CIA's Faulty Covert Communication System Exposed Iranian Informants to Arrest, Prison
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In a feat of investigative journalism, Reuters discovered how a faulty CIA covert communications system made it easy for Iran intelligence to identify and capture Iranian informants, at least six of whom suffered five to ten years in prison as a consequence of the U.S. spy agency’s incompetence.
The now-defunct tool may have exposed at least 21 Iranian spies and hundreds of other informants operating in different countries worldwide. Iranian authorities jailed the men as part of an aggressive counterintelligence purge by Iran that began in 2009, a campaign partly enabled by a series of CIA blunders, according to news reports and three former U.S. national security officials. Moreover, using aggressive measures, the CIA placed average Iranians in danger with little prospect of gaining critical intelligence.
The CIA declined to comment on Reuters’ findings or the intelligence agency’s operations in Iran. However, a spokeswoman said the CIA does its utmost to safeguard people who work wit…
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