By Staff Writer As Sudan descends deeper into civil war, a dangerous new player has emerged behind the front lines: the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through a covert but growing alliance with Sudan’s regular army, Iran has injected advanced weaponry, deadly drones and strategic ambition into an already devastating conflict — with far-reaching consequences for the Red Sea region and beyond. A dangerous alliance resurrected After years of estrangement, Khartoum and Tehran rekindled diplomatic relations in late 2023. The timing was no accident: Sudan’s army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was faltering against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in…

By Isabella Egerton The UK government has imposed its first-ever sanctions targeting Kurdish-led smuggling cartels. The move is part of a sweeping new strategy to disrupt the sophisticated networks moving migrants across the Channel in small boats. But despite the recent arrests and expanded intelligence efforts, experts warn that without sustained pressure, the impact may be fleeting. The sanctions — announced jointly by the Foreign Office, Home Office, and Treasury this week — target key individuals allegedly behind thousands of irregular crossings each year. Those named face asset freezes and travel bans under the UK’s autonomous sanctions regime. The move…

By Staff Writer A rare and growing bipartisan coalition in the US Congress is coalescing around legislation that would impose targeted sanctions on senior officials of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), citing allegations of support for Hamas, systemic corruption, and alignment with adversarial regimes such as Iran, China, and Russia. The House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a clear message this week by advancing H.R. 2633 — the US–South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025, a bill authored by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), with a decisive 34–16 vote. While all 28 Republicans on the committee backed the bill, they…

By Isabella Egerton Bahrain and the United States have announced over $17 billion in agreements to boost economic and investment ties across key sectors including aviation, technology, industry, and energy. The deals were unveiled during a high-profile meeting between Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and US President Donald Trump at the White House. Facilitated by President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the agreements are expected to create approximately 30,000 American jobs, according to a senior White House official. They signal Bahrain’s intent to deepen its economic partnership with Washington while diversifying its own economy. Bahrain’s strategic importance…

By Staff Writer A controversial draft law aimed at expanding Iran’s national security and espionage legislation has been returned to parliament for revision after the Guardian Council raised concerns over vague definitions, disproportionate penalties, and potential violations of Islamic and constitutional law. The pushback is notable within Iran’s hardliner-dominated establishment, even as authorities intensify a crackdown following the recent war with Israel. Passed in late June after the 12-day war, the bill — formally titled “Intensification of Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States Against National Security and Interests” — proposes sweeping measures, including the death penalty,…

By Isabella Egerton Cyberattacks using stolen and fake identities have become one of the biggest threats facing national security, according to Constella Intelligence’s 2025 Identity Breach Report. Instead of “hacking into” systems, attackers are increasingly just “logging in” using real or fake credentials. In 2024 alone, more than 219,000 breaches exposed over 107 billion records worldwide — double the level of previous years. IBM’s X-Force team noted that stolen logins and exploiting public websites each accounted for about 30 per cent of how hackers first gained access last year. Constella Intelligence, a leading global digital risk protection company that helps organisations…

By Sean Rayment Laser weapons capable of shooting down drones will be fitted to military vehicles to help protect airfields from terrorist attacks, National Security News can reveal. Tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and reconnaissance vehicles will be equipped with lasers designed to blast drones out of the sky from distances of more than half a mile. Defence experts have said the laser-armed vehicles could be used to protect airfields, sensitive locations such as GCHQ, and other areas of critical national infrastructure from swarm drone attacks launched by terrorist groups or hostile nations. Details of the new laser capability emerged as Britain begins…

By James Cowan, CEO of The HALO Trust. Last week, I went back to Helmand. It’s a place I’ve been to before: in 2009 I commanded British forces there, at a time of considerable violence. 64 of my soldiers were killed and several hundred wounded. Nobody knows how many Afghans died in that timeframe, but it will run into the thousands. For most British soldiers the Helmand campaign is the cause of mixed emotions. We went there to defend the Afghan people and not to kill, and yet the killing was prolific. I am proud of the fact that during our time a corner…

By Sean Rayment A leading US tech company is developing AI-driven software to accelerate the construction of nuclear power reactors. Palantir and The Nuclear Company, also US-based, will jointly create the nuclear operating system, which will simplify construction, allowing nuclear plants to be built faster and at lower cost. Palantir said the AI software will help build plants more cheaply, safely, and quickly, with the goal of outpacing China. The US has not built a new nuclear plant in 30 years, but The Nuclear Company, with Palantir’s software, aims to deliver electricity by the 2030s and meet President Donald Trump’s…

By Sean Rayment A religious fatwa has been issued by one of Iran’s most senior Shia clerics, targeting former US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the decree, Trump and anyone else who threatens to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader are “waging war against God” and should be punished by death. Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said “any person or regime that threatens the leadership and religious authority” is considered a mohareb – one who wages war against God – under Islamic law. The cleric, speaking in Iran, declared that any co-operation with such individuals or regimes by…

By Sean Rayment A plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky at an airport in Poland last year involved a Polish pensioner who had been a Russian sleeper agent for decades, it can be revealed. The foiled assassination is among what is believed to be dozens of attempts on the Ukrainian president’s life since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In a closed briefing with local media, Ukrainian security services revealed that the retired Polish military officer had been recruited to assassinate Zelensky at Rzeszów Airport in Poland. Polish media reported that the attack was thwarted in April 2024 by Poland’s internal…

By Staff Writer In November 2024, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) exposed an Iranian plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump — a scheme ordered by Iran’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as revenge for the killing of their commander, General Qassem Soleimani, on 03 January 2020 during a visit to Baghdad. Previously, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and IRGC commanders had repeatedly promised that “those who ordered and carried out” Soleimani’s killing — namely President Trump and his top national security officials — “should be punished”. Over the following years, Iranian media and officials issued graphic reminders of…