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Explosions struck a natural gas pipeline in Iran early on Wednesday, with an official blaming the blasts on a “sabotage and terrorist action” in the country as tensions remain high in the Middle East amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Details were scarce, though the blasts hit a natural gas pipeline running from Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270-kilometer (790-mile) pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for Iran’s offshore South Pars gas field. Saeed Aghli, the manager of Iran’s gas network control center, told Iranian state television that a “sabotage and terrorist” action caused explosions along several areas of the line. There are no known insurgent groups operating in that province, home to the Bakhtiari, a branch of Iran’s Lur ethnic group. Aghli did not name any suspects in the blasts.
Santander Says Internal Review Found No Breach Of US Sanctions Against Iran | Reuters
Spain's Santander (SAN.MC), opens new tab on Tuesday said "categorically" that after a thorough investigation it had not found any breach of U.S. sanctions against Iran following a Financial Times report on Iranian-linked accounts. The Financial Times (FT) newspaper reported last week that Iran used accounts held at Santander and at Lloyds (LLOY.L), opens new tab in the United Kingdom to covertly move money around the world in a sanctions-evasion scheme backed by Iran's intelligence services.
The uncle of Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian-Kurdish woman whose death in custody sparked months of protests, has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for his criticism of the government in 2022, rights groups have said. Safa Aeli, 30, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison by the revolutionary court in the family’s home town of Saqez in north-western Iran, the Norway-based Hengaw group and US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said. The uncle of Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian-Kurdish woman whose death in custody sparked months of protests, has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for his criticism of the government in 2022, rights groups have said. Safa Aeli, 30, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison by the revolutionary court in the family’s home town of Saqez in north-western Iran, the Norway-based Hengaw group and US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Inquiry Into 'Death To Israel' Chants At Islamic Centre | BBC News
… In January, the BBC verified videos obtained by Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at the US-based campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran, from inside the Kanoon Towhid Islamic centre in west London, commemorating Iran's top military commander Gen Qasem Soleimani. He had been killed in a US air strike in 2020. Chants of "death to Israel" were heard at the event, but it is not known who was saying them. The Charity Commission said the Al-Tawheed (TUCF) Charitable Trust, which owns the Kanoon Towhid Islamic centre, described the event at its premises in January 2020 as a "religious remembrance programme" for Soleimani, organised by a third party and not the charity itself.
UANI Research Director Daniel Roth interview on Iran International.
What's New In The American-British Response To The Houthis? | AIC
UANI Research Director Daniel Roth interview on AIC.
MISSILE PROGRAM
Iran Claims To Fire Ballistic Missile From New Ship | Jerusalem Post
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a ballistic missile from its relatively new Shahid Mahdavi warship. The ship itself was provided to the IRGC in March of 2023 and was docked at Bandar Abbas. Now it may have new missile capabilities, extending the range of its threats at a time when the Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea. Iran has targeted ships in the Gulf of Oman in the past. Iran and the Houthis have drones and anti-ship ballistic missiles. IRGC Navy Chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri praised the Shahid Mahdavi when it was delivered to the IRGC last year. He said it can carry helicopters, drones and missiles and that it has a long range. The ship itself is a converted cargo ship that is 240 meters in length. It is supposed to have a variety of missile systems on board
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Ismail Haniyeh Meets With Iranian FM To Discuss Gaza Developments | Jerusalem Post
The head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, along with a delegation of officials from the terrorist organization’s leadership, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday, Hamas announced on its Telegram channel. Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian reportedly led an Iranian delegation at the meeting. According to Hamas, the two parties discussed recent news from Gaza, including political and “on-the-ground” developments. Hamas added that they reviewed Iran’s diplomatic efforts “to stop the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and to support Palestinian rights.”
UK Charity Watchdog Launches Investigation Into Event At Iran-Backed Mosque | The National
The UK charity watchdog has launched an official investigation into a British foundation formally linked to the Iranian state, which hosted an event at which anti-Semitic chants were heard. The Charity Commission has opened a statutory investigation into the Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust (TUCF) in London. It comes after footage taken of an event at the mosque celebrating the former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander, Qassem Suleimani, who since 2011 had been subject to UK sanctions for terrorism and terrorist financing. At the event, the anti-Semitic chant, "death to Israel", was heard. The UK’s terrorism laws make it an offence to encourage and glorify terrorism and carry a penalty of up to 15 years in jail. The charity regulator said it was investigating "serious concerns over the misuse of charity premises."
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
4 Baluchis Sentenced To Death In Iran For Alleged Insurrection | Radio Free Europe
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court has handed death sentences to four ethnic Baluchis on charges of "baghy," meaning insurrection against a legitimate Imam and the Islamic ruler of the country. The individuals, identified as Eido Shahbakhsh, Abdul-Ghani Shahbakhsh, Abdul-Rahim Qanbarzehi Gorgij, and Suleiman Shahbakhsh, were implicated in what the court describes as "forming anti-revolutionary groups and being members of said groups." The verdicts were issued by Branch 28 of the court, under the presidency of Mohammad Reza Amouzad Khalili, according to reports from Hengaw, a group that closely tracks human rights violations in Iran. The four men are currently being held at the Qezelhesar prison in Karaj. The case has drawn widespread attention due to the complex history of the accused; notably, the first two defendants were previously acquitted and released in 2016 by Branch 1 of the Zahedan Islamic Revolutionary Court on identical charges, only to be rearrested shortly thereafter. Zahedan is the capital of of Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan Province.
Amnesty Urges Iranian Women To Share Stories Of Hijab Persecution | Iran International
Amnesty International has issued a call to Iranian women who have faced persecution due to Iran's mandatory hijab laws, urging them to share their accounts with the rights group. The call, published on the organization's Telegram channel in Farsi on Monday, highlights the systemic harassment and persecution experienced by women in Iran, with particular emphasis on the issuance and execution of flogging and imprisonment sentences. "The real dimensions of the organized assault on women's rights, particularly the issuance and execution of flogging and imprisonment sentences against them, remain hidden," added the announcement by Amnesty. The Iranian government's continued enforcement of mandatory hijab laws, despite nationwide protests triggered by the killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality-police, has drawn international condemnation. The methods employed, including seizing cars and imposing widespread social deprivation, underscore the severity of the situation.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iranian Cyberattacks Targeting U.S. And Israeli Entities | Tech Target
Iranian nation-state threat actors are targeting entities based in the U.S. and Israel, according to research that Google published Tuesday. According to a report about cyberwarfare surrounding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that began in October, "Iran aggressively targeted Israel and the United States in the years leading up to Hamas' attack on October 7" and has continued to do so in the months since. Related to the war itself, Iran has targeted Israeli individuals and organizations with destructive malware, as well as intelligence collection activities and public influence campaigns. Intelligence collection activities also targeted entities in the U.S. Google described malicious activity from several Iranian state-sponsored actors, such as APT42, "Dustycave" and "Dune." As for ongoing activity directed at the U.S., the report mentioned the November cyberattack against the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in Pennsylvania in which a threat actor known as "Cyber Av3ngers" -- thought to be backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- claimed responsibility.
Cyberattack On Iran's Parliament Claimed By Dissident Group | Al-Monitor
Hackers affiliated with an Iranian dissident group claimed credit for a cyberattack on Iran's parliament on Tuesday. The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the parliament and its news site Khane Mellat were hacked. Authorities are investigating the incident, according to the agency. Al-Monitor was unable to access the site as of 10:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday. A hacking group called Uprising Till Overthrow claimed credit for the cyberattack. The group is affiliated with the Iranian dissident organization Mujahedin-e Khalq, Agence France-Presse reported. The MEK opposes the Islamic Republic and controversially fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. The group is often described as a cult in the international media. The United States previously designated the MEK as a terrorist organization, but removed the label in 2012. Some Iran hawks including former Bush and Trump administration official John Bolton have praised the group.
Iran-Backed Attacks On US Forces In Iraq And Syria Drop After Retaliatory Strikes | The National
Tehran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have not attacked US forces in the two countries since February 4, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, marking a dramatic change from the near-daily attacks of recent months. The drop comes after the US conducted two high-profile strikes against Iranian proxies in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US troops at a base in Jordan on January 28. The US first retaliated on February 2, hitting Iran-backed sites in Iraq and Syria. Then, on February 7, US forces killed a Kataib Hezbollah commander in Iraq. The Pentagon has not ruled out more strikes, even though Kataib Hezbollah said it would stand down. The US has blamed a wider grouping of Iranian groups, including Kataib Hezbollah, for the Jordan attack.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
17 Months Of Internet Shutdown Costs Iran Billions, Sparks Capital Flight | The New Arab
A recent report by BBC Persian earlier this month revealed that the 17-month-long social media ban and occasional total internet blackout in Iran caused over US $1.6 billion in damage to Iran's economy, adding to the economic issues of the low-income part of Iranian society. Without official government data on Iran's economic status and the impact of internet connectivity and social media platforms on small businesses, understanding the damages caused by internet disruptions remains challenging. However, even government-released information shows a grim image of the situation. In September 2022, during one of the harshest internet cut-offs in Iran, the ISNA news agency, related to the country's Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, reported that every hour without the internet cost Iran US $1.5 million.
CONGRESS & IRAN
White House To Republicans: Not Passing The Supplemental Helps Iran | Politico
The White House is going on the offensive with a new talking point to convince House members they need to pass the national security supplemental: failing to greenlight the bill means helping Iran. According to a talking points memo and messaging memo obtained by POLITICO, the administration is arguing that Iran has sided with Russia in its war on Ukraine and has long supported Hamas. To not pass the legislation that gives aid to both Ukraine and Israel, then, would be to make life easier for Tehran. The White House is going on the offensive with a new talking point to convince House members they need to pass the national security supplemental: failing to greenlight the bill means helping Iran. According to a talking points memo and messaging memo obtained by POLITICO, the administration is arguing that Iran has sided with Russia in its war on Ukraine and has long supported Hamas. To not pass the legislation that gives aid to both Ukraine and Israel, then, would be to make life easier for Tehran.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Iran Recalled Senior Commanders From Syria Days Before US Strikes | Financial Times
Iran pulled senior commanders of its Revolutionary Guard out of Syria days before the US launched strikes against Iranian-linked targets in the Arab state to prevent the elite force suffering further casualties. Tehran took the decision to withdraw the commanders after US President Joe Biden blamed an Iran-backed militant group for a January 28 drone strike that killed three American soldiers at a base on the Jordan-Syrian border and vowed to respond, according to an Iranian official and two others briefed on the matter. The guard officers had left Syria by the time Washington launched air strikes five days later, the people said, adding that it was a sign Tehran did not want to get drawn into a direct conflict with the US. The US said it directly targeted Revolutionary Guard facilities in Syria for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October triggered hostilities across the region. It was the US’s biggest military response to attacks on its forces by Iranian-backed militants in the past four months.
Iran And Russia Urge Calm Following New Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes | Al-Monitor
Iran and Russia called for calm on Tuesday after a border skirmish between Armenia and Azerbaijan that left four Armenian soldiers dead, and one Armenian soldier and one Azeri soldier injured. Armenian authorities said that Azerbaijani troops fired on Armenian forces across the border in the Syunik region of southeast Armenia on Tuesday. But Azerbaijan said it fired on Armenian forces in retaliation for shelling of Azerbaijani forces on Monday, the Associated Press reported. Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “called on both sides to exercise restraint and maintain peace." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “We urge both sides to exercise restraint, to avoid in every possible way any actions that the other side might consider provocative,” Russia’s official news agency, TASS, reported.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
US Says Tehran-Backed Houthis' Blockade Threatens Iran's Food Supply | Iran International
A State Department spokesman told Iran International that the Tehran-backed Houthis' Red Sea blockade not only threatens global food supplies but "now directly threatens even Iran’s own supply of food." It follows an attack on a bulk carrier of corn traveling from Brazil to Iran on Monday. "This is just the latest, absurd example demonstrating that the Iranian regime supports terrorism and destabilizing behavior by groups like the Houthis at the expense of all the people of the region, including the Iranian people themselves," the spokesperson said. Citing maritime sources, Reuters reported that the attack was the first time a ship headed for Iran was targeted amidst the Red Sea blockade, launched in November. A regional security official told Reuters that the attack appeared designed to "show Iran does not control the Houthis and they act independently.