A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

An anti-Iranian government hacking group with potential ties to Israel and a track record of destructive cyberattacks on Iran claimed in social media posts on Tuesday that it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah.

The group — known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “Predatory Sparrow” — hacked the bank because they accused it of helping fund Iran’s military, according to one of the messages posted online.

The hack comes amid increasing hostilities between Israel and Iran, after Israel attacked multiple military and nuclear targets in Iran last week. Both sides have launched multiple missile attacks against each other in the days since.

Reuters could not immediately verify the attack on Bank Sepah. The bank‘s website was offline on Tuesday and its London-based subsidiary, Bank Sepah International plc, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Customers were having problems accessing their accounts, according to Israeli media.

Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to multiple messages sent via social media.

“Disrupting the availability of this bank’s funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there,” Rob Joyce, the former top cybersecurity official at the NSA, said in a post on X.

In 2022, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against an Iranian steel production facility. The sophisticated attack caused a large fire at the facility, resulting in tangible, offline damage. Such attacks are usually beyond the capabilities of activist hackers, security experts say, and would be more in line with the capabilities of a nation state.

The group has also been publicly linked by cybersecurity researchers to a 2021 cyberattack that caused widespread outages at gas stations across Iran.

Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as “Israel-linked.”

The post Suspected Israeli Hackers Claim to Destroy Data at Iran’s Bank Sepah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A fire burns at South Pars gas field, in Tonbak, Bushehr Province, Iran, in this screen grab from a handout video released on June 14, 2025. Photo: Social Media/via REUTERS

Qatar‘s gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, it said on Tuesday, after the world’s largest gas field was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production.

Qatar, the world’s third-biggest liquefied natural gas exporter after the US and Australia, shares the South Pars gas field with Iran.

“So far, gas supplies are proceeding normally. However, the ill-advised targeting raises concerns for everyone regarding gas supplies,” Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.

“This is a reckless move … The companies operating in the fields are international, and there is a global presence, especially in the North Field,” he said during a weekly press briefing in Doha.

QatarEnergy has instructed tankers to remain outside the Strait of Hormuz and to enter the Gulf only the day before loading, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Concerns over LNG supply disruptions have boosted LNG prices at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM), widely seen as an Asian benchmark. It reached $13.948 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Tuesday, up $1.19 since Thursday June 12, before Israeli launched its attack on Iran on June 13, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The EU benchmark gas price at the Dutch TTF hub rose 4.27 percent to 39.05 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 1600 GMT, up 2.67 euros since June 12.

The South Pars field is located offshore in Iran‘s southern Bushehr province and accounts for the bulk of production in Iran, the world’s third-largest gas producer after the United States and Russia.

Loading of LNG from Qatar‘s Ras Laffan LNG Terminal, which usually loads about 90 cargoes a month, remains within the usual range so far, according to shipping data from ICIS LNG Edge.

“There appear to be more than a dozen vessels in ballast (not carrying any cargo) waiting outside the port. These would ordinarily be expected to load quickly, but it remains to be seen if these will be delayed,” said ICIS’ LNG analyst Robert Songer.

LNG tanker, HLAITAN, which delivered a cargo to India earlier this month, was on its way back to Ras Laffan but is idling away from the Strait of Hormuz, according to LSEG data.

“The current pattern — more idling vessels during summer — is typical, and the only tangible impact appears to be a few diversions and minor delays in loading,” said Go Katayama, LNG and gas analyst at data analytics firm Kpler.

Critical energy infrastructure in Israel and Iran has not escaped unscathed from the first few days of the countries’ conflict.

US President Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear dispute with Iran, and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with Islamic Republic officials as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth straight day on Thursday.

The post Qatar Says Its Output at Gas Field Shared With Iran Is Steady, Following Israeli Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Air Force F-16 “Falcon” fighter jet takes off at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner

The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

The post US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.