The US-Iran Secret Meetings in Montreux, Switzerland (Summer 1988)

Posted on March 18, 2026 by L

“I want to talk about why I want to be President. It’s not fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran.”

Vice-President George Bush
to CBS anchor Dan Rather
(January 25 1988)

On July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 shoot-down was destroyed by surface-to-air missiles fired from the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Vincennes, under the command of William C. Rogers III. All 290 people on board were killed. The incident was later described by U.S. authorities as a tragic accident resulting from the misidentification of a civilian airliner as a hostile aircraft. However, this interpretation was not accepted in Tehran, where the shoot-down was widely viewed as deliberate.

March 18, 2026 — Henry Kissinger viewed Iran as a rational, strategic actor rather than a purely ideological one, arguing that it behaves as a national power pursuing regional influence. While acknowledging Iran’s revolutionary ideology, Kissinger maintained that its foreign policy calculations are often grounded in national interest and realpolitik. In this context, Ali Larijani arguably played an important role in shaping aspects of Iran’s more pragmatic diplomatic posture. For my readers, I can add a personal note: I contacted him in the summer of 2008. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Remembering Jürgen Habermas : On the fine-tuning between democracy and secrecy

Posted on March 16, 2026 by L

“Democracy begins where citizens deliberate about matters of common concern.”

Jürgen Habermas
(18 June 1929
– 14 March 2026)

March 16, 2026 — Jürgen Habermas was one of the most influential contemporary political philosophers, especially for thinking about communication, rationality, legitimacy and democracy. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Remembering Edward Mills Purcell (August 30, 1912 – March 7, 1997) [From the U-2 Incident to the Mystery of Havana Syndrome]

Posted on March 7, 2026 by L

“The President’s rapid disenchantment with the project was not lost on Richard Bissell. Fearing for the U-2 program’s survival, he met with the Land committee in early August 1956 to urge them to help make the U-2 less vulnerable to radar pulses. His goal was to reduce the aircraft’s radar cross section so that it would be less susceptible to detection. Edward Purcell had some ideas on this and suggested that he supervise a new project in the Boston area to explore them.”

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance
The U-2 and OXCART Programs (1954-1974)
History Staff Central Intelligence Agency, 1992

Purcell was the author of the innovative introductory text Electricity and Magnetism. The book, a Sputnik-era project funded by an NSF grant, was influential for its use of relativity in the presentation of the subject at this level. The 1965 edition, freely available due to a condition of the federal grant, was originally published as a volume of the Berkeley Physics Course

March 7, 2026 — In 1960 the CIA found itself in trouble with the Lockheed U-2. A physicist—Edward Mills Purcell—helped find a solution. Half a century later the Agency confronted a different puzzle: Havana Syndrome. This time, no physicist came to the rescue. Why not? When the Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, it triggered panic in Washington. The U.S. Congress responded with the National Defense Education Act (1958), funding science education, expanding fellowships, and strengthening physics and engineering programs. Today the Sputnik effect is long gone, and the golden age of physics feels like a distant dream. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Havana Syndrome — Reductio ad Absurdum : When Nobel Dreams Meet Darwinian Reality.

Posted on February 19, 2026 by L

“I don’t know what possessed him to go and do this. He was a bit of an eccentric.” — Anonymous colleague

February 19, 2026 — A Norwegian researcher, long known as a leading skeptic of the Havana Syndrome theory, decided to prove his point in the most extreme way: he built a directed-energy device — essentially a pulsed microwave weapon — and tested it on himself. The results were catastrophic. He now reportedly suffers severe neurological damage. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Lockerbie DNA Evidence Turns Upcoming Trial into a Soap Opera [UPDATE — Lockerbie Hearing: No Sound (Evidence Lost)]

Posted on February 18, 2026 by L

“All but one of the DNA components which make up that profile are present in [RARDE Forensic Expert] Allen Feraday’s DNA profile. (…) This component is unsuitable for interpretation purposes since a large number of individuals from any population might be expected to match it.”

SCCRC
Report on Lockerbie

Lockerbie evidence: PI/449 and PK/206

July 1, 2025 — Some so-called “Lockerbie experts” — including former FBI officials — have hailed the recent DNA evidence as a major forensic breakthrough. In reality, it is nothing of the sort. In CIA parlance, this case has just gone from SNAFU to full-blown FUBAR — and fast. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Posted in Abu Agela Masud, Allen Feraday, Lockerbie | 2 Comments

On This Day — U2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers Exchanged in Spy Swap for KGB Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (February 10 1962)

Posted on February 10, 2026 by L

“Francis Gary Powers performed his duty in a very dangerous mission and he performed it well, and I think I know more about that than some of his detractors and critics know, and I am glad to say that to him tonight.”
 
CIA Director Allen Dulles
(March 1964)

 

Glienicke Bridge prisoner exchange depicted in the Bridge of Spies movie, where Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was exchanged for American pilot Francis Gary Powers

February 10 2025 — At 8:52 am on February 10 1962, American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged in a spy swap for Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, a senior KGB spy at the now famous Glienicke Bridge. American student Frederic Pryor was also released at the same time. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Havana Syndrome: New Findings from U.S. Intel

Posted on February 9, 2026 by L

“If the facts are confirmed and if the effects are indeed caused by a physical device, I find the microwave explanation far more likely than a sonic attack.”

US Spies & the Havana Syndrome
INTEL TODAY
October 3 2017​

February 9, 2026 — Michael Beck, the first U.S. intelligence officer to report symptoms later associated with what became known as Havana Syndrome, passed away on January 29, 2026, at the age of 65. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 45. In 2014, Beck filed a workers’ compensation claim citing hazardous working conditions. The claim was denied by the NSA. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — The CIA exfiltrates 6 diplomats from Iran (January 28 1980) [Operation “Canadian Caper”]

Posted on January 28, 2026 by L

“Mehrabad is like many Middle Eastern or South Asian airports. Although of fairly modern construction, the people who pass through as travelers or hang around to greet or see travelers off make an orderly transit impossible. This was another reason for choosing the 7:30 a.m. Swissair flight. If we arrived at the airport at 5 a.m., the chances were the airport would be less chaotic. Also, the officials manning the controls might still be sleepy, and most of the Revolutionary Guards would still be in their beds. This was the case that Monday morning, 28 January 1980.”

Tony Mendez
Former CIA Officer

CIA posted this pic on Facebook today. (Jan. 28, 2026)

January 28 2025 — The “Canadian Caper” was the popular name given to the joint covert rescue by the Canadian government and the CIA of six American diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, when Islamist students took most of the American embassy personnel hostage, demanding the return of the US-backed Shah for trial. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — And thus a new syndrome was born… (Havana Syndrome – October 3 2017) [UPDATE : IntelToday Decade-Old Prediction Now Under Official Review]

Posted on January 14, 2026 by L

“If the facts are confirmed and if the effects are indeed caused by a physical device, I find the microwave explanation far more likely than a sonic attack.”

US Spies & the Havana Syndrome

INTEL TODAY
(October 3 2017)

October 3 2025 — On October 3rd 2017, INTEL TODAY coined the expression “Havana Syndrome” which is now universally used, both by mainstream media and the research community. In the same piece, I suggested for the very first time that microwave attacks, conducted for espionage, were the most likely explanation. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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CIA Memorial Wall — Star 31 : John W. Kearns (Laos – December 15, 1972)

Posted on December 15, 2025 by L

“As a paramilitary operations officer, John’s role was to work behind enemy lines, supporting local pro-government forces and engaging in special missions to disrupt the activities of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong.”

CIA website

Earliest known photo of the Book of Honor (33 stars)

December 15, 2024 — John Wesley Kearns III was a CIA officer who served as a paramilitary operations officer on contract in Laos during the Vietnam War. He was killed in action on December 15, 1972, at the age of 30. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY.

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Posted in CIA, CIA Book of Honor, CIA Directorate of Operations, CIA Memorial Wall, Silent Stars - The Fallen Heroes of the CIA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment