Alleged Iranian spy to be put on trial in Germany, spied on Israeli and Jewish institutions.

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Alleged Iranian spy to be put on trial in Germany, spied on Israeli and Jewish institutions. (DS).

A 31-year-old Pakistani man is going on trial in Berlin on allegations he spied for Iran on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Syed Mustufa H., whose full name was not giving for privacy reasons, is due in court Wednesday on espionage charges.

H., who came to Germany in 2012 to go to university, is accused of having collected information on a professor at a university in Paris, the former president of the German-Israel Society and others in Western European countries.

Prosecutors say he then passed the information to a contact person with the Iranian intelligence agency. He's alleged to have received at least 2,052 euros ($2,170) for his spying activities.
H., who was arrested in July 2016, faces a possible five years in prison.

Iran official claims US send ‘CIA’ spy to Iran.

Iran official makes contradictory ‘CIA infiltration’ claim. (Taz).

A CIA agent, who was given a mission to infiltrate Iran, traveled to Tehran around June and visited all the universities in the city, Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaee has claimed.

“In the future, we will release many documents about him,” said Rezaee, who formerly served as the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Tasnim news agency reported March 1.

“That man is the first person who went to the USSR after the atmosphere eased there,” Rezaee said, without making any further clarification.

But Rezaee, despite claiming that the CIA agent visited Iran around June last year, further said the person came to the country following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal) by Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which took place on July 14, 2015.

The JCPOA was backed by an IAEA report testifying to the peacefulness of Iran’s nuclear program and was put into force on Jan. 16, 2016, ending long claims over Iran’s nuclear ambitions by curbing its nuclear activities.

“We are facing enemies who are ahead of us by 100 years in terms of science and technology. They don’t have any problems with nuclear bombs… or missiles. They have problems with our scientific advancement,” claimed Rezaee.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been warning that “enemies” have special plans for infiltrating the country in the post-JCPOA era.


A number of Iran’s nuclear scientists have been assassinated in the past. Tehran accuses its “enemies” of having plotted the assassinations as a bid to hamper the country’s progress.

Iranian Press TV Correspondent Accused of Spying Killed in car 'accident' in Turkey.

Iranian Press TV Correspondent Accused of Spying Killed in car 'accident' in Turkey. HT: IMRA.

TEHRAN (FNA - Fars news agency)- Press TV correspondent in Turkey Serena Shim, who was accused earlier this month by the Turkish Intelligence Ministry of spying - probably due to her coverage of Ankara’s stance on ISIL atrocities in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani and the recent protests in Turkey - was killed in a car accident on Sunday.

The late Shim was in a passenger car with some other journalists and reporters when the incident took place. The latest reports said another passenger has also been badly hurt in the car accident.

Press TV said Shim has been killed near Turkey-Syria border. Shim was killed in car accident as she was returning from report scene, the English-language TV channel said.

As heavy clashes rage on in and around Kobani, the Ankara government is preventing some journalists from reporting the developments on the ground in the border region.

Press TV correspondent Serena Shim said on Friday that Ankara has accused her of spying probably due to some of the stories she has covered about Turkey’s stance on the ISIL terrorists in Kobani and its surroundings.

Shim said she was among the few journalists obtaining stories of militants infiltrating into Syria through the Turkish border, adding that she had received images from militants crossing the Turkish border into Syria in World Food Organization and other NGOs’ trucks.

“I think it’s definitely because of the reporting about Syria," Shim said, pointing to her reports about "the so-called Free Syrian Army going in [Syria] and catching these Takfiri militants and getting their passport stamps and getting first-hand information that they were actually inside while Turkey was still hiding this.”

The Turkish government alleges that “I am spying and that I am working with the Turkish opposition but it’s only logical that I would speak with the Turkish opposition just the same way I would speak with other parties … because that’s my job,” she added.

She flatly rejected accusations against her, saying she was “surprised” at this accusation “because I have nothing to hide and I have never done anything aside my job.”

Kobani and its surroundings have been under attack since mid-September, with the ISIL militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.Turkey has been accused of backing ISIL militants in Syria. Hmmm........The woman who knew too much gets in to an convenient 'accident' 


Update: 

Turkey Refuses to Reveal Name of Suspect in Death of Press TV Reporter.(Fars).

Turkey’s Gendarmerie General Command (JGK) refused to reveal the identity of the driver involved in the suspicious incident that claimed the life of Press TV's correspondent Serena Shim in the country.

Press TV’s representative at the crash site said Turkish Gendarmerie refused to cooperate in the case, Press TV reported.

Serena Shim was killed on Sunday when her car collided with a heavy vehicle in Urfa province.

Shim’s family members said they did not believe their daughter died in a normal accident in Turkey.

They made the remarks during a visit by the news network’s Beirut Bureau team in Lebanon.

The family members refused to appear on camera, but said they suspected the Turkish authorities were somehow responsible for Serena’s death.

Her parents said they would pursue the matter legally.

An American citizen of Lebanese descent, Serena Shim covered many conflict zones around the world, including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Ukraine.

She was on a mission on the Turkish side of the border across Syria’s strategic town of Kobani to cover the ongoing war there between the ISIL terrorists and Kurdish fighters.

Her car collided with a heavy vehicle upon return from a report scene in Suruç, a rural district of Şanlıurfa province of Turkey.

Shim had said she was among the few journalists who had obtained stories about Takfiri militants’ infiltration into Syria through the Turkish border, adding she had gained access to images showing militants crossing the border in trucks belonging to the World Food Organization and other NGOs. Hmmmm......What's the odds it would be IHH trucks involved in the 'other' NGO's?

#SerenaShim a journalist & mother of 2, killed in #Turkey ,lets show her the same respect we give to western journos pic.twitter.com/29ruap28Uv
— Hamid Farajollahi (@HamiFaraj) October 19, 2014

Snowden might reveal US war plans to China, Russia: Intelligence experts.

Snowden might reveal US war plans to China, Russia: Intelligence experts.(PressTV).

Former US intelligence officials have warned that American whistleblower Edward Snowden might disclose US “war plans to China and Russia,” according to a report.

The Hill reported in an article on Wednesday that “US officials might not know for years whether former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden divulged war plans to China and Russia.”

Although Snowden has denied leaking US secrets, former intelligence officials believe that some tactical shifts might be apparent right away.
“We may see some things immediately that might indicate that they have things, but it will create a great deal of uncertainty for years,” former CIA assistant director of central intelligence for analysis and production Mark Lowenthal told The Hill.

Most of Snowden’s documents are related to US military capabilities and plans — documents of particular interest to Russia and China, according to former intelligence officials.

The documents could include everything from defense budget data to information about weapons capabilities to documents about covert actions.

“This includes anything that was being moved out over their communications systems, not just about the collection of intelligence,” former CIA official Gary Berntsen said.

“We have military forces positioned around the world, they push plans back and forth, assessments, deployment information — the whole thing,” he said.

Lowenthal said one clue that Russia or China is privy to the war plans could be adjustments to the way they exercise and train.

“If you notice changes in someone’s exercises, dramatic changes that seem different to you that’s not evolutionary, you would have to think, ‘Why are they doing this? Do they have their hands on war plans; have they read the plans?’ ”

Although Washington closely tracks how other nations exercise, it would take time for other countries to change their methods.

“It depends on how fast they can get their act together. Militaries don’t exactly turn on a dime,” Lowenthal said. “It’s not proof positive, but it would be a good indicator.”

According to Lowenthal, another clue would be changes in military purchases clearly aimed at thwarting US defenses and weapons.
That could take “years and years” to notice since militaries have to buy the equipment, build it, and test it, Lowenthal said.
Last month, member of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Pete King accused Snowden of revealing his documents to Russia and China.

“We have to assume… all of data he had is available to the Russians. I mean, they can break any type of code,” King said. “I think we have to assume the Chinese have it all, too.”

Snowden, who is currently staying in Russia after Moscow granted him political asylum, caused a major headache for the Obama administration when he revealed US spying programs around the world last year.

Some former intelligence officials say it’s possible the U.S. will never know whether Snowden spilled secrets.

“It’s impossible to prove a negative. They just will never know, even if Snowden returns and confesses. He doesn’t know himself what they could have, and what access they’ve had to his computers,” said Dan Gabriel, a former CIA official.

But others argue the proof that Snowden is working with the Russians or Chinese is that most of the files he stole had nothing to do with the NSA.

“He stole a lot of material that had nothing whatsoever with these programs that he’s opposed to,” Lowenthal said.

Gabriel said it’s hard to believe Russia wasn’t somehow behind Snowden’s intelligence theft, given how it has caused a public relations nightmare for the U.S.. “The nation’s dirty laundry is being displayed in an international forum. The political value rivals any covert action program,” he said

Shin Bet: Iranian-born Belgian Revolutionary Guards spy arrested in Tel Aviv.

Shin Bet: Iranian-born Belgian Revolutionary Guards spy arrested in Tel Aviv.(YNet).

The Shin Bet has arrested a man it claims is an Iranian-born Belgian intelligence agent who is a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, on suspicion he attempted to spy on Israeli and American facilities in Israel.

The Shin Bet said that Ali Mansouri, 55, who entered Israel with a Belgian passport under the name Alex Mans, is suspected of photographing the US Embassy in Tel Aviv with the intention of monitoring activities at the site.

He was arrested at the Ben Gurion Airport and found carrying photos of the embassy. The Shin Bet is claiming that he was recruited by the Revolutionary Guards' special ops unit which carries out terrorist attacks around the world and was sent to Israel to set up front companies for covert Iranian operations. He was promised a fee of $ 1 million .

Mansouri told Israeli investigators how he was recruited by Iranianintelligence. He made trips to Israel in July 2012 and January 2013. His third visit began on September 3 and ended upon his arrest on September 11.

The IRGC's special ops unit is in charge, among other things, of carrying out terror attacks against Israeli targets, both in Israel and abroad. It is suspected that Iran used Mansouri's services in trying to evade the trade embargo.

A defense team on behalf of the Public Defender's Office said that security forces denied Mansouri of access to an attorney for more than a week.

"The suspect was arrested several weeks ago but he was denied a meeting with a lawyer until September 20. Attorneys Michal Orkavi and Anat Yaari said he is a businessman and Belgian citizen who is not motivated by an anti-Israel or pro-Iranian agenda. The picture is far more complicated than it appears."

It was further stated that matter would become clearer after the defendant is given a chance to explain himself in court once an indictment is filed.

The Public Defender's Office stressed that the affair has been cleared for publication before the investigation concluded, unlike past cases when the Shin Bet asked for a delay in publication pending an indictment.

The investigation suggests that Mansouri lived in Iran until 1980. He then moved to Turkey, where he resided until 1997. Working as a businessman he obtained a visa for Belgium and in 2006 became a Belgian citizen after marrying a Belgian woman whom he later divorced. That same year he changed his name to Alex Mans to conceal his Iranian background.

During his interrogation Masouri revealed that he returned to Iran in 2007 and has since expanded his business at the country while maintaining operations in Turkey and Belgium. He later married an Iranian woman and was singled out as a possible recruit by Iranian intelligence.

According to the Shin Bet, in his interrogation, Mansouri described his recruitment process and how he was operated by Iranian intelligence agents for months. He gave many details about his operators and their methods of contact.

Some of the Iranian operators Mansouri discussed included Haji Mastafa, a staff-level official who met with him and was briefed by him on his tasks in Israel; Haji Hamid Nemati, who served as the main point of contact; and Mahdi Hanbabai, who oversaw Mansouri's missions inside Israel.

Mansouri added that he was ordered to cover up his visits to Iran, where he usually headed to in order to report back to his operators and receive further directions after his Israel trips. His Iranian operators hoped his Belgian identity would allow him to bypass the rigorous Israeli security inspection at Ben-Gurion Airport.