Latest news with #SepahBank
LeMonde
12 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Who is Gonjeshke Darande, the group behind the cyberattack targeting Sepah Bank in Iran?
While missiles and bombs have flown between Israel and Iran since the large-scale attack launched by Israel on Friday, June 13, the conflict has also extended into cyberspace. On Tuesday, June 17, the group Gonjeshke Darande ("Predatory Sparrow" in Farsi) claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against Sepah Bank, one of the country's largest financial institutions. 24 hours later, on its Telegram channel, the group announced it had targeted Nobitex, the main cryptocurrency exchange platform in Iran, which Gonjeshke Darande described as "a key tool for the regime to finance terrorism and circumvent sanctions." While the group reportedly stole and made disappear as much as $90 million from Nobitex, the full impact of the attack on Sepah Bank has not been completely confirmed. However, the claim is credible, as Gonjeshke Darande has already demonstrated its ability to damage Iranian interests. Although some of its malicious software had been used as early as 2019 against Iranian interests in Syria, the group emerged publicly in summer 2021, when it claimed responsibility for two major operations. The first such operation targeted the Iranian railways, delaying trains and disrupting station activity; the hackers even altered information screens to display the phone number of the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The following day, the website of the Ministry of Transport was hit by another cyberattack. "Our goal with this attack was to express our disgust at the abuses and cruelty inflicted by the government on the Iranian nation," the group wrote on its Telegram channel at the time.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Iranians say daily life filled with fear and distrust
By CNN staff A man checks the site at the damaged Tehran building of radio and television broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), on 19 June. Photo: AFP After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel's bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty. "This is war," one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, "no one really understands what that means." A week into the conflict, Iranians' contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some - typically wealthy activists - have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access. Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all the people interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran's authorities. Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, the father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran's Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline. "We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran," he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days. A photo provided by the Iranian Red Crescent on 19 June, shows the funeral procession of two Iranian Red Crescent members who were killed during an Israeli strike in Tehran. Photo: AFP / HO / Iranian Red Crescent Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn't left their house in recent days. "Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust," he said. From Shiraz in southern Iran, a 55-year-old English teacher described a "huge group of people waiting" to withdraw cash at a bank branch in the city centre. "The workers were completely overwhelmed and said they just cannot process all these requests for cash. I wouldn't say it was chaotic, but I do feel there is an underlying feeling of panic," he said. "It feels like a missile is following me. I go to Karaj and they bomb there. I come to Tehran and they bomb here," a 27-year-old conscript soldier told CNN. Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj at the weekend, but in the capital is prohibited by military rules from using his phone or other devices. "We can't even check the news." Smoke rises after an explosion occurred in downtown Tehran, on Sunday 15 June. Photo: KHOSHIRAN A hairdresser from Shiraz lamented the destruction being inflicted: "I don't even know what to say. You watch the videos, the photos. People are being killed, our country is being looted, falling apart like this. "Israel and the US don't care about the Iranian people," she said. "You want to hit the real target, but it's surrounded by ordinary people. They're destroying the country." "Rebuilding all this may take decades, if not longer, and in the end it's we the people who will have to bear the cost," a 22-year-old janitor of an apartment building in Tehran told CNN. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran, according to Tehran, with Israel's strikes taking out much of the key leadership in the country's military and nuclear programme. But Iran has accused Israel of also targeting its energy and digital infrastructure. "We are paying the price for a dictatorship and its arrogance," shared a nurse from Mashad, northeast Iran, whose father was a decorated war veteran. "But now that all its forces (in the region) have been destroyed, it seems that its own turn has come," she added. Watching the attacks on a deeply unpopular regime, some Iranians confessed to welcoming the strikes, even as civilians were caught up in the bombings. "I want to say what I truly feel," a student from Shiraz told CNN, "I don't know what I'll be judged for, what I'll be accused of. "Still, I'll say it, I'm genuinely happy. Really, deeply happy!" she added. "I believe it's worth it, for the sake of future generations." But a week into the fighting, even as diplomatic channels for peace start to coalesce, there's still no sign of an end to the bombings. Uncertainty has only been fuelled by US President Donald Trump teasing the possibility of US aircraft joining the bombing campaign. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has slammed Trump's call for surrender, warning that America's involvement in Israel's military campaign would "100% be at their loss." Other Iranians share his defiance. "The mood in Iran is starting to morph into an environment of nationalism," according to a 69-year-old Iranian-American woman visiting Tehran. "I saw a lot of cars waving the Islamic Republic flag from their windows as we drove out of town." The heavily damaged building of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) state controlled media corporation in Tehran, on 19 June, after it was hit a few days earlier in an Israeli strike. Photo: AFP "I lost a son during the Iran-Iraq War and will be happy to fight America and the Zionists again," a 78-year-old mosque caretaker from Isfahan told CNN, "Those who love martyrdom cannot be defeated." The prospects of peace look slim, one engineering student from Mashad told CNN. "Now that Trump has come this far, he will see it through to the end. They don't let a wounded bear go free," she said. - CNN
CNN
19 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
In Iran, daily life is ‘filled with constant fear and distrust'
After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel's bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty. 'This is war,' one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, 'no one really understands what that means.' A week into the conflict, Iranians' contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some – typically wealthy activists – have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access. Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all the people interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran's authorities. Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, the father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran's Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline. 'We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran,' he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days. Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn't left their house in recent days. 'Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust,' he said. From Shiraz in southern Iran, a 55-year-old English teacher described a 'huge group of people waiting' to withdraw cash at a bank branch in the city center. 'The workers were completely overwhelmed and said they just cannot process all these requests for cash. I wouldn't say it was chaotic, but I do feel there is an underlying feeling of panic,' he said. 'It feels like a missile is following me. I go to Karaj and they bomb there. I come to Tehran and they bomb here,' a 27-year-old conscript soldier told CNN. Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj at the weekend, but in the capital is prohibited by military rules from using his phone or other devices. 'We can't even check the news.' A hairdresser from Shiraz lamented the destruction being inflicted: 'I don't even know what to say. You watch the videos, the photos. People are being killed, our country is being looted, falling apart like this.' 'Israel and the US don't care about the Iranian people,' she said. 'You want to hit the real target, but it's surrounded by ordinary people. They're destroying the country.' 'Rebuilding all this may take decades, if not longer, and in the end it's we the people who will have to bear the cost,' a 22-year-old janitor of an apartment building in Tehran told CNN. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran, according to Tehran, with Israel's strikes taking out much of the key leadership in the country's military and nuclear program. But Iran has accused Israel of also targeting its energy and digital infrastructure. 'We are paying the price for a dictatorship and its arrogance,' shared a nurse from Mashad, northeast Iran, whose father was a decorated war veteran. 'But now that all its forces (in the region) have been destroyed, it seems that its own turn has come,' she added. Watching the attacks on a deeply unpopular regime, some Iranians confessed to welcoming the strikes, even as civilians were caught up in the bombings. 'I want to say what I truly feel,' a student from Shiraz told CNN, 'I don't know what I'll be judged for, what I'll be accused of. 'Still, I'll say it, I'm genuinely happy. Really, deeply happy!' she added. 'I believe it's worth it, for the sake of future generations.' But a week into the fighting, even as diplomatic channels for peace start to coalesce, there's still no sign of an end to the bombings. Uncertainty has only been fueled by US President Donald Trump teasing the possibility of US aircraft joining the bombing campaign. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has slammed Trump's call for surrender, warning that America's involvement in Israel's military campaign would '100% be at their loss.' Other Iranians share his defiance. 'The mood in Iran is starting to morph into an environment of nationalism,' according to a 69-year-old Iranian-American woman visiting Tehran. 'I saw a lot of cars waving the Islamic Republic flag from their windows as we drove out of town.' 'I lost a son during the Iran-Iraq War and will be happy to fight America and the Zionists again,' a 78-year-old mosque caretaker from Isfahan told CNN, 'Those who love martyrdom cannot be defeated.' The prospects of peace look slim, one engineering student from Mashad told CNN. 'Now that Trump has come this far, he will see it through to the end. They don't let a wounded bear go free,' she said.
CNN
19 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
In Iran, daily life is ‘filled with constant fear and distrust'
After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel's bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty. 'This is war,' one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, 'no one really understands what that means.' A week into the conflict, Iranians' contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some – typically wealthy activists – have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access. Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all the people interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran's authorities. Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, the father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran's Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline. 'We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran,' he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days. Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn't left their house in recent days. 'Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust,' he said. From Shiraz in southern Iran, a 55-year-old English teacher described a 'huge group of people waiting' to withdraw cash at a bank branch in the city center. 'The workers were completely overwhelmed and said they just cannot process all these requests for cash. I wouldn't say it was chaotic, but I do feel there is an underlying feeling of panic,' he said. 'It feels like a missile is following me. I go to Karaj and they bomb there. I come to Tehran and they bomb here,' a 27-year-old conscript soldier told CNN. Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj at the weekend, but in the capital is prohibited by military rules from using his phone or other devices. 'We can't even check the news.' A hairdresser from Shiraz lamented the destruction being inflicted: 'I don't even know what to say. You watch the videos, the photos. People are being killed, our country is being looted, falling apart like this.' 'Israel and the US don't care about the Iranian people,' she said. 'You want to hit the real target, but it's surrounded by ordinary people. They're destroying the country.' 'Rebuilding all this may take decades, if not longer, and in the end it's we the people who will have to bear the cost,' a 22-year-old janitor of an apartment building in Tehran told CNN. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran, according to Tehran, with Israel's strikes taking out much of the key leadership in the country's military and nuclear program. But Iran has accused Israel of also targeting its energy and digital infrastructure. 'We are paying the price for a dictatorship and its arrogance,' shared a nurse from Mashad, northeast Iran, whose father was a decorated war veteran. 'But now that all its forces (in the region) have been destroyed, it seems that its own turn has come,' she added. Watching the attacks on a deeply unpopular regime, some Iranians confessed to welcoming the strikes, even as civilians were caught up in the bombings. 'I want to say what I truly feel,' a student from Shiraz told CNN, 'I don't know what I'll be judged for, what I'll be accused of. 'Still, I'll say it, I'm genuinely happy. Really, deeply happy!' she added. 'I believe it's worth it, for the sake of future generations.' But a week into the fighting, even as diplomatic channels for peace start to coalesce, there's still no sign of an end to the bombings. Uncertainty has only been fueled by US President Donald Trump teasing the possibility of US aircraft joining the bombing campaign. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has slammed Trump's call for surrender, warning that America's involvement in Israel's military campaign would '100% be at their loss.' Other Iranians share his defiance. 'The mood in Iran is starting to morph into an environment of nationalism,' according to a 69-year-old Iranian-American woman visiting Tehran. 'I saw a lot of cars waving the Islamic Republic flag from their windows as we drove out of town.' 'I lost a son during the Iran-Iraq War and will be happy to fight America and the Zionists again,' a 78-year-old mosque caretaker from Isfahan told CNN, 'Those who love martyrdom cannot be defeated.' The prospects of peace look slim, one engineering student from Mashad told CNN. 'Now that Trump has come this far, he will see it through to the end. They don't let a wounded bear go free,' she said.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender' as Iran reels
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded 'unconditional surrender' from Tehran and warned the United States could easily assassinate its supreme leader as Iran and US ally Israel traded devastating fire for a fifth day. The comments fueled questions over whether Washington will join Israel's attacks after insisting it had no hand in the campaign. Israeli warplanes targeted drone and missile sites with at least two waves of strikes in western Iran on Tuesday, the military said. It also said it had killed senior Iranian commander Ali Shadmani in an overnight strike on a 'command centre in the heart of Tehran', just four days after his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was killed in Israel's initial surprise attack. The new attacks drew retaliatory fire from the Islamic republic, with explosions heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and air raid sirens sounding around Dimona, a southern town home to a nuclear power plant. There were no immediate reports of hits. Days after a senior US official said Trump had told Israel to back down from plans to assassinate top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the US president appeared to reverse course. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there -- We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Warning Iran against targeting US interests, he also posted: 'But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,' he added, later posting a message saying: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' Trump and his National Security Council met on Tuesday to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement. 'Punitive operations' Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Iranian media reported several explosions Tuesday in the central city of Isfahan, home to nuclear facilities. Blasts were also heard across Tehran. The Iranian armed forces warned residents in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa to evacuate 'for the sake of their lives', warning of 'punitive operations' to come. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched an attack targeting Israeli air bases. Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens. A cyberattack on Tuesday crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran's main state-owned banks, the Fars news agency reported. Fearing the violence, many residents have fled Tehran. On Tuesday, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as the remaining residents rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies. Trump late Monday warned on social media that the entire population of Tehran should evacuate 'immediately,' without offering any explanation. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States was deploying 'additional capabilities' to the Middle East, with a US aircraft carrier reportedly heading to the region. China accused Trump of 'pouring oil' on the conflict, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of being 'the biggest threat to the security of the region.' 'Direct impacts' After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies. The UN's nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been 'direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls' at Iran's Natanz facility. Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads. The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role in restarting diplomacy with Tehran and that attempts at regime change would bring 'chaos.' Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu's office. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.
