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Deep beeps
Has the Iran war brought the long-running game of spying, surveillance and sleeper agents that has been waged by both Washington and Tehran to a head?
It would be a surprise if it had not. Now comes news of a unique type of numbers game that began in the first days of the war. Turns out it is a recognised type of spycraft that came into common use during the Cold War.
Numbers stations, as they are known, would relay strings of numbers designed to be decoded by an intended recipient with a short-wave radio. The numbers are followed by a pause then the word tavajjoh, meaning “attention” in Farsi.
The near-zero likelihood of the broadcasts being deciphered made numbers stations a feature used by all sides of the shadow intelligence battles of the time. No government has officially admitted or denied using them.
The emergence now of the first detected broadcast of a Farsi-language numbers station has generated theories about their origin and purpose among enthusiasts and intelligence experts.
It was thought the broadcasts, given the name V32 by the numbers station community, emanated from central Europe and were aimed at Iranian sleeper agents perhaps primed to attack US and Israeli targets.
But the signals began to be jammed by the Iranians themselves, using a frequency aimed at anti-regime broadcasters. Further analysis placed the signals as coming from southern Europe or the Middle East, adding another dimension to the mystery.
Jonathan Hackett, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, told The National it would “not make sense” for the Iranians to use a numbers station.
“My thought is that this is not a regime-controlled station and is instead something probably coming from the US or Israel to activate something set up in advance to assist with enabling clandestine activities in support of the opening salvo of the war effort,” said Mr Hackett, who has held positions at the US Defence Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.
“This could be to alert recruited assets to seek safety, instruct support agents to put necessary items in place, or safe house managers to prepare for the former two options, and myriad other purposes.”
In keeping with the covert nature of intelligence work, a theory has also emerged that the US and Israel could be trying to bluff the Iranian regime into believing there is a network of agents in Iran on standby.
Trump's minefield
Donald Trump used a press conference on Tuesday to say he thought Europe would have sent minesweepers to assist the US in the Strait of Hormuz.
European leaders have been saying something different. They insist that diplomacy is the only way forward to end the conflict. The only way out is a solution that ensures “everybody saves face”, according to EU foreign affairs commissioner Kaja Kallas.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper spoke in similar tone on Tuesday, saying Iran must not hijack the global economy with its chokehold on the Arabian Gulf. “We have been consulting with regional countries like the Gulf countries, Jordan, Egypt, (about) whether we could also bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the US to get out of this situation.”
Meanwhile President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in London on Tuesday, said Ukraine has the capacity to supply 1,000 interceptor drones a day to Gulf states under fire from Iran.
That would allow countries to fend off Iran’s daily Shahed-136 attacks, boosting stockpiles with cheaper drones instead of using high-end missiles.
Strangers now
On the matter of Mr Trump's personal relationships with European leaders, Keir Starmer seems to be the one to have fared worst.
Chris Blackhurst writes that Mr Trump and Mr Starmer were never going to get along. They are chalk and cheese, polar opposites in character and temperament. From the very moment the two leaders first spoke about the strikes on Iran and Mr Starmer failed to provide a ringing endorsement, that was clear.
Bringing personality into high-level diplomacy is often ill-advised. It’s not meant to play such a significant role, it’s what protocol and the well-oiled, government-to-government machinery is designed to overcome.
Grateful month
As the final hours of Ramadan begin it is worth reflecting on the personal impact for one Londoner. It is during this month that the measure of Suraya Miah's efforts year round hit home.
Ms Miah, 23, has been an advocate of local community centres since she was a teenager. For this work, she was invited to an iftar at Downing Street last year, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
She is now part of the community advisory group for Eid on the Square, a public celebration on Trafalgar Square organised by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. It is due to take place in late May and she wishes more young people would become involved.
She attended an iftar at a local mosque this week. “It's a celebration of the community. Food does really connect people and a lot of non-Muslims came as well,” she told The National. “I really love bringing people together especially at a time when people are trying to divide us.”
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