Two men charged over alleged spying on Jewish community in London for Iran

Metropolitan police say men were arrested and detained as part of an investigation into alleged surveillance of locations

Two men have been charged with spying for Iran over alleged surveillance of the Jewish community in London, police said.

Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian and British national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, have both been charged with engaging in contact likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 9 July and 15 August last year.

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Israel kills Iran’s spy chief; Gabbard says government is ‘intact but largely degraded’ – Los Angeles Times

  1. Israel kills Iran’s spy chief; Gabbard says government is ‘intact but largely degraded’  Los Angeles Times
  2. How Israel killing leaders in Iran could complicate Trump’s search for an endgame  CNN
  3. Iran Turns Out for Funeral for Those Killed in Strikes  The New York Times
  4. Iran’s intelligence minister killed by Israel; U.S. unleashes bunker busters  NBC News
  5. Killing of Larijani complicates Iran's decision-making, shrinks its options  Reuters
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US eases Venezuela oil sanctions as Trump seeks to boost world oil supply during Iran war – AP News

  1. US eases Venezuela oil sanctions as Trump seeks to boost world oil supply during Iran war  AP News
  2. US broadly authorizes transactions with Venezuela's oil company PDVSA  Reuters
  3. Trump said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela and sell its oil. Now it’s starting to happen  Fortune
  4. US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze  Financial Times
  5. Venezuela Oil Exports to US Double on Easing Trade Restrictions  Bloomberg.com
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Israeli Air Force strikes Iranian naval vessels in Caspian Sea for first time – ynetnews

  1. Israeli Air Force strikes Iranian naval vessels in Caspian Sea for first time  ynetnews
  2. First In War: IDF Attacks Iranian Ships In The Caspian Sea  i24NEWS
  3. Israel Widens Scope Of Attacks, Hits Northern Iran, While Energy Sites Burn In Gulf Region  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  4. Israeli Air Force strikes in Caspian Sea for first time in war, hits 200 Iranian targets  The Jerusalem Post
  5. IDF confirms conducting airstrikes in northern Iran for first time in current war  The Times of Israel
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Israel strikes Iran’s South Pars gasfield hours after forces kill intelligence minister

Death confirmed of Esmail Khatib, the third senior Iranian figure killed in 24 hours, as Israel also launches intense airstrikes on Lebanon

Israel struck Iran’s giant South Pars gasfield on Wednesday, marking a major escalation of the war, hours after Israeli forces killed the regime’s intelligence minister and launched some of the most intense airstrikes in Beirut for decades.

The attack on the Pars site in the Persian Gulf, which Iran shares with Qatar and constitutes the world’s largest natural gasfield, prompted Tehran to warn neighbouring states that their energy infrastructure could be targeted “within hours”, and triggered furious rebukes from Qatar and other nations in the region.

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China Gains an Edge From Trump’s War With Iran, Officials Say – Bloomberg.com

  1. China Gains an Edge From Trump’s War With Iran, Officials Say  Bloomberg.com
  2. Opinion | A prolonged war in Iran could hand China the commodity it prizes most  The Washington Post
  3. Can Trump Beat China by Winning In Iran?  Hudson Institute
  4. Opinion | China Has a Lot to Lose in the U.S.-Israel War on Iran  WSJ
  5. Can China stay friendly with Gulf states and Iran as fighting escalates?  South China Morning Post
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UK says it remains in talks over escorting ships through strait of Hormuz

Officials say military planners liaising with US Central Command but situation remains too dangerous for anything to happen soon

Britain has said it remains involved in discussions with the US and European allies over escorting merchant shipping through the strait of Hormuz but the situation remains too dangerous for it to happen soon.

Iran is still considered to pose a threat and to have a wide range of weapons available – from cruise missiles to sea drones – despite 19 days of US-led bombing of its navy and coastal sites.

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Damaged Russian tanker carrying natural gas floats into Libyan waters

Fears of ecological disaster as vessel continues to drift after being struck by suspected drone attack

A severely damaged Russian tanker carrying liquified natural gas that has been adrift in the Mediterranean for two weeks, raising concerns of an ecological disaster, has floated into Libyan waters, Italy’s civil protection agency said on Wednesday.

The Arctic Metagaz was part of a Russian “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions imposed on the country’s oil and gas after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It was struck in a suspected drone attack close to Maltese waters earlier this month, causing a huge hole. The crew is believed to have been rescued between Malta and Libya.

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Canada in push for joint G7 and Middle East effort to de-escalate Iran war

Foreign minister Anita Anand says she has drafted principles to reduce risk of regional spillover and wider shocks

Canada is pushing for a collective G7 and Middle East approach to de-escalating the Iran war, including off ramps that could bring an end to the conflict, the Canadian foreign minister, Anita Anand, has said.

In London to meet the UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, after talks with the her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, Anand told the Guardian she hoped a G7 meeting chaired by France, this year’s president of the group, might start to build a broader collective approach to the crisis.

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As Trump shows lack of direction on Iran, even Badenoch distances herself

Steady UK opposition to the war and the US president’s insults mean MPs are finding it easier to point out the obvious

When is a U-turn definitely a U-turn? To the consternation of politicians through the ages, this is rarely something within their control, but decided instead by the herd. And thus it is with Kemi Badnoch over Iran and Donald Trump.

The Conservative leader would very much like it to be known that she had not changed her stance on the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, or on the US president.

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America’s friends must help extricate it from an unlawful war – The Economist

  1. America’s friends must help extricate it from an unlawful war  The Economist
  2. For U.S., Unmet Expectations in Iran Fit a Familiar Pattern in the Region  The New York Times
  3. The US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is why  Al Jazeera
  4. The Israel Lobby’s Responsibility for the Iran War  Foreign Policy
  5. Who wants what from the Iran war?  BBC
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