If the Libyan, Armenian-Azeri, and Syrian conflicts have revealed a new face of hybrid warfare thanks to the use of drones, the conflict between the United States and Iran has clearly revealed a new face, or perhaps it would be better to call it a new division of warfare: cyberwarfare.
On June 26, it was learned that Montenegrin police arrested an Iranian citizen at the request of the FBI. He is accused of extensive cyberattacks against US universities and allegedly served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Police said the suspect had hacked more than 150 US universities since 2013, causing damages amounting to over $3.4 billion. Authorities also claimed that the stolen data and compromised university accounts were used to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian institutions.
The United States has been more silent about cyber attacks, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t carried out some, while the Iranians have promoted the exploits of their hacktivists, whom the West calls hackers, via social media. The group that has generated the most attention is Handala. The name is borrowed from a famous Palestinian character and national symbol created in 1969 by cartoonist Naji al-Ali.
It’s not known exactly who Handala represents, but he is certainly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and is working in favor of Iran, especially after the US-Iran military engagement in February 2026. On March 27, 2026, Handala announced to the general public that it had hacked the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and released his photos and documents online. A US official confirmed the cyber attack.
Iranian hackers now become wanted with a $10 million reward after publishing the personal information of FBI Director Kash Patel.
But that wasn’t the end of it. In April 2026, Handala hacked the phone of former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, revealing for the first time that he had secretly visited Qatar and met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The news became a sensation and was very unpopular in the Palestinian community.
Also in April, Robert Malley, the “architect of US sanctions,” ended up in the crosshairs of hacktivists. The Handala hacker collective published 150,000 highly classified emails belonging to Robert Malley, former US special envoy for Iran. The leak includes a vast archive of updated documents and thousands of private messages from Malley’s official X account. The former envoy emerges as the “principal architect of sanctions against the Iranian people.”
The leaked files, according to Handala, provide “irrefutable evidence of the Israel lobby’s direct role in orchestrating economic pressure campaigns against Tehran. According to the group, the seized material also reveals how several Gulf states acted as “operational arms of economic pressure projects,” collaborating closely with Malley’s team to intensify the financial siege on Iran.”
“Within these documents, you will find irrefutable evidence exposing the Zionist lobby’s direct role in designing and imposing economic sanctions against Iran, in unprecedented detail,” Handala’s statement reads, adding that the documents reveal how regional actors acted as “operational arms” for Washington’s pressure projects.
In May 2026, the pro-Iranian hacker group Handala claimed responsibility for a coordinated cyber attack involving the launch of missiles by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against the port of Fujairah. The full message shared on Handala’s Telegram channel: “No Safe Harbor: Handala and the IRGC Target Fujairah, UAE Warned of Further Attacks.” Handala announces: “Moments ago, the strategic port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a sophisticated cyber operation and completely hacked. Now, thousands of classified documents, including contractual details, ship traffic, financial transactions, and highly classified maps of Fujairah’s oil pipelines and infrastructure, are available for public download on Handala’s website. These precise maps of critical pipelines and installations were delivered directly to the Axis of the Resistance missile units, enabling them to precisely strike key targets in the port.”
The group concludes its statement with: “But this was only the beginning.” Minutes after this breach, the Revolutionary Guards’ missile units, in full coordination with Handala, struck the port of Fujairah with precise missile strikes. The message is clear: “No collaboration, overt or covert, between the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the United States escapes our attention, and every act of treason will be responded to.”
Over 430,000 classified documents were stolen from the port’s servers and are now in Handala’s possession. The cyberattack continued for several hours. Handala concludes the statement by writing: “The era of false security and economic maneuvers is over.” “United Arab Emirates, this is your final warning: If you continue with your treachery and malicious actions against the Axis of Resistance, prepare to suffer even more severe blows on the cyber, intelligence, and military levels. Your cooperation with Israel and the United States will not save you from your inevitable fate. Sooner or later, you will pay the price for your betrayal, not only in your ports and your airspace, but at the very heart of your society and your economy.” […] Handala, the shadow that looms over all traitors.
The Revolutionary Guards have not independently confirmed the attack. Handala’s claim of exfiltration of journalistic files and a targeted attack follows confirmed reports of fires at the Fujairah oil terminal and a UKMTO (UK Shipping Management Agency) alert reporting a fire aboard a nearby vessel. Other claims have not been independently verified.
On June 11, the hacktivist group Handala claimed responsibility for the car bombing of a senior Israeli intelligence official, the Mossad. Again on June 11, Handala’s electronic warfare and signal jamming units jammed Israeli and US systems and signals. “Much of the first and second A wave of attacks by the US terrorist army have so far been countered by operations by electronic warfare units,” Handala states.
On June 12, the pro-resistance hacker group Handala announced a breach of water infrastructure in California, claiming it was retaliation for US attacks on Iranian civilians and water infrastructure. “Two days ago, US rockets destroyed water sources in Sirik, “causing forced thirst and suffering in 10-degree temperatures,” Handala stated. “We could have easily cut off the water supply to American cities, just as your foolish president did. But our path is different. This is a warning. Today, every attack will be countered within hours by a far more devastating blow to your infrastructure.”
And again in June 2026, Handala claimed to have penetrated the FBI’s drone networks and obtained classified information. The Handala hacker group announced that it had successfully breached the FBI’s drone security infrastructure and maintained full access to drone data and imagery for a sustained period of several months. The group claimed that information regarding FBI agents was also visible through the compromised systems. Handala released a collection of images as evidence, claiming the files came directly from FBI security drones. The group stated that it was currently monitoring developments at US military bases in Bahrain using US Army MQ-9 drones. Concluding its message, Handala emphasized that it constantly remained “one step ahead of the shadows.”
Handala writes: “For months, we had full access to FBI security drones, equipped with facial recognition and license plate scanning, supposedly used to fight terrorism. In reality, every image and every suspect, even FBI agents, were transmitted directly to Handala. Today, for the first time, the images you’re seeing come directly from those FBI drones, proving to everyone that American security is nothing but a farce. Perhaps Kash Patel, head of the FBI, should have thought twice before placing a $10 million bounty on Handala. He didn’t realize we were watching him from above, through the eyes of the FBI, while he still couldn’t find us on the ground. And as you can see, we’re still alive.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
