Israel Accuses Defense Minister's Household Aide Of Iran-Related Espionage

The US and the GCC, which have a Strategic Partnership agreement, held a meeting of their working group in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. A statement by the US State Department said the two sides “affirmed the longstanding partnership between the US and the members of the GCC”, as well as “shared determination to contribute to regional security and stability” in the Middle East.

But the two sides focused on “a range of aggressive and dangerous Iranian policies, including the proliferation and direct use of advanced ballistic missiles and Unmanned Aircraft Systems.” The statement said that these weapons have been by Iran or its proxies “in hundreds of attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and civilian merchant seamen in international waters of the Sea of Oman, and endangered American troops combatting ISIS.”

US allies in the Persian Gulf have been long concerned about Tehran’s belligerent regional policies and its expanding military and political influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, where they maintain and support tens of thousands of proxy forces.

The joint US and GCC meeting also “agreed that Iran’s nuclear program is of grave concern, as Iran has taken steps for which it has no civilian need but that would be important to a nuclear weapons program.”

As Iran has delayed the resumption of nuclear talks held earlier this year, the Biden Administration seems eager to offer assurances to its Arab allies in the region, which could also serve as a tough message to Tehran.

The Biden team came into office aiming to distance itself from the Trump administration’s tough approach toward Iran and its very close ties with Saudi Arabia and Israel. But as its attempts to reach agreement with Tehran to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) have so far failed, Washington needs to keep ties with traditional allies strong.

But the US and the GCC also appeared to be extending a carrot to Iran, urging Tehran to shift its long-held aggressive policies.

The State Department statement said the US and GCC believe, “Iran has a better alternative to these continued escalations and can contribute to a more secure and stable region.” GCC members briefed the meeting about their continued efforts to build diplomatic channels with Tehran and expressed hope that “these regional diplomatic efforts developing over time to promote peaceful ties in the region, based on a long history of economic and cultural exchanges.”

Saudi Arabia has held four rounds of talks with Iran this year, but Saudi officials have said while the meetings have been cordial and useful, they have not been substantive. The United Arab Emirates will also soon send a delegation to Iran.

They said the prosecution ordered the detainees to be held at the central prison for 21 days while investigations continue into alleged "membership in a prohibited party, money laundering and spying".

The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Gulf Arab states in 2016 designated Iran-allied Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Lebanon is facing a diplomatic crisis as Gulf states become increasingly dismayed by Hezbollah's expanding influence over Lebanese politics.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain last month expelled Lebanese diplomats and recalled their own envoys following a minister's critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Riyadh banned all imports from Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said the measures were driven not just by those comments but rather by Riyadh's objections to the "domination" of Hezbollah.

Kuwait has long maintained balanced ties between its larger neighbors, but in 2016 it convicted a group of Shi'ite Kuwaitis for spying for Iran and Hezbollah, accusing Tehran at the time of seeking to destabilize it. Iran had denied any connection.

Report by Reuters

The coalition was taking "operational measures to deal with the sources of hostile cross-border attacks," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

The coalition said later it conducted a wide operation on military targets in the Yemeni provinces of Sanaa, Dhamar, Saada, and al-Jawf in response to ballistic and drone threats, Saudi state TV reported.

Workshops and warehouses for ballistic missiles, drones, and communications systems were destroyed, it said.

The coalition added that it targeted what was described as a secret facility for experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's Hezbollah, who it accuses of being involved in hostile attacks against the kingdom.

The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the government from the capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia says Hezbollah arms, supplies and trains the Houthis. Western countries and UN experts have accused Iran of arming the Houthis.

Speaking in Washington before his trip to the Middle East, Austin said “This trip comes at a time when Iran is stoking tensions in undermining stability in the region.”

The US defense chief also reiterated the Biden Administration pledge not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. “We remain deeply committed to preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons. No problem in Middle East gets easier solved with a nuclear-armed Iran, and that's why we fully support the president's efforts to achieve a new diplomatic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.”

But Austin warned the Islamic Republic about threats it poses in the region. “I'm going to be very clear. We will defend ourselves and our partners and our interests against threats from Iran or its proxies,” he maintained.

Multilateral nuclear talks with Iran are scheduled to resume in Vienna on November 29 after Tehran walked away from negotiations in June. Meanwhile it has been enriching more uranium to higher purity, narrowing the window to accumulating enough fissile material for a bomb.

The attacks have targeted American companies, including healthcare providers and transportation companies.

CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory highlighting ongoing malicious cyber activity” by a group that FBI, CISA, ACSC, and NCSC assess is associated with the government of Iran.

“FBI, CISA, ACSC, and NCSC urge critical infrastructure organizations to apply the recommendations listed in the advisory to mitigate risk of compromise from Iranian government-sponsored cyber actors,” the statement by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has said.

Iranian hacking groups linked with the government of the Islamic Republic are among the world’s top cybersecurity threats, especially in targeting US, Israeli and European targets.