TOP STORIES
Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Deadly Bombings in Iran | New York Times
The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, a day before, during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, according to a post on the extremist group’s official Telegram account. The extremist group called the attack a “dual martyrdom operation,” and described how two militants approached a ceremony at the tomb of General Suleimani and detonated explosive belts strapped to their bodies “near the grave of the hypocrite leader.”
An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a "couple of miles" of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a "final warning" to the Iran-backed terrorist group to cease the attacks or face potential military action. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Navy operations in the Middle East, said it was the first time the Houthis had used an unmanned surface vessel, or USV, since their harassment of commercial ships in the Red Sea began after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. They have, however, used them in years past.
U.S. Killing of Militia Leader Marks Bid to Stop Attacks on Its Forces in Iraq | Wall Street Journal
An American airstrike killed an Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad on Thursday, U.S. officials said, drawing denunciations from Iraqi leaders and a vow from the militant group to retaliate, amid already metastasizing tensions in the region. A U.S. official said Washington conducted a “precision strike” on a vehicle traveling in eastern Baghdad, targeting a member of the Harakat al Nujaba group that the U.S. has been tracking. The group is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
UANI IN THE NEWS
'Islamic State' Claims Responsibility For Bombings In Iran | DW
“... Earlier, Iran expert at United Against Nuclear Iran, Kasra Aarabi, told DW, "that attack itself certainly has all the hallmarks of ISIS operations in Iran." He said that would suit the government in Tehran. "It is likely that the regime will blame ISIS that will enable the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC to respond," he said, "It also domestically has given the regime a pretext to further clamp down on the Iranian people," Aarabi added.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Exclusive: Iran's Oil Trade With China Stalls As Tehran Demands Higher Prices | Reuters
China's oil trade with Iran has stalled as Tehran withholds shipments and demands higher prices from its top client, tightening cheap supply for the world's biggest crude importer, refinery and trade sources said. The cutback in Iranian oil, which makes up some 10% of China's crude imports and hit a record in October, could support global prices and squeeze profits at Chinese refiners. The abrupt move, which one industry executive called a "default", could also represent the backfiring of an October U.S. waiver on sanctions of Venezuelan oil, which diverted shipments from the South American producer to the U.S. and India, elevating prices for China as shipments dwindled.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
While Iran Blames Israel, US For Bombing, Iranians Look To Regime | Iran International
Seeking a scapegoat for a deadly bombing on Wednesday, Iran has turned to its old foes Israel and the US, but the Iranian public is not so easily fooled. While both Israel and the US have carried out targeted assassinations and attacks on Iran's military and nuclear facilities, the two have never committed such an attack in built-up populations and with potential civilians, unlike Islamist groups such as the Islamic State group and Al Qaeda, which have. But Iranians, who have been victims of violent suppression since the 2022 uprising and long before, have begun to look closer to home. In the wake of the Women, Life, Freedom protests, over 550 Iranians were brutally murdered, with no implications from the regime to rein in its security forces.
IRGC: ISIS Claimed Responsibility For Blasts 'Under Zionist Guidance' | Jerusalem Post
The Tasnim News Agency, associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran, claimed on Wednesday that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in Iran under ‘Zionist guidance.’ The deadly attack in Kerman killed upwards of 80 people, and wounded scores more. The agency reported that “a few hours after the implementation of the operation, the Zionist regime ordered the ISIS caliphate to accept the responsibility for this action.”
Iran Arrests Suspects Over Bomb Blasts, Mourners Demand Revenge - State TV | Reuters
... Interior minister Ahmad Vahidi told state TV a number of suspects had been arrested.
"Our country's capable intelligence agencies have found very good clues regarding elements involved in the terrorist explosions in Kerman and a section of those who had a role in this incident have been arrested," he said without elaborating. Islamic State said on Thursday two of its members had detonated explosive belts in the crowd that had gathered for Soleimani's memorial in the southeastern city. "We will find you wherever you are," Revolutionary Guards commander Major-General Hossein Salami said at the funeral in Kerman's Imam Ali religious centre. "Our enemies can see Iran's power and the whole world knows its strength and capabilities," President Ebrahim Raisi said in a televised address. "Our forces will decide on the place and time to take action".
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish supplies for its war with Ukraine, the White House said Thursday. Recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Russian forces fired at least one of those ballistic missiles into Ukraine on Dec. 30 and it landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said.
Jordan Strikes Iran-Linked Drug Dealers In Syria - Intelligence Sources | Reuters
Jordan on Thursday launched air strikes inside Syria against suspected warehouses and hideouts of Iranian-backed drug smugglers, Jordanian and regional intelligence sources said. The army has stepped up a campaign against drug dealers after protracted clashes last month with dozens of infiltrators from Syria linked to pro-Iranian militias, carrying large hauls who crossed its border with weapons and explosives. The sources told Reuters jets bombed the suspected home of a leading drug dealer in the town of Shaab in Sweida province while the other strike hit warehouses near the village of Al-Ghariya.
MISCELLANEOUS
Former Admiral John Kirby fired back on Thursday when a reporter for Al Jazeera asserted that the United States was to blame for escalating conflict in the Red Sea with Iran-backed proxies in the area. Correspondent Kimberly Halkett raised the question, first asking whether the U.S. was escalating tensions by supporting Israel pursuing Hamas leadership outside Gaza — and then arguing that by firing back on Houthi vessels, the United States was escalating tensions with Iran. Kirby, currently serving as director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, objected.