Israel Thwarts Iranian Plot on Oil Pipeline

0:00It's April 20th. This is U.S. News Today, your AI-powered source for national news. Israel just dropped word that they shut down a major Iranian plot to hit the Baku-Toblisi Cihon oil pipeline, which pumps crude from Azerbaijan. Through Georgia and Turkey to the Mediterranean, Mossad and Shinbet teamed up to expose this IRGC network aiming to blow it up weeks ago, plus target the Israeli Embassy, a Senegal Baku, and local Jewish leaders. The cell was packing explosive drones and fragmentation charges, gathering intel through surveillance and photos under direct orders from handlers, back in Iran. Azerbaijanian authorities swooped in and arrested the members before anything went down. This comes amid rising tensions with the plot's leader, Rahan Mokadam, head of the IRGC's Unit 4000, getting taken out last month in Israeli, and U.S. air strikes. Those strikes kicked off an air campaign against Iran, starting February 28th.

1:00Iran's foreign ministry hasn't commented yet, but officials say the bus came from intense intel work and ground-ops that unraveled the whole IRGC, chain. With pipelines like this feeding global energy flows, stopping this attack keeps things stable for now, as eyes stay on the region for what comes.