TOP STORIES
Iran Rejects US And UK Calls To End Support For Houthi Red Sea Attacks | The Guardian
Iran has rejected US and British calls to end its support for attacks by Houthi rebels on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea and claimed the accusations were baseless interference as its navy dispatched a destroyer to the vital shipping lane. The Alborz destroyer, operating as a military vessel of the 94th flotilla of the Iranian navy, crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and entered the Red Sea on Monday. It came as Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council (SNSC), met Mohammed Abdulsalam, the Houthi spokesperson, praising the rebel fighters’ “brave actions” against “Zionist aggression”.
Iran Executes Four People On Charges Of Spying For Israel | Financial Times
Iran hanged three men and one woman on Friday on allegations of co-operating with Israel’s intelligence services, as regional tensions escalate amid the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas. Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, said the people executed were charged with “waging war” against the Islamic republic and were “guided directly by Mossad espionage officers”. Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, said the people executed were charged with “waging war” against the Islamic republic and were “guided directly by Mossad espionage officers”.
Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukraine With Iranian Drones | Iran International
Iran has supplied hundreds of the kamikaze Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to Russia since mid-2022, which Moscow has used extensively to target civilian infrastructure and cities. The drones are also used during massive missile attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. The drones are relatively cheap, costing around $20,000 each and Ukraine sometimes has to fire much more expensive anti-air missiles to bring them down.
UANI IN THE NEWS
... Israeli operations against Iranian targets, known as the “war between wars,” are the region’s worst-kept secret. Nevertheless, there is “a logic to keeping a policy of deniability” over operations against the Islamic Republic, the policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, Jason Brodsky, tells the Sun. At the same time, he adds, “I don’t think there’s going to be much damage” from Mr. Bennett’s disclosure. “When you strike on Iranian soil, Ayatollah Khamenei recoils,” he says. Under Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has hit nuclear-related Iranian targets, but refrained from punishing Iran over terrorist acts. “Bibi is risk-averse, while Bennett is risk-ready,” Mr. Brodsky says.
IRAN-BACKED Houthi rebels "declared war on the West" through their Red Sea attacks - and today they finally faced the music, warned a former US ambassador. Mark Wallace told The Sun that the US Navy sinking three militias boats in the Red Sea marks a major turning point in the crisis - but "self defence" is not enough to deter the Iranian terror proxy.
Swedish MEP ‘Utterly Destroys’ Left-Winger As ‘Bats*** Crazy’ In Brutal Putdown | Express
Daniel Roth, from United Against Nuclear Iran, said: "Ranting anti-Israel MEP@wallacemick is (and I quote): "a clear example of the bats**t crazy left".
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
BRICS To Grow As Saudi, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia Join Ranks | Bloomberg
Membership of the BRICS group of emerging-market nations is set to double, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt to join its ranks on Jan. 1, South Africa’s envoy to the bloc said. Current members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in August invited six other nations to become part of their group, pairing some of the planet’s largest energy producers with some of the biggest consumers among developing countries. Only Argentina declined the invitation after President Javier Milei, who took office this month, reversed his predecessor’s membership bid.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
US Repels Houthi Attacks On International Vessels In Red Sea | Voice Of America
U.S. Navy helicopters sank three of four small boats used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack a merchant vessel in the southern Red Sea on Sunday, U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, responding to distress calls from the Maersk Hangzhou, returned fire on the Houthi boats and sank three of the vessels. There were no survivors. The fourth boat fled the area. This was the second time in less than 24 hours that the Iran-backed Houthis attacked the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou container vessel.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Releases Spanish Citizen After More Than Year In Detention | The National
A Spanish tourist who was detained in Iran for more than a year has been released, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday. Santiago Sanchez Cogedor entered Iran in October 2022 during what he said was a plan to walk from Spain to the Qatar World Cup in November and December 2022. His release was undertaken "with regard to human mercy and legal proceedings", Mr Kanaani said. Iran's semi-official SNN news agency said Mr Cogedor had been handed over to officials of the Spanish embassy in Tehran and was due to leave for Madrid shortly afterwards.
CONGRESS & IRAN
House Intel Chairman Rips Biden’s ‘Timid’ Response To Iran | Daily Wire
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said the Biden administration has been “very timid” in its response to Iran‘s escalation of hostilities in the Middle East region. The congressman, who has access to some of the most sensitive national security secrets of the United States, said during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that it was “significant” that President Joe Biden’s team “continues to not respond to the Houthi escalation in the area.”
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israeli Airstrike Kills 11 Members Of Iran’s IRGC In Syria: Sources | Al Arabiya
An Israeli airstrike targeting Damascus International Airport late on Thursday killed 11 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sources told Al Arabiya on Friday. The targeted IRGC members, responsible for overseeing Iran-backed forces in eastern Syria, were present at the airport to welcome a senior delegation, the sources said. The IRGC has denied the report, calling it “baseless.” Syrian state media and the Syrian defense ministry had earlier reported Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria and near Damascus.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
U.S. Navy Destroys Boats Controlled By Iran-Backed Militias In Red Sea | Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Navy destroyed three boats carrying militants supported by Iran after they attacked a containership in the Red Sea, while Iran-allied militias struck a U.S. base in Syria, raising the risk that the war in Gaza could drag the U.S. into broader tensions in the region. On Saturday evening, the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged container vessel that operates between Europe and Asia, came under missile attack, the U.S. said. Four boats later approached the vessel, shot at it and attempted to board it, according to Danish shipping giant Moller-Maersk, which operates the containership.
Iran Sends Warship To Red Sea After US Sinks Houthi Boats | Bloomberg
Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea after the US Navy destroyed three Houthi boats, a move that risks ratcheting up tensions and complicates Washington’s goal of securing a waterway that’s vital to global trade. The Alborz destroyer traversed the Bab El-Mandeb strait, a narrow choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on Monday, Iranian state media said without providing further information on the vessel’s mission.
Britain ‘Considering Airstrikes’ On Houthi Rebels After Red Sea Attacks | The Guardian
Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea. Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group. It comes after the US military said four boats from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired at the Maersk Hangzhou and came within metres of the vessel as US helicopters fired back.
MISCELLANEOUS
America Must Put The Houthis Back On The List Of Designated Terror Groups | The Hill
The Houthis kidnap Americans, rape and mutilate women, crack down on interfaith activists and routinely persecute minorities such as the Baha’i. They starve civilians, hinder humanitarian aid access and use Iranian funds to acquire weapons and rockets. It’s time for the U.S. to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist group. The State Department just designated one person and three entities for facilitating Iranian financial support to the Houthis, but this is an insufficient and belated action, particularly as Iran continues to embolden its proxies to attack Israel and American interests in the region.