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Pakistan’s air force launched retaliatory airstrikes early Thursday in Iran allegedly targeting militant hideouts, an attack that killed at least nine people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations. The tit-for-tat attacks Tuesday and Thursday appeared to target two Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border. However, the two countries have accused each other of providing safe haven to the groups in their respective territories. The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. Each nation also faces its own internal political pressures — and the strikes may in part be in response to that.
Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday, a day after Iran conducted airstrikes inside Pakistan that it claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s airstrikes in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province imperiled diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, but both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks.
U.S. Lists Houthis As Terrorists, Rebels Hit Another US-Operated Ship | Reuters
The U.S. on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups, as the militants attacked their second U.S.-operated vessel in the Red Sea region this week and the U.S. military carried out fresh strikes. Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the region since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in an escalation of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Pakistan Cuts Ties With Iran After Missile Attack Kills Two Children | The Telegraph
One of the Iranian attacks in Syria late on Monday night used its new Khaibar-Breaker missile with a range of 800 miles, Iranian media reported, the farthest attacks the regime has managed to achieve so far… “Iran’s regime believes it can get away with escalations without facing any consequences,” said Kasra Aarabi, director of research on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps at United Against Nuclear Iran. “That’s what’s driving this push.” The strike in Pakistan may also be designed to send a message from Iran to Baloch and Kurdish groups key to recent anti-regime protests that they cannot hide outside the country with impunity, said Prof Ali Ansari, of the Institute of Iranian Studies at St Andrews. “This is basically saying we can hit you in those places you think you are safe and out of range, it is however, a risky strategy,” he said
Senators Call On Panama To De-Flag Sanction-Busting Tankers For Iranian Oil | Maritime Executive
... Citing data from the non-profit watchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), the letter contends that 383 vessels have been identified as suspected of operating in the ghost fleet supporting Iran’s oil trade. UANI highlights that this is up from just 70 tankers in November 2020. Of the nearly 400 vessels they believe are aiding Iran, the letter reports that nearly half (189) are flagged in Panama. So far, the senators write Panama has de-flagged 28 of 217 vessels they believe are of concern while noting that some vessels recently de-flagged were because of decommissioning and not due to concerns over their movements and sanctions compliance.
Euronav Tied To Sale Of World’s Second Biggest Tanker | Tradewinds
The Oceania made headlines once more in March 2023, when Euronav said it was investigating claims put forward by United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based lobby group, that the ship was preparing to receive a cargo of US-sanctioned Iranian crude in a ship-to-ship transfer.
Congressman Colin Allred (D-TX-32), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today led a bipartisan effort urging the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to expand efforts to prevent Iran from using illicit and deceptive shipping practices to circumvent U.S. sanctions on oil exports. “The United States’ efforts to limit Iranian petroleum and petroleum product exports through a complex sanctions regime go back decades and have often historically compelled Tehran to either deter, constrain, or encourage change in its adversarial behavior,” wrote the Members. “Unfortunately, as time passes, it is evident that Iran has uncovered means to circumvent our economic restrictions.” “...as technology advances and Tehran’s evasive methods continue to become more sophisticated, it is paramount that the United States, along with its allies and partners, remain flexible to respond to Iran’s threats and protect our national security interests in the region,” the Members continued.
Seized Marshall Islands-Flagged Tanker Located Off Iranian Coast | Reuters
In this satellite photo provided by Planet Labs PBC, vessels identified as the Virgo, left, and the Suez Rajan — now the St. Nikolas — by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran are seen in the South China Sea on Feb. 13, 2022.
Iran’s Oil Exports To Syria Increased 21 Percent In 2023 | Syria Report
Iran’s oil shipments to Syria in 2023 surged by 21 percent compared to the previous year, according to data from United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based organisation tracking Iranian shipments and crude oil storage. In the last quarter of 2023, Iran’s crude oil exports to Syria amounted to approximately 7,686,822 barrels, averaging 83,552 barrels per day.
US: Panama-Registered Ghost Fleet Should Be Investigated And De-Flagged | Safety4Sea
... The letter points out that United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) identified 383 vessels suspected to be part of a clandestine “ghost fleet.” Notably, almost half of these vessels, are flagged in Panama. The Senators express their concern regarding the Panama Maritime Authority’s diligence in addressing these flagged vessels and raise the potential risk of similar practices being employed to evade U.S. sanctions on Russian oil. The U.S. urges Panama to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged involvement of the 189 ships flagged in Panama. The Senators call for strict adherence to established procedures, including the de-flagging of ships supported by corroborated evidence.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran Frustrates Nuclear Monitors As Its Uranium Stockpile Grows | Bloomberg
Iran is frustrating international efforts to examine its nuclear program as it speeds up its production of uranium enriched close to the level needed for weapons. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors figure Iran now has sufficient quantities of highly-enriched uranium to build several atomic warheads, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told Bloomberg News Thursday in an interview in Davos, Switzerland. “It is a very frustrating cycle,” Grossi said. “We don’t understand why they don’t provide the necessary transparency.” While inspectors haven’t detected diversion of Iran’s uranium inventory for weapons, the manufacture and storage of so much material is raising concern. Iran tripled its rate of uranium enrichment in December, rolling back measures which had been implemented amid backchannel diplomacy with the US.
Iran Foreign Minister Issues Stern Warning To US | Newsweek
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a stern warning for the United States and its allies during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking to journalist Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian blamed the U.S. and Israel for increased hostilities by Iran-backed groups in the region. Amir-Abdollahian specifically pointed to the United States' failure to recertify then withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during President Donald Trump's administration in 2017. "If they talk to us, treat us respectfully, we will do the same thing," he said. "But anything unconstructive, the unfriendly, the behaviors of the United States, we will retaliate to them. It will be in the favor of the peace and security of the world if the United States would become less hostile, would become cooperative instead of confrontational.
MISSILE PROGRAM
Iran Demonstrates Missile Capabilities With Regional Strikes | BBC News
With its strikes on Iraqi, Syrian and Pakistani territory, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) is showing it has become a major regional military power. The IRGC openly states that US bases in the Middle East, as well as Israeli bases in Tel Aviv and Haifa, are within range of its ballistic missiles. In the space of only 24 hours, it gave a stark demonstration of its capabilities, launching missiles and drones at targets in three different countries. On Tuesday evening the IRGC attacked two targets inside neighbouring Pakistan, with media close to the force reporting that the strikes destroyed two bases of the militant group Jaish al-Adl in retaliation for the killing of Iranian border guards in recent weeks. Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni group that says it is fighting for the rights of ethnic Baloch people in south-eastern Iran, said two houses where the families of its members were living were hit.
Iran’s New Missile Fleet: Part Deterrent, Part Sales Pitch | New York Times
When Iran launched a barrage of airstrikes this week into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, it was not just showing off the reach and sophistication of some of its newest missiles but also staking a claim: This is a new era in which Iran can flex its muscles at will and, as an added benefit, bolster its credentials as an important arms supplier. In at least one of the attacks — a strike that Tehran claimed targeted the Islamic State terrorist group in Idlib, Syria — Iran appeared to make use of one of its longest-range and most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan. Both the range and the apparent accuracy seized the attention of national security officials in Europe and Israel, as well as outside experts who track Iran’s technological advances. The combination of its newest missiles and its fleet of drones, which Russia has been purchasing by the thousands for use in Ukraine, has helped Iran become the producer of some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the Middle East.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Sweden Summons Iranian Charge D'Affaires Over Detained Swedes | Voice Of America
Sweden has summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to demand the immediate release of Swedish citizens being held in custody in Iran, the Swedish foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "The Government is working intensively and tirelessly to secure the release without delay of Swedish citizens detained in Iran for no apparent reason," the ministry said in a statement. "In late 2023, a man with Swedish and Iranian citizenship was detained for no apparent reason," the statement said. A Swedish man in his 20s also was arrested in Iran earlier in January, the ministry said this week. Those events have added to tense relations between the two countries since 2019, when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Iranian Authorities Threaten Exiled Footballer | Iran International
Iran's deputy president threatened exiled footballer Ali Karimi on Wednesday, warning that "individuals who have left the country are subject to Iran's jurisdiction.” Mohammad Dehghan told reporters, “Any individual, whether Iranian or non-Iranian, who takes actions against the national security of the country will face consequences. Relevant authorities will take timely measures in this regard," Currently residing in Europe, Karimi gained prominence during the 2022 anti-regime protests, using his influence on social media to defend young protesters facing brutality by security forces. Concerned about his influence, government officials have issued threats against him several times since he left the country.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran Targeted Two Israeli-Linked Ships After Al-Arouri Assassination – Report | Jerusalem Post
Iran's Revolutionary Guards struck two Israel-linked vessels in the Indian Ocean on January 4, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen reported on Wednesday. According to the Lebanese report, the maritime attack was carried out in response to the alleged targeted killing of former Hamas deputy leader in Beirut, Saleh al-Arouri. The two ships targeted by the IRGC were the Liberian-flagged CHEM CILICON, owned by ACE Maritime Services, and the Singaporean-flagged PACIFIC GUL, owned by Eastern. As per the report, one of the ships was attacked off the Maldive coast, while the other was targeted only 200 miles off the Indian coast.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Report Blames President For Internet Censorship In Iran | Iran International
President Ebrahim Raisi has a significant role in Internet censorship by blocking websites and apps, a recent report by Tehran E-commerce Association has alleged. Although all three branches of government are directly involved in the process of censorship, by appointing half of the members of the committee that decides which sites should be filtered, the President should be held accountable for the problems Iranians face in free access to the Internet, the association’s report published Monday said. Raisi has repeatedly said his government will provide fast internet services to Iranians at low costs, but the government recently allowed providers to increase their tariffs by about 34 percent and the speed has deteriorated so much that even some government officials including the President himself have admitted it. “Iran's internet situation is very similar to poor and underdeveloped countries, internet access quality indices show, but the main difference [with those countries] is that in Iran's case these conditions are self-inflicted,” the report said.
IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION
Iran Says Attacks By Its Allies Won’t Stop Until Israel’s War In Gaza Ends | CNN
Attacks by Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East won’t stop until Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza ends, Tehran’s top diplomat warned on Wednesday, as tensions across the region threaten to spiral into wider conflict. “If the genocide in Gaza stops, then it will lead to the end of other crises and attacks in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. Abdollahian’s comments echo the stated objectives of individual armed groups in Iran’s network of influence. Since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and the Israeli offensive in Gaza that followed, the militant group Hezbollah has engaged in daily confrontations with Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Iran Says Missile Strikes Show It Will Be ‘Tough And Decisive’ With Foes | New York Times
After hitting targets in neighboring Pakistan, Iraq and Syria with missiles, Iran talked tough on Wednesday, playing up — to friends and foes alike — not only its military capabilities but its determination to strike enemies at will. “We are a missile power in the world,” Iran’s defense minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, told reporters after a cabinet meeting, according to state media. “Wherever they want to threaten the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will react, and this reaction will definitely be proportionate, tough and decisive.” Iran’s show of strength was meant to reassure conservatives domestically and militant allies abroad, and to warn Israel, the United States and terrorist groups that Iran will strike back if attacked, according to two Iranians affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards who were familiar with the planning, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.
Israel’s president has told the Davos conference that there is an “empire of evil” emanating from Tehran which must be faced by a very strong coalition, and that Gaza’s population is entrenched in a network of terror. Billions of dollars, Isaac Herzog said, are being spent to destabilise the world, with Iran funding proxies all around the region to undermine any peace process. Herzog began by telling Davos delegates that Israel’s world was shattered on 7 October by the Hamas attacks.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Putin And Iran's Raisi To Sign New Interstate Treaty Soon – Russia | Reuters
Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it expected President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart to soon sign a new interstate treaty between the two countries which was in the final stages of being agreed. Putin held five hours of talks in the Kremlin with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi last month amid growing political, trade and military ties between Moscow and Tehran that the United States and Israel views with concern. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told reporters on Wednesday that the new treaty would consolidate the strategic partnership between Moscow and Tehran and cover the full range of their ties. "This document is not just timely, but also overdue," said Zakharova.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
The US has carried out another round of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, US media is reporting citing US officials. The US military fired a wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The strikes come after the rebel group launched a drone earlier on Wednesday that hit a US-owned bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden. The strikes mark the fourth time in recent days that the US has directly targeted the group in Yemen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public yet.
UK Urges Iran To Stop Arming Huthi Rebels In Yemen | Agence France-Presse
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Wednesday said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and urged Tehran to stop backing Huthi rebels in Yemen. "Iran must cease supplying the Houthis with weapons and intelligence and use its influence to stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea," Cameron, attending the World Economic Forum, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Iran must also stop using the regional situation as cover to act recklessly and violate others' sovereignty. I made this clear to FM @Amirabdolahian." The UK last week joined the United States in attacking Huthi bases in Yemen that they say were used to launch attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
US Condemns Iran's Shipment Of Lethal Aid For Houthi Rebels | Iran International
The Office of the US Special Envoy for Iran has condemned Tehran’s backing of Houthi rebels, with a commitment from Washington to ensure freedom of navigation. Abram Paley, the US Deputy Special Envoy to Iran, made the statements following the interception by US Navy of a small vessel transporting advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply Houthi forces in Yemen on Tuesday. Despite Iran's official denial of supporting the Houthis, Paley underscored their attempt to provide resupplies, a direct violation of UNSCR 2216 and international law. Quoting CENTCOM General Kurilla, Paley characterized the incident as another example of Iran actively fostering instability in the region. He expressed the United States' dedication to working with allies and partners to expose and thwart Iran's activities, ensuring freedom of navigation in the affected region.
IRAQ & IRAN
Kurds Question Iraq’s Will And US Loyalty After Iran Attacks Their Capital | Voice Of America
Kurdistan Region’s authorities are grappling with the consequences of a deadly Iranian missile attack on their capital city this week, as officials question the will of the Iraqi government and the loyalty of the U.S. government to help them deal with increasing Iranian pressure. “If the Iraqi government does not take a serious stance against these attacks, there will be no meaning left of Iraq’s sovereignty,” Peshawa Hawramani, the spokesperson of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, told VOA. “Countries sometimes summon each other's ambassadors and withdraw their own ambassadors over a simple statement. I do not know what worse can be done against [Iraq], you have been attacked by ballistic missiles and you have no response,” Kurdish spokesperson Hawramani told VOA. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC, on Monday launched several ballistic missiles at the Kurdistan Region’s Irbil city and province, killing two businessmen, a toddler and a Filipino woman.
Iran Aims To Make Iraq Battlefield For Future US-Iran War, Say Experts | The Media Line
Analysts say that in its unprecedented attack on Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, Iran is both trying to save face over its security failures in the Jan. 3 Kerman bombings, and trying to make Iraq the focus for any US-Iran war. In an unprecedented incident, Iran bombed targets in Erbil governorate, the capital of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, with ballistic missiles on Tuesday, resulting in four deaths and a number of injuries. Even more dramatically, the bombing has caused a political crisis, the first of its kind between Baghdad and Tehran. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that it had called back its ambassador to Iran, Naseer Abdul Mohsen, “for the purpose of consultations against the backdrop of the recent Iranian attacks on Erbil, which caused martyrs and wounded.” This measure is considered unprecedented, as Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani belongs to the “coordinating framework,” a group of Shiite parties loyal to Iran that own armed militias, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.