US, Israel kick off joint naval drills aimed at regional threats

The covert network was uncovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, the IDF Arabic spokesman said in a post on X citing internal Hamas documents.

According to Avichay Adraee, the network exploited Turkish financial infrastructure to move large sums of money earmarked for Hamas activities.

The Israeli spokesman added the Gaza-born exchangers worked “in full cooperation” with Iran, transferring what he said were hundreds of millions of dollars directly to Hamas and its senior commanders.

They said the network operated a wide economic portfolio inside Turkey, including receiving, storing and moving Iranian funds on behalf of the group.

The Islamic Republic has for years provided financial support to groups such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are designated as terrorist organizations by much of the international community.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains a central conduit for Iranian funds reaching Hezbollah despite international sanctions.

The newspaper cited Arab officials as saying that Iran routes money through UAE-based shell companies and hawala networks, or traditional means of transferring money that mostly skirt easy tracing. Hawala brokers in the UAE convert and move cash without creating bank records.

“Iran’s shadow banking system is a critical lifeline for the regime through which it accesses the proceeds from its oil sales, moves money, and funds its destabilizing activities,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in June.

"The system operates as a parallel banking system in which settlements are brokered through Iran-based exchange houses that use front companies outside of Iran, primarily located in Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE), to make or receive payments on behalf of sanctioned persons in Iran," the Treasury said.

'Hamas rebuilding capabilities with Iran's aid'

The Israeli military on Sunday published what it called documentation from inside the Iran-backed money network in Turkey showing a “small portion” of its transactions, with individual transfers allegedly reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The statement named three Gaza-origin figures said to be working as exchangers under Iranian direction in Turkey. Israel identified them as Tamer Hassan, described as a senior Hamas finance ministry official living in Turkey and working directly under senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya; and Khalil Faraouna and Farid Abu Dayr, both described as money-changers operating within the alleged network.

The IDF and Shin Bet said the revelations show Hamas, with Iranian backing, is seeking to rebuild its capabilities and promote plots against Israel even outside Gaza, despite the devastation of the enclave.

Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the Jewish state’s campaign sharply degraded Iran’s regional axis — killing senior Hamas and Hezbollah commanders, striking Iran-linked sites in Syria ahead of the collapse of Tehran’s key ally Bashar al-Assad, and joining the United States in targeting Houthi launch and command facilities in Yemen.

The cumulative blows have weakened the core groups that long anchored Tehran’s regional reach.

Hamas and Hezbollah are now quietly rebuilding their military capabilities amid a tense ceasefire with Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported last month, with both groups accusing Israel of violating truce agreements intended to end the two-year-old conflict.

One Western diplomat said a new campaign would be “short and intense” but strategically limited. “Iran will evidently retaliate with a missile launch, perhaps hitting buildings the way it did last time,” the diplomat said, adding that the fundamental balance of power would remain unchanged.

Enrichment described as the main red line

The current post-war equilibrium is deeply unstable, Raz Zimmt of the Institute for National Security Studies told Al-Monitor. Israel, he added, has yet to define precise red lines on Iran’s ballistic missile program, but a return to enrichment, weaponization work or attempts to recover the roughly 408 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent believed lost in the June attacks would almost certainly trigger a response.

“The more time passes without the United States and Iran reaching a nuclear agreement, the more likely a new round of conflict becomes,” Zimmt said.

Stalled diplomacy and Iranian pressure

Iran is rebuilding its air defenses, missile systems and protective measures around nuclear sites – a process Zimmt said could continue for up to a year without prompting an Israeli strike. But he warned Iran is effectively stuck in a “no war, no peace” posture, a phrase invoked by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with sanctions eroding the economy while enrichment remains constrained.

Khamenei’s recent remark that the US is “not worthy” of engagement has further complicated prospects for diplomacy. Israeli officials argue any future US-Iran deal must cap enrichment at 3.67 percent, restore intrusive inspections and resolve the fate of the missing enriched uranium. Without those terms, some say, sanctions relief would be unjustified.

Zimmt noted Washington shows little urgency. Trump, he said, appears convinced the 2025 strikes destroyed Iran’s program – a view that reduces US pressure and leaves Israel preparing for what it sees as an increasingly likely confrontation.

“The Islamic Republic would examine the strategy, but at first glance, it is clear the White House continues to pursue the same objectives of previous US administrations,” Baghaei told reporters at his weekly briefing.

“Washington had focused all its efforts on imposing Israeli domination over the region.”

Tehran rejects US characterization of Iran

The document, published late Thursday, appears to downplay the scale of the threat from Iran and offers only cursory references to Tehran.

“Iran – the region’s chief destabilizing force – has been greatly weakened by Israeli actions since October 7, 2023, and President Trump’s June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer, which significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear program,” the document reads.

“America will always have core interests in ensuring that Gulf energy supplies do not fall into the hands of an outright enemy, and that the Strait of Hormuz remain open,” it added.

During the 12-day conflict in 2025, the United States and Israel carried out coordinated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said that strikes on Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan destroyed Iran’s program.

Hezbollah and Lebanon tensions surface

Baghaei also addressed growing international demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament. The group, he said, “decides for itself regarding its behavior and policies,” rejecting Iranian interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs.

He declined to comment on reports that Lebanese foreign minister Youssef Raji had turned down an invitation to visit Iran. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi invited Raji on December 4 for consultations on bilateral ties and regional developments, and Raji said he would respond through diplomatic channels. Israel’s Ynet reported that Raji favored meeting Araghchi in a “neutral country.”

“The disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantling of its military structure are Lebanese demands, independent of international requests,” Raji told Al Arabiya on Saturday. New Gallup polling shows strong Lebanese backing for a unified national force: about 79 percent of respondents said only the Lebanese army should possess weapons.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the GCC position repeated in the bloc’s closing communiqué after its Bahrain summit on Wednesday relied on “baseless and absurd claims encouraged by outside actors.”

Such language, he said, violated principles of territorial respect and good-neighborliness.

The GCC statement reiterated its backing for the United Arab Emirates, which claims Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa – territories controlled by Iran since 1971, when the Shah’s government took over the islands following Britain’s military withdrawal.

Tehran rejects any challenge to its sovereignty, and figures across Iran’s political spectrum oppose UAE claims.

Long-running dispute resurfaces

The islands issue has become a standard feature of GCC ministerial meetings and joint statements with partners including the EU and China. These declarations routinely “support UAE efforts” to resolve the dispute and encourage negotiations or referral to the International Court of Justice.

Iran typically answers such communiqués with statements and diplomatic protests. It summoned EU representatives after the bloc issued similar language in October, and lodged objections with Beijing in 2024 when China echoed the call for a “peaceful settlement.”

The territories, Ghalibaf said, were “pieces of Iran’s body,” urging regional states to avoid actions that could escalate tensions.

Although the three islands remain the core flashpoint, a newer dispute over the Arash/Durra gas field has entered GCC statements.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia assert joint ownership, while Iran maintains overlapping claims, adding another layer of friction to an already crowded Persian Gulf maritime file.

Chad dismantled two networks accused of being tied to Iran, the report said quoting Chadian security forces.

Officials described a strategy of infiltration, indoctrination and promises of support for coups aimed at expanding Tehran’s influence in Africa.

According to Infobae, the interrogations detailed how the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) allegedly recruit and train African citizens for operations targeting Western and Israeli interests.

In 2023, Israel asked visiting Chadian President Mahamat Deby to reduce the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in Africa’s Sahel region, four years after the Muslim-majority country in central Africa restored its relations with the Jewish State.

Déby visited Israel to open Chad’s new embassy in the country, where he also made a rare stop at Mossad headquarters, a signal that the renewed ties carry national-security weight.

The alleged push for influence in Chad is not an isolated case, as Iran has been reportedly sending military equipment to Chad's eastern neighbor Sudan whose army is fighting against the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces.

Iran's alleged recruitments in Chad

The Infobae report says one of those detained by Chadian authorities admitted to investigators that he had been recruited by Iran's intelligence ministry. The detaine, identified as Ali Abdoulaye Mahamat, said the process began after studying at the Al-Mustafa International University in Iran's Qom.

Mahamat told authorities he met Iranian intelligence officers in hotels in 2022 and 2023. He said he was instructed to identify American, Israeli and French activity, recruit new members and map links between local rebel groups and Iranian handlers, according to the report.

He also described an intelligence officer named Karim, who he said escorted him to hotels, restaurants and secret locations and confiscated his phone. Mahamat told officials Karim demanded detailed information on foreign military movements and intelligence services operating in Chad.

Pressed by his handlers, Mahamat said he eventually provided names of Chadian intelligence officers and individuals allegedly in contact with Israelis.

Chad’s authorities say another detainee, Abdoulaye Ahmat Sheikh Alamine, confessed to being recruited by the Quds Force. During his interrogation, he said the cell he belonged to was directed by Department 400, which operates in Iraq, Africa and other regions.

He told investigators he received weapons training — including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and KFX systems — and traveled to Iraq under the guise of religious trips, where the group met Iranian contacts and trained alongside Shia militias, according to the report.

Mahamat also told investigators that MOIS officers posing as Iranian Foreign Ministry representatives instructed him to collect information on international presence in Chad, recruit assets for military training and assess the needs of rebel groups such as FACT.

According to Infobae, Chad’s security services say the revelations show a coordinated Iranian approach combining religious indoctrination, military training and promises of political power in exchange for attacks on Western and Israeli interests.

Chadian officials told the outlet their operations disrupted, at least temporarily, what they describe as Tehran’s efforts to expand influence and destabilize the region.

Last month, Iran International revealed an alleged Iranian plot targeting the Israeli embassy in Senegal and Israeli personnel in Uganda, which were thwarted by Mossad.

The operation was directed by the Quds Force, the IRGC’s overseas arm, which relied on a proxy network of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals based in Iran, alongside locally recruited operatives in Africa — many of whom were said to have been enlisted through social media.