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Interfor International‘s Weekly Security Digest – May 23, 2023

Military & Defense

The US military posted pictures of a the GBU-57, known as the “Massive Ordnance Penetrator,” a bomb intended to penetrate deep into the earth to destroy weapons of mass destruction in protected fac ili ties. The publication of these photos came as tensions increased over Iran’s nuclear program. The Airforce took the photos down, reportedly due to the sensitive details.

On Saturday, the leader of Russia’s Wagner Group claimed that his unit had captured Bakhmut after 224 days of fighting. Ukraine has since denied the claims and said the city has not fallen and is being flanked by Ukrainian forces. Additionally, it was reported last week that a Russian bomber was downed by the Patriot air defense system used by Ukrainian soldiers. The US is assisting Ukraine in fixing another Patriot system damaged in attacks last week. A group of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with Ukraine dealt another blow to Russia yesterday. The group is responsible for an attack in Russian’s southwestern region of Belgorod. They claim to have “liberated” a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

International Affairs

Russia issued an arrest for the British prosecutor of the I nternational C riminal C ourt (ICC) as retribution for the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin issued in March. The arrest order sought to detain Karim Khan, who has served as the ICC prosecutor since 2021 and played an important role in the arrest order against Putin. Russia also added a host of new American officials to its list of individuals barred from entering the country.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisia appointed a new official to take over the post of secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council on Monday. The decree replaces Ali Shamkhani with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the former chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s strategic center. Shamkhani faced corruption allegations and has been implicated in a scandal for having close ties with British-Iranian Ali Reza Akbari, who was hanged on spying charges earlier this year in Iran. The Fars news agency described Ahmadian as a “trenchmate” of General Qassem Soleimani.

Terrorism

Hezbollah invited foreign reporters to attend a military training exercise on Sunday. The training involved hundreds of Hezbollah members and a new arsenal of tanks, cannons, and rocket launchers. According to senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, this exercise was meant to “confirm our complete readiness to confront any aggression” by Israel. This exercise came a few days before “Liberation Day” which celebrates the withdrawal of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from Lebanon in 2000.

Cyber

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created a T elegram channel. The CIA explained the channel will help them reach people in countries where Telegram is more prominently used. The first post on the Telegram was a video in Russian which invites “courageous Russians” to contact the CIA and share information.

Covid-19 & Pandemics

WHO (World Health Organization) and partners are launching a global network to help protect people from infectious disease threats through the power of pathogen genomics. Pathogen genomics analyzes the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms.

Cuba’s homegrown vaccines against Covid-19 received the sanitary registration granted by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Medical Equipment and Devices (CECMED) for its proven efficacy.

US Department of State Travel Advisories
CISA: nation-state cybersecurity threats and other resources for cybersecurity matters.
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