we have now .... and probably been having it for the past year. This has the potential to be a very bloody and costly affair, but until I hear a more attractive counter proposal this is probably the best of a bunch of lousy actions that we can now do. The only thing that I wish I knew .... which no one is going to say right now .... is exactly what are these "actions".