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Israel’s former minister arrested for spying for Iran

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Israel’s former minister arrested for spying for Iran

Tehran has not responded to the allegations yet

In a rare development, Israel’s former minister Gonen Segev has been arrested on suspicion of assisting and providing intelligence to enemy Iran in a time of war, Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency announced on Monday.

He arrived in Israel on June 15, after he was deported from Equitorial Guinea, where he was denied entry in May because of his criminal past. He served as minister of energy and infrastructure from 1995 to 1996.

According to Jerusalem Post, an indictment was filed in the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s office on June 15 and approved by the attorney-general and the state attorney. Segev is suspected of providing his Iranian handlers with intelligence related to country’s energy industry, security sites, buildings and officials in political and security bodies.

Israel’s security agencies have claimed of gathering intelligence indicating that Sergev was maintaining contacts with Iranian intelligence and assisting them in their in their activities against the State of Israel. The Israel Police subsequently requested his extradition to Israel, where he was immediately arrested upon his arrival for questioning by the Shin Bet.

Read More: Israel calls for military coalition against Iran

Shin Bet claims that Sergev was recruited and acted as an agent on behalf of Iranian intelligence. He met with elements of the Iranian embassy in Nigeria, knowing they were from Iranian intelligence, and later traveled twice to Iran to meet with his handlers.

Israel’s former minister arrested for spying for IranThe investigation also found that Sergev met with Iranian handlers in various countries, in hotels and apartments used for clandestine Iranian activity. He received a secret communications system to encrypt messages between himself and his Iranian handlers.

Jerusalem Post further reports that in order to accomplish the tasks Sergev maintained ties with Israeli citizens who are related to security and foreign relations and tried to connect some them to Iranian intelligence, all the while trying to fool them and present the Iranians as innocent businessmen.

In 1970s Segev served as a military pilot in the country’s Air Force, reaching the rank of captain. Following his service with IAF, he studied medicine at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and became a medical doctor.

Read More: Can Saud And Israel Drag Trump Into War With Iran?

In 1992 he was elected to the Knesset as part of the now-defunct, hawkish opposition Tzomet Party and was lured to join Yitzhak Rabin’s government as energy minister in 1994 before he quit politics.

He was arrested and convicted for drug smuggling and credit card fraud in 2005 after attempting to smuggle 32,000 ecstasy (MDMA) tablets from the Netherlands into Israel. He was released in 2007 after serving two years of a five-year sentence.Israel’s former minister arrested for spying for Iran

In 2004, when he was first arrested for drug smuggling, the Ynet news website reported that Lebanon based Hezbollah had tried to recruit him at that time. Upon his release, Sergev, who had his medical licence revoked, went to Nigeria, where he ran a clinic serving diplomats. He allegedly had his first contact with Iranian embassy officials in Nigeria in 2012.

Meanwhile, Haaretz, another leading Israeli newspaper, published an opinion piece on Tuesday headlined “Enlisting a Former Israeli Minister is a victory for Iranian Intelligence” written by Amos Harel. It says that “if the charges against Gonen Segev are true, they show how important Israel is to Iran and raise questions about counterintelligence”.

“For Iranian intelligence, the recruitment of a former cabinet minister and Knesset member like Gonen Segev as an agent would have been a significant achievement,” Harel said.

In 2011, United States and Israel had allegedly conducted a cyber attack against Iran’s nuclear energy program. Later Washington Post said that the US National Security Agency (NSA), CIA and Israel’s military had worked together to launch a malware known as Stuxnet against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran alleges that Israeli government assassinated four of its nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2012.

Iran has not yet formally responded to the alleged recruiting of Israel’s former minister by its spying agencies.

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US reiterates its call for fair, transparent, legal process for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, speaks on Congress frozen accounts

The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections.

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A day after India summoned an US diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated its call for fair, transparent, timely legal processes on Wednesday.

Responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that they will continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Notably, the meeting at the foreign ministry’s South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal.

Matthew Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party’s frozen bank accounts. The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. He added that the US encourages fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of the issues.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to the Delhi liquor policy scam. Earlier, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case.

The External Affairs Ministry had earlier stated that states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies, adding that it could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents.

The Ministry further emphasized that India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. It mentioned that casting aspersions on India’s legal procedure is unwarranted.

The United State’s remarks followed days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government labelled their remark as blatant interference in internal matters.

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5 Chinese nationals killed in suicide bomb attack in Pakistan

This is the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan within a week.

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Nearly five Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion during an attack on their convoy by a suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday. Reportedly, the suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers travelling from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, situated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said that five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. As yet, none has claimed responsibility for the attack. Bisham Station House Officer (SHO) Bakht Zahir asserted that the incident was a suicide blast and the authorities concerned were collecting the evidence.

The Station House Officer further added that security arrangements were tightened at the spot and the bodies were being shifted to a hospital. He added that they will investigate from where and how the vehicle of a suicide bomber came and how it happened. Notably, this is the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan within a week.

Previously, two attacks hit an airbase and a strategic port in the southwest province of Balochistan where China is investing billions in infrastructure projects. Several Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have for multiple years been working on hydroelectric projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in the western province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa.

Notably, Dasu is home to a significant dam project, has been a target of previous attacks. Earlier in 2021, the attack in Dasu resulted in the deaths of nine Chinese nationals, along with two Pakistani children. The incident occured when a bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers to the Dasu Hydropower Project site was targeted.

There was confusion surrounding the nature of the attack initially, with some reports suggesting it was a bus accident. Nonetheless, subsequent investigations revealed that it was indeed a terrorist attack. The bus was hit by a blast, leading it to plunge into a ravine.

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US bridge collapses after being hit by ship

The rescuers were searching for at least 7 people in the water. Some reports said upto 20 construction workers were there on the Baltimore Bridge at the time of the incident. A video of the incident which was widely shared on social media showed the moment the 3 km long bridge collapsed.

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Major portions of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, US collapsed on early Tuesday morning after it was hit by a large container ship. The incident occurred at nearly 1.30 am (US local time). The Baltimore City Fire department said the collapse is a mass casualty incident.

According to reports many vehicles fell into the river below. The rescuers were searching for at least 7 people in the water. Some reports said upto 20 construction workers were there on the Baltimore Bridge at the time of the incident. A video of the incident which was widely shared on social media showed the moment the 3 km long bridge collapsed.

It seems the vessel had hit one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the roadway to break apart in many places and plunge into the water. The ship caught fire and appeared to sink. Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, the registered owner of the ship, and the manager, Synergy Marine Group, said it is a Singapore flagged ship Dali which collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

He said the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined; the Dali has now mobilized its qualified individual Incident response service. It added that all crew members, including the 2 pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of injuries.

The local traffic police said all lanes on both directions of the bridge have been closed and the traffic is being de-toured. Maryland Governor Wes Moore also declared a state of emergency after the collapse of the bridge. The bridge was opened in 1977, spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that along with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast. It is named after the writer of the Star Spangled Banner.  

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