Iraqi president on list for potential Pegasus surveillance – Washington Post

Spies for centuries have trained their sights on those who shape destinies of nations: presidents, prime ministers, kings.

And in the 21st century, most of them carry smartphones.

The phone of Iraq’s President Barham Salih was on a list of 50,000 numbers selected for possible surveillance in the Pegasus spyware case, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The Post said that it had not been possible to determine if Israeli company NSO Group’s signature spyware, Pegasus, had infected Salih’s phone or whether there had been any attempt to do so.

But here’s who’s on the list: Three sitting presidents, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Iraq’s Barham Salih, and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. Three current prime ministers, Pakistan’s Imran Khan, Egypt’s Mostafa Madbouly, and Morocco’s Saad-Eddine El Othmani.

Seven former prime ministers, who according to time stamps on the list were placed there while they were still in office, including Lebanon’s Saad Hariri, Uganda’s Ruhakana Rugunda, and Belgium’s Charles Michel.

And one king: Morocco’s Mohammed VI.

The findings are part of an international investigation involving the Post and 16 other media organizations. An NSO spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Washington Post report.

ٍSource | Washington Post