TOP STORIES
The European Union is pushing back against a French-German drive to target Iran with sanctions over its provision of missiles and other military hardware to its regional allies, with senior EU officials saying new sanctions could undercut diplomacy with Tehran. France, Germany, the Netherlands and five other EU countries wrote last month to EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell, saying the bloc should adopt a sanctions regime that allows them to target “Iranian actors which arm, fund, advise and instruct” pro-Iran regional militias, as well as the groups themselves, according to a letter seen by The Wall Street Journal. Borrell’s response, which EU officials said was backed by Washington: Don’t do it now. A Biden administration official said they have told the EU they support increasing pressure on Tehran through sanctions on Iran’s transfers of missiles and military equipment to regional militias as well as to Russia. The dispute, which was raised again at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, comes days after Europe and the U.S. pledged to swiftly and jointly impose meaningful new sanctions on Tehran if it delivers ballistic missiles to Russia.
Houthi Cruise Missile Hits Israel In Ominous First | Newsweek
Yemen's Houthis have claimed responsibility for a cruise missile launched from the Red Sea which landed near Eilat, in what marks the first time a projectile fired from the Iranian-backed group has struck Israel's territory. The Iran-aligned militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles at international commercial shipping in the region since November, in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military assault in Gaza. Previously, missiles and drones fired from Yemen had hit neighboring countries or were intercepted by air defenses. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday it had tracked a "suspicious aerial target" which it confirmed was a cruise missile, The Times of Israel reported. No damage or injuries were caused and Newsweek has contacted the IDF for comment.
Iran May Attack US Water Supplies, Warns Biden Administration | The Telegraph
Iran is poised to attack US drinking water supplies, the Biden administration has warned, amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, sent a warning to state governors asking them to be on guard for potential cyber attacks on their critical infrastructure systems. The warning letter was co-authored by Michael Regan, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency and made public on Tuesday. In it, they cited ongoing threats from hackers linked to the governments of Iran and China and warned hackers associated with both states have previously attacked water systems. “Disabling cyber attacks are striking water and waste water systems throughout the United States,” the pair wrote. They warned that drinking water and waste water systems were “an attractive target” for hackers because while they are “lifeline-critical” they “often lack the resources and technical capacity” to protect themselves from potential attacks. “We need your support to ensure that all water systems in your state comprehensively assess their current cyber security practices to identify any significant vulnerabilities,” they told state governors.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran Has Been Pressuring U.S. To Broker A Ceasefire Between Israel And Hamas | The Foreign Desk
…“With Hamas facing defeat and Hezbollah facing a likely Israeli offensive into southern Lebanon, Iran is pulling strings to protect these groups—including in this case through intermediaries in Oman,” said Jerry Canto, an analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). “Although internal and local circumstances also influence these groups’ decisions, Tehran prepared them for decades and then ordered them to escalate against Israel and the U.S. Reportedly two Iran regime officials told The New York Times that the Islamic Republic persists in disavowing direct control over the actions of its proxies, specifically the Houthis. However, they indicated that Iran could exert influence over these groups to halt attacks entirely once a ceasefire was reached.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Threatens Tankers As Panama Denies Registering Iranian-Owned Vessels | The Maritime Executive
Iran is renewing its threats against tankers and retaliation for actions by the United States to “interfere” with the transportation of Iranian oil. The latest statements came in response to the U.S.’s move in February to seize another shipment of 500,000 barrels of Iranian fuel oil valued at over $25 million as well as efforts by the U.S. calling on Panama to remove from its registry ships aiding Iran’s violation of sanctions. The Biden administration has been moving to increase the pressure on Iran in part due to the reports that Iran is using oil sales to help fund the Houthi in Yemen. Last year, the U.S. was successful in seizing the oil cargo from the tanker Suez Rajan and selling it for $74 million. Now, the U.S. is in court in a new action started in February 2024 to seize the cargo aboard the tanker Abyss (105,000 dwt tanker registered in Palau) again using the civil forfeiture laws. The U.S. used the same approach in seven previous seizures in 2020 and 2021 before the Suez Rajan taking control of more than 5.3 million barrels of petroleum products valued at $294 million. Iranian media is today quoting Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Navy of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), saying "If our oil and tankers are seized anywhere in the world, we will respond in kind… the era of foreign exploitation of Iranian resources with impunity has come to an end.”
Workers Protest Iran's 35% Wage Hike Amid 50% Inflation | Iran International
Iran has approved a 35% wage increase for the Iranian year starting March 20, despite opposition from labor representatives who walked out of a meeting of the Supreme Labor Council in protest. The decision was announced Tuesday after a marathon meeting that started a day earlier, setting the minimum monthly wage for workers at 111 million rials -- or about $185 at today’s exchange rate. The Labor Council includes government, business and labor representatives. Given the devaluation of the national currency, the minimum wage for the upcoming Iranian year effectively stagnates, resulting in minimal purchasing power for wage earners and a decline in the living standards for millions of workers. The purchasing power of Iranians is undermined by the rising value of the US dollar in Tehran, which stands at about 610,000 rials, with prospects of further depreciation looming in the upcoming year. According to Deputy Labor Minister Ali-Hossein Ra'yatifard, Iran has over 15 million industrial and service sector workers, about 17 percent of the country’s population.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
US Envoy Extends Norouz Greetings To People Of Iran | Iran International
In messages shared on X, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Special Envoy, Abram Paley, extended warm wishes for a joyful Norouz (Nowruz), the Persian New Year, to the people of Iran. "As you celebrate Nowruz, we look forward to the day when the people of Iran have a government that works for them," US Deputy Special Envoy to Iran Abram Paley conveyed in his message, emphasizing a hopeful vision for improved governance in the nation. "Today, on behalf of the US government, I want to wish the people of Iran a happy Nowruz. Nowruz should be a time to celebrate – to celebrate the new year, to reflect on the year that has passed, and to honor Persian history and culture. And, indeed, the Iranian people have much to be proud of, and they have untold potential." Norouz marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated by millions in Iran, Afghanistan, parts of Central Asia and worldwide.
Behind Scenes US-Iran Talks Aim To Expand Iraq Truce And Calm Regional Conflict | The National
Indirect talks between the US and Iran have attempted to build on an unannounced truce in Iraq to expand it across conflict-hit areas of the Middle East, sources have told The National. Although Washington has not commented on the latest discussions, Iranian state media confirmed the most recent rounds of indirect talks, saying they focused on negotiations for removing sanctions against Iran – thought to be a major motivation for Tehran's increased initiative to mitigate regional conflict. “There is a clear American push … for the Iranians to maintain the relative restraint they are exercising on their part, especially on the Iraqi front, where an unofficial truce has continued for more than a month,” one of the sources said of the diplomatic efforts. The US this month renewed a sanctions waiver that grants Iran access to $10 billion in previously escrowed funds. The waiver, which allows Tehran to use electricity revenue from Iraq for budgetary support and debt repayment, comes four months after a similar extension. The waiver appears to be one of the indications that US President Joe Biden's administration "is showing the extent of its willingness to win the Iranians in this sensitive period of war in Gaza, and with the drums of electoral war beginning to beat in the United States”, a Lebanese source close to the Iran-allied Hezbollah group told The National.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Jailed Nobel Laureate Mohammadi Urges Extension Of UN Rights Probe In Iran | Radio Free Europe
Iranian political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has called for the extension of a United Nations investigation into human rights violations in Iran, including gender apartheid and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the government. In a statement delivered by Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, the director of the Iran Human Rights organization, at a UN Human Rights Council meeting, Mohammadi stressed the urgent need for continued international scrutiny. Mohammadi has been convicted fives times since March 2021 -- three times for activism carried out while she was imprisoned -- and has been sentenced to over 12 years in prison during that period. She was already serving a sentence of 10 years and nine months on charges of acting against national security and propaganda against the state before the more recent convictions. mid unrest within the country, Mohammadi stressed that the Iranian regime's violent suppression tactics were not only intensifying but also broadening in scope, affecting not just political dissidents but women, religious minorities, and ethnic groups indiscriminately.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran Vows Retaliation Against Tanker Seizures As It Bolsters Naval Presence | Al-Monitor
The Islamic Republic will "reciprocate" should any Iranian oil tanker be confiscated, the country's highest-ranking navy officer warned at a time of simmering tensions with the United States in the Persian Gulf. "Bygone are the days when foreigners bullied the honorable Iranian nation to plunder their riches," said Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, who commands the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Published by the official Islamic Republic News Agency late Monday, the commander's statement from the Persian Gulf oil-rich city of Bandar Abbas coincided with the country's key holiday celebrating the nationalization of the oil industry in 1951, which marked the end of decades-long British and American control over Iranian oil resources. Under severe international sanctions, Iran's lifeline oil industry has in the past few decades been scrambling to survive. Yet Iranian authorities say they have managed over time to circumvent the punitive measures and that the country's oil industry is currently independent, prospering and in good shape.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Hardliner Iranian Cleric: Religious Minority Matters, Not The Majority | Iran International
Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, father-in-law of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, has stated that the majority of the population who did not vote in the March 1 election "are inconsequential." The influential hardliner cleric serves as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in a significant Shiite center located in the city of Mashhad. He oversees extensive religious endowments and rigorously prohibits concerts and similar activities that he deems incompatible with Islam. Alamolhoda, as quoted by IRGC's Tasnim news agency, stated that those who did not heed Khamenei's call to participate in the elections are regarded as the "disobedient and rebellious" majority, and compared to the devout minority, they are considered negligible. Iran’s March 1 parliamentary and the Assembly of Experts elections had the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s 45-year history, with the government announcing that 59 percent of the 61 million eligible voters did not participate. Some pundits believe that participation was even lower, in addition to million of people casting blank or invalid ballots.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Iran Seeks To Expand Russia Ties Following Putin Election Victory – Analysis | Jerusalem Post
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week and called for closer ties between Tehran and Moscow. The countries already have warm ties, and Iran has supplied Russia with drones that it has used in deadly attacks in Ukraine. The call between Raisi and Putin took place after Putin won re-election in Russia. The Iranian regime leader praised the Russian regime leader for his re-election in an election that was never in doubt. Fars News in Iran noted that the Iranian leader expressed “hope that his [Putin’s] new term would provide a suitable ground for the promotion of relations between Tehran and Moscow.” The Iranian leader then went on to “highlight the significance of joint bids in regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, as well as ongoing projects such as the Rasht-Astara railway connecting two Iranian and Russian cities to enhance economic ties.”
Hezbollah Commander, Four Other Jihadists Killed In Syria Airstrike – Report | Jerusalem Post
Five commanders of Iranian-backed militias in Syria were killed in an airstrike on Tuesday, according to Saudi television station al-Hadath, cited by Israeli media that night. A further report claimed that one of those killed was a Hezbollah commander. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, had reported three explosions and the presence of unidentified aircraft that day in the eastern city of Dier-ez-Zor. Syria hosts several militias financed by Iran, which have attacked not only Israeli forces but American troops as well since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iran’s UN Envoy Dismisses UK, US Claims On Houthi Arm Supply | Iran International
Iran's envoy to the United Nations is refuting Tehran’s role in supplying Houthi rebels with sophisticated and heavy weapons to target vessels in the Red Sea. Reacting to a UN Security Council briefing on the Yemen crisis, Amir Saeid Iravani dismissed statements made by the US and UK as "baseless allegations”. Since November, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They proclaim that these attacks will persist until Israel halts its operations in Gaza. The attacks began after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslims to blockade Israel. In response, the US and UK have carried out several rounds of strikes against an array of Houthi targets in Yemen. “The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects these baseless allegations, considering them as a pretext utilized by the United States and the United Kingdom to advance their short-sighted political agenda as well as to justify and validate their ongoing unlawful actions and military aggression against Yemen,” the Iranian envoy said in a letter to the president of the UN security council.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday that she did not know whether Iran is an authoritarian regime, pushing back repeatedly on characterizations of it as a dictatorship. The comments come as South Africa is under increased scrutiny over its relationships with regimes like Iran, Russia and China, as well as Hamas, as it simultaneously pursues a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. These factors have prompted the House Foreign Affairs Committee to consider legislation on Wednesday on reassessing the U.S.-South Africa relationship.