ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - September 19, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - September 19, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• Second Wave of explosions in Lebanon Target Hezbollah Members
• Armenia Thwarts Supposed Russian Backed Coup
• China Sanctions Nine U.S. Firms over Weapon Sales to Taiwan

Second Wave of explosions in Lebanon Target Hezbollah Members

Local reports indicate that at least three people were killed and hundreds wounded when thousands of walkie talkies and other hand-held communication devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on September 18, 2024. This comes a day after thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah partisans detonated as part of an apparent Israeli attack that killed at least a dozen of the group’s fighters.

Armenia Thwarts Supposed Russian Backed Coup

Armenia arrested three people accused of attempting a coup against the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Armenia is still searching for other suspects who were reportedly trained in Russia ahead of joining the Armenian military to orchestrate the coup. The revelation will likely further strain ties between Armenia and Russia after Russia failed to come to Armenia's aid during a recent war that saw it lose control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the formerly ethnic Armenian breakaway region of Azerbaijan. Pashinyan has since suspended Armenia's participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO). The U.S. is likely hoping to make diplomatic inroads into Armenia at Russia's expense, but their ability to do so will be limited given Russia's historic dominance of the region as well as the growing influence of Azerbaijan and Iran in the area.

China Sanctions Nine U.S. Firms over Weapon Sales to Taiwan

On September 18, 2024, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposed sanctions on nine U.S. defense firms over sales of military equipment to Taiwan. The sanctions measures include freezing the firms' property in their territory and prohibiting all transactions with China-based people or entities with immediate effect. The affected firms are Sierra Nevada Corporation, Stick Rudder Enterprises, Cubic Corporation, S3 Aerospace, TCOM Ltd Partnership, TextORe, Planate Management Group, ACT1 Federal, and Exovera. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and continues to raise political and military pressure on the island, including increasing military drills into Taiwanese territory and attempting to limit U.S. military aid to Taiwan.