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A group of hackers working against the Iranian government have struck again, this time with a second trove of documents obtained from the highest levels of the authoritarian regime. Credit for the attack was claimed by the group calling itself “Ghiam ta Sarnegoun”, or “Rise to Overthrow”. The attack follows a similar episode in early May, when the group defaced the website of Iran’s foreign ministry with messages in support of Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran — a politician-in-exile with backing from many in the west, including in Washington. Among the documents posted in the second attack, which were posted online on 29 May, were directives from the office of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi. In one, addressed to a top security chief by Mr Raisi’s chief of staff, the president raises clear concerns about ongoing protests in the country that began last year in response to the killing of a young woman in police custody over her supposedly improper headcovering. “In these incidents, in addition to the initial intelligence surprise of the September 1st, in particular the events of October 26, as well as the strikes and riots on November 15, 16 and 17 no prediction and prevention [options] were [presented], and the analysis were based only on general and imprecise estimates and calls in the social media,” reads one letter in part. “To correct this process and prevent repetition of these surprises in the future what has been done? As the failure and end point of the enemy's project were not included on 7 and 8 of December reports of analyzes and predictions,” that letter continues, adding later: “Unfortunately, in recent months, the reports have mostly [been] describing the events of the streets and waiting to discover the surprising devices of the enemies.” Other documents were equally unflattering. A second letter to an intelligence minister again signed by Mr Raisi’s chief of staff laid out known issues with Iran’s intelligence community including “incompetent and dependent managers”, “infiltration”, as well as “marginalisation and demoralisation of revolutionary forces”. The Independent has not verified the documents in-house, although experts with the Computer Emergency Response Team in Farsi (CERTFA) have called the documents posted on 29 May from the latest hack legitimate. Altogether, the document presents a revealing look at a beleaguered government that found itself largely unable to effectively stamp out demonstrations that swept across the nation in response to a major societal episode — in this case, the killing of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, by so-called “morality police” in the country. The assessment could bode poorly for the Raisi government should similar protests emerge in the near future. The NCRI agreed in a statement to The Independent, arguing that the documents showed “the fragile state” of Iran’s security apparatus and “the fear and vulnerability of the regime”. At the same time, other passages betray the Iranian regime’s continued confidence in its ability to evade or otherwise bear the cost of US sanctions, which were snapped back into place under the Trump administration and remain under the presidency of Joe Biden. If more than bluster, it’s a spark of good news for Iran’s government given the State Department and White House’s lack of success in reaching an agreement to reignite the 2015 nuclear agreement and the resulting low chance of those sanctions being dropped. Mr Biden was heard telling a voter on a ropeline late last year that his administration views the accord signed under the presidency of Barack Obama (and his own vice presidency) to be dead. “It is dead, but we are not gonna announce it,” he said at the time, quipping: “Long story.” Read More Voters think Trump is a criminal, Biden is too old and DeSantis is a fascist, new poll finds Leaving Afghan heroes out in the cold is beyond callous – it shames us all Nikki Haley's husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination Blinken seeks to warm up frosty US-China relations in high-stakes Beijing trip Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges US, China remain at odds on numerous issues as Blinken finishes first day of meetings in Beijing

World champion Max Verstappen dominated the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday to deliver his Red Bull team's 100th...

Over a dozen women are suing Texas after being denied abortions they say were medically necessary.

Kuwait formed its fifth government in less than a year, naming new oil and defense ministers, as the

Brittney Griner sat on the bench in warmups for the second straight game, sidelined by a hip injury she suffered earlier this week

National League home run leader Pete Alonso has returned to the New York Mets' lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals after spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list with a left wrist bone bruise and sprain

Prominent North Carolina civil rights leader Bishop William J. Barber II delivered his final sermon as the pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church as he retired after 30 years.

Australia captain Pat Cummins starred with both bat and ball as the Ashes-holders had the better of a rain-marred third day in the first Test...

U.S. officials say United States and China have failed to overcome their most serious disagreements but were able to discuss them in a potentially constructive way and have agreed to continue talks

West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins has resigned following a drunken driving arrest

South Carolina Republicans have set Feb. 24 as the date of their 2024 presidential primary

A new poll out from JL Partners underscores major weaknesses for the three men most likely to be sworn in as president on 20 January 2025, with little good news to soften the blow. With the GOP primary now in full swing, Americans are getting a good look at the alternatives the Republican Party will present to the re-election of President Joe Biden, who was already the oldest president ever to take office when he did so in 2021. But the top contenders in the GOP, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, each have debilitating labels to overcome if they have any shot of picking up ground with a general election audience, according to the survey. For Mr Trump, voters were most likely to describe him in one word as a “criminal”; others were even less flattering, such as “disgusting”, “liar”, “evil” and “dangerous” (though “patriot” also made a top-10 appearance). The Florida governor got off arguably worse. The top two responses from voters describing Mr DeSantis were “fascist” and “unsure”, the latter indicating possible unfamiliarity with his political record or a lack of name recognition. And while Mr Biden fares better than either of his would-be opponents, the incumbent president nevertheless remains chained to concerns about his age, which dominated the minds of the most voters asked for their one-word summation of him. Altogether, the poll results signaled that Americans are largely unsatisfied with the options they have for leadership over the next half decade. To be sure, those three men are not the only candidates running, but no other Republican is polling at a numerically significant level at present and Mr Biden’s party is highly unlikely to facilitate a primary challenge against an incumbent president. The poll, conducted on behalf of the Daily Mail, most likely outlines the kind of attacks that voters can expect to see in a general election scenario; concerns about Mr Biden’s age and supposed feebleness will be front and centre, as will discussion of Mr Trump’s multiple criminal investigations or Mr DeSantis’s record of support for hard-right conservative legislation in his home state of Florida should either of them be the GOP nominee. JL Partners’ survey included responses from 1,000 likely general election voters between 12-15 June. The margin of error was 3.1 per cent. Read More Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges Miami's Francis Suarez looks to become first sitting mayor to be president Biden warns union members that Republicans are ‘coming for your jobs’ in 2024 campaign speech in Philadelphia Trump is incredibly guilty: that doesn’t mean he’ll get the prison time he deserves Trump says ‘Long live the King’ in rant about Fox a day after Biden said ‘God save the Queen’ DeSantis quiet on Trump indictment as he faces conservatives in Trump country