Decoding the news. “Rome has become a hub of the global technology war.” Antonio Teti, university professor and expert in intelligence, cybersecurity, and technological geopolitics, spoke to Decode39 about the Zahedi case and the Iranian network targeted by the United States.
The big picture. The new U.S. sanctions against a network accused of transferring sensitive technologies to Iran’s military apparatus bring Italy back to the centre of a case that connects intelligence, cybersecurity, export controls and the geopolitical confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
- Among the individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department is Saeid Zahedi, an Iranian citizen living in Rome who also holds Italian citizenship.
- According to Washington, he allegedly contributed to the activities of a network that, through front companies and fictitious commercial identities, illegally acquired Western technologies destined for entities linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
Q: Professor Teti, why does this case deserve attention beyond intelligence circles?
A: Because it is a concrete example of how invisible wars are fought today. Many people still imagine espionage as an activity made of secret agents, stolen documents and clandestine meetings. In reality, a growing part of state competition takes place through the acquisition of advanced technologies.
- In the case that emerged from the United States, this is not simply about commercial violations, but about networks accused of trying to obtain cybersecurity software, encryption systems, spectrum analysers and devices used to detect interception equipment.
- These are tools that can have enormous strategic value for a country engaged in constant military and information competition with the West.
Q: The U.S. Treasury says the network allegedly deceived dozens of American technology companies. How sophisticated is this type of operation?
A: Much more than one might imagine. According to the U.S. documentation, the group led by Ali Majd Sepehr allegedly created false American corporate identities to purchase products subject to export restrictions.
- Through internet domains, commercial documentation and apparently legitimate logistics structures, they allegedly managed to present themselves as ordinary U.S. companies.
- This evidence represents an extremely dangerous element: it shows that today clandestine procurement operations develop along the entire digital supply chain. It is no longer enough to control borders or monitor shipments.
- One must also analyse digital identities, financial transactions, internet domain registrations and international logistics networks. This is a form of advanced economic intelligence that merges cyber, finance and international trade.
Q: Why do the United States consider this network so dangerous?
A: The final target was allegedly Iran’s Ministry of Defense and some of its controlled companies. Among them is Sairan Information Exchange Space Security Industries Company, identified by the Americans as one of the recipients of the technologies sought by the network.
- The equipment under investigation reportedly included spectrum analysers and non-linear junction detectors, tools typically used in technical counterespionage and electronic sweeps.
- In other words, we are talking about technologies that can help detect hidden microphones, clandestine surveillance systems or vulnerabilities in government communications.
Q: So the real issue could be Iranian counterintelligence?
A: Exactly. In recent years, Iran has suffered some of the most sophisticated intelligence operations ever conducted in the Middle East. I am thinking of infiltrations attributed to Mossad, the compromise of strategic programs, the targeted killings of key figures and the constant leaks from apparatuses considered highly protected.
- From this perspective, acquiring technologies capable of strengthening communications security and protecting sensitive infrastructure is a strategic necessity for Tehran. Modern intelligence is not only about collecting information but also about protecting one’s own information.
Q: Italy’s name emerges again in this case. Is that a coincidence?
A: I don’t think so. Italy has an extraordinarily favourable geographic and logistical position. It is one of Europe’s main commercial hubs; it is integrated into Western financial networks, and it has highly relevant port and airport infrastructure. These are all elements that can also make it attractive to networks trying to circumvent international sanctions regimes.
- Of course, this does not mean that Italy is particularly vulnerable or permeable. It simply means that, as an important node of globalisation, it inevitably becomes a privileged observation point for those conducting economic intelligence activities.
- What is striking is that the operation was carried out with the involvement of the FBI. That is a very significant detail. In recent years, we have seen a profound transformation in the priorities of U.S. security agencies. Today the FBI devotes a growing share of its resources to protecting strategic technologies and supply chains. This is no longer only a matter of terrorism or traditional counterintelligence. Protecting America’s technological superiority has become a national security objective.
- That is why we increasingly see joint operations involving the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the FBI and the intelligence community.
Q: This operation is part of the U.S. campaign called “Economic Fury.” What does that mean?
A: It means that Washington sees the economic dimension as a real arena of conflict. The “Economic Fury” campaign aims to target the financial, logistical and commercial networks that allow Iran to circumvent international sanctions.
- In recent days, the United States has sanctioned not only this technology procurement network but also several entities involved in Iranian oil trade and financing systems linked to Tehran’s armed forces. The objective is simple: to prevent Iran from obtaining the economic resources and technologies it needs to strengthen its military capabilities.
Q: What message is being sent to Europe?
A: That geopolitical competition increasingly runs through technology. The United States is telling its European allies that control over technology supply chains is now a central element of collective security.
- The challenge does not concern only Iran. It can involve any state actor trying to acquire strategic capabilities through covert procurement networks. It is a lesson that also applies to competition with China and Russia.
Q: What is the main lesson Italy should draw from this case?
A: National security in the 21st century no longer coincides only with military defense. Today, countries must protect data, technologies, industrial supply chains, digital infrastructure and financial networks. Contemporary wars are fought less and less on traditional battlefields and increasingly along the global chains of innovation.
- The Zahedi case, regardless of any further investigations that may follow, reminds us that Rome is not a mere observer of major geopolitical dynamics. It is one of the places where these dynamics meet, overlap and sometimes collide.
- This makes it essential to invest more and more in economic intelligence, cybersecurity, technological counterintelligence and strategic analysis capabilities.
