New in SpyWeek: CIA Reveals Covert Role in Iran Rescue Amid Deepening Hormuz Crisis
DNI Gabbard teetering after exits of Bondi, Noem, Kent, Army Chief as Trump rages at Iran resilience, threatens massive attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Who’s Got a Secret? Evidently eager to claim credit for the rescue of that downed Air Force F-15 weapons officer from Iran, the CIA unveiled a covert action op and let it be known it “initiated a deception campaign to try to confuse Iranian forces and convince them the airman had already been rescued and was moving out of the country in a ground convoy,” an administration official told the New York Times and many others. The official also said, “Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos extracted the officer in a massive operation that involved hundreds of special operations troops and other military personnel.” An Air Force Warthog also took crippling fire during the search for the downed F-15 crew, with its pilot bailing out over Kuwait. All this followed Trump’s claim Tuesday in his national address that Iran has “no anti-aircraft equipment” and that their radar capabilities were “100% annihilated.”
Needs Improvement: U.S. intelligence has been superb at picking targets in Iran but not so good—awful, actually—in predicting the Islamic Republic’s response to the attacks, former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos and journalist-turned corporate risk analyzer Jeremy Hurewitz wrote Saturday at Just Security, pointing out what’s become obvious with every passing day. “First, the Islamic Regime has not fallen, which means the long-term threats it poses to its population and the world remain. More specifically, hardline elements appear to remain in control according to well-sourced Iranian diaspora reporting, and they are still fighting with daily ballistic missile and drone attacks against U.S. interests in [the] region, Israel, and the Gulf states. The Iranian leadership almost certainly feels that it is in a relatively solid position strategically as the energy crisis they have created through attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz is causing global economic disruptions.” On Sunday, Trump used “an expletive-laden social media post to taunt Iranian leaders,” as the New York Times put it, saying that the U.S. would destroy their civilian infrastructure if it didn’t release their stranglehold on Hormuz. “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” Trump roared on Truth Social early Easter morning. “JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Tulsi Tumult: For a spy agency boss, Tulsi Gabbard sure gets an unusual amount of attention—mostly of the unwelcome sort. Now, with Trump reportedly polling aides about a replacement for the DNI and ultra-MAGA agitator Laura Loomer on her case, her days would seem to be numbered.
