Israel reportedly conducted covert attacks on two major Iranian gas pipelines, causing significant disruption to heat and cooking gas supplies in several provinces. The sabotage marks an escalation in the shadow war between Israel and Iran, posing a major challenge to Iran's intelligence and security agencies. The attacks suggest the existence of covert networks operating in Iran linked to Israel, and have caused a significant impact on Iran's vital energy infrastructure.
Israel carried out covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran, disrupting the flow of heat and cooking gas to provinces with millions of people, marking an escalation in the shadow war between the two countries. The sabotage targeted several points along the pipelines, causing sweeping disruption and aiming to damage Iran's energy infrastructure. Iran's oil minister stated that the goal of the attack was to stir domestic discontent, but stopped short of publicly blaming Israel or any other culprit.
The Biden administration advised Ukrainian officials not to conduct covert attacks inside Russia during the Wagner group rebellion, urging them not to influence the outcome of events or take advantage of the chaos. The U.S. officials were unaware of the specifics of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plans but knew he wanted to take military action to remove top Russian defense officials from power. The caution was aimed at preventing President Putin from accusing the United States or Ukraine of orchestrating the rebellion. Russian officials have recently indicated that they do not believe the West was behind the rebellion. The United States believes that most high-profile attacks in Russia are carried out by Ukrainian operatives, but uncertainty remains about who authorized these operations.
The United States was aware of a European ally's intelligence warning that the Ukrainian military had planned an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines three months before the attack occurred. While some US officials are becoming more comfortable with Ukraine's covert attacks on Russia, concerns remain about the possibility of miscalculation by Ukraine while conducting such operations. Sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines was exactly the kind of operation that would concern the United States, a symbolic attack with little military value that carries a high risk of fracturing the alliance supporting Ukraine.
