TOP STORIES
U.S. Issues $15 Million Bounty Targeting Alleged Iran Drone Middleman | Wall Street Journal
The U.S. said it would pay up to $15 million for tips on Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian businessman who is alleged to have helped acquire technology for attack drones sold to Russia. The move to put out a bounty for information on an alleged export-control violation comes after the U.S. sanctioned and charged Ardakani, chair of an electronics company, over his alleged work sourcing dual-use technology for drone production by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Commerce Department, which administers U.S. export controls, publicized the bounty on Wednesday. The U.S. says Iran has supplied several varieties of drone that Russia has used in its war against Ukraine. That conflict, along with fears of China’s military ambitions, has been met with a dramatic expansion of the nation’s export-control regime.
Russia Has Long Sold Arms To Iran. Now Iran Is Returning The Favor | Christian Science Monitor
With the war in Ukraine deepening Russia’s urgent need for weapons untouched by Western sanctions, Moscow is rapidly ramping up its relations with Iran, particularly through arms deals. And, in an unprecedented twist, the arms trade is two-way, with Iran supplying attack drones to Russia. The two countries have nearly finalized their biggest arms deal in 30 years. Iran is selling drones to Russia that include new models that could greatly improve Russia’s offensive capability in Ukraine. Western reports say that Moscow is also negotiating to buy medium-range ballistic missiles of the new, highly accurate type that Iran has recently been firing at U.S.-linked targets in its own region. Russia will reportedly supply Iran with its most modern Su-35 fighter planes, submarines, attack helicopters, and jet trainers, at an estimated price tag of $9 billion.
UN Experts Condemn Young Protester's Execution In Iran | Iran International
A panel of United Nations experts strongly criticized the execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou, a 23-year-old protester with a long-term psychosocial disability. The experts including Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions called on Iran to uphold its commitments under international human rights law. “We are alarmed by reports of unfair trial proceedings in the case of Mr Ghobadlou, as well as in other cases, which fell far short of due process and fair trial standards required by international human rights law by which Iran is bound,” the UN experts said. Ghobadlou, arrested on September 22, 2022, in connection with nationwide protests faced accusations of killing an Iranian official in Robat Karim, Tehran Province, and was sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth."
UANI IN THE NEWS
The rise in antisemitism in America in recent years means that something serious has changed. Since the war in Gaza began, public expressions of hatred of Jews has reached a fevered pitch. On college campuses, Jewish students have been chased into hiding or intimidated into silence. A Jewish man at a pro-Israel rally in Los Angeles is struck on the head and dies. Vile antisemitic invectives have been shouted at public events, scrawled on walls, and written on posters carried in demonstrations.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Says It Is Willing To Help Niger Overcome Sanctions | Voice Of America
Iran said Wednesday it is willing to help coup-hit Niger overcome international sanctions as Tehran seeks to reduce its isolation by bolstering ties with African countries. Iran's first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, said his country condemns "the cruel sanctions that are imposed by the domination system," in a meeting with Niger's Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. "We will definitely share the experiences we have in this field with our brothers" from Niger, he added. Iran has been slammed with heavy international sanctions since the Islamic revolution in 1979 but has found ways to circumvent some of them. Tehran has also been under crippling U.S. sanctions since Washington's 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal that granted Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activities.
Sen. Cardin Unaware Of Bi-Partisan Iran Sanctions Bill | Iran International
Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, says he’s not familiar with the MAHSA Act, an Iran sanction bill that activists say he’s blocking. The bipartisan Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming majority in September 2023, but has not yet been moved forward for a vote in the Senate. It is named after the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl whose death in hijab police custody in September 2022 sparked country-wide protests, challenging the clerical regime like never before. Iranian-American activists blame Senator Cardin for the grounding of the MAHSA Act –a bill that aims to codify sanctions on the offices of the President and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But Senator Cardin seemed to be unaware of any such legislation, when approached by Iran International’s Arash Alaei at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Iran's Expediency Council Head Acknowledges Economic Hardships | Iran International
In a candid admission, the head of Iran's Expediency Council addressed the pressing economic issues faced by a significant portion of the population during a speech on Wednesday. Sadegh Amoli Larijani attributed the challenges to rampant inflation and a surge in prices, underscoring the strain on citizens, partly attributing it to inadequacies in official measures. Global sanctions have had a huge impact on the economy, first imposed due to Iran's nuclear program and more recently, for its crackdown on protesters and support for Russia in its war on Ukraine. Downplaying the economic disaster which has seen millions thrust into poverty, Larijiani said, "There are issues in the country, but it should be noted that if there is authority and security in the Islamic Republic system, the economic situation will also improve."
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran Sent US Back-Channel Messages On Risk Of Wider Regional War, FM Says | Al-Monitor
Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran has informed Washington through back-channel messages that it’s not seeking a broader war that engulfs the region, even as its ally in Yemen continues to attack international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. “We don't really want the war to widen,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview Tuesday with Al-Monitor in New York, where he had traveled to attend a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza. For more than three months, militias that are funded and armed by Iran have attacked Israeli- and US-linked targets across Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, fueling concerns of a larger Middle East conflict stemming from Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage in Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also exploited the Israel-Hamas war to launch drone and missile attacks they pledge will continue until Israel ends its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Death Penalty Upheld For Iranian Kurdish Political Prisoner | Iran Wire
The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran has upheld the death penalty for Yousef Ahmadi, a Kurdish political prisoner accused of "waging armed rebellion.” Ahmadi is currently held in Sanandaj prison, in Kurdistan province. According to reports, three other Sunni Kurdish defendants in the same case — Mohammad Karimi, Baset Karimi and Mohammad Faizi — received prison sentences of 25, 20, and 20 years, respectively, on charges of "assisting in rebellion." The authorities have intensified their use of the death penalty in the aftermath of the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 to crush dissent and terrorize the population. Two men were executed this week after what Amnesty International called “egregiously unfair” trials marred by torture allegations.
Sixty-One Women In Iran Prison Begin Hunger Strike After Amini Protester Executed | The National
Sixty-one women held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison are to begin a hunger strike on Thursday to protest against the execution of political prisoners, after a man arrested during the Mahsa Amini demonstrations was hanged. The news "has sparked a wave of anger and protest in society", jailed Iranian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said on X in a statement announcing the strike. "The imprisoned women, to keep the names of the executed alive and to survive, hundreds of individuals in the prisons of the Islamic republic awaiting execution, will resist," she added. The judiciary announced Mohammad Ghobadlou was executed on Monday, after being convicted of killing of a police officer during the nationwide demonstrations in 2022 that followed the death of Amini in police custody. His mother protested outside Karaj prison before his death.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iraq Condemns 'Irresponsible' US Air Strikes On Iran-Backed Groups | BBC News
The Iraqi government has strongly condemned US strikes which targeted sites used by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said they "blatantly" violated his country's sovereignty. The US said its "proportionate" attacks had targeted "Iran-affiliated groups". The paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said the "treacherous" US action killed one of their fighters. The PMF, which is dominated by Iran-backed Shia Muslim militias, said a number of other fighters were injured in strikes on their bases in al-Qaim, a town on the Syrian border in western Anbar province, and in Jurf al-Nasr, in the central province of Babil.
Iranian Official Visiting Moscow Says 'US Grandeur Shattered' | Iran International
US grandeur has been shattered in the Middle East, secretary of Iran’s national security council, Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, stated during a visit to Moscow on Wednesday. Ahmadian, who is the representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the security council, held a meeting with the secretary of Russia’s security council Nikolai Patrushev. He told his Russian counterpart, "America's grandeur has shattered, and today, it cannot even rally its traditional allies. A country that considers itself a superpower is engaged in war against resistance groups and the people of the region." Iran that armed and trained Hamas before the October 7 invasion of Israel, has avoided direct military conflict with Israel and the United States in the ensuing Gaza war. However, its armed proxy groups in the region have targeted US and international interests.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran Plays On Colour At Fashion Exhibition | AFP
Moving away from dark clothing, Iranian designers are trying to strike a fine balance between a growing trend favouring bright colours and the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women. "As a young woman, I choose clothes in a modern design with bright colours," 22-year-old designer Hadis Hassanlou told AFP at a fashion exhibition in the historic Saadabad Palace in Tehran. Since shortly after the 1979 revolution, women in Iran have had to observe a strict dress code and wear loose-fitting garments while also covering the head and neck. When they venture out into the streets, many women opt for head-to-toe black chadors. But in recent years, Iranian designers have also sought to include brighter colours in their creations. New designs at the exhibition, where some 50 garments were on show, included everything from black chadors to long floral-patterned dresses and coats fitted at the waist.
Iran Bans Ex-President Rouhani From Running For Elite Assembly | Reuters
Iran's hardline watchdog body has banned former pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani from standing again in an election in March for the Assembly of Experts, which appoints and can dismiss the supreme leader, state media said on Wednesday. The 88-member assembly, founded in 1982, supervises the most powerful authority but has rarely intervened directly in policy-making. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 84, so the new assembly is expected to play a significant role in choosing his successor since its members are only elected every eight years. In a statement, Rouhani criticised the Guardian Council's ruling as "politically biased ... (one) that will undermine the nation's confidence in the system."
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Turkey, Iran Agree On Need To Avoid Escalating Mideast Tensions – Erdogan | Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi agreed at a meeting on Wednesday on the need to avoid steps that could further threaten Middle East stability three months into the Gaza war. Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has harshly criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire, and backed legal steps for Israel to be tried for genocide. Unlike its Western allies and some Arab nations, NATO member Turkey does not consider Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack on Israel led to the retaliatory Israeli military campaign on Gaza, a terrorist group.