Drop in animal feed imports fuel fears over Iran's food security
Iran’s customs data indicates that strategic reserves of animal feed have declined, raising warnings about potential impacts on the country's food security.
Iran’s customs data indicates that strategic reserves of animal feed have declined, raising warnings about potential impacts on the country's food security.
The hacking group, known as “Handala,” is tied to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence’s Domestic Security Directorate and operates as part of a broader cyber unit known as “Banished Kitten” — also referred to as Storm-0842 or Dune.
This unit falls under the supervision of Yahya Hosseini Panjaki, the ministry’s deputy for domestic security. Panjaki was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over alleged plots to assassinate Iranian dissidents abroad, a few months after his identity was exposed by Iran International.
The broadcaster said the latest findings show that the July cyber operation was intended to intimidate journalists and disrupt their work, with the group publishing personal documents, private images, and screenshots from an editorial meeting.
According to information obtained by Iran International, one of the identified operatives is Ali Bermoudeh, a 27-year-old from Tabriz who runs an online store and has previously worked with Iran’s cyber police (FATA).
One source said that "Bermoudeh is an amateur hacker whose passwords for many of his main accounts are simply his date of birth. All his user credentials with that same password are stored with one service provider."
According to the source, he has been gathering user data for security agencies since his teenage years, and he is connected to the network through his father Mousa Bermoudeh, a provincial official with the state-affiliated Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs and a decorated IRGC Basij member.
The group also includes Morteza Aftabifar, said to be Bermoudeh’s handler within the Ministry of Intelligence.
Both men are from Tabriz, as is Panjaki, who heads the larger project within which the cyber unit operates.
Panjaki is described as part of a newer generation of intelligence managers trusted by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with a background in political science from Azad University of Tabriz. He also founded a “Qassem Soleimani Headquarters” within the ministry, coordinating with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on overseas operations, the channel has learned.
In July, Iran International confirmed that leaked materials published by Iranian state outlets came from earlier hacks in summer 2024 and January 2025, which it attributed to Banished Kitten.
The channel said the hackers may have installed malware via compromised Telegram accounts. “These cyberattacks are part of a broader campaign of threats targeting Iran International, including physical threats against our staff.”
Iran International, which reports on events in Iran and the wider region, said its staff had faced sustained harassment since the channel was founded in 2017, including threats of assassination and kidnapping, physical assaults, online abuse, and hacking.
British lawmakers have accused Iran of engaging in “transnational repression” on UK soil, citing assassination plots, intimidation of family members, asset freezes, smear campaigns, and cyberattacks.
Lawyers for the broadcaster’s staff say 45 journalists and 315 of their relatives have been threatened in recent weeks, with death threats issued if they did not resign by set deadlines.
The channel has also been the focus of physical threats: in 2023 a man was convicted under terrorism laws after filming outside its premises, and in 2024 a presenter was stabbed in London.
Iran International said earlier in August that it had filed an urgent appeal to United Nations experts over “serious risks to the lives and safety” of its journalists worldwide and their relatives inside Iran.
US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Washington and its European allies to confront Iran’s transnational repression, which it says has escalated since the start of a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that Armenian leaders had engaged in direct consultations with Iranian officials in recent days to explain recent developments.
“Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan spoke with our president, their foreign minister called me, and the deputy foreign minister of Armenia came to Tehran,” he said. “The Armenians insist on briefing us and have told us they will observe all of Iran’s red lines regarding Zangezur.”
Last week, US President Donald Trump brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which gives Washington leasing rights to develop the Zangezur transit route connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan. It will be renamed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Araghchi said the situation that has emerged is very different from earlier proposals. “It is natural that the full dimensions of the Zangezur issue are not yet completely clear,” he said. “But what the surface of the matter shows, and what the Armenians are telling us, is that what has happened is worlds apart from what was supposed to happen — a change in the geopolitical map of the region.”
He recalled that initial discussions had involved the seizure of Armenia’s Syunik province, followed by the creation of a corridor. “We expressed our serious concerns, and that project was shelved.”
According to Araghchi, the current plan involves “an American company registered in Armenia under Armenian law, operating under Armenian sovereignty, to build the road.”
He added, “I am not saying what is happening is without concern. Based on what Armenian officials have told us, this road will be established by an American company registered under Armenian law and under Armenian sovereignty. They tell us they have respected and paid attention to all of Iran’s red lines in this matter.”
Rejecting claims that the project would make Iran a neighbor of NATO, Araghchi said Tehran had conveyed its concerns about any foreign presence to both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“A US engineering company is to carry out the work, but there will be no American forces stationed at the Iran-Armenia border,” he said.
"Security will be provided by Armenia itself, and even private American companies will not be allowed to provide security. These are the statements from Armenian officials — of course, we will maintain the necessary vigilance.”
Iran’s president will travel to Yerevan next week, Armenian media reported this week, citing the country’s economy ministry.
“Customs data shows a 60% decrease in soybean meal imports and an 8% decrease in corn imports in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year,” ILNA news agency reported.
“Animal feed inputs of very low quality have reached end consumers at prices about twice the approved rates due to import monopolies — a trend that seriously threatens the country's food security in the sensitive period following June’s 12-day war with Israel,” ILNA quoted Mojtaba Aali, the CEO of the National Livestock Farmers Union, as saying, referring to June's 12-day war with Israel.
Aali said that livestock farmers in Fars province, a key hub for livestock production, recently held protests over the issue.
According to Iranian media, over the past five months, reserves of supplies such as corn and soybean meal, which are mostly imported from countries such as Brazil, have been significantly lower than the country’s monthly consumption.
In the same period, a rise in prices has been recorded, affecting most livestock farmers and their ability to purchase animal feed.
“Corn has been traded at 130,000 rials ($1.30), barley at 220,000 rials ($2.30), and soybean meal at 230,000 rials ($2.40),” ILNA reported.
According to S&P Global, the June war has left behind many issues facing the country's food security, not least regarding essential imports.
"Exporters of corn and soybeans in Brazil and Basmati rice from India have already raised alarms about trade with Iran due to rising insurance premiums, delayed payments, and wartime dangers such as jamming of navigation or communication systems," its analysts wrote.
Amid an economic crisis, Iran is currently grappling with multiple national challenges including severe water shortages and widespread power outages which are also hampering the country's agricultural industry.
As of 2025, data from Iran’s Statistics Center shows that the country’s agricultural land has shrunk to 15.43 million hectares, a decrease from 18 million hectares in previous years.
Farming continues to be a major source of livelihood, supporting over 4.5 million people, 89% of whom live in rural areas and 11% in urban settings, with the agricultural sector contributing roughly 8.3% to Iran’s GDP and employing about 27% of the national workforce.
Compounding this, over the past year, the country has experienced a 1.5°C increase in average temperatures and a 45% decline in rainfall, leading to further desertification across the country.
