TOP STORIES
Iran Strikes Jihadist Group In Pakistan As Middle East Conflicts Spread | Wall Street Journal
Iran hit a jihadist group in Pakistan with a missile and drone strike Tuesday, according to Iranian state media, as a series of conflicts continue to spread across the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza. The target of the unusual attack inside Pakistan was a militant group, Jaish al-Adl, in Pakistan’s remote western province of Balochistan, which has a long border with Iran. Islamabad condemned the attack, which it said had killed two children and injured three. The strike came after Iran said Monday that it had launched ballistic missiles at targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of some of their officers and allies and at a militant target in Syria.
Pakistan has vowed to respond to neighboring Iran after they hit a civilian region across the border in an unannounced attack. Iran launched airstrikes on Tuesday that Tehran claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. In state media reports, which were later withdrawn without explanation, Iran said its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the “Army of Justice”. The group, which seeks an independent Baluchistan and has spread across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, acknowledged the assault in a statement shared online. Islamabad, which has frosty relationships with Tehran, angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Jan Achakzai, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan province, where the strike hit, also condemned the attack, and vowed to react.
US To Designate Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels As Terror Group | Financial Times
The US is preparing to name the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group in Yemen, as a specially designated global terrorist group, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision, to be announced in the coming days, comes as the Houthis continue to attack commercial vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial shipping lane for global trade, even after the US began striking Houthi targets in Yemen last week in response. Houthi rebels have stepped up their attacks in response to Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas. The new designation falls under the auspices of an executive order that aims to impede terrorist funding. It comes three years after US secretary of state Antony Blinken reversed a Trump administration decision to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation and as a specially designated global terrorist group — an effort by the Biden administration to ease the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen.
UANI IN THE NEWS
… Awks: The Iranian’s appearance is scheduled a few hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken graces the stage. (Don’t expect any fist-bumps in the corridors.) Courting controversy: Amir-Abdollahian was a relatively last-minute addition to the schedule — a move that’s being slammed by groups like United Against Nuclear Iran. Interesting company: One of Amir-Abdollahian’s recent international visits was to Qatar, where he met with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas. And just a couple of days ago, Amir-Abdollahian spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
World Economic Forum Welcomes To Davos The Hamas-Connected Foreign Minister Of Iran | New York Sun
… The decision by the global organization to invite Mr. Amir Abdollahian to a conference that purports to be about “rebuilding trust” has been met with a backlash from critics of the regime. In a letter to the Swiss foreign minister, a group called United Against Nuclear Iran wrote that “to allow Abdollahian into Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum would be a slap in the face to the brave Iranian people. In 2023, in a break from previous years, the World Economic Forum did not invite an Iranian government official to Davos. That was during the mass protests in the country after the death of Mahsa Amini, a victim of the so-called morality police. United Against Nuclear Iran added that Mr. Abdollahian “has repeatedly lied to the world about the crimes against humanity the regime has committed against its people.”
King Urging Global Crack Down On Transport Of Iranian Oil | United States Senator Angus King
U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to urge a global crackdown on the transport of Iranian oil which is in violation of U.S. sanctions. In a letter to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), King and his colleagues ask the Panamanian government to investigate the 189 Panamanian-flagged vessels of concern suspected of transporting Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iranian oil in 2018 and 2019 were designed to cut off a significant source of revenue the regime uses to fund terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas, cartel activity, nuclear proliferation, and other nefarious activity in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere. Iran uses “ghost fleets,” vessels marked with the flags of other nations, as a loop hole to export oil—and 49% of these vessels hold the Panamanian flag. Using open-source data, the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has identified 383 suspected “ghost fleet” vessels, including 189 Panamanian-flagged vessels.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
US Condemns Iran For Missile Strikes In Iraq And Syria | ABC News
U.S. officials condemned the strikes, with Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, saying that the "initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes." "The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq," Watson said in a statement. Four people were killed on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched near-daily drone attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Tuesday's strikes were a response to the terrorist attack on crowds of people in Kerman, Iran, on the anniversary of the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Iran said. That attack killed dozens, according to Iranian officials. ISIS took responsibility.
Iran Warns The U.S. Not To ‘Tie Their Destiny’ To The Fate Of Israel’s Netanyahu | CNBC
Iran’s foreign minister warned the U.S. not to “tie their destiny” to the fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said Washington’s full support for Israel is “the root of insecurity in the region.” “The U.S. should not, Mr. [Joe] Biden should not tie their destiny to the fate of Netanyahu,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. His comments came as the Israel-Hamas war drags beyond its 100th day. The U.S. has expressed steadfast support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Palestinian militant group Hamas infiltrated Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Canada Clamps Down On Researchers With Ties To China, Iran, Russia | Reuters
Canada on Tuesday clamped down on researchers affiliated with a list of mainly China-based universities to stop them working on subjects deemed sensitive or critical to Canadian national security. In measures Ottawa said were aimed at shielding advanced and emerging technologies, government grants will not be provided to researchers with links to universities connected to defense and security entities of countries that could harm security. The universities are mostly based in China but a few from Iran and Russia are also listed. "While Canadian-led research is defined by its excellence and collaborative nature, its openness can make it a target for foreign influence," the ministers of innovation, health, and public safety said in a joint statement.
A barrage of U.S., coalition and militant attacks in the Middle East over the last five days are compounding U.S. fears that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza could expand, as massive military strikes failed to stall the assault on Red Sea shipping by Yemen-based Houthis. Even as the U.S. and allies pummeled more than two dozen Iran-backed Houthi locations on Friday in retaliation for attacks on ships, the Houthis have continued their maritime assaults. And Tehran struck sites in Iraq and Syria, claiming to target an Israeli “spy headquarters,” then followed that Tuesday with reported missile and drone attacks in Pakistan. The chaotic wave of attacks and reprisals involving the United States, its allies and foes suggested not only that last week’s assault had failed to deter the Houthis, but that the broader regional war that the U.S. has spent months trying to avoid was becoming closer to reality. And underscoring the gravity of the roiling situation, the Biden administration is expected to announce plans to redesignate the Houthis as global terrorists, according to people familiar with the decision who requested anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of its announcement.
US Officials Say Iranian-Made Weapons Intended For Houthis Were Seized In Raid | CNN
The US Navy seized Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components from a vessel off the coast of Somalia last week that was destined for Houthis in Yemen, US Central Command announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, search and rescue operations remain underway for two SEALs that went overboard and are missing. One fell into the water due to eight-foot swells, and the second jumped in after them, according to protocol, a US official told CNN Saturday. “We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM. The seizure comes amid increasingly high tensions between the US and Iranian proxies in the region. Last week, the US and UK militaries launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, marking a significant response after the Biden administration and its allies warned that the Iran-backed militant group would bear the consequences of its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION
Regional Conflict Spreads As Iran Strikes 3 Countries In 24 Hours | Iran International
In less than one day, Iran’s IRGC has launched missile strikes on three neighboring countries, claiming ‘revenge’ for civilians and troops killed in the past few weeks. Having hit several locations in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan Monday, IRGC missiles and drones targeted Pakistan Tuesday, in an operation that Iran said was against the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl. Pakistan called the attack “illegal” and “completely unacceptable”, claiming it had killed two children and warning of “serious consequences”. “Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement shortly after the attacks. “The responsibility for the consequences of this action will lie squarely with Iran.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker last week, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), pressed the Biden administration to reestablish deterrence with regard to Iran and its terrorist proxies following the announcement that U.S. and British military forces, with assistance from other allies, launched a strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen. For months, the Iranian-backed Houthis have been launching missiles and drones against military and commercial vessels traversing the Red Sea, substantially disrupting trade and shipping. “I think the way in which you avoid a wider war is to show much more toughness with regard to Iranian proxies,” Sen. Sullivan said. “Whether it's Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis, when they're taking action to kill American service members, that's where we need to draw the line. What happened with regard to deterrence? Previously the Iranians thought that, through the Quds Force, they could kill Americans with impunity. That had to stop, and that's why I strongly supported and encouraged President Trump to kill the leader of the Quds Force, Soleimani. We certainly reestablished deterrence back then. And what I worry is that deterrence has now unraveled.”
CHINA & IRAN
China Urges Iran, Pakistan To 'Exercise Restraint' After Deadly Air Strike | France 24
"We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension and work together to maintain peace and stability," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing. "We consider both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbours and major Islamic countries," she said. Tuesday's strike in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province has imperilled diplomatic relations between the two neighbours – Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday and denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace. The attack also threatened to further ignite violence in a Middle East unsettled by Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran launched strikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people earlier this month.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iran Denies Supporting Houthi Rebels Amid Global Trade Disruptions | Iran International
Iran's foreign minister has rejected accusations of supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen, responsible for disrupting global trade through attacks on commercial vessels. In an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that people from Yemen and other regional countries defending the Palestinians are acting independently in spite of Iran having backed the group militarily and financially for years. “The people of Yemen and other countries in the region who defend the Palestinian people are acting according to their own experience and through their own interests, and they are not receiving any orders or instructions from us,” he said, though the order to blockade Israel came publicly and directly from Iran's Supreme Leader. It followed Israel's relentless retaliatory attacks on Gaza in response to the October 7 massacres in which 1,200 mostly civilians were murdered by Iran-backed Hamas and over 250 more taken hostage.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iraq Recalls Ambassador, Summons Iran’s Chargé D’affaires Over Strikes In Irbil | Associated Press
Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Baghdad on Tuesday in protest over Iranian strikes on northern Iraq that killed several civilians overnight, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said. The Iranian attack was “a blatant violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty and “strongly contradicts the principles of good neighborliness and international law, and threatens the security of the region,” the ministry said in a statement. Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it said were Israeli “spy headquarters” in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil, the seat of Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and at targets linked to the extremist Islamic State group in northern Syria.
Global Outcry Erupts Over Iran's Missile Strike On Erbil | Iran International
Multiple foreign diplomatic missions in Iraq have condemned Iran's assault on Erbil on Monday. The US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina L. Romanowski, said the missile strikes on the Iraqi Kurdistan Region were “reckless and indiscriminate attacks on civilians" which violated Iraq's sovereignty. The UK's Ambassador to Baghdad, Stephen Hitchen, also condemned the aggression against Erbil, denouncing it as a breach of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Hitchen extended condolences to the victims' families and expressed support for the Kurdistan Regional Government. His sentiments were echoed by UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron who issued a statement on X condemning the Iranian attacks as "unprovoked and unjustified actions," constituting a violation of Iraq's territorial integrity. Germany, France, and the Netherlands also condemned the assault.
MISCELLANEOUS
Pope Condemns Iran Strike On Iraq, Appeals Against Escalation | Reuters
Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the Iranian missile attack on the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, and urged all parties to avoid an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East. The strike has deepened worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.