Iran's Malign Behavior Tracker

Iran’s Escalating Intransigence Since the JCPOA

Since the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers on July 14, 2015, also known as the Iran Deal, UANI has been monitoring the day-to-day actions of the Iranian regime to determine if Tehran is abiding by its commitments and moderating its aggressive and threatening behavior.

A key benefit of the Iran Deal, proponents of the agreement argued, would be that it would contribute to the moderation of the Iranian regime. By tracking developments in Iran’s nuclear program, human rights situation, destabilizing regional activities, sponsorship of terrorism, and relations with the U.S., UANI’s Moderation Mythbuster clearly shows that the Iranian regime failed to moderate despite the sanctions relief and prospect of further economic engagement with the West that resulted from the JCPOA. In fact, Iran adopted a more hardline approach both in its domestic and foreign policy, even during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani, who was touted in the West as a supposed moderate. Iran’s aggression has only grown since hardliner Ebrahim Raisi assumed the presidency in September 2021.

The regime has pursued the path of increased intransigence in order to compel the U.S. to relent and rejoin the JCPOA, a deal that does not permanently prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability. As comprehensively cataloged in this resource, Iran's failure to moderate highlights why the U.S. should refrain from providing up-front sanctions relief until the regime changes course.

To see daily Iran-related developments prior to the JCPOA, view UANI’s Rouhani Accountability Tracker.

Date Theme Event
02-14-2024
Military

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted naval drills, including missile maneuvers simulating an attack on an air base in Israel.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted naval drills, including missile maneuvers simulating an attack on an air base in Israel. IRGC Commander Hossein Salami warned against attacking Iranian ships, threatening double attacks in response to any attack. Iranian media quoted Salami as saying that the IRGC would win any war it enters, whether military or electronic. He assured that the force stands prepared for potential conflict, underscoring the IRGC's cyberspace prowess and ability to counter enemy actions in this domain. Salami said, "In the event of a naval conflict and our ships being targeted, we will respond with equal or greater force." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

02-11-2024
Extremism

At a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi condemned arch foe Israel over the Gaza war and demanded it be expelled from the United Nations.

Iran marked 45 years since its Islamic Revolution with a ceremony in which President Ebrahim Raisi condemned arch foe Israel over the Gaza war and demanded it be expelled from the United Nations. Since Iran's 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the region's main Shiite Muslim power has had deeply hostile relations with Israel, the U.S., and Britain. Tensions have spiraled further since the bloodiest ever Gaza war erupted on October 7 with the Palestinian militant group Hamas' attack on Israel, in turn sparking violence between Iran-backed militant groups and U.S. forces. (AFP)

02-11-2024
Anti-Americanism

Iraq's parliament—dominated by Iran-aligned political parties that are attached to the militias—is pushing for a law to force the departure of U.S. troops.

Iraq's parliament is pushing for a law to force the departure of U.S. troops from the country following a series of attacks against Iran-backed militias, accused by Washington of attacking its troops in Iraq and Syria. In recent weeks, tensions have escalated between U.S. troops and Iran-backed militias in Iraq after a series of retaliatory attacks in the country and over the border in Syria. Last month, the escalation reached new levels with a drone attack hitting a U.S. base in Jordan, killing three U.S. service members and wounding more than 30 others. (The National)

02-10-2024
Terrorism

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is recruiting British Muslims on pilgrimages to Iran and Iraq to spy on Jews and Jewish targets in the United Kingdom.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is recruiting British Muslims on pilgrimages to Iran and Iraq to spy on Jews and Jewish targets in the United Kingdom, according to a report citing Israeli and UK officials. According to the report in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, IRGC recruiters have been approaching Shiite Muslims visiting religious sites in the Middle East and asking them to “gather information on prominent British Jews or targets such as synagogues.” The agents are also reportedly asked to spy on Iranian dissidents based in the UK. (Times of Israel)

02-09-2024
Terrorism

Swiss police say a 32-year-old Iranian asylum-seeker was killed by police after he used an axe and a knife to seize more than a dozen hostages for several hours on a train in western Switzerland.

Swiss police say a 32-year-old Iranian asylum-seeker was killed by police after he used an axe and a knife to seize more than a dozen hostages for several hours on a train in western Switzerland. No passengers were injured. The man took the hostages and police, alerted by passengers, sealed off the area while the train was stopped in the town of Essert-sous-Champvert, police in the French-speaking Vaud region said. (Associated Press)

02-08-2024
Extremism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reiterated his calls for a blockade of Israel while Tehran separately denies its role in the Gaza war.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reiterated his calls for a blockade of Israel while Tehran separately denies its role in the Gaza war. “It is the duty of the governments to cut off political, propaganda, and arms aid and not to send consumer goods to the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said. Back in November, Khamenei urged Muslim states to cease oil, food, and goods exports to Israel to force Israel into a ceasefire amid its war on Gaza sparked by the October 7 Hamas attacks. At least 1,200 mostly civilians were killed and at least 250 more taken hostage in the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust. (Iran International)

02-08-2024
Terrorism

A senior member of the Swedish security police said that Iran has planned attacks on the country, days after local media reported two Iranians had been deported for a murder plot targeting Jews in Sweden.

A senior member of the Swedish security police said that Iran has planned attacks on the country, days after local media reported that two Iranians were deported for a plot to kill three Swedish Jews several years ago. Earlier this week, Swedish broadcast SR reported that two Iranians had been suspected of planning to kill members of the Swedish Jewish community. They were arrested in 2021 and were expelled from Sweden in 2022 without charges, according to Swedish radio. Daniel Stenling, counterespionage head at Sweden’s domestic security agency, told SR on Thursday that Iran “has been preparing and conducted activities aimed at carrying out a so-called physical attack against someone or something in Sweden.” He added, "we have worked on a number of such cases where we have, as we gauge it, thwarted such preparations.” He declined to give specifics. (ABC News)

02-07-2024
Syria Conflict

Ebrahim Raisi's special envoy for Afghanistan claimed that Iran commands fighters from Afghanistan that are ready to support the war in Gaza.

Ebrahim Raisi's special envoy for Afghanistan has claimed that Iran commands fighters from Afghanistan that are ready to support the war in Gaza amid Iran’s regional proxy war against Israel and the U.S. In an interview with the Afkar Network, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said, "Although Afghanistan is farther from Gaza, if necessary, more than one brigade from this country will go to support Gaza." Kazemi-Qomi's statement comes after the Iranian regime launched a multi-platform campaign to recruit fighters for the Hamas conflict against Israel. Despite Iranians branding it as a propaganda stunt, the regime initiated the campaign through various outlets including websites affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the state broadcaster. (Iran International)

02-07-2024
Nuclear Program

The Institute for Science and International Security, an Iran watchdog group based in Washington D.C., says the country has enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon in one week.

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), an Iran watchdog group based in Washington D.C., says the country has enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon in one week. ISIS published the findings in a report, saying Tehran could produce a total of six bombs in a month. "The volatile situation in the region is providing Iran with a unique opportunity and increased internal justification for building nuclear weapons while the United States and Israel’s resources to detect and deter Iran from succeeding are stretched thin," the report states. "Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities are more dangerous than they have ever been, while its relations with the West are at a low point." (Fox News)

02-06-2024
Terrorism

Israeli forces located documents proving direct cooperation and communication between Iran and Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli forces located documents proving direct cooperation and communication between Iran and Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced. The documents, dating to 2020, detailed funds transferred from Iran to Hamas from 2014-2020, according to the IDF. The sum of the funds transferred is upwards of $150 million, Hagari said. Images of the documents subsequently published by the IDF suggest the figure is, in total, $154 million. (Jerusalem Post)

02-05-2024
Human Rights

Over 430 civil and political activists in Iran have slammed Iran's execution spree which goes against the country's own legal system.

Over 430 civil and political activists in Iran have slammed Iran's execution spree which goes against the country's own legal system. The executions of Mohammad Ghobadlou, a protester from the 2022 demonstrations, and Farhad Salimi, a Kurdish political prisoner accused of murder, have sparked widespread condemnation from both domestic and international human rights organizations. Prominent critics of the Islamic Republic, such as Hamed Esmaeilion, Nazanin Boniadi, Prince Reza Pahlavi, and Masih Alinejad, have called on the international community to address the ongoing execution surge. (Iran International)

02-05-2024
Terrorism

An Iran-backed militia group in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone strike against a base in eastern Syria used by U.S. troops that killed six American-allied Kurdish fighters.

An Iran-backed militia group in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone strike against a base in eastern Syria used by U.S. troops that killed six American-allied Kurdish fighters. The attack, which caused no American casualties, appeared to be the first significant response from what the U.S. calls Iran's proxy groups to U.S. airstrikes against the militias in the region. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that a drone struck a training ground the previous night at the al-Omar base in Syria's eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The SDF trains commandos there, and some of the roughly 900 U.S. troops deployed in Syria as part of the ongoing mission against ISIS have been based there. (CBS News)

02-01-2024
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan, Iran state-linked media reported.

Iran has begun construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan, with an expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, the state-backed IRNA news agency reported. Quoting Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), IRNA said that the construction of the new plants is expected to take around nine years. The plants will be built in the port town of Sirik, which is around 1,150 kilometers (715 miles) south of the capital, Tehran. Nasser Shariflou, who will head the project, told IRNA that construction efforts will cost $20 billion and create 4,000 jobs. Each plant is expected to use 35 tons of nuclear fuel per year. (Al-Monitor)

01-31-2024
Terrorism

The United States attributed the drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias.

The United States attributed the drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, as President Joe Biden weighs his options to respond to the strike. Iran threatened to “decisively respond” to any U.S. attack on the Islamic Republic after the U.S. said it held Tehran responsible. The U.S. has signaled it is preparing for retaliatory strikes in the Middle East in the wake of the drone attack that also wounded more than 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighboring Syria. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. believes the attack was planned, resourced, and facilitated by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah. (Associated Press)

01-29-2024
Human Rights

Four men Iran claimed were linked to Israeli spy agency Mossad were executed, Iranian state media reported.

Four men Iran claimed were linked to Israeli spy agency Mossad were executed, Iranian state media reported, amid escalating tensions between the longtime foes and concerns of a widening conflict in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. The state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency described the four people—who were presumably hanged (Iran’s default method of execution) and who have been previously identified as Mohsen Mazloum, Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, and Hajir Faramarzi—as “terrorists.” Iranian security forces arrested the four men in mid-2022, claiming that they were suspected of a plot to bomb a factory that was affiliated with the defense ministry in the city of Najafabad. (TIME)

01-29-2024
Terrorism

The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against an Iranian national and two Canadians for allegedly plotting to assassinate an Iranian defector living in Maryland.

The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against an Iranian national and two Canadians, including a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, for allegedly plotting to assassinate an Iranian defector living in Maryland. The indictment unsealed in federal court in Minnesota is at least the third Iran-based murder-for-hire plot prosecuted by the Justice Department since 2022. The targets in the previous cases were former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton and a New York-based Iranian-American journalist. Prosecutors say the latest alleged plot was orchestrated by an Iranian national, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, but the indictment does not accuse the Iranian government of directing the scheme. However, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Zindashti, and described him as a drug trafficker who leads a network that targets Iranian dissidents for assassination and kidnapping at the behest of the Iranian government. (NPR)

01-28-2024
Military

Iran said it successfully launched three satellites into space with a rocket that had multiple failures in the past.

Iran said it successfully launched three satellites into space with a rocket that had multiple failures in the past, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles. The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a regional conflict. Meanwhile, Western nations remain worried about Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear program. Footage released by Iranian state television showed a nighttime launch for the Simorgh rocket. An Associated Press analysis of the footage showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan. (NPR)

01-24-2024
Politics

Iran's hardline election watchdog, the Guardian Council, has banned former President Hassan Rouhani from standing again in an election in March for the Assembly of Experts.

Iran's hardline election watchdog, the Guardian Council, 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. 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. (Reuters)

01-23-2024
Military

Iran has announced the integration of a significant number of combat, reconnaissance, and radar drones into its army.

Iran has announced the integration of a significant number of combat, reconnaissance, and radar drones into its army. According to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, the ceremony marking the integration was attended by Army Commander-in-Chief Abdol-Rahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani. The report detailed the integration of various multipurpose strategic drones, including Ababil-4 and Ababil-5, designed for a range of missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, electronic warfare, and combat operations. Additionally, “the Arash and Bavar drones, known for their long-range and precision strike capabilities, along with the jet drone Karrar, capable of performing various interception missions,” were also added to the army's arsenal. (Iran International)

01-23-2024
Human Rights

An Iranian protester with a mental health condition has been executed over the death of a local official during mass demonstrations that rocked the country in 2022.

An Iranian protester with a mental health condition has been executed over the death of a local official during mass demonstrations that rocked the country in 2022, the Iranian judiciary’s news agency reported. “The death sentence of Mohammad Ghobadlou for the crime of intentional murder of Farid Karampour Hassanvand was executed this morning after 487 days of judicial review of the case,” the Mizan news agency said. Iranian authorities allege Ghobadlou ran over the official during a protest in Robat Karim, Tehran province, in September 2022, according to rights group Amnesty International. He was sentenced to death by judge Abolqasem Salavati – who has been sanctioned by the United States for the notoriously harsh sentences he issued to activists, journalists and political prisoners, CNN previously reported. (CNN)

01-17-2024
Military

Iran conducts missile strikes in Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan.

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. The IRGC attacked two targets inside neighboring 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. (BBC News)

01-02-2024
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian with terrorist ties was caught after illegally entering the U.S. near Niagara Falls, New York.

An Iranian with terrorist ties was caught after illegally entering the U.S. near Niagara Falls, New York, as a record number of known, suspected terrorists (KSTs) were apprehended in the first three months of fiscal 2024 at the northern border. After the Iranian was apprehended, agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations-Buffalo office removed him on Dec. 21. The Iranian national first attempted to enter the U.S. on Oct. 10 by presenting himself to American immigration authorities at the Rainbow Bridge Pedestrian Walkway in Niagara Falls, New York. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers denied him entry and returned him to the Canada Border Services Agency the same day. (Washington Examiner)

12-28-2023
Terrorism

Iran-backed proxies in Iraq claimed an attack in the occupied Golan Heights.

Iran-backed proxies in Iraq claimed an attack in the occupied Golan Heights in a new escalation in the Israel-Gaza war. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose formation of Tehran-allied Shiite militias, said it had hit a “vital target in our occupied lands" to the south of the Elad settlement. It did not specify whether the attack was carried out using missiles or drones, but said it used "appropriate weaponry" without giving further details. The Israeli army told AFP a drone that was probably carrying explosives crashed near Elad after being shot down. (The National)

12-27-2023
Extremism

Mourners chanted “death to America, death to Israel” during the funeral service for IRGC’s Quds Force’s Unit 2250 Commander Razi Mousavi, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria.

Mourners chanted “death to America, death to Israel” during the funeral service for a senior advisor in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was killed in a strike in Syria. The IRGC said in a statement that Brig. Gen. Seyed Razi Mousavi, a “senior IRGC advisor in Syria,” was killed in an Israeli “missile attack” in Damascus. (Al Arabiya)

12-27-2023
Terrorism

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force Unit 400 is recruiting Afghans for suicide attacks and working with Al Qaeda to target Israelis.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force Unit 400 is recruiting Afghans for suicide attacks and working with al Qaeda to target Israelis. The Quds Force team responsible for recruiting Afghans includes Hossein Rahmani, Hossein Rahban, Hamed Abdollahi, and Alireza Tajik who was implicated in a plot to assassinate an Israeli businessman in Tbilisi, Georgia, Iran International can reveal. Iran's use of Afghans for targeting Israelis was first reported by The Israeli weblog Intellitimes. (Iran International)

12-27-2023
Terrorism

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened Israel that it or its allied groups would take “direct” action to avenge the killing of senior Quds Force commander Razi Moussavi.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened Israel that it or its allied groups would take “direct” action to avenge the killing of senior Quds Force commander Razi Moussavi. The IRGC general was killed in an Israeli missile strike near the Syrian capital, according to state media, at a time of heightened regional tensions around the war raging in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces, which has allegedly launched hundreds of strikes on Iran-linked targets in war-torn Syria in recent years, said only that it does not comment on foreign media reports. (Times of Israel)

12-26-2023
Military

Albania's Parliament has reported a cyberattack in which Iran-based hackers attempted access to its data server, seeking to erase critical information.

Albania's Parliament has reported a cyberattack in which Iran-based hackers attempted access to its data server, seeking to erase critical information. A statement said the cyberattack, which temporarily halted parliament’s operations, had not “touched the data of the system.” The Associated Press cited local media as reporting that a cellphone provider and an air flight company were also targeted by cyberattacks from “Iranian-based hackers called Homeland Justice.” In the announcement published on the Telegram account of the group, 'Homeland Justice' claims to have deleted more than 2 petabytes of data from the telecommunications network and the internal network of all connected companies. (Iran International)

12-26-2023
Terrorism

U.S. Central Command said that Houthi rebels fired 12 one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land-based cruise missiles into the Red Sea over a 10-hour period.

The U.S. Navy says it racked up another victory over Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have been harassing cargo ships in the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted on X that the Houthi rebels fired 12 one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land-based cruise missiles over a 10-hour period. US military assets — including the destroyer USS Laboon and F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group — shot down every one of those attempts, CENTCOM said. (Business Insider)

12-26-2023
Nuclear Program

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Ian has boosted its production of highly enriched uranium after a slowdown earlier this year.

Iran has boosted its production of highly enriched uranium after a slowdown earlier this year, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a report, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60%, which is reaching the 90% needed for weapons, at its Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) in the Natanz complex and at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP). Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, said in the report that Iran had "increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023." (Fox News)

12-24-2023
Military

Iran’s Navy added domestically produced cruise missiles to its arsenal, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran’s Navy added domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles to its arsenal, Iranian state TV reported. The TV said both Talaeieh and Nasir cruise missiles have arrived at a naval base near the Indian Ocean in the southern Iranian port of Konarak, some 1,400 kilometers (850 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. Navy chief Admiral Shahram Irani said the Talaeieh has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and called it “fully smart.” Irani said the cruise missile is capable of changing targets during travel. (Washington Post)

12-21-2023
Terrorism

Iranian spies offered a people-smuggler $200,000 to assassinate two news presenters codenamed “the bride and the groom” outside their London studio, to show critics of the regime they “could do harm to them at any time.”

Iranian spies offered a people-smuggler $200,000 (around £158,290) to assassinate two news presenters codenamed “the bride and the groom” outside their London studio, to show critics of the regime they “could do harm to them at any time.” The organizers can be named, and their plans laid bare, thanks to an ITV News investigation, which obtained video recordings and text messages exchanged as part of the plot. Last autumn, the spies made plans to strike the studios of Persian language news channel Iran International, based in a business park in West London, with a car bomb. (ITV News)

12-20-2023
Human Rights

Samira Sabzian, who had been in prison for the past decade, was executed at dawn in Ghezel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said.

Samira Sabzian, who had been in prison for the past decade, was executed at dawn in Ghezel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said. Her execution comes as concern grows over the numbers of people this year executed by Iran, where hundreds of people have been hanged mainly on drugs and murder charges, including more than a dozen women. IHR said Sabzian was a "child bride" who had married her husband at the age of 15 and had been a victim of domestic violence, according to relatives. The Hengaw rights group also confirmed the execution of the woman, now believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, saying that she was originally from the city of Khorramabad in the western Lorestan province. (France 24)

12-20-2023
Terrorism

An Austrian national was found guilty at a UK court of spying for a group that may have been preparing to attack an independent Iranian TV station in London.

An Austrian national was found guilty at a UK court of spying for a group that may have been preparing to attack an independent Iranian TV station in London. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, who is originally from Chechnya, was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey court in central London following a short trial. The 31-year-old had pled not guilty to possession of records containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was detained by counter-terrorism officers in west London on February 11. Prosecutors told his trial that Dovtaev boarded a plane from Vienna to London to gather "hostile reconnaissance" on a building occupied by the Persian-language channel Iran International. (AFP)

12-20-2023
Terrorism

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador to Tehran in protest against a ruling that implicated the Islamic Republic in a plan to attack a synagogue in Germany last year, the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said.

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador to Tehran in protest against a ruling that implicated the Islamic Republic in a plan to attack a synagogue in Germany last year, the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said. The report said the ministry summoned German Ambassador Hans-Udo Muzel to deliver the protest after the Duesseldorf state court convicted a 36-year-old German-Iranian man of attempted arson and agreeing to commit arson and sentenced him to two years and nine months in prison. Judges found that the man threw an incendiary device at a school in the western city of Bochum in November 2022 because the neighboring synagogue appeared too well secured. The defendant denied planning to attack the synagogue. The school reportedly sustained minor damage. (Associated Press)

12-19-2023
Military

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri announced that the Navy force is being expanded with the addition of an "ocean-navigating mobilization unit" of over 55,000 men, Iranian media reported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri announced that the IRGC’s Navy force is being expanded with the addition of an "ocean-navigating mobilization unit" of over 55,000 men, Iranian media reported. Tangsiri said the new naval "Basij" unit is backed up by a wide range of 33,000 rocket-equipped vessels that are capable of conducting ocean missions, traveling as far as East Africa, according to the hardline, IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency. He noted that volunteer forces from the rural population in Iran's impoverished south are also joining the force as a "shadow" sub-unit. "These individuals are operating the vessels and the 107-millimeter rockets mounted on them, and will fire them when need be."  Iran's Basij — or the Organization for the Mobilization of the Oppressed — is a branch of the IRGC involved in diverse missions such as cracking down on street protests and engaging in overseas combat operations. (Al-Monitor)

12-19-2023
Military

The United States has charged an Iranian and a Chinese national with allegedly supplying microelectronics to Iran for use in the drone program of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The United States has charged an Iranian and a Chinese national with allegedly supplying microelectronics to Iran for use in the drone program of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hossein Hatefi Ardakani and Gary Lam, also known as Lin Jinghe, are accused in an unsealed September 2020 indictment with conspiring to illegally purchase and export U.S.-made dual-use microelectronics to Iran. According to the indictment, Ardakani and his co-conspirators used foreign companies to evade U.S. export controls on sensitive equipment. (Al-Monitor)

12-19-2023
Terrorism

In a joint operation with Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, Cyprus has arrested two Iranian asylum-seekers who were in contact with another Iranian associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, disrupting an Iranian plot.

Cyprus has disrupted an alleged Iranian plot to target Israeli businessmen with the arrest of two Iranian asylum-seekers who were in contact with another Iranian associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a Cypriot official said. The official told The Associated Press the two Iranian men have been in police custody since November 3 and procedures were underway to deport them. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not allowed to speak publicly about national security matters, said the suspects’ detention was the culmination of a joint operation between Cypriot security services and Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency. Cypriot security services had been surveilling the two Iranian men for several weeks and detained them just before what authorities believe would have been the arrival of a squad to carry out killings, the official said. The targeted individuals were primarily Israeli businessmen, the official said. (Associated Press)

12-18-2023
Military

Israel National Cyber Directorate announced that a cyberattack conducted by Iran and Hezbollah on an Israeli medical center in the north of the country was thwarted.

Israel National Cyber Directorate announced that a cyberattack conducted by Iran and Hezbollah on an Israeli medical center in the north of the country was thwarted. The hackers, belonging to Iran and Hezbollah, had attempted to disrupt the hospital's operations. Following the attack on the Ziv Hospital in Safed three weeks ago, the National Cyber System along with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet internal security agency investigated the incident, determining the involvement of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and Hezbollah's cyber team. The attack had been stopped through a joint effort from the Israeli security forces and the medical center's staff. The hackers, acting within the Iranian Intelligence Ministry’s AGRIUS cyberattack group, were not able to achieve the goal of disrupting the hospital's operations and harming the medical treatment of civilians. (Israel Hayom)

12-18-2023
Military

The Western powers remaining in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran of several serious violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear deal.

The Western powers in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran of developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level for a country without a nuclear weapons program — all in violation of a U.N. resolution endorsing the deal. Iran and its ally, Russia, dismissed the charges by Britain, France, and Germany, who remain in the nuclear deal. These European countries have the strong support of the United States, which pulled out of the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. The six-party agreement was aimed at ensuring that Iran could not develop atomic weapons. Under the accord, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to 3.67 percent, ostensibly the level necessary for the peaceful use of nuclear power, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The sharp accusations and Iran’s and Russia’s dismissal came at the Security Council’s semi-annual meeting on the implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal. (Associated Press)

12-18-2023
Anti-Americanism

The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Iran sought to exploit perceived social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions.

The assessment detailed Iran’s influence activities during the midterms, finding that Tehran sought to exploit perceived social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions – but that its efforts were limited by competing priorities, including the need to manage internal unrest. Broadly, intelligence officials found, foreign actors shied away from technically challenging efforts to change literal votes and instead sought to influence U.S. elections by damaging the public perception of the integrity of their results. The assessment did not study the impact the influence campaigns may have had on the outcome of the 2022 elections. (CNN)

12-18-2023
Syria Conflict

Jordan's army said it foiled a plot by dozens of infiltrators from Syria linked to pro-Iranian militias, who crossed its border with rocket launchers, anti-personnel mines, and explosives.

Jordan's army said it foiled a plot by dozens of infiltrators from Syria linked to pro-Iranian militias, who crossed its border with rocket launchers, anti-personnel mines, and explosives. State broadcaster al Mamlaka said the army blew up a vehicle laden with explosives in an effort to thwart the biggest armed cross-border operation to smuggle weapons and drugs in recent years. The army earlier said the infiltrators had fled back across the border after injuring several army personnel in the latest of several major incursions since the start of the month that has left one Jordanian soldier and at least a dozen smugglers dead. (Reuters)

12-17-2023
Military

One of Iran’s cyber espionage tactics to support Hamas is using Hebrew-speaking women to gather intelligence from Israeli soldiers, Iran International has learned.

One of Iran’s cyber espionage tactics to support Hamas is using Hebrew-speaking women to gather intelligence from Israeli soldiers, Iran International has learned. According to our sources, several of these women are based in the religious city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran and use social media to seduce Israeli soldiers by sending nude images or provocative footage of themselves in an effort to gather military intelligence. While the screen names and details of these women are presumably fake, the explicit photos and videos they shared with Israeli soldiers appear to be genuine. To entice their victims, these cyber operatives sent photos and videos of themselves wearing revealing clothing, heavy makeup, and, in some cases, nude photos. According to Iran International's investigations, members of this IRGC-run catfishing cell use a wide range of fake profiles across various online platforms, managing at least 22 different avatars in some instances. (Iran International)

12-14-2023
Extremism

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Hossein Salami said the State of Israel's collapse is imminent.

The State of Israel's collapse is imminent, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps chief Hossein Salami said in a public address. Salami was quoted by Islamic Republic state media as claiming that Zionists "are so weak that they cannot bear the existence of Palestinian women and children," a "clear sign" of the "collapse of the fake Israeli regime," he added. The IRGC chief continued, saying that Israel's war in Gaza had triggered a global aversion to Israel. "The world’s hatred of Zionists is not confined to Muslims anymore," Salami was quoted as saying. "People have rallied against Zionists even next to the White House and in the streets of London and Europe," referencing anti-Zionist marches that have taken place across the globe following Hamas's October 7 massacre of Israelis. (Jerusalem Post)

12-14-2023
Military

A cyber-espionage group linked to the Iranian government developed several new malware downloaders over the past two years and has recently been using them to target organizations in Israel.

A cyber-espionage group linked to the Iranian government developed several new malware downloaders over the past two years and has recently been using them to target organizations in Israel. Researchers at the Slovakia-based company ESET attributed the newly discovered downloaders to the Iranian advanced persistent threat group OilRig, also known as APT34. Previous reports said the group primarily targeted organizations in the Middle East this year, especially focusing on Israel during its ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. ESET researchers labeled the three new malware downloaders as ODAgent, OilCheck and OilBooster. The hackers also released an updated version of their previous downloader, dubbed SampleCheck5000. (The Record)

12-12-2023
Military

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held a large-scale military drill on the country's western border with Iraq, in what it described as an exercise to counter "terrorist" threats coming from Sunni extremist groups.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held a large-scale military drill on the country's western border with Iraq, in what it described as an exercise to counter "terrorist" threats coming from Sunni extremist groups, particularly the Islamic State (ISIS). Held near the border town of Qasr-e Shirin, the drill covered "operational planning, command and control" using a wide range of "novel" military equipment, electronic warfare, radar and reconnaissance systems, drones, helicopters, artillery, and armored vehicles, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency. (Al-Monitor)

12-12-2023
Military

Iranian Defense Minister Amir Mohammad Reza Ashtiani visited a base where Iran’s new locally-made Yasin training jet is preparing to play a greater role in Iran’s air force.

Iranian Defense Minister Amir Mohammad Reza Ashtiani visited a base where Iran’s new locally-made Yasin training jet is preparing to play a greater role in Iran’s air force. The jet was unveiled earlier this year, part of a long-term project by Iran to create more locally-produced aircraft. Iran already produces a plethora of drones and missiles. Producing aircraft is more complex. Iran’s aircraft industrial production was harmed during the 1979 revolution. However, Iran did inherit several advanced factories, linked to Western companies, from the Shah’s regime. Ashtiani has focused on the success of the locally made Yasin fighter jet trainer. Unveiled as an idea in 2019, the first jet was then produced and wheeled out in March 2023. (Jerusalem Post)

12-12-2023
Human Rights

A dental surgeon in Iran who refused to wear a hijab at an honorary ceremony has been expelled from her medical university.

A dental surgeon in Iran who refused to wear a hijab at an honorary ceremony has been expelled from her medical university. Fatemeh Rajaei-Rad revealed she had received an expulsion order from Amol University of Medical Sciences in a post on her Instagram account. She had come to public attention earlier this year when she declined to wear a hijab in attending a ceremony at which she was awarded the title of Exemplary Surgeon. The video of her attendance without a hijab circulated widely on social media, eliciting praise for her courage from many Iranians. However, it also drew condemnation from government officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in Mazandaran province and the Friday Prayer Imam of Amol, who called for "severe action" against her. (Iran International)

12-11-2023
Military

Iran unveiled dozens of drones mounted with air-to-air missiles to be added to the army’s arsenal, Iranian state media said.

Iran unveiled dozens of drones mounted with air-to-air missiles to be added to the army’s arsenal, Iranian state media said. The locally made Karrar drone has been equipped with the Majid thermal missile with a range of 8 kilometers (5 miles). The Karrar drone, which was first introduced in 2010, has an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). The drones will join the air defense in all border areas of the country allowing it to intercept and destroy aerial targets at a much lower cost than manned jet fighters, according to Tasnim news agency. The unveiling came during a ceremony at a military academy in Tehran, attended by the commander-in-chief of Iran's army, Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi. “The enemies will now have to rethink their strategies” because the Iranian forces have “become more powerful,” IRNA cited Mousavi as saying. (Al-Monitor)

12-11-2023
Human Rights

Iran has put a European Union official from Sweden on trial for allegations that include spying for Israel and a charge that could carry the death penalty, according to Iranian state media.

Iran has put a European Union official from Sweden on trial for allegations that include spying for Israel and a charge that could carry the death penalty, according to Iranian state media, prompting renewed calls for his release. The official, Johan Floderus, has been detained in Iran for about 600 days at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in what appeared to be another case of Iran taking hostages to pressure the West for concessions. Mr. Floderus turned 33 in Iran’s custody, and his family has cited brutal prison conditions in campaigning for his release. The Mizan news agency, which is overseen by Iran’s judiciary, published photos of Mr. Floderus — including some of him in handcuffs — and said that he had appeared in court to hear the charges against him. It reported that prosecutors accused Mr. Floderus of “extensive intelligence cooperation” with Israel and of “corruption on Earth” — a broad, vaguely described charge that constitutes one of Iran’s most serious crimes and can be punishable by death. (New York Times)

12-08-2023
Anti-Americanism

Mexico’s immigration agency said its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the U.S.’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Mexico’s immigration agency said its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the U.S.’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The National Immigration Institute did not say what the supposed FBI investigation was about. The agency said a total of five Iranians were detained along with their Haitian driver, who was apparently acting as their guide on a highway between the Baja California border cities of Tijuana and Tecate. It said their car was stopped at a toll booth because agents suspected they were going to try to cross into the United States. (Associated Press)

12-08-2023
Anti-Americanism

Approximately seven mortar rounds landed in the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad during an attack, a U.S. military official told Reuters.

Approximately seven mortar rounds landed in the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad during an attack, a U.S. military official told Reuters, in what appeared to be the largest attack of its kind in recent memory. U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria were also targeted with rockets and drones at least five more times; three times at separate bases in Syria, and twice at the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad, a different U.S. defense official said. The attacks were the most recorded against U.S. forces in the region in a single day since mid-October, when Iran-aligned militias started targeting U.S. assets in Iraq and Syria over Washington's backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. (Reuters)

12-06-2023
Human Rights

Amnesty International said in a report that Iranian protesters detained during months of nationwide protests as part of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement were raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence.

Iranian protesters detained during months of nationwide protests as part of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that emerged after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini were raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence by Tehran’s intelligence and security forces, Amnesty International said in a report documenting the ordeals of 45 survivors. The report gathered testimonies from 26 men, 12 women, and seven children as young as 12 who were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence and torture. In a violent crackdown on the protests sparked by her death, Iranian law enforcement officers arrested tens of thousands of activists and demonstrators and subjected them to torture and other ill treatment, the 120-page report said. (France 24)

12-03-2023
Terrorism

An American warship and several commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said, potentially marking a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Gaza war.

An American warship and several commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said, potentially marking a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Gaza war. “We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon said. In a statement, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed there were four attacks by the Houthis against three separate commercial vessels connected to 14 separate nations. CENTCOM said in a statement, the American destroyer USS CARNEY responded to the distress calls from the ships and shot down three drones that were heading for the warship during the day. The US military said they have "every reason to believe" that these attacks were "fully enabled" by Iran and represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security. (The National)

12-02-2023
Terrorism

A small western Pennsylvania water authority was just one of multiple organizations breached in the United States by Iran-affiliated hackers who targeted a specific industrial control device because it is Israeli-made.

A small western Pennsylvania water authority was just one of multiple organizations breached in the United States by Iran-affiliated hackers who targeted a specific industrial control device because it is Israeli-made, U.S. and Israeli authorities say. “The victims span multiple U.S. states,” the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, as well as Israel’s National Cyber Directorate said in an advisory emailed to The Associated Press. They did not say how many organizations were hacked or otherwise describe them. Matthew Mottes, the chairman of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, which discovered it had been hacked on November 25, said that federal officials had told him the same group also breached four other utilities and an aquarium. (Associated Press)

12-01-2023
Terrorism

The Belgian police are beefing up security measures to protect Darya Safai, an Iranian-born member of parliament, following death threats she received on social media.

The Belgian police are beefing up security measures to protect Darya Safai, an Iranian-born member of parliament, following death threats she received on social media. In an interview with Iran International, Safai said that the death threats against her have increased following the Israel-Hamas conflict. “I should be careful and report any suspicious events around me” to the police, the lawmaker wrote on X. The police have launched a probe into the nature and sources of the threats. Safai blamed Islamists for the threats, vowing that she will continue to stand up for freedom. “It’s incomprehensible that people should make serious threats … instead of responding with substantive arguments. But that is just how Islamists operate,” read her post on X. (Iran International)

11-29-2023
Military

Iran has finalized arrangements for the delivery of Russian made Sukhoi su-35 fighter jets and helicopters, Iran’s deputy defense minister told Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The arms trade between Tehran and Moscow has grown in scope since Russia invaded Ukraine. Iran has finalized arrangements for the delivery of Russian made Sukhoi su-35 fighter jets and helicopters, Iran’s deputy defense minister, Mehdi Farahi, told Iran’s Tasnim news agency, as Tehran and Moscow forge closer relations in military field. (i24 News)

11-29-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran-backed militias have launched more than 70 rocket and drone attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel.

Iran-backed militias have launched more than 70 rocket and drone attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon, for its part, has responded with four rounds of airstrikes, killing as many as 15 people, U.S. officials say. (New York Times)

11-27-2023
Politics

Iran’s parliament has voted to exempt the armed forces, intelligence ministry, and the nuclear energy organization from coordinating their international engagements with the foreign ministry.

Iran’s parliament has voted to exempt the armed forces, intelligence ministry, and the nuclear energy organization from coordinating their international engagements with the foreign ministry. The move has been strongly criticized by Reformists, who accuse the conservative-dominated legislature of trying to weaken the ministry. If the legislation becomes law, it could indicate a further strengthening of the intelligence and security apparatus—especially since conservative President Ebrahim Raisi took office in 2021. (Amwaj Media)

11-27-2023
Military

Iran’s Navy unveiled a domestically produced destroyer it said is capable of launching cruise missiles and detecting a variety of military objects.

Iran’s Navy unveiled a domestically produced destroyer it said is capable of launching cruise missiles and detecting a variety of military objects, including vessels, drones, helicopters, submarines, and aircraft. The new Iranian warship, dubbed the Deylaman, is 95 meters (312 feet) long and 11 meters (36 feet) wide. It is reportedly capable of reaching 30 knots (56 kilometers or 35 miles per hour) while repelling air, surface, and subsurface threats. It will join Iran's Caspian Sea fleet, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. (Al-Monitor)

11-27-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran-backed forces in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at a U.S. warship after the Navy responded to a distress call from an Israel-linked commercial tanker.

Iran-backed forces in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at a U.S. warship after the Navy responded to a distress call from an Israel-linked commercial tanker that had been seized by Somali pirates, the Pentagon said. The commercial tanker, known as the Central Park, issued a distress call stating its crew was “under attack by an unknown entity” after five gunmen boarded the vessel in the Gulf of Aden, according to a U.S. Central Command statement. The USS Mason guided-missile destroyer responded to the call, along with an accompanying U.S. helicopter gunship and a Japanese destroyer, while Central Park crew members sealed themself inside the ship’s Citadel safe room. (New York Post)

11-25-2023
Terrorism

A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.

A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, causing minor damage to the vessel but no injuries, a U.S. defense official said. The Malta-flagged CMA CGM SYMI, recently renamed Mayet, was struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which appeared to be an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, in the northeast portion of the Indian Ocean, the official said, asking not to be named. Iran has supplied Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. They carry a small warhead that explodes on impact. (Reuters)

11-23-2023
Human Rights

Iran has secretly executed a man sentenced to death in connection with last year's anti-government protests, sources have told BBC Persian.

Iran has secretly executed a man sentenced to death in connection with last year's anti-government protests, sources have told BBC Persian. Milad Zohrevand, 21, was put to death at a prison in the western city of Hamadan, the sources said. Human rights group Hengaw also said it had received reports of the execution. There was no confirmation from Iran's judiciary, which convicted Zohrevand of murdering a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during a demonstration. The sources said he was denied a lawyer throughout his detention and trial. If confirmed, Zohrevand would be the eighth protester to be executed after last year's rallies. (BBC News)

11-22-2023
Anti-Americanism

Several U.S. service members were injured in a ballistic missile attack by Iran-backed militias on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, Pentagon officials said.

Several U.S. service members were injured in a ballistic missile attack by Iran-backed militias on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, Pentagon officials said. The attack on U.S. and coalition forces involved a close-range ballistic missile and resulted in eight injuries and minor infrastructural damage, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement. The U.S. military responded with a retaliatory strike, which was not pre-planned, killing several Iranian-backed militia personnel, CBS News learned. "Immediately following the attack, a U.S. military AC-130 aircraft in the area conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in this attack," Ryder said in his statement. (CBS News)

11-22-2023
Terrorism

The Spanish politician shot in Madrid earlier this month accused Iran of being behind his attempted murder in a message delivered to a conference organized by Iranian opposition supporters.

The Spanish politician shot in Madrid earlier this month accused Iran of being behind his attempted murder in a message delivered to a conference organized by Iranian opposition supporters. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a founder of Spain's far-right Vox party and former head of its center-right People's Party in Catalonia, was shot in the face in broad daylight on a pavement in the wealthy Salamanca neighborhood of central Madrid on November 9 by a motorbike pillion passenger. The 78-year-old politician, who was European Parliament vice-president between 2009 and 2014, was described shortly after the shooting as a "staunch supporter" of Iran's opposition movement and the campaign for human rights in Iran over 25 years. (Reuters)

11-20-2023
Military

Iran unveiled a newer version of what it claims is a hypersonic missile capable of maneuvering at high speeds to evade air defense systems.

Iran unveiled a newer version of what it claims is a hypersonic missile capable of maneuvering at high speeds to evade air defense systems. The Fattah II missile was put on display at Ashura Aerospace Science and Technology University, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the site to review an exhibition of new weapons systems, among them the Fattah II. The display came as Israel has recently intercepted a number of ballistic missiles fired at it by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Israel Defense Forces said the long-range Arrow air defense system had been used to shoot down some of the missiles. (Times of Israel)

11-20-2023
Human Rights

The University of Tehran's President Mohammad Moghimi has officially confirmed the increased presence of hijab enforcers on campus.

The University of Tehran's President Mohammad Moghimi has officially confirmed the increased presence of hijab enforcers on campus. He said women, "with seminary education," organized into "monitoring groups for students' hijab," are now on the university campus. Moghimi disclosed the development during a session of the Council for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice at the university. He explained that the groups, comprised of women focused on “improving compliance with behavioral codes, are tasked with monitoring and enhancing the adherence to dress codes in alignment with religious rules, university regulations, and standards across all campuses of the University of Tehran.” (Iran International)

11-19-2023
Terrorism

Israel said that a cargo ship was hijacked in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Iran's orders.

Israel said that a cargo ship was hijacked in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Iran's orders. The cargo ship, Galaxy Leader, was traveling from Turkey to India and sailing under the flag of the Bahamas when the incident occurred, the IDF wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The ship was registered under a British company but operated by a Japanese firm, and at some point, it seems to have been partly owned by Israeli billionaire Rami Ungar, The New York Times reported. The rebels used a helicopter raid to hijack the ship at around 1 p.m. local time, three U.S. officials told NBC News. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement saying that the boat was "hijacked on an Iranian whim by the Houthi militia in Yemen," The Times of Israel reported. (Business Insider)

11-16-2023
Extremism

The top commander of Iran's Quds force said the resistance front supported the Tehran-backed Hamas militant group in its war with Israel in Gaza.

The top commander of Iran's Quds force said the ‘Axis of Resistance’ supported the Tehran-backed Hamas militant group in its war with Israel in Gaza. “Your brothers in the Axis of Resistance stand united with you … the resistance will not allow the enemy to achieve its dirty goals in Gaza and Palestine,” Esmail Qaani said in a message to the commanders of the Tehran-backed group on Thursday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Iran, which refers to its aligned armed groups around the Middle East as being part of the "Resistance Axis," has warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions in the Gaza Strip. The Quds Force is the arm of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that controls its allied militia in the region, from Lebanon to Iraq and Yemen to Syria. (Reuters)

11-16-2023
Nuclear Program

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iranian stockpiles of highly enriched uranium of up to 60% purity had increased by 6.7 kilograms to 128.3 kilograms since the last quarterly report on September 4.

The IAEA reported that Iranian stockpiles of highly enriched uranium of up to 60% purity had increased by 6.7 kilograms to 128.3 kilograms since the last quarterly report on September 4, Reuters reported on November 15. Iran has slowed the rate at which it is increasing supplies of highly enriched uranium from early 2023, indicating that Tehran has not accelerated its nuclear program. As a result, the West is unlikely to pursue punitive measures against Tehran to avoid escalation in the Israel-Hamas war, despite tension between Tehran and the IAEA. However, if Tehran accelerates its nuclear program by enriching uranium to weapons-grade 90% purity, the West would be more likely to take direct action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (Stratfor)

11-15-2023
Military

Iran had “almost $1 billion” in military exports in the past year, according to Mehdi Farahi, the deputy defense minister of the Iranian regime.

In a speech at Tehran’s Rajaei University on November 13, Mehdi Farahi, the deputy defense minister of the Iranian regime, claimed that Iran had “almost $1 billion” in military exports in the past year. Without referring to the details of the military export items, Farahi stated that the Ministry of Defense uses “knowledge-based companies, industrial towns, universities, and science and technology parks,” and that “7,000 companies” and over “100,000 individuals” collaborate with this ministry. The United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran’s missile program, based on the nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, ended in October. (Iran Focus)

11-15-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have arrested 300 men and women for participating in a mixed-gender party in the northeastern city of Shahrud.

Iranian authorities have arrested 300 men and women for participating in a mixed-gender party in the northeastern city of Shahrud. The deputy police commander of Semnan province, Ali Mirahmadi, said that security forces raided a party venue on the outskirts of the city on November 14 and found that the participants engaged in "rule-breaking behavior." Mirahmadi also stated that the venue had been sealed due to "rules violation."  Islamic Republic laws forbid men and women who are not related from mingling together. It is also prohibited to dance with the opposite gender. (Iran Wire)

11-15-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press. The IAEA also said that Iran has pushed back against the agency’s objections to Tehran’s ban on some of its inspectors designated to monitor the country’s nuclear program. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The IAEA report also estimated that as of October 28, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was at 4,486.8 kilograms, an increase of 691.3 kilograms since the last quarterly report in September 2023. (Associated Press)

11-14-2023
Terrorism

Documents show that a Hamas military commander requested scholarships for Hamas operatives to study engineering, physics, and technology at universities in Iran, for the sake of producing weapons.

A document recovered from a computer found inside a Hamas pickup truck outside Gaza, obtained by CNN from Israeli officials, shows a Hamas military commander requesting a scholarship for Hamas operatives to study engineering, physics, and technology at universities in Iran. While it is widely known that Iran provides financial and military support to Hamas, Israeli officials and some former U.S. intelligence officials say the document is evidence that in the run up to the October 7 attack on southern Israel, Iran was seeking to provide technical training that would help Hamas produce its own weaponry. The Israeli government declined to comment on the document, though sources in the government confirmed its authenticity on background. (CNN)

11-13-2023
Military

Satellite imagery shows progress in the construction in Russia of a plant that will mass produce Iranian-designed kamikaze drones for Moscow.

Satellite imagery shows progress in the construction in Russia of a plant that will mass produce Iranian-designed kamikaze drones that Moscow is expected to target against Ukrainian energy facilities, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a Washington D.C.-based research organization, said. Despite the headway, neither the United States nor its allies have imposed sanctions on the plant's owner, JSC Alabuga, or its associated companies, said the ISIS report. The White House, the Russian embassy, and Iran's U.N. mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The report said a mid-September satellite image showed that new construction at the plant "directly" correlated with a leaked building floor plan that the Washington Post shared with the institute earlier this year. (Reuters)

11-12-2023
Human Rights

Narges Mohammadi, one of the best-known human rights activists in Iran, was transferred to the hospital for a brief examination before being immediately transferred back to her prison cell in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

Narges Mohammadi, one of the best-known human rights activists in Iran, is incarcerated in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Earlier this year, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her ongoing fight against the oppression of women in Iran, as well as for her advocacy for human rights and freedom for all. "On November 6, she went on hunger strike, for health reasons, because the prison authorities refused to take her to hospital without a headscarf," her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told DW. "Narges refused to wear the mandatory headscarf." Seven other political prisoners in the women's section of Evin prison joined the hunger strike in solidarity. The 51-year-old human rights activist informed her family: "I was admitted to hospital after all, under strict security measures, without a headscarf. I have therefore ended my hunger strike." Following a brief examination, she was taken back to prison. (DW News)

11-11-2023
Extremism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the time had come for action over the conflict in Gaza.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the time had come for action over the conflict in Gaza rather than talk as he headed to Saudi Arabia to attend a summit on the war between Israel and Hamas militants. "Gaza is not an arena for words. It should be for action," Raisi said at Tehran airport before departing for the summit of Arab and Islamic nations in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. "Today, the unity of the Islamic countries is very important," he added. It is the first visit to Saudi Arabia by an Iranian head of state since Tehran and Riyadh ended years of hostility under a China-brokered deal in March. (Reuters)

11-11-2023
Politics

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi hailed the Palestinian group Hamas for its war against Israel and urged Islamic countries to launch sanctions against Israel.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi hailed the Palestinian group Hamas for its war against Israel and urged Islamic countries to launch sanctions against Israel. "There is no other way but to resist Israel, we kiss the hands of Hamas for its resistance against Israel," Raisi said in his address to a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh. He also called on Islamic countries to impose oil and goods sanctions on Israel. The summit called for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza, declaring that Israel is responsible for "crimes" against Palestinians. (Iran International)

11-11-2023
Terrorism

Iranian Canadians, legal experts, and security and intelligence sources say Canada has an especially big problem with hundreds, maybe thousands, of potentially dangerous Iranian regime-connected officials on Canadian soil.

The New Reality heard from Iranian Canadians, legal experts, and security and intelligence sources who say Canada has an especially big problem with hundreds, maybe thousands, of potentially dangerous regime-connected officials on Canadian soil. “Islamic Republic agents are everywhere in this country,” Esmaeilion says. Prominent Iranian American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad tells The New Reality she was given a bone-chilling warning from the FBI: don’t travel to Canada. “That’s heartbreaking. Canada should be safe,” Alinejad says. (Global News)

11-08-2023
Extremism

Mohsen Rafighdoust, the first IRGC minister, said that in the event on an attack against Iran, “The Islamic Republic has the capability to eliminate the hostages [it holds] within a mere half-hour.”

Mohsen Rafighdoust, the first IRGC minister, has claimed that Iran possesses hostages from major world powers. In an interview in local media, he said in the event of an attack on Iran, “The Islamic Republic has the capability to eliminate the hostages within a mere half-hour.” Given that he has no current official role, Iranian officials may deny or distance themselves from his remarks. Iran has recently exchanged five U.S. hostages in exchange for the release of $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds in South Korea. However, the regime consistently claims that it does not take or hold hostages. It is unknown how many diplomatic hostages are being held in Iran but high-profile cases have revealed the systematic policy of the regime to detain dual-nationals in return for political leverage. (Iran International)

11-08-2023
Politics

Ultraconservative hardliners in Iran plan on consolidating their power in parliament in the March 2024 parliamentary elections.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his ultraconservative allies are likely to present three different lists of candidates for the parliamentary elections in March. This move seems aimed at creating an overwhelming propaganda push to secure a parliament dominated by Raisi's supporters, ensuring minimal opposition to their complete takeover of the executive and legislative powers. Some social media reports also suggest an effort to replace Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei with an ultraconservative figure, further consolidating power. A “political purification” push has already begun, with all regime loyalists outside the circle of hardliners being purged from managerial and even teaching positions. (Iran International)

11-08-2023
Anti-Americanism

An analysis by Microsoft found that Iran is likely to engage in election interference efforts ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections.

Russia, Iran, and China are likely to engage in newly sophisticated influence and interference efforts ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and in other pivotal elections worldwide, a new analysis by Microsoft has found. All three countries are expected to seek to shape geopolitical outcomes in their favor amid major ongoing or potential regional conflicts, though Russia remains "the most committed and capable threat" to the upcoming American federal election, it said. Microsoft's analysis also suggested that the 2024 presidential election could be the first in which "multiple authoritarian actors simultaneously attempt to interfere with and influence an election outcome." (CBS News)

11-08-2023
Anti-Americanism

An unmanned U.S. military drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces.

An unmanned U.S. military drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces, a defense official told CNN. The official said the MQ-9 Reaper drone was operating in international airspace and over international waters when it was shot down. U.S. Central Command is investigating the incident, the official said. The shootdown, for which the Iran-backed Houthi militants took responsibility, comes several weeks after a U.S. Navy warship, the USS Carney, intercepted multiple missiles and drones fired by the Houthis as they were heading north along the Red Sea. The ship shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours, CNN previously reported, and their trajectory left little doubt that the projectiles were headed for Israel. (CNN)

11-05-2023
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently met with Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently met with Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Khamenei confirmed. Haniyeh updated Khamenei on “the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, as well as the developments in the West Bank,” Khamenei said on X (formerly Twitter). According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, “Ayatollah Khamenei praised the steadfastness and resilience of the people of Gaza and expressed strong regret over the crimes of the Zionist regime, supported directly by Washington and some Western countries.” (JNS)

11-05-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran said that the United States would "be hit hard" if Washington did not implement a ceasefire in Gaza.

Iran said that the United States would "be hit hard" if Washington did not implement a ceasefire in Gaza, the country's Minister of Defense was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. "Our advice to the Americans is to immediately stop the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard," Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said. After a surprise attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, the Israelis have sought to defeat the militant group. Iran considers the U.S. to be "militarily-involved" in the conflict. (Reuters)

11-03-2023
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose country is a leading supporter of Hamas and other fiercely anti-Israel terror groups, rants at Israel in a Hebrew-language tweet.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose country is a leading supporter of Hamas and other fiercely anti-Israel terror groups, rants at Israel in a Hebrew-language tweet. “The Zionist entity is lying to you,” he writes on the social media platform X. “The Zionist entity is helpless and confused right now, and without American support, will be paralyzed within days.” (Times of Israel)

11-03-2023
Human Rights

More than 600 people have been executed by Iran so far this year, already the highest figure in eight years with two months of 2023 to go.

More than 600 people have been executed by Iran so far this year, already the highest figure in eight years with two months of 2023 to go, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said. There were nine executions in a single day in a prison outside Tehran this week, while two people face execution after being convicted of adultery, IHR said. IHR and others have accused Iran of using capital punishment to instill fear in the wake of women-led protests that swept the country for several months from September last year. "The international community must react to more than 600 executions in 10 months — that's two state murders a day," said IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. (AFP)

11-02-2023
Extremism

The Iranian regime has pushed Iranian Jews to cut ties with Israel-based friends and relatives.

Amid Iran’s unequivocal support for its proxy, Hamas, the regime has pushed Iranian Jews to cut ties with Israel-based friends and relatives. Sources told Iran International Wednesday that an unknown number of members of the community were forced to block their relatives' phone numbers in Israel, and some have left family and group chats on messaging apps, including WhatsApp. The sources did not specify how the authorities pressured them, but there are other reports about unknown people – presumably intelligence or Revolutionary Guard agents -- calling the Jewish people in Shiraz and pushing them into cutting relations with their Israeli relatives. Clearly organized by the regime, Iranian Jews have held ceremonies in synagogues across various cities over the past few days to express support for Hamas, which killed 1,400, mostly civilians, on October 7 and took over 230 hostages in Gaza. (Iran International)

11-02-2023
Terrorism

An elite Iran-backed unit has arrived in Lebanon to participate in attacks on Israel amid an ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military official has told Newsweek that an elite Iran-backed unit has arrived in Lebanon to participate in attacks on Israel amid an ongoing war in the Gaza Strip that has already begun to escalate on other fronts. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said that the "Imam Hossein Division," whose activities in Syria were previously reported on by Newsweek in July, "has come to the aid of Hezbollah and has arrived in southern Lebanon." Intelligence shared with Newsweek in July described the Imam Hossein Division as a product of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, constituting its "most elite fighting force in Syria." It was said to have been established in 2016 to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government against rebels and jihadis, including the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), in the midst of the country's civil war. (Newsweek)

11-02-2023
Terrorism

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, visited Lebanon to coordinate with Hezbollah concerning the conflict with Israel.

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, visited Lebanon to coordinate with Hezbollah concerning the conflict with Israel on Wednesday, the Lebanese al-Jadeed news reported on Wednesday. In early October, just a day after Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel, Syrian media reported that Qaani was on a visit to Lebanon as well. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Iranian media on Wednesday that Qaani is “working for peace and security in the region and fighting terrorism” and that Iran is not giving direct orders to its proxies in the region. “They make decisions according to their interests and developments,” said Amir-Abdollahian. Qaani’s latest reported visit to Lebanon comes just two days before Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is set to make his first public comments since the war between Israel and Hamas began. (Jerusalem Post)

11-02-2023
Terrorism

The U.S. has intelligence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to provide the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with a Russian-made missile defense system.

The U.S. has intelligence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to provide the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with a Russian-made missile defense system, according to two people familiar with the intelligence. The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group, which operates in Syria, has been tasked with carrying out the delivery of the surface-to-air SA-22 missile system, the people said. It is not clear whether it has already been delivered or how close it is to delivery. The system was originally provided by Russia for use by the Syrian government, the sources said. (CNN)

10-31-2023
Extremism

Israel will face annihilation if the war against Hamas “expands,” a senior Iranian official warned.

Israel will face annihilation if the war against Hamas “expands,” a senior Iranian official warned as Israel Defense Forces attack the terrorist group by land and air in Gaza. "If the war expands [any further], we cannot say that Israel would lose because nothing will remain of Israel to be described as loser or winner,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said, per Iran’s Fars News Agency. Kani, whose diplomatic portfolio includes a role as Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator, offered that prediction just days after meeting with a senior Hamas official during a trip to Russia. Iranian proxy forces around the Middle East have launched various strikes targeting Israeli positions, as Iran and Hamas demand that Israel halt its bombardment of Gaza, the headquarters of Hamas. (Washington Examiner)

10-31-2023
Anti-Americanism

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group operating in Iraq and Syria, claims to have attacked the US-operated Ain al-Assad military base in western Iraq.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group operating in Iraq and Syria, claims to have attacked the US-operated Ain al-Assad military base in western Iraq. The group says it sent two drones “which scored direct hits on their targets.” On Monday, security sources told Reuters that four Katyusha rockets had been fired at the base. As of Monday, American and allied forces in Iraq and Syria had been attacked with drones and rockets 23 times this month, according to a senior US defense official. “From October 17 to October 30, US and coalition forces have been attacked at least 14 separate times in Iraq and nine separate times in Syria,” the official said Monday. “Most failed to reach their targets thanks to our robust defenses.” (AFP)

10-31-2023
Terrorism

The Foreign Minister of Iran has met with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Hamas Islamist militia group, in the Qatari capital Doha.

Iran's Foreign Minister has met with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Hamas Islamist militia group, in the Qatari capital Doha. The meeting followed separate talks that Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had with the Emir and the Prime Minister of Qatar on Tuesday. It was the second official meeting between Iran and Hamas since the group, designated as a terrorist group by the US and several other countries, declared war against Israel. Hamas launched the assault on October 7 with a barrage of at least 3,000 rockets launched at Israel and vehicle-transported incursions into its territory. Palestinian militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, targeting both military and civilian populations in neighboring Israeli communities. (Iran International)

10-31-2023
Terrorism

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, for the first time, claimed missile and drone attacks targeting Israel.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, for the first time, claimed missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, drawing their main sponsor Iran closer into the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and further raising the risks of a regional conflict erupting. The Houthis had been suspected of an attack earlier this month targeting Israel by sending missiles and drones over the crucial shipping lane of the Red Sea, an assault that saw the U.S. Navy shoot down the projectiles. This time on Tuesday, however, Israel said its own fighter jets and its new Arrow missile defense system shot down two salvos of incoming fire hours apart as it approached the country’s key Red Sea shipping port of Eilat. (Associated Press)

10-30-2023
Extremism

Esmail Khatib, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, made statements regarding Hamas' October 7 attack, describing it as a "new historical beginning for the eradication of Israel."

As tensions continue to rise in the region following the recent Hamas attack on Israel, Iranian officials have intensified their rhetoric against the Jewish state. Esmail Khatib, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, made statements regarding Hamas' October 7 attack, describing it as a "new historical beginning for the eradication of Israel," claiming it would lead to the collapse of the entire Israeli government. Khatib's comments reiterate the Iranian regime's long-standing opposition to its archenemy Israel, which he called a "fabricated Zionist regime that had crafted a legendary narrative and a Hollywood image over the years.” His comments come as Israel's troops on the ground in Gaza rescued its first of the more than 230 hostages held by the group designated by countries including the US, UK, and EU. (Iran International)

10-30-2023
Politics

In the upcoming Iranian Parliamentary elections in March, a mere 2 percent of the 24,000 registered candidates are former lawmakers, while just 13 percent are women.

In the upcoming Iranian Parliamentary elections in March, a mere 2 percent of the 24,000 registered candidates are former lawmakers, while just 13 percent are women. As per the latest figures, over 24,000 Iranians have registered their candidacy for the Majles election, down from the initial 50,000 who registered unofficially in August. This decline in interest may be attributed to the Majles' unpopularity and the government's perceived failure in economic and foreign policy. Concurrently, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political rivals have shown sensitivity towards his silence on the domestic front and the unfolding conflict in the Middle East. Recent reports have indicated that politicians from across the Iranian political spectrum keenly observe Ahmadinejad's silence before the March 1 elections. (Iran International)

10-30-2023
Human Rights

A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was arrested and severely beaten, her husband said.

A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was arrested and severely beaten, her husband said — one of several activists taken into custody at the funeral in Tehran of a girl who was fatally injured in a reported confrontation with the enforcers of Iran’s strict dress code for women. The activists were arrested at the funeral of Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old who died last week after a suspected altercation with enforcement officers in Tehran’s subway over wearing her hair uncovered in defiance of the law imposed by the Shiite Islamic government. Ms. Sotoudeh, 60, is renowned for representing women who have not worn a hijab, the traditional head scarf, while in public, and for refusing to wear one herself. She has been imprisoned several times, and most recently had been convicted at a secret trial in 2019 of security-related crimes, but was released in 2021 because she suffers from heart disease and other ailments. (New York Times)

10-28-2023
Human Rights

An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in an incident on Tehran’s Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died.

An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on Tehran’s Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, state media reported. The death of Armita Geravand comes after her being in a coma for weeks in Tehran and after the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests at the time. Geravand’s Oct. 1 injury and now her death threaten to reignite that popular anger, particularly as women in Tehran and elsewhere still defy Iran’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law as a sign of their discontent with Iran’s theocracy. “Armita’s voice has been forever silenced, preventing us from hearing her story,” wrote the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. “Yet we do know that in a climate where Iranian authorities severely penalize women and girls for not adhering to the state’s forced-hijab law, Armita courageously appeared in public without one.” (Associated Press)

10-27-2023
Extremism

Iranian agents are creating unrest in Britain by stoking Gaza protests, senior police have said as they prepared for a fresh round of demonstrations.

Iranian agents are creating unrest in Britain by stoking Gaza protests, senior police have said as they prepared for a fresh round of demonstrations. The Times has learned that counterterrorism officers have privately said that Tehran is trying to heighten tensions at rallies over Israel’s bombing of Gaza. They have warned of increased hostile-state activity in Britain. It is directly linked to the Iranian regime and includes a campaign of online disinformation and Iranian operatives being physically present at protests. The revelation came as the Israeli military said ground forces were “expanding operations” in the Gaza Strip before an expected full ground invasion. It was also reported that internet and mobile services in Gaza had been cut off. (The Times)

10-27-2023
Military

State television reported that Iran’s ground forces launched two days of exercises on October 27 to test the flight readiness of more than 200 helicopters.

Iran’s ground forces launched two days of exercises on October 27 to test the flight readiness of more than 200 helicopters, state television reported. The drills, which had been planned earlier, are aimed at “confronting possible threats” facing the Islamic Republic, spokesperson Amir Cheshak said. He did not elaborate. He said troops and military equipment had been transferred from seven of Iran’s provinces for the drills in Nasr Abad in the central Isfahan Province. (Reuters)

10-27-2023
Terrorism

A senior Iranian envoy met with Hamas representatives in Moscow following talks with Russian diplomats.

A senior Iranian envoy met with Hamas representatives in Moscow following talks with Russian diplomats that underscored Moscow’s efforts to expand its clout as a power broker in the latest Israel-Hamas war, Russian and Iranian media said Friday. During the meeting with Hamas’ representative Moussa Abu Marzouk, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, emphasized the need for a cease-fire, lifting the blockade of the Gaza Strip and providing humanitarian assistance, according to a statement Friday by the Iranian Embassy in Moscow. The statement was carried out by Russian state news agencies. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Abu Marzouk told Bagheri Khani that he appreciated Iran’s support for the Palestinian people. (Associated Press)

10-26-2023
Terrorism

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched an online recruitment campaign after Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel, hoping to convince young Iranian men and boys to join the Palestinian armed group in its war efforts.

Shortly after Hamas conducted its bloody “Al-Aqsa Flood” terrorist operation in Israel on October 7, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched an online recruitment campaign with the same name, hoping to convince young Iranian men and boys to join the Palestinian armed group in its war efforts. The campaign, taken up by Iranian state TV and radio, and several websites affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, has already garnered more than 3 million ready-to-be-deployed volunteers, Iranian television reported. The “Al-Aqsa Flood” campaign features a young boy in his pre-pubescent teens wearing military fatigues in front of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. The child also has the symbolic pro-Palestine keffiyeh scarf wrapped around his neck, and wears a pin with General Qassem Soleimani’s portrait on his jacket. Soleimani, who long headed the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Al-Quds unit, was killed by American forces in Baghdad in 2020. (France 24)

10-26-2023
Terrorism

The Israeli military displayed a variety of Iran-made weapons recovered from communities in southern Israel that the Hamas militants attacked on October 7.

The military made the statement during an official media tour in which it displayed a variety of weapons recovered from communities in southern Israel attacked by the militants. A range of landmines, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and homemade drones were part of the haul displayed. Part of the arsenal included Iranian-made mortar rounds and North Korean RPGs. "I think about five to 10 percent of the weapons here [were] made in Iran," said an Israeli military official, who helped oversee the clearance of munitions from areas that came under attack. "And 10 percent [are] North Korean. The rest of it was made inside the Gaza Strip," the official added, speaking anonymously. Hamas is believed to rely on extensive smuggling networks to bring weapons into the besieged Gaza Strip. (AFP)

10-25-2023
Politics

Iran's Guardian Council has returned a chastity and hijab bill to parliament due to "ambiguities" in the legislation.

Iran's Guardian Council has returned a chastity and hijab bill to parliament due to "ambiguities" in the legislation, which has drawn criticism both inside and abroad. Hadi Tahan Nazif, the council's spokesman, echoed arguments made by the Expediency Discernment Council that parts of the bill are inconsistent with the "general policies of the legislative system." The bill, which proposes extensive penalties for those opposing wearing the mandatory hijab, was returned for having “unclear boundaries in some cases, a lack of definitions for certain terms, ambiguities in relation to the resolutions of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and some articles conflicting with the constitution due to increased public expenses or reduced public revenues without providing a way to compensate for it,” Nazif said. The Iranian regime is planning to hand over the oil industry to the “private sector,” which will effectively place the national wealth in the hands of insiders. (Radio Free Europe)

10-25-2023
Terrorism

In the weeks leading up to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, hundreds of the Palestinian Islamist militant group’s fighters received specialized combat training in Iran.

In the weeks leading up to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, hundreds of the Palestinian Islamist militant group’s fighters received specialized combat training in Iran, according to people familiar with intelligence related to the assault. Roughly 500 militants from Hamas and an allied group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, participated in the exercises in September, which were led by officers of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the people said. Senior Palestinian officials and Iranian Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the head of Quds Force, also attended, they said. More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed Oct. 7 by Hamas fighters who poured across the border from the Gaza Strip. Scores of others were kidnapped and taken back to Gaza, where they are being held hostage. (Wall Street Journal)

10-25-2023
Nuclear Program

Recent efforts to de-escalate tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program have been set back by the recent Hamas terror attack on Israel.

Recent efforts to de-escalate tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program have been set back by the recent Hamas terror attack on Israel, and Iran could seek to use the atomic program as leverage, according to analysts. Western powers accuse Iran of supporting Hamas as a proxy militant group in the region, although they have not accused Tehran of direct involvement in the group’s October 7 cross-border terror attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,400 Israeli soldiers and civilians. Hamas is also holding more than 200 people hostage. Israel’s subsequent bombing of Hamas targets in Gaza had killed almost 6,500 people as of Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials, including more than 2,700 children. (Voice of America)

10-24-2023
Terrorism

Two dozen American military personnel were wounded in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News.

Two dozen American military personnel were wounded in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News. The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed. Twenty American personnel sustained minor injuries on Oct. 18 when at least two one-way attack drones targeted the al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, CENTCOM said. One of the drones was shot down. All of the wounded personnel were returned to duty, CENTCOM said, and there was no damage to any military installations. On that same day, another four American personnel suffered minor injuries during two separate drone attacks against U.S. and coalition forces stationed at al-Asad base in western Iraq, CENTCOM said. (NBC News)

10-24-2023
Terrorism

Iran has unleashed the regional militias it has spent years arming to strike back at the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Iran has unleashed the regional militias it has spent years arming to strike back at the U.S. for its support of Israel, raising the risks of a larger conflict in the region. For more than six months, these Iranian-backed militia groups refrained from launching drones or rockets against American troops in Iraq and Syria, as part of what appeared to be an undeclared truce between Tehran and Washington. That came to an abrupt end last week when U.S. officials said that Iran-backed groups launched at least a half dozen military drone and rocket attacks against bases that U.S. troops use in southeast Syria and in western and northern Iraq. In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis also fired five Iranian-provided cruise missiles and launched about 30 drones toward Israel in an attack that was larger than initially described by the Pentagon, U.S. officials said. (Wall Street Journal)

10-23-2023
Military

Iran’s military chief warned the U.S. against sending weapons to Israel, saying it would further complicate the situation in Gaza.

Iran’s military chief warned the U.S. against sending weapons to Israel, saying it would further complicate the situation in Gaza. U.S. support for Israel "is considered as participation by the American government in the Zionist regime’s crimes,” Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said in remarks published by Iranian state media. Bagheri has been calling on his counterparts in Qatar, Russia, and Turkey not to allow the U.S. to use American bases in the Middle East for the transfer of arms to Israel. (Wall Street Journal)

10-20-2023
Extremism

To defend Palestine is a Quranic command, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, a firebrand senior cleric, told worshippers.

To defend Palestine is a Quranic command, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, a firebrand senior cleric, told worshippers, as tensions remain high in and around Gaza. God commanded Muslims to defend and protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the hardliner cleric said, and that means keeping “infidels” away from Jerusalem. Alamolhoda is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in one of the most important Shiite cities, Mashhad, where a revered imam is buried. He is also the father-in-law of Ebrahim Raisi, whom Khamenei handpicked to become president in 2021, simply by barring all other serious candidates from running, in what turned out to be a selection rather than an election. One of the special characteristics of Palestine, he said, is that God defeats all infidels in the blessed land. “The Holy Essence proclaims that divine signs are manifest in the land of Palestine.” (Iran International)

10-19-2023
Military

Iran believes it can boost its missile program now that sanctions have expired.

Iran believes it can boost its missile program now that sanctions have expired. However, the US indicated that it would take steps to continue some restrictions on Iran’s missiles. “Russia said on Tuesday that transfers of missile technology to Iran no longer needed Security Council approval as of Wednesday, when the UN sanctions lapse, without saying whether it now planned to support Tehran's missile development,” Reuters noted.  The expiration of the sanctions was part of the 2015 nuclear. The missile issue is important. Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas fired thousands of missiles at Israel during the war that began on October 7 with a massacre of Israelis. Hezbollah also continues to carry out attacks. (Jerusalem Post)

10-19-2023
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed groups blew up a gas pipeline in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeast near a U.S. base.

Iran-backed groups blew up a gas pipeline in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeast near a U.S. base, a war monitor said, as regional tensions grew following Israel's war with Gaza-based militants. Iran-backed groups "blew up the gas pipeline near the Conoco gas facility," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory's director, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP the blast had gone off close to a U.S. base. U.S.-led coalition forces, which entered Syria in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group, have set up several bases in Syria including in the Al-Omar oil field, the country's largest. They are also deployed at the Conoco gas field, and both are in Kurdish-controlled territory. (AFP)

10-10-2023
Military

Iran plans to hold talks with Russia over assistance to build a new Khayyam remote-sensing satellite.

Iran plans to hold talks with Russia over assistance to build a new Khayyam remote-sensing satellite. Discussions will cover developing technical specifications for new Khayyam satellites and plans for a small geostationary satellite and a telecommunications satellite, Russia's TASS news agency reported, citing the Iranian Mehr News Agency. Russia launched a Khayyam satellite for Iran on a Soyuz rocket in August last year. The spacecraft is a Russian-built Kanopus-V Earth-observation satellite with a resolution of 3.9 feet (1.2 meters). Khayyam satellites are named after the famed Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam. (Space.com)

10-05-2023
Military

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army unveiled a new drone they developed in a drill, Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh announced via state media.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army unveiled a new drone they developed in a drill, Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh announced via state media. The “Kaman-19,” named after the Farsi word for “bow,” successfully disrupted the communication between foreign drones and their ground base. The new drone was also able to disrupt foreign attacking drones electronically, highlighting the scope of Iran’s drone technology as the Islamic Republic continues to develop its drone program. Iran has been criticized internationally for the development of drones – most notably after providing Russia’s military with so-called “kamikaze” drones in 2022. (Jerusalem Post)

10-04-2023
Politics

A new report by the World Bank has put Iran among the worst countries in the world in terms of Worldwide Governance Indicators.

A new report by the World Bank has put Iran among the worst countries in the world in terms of Worldwide Governance Indicators. The international financial institution collected data from over 30 think tanks, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and private firms worldwide to encompass a wide range of perspectives on governance. However, in Iran's secretive regime, even its latest ranking, though low, begs questions as to the accuracy of the data provided, scoring suspiciously in areas such as the rule of law. Governance, defined as the traditions and institutions through which authority in a country is exercised, encompasses aspects such as the process of government selection, monitoring, and replacement, the government's ability to formulate and implement effective policies, and the level of respect shown by citizens and the state towards the institutions that oversee economic and social interactions among them. (Iran International)

10-04-2023
Human Rights

Activists have accused Iran's morality police of beating a girl for not wearing a hijab and posted a photo purportedly showing her in a coma.

Activists have accused Iran's morality police of beating a girl for not wearing a hijab and posted a photo purportedly showing her in a coma. Armita Geravand, 16, collapsed after boarding a Tehran metro train at Shohada station on Sunday. Officials said she fainted and released CCTV footage in which she is seen being pulled unconscious from the train. Human rights group Hengaw alleged that she was subjected to "a severe physical assault" by morality police officers. It said Armita was being treated at Tehran's Fajr hospital under tight security, and that the phones of all members of her family had been confiscated. On Monday, authorities briefly detained a female journalist for the Sharq newspaper who went to the hospital to report on the case. (BBC News)

10-04-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran says the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors banned from its nuclear sites were political "extremists" as it tried to justify its standing in the way of vital work.

Iran says the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors banned from its nuclear sites were political "extremists" as it tried to justify its standing in the way of vital work. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, justified Tehran's recent decision to ban what Director General of the IAEA, Raphael Grossi, said was around one-third of the international inspection team, claiming those expelled had a history of "extremist political behavior". Downplaying the scale, he said it was an "insignificant" number expelled, contradicting the statement by Grossi in which he made a rare public criticism of the regime for its obstructive behavior last month.  “With today’s decision, Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran,” Grossi said in a statement, adding that the move "affects in a direct and severe way the ability of the IAEA to effectively conduct its inspections in Iran.” (Iran International)

10-03-2023
Politics

Two sons of Iran's first deputy head of the Judiciary are involved in a $400 million money laundering and corruption case.

Two sons of Iran's first deputy head of the Judiciary are involved in a $400 million money laundering and corruption case. The sons of Mohammad Mosaddegh are facing a range of allegations, including the formation of a corruption network, money laundering, forgery of documents, and interference in judicial cases. The news of the detention of his two sons, who have been confirmed as participants in this network, has recently come to light. Their apprehension follows the arrest of an individual approximately eight months ago, charged with smuggling, money laundering, and other infractions. According to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, under the directive of the Chief Justice, an investigation was initiated, leading to the detention of eight individuals connected to the case so far. (Iran International)

10-02-2023
Human Rights

The repression against professors and university students deemed as critical to the Islamic Republic continues unabated in Iran.

The repression against professors and university students deemed as critical to the Islamic Republic continues unabated in Iran. During the first week of the new academic year, at least nine male students and three female students were barred from entering Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology, according to Amirkabir News Telegram Channel. A number of these students had previously been arrested by security agencies during nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in September last year. Amirkabir News Telegram Channel said that the university's security forces played a significant role in building a case against Alireza Baradaran Shoraka that led to his "unlawful" expulsion despite the student's "excellent academic record. (Iran Wire)

10-02-2023
Terrorism

An extraordinary article in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida has claimed that Iran is seeking to create a complex deal in Syria, to transfer weapons from Hezbollah to Syrian regime-backed Arab tribes, as well as to send arms to Moscow.

An extraordinary article in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida has claimed that Iran is seeking to create a complex deal in Syria, to transfer weapons from Hezbollah to Syrian regime-backed Arab tribes, as well as to send arms to Moscow. Maariv described this as a four-way deal, one that threatens both Israel and Ukraine. The interplay between Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria has always been complex, with any movement benefitting Hezbollah or Iran-backed proxies seen as a threat. If true, the move could result in a concerning weapons flow, especially new Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. While moving weapons away from Hezbollah and to the tribes or to Russia appears counterintuitive – since Hezbollah tends to stockpile weapons – this could take the older munitions off of Hezbollah’s hands, setting it up to get the newer ones while earning it gratitude from Moscow. (Jerusalem Post)

10-02-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran has the capacity to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device in a matter of weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Iranian leaders are not pursuing a nuclear weapons program but have the capacity to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device in a matter of weeks, according to the Department of Defense. The department's analysis is laid out in its Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, released late last week, though the estimation remains consistent with previous ones. "It is assessed that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program at this time, but has the capacity to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device in less than two weeks. Further, the United States assesses Iran to be noncompliant with its [Chemical Weapons Convention] obligations," it states. "For example, Iran has not submitted a complete chemical weapons production facility declaration to comply with CWC processes.” (Washington Examiner)

09-29-2023
Terrorism

A fourth Bahraini serviceman died following a Houthi drone attack against forces of the Saudi-led coalition in Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen, the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) said.

A fourth Bahraini serviceman died following a Houthi drone attack against forces of the Saudi-led coalition in Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen, the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) said. The officer died of his wounds, BDF said in a statement. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement has battled the Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and left 80% of the population dependent on aid. (Reuters)

09-29-2023
Terrorism

An Iranian hacker group known as OilRig hijacked legitimate websites in order to target Israeli organizations, including a healthcare organization, in two separate cyberattack campaigns in 2021 and 2022.

An Iranian hacker group known as OilRig hijacked legitimate websites in order to target Israeli organizations, including a healthcare organization, in two separate cyberattack campaigns in 2021 and 2022, the Slovak ESET cybersecurity company reported. The two cyberattack campaigns were labeled "Outer Space" and "Juicy Mix" by ESET. The two campaigns collected browsing history, cookies, usernames, and passwords stored on targeted devices. The Outer Space campaign, launched in 2021, was conducted after OilRig compromised an Israeli human resources site. The hacker group used the site as a server to extract information from targeted devices. (Jerusalem Post)

09-28-2023
Military

Iran and Russia may conclude a drone and missile sale agreement following the expiration of UN missile restrictions on October 18.

Senior Iranian and Russian military officials reviewed Iranian advanced conventional weapons, and may conclude a drone and missile sale agreement following the expiration of UN missile restrictions on October 18, Washington-based think tank Institute of Study of War (ISW) reported. On September 19, Russian Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu made a trip to Tehran, where discussions were held regarding the enhancement of defense and military collaboration between Russia and Iran. During the visit, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajji Zadeh gave Shoigu a tour of Iran’s drone, missile, and air defense arsenal at the IRGC Aerospace Force headquarters in Tehran. (Al-Arabiya)

09-28-2023
Military

Iran is planning to build a naval base at the South Pole, its naval chief said.

Iran is planning to build a naval base at the South Pole, its naval chief said. "Our plan in the future is to raise the proud flag of Iran in Antarctica," navy chief Adm Shahram Irani said during Iran's "sacred defense" week. Tehran hopes to conduct "military and scientific" work at the South Pole, he added, addressing the 86th flotilla, which returned in June from voyages to prepare an Antarctic expedition. In May, Iran said it hoped to send warships to Antarctica in the "near future" and had sent the flotilla on a round-the-world expedition to prepare for the mission. Adm Irani said the flotilla "broke the hegemony of world powers," state-run Irna reported. (The National)

09-28-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iranian vessels pointed lasers against a U.S. attack helicopter operating in the Persian Gulf, in what the U.S. military is calling “unsafe, unprofessional, and irresponsible” actions.

Iranian vessels pointed lasers against a U.S. attack helicopter operating in the Persian Gulf, in what the U.S. military is calling “unsafe, unprofessional, and irresponsible.” According to a U.S. Navy statement, personnel aboard vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy pointed lasers at a U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter while in flight. No one aboard was injured and the helicopter, which was operating from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, was not damaged, the statement said. The helicopter was operating in international airspace and Iran’s actions were inappropriate, the statement said. (Politico)

09-28-2023
Human Rights

Handwritten notes from Javad Rouhi, who died in Nowshahr prison due to medical neglect, show the brutal torture he endured in the hands of state security.

Handwritten notes from Javad Rouhi, who died in Nowshahr prison due to medical neglect, show the brutal torture he endured in the hands of state security. Atena Daemi, a human rights activist, has since his recent death, made the notes public, drawing attention to the dire plight of inmates in Iran's penitentiaries. Rouhi, who was apprehended during the nationwide protests, died under suspicious circumstances while in custody on August 31. He had been sentenced to death alongside two other teenagers, on charges of allegedly setting fire to a police station. The notes written by Rouhi reveal that during his 44 days of incarceration at the Intelligence Department of Mazandaran Province facility, he was subjected to repeated instances of interrogation torture including electric shock and beatings. (Iran International)

09-27-2023
Military

Iran claimed it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space.

Iran claimed it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, which could further ratchet up tensions with Western nations that fear its space technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran's Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth's surface, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It was not clear when exactly the launch took place. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (CBS News)

09-27-2023
Military

Iranian state television revealed a new jet-powered version of the Shahed series drone.

Iranian state television has revealed the existence of a new one-way attack drone: a jet-powered version of the Shahed series, the drones which Russia has used to pound Ukraine. The current Shahed-136 is driven by a propeller, with a puttering piston engine earning it the nickname “flying moped.” The new version will be far faster and more difficult to intercept. (Forbes)

09-27-2023
Terrorism

Israel arrested five Palestinians in a plot allegedly hatched in Iran to target and spy on senior Israeli politicians.

Israel arrested five Palestinians in a plot allegedly hatched in Iran to target and spy on senior Israeli politicians, including Israel’s far-right national security minister, the country’s internal security agency. The Shin Bet security service alleged that an Iranian security official living in neighboring Jordan had recruited three Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and another two Palestinian citizens of Israel to gather intelligence about several high-profile Israeli politicians. The targets included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — a firebrand Israeli settler leader who oversees the country’s police force in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government — as well as Yehuda Glick, an American-born far-right Israeli activist and former member of parliament. (Associated Press)

09-26-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran's judiciary announced that its prosecutors had issued indictments against U.S. President Joe Biden and over 50 other American officials over their supporting and hosting of a U.S.-based exiled opposition group.

Iran's judiciary announced that its prosecutors had issued indictments against U.S. President Joe Biden and over 50 other American officials over their supporting and hosting of a U.S.-based exiled opposition group. At a press briefing in Tehran, judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said the list also included former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush as well as secretaries of state Mike Pompeo, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice. Setayeshi argued that the sitting and former officials had long supported the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, also known as Tondar, "a dissident group which promotes the restoration of the monarchy to Iran to replace the theocratic Islamic Republic." (Al-Monitor

09-26-2023
Nuclear Program

In the spring of 2014, senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials initiated a quiet effort to bolster Tehran’s image and positions on global security issues — particularly its nuclear program — by building ties with a network of influential overseas academ

In the spring of 2014, senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials initiated a quiet effort to bolster Tehran’s image and positions on global security issues — particularly its nuclear program — by building ties with a network of influential overseas academics and researchers. They called it the Iran Experts Initiative. The scope and scale of the IEI project has emerged in a large cache of Iranian government correspondence and emails reported for the first time by Semafor and Iran International. The officials, working under the moderate President Hassan Rouhani, congratulated themselves on the impact of the initiative: At least three of the people on the Foreign Ministry’s list were, or became, top aides to Robert Malley, the Biden administration’s special envoy on Iran, who was placed on leave this June following the suspension of his security clearance. (Semafor)

09-25-2023
Politics

A member of the Iranian parliament says the Expediency Council has exempted the executive and judicial branches from the transparency law.

A member of the Iranian parliament says the Expediency Council has exempted the executive and judicial branches from the transparency law. The "Transparency of the Three Branches" draft law was presented by a group of parliament members in April 2022. After several debates between the parliament and the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council ultimately took responsibility for the final decision. The Expediency Discernment Council is an administrative assembly appointed by the supreme leader with supervisory powers over all branches of the government. The Guardian Council is a 12-member body – half of whom were directly appointed by Khamenei – that also has veto power over legislation passed by the parliament. (Iran International)

09-25-2023
Human Rights

An American-Iranian dual national died in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison due to lack of medical attention, according to reports.

An American-Iranian dual national died in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison due to lack of medical attention, according to reports. An anonymous source told BBC Persian that Faramarz Javidzad, 60, was taken to hospital after he suffered stomach bleeding, but he was later returned to the prison in the Iranian capital where he later died due to lack of medical care. He was returned purportedly at the behest of the prison authorities, Iran Wire reported. Faramarz's physical condition reportedly had been deteriorating for several days. Javidzad lived in the United States for two decades before returning to Iran a few years ago, where he ended up facing charges relating to “the transfer of illicit funds, involvement in the formation of a counterfeit and fraudulent network,” Iran International reported. (Al-Monitor)

09-25-2023
Terrorism

The spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guards has threatened a vigorous response to counter the “hostile activities of the enemy in the media sphere.”

The spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guards has threatened a vigorous response to counter the “hostile activities of the enemy in the media sphere.” Ramezan Sharif called for launching an offensive against anti-regime media as the revolutionary tide continues to deepen and threaten the Islamic Republic's stability. Iranian regime authorities, including commanders from the Revolutionary Guard, have frequently issued threats against media outlets operating abroad, such as Iran International. During his address, Sharif alleged that media outlets globally are under the control of individuals who shape the narrative for their respective organizations while pursuing their own vested interests. (Iran International)

09-25-2023
Nuclear Program

The head of UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says “significant safeguards issues remain outstanding” in Iran’s nuclear program.

The head of UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says “significant safeguards issues remain outstanding” in Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking at the IAEA General Conference, Grossi admitted that there has been no progress in “implementing the activities outlined in the most recent joint statement he made with Iran in March 2023.” Back in March, a few days before a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, Grossi visited Iran to reach an agreement that would avert yet another resolution requiring Tehran to cooperate to resolve long-standing disputes. Out of that trip came a Joint Statement in which the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed readiness “to provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues.” (Iran International)

09-22-2023
Extremism

A journalist was attacked in New York City by an official who was part of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s camp.

A journalist was attacked in New York City by an official who was part of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s camp, a news channel has alleged. Iran International correspondent Kian Amani was filming outside the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza Hotel and reporting on Raisi’s “entourage” leaving when the incident happened, the Iran International news channel said in a statement. “The entourage of Iran’s president attacked, harassed, and insulted Iran International journalists covering Ebrahim Raisi’s stay in New York,” Iran International alleged. (CNN)

09-22-2023
Military

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani held discussions with senior Syrian officials in Damascus on ways to "confront the military and security challenges facing Syria" and supervised a joint Iran-Syria military exercise, Iranian state-linked media said.

Qaani, appointed Quds Force commander after a U.S. drone strike on Baghdad killed its revered leader Qassem Soleimani in 2020, met senior Syrian officials in Damascus, Tasnim news agency reported. They held discussions on ways to "confront the military and security challenges facing Syria" and supervised a joint Iran-Syria military exercise, Tasnim said. Qaani also praised Syria and Iran's "brotherly relations." He added Iran "will stand by the Syrian people and leadership in facing its challenges.” The Quds Force is the foreign operations arm of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (France 24)

09-22-2023
Terrorism

Iran and its agents appear to be orchestrating a Europe-wide campaign of harassment, surveillance, kidnap plots, and death threats targeting political activists who are protesting against the regime.

Iran and its agents appear to be orchestrating a Europe-wide campaign of harassment, surveillance, kidnap plots, and death threats targeting political activists who are protesting against the regime. The Guardian has spoken to 15 Iranian campaigners who have been targeted in similar acts of repression across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden. In most of the cases, the activists have been warned by western police or security agencies that Iran is behind credible threats to their life in retribution for their activism on European soil. The attacks include hacking, cyber-attacks, and online harassment that can include thousands of death threats sent over a week, and real-world threats. (The Guardian)

09-20-2023
Extremism

A leader of a government vigilante mob who carried out the 2011 storming of the British embassy in Tehran accompanied Iran's president during his visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

A leader of a government vigilante mob who carried out the 2011 storming of the British embassy in Tehran accompanied Iran's president during his visit to the United States. Mojtaba Amini is also the producer of a TV series that has been criticized for glorifying the imprisonment of dual nationals and journalists. Amini's producing of the Gando TV series was aimed to undermine the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani while receiving praise from supporters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Members of President Hassan Rouhani's administration, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, protested the series and even wrote a letter of complaint to Khamenei, requesting its cancellation. (Iran International)

09-20-2023
Politics

Iran’s parliament passed a new “hijab and chastity” bill that lays out punishment for people, especially women, who violate the country’s mandatory dress code rules.

Iran’s parliament passed a new “hijab and chastity” bill that lays out punishment for people, especially women, who violate the country’s mandatory dress code rules. Lawmakers approved the three-year duration of the legislation on a trial basis, with 152 voting in favor, 34 against, and seven abstaining. The Guardian Council, a powerful oversight body consisting of clerics and legal experts, would need to approve the bill before it can be implemented. The implementation of the legislation, which had been in the works for months, was not put to a parliament vote. It was approved last month by a special committee consisting of 10 lawmakers. (Al-Jazeera)

09-20-2023
Human Rights

Mass arrests in Iran are reported on the anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, which was sparked by Mahsa Amini’s murder at the hands of the “Morality Police” in Iran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed no regrets about how his government handled widespread protests in the country last year, even as reports of mass arrests being made in the country as the anniversary of the protests in response to the death of Mahsa Amini approaches. "Those who carried out terror, who have killed individuals, who have attacked police and security forces, who had made some destruction in the country, of course we did not have mercy upon them," Raisi told NBC News' Lester Holt last week in his first interview with a Western news organization since Amini's controversial death in police custody last year. (Fox News)

09-15-2023
Military

Iran has seized two foreign oil tankers, its state media reported, as tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic in the Gulf continue.

Iran has seized two foreign oil tankers, its state media reported, as tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic in the Gulf continue. The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had captured two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf that were carrying 400,000 gallons of smuggled fuel. The tankers, the Steven and the Crown, were flying under the flags of Panama and Tanzania, IRNA reported. Both ships' crews, 37 people in total, were arrested. Al-Monitor was unable to find ships matching their description in shipping databases. (Al-Monitor)

09-14-2023
Nuclear Program

Britain, Germany, France and the United States told the International Atomic Energy Agency further action would be needed on Iran if the country did not fulfill legal obligations and clarify issues over nuclear material.

Britain, Germany, France and the United States told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) further action would be needed on Iran if the country did not fulfill legal obligations and clarify issues over nuclear material. "Iran needs to provide, without further delay, technically credible information on the current location(s) of nuclear material and contaminated equipment in relation to Turquzabad and Varamin," the four countries said in a statement to the IAEA board on September 13. (Reuters)

09-12-2023
Human Rights

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his government will decide how it will spend $6 billion in previously frozen funds due to be released in a prisoner exchange agreement with the U.S.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his government will decide how it will spend $6 billion in previously frozen funds due to be released in a prisoner exchange agreement with the U.S., telling NBC News’ Lester Holt that the money will be spent "wherever we need it." In an exclusive interview in Tehran, Raisi suggested that the Americans held in Iran would be coming home soon, saying that the U.S.-Iran prisoner exchange deal would be completed in “due time” and that the American detainees were “very healthy.” Under the arrangement, Tehran will be granted access to the roughly $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues that were blocked in South Korean banks because of U.S. sanctions. But U.S. officials say Qatar’s central bank will oversee the funds and Iran will be permitted to use the money only for humanitarian purposes in accordance with U.S. sanctions. (NBC News)

09-12-2023
Human Rights

Iran's theocracy institutes snap checkpoints, internet disruptions, and university purges as the anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement approaches.

Iran's theocracy is trying hard to both ignore the upcoming anniversary of nationwide protests over the country's mandatory headscarf law and tamp down on any possibility of more unrest. Yet the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini still reverberates across Iran. Some women are choosing to go without the headscarf, or hijab, despite an increasing crackdown by authorities. Graffiti, likely against Iran's government, is rapidly painted over in black by Tehran's municipal workers. University professors have been fired over their apparent support for demonstrators. (Associated Press)

09-12-2023
Terrorism

Israel accused Iran of building an airport in southern Lebanon to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Israelis across the border.

Israel accused Iran of building an airport in southern Lebanon to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Israelis across the border, signaling a possible escalation in tensions between the regional foes. Speaking at a high-profile security conference hosted by Reichman University near Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Iran has been building a runway that slices through forested mountains just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Israel’s northern border. Gallant displayed satellite photographs that he said showed the site, where the Iranian national flag and the flag of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group could be seen. Gallant alleged that Iran “is planning to act against the citizens of Israel,” using the runway as a base. (Associated Press)

09-11-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran has the resources and technical know-how to produce multiple nuclear weapons in months, according to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).

Iran has the resources and technical know-how to "produce enough [weapons-grade uranium] for six nuclear weapons in one month, eight in two months, nine in three months, and ten in four months," according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank that reviewed the latest disclosures about Tehran’s atomic stockpile from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is significantly faster than the three-to-four months it would have taken Iran to build just one nuclear weapon in 2020 when economic sanctions were at their strictest before the Biden administration took office. Now, it would take Iran just 12 days to produce the fuel needed for its first nuclear warhead and a total of six by the end of one month. (Washington Free Beacon)

09-10-2023
Military

Iranian pro-regime media praises the “Tactical Sayyad” air-defense system.

Multiple articles in Iranian pro-regime media have been hyping the “Tactical Sayyad” air-defense system. Iran claims this system, which is launched from a military-style truck, can detect up to 24 targets at a time at a distance of around 180 km. It can then engage up to 12 of those targets. Iran claims this is an indigenous system, built and developed in Iran. This would be in contrast to other systems that Iran may have developed by modeling them on foreign air-defense missiles, such as S-200s. (Jerusalem Post)

09-10-2023
Terrorism

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, revealed at a security conference that Israel and its allies had foiled 27 attacks over the past year in Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, and South America.

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency said that Israel is prepared to strike “in the heart of Tehran” to track down the perpetrators of what he said were over two dozen Iranian attempts to hit Israeli and Jewish targets around the world. Speaking at a security conference, David Barnea said that Israel and its allies had foiled 27 attacks over the past year in Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, and South America. “The plots being pursued by these teams were orchestrated, masterminded, and directed by Iran,” Barnea told the conference at Reichman University. He added that “as we speak” Iran is trying to carry out additional attacks. (Associated Press)  

09-09-2023
Politics

A few dozen hardliners in parliament and in President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration have increasingly resorted to eliminating others from the government bureaucracy and even universities, accusing some of insufficient “revolutionary” credentials.

Mansur Haqiqatpur, the former deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, stated in an interview with Rouydad24 in Tehran, "Despite their small numbers, these ultraconservatives have seized control of all government institutions." Referring to their widespread influence and their “irresponsible behavior,” Haqiqatpur emphasized that the nation, the media, and politicians should hold the ultraconservatives accountable for their destructive performance. A few dozen hardliners in parliament and in President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration have increasingly resorted to eliminating others from the government bureaucracy and even universities, accusing some of insufficient “revolutionary” credentials. (Iran International)

09-07-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran claims the U.S. State Department funded and supported an anti-regime network, which Iran’s Intelligence Ministry (MOIS) and the IRGC allegedly uncovered and disrupted.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry, in cooperation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence unit, busted "a foreign-affiliated network" that it says was planning to renew a protest movement that erupted across the Islamic Republic following the brutal murder of a young woman at the hands of Tehran's morality police. Iran claims the U.S. State Department funded and supported the anti-regime network. But the claims, which were presented by Iran's state-controlled media without evidence, indicate the Iranian regime may be seeking to use the U.S. government as a scapegoat before the ongoing protest movement launches a new wave of demonstrations to bring down the hardline Islamic government, according to one former Pentagon adviser. (Washington Free Beacon)

09-05-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities closed down the pro-reform news agency Entekhab after it published a video clip criticizing the foreign policy agenda of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranian authorities closed down the pro-reform news agency Entekhab after it published a video clip criticizing the foreign policy agenda of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi. The decision was announced by the state regulatory body, known as the Press Supervisory Board, after it found the news agency to be "acting against Iran's national interests and the Islamic Republic's fundamental foreign policies," according to a report by the government-funded Tasnim news agency. The ban was specifically prompted by a five-minute clip posted on Entekhab's various digital platforms. The report dug into Raisi's foreign policy, describing it as a failure. Titled "The Iranian brand put up for sale," it argued that the overall trajectory of Raisi's foreign policy is placing Iran in a "weaker" position, particularly with its "look to the East" approach, and that the reliance on Russia and China "will leave such damage upon Iran that cannot be repaired for years to come."  (Al-Monitor)

09-05-2023
Terrorism

A court in Germany levied accusations against a dual Iranian-German individual in connection with an arson attack targeting a synagogue in the Ruhr region of Germany. The defendant is alleged to have received directives from the Iranian government.

A court in Germany levied accusations against an individual in connection with a fire that occurred in November 2022 at a school in the city of Bochum. The defendant is alleged to have received directives from the Iranian government, with the primary target being a synagogue situated adjacent to the school. The 36-year-old defendant, a dual Iranian-German citizen, is set to face trial on September 12th in the regional high court of Dusseldorf, as indicated by the official indictment. He has been charged with orchestrating an arson attack under the orders of Iranian government authorities, targeting a synagogue in the Ruhr region of western Germany. (Iran International)

09-05-2023
Terrorism

The European Union's top diplomat confirmed that Johan Floderus, a Swedish diplomat working for the EU, has been held captive in Iran for more than 500 days.

The European Union's top diplomat confirmed that Johan Floderus, a Swedish diplomat working for the EU, has been held captive in Iran for more than 500 days. Arriving at a meeting on development in the Spanish city of Cadiz, EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell told reporters that Brussels was pushing "relentlessly" for the 33-year-old's release. Sweden partially confirmed a New York Times report on the detention, announcing that a Swedish citizen in his thirties had been held in Iran since April 2022. But Borrell went further, confirming the prisoner's name and that he works for the EU diplomatic corps. (AFP)

09-04-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, continues to grow and there has been no progress in talks with Tehran.

Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, continues to grow and there has been no progress in talks with Tehran on sensitive issues such as explaining uranium traces at undeclared sites, two reports by the U.N. nuclear watchdog seen by Reuters said on Monday. According to one of the confidential quarterly reports to member states, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade, continued to increase albeit at a slower pace, despite some of it having been diluted. (Reuters)

09-02-2023
Military

Iran’s news agencies are reporting that a Russian-made YAK-130 combat trainer aircraft is in the country and has joined the Air Force.

Iran’s news agencies are reporting that a Russian-made YAK-130 combat trainer aircraft is in the country and has joined the Air Force. The report by ISNA said the advanced combat trainer aircraft is able to meet the training needs of pilots to learn to fly 4th-generation fighters. In April, Iran announced that it had finalized a deal to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia. Iran and Russia have a close relationship, especially in military equipment. Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia’s continued war on Ukraine. (Associated Press)

08-31-2023
Nuclear Program

The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will focus on Iran’s near bomb-grade uranium stockpile at its upcoming September 11 board meeting.

Iran is slowing the rate at which it’s stockpiling near weapons-grade uranium, the U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to conclude next month, adding to an easing of Persian Gulf tensions that’s already seen Tehran and Washington discuss the release of prisoners and more oil pour onto global markets. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors are preparing to circulate their quarterly Iran safeguards report ahead of the Vienna-based agency’s September 11 board meeting. Some nuclear officials predict the IAEA data will show Iran is moderating its production of highly-enriched uranium, a key component of an atomic bomb. Iran says its program is peaceful. (Bloomberg)

08-30-2023
Human Rights

The trial of the lawyer for Mahsa Amini has begun in Iran. Saleh Nikbakht has been charged with "propaganda against the system."

The trial has begun in Iran of the lawyer for Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian Kurdish woman whose death last September triggered a widespread protest movement, a media report said. Saleh Nikbakht is charged with "propaganda against the system," the daily Etemad reported. “He was notified of the charge of propaganda activity against the regime for having spoken to foreign and local media, concerning the Mahsa Amini affair in particular," it said. Nikbakht's trial begins nearly a year after the death in custody last September 16 of 22-year-old Amini, after she was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress rules for women. (AFP)

08-29-2023
Human Rights

A student group says officials at Ferdowsi University in the city of Mashhad have decided to segregate classes by gender for the upcoming school year.

A student group says officials at Ferdowsi University in the city of Mashhad have decided to segregate classes by gender for the upcoming school year. The Student Guild Councils of Iran published photos on August 28 showing an internal memo approved by Abolfazl Ghaffari, the school's vice president for cultural, social, and student affairs, that outlines the implementation of the plan, which was sent to the dean of the Mathematics Department and will be issued to other department heads as well. In the directive, Ghaffari references a decision by Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which mandates the observance of Islamic guidelines in educational settings, endorsing the separation of male and female students in classes. Gender segregation has long been a contentious issue at Iranian universities. (Radio Free Europe)

08-29-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have dismissed at least 10 university professors who supported the nationwide protests that began last September.

Iranian authorities have dismissed at least 10 university professors who supported the nationwide protests that began last September following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Just weeks ahead of the anniversary of her demise, reports on social media showed that Hamideh Khademi and Ameneh Aali, two professors from Allameh University in Tehran, were dismissed via phone call, while the Student Guild Council of Iran reported the dismissal of seven professors from the Faculty of Literature at the University of Tehran. Universities and students have long been at the forefront of the struggle for greater social and political freedoms in Iran. In 1999, students protested the closure of a reformist daily, prompting a brutal raid on the dorms of Tehran University that left one student dead. (Radio Free Europe)

08-29-2023
Terrorism

Iran is pressing its proxy group, Hezbollah, to attack Israel along its northern border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the United Nations Secretary-General.

Iran is pressing its proxy group, Hezbollah, to attack Israel along its northern border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the United Nations Secretary-General as he urged him to ensure that the organization’s peacekeeping force is empowered to monitor the situation. "The potential for escalation on the northern border is increasing following a blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty by Hezbollah’s military build-up,” Gallant said. “The U.N. must urgently intervene to reduce tensions by strengthening the freedom of movement of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon in the region, and implementing its mandate on the northern border,” Gallant told Guterres. (Jerusalem Post)

08-28-2023
Politics

The administration of President Ebrahim Raisi is falsifying statistics pertaining to the government of Hassan Rouhani to pretend there has been growth under his stewardship.

Despite pervasive poverty in society, the Iranian government boasts about its performance but based on apparently fabricated data, a former official says. To justify its inept handling of the economic situation, manifested in devaluation of the national currency and runaway inflation, the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi is falsifying statistics pertaining to the government of Hassan Rouhani to pretend there has been growth under his stewardship. The sheer volume of inaccurate information has prompted Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, a vice president under Rouhani and the former head of the Planning and Budget Organization, to write an open letter to the incumbent, providing what he described as the correct data. (Iran International)

08-28-2023
Terrorism

The Jordanian army said it downed a drone heading from Syria in the third such incident this month, linked to Iran-backed militias.

The Jordanian army said it downed a drone heading from Syria in the third such incident this month, linked to Iran-backed militias. Meanwhile, officials said an increase in weapons being smuggled across the border was raising concerns about a new Iranian-instigated threat beyond drugs. The army said in a statement that the drone was brought down in its territory but did not say what it was carrying. Officials have recently revealed weapons were being smuggled as well as narcotics by drone. Jordanian officials said the increasing use of drones carrying explosives was adding a new dimension in a relentless cross-border billion-dollar drug war the staunch U.S. ally has long blamed on Iranian-backed militias that hold sway in southern Syria. (Iran International)

08-27-2023
Terrorism

Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed 10 Yemen army soldiers from a southern separatist faction in a "surprise attack" after more than a year of relative calm, military sources said.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed 10 Yemen army soldiers from a southern separatist faction in a "surprise attack" after more than a year of relative calm, military sources said. Twelve others were wounded in the attack by the Houthis in the border area between the southern provinces of Lahj and Al-Bayda, the sources told AFP on the condition of anonymity. Four Houthi fighters were also killed, and several were wounded, the sources said. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. The attack targeted a site manned by the separatists, who aspire to create an independent state in southern Yemen such as the one that existed until 1990, the military sources said. (AFP)

08-27-2023
Terrorism

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) cleared for publication that security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle Iranian-made explosives into Israel from Jordan last month.

The Israel Defense Forces cleared for publication that security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle Iranian-made explosives into Israel from Jordan last month. The smuggling attempt was thwarted by troops of the IDF’s 417th Regional Brigade and members of the Matilan Border Police counterterrorism unit on July 24 in the Jordan Valley just south of the Sea of Galilee, near the Ashdot Ya’akov kibbutz. Initially, few details were permitted for publication by the Military Censor, including the type of contraband seized by the forces, and its origins. Later, the censor allowed for media to publish that troops had seized Iranian-made explosives. (Times of Israel)

08-27-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran's enrichment of uranium continues based on a framework established by the country's parliament, Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said.

Iran's enrichment of uranium continues based on a framework established by the country's parliament, nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said when asked about reports regarding Tehran slowing down its 60% enrichment. "Our nuclear enrichment continues based on the strategic framework law," Eslami said, referring to a related legislation. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had significantly slowed the pace at which it was accumulating near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and diluted some of its stockpile, moves that could help ease tensions with the U.S. and revive broader talks over Iran's nuclear work. (Reuters)

08-26-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi told a summit of the BRICS group of nations that Tehran is determined to help member states ditch the U.S. dollar in their economic dealings.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi told a summit of the BRICS group of nations that Tehran is determined to help member states ditch the U.S. dollar in their economic dealings. Raisi was delivering his speech in Johannesburg, South Africa, only a day after BRICS — currently formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China — sent out invitations to Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina to become new members as of 2024. "Iran decisively backs up BRICS' efforts toward de-dollarization … using national currencies and strengthening the bloc's mechanisms for payment and financial interactions," Raisi said in comments aired live by Iran's state TV. Sanctioned by the United States and squeezed by banking restrictions, Iran has long been knocking on doors to try to remove the dollar from its foreign business and restore payments for its vital oil sales. (Al-Monitor)

08-25-2023
Military

Iran launched exercises to test its “electronic warfare” capabilities against mock enemy drones, fighter jets and helicopters, state television reported.

Iran launched exercises to test its “electronic warfare” capabilities against mock enemy drones, fighter jets and helicopters, state television reported. It said units from the military's navy, ground, and air forces as well as air defenses took part in the drills in the central, largely desert region of the Islamic Republic. The exercises featured domestically manufactured radars, drones, manned and unmanned fighter jets, micro aerial vehicles and other military equipment, state TV said. (Reuters)  

08-25-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities are arresting activists and pressuring citizens not to resume antigovernment protests, seeking to head off a new outbreak of civil disobedience around the anniversary of last year’s nationwide demonstrations.

Iranian authorities are arresting activists and pressuring citizens not to resume antigovernment protests, seeking to head off a new outbreak of civil disobedience around the anniversary of last year’s nationwide demonstrations. The tactics signaled deepening concerns among Iran’s clerical leadership that the grievances that sparked protests last year haven’t abated, and that a resumption of clashes that brought parts of the country to a near standstill remains possible, even though calm has reigned for months. Last year’s protests began in mid-September. Demands for greater freedom quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the clerical leadership, in one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its founding four decades ago. (Wall Street Journal)

08-23-2023
Military

Iran and Russia have entered discussions about the prospects of further military cooperation.

As Russia and Iran are both hit by economic sanctions from the West, the allied nations have entered discussions about the prospect of military cooperation. Russia’s deputy defense minister and the Iranian ground forces commander were in talks this week during an Iranian military delegation's visit to Moscow, Interfax reports. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine 18 months ago, the two nations have drawn closer in diplomatic and military exchanges, which has caused concern in the West. In August 2022, Iran’s supply of lethal drones to Russia sparked international interest and alarm. And the alleged transfer of drones from Iran to Russia for use against Ukraine triggered further concern. (Iran International)

08-22-2023
Politics

A former senior official of Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a lawmaker have warned that "infiltrators" in the upper echelons of the government pose a threat to national interests.

A former senior official of Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a lawmaker have warned that "infiltrators" in the upper echelons of the government pose a threat to national interests. A former Director General for the Middle East, Mohammad Ali Sobhani, has said in an interview with Entekhab website last week that "a radical group of infiltrators are furthering measures that prevents the Iranian government from normalizing its relations with other countries." In April 2021, former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said that Russia interfered in Iran's domestic affairs particularly by dictating ideas to the top-level commanders of the revolutionary Guards (IRGC). Zarif said that Russia summoned former IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani to Moscow on a few occasions. (Iran International)

08-22-2023
Military

Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper.

Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it. “Mohajer” means “immigrant” in Farsi and has been a drone line manufactured by the Islamic Republic since 1985. (Associated Press)

08-21-2023
Human Rights

Iran has executed at least eight individuals – most of whom were incarcerated for drug offenses – in a span of three days, local activists said.

Iran, which Amnesty International recently slammed for turning its prisons into "killing fields," has executed at least eight individuals – most of whom were incarcerated for drug offenses – in a span of three days, local activists said. The Baluch Activists Campaign said on August 21 that four executions – all linked to drug-related offences – took place at the Zahedan prison. The group identified the victims as Abdulsamad Khadem, a 29-year-old from Zahak; Yaqub Ejbari, a father of eight from Qarqaruk village; Mohammad Anwar Barahui and an individual with the surname Qanbarzehi, both of whom were from Zahedan, which is located in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. (Radio Free Europe)

08-21-2023
Terrorism

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a series of recent deadly attacks against Israelis has been funded and encouraged by Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a series of recent deadly attacks against Israelis has been funded and encouraged by Iran. "We are in the midst of a terror attack. This terror attack is encouraged, guided, funded by Iran and its satellite states," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks. He spoke in the occupied West Bank at a site where hours earlier an Israeli woman was shot dead by suspected Palestinian gunmen. (Reuters)

08-20-2023
Politics

Hardliners hold such a strong sway within Iran's regime that media discuss their intentions to seize control of the political system for the upcoming decade.

Hardliners hold such a strong sway within Iran's regime that media discuss their intentions to seize control of the political system for the upcoming decade. They have almost been in total control of the presidential administration since 2021, while also holding the majority of seats in the parliament (Majles) following the controversial elections of 2020, when no moderate or reformist regime loyalists were allowed to run. The ultraconservatives' near-monopoly of power is already strong enough so that traditional conservatives such as the elderly members of the Islamic Coalition Party find it hard to consider themselves as players in the upcoming parliamentary election in March. (Iran International)

08-20-2023
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps released footage showing Iranian forces confronting U.S. naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps released footage showing Iranian forces confronting U.S. naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz. The incident comes as U.S. warships entered the gateway to the Persian Gulf for the first time since 2021, responding to Iranian seizures and harassment of oil tankers. IRGC speed boats were seen in the video trailing the USS Bataan, which was carrying thousands of Marines as part of larger reinforcements to the area. “Your helicopter is in the vicinity of my vessels,” Iranian forces radioed to the American warship, “sometimes going to Iranian territorial waters. Advised to take them on your boat and do not enter … Iranian territorial waters. If you do not obey my orders, we will open fire on your helicopters, over.” (i24 News)

08-17-2023
Military

An Iranian scientific network led by a regime loyalist who has links to Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is trying to engage U.K.-based academics with expertise in dual-use technologies.

An Iranian scientific network led by a regime loyalist who has links to Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is trying to engage U.K.-based academics with expertise in dual-use technologies. Mohammad Hussain Ataee Dolat Abadi, director of International Conference of Research in Europe (ICRE), has persuaded leading scientists and engineers from universities including Cambridge, Birmingham, Glasgow Caledonian, and University College London to share their ideas and address conferences in Tehran. The network was personally backed by the former Iranian minister of science and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is an official partner of the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, which has been subject to U.K. and E.U. sanctions due to its involvement with Iran’s nuclear weapons program since 2012. (Jewish Chronicle)

08-17-2023
Military

Iran and Russia are said to be running a month behind schedule on a drone manufacturing facility in Russia. The site at Alabuga is unlikely to meet its target date for 6,000 drones.

Although Western officials have revealed the existence of the facility and Moscow’s partnership with Tehran, documents leaked from the program and obtained by The Washington Post provide new information about the effort by two self-proclaimed enemies of the United States — under some of the world’s heaviest sanctions — to expand the Kremlin’s drone program. Altogether, the documents indicate that, despite delays and a production process that is deeply reliant on foreign-produced electronic components, Moscow has made steady progress toward its goal of manufacturing a variant of the Iranian Shahed-136, an attack drone capable of traveling more than 1,000 miles. (Washington Post)

08-14-2023
Anti-Americanism

Russian officials have said that the volume of trade between Russia and Iran will reach $7.5 billion by 2025.

The intensification of international sanctions against Russia has made Iran a potentially major trade partner for Moscow, a website in Tehran said. According to Rouydad24, Iranian officials have started to think of Russia as a $100 billion market for Iranian goods. This, however, is an outlandish expectation given Iran’s own isolation due to sanctions, its crippled economy, and the need for technology and raw materials hard for Iran to acquire. The volume of trade between Moscow and Tehran reached $4 billion between January and October 2022, a far cry from the $100 billion figure. Russian officials have said that the volume of trade will reach $7.5 billion by 2025. (Iran International)

08-13-2023
Extremism

Iranian authorities arrested nine followers of the Bahai faith— over a host of corruption charges — including money laundering and tax evasion, the intelligence ministry said.

Iranian authorities arrested nine followers of the Bahai faith— over a host of corruption charges — including money laundering and tax evasion, the intelligence ministry said. The Bahais, Iran's largest non-Muslim minority, are branded by the Islamic republic as "heretics" and are often targeted over alleged ties to Israel, home to their most important shrines and world headquarters. The arrests targeted members of the group in the capital Tehran, said to own "20 pharmacies, three cosmetic companies, and multiple unauthorized warehouses," according to the ministry. (Associated Press)

08-09-2023
Military

Iran announced that it has achieved the ability to produce supersonic cruise missiles.

Iran announced that it has achieved the ability to produce supersonic cruise missiles, a potentially significant military achievement at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Iranian military scientists said they gained the “technical know-how” to manufacture cruise missiles that can travel at supersonic speeds and that the homegrown missile is currently in the testing stage. The development will “open a new chapter in Iran’s defense technologies,” the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. (Al-Monitor)

08-08-2023
Military

Iran warned that it could capture American vessels after the Pentagon beefed up its presence in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

In a message of defiance and apparent preparedness for escalation, Iran warned that it could capture American vessels after the Pentagon beefed up its presence in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. "The Islamic Republic is capable of reciprocating any mischief by the Americans … including through seizure of their vessels in reciprocation," said Brig. Gen. Ramezan Sharif, spokesman for Iran's hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in comments covered by Fars News Agency. The reaction came one day after the United States sent a 3,000-strong contingent of U.S. Marines and personnel to the Red Sea. Earlier last month, the U.S. military also dispatched F-35, F-16 and A-10 warplanes along with Navy destroyers to the Persian Gulf. The reinforcement, according to US officials, is meant to conduct joint patrols in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway of utmost vitality to the global oil trade. (Al-Monitor)

08-08-2023
Terrorism

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, arrived in Beirut ahead of a meeting with Hezbollah's Nasrallah, according to Walla News.

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, arrived in Beirut ahead of a meeting with Hezbollah's Nasrallah, according to Walla News. Citing reports, the Israeli news outlet noted this comes after a visit to Syria. The Quds Force is responsible for clandestine missions outside of Iran, aiding proxies hostile to Israel in the region, most notably the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Iranian activity has also come under scrutiny in the West Bank by Jerusalem's defense establishment for fomenting terrorism against Israelis. (i24 News)

08-06-2023
Politics

Iran appointed Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, who is under U.S. and British sanctions, to head the Islamic Republic’s top court.

Iran appointed Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, who is under U.S. and British sanctions, to head the Islamic Republic’s top court. Montazeri was named the supreme court chief after the “opinions of all the court judges” were taken into consideration, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said. The 75-year-old, who had served as prosecutor general since 2016, would be succeeded in his former post by Mohammad Kazem Movahedi Azad, the chief of the High Disciplinary Court of Judges which investigates judicial conduct, Mizan added. Montazeri was placed under U.S. sanctions in December, with Washington identifying him as having a role in “overseeing the prosecution of protesters” during mass demonstrations in Iran last year. (Times of Israel)

08-03-2023
Military

Tehran is using partnerships between universities in Iran and the U.K. to develop their arms industry, an Iranian government document has reportedly shown.

Tehran is using partnerships between universities in Iran and the U.K. to develop their arms industry, an Iranian government document has reportedly shown. The document, discovered by Kasra Aarabi who heads the Iran Programme at the Tony Blair Institute, allows Iran's military access to sensitive research conducted by Iranian universities and their international partners that could be used to expand its capabilities. The document, which was issued by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, also gives the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), amongst other security services, powers to obtain the research, prompting Aarabi to state that research between the U.K. and Iranian universities is "being utilized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and will end up in their hands." (The New Arab)

08-02-2023
Military

Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km range missiles.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the U.S. in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The announcement was made during a military exercise off the coast of Abu Musa Island, one of three Gulf islands under Iranian control but disputed by the United Arab Emirates. The news agency gave no details about the missiles but cited a commander on the need to defend the islands. (Reuters)

07-25-2023
Military

Iran's Defense Ministry said it had mass-produced the country's first long-range naval ballistic missile with a host of new combat features.

Iran's Defense Ministry said it had mass-produced the country's first long-range naval ballistic missile with a host of new combat features, designed to "completely destroy" enemy carriers, state media outlets reported. "We have employed artificial intelligence within the software of the naval missile's trajectory planning," Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani announced at a televised ceremony in Tehran. The ceremony marked the delivery of dozens of the projectiles to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran's regular army, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The missile is dubbed Abu Mahdi after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraqi's Tehran-backed Popular Mobilization Units. (Al-Monitor)

07-25-2023
Military

U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia is building a drone-manufacturing facility in country with Iran’s help that could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine.

U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia is building a drone-manufacturing facility in country with Iran’s help that could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine once it is completed. Analysts from the Defense Intelligence Agency told a small group of reporters during a briefing that the drone-manufacturing facility now under construction is expected to provide Russia with a new drone stockpile that is “orders of magnitude larger” than what it has been able to procure from Iran to date. When the facility is completed, likely by early next year, the new drones could have a significant impact on the conflict, the analysts warned. In April, the U.S. released a satellite image of the planned location of the purported drone manufacturing plant, inside Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone about 600 miles east of Moscow. (CNN)

07-25-2023
Military

Bolivia is interested in obtaining Iranian drone technology to protect its borders and combat smuggling and drug trafficking, the Andean country’s defense minister confirmed.

Bolivia is interested in obtaining Iranian drone technology to protect its borders and combat smuggling and drug trafficking, the Andean country’s defense minister confirmed a day after Argentina demanded information on an agreement reached by Iran and Bolivia that has raised security concerns in the region. Edmundo Novillo dismissed those concerns, saying they were “exaggerated” and came from an Argentine lawmaker “who, I understand, has Israeli origins,” whom he did not name. (Associated Press)

07-25-2023
Human Rights

Iran topped the list of countries that imposed the highest number of internet restrictions in the first half of this year.

Iran topped the list of countries that imposed the highest number of internet restrictions in the first half of this year. Much of the disruption happens during protests, according to new data. According to figures from cyber security company Surfshark, Iran took the lead globally with 14 new restrictions, followed by India with nine and Pakistan with three. Protests were identified as the main driver of the shutdowns. Surfshark spokesperson Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske said that it was "deeply concerning" to see Iran's surge in internet restrictions, particularly following the death of Mahsa Amini and the Zahedan massacre. (Al-Monitor)

07-23-2023
Military

Iran began an annual air force drill in the central part of the country, state media reported.

Iran began an annual air force drill in the central part of the country, state media reported, as the United States sends more fighter planes to the region to deter the Islamic Republic from seizing commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf area. The official IRNA news agency said 11 Iranian air force bases participated in the drill, dubbed Fadaeian Velyat-11, or Devotees of the Supreme Leader-11. It said an air base at the southern port of Bandar Abbas at the mouth of the strategic Strait of Hormuz is active in the drill. The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all crude oil passes. (Associated Press)

07-21-2023
Anti-Americanism

A fourth U.S. citizen has been detained in Iran, several sources confirmed to Al-Monitor.

A fourth U.S. citizen has been detained in Iran, several sources confirmed to Al-Monitor, potentially complicating the Biden administration’s pursuit of a prisoner exchange with Tehran. More than two years after the United States and Iran began indirect talks over a prisoner swap, Tehran was known to be holding three Iranian-Americans — Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz — on charges U.S. officials say are baseless. Five sources with knowledge of the situation told Al-Monitor that the United States was seeking the release of a fourth individual detained by Tehran. Multiple sources said the detainee is a male dual U.S.-Iranian national, with one source saying he was arrested in late 2022. (Al-Monitor)

07-21-2023
Terrorism

Iran has assembled a heavily armed unit comprised of thousands of fighters from across the region capable of conducting attacks on U.S. troops in Syria as well as against neighboring Israel.

Iran has assembled a heavily armed unit comprised of thousands of fighters from across the region capable of conducting attacks on U.S. troops in Syria as well as against neighboring Israel, according to a document shared with Newsweek by a member of an intelligence agency of a nation allied with the United States. The intelligence official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, told Newsweek that U.S. officials had been briefed on the contents of the document, which covered the existence of the "Imam Hossein Division," said to be linked to the expeditionary Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). (Newsweek)

07-20-2023
Military

Iran would retaliate against any oil company unloading Iranian oil from a seized tanker, the Revolutionary Guards' navy commander Alireza Tangsiri said, according to state media.

Iran would retaliate against any oil company unloading Iranian oil from a seized tanker, the Revolutionary Guards' navy commander Alireza Tangsiri said, according to state media. In April, the U.S. confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in a sanctions enforcement operation, according to a maritime security firm. Tangsiri added that Tehran would hold Washington responsible for allowing the unloading of the tanker's content. Sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, had said Washington took control of the oil cargo aboard the Marshall Islands tanker Suez Rajan after securing an earlier court order. (Reuters)

07-18-2023
Politics

In public messaging, Iran’s leaders have sought to deflect blame for water shortages.

From Tehran to rural regions, people are posting videos to social media complaining of days on end in the heat without running water, their faucets emitting nothing but murky drops. The water shortages, which experts say are driven in large part by decades of mismanagement, are a long-standing problem. But they have grown more severe as climate change accelerates — and are an increasing driver of discontent, sparking protests and confrontations in recent years.  In public messaging, Iran’s leaders have sought to deflect blame to the Taliban, which rules in neighboring Afghanistan, for restricting water flow in the Helmand River. Officials have also blamed floods and fallen rocks, for disrupting the operation of dams around Tehran, and ordinary citizens, for their consumption of water and electricity. (Washington Post)

07-18-2023
Military

The Iranian president is focusing on securing drone sales in return for food during his latest trip to Africa.

The Iranian president is focusing on securing drone sales in return for food during his latest trip to Africa. According to Kayhan newspaper, affiliated with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, President Raisi is working on “extraterritorial cultivation, export of products such as drones and cars, petrochemical products, as well as technical exports." The latest revelations will come as no shock, the barter deals of the heavily sanctioned regime the only way it can muddle through its current crisis, calling in favors from its dictatorial allies around the world from South America to Africa. Iran has been providing drones to guerrilla groups across the Middle East for decades, and most recently, has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine with hundreds of Shahed drones used in large scale missile attacks. (Iran International)

07-18-2023
Military

Iran's top military officer said that his country has gained sufficient military prowess to make its foes forego the option of a military strike against the Islamic Republic.

Iran's top military officer said that his country has gained sufficient military prowess to make its foes forego the option of a military strike against the Islamic Republic. "It's been years since they have stopped talking about the military option," said the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, in an interview with Tasnim news agency. Enumerating "criminal" foes, including the United States and Israel, Bagheri said they have also come to the conclusion that "a ground battle against the Islamic Republic will be doomed in failure." Despite engaging in on-and-off diplomacy with Tehran over the past decade, the United States has warned that "everything remains on the table" in its treatment of threats posed by the Islamic Republic's nuclear and missile programs. (Al-Monitor)

07-18-2023
Human Rights

Iran's clerical rulers are clamping down on dissent ahead of the anniversary of the death of a young woman in morality police custody.

Iran's clerical rulers are clamping down on dissent ahead of the anniversary of the death of a young woman in morality police custody, fearing a revival of nationwide protests that rocked the Islamic Republic for months. Journalists, lawyers, activists, human rights advocates and students have been arrested, summoned or faced other measures in a campaign that one activist described as "instilling fear and intimidation." (Reuters)

07-17-2023
Politics

President Ebrahim Raisi has sacked the head of Iran's Statistics Center and the Social Security Organization, as hardliners purge officials outside their circle.

President Ebrahim Raisi has sacked the head of Iran's Statistics Center and the Social Security Organization, as hardliners purge officials outside their circle. Javad Hossein-Zadeh was removed from his position as the head of the only government institution issuing statistics on the struggling economy, which somewhat differed from frequent rosy claims and predictions by the president and his immediate aides. He was replaced by Daryush Abouhamzeh, who will serve as the interim head for the moment. Although Iran's Statistics Center is administered and funded by the government and operates under the umbrella of Planning and Budget Organization, it maintained a veneer of credibility as one of the very scarce sources of data – both economic and social. (Iran International)

07-17-2023
Human Rights

Iranian police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports.

Iranian police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports. The "morality police" will return to the streets to enforce Iran's hijab laws, a spokesman said. It comes 10 months after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaking the dress code. (BBC)

07-17-2023
Terrorism

An article at the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen claimed that the “Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that its fighters in Jenin have developed an Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP), or a self-forming warhead in Jenin.”

An article at the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen media highlighted the presence of new weapons among Hamas members, especially since it was translated to English to reach a broader audience. The claim of new weapons, then, should be viewed in the context of Israel’s operation in Jenin earlier this month and Iran’s attempts to increase threats in the West Bank. The report claimed that the “Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announces that its fighters in Jenin have developed an Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP), or a self-forming warhead in Jenin.” (Jerusalem Post)

07-14-2023
Human Rights

A group of 54 Iranian lawyers who expressed support for the family of Mahsa Amini after she died in police custody have been summoned by judicial authorities.

A group of 54 Iranian lawyers who expressed support for the family of Mahsa Amini after she died in police custody have been summoned by judicial authorities to explain social media posts, a move activists say is part of a campaign by officials to pressure them amid continued unrest over the suppression of women's rights by the Islamic regime. (Radio Free Europe)

07-13-2023
Human Rights

Iranian media reported that two other men were publicly hanged in Fouladshahr, Esfahan province, on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) and corruption on earth.

Iranian media reported that two other men were publicly hanged in Fouladshahr, Esfahan province, on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) and corruption on earth. According to the Judiciary's Mizan website, the two men identified as Mohammad Ghaedi Nasab, 35, and Sadegh Mahmoudi Baram, 25, were publicly hanged after a criminal court sentenced them to death for participation in murder. It is alleged that the two defendants fought and disarmed officers, killing one and causing another to lose a finger on November 18, 2021. The executions bring this week's total of public hangings to four. (Iran International)

07-13-2023
Terrorism

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Iran was responsible for a foiled plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Iran was responsible for a foiled plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan. “Tehran stands behind the attempt,” Cohen said in a statement during an official visit to Serbia. “Iranian terror is a global threat, as we saw in the past few days in Azerbaijan in an attempted attack against the Israeli Embassy in Baku, as well as in recent months in Cyprus and Greece in attempted attacks against Israelis and Jews,” Cohen said, adding Iran had funded and issued instructions to the terror cell that attempted the attack. Cohen called for the international community to come together to oppose Iran’s terror activities. (Times of Israel)

07-13-2023
Terrorism

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed that Israel and other intelligence partners thwarted more than 50 attempts to attack Jewish and Israeli targets worldwide, all orchestrated by Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed that Israel and other intelligence partners thwarted more than 50 attempts to attack Jewish and Israeli targets worldwide, all orchestrated by Iran. Most of them were at the last stages of execution and were stopped at the "last moment." In his visit to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Iran's northern neighbor, Gallant accused Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of overseeing a terrorist campaign "of unprecedented measure" targeting Israelis and Jews. (Fox News)

07-12-2023
Anti-Americanism

Despite evidence of the use of Iranian drones by the Russian army, Iran’s Supreme Leader holds American arms companies responsible for the continued war in Ukraine.

Despite evidence of the use of Iranian drones by the Russian army, Iran’s Supreme Leader holds American arms companies responsible for the continued war in Ukraine. Despite Iran’s denials, numerous reports show that the Russian army has used hundreds of Iranian-made drones to bomb Ukraine's infrastructure and civilians. However, in his meeting with seminary students and religious missionaries on Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: "They [the US] are ready to victimize a nation like the poor homeless nation of Ukraine, so that the pockets of the American arms companies will be filled," he said. (Iran International)

07-12-2023
Human Rights

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on July 12 launched into a condemnation of Western attitudes on homosexuality during a visit to Uganda.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on July 12 launched into a condemnation of Western attitudes on homosexuality during a visit to Uganda, which has just introduced some of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. "The West today is trying to promote the idea of homosexuality and by promoting homosexuality they are trying to end the generation of human beings," Raisi said. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a law in May making "aggravated homosexuality" a capital offense and same-sex relations punishable by life in prison, triggering outrage among human rights groups, the United Nations, LGBT activists, and Western powers. (Radio Free Europe)

07-11-2023
Human Rights

The father of one of the victims of Iran's recent protests was tried on charges of "assembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting national security."

The father of one of the victims of Iran's recent protests was tried on charges of "assembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting national security." Ali Rouhi's court session was held at Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. He is the father of Hamidreza Rouhi, a university student who was shot dead near his home in Shahr-e Ziba neighborhood in the west of the capital on November 18. Ali Rouhi was arrested on April 6 after he invited people to attend the birthday of his murdered son. He was released from Evin prison on bail on April 9. Rouhi's family has been under pressure for attempts to keep their son’s memory alive. (Iran International)

07-11-2023
Terrorism

Azerbaijan's security agencies thwarted a terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku, the latest in a wave of Iranian plots against Israeli targets abroad.

Azerbaijan's security agencies thwarted a terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku, the latest in a wave of Iranian plots against Israeli targets abroad. According to media reports, an Afghan citizen, Fawzan Mosa Khan, has been arrested. In a video released by Azerbaijan's State Security Service, Khan discussed how he would monitor the target of the attack. Photographs suggested Musa Khan had been surveilling the Hyatt Regency hotel complex in Baku, where the Israeli embassy is located. (Iran International)

07-11-2023
Nuclear Program

A new assessment released by U.S. intelligence revealed that Iran is boosting its nuclear capabilities but is not pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.

A new assessment released by U.S. intelligence revealed that Iran is boosting its nuclear capabilities but is not pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s assessment said Iran has “undertaken research and development activities that would bring it closer to producing the fissile material needed” to produce a nuclear weapon. However, the report noted that while Iran has accelerated its nuclear program since 2020, it is still not yet capable of producing a weapon. “Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device,” the assessment reads. (The Hill)

07-10-2023
Extremism

Iran accused an Iraqi man who recently burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden of being an agent of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Iran accused an Iraqi man who recently burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden of being an agent of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, stomped on the Quran and set several pages alight outside a Stockholm mosque on June 28, triggering widespread anger among Muslims around the world. Swedish police had granted Momika a permit for the demonstration, citing free speech protections. (Al-Arabiya News)

07-10-2023
Human Rights

At least 60 female students in Iran have reportedly been barred from university for flouting the country’s mandatory hijab law.

At least 60 female students in Iran have reportedly been barred from university for flouting the country’s mandatory hijab law. Videos recently shared by citizen journalists show the harassment of women and girls in subways, streets, and university campuses by disciplinary committees and pro-regime civilians. In defiance, female university students across the country have been recording themselves without headscarves. Several female activists have told the Guardian that detentions and arrests of young women are on rise. They said they have been warned of serious consequences if they fail to adhere to the mandatory hijab law. (The Guardian)

07-10-2023
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced a popular rapper to six years and three months in prison over his participation in protests that rocked the country last year, his supporters said.

Iran has sentenced a popular rapper to six years and three months in prison over his participation in protests that rocked the country last year, his supporters said. A social media account run by supporters of Toomaj Salehi announced the sentence, as did Ye-One Rhie, a member of the German parliament who has campaigned on his behalf. There was no immediate word from Iranian authorities. (Associated Press)

07-10-2023
Terrorism

National production of bitumen is largely distributed to the IRGC for construction and infrastructure projects. In turn, it is often smuggled or sold out of Iran to neighboring countries, enriching IRGC-linked middlemen.

With an annual production of several million tons, Iran is among the world’s top producers of bitumen, a fuel grade that is typically used in applications such as road surfacing, roofing and certain types of paint. As Iran Open Data reported on July 10, most of the national production is distributed free of charge to state-owned entities and affiliates of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be used for construction and infrastructure projects. However, available data suggest that most of this free bitumen is smuggled or sold out of Iran to neighboring countries, enriching IRGC-linked middlemen, the collaborative initiative said. (Iran Wire)

07-09-2023
Terrorism

Israel says Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia in southern Lebanon, has set up more than two dozen military outposts along the countries’ border in violation of international agreements.

Israel says Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia in southern Lebanon, has set up more than two dozen military outposts along the countries’ border in violation of international agreements, a development it says risks increasing confrontation. Under a United Nations Security Council resolution following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, armed fighters from Hezbollah are not permitted to enter the border area. Troops from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon — or UNIFIL — are stationed there to make sure both sides keep to the rules. Yet in the past year, Israeli military officials say, those outposts have sprung up along the Blue Line, the boundary set by the U.N. (Bloomberg)

07-09-2023
Nuclear Program

A fresh batch of damning European intelligence reports reveal that the Islamic Republic of Iran sought to bypass U.S. and E.U. sanctions to secure technology for its nuclear weapons program with a view toward testing an atomic bomb.

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which first published translations of the intelligence documents on its website, the security agencies of Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany revealed sensitive data during the first six months of 2023 on the Iranian regime's illicit nuclear weapons proliferation activities. The reports mainly cover Iran’s alleged illegal conduct in 2022. The most shocking revelation in the trove of intelligence data was from the Netherlands General and Intelligence Security Service (AVID) that determined Iran’s astonishingly fast development of weapons-grade uranium "brings the option of a possible [Iranian] first nuclear test closer." (Fox News)

07-08-2023
Nuclear Program

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed dissatisfaction with Iran's level of cooperation with the nuclear watchdog.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed dissatisfaction with Iran's level of cooperation with the nuclear watchdog. Rafael Grossi made these remarks during a press conference after visiting the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station in Japan. "The situation is difficult. Efforts related to the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] have currently stalled, so there is not much progress on that front. Cooperation with Iran is ongoing, but it is not at the level that I would prefer. I have conveyed this to my Iranian counterparts. We have several unresolved issues," Grossi stated. He further mentioned that he had visited Iran in March, where he agreed on a joint statement and certain necessary steps to resolve existing disagreements. (Iran International)

07-07-2023
Terrorism

The U.S. Justice Department filed a forfeiture complaint this week to take control over thousands of weapons seized by the U.S. Navy that Iran had sent to terrorist groups in Yemen, including the Iran-backed Houthis.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a forfeiture complaint this week to take control over thousands of weapons seized by the U.S. Navy from Iran to terrorist groups in Yemen, including the Iran-backed Houthis. More than 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles and over 700,000 rounds of ammunition were seized by the U.S. Navy during four interdictions of stateless vessels: two from 2021 and another two from 2023. (Al-Arabiya News)

07-06-2023
Military

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a tanker holding 900 metric tons of "smuggled fuel" and 12 crew members based on a court order, a report by the semi-official Fars news agency said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a tanker holding 900 metric tons of "smuggled fuel" and 12 crew members based on a court order, a report by the semi-official Fars news agency said. "A vessel carrying 900 tons of smuggled fuel with 12 crew members was seized by the Revolutionary Guards' Navy patrol vessels in the Persian Gulf with a court order," Fars news reported from Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas. (Reuters)

07-06-2023
Nuclear Program

The U.N. expressed “serious concern” over Iran's steadily growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The U.N. expressed “serious concern” over Iran's steadily growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Rosemary Di Carlo, undersecretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, also noted that the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog remains unable to directly verify stockpiles of enriched uranium in the country. Ms. Di Carlo told the Security Council that the International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has grown to more than 20 times the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal and includes increased quantities of uranium enriched by up to 60 percent. (The National)

07-05-2023
Military

Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, firing shots at one of them, the U.S. Navy said.

Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, firing shots at one of them, the U.S. Navy said. It said that in both cases, the Iranian naval vessels backed off after the U.S. Navy responded, and that both commercial ships continued their voyages. "The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters," said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. "The U.S. Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures." He said the gunfire directed at the second vessel did not cause casualties or major damage. (Associated Press)

07-05-2023
Terrorism

An Israeli researcher missing for months in Iraq is being held by a Shiite militia, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An Israeli researcher missing for months in Iraq is being held by a Shiite militia, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Elizabeth Tsurkov, 36, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was kidnapped and held by the group Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia linked to Iran, after leaving a cafe in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, in late March, according to her family and people with knowledge of her case. She holds both Israeli and Russian passports and entered the country using her Russian passport, according to the Israeli government. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations, so she would not have been allowed to enter with an Israeli passport. (New York Times)

07-04-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during the group’s virtual summit, representing a foreign policy achievement amid its isolation.

Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during the group’s virtual summit, representing a foreign policy achievement amid its isolation. This is the first time Tehran joins a regional pact since the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The SCO also known as the Shanghai Pact is a Eurasian political, economic and security alliance formed in 2001 with Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, with one of its goals being cooperation against extremism. India and Pakistan joined the pact in 2017 and Belarus is also slated to become a member. (Iran International)

07-03-2023
Human Rights

Iran executed at least 354 people in the first half of 2023, a human rights group said.

Iran executed at least 354 people in the first half of 2023, a human rights group said as they renewed calls for action against Tehran. The majority of people – 206 – were put to death for drug-related offences, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said. Among those put to death were six women and five protesters. At least 122 others were executed on murder charges, the organization said. Iran is notorious for its use of the death penalty, coming second only to China for its use of capital punishment in 2020. (The National)

07-01-2023
Terrorism

Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziad Nakhaleh said in an interview that his Iran-backed terror group was working to establish cells of fighters throughout the West Bank.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziad Nakhaleh said in an interview that his Iran-backed terror group was working to establish cells of fighters throughout the West Bank. Speaking with Iranian Arabic-language newspaper Al-Vefagh, Nakhaleh said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — with whom he met two weeks ago in Tehran — was supportive of “moving from a state of calm to one of resistance” in the West Bank, while reiterating his support for arming Palestinians there. “The most important thing is that we strengthen the resistance,” the Damascus-based Nakhaleh said. (Times of Israel)

06-29-2023
Terrorism

Israel said its Mossad intelligence service carried out an operation in Iran to capture the suspected leader of an Iranian plot to attack Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus and thwart the attack.

Israel said its Mossad intelligence service carried out an operation in Iran to capture the suspected leader of an Iranian plot to attack Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus and thwart the attack. "In a unique operation on Iranian soil, the Mossad captured the head of the cell, who, during an investigation, gave a detailed confession that led to the exposure and dismantlement of the terrorist cell behind the Cyprus attack," the Mossad said in a statement. Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment. The Israeli agency identified the suspect as Yousef Shahabazi Abbasalilu and said he "received detailed instructions and weapons from senior (officials) in Iran's Revolutionary Guards" to carry out such an attack. (Reuters)

06-25-2023
Military

Iran’s Damavand destroyer, located on the land-locked Caspian Sea, has been outfitted with new missiles and a gun, Iranian media reported.

Iran’s Damavand destroyer, located on the land-locked Caspian Sea, has been outfitted with new missiles and a gun, Iranian media reported. Iran’s main warship on the Caspian Sea was ordered back in 2006 and completed in 2013. Iran can use this sea to expand its strategies in Central Asia and protect shipments of weapon systems, such as drones, to Russia. Iran reportedly ships drones and items for a drone factory via the Caspian Sea, according to a June 9 report at CNN. (Jerusalem Post)

06-25-2023
Terrorism

Israel formally acknowledged that an Iranian-planned terror attack targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in Cyprus was foiled.

Israel formally acknowledged that an Iranian-planned terror attack targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in Cyprus was foiled, and warned that its operatives would continue thwarting “Iranian terrorism wherever it raises its head,” including in Iran. Cypriot media reported the suspected terror plot, believed to be linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian army that is considered a terror organization by several countries, including the United States. The Phile News website said the plot was thwarted by Cypriot intelligence services, in cooperation with other foreign agencies, said to be from Israel and the U.S. (Times of Israel)  

06-22-2023
Politics

An Iranian member of parliament urged modesty rules for men as well.

As women en-masse defy the mandatory hijab in Iran, an Iranian member of parliament urged modesty rules for men as well. Alireza Pak-Fetrat said that men with tattoos must keep them covered, so as not to break Islam, which forbids tattoos as an unholy and unnecessary body ornament, defacing the sacred physical body. He also stressed that men must ensure their clothing appropriately covers their bodies, such as when riding bikes or sitting in public places, so as not to tempt women by revealing bare skin. Heated debates over a new bill about how to deal with women who refuse to observe compulsory hijab continues inside and outside the Iranian parliament. (Iran International)

06-21-2023
Politics

Iran has intensified its diplomatic activity, engaging with friends and foes alike as it seeks to reduce its isolation, improve its economy, and project strength.

Iran has intensified its diplomatic activity, engaging with friends and foes alike as it seeks to reduce its isolation, improve its economy, and project strength. Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi has led the way, swinging through China, Syria and Venezuela, hosting Saudi Arabia's top diplomat, and reaching out to other long-time regional rivals such as Egypt. And his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, has travelled to Oman, the mediator in indirect talks between Iran and its sworn enemy the United States over its suspect nuclear program and a possible prisoner swap. Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program, said Iran was seeking to show it can overcome its adversaries. (AFP)

06-21-2023
Human Rights

A group of hackers has reportedly leaked government documents suggesting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi approved the use of at least 100 trillion Iranian rials ($200 million) to put down protests during the recent nationwide unrest.

A group of hackers has reportedly leaked government documents suggesting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi approved the use of at least 100 trillion Iranian rials ($200 million) to put down protests during the recent nationwide unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in September while she was in police custody for an alleged head-scarf offense. The hackers, known as Uprising Until Overthrow and affiliated with the exiled opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq organization (MKO), reportedly hacked and released the highly confidential correspondence between the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Thar Allah Headquarters in Tehran, and Raisi's office. (Radio Free Europe)

06-21-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran’s vice president claims the country is planning to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity using nuclear power.

Iran’s vice president claims the country is planning to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity using nuclear power. Mohammad Mokhber said that the use of fossil fuel is losing its place and the importance of nuclear energy is doubling. He also ordered the Minister of Energy and the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) to compile a plan for the construction of a 20,000-megawatt nuclear power plant and provide the necessary resources for the implementation of this plan in the next year’s budget. (Iran International)

06-20-2023
Military

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) received at least $6 billion from the Iranian government, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pushed to provide them with even more amid the protests that swept Iran last year, according to leaked documents.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) received at least $6 billion from the Iranian government, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pushed to provide them with even more amid the protests that swept Iran last year, according to documents leaked by the Ghyam Sarnegouni ("Rise to Overthrow") dissident hacker group this week. The leaked documents included a letter from the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, to Raisi noting that, because of the nationwide protests, the IRGC and police needed at least 10 trillion tomans (equivalent to about $2.4 billion) in immediate funding, including funds for vehicles, military equipment, clothing and operational costs. (Jerusalem Post)

06-20-2023
Human Rights

The Iranian hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali has published documents that it says show that a top Iranian prosecutor confirmed that a “full naked body inspection” of a female political prisoner had taken place at a police detention center.

The Iranian hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali has published documents that it says show that a top Iranian prosecutor confirmed that a “full naked body inspection” of a female political prisoner had taken place at a police detention center. The information, which Edalat-e Ali said it obtained by hacking into Iran’s judiciary, came to light amid multiple complaints from women who have been subjected to such intrusive searches in Iranian prisons. Edalat-e Ali, which claims to work inside Iran to expose the "true face of the regime," said that the confidential documents reveal that Ahmad Rahmaniyan, first deputy of the public and revolutionary prosecutor, last year wrote to the head of the judiciary's Protection and Information Office confirming that the inspection of political prisoner Mojgan Kavousi was conducted in October 2021 in several stages at the Karaj Information and Security Police Detention Center. (Radio Free Europe)

06-20-2023
Terrorism

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution claims the Iranian regime employs “state terrorism” to intimidate and eliminate opposition members in Germany.

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution claims the Iranian regime employs “state terrorism” to intimidate and eliminate opposition members. It cautioned that Iranians residing in Germany could be targeted by Iranian intelligence and security services for abduction and espionage operations. “Fighting opposition groups and individuals at home and abroad is the focus of Iranian intelligence activities,” reads the Constitutional Protection Report 2022, which has just been released. The report further claimed that spying activities against (pro-)Israel and (pro-)Jewish targets in Germany are still part of Iran's field of espionage. (Iran International)

06-19-2023
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian intelligence officer has claimed that the United States and France are among some 20 countries involved in nationwide protests last year sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

An Iranian intelligence officer has claimed that the United States and France are among some 20 countries involved in nationwide protests last year sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. The demonstrations erupted following the September 16 death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Amini, 22, after her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women. Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands were arrested in connection with what officials labeled “riots” which they said were fomented by foreign countries after Amini’s death. (AFP)

06-19-2023
Human Rights

Five more teachers who supported anti-government protests in Iran have been summoned to the Revolutionary Court.

Five more teachers who supported anti-government protests in Iran have been summoned to the Revolutionary Court, the latest in a series of similar moves, including trials, of teachers in other cities across the country. The Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council has confirmed the collective summons of teachers and cultural rights activists in the central Iranian city of Yazd. Three of the teachers, Ahmad Changizi, Mehdi Kalantari, and Hamideh Zare, were previously arrested following a nationwide teachers' rally in May 2022, which coincided with Teacher's Day in Yazd. The other two are Mansor Mirzaei and Mohammad Fakhralhosseini. (Radio Free Europe)

06-19-2023
Terrorism

France has banned an upcoming Iranian opposition rally over the risk of an attack.

France has banned an upcoming Iranian opposition rally over the risk of an attack, according to a letter sent to the organizers and seen by Reuters, after the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of masterminding a plot to bomb the group in 2018. The ban comes as Western powers seek to defuse tensions with Iran and a few weeks after Tehran released several Europeans from prison, including two French nationals. French President Emmanuel Macron held a 90-minute call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on June 10. The Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), political arm of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has held frequent rallies in the French capital over the years, often attended by high profile former U.S., European and Arab officials critical of the Islamic Republic. (Reuters)

06-19-2023
Terrorism

The leaders of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas held talks with top Iranian officials in Tehran as deadly violence flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The leaders of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas held talks with top Iranian officials in Tehran as deadly violence flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi received Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhalah while Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), ahead of meeting with other top officials. "The most efficient way to end the more than 75 years of occupation of Palestine is resistance," Ahmadian told Haniyeh, according to the Nournews website close to the SNSC. (AFP)

06-18-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi concluded his first Latin American tour, strengthening ties with communist dictators in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi concluded his first Latin American tour, strengthening ties with communist dictators in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The Iranian head of state, against whom the U.S. has imposed sanctions, reinforced his geopolitical partnerships against the U.S., the common enemy of these four human rights violators. Raisi, a judge and religious fanatic responsible for the execution of 580 Iranians last year, reiterated to the tyrants of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela that this is not a “normal but rather a strategic” relationship against foreign interference. (The Hill)

06-15-2023
Military

Iran tested a suicide drone against a practice vessel in the Gulf and fired one other missile or drone without warning ships in the area, a U.S. official in the region said.

Iran tested a suicide drone against a practice vessel in the Gulf and fired one other missile or drone without warning ships in the area, a U.S. official in the region said. The one-way drone was launched from the Jask area of Iran 8-9 miles out to sea - within Iran's territorial waters - against a practice barge, the official said, citing U.S. intelligence data. "Essentially practicing hitting merchant vessels. That's the only reason why you would do that in the Gulf of Oman," the official said. (Reuters)

06-13-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is signaling a willingness to make a new nuclear deal with the West, but on terms that would allow the Islamic Republic to maintain its nuclear threat.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is signaling a willingness to make a new nuclear deal with the West, but on terms that would allow the Islamic Republic to maintain its nuclear threat. The U.S. shouldn’t fall for the trap. Rather, President Joe Biden’s administration should step up implementation of existing economic sanctions, and rally European allies to impose even tighter restraints on the regime in Tehran. Over the weekend, state media reported Khamenei as saying, “There is nothing wrong with the agreement [with the West], but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched.” (Washington Post)

06-08-2023
Military

Universities in the United Kingdom have aided the Iranian regime in developing and improving military weapons including drones and fighter jets, according to a report from the Jewish Chronicle.

Universities in the United Kingdom have aided the Iranian regime in developing and improving military weapons including drones and fighter jets, according to a report from the Jewish Chronicle. Eleven British schools, including the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, conducted at least 16 studies with connections to the Iranian regime's use of military technology. The technology that U.K. scientists have developed has likely been used in Iranian weapons deployed in Ukraine as Russia leans on the Iranians for military aid. (Washington Free Beacon)

06-06-2023
Extremism

The Telegram channel for “Islam World Resistance”—a group affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—announced that it seeks to murder Israeli LGBTQ community members.

The Telegram channel for “Islam World Resistance”—a group affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—announced that it seeks to murder Israeli LGBTQ community members in response to the annual LGBTQ parade in Jerusalem. The IRGC-linked group wrote on Telegram: "March of homosexuals in the occupied holy Al Quds city. After killing these impure [homosexuals], where should we bury them on the earth to not make the earth dirty?” (Jerusalem Post)

06-06-2023
Politics

An Iranian draft law that would set new penalties for women not wearing a headscarf in public has sparked heated debate within the Islamic Republic's leadership.

An Iranian draft law that would set new penalties for women not wearing a headscarf in public has sparked heated debate within the Islamic Republic's leadership as more women flout the country's strict dress code. Iran's conservatives, who dominate the country's parliament and leadership, have passionately defended the dress code and believe relaxing rules would begin a process leading to profound shifts in "social norms." But with many Iranians demanding change, in May the judiciary and the government proposed a "Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity" bill to "protect society" and "strengthen family life." The text proposes increased fines for "any person removing their veil in public places or on the internet" but withdraws the threat of a prison sentence. (AFP)

06-06-2023
Military

Iran claimed that it had created a hypersonic missile capable of traveling at 15 times the speed of sound.

Iran claimed that it had created a hypersonic missile capable of traveling at 15 times the speed of sound, adding a new weapon to its arsenal as tensions remain high with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. The new missile — called Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi — was unveiled even as Iran said it would reopen its diplomatic posts in Saudi Arabia after reaching a détente with Riyadh following years of conflict. The tightly choreographed segment on Iranian state television apparently sought to show that Tehran’s hardline government can still deploy arms against its enemies across much of the Middle East. (Associated Press)

06-06-2023
Military

Tehran is shipping arms to Moscow via the Caspian Sea, reportedly beyond the reach of U.S. and NATO naval power.

American officials told Semafor that Tehran has stepped up its movement of arms to Moscow via the landlocked body of water, the Caspian Sea, which has prevented interdiction efforts by putting shipments beyond the reach of U.S. and NATO naval power. The U.S. has successfully intercepted seabound shipments of Iranian weapons to other war zones, such as Yemen. (Semafor)

06-06-2023
Terrorism

A new unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been revealed. Unit 700 will be responsible for transferring military equipment to pro-Iranian militias, notably in Syria and to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A new unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been revealed. According to Israel's public broadcaster Kan, Unit 700 is headed by Gal Farsat, a former Al-Quds Force official with extensive connections to senior officials in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Unit 700 was reported to be in charge of smuggling supplies and logistics for the Al-Quds Force. In particular, it will be responsible for transferring military equipment to pro-Iranian militias, notably in Syria and to Hezbollah in Lebanon. (i24 News)

06-05-2023
Military

The U.S. Navy said its sailors and the United Kingdom Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the crucial Strait of Hormuz after Iran's Revolutionary Guard "harassed" it.

The U.S. Navy said its sailors and the United Kingdom Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the crucial Strait of Hormuz after Iran's Revolutionary Guard "harassed" it. Three fast-attack Guard vessels with armed troops aboard approached the merchant ship at a close distance, the U.S. Navy said in a statement. It offered black-and-white images it said came from a U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon overhead, which showed three small ships close to the commercial ship. The U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul and the Royal Navy's frigate HMS Lancaster responded to the incident, with the Lancaster launching a helicopter. (Associated Press)

06-05-2023
Military

A purported arms contract seen by Sky News offers the first hard evidence that Iran has sold ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine, an informed security source has claimed.

A purported arms contract seen by Sky News offers the first hard evidence that Iran has sold ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine, an informed security source has claimed. If authentic, the 16-page document, dated 14 September 2022, appears to be for samples of varying sizes of artillery, tank shells and rockets worth just over $1m (£800,000). It was shared by the source along with five pages of an allegedly linked contract that includes barrels of a T72 tank and barrels of a Howitzer artillery piece, as well as ammunition shells. That deal was worth about $740,000 (£590,000). (Sky News)

06-05-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran is only allowing a “fraction” of the monitoring equipment at its nuclear sites that the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog expects, the organization's head said.

Iran is only allowing a “fraction” of the monitoring equipment at its nuclear sites that the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog expects, the organization's head said. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, revealed Iran has for the first time allowed devices at two plants to detect uranium enrichment levels. Earlier this year, Mr. Grossi visited Iran and met President Ebrahim Raisi, after which a Joint Statement was issued stating Tehran “will allow the IAEA to implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities.” The director general said for the first time the IAEA has installed an enrichment monitoring device at two uranium enrichment sites, at Fordow and Natanz. (The National)

06-04-2023
Extremism

Iran’s supreme leader defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran’s enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on “thugs and villains.”

Iran’s supreme leader defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran’s enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on “thugs and villains.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran’s nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from an international accord that restricted it. (Associated Press)

06-02-2023
Human Rights

An Iranian man, Vahid Afkari, spent his 1,000th day in solitary confinement in jail.

Amnesty International is calling for the release of an Iranian man who is spending his 1,000th day in solitary confinement in jail. Vahid Afkari, 37, was convicted, along with his two brothers, of murdering a security officer during protests over the cost of living five years ago. One of the brothers, champion wrestler Navid, was executed. The other brother, Habib, was released last year amid international pressure. (BBC)

06-02-2023
Human Rights

Iranian security forces opened fire on a protest sparked by the death of a student recently released from custody, rights groups and monitors said.

Iranian security forces opened fire on a protest sparked by the death of a student recently released from custody, rights groups and monitors said, with several people reported wounded. The protests erupted in the town of Abdanan, in the Kurdish-populated western province of Ilam, prompted by the death late last month of Bamshad Soleimankhani, 21, just days after his release from prison. The Norway-based Hengaw group published images reported to be of protesters showing wounds from birdshot pellets, along with footage showing people in the streets with gunshots audible. (Al-Arabiya)

06-02-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran is developing an underground uranium-enrichment site, integral to the construction of a nuclear missile, so deep that it could evade the United States purpose-built “bunker buster” bomb, according to satellite pictures.

Iran is developing an underground uranium-enrichment site, integral to the construction of a nuclear missile, so deep that it could evade the United States purpose-built “bunker buster” bomb, according to satellite pictures. The Natanz enrichment site is 80-100 meters deep, according to analysis by the James Martin Centre for Non-proliferation Studies, and has four entrances dug into the mountainside, each six meters wide by eight meters high. Experts exclusively told Express.co.uk that as Iran’s relationship with Russia continues to be “cemented” by a hatred of the West and an alliance over the war in Ukraine, the theocratic regime could prepare to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons. (Daily Express)

06-01-2023
Anti-Americanism

The U.S. imposed sanctions on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official and others it says took part in wide-ranging plots to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and others around the world.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official and others it says took part in wide-ranging plots to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and others around the world, including at least one additional U.S. government official. The alleged 2021 plot against Bolton, one of the best-documented of the alleged assassination efforts, is part of what U.S. prosecutors and former government officials describe as ongoing efforts by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to kill Trump-era officials behind a 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the head of the Iranian guard’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani. (Associated Press)

06-01-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran is arming militants in Syria for a new phase of lethal attacks against U.S. troops in the country.

Iran is arming militants in Syria for a new phase of lethal attacks against U.S. troops in the country, while also working with Russia on a broader strategy to drive Americans from the region, intelligence officials and leaked classified documents say. Iran and its allies are building and training forces to use more powerful armor-piercing roadside bombs intended specifically to target U.S. military vehicles and kill U.S. personnel, according to classified intelligence reports obtained by The Washington Post. Such attacks would constitute an escalation of Iran’s long-running campaign of using proxy militias to launch rocket and drone strikes on U.S. forces in Syria. (Washington Post)

05-31-2023
Military

The defense minister of Mali went to Iran for meetings that could see Iran sending arms to Mali in North Africa.

The defense minister of Mali went to Iran for meetings that could see Iran sending arms to Mali in North Africa. Malian Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camara had meetings with Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani. Iran’s pro-regime Tasnim media reported that “the defense minister of Iran expressed the country’s readiness to provide Mali with military equipment and experiences in the fight against terrorism.” Ashtiani said Iran is prepared to share equipment, experiences and capabilities in training with Mali. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will spare no effort to strengthen Mali’s defense power against the threats posed by terrorist groups,” the Iranian general who is also the defense minister added. (Jerusalem Post)

05-31-2023
Military

Iran plans to ramp up its exportation of weapons and other military equipment in the coming months, one of the country's top generals said.

Iran plans to ramp up its exportation of weapons and other military equipment in the coming months, one of the country's top generals said. The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Baqeri, said Iran plans to share both its equipment and military expertise with friendly countries in the region and around the world. "Introducing the Islamic Republic’s defense and military capabilities and sharing them [with friendly countries] can expand the country’s defense relations and strengthen deterrence," Baqeri said at a Wednesday press conference, according to Iranian state-run Press TV. (Fox News)

05-31-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium grew by over a quarter in the three months to May, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium grew by over a quarter in the three months to May, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported, adding to concerns over the speed with which Tehran is accumulating 60% highly enriched uranium that can be quickly converted into weapons-grade material for nuclear weapons. U.S. officials have said it could take Iran as little as 12 days to have enough fuel for a bomb. But the Islamic Republic has also taken its first steps in several years to improve the United Nations atomic agency’s oversight of its nuclear work, the IAEA said. (Wall Street Journal)

05-30-2023
Nuclear Program

Iranian media reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has resolved nuclear issues with Iran relating to one of three sites being investigated over the presence of uranium particles.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has resolved nuclear issues with Iran relating to one of three sites being investigated over the presence of uranium particles, Iranian media reported. The agency’s alleged case regarding the findings of uranium particles with 83.7 purity has also been closed, a source told the semi-official Mehr news agency. (Reuters)

05-29-2023
Military

Iran wants to boost Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military by upgrading the country's air-defense system, the Fars news agency reported.

Iran wants to boost Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military by upgrading the country's air-defense system, the Fars news agency reported on May 29. In an interview with the news agency, Iranian General Said Hamzah Kalandari said that although Syria had its air-defense capabilities, the "Syrian brothers" will be supported with equipment and tactical upgrades. The general, who is active in the Defense Ministry, said the aim was to contain Israeli attacks. Along with Russia, Iran is Assad's most important ally. Iran has been expanding its political and military relations in the region since the 1990s. (Radio Free Europe)

05-29-2023
Military

Iran is preparing to unveil a hypersonic missile in the near future, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said.

Iran is preparing to unveil a hypersonic missile in the near future, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said. This comes after Iran last week unveiled a new ballistic missile capable of reaching a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying warheads weighing over a ton. “The hypersonic missile has passed its tests and will be unveiled soon,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC’s aerospace unit, as saying. “This new missile is capable of passing through all missile defense systems. It targets the enemy’s anti-missile systems and is a big leap in the field of missiles,” he added. (Al-Arabiya)

05-29-2023
Human Rights

An Iranian journalist went on trial behind closed doors on charges linked to her coverage of the funeral of a Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini.

An Iranian journalist went on trial behind closed doors on charges linked to her coverage of the funeral of a Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in custody last year triggered months of unrest, her lawyer told ILNA news agency. The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code unleashed a wave of mass protests across Iran for months, marking the biggest challenge to Iran's clerical leaders in decades. Elaheh Mohammadi covered Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown Saqez, where the protests began. The Islamic Republic accused its foreign foes of igniting the protests to destabilize the country. (Reuters)

05-27-2023
Military

Iranian media highlighted its use of drones in anti-submarine warfare.

Iranian media highlighted its use of drones in anti-submarine warfare. The article at Fars News didn’t elaborate a lot on Iran’s new capabilities but did say that Iran’s navy commander Shahram Irani has discussed the use of anti-submarine drones for operations. Iran claims it can use these drones out to a distance of 1,000 kilometers. Iran says it uses a weapon known as the Mark 46 torpedo which can be mounted on a drone. The drone can carry several types of torpedoes, the article claims. It is not clear if it can carry more than one at a time. “In addition to the anti-submarine torpedo, the anti-submarine drone can also carry an anti-ship torpedo,” the report said. (Jerusalem Post)

05-26-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran Urges Asian Partners to Drop the Dollar from Bilateral Trade.

Members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) – a nine-strong group of central banks including those of India, Pakistan and Iran – are to launch a new cross-border financial messaging system in the coming weeks, as an alternative to the main existing international network Swift. According to officials from Iran – which currently chairs the body – the members of the bloc agreed at a meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 24 that they would set up the new system within a month. (Forbes)

05-25-2023
Military

Iran unveiled what it called the latest iteration of its liquid-fueled Khorramshahr ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr-4, amid wider tensions with the West over its nuclear program.

Authorities showed off the Khorramshahr-4 to journalists at an event in Tehran, with the missile on a truck-mounted launcher. Defense Minister Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said the missile could be prepared for launch in a short period. “One of the prominent characteristics of this missile is its ability to evade radar detection and penetrate enemy air defense systems, thanks to its low radar signature,” the general told journalists. (Associated Press)

05-24-2023
Nuclear Program

Former MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh claims the country's nuclear dossier will now move to the Foreign Ministry, meaning the end of the JCPOA.

Former MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh claims the country's nuclear dossier will now move to the Foreign Ministry, meaning the end of the JCPOA. Speaking to Setareh-e Sobh newspaper, he said: “It seems likely that foreign policy cases will be transferred from the Council to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which means issues like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will be archived,” he claimed, referring to the recent change to the leadership of the Supreme National Security Council. Iran's Security Chief Ali Shamkhani stepped down with President Ebrahim Raisi appointing a heavily sanctioned Revolutionary Guards commander as his replacement. (Iran International)

05-23-2023
Extremism

A British-Iranian hunger striker calling for the U.K. to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) is to resume his public protest this week after a fatwa was allegedly issued against him.

A British-Iranian hunger striker calling for the U.K. to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) is to resume his public protest this week after a fatwa was allegedly issued against him. Vahid Beheshti, 46, was recently discharged from hospital after spending two months on hunger strike in a tent outside London’s Foreign Office and is believed to be recovering in a 'safehouse'. He told the JC that “nothing” would stop him from returning to Whitehall to protest, despite being “strongly advised” not to by counterterrorism operatives. (Jewish Chronicle)

05-23-2023
Politics

A moderate conservative politician says the ultraconservative Paydari Party has occupied most power centers including the parliament and the state television.

A moderate conservative politician says the ultraconservative Paydari Party has occupied most power centers including the parliament and the state television. Former lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour told Etemad Onlinethat the "audacious Paydari Party" has a lot of money, controls several powerful institutions and has seized and occupied the state television silently. Haghighatpour is close to Iran’s former conservative parliament (Majles) speaker Ali Larijani who recently had a public run-in with ultraconservatives or hardliners. (Iran International)

05-22-2023
Military

Israel accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of turning commercial ships into platforms for launching missiles, drones and commandos.

Israel accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of turning commercial ships into platforms for launching missiles, drones and commandos, saying the objective was to spread Tehran's clandestine naval clout well beyond the Gulf. Showing images of six purportedly repurposed Iranian vessels, five of them named, Gallant told the Herzliya Conference security forum that these were "floating terror bases" and that one had recently sailed toward the Gulf of Aden. (Reuters)

05-22-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran is building a nuclear facility in the Zagros Mountains so deep in the earth that it is likely beyond the range of a last-ditch U.S. weapon.

Near a peak of the Zagros Mountains in central Iran, workers are building a nuclear facility so deep in the earth that it is likely beyond the range of a last-ditch U.S. weapon designed to destroy such sites, according to experts and satellite imagery analyzed by The Associated Press. The photos and videos from Planet Labs PBC show Iran has been digging tunnels in the mountain near the Natanz nuclear site, which has come under repeated sabotage attacks amid Tehran’s standoff with the West over its atomic program. (The Independent)

05-20-2023
Politics

The current ultraconservative-dominated parliament is working hard in extraordinary sessions to pass an amendment to Iran's Election Law to serve the hardliners by giving even more power to the conservative-dominated Guardian Council.

Iranian lawmaker Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh told Khabar Online website that the current ultraconservative-dominated parliament is working hard in extraordinary sessions to pass an amendment to Iran's Election Law to serve the hardliners by giving even more power to the conservative-dominated Guardian Council to disqualify any candidate who does not belong to the ultraconservative camp. (Iran International)

05-20-2023
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian military commander threatened the U.S. over the killing of Iran’s top general over three years ago, vowing to drive American forces out of the Middle East.

An Iranian military commander threatened the U.S. over the killing of Iran’s top general over three years ago, vowing to drive American forces out of the Middle East. Iran has repeatedly vowed vengeance since a U.S. airstrike killed General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in January 2020. “Although the Americans martyred Haj Qassem Soleimani, they received the first blow and now are receiving the second blow, which is nothing but their gradual withdrawal from the region,” Iranian general Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said. (Times of Israel)

05-19-2023
Human Rights

Iran has executed three men detained during anti-government protests.

Iran has executed three men detained during anti-government protests despite a public outcry over their convictions and objections by rights groups and several governments who say authorities held rushed trials, forced "confessions," and denied the accused due process. According to a report published by the Mizan News Agency, affiliated with Iran's judiciary, Saleh Mirehashemi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeed Yaqoubi were executed at dawn on May 19 in a prison in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. (Radio Free Europe)

05-16-2023
Human Rights

Iran's Cyber-Police (FATA) has threatened women fashion businesses, surgery clinics and gyms with closure over unveiled photos in their social media content.

Iran's Cyber-Police (FATA) has threatened women fashion businesses, surgery clinics and gyms with closure over unveiled photos in their social media content. Ramin Pashaei, deputy chief of FATA, said Cyber Police aims at “clearing the [Persian language] cyberspace of immoral content” and warned that any social media content considered “outside norms and against moral standards” would bring about prosecution. Authorities accuse boutiques, beauty salons, modelling agencies, gyms and plastic surgery establishments of encouraging women not to wear the hijab by their “immoral” content. (Iran International)

05-14-2023
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian-backed militia in northern Iraq was behind the drone attack that killed a U.S. military contractor in northeast Syria on March 23 and wounded more than two dozen American civilian and military personnel, according to U.S. officials.

An Iranian-backed militia in northern Iraq was behind the drone attack that killed a U.S. military contractor in northeast Syria on March 23 and wounded more than two dozen American civilian and military personnel, according to U.S. officials. The Iraqi origin of that attack has not been previously reported but was acknowledged by a senior U.S. military official in response to questions from The Wall Street Journal.  It was one of four attempted drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory by Iranian-backed militias against U.S. forces outside the country since August. (Wall Street Journal)

05-11-2023
Politics

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) stands to take control of Iran’s economy by gaining full power over the "economic arteries" of the country, according to an anti-regime group.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) stands to take control of Iran’s economy by gaining full power over the "economic arteries" of the country, according to an anti-regime group. "The documents unveiled by the MEK unequivocally demonstrate that regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has granted the IRGC complete authority over Iran's economy," Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital. (Fox News)

05-11-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran has stressed its right to retaliate against any Israeli action on the country’s nuclear program, threatening to hold the U.S. accountable.

Iran has stressed its right to retaliate against any Israeli action on the country’s nuclear program, threatening to hold the U.S. accountable. In a letter, Iran's permanent representative to the U.N., Saeid Iravani, made the comments to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council's president. The ambassador's threats came after U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington stood ready to do whatever it could to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and that "freedom of action" was given to Israel. (Iran International)

05-11-2023
Human Rights

Iran executed seven people on rape and drug-related charges in one day, bringing the total to at least 10 confirmed cases of prisoners hanged this week.

Iran executed seven people on rape and drug-related charges in one day, bringing the total to at least 10 confirmed cases of prisoners hanged this week, as rights groups sound the alarm over the “chilling” execution spree in the Islamic Republic. Iran Human Rights (IHR) said in a report that four people convicted of rape were hanged at the Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Tehran. The Oslo-based group could not identify the identity of the men. It said that in most rape cases, confessions are obtained under torture and defendants do not have access to a lawyer. Iranian authorities did not confirm the rape-related executions. (Al-Monitor)

05-11-2023
Terrorism

U.K. Metropolitan police received credible threats to the life of Masih Alinejad, a leading Iranian dissent based in the U.S.

Masih Alinejad, a leading Iranian dissident based in the U.S., has been put under 24-hour police protection in the U.K. after the Metropolitan police received credible threats to her life. Alinejad has become one of the main amplifiers of the protests inside Iran, appearing at the U.N. and meeting European leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron and the Netherland’s Mark Rutte. The Met, Alinejad said, told her “‘because of the level of the threats we are going to be with you and protect you everywhere you go. So give us your schedules, we have to know everything in advance to prepare close protection.’” (The Guardian)

05-11-2023
Terrorism

German prosecutors charged a German-Iranian dual national for an attempted arson attack near a synagogue on the orders of the government in Tehran.

German prosecutors charged a German-Iranian dual national for an attempted arson attack near a synagogue on the orders of the government in Tehran. Babak J. was instructed by an intermediary “acting on behalf of unknown Iranian state agencies” in November 2022 to carry out an arson attack on a synagogue in the region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Subsequently, the accused is said to have sought to convince an acquaintance to set fire to a synagogue in Dortmund using a Molotov cocktail but was refused.  (Al-Arabiya)

05-11-2023
Terrorism

A source in the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group told i24NEWS that the Boraq 85 rocket that hit the central Israeli city of Rehovot, killing one person, was Iranian-made.

The Boraq 85 is a relatively new weapon system fielded by Gaza's Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A source in the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group told i24NEWS that the rocket that hit the central Israeli city of Rehovot, killing one person, was Iranian-made. Police said four others were also wounded, and six people were being treated for anxiety. The same source also said that the rocket intercepted the day before by Israel's David's Sling air defense system was the Iranian Boraq 85 model.  (i24 News)

05-11-2023
Syria Conflict

Iran has continued supplying weapons and drugs that fuel the Yemen war despite its agreement to restore diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said.

Iran has continued supplying weapons and drugs that fuel the Yemen war despite its agreement to restore diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said. The Chinese-brokered accord reached in March, talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, and a cease-fire that largely has held despite expiring in October have boosted prospects for an end to the conflict. But Lenderking told reporters in an online briefing on his latest visit to the region that Iran is still supplying arms and drugs that help fuel the war, which erupted in 2014 and has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. (Reuters)

05-10-2023
Terrorism

Named only as Lebanese national Hassan M. and German-Lebanese dual citizen Abdul-Latif W., the pair were detained in northern Germany, suspected of recruiting and organizing activities for the Iran-backed group.

German federal prosecutors announced the arrest of two alleged members of Hezbollah suspected of recruiting and organizing activities for the Iran-backed group. Named only as Lebanese national Hassan M. and German-Lebanese dual citizen Abdul-Latif W., the pair were detained in northern Germany, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement. It said Abdul-Latif W. joined the organization “at the latest” in 2004 and Hassan M. in 2016. They are both now facing charges of “membership of a foreign terrorist organization.” (Al-Arabiya)

05-10-2023
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian predicted during a Russia-hosted summit that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad will provide a launchpad for new attacks against Israel.

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad will provide a launchpad for new attacks against Israel, a senior Iranian official predicted during a Russia-hosted summit. "We are sure that the Syrian Army will respond to the Israeli raids at a proper time,” Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said. “All the signs and variables testify to the transition process in the world order, the decline of the U.S. power, and the strengthening of regionalism.” Israeli officials have conducted airstrikes in Syria for years, with the stated goal of preventing Iranian forces, which have fought in tandem with Russia to preserve the Assad regime, from establishing military outposts on Israeli borders. (Washington Examiner)

05-09-2023
Extremism

The Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), which the IRGC uses to coordinate the activities of its proxies and partners’ media activities and spread extremist views and ideology, allegedly launders money through the broadcasting of football matches t

According to Iran International's Mojtaba Pourmohsen, the head of Iraq’s section of the Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), Hamid al-Husseini, has managed to get the right to broadcast football (soccer) matches in Iraq for the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iranian controlled Shia umbrella organization of more than 60 different armed factions, with around 128,000 fighters. According to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog, the cash-rich sport is among the most vulnerable to money laundering, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimating that about $140 billion is laundered globally through soccer each year. (Iran International)

05-07-2023
Syria Conflict

Iran and its proxies are enabling attacks on U.S. troops in Syria through clandestine weapons shipments hidden within humanitarian aid.

Iran and its proxies are enabling attacks on U.S. troops in Syria through clandestine weapons shipments hidden within humanitarian aid that has flowed into the region after a catastrophic earthquake killed tens of thousands earlier this year, according to classified U.S. intelligence and an Israeli military official familiar with the matter. The findings, outlined in a leak of U.S. secrets circulated on the Discord messaging platform and obtained by The Washington Post, raise dire questions about the ability of the United States and its allies to intercept Iranian-sourced arms used routinely to target American personnel, partner forces and civilians in the Middle East. (Washington Post)

05-05-2023
Extremism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with anti-Israel groups during his two-day visit to Syria, Tehran's close ally, where he also signed several agreements.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with anti-Israel groups during his two-day visit to Syria, Tehran's close ally, where he also signed several agreements. Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Raisi arrived in Damascus. The visit was the first by an Iranian president since the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011. (Iran International)

05-05-2023
Human Rights

Iran has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to significantly improve its state surveillance networks, allowing the repressive regime to further crack down on perceived offenses.

Iran has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to significantly improve its state surveillance networks, allowing the repressive regime to further crack down on perceived offenses. "The Iran regime is certainly joining rogue leaders of the world in redefining and modernizing their modes of suppression," Lisa Daftari, a Middle East expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital. "Unfortunately, just as the Iranian people are finding innovative ways of using social media, streaming and VPNs to get their message out, the regime is also taking advantage of technological advances to continue their reign of brutality."  (Fox News)

05-04-2023
Extremism

Iran has humiliated Israel by organizing “Islamic resistance,” commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani said in Tehran. “At this point, Israel has reached a level of humiliation that it has surrounded itself with barbed wire and rad

Iran is using a state-controlled media group to spread antisemitic messaging to English-speaking audiences online, according to a report. Iran’s Press TV, an English-language government mouthpiece, uses social media to evade broadcast bans and disseminate propaganda, said the report by the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a U.K.-based nonprofit. Press TV was founded by the regime in 2007 to “break the global media stranglehold of Western outlets.” (Times of Israel)

05-04-2023
Extremism

Iran has humiliated Israel by organizing “Islamic resistance,” commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani said in Tehran.

Iran has humiliated Israel by organizing “Islamic resistance,” commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani said in Tehran. “At this point, Israel has reached a level of humiliation that it has surrounded itself with barbed wire and radars to prevent infiltration,” Qaani told a gathering of young clerics. (Iran International)

05-03-2023
Extremism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi bashed Israel, saying that Israel "cannot defend itself" because of what he called "the new world order."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi bashed Israel, saying that Israel "cannot defend itself" because of what he called "the new world order." "The Zionist entity cannot supply itself with security because the conditions are significantly different from the past," he said, "Today, it's clear to everyone that the Sharm al-Sheikh, Camp David and Oslo agreements cannot supply Israel with security. The Zionist entity knows very well that it can never clash with Iran." (Jerusalem Post)

05-03-2023
Military

Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week in Gulf waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019.

Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week in Gulf waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019. The Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet of the U.S. Navy said the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) at 6:20 a.m. (0220 GMT) while passing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The incident comes after Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman called the Advantage Sweet. (Reuters)

04-29-2023
Extremism

The Islamic Republic of Iran organized an exhibition in Afghanistan’s third-largest city of Herat that advocated the “nuclear extinction” of Israel in April as part of the month-long Al-Quds Day celebrations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran organized an exhibition in Afghanistan’s third-largest city of Herat that advocated the “nuclear extinction” of Israel in April as part of the month-long Al-Quds Day celebrations. “This exhibition is an example of the Iranian regime's exporting of its antisemitic ideology. There is a permissive environment in Afghanistan for the Iranian system to do so now, especially with the Taliban in charge, and there are natural linkages to the Hazara community, which have a significant presence in Herat," Jason Brodsky, policy director for the US-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told The Jerusalem Post. The Herat exhibit that urged the nuclear obliteration of the Jewish state coincided with the antisemitic Al-Quds Day event. (Jerusalem Post)

04-29-2023
Terrorism

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to visit Iran soon to discuss “political and field developments,” Hamas announced.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to visit Iran soon to discuss “political and field developments,” Hamas announced. The planned visit is seen by Palestinians as another sign of improved relations between Hamas and Iran after the tensions that erupted between the two sides over the civil war in Syria. Relations between Hamas and Iran were strained when the Palestinian group refused to come out in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of the Iranian regime in the Middle East. (Jerusalem Post)

04-27-2023
Military

Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters, the U.S. Navy said.

Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf waters since 2019. According to the International Maritime Organization shipping database, the Advantage Sweet is owned by a China-registered company called SPDBFL No One Hundred & Eighty-Seven (Tianjin) Ship Leasing Co Ltd. (Reuters)

04-26-2023
Military

The unrest following the 2021 coup in Myanmar has increased demand for Chinese drones and for their spare parts, especially engines, which are widely believed to have been purchased from Iran.

Chinese drones have been used by the Myanmar military since 2015 to support counterinsurgency operations in the country’s restive north. But the unrest following the 2021 coup has increased demand for their use and for their spare parts, especially engines, which are widely believed to have been purchased from Iran. The Washington DC-based Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control and the U.S. watchdog United Against Nuclear Iran believe [the MD550 engine] is produced by Iranian manufacturer Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company or MADO. (Iran International)

04-26-2023
Human Rights

Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Iranian-German dual national Jamshid Sharmahd on charges of "corruption on earth,” a judiciary spokesperson said.

Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Iranian-German dual national Jamshid Sharmahd on charges of "corruption on earth," a judiciary spokesperson said. The Islamic Republic's hardline judiciary handed down the death penalty against Sharmahd in February after convicting him of heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks in the country. (Reuters)

04-26-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have been shutting down a large number of shops and businesses around the country they say are not observing the mandatory hijab law.

Iranian authorities have been shutting down a large number of shops and businesses around the country they say are not observing the mandatory hijab law. According to reports from Iran, Ali Akbar Javidan, the police commander of Kermanshah Province, said the Public Places' Supervision Department, in cooperation with "other responsible agencies," has begun "the implementation of the chastity and hijab plan." Javidan said 45 businesses were closed after ignoring warnings they were not abiding by the compulsory hijab rule. (Voice of America)

04-24-2023
Military

Russian ships are ferrying large quantities of Iranian artillery shells and other ammunition across the Caspian Sea to resupply troops fighting in Ukraine, Middle East officials said.

Russian ships are ferrying large quantities of Iranian artillery shells and other ammunition across the Caspian Sea to resupply troops fighting in Ukraine, Middle East officials said. Over the past six months, cargo ships have carried more than 300,000 artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition from Iran to Russia, according to the officials and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. (The Wall Street Journal)

04-23-2023
Politics

Iran's state TV has been taken over by hardline figures who use it to transmit ideological and hardline views targeting the Reformists and opposition, including in entertainment shows.

State TV has long been recognized as one of the most powerful and influential institutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, in the past two years, Vahid Jalili, a hardline figure, has taken the helm causing concern even among conservatives, with his primary goal to promote the Islamic Republic's ideology in the most hardline and extreme way. In 2021, a power struggle ensued between two like-minded groups of hard liners and conservatives vying for control of state TV. The state TV network holds a complete monopoly over domestic radio and television services, leaving no room for alternative channels in Iran. (Al-Monitor)

04-20-2023
Military

Iran’s defense ministry has delivered the army with more than 200 new drones equipped with missile capabilities and electronic warfare systems, state media reported.

Iran’s defense ministry has delivered the army with more than 200 new drones equipped with missile capabilities and electronic warfare systems, state media reported. In a ceremony broadcast on television, Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani handed over “more than 200 long-range strategic drones” to army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, the official news agency IRNA said. Produced by the Iranian defense ministry, the drones are designed for reconnaissance and strike missions, and can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, IRNA said. (AFP)

04-20-2023
Terrorism

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters in a briefing that Iran funds the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon with $700 million a year, as well as “knowledge and strategic weaponry,” such as precision-guided munitions.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Iran was the “driving force” of a recent multi-front escalation, while detailing the funding the Islamic Republic provides to its proxies across the region. Gallant told reporters in a briefing that Iran funds the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon with $700 million a year, as well as “knowledge and strategic weaponry,” such as precision-guided munitions. The Hamas terror group that rules the Gaza Strip is funded by Iran with $100 million annually, with additional funding worth tens of millions of dollars going to the second largest terror group in the Palestinian enclave, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gallant said. (Times of Israel)

04-19-2023
Terrorism

Iranian hackers known as "Mint Sandstorm" have been refining their tactics and targeting energy and transportation infrastructure in the U.S.

Iranian hackers known as "Mint Sandstorm" have been refining their tactics and targeting energy and transportation infrastructure in the U.S., including ports, energy companies and transit systems, Microsoft Threat Intelligence reported. Mint Sandstorm is the new name used by Microsoft to track the activity of the collection of hacker groups formerly known as Phosphorus, a collection of threat actors assessed to be associated with an intelligence arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The groups included under Mint Sandstorm have also been referred to as APT35, APT42, Charming Kitten, and TA453. (Jerusalem Post)

04-19-2023
Nuclear Program

Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami says Tehran and U.N. atomic watchdog, the IAEA, are in constant contact and talks between the two sides are progressing.

Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami says Tehran and U.N. atomic watchdog, the IAEA, are in constant contact and talks between the two sides are progressing. Eslami said that the talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency are pursued and experts report daily on the progress. During a trip to Tehran in early March, IAEA's director Rafael Grossi said he reached an agreement to ensure Iran's full cooperation and said more meetings would take place soon. (Iran International)

04-18-2023
Extremism

Iran’s president reiterated threats against Israel while marking the country’s annual Army Day.

Iran’s president reiterated threats against Israel while marking the country’s annual Army Day, though he stayed away from criticizing Saudi Arabia as Tehran seeks a détente with the kingdom. The comments by Ebrahim Raisi came as fighter jets and helicopters flew overhead in Tehran, and as Iranian submarines sailed across its waters during a ceremony carried live by state television. The day celebrates Iran’s regular military, not its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, whose expeditionary forces operate across the wider Mideast and aid Iranian-allied militia groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah. (Associated Press)

04-17-2023
Terrorism

Indictments were filed against two Palestinian West Bank residents after they had been recruited to conduct operations on behalf of Hezbollah and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

Indictments were filed against two Palestinian West Bank residents after they had been recruited to conduct operations on behalf of Hezbollah and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced. Yusuf Mansour and Maarsil Mansour allegedly agreed to smuggle and traffic military equipment in Israel for operatives who had identified themselves as representatives of Hezbollah. Yusuf is accused of gathering intelligence with assistance from Maarsil on IDF operations in the West Bank on behalf of the Lebanon-based terrorist organization. (Jerusalem Post)

04-16-2023
Politics

Iran’s parliament speaker helped oust the country’s chief banker in December because he resisted giving more money to the IRGC’s Quds extraterritorial force.

Iran’s parliament speaker helped oust the country’s chief banker in December because he resisted giving more money to the IRGC’s Quds extraterritorial force. Iran International has obtained information that Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and his aide Jamaleddin Aberoumand pushed former governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Ali Salehabadi, out of office to pave the way for stepping up financial support for proxy forces under the command of IRGC’s Quds force (Qods) Force—a division responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. Both Ghalibaf and Aberoumand were senior officers in the Revolutionary Guard. (Iran International)

04-16-2023
Military

General Ali Kouhestani, the head of the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the IRGC Ground Force, announced that there is a development of a powerful anti-tank guided missile called the Sadid-365.

General Ali Kouhestani, the head of the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the IRGC Ground Force, announced during an interview with Tasnim news agency that there is a development of a powerful anti-tank guided missile called the Sadid-365. With a range of 8 km, the missile is capable of obliterating any armored equipment that it targets, according to Mehr news. "This optically guided missile is highly accurate in hitting the target and with the ability to attack from above, it can also pass through the active defense systems and destroy them," Kouhestani said. (Jerusalem Post)

04-14-2023
Extremism

Tens of thousands of Iranians, some chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” marched in the capital of Tehran to mark Jerusalem Day, an annual show of support for the Palestinians.

Tens of thousands of Iranians, some chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” marched in the capital of Tehran to mark Jerusalem Day, an annual show of support for the Palestinians. Senior Iranian officials attended the rally, including President Ebrahim Raisi. Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the rallies marking what is also known as al-Quds Day have typically been typically held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (Associated Press)

04-14-2023
Extremism

Iran’s president delivered an unprecedented speech to an annual pro-Palestinian rally in the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s president delivered an unprecedented speech to an annual pro-Palestinian rally in the Gaza Strip, a display of Iran’s importance to the Hamas militant group that rules the territory. In a virtual address to hundreds of supporters of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group gathered at a soccer field, Ebrahim Raisi urged Palestinians to press on with their struggle against Israel. “The initiative to self-determination is today in the hands of the Palestinian fighters,” Raisi said, dismissing Hamas’ domestic political rival, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which has long sought to win Palestinian statehood through negotiations with Israel. (Associated Press)

04-14-2023
Terrorism

Iran is recruiting militant allies to launch attacks against Israel.

The long shadow war between Iran and Israel is moving into an unpredictable new phase after one of the Islamic Republic’s most powerful military commanders began rallying allies across the Middle East to launch a fresh wave of attacks on Israeli targets. People familiar with the discussions said Esmail Qaani, who leads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, has held a series of clandestine meetings with militant leaders across the region in recent weeks, including some operating in Syria and Iraq. (Wall Street Journal)

04-12-2023
Military

China and Russia are in advanced secret talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles: ammonium perchlorate.

China and Russia are in advanced secret talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles, diplomats familiar with the matter say, a move that would mark a clear violation of United Nations sanctions and possibly help Moscow replenish its depleted stock of rockets. Tehran has held concurrent negotiations with officials and government-controlled entities from both countries, including the state-owned Russian chemical maker FKP Anozit, to acquire large amounts of ammonium perchlorate, or AP, the main ingredient in solid propellants used to power missiles, said the diplomats, who requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential information. (Politico)

04-12-2023
Terrorism

Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria.

Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defenses against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters is the first to report this development. After the February 6 earthquake in northern Syria and Turkey, hundreds of flights from Iran began landing in Syria's Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia airports bringing supplies, and this went on for seven weeks, the sources said. (Reuters)

04-10-2023
Politics

A website in Tehran says that former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and his brother who is programming chief at state TV plan to win control of the next parliament.

A website in Tehran says that former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and his brother who is programming chief at state TV plan to win control of the next parliament. Khabar Online, wrote in an April 9 report that the Jalili brothers are determined to go from where they are in positions of power to the Iranian parliament (Majles) next year. Khabar Online added that all those who were in charge of the state television before were also political activists linked to major political groups. (Iran International)

04-10-2023
Anti-Americanism

A rocket attack targeted a base in eastern Syria where U.S. troops are based causing no injuries or damage, the U.S. military said.

A rocket attack Monday targeted a base in eastern Syria where U.S. troops are based causing no injuries or damage, the U.S. military said. The military said in a statement that one rocket struck the Mission Support Site Conoco in eastern Syria on Monday evening and another rocket was found at the attack point of origin. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said that Iran-backed fighters based in eastern Syria might have been behind the attack. (Associated Press)  

04-10-2023
Human Rights

As schools in Iran reopen after the new year holiday, female students are again being targeted by chemical attacks.

As schools in Iran reopen after the new year holiday, female students are again being targeted by chemical attacks. It is not immediately clear who is responsible for the poisonings, but some Iranians suspect that their own government is the likely culprit. The attacks have targeted schools across the country and students are poisoned by unknown substances that spread through the buildings, according to media reports. Some of the victims have been admitted to hospitals with shortness of breath and other respiratory symptoms. (Voice of America)

04-09-2023
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it has developed its latest suicide drone: the Meraj 532.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it has developed its latest suicide drone as the regime steps up military drone production. Known as the Meraj 532, it will be used by the IRGC ground force with a one-way range of 450km. Spokesperson Ali Kouhestani said the easy-setup drone can fly up to a height of 12,000 feet for 3 hours after taking off from a vehicle, adding that with its 50 kg warhead, it has high accuracy. (Iran International)

04-09-2023
Terrorism

The Israeli military said that three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israeli territory, a rare attack from the country's northeastern neighbor.

The Israeli military said that three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israeli territory, a rare attack from the country's northeastern neighbor that comes after days of escalating violence on multiple fronts. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches, which caused no damage or casualties. Only one rocket managed to cross into Israeli territory and landed in a field in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the Israeli military said. Fragments of another destroyed missile fell into Jordanian territory near the Syrian border, Jordan's military reported. (CBS)

04-06-2023
Terrorism

Thirty-four rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, with 25 intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system over northern Israel.

Thirty-four rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, with 25 intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system over northern Israel, the military said. At least three people were injured and several buildings were damaged. In the evening several mortar shells impacted near the northern town of Metula, not causing any injuries or damage. Israel blamed Lebanon-based Hamas forces for the afternoon attacks, with Israeli official sources saying it would not have been carried out without Hezbollah’s consent. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is currently in Lebanon. (Times of Israel)

04-06-2023
Syria Conflict

Azerbaijan’s security services arrested six people accused of being recruited by Iran in order to overthrow Baku’s secular government and install a pro-Iranian religious regime.

Azerbaijan’s security services arrested six people accused of being recruited by Iran in order to overthrow Baku’s secular government and install a pro-Iranian religious regime. Those detained are all Azerbaijani nationals and are accused of being members of a group that’s received funding and instructions from Iran’s theocratic government to “undermine stability and start armed riots” in Azerbaijan, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a joint statement.  Dozens of Azerbaijani nationals have reportedly been arrested in the past few weeks for alleged links to Iran amid escalating tensions between the two countries over a range of issues including Israel and Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia. (Bloomberg)

04-05-2023
Terrorism

A senior Israeli security official revealed the alleged identity of a handler in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who recruited a pair of Pakistani nationals accused of planning to attack a Chabad house in Athens.

A senior Israeli security official revealed the alleged identity of a handler in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who recruited a pair of Pakistani nationals accused of planning to attack a Chabad house in Athens. The handler’s name is Mohammad Mohsen Reza, a 65-year-old Pakistani national living in the Iranian city of Qom, the security official told reporters. The official said that Reza has been running a network of fellow Pakistani nationals that has been planning attacks on targets of the IRGC around the globe. (Times of Israel)

04-03-2023
Human Rights

Universities in Iran will bar female students who refuse to wear the hijab from education services.

Universities in Iran will bar female students who refuse to wear the hijab from education services. The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology said all universities and higher education centers under its supervision will be able to bar female students who do not wear a hijab from educational and welfare services, according to a statement carried by the judiciary's Mizan news agency. An education official from the health ministry said medical schools "are prohibited from providing any services to students without the Islamic hijab." (The National)

04-03-2023
Terrorism

Reports allege that three out of four of the suspects in the shooting of Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa were working on the order of Iranian security forces.

The identity of four of the suspects in the shooting of Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa was published by Azerbaijani media, with the reports alleging that the three were working on the order of Iranian security forces. The four were identified as Azer Sarijanov, Sabuhi Shirinov, Elshad Askerov and Emin Aliyev, according to the Azerbaijani Turan news site. According to Azerbaijani reports, the suspects visited Iran often and Sarijanov is a religious activist known as "Haji Azer" who posts speeches on YouTube. (Jerusalem Post)

04-01-2023
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary chief has threatened to prosecute “without mercy” women who appear in public unveiled.

Iran’s judiciary chief has threatened to prosecute “without mercy” women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei’s warning comes on the heels of an interior ministry statement that reinforced the government’s mandatory hijab law. “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values,” Ejei was quoted as saying by several news sites. (The Guardian)

03-31-2023
Military

China's Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co. (DJI)—a global leader in drone technology with a large presence in America—has been marketing its equipment in Iran.

China's Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co. (DJI)—a global leader in drone technology with a large presence in America—has been marketing its equipment in Iran, according to evidence collected by United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), a research and advocacy organization. UANI researchers discovered "multiple and explicit examples of DJI products being sold in Iran," according to a March 28 letter sent from the watchdog group to DJI's North American office in Los Angeles. (Washington Free Beacon)

03-29-2023
Politics

Hard-line lawmakers in Iran have proposed new tougher measures to enforce the country's hijab law.

Hard-line lawmakers in Iran have proposed new tougher measures to enforce the country's hijab law. The proposed measures would impose fines of up to $60,000 on women who violate the law as well as the confiscation of their passports and driver's licenses, according to lawmaker Hossein Jalali. Another member of parliament, Bijan Nobaveh, said the proposed measures also include using surveillance cameras to monitor if women in public are wearing the compulsory hijab. As punishment, offenders would be denied mobile phone and Internet services, he said. (Radio Free Europe)

03-28-2023
Terrorism

Greek police arrested two Pakistani nationals who were allegedly planning mass-casualty terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in the country.

Greek police arrested two Pakistani nationals who were allegedly planning mass-casualty terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in the country. Israel’s Mossad spy agency, which aided the Greek investigation, said in a statement that the two were part of an Iranian terror network. The Iran-born pair, aged 27 and 29, were being held at police headquarters in central Athens, Greek authorities said. A third man, who is not in Greece, was wanted for questioning and charged in absentia. (Times of Israel)

03-27-2023
Military

Russia is helping Iran gain advanced digital-surveillance capabilities as Tehran seeks deeper cooperation on cyberwarfare.

Russia is helping Iran gain advanced digital-surveillance capabilities as Tehran seeks deeper cooperation on cyberwarfare, people familiar with the matter said, adding another layer to a burgeoning military alliance that the U.S. sees as a threat. The potential for cyberwarfare collaboration comes after Iran has, according to U.S. and Iranian officials, sold Russia drones for use in Ukraine, agreed to provide short-range missiles to Moscow and shipped tank and artillery rounds to the battlefield. Tehran is seeking the cyber help along with what U.S. and Iranian officials have said are requests for dozens of elite Russian attack helicopters and jet fighters and aid with its long-range missile program. (Wall Street Journal)

03-24-2023
Anti-Americanism

A strike by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon said a drone attack on a U.S. base killed a contractor and injured five U.S. troops and another contractor. That was followed by two simultaneous attacks on U.S. forces in Syria, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that based on preliminary information, there was a rocket attack at a Conoco plant, and one U.S. service member was injured but is in stable condition. At about the same time, several drones were launched at Green Village, where U.S. troops are also based. One official said all but one of the drones were shot down, and there were no U.S. injuries there. (Associated Press)

03-23-2023
Military

Two networks of alleged Iranian operatives were indicted for attempts to procure and export U.S. weapons technology to Tehran, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Two networks of alleged Iranian operatives were indicted for attempts to procure and export U.S. weapons technology to Tehran, the U.S. Department of Justice announced, and four connected companies were designated for sanctioning by the U.S. Treasury Department. The schemes would have supported Iran's ballistic missile, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and weapons programs, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Between 2012 and 2013, Iranian citizen Amanallah Paidar and Turkish citizen Murat Bükey conspired to secure a device to test fuel cells and a bio-detection system that has application in weapons of mass destruction research. (Jerusalem Post)

03-23-2023
Human Rights

An assistant coach with Iran's national soccer team has been fired amid a campaign by hard-liners to oust him over social media posts he made criticizing the government's response to protests.

An assistant coach with Iran's national soccer team has been fired amid a campaign by hard-liners to oust him over social media posts he made criticizing the government's response to protests sparked by the death of a young woman while in police custody. Rahman Rezaei, a former star player on the Iranian men's national soccer team, had come increasingly under fire after being named last week as an assistant coach for his comments online about the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, including one last October where he said, "Enough is enough. You should be tried in the nation's courts." (Radio Free Europe)

03-18-2023
Human Rights

A human rights group says nearly 30,000 people were arrested for staging protests, political activities, or the expression of their opinions in the Iranian year ending on March 20.

A human rights group says nearly 30,000 people were arrested for staging protests, political activities, or the expression of their opinions in the Iranian year ending on March 20. The report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) states that during the 12 months, 29,688 people were arrested in Iran, of which 28,419 were detained for exercising their rights free expression. 328 women's rights activists, 258 trade union activists, 235 ethnic minorities and 169 people of religious minorities were also among the detainees, according to the report. (Iran International)

03-17-2023
Human Rights

Iran hanged a Kurdish man viewed as a political prisoner by activists.

Iran hanged a Kurdish man viewed as a political prisoner by activists, rights groups said, amplifying alarm over the soaring number of executions in the country this year. Mohayyedin Ebrahimi, 43, was hanged at dawn at Urmia prison in northwestern Iran, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Hengaw rights groups said in separate statements. Five other men were also executed on drug-related charges at Urmia on Friday morning, the groups added. (AFP)

03-17-2023
Terrorism

The Islamic Republic has opened an office in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province to recruit young locals to join its proxies.

The Islamic Republic has opened an office in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province to recruit young locals to join its proxies. Offering vulnerable young men a monthly salary of $200, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Islamic Republic is on a new drive to recruit militants from one of the region’s poorest countries. It claimed that 80 men are working voluntarily in the office, part of the Islamic Republic's efforts to expand its military and political influence in Syria. (Iran International)

03-13-2023
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval arm claims that it has put “laser-guided missiles” and “air defense” on its fast attack boats.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval arm claims that it has put “laser-guided missiles” and “air defense” on its fast attack boats. This comes after a series of recent claims by the IRGC about upgrading its navy. The IRGC has its own naval ships while Iran has an official navy as well. The two compete for resources from the regime although the two also have different missions. The IRGC Navy carries out the harassment of foreign navies and is also involved in developing new weapons while the regular navy has larger ships and conducts longer-range missions. In recent years, the IRGC navy has sought to improve its fast attack boats, of which it has several types and hundreds of boats. (Jerusalem Post)

03-13-2023
Human Rights

Prominent reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, who is currently being held at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, says he and his cell mates were attacked by guards.

Prominent reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, who is currently being held at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, says he and his cell mates were attacked by guards for their support of recent comments made by opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi on regime change. Tajzadeh, 65, said in a letter that he and fellow prisoners Saeed Madani and Hossein Razzaq were attacked after they were subjected to an "unusual and long search" of their cell over the weekend. (Radio Free Europe)

03-12-2023
Military

Iran has reached a deal to buy advanced Su-35 fighter planes from Russia.

Iran has reached a deal to buy advanced Su-35 fighter planes from Russia, Iranian state media said, expanding a relationship that has seen Iranian-built drones used in Russia's war on Ukraine. "The Sukhoi-35 fighter planes are technically acceptable to Iran and Iran has finalized a contract for their purchase," the broadcaster IRIB quoted Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York as saying. IRIB's report did not carry any Russian confirmation of the deal, details of which were not disclosed. The mission said Iran had also inquired about buying military aircraft from several other unnamed countries, IRIB reported. (Reuters)

03-10-2023
Military

Russia has been capturing some of the U.S. and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran.

Russia has been capturing some of the U.S. and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran, where the U.S. believes Tehran will try to reverse-engineer the systems, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Over the last year, U.S., NATO and other Western officials have seen several instances of Russian forces seizing smaller, shoulder-fired weapons equipment including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Ukrainian forces have at times been forced to leave behind on the battlefield, the sources told CNN. Russia believes that continuing to provide captured Western weapons to Iran will incentivize Tehran to maintain its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, the sources said. (CNN)

03-08-2023
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced Franco-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan to 6.5 years in prison for "providing information to another country."

Iran has sentenced Franco-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan to 6.5 years in prison for "providing information to another country," his sister said in a statement, adding that her 64-year-old brother was at risk of dying in custody. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months with Tehran detaining seven French nationals in what Paris has said are arbitrary arrests that are equivalent to state hostage taking. One of those, Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah, was released, but it is still unclear how much longer she will have to stay in Iran before returning to France. (Reuters)

03-08-2023
Nuclear Program

The U.S. and Europe's top powers expressed alarm at Iran having produced a tiny amount of uranium enriched to 84% purity.

The U.S. and Europe's top powers expressed alarm at Iran having produced a tiny amount of uranium enriched to 84% purity, very close to weapons grade, and said Iran must explain how it happened. The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% at Fordow, a site dug into a mountain and the second place where it is continuously enriching uranium to up to 60%. Weapons grade is around 90%. (Reuters)

03-07-2023
Politics

A new ultraconservative political coalition in Iran is taking shape, indicating jostling for next year’s parliamentary elections.

News broke March 2 of the emergence of a new ultraconservative political coalition in Iran, indicating jostling for next year’s parliamentary elections. Iranian journalist Saleh Meftah reported on Twitter two days later that a new coalition has emerged among members of the ultraconservative Paydari Party, which has the upper hand in the Iranian parliament. According to the report some 500 ultraconservative politicians took part in a meeting in Velenjak at a building where former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meets his aides. The meeting was called by Roads and Housing Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, a leading member of Paydari and at least two other Paydari leaders, firebrand cleric Mahmoud Nabavian who is known for his opposition to the 2015 nuclear deal and former populist presidential candidate Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi. (Iran International)

03-07-2023
Military

The head of Iran's army has said it has become one of the three countries to produce ballistic missiles capable of destroying mobile naval units.

The head of Iran's army has said it has become one of the three countries to produce ballistic missiles capable of destroying mobile naval units. Tehran has begun mass producing the missiles, which will create "significant security" in its waters, Maj Gen Mohammed Bagheri told news agency Tasnim, affiliated to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The missiles will be able to operate at a distance of 1,000 km, he said. Iran's naval activity is often the source of tension with the US, including in the Gulf of Oman, where Iran attacked an Israeli commercial vessel in November with a Shahed-136 missile. (The National)

03-07-2023
Terrorism

Hackers linked to the Iranian government were behind a cyberattack last month that shut down the operating systems of an Israeli university.

Hackers linked to the Iranian government were behind a cyberattack last month that shut down the operating systems of an Israeli university, Israel’s cyber authority said. The group responsible for the hack was identified as MuddyWater, which is affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the National Cyber Directorate said in a statement. The Feb. 12 attack on the Israel Institute of Technology, also known as Technion, used malware to encrypt the operating systems, the Israeli investigation found. (Bloomberg)

03-06-2023
Terrorism

The alleged orchestrator of a shooting at a synagogue in Germany is suspected of directing attacks from Tehran through his criminal networks in Germany, allegedly at the behest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The alleged orchestrator of a shooting of a synagogue in Germany, according to five German security officials and two Western intelligence officials, was Ramin Yektaparast: a muscled Hells Angels leader wanted in the case of a gruesome biker gang murder in Germany. Yektaparast is suspected of directing attacks from Tehran through his criminal networks in Germany, allegedly at the behest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the officials say. (Washington Post)

03-02-2023
Human Rights

Reports of Iranian schoolgirls being poisoned at school continue to stream in from across Iran, with over 1,000 students in more than 50 schools impacted so far.

Reports of Iranian schoolgirls being poisoned at school continue to stream in from across Iran, with over 1,000 students in more than 50 schools impacted so far, according to opposition reports this week. The poisonings were first reported in late November, with the pace of reports rising in recent weeks. At least eight schools throughout Iran reported poisoning incidents in one day, according to opposition media. (Jerusalem Post)

03-02-2023
Syria Conflict

The British navy seized anti-tank missiles and fins for ballistic missile assemblies during a raid on a small boat heading from Iran likely to Yemen.

The British navy seized anti-tank missiles and fins for ballistic missile assemblies during a raid on a small boat heading from Iran likely to Yemen, authorities said, the latest such seizure in the Gulf of Oman. The raid took place February 23 after an American aircraft detected a small motorboat with cargo covered by a gray tarp heading from Iran, with a helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster chasing the vessel as it ignored being hailed by radio, the British Defense Ministry said. The boat tried to reenter Iranian territorial water, but was stopped before it could.  (Associated Press)

03-01-2023
Military

Iran’s parliament has approved legislation to allow the government to allocate 3 billion euros to the Armed Forces “to strengthen the country's defense infrastructure.”

Iran’s parliament has approved legislation to allow the government to allocate 3 billion euros to the Armed Forces “to strengthen the country's defense infrastructure.” Based on the approved legislation, the General Staff of the Armed Forces is allowed to export three billion euros worth of crude oil and oil products through small private refineries after the approval of the country's budget organization. In the budget bill for the next Iranian year, starting March 21, the government had granted new permits to some departments such as the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic to sell oil on behalf of the government and earn some of the income. (Iran International)

02-28-2023
Military

Iran has shown off what it claims are underground tunnels used for air defense systems.

Iran has shown off what it claims are underground tunnels used for air defense systems. Iran showed off the tunnels during air defense drills this week. The drills are called “Guardians of Velayat Sky-1401.” The footage was released by Iran showing a 3rd Khordad air defense system apparently being driven out of a tunnel.  This is an advanced air defense system Iran used to shoot down a U.S. Global Hawk drone in 2020. According to the report the air defense system was operated by the IRGC’s Aerospace unit. The systems are kept in “subterranean tunnels” and can be easily moved out to ground level “when needed.” (Jerusalem Post)

02-28-2023
Military

Iranian media sources say a "defensive" joint exercise by the Revolutionary Guard and the Islamic Republic Army will be held to counter "enemy aerial threats."

Iranian media sources say a "defensive" joint exercise by the Revolutionary Guard and the Islamic Republic Army will be held to counter "enemy aerial threats." Brigadier General Abbas Farajpour, the spokesman for the "joint air defense exercise", said that the drills will be conducted in "two-thirds of the country's skies." This comes after the National Security Committee of Iranian Parliament held a meeting with the officials of the ministry of intelligence regarding "recent events in Isfahan and Karaj." Residents near Karaj, west of Tehran, published videos of explosions and anti-aircraft fire, which the government media described as military drills by the IRGC. One of these videos showed anti-aircraft tracer rounds soaring into the sky while an explosion can also be seen on the ground. There was no prior public notification of planned military exercises. (Iran International)

02-28-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran has renewed threats to target former President Donald Trump and top members of his former Cabinet.

Iran has renewed threats to target former President Donald Trump and top members of his former cabinet, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the 2020 killing of its top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. "God willing, we are looking to kill Trump [and] Pompeo … and military commanders who issued the order should be killed," Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force, told Iranian state television. The threats are nothing new, though this time they came as Tehran was announcing a new long-range cruise missile capable of flying more than 1,000 miles, which could give it additional striking capabilities to U.S. forces in the Middle East. (Fox News)

02-27-2023
Military

Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them.

Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them. The IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena warships both arrived at the port, Rio's port authority said in a statement. Reuters earlier this month reported that Brazil had bowed to U.S. pressure and declined Iran's request for the vessels to dock in Rio in late January, in a gesture from Lula as he flew to Washington to meet U.S. President Joe Biden. (Reuters)

02-27-2023
Terrorism

A smuggling operation involves the illegal trade of Iranian oil to Venezuela in return for gold bullion, which is used to fund the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorist organization.

Israel's minister of defense issued an order indicating that an Iranian smuggling operation uncovered last May continues to be a concern. The smuggling operation involves the illegal trade of Iranian oil to Venezuela in return for gold bullion, which is used to fund the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorist organization. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed a document revealing that dozens of kilograms of gold were smuggled from Venezuela to Europe and Syria. The gold was transported from Caracas to Tehran via Mahan Air, a privately-owned Iranian airline based in Tehran. The profits from the smuggled gold were then transferred to Hezbollah, according to the findings. (All Israel News)

02-26-2023
Military

Iran is openly talking about upgrading Syrian air defenses to help Damascus fend off continued Israeli airstrikes.

Iran is openly talking about upgrading Syrian air defenses to help Damascus fend off continued Israeli airstrikes. However, as has been the case for a decade now, Israel will undoubtedly take preemptive military action if Tehran takes any serious steps toward implementing this stated objective. On Feb. 24, Iranian state television reported Tehran's intent to supply its advanced, long-range indigenous air defense missile systems to Damascus. Any deployment of the Khordad 15 would almost certainly incur immediate Israeli strikes. The indigenous Iranian system carries Sayyad-3 missiles with a purported 120-mile range, which could potentially constrain Israel's Syria air campaign if successfully deployed. (Forbes)

02-26-2023
Human Rights

Iran’s deputy education minister says the serial poisoning of female students in the religious city of Qom and other cities have been "intentional."

Iran’s deputy education minister says the serial poisoning of female students in the religious city of Qom and other cities have been "intentional." Younes Panahi said that "it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed." "It has been revealed that the chemical compounds used to poison students are not war chemicals, and the poisoned students do not need aggressive treatment, and a large percentage of the chemical agents used are treatable," he told a press conference. (Iran International)

02-25-2023
Extremism

The news organization controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged that the Iranian authorities seize and prosecute German diplomats in Tehran.

The news organization controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged that the Iranian authorities seize and prosecute German diplomats in Tehran in response to Berlin's expulsion of two Iranian diplomats. Kayhan, the news outlet that serves as Khamenei's mouthpiece, demanded that German embassy staff not be allowed to leave Iran in response to Berlin's eviction of two Iranian diplomats due to the clerical regime imposing the death penalty on the German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd, who is also a legal resident of California. (The Jerusalem Post)

02-25-2023
Nuclear Program

Iranian state television has offered a defense against an accusation attributed to International Atomic Agency Organization inspectors that it enriched uranium to 84% purity.

Iranian state television has offered a defense against an accusation attributed to International Atomic Agency Organization inspectors that it enriched uranium to 84% purity. An Iranian official implicitly accepted the accusation, telling state television's English-language arm, Press T.V. that the allegation is a part of a “conspiracy” against Tehran amid tensions over its nuclear program. Iran’s Nuclear Agency Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said that finding highly-enriched uranium particles in the pipes connecting centrifuges was a “normal issue.” (Iran International)  

02-24-2023
Military

Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km (1,025 miles), a top Revolutionary Guards commander said.

Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km (1,025 miles), a top Revolutionary Guards commander said, in a move likely to raise Western concerns after Russia's use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war. Separately, Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, also spoke of Iran's often repeated threat to avenge the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander, saying "We are looking to kill (former U.S. President Donald) Trump." (Reuters)

02-24-2023
Human Rights

After long airing forced televised “confessions” of dissidents, Iran's regime is increasingly coercing individuals to post dictated statements on social media.

After long airing forced televised “confessions” of dissidents, Iran's regime is increasingly coercing individuals to post dictated statements on social media. A video of a woman unveiling at an official event in Tehran went viral on social media. Then, the same woman posted a video of herself apologizing for her “rash” behavior. (Iran International)

02-23-2023
Politics

The Islamic Republic’s Assembly of Experts, the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader, has renewed its loyalty to Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei.

The Islamic Republic’s Assembly of Experts, the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader, has renewed its loyalty to Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei. The Secretariat of the Assembly – also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts – issued a statement, reiterating obsequious remarks about Khamenei. In their statement, the members of the assembly described Khamenei as a force of “solidarity and national unity," and decried the slogans and slurs that are chanted against him during popular protests for over five months. Members of the Assembly are elected from the inner circle of the regime and people very close to the Khamenei, which explains their full loyalty. The assembly is in charge of supervising, dismissing and electing the Supreme Leader. (Iran International)

02-23-2023
Terrorism

Iran is hiring organized criminals to spy on Britain’s Jews in preparation for a potential assassination campaign against prominent members of the community.

Iran is hiring organized criminals to spy on Britain’s Jews in preparation for a potential assassination campaign against prominent members of the community, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat told the JC. The regime is “mapping” Jews in the diaspora to lay the ground for high-profile revenge murders should Israel launch a military attack against the theocracy. In response, the minister, who is responsible for MI5, said: “You were right. We have very clear intelligence about the activities of hostile regimes in the U.K. and we keep a very close eye on what their agents and those close to them are doing. We know that the Iranians are using non-traditional sources to carry out these operations, including organized criminal gangs.” (Jewish Chronicle)  

02-22-2023
Military

Iran might soon receive advanced Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter jets from Russia and possibly other military equipment, including S-400 air defense missile systems.

Iran might soon receive advanced Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter jets from Russia and possibly other military equipment, including S-400 air defense missile systems. How substantially these acquisitions could ultimately affect the power balance in the Middle East remains to be seen. A mockup of a Su-35 recently photographed by satellite outside Iran's southern underground Eagle 44 airbase further fueled speculation that Iran expects to receive that aircraft as part of its most substantive fighter order in over 30 years. (Forbes)

02-21-2023
Terrorism

The Iranian government has been behind 15 credible threats to kill or kidnap British citizens or U.K.-based people in just over a year.

The Iranian government has been behind 15 credible threats to kill or kidnap British citizens or U.K.-based people in just over a year, security minister Tom Tugendhat has told parliament following intimidation that forced the closure of a Persian-language television station. Tehran had also tried to gather information on U.K.-based Jewish and Israeli individuals as “a preparation for future lethal operations”, the minister told the House of Commons in a statement. Tugendhat was speaking after Iran International, viewed by many Iranians as an opposition TV channel, temporarily ceased broadcasting from the U.K. over the weekend as a result of what Tugendhat called “very real and specific threats” towards members of its staff. (Financial Times)

02-19-2023
Terrorism

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran was responsible for a reported attack on an oil tanker.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran was responsible for a reported attack on an oil tanker. An attack on the Liberian-flagged Campo Square was confirmed by the ship's captain, who said it was lightly damaged by an airborne object on Feb. 10 while sailing through the Arabian Sea. Shipping databases linked the tanker to Zodiac Maritime, which is controlled by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer. "Last week Iran again attacked an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and harmed the international freedom of navigation," Netanyahu said at a weekly cabinet meeting.  (Reuters)

02-19-2023
Nuclear Program

United Nations atomic agency inspectors have detected uranium that has been enriched to near weapons-grade in Iran.

United Nations atomic agency inspectors have detected uranium that has been enriched to near weapons-grade in Iran in recent weeks, three senior diplomats said, a finding that will deepen concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran has been producing highly enriched, weapons-grade material of 60% purity since early 2021, but the material found was of 84% purity, according to the diplomats. Weapons-grade enriched uranium is generally considered to be from around 90%-enriched uranium. The diplomats said they had been informed that Iran doesn’t appear to be accumulating a stockpile of the 84% material. (The Wall Street Journal)

02-17-2023
Military

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivered a speech at the opening of the 59th Security Conference in Munich, Germany, where he denounced Iran's efforts to export lethal weapons despite the embargo imposed on it.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivered a speech at the opening of the 59th Security Conference in Munich, Germany, where he denounced Iran's efforts to export lethal weapons despite the embargo imposed on it. The minister called on the international community to unite against the Islamic Republic's efforts and work on regulating an alternative mechanism to the embargo on ground-to-ground missiles and drones that is set to expire at the end of this year. "Below and above the surface, Iran is relentlessly working to destroy the State of Israel. It does so both directly and through its proxies - the terrorist armies that operate near Israel's borders. Iran threatens not only Israel but also the security and stability of Europe and the world at large," said Gallant. (i24 News)

02-16-2023
Military

Recent reports indicate that Iran and Turkey are pushing ahead with their respective projects to build enormous factories in Russia and Ukraine for manufacturing large numbers of their homegrown Shahed and Bayraktar drones.

Recent reports indicate that Iran and Turkey are pushing ahead with their respective projects to build enormous factories in Russia and Ukraine for manufacturing large numbers of their homegrown Shahed and Bayraktar drones. On Jan. 5, a high-level Iranian delegation visited the Russian town of Yelabuga, about 600 miles east of Moscow. Iran and Russia have ambitious plans to build a large factory there that will manufacture at least 6,000 drones based on Iranian designs. Iran has already supplied Russia with hundreds of Shahed-131/136 loitering munitions – single-use, self-detonating drones – for the war against Ukraine. (Forbes)

02-15-2023
Military

U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made reconnaissance drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria.

U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria, the U.S. military said. The incident comes more than a week after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, followed by a significant de-escalation of violence across the war-torn country. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the reconnaissance drone flew over Mission Support Site Conoco before American forces shot it down. (Associated Press)

02-15-2023
Terrorism

Seif al-Adel, the apparent new leader of al Qaeda is in Iran, a United Nations report has said and the United States confirmed the information.

Seif al-Adel, the apparent new leader of al Qaeda is in Iran, a United Nations report has said and the United States confirmed the information. State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked during his daily press briefing to comment on the UN report. He said: “Our assessment aligns with that of the UN…offering safe haven to al Qaeda is another example of Iran’s wide-ranging support for terrorism, its destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond.” Asked by a reporter what the United States is ready to do if Adel is in Iran, Price said that the Biden administration is determined not to allow threats to emerge. (Iran International)

02-14-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran warned it would firmly respond to any move threatening its security, saying the U.S. was responsible for any action taken by its ally Israel.

Iran warned it would firmly respond to any move threatening its security, saying the U.S. was responsible for any action taken by its ally Israel. The Israeli army said its Defense Forces and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched Juniper Oak, a joint drill focused on air defense, cyber security, intelligence, and logistics. Some 6,400 US and over 1,500 Israeli troops, over 140 aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and artillery systems are taking part, making it the nations' largest-ever joint drill. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

02-14-2023
Terrorism

The number of cyberattacks by Iran on targets in Israel has doubled in the past year.

The number of cyberattacks by Iran on targets in Israel has doubled in the past year, the director general of the Israeli Nation Cyber Directorate (INCD) has told Tech Monitor. Speaking to Tech Monitor at the Cybertech Conference in Tel Aviv, Portnoy said his organization has thwarted 1,000 potential cyberattacks over the past year, far outstripping its neighbors. Iran’s cyberattacks against Israel doubled in the past year, explains Portnoy. Other countries in the region have felt the same pressure, from cyber espionage to ransomware and attacks on critical national infrastructure (CNI). (Tech Monitor)

02-13-2023
Terrorism

Australian security agencies have disrupted a foreign interference plot by Iran that was targeting an Iranian-Australian on Australian soil.

Australian security agencies have disrupted a foreign interference plot by Iran that was targeting an Iranian-Australian on Australian soil, the government has said. The plot allegedly included individuals monitoring the home of a critic of the Iranian regime and extensively researching the person and their family. The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, revealed the incident in a speech to the Australian National University on Tuesday while also describing foreign interference as “one of the core threats our democracy faces.” (The Guardian)

02-13-2023
Syria Conflict

Britain says it has for the first time presented evidence that Iran is supplying advanced weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Britain says it has for the first time presented evidence that Iran is supplying advanced weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, after finding images of tests conducted at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran on the hard drive of an unmanned aircraft seized by the Royal Navy. Personnel from the British ship HMS Montrose seized the unmanned quadcopter along with a shipment of missiles and missile parts in February last year when they stopped and searched a number of fast-moving skiffs in the Gulf of Oman. The weapons and other evidence were presented to the United Nations as linking Iran to violations of Security Council resolutions barring weapons shipments to the Houthis, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Monday in London.  (Associated Press)

02-12-2023
Politics

A new budget bill proposed cuts in the health and public sectors, and granted an increase in the budget of military and security forces.

As Iranians struggle to survive years of an unrelenting economic crisis, a new budget bill proposed cuts in the health and public sectors, and granted an increase in the budget of military and security forces. Lawmakers on 22 January approved the outlines of the budget bill, submitted by conservative President Ebrahim Raisi, for the Iranian year beginning on 21 March. (Middle East Eye)

02-12-2023
Military

Iran has reportedly used the country's state-owned airline and boats to smuggle high-end drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.

Iran has reportedly used the country's state-owned airline and boats to smuggle high-end drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. Sources within Iran told The Guardian that at least 18 advanced drones have been delivered to Russia's military since November, including six Mohajer-6 drones plus 12 Shahed 191 and 129 drones. Iran has also provided 54 technicians – about three per drone – to help the Russian military put the aircraft into service, according to the report. (Fox News)

02-09-2023
Military

Iran appears to be modifying the attack drones it’s providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine.

Iran appears to be modifying the attack drones it’s providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine, according to a new investigative report obtained exclusively by CNN. An unexploded warhead from an Iranian Shahed-131 drone found in the Southern Ukrainian region of Odesa in October 2022 was examined last month by the UK-based investigative organization Conflict Armament Research, along with the Ukrainian military. CAR provided its findings first to CNN. The composition of the warhead helps explain how Russia’s onslaught on Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the last several months has proven so effective. (CNN)

02-09-2023
Military

A large shipment of drones is set to be sent from Tehran to Beijing.

The adviser to Iran’s minister of intelligence has claimed that 90 countries are "customers" of Iranian drones, and China is in the "queue" to receive 15,000 of these drones. (Iran International)

02-09-2023
Human Rights

Documents show that Iran had access to the private data of Facebook users.

Released documents show that Iran, along with Russia, China and some other authoritarian governments had access to the private data of Facebook users. Internal documents in a related privacy litigation that emerged late last month have trigged the chairs of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, to write a letter to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg asking fresh questions about what he and his company knew about how much user data the platform was leaking in previous years. “It appears from these documents that Facebook has known, since at least September 2018, that hundreds of thousands of developers in countries Facebook characterized as “high-risk,” including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), had access to significant amounts of sensitive user data,” they write. (Iran International)

02-08-2023
Military

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps displayed an apparent ballistic missile with the words “Death to Israel” emblazoned in Hebrew down the side.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps displayed an apparent ballistic missile with the words “Death to Israel” emblazoned in Hebrew down the side, at an exhibition in the central city of Isfahan. Pictures posted by the Tasnim news agency show what appears to be a surface-to-surface missile in a launcher with elaborate Hebrew script running down its side. It was not clear if it was an actual missile or a mockup. (Times of Israel)

02-07-2023
Military

Iran's army unveiled its first underground base for fighter jets designed to withstand possible strikes by U.S. bunker-busting bombs.

Iran's army unveiled its first underground base for fighter jets designed to withstand possible strikes by U.S. bunker-busting bombs, state media reported. The base, named Oghab 44 (Persian for eagle), can accommodate "all types of fighter jets and bombers, in addition to drones," the official news agency IRNA said, releasing images and videos from inside the base. The exact location of the base was not revealed, but state media said it was "at the depth of hundreds of meters under the mountains," and capable of withstanding "bombs by strategic U.S. bombers." (AFP)

02-07-2023
Human Rights

A teenager arrested during protests has attempted suicide in Zahedan prison, southeast of Iran, due to severe physical, sexual and mental torture.

Baluch Activists Campaign say a teenager arrested during protests has attempted suicide in Zahedan prison, southeast of Iran, due to severe physical, sexual and mental torture. According to the human rights organization, the teenager was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard intelligence in Zahedan on January 3, but he tried to take his own life after being severely tortured. The 16-year-old has been identified as Benyamin Kouhkan, a citizen of Zahedan, the provincial capital of the largely Sistan-Baluchestan province largely populated by Sunnis of Baluch ethnicity. (Iran International)

02-06-2023
Human Rights

The Guardian spoke to 11 protesters, women and men, who claim that they were subjected to rape, sexual violence, beatings and torture while being detained by security forces.

The Guardian spoke to 11 protesters, women and men, who claim that they were also subjected to rape, sexual violence, beatings and torture while being detained by security forces. Some say they were assaulted in a police van or on the streets; others while in custody in police stations or prisons. A nurse from a hospital in Gilan says she has encountered several women in the past few months who showed signs of sexual assault and rape. “I’ve treated at least five female protesters under 30 who came in with vaginal infections and told me they were assaulted in police custody. Some of them were bleeding from their genitals,” she says. (The Guardian)

02-05-2023
Military

Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones for the war in Ukraine.

Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones for the war in Ukraine, the latest sign of deepening cooperation between the two nations, said officials from a country aligned with the U.S. As part of their emerging military alliance, the officials said, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and hammer out details to get the project up-and-running. The two countries are aiming to build a faster drone that could pose new challenges for Ukrainian air defenses, the officials said. (The Wall Street Journal)

02-04-2023
Extremism

The Iranian regime-controlled Channel 4 ran a series of broadcasts with British and American Holocaust deniers in January shortly before International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

The Iranian regime-controlled Channel 4 ran a series of broadcasts with British and American Holocaust deniers in January shortly before International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. British Holocaust denier Nicholas Kollerstrom told the Iranian regime outlet it is time to put the "nightmare hallucination narrative" of the Holocaust "to bed," and that the aim of "this holo-hoax tale" was to crush Germany's spirit, according to a translation by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). (The Jerusalem Post)

02-03-2023
Extremism

Iranian media responded to cooperation between Israeli and Azeri defense ministers by publishing antisemitic cartoons targeting Azerbaijan’s president.

Iranian media responded to cooperation between Israeli and Azeri defense ministers by publishing antisemitic cartoons targeting Azerbaijan’s president. Iranian newspaper Javan, owned by the son of Ayatollah Hossein Mazakheri from Iran's central city of Isfahan, published on its frontpage a cartoon depicting Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev as a stereotypical Jew with a huge hooked nose, with the Israeli prime minister standing behind his back. The cartoon illustrated the article "Tel Aviv’s Trap for Baku" comes as Iran's reaction to the phone conversation between the defense ministers of Israel and Azerbaijan. (i24 News)

02-03-2023
Politics

Iran's ultra-hardliners have been pushing for further restrictions on social freedoms and freedom of expression.

Iran's ultra-hardliners have been pushing for further restrictions on social freedoms and freedom of expression. Commenting on the issue of hijab, lawmaker Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani said in an interview with Entekhab news website recently that he believes the country should have an entity dedicated to “promotion of virtue and prevention of vice” as a completely independent organization to enforce hijab. “Our society and religion do not accept today’s kind of [lenient] hijab,” he said. (Iran International)

02-03-2023
Terrorism

An Iranian government-backed hacking team allegedly stole and leaked private customer data belonging to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

An Iranian government-backed hacking team allegedly stole and leaked private customer data belonging to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, security researchers at Microsoft said. The magazine was hacked in early January after it published a series of cartoons that negatively depicted Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The caricatures were part of a media campaign that Charlie Hebdo said was intended to support anti-government protests in the Islamic nation. (Reuters)

02-03-2023
Nuclear Program

A U.N. watchdog report shows Iran is being inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement.

A U.N. watchdog report shows Iran is being inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticized Iran for making an undeclared change to the interconnection between the two clusters of advanced machines enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, at its Fordow plant. Iran said the IAEA's position on Tehran's nuclear work was not correct. (Reuters)

02-02-2023
Terrorism

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened punishment for those behind the desecration of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in Europe.

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened punishment for those behind the desecration of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in Europe. “Today, we are the guardians of Islam and the Quran … We say to those who burned the Quran, this fire will catch your bodies and turn them into corpses,” state news agency IRNA quoted Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami as saying. “Live in secret from today and have nightmares every night, Muslims will not leave you even if decades pass,” added Salami. (Al Arabiya)

02-01-2023
Extremism

Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry has detained around 40 people it suspects of being part of an Iranian spy network that used religion to push pro-Iranian propaganda.

Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry has detained around 40 people it suspects of being part of an Iranian spy network that used religion to push pro-Iranian propaganda. Local media reported on February 1 that the suspects were arrested in Baku and other regions of the country as a result of the operation conducted by the ministry. Some reports a day earlier put the number of people detained at seven. Law enforcement bodies have neither confirmed nor rejected the reports. (Radio Free Europe)

02-01-2023
Politics

The Iranian parliament is planning to introduce new articles to the Islamic Penal Code which would criminalize "expressing opinions on social networks."

The Iranian parliament is planning to introduce new articles to the Islamic Penal Code which would criminalize "expressing opinions on social networks." If approved, this will further limit freedom of speech in the Islamic Republic. According to Iran's reformist daily newspaper Etemad in an article headlined "Be careful with your comments; If it is against the official reading, you will be punished!" (Middle East Monitor)

02-01-2023
Military

Iran shows off its “Saqr” missile.

Iranian pro-government media reported extensively about the Saqr missile, noting that it had been used in Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthi group, as well as in Iraq, to target U.S. forces and also in Syria. This links Iran to all these attacks, without explicitly taking credit for them. The Tasnim report noted that this “mysterious” missile has been used in many places, all of them linked to pro-Iran forces around the Middle East. It explains how the missile behaves like a cruise missile and a “loitering” munition, that it can detect targets with optical and thermal systems. (The Jerusalem Post)

02-01-2023
Terrorism

Iran International has obtained information that unravels some details about the inner workings of a Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force unit tasked with smuggling money from Iraq to Iran.

Iran International has obtained information that unravels some details about the inner workings of a Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force unit tasked with smuggling money from Iraq to Iran. According to the information, the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Iraq is also involved in the money laundering operations that aim to funnel the regime’s revenues from oil and gas exports to Iran. As per a repeatedly extended sanctions’ waiver by Washington, Tehran is only allowed to import medicine and some essential goods in exchange for its export to its neighboring country. (Iran International)

02-01-2023
Syria Conflict

French special forces discovered more than 3,000 Iranian-supplied assault rifles, at least a half million rounds of ammunition and over 20 antitank guided missiles, in route to the Houthis in Yemen.

Elite French special forces seized a boatload of Iranian-supplied weapons and ammunition bound for militants in Yemen as part of a deepening effort to contain Tehran, according to officials familiar with the operation. On Jan. 15, the officials said, a French warship stopped a suspected smuggling ship off the Yemeni coast where the specially trained French team boarded the boat. On board, the officials said, the French military discovered more than 3,000 assault rifles, at least a half million rounds of ammunition and over 20 antitank guided missiles. (The Wall Street Journal)

01-30-2023
Military

Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani said Iran is looking to expand operations on the coast of the Makran region in the Sistan and Baluchistan province.

Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani said Iran is looking to expand operations on the coast of the Makran region in the Sistan and Baluchistan province. According to Irani, the navy and army want to focus on various fields such as fisheries and shipbuilding and providing facilities to repair ships. While these may be purely mundane discussions about improving Iran’s facilities along the coast, they could also be important, as this is the same area where Iran holds weapons – including drones – that have been used in naval drills. (The Jerusalem Post)

01-27-2023
Military

Iran's biggest warship and one of its frigates are sailing across the Pacific in a first-of-its-kind journey likely meant to show off Tehran's growing naval force to friends and foes alike.

Iran's biggest warship and one of its frigates are sailing across the Pacific in a first-of-its-kind journey likely meant to show off Tehran's growing naval force to friends and foes alike. The two ships appear to be the frigate IRIS Dena and the forward base ship IRINS Makran. They were spotted by the French and Australian navies in early January as they sailed through the South Pacific. The ships have been granted permission to dock in Rio de Janeiro, reportedly arriving on January 23. (Business Insider)

01-27-2023
Human Rights

A newspaper in Iran says the parliament's plan to add two new articles to the “Islamic Penal Code” could further restrict civil liberties and freedom of speech.

A newspaper in Iran says the parliament's plan to add two new articles to the “Islamic Penal Code” could further restrict civil liberties and freedom of speech. According to Etemad newspaper, based on the new legislation, making any comment about the state of affairs in the country can land people in trouble, particularly politicians, political activists and celebrities. The newspaper said that lawmakers at the Judiciary Committee wish to make sure that all public comments are identical with official version of developments. (Iran International)

01-27-2023
Terrorism

The Department of Justice has charged three members of an Eastern European criminal group with ties to Iran with attempting to assassinate a prominent U.S. journalist and activist critical of the Iranian regime.

The Department of Justice has charged three members of an Eastern European criminal group with ties to Iran with attempting to assassinate a prominent U.S. journalist and activist critical of the Iranian regime. In a 25-page indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Department of Justice said the three men were enlisted last year to murder an American citizen of Iranian origin on U.S. soil. The indictment did not identify the victim by name but said the person wrote critically about Iran’s treatment of women, protesters and other issues. (NBC)

01-26-2023
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced an ethnic Iranian-Kurdish pregnant woman being held in Urmia Central Prison to death.

Iran has sentenced an ethnic Iranian-Kurdish pregnant woman being held in Urmia Central Prison to death, according to a report by Iran Wire. Shahla Abdi, from the north-western province of West Azerbaijan and said to be in her early 20s, was initially arrested in Urmia in mid-October at the peak of mass protests that were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody. Ms. Abdi is said to have received the death sentence after being accused of setting fire to a portrait of former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. (The National)

01-26-2023
Terrorism

Iranian and Russian hackers are targeting British politicians and journalists with espionage attacks.

Iranian and Russian hackers are targeting British politicians and journalists with espionage attacks, officials have warned. The National Cyber Security Centre has issued a fresh alert about increasing attempts to steal information from specific groups and individuals. NCSC said the hackers usually target those doing research and work about Iran and Russia. (BBC)

01-25-2023
Nuclear Program

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi warned that Tehran has amassed enough material for “several nuclear weapons.”

Diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon should restart, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who warned that Tehran has amassed enough material for “several nuclear weapons.” Speaking ahead of a planned visit to Tehran, Grossi told a European Parliament subcommittee in Brussels that Iran has not yet built a nuclear weapon and the West should redouble efforts to stop it from doing so. Uranium enriched to more than 90% can be weaponized. Iran has 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity and 1,000 kilograms to 20% purity, according to Grossi. (CNN)

01-24-2023
Human Rights

An activist group says sixteen young people arrested in Urumieh in November, including several minors, have been tortured and threatened with rape to incriminate each other.

An activist group says sixteen young people arrested in Urumieh in November, including several minors, have been tortured and threatened with rape to incriminate each other. Follow Up Iran (komite-ye Peygiri-ye Bazdashtshodegan) which on its twitter account introduces itself as a group of activists said in a brief report on its Telegram page that the IRGC’s intelligence organization in West Azarbaijan Province has been torturing these young people to “confess” against each other and say their group was in contact with foreign intelligence services. State media reported in November that intelligence bodies had arrested 25 members of Youth of Urumieh Neighborhoods and accused them of trying “to deceive young people and incite them [to riot].” (Iran International)    

01-23-2023
Military

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is ramping up Syria’s air defense system, despite rampant poverty in Iran.

Amid new sanctions by Western countries on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for human rights violations and other mischiefs, the multi-role organization is ramping up Syria’s air defense system, despite rampant poverty in Iran. According to a report by the Newsweek earlier in the month, the Islamic Republic has invested tens of millions of dollars from the country's public budget for the deployment of a comprehensive aerial defense network in Syria. Newsweek cited an unnamed intelligence source from a nation allied with the United States that the IRGC over the past two years has been “promoting the deployment of aerial defense capabilities on its behalf in Syria at a cost of tens of millions of dollars in order to deal with the Israeli airstrikes.” (Iran International)

01-23-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have arrested three female journalists in the past two days, local media said.

Iranian authorities have arrested three female journalists in the past two days, local media said, amid months of protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. "In the past 48 hours, at least three female journalists, namely Melika Hashemi, Saideh Shafiei and Mehrnoush Zarei, have been arrested in Tehran," reformist newspaper Etemad quoted the Tehran journalists' union as saying. The paper said the three women had been transferred to Evin prison, where many of those arrested in connection with the protests are being held. (AFP)

01-22-2023
Military

In addition to the 24 Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets Tehran expects to receive from Russia as soon as March 21, the Persian New Year, Tehran also claims it has ordered helicopters and missile systems.

Iran expects to receive the first of the 24 Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets it ordered from Russia as soon as March 21, the Persian New Year. Tehran also claims it has ordered helicopters and missile systems. Shahriar Heidari, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Iranian state media that Iran has ordered other Russian military equipment, including helicopters, air defense systems, and other missile systems, and expects to receive them soon. While the specific equipment Iran expects in addition to Su-35s remains unclear, the seemingly imminent delivery of those two dozen air superiority fighters, originally built for Egypt, has dominated discussions and headlines. (Forbes)

01-22-2023
Anti-Americanism

Islamic Republic’s education minister says parts of the documents obtained during the US embassy takeover in 1979 will be included in school textbooks as of next year.

Islamic Republic’s education minister says parts of the documents obtained during the US embassy takeover in 1979 will be included in school textbooks as of next year. [Education Minister] Yousef Nouri said that the move was done upon a call by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the materials will be included in textbooks in all levels from the elementary school to the end of high school according to the level of understanding of the students. (Iran International)

01-20-2023
Anti-Americanism

Three drones targeted a U.S. base in Syria's Al-Tanf region but no American troops were injured, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Three drones targeted a U.S. base in Syria's Al-Tanf region but no American troops were injured, the U.S. military said in a statement. U.S. Central Command said two of the drones were shot down while the remaining drone hit the compound, injuring two members of the Syrian Free Army forces. (Reuters)

01-18-2023
Human Rights

Sources have told BBC Persian that Mohammad Mehdi Karami—a 22-year-old karate champion hanged by Iran—had less than 15 minutes to defend himself in court.

Four young men have been executed in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in Iran four months ago, while 18 other people have been sentenced to death. Human rights groups have said they were convicted after grossly unfair sham trials. Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a 22-year-old karate champion, was hanged on 7 January, just 65 days after his arrest. Sources have told BBC Persian that he had less than 15 minutes to defend himself in court. (BBC)

01-18-2023
Syria Conflict

In a recent lengthy interview, the deputy commander of the Iranian Army for Training Affairs Brig.-Gen. Alireza Sheikh discussed how Iran’s regime views its military doctrine.

The recent interview [with the deputy commander of the Iranian Army for Training Affairs Brig.-Gen. Alireza Sheikh] reveals how Iran is following Russia’s military doctrine and also learning from Pakistan and how it is focusing on missiles and drones. Tehran is also warning its adversaries that it is practicing conducting raids that could destabilize the Gulf if Iran were confronted with a larger conflict. (The Jerusalem Post)

01-17-2023
Human Rights

A Kurdish rights group says during the first 15 days of 2023, at least 96 Kurdish citizens have been arrested by Islamic Republic government forces.

A Kurdish rights group says during the first 15 days of 2023, at least 96 Kurdish citizens have been arrested by Islamic Republic government forces. Hengaw Human Rights Organization announced in a tweet that 13 children, five university students, four teachers, and five women are among the detainees. Iranian security forces used excessive and lethal force against protesters in Kurdish regions since the beginning of nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September. (Iran International)   

01-17-2023
Human Rights

Iran has sought to develop an “unprecedented” mobile surveillance system.

Iran has sought to develop an “unprecedented” mobile surveillance system, and discussed setting up the program with a pair of Western companies, according to research from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. Based on hacked documents that Citizen Lab verified were authentic, Iran’s ambitions focused on deeply integrating into mobile business systems. (Washington Post)

01-15-2023
Extremism

The Islamic Republic has announced its intention to change the content of textbooks in foreign language schools after criticism by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei.

The Islamic Republic has announced its intention to change the content of textbooks in foreign language schools after criticism by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei. Head of Non-Governmental Schools and Centers Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh told ILNA Sunday that “We will have a call to produce content of language books for schools, which will be implemented in line with the order of the Supreme Leader.” Changing the content of textbooks based on the government's propaganda policies has been implemented in the last few years upon the order of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, this is the first time that these changes will be applied to the language teaching books of private institutes. (Iran International)

01-15-2023
Military

Iran will receive Russian Su-35 fighter jets within three months under an agreement with Moscow.

Iran will receive Russian Su-35 fighter jets within three months under an agreement with Moscow, an Iranian parliamentarian said, Anadolu reports. Shahriar Heidari, a member of the parliament's National Security Committee, told Tasnim News Agency that the jets will arrive in Iran in the coming Iranian year, which begins March 21. According to the MP, Tehran has also ordered a number of other military equipment from Russia, including air defense systems, missile systems and helicopters, most of which will arrive soon. According to media reports, Iran will receive 24 twin-engine, highly maneuverable fourth-generation fighter jets that will be used primarily for air superiority missions. (Middle East Monitor)

01-13-2023
Terrorism

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Beirut to meet with senior Lebanese officials and political figures such as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Beirut to meet with senior Lebanese officials and political figures such as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah said in a statement that Nasrallah and Amir-Abdollahian discussed Israel’s new, hardline government and regional developments. He also held a meeting with Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah during his trip to Lebanon. (Iran International)

01-12-2023
Human Rights

Iranian authorities may be using new technology to help enforce the country's strict dress code for women.

Iranian authorities may be using new technology to help enforce the country's strict dress code for women, expanding the use of facial recognition technology to issue fines and other penalties for those breaking the rules. "Many people haven't been arrested in the streets," Shaparak Shajarizadeh, who fled from Iran to Canada in 2018 after multiple violations of Iran's strict laws and became an activist, told Wired in a report. "They were arrested at their homes one or two days later." (Fox News)

01-11-2023
Military

Iran's navy is set to station warships for the first time in the Panama Canal.

Iran's navy is set to station warships for the first time in the Panama Canal. Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of Iran's navy, said that his forces will establish a presence in the Panama Canal later this year, marking the first time Iran's military has entered the Pacific Ocean. Iran in recent years has placed a greater focus on moving its military into Latin American territories as it strengthens relations with anti-American dictators in the region, most notably in Venezuela. (Washington Free Beacon)

01-10-2023
Terrorism

The US intercepted a shipment of more than 2,000 Iranian assault rifles destined for Yemen.

The US intercepted a shipment of more than 2,000 Iranian assault rifles destined for Yemen, according to a statement from the US military. The interception took place in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said. A team from the USS Chinook, a patrol coastal vessel, boarded the other ship along a route historically used to smuggle weapons from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen. A photo from the USS The Sullivans shows the 2,116 assault rifles covering the deck of the guided missile destroyer. (CNN)

01-10-2023
Syria Conflict

Over the last two years, Iran has shifted its strategy in Syria toward prioritizing the “deployment of aerial defense capabilities," an intelligence source told Newsweek.

Iran has pursued the establishment of a comprehensive aerial defense network in Syria by sending equipment and personnel to the war-ravaged Arab nation in a project Israel has sought to thwart through repeated airstrikes, an intelligence source from a nation allied with the United States told Newsweek. However, the source told Newsweek that over the course of "the last two years" Iran has shifted its strategy, "promoting the deployment of aerial defense capabilities on its behalf in Syria at a cost of tens of millions of dollars in order to deal with the Israeli airstrikes." (Newsweek)

01-08-2023
Terrorism

German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack.

German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack, authorities in western Germany said. The residence of the suspect in the city of Castrop-Rauxel was searched as part of the investigation, according to a joint press release from the Duesseldorf public prosecutor's office and police in the cities of Recklinghausen and Muenster. Police said the Iranian was suspected of having planned a "serious act of violence endangering the state" by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack. This carries a prison sentence of between 6 months to 10 years. (Reuters)

01-07-2023
Politics

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Ahmad Reza Radan as the country's new police chief.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Ahmad Reza Radan as the country's new police chief. Radan replaced outgoing Hossein Ashtari after his eight-year term of service ended, state media reported. Radan, who served as acting commander of police from 2008-2014, is known for his violent crackdown on the 2009 mass protests over a disputed presidential election. He also imposed tough measures against women who don't fully observe the hijab law. (Radio Free Europe)

01-07-2023
Human Rights

Two protesters who allegedly took part in anti-regime protests last year, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, were hanged.

The executions of two young men in Iran, one a karate champion, the other a volunteer children’s coach, in connection with nationwide protests have sparked outrage around the world. Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged, state-affiliated Fars News reported. The pair, who allegedly took part in anti-regime protests last year, were convicted of killing Seyed Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the country’s Basij paramilitary force, in Karaj on November 3, according to the Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan. (CNN)

01-07-2023
Terrorism

An audio file shared on social media has revealed that the regime threatens Iranians abroad for taking part in anti-government protests and expressing opposition.

An audio file shared on social media has revealed that the regime threatens Iranians abroad for taking part in anti-government protests and expressing opposition. In the audio file published by the VOA Farsi service, a security agent of the Islamic Republic, who introduces himself as an agent of the intelligence ministry, threatens "Massi Kamri", an Iranian activist living in France, saying if she does not stop acting against the regime, they will imprison her parents and family members in Iran. Apparently, she participated in rallies against the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown on anti-government protests that have engulfed Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. (Iran International)

01-04-2023
Anti-Americanism

Two rockets struck a base housing American troops in eastern Syria without causing any human or material losses, the U.S. military said.

Two rockets struck a base housing American troops in eastern Syria without causing any human or material losses, the U.S. military said. The morning attack on Mission Support Site Conoco came as Iran and its allies in the region marked the third anniversary of the killing of Iran’s elite Quds force chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. No one claimed responsibility for the attack in east Syria, where it is not uncommon for bases housing U.S. troops to come under rocket fire or mortar attacks. Iran-backed militia are based nearby as are sleeper cells of the Islamic State group that was defeated in Syria in March 2019. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the rockets were fired by Arab tribesmen in the region who are armed by Iran. (Associated Press)

01-03-2023
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vows revenge for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking on the third anniversary of the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, said that revenge for the slain commander was “certain.” “We have not forgotten and will not forget the blood of martyr Soleimani, and let them know that revenge for the blood of martyr Soleimani is certain,” Raisi said in a televised speech. (Al Arabiya News)

01-02-2023
Human Rights

Iranian police have resumed warnings that women must wear mandatory headscarves even in cars.

Iranian police resumed warnings that women must wear mandatory headscarves even in cars, Iranian state media reported, as unrest continues following the death of Mahsa Amini. "The removal of hijab has been observed in your vehicle: It is necessary to respect the norms of the society and make sure this action is not repeated," read a message reportedly sent by police and posted on social media. Iran's morality police — known as Gasht-e Ershad, or "Guidance Patrol" — have a mandate to enter public areas to check on the implementation of the strict dress code. (AFP)

01-02-2023
Terrorism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei celebrated the new year by praising slain Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was directly responsible for the deaths of over 603 U.S. serviceman and women.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei celebrated the new year by praising slain Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike nearly three years ago and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. service members and allies. Khamenei also lauded Esmail Qaani, Soleimani's replacement as head of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, which was designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019. (Fox News)

12-30-2022
Military

Iran held top military drills in a joint effort involving air, sea and land forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran held top military drills in a joint effort involving air, sea and land forces, in what one major general referred to as "the war before the war" while he spoke against the threat Israel and the U.S. pose. The drills, held in the Strait of Hormuz which sees roughly 25% of the world's oil transported through it, were dubbed "Zolfaghar-1401" and involved commandos, airborne infantry, drones, various aircraft and submarines, according to local reports. The drills were held to "improve readiness in confronting foreign threats and any possible invasion.” (Fox News)

12-27-2022
Human Rights

At least 100 detainees identified by an Oslo-based human rights NGO face capital punishment, including at least 11 already sentenced to death.

At least 100 Iranians arrested over more than 100 days of nationwide protests face charges punishable by death, Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) has said. The NGO published a report that said many of them had limited access to legal representation. “By issuing death sentences and executing some of them, [the authorities] want to make people go home,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. “It has some effect … [but] what we’ve observed in general is more anger against the authorities. Their strategy of spreading fear through executions has failed.” (AFP)

12-25-2022
Terrorism

Iran brags about how it exports missiles to Palestinians and Hezbollah.

Iranian pro-government media published an article on Sunday bragging about its “integrated missile network” and how it has armed the “resistance” in the Middle East. By “resistance,” the report was referring to a network of pro-Iranian groups and proxy groups it supports, particularly Hezbollah, the Palestinians and Yemen. (Jerusalem Post)

12-21-2022
Terrorism

A member of an Iranian intelligence network (Kiya Sadeghi) attempted to hire a private investigator in Canada to conduct surveillance on anti-regime activists.

A member of an Iranian intelligence network (Kiya Sadeghi) attempted to hire a private investigator in Canada to conduct surveillance on anti-regime activists, The Fifth Estate has learned. Kiya Sadeghi is wanted by the FBI in the United States along with three other Iranian intelligence operatives for allegedly plotting to kidnap exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad from her home in New York City. According to a June 2021 indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Sadeghi used false pretenses to hire private investigators in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to conduct surveillance on Alinejad and other dissidents. (CBC)

12-20-2022
Human Rights

Hard-line Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to impose tougher penalties against those who publish news that is deemed to have "negative social consequences."

Hard-line Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to impose tougher penalties against those who publish news that is deemed to have "negative social consequences." According to the plan, those who publish "fake news" in the media will be responsible for the negative social consequences resulting from it. The rules would "apply to any type of news." Mohammad Taghi Naqdali, a member of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Iranian Parliament, said prosecution and punishment are not only limited to those who publish news with negative consequences, but "punishment has also been determined for individuals or media outlets that exaggerate the news." (Radio Free Europe)

12-19-2022
Human Rights

A 14-year-old girl in Iran was reportedly raped and killed for removing her hijab in school in amid ongoing protests rocking the Islamic Republic.

A 14-year-old girl in Iran was reportedly raped and killed for removing her hijab in school in amid ongoing protests rocking the Islamic Republic. The New York Times reports that the teen, identified as Masoomeh, was from a poor neighborhood in Tehran and took her headscarf off at school in protest.  School cameras identified the girl and she was arrested. She was later treated at a hospital for "severe vaginal tears," The Times reported, citing the Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based watchdog organization. (Fox News)

12-19-2022
Human Rights

Iran’s government accesses the social media accounts of those it detains in search of incriminating information regarding the protests.

As protests spread in the country, much of the attention has focused on the Iranian government’s efforts to shut down the internet. But behind the scenes, some worry the government is using technology in another way: accessing mobile applications to surveil and suppress dissent. Human rights activists inside and outside of Iran have been warning for years about the Iranian regime’s ability to remotely access and manipulate protesters’ cell phones. And tech companies may not be well equipped to handle such incidents, experts say. (CNN)

12-18-2022
Human Rights

A prominent Iranian actress was arrested by the local authorities after she posted messages on social media expressing solidarity with antigovernment protests.

Taraneh Alidoosti, a prominent Iranian actress, was arrested by the local authorities after she posted messages on social media expressing solidarity with antigovernment protests that have rocked Iran for nearly three months. Ms. Alidoosti, 38, was arrested in connection with what state news media described as “unsubstantiated comments about recent events” and “the publication of provocative material.” It is one of the highest-profile detentions the Iranian authorities have made in their effort to crack down on a women-led uprising that started in September. (New York Times)

12-17-2022
Human Rights

Iran arrested the lawyer of two female journalists detained after reporting the death of a woman in custody, which sparked three months of protests, the Ham Mihan newspaper said.

Iran arrested the lawyer (Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi) of two female journalists detained after reporting the death of a woman in custody, which sparked three months of protests, the Ham Mihan newspaper said. The arrest brings to 25 the number of lawyers detained in connection with the protests, the reformist daily said. (AFP)

12-17-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran said that its uranium enrichment capacity has increased to record levels, a day before U.N. nuclear monitors are set to visit the country.

Iran said that its uranium enrichment capacity has increased to record levels, a day before U.N. nuclear monitors are set to visit the country. “Currently, the enrichment capacity of the country has reached more than twice the entire history of this industry,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA. “Nuclear energy and atomic power production have great economic savings for the country and are effective in reducing fossil and non-renewable fuel consumption and environmental problems,” he added. (Times of Israel)

12-15-2022
Human Rights

Two young Kurdish men—Shadman Ahmadi and Shahriar Adeli—were killed by torture on the same day as the execution of Mohsen Shekari.

Two young Kurdish men—Shadman Ahmadi and Shahriar Adeli—were killed by torture on the same day as the execution of Mohsen Shekari. These murders, like many others, were not adequately covered in the media. The numbers of reported killed, tortured, sentenced to death, and detained are likely underestimations, especially given the government-directed internet blackouts and the shut-down of communication services and platforms. (CBC)

12-15-2022
Terrorism

An Albanian court has convicted an Iranian man on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment.

An Albanian court has convicted an Iranian man on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment, court officials said. In a ruling, Albania’s Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime found Bijan Pooladrag guilty of funding terrorism and being a member of a terrorist organization. No details on Pooladrag’s age, home city, or when he had come to Albania were made known. Pooladrag denied the charges. He has the right to appeal the verdict. (Associated Press)

12-14-2022
Extremism

A hardline newspaper close to Iran’s ruling clerics suggested authorities close the Strait of Hormuz.

A hardline newspaper close to Iran’s ruling clerics suggested authorities close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies, in response to alleged foreign support for the nationwide protests gripping the country. The suggestion came from the editor-in-chief of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, who is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an editorial that could be seen as a trial balloon. “Closing the Strait of Hormuz to Western countries’ oil tankers and commercial vessels is Iran’s legal right,” Hossein Shariatmadari wrote. “We can even seize a part of their commercial cargo as compensation for the financial damage they have done to our country.” (Washington Post)

12-13-2022
Human Rights

Iran says it has publicly hanged a 23-year-old in what is the second execution linked to the recent anti-government protests.

Iran says it has publicly hanged a 23-year-old in what is the second execution linked to the recent anti-government protests. Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in the city of Mashhad, the judiciary said. A court convicted him of "enmity against God" after finding he had stabbed to death two members of the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force. Rahnavard was hanged just 23 days after his arrest. (BBC)

12-13-2022
Terrorism

Britain is facing growing interference, threats and influence from state actors including Iran, security minister Tom Tugendhat has warned.

Britain is facing growing interference, threats and influence from state actors including Iran, security minister Tom Tugendhat has warned. Since 10 Iranian plots were revealed in November more incidents have come to light. Foreign meddling of this nature, he said, poses monumental challenges to freedom of speech in the UK and residents' way of life. Speaking at London-based think tank Policy Exchange, he said that “acute threats” to national security require an immediate response. (The National)

12-13-2022
Nuclear Program

Vladimir Putin could seek to help Iran develop its nuclear weapons program in exchange for Tehran's continued support of his war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin could seek to help Iran develop its nuclear weapons program in exchange for Tehran's continued support of his war in Ukraine, US intelligence has claimed. Weapons supplied by the Islamic Republic have been used by the Russian military in the conflict—particularly Iranian-manufactured Shahed-136 drones which are playing a central role in ongoing attacks on civilian populations and key energy infrastructure. This “sordid” alliance led British foreign secretary James Cleverly to announce a sanctions package targeting “high-level” figures from both countries as he condemned the embattled Iranian regime for making deals with Russia in “a desperate attempt to survive.” (Daily Mail)

12-09-2022
Military

The US National Security Council spokesman said that Tehran is receiving “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” from Moscow in exchange for Iranian drones, and potentially ballistic missiles, for use in Ukraine.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that “support is flowing both ways,” as Moscow offers “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” to Tehran in exchange for Iranian drones, and potentially ballistic missiles, for use in Ukraine. “We are concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with advanced military components,” Kirby said. He declined to specify what those components were but agreed “that could include air defense.” Russia’s S-400 air defense system is considered one of the world’s most capable. (Washington Post)

12-09-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran’s nuclear chief said traces of enriched uranium found on its territory by U.N. inspectors were brought into the country from abroad.

Iran’s nuclear chief said traces of enriched uranium found on its territory by U.N. inspectors were brought into the country from abroad, disputing claims of secret nuclear activity. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, has for months been pressing Tehran to explain the presence of the nuclear material at three undeclared sites. The discovery further complicated efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that has been hanging by a thread since the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump. (AFP)

12-08-2022
Human Rights

Mohsen Shekari, 23, was executed after being convicted for attacking a member of the Basij militia during a protest.

The Iranian government announced that it had hanged a 23-year-old prisoner, the first known execution of a person arrested in the protests that have engulfed the country for the past three months. The man, Mohsen Shekari, was accused of blocking a street in Tehran and of attacking a member of the Basij militia with a machete, according to the Mizan news agency, which is overseen by the country’s judiciary. He is one of 11 protesters who have so far been sentenced to death by the regime. (New York Times)

12-08-2022
Human Rights

Iranian security forces are targeting women at anti-regime protests with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts, and genitals.

Iranian security forces are targeting women at anti-regime protests with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country. Doctors and nurses – treating demonstrators in secret to avoid arrest – said they first observed the practice after noticing that women often arrived with different wounds to men, who more commonly had shotgun pellets in their legs, buttocks and backs. While an internet blackout has hidden much of the bloody crackdown on protesters, photos provided by medics to the Guardian showed devastating wounds all over their bodies from so-called birdshot pellets, which security forces have fired on people at close range. Some of the photos showed people with dozens of tiny “shot” balls lodged deep in their flesh. (The Guardian)

12-08-2022
Human Rights

Some of the most violent attacks by Iranian security forces on protesters over the last three months have been occurring in provinces where minorities, including Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis and Balochis, reside.

The Iranian regime’s suppression, specifically of religious and ethnic minorities, has reached a new peak. Some of the most violent attacks on protesters over the last three months have been occurring in provinces where minorities, including Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis and Balochis, reside. Three major institutions appear to be involved: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its paramilitary group the Basij and the regime’s security forces. The deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, Adam Coogle, warned that attacks by IRGC forces “on residential areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (are) part of a long history of lethal attacks on civilians, including during the war in Syria.” (Arab News)

12-07-2022
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have executed more than 500 people this year, up more than 50 percent compared to 2021’s figure of 333.

Iranian authorities have executed more than 500 people this year, according to data released by Iran Human Rights. Up more than 50 percent on 2021’s figure of 333, the spike in executions marks a dramatic shift following years of decline, with numbers only likely to climb amidst the government’s brutal response to protests in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Five further death sentences were handed out to protesters yesterday, for killing a member of the security forces, bringing to 11 the total number arising from the protests. (Arab News)

12-06-2022
Syria Conflict

An Iranian patrol boat tried to temporarily blind US Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz by shining a spotlight toward the vessels and crossing within 150 yards of them, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

An Iranian patrol boat tried to temporarily blind U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz by shining a spotlight toward the vessels and crossing within 150 yards of them, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. A few days prior to this incident, the U.S. Navy intercepted more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds and “other illegal weapons” sent from Iran to Yemen, marking U.S. 5th Fleet’s second such seizure within a month, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. (CNN)

12-05-2022
Human Rights

Iran subjected a prisoner to mock execution as a form of torture.

A person sentenced to death over the current anti-government protests in Iran has been subjected to mock executions three times in prison, a source has told BBC Persian. A Revolutionary Court in Tehran found Sahand Noormohammadzadeh, 26, guilty of "enmity against God" last month. He was accused of setting a bin on fire and blocking traffic, which he denied. Before his trial, the source said, Noormohammadzadeh was "asked to go on a chair blindfolded to be hanged.” (BBC)

12-05-2022
Human Rights

Hackers backed by the Iranian government have targeted two Human Rights Watch staff members and at least 18 other high-profile activists, journalists, researchers, academics, diplomats, and politicians working on Middle East issues.

An investigation by Human Rights Watch attributed phishing attack against Human Rights Watch staff members and at least 18 other high-profile activists, journalists, researchers, academics, diplomats, and politicians working on Middle East issues to an entity affiliated with the Iranian government known as APT42 and sometimes referred to as Charming Kitten. “Iran’s state-backed hackers are aggressively using sophisticated social engineering and credential harvesting tactics to access sensitive information and contacts held by Middle East-focused researchers and civil society groups,” said Abir Ghattas, information security director at Human Rights Watch. (Human Rights Watch)

12-04-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran began construction on a new nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest, Iranian state T.V. announced.

Iran began construction on a new nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest, Iranian state TV announced, amid tensions with the U.S. over sweeping sanctions imposed after Washington pulled out of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear deal with world powers. The new 300-megawatt plant, known as Karoon, will take eight years to build and cost around $2 billion, the country’s state television and radio agency reported. The plant will be located in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province, near its western border with Iraq, it said. (Associated Press)

12-01-2022
Terrorism

The Iranian government has stepped up its efforts to kidnap and kill government officials, activists and journalists around the world, including in the United States, according to government documents and interviews.

Tehran has targeted former senior U.S. government officials; dissidents who have fled the country for the United States, Britain, Canada, Turkey and Europe; media organizations critical of the regime; and Jewish civilians or those with links to Israel, according to the officials and government documents. Iran’s intelligence and security services rely largely on proxies to carry out their plans, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to jewel thieves, drug dealers and other criminals in murder-for-hire schemes, the officials said. The tempo of the plots has dramatically increased in the past two years, and they are among the most ambitious and far-reaching in recent memory, according to the officials and documents. Iran’s actions have led to diplomatic expulsions and warnings to potential targets from governments. (Washington Post)

11-30-2022
Human Rights

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi faces the death penalty for “corruption on earth” charge over Iran protests.

Last year, the Iranian rapper was arrested for songs criticizing the government and denouncing those he described as apologists for the Iranian government abroad. He was released on bail earlier this year, but it was not long before he found himself in prison again — and this time he may pay the ultimate price. The 31-year-old was among the thousands of Iranians who took to the streets across the country to protest the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman in custody of the so-called morality police. Mahsa (Jina) Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 for allegedly wearing an improper hijab and died three days later, sparking a nationwide uprising. (Washington Post)

11-29-2022
Anti-Americanism

A top Revolutionary Guard commander claimed that several people who were arrested during Iran’s “riots” were in touch with U.S. intelligence agencies.

A top Revolutionary Guard commander claimed that several people who were arrested during Iran’s “riots” were in touch with U.S. intelligence agencies. Iranian officials use the term “riot” to describe the nationwide antigovernment protests. Deputy commander of the IRGC Ali Fadavi said those arrested were not only in touch with “Iran International [TV], which is a branch of the enemy's spy services, but also were related to the intelligence and spy services of the United States.” (Iran International)

11-29-2022
Human Rights

Iran regime officials told players on the national soccer team that their families would face violence and torture if they did not sing the national anthem before their World Cup match.

The families of Iran’s World Cup soccer team have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” ahead of the match against the USA, a source involved in the security of the games said. Following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation’s national anthem in their opening match against England on November 21, the source said that the players were called to a meeting with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The source said that they were told that their families would face “violence and torture” if they did not sing the national anthem or if they joined any political protest against the Tehran regime. (CNN)

11-22-2022
Syria Conflict

U.S. Navy investigators confirmed an explosive-laden drone that struck an oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman was an Iranian Shahed-136.

U.S. Navy investigators confirmed an explosive-laden drone that struck an oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman was an Iranian Shahed-136. The “suicide drone” attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon on November 15 appeared to be part of a long-running shadow war between Israel and Iran that has included the targeting of Israeli-linked ships around the region. Western and Israeli officials said the recent attack, which caused damage but no injuries, was launched from an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base in the southeastern Iranian city of Chabahar. (The Times of Israel)

11-21-2022
Human Rights

Iran’s security forces are using rape to quell protests.

With media access inside Iran severely constrained, CNN went to the region near Iraq’s border with Iran, interviewing eyewitnesses who'd left the country and verifying accounts from survivors and sources both in and outside Iran. CNN corroborated several reports of sexual violence against protesters and heard accounts of many more. At least one of these caused severe injury, and another involved the rape of an underage boy. In some of the cases CNN uncovered, the sexual assault was filmed and used to blackmail the protesters into silence, according to sources who spoke to the victims. (CNN)

11-21-2022
Syria Conflict

Iran attacked Kurdish groups in Iraq that it blames for the unrest that broke out across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Iran launched drones and missiles against Kurdish groups in northern Iraq, the second time in a week, as the Islamic Republic intensifies efforts to suppress a two-month-old protest movement inside its borders. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that it had targeted Kurdish military bases in Erbil and Sulaimaniya, alleging that factions there are fomenting unrest in Iran. The latest strikes are part of Tehran’s campaign to retaliate against outside groups and foreign governments that it has blamed for supporting the discord at home, which is posing the clerical establishment’s biggest challenge in decades. (The Wall Street Journal)

11-20-2022
Politics

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed another Revolutionary Guard commander to a civilian post as Tehran governor.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed another Revolutionary Guard commander to a civilian post as Tehran governor. In a decision of the cabinet, Alireza Fakhari was appointed governor of Tehran province. Fakhari was suggested by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is another high-ranking IRGC officer. Raisi’s move in effect changed the civilian governorship in Tehran into a military governorship. Alireza Fakhari was the deputy coordinator of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarter of the IRGC until earlier this year. (Iran International)

11-19-2022
Military

Tehran has agreed to help Moscow manufacture hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft on Russian soil, according to new intelligence seen by U.S. and other Western security agencies.

Moscow has quietly reached an agreement with Tehran to begin manufacturing hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft on Russian soil, according to new intelligence seen by U.S. and other Western security agencies. By acquiring its own assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems that, in recent weeks, have changed the character of the Ukraine war. Moscow has shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities, using a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for millions of people. Iran’s leaders may believe that they can avert new sanctions if the drones are physically assembled in Russia, the officials said. (Washington Post)

11-17-2022
Nuclear Program

The International Atomic Energy Agency demanded that Iran start cooperating with the agency’s investigation into undeclared nuclear material found by the IAEA in Iran in recent years.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board formally rebuked Iran, demanding that it start cooperating with the agency’s investigation into undeclared nuclear material found by the IAEA in Iran in recent years. Many officials believe the traces of nuclear material found in Iran were related to the nuclear weapons work Iran did until at least 2003. The IAEA probe is a major sticking point in nuclear negotiations. Iran has said that Western powers must commit to close the investigation before a revived nuclear deal is fully implemented. (The Wall Street Journal)

11-16-2022
Terrorism

Iran has plotted to kidnap or kill at least 10 British nationals or U.K.-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime this year, Britain’s domestic spy chief said.

Iran has plotted to kidnap or kill at least 10 British nationals or U.K.-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime this year, Britain’s domestic spy chief said. Iran International T.V. in London said two of its journalists had been told by the Metropolitan Police that the threats against them pose “an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families.” The television network’s extensive coverage of the protests has enraged Iranian authorities, who have accused it of fomenting the demonstrations and allege it is a tool of Saudi Arabia. The powerful commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, has warned Saudi Arabia over the network without naming it, saying Riyadh should “be careful.” (NBC)

11-14-2022
Terrorism

The Biden administration has determined that Iranian threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his former top aides remain credible and persist nearly two years after they left office.

The Biden administration has determined that Iranian threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his former top aides remain credible and persist nearly two years after they left office. The State Department notified Congress last week that both Pompeo and Brian Hook, who served as special representative for Iran during the Trump administration, were still both subject to a “serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power” stemming from their work while in government. The determinations — which mean Pompeo and Hook will continue to receive government protection — were signed by Deputy Secretary of State for Management Brian McKeon on Nov. 8. (Associated Press)

11-10-2022
Military

Iran has built a hypersonic ballistic missile, the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace commander was quoted as saying, in remarks likely to heighten concerns about Iranian missile capabilities.

Iran has built a hypersonic ballistic missile, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace commander as saying, in remarks likely to heighten concerns about Iranian missile capabilities. Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept. However, there have been no reports of such a missile being tested by Iran and, while the Islamic Republic has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes, Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its weapons capabilities. (Reuters)

11-10-2022
Nuclear Program

The U.N. atomic watchdog said it believes that Iran has further increased its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

The U.N. atomic watchdog said it believes that Iran has further increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and criticized Tehran for continuing to bar the agency’s officials from accessing or monitoring Iranian nuclear sites. In its quarterly report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that according to its assessment, as of Oct. 22, Iran has an estimated 62.3 kilograms (137.3 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity. That amounts to an increase of 6.7 kilograms since the IAEA’s last report in September. That enrichment to 60% purity is one short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Nonproliferation experts have warned in recent months that Iran now has enough 60%-enriched uranium to reprocess into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb. (Associated Press)

11-09-2022
Syria Conflict

Iran attempted to smuggle weapons into Syria over the border with Iraq, but the convoy was struck by Israel.

The attack near Abu Kamal—a border town often used as a transshipment point by militant groups with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—destroyed several vehicles and killed at least 10 people, including an unknown number of Iranians, according to the people and Iraqi militia members. Iraqi officials said the tanker convoy was carrying a legal shipment of fuel that Iran had sent to Lebanon. At least some of the vehicles were believed to be transporting munitions and missiles in addition to oil, the people familiar with the attack said. Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes aimed at interrupting Tehran’s smuggling of weapons to the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah and against Iran’s military forces and proxies in Syria. (The Wall Street Journal)

11-08-2022
Politics

Iranian lawmakers demand “no leniency” for protesters as mass demonstrations continue.

Iranian lawmakers have urged the country’s judiciary to “show no leniency” to protesters in a letter cited by state-run Press TV, as thousands of people continue to rally on the streets despite the threat of arrest. In an open letter signed by 227 of Iran’s 290 members of Parliament, the lawmakers called for protesters to be taught a “good lesson” to deter others who threaten the authority of the Iranian government. (CNN)

11-04-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran celebrated the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover amid anti-government protests.

Iran held state-sponsored annual rallies, marking the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, as the clerical establishment that has ruled since then battles nationwide protests calling for its downfall. Radical students cemented the Islamic Revolution by storming the embassy soon after the fall of the U.S.-backed Shah, and 52 Americans were held hostage there for 444 days. The two countries have been enemies ever since and, as Iranian authorities urged security forces to swiftly stamp out anti-government protests that have spread to all layers of society, new bilateral tensions surfaced. (Reuters)

11-04-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is seeking Russia’s help to bolster its nuclear program, U.S. intel officials believe.

Iran is seeking Russia’s help to bolster its nuclear program, U.S. intelligence officials believe, as Tehran looks for a backup plan should a lasting nuclear deal with world powers fail to materialize. The intelligence suggests that Iran has been asking Russia for help acquiring additional nuclear materials and with nuclear fuel fabrication, sources briefed on the matter said. The fuel could help Iran power its nuclear reactors and could potentially further shorten Iran’s so-called “breakout time” to create a nuclear weapon. Experts emphasized to CNN, however, that the nuclear proliferation risk varies depending on which reactor the fuel is used for. And it is also not clear whether Russia has agreed to help – the Kremlin has long been outwardly opposed to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. (CNN)

11-01-2022
Military

Iran is preparing to send additional weapons including ballistic missiles to Russia to use in Ukraine, western officials say.

Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, officials from a western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program said. The shipment is being closely monitored because it would be the first instance of Iran sending advanced precision guided missiles to Russia, which could give the Kremlin a substantial boost on the battlefield. The last shipment of weapons from Iran to Russia included about 450 drones, officials said, which the Russians have already used to deadly effect in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said last week that they have shot down more than 300 Iranian drones. (CNN)

11-01-2022
Human Rights

As unrest grips Iran’s schools, the government is going after children.

Across Iran, schoolgirls have defiantly taken off their headscarves, stomped on pictures of the supreme leader and chanted for freedom, producing some of the most iconic images from the country’s anti-government uprising. Now, the state is coming for them. In interviews with The Post in recent weeks, three students and two parents described the assaults on schools, where teachers are under pressure to squash any sign of dissent and are often powerless to stop security forces from targeting the minors in their care. School attendance lists, report cards and security cameras have become tools of repression. Parents are warned to keep their children in check. (Washington Post)

11-01-2022
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia shared intelligence with the U.S. suggesting that Iran was about to carry out an attack on targets in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia shared intelligence with the U.S. warning of an imminent attack from Iran on targets in the kingdom, putting the American military and others in the Middle East on an elevated alert level, said Saudi and U.S. officials. In response to the warning, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and several other neighboring states have raised the level of alert for their military forces, the officials said. They didn’t provide more details on the Saudi intelligence. Saudi officials said Iran is poised to carry out attacks on both the kingdom and Erbil, Iraq, in an effort to distract attention from domestic protests that have roiled the country since September. (The Wall Street Journal)

10-31-2022
Human Rights

Iranian authorities announced they will hold public trials for 1,000 people in the capital, Tehran, over the protests that have convulsed the country.

Iranian authorities announced they will hold public trials for 1,000 people in the capital, Tehran, over the protests that have convulsed the country. The mass indictments mark the government’s first major legal action aimed at quashing dissent since unrest erupted over six weeks ago. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted judicial officials as saying that a thousand people who had a central role in the protests would be brought to trial in Tehran alone over their “subversive actions,” including assaulting security guards, setting fire to public property and other accusations. (Associated Press)

10-30-2022
Human Rights

Protests in Iran entered a more violent phase as students were met with tear gas and gunfire from security forces, social media videos showed.

Protests in Iran entered a more violent phase as students, who defied an ultimatum by the Revolutionary Guards and a warning from the president, were met with tear gas and gunfire from security forces, social media videos showed. One video showed a member of Basij forces firing a gun at close range at students protesting at a branch of Azad University in Tehran. Gunshots were also heard in a video shared by rights group HENGAW from protests at the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj. Videos from universities in some other cities also showed Basij forces opening fire at students. Across the country, security forces tried to block students inside university buildings, firing tear gas and beating protesters with sticks. (Reuters)

10-29-2022
Anti-Americanism

Two female journalists who were instrumental in reporting the death of Mahsa Amini have been labelled as CIA foreign agents by the Iranian regime.

Two female journalists who were instrumental in reporting the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose death in the custody of Iran’s morality police has sparked nationwide protests, have been labelled as CIA foreign agents by the Iranian regime. Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who were arrested shortly after news broke of Amini’s death and who are reportedly being held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, were accused of being foreign agents in a joint statement released by Iran’s ministry of intelligence and the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards last night. (The Guardian)

10-28-2022
Military

Russia’s expanding use of Iranian drones in Ukraine poses an increasing threat for the U.S. and its European allies as Tehran attempts to project military power beyond the Middle East.

Russia’s expanding use of Iranian drones in Ukraine poses an increasing threat for the U.S. and its European allies as Tehran attempts to project military power beyond the Middle East. In recent weeks, Ukrainian officials say, Russia has launched more than 300 Iranian drones that have targeted military units, power plants and civilian buildings in the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian military said it has shot down more than 70% of the drones, but Ukrainian officials are asking the U.S. and NATO allies for more help to counter the threat. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has vowed to rush hundreds of drone jammers to Ukraine as part of a deepening effort to shore up Ukraine’s air defenses. (The Wall Street Journal)

10-28-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is a problem that is ever more "relevant," the U.N. nuclear watchdog's chief, Rafael Grossi, said, referencing the growing number of advanced centrifuges the Islamic Republic is using to enrich uranium.

Iran is a problem that is ever more "relevant", the U.N. nuclear watchdog's chief, Rafael Grossi, said, in an apparent reference to the growing number of advanced centrifuges the Islamic Republic is using to enrich uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said in recent confidential reports to member states seen by Reuters that Iran has been installing and enriching with more cascades, or clusters, of advanced centrifuges at its underground enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow. (Reuters)

10-25-2022
Politics

By tightening curbs on women's rights, President Ebrahim Raisi has boosted his hardline credentials and possibly his prospects of becoming Iran's Supreme Leader.

By tightening curbs on women's rights, President Ebrahim Raisi has boosted his hardline credentials and possibly his prospects of becoming Iran's Supreme Leader, even at the cost of provoking mass protests and driving a wedge between many Iranians and the ruling elite, three analysts and a pro-reform official said. A year after Raisi's election marked the end of what many Iranians recall as more pragmatic, tolerant times, his government's tougher enforcement of hijab wearing in the weeks before Mahsa Amini's death in custody on Sept. 16 reflected a full reassertion of hardline influence. (Reuters)

10-25-2022
Human Rights

Iran has reportedly turned to child soldiers in an attempt to crack down on the ongoing riots in the country.

Iran has reportedly turned to child soldiers in an attempt to crack down on the ongoing riots in the country, a tactic the Islamic Republic has used in the past and a potential violation of international law. "The Iranian regime’s use of child soldiers is a sign of both its desperation and its abhorrent ideology," Orde Kittrie, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. Kittrie's comments come after an FDD report revealed that Iran was attempting to crush protests in the country by using minors, citing recent pictures that have emerged on social media showing children wearing Basij militia uniforms, which is a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (Fox News)

10-20-2022
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is conducting military exercises along the country's border with Azerbaijan amid signs of tensions between the two countries.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is conducting military exercises along the country's border with Azerbaijan amid signs of tensions between the two countries. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency has reported that the maneuvers, which commenced in the northwestern region, were being held in accordance with a pre-planned, annual activity calendar. The location of the exercises, which include Iran’s East Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces, is home to a large ethnic Azerbaijani population. (Voice of America)

10-20-2022
Military

Iranian personnel have been working in Crimea to train Russian pilots to use Iranian-made drones, the U.S. said.

Iranian personnel have been working in Crimea to train Russian pilots to use Iranian-made drones, the U.S. said, as Moscow attempts to maintain its hold on the territory in southern Ukraine. The statement by John Kirby, the National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, marks the first official U.S. accusation that Iran is directly involved in the war in Ukraine. Mr. Kirby said the U.S. is worried that Russia is also seeking to obtain surface-to-surface missiles from Iran for use in Ukraine. Such a move, former U.S. officials say, could provide a significant boost to Russia as its supply of missiles dwindles. (The Wall Street Journal)

10-19-2022
Human Rights

Forty-one journalists have been confirmed detained by Iran since protests broke out last month over the death of a woman in the custody of the country's so-called morality police.

Forty-one journalists have been confirmed detained by Iran since protests broke out last month over the death of a woman in the custody of the country's so-called morality police. Mahsa Amini, 22, a Kurdish woman, was arrested in September for improperly wearing her hijab. She died three days after her arrest. Iran has violently suppressed the protests that followed, and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has documented that as of Wednesday, 41 journalists have been detained. A handful were later released on bail. Most are accused of taking part in the protests they were covering. (Voice of America)

10-16-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed President Biden for inciting “chaos” and “terror” amid anti-regime protests happening around the country.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed President Biden for inciting “chaos” and “terror” amid anti-regime protests happening around the country. In a statement through the country’s official news agency, Raisi, who was elected Iran’s president last year, gave a stern warning to Biden about the ongoing crisis in his country. “The American president, who allows himself through his comments to incite chaos, terror and destruction in another country, should be reminded of the eternal words of the founder of the Islamic Republic, who called America the great satan,” Raisi reportedly said. (The Hill)

10-14-2022
Human Rights

Nearly two dozen children were killed last month during protests in Iran, according to a new report by a human rights watchdog.

Nearly two dozen children were killed last month during protests in Iran, according to a new report by a human rights watchdog that accuses the country’s security forces of targeting young people “with absolute impunity.” The 19-page report released by Amnesty International said at least 23 children – some as young as 11 – were killed by security forces in the last 10 days of September alone. Nationwide protests against the Islamic regime that has ruled Iran for decades have gripped the country following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month after she was taken into custody by the country’s morality police for apparently not wearing her hijab properly. Her death has sparked violent clashes between demonstrators and authorities, reportedly leaving scores dead. (CNN)

10-13-2022
Human Rights

Iranian security forces stepped up their crackdown on Kurdish regions of the country overnight, deploying militia troops.

Iranian security forces stepped up their crackdown on Kurdish regions of the country overnight, deploying militia troops, as authorities pursued their deadly suppression of nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in police custody. Nearly four weeks after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was detained in Tehran for "inappropriate attire", the protests show no sign of abating in a bold challenge to Iran's clerical rulers, even if the unrest does not seem close to toppling them. (Reuters)

10-11-2022
Human Rights

An Iranian singer named Shervin Hajipour was accused of spreading anti-government propaganda and temporarily detained.

Shervin Hajipour, whose song Baraye has become an anthem for the ongoing protests in Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody, has been accused of "propaganda against the system" and "inciting people to violent acts." Majid Kaveh, Hajipour's lawyer, said on Twitter on October 9 that that his client was temporarily detained before being released on bail and prohibited from leaving the country. The song Baraye, which roughly translates as "because of," is based on the outpouring of public anger following the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody on September 16. She was detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly. (Radio Free Europe)

10-11-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is rapidly expanding its ability to enrich uranium with advanced centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz.

Iran is rapidly expanding its ability to enrich uranium with advanced centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz and now intends to go further than previously planned, a confidential U.N. nuclear watchdog report seen by Reuters showed. While indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have stalled, Tehran has brought onstream a larger number of advanced centrifuges the deal bans it from using to produce enriched uranium. (Reuters)

10-06-2022
Human Rights

Iranian security forces have massacred over 80 people in the southeastern city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Iranian security forces have massacred over 80 people in the southeastern city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan province, in a crackdown on protests that erupted as Iran is convulsed by nationwide demonstrations, rights activists charge. President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered an investigation into the unrest that started on September 30 after Friday prayers, which officials have characterized as attacks by "extremists" on police stations. Activists however say the horrifying images of bloodied corpses with bullet wounds are emblematic of Tehran's repressive policies towards a poor ethnic minority region. (AFP)

10-03-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded publicly to the biggest protests in Iran in years, blaming the U.S and Israel.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded publicly to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to condemn what he called “rioting” and accuse the U.S. and Israel of planning the protests. Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police, which set off the nationwide protests. However, he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing authorities’ previous comments. “This rioting was planned,” he told a cadre of police students in Tehran. “These riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employees.” (Associated Press)

09-30-2022
Military

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Mohammed Bagheri, vowed to respond to any “hostile actions” targeting Iranian drones.

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Mohammed Bagheri, vowed to respond to any “hostile actions” targeting Iranian drones, Iranian news outlets reported. The threats followed Wednesday’s shooting down of an Iranian drone that was reportedly heading toward the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Erbil. Earlier this week, Iran unleashed a wave of missile and drone attacks against Iranian Kurdish opposition forces based inside the Kurdish region, killing at least 14 people, including a pregnant woman and a US citizen. It was among the deadliest spate of such attacks in recent years. (Al Monitor)

09-30-2022
Syria Conflict

An American citizen, a mother, and her 1-day-old infant are among the 14 people who were killed this week by a barrage of Iranian missiles fired at Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq.

An American citizen, a mother, and her 1-day-old infant are among the 14 people who were killed this week by a barrage of Iranian missiles fired at Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq. Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) targeted Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with dozens of missiles and explosives-laden drone aircraft. In a statement carried by Iranian state TV, the IRGC, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist group, said its "operation will continue with our full determination until the threat is effectively repelled, terrorist group bases are dismantled, and the authorities of the Kurdish region assume their obligations and responsibilities." (CBS)

09-28-2022
Politics

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the death of a young woman in custody had "saddened" everyone in the Islamic Republic, but warned that "chaos" would not be accepted amid spreading violent protests over Mahsa Amini's death.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the death of a young woman in custody had "saddened" everyone in the Islamic Republic, but warned that "chaos" would not be accepted amid spreading violent protests over Mahsa Amini's death. "We all are saddened by this tragic incident ... [However] Chaos is unacceptable," Raisi said in an interview with state TV, while protests continued around the country. (Reuters)

09-26-2022
Anti-Americanism

Tehran accused the United States of using the unrest to try to destabilize the country.

Iran faced more international criticism over the death of a woman in police custody that triggered nationwide protests after Tehran accused the United States of using the unrest to try to destabilize the country. Iran has cracked down on the biggest demonstrations since 2019, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 after she was detained by morality police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress. The case has drawn widespread condemnation. (Reuters)

09-22-2022
Military

Iran, Russia and China will hold joint naval exercises in the northern Indian Ocean “this autumn,” Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Iran, Russia and China will hold joint naval exercises in the northern Indian Ocean “this autumn,” Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported. Other countries including Oman and Pakistan may also join the drills, Mehr cited Iranian Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri as saying, without giving further details. The northern Indian Ocean extends to the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the export of oil to world markets. The three nations started joint exercises in December 2019, according to Iranian state media, to deal with unspecified “threats in the region.” (Bloomberg)

09-22-2022
Military

Iran unveiled a new medium-range ballistic missile during a military parade commemorating the Iran-Iraq war, state television said.

Iran unveiled a new medium-range ballistic missile during a military parade commemorating the Iran-Iraq war, state television said. “The liquid-fueled Rezvan ballistic missile has an operational range of 1,400 kilometers (870 miles),” said the station, which aired images of the missile mounted on a military vehicle. The Rezvan missile was presented in Tehran during an annual parade of the armed forces to commemorate the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. (AFP)

09-21-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi used an address to the U.N. General Assembly to launch a tirade against U.S. foreign policy and promote the emergence of a new world order.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi used an address to the U.N. General Assembly to launch a tirade against U.S. foreign policy and promote the emergence of a new world order. Raisi claimed that Daesh was a U.S. construct, slamming what he contended was the hypocrisy of a country claiming a base in justice and humanity. Raisi claimed that U.S. hegemony is coming to an end, saying: “This order has lost its power, and a new order is shaping up to tackle it as this old system’s policies are defeated. (Arab News)

09-21-2022
Human Rights

Iranians experienced a near-total internet blackout amid days of mass protests against the government.

Iranians experienced a near-total internet blackout amid days of mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. An Iranian official had earlier hinted that such measures might be taken out of security concerns. The loss of connectivity will make it more difficult for people to organize protests and share information about the government’s rolling crackdown on dissent. (Associated Press)

09-19-2022
Extremism

The Iranian president’s comment that “there are some signs” that the Holocaust happened but that the issue required more research sparked an outcry from Israeli officials.

The Iranian president’s comment that “there are some signs” that the Holocaust happened but that the issue required more research sparked an outcry from Israeli officials, who denounced the remarks as antisemitic Holocaust denial. Hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi made the comment during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on the eve of his visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly. When asked whether he believed the Holocaust happened, Raisi said there “are some signs that it happened.” (Associated Press)

09-19-2022
Politics

The head of Iran’s morality police has reportedly been suspended from his post as protests swept across Iran for a third day over the killing of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman.

The head of Iran’s morality police has reportedly been suspended from his post as protests swept across Iran for a third day over the killing of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was detained by the police after being accused of not wearing the hijab appropriately. A number of respected Iranian news outlets reported that Col Ahmed Mirzaei, the head of the moral security police of Greater Tehran, had been suspended from his role after the death of Mahsa Amini. Tehran police denied he had been suspended or fired. (The Guardian)

09-16-2022
Human Rights

Mahsa Amini, 22, died in northern Tehran. She had been arrested and reportedly was taken to a hospital shortly afterward. Amini suffered multiple blows to the head before she died.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died in northern Tehran. She had been arrested and reportedly was taken to a hospital shortly afterward. Amini suffered multiple blows to the head before she died, according to London-based broadcaster Iran International. Amini was arrested in her brother's car during a visit to see family members in the capital, the outlet reported. She was originally from Saqqez in Kurdistan province. Amini's family say officers beat her in the police van after her arrest, citing eyewitnesses who support that claim. Police reject the allegations, saying Amini died after being taken to a hospital because she had a heart attack. (NPR)

09-15-2022
Terrorism

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment alleging that three Iranian men encrypted hundreds of systems around the world and demanded ransoms to unlock them.

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment alleging that three Iranian men encrypted hundreds of systems around the world and demanded ransoms to unlock them. But the unsealed indictment said the men did so independently of the Iranian government, while the Treasury Department said they were linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). That called attention to how — for some of the United States’ top adversaries in cyberspace — the lines between nation-state hacker and cybercriminal, between government employee and freelance contractor, aren’t always clear. (Washington Post)

09-12-2022
Military

Iran says it has developed drone “designed to hit Israel's Tel Aviv.”

Iran has developed an advanced long-range suicide drone "designed to hit Israel's Tel Aviv, Haifa,” the semi-official Mehr News quoted Iran’s ground forces chief as saying. Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari said the drone, named Arash-2, is a newer version of Arash-1. (Reuters)

09-12-2022
Terrorism

Albania blamed the Iranian government for a cyberattack against computer systems used by Albanian state police.

Albania blamed the Iranian government for a cyberattack against computer systems used by Albanian state police — just days after the White House condemned Tehran for a hack that disrupted Albanian government services in July. The latest hack forced Albanian officials to temporarily take offline its Total Information Management System (TIMS), a system for tracking the data of those entering and leaving Albania, according to a statement from Albania’s interior ministry. The cyberattack was the work of the “same aggressors” that carried out the July hack, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama alleged in a tweet. (CNN)

09-10-2022
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s information minister warned that Iran is arming the Houthis to weaken the country and gain control over international trade and energy through the Red Sea.

Yemen’s information minister has called for stronger international action to rein in Iran’s destructive activities, warning that Iran is arming the Houthis to weaken the country and gain control over international trade and energy through the Red Sea. Muammar Al-Eryani wrote for the Atlantic Council that Iran is establishing a Yemeni Hezbollah model by arming and financing the Houthi militia with the goal of seizing control of Yemen and using it as a launching pad for attacks against neighboring countries and international maritime activities via Bab Al-Mandab and the Red Sea. (Arab News)

09-09-2022
Politics

Experts say Raisi’s administration has been secretly implementing a highly controversial draft bill designed to intensify online censorship and limit Internet access.

During his election campaign, Ebrahim Raisi vowed not to further restrict the internet in Iran, where authorities already block tens of thousands of websites and regularly throttle or cut Internet connectivity. But since the hardline president assumed power in August 2021, experts say his administration has been secretly implementing a highly controversial draft bill designed to intensify online censorship and limit Internet access. The Cyberspace Protection Bill would hand over control of Iran's Internet gateways to the armed forces and criminalize the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that mask Internet users’ locations and enable them to view blocked websites. (Radio Free Europe)

09-08-2022
Military

Iran’s Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, has claimed that Iran has new capabilities in its technological innovation.

Iran’s Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, has claimed that Iran has new capabilities in its technological innovation. Iran has already increased abilities in space, as well as missiles and drones; and cyber. Hajizadeh spotlighted the importance of Iranian universities in creating a pipeline of expertise for the IRGC and Iranian military forces. (The Jerusalem Post)

09-08-2022
Human Rights

Iranian authorities confirmed the arrest of 25 people during a protest on August 24 against a cut in water supplies in the western Iranian city of Hamedan.

Iranian authorities confirmed the arrest of 25 people during a protest on August 24 against a cut in water supplies in the western Iranian city of Hamedan. Mohammad Ali Mohammadi, the governor of Hamedan, accused the detainees – who were attending three different demonstrations – of creating insecurity and panic among the public. Water cuts in Hamedan have led to weeks of street protests and were initially tolerated by security forces, but as they continued, police began moving in on gatherings, such as the demonstrations on August 24 where they arrested many protesters. (Radio Free Europe)

09-07-2022
Nuclear Program

The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency warned that the agency cannot determine that Iran’s nuclear aims are "exclusively peaceful."

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency released a report outlining the progress Iran's nuclear program has made, warning that the agency cannot determine that the country's nuclear aims are "exclusively peaceful." "The Agency is not in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful," said the report, according to Reuters. The report comes as the Biden administration reportedly closed in on a renewed nuclear deal with Iran in recent weeks, though talks have stalled in the last 24 hours and the European Union's chief negotiator has attempted to downplay speculation that a deal could be close. (Fox News)

09-06-2022
Anti-Americanism

An elderly American wrongfully held in Iran for more than six years must undergo urgent surgery "to clear life-threatening blockages in his left internal carotid artery," his family said.

An elderly American wrongfully held in Iran for more than six years must undergo urgent surgery "to clear life-threatening blockages in his left internal carotid artery," his family said. Baquer Namazi, 85, and his son, Siamak Namazi are both considered wrongfully detained by the U.S. State Department, and the elder is in need of the surgery "within weeks," his family said. They are urging the Iranian government to release his Siamak on furlough to be with his father during and after the surgery. (CNN)

09-05-2022
Human Rights

A court in Iran has sentenced to death two gay rights activists on charges of promoting homosexuality, campaigners said.

A court in Iran has sentenced to death two gay rights activists on charges of promoting homosexuality, campaigners said, urging pressure from the international community to stop the implementation of the verdicts. The two women, Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Chubdar, 24, were sentenced to death by the court in the northwestern town of Urmia, the Hengaw Kurdish rights organization said. They were convicted of "spreading corruption on earth" — a charge frequently imposed on defendants deemed to have broken the country's sharia laws, it added. They were informed of the sentence while in detention in the women's wing of the Urmia jail. (CBS)

09-05-2022
Nuclear Program

A damning new Swedish intelligence report accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of illegal attempts to secure nuclear weapons technology in the Scandinavian nation during 2021.

As the Biden administration seeks to temporarily restrict Tehran from building an atomic bomb, a damning new Swedish intelligence report accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of illegal attempts to secure nuclear weapons technology in the Scandinavian nation during 2021. The Swedish document places new question marks over the efficacy of the controversial Iran nuclear deal that rewards the clerical regime with up to $275 billion in economic benefits during the first year of an agreement and as much as $1 trillion by 2030, according to one estimate. (Fox News)

09-04-2022
Military

Iranian authorities have introduced defense systems in 51 cities to counter “biological, radiological, and chemical threats,” Iran’s deputy defense minister Mehdi Farahi has announced.

Iranian authorities have introduced defense systems in 51 cities to counter “biological, radiological, and chemical threats,” deputy defense minister Mehdi Farahi has announced. The defense ministry has “provided 51 cities in the country with the necessary installations and equipment for passive defense,” Farahi was cited as saying by Iribnews, the state broadcaster’s website. He added that the ministry is “now able to identify the threats thanks to the infrastructure put in place to confront all sorts of biological, radiological, and chemical threats.” (The Defense Post)

09-04-2022
Human Rights

Iran has stepped up its actions against Baha’i citizens, arresting 12 believers accused by Tehran of being “heretics” and having links to Israel.

Iran has stepped up its actions against Baha’i citizens, arresting 12 believers accused by Tehran of being “heretics” and having links to Israel in a continuing crackdown that has been condemned by Iranian and global rights groups. Iranian state media on September 4 said the arrests took place in different cities in Mazandaran Province, the same area where 14 members of Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority were arrested on August 31. Baha'is – who number some 300,000 in Iran and have an estimated 5 million followers worldwide – say they face systematic persecution in Iran, where their faith is not officially recognized in the constitution. (Radio Free Europe)

08-31-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun enriching uranium with the second of three cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at an underground plant at Natanz.

Iran has begun enriching uranium with the second of three cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at an underground plant at Natanz, a report by the UN nuclear watchdog seen by Reuters said. Like the first of those three cascades of up to 174 machines each, the second is enriching uranium to up to 5% fissile purity and the third has not been fed with nuclear material, the confidential report to member states said. A separate report said the first cascade had been brought onstream. (Reuters)

08-30-2022
Syria Conflict

An Iranian ship tried to seize an American maritime drone in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Navy stopped an Iranian ship from seizing an American maritime drone in the Persian Gulf, in a fresh confrontation that underscored the sharp tensions between Tehran and Washington, U.S. defense officials said. The episode began when the U.S. Navy observed an Iranian ship towing the Saildrone Explorer, an unmanned U.S. vessel equipped with camera, radars, and sensors. The U.S.S. Thunderbolt, a patrol coastal ship, and a Navy helicopter moved toward the scene. The Iranians dropped the tow line and eventually left the area, the defense officials said. (The Wall Street Journal)

08-29-2022
Military

Iran sent first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Russian cargo planes have quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones for use against Ukraine, U.S. officials said, in a move that underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran while also highlighting Russia’s struggles to supply its overstretched military. Transport planes departed Iran on Aug. 19 hauling at least two types of unmanned aerial vehicles, both capable of carrying munitions for attacks on radars, artillery and other military targets, according to intelligence gathered by U.S. and other spy agencies. (Washington Post)

08-24-2022
Syria Conflict

Three U.S. service members were injured in rocket attacks in Syria carried out by suspected Iran-backed militants, according to U.S. Central Command.

Three U.S. service members were injured in rocket attacks in Syria carried out by suspected Iran-backed militants, according to U.S. Central Command, the latest in a slew of attacks on American personnel that U.S. officials said were directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Rockets landed at two separate sites in northeastern Syria starting at roughly 7:30 p.m. local time, the command said late Wednesday in a press release. Several rockets struck inside the perimeter of Mission Support Site Conoco, followed by additional rockets that landed in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Green Village. (Politico)

08-24-2022
Nuclear Program

An Iranian official announced that his country will not allow any nuclear inspections beyond what was agreed upon in its 2015 arrangement with the United States.

An Iranian official announced that his country will not allow any nuclear inspections beyond what was agreed upon in its 2015 arrangement with the United States. "We are committed to inspections in the framework of the nuclear deal that are linked to nuclear restrictions which we have accepted in the past... Not one word more, not one word less," said Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, according to a video carried by state media. Eslami’s statement appears to contradict reporting earlier this week that Iran has dropped some of its main demands. (Fox News)

08-23-2022
Politics

Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel Company is reeling from the release of a lengthy parliamentary investigation that alleges corruption amounting to $3 billion tied to the administration of former President Hassan Rohani.

One of Iran's biggest cash cows, the Mobarakeh Steel Company, is reeling from the release of a lengthy parliamentary investigation that alleges corruption amounting to $3 billion tied to the administration of former President Hassan Rohani. Since the Iranian parliamentary investigatory commission read out its damning allegations on August 18 following a three-year investigation, the Iranian stock exchange suspended trading of Mobarakeh shares and hardline President Ebrahim Raisi has called for company personnel implicated in the report to be fired. (Radio Free Europe)

08-23-2022
Military

Iran's armed forces will launch large scale drone drills across the country involving 150 unmanned aerial vehicles to show off its "power.”

Iran's armed forces will launch large scale drone drills across the country involving 150 unmanned aerial vehicles to show off its "power," state media reported. "The accuracy and power of weapons... the capabilities of guidance and control systems and the combat capabilities of drones are among the things that will be tested and evaluated in this exercise," deputy coordinator of the armed forces Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the state broadcaster. "This is the first time that a joint drone exercise is conducted at the level of the four forces of the Islamic republic of Iran's army and the country's joint air defence base," Sayyari added. (AFP)

08-20-2022
Terrorism

Iranian operatives have targeted several senior members of US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) through surveillance and cyber operations.

Iranian operatives have targeted several senior members of US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) through surveillance and cyber operations. According to a report by The Dispatch, members of the New York-based think tank have been the subject of suspected Iranian surveillance operations carried out on U.S. soil as well as various phishing operations believed to be carried out by a cyber warfare group linked to the Islamic Republic. (Iran International)

08-18-2022
Human Rights

Human right activists say Khadijeh Mehdipour, a political prisoner being held in Ilam prison in western Iran, has been beaten again by inmates who are serving time for violent crimes.

Human right activists say Khadijeh Mehdipour, a political prisoner being held in Ilam prison in western Iran, has been beaten again by inmates who are serving time for violent crimes. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization says Mehdipour, who is in prison without being segregated from dangerous prisoners, was beaten by violent criminals at the instigation of the prison authorities and even forced to sleep in the prison library. Some human rights sources, including the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), say Mehdipour has been handed new charges while in prison for "insulting Islamic sanctities." (Radio Free Europe)

08-16-2022
Human Rights

A woman who was arrested for protesting mandatory head-scarf rules appeared on television and gave a "confession" that was allegedly made under duress.

Dozens of female civil activists have called on Iranian authorities to release a woman who was arrested for protesting mandatory head-scarf rules after she appeared on television and gave a "confession" they allege was made under duress. According to the Free Union Workers of Iran's Telegram channel, the women took to the streets of Tehran carrying placards asking, "Where is Sepideh Rashno?" and demanded to know her status after the 28-year-old writer and artist was arrested on June 15 after a video of her arguing with another woman who was enforcing rules on wearing a head scarf on a bus in Tehran went viral. (Radio Free Europe)

08-15-2022
Anti-Americanism

The propaganda newspaper Kayhan, the mouthpiece for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, announced in a blaring editorial on its front page that the assassination of President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the cards.

The propaganda newspaper Kayhan, the mouthpiece for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, announced in a blaring editorial on its front page that the assassination of President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the cards. In an editorial on Saturday, the newspaper wrote, "The attack on [Rushdie] shows it is not a difficult job to take similar revenge on Trump and Pompeo and from now on they will feel more in danger for their lives." (Fox News)

08-15-2022
Syria Conflict

A drone attack hit a compound run by American troops and U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters in eastern Syria.

An attack with drones hit a compound run by American troops and U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters in eastern Syria, the U.S. military said, adding that there were no casualties or damage. The military said the attack took place in the vicinity of al-Tanf base near where the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq meet. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. The attack occurred hours after Israeli airstrikes on western and central Syria killed three soldiers, wounded three others and caused material damage. (Associated Press)

08-12-2022
Extremism

An assailant stabbed Mr. Rushdie, 75, in the abdomen and the neck, over thirty years after the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa—a religious edict—calling for his death.

An attacker rushed the stage of Chautauqua Institution in Western New York, where Mr. Rushdie was scheduled to give a talk about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers, and stabbed Mr. Rushdie, 75, in the abdomen and the neck, the police and witnesses said, straining to continue the attack even as several people held him back. Mr. Rushdie had effectively been living under a death sentence since 1989, about six months after the publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses,” which fictionalized parts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad with depictions that many Muslims found offensive and some considered blasphemous. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, issued a religious edict known as a fatwa on Feb. 14, 1989, ordering Muslims to kill Mr. Rushdie. A price was put on his head of several million dollars. (New York Times)

08-10-2022
Terrorism

A member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was charged with a plot to murder the former National Security Advisor and UANI Board Member John Bolton.

According to court documents, beginning in October 2021, Shahram Poursafi, aka Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, Iran, attempted to arrange the murder of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, likely in retaliation for the January 2020 death of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qasem Soleimani. Poursafi, working on behalf of the IRGC-QF, attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 to carry out the murder in Washington, D.C. or Maryland. Poursafi offered the CHS $250,000 to hire someone to “eliminate” the former National Security Advisor. This amount would later be negotiated up to $300,000. Poursafi added that he had an additional “job,” for which he would pay $1 million. Poursafi directed the source to open a cryptocurrency account to facilitate payment, but stipulated that the CHS would likely have to carry out the murder before he/she could be paid. (U.S. Justice Department)

08-04-2022
Military

A new satellite that Russia is preparing to launch on Iran’s behalf next week will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East.

A new satellite that Russia is preparing to launch on Iran’s behalf next week will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East — but first, Moscow intends to use the spacecraft to assist its own war effort in Ukraine, according to Western security officials familiar with the matter. Russia’s Roscosmos space agency announced an Aug. 9 launch date for the satellite, dubbed “Khayyam” after a 12th-century Persian mathematician, in fulfillment of a deal negotiated with Iran over nearly four years. Russia agreed to build and launch the Kanopus-V system, which will include a high-resolution camera that would give Tehran unprecedented capabilities, including near-continuous monitoring of sensitive facilities in Israel and the Persian Gulf. (Washington Post)

08-01-2022
Terrorism

A man has been arrested after he was found with an assault rifle outside the Brooklyn home of an Iranian American journalist who was previously the target of a brazen abduction plot by Iranian intelligence agents.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the suspect, Khalid Mehdiyev, was observed by law enforcement officials near the Brooklyn home of Masih Alinejad, a prominent human rights activist critical of the Islamic Republic of Iran. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, investigators found a loaded AK-47-style assault rifle in a suitcase on the rear seat, the court document shows. Masih Alinejad, an exiled journalist and women’s rights advocate living in New York, has long been critical of the regime in Tehran. Last year, four Iranians were charged with conspiring to kidnap her and take her to the Middle Eastern country, possibly via a daring maritime mission. (Washington Post)

07-21-2022
Extremism

Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, who is former spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), threatened Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan on Twitter.

Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, who is former spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), threatened Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan on Twitter, saying, “Our beloved Tabriz is known as the land of firsts in Iran’s proud history. Apparently, the first evil Zionist is going to be buried by the zealous people of Tabriz, too. Never cross our red line, ever!” He was responding to the Israel ambassador’s tweet which said, “I am learning so much about Azerbaijani history and culture in Tabriz in this great book I was recently presented.” (Twitter)

07-20-2022
Nuclear Program

Tehran gave assurances that its nuclear policy was unchanged and that it still adhered to a fatwa banning weapons of mass destruction, after an Iranian official said the country was able to make atomic bombs.

Tehran gave assurances that its nuclear policy was unchanged and that it still adhered to a fatwa banning weapons of mass destruction, after an Iranian official said the country was able to make atomic bombs. It is the second time in the past 18 months that Iran has reiterated its opposition to nuclear weapons following comments by an official. "In regard to the topic of weapons of mass destruction, we have the fatwa", or religious edict, by Iran's supreme leader that prohibits the manufacture of such weapons, said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. The fatwa declares the use of atomic bombs and other weapons of mass destruction to be "haram", or forbidden by Islam, and it is often cited by Iranian authorities as a guarantee of Tehran's good intentions. (France 24)

07-20-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran warned that proposed U.S. legislation targeting the Islamic Republic could further imperil stalled Biden administration efforts to resurrect the moribund nuclear deal.

Iran warned that proposed U.S. legislation targeting the Islamic Republic could further imperil stalled Biden administration efforts to resurrect the moribund nuclear deal. The bipartisan U.S. Senate bill, called the Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability Act of 2022, seeks to compel the government to assess the dangers posed by Iran and come up with a strategy to deal with them. The law would require the Biden administration establish a task force that would be required to integrate intelligence from Israel -- Tehran’s leading regional foe -- and report updated assessments of Iran’s nuclear capabilities every 120 days. If passed and signed into law, the legislation would also force the White House to outline US diplomatic and military plans to counter Iranian threats. (Bloomberg)

07-19-2022
Syria Conflict

Iran’s supreme leader issued a declaration of support for Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine of the kind that even other countries close to Russia have so far stopped short of making.

Raveling to Iran, Mr. Putin worked to solidify an Iranian-Russian alliance that has been emerging as a significant counterweight to American-led efforts to contain Western adversaries. He met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who issued a declaration of support for Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine of the kind that even other countries close to Russia have so far stopped short of making. “War is a violent and difficult endeavor, and the Islamic Republic is not at all happy that people are caught up in war,” Mr. Khamenei told Mr. Putin, according to the supreme leader’s office. “But in the case of Ukraine, if you had not taken the helm, the other side would have done so and initiated a war.” Mr. Khamenei’s endorsement of the war went well beyond the much more cautious support offered by another key Russian ally, China, embracing Mr. Putin’s claim that the West had left the Kremlin no choice but to act. (New York Times)

07-19-2022
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary ordered one of the country’s leading filmmakers to serve out a six-year prison sentence from a decade ago that had never been enforced.

Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday ordered one of the country’s leading filmmakers to serve out a six-year prison sentence from a decade ago that had never been enforced. The order came as the government seeks to silence criticism amid growing economic turmoil and political pressure. Masoud Setayeshi, spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, announced that award-winning director, Jafar Panahi, perhaps Iran’s best-known film director, would fulfill his six-year prison term handed down in 2011 on charges of producing antigovernment propaganda, a final verdict that he said should have been implemented at the time. Although Panahi was banned from traveling over the past years, the sentence was never enforced and he continued to make underground films, which were released abroad to great acclaim. (The Washington Post)

07-19-2022
Human Rights

A legal U.S. resident and German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd faces public execution in Iran for being a journalist.

A legal U.S. resident and German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd faces public execution in Iran for being a journalist. A Tehran regime lawyer told the family a "death sentence is certain." Sharmahd’s daughter said a sixth hearing of her father’s "sham trial" might unfold this week. Iran’s regime refused to allow an independent lawyer to represent Sharmahd. The clerical regime kidnapped the 67-year-old Sharmahd in July 2020 while he was staying at a hotel in Dubai. Sharmahd has lived in California since 2003. Tehran’s opaque justice system claims Sharmahd played a role in a 2008 terrorist attack at a mosque in Shiraz, Iran that left 14 dead and more than 200 injured. (Fox News)

07-19-2022
Human Rights

The Intelligence Organization of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has arrested Zahra Hamadani, a defender of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, on a charge of "trafficking" Iranian women to Iraq.

The Intelligence Organization of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has arrested Zahra Hamadani, a defender of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, on a charge of "trafficking" Iranian women to Iraq. An IRGC statement accused Hamadani of "promoting homosexuality, gambling, fraud, and promoting illicit sexual relations and publishing them on the Internet." It did not give any evidence backing up the claim. Neither Hamadani nor her supporters have commented on the allegations, but she has previously been targeted by authorities for her activities related to LGBT rights. She was arbitrarily detained in October 2021 for her social media posts defending LGBT rights. (Radio Free Europe)

07-19-2022
Human Rights

A woman has been arrested after a video of her arguing with another woman who was enforcing rules on wearing a head scarf on a bus in Tehran went viral.

A woman has been arrested after a video of her arguing with another woman who was enforcing rules on wearing a head scarf on a bus in Tehran went viral. The woman, identified as Sepideh Rashno, a 28-year-old writer and artist, was confronted by a woman who warned her she would send video to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) showing Rashno riding the bus without the mandatory hijab. The notorious Guidance Patrols, or morality police, have become increasingly active and violent. Videos have emerged on social media appearing to show officers detaining women, forcing them into vans, and whisking them away. (Radio Free Europe)
 

07-18-2022
Human Rights

An Iranian political prisoner’s health is deteriorating due to him being on a hunger strike and in solitary confinement.

Relatives of Manuchehr Bakhtiari have warned that the Iranian political prisoner's health is deteriorating due to him being on a hunger strike and in solitary confinement. In an interview with Radio Farda on July 18, a relative who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals from authorities, said that Bakhtiari, whose 27-year-old son Pouya Bakhtiari was killed in a crackdown on protests in Iran in November 2019, is on hunger strike and his family is not allowed to contact him. In November 2019 thousands of citizens protested in more than 100 Iranian cities and towns against the government's sudden decision to raise gas prices. The protests quickly turned political, with many chanting against the Iranian clerical establishment and its leaders. Security agents on July 11 raided and arrested a number of family members of victims of the November 2019 protests, the day before a planned protest against the mandatory wearing by women of the hijab, or head scarves. (Radio Free Europe)

07-18-2022
Terrorism

Israeli forces downed a drone that Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group apparently flew over the border, the Israeli military said.

Israeli forces on Monday downed a drone that Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group apparently flew over the border, the military said. It did not specify how the drone was brought down as it entered Israeli airspace; however, it was believed to have been using electronic warfare means. “The drone likely belongs to the Hezbollah terror group,” the IDF said. In an image shared by the army, the drone appears to be a commercially available quadcopter manufactured by Chinese company DJI. Defense officials have previously noted that at least some of the drones Hezbollah apparently uses for surveillance purposes are commercially available devices. (Times of Israel)

07-17-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Qatar's al Jazeera TV. Kamal Kharrazi spoke a day after U.S. President Joe Biden ended his four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, vowing to stop Iran from "acquiring a nuclear weapon." Kharrazi's comments were a rare suggestion that Iran might have an interest in nuclear weapons, which it has long denied seeking. "In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium ... Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision by Iran to build one," Kharrazi said. (Reuters)

07-17-2022
Terrorism

A pro-Iranian hacker group calling itself Altahrea Team claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that disrupted access to the Israeli Health Ministry website to users from abroad.

A cyberattack disrupted access to the Health Ministry website to users from abroad, the ministry said Sunday. Though the site was still functioning for local Israelis, those trying enter from outside the country were unable to do so intermittently, the ministry said in a statement. A group of pro-Iranian hackers based in Iraq and calling itself Altahrea Team claimed responsibility for the assault, according to Hebrew media reports. On its Telegram channel, the group reportedly wrote that the attack was carried out in response to the bombing of the Gaza Strip over the weekend and a list of other ills. (The Times of Israel)

07-16-2022
Politics

Iran's Supreme Leader has reappointed hardliner politician Ahmad Jannati, 95, to another six-year term as the head of the Guardian Council.

Iran's Supreme Leader has reappointed hardliner politician Ahmad Jannati, 95, to another six-year term as the head of the Guardian Council. He will finish his term when he turns 101. According to a decree issued by Ali Khamenei on Saturday, Mohammad-Reza Modarresi Yazdi and Mehdi Shabzendedar Jahromi were also reinstated as the Islamic sharia law experts in the body, in charge of checking legislation approved by the parliament with the Constitution and sharia, and approving the candidates in various elections. But in fact, critics of the council say that it is simply a tool under Khamenei’s control who engineers elections by having the institution reject candidates. (Iran International)

07-15-2022
Military

Iran unveiled military advances on Friday that have put armed drones aboard its warships, creating a new threat for the U.S. and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

Iran unveiled military advances on Friday that have put armed drones aboard its warships, creating a new threat for the U.S. and its allies in the Persian Gulf, as President Biden tours the region in part to help build security partnerships to counter Tehran. Iranian state television broadcast a report showing some of Iran’s biggest warships and submarines launching drones at sea. The drones are able to fly for up to 24 hours and 600 miles, it said. The U.S. and its allies in the region have accused Iran of using drones to target adversaries including Israel and Saudi Arabia as well as ships in the Persian Gulf. The new developments are expected to give Tehran an expanded ability to target foes across the Middle East. (The Wall Street Journal)

07-14-2022
Extremism

Iran might resort to new methods to “punish” Israel, a website close to its security establishment said, as President Joe Biden visits the region.

Iran might resort to new methods to “punish” Israel, a website close to its security establishment said, as President Joe Biden visits the region. Nour News, close to Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the supreme national security council said that “Any steps to disrupt the current security order in West Asia can impact other spheres, such as transportation and transit of energy and add to the existing global food and energy crisis.” The reference to transportation of energy could be a threat to shipping in the Persian Gulf. Iran in recent and distant past has repeatedly made such threats and in the summer of 2019, attacks took place against many tankers, which were generally blamed on Iran. The article on Nour News also went on to say that Washington should know that “Israel’s mischiefs can, under some circumstances, cause loss of control over the situation and lead to the use of different options for punishing the usurping Zionist regime,” (Iran International)

07-14-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran may be planning to assassinate top members of Donald Trump’s administration, including the former president himself, in revenge for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a US intelligence report has warned.

Iran may be planning to assassinate top members of Donald Trump’s administration, including the former president himself, in revenge for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a US intelligence report has warned. Issued by the National Counterterrorism Center, the report also identifies threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kenneth McKenzie, former head of US Central Command, The Independent reported. “Since January 2021, Tehran has publicly expressed a willingness to conduct lethal operations inside the United States and has consistently identified former president Donald Trump, former secretary of state Michael Pompeo, and former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie as among its priority targets for retribution,” the report said. “Iran would probably view the killing or prosecution of a US official it considers equivalent in rank and stature to Soleimani or responsible for his death as successful retaliatory actions.” (Arab News)

07-14-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran will have a “harsh and regrettable response” to any “mistake” committed by Washington or its allies, and blames the U.S. and its regional allies for stoking instability in the region.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran will have a “harsh and regrettable response” to any “mistake” committed by Washington or its allies. The Iranian president spoke as US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint pledge on Thursday to deny Iran nuclear arms, a show of unity by allies long divided over diplomacy with Tehran. Raisi blamed the US and “its regional allies” for stoking instability in the region, state-run IRNA news agency reported. (Aljazeera)

07-13-2022
Terrorism

Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah threatened Israel with military escalation if a future deal over the disputed maritime border between the two countries is not in Lebanon’s favor.

The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group threatened Israel with military escalation if a future deal over the disputed maritime border between the two countries is not in Lebanon’s favor. Sayyed Hassan Narallah said in a televised speech that Lebanon should be able to extract oil and gas in Lebanese waters. Lebanon claims the Karish gas field is disputed territory under ongoing maritime border negotiations, whereas Israel says it lies within its internationally recognized economic waters. Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to determine their maritime borders commenced in October 2020, when the two sides held indirect U.S.-mediated talks in southern Lebanon. (Associated Press)

07-12-2022
Human Rights

Iran has arrested three renowned filmmakers within the past week, as well as a prominent reformist politician and the family members of protesters killed in anti-government uprisings in 2019.

In a new crackdown on dissidents and artists, Iran has arrested three renowned filmmakers within the past week, as well as a prominent reformist politician and the family members of protesters killed in anti-government uprisings in 2019. The directors, Jaffar Panahi, Mohammad Rasolouf and Mostafa Aleahmad, have all been vocal critics of the government. Mr. Rasolouf recently organized a social media campaign that called for the country’s security forces facing protesters to put down their weapons and join the people. The latest arrests come as a new chief takes over the powerful intelligence wing of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, following the ouster in late June of its former head, Hossein Taeb. (New York Times)

07-11-2022
Syria Conflict

Iran is preparing to provide Russia with drones for the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as training for its forces to use them, a senior White House official said.

Iran is preparing to provide Russia with drones for the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as training for its forces to use them, a senior White House official said Monday. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. has information that Tehran “is preparing to provide Russia with up to several 100 UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline.” At a briefing for reporters, Mr. Sullivan said Iran was preparing to train Russian troops to use them, beginning as soon as early this month. “It’s unclear whether Iran has delivered any of these UAVs to Russia already.” (The Wall Street Journal)

07-11-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran announced that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant.

Iran announced that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal. That Tehran is enriching uranium up to 20% purity — a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% — with a new set of its most advanced centrifuges at a facility deep inside a mountain deals yet another blow to the already slim chances of reviving the accord. In a report to member states, Director General Rafael Grossi described a system of “modified sub-headers,” which he said allowed Iran to inject gas enriched up to 5% purity into a cascade of 166 IR-6 centrifuges for the purpose of producing uranium enriched up to 20% purity. (NBC News)

07-05-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran added demands unrelated to discussions on its nuclear program during the latest talks and has made alarming progress on enriching uranium.

Iran added demands unrelated to discussions on its nuclear program during the latest talks and has made alarming progress on enriching uranium, the U.S. envoy for talks on reinstating a nuclear deal said on Tuesday. "They have, including in Doha, added demands that I think anyone looking at this would be viewed as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal, things that they've wanted in the past," Robert Malley, U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, said in an interview with National Public Radio. The demands included some that the United States and Europeans have said could not be part of negotiations. (Reuters)

07-02-2022
Terrorism

The Israel Defenses Forces said it successfully intercepted three drones flown by the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group that were heading for the Karish gas field off Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

The Israel Defenses Forces said it successfully intercepted three drones flown by the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group that were heading for the Karish gas field off Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Tensions have risen over the site in recent weeks, after a gas production vessel arrived in Israel to launch extraction operations in the offshore field, drawing condemnation from Lebanon, which had laid claim to parts of it. Israel says Karish is in part of its UN-recognized exclusive economic zone. One of the Hezbollah aircraft was downed by an F16 fighter jet, and the other two by Barak 8 missiles launched from the Saar 5 Class Corvette INS Eilat, the military said in a statement. Hezbollah added that the mission was accomplished successfully and “a message was conveyed.” (Times of Israel)

06-26-2022
Military

Iran has carried out a second test of its Zuljanah satellite launcher, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran has carried out a second test of its Zuljanah satellite launcher, Iranian state TV reported on Sunday, in a move likely to irk Washington amid expectations of a resumption of indirect talks between the arch foes to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. The United States fears such long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies the U.S. accusation. The Zuljanah is a three-stage satellite launcher using a combination of solid and liquid fuels. (Reuters)

06-21-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran is renewing threats to assassinate former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, prompting a fresh warning from the State Department that any attempt to take the life of a current or former U.S. official will prompt "severe consequences."

Iran is renewing threats to assassinate former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, prompting a fresh warning from the State Department that any attempt to take the life of a current or former U.S. official will prompt "severe consequences." An Arabic-language Twitter account affiliated with the hardline Iranian regime stated during the weekend that Pompeo, who served under former president Donald Trump, should fear for his life. "Live in fear, liar," the account tweeted, alongside an image of Pompeo with crosshairs on his forehead. The post indicates that Iran wants Pompeo dead as payback for the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian terror leader Qassem Soleimani. (The Washington Free Beacon)

06-21-2022
Human Rights

Iran executed more than 100 people in the first three months of 2022, continuing a worrying upward trend, according to a report by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Iran executed more than 100 people in the first three months of 2022, continuing a worrying upward trend, according to a report by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "While 260 individuals were executed in 2020, at least 310 individuals were executed in 2021, including at least 14 women," she said, adding that the trend had continued this year. Between January 1 and March 20, she said, "At least 105 people were executed," many of whom belonged to minority groups." Guterres's report had noted with deep concern the increase of executions for lesser crimes, including for drug-related offenses, Nashif said. (VOA News)

06-20-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is escalating its uranium enrichment further by preparing to use advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its underground Fordow site that can more easily switch between enrichment levels.

Iran is escalating its uranium enrichment further by preparing to use advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its underground Fordow site that can more easily switch between enrichment levels, a United Nations nuclear watchdog report seen by Reuters on Monday showed. The move is the latest of several steps Iran had long threatened to take but held off carrying out until 30 of the 35 countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors backed a resolution this month criticizing it for failing to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. IAEA inspectors verified on Saturday that Iran was ready to feed uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas, the material centrifuges enrich, into the second of two cascades, or clusters, of IR-6 centrifuges installed at Fordow, a site dug into mountain, the confidential IAEA report to member states said. (Reuters)

06-20-2022
Terrorism

False rocket warning sirens that were activated in Jerusalem and Eilat were likely caused by a cyberattack, the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) confirmed.

False rocket warning sirens that were activated in Jerusalem and Eilat on Sunday evening were likely caused by a cyberattack, the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) confirmed on Monday morning. By Monday, there was rampant speculation that Iran was the perpetrator of the hack, with a slew of cyber experts opining as such in interviews about the possibility of Iranian involvement. A diplomatic source downplayed the significance of the attack, saying, “There is constant cyber activity against Israel. Part of the [Israel’s] multi-year plan is to build a cyber iron dome in cooperation with other nations.” On Sunday evening, rocket sirens sounded for almost an hour in Eilat and across several Jerusalem neighborhoods including Talpiot, Katamon and Beit Hakerem. (The Jerusalem Post)

06-19-2022
Terrorism

Israeli officials warn of impending Iranian attacks on its citizens visiting Turkey.

Despite repeated statements from Israeli officials warning of impending Iranian attacks on its citizens visiting Turkey, Tehran has generally remained silent. Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued his latest statement on Saturday reiterating that there is a serious risk of attacks on Israelis in Turkey by Iranian networks. Several individuals affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard have been killed or died mysteriously in recent weeks in Iran. These incidents are attributed to a covert war waged by Israel inside Iran. So far there have been no incidents, but Israeli officials have been insisting that they are in close cooperation with Turkish security agencies to thwart any Iranian threat. (Iran International)

06-16-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is digging a vast tunnel network just south of the Natanz nuclear production site, in what officials believe is Tehran’s biggest effort yet to construct new underground nuclear facilities.

Israeli and American intelligence officials have been watching each day as Iran digs a vast tunnel network just south of the Natanz nuclear production site, in what they believe is Tehran’s biggest effort yet to construct new nuclear facilities so deep in the mountains that they can withstand bunker-busting bombs and cyberattacks. Though the construction is evident on satellite photographs and has been monitored by groups that track the proliferation of new nuclear facilities, Biden administration officials have never talked about it in public and Israel’s defense minister has mentioned it just once. (New York Times)

06-10-2022
Syria Conflict

Attacks by Iranian proxies against bases housing U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria are increasing, but Washington has not responded with force since 2021.

Attacks by Iranian proxies against bases housing U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria are increasing, U.S. officials say, and Washington has not responded with force since 2021. There were seven attacks in May, as many attacks that month as February, March and April combined, and there have been a total of 29 since October without a kinetic U.S. response. The attacks have been carried out by Iranian-backed militias, the U.S. officials say. (NBC News)

06-10-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran has started removing 27 surveillance cameras from nuclear sites across the country, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said.

Iran has started removing 27 surveillance cameras from nuclear sites across the country, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said, warning this could deal a "fatal blow" to the tattered nuclear deal as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. The development comes a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s board of governors censured Tehran for failing to provide "credible information" over manufactured nuclear material found at three undeclared sites in the country. (CBS News)

06-08-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges in a cluster at an underground enrichment plant in line with a longstanding plan.

Iran has begun installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges in a cluster at its underground enrichment plant in Natanz in line with a longstanding plan and now intends to add two more such clusters, or cascades, the U.N. nuclear watchdog told its member states on Wednesday. The moves are described in a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report sent to member states shortly before the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution criticizing Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. Iran had warned of retaliation. Iran's commercial-scale Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz is its biggest and was built underground, apparently to protect it from potential aerial bombardment. (Reuters)

06-07-2022
Human Rights

Twelve people from an ethnic minority group were hanged in Iran, Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.

Iran has carried out a mass execution of 12 inmates at a prison in its southeast, an NGO said. The 11 men and one woman — convicted either on drugs-related or murder charges — were hanged in the main prison of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan province, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said. They were all members of the Baluch ethnic minority who mainly adhere to the Sunni strain of Islam rather than the Shiism that is dominant in Iran, it added. Activists have long expressed concern that executions in Iran disproportionately target members of Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities, notably Kurds in the northwest, Arabs in the southwest and Baluch in the southeast. (The Times of Israel)

06-06-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran is only a few weeks away from having enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear explosive device.

Iran is only a few weeks away from having a "significant quantity of enriched uranium," the International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Grossi said on Monday. "Having a significant quantity does not mean having a bomb," Grossi told a press conference following the start of the quarterly Board of Governors meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday. The IAEA defines "significant quantity" of enriched uranium as "the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded." (CNN)

06-06-2022
Terrorism

Thai security forces have thwarted several recent Iranian attempts to harm Western and Israeli targets in the southeast Asian country.

Thai security forces have thwarted several recent Iranian attempts to harm Western and Israeli targets in the southeast Asian country, according to a report. The news comes as Iran has reportedly been trying to retaliate for several high-profile assassinations and mysterious deaths in the Islamic Republic in recent months, including of a senior IRGC official and a top scientist. According to Channel 12, security forces in Thailand were successful in preventing an Iranian agent from establishing a terror cell in the country and potentially carrying out attacks against Israelis. Nonetheless, Thai security forces remain on high alert. Iran is still believed to be planning attacks against Israelis in Thailand and elsewhere. (Times of Israel)

06-01-2022
Terrorism

The FBI thwarted a planned cyberattack on a children’s hospital in Boston that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government, FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

The FBI thwarted a planned cyberattack on a children’s hospital in Boston that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. Wray told a Boston College cybersecurity conference that his agents learned of the planned digital attack from an unspecified intelligence partner and got Boston Children’s Hospital the information it needed last summer to block what would have been “one of the most despicable cyberattacks I’ve seen.” He did not ascribe a particular motive to the planned attack on the hospital, but he noted that Iran and other countries have been hiring cyber mercenaries to conduct attacks on their behalf. (The Times of Israel).

05-30-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran has not credibly answered the U.N. nuclear watchdog's long-standing questions on the origin of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites despite a fresh push for a breakthrough, the agency said in a report.

Iran has not credibly answered the U.N. nuclear watchdog's long-standing questions on the origin of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites despite a fresh push for a breakthrough, the agency said in a report seen by Reuters on Monday. A separate quarterly IAEA report seen by Reuters said Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, close to the roughly 90% that is weapons grade and in a form that can be enriched further, is estimated to have grown by 9.9 kg to 43.1 kg. That amounts to slightly more than what the IAEA calls a "significant quantity," defined as "the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded." (Reuters)

05-28-2022
Military

Iran unveiled its first cruise missile that can be fired from a drone, the Heidar-1.

Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed force, has unveiled Iran’s first cruise missile than can be fired from a drone, named Heidar-1. Visiting the underground ‘strategic drone base 313,’ Bagheri also revealed a drone that can be mounted on a helicopter. The Heidar-1’s UAV was reported to have a 200km range and be capable of hitting a target at a maximum speed of 1,000km per hour. Over 100 drones are kept in the base in the Zagros mountains, including Kaman-22, Kaman-12 and Qods Mohajer, the last an intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition, and reconnaissance drone capable of carrying four precision-guided munitions. The base is also home to the Ababil-5, which is fitted with Qaem-9 missiles, an Iranian-made version of the air-to-surface United States Hellfire missile. (Iran International)

05-27-2022
Military

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast.

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast. It said a similar incident took place on another Greek-flagged vessel near Iran, without naming the ship, adding both actions violated international law and Greece had informed its allies, as well as complained to Iran's ambassador in Athens. Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to European Union sanctions. The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vessel, Reuters reported on Thursday. (Reuters)

05-25-2022
Nuclear Program

Iran secured access to secret United Nations atomic agency reports almost two decades ago and circulated the documents among top officials who prepared cover stories and falsified a record to conceal suspected past work on nuclear weapons.

Iran secured access to secret United Nations atomic agency reports almost two decades ago and circulated the documents among top officials who prepared cover stories and falsified a record to conceal suspected past work on nuclear weapons, according to Middle East intelligence officials and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The IAEA records accessed by Iran were among more than 100,000 documents and files seized by Israeli intelligence in January 2018 from a Tehran archive. The file included reports on nuclear material that Iran had received from China, internal IAEA reports of the agency’s inspections of Iranian facilities and data from samples the agency had taken at Iran’s conversion facilities. (The Wall Street Journal)

05-12-2022
Syria Conflict

The new CENTCOM commander calls Iran the most destabilizing force in the Middle East, reiterating the position that the United States will not allow a nuclear Iran.

The new CENTCOM commander calls Iran the most destabilizing force in the Middle East, reiterating the position that the United States will not allow a nuclear Iran. General Erik Kurilla, who was on a tour of Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of what he called a “listening tour”, told Al Arabiya on Thursday that countering the threat posed by Iran needs regional cooperation. “I view Iran as the most destabilizing force in the Middle East. The United States’ position is that we will not allow a nuclear Iran. However, our concerns about Iran go beyond its nuclear capability,” the top US military general for the Middle East said. Describing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for proxies and Iran-backed militias in the region as other concerns for the US, Kurilla said, “The Iranian threat requires a firm effort from us and our security partners in the region... CENTCOM is committed to that effort.” (Iran International)

05-12-2022
Terrorism

France’s Foreign Ministry said that two French nationals have been arrested in Iran and French authorities have “fully mobilized” to secure their swift release.

France’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that two French nationals have been arrested in Iran and French authorities have “fully mobilized” to secure their swift release. Prominent trade union Workers’ Force identified the two Thursday as a teachers’ union official named Cecile Kohler, and her partner. It said they were on a tourist trip to Iran as part of an Easter vacation break. The union said it was made aware of the arrests Wednesday. France’s Foreign Ministry said its ambassador in Tehran has already attempted to obtain consular access to the couple and the charge d’affaires at Iran’s Paris embassy has been summoned for explanations. The ministry didn’t say what charges the two French faced. The French government said it “condemns this groundless arrest” and “calls for (the French nationals’) immediate release.” (The Associated Press)

05-01-2022
Terrorism

Israeli intelligence operatives foil an Iranian assassination plot targeting Israelis, Americans, and Germans.

A short audio recording was published by Israeli media on Saturday with a photo of a man introduced as Iranian national Mansour Rasouli. In the audio recording, Rasouli says he was sent to Turkey by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to establishing an operational network to assassinate an Israeli diplomat in Istanbul, a Germany-based US general, and a journalist in France. The audio recording surfaced hours after Iran International's report of the alleged Iranian triple assassination plot. Iran International's diplomatic sources said a member of the IRGC'S Qods Force had been detained in an unnamed European country for assassination plots in Germany, France and Turkey. Apparently duped by his interrogators' claim that they were from one of Iran's many intelligence bodies, Rasouli says in the recording that accepting to carry out the operation was a mistake that he will never make again. (Iran International)

04-28-2022
Extremism

The ultraconservative Kayhan newspaper in Iran, whose editor was appointed by Supreme Leader Khamenei, ran a piece prior to the anti-Israel event Quds Day, praising Hitler.

While Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on April 27-28, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the only state in the world to deny the Holocaust as a matter of policy, celebrates its annual anti-Israel Quds Day on April 29. This year, in a bid to welcome the latter event a day early, the ultraconservative Kayhan newspaper ran a range of related content in its April 28 issue. The centerpiece? Open praise for Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany and instigator of the genocide of six million Jews. Kayhan is unsurprisingly a favorite of the Iranian regime establishment and is edited by Hossein Shariatmadari: an appointee of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a career Holocaust denier. The newspaper, too, has a long history of praising Holocaust deniers, including those with Nazi sympathies. But it has gone a step further by allowing a writer to openly praise Hitler. (Iranwire)

04-26-2022
Terrorism

U.S. Department of Justice charged a New Jersey man with plotting terror attacks on the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and New York airports at the behest of Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Alexei Saab stands accused of preparing attacks against the U.S. from 2000 to 2005 at the behest of Hezbollah. His targets included U.S. infrastructure and popular venues like Rockefeller Center. He was planning to attack the U.S. in the event of a U.S. attack on Iran. He was charged with “providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy, receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization, unlawful procurement of citizenship to facilitate international terrorism and citizenship application fraud,” and multiple surveillance videos of popular U.S. destinations were found in his possession at the time of his arrest. (NBC News)

04-22-2022
Terrorism

No militant group in Gaza has yet claimed responsibility for the rocket fire directed at Israel on multiple occasions throughout April, but the Israeli army holds Hamas responsible.

Militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel on April 18th, April 20th, and April 22nd. No group claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. On the day of the first attacks, Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy advisor of Iran’s supreme leader, reportedly spoke via phone with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Ziyad al-Nakhalah. Separately, Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, engaged in phone calls with the leadership of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Israeli army said in its early Thursday statement that it holds Hamas responsible for what takes place in the Gaza Strip. In response to the rocket fire, the Israeli military targeted posts belonging to Hamas. (Times of Israel)

04-21-2022
Terrorism

A group of pro-Iranian hackers said it was behind a cyberattack that temporarily took down the Israel Airports Authority’s website.

A group of pro-Iranian hackers said it was behind a cyberattack that temporarily took down the Israel Airports Authority’s website on Wednesday. The targeting came in the form of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack during which the Airports Authority website servers were overwhelmed by near-simultaneous requests to connect. The Airports Authority was one of several Israeli websites targeted in an attack that the ALtahrea Team of pro-Iran hackers in Iraq said began at 1:02 a.m. on Wednesday, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of Qassem Soleimani’s assassination by the US in Baghdad. (The Times of Israel)

03-25-2022
Syria Conflict

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks on Saudi Aramco's petroleum products distribution station.

Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities, and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties. The Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities in recent weeks and ahead of a temporary truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The coalition has repeatedly said it is exercising self-restraint in the face of the attacks, but launched a military operation in Yemen early on Saturday saying it aimed to protect global energy sources and ensure supply chains…The ministry blamed Iran for continuing to arm the Houthis with ballistic missiles and advanced drones. (Reuters)

03-23-2022
Syria Conflict

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plans to dispatch a large number of fighters from its Iraqi affiliates to Yemen.

Reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plans to dispatch a large number of fighters from its Iraqi affiliates to Yemen have raised fears that, if true, this will expand the war in Yemen into a regional one, analysts said. Such a move also would threaten any path towards the establishment of peace in Yemen, they said. In a February 17 report, Intelligence Online revealed that the IRGC is planning to send a large force of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias to support the Houthis in Yemen. This will include fighters from Asaib al-Haq and Harakat al-Nujaba, it said, noting that the move follows massive Houthi losses in the battles of Marib and Shabwa. (Al Mashareq)

03-13-2022
Military

Iran struck the Kurdish capital Erbil with ballistic missiles in March 2022.

A nascent plan for Iraq's Kurdistan region to supply gas to Turkey and Europe - with Israeli help - is part of what angered Iran into striking the Kurdish capital Erbil with ballistic missiles this month, Iraqi and Turkish officials say. The March 13 attack on Erbil came as a shock to officials throughout the region for its ferocity and was a rare publicly declared assault by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC said the strike hit Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil and was retaliation for an Israeli air raid that killed two of its members in Syria. The choice of target, however, baffled many officials and analysts. Most of the 12 missiles hit the villa of a Kurdish businessman involved in the autonomous Kurdistan region's energy sector. Iraqi and Turkish officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity this week said they believe the attack was meant as a multi-pronged message to U.S. allies in the region - but that a key trigger was a plan to pump Kurdish gas into Turkey and Europe, with Israel's involvement. (Reuters)

03-11-2022
Anti-Americanism

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the target of an Iranian assassination plot.

The Washington Examiner acquired a report, marked sensitive but unclassified, on the Diplomatic Security Service’s protection of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The report details the costs of protecting Pompeo at $2 million per month given the heightened threat against his life emanating from Iran, especially since the January anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani. “Additional protective measures” have been needed since January 2021, says the report. Furthermore, the report adds that the security services provided by the State Department to former U.S. officials will not be authorized by law after June 2022, unless included in the “2022 appropriations act or other legislation.” (The Washington Examiner)

03-08-2022
Military

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has successfully put a second military satellite, the Noor 2, into orbit, the state-media said.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has successfully put a second military satellite, the Noor 2, into orbit, the state-media said on Tuesday. Noor 2 is orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometres (311 miles). The first military satellite, launched by the Islamic Republic in April 2020, placed the Noor, or "light" in Persian, at an orbit of 425km (265 miles) above the earth’s surface. Putting a second satellite in space would be a major advance for Iran’s military, raising concerns about the country's nuclear and missile programs. (Reuters)

03-07-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iranians belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ covert-action Quds Force are plotting to assassinate former national security advisor and UANI board member John Bolton.

At least two Iranians belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ covert-action Quds Force are plotting to assassinate former national security advisor John Bolton, according to a Justice Department official with direct knowledge of the investigation. John Bolton currently sits on the UANI advisory board, and he was instrumental in the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. The source tells the Washington Examiner that the department possesses indictable evidence against the Iranians but that Biden administration officials are resisting publicly indicting the men for fear that it could derail their drive for a nuclear deal with Iran, which at the time appeared to be nearing completion in negotiations in Vienna, Austria. It is possible but unlikely that there are sealed indictments against the men, but the DOJ source said the seriousness of the conspiracy and the evidence warranted public indictment without delay. (The Washington Examiner)

03-01-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the war in Ukraine should be stopped and accused the "mafia-like regime" of the United States of creating the conflict.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday the war in Ukraine should be stopped and accused the "mafia-like regime" of the United States of creating the conflict. "The U.S. regime creates crises, lives off of crises and feeds on various crises in the world. Ukraine is another victim of this policy," Khamenei said in a televised speech. "In my view, Ukraine is a victim of the crises concocted by the United States," he said. "There are two lessons to be learnt here. States which depend on the support of the U.S. and Western powers need to know they cannot trust such countries." While Tehran and Washington have been foes for decades, Iran and Russia have deepened trade ties and have been allies in the Syrian conflict. (Reuters)

03-01-2022
Human Rights

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described homosexuality as part of the "moral deprivation" widespread in Western civilization.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described homosexuality as part of the "moral deprivation" widespread in Western civilization, during a televised speech on Tuesday. "There is severe moral deprivation in the world today such as homosexuality and things that one cannot bring oneself to even talk about. Some have rightly called Western civilization a new age of ignorance," Khamenei said. Western rights groups have often criticized Iran, where homosexual acts among men can be punished by the death penalty. (Reuters)

02-16-2022
Terrorism

The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, said for the first time that it has the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones.

The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, said for the first time on Wednesday that it has the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones. "We have been producing drones in Lebanon for a long time, and whoever wants to buy them, submit an order," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech to followers. He said Hezbollah was able to transform standard rockets into precision missiles with the cooperation of "experts from the Islamic Republic of Iran." (Reuters)

02-09-2022
Military

Iran unveiled a new domestically-made missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers, state TV reported.

Iran unveiled a new domestically-made missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers on Wednesday, state TV reported, a day after Tehran and Washington resumed indirect talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, says its ballistic missiles have a range of up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) and are capable of reaching its arch-foe Israel and U.S. bases in the region. State TV displayed the new surface-to-surface "Kheibar Shekan" (Kheibar buster) missile. "This long-range missile is domestically manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ... It has high accuracy and is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields," Iranian state media reported. (Reuters)

02-03-2022
Nuclear Program

Biden Administration officials concluded late last year that Iran’s nuclear program had advanced too far to re-create the roughly 12-month so-called breakout period of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Biden Administration officials concluded late last year that Iran’s nuclear program had advanced too far to re-create the roughly 12-month so-called breakout period of the 2015 pact, the U.S. officials said. Despite the change, the U.S. is pushing ahead with talks. A revised deal needs to be reached soon, the officials said, to leave the U.S. and its allies with enough time to respond to an Iranian nuclear buildup. How limited that breakout period will be depends on the precise steps Iran agrees to take to dismantle, ship abroad, destroy or place under seal its stockpile of enriched uranium, machines for producing nuclear fuel and centrifuge manufacturing capacity. (The Wall Street Journal)

02-02-2022
Syria Conflict

A little-known extremist group claimed a drone attack on the United Arab Emirates, raising the possibility that Iran has decided to mobilize its proxy militias from other countries in the region beyond Yemen.

A little-known extremist group claimed a drone attack on the United Arab Emirates, raising the possibility that Iran has decided to mobilize its proxy militias from other countries in the region beyond Yemen. On the same day, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA, Iran Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian stressed during a conversation [with his UAE counterpart] that ‘the Zionist regime’s presence is a threat to the regional security,’ in a reference to the normalisation of ties between Israel and some Gulf countries including the UAE. Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq (True Promise Brigades), which is believed to be simply a cover name used by pro-Iranian factions operating in Iraq, said it launched four drones at dawn on Wednesday targeting the Gulf state. The UAE announced the interception and destruction on Wednesday of three "hostile drones,” which follows three previous drone and missile attacks claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels since January 17. (The Arab Weekly)

02-01-2022
Human Rights

Iran has executed two gay men who were convicted on charges of sodomy and spent six years on death row.

Iran has executed two gay men who were convicted on charges of sodomy and spent six years on death row, a rights group reported. Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, considered one of the most repressive places in the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. They were sentenced to death for “forced sexual intercourse between two men” and hanged in a prison in the northwestern city of Maragheh, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital, Tehran. Under Iranian law, sodomy, rape, adultery, armed robbery and murder are among crimes that can lead to the death penalty. (Associated Press)

01-26-2022
Anti-Americanism

The U.S. State Department provided an unclassified but non-public assessment to Congress on January 11 detailing the “specific [Iranian] threat [that] persists with respect to former special representative [for Iran] Brian Hook.”

The U.S. State Department provided an unclassified but non-public assessment to Congress on January 11 detailing the “specific threat [that] persists with respect to former special representative [for Iran] Brian Hook.” The threat has existed since at least January 2021, the State Department determined. Hook led the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran following the withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018. While the report doesn’t explicitly name Iran as the threat, it comes amid public statements by top Iranian leaders threatening Trump administration officials. (The Washington Free Beacon)

01-17-2022
Syria Conflict

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement used cruise missiles and ballistic missiles alongside drones in a deadly strike on the United Arab Emirates.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement used cruise missiles and ballistic missiles alongside drones in a deadly strike on the United Arab Emirates, which intercepted part of the attack, the Gulf state's ambassador to the United States said. On the day of the first attack, top Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, according to the Al-Mayadeen news outlet. At the meeting, he referred to the attack as a response to the UAE’s military involvement in Yemen. It is the first time the UAE, which rarely discusses its security in public, has said missiles were used in the assault that killed three civilians in Abu Dhabi, and the first time it has claimed to have intercepted some of the weapons. The UAE said the attack hit a fuel depot of state oil firm ADNOC in Musaffah and a construction site near Abu Dhabi airport. Abu Dhabi police said they found parts of small planes that could possibly be drones. (Reuters)

01-13-2022
Syria Conflict

Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle to form a new government.

Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle to form a new government. The rockets were launched against the backdrop of a spate of rocket and drone strikes against American personnel in Iraq and Syria that Biden administration officials have attributed to Iran-backed militias. Asked if the United States would retaliate for the latest barrage, Mr. Kirby would not specify what response, if any, was possible. (New York Times)

01-13-2022
Military

Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a solid-fuel satellite carrier rocket into space.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard last week launched a solid-fuel satellite carrier rocket into space, the country’s official IRNA news agency reported Thursday. The report quoted Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guard’s aerospace unit, as saying the test was successful. He said it marked the first time Iran used a solid-fuel rocket rather than a liquid-fuel one. He said Iran will produce lighter rocket engines in further space projects. Satellite carriers usually use liquid fuel but solid-fuel rockets can be adapted for mobile launchers that can be driven anywhere on a major road or rail system. Pure solid-fuel rockets are mostly associated with ballistic missile systems. (Times of Israel)

01-09-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran imposed sanctions on over 50 U.S. officials amid public statements threatening their lives.

Amid public statements threatening U.S. officials, Iran imposed sanctions on over 50 U.S. officials. Iranian officials have made explicit their interest in killing one of the people involved in the U.S. strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In public remarks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made this concern apparent in saying that “should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the 52 people named yesterday, it will face severe consequences.” The Office of the Supreme Leader has also showcased a propaganda video depicting the assassination of former President Trump in Mar-a-Lago. Iranian media has likewise produced videos simulating an attack on Washington, D.C. (The Washington Examiner)

01-05-2022
Syria Conflict

A number of rocket attacks associated with Iran-backed militias were reported against locations housing US advisers in Iraq and Syria.

A number of rocket attacks associated with Iran-backed militias were reported against locations housing US advisers in Iraq and Syria amid an uptick in attacks on the US-led coalition in the region after the second anniversary of the US assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. An unidentified UAV was intercepted by air defenses near the Ain al-Assad base where members of the US-led coalition are housed. Earlier on in the same evening, five rockets were launched towards Ain al-Assad. The rockets fell short of the base, according to the coalition. (The Jerusalem Post)

01-03-2022
Syria Conflict

The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel which it said was engaged in "hostile acts" but which the Saudis said was carrying hospital equipment.

The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel which it said was engaged in "hostile acts" but which the Saudis said was carrying hospital equipment. The ship was heading to the Saudi port of Jizan, just north of Yemen, from the Yemeni Red Sea Island of Socotra when it was attacked just before midnight on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, quoting coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. The cargo ship was hijacked off the western Yemeni port of Hodeidah, the coalition said. The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, confirmed seizure of the vessel which he said was carrying military equipment and engaged in "hostile acts targeting the security and stability of the Yemeni people.” (Reuters)

01-03-2022
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge for the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani two years ago unless former US President Donald Trump was put on trial.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge for the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani two years ago unless former US President Donald Trump was put on trial. “If Trump and [former secretary of state Mike] Pompeo are not tried in a fair court of law for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take their martyr’s revenge,” Raisi said, according to state news agency IRNA. Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations also called on the UN Security Council to hold the US and Israel responsible for assassinating Soleimani. (Alarabiya News)

12-30-2021
Military

Iran announced a rocket launch carrying three research devices amid nuclear talks with world powers.

Iran announced Thursday a rocket launch carrying three research devices amid nuclear talks with world powers, although it was unclear if any reached orbit. Ahmed Hosseini, a defense ministry spokesman, said the ‘Simorgh’ satellite-carrier rocket had set the three devices at 470 kilometers (290 miles) altitude. Iran, which has one of the widest missile programs in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues. Israel and the United States have said it contravenes United Nations Security Council resolution 2231, which in endorsing the JCPOA banned Iran from “any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.” Washington left the JCPOA in 2018, imposing ‘maximum pressure sanctions’ on Iran. (Iran International)

12-29-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah is deploying air defense systems in Syria, where it would be able to defend against Israeli airstrikes there as well as in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is reportedly deploying air defense systems in Syria, where it would be able to defend against Israeli airstrikes there as well as in Lebanon. According to the Alma Research Center, the group is deploying the systems to the Qalmoun Mountains region northwest of Damascus, which borders Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, home to Hezbollah’s logistical and operational rear base. The group is believed to have the SA8 low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system, SA17, and SA22 man-portable air defense missile systems in its arsenal in order to defend against Israeli airstrikes. (The Jerusalem Post)

12-23-2021
Syria Conflict

U.S. 5th Fleet ships seized approximately 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition from a stateless fishing vessel that the U.S. military had assessed originated in Iran.

U.S. 5th Fleet ships seized approximately 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition from a stateless fishing vessel during a flag verification boarding in accordance with customary international law in the North Arabian Sea, Dec. 20. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ships USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Typhoon (PC 5) found the weapons during a search conducted by embarked U.S. Coast Guard personnel. The illicit weapons and ammunition were later transported to guided-missile destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG 77) where they await final disposition. The stateless vessel was assessed to have originated in Iran and transited international waters along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to the Houthis in Yemen. The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis violates U.N. Security Council Resolutions and U.S. sanctions. (US CENTCOM)

12-02-2021
Terrorism

Colombian intelligence foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli businessmen and U.S. diplomats in Colombia.

Colombian intelligence foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli businessmen and U.S. diplomats in Colombia. An Iranian national—allegedly a member of Iran’s Quds Force—recruited two prison inmates with whom he was sharing a cell in Dubai sometime between 2017 and 2021. After being released, they traveled to Colombia, surveilled their targets, and contacted local hitmen to carry out the assassination. A Colombian newspaper noted that Colombian authorities had arrested and expelled two Hezbollah operatives – possibly the same individuals recruited in Dubai. (Real Clear Defense)

12-01-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun the process of enriching uranium with a cluster of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its Fordo plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Iran has begun the process of enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges at its Fordo plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday, in what would be a further violation of the multilateral nuclear accord that world powers are rushing to salvage. The UN’s nuclear watchdog reported that Tehran started the process of enriching uranium at Fordo, 135 kilometers from Tehran, to up to 20 percent purity with a cluster of 166 advanced IR-6 machines. Until now, Iran had been enriching uranium at Fordo, but mainly with less-advanced IR-1 machines, the report said, adding that Western negotiators fear that Tehran is seeking to create facts on the ground as talks in Vienna restart. (Times of Israel)

11-28-2021
Terrorism

An Iranian man, Mohammed Saeid Golabi, was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of planning terror attacks against local and Israeli interests.

An Iranian man, Mohammed Saeid Golabi, was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of planning terror attacks against local and Israeli interests, according to an exclusive report in the daily Kenyan newspaper The Star. Kenyan police had monitored the activities of Golabi and his local associates, and were convinced of his links to terror activities, multiple Kenyan police sources told The Star. “We have profiled him and his contacts over time,” said a senior officer at Kenya’s anti-terrorism police unit. “We have enough reason to believe that he has been working with those terror groups.” (The Jerusalem Post)

11-22-2021
Terrorism

Bahrain security forces arrested a number of suspects, and confiscated weapons and explosives ahead of a planned attack, the interior ministry said. The ministry believed that the terrorists had links with Iranian groups.

Bahrain security forces have arrested a number of suspects, and confiscated weapons and explosives ahead of a planned attack, the interior ministry said. The ministry did not say how many people were arrested or specify their nationalities. “Terrorists (were) arrested for plotting terrorist operations against security and civil peace,” the interior ministry wrote on Twitter on Monday. It described them as “linked with terrorist groups in Iran.” Bahrain, host to the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet and other international naval operations, has often accused Shia Muslim Iran of seeking to destabilize the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which has a Shia majority population. Iran has denied such allegations. (Aljazeera)

11-16-2021
Military

An Iranian navy helicopter flew dangerously close to a San Diego-based warship in the Gulf of Oman, circling it three times.

The Pentagon reported Monday that an Iranian navy helicopter flew dangerously close to a San Diego-based warship in the Gulf of Oman, circling it three times. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the helicopter came with 75 feet of the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, but the incident ended without accident or any impact on U.S. naval operations. “It’s dangerous because it could lead to miscalculations,” Kirby said of the incident. (Times of San Diego)

11-08-2021
Syria Conflict

A drone attack that targeted the Iraqi prime minister was carried out by at least one Iran-backed militia, Iraqi security officials and militia sources said.

A drone attack that targeted the Iraqi prime minister on Sunday was carried out by at least one Iran-backed militia, Iraqi security officials and militia sources said, weeks after pro-Iran groups were routed in elections they say were rigged. Some reports suggest while Iran may not have directly ordered the attack, it likely had foreknowledge of the operation. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unhurt when three drones carrying explosives were launched at his residence in Baghdad. Several of his bodyguards were injured. Iraqi officials and analysts said the attack was meant as a message from militias that they are willing to resort to violence if excluded from the formation of a government, or if their grip on large areas of the state apparatus is challenged. (Reuters)

11-07-2021
Terrorism

Five people were arrested in African countries over suspicions that they were planning on carrying out attacks against Israeli tourists or businesspeople on behalf of Iran.

Five people have been arrested in African countries over suspicions that they were planning on carrying out attacks against Israeli tourists or businesspeople on behalf of Iran, an Israeli television network reports. The five, who had been in Senegal, Tanzania, and Ghana, were recruited by Iran’s Quds Force expeditionary arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to the report from Channel 12 news, which did not attribute the information to a source. The five were arrested in the African countries by local intelligence, who were working off information obtained from “Western” spies, the channel said. (Times of Israel)

11-05-2021
Syria Conflict

At least 125 people were injured in Baghdad, according to Iraq’s Health Ministry, as supporters of Iran-backed armed groups gathered outside the fortified Green Zone complex to demand a recount of the country’s parliamentary elections.

At least 125 people were injured Friday in Baghdad, according to Iraq’s Health Ministry, as supporters of Iran-backed armed groups gathered outside the fortified Green Zone complex to demand a recount of the country’s parliamentary elections. The broad contours of Iraq’s Oct. 10 election results are not in doubt, but they were a surprise: As Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s party emerged as the biggest winner, his expected main challenger — a powerful coalition of Iran-aligned groups — won more of the votes but saw its seats more than halved. While the discrepancy appeared to have resulted from superior electoral strategy on the part of Sadr’s party, supporters of the coalition’s militia network had camped outside Baghdad’s Green Zone for several weeks, spending their shifts inside tents on the sidewalk or sitting out under banners that denounce Iraq’s election as fraudulent. (Washington Post)

11-05-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran’s atomic agency said that its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms (463 pounds), the latest defiant move ahead of upcoming nuclear talks with the West.

Iran’s atomic agency said Friday that its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms (463 pounds), the latest defiant move ahead of upcoming nuclear talks with the West. The figure, attributed to agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvan, was carried in a report by the semi-official Tasnim and Fars news agencies. Under the historic 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the World Powers, Iran was not meant to enrich uranium above 3.67 percent. Enriched uranium above 90 percent can be used for nuclear weapons. (Associated Press)

11-04-2021
Anti-Americanism

Thousands of Iranians gathered on Tehran streets for the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and burning American and Israeli flags.

Thousands of Iranians gathered on Tehran streets Thursday for the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and burning American and Israeli flags. The embassy takeover triggered a 444-day hostage crisis and break in diplomatic relations that continues to this day. The government-organized commemoration, long a venue for voicing anti-Western sentiment, typically draws angry crowds each year. Last year, authorities canceled the event due to the still-raging coronavirus pandemic but on Thursday, state TV said that 800 cities across Iran staged demonstrations. Protesters hoisted an effigy of President Joe Biden wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Star of David, drops of red paint dripping from its mouth. It wasn’t clear whether the demonstrators were trying to make a point or were simply recycling old props from their 2019 parade, but the figure’s mop of orange hair resembled that of the effigy of former President Donald Trump used at the rally two years ago. (Associated Press)

11-04-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran will not back down "in any way" in defending its interests, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday, a day after all sides announced the resumption of nuclear talks between Tehran and major powers on Nov 29.

Iran will not back down "in any way" in defending its interests, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday, a day after all sides announced the resumption of nuclear talks between Tehran and major powers on Nov 29. Washington said it hoped the talks would see Iran willing to negotiate in good faith on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, while Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said the talks would cover the removal of "unlawful and inhumane sanctions". The negotiations that started in April have been on hold since the election of hardline cleric Raisi in June. (Reuters)

11-04-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, revealing the latest provocation in Mideast waters.

Iran seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, revealing the latest provocation in Mideast waters as tensions escalate between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard troops on Oct. 24 took control of the MV Southys, a vessel that analysts suspect of trying to transfer sanctioned Iranian crude oil to Asia, at gunpoint. U.S. forces had monitored the seizure, but ultimately didn’t take action as the vessel sailed into Iranian waters. Iran celebrated its capture of the vessel in dramatic footage aired on state television, the day before the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. (Fox News)

11-03-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed militias go on a “killing spree” in al-Muqdadiya, a Sunni-majority town.

After an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) attack October 26 on al-Rashad neighborhood in al-Muqdadiya district of Diyala province left 15 dead, armed men allegedly linked to Iran-backed militias, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, went on a revenge killing spree in neighboring Sunni-majority towns. At least three children were among the dead, and several homes were set on fire in the villages of Nahr al-Imam and al-Ameriya, security sources said. In an October 31 statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council and Security Council, the Al-Rafidain International Centre for Justice and Human Rights called for a quick and impartial investigation into the killings. It namely blamed Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazaali and Badr Organization head Hadi al-Ameri for the "sectarian crimes" in Diyala, and urged to hold all those responsible accountable. (Diyaruna)

11-03-2021
Human Rights

A self-described hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice) has leaked confidential documents to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that appear to reveal the plight of prisoners at Evin prison, Iran’s most notorious facility.

A self-described hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice) has leaked confidential documents to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that appear to reveal the plight of prisoners at Evin prison, Iran’s most notorious facility. According to the prison documents, hunger strikes by prisoners and the publication of open letters by inmates is considered “criminal” behavior. In one document, a former official at Evin prison called for the punishment of inmates who refused to eat or released letters, statements, and audio files from prison. “In such cases, prisoners [accused] of violations should be held in isolation, their welfare [including private and public meetings] should be limited, and we should look into their demands,” the document says. (RFE/RL)

11-02-2021
Nuclear Program

The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog has compared his agency’s efforts to monitor Iran’s nuclear program to flying through dense clouds, warning that the situation can’t continue for much longer.

The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog has compared his agency’s efforts to monitor Iran’s nuclear program to flying through dense clouds, warning that the situation can’t continue for much longer. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites, or online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. Physical inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities have also been problematic even as Tehran has continued to develop new centrifuges and enrich uranium up to purity levels closer to what’s required for an atomic weapon. Western nations fear Iran could be developing the skills and know-how to build an atomic bomb, though Tehran denies any such ambitions. (Associated Press)

11-02-2021
Terrorism

Hours after leaking the personal details of users of an LGBTQ dating app, Iran-affiliated hacker group Black Shadow continued to wreak havoc as it released private information on nearly 300,000 Israelis receiving medical treatment at the Mor Institute.

Hours after leaking the personal details of users of an LGBTQ dating app, Iran-affiliated hacker group Black Shadow continued to wreak havoc Tuesday night as it released private information on nearly 300,000 Israelis receiving medical treatment at the Mor Institute, including patient requests and test results. Patients' credit card information does not appear to have been leaked at this time. Black Shadow also published information on some 30,000 registered users of 103FM Radio's website and nearly 500,000 customers of Locker Ambin Ltd. As was the case in the Atraf leak, the hackers shared the information via an Excel file shared with a new group they created on Telegram. The hackers also provided links allowing others to download information obtained from the Atraf app. The messaging app was forced to take action on the matter after being ordered to do so by the State Attorney's Office. (Israel Hayom)

10-31-2021
Syria Conflict

A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school killed and injured 29 civilians, including women and children, in the Yemeni province of Marib, the country's information minister said in a statement on Twitter.

A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school killed and injured 29 civilians, including women and children, in the Yemeni province of Marib, the country's information minister said in a statement on Twitter on Monday. Two ballistic missiles were used in the attack late on Sunday, Marib governor's office said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the Iranian-backed Houthis. (Reuters)

10-25-2021
Extremism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the Arab nations who have improved ties with Israel have “sinned” and must reverse course.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the Arab nations who have improved ties with Israel have “sinned” and must reverse course. Four nations – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – agreed to normalize ties in 2020, as the “Abraham Accords” led to Israel’s first treaties with Arab nations since reaching an agreement with Jordan in 1994. Jordan and Egypt were the only Arab nations to have existing diplomatic ties with Israel before the 2020 agreements. “Some governments have unfortunately made big errors and have sinned in normalizing [their relations] with the usurping and oppressive Zionist regime,” Khamenei said. “It is an act against Islamic unity, they must return from this path and make up for this big mistake.” (Jerusalem Post)

10-25-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran has begun deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile batteries to the region, including in Syria where Israeli jets routinely carry out airstrikes, in an attempt to challenge Israel Air Force jets.

Iran has begun deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile batteries to the region, including in Syria where Israeli jets routinely carry out airstrikes, in an attempt to challenge Israel Air Force jets. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria in an attempt to thwart Iranian entrenchment and the smuggling of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon, according to foreign reports, and in countries like Iraq and even further as part of its war-between-wars campaign against Iran. Over the past year, while Israeli strikes have intensified in Syria, the response time by Syrian air-defense batteries has become quicker. This has lead to the IAF changing how it acts during such operations, including by having larger formation during operations so that more targets can be struck at once instead of having jets return to the same target. (Jerusalem Post)

10-25-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran is expanding its enrichment of uranium beyond the highly enriched threshold of 20% purity at a Natanz plant where it is already enriching to 60%, but the new activity does not involve keeping the product, the U.N nuclear watchdog said.

Iran is expanding its enrichment of uranium beyond the highly enriched threshold of 20% purity at a Natanz plant where it is already enriching to 60%, but the new activity does not involve keeping the product, the U.N nuclear watchdog said on Monday. The move is likely to help Iran refine its knowledge of the enrichment process - something Western powers generally condemn because it is irreversible - but since this time the product is not being collected it will not immediately accelerate Iran's production of uranium enriched to close to weapons-grade. It has, however, prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency to "increase the frequency and intensity of its safeguards activities" at the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) at Natanz, the IAEA said in a report seen by Reuters. As of around 90% uranium is considered weapons-grade. (Reuters)

10-25-2021
Politics

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed the hardliner Peyman Jebelli as the new CEO of the country’s largest media organization, known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Peyman Jebelli late last month as the new CEO of the country’s largest media organization, known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Jebelli, a 55-year-old communications graduate, hails from the Islamic Stability Front, the most unyielding faction of Iran's influential hardline camp. Now with Jebelli appointed to the position, the IRGC and Khamenei's office appear to have dodged the headache. A man from their very own tribe could be implementing the agenda flawlessly to allow for a tighter IRGC grip on power. Even within the already conservative organization, under his directives, purges are being carried out against staff members who are seen as strangers to the new hardline and “revolutionary” agenda. (Al Monitor)

10-25-2021
Syria Conflict

U.S. officials say they believe Iran was behind the drone attack last week at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based.

U.S. officials say they believe Iran was behind the drone attack last week at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based. Officials said Monday the U.S. believes that Iran resourced and encouraged the attack, but that the drones were not launched from Iran. They were Iranian drones, and Iran appears to have facilitated their use, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public. Officials said they believe the attacks involved as many as five drones laden with explosive charges, and that they hit both the U.S. side of al-Tanf garrison and the side where Syrian opposition forces stay. (Associated Press)

10-25-2021
Human Rights

Iran executed over 250 people, including at least four child offenders, in 2020 and so far this year has carried out 230 executions that included nine women and one child who was executed in secret.

Iran executed over 250 people, including at least four child offenders, in 2020 and so far this year has carried out 230 executions that included nine women and one child who was executed in secret, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in Iran said Monday. Javaid Rehman told the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee that Iran continues to implement the death penalty “at an alarming rate” and said “the absence of official statistics and lack of transparency around executions means that this practice escapes scrutiny resulting in serious abuses preventing accountability.” According to Amnesty International, Iran was the top executioner in the Middle East last year, accounting for more than half the region’s 493 executions, followed by Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Amnesty’s annual figures exclude China, where executions believed to number in the thousands are classified as a state secret, and omit executions from some countries marred by conflict like Syria. (Associated Press)

10-23-2021
Nuclear Program

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says his monitoring program in Iran is no longer “intact” after Tehran refused requests to repair cameras at a key facility.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says his monitoring program in Iran is no longer “intact” after Tehran refused requests to repair cameras at a key facility, creating the possibility the world will never be “able to reconstruct the picture” of what the Iranians have been doing. In an interview with NBC News, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi says he’s been unable to establish the type of direct communication with Iran’s government that he had before a new hardline government run by President Ebrahim Raisi was elected in June. “I have never spoken to the new foreign minister,” Grossi says. “I hope to be able to have the opportunity to meet with him soon because it’s very important … so when there is a problem, when there is misunderstanding, when there is a disagreement, we can talk about it. I used to have it before, and I would assume it that I would be the normal thing.” Grossi spoke during a visit to Washington as the fate of the Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance, with world powers urgently urging Iran to return to negotiations to restore the deal and the U.S. saying time is running out. (NBC News)

10-22-2021
Human Rights

Despite widespread opposition in Iran, lawmakers are working to approve a plan that would severely tighten the government’s control over the Internet.

Despite widespread opposition in Iran, lawmakers are working to approve a plan that would severely tighten the government’s control over the Internet. The plan, titled “Protection of users’ rights in cyberspace and organizing social media,” has been discussed for almost a year in the parliament, supported by hardline lawmakers but widely criticized in Iranian society. On July 28, lawmakers entrusted the next decision on the bill to the parliament’s special cultural commission. Parliament tasked a special committee to review it on September 6. If that commission approves it, the parliament can set a time for its temporary implementation, and there will no need to approve it again in a public session. (Al-Monitor)

10-12-2021
Military

Iran kicked off a massive, two-day air defense drill in the country’s sprawling central desert, state TV reported, the latest show of force by the Islamic Republic.

Iran on Tuesday kicked off a massive, two-day air defense drill in the country’s sprawling central desert, state TV reported, the latest show of force by the Islamic Republic. The report said both the army and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were taking part in the annual maneuvers dubbed “Velayat.” It said elite air force and air defense units as well as the Guard’s airspace division would participate. Iran regularly holds such drills and says they assess the troops’ combat readiness and demonstrate the nation’s military capabilities. (Associated Press)

10-12-2021
Human Rights

Iran is preparing to execute a man convicted of a crime that took place when he was still a child under international law.

Iran is preparing to execute a man convicted of a crime that took place when he was still a child under international law. He was sentenced to death followed an unfair trial marred by confessions obtained through torture, according to a human rights group. Arman Abdolali has been moved to solitary confinement in Raja’i Shahr prison in Karaj, on the outskirts of Tehran, in preparation for his execution on Wednesday, Amnesty International said. (The National)

10-11-2021
Terrorism

Microsoft released evidence showing Iranian-linked hackers targeting and at times compromising systems of U.S. and Israeli defense technology companies.

Microsoft on Monday released evidence showing Iranian-linked hackers targeting and at times compromising systems of U.S. and Israeli defense technology companies.  In a blog post, Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center and Digital Security Unit assessed that a new cyber “activity cluster” linked to Iran had targeted hundreds of Microsoft Office 365 accounts beginning in July tied to groups including U.S. and Israeli defense companies, Persian Gulf entry ports, and global maritime transportation companies. Microsoft also observed targeting by the Iranian-linked hackers of defense companies that work with U.S., European Union and Israeli government partners on producing technology such as drones, satellites and emergency response communications systems. (The Hill)

10-10-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has produced more than 120 kilogrammes (265 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium, according to its nuclear chief, a considerable increase compared with the global nuclear watchdog’s latest report.

Iran has produced more than 120 kilogrammes (265 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium, according to its nuclear chief, a considerable increase compared with the global nuclear watchdog’s latest report. In an interview broadcast on state television late on Saturday, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) head Mohammad Eslami said it has more than complied with a December parliament law that demanded production of 120 kilogrammes of 20 percent enriched uranium in one year. “We have surpassed the 120-kilogramme figure and in this regard, we’re ahead of schedule,” he said. (Al-Jazeera)

10-08-2021
Terrorism

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah thanked Iran for standing by the Lebanese paramilitary group.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah thanked Iran late Thursday for standing by the Lebanese paramilitary group. “The Islamic Republic proved that it is the sincere and loyal ally who doesn’t abandon its friends despite the hard conditions,” said Nasrallah, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV reported Friday. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is in Lebanon for an official visit. On Thursday, he met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati as well as President Michael Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Berri. (Al-Monitor)

10-07-2021
Military

Iran’s state TV reported that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a United States vessel in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s state TV reported on Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a United States vessel in the Persian Gulf. A US Navy spokesman said that he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past few days. The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption. Thursday’s Iranian report aired footage that the TV station said was filmed from one of the Guard speedboats. It shows a vessel with the US flag and several personnel on board as the speedboat appears to be chasing it. (Associated Press)

10-06-2021
Terrorism

A newly discovered hacking group with alleged ties to the Iranian government has waged a yearslong campaign to steal information from aerospace and telecommunications companies.

A newly discovered hacking group with alleged ties to the Iranian government has waged a yearslong campaign to steal information from aerospace and telecommunications companies in the Middle East, the U.S., Europe and Russia, according to cybersecurity researchers. The hacking group, dubbed MalKamak by the researchers, disguised its activities by using the U.S.-based file storage service Dropbox Inc. as the “command and control” server from which it orchestrated hacking operations, according to a report published by Cybereason Inc. on Wednesday. The use of Dropbox helped conceal the hackers’ activity, making it look like the network traffic from compromised computers was associated with legitimate uploads and downloads from the Dropbox website, Cybereason found. While the group has carried out a targeted spying operation since 2018, Cybereason said it only recently discovered it after identifying the group’s involvement in a hack on a Middle Eastern company. (Bloomberg)

10-04-2021
Terrorism

Israel accused Iran of orchestrating an attempted attack against Israelis in Cyprus after police on the Mediterranean island said an armed individual had been arrested.

Israel accused Iran on Monday of orchestrating an attempted attack against Israelis in Cyprus after police on the Mediterranean island said an armed individual had been arrested. Iran swiftly denied the accusation. "This was a terrorist incident directed by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus," Matan Sidi, spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, said in a statement. Asked to comment, the embassy of Iran in the Cypriot capital Nicosia said in an emailed statement: "This regime is always making such a baseless allegation against the Islamic Republic of Iran," referring to Israel. (Reuters)

09-30-2021
Military

Iran said it will start military exercises in its northwest on Friday after moving forces near to the border with Azerbaijan, a deployment that angered the Azeri president and thrust Tehran’s rivalry with Israel to the fore.

Iran said it will start military exercises in its northwest on Friday after moving forces near to the border with Azerbaijan, a deployment that angered the Azeri president and thrust Tehran’s rivalry with Israel to the fore. The drills will involve armored units, drones and attack helicopters, and test electronic radar systems, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a statement by Army Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari. Heydari didn’t specify where in Iran’s northwestern region -- which borders Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iraq -- the maneuvers will be held. But Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev has expressed concern over Tehran massing military assets near his country’s frontier for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union. (Bloomberg

09-28-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran rejected a U.S. call to grant U.N. inspectors access to a nuclear site, saying Washington was not qualified to demand inspections without condemning a sabotage attack on the facility, Iranian state media reported.

Iran on Tuesday rejected a U.S. call to grant U.N. inspectors access to a nuclear site, saying Washington was not qualified to demand inspections without condemning a sabotage attack on the facility, Iranian state media reported. "Countries that did not condemn terrorist acts against Iran's nuclear site are not qualified to comment on inspections there," Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said during a visit to Moscow, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. The United States said on Monday that Iran must stop denying the U.N. nuclear watchdog access to a workshop making centrifuge parts as agreed two weeks ago or face diplomatic retaliation at the agency's Board of Governors meeting. (Reuters)

09-27-2021
Syria Conflict

An unmanned aerial vehicle that appeared at a weapons exhibition held earlier this year by the rebels ruling much of Yemen bears a resemblance to the kamikaze drone believed to have been used later in an attack against an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.

An unmanned aerial vehicle that appeared at a weapons exhibition held earlier this year by the rebels ruling much of Yemen bears a striking resemblance to the kamikaze drone believed to have been used later in a deadly attack against an oil tanker off the coast of Oman, experts told Newsweek. The system used in that operation and others like it have been linked by U.S. officials and other analysts to Iran, but experts also noted the near impossibility of drawing a direct link to any single source. Mercer Street, a Liberia-flagged vessel operating on behalf of a company owned by an Israeli businessman, was hit by two back-to-back explosions in July while sailing through the Gulf of Oman. The latter blast killed the ship's captain, a Romanian national, along with its security officer, a citizen of the United Kingdom. (Newsweek)

09-26-2021
Nuclear Program

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran had failed to fully honour the terms of a deal struck two weeks ago to allow the watchdog's inspectors to service monitoring equipment in the country.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday Iran had failed to fully honour the terms of a deal struck two weeks ago to allow the watchdog's inspectors to service monitoring equipment in the country. "The (IAEA) Director General (Rafael Grossi) stresses that Iran's decision not to allow agency access to the TESA Karaj centrifuge component manufacturing workshop is contrary to the agreed terms of the joint statement issued on 12 September," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. The Sept. 12 agreement, reached on the eve of a meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors, meant Western powers chose not to seek a resolution criticising Iran at that meeting since the equipment's memory cards would be replaced just as they were due to fill up. (Reuters)

09-23-2021
Extremism

Iran’s foreign minister said his nation’s "willpower is dedicated" to the elimination of Zionism at this week’s United Nations anti-racism conference.

Iran’s foreign minister said his nation’s "willpower is dedicated" to the elimination of Zionism at this week’s United Nations anti-racism conference. With the United States and 33 other nations boycotting a UN anti-racism conference due to its history of anti-Semitism, Iran’s new foreign minister invoked the destruction of the Jewish state, perhaps giving the countries who boycotted the conference more reason to have stayed away, observers say.  The event, known as Durban IV, had the theme of "Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent." Wednesday’s event was to commemorate and adopt a statement 20 years after the first meeting in Durban, South Africa. While the original purpose of the event was combating racism, critics say it has been hijacked by an anti-Israel agenda that turned it into an anti-Semitic hate fest leading the U.S. and Israel to walk out of the first conference. (Fox News)

09-23-2021
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary confirmed the death of Shahin Naseri, known for his horrifying account of torture against executed wrestler and political prisoner Navid Afkari, in its custody.

Iran’s judiciary confirmed the death of Shahin Naseri in its custody. Naseri was known for his horrifying account of torture against executed wrestler and political prisoner Navid Afkari. On Thursday, two days after Naseri’s death was reported by activists, the head of Iran’s Prisons Organization issued a “special directive” for a probe into the case. In a separate statement circulated on Iranian media, authorities at Tehran’s Greater Prison announced that Naseri had died “45 minutes” after being transferred to the jail’s medical center. With no further details on the exact circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, the statement said a full explanation was pending the completion of forensic examinations. However, according to accounts by other inmates at the same jail, the day before his death Naseri had been summoned by intelligence interrogators and taken to solitary confinement. “He was neither suicidal nor suffering from any medical condition,” the prisoners were quoted as saying by the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization. (Al-Monitor)

09-22-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran’s demands for US forces to withdraw from a critical air base in Iraqi Kurdistan coupled with threats to expand operations against “American and Zionist mercenaries” are sending jitters across the Kurdish enclave.

Iran’s demands for US forces to withdraw from a critical air base in Iraqi Kurdistan coupled with threats to expand operations against “American and Zionist mercenaries” are sending jitters across the Kurdish enclave, with many asking how far Tehran will go and what, if anything, the United States will do to stop it. Mohammed Bagheri, senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, appeared to be emboldened by America’s controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it “a defeat and an embarrassment worse than Vietnam.” In comments to Iran TV on Sunday, Bagheri said, “Iraq and its northern [Kurdish] region should not allow America and the Zionist regime and armed counter-revolutionary groups to have training bases, TV and radio stations, camps [and] military training, then attack our border regions and assassinate our officers.” (Al-Monitor)

09-22-2021
Terrorism

A supposed ransomware attack against the Israeli call center service company Voicenter point to motives beyond money, experts said, including possible Iranian involvement.

A supposed ransomware attack against the Israeli call center service company Voicenter earlier this week point to motives beyond money, experts said, including possible Iranian involvement.  In a widely distributed text message, the company said that on Saturday "a cyberattack on our systems was discovered which was executed by a group of foreign hackers, but to the best of our knowledge no data was leaked from the organization during the incident."  Though the company’s announcement stated that none of the company’s information was breached, that turned out to be inaccurate. The hacker posted online that he is offering to sell some 15 terabytes of information from the company’s servers. The cloud-based call center service provider counts companies like MobileEye, eToro, Check Point and Similar Web among its clients. (Ha’aretz)

09-21-2021
Anti-Americanism

Iran has “built power” to confront the United States, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, while dismissing Israel’s regional clout.

Iran has “built power” to confront the United States, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Tuesday, while dismissing Israel’s regional clout. “We have built power to defeat the US. When we build power for man’s largest military empire, i.e. the US, small powers like the Zionist regime are no longer counted in our equations,” Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. He claimed that Iran no longer saw the US as a threat after it withdrew forces from the region, in an apparent reference to the recent chaotic pullout of American forces from Afghanistan. (Times of Israel)

09-20-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked Iranian Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq with artillery, destroying four headquarters belonging to the militants, one of the Iranian paramilitary group's commanders said.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Monday attacked Iranian Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq with artillery, destroying four headquarters belonging to the militants, one of the Iranian paramilitary group's commanders said. The attack on Iraqi territory was an act of retaliation, the spokesman said. “We gave the Iraqi government the necessary warnings and told them that if we see any hostile activity from these dissident groups we will respond harshly. Since the hostile activity did not stop, we destroyed four of the headquarters,” said Gen Majid Arjomandfar, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim. (The National)

09-19-2021
Extremism

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian athletes that they must continue to refrain from playing competitive sports against Israelis, even if they are disciplined by international bodies for it.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian athletes that they must continue to refrain from playing competitive sports against Israelis, even if they are disciplined by international bodies for it. "Any Iranian athlete worthy of the name cannot shake hands with a representative of the criminal regime in order to win a medal," Khamenei told a reception for Iran's medalists from the Tokyo Games on September 18. “The genocidal, illegal Zionist regime attempts to gain some legitimacy by appearing in international athletic competitions. The world’s arrogant powers and their cohorts [the West] assist and support them in this,” he added. (RFE/RL)

09-19-2021
Nuclear Program

The new head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has said he wants to speed up the conversion of the country’s Arak heavy water reactor into a research facility.

The new head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has said he wants to speed up the conversion of the country’s Arak heavy water reactor into a research facility. Iran removed the core of the Arak facility and filled part of it with cement as part of a 2015 deal that gave the country relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program. As part of the agreement, the Islamic Republic agreed to modify the Arak reactor so that it could not produce military-grade plutonium, with Tehran saying it has been working on redesigning it for medical and agricultural use. “This project must be reconfigured and returned to operation as soon as possible,” Iranian media on Saturday quoted Mohammad Eslami as saying during a visit to the site this week. (Times of Israel)

09-18-2021
Human Rights

Iranian security agents in the city of Isfahan arrested the popular rapper Toomaj Salehi for his songs highlighting corruption within the Islamic Republic’s regime.

Iranian security agents in the city of Isfahan arrested the popular rapper Toomaj Salehi for his songs highlighting corruption within the Islamic Republic’s regime. Salehi’s uncle Eghbal Eghbali announced on Instagram the arrest of Salehi, writing, “They arrested my nephew... The Islamic government cannot stand the voice of protest of dissident youth. We will not be indifferent to this dirty action of the rulers.” Salehi wrote lyrics criticizing the Iranian regime in two new songs titled “Normal Life” and “Mouse Hole.” (Jerusalem Post)

09-17-2021
Syria Conflict

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Iranian fuel shipments imported by the Hezbollah movement constitute a breach of Lebanon's sovereignty, according to comments published by his office.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Iranian fuel shipments imported by the Hezbollah movement constitute a breach of Lebanon's sovereignty, according to comments published by his office. "The violation of Lebanon's sovereignty makes me sad," Mikati told CNN in an interview, his office said in a posting on Twitter. He added: "But I'm not concerned that sanctions can be imposed" on Lebanon "because the operation was carried out without the involvement of the Lebanese government." (Reuters)

09-16-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran dismissed the U.N. nuclear watchdog's work as "unprofessional" and "unfair" shortly before the two sides are due to hold talks aimed at resolving a standoff over the origin of uranium particles found at old but undeclared sites in Iran.

Iran on Thursday dismissed the U.N. nuclear watchdog's work as "unprofessional" and "unfair" shortly before the two sides are due to hold talks aimed at resolving a standoff over the origin of uranium particles found at old but undeclared sites in Iran. The issue is a thorn in the side of both Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since the particles suggest Iran once had undeclared nuclear material at three different locations, but the IAEA has yet to obtain satisfactory answers from Iran on how the material got there or where it went. read more "The statement of the Agency in its report is completely unprofessional, illusory and unfair," Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in a statement to a meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors. (Reuters)

09-15-2021
Human Rights

Human rights groups and the family of Kurdish political activist Yasser Mangouri said he has died after being summoned by members of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.

Human rights groups and the family of Kurdish political activist Yasser Mangouri said he has died after being summoned by members of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. Mangouri’s arrest occurred on July 17, but his death was officially conveyed to his family over 50 days later. According to the Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the body has yet to be handed over to the family, which continues to be kept in the dark about the exact circumstances surrounding his death. Since Mangouri was summoned and held incommunicado by Iran’s intelligence forces, his family had repeatedly approached the authorities for news on his whereabouts, but to no avail. Hengaw, another advocacy website that monitors developments in Iranian Kurdistan, quoted sources as saying that Mangouri had been “killed under torture.” According to a tally recorded by the same outlet, at least 23 Kurdish prisoners, including 15 political detainees, have been tortured to death in Iranian jails since 2017. (Al-Monitor)

09-15-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran acknowledged that it had removed several surveillance cameras installed by U.N. nuclear inspectors at a centrifuge assembly site that came under a mysterious attack earlier this year.

Iran acknowledged on Wednesday that it had removed several surveillance cameras installed by U.N. nuclear inspectors at a centrifuge assembly site that came under a mysterious attack earlier this year. The chief of the country’s nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, sought to portray the removal of cameras as Tehran’s response to world powers reneging on their commitments under the tattered 2015 nuclear deal. “The parties did not implement their commitments so there were no necessity for the cameras’ existence,” Eslami said after a meeting with lawmakers — remarks apparently aimed at his own domestic audience under the country’s new hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (AP)

09-14-2021
Nuclear Program

German police arrested a German-Iranian man suspected of exporting equipment to be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs in breach of European Union sanctions, Germany's federal prosecutor said.

German police arrested a German-Iranian man suspected of exporting equipment to be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes in breach of European Union sanctions, Germany's federal prosecutor said on Tuesday. Police searched 11 locations, including apartments and offices in the states of Hamburg, Schleswig Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia linked to the suspect, the prosecutor said. The suspect, identified only as Alexander J. under privacy rules, had shipped equipment worth 1.1 million euros to an Iranian whose company in Iran was blacklisted by the EU as a front to procure equipment for nuclear and rocket programmes. (Reuters)

09-14-2021
Nuclear Program

Iranian security guards have physically harassed several female United Nations atomic agency inspectors at a nuclear facility over the past few months, diplomats say, and the U.S. has demanded that Iran stop the behavior immediately.

Iranian security guards have physically harassed several female United Nations atomic agency inspectors at a nuclear facility over the past few months, diplomats say, and the U.S. has demanded that Iran stop the behavior immediately. The previously unreported incidents at Iran’s main nuclear facility, Natanz, allegedly included inappropriate touching of female inspectors by male security guards and orders to remove some clothing, the diplomats said. One of the diplomats said there had been at least four separate incidents of harassment. A second diplomat said there had been five to seven. (Wall Street Journal)

09-13-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has come within roughly a month of having enough material to fuel a single nuclear weapon, crossing a threshold that may raise pressure on the United States and its allies to improve the terms of a potential deal to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement

Iran has come within roughly a month of having enough material to fuel a single nuclear weapon, crossing a threshold that may raise pressure on the United States and its allies to improve the terms of a potential deal to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement. Experts studying new data contained in reports last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ atomic inspection group, say that by enriching nuclear fuel in recent months to near bomb-grade levels, Tehran has gained the capability to produce the fuel needed for a single nuclear warhead within a month or so, under the most extreme timeline. Federal officials who have seen classified estimates are prevented from discussing official assessments but conceded in background conversations that they believed it would take Iran only a few months. Manufacturing an actual warhead — one that could fit atop an Iranian missile and survive the fiery re-entry into the atmosphere, a technology the Iranians were actively studying 20 years ago — would take considerably longer. Iran continues to insist it has no desire for a nuclear arsenal. (New York Times)

09-12-2021
Syria Conflict

Israel's defence minister accused Iran of providing foreign militias with drone training at an airbase near the city of Isfahan, a month after Tehran came under global scrutiny over a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman.

Israel's defence minister accused Iran on Sunday of providing foreign militias with drone training at an airbase near the city of Isfahan, a month after Tehran came under global scrutiny over a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman. Israel has combined military strikes with diplomatic pressure to beat back what it describes as an effort by its arch-foe, whose nuclear negotiations with the West are deadlocked, to beef up regional clout through allied guerrillas. In what his office described as a new disclosure, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Iran was using Kashan airbase north of Isfahan to train "terror operatives from Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in flying Iranian-made UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)". (Reuters)

09-12-2021
Syria Conflict

U.S. forces shot down a pair of Iranian drones that attacked the Irbil airport in Kurdish-held northern Iraq.

U.S. forces shot down a pair of Iranian drones that attacked the Irbil airport in Kurdish-held northern Iraq late on 20th anniversary of Sept. 11. There were no injuries or damage, according to a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. The U.S. counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system (C-RAM) engaged the two bomb-laden drones which were made in Iran, a separate U.S. official told Fox News. (Fox News)

09-09-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards used artillery and drones to strike Kurdish militants based in neighbouring Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Thursday used artillery and drones to strike Kurdish militants based in neighbouring Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported. "In this operation, the headquarters of those conspiring against Iran's national security was destroyed," IRIB quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying about the latest attack on the rebels based in neighbouring Iraq. There are frequent clashes in the remote and mountainous border region between Iranian security forces and Iranian Kurdish militant groups opposed to the Tehran government, such as the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), linked to Kurdish PKK insurgents in Turkey, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). (Reuters)

09-08-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran is refusing to allow inspectors access to nuclear-related sites and hindering a probe by the United Nations atomic agency while continuing to expand its nuclear activities.

Iran is refusing to allow inspectors access to nuclear-related sites and hindering a probe by the United Nations atomic agency while continuing to expand its nuclear activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in two confidential reports Tuesday, casting doubt on efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The reports leave the Biden administration and its European allies facing a choice between pushing for a formal rebuke of Iran—which Tehran’s new hard-line government has warned could scuttle the resumption of nuclear talks—or refraining from action, potentially undercutting the authority of the IAEA and its leadership. The future of the nuclear deal is already in the balance. New Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, pressed by European and U.S. officials to quickly resume the talks on restoring the deal, has said his government is prepared to return to the Vienna negotiations but refused to fix a date. The last talks took place in June. (Wall Street Journal)

09-02-2021
Human Rights

An Iranian man died after he was submitted to a lashing penalty inside a jail in Iran's Turkish-majority eastern Azerbaijan province after being charged with alcohol possession one and a half years ago.

An Iranian man died after he was submitted to a lashing penalty inside a jail in Iran's Turkish-majority eastern Azerbaijan province. The inmate, identified as Hadi Atazadeh, had been handed an unspecified prison sentence and lashes after being charged with alcohol possession one and a half years ago. Under the Islamic Republic's strict penal code, consumption and possession of alcoholic drinks are punishable by up to 80 lashes and/or varying imprisonment terms in some cases. Atazadeh's relatives released videos of what seemed to be a morgue in his hometown, Ahar, where the black and blue body with obvious lash marks was being washed as part of the Islamic pre-burial ritual. The growing backlash drew reactions from local justice department authorities who offered different explanations and denied the lashing had caused the man's death. (Al-Monitor)

08-31-2021
Syria Conflict

At least eight people were wounded on Monday in Houthi drone strikes on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport that also damaged a civilian airplane, Saudi officials said.

At least eight people were wounded on Monday in Houthi drone strikes on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport that also damaged a civilian airplane, Saudi officials said. Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group in Yemen said it intercepted a Houthi drone that was targeting Abha International Airport. Shrapnel was scattered in the vicinity of the airport, the coalition said. (Reuters)

08-29-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran and Syria vowed to take “mighty steps” to confront U.S. sanctions imposed on the two regional allies, saying their relations will strengthen under Iran’s new leadership.

Iran and Syria vowed on Sunday to take “mighty steps” to confront U.S. sanctions imposed on the two regional allies, saying their relations will strengthen under Iran’s new leadership. The announcement was made by Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was received at the airport a visit to Damascus by his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. Iran has been one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s strongest backers, sending thousands of fighters from around the region to help his troops in Syria’s 10-year conflict that has killed half a million and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. (AP)

08-25-2021
Syria Conflict

Citing images shared on the internet, several media outlets have reported that the Ethiopian National Defence Force is using Iranian-made Mohajer-6 combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as it fights a civil war.

Citing images shared on the internet, several media outlets have reported that the Ethiopian National Defence Force is using Iranian-made Mohajer-6 combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as it fights a civil war. Who took the photos remains unknown. However, they show the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visiting an airport with what appears to be the drone in the background. The fact-checking website Bellingcat and some open-source researchers independently geo-located the images, indicating that they were taken at the government-controlled Semara Airport. Semara is the capital city of the country’s Afar province, which abuts the Tigray region where government forces are battling the anti-government Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). (The Defense Post)

08-25-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran this week restarted fuel exports to Afghanistan that had been disrupted by fighting between the Taliban and forces under the now deposed Afghan government.

Iran this week restarted fuel exports to Afghanistan that had been disrupted by fighting between the Taliban and forces under the now deposed Afghan government, traders in Tehran and former U.S. officials say, with the Taliban now providing critical dollars to the sanctions-crushed Iranian economy from its lucrative narcotics operations. The burgeoning trade relationship between Tehran and the Taliban threatens to undermine key U.S. pressure campaigns against both. Iran has been cut off from the global market for the greenback by U.S. sanctions, and the Taliban’s willingness to trade with their neighbor gives Iran rare access to U.S. dollars it needs to import essential goods and bolster its depreciated currency. (Wall Street Journal)

08-24-2021
Human Rights

The head of Iran's prisons apologized for "bitter events" in Tehran's Evin prison after videos leaked by hackers showed beatings of prisoners, a rare admission of abuse by authorities.

The head of Iran's prisons apologised on Tuesday for "bitter events" in Tehran's Evin prison after videos leaked by hackers showed beatings of prisoners, a rare admission of abuse by authorities. A hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) issued on social media videos that appear to be from the prison's surveillance cameras and show guards beating prisoners and dragging an unconscious detainee on the floor. Guards and prisoners are seen fighting among themselves in other videos. "Regarding the pictures from Evin prison, I accept responsibility for such unacceptable behaviour and pledge to try to prevent any repeat of these bitter events and to deal seriously with the wrongdoers," Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi, head of Iran's prisons, wrote in a tweet reported by state media. (Reuters)

08-23-2021
Syria Conflict

A US warplane shot down an Iranian drone over eastern Syria after flying ‘too close’ to some of the 900 U.S. troops deployed there.

US warplane shot down a drone in Syria on Saturday. It is a rare occurrence when fighter jets are used to shoot down drones, although Israel has shot down drones with warplanes, and a US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down a drone in June 2017 in Syria, one of two US downings of Syrian regime drones. The latest report was made by Reuters, Fox News and Aviation Week. Reuters said the incident happened in eastern Syria when the unmanned system was deemed a threat.

“Coalition aircraft successfully engaged and defeated a US [unmanned aircraft system] through air-to-air engagement in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Green Village,” said coalition spokesperson US Army Col. Wayne Marotto, according to Reuters. Fox News Lucas Tomlinson wrote that the “US Air Force F-15E shot down Iranian drone over eastern Syria yesterday after flying ‘too close’ to some of the 900 US troops deployed there,” basing his report on US officials. (Jerusalem Post)

08-21-2021
Military

The Iranian Defense Ministry said that it was expanding its defense efforts beyond the borders of the country, in an apparent message of deterrence to Israel and the West.

The Iranian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that it was expanding its defense efforts beyond the borders of the country, in an apparent message of deterrence to Israel and the West, as hopes for a return to the 2015 nuclear deal continue to fade. “Our country has an important role to play in strengthening the resistance front and expanding the radius of defense of national security beyond the borders of the country,” the ministry said in a message for Defense Industries Day, the Moj News Agency reported. The ministry stated that Iran’s military plan includes “strengthening the defensive force and constantly updating the ability to deal with the threats of our enemies.” (Times of Israel)

08-20-2021
Human Rights

Iranian officials have reported an increase in the overall number of child marriages last year compared to 2019. According to the Statistics Center of Iran, the marriage rate of girls aged 10-14 last year increased by 10.5 percent compared to 2019.

Iranian officials have reported an increase in the overall number of child marriages last year compared to 2019. According to the Statistics Center of Iran, the marriage rate of girls aged 10-14 last year increased by 10.5 percent compared to 2019. It says 31,379 girls in that age bracket were married in 2020 compared to 28,373 cases the previous year. The legal age for marriage in Iran is 13 years for girls and 15 years for boys, though it is acceptable for children younger to be married with a father's permission. (RFE/RL)

08-19-2021
Terrorism

An Iranian Kurdish party is blaming Tehran for the killing this month of a senior party member in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

An Iranian Kurdish party is blaming Tehran for the killing this month of a senior party member in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Mousa Babakhani was found dead in a hotel room in Erbil on August 5, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I) said. "With great sorrow we confirm that on the evening of Thursday, August 5, Mr Mousa Babakhani, member of Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Central Committee, was assassinated by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s terrorists in Erbil,” the party said on its website. (The National)

08-19-2021
Terrorism

Militant group Hezbollah appeared to warn Israel and the U.S. against intercepting an Iranian ship carrying fuel for Lebanon as the country reels from a crippling power crisis.

Militant group Hezbollah appeared to warn Israel and the U.S. against intercepting an Iranian ship carrying fuel for Lebanon as the country reels from a crippling power crisis. The vessel would sail “in hours,” the Iran-backed group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was cited as saying by Al Jazeera Thursday. “I tell the Americans and the Israelis that as soon as the ship sails, it becomes Lebanese territory.” More such ships would follow, he said.  Iranian and Israeli-operated ships have in recent months been targeted in regional waters in unclaimed attacks widely believed to be tit-for-tat actions by the Middle Eastern rivals. Iran’s oil exports are under U.S. sanctions. (Bloomberg)

08-18-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has nearly doubled its enrichment capacity dedicated to purifying uranium close to the levels required for nuclear weapons, signaling it won’t de-escalate its atomic activities before meeting again with world powers.

Iran has nearly doubled its enrichment capacity dedicated to purifying uranium close to the levels required for nuclear weapons, signaling it won’t de-escalate its atomic activities before meeting again with world powers.  Inspectors verified on Aug. 15 that Iran introduced a second cascade of nuclear centrifuges to produced uranium enriched to 60% purity at a fuel plant in Natanz, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in reply to questions. The machines spin at supersonic speeds to separate the uranium isotopes needed to induce fission. Iran had originally taken that added enrichment capacity off line in April, at the start of now-stalled negotiations to bring Washington back into the deal. Its 2015 agreement with world powers had capped the activity in exchange for sanctions relief, but former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the accord triggered Iranian breaches. (Bloomberg)

08-16-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has made progress in its work on enriched uranium metal, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report to member states seen by Reuters, despite Western warnings that such work threatens talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Iran has made progress in its work on enriched uranium metal, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report to member states on Monday seen by Reuters, despite Western warnings that such work threatens talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal. "On 14 August 2021, the Agency verified ... that Iran had used 257 g of uranium enriched up to 20% U-235 in the form of UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) to produce 200 g of uranium metal enriched up to 20% U-235," the International Atomic Energy Agency said, adding that this was step three in a four-step plan by Iran. The fourth includes producing a reactor fuel plate. Iran's work on enriched uranium metal has angered Europe's three top powers and the United States because that technology, and knowledge of how to produce it, can be used to make the core of a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its aims are entirely peaceful and it is developing a new type of reactor fuel. (Reuters)

08-12-2021
Military

Iranian air defenses fired a warning shot at a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper belonging to the US military near the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian border, according to the Iranian semi-official Nour News.

Iranian air defenses fired a warning shot at a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper belonging to the US military near the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian border on Thursday, according to the Iranian semi-official Nour News. The news outlet published what it said was footage of the control room as the warning shot was fired. Independent news source Aurora Intel discovered that the clip shared by Nour News had aired on Iranian television on Wednesday, raising questions when the incident actually took place. (Jerusalem Post)

08-11-2021
Syria Conflict

Tehran has been sending increasingly complex weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels even as Iranian officials have engaged in separate talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia about reducing tensions in the region, a top Pentagon official said.

Tehran has been sending increasingly complex weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels even as Iranian officials have engaged in separate talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia about reducing tensions in the region, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday. “In the Yemen context, we have seen more attacks from the Houthis launched at Saudi Arabia in the first half of this year than we have for several prior years,” Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top official for policy in the Middle East, told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. “Iran is increasing the lethality and complexity of both the equipment and the knowledge it transfers to the Houthis so that they can attack Saudi territory [and] Saudi civilians,” Stroul told lawmakers. (Al-Monitor)

08-11-2021
Politics

Iran’s new president presented a cabinet dominated by hardliners, among them a foreign minister known for close ties to Hezbollah and an interior minister wanted by Interpol over his alleged role in the 1994 bombing.

Iran’s new president presented a cabinet dominated by hardliners on Wednesday, state TV reported, among them a foreign minister known for close ties to Hezbollah and an interior minister wanted by Interpol over his alleged role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires. The conservative cleric and former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi nominated hardline career diplomat Hossein Amirabdollahian to the crucial post of foreign minister as Iran and the US seek to resuscitate Tehran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers. Amirabdollahian, 56, has served in a range of administrations over the decades. He was deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs under former populist hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known in the West for his Holocaust denial and disputed reelection in 2009. (Times of Israel)

08-11-2021
Human Rights

Amnesty International says Iran’s security forces have resorted to unlawful use of force to “ruthlessly” crackdown on mainly peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets across the country over the past weeks.

Amnesty International says Iran’s security forces have resorted to unlawful use of force to “ruthlessly” crackdown on mainly peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets across the country over the past weeks. Protesters, bystanders, and activists -- including children -- have been subjected to birdshot, mass arrests, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment, the London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on August 11. Iranian authorities “have yet again given their security forces free rein to inflict severe bodily injury on protesters to maintain their iron grip on power and crush dissent,” said Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. (RFE/RL)

08-11-2021
Politics

Iran’s new president picked a hawkish Foreign Ministry veteran with close ties to the military elite to replace Mohammad Javad Zarif as the nation’s top diplomat.

Iran’s new president picked a hawkish Foreign Ministry veteran with close ties to the military elite to replace Mohammad Javad Zarif as the nation’s top diplomat, underscoring the shift in power that’s clouding the resumption of nuclear talks with world powers. Hossein Amirabdollahian, a fluent Arabic speaker and previously deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, was proposed for the role in a list of cabinet ministers presented to lawmakers on Wednesday by President Ebrahim Raisi. Parliament will debate the choices for a week before voting to approve or reject the nominees. Other candidates include Javad Owji as oil minister. (Bloomberg)

08-10-2021
Syria Conflict

Joint forces from the Saudi-backed coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen dismantled two networks of naval mines laid by the Houthis in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Joint Forces on the western coast of Yemen dismantled two networks of naval mines in June in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait—which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a vital global energy gateway. Engineering teams said on June 17 that they discovered and dismantled two missile warheads and dozens of mines and explosive devices planted by Houthi forces in the coastal area of al-Durayhimi district, south of the city of al-Hodeidah. Earlier on June 7, joint forces also discovered a network of maritime mines south of the Great Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea, near Bab al-Mandeb. The Houthis planted the Iranian-made naval mines, using training provided by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Yemeni Deputy Minister of Human Rights Nabil Abdul Hafeez. (Al Mashareq)

08-06-2021
Terrorism

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israeli forces, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran. Suggesting its attack was calibrated to avoid further escalation, Hezbollah said it had targeted open ground near Israeli forces in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that had also struck open areas. Israel said it did not wish to escalate to a full war, though it was ready for one. (Wall Street Journal)

08-06-2021
Syria Conflict

The U.S. military said Friday that drone fragments recovered from an Israeli-linked merchant vessel damaged in a fatal attack in the Arabian Sea last week prove Iran was behind the incident.

The U.S. military said Friday that drone fragments recovered from an Israeli-linked merchant vessel damaged in a fatal attack in the Arabian Sea last week prove Iran was behind the incident. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, released photographs of the drone parts, and said the debris, the proximity of the strikes to Iran, and the sophistication of the attack point to Iran’s culpability. Meanwhile, the Group of Seven leading economies and the European Union also placed blame on Iran on Friday, calling it a “deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law.” (Wall Street Journal)

08-06-2021
Terrorism

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets towards Israeli forces, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran. Suggesting its attack was calibrated to avoid further escalation, Hezbollah said it had targeted open ground near Israeli forces in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that had also struck open areas. Israel said it did not wish to escalate to a full war, though it was ready for one. "Our understanding is that Hezbollah deliberately aimed at open areas in order not to escalate the situation," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Amnon Shefler told reporters. (Reuters)

08-05-2021
Human Rights

Amnesty International says Iran executed a man who was 15 at the time of his arrest over a fatal stabbing and spent nearly a decade on death row.

Amnesty International says Iran this week executed a man who was 15 at the time of his arrest over a fatal stabbing and spent nearly a decade on death row. In a statement released on August 4, the London-based rights group said Sajad Sanjari was hanged on August 2 in Dizelabad prison in the western province of Kermanshah. His family learned of Sanjari’s hanging only after a prison official told them to collect the body, Amnesty said. "With the secret execution of Sajad Sanjari, the Iranian authorities have yet again demonstrated the utter cruelty of their juvenile justice system," said Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. (RFE/RL)

08-04-2021
Syria Conflict

A tanker ship in the Gulf of Oman was seized by suspected Iranian gunmen, Western officials said.

A tanker ship in the Gulf of Oman was seized Tuesday by suspected Iranian gunmen, Western officials said, amid rising regional tensions following a fatal drone attack on another vessel that the U.S. and its allies have blamed on the Islamic Republic. The tanker was boarded near the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the British Defense Ministry. In a statement early Wednesday, the UKMTO said the “boarders” had left the vessel and the ship was now safe. In recent years, Iran’s Navy has often seized oil tankers it accuses of smuggling oil in its waters. But the latest incident comes on the heels of last week’s attack on an Israeli-linked tanker in the nearby Arabian Sea, which the U.S., the U.K. and Israel blamed on Iran. (Wall Street Journal)

08-04-2021
Human Rights

An Iranian Revolutionary Court has sentenced two dual nationals, German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi and British-Iranian Mehran Raouf, to more than 10 years in prison, each on national security charges, their lawyer said.

An Iranian Revolutionary Court has sentenced two dual nationals, German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi and British-Iranian Mehran Raouf, to more than 10 years in prison, each on national security charges, their lawyer said on Wednesday. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners in recent years, mostly on espionage and security-related charges. They have accused the Islamic Republic of trying to win concessions from other countries through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up. Tehran, which does not recognise dual nationality, say such arrests are based on its criminal code and denies holding people for political reasons. (Reuters)

08-01-2021
Syria Conflict

The United States, Britain and Israel all accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack last week on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two people on board, raising fears of an escalating maritime war in the Middle East.

The United States, Britain and Israel on Sunday all accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack last week on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two people on board, raising fears of an escalating maritime war in the Middle East, as Tehran denied responsibility for the strike. ­American and Israeli officials had previously said that Thursday’s attack on the Liberian-flagged Mercer Street bore the hallmarks of an operation by Iran, which has been accused of deploying attack drones in the past. The Mercer Street is managed by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based company owned by an Israeli billionaire. Those killed included a British national and a Romanian citizen, the company said. (Washington Post)

07-30-2021
Human Rights

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Iranian authorities to "immediately and unconditionally" release those detained during protests against water shortages and economic hardships in Khuzestan and other provinces.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Iranian authorities to "immediately and unconditionally" release those detained during protests against water shortages and economic hardships in Khuzestan and other provinces and to investigate the abusive use of lethal force. Demonstrations than began on July 15 in dozens of towns and cities in Khuzestan, a province with a large ethnic Arab population, later expanded to other regions of Iran, including parts of Tehran, amid the worst drought in Iran in at least 50 years that has triggered weeks of power blackouts. Thousands of workers in Iran's oil industry have also launched strikes for better wages and working conditions. (RFE/RL)

07-28-2021
Terrorism

Cybersecurity researchers said that hackers with ties to the Iranian government targeted U.S. defense contractors in attempts to install malware, including by posing as a United Kingdom-based aerobics instructor.

Cybersecurity researchers said that hackers with ties to the Iranian government targeted U.S. defense contractors in attempts to install malware, including by posing as a United Kingdom-based aerobics instructor.  Security software firm Proofpoint said in a Wednesday report that researchers had identified “a years-long social engineering and targeted malware campaign by the Iranian-state aligned threat actor TA456,” also known as “Tortoiseshell.”  The California-based cybersecurity firm said that “TA456 built a relationship across corporate and personal communication platforms with an employee of a small subsidiary of an aerospace defense contractor,” by using the social media persona "Marcella 'Marcy' Flores." (The Hill)

07-27-2021
Terrorism

Five secret documents allegedly showing Iranian plans to hack infrastructure in Western countries, including in Europe, were publicized by Sky News.

Five secret documents allegedly showing Iranian plans to hack infrastructure in Western countries, including in Europe, were publicized by Sky News late Monday night. Although there have been reports of such hacks by Iran and others in the past, it is unusual for a media organization to obtain actual internal planning documents for Unit 13, the cyber unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some of the potential hacks the IRGC cyber group might be planning would target a cargo ship’s ballast water system, which could cause irreparable damage, according to the report. (Jerusalem Post)

07-25-2021
Human Rights

At least three people have been killed during violent protests over water shortages in Iran, according to state media.

At least three people have been killed during violent protests over water shortages in Iran, according to state media. The protests started in southwest Khuzestan province and spread to the nearby city of Aligoodarz in western Lorestan province. Authorities are blaming the deaths in Aligoordarz on "suspicious bullets shot by some unknown people who penetrated among peaceful protesters," state media said. (CNN)

07-20-2021
Nuclear Program

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said that a high-ranking committee has decided that an Iran-US agreement on the revival of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has to be rejected.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said July 20 that a high-ranking committee has decided that an Iran-US agreement on the revival of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has to be rejected. Rabiei said the decision was made despite an "agreement in principle" that has already been reached between Iran and American negotiators, who have been indirectly discussing their return to the JCPOA during six rounds of talks in Vienna. The other JCPOA parties present in the negotiations have been China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany. The spokesman said the committee within Iran's Supreme National Security Council dismissed the new deal on the grounds of "noncompliance" with a contentious parliamentary bill. (Al-Monitor)

07-15-2021
Terrorism

Facebook said it had taken down about 200 accounts run by a group of hackers in Iran as part of a cyber-spying operation that targeted mostly U.S. military personnel and people working at defense and aerospace companies.

Facebook said on Thursday it had taken down about 200 accounts run by a group of hackers in Iran as part of a cyber-spying operation that targeted mostly U.S. military personnel and people working at defense and aerospace companies. The social media giant said the group, dubbed 'Tortoiseshell' by security experts, used fake online personas to connect with targets, build trust sometimes over the course of several months and drive them onto other sites where they were tricked into clicking malicious links that would infect their devices with spying malware. "This activity had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation, while relying on relatively strong operational security measures to hide who's behind it," Facebook's investigations team said in a blog post. (Reuters)

07-13-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran’s outgoing president warned his country could enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels of 90% if it chose, though it still wanted to save its tattered nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran’s outgoing president on Wednesday warned his country could enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels of 90% if it chose, though it still wanted to save its tattered nuclear deal with world powers. President Hassan Rouhani’s comments, carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, came as he also criticized Iran’s wider theocracy for not allowing his government to reach a deal soon to restore the 2015 atomic accord. Rouhani’s powers have waned as the public soured on his government amid an economy suffering under U.S. sanctions. But his remarks signal Iran could take a more belligerent approach with the West as hard-line President-elect Ebrahim Raisi is due to take office next month. (Associated Press)

07-13-2021
Terrorism

An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn who has been a sharp critic of the Iranian government, Masih Alinejad, was the target of an international kidnapping plot orchestrated by an intelligence network in Iran, federal prosecutors said.

An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn who has been a sharp critic of the Iranian government was the target of an international kidnapping plot orchestrated by an intelligence network in Iran, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. In an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan, four Iranians were charged with conspiring to kidnap the journalist and author, Masih Alinejad. Ms. Alinejad was not identified by prosecutors, but confirmed in an interview that she was the intended target of the plot. Last year, Ms. Alinejad wrote in a newspaper article that Iranian government officials had unleashed a social media campaign calling for her abduction. (New York Times)

07-13-2021
Syria Conflict

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander urged Iraqi Shi'ite militias to step up attacks on U.S. targets during a meeting in Baghdad last week, three militia sources and two Iraqi security sources familiar with the gathering said.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander urged Iraqi Shi'ite militias to step up attacks on U.S. targets during a meeting in Baghdad last week, three militia sources and two Iraqi security sources familiar with the gathering said. American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked several times following the visit by an Iranian delegation led by Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief Hossein Taeb, which came after deadly U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed militias at the Syrian-Iraqi border on June 27. While encouraging retaliation, the Iranians advised the Iraqis not to go too far to avoid a big escalation, three militia sources briefed on the meeting said. (Reuters)

07-12-2021
Syria Conflict

Iraqi officials have accused Iran of reducing water flow from rivers shared by the two countries, violating international law and endangering Iraq’s agricultural sector and in some cases the populations drinking water supply.

Iraqi officials have accused Iran in recent days of reducing water flow from rivers shared by the two countries, violating international law and endangering Iraq’s agricultural sector and in some cases the populations drinking water supply. Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Hamedani on Sunday that water flow from Iran to Iraq has completely stopped and Baghdad considers to lodge a complaint with United Nations entities for breach of international laws and inflicting damage by cutting off rivers flowing across the border. Iran was accused last year of cutting off two main tributaries flowing into Tigris River also in the peak of summer, denying much needed water for two dams in Iraq. (Iran International)

07-08-2021
Syria Conflict

Rockets landed in and around the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, which houses the U.S. Embassy, causing material damage, Iraqi security forces said.

Rockets landed in and around the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, which houses the U.S. Embassy, causing material damage early Thursday, Iraqi security forces said. Two Katuysha rockets fell near the national security building, and in an open courtyard inside the Green Zone. A third rocket fell in a nearby residential area, damaging a civilian vehicle, the statement by the Iraqi security media cell said. The attack which came shortly before daybreak followed two separate attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in western Iraq and across the border in Syria, where U.S-led coalition forces are based. The drone attack Wednesday in eastern Syria was foiled while 14 rockets landed in Al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq, lightly wounding two personnel. (Associated Press)

07-07-2021
Human Rights

Iran imprisoned a journalist for reporting on the true extent of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, according to free-press watchdogs.

Iran imprisoned a journalist for reporting on the true extent of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, according to free-press watchdogs. Shahram Safari, a Kurdish freelance reporter, was sentenced to three months in prison on June 16 by a municipal court in Kermanshah, western Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Safari ran the local news Telegram channel, "Rawezh Press," in which he documented the number of COVID-19 cases in Iran, HRANA said. (Yahoo News)

07-04-2021
Syria Conflict

Israeli security officials said Iran is likely behind an alleged attack on a cargo ship in the northern Indian Ocean, Arabic TV stations reported Sunday, with the vessel having been hit by an "unknown weapon" which started a fire.

Israeli security officials said Iran is likely behind an alleged attack on a cargo ship in the northern Indian Ocean, Arabic TV stations reported Sunday, with the vessel having been hit by an "unknown weapon" which started a fire. The Al-Mayadeen Lebanese television channel reported early Sunday that the Liberian-flagged cargo ship, the Tyndall, was damaged this weekend in the wake of a series of sabotage incidents between Israeli and Iranian ships in the region. Although some outlets initially reported that the cargo ship was owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, sources later confirmed that it had been recently sold and the crew was not from Israel. The ship currently flies the Liberian flag, and defense officials from several countries in the region are still investigating the Sunday incident. (Newsweek)

07-02-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran plans to prevent inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog reviewing video footage of some nuclear sites until there is an agreement to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official told CNN.

Iran plans to prevent inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog reviewing video footage of some nuclear sites until there is an agreement to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official told CNN. The decision puts pressure on talks taking place in Vienna which are seeking to bring the US and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 deal. "If the talks succeed Iran will surely show the tapes to the IAEA," the official said. "Sharing the tapes depends on the way that the negotiations will proceed. The key to the question is the agreement. If they agree on something that will open the door for cooperation and better understanding including in the area of transparency." (CNN)

07-01-2021
Politics

Iran’s supreme leader promoted a hardline cleric to serve as head of the judiciary on Thursday, amid international calls for investigations into allegations of abuses.

Iran’s supreme leader promoted a hardline cleric to serve as head of the judiciary on Thursday, amid international calls for investigations into allegations of abuses. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, now the judiciary's deputy head, will replace Ebrahim Raisi, who takes office in August as president after winning a June 18 election. Ejei was put on U.S. and EU sanctions blacklists a decade ago for his role in a crackdown on a popular uprising when he served as intelligence minister during a disputed election. (Reuters)

07-01-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has been restricting U.N. nuclear inspectors' access to its main uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, citing security concerns after what it says was an attack on the site by Israel in April, diplomats say.

Iran has been restricting U.N. nuclear inspectors' access to its main uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, citing security concerns after what it says was an attack on the site by Israel in April, diplomats say. The standoff, which one official said has been going on for weeks, is in the course of being resolved, diplomats said, but it has also raised tensions with the West just as indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the Iran nuclear deal have adjourned without a date set for their resumption. It follows various moves by Iran that breach the 2015 nuclear deal or have angered Washington and its allies, ranging from enriching uranium to close to weapons-grade to failing to explain the origin of uranium particles that the U.N. nuclear watchdog found at several undeclared sites. (Reuters)

06-29-2021
Human Rights

Three Christians from the Church of Iran denomination have each been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of "engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime" and fined four million Rials ($95).

Three Christians from the Church of Iran denomination have each been sentenced to five years in prison and fined four million Rials ($95) on Saturday. They were sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, in the area of northern Iran, after being convicted of "engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime." The three men, named as Amin Khaki, Milad Goudarzi and Alireza Nourmohammadi, are all appealing their sentences. They were charged with “sectarian activities” during the trial, valid under a new amendment to the Iranian penal code. (Jerusalem Post)

06-25-2021
Human Rights

The BBC has complained to the UN about Iran's harassment of staff at the BBC Persian service.

The BBC has complained to the UN about Iran's harassment of staff at the BBC Persian service. It says Iranian intelligence agents have threatened to kidnap London staff and take them to Iran. This is not the first time the BBC has taken the rare step of appealing to the UN for their safety. Iran has previously denied the allegations, and accused BBC Persian of spreading false information to encourage its government's overthrow. (BBC)

06-23-2021
Human Rights

Rights groups have called on Iran to halt the execution of a man for a murder committed while he was still a child.

Rights groups have called on Iran to halt the execution of a man for a murder committed while he was still a child. Hossein Shahbazi is due to be hanged on Monday following the death of a teenager during a group fight when he was 17. He would be the first person to be executed this year in Iran after committing a crime as a minor, according to Amnesty International. (The National)

06-21-2021
Extremism

Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said the Islamic Republic wouldn’t stop supporting Shiite militia groups fighting across the Middle East or rein in its missile program.

Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Monday said the Islamic Republic wouldn’t stop supporting Shiite militia groups fighting across the Middle East or rein in its missile program, rebuffing a key goal of the Biden administration as it negotiates a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal. President Biden has said he wants any fresh agreement on Iran’s nuclear activities to lead to broader discussions on how to reduce its military footprint in the Middle East. But in his first press conference in Tehran after winning Friday’s election, Mr. Raisi ruled out such an approach. “Regional and missile issues are not negotiable,” said the 60-year-old senior cleric. (Wall Street Journal)

06-20-2021
Politics

Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, a vote that both propelled the supreme leader’s protege into Tehran’s highest civilian position and saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.

Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, a vote that both propelled the supreme leader’s protege into Tehran’s highest civilian position and saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. The election of Ebrahim Raisi, already sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, became more of a coronation after his strongest competition found themselves disqualified from running in Saturday’s vote. That sparked calls for a boycott and many apparently did stay home — out of over 59 million eligible voters, only 28.9 million voted. Of those voting, some 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates. (AP)

06-17-2021
Military

The Iranian navy ships believed to be originally headed toward Venezuela changed course early this week and are now steaming north up the west coast of Africa, U.S. officials said.

The Iranian navy ships believed to be originally headed toward Venezuela changed course early this week and are now steaming north up the west coast of Africa, U.S. officials said. The ships, which U.S. officials believe may have been preparing to conduct an arms transfer, have appeared to change course several times during their journey from Iran — and could do so again. But after the course change early this week, they are likely now headed either into the Mediterranean — potentially planning to sail off of Syria — or north toward Russia, according to a defense official briefed on the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject. U.S. officials believe the course change indicates that a diplomatic campaign to urge governments in the Western Hemisphere to turn away the ships was successful, the official said. The Iranian frigate Sahand and afloat staging base Makran charted a new course after Biden administration officials publicly and privately urged the governments of Venezuela, Cuba and other countries in the region not to allow them to dock, POLITICO reported. (Politico)

06-15-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has made 6.5 kg (14 lb) of uranium enriched to up to 60%, the government said on Tuesday, detailing a move that rattled the country's nuclear talks with world powers by taking the fissile material a step towards nuclear weapons-grade of 90%.

Iran has made 6.5 kg (14 lb) of uranium enriched to up to 60%, the government said on Tuesday, detailing a move that rattled the country's nuclear talks with world powers by taking the fissile material a step towards nuclear weapons-grade of 90%. Government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted by state media as saying the country had also produced 108 kg of uranium enriched to 20% purity, indicating quicker output than the rate required by the Iranian law that created the process. Iran said in April it would begin enriching uranium to 60% purity, a move that would take the uranium much closer to the 90% suitable for a nuclear bomb, after Tehran accused arch-foe Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear site. (Asharq al-Awsat)

06-15-2021
Nuclear Program

Germany’s federal intelligence agency released a report detailing security threats faced by the federal republic in 2020, including Iran’s drive to obtain illicit technology for its nuclear weapons program.

Germany’s federal intelligence agency on Tuesday released a report detailing security threats faced by the federal republic in 2020, ranging from Iran’s drive to obtain illicit technology for its nuclear weapons program to its increased attempts to secure material for its missile program. The report revealed a significant increase in membership and support for Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, who are active in Germany. The Jerusalem Post examined the 420-page German-language report for The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution—the formal name for the national intelligence agency. According to the report, “the indications of proliferation-relevant procurement attempts by the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program increased in 2020.” (Jerusalem Post)

06-14-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have revealed a collection of long-range drones that could hit other countries in the region, including Israel.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have revealed a collection of long-range drones that could hit other countries in the region, including Israel. On Sunday, video footage emerged of Iraqi groups in the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella organisation of militias, parading an array of apparently new unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Most PMF groups are trained, advised and equipped by Iran, although they have formal status in Iraq's armed forces. (The National)

06-10-2021
Military

An Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from the Islamic Republic, Iran's state TV reported, without offering the vessels’ final destination.

An Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from the Islamic Republic, Iran's state TV reported on Thursday, without offering the vessels’ final destination. The trip by the new domestically built destroyer Sahand and the intelligence-gathering vessel Makran comes amid U.S. media reports, citing anonymous American officials, saying the ships were bound for Venezuela. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the ships' destination. The vessels departed last month from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas, said Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, Iran's deputy army chief. He described their mission as the Iranian navy's longest and most challenging voyage yet, without elaborating. (ABC News)

06-10-2021
Military

Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will give Tehran an unprecedented ability to track potential military targets across the Middle East and beyond.

Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will give Tehran an unprecedented ability to track potential military targets across the Middle East and beyond, according to current and former U.S. and Middle Eastern officials briefed on details of the arrangement. The plan would deliver to the Iranians a Russian-made Kanopus-V satellite equipped with a high-resolution camera that would greatly enhance Iran’s spying capabilities, allowing continuous monitoring of facilities ranging from Persian Gulf oil refineries and Israeli military bases to Iraqi barracks that house U.S. troops, the officials said. The launch could happen within months, they said. While the Kanopus-V is marketed for civilian use, Iranian military officials have been heavily involved in the acquisition, and leaders of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have made multiple trips to Russia since 2018 to help negotiate the terms of the agreement, the officials said. (Washington Post)

06-09-2021
Syria Conflict

Iraq's government suffered an embarrassment after a rare move to limit impunity among Iran-linked militias instead resulted in a commander accused of several killings walking free from custody and into a hero's welcome.

Iraq's government suffered an embarrassment Wednesday after a rare move to limit impunity among Iran-linked militias instead resulted in a commander accused of several killings walking free from custody and into a hero's welcome. Although Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government issued no statement about the May 26 arrest of Qasim Musleh, a militia commander from the southern city of Karbala, the fallout from it has dominated news broadcasts and underscored the administration’s weakness as militias kill and intimidate members of a protest movement that brought Kadhimi to power. The arrest had sparked immediate controversy. Iran-linked militiamen arrived at the gates of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone within hours. The army was deployed. That standoff ended only when one of Kadhimi’s predecessors and political foes, Nouri al-Maliki, stepped in to defuse tensions, officials say. (Washington Post)

06-08-2021
Human Rights

A man serving a five-year jail sentence on political charges in Iran has died in custody, activists said, accusing the authorities of contributing to his death by neglecting his medical conditions.

A man serving a five-year jail sentence on political charges in Iran has died in custody, activists said, accusing the authorities of contributing to his death by neglecting his medical conditions. Sasan Niknafs had since July 2020 been serving a sentence on charges including disseminating “propaganda” against the state and Iran’s leadership, the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) and Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said in separate statements late Monday. Both said that they held the head of the Iranian judiciary Ebrahim Raisi responsible for his death, the cause of which was not specified. (AFP)

06-07-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has failed to answer questions about the discovery of uranium particles at former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said, calling on Tehran to provide information “without further delay.”

Iran has failed to answer questions about the discovery of uranium particles at former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Monday, calling on Tehran to provide information “without further delay.” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been pushing Iran for answers on three sites dating back many years where inspections had revealed traces of uranium of man-made origin, suggesting they were once connected to Iran’s nuclear program. The issue is separate from the ongoing negotiations aimed at bringing the United States back into Iran's 2015 nuclear accord with world powers. (AP)

06-02-2021
Terrorism

The Iranian regime has reportedly begun to restock its Islamist proxy in the Gaza Strip - Hamas, which entirely controls the enclave - with the resources to produce thousands of new rockets.

The Iranian regime has reportedly begun to restock its Islamist proxy in the Gaza Strip - Hamas, which entirely controls the enclave - with the resources to produce thousands of new rockets, according to a report on Tehran state TV. In the recent 11-day conflict, which ended last month and for which a fragile Egyptian-brokered ceasefire still holds, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired more than 4,300 rockets toward Israel's population centers. For nearly two weeks, Israel's citizens were forced to sporadically seek refuge in bomb shelters as terrorists fired rockets indiscriminately. "With the end of the Israeli regime’s latest aggression, the Palestinian resistance has resumed the process of rocket production," Fathi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ politburo, was quoted as saying over the Memorial Day weekend by Iran’s state-run Fars News Agency, reported The Washington Free Beacon. (i24 News)

05-31-2021
Nuclear Program

The United Nations' atomic watchdog hasn't been able to access data important to monitoring Iran's nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency said.

The United Nations' atomic watchdog hasn't been able to access data important to monitoring Iran's nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency said Monday. In its May 31 report, obtained by CBS News, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that it has "not had access" to several key pieces of information since February 23. These include data on Iran's stockpiles and production of heavy water, "the data and recordings collected" by equipment designed to monitor centrifuges and "the data from [the Agency's] online enrichment monitors and electronic seals" as well as "the measurement recordings registered by its installed measurement devices."  Since February, although the IAEA had access to relevant buildings at Iran's Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites, "it has not been able to perform daily access upon request," the report said. The most troubling point in the report is that the international watchdog agency has been unable to verify what Iran is doing at some of the sites. (AP)

05-31-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has failed to explain traces of uranium found at several undeclared sites, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog showed possibly setting up a fresh diplomatic clash between Tehran and the West that could derail wider nuclear talks.

Iran has failed to explain traces of uranium found at several undeclared sites, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog showed on Monday, possibly setting up a fresh diplomatic clash between Tehran and the West that could derail wider nuclear talks. Three months ago Britain, France and Germany scrapped a U.S.-backed plan for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors to criticise Iran for failing to fully explain the origin of the particles; the three backed off as IAEA chief Rafael Grossi announced fresh talks with Iran. "After many months, Iran has not provided the necessary explanation for the presence of the nuclear material particles at any of the three locations where the Agency has conducted complementary accesses (inspections)," a report by Grossi to member states seen by Reuters said. (Reuters)

05-29-2021
Syria Conflict

U.S. military officials in Iraq have grown increasingly alarmed over attacks by Iran-backed militias using drones to evade detection systems around military bases and diplomatic facilities.

U.S. military officials in Iraq have grown increasingly alarmed over attacks by Iran-backed militias using drones to evade detection systems around military bases and diplomatic facilities. In place of rockets, militiamen have turned at times to small, fixed-wing drones that fly too low to be picked up by defensive systems, military officials and diplomats say. An official with the U.S.-led coalition described the evolving drone threat as the military mission’s biggest concern in Iraq. In April, a drone strike targeted a CIA hangar inside the airport complex in the northern city of Irbil, according to officials familiar with the matter. The drone’s flight was tracked to within 10 miles of the site, but its path was then lost as it moved into a civilian flight path, the coalition official said. (Washington Post)

05-27-2021
Terrorism

Hamas’s chief in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar has said his organization has sufficient financial resources mostly provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran and will not touch aid money sent for reconstruction.

Hamas’s chief in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar has said his organization has sufficient financial resources mostly provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran and will not touch aid money sent for reconstruction. Palestinian groups in Gaza and Iranian officials more openly admit the degree of Iran’s support in providing arms, weapons know-how, training and cash to enable militants to fire rockets and missiles at Israel, after a ten-day-long military confrontation earlier this month. Militants fired thousands of projectiles at civilian targets in Israel. Sinwar said, “We have sufficient financial resources… a large part of which are from Iran, and another part comes from Arab and Muslim donors and free people of the world who stand in solidarity with our people and their rights.” (Iran International)

05-27-2021
Syria Conflict

After Iraqi government forces arrested a paramilitary commander, Iraqi militias backed by Iran mounted a show of force in and around the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad, in a confrontation that goes to the heart of who controls security in Iraq.

Iraq’s leader has been under intense pressure to rein in the dozens of paramilitary groups that are nominally under the command of the Iraqi government but have proved seemingly impossible for him to control. That was made abundantly clear this week, when Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered a move against one militia leader and quickly paid a price. After government forces arrested a paramilitary commander on Wednesday, Iraqi militias backed by Iran mounted a show of force in and around the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad, in a confrontation that goes to the heart of who controls security in Iraq. (New York Times)

05-27-2021
Politics

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed the rejection of heavyweight moderate and conservative candidates for Iran's June presidential election, in which two leading hardliners fiercely loyal to him will stand against each other.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday endorsed the rejection of heavyweight moderate and conservative candidates for Iran's June presidential election, in which two leading hardliners fiercely loyal to him will stand against each other. The Guardian Council, a hardline vetting body that approves candidates, has qualified just seven of the 590 candidates for the June 18 election, including hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. "The honorable Guardian Council, in accordance with its duty, did what it had to do and what it deemed necessary to do and identified the candidates," Khamenei said, according to state television. (Reuters)

05-27-2021
Human Rights

Iranian authorities waged a campaign of harassment and abuse against the families of people who died in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s (IRGC) downing of a Ukrainian airliner in January last year.

Iranian authorities waged a campaign of harassment and abuse against the families of people who died in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s (IRGC) downing of a Ukrainian airliner in January last year, Human Rights Watch claimed on Thursday. The organization spoke to 31 family members of victims and those with direct knowledge of the authorities’ treatment of the families between October, and January this year. It said: “Iran’s security agencies had arbitrarily detained, summoned, abusively interrogated, tortured, and otherwise mistreated victims’ family members.” (Arab News)

05-26-2021
Nuclear Program

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran is enriching uranium at purity levels that “only countries making bombs are reaching”.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran is enriching uranium at purity levels that “only countries making bombs are reaching”. Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Financial Times the situation was “very concerning” as Iran’s nuclear programme had become more sophisticated over the past two years. (Financial Times)

05-25-2021
Politics

Iran’s electoral body disqualified dozens of candidates for the country’s June presidential election, including nearly all moderates and reformists.

Iran’s electoral body disqualified dozens of candidates for the country’s June presidential election, including nearly all moderates and reformists, a step that narrows the spectrum for political participation at a time when the Islamic Republic faces growing domestic discontent. The culling of candidates near the center of Iranian politics helps smooth a path to victory for Ebrahim Raisi, a leading hard-line cleric who was defeated in the 2017 election. Analysts warn the move risks reducing voter turnout and further diminishing the popularity of a clerical-led system that has suppressed repeated bouts of political and economic unrest. “It seems the hard-liners’ plan to fully monopolize power in their hands very much overshadows any desire to present elections in the Islamic Republic as proof of the system’s legitimacy,” said Ali Fathollah-Nejad, a scholar affiliated with Freie Universität Berlin. (Wall Street Journal)

05-23-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has increased its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to 25 kilograms (55 pounds), Iranian state media reported.

Iran has increased its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to 25 kilograms (55 pounds), Iranian state media reported, potentially adding to complications dogging efforts to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. "So far, we have produced 25 kilograms of 60% uranium, which, except for countries with nuclear weapons, no other country is able to produce," Iranian media quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as saying. (Reuters)

05-23-2021
Extremism

The leadership of Iran, engaged in a long shadow war with Israel on land, air and sea, did not try to conceal the pleasure it took in the most recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The leadership of Iran, engaged in a long shadow war with Israel on land, air and sea, did not try to conceal the pleasure it took in the most recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over the 11 days of fighting this month, Tehran praised the damage being done to its enemy, and the state news media and conservative commentators highlighted Iran’s role in providing weaponry and military training to Palestinian militants in Gaza to hammer Israeli communities. Iran has for decades supported Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza and whose own interests in battling Israel align with Iran’s. Experts say that over the years, Iran has provided Hamas with financial and political support, weapons and technology and training to build its own arsenal of advanced rockets that can reach deep into Israeli territory. (New York Times)

05-21-2021
Military

Iran displayed a home-built combat drone that it said had a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), naming it "Gaza" in honour of the Palestinians' struggle against Israel.

Iran displayed a home-built combat drone that it said had a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), naming it "Gaza" in honour of the Palestinians' struggle against Israel, state media reported. Iran has a large missile and drone programme, regarding such weapons as an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the United States and other adversaries in the event of war. The West sees Iran's missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. Iran denies trying to build nuclear arms. (Reuters)

05-21-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran has hand-picked hundreds of trusted fighters from among the cadres of its most powerful militia allies in Iraq, forming smaller, elite and fiercely loyal factions in a shift away from relying on large groups with which it once exerted influence.

Iran has hand-picked hundreds of trusted fighters from among the cadres of its most powerful militia allies in Iraq, forming smaller, elite and fiercely loyal factions in a shift away from relying on large groups with which it once exerted influence. The new covert groups were trained last year in drone warfare, surveillance and online propaganda and answer directly to officers in Iran's Quds Force, the arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) that controls its allied militia abroad. They have been responsible for a series of increasingly sophisticated attacks against the United States and its allies, according to accounts by Iraqi security officials, militia commanders and Western diplomatic and military sources. (Reuters)

05-20-2021
Extremism

The commander of Iran’s IRGC-Corps Quds Force Brig.-Gen. Esmail Qaani sent a letter to Mohammed Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas’s military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, in which he pledged that Tehran would not abandon the Palestinians.

As Israel and Hamas were reported on Thursday to be close to reaching a ceasefire agreement, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force Brig.-Gen. Esmail Qaani sent a letter to Mohammed Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas’s military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, in which he pledged that Tehran would not abandon the Palestinians. The latest round of fighting with Israel, Qaani said, “has opened a new era in the conflict with the Zionist enemy.” Qaani praised Hamas and the Gaza-based terrorist groups for engaging in a “great battle that once again proved the weakness of the enemy.” (Jerusalem Post)

05-20-2021
Terrorism

Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has ruled that the shooting down of Flight PS752 by Iran was an intentional act of terrorism.

Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has ruled that the shooting down of Flight PS752 by Iran was an intentional act of terrorism. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight with two surface-to-air missiles shortly after takeoff in Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020, killing all 176 passengers onboard. There were 138 passengers onboard with ties to Canada, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents. "The plaintiffs have established that the shooting down of Flight 752 by the defendants was an act of terrorism and constitutes 'terrorist activity'..."Justice Edward Belobaba wrote in his decision issued Thursday. (CBC)

05-20-2021
Terrorism

Over the past 10 days, Palestinian militants have unleashed one of the most intense attacks on Israel in decades, firing more than 4,000 short-range rockets and deploying a new, explosive drone intended to evade the country’s Iron Dome air-defense system.

Over the past 10 days, Palestinian militants have unleashed one of the most intense attacks on Israel in decades, firing more than 4,000 short-range rockets and deploying a new, explosive drone intended to evade the country’s Iron Dome air-defense system. Behind this onslaught, defense officials in Israel and security analysts say, is an extensive arsenal built with technical expertise from Iran and growing local skills in arms manufacturing. Israeli military leaders say they have destroyed more than two dozen missile-building factories in Gaza with airstrikes in recent days. But they estimate that the militants still have thousands of rockets left and the technical capacity to begin building more when the fighting stops. (Wall Street Journal)

05-19-2021
Human Rights

A British-Iranian labour activist arrested in Iran faces a minimum 10-year jail term after being accused of being the leader of a communist cell, his supporters have learned.

A British-Iranian labour activist arrested in Iran faces a minimum 10-year jail term after being accused of being the leader of a communist cell, his supporters have learned. Mehran Raoof, 64, has been held in solitary confinement at Tehran’s Evin jail since he was detained in October last year, along with other labour and human rights activists who gathered in a Tehran café. He has only been seen once by his lawyer at a hearing last month when he was accused of unspecified security offences, but a 200-page file seen by his legal team now accuses him of being the leader of a banned communist group. (The National)

05-14-2021
Extremism

A group of pro-Iran Twitter accounts flooded the platform with "massive surges of unmitigated antisemitism" and disinformation, enough to get it trending, as Israel stepped up military strikes against the Tehran-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza responsible

A group of pro-Iran Twitter accounts flooded the platform with "massive surges of unmitigated antisemitism" and disinformation, enough to get it trending, as Israel stepped up military strikes against the Tehran-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza responsible for launching hundreds of rockets at civilian targets this week, according to a nonprofit, politically neutral research institution. The Network Contagion Research Institute, or NCRI, has unveiled its findings, showing a coordinated effort to push hateful content that called for "Death to Israel" and claimed "Hitler was right." "What you have are enemy regimes that are utilizing the means of open discourse, free speech, in order to undermine democracy, even as they're funding terrorist organizations that are attacking democracy," Joel Finkelstein, the NCRI’s director and co-founder, told Fox News Friday. (Fox Business)

05-12-2021
Terrorism

Berlin security services say Iranian hackers were behind a cyber attack that targeted German companies by duping their employees into installing malware.

Berlin security services say Iranian hackers were behind a cyber attack that targeted German companies by duping their employees into installing malware. The attack was part of a wider effort by Iranian operatives to gain access to sensitive information in Germany, an intelligence report said. In the latest breach, workers at German companies received phishing emails that purported to be messages offering them a job.  When they clicked on the corresponding links, they unwittingly installed malware on their computer. (The National)

05-12-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has enriched uranium to slightly higher purity than previously thought due to “fluctuations” in the process, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said.

Iran has enriched uranium to slightly higher purity than previously thought due to “fluctuations” in the process, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Wednesday. The report underscores the challenges diplomats face in ongoing talks, that began in April, to bring the United States back into the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, which is supported by U.S. President Joe Biden. The initial announcement from Iran that it would start enriching to 60% — which is not yet weapon’s grade but its highest purity yet — came just as the talks were to begin in Vienna. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi reported to member agencies on Tuesday that the latest inspections confirmed Iran continues to enrich uranium at up to 60% purity in its Natanz plant. (AP)

05-11-2021
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Palestinians to build up their fighting power to stop Israel's "brutality", saying Israelis "only understand the language of force", Iran's state TV reported.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Palestinians on Tuesday to build up their fighting power to stop Israel's "brutality", saying Israelis "only understand the language of force", Iran's state TV reported. "Zionists understand nothing but the language of force, so the Palestinians must increase their power and resistance to force the criminals to surrender and stop their brutal acts," Ayatollah Khamenei said. Israel intensified its air strikes on Gaza on Tuesday as rocket barrages hit Israeli towns for a second day in a deepening conflict in which at least 28 people in the Palestinian enclave and two in Israel have been killed. (Reuters)

05-10-2021
Military

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired about 30 warning shots after Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats came close to U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Defense Department said.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired about 30 warning shots after Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats came close to U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Defense Department said Monday. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Coast Guard cutter Maui fired two volleys from a .50-caliber machine gun Monday when two Revolutionary Guard fast boats "operated in an unsafe and unprofessional manner in close proximity" to six U.S. vessels, including the submarine USS Georgia. Two Revolutionary Guard speedboats broke away from a group of 13, according to the Pentagon, and went to the opposite side of the U.S. formation. They approached Maui and a Navy ship, the USS Squall, at more than 32 knots with their weapons uncovered and manned. (NBC News)

05-09-2021
Syria Conflict

The U.S. Navy announced it seized an arms shipment of thousands of assault weapons, machines guns and sniper rifles hidden aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea, apparently bound for Yemen to support the country's Houthi rebels.

The U.S. Navy announced Sunday it seized an arms shipment of thousands of assault weapons, machines guns and sniper rifles hidden aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea, apparently bound for Yemen to support the country's Houthi rebels. An American defense official told The Associated Press that the Navy's initial investigation found the vessel came from Iran, again tying the Islamic Republic to arming the Houthis despite a United Nations arms embargo. Iran's mission to the U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though Tehran has denied in the past giving the rebels weapons. The seizure, one of several amid the yearslong war in Yemen, comes as the U.S. and others try to end a conflict that spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. The arms shipment, described as sizeable, shows that the war may still have far to run. (AP)

05-07-2021
Extremism

Iran's Supreme Leader called on Muslim nations to keep fighting against Israel, which he said was not a state but a "terrorist garrison" against the Palestinians.

Iran's Supreme Leader called on Muslim nations on Friday to keep fighting against Israel, which he said was not a state but a "terrorist garrison" against the Palestinians. "The fight against this despotic regime is the fight against oppression and the fight against terrorism. And this is a public duty to fight against this regime," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech. Khamenei was speaking on Iran's annual Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, held on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (Reuters)

05-07-2021
Nuclear Program

An intelligence report from Germany disclosed detailed information about secretive methods which the Islamic Republic of Iran uses to cover up its attempts to secure illicit technology for the world’s most deadly weapons.

A new intelligence report from Germany’s northernmost state Schleswig-Holstein disclosed detailed information on Tuesday about the secretive methods which the Islamic Republic of Iran uses to cover up its attempts to secure illicit technology for the world’s most deadly weapons. “Proliferation-relevant countries such as Iran, North Korea and Syria, but also Pakistan, try to circumvent safety precautions and legal export regulations and to disguise illegal procurement activities. To do this, they turn to mostly conspiratorial means and methods,” wrote the intelligence agency. … The Iranian regime’s methods to obtain illicit weapons of mass destruction technology, according to the intelligence report, include “The creation of a neutral firm to deceive the buyer about the true nature of the sale through a state-controlled company; the establishment of illegal procurement networks which belong to the front companies and middlemen.” (Jerusalem Post)

05-06-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Quds Force commander, Hassan Erlo, is acting as de facto ruler of areas controlled by the Houthi militia, a senior Yemeni official has said.

Iran’s Quds Force commander, Hassan Erlo, is acting as de facto ruler of areas controlled by the Houthi militia, a senior Yemeni official has said. Erlo’s movements are highlighted by the Houthis’ media outfit, which confirms that he is acting as a leader, Muammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s minister of information, culture and tourism, said on Wednesday. Eryani was quoted by state news agency SABA as saying that the Quds Force commander’s actions show that the Houthi leadership takes political, military and administrative orders from the Tehran regime. (Arab News)

05-06-2021
Extremism

"Israel could be blown up in a single operation," said the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami.

"Israel could be blown up in a single operation," said the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami. Known for his harsh anti-Israeli rhetoric, Salami downplayed the Jewish state's defenses as a security "bulb" that has been "burst" following a series of recent incidents. The Iranian commander enumerated Israel's "vulnerabilities" in "domino-style" attacks, for which he suggested the Islamic Republic's responsibility. Salami referred to a powerful explosion at an Israeli plant for advanced weapons April 21. Israeli media, however, have reported that the blast took place during a routine test and left no casualties. The general included in his list the explosion at a big refinery in the city of Haifa, which Israeli officials described as a "fire" that they quickly contained. (Al-Monitor)

05-06-2021
Politics

Iran's election-vetting body has spelt out conditions for running in the presidential poll, potentially barring several high-profile candidates.

Iran's election-vetting body has spelt out conditions for running in next month's presidential poll, potentially barring several high-profile candidates, local media reported Thursday. The conservative-dominated Guardian Council complained earlier this week of the "unpleasant situation" that allowed would-be candidates lacking basic requirements to register to run in the election held every four years. Under the Islamic republic's constitution, candidates for the presidency require vague qualifications such as being among "political and religious" figures. (AFP)

05-05-2021
Nuclear Program

A report authored by the Netherlands' General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) asserts that the Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to obtain technology in 2020 for weapons of mass destruction.

A damning new report authored by the Netherlands' General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) asserts that the Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to obtain technology in 2020 for weapons of mass destruction. The Dutch intelligence document, which was published in April, says the security service "investigated networks that tried to obtain the knowledge and materials to develop weapons of mass destruction. Multiple acquisition attempts have been frustrated by the intervention of the services.” According to the Dutch report, "The joint Counter-Proliferation Unit [UCP] of the AIVD and the MIVD [the country’s Military Intelligence and Security Service] is investigating how countries try to obtain the knowledge and goods they need to make weapons of mass destruction. Countries such as Syria, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea also tried to acquire such goods and technology in Europe and the Netherlands last year." (Jerusalem Post)

05-05-2021
Syria Conflict

Two rockets landed at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, the third such attack in three days, representing an increase in pro-Iranian rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq.

On Tuesday two rockets landed at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq. On Monday three to six rockets fell near Balad air base in Iraq, according to various reports. The base houses US contractors and has been targeted numerous times in the past by pro-Iranian militias targeting Americans. This appears to be the third attack in three days, representing an increase in pro-Iranian rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq. The attackers frequently use 107-mm. rockets supplied by Iran, although they have also used drones in a new escalation. The attacks are designed to provide Iran leverage, to harass the US and to create plausible deniability for Iran. (Jerusalem Post)

05-05-2021
Military

Analysis of satellite imagery obtained by the International Institute for Strategic Studies revealed the construction of a new set of seven silos storing advanced new missiles in southern Iran.

Analysis of satellite imagery obtained by the International Institute for Strategic Studies revealed the construction of a new set of seven silos storing advanced new missiles in southern Iran. Defence analysts at the IISS told The National the storage facility is placed on a steep mountainside and is designed to hold dozens of the weapons at a particular slant, for precision targeting of the missiles. A missile being fired by Iran during testing of a new generation of cruise missiles in June 2020, capable of hitting targets at a distance of 280 kilometres. The imagery given to The National shows the bank of launch sites set into mountainous terrain close to the southern Iranian town of Haji Abad. The steep mountainside and particular slant of the seven silos strongly point to a limited direction that would cause concern for military airbases in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. (The National)

05-04-2021
Human Rights

Six United Nations rights experts are calling for the immediate release of imprisoned dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, who they say is reportedly so ill he risks "serious complications and possible death.”

Six United Nations rights experts are calling for the immediate release of imprisoned dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, who they say is reportedly so ill he risks "serious complications and possible death.” "We are seriously concerned at the mistreatment of Mohammad Nourizad and his continued imprisonment for expressing his opinion," the independent UN experts said in a joint statement issued on May 4. “It is clear that Mohammad Nourizad is not in a medical state to remain in prison,” they said, adding that his continued detention and the denial of adequate medical care “may amount to torture.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

05-04-2021
Anti-Americanism

Iran released a video clip depicting a fake attack of its military blowing up the U.S. Capitol.

Amid continued talks about a revived nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran, Iran released a video clip on Sunday depicting fake attack of its military blowing up the U.S. Capitol. The video came out on state-controlled Iranian television before the nation's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, gave a speech on Sunday, according to The Washington Free Beacon. In his talk, Khamenei praised the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who have carried out operations against the U.S. and whose leader, Qassem Soleimani, was killed by a drone strike by the Trump administration. The footage of the fake attack also came out the same day Iran's President Hassan Rouhani declared the U.S. had lost its "economic war" against his country, saying that sanctions against Tehran are at the "brink of extermination," his rhetoric painting a grim picture for the prospect of the two nations reaching a mutual agreement on a revived Iran nuclear deal. (Newsweek)

05-02-2021
Politics

Iran's supreme leader criticised its foreign minister, who said in a leaked interview that the elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and Tehran's nuclear dossier than him.

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday criticised its foreign minister, who said in a leaked interview that the elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and Tehran's nuclear dossier than him. In the interview, aired by the London-based Iran International Persian-language satellite news channel last week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he had "zero" influence over Iran’s foreign policy. Zarif has been the public face of Iranian diplomacy as it deals with a host of issues, including talks with world powers on how to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear accord that Washington abandoned three years ago. (Reuters)

04-29-2021
Human Rights

Iranian authorities are banning members of the persecuted Baha’i minority from burying their loved ones in empty plots at a cemetery near Tehran that they have used for decades.

Iranian authorities are banning members of the persecuted Baha’i minority from burying their loved ones in empty plots at a cemetery near Tehran that they have used for decades, instead insisting they bury them between existing graves within the cemetery or at the nearby Khavaran mass grave site for victims of the 1988 prison massacres, said Amnesty International today. The Khavaran mass grave site, which is believed to contain the remains of up to several hundred victims of the mass enforced disappearances and secret extrajudicial executions of 1988, has been bulldozed multiple times in recent decades and has gained national significance in the struggle for truth and justice. By pressuring Baha’i families to bury their loved ones there, Iranian authorities are putting the mass grave site at further risk of destruction, tampering with vital forensic evidence, and continuing to commit the crimes against humanity of enforced disappearance, torture and other inhumane acts against the families of those forcibly disappeared and secretly killed. (Amnesty International)

04-27-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran appears to have moved its weapons shipments to Syria and Lebanon from the land to ships that may be receiving protection from Russian vessels in the Mediterranean.

Amid confused reports of a drone attack on an Iranian ship in the Mediterranean on its way to Syria, Iran appears to have moved its weapons shipments to Syria and Lebanon from the land — where Israel has regularly tracked and destroyed them — to ships that may be receiving protection from Russian vessels in the Mediterranean. The Russian news agency Sputnik reported on April 17 from “special sources” that a triple, Russian-Iranian-Syrian battalion would be established in the Mediterranean to ensure the safe arrival in Syria of oil and flour shipments and other goods to Syrian ports. The defense sources say the ships documents claim they carry only oil, but there are indications that “oil is not the only cargo.” (Breaking Defense)

04-27-2021
Military

A U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots during a confrontation with three Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf, officials said, in a second high-risk encounter between U.S. and Iranian naval forces in the past month.

A U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots during a confrontation with three Iranian vessels on Monday in the Persian Gulf, officials said, in a second high-risk encounter between U.S. and Iranian naval forces in the past month. The incident on Monday and another in the region on April 2 marked the first in a year involving American warships. They occurred as the Biden administration presses for talks on renewing the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran. Talks began in Vienna earlier this month. In Monday’s standoff, Navy officials said that three small vessels commonly used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, swarmed two American ships operating in international waters in the northern area of the Persian Gulf. (Wall Street Journal)

04-25-2021
Nuclear Program

Iranian hardliners in the parliament have indicated that they will block a possible settlement in negotiations aimed at resuming the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian hardliners in the parliament have indicated that they will block a possible settlement in negotiations aimed at resuming the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “The results of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna must be in line with Iranian law, otherwise they will be illegal,” warned MP Alireza Salimi. Tasnim News Agency reported that a settlement between the two sides would lead Washington to partially lift the sanctions, however it would not be legal unless approved by parliament. (Asharq al-Awsat)

04-23-2021
Syria Conflict

Yemen's Houthi movement said it had launched attacks with drones on a military air base and oil facility in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Friday it had launched attacks with drones on a military air base and oil facility in Saudi Arabia, the latest indication that diplomacy to end the six year conflict has so far failed to take hold. The Houthi military spokesman said on Twitter the group had targeted the King Khalid air base with two drones and had struck a facility of Saudi Arabia's oil company Aramco with a drone in the southwestern Saudi city of Jizan. He later said the Houthis had launched a third strike on the air base. Earlier on Friday, Saudi state television quoted the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen as saying it had intercepted two explosives-laden drones fired by the Houthis at the city of Khamis Mushait, where the air base is located. There was no immediate confirmation of the Jizan attack or the third attack on the air base. (Reuters)

04-22-2021
Military

Iran flew a drone over a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, capturing detailed footage of fighter jets aligned on the deck, crewmen on board and other military equipment.

Iran flew a drone over a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, capturing detailed footage of fighter jets aligned on the deck, crewmen on board and other military equipment, according to a report. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, which said its drone filmed the warship as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, released the footage on Wednesday, the Express reported.  At one point the drone hovered over the carrier as a US Navy helicopter prepared to take off or land. (New York Post)

04-21-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has installed extra advanced centrifuges at its underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed, deepening Iran's breaches of its nuclear deal with major powers.

Iran has installed extra advanced centrifuges at its underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz that was hit by a blast last week, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog on Wednesday showed, deepening Iran's breaches of its nuclear deal with major powers. The explosion and a power outage damaged an unknown number of centrifuges and Iranian state TV has shown footage of machines that it says were replaced there. Iran has blamed Israel for the explosion. Israel has not commented formally on it. The International Atomic Energy Agency report was not clear on how many centrifuges are in use but it gave "up to" numbers of advanced machines installed at the plant that were higher than previously indicated. The report made no mention of the explosion or its effect on the plant's activity. (Reuters)

04-19-2021
Nuclear Program

Satellite images show that four new buildings have gone up at Iran’s Parchin military complex, where explosives experiments related to nuclear weapons were conducted in the early 2000s.

Satellite images show that four new buildings have gone up at Iran’s Parchin military complex, where explosives experiments related to nuclear weapons were conducted in the early 2000s. The structures are surrounded by steep walls made of compacted earth to deflect explosions, intelligence consultancy group The Intel Lab said. This comes after the completion of the nearby extension in November 2020, comprising a dozen new buildings surrounded by High and Thick concrete blast walls. (Asharq al-Awsat)

04-16-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said that Tehran had started 60% uranium enrichment at its Natanz site, days after an explosion at the site that Tehran blamed on Israel.

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said on Friday that Tehran had started 60% uranium enrichment at its Natanz site, days after an explosion at the site that Tehran blamed on Israel. The Israeli security government cabinet will meet at 4:00 on Sunday to address the new announcement, Israeli media reported. Earlier the speaker of Iran’s parliament said Iranian scientists had successfully started enriching 60% uranium at 12.40 a.m. local time. "I am proud to announce that at 00:40 … Iranian scientists were able to produce 60% enriched uranium," he wrote. (Jerusalem Post)

04-10-2021
Nuclear Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani oversaw on live television the launch of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, a key component for nuclear weapons, while reiterating his country’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani oversaw on live television Saturday the launch of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, a key component for nuclear weapons, while reiterating his country’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation. Rouhani’s conflicting messages came as the country observed National Nuclear Technology Day, during which he was seen on state television ordering the injection of uranium gas into nearly 200 centrifuges and tests on other devices at the underground Natanz nuclear plant. “Once again, I stress that all our nuclear activities are peaceful and for non-military purposes,” Rouhani said during the ceremony at which more than 130 advances in its nuclear industry over the past year were unveiled, primarily in medicine, energy and agriculture. (VOA)

04-07-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has made 55 kg of uranium enriched to up to 20% - the point at which it is highly enriched - indicating quicker production than the 10 kg a month rate required by an Iranian law that created the process in January.

Iran has made 55 kg of uranium enriched to up to 20% - the point at which it is highly enriched - indicating quicker production than the 10 kg a month rate required by an Iranian law that created the process in January, Iranian authorities said on Wednesday. The disclosure comes a day after Tehran and Washington held what they described as “constructive” indirect talks in Vienna on Tuesday aimed at finding ways to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Iran’s hardline parliament passed a law last year that obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance, partly in reaction to former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018. (Reuters)

04-06-2021
Human Rights

A German-Iranian woman was returned to solitary confinement at Tehran’s Evin jail on the eve of talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

A German-Iranian woman was returned to solitary confinement at Tehran’s Evin jail on the eve of talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Nahid Taghavi, 66, was taken from a mainstream women’s wing to a section of the jail controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in which she was previously held for five months. Her family believes the move was intended to put pressure on Germany, one of the signatories to the nuclear accord, as Iran pushes for the lifting of US sanctions at talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna. (The National)

04-06-2021
Syria Conflict

Millions of crude oil barrels are on their way to Syria from Iran, violating U.S. sanctions.

Millions of crude oil barrels are on their way to Syria from Iran, violating U.S. sanctions. According to a civilian naval intelligence firm, there are four vessels with more than 3 million barrels combined on their way to the Baniyas oil refinery, near the Mediterranean coast. A satellite photo captured two days ago over the southern section of the Red Sea shows four vessels: Arman 114, Sam 121, Daran and Romina. The Arman 114 is formerly known as the Adrian Darya 1, a vessel in the center of the U.S.-Iran standoff in the summer of 2019. It was sanctioned by the Trump administration in August 2019, following its attempts to transfer the oil to Syria. (Fox News)

04-03-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran wants the United States to lift all sanctions and rejects any “step-by-step” easing of restrictions.

Iran wants the United States to lift all sanctions and rejects any “step-by-step” easing of restrictions, the foreign ministry said on Saturday ahead of planned talks in Vienna next week on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers. The comments came as France urged Iran to show a constructive stance in the indirect talks with Washington in the Austrian capital, which will be part of broader negotiations. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Tehran opposed any gradual easing of sanctions. (Reuters)

04-01-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun enriching uranium with a fourth cascade, or cluster, of advanced IR-2m machines at its underground Natanz plant, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed, in a further breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran has begun enriching uranium with a fourth cascade, or cluster, of advanced IR-2m machines at its underground Natanz plant, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed, in a further breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. It was the latest of many steps by Iran raising pressure on U.S. President Joe Biden with the two sides in a standoff over who should move first to salvage a deal that was meant to curb Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb, if it so intended. The deal imposed limits on Iran’s nuclear activities that it started breaching in 2019 in response to a U.S. withdrawal from the accord under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, as well as the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic that had been lifted under the agreement. (Reuters)

03-31-2021
Human Rights

Iran is “obsessively” executing death row inmates despite a decline in public support for capital punishment, rights activists said as they released a report on the death penalty in the country.

Iran is “obsessively” executing death row inmates despite a decline in public support for capital punishment, rights activists said Tuesday as they released a report on the death penalty in the country. Iran executed at least 267 prisoners last year, according to the report by the Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) and Iran Human Rights (IHR). At least four were juvenile offenders while nine were women, the annual report said. The overall figure indicates a downward trend in capital punishment in the Islamic republic since 2015, when 972 people were executed, and is the lowest number since the report was first published in 2008. (AFP)

03-31-2021
Syria Conflict

Along Iraq’s borders, a corrupt customs-evasion cartel is diverting billions of dollars away from state coffers to line the pockets of armed groups, political parties and crooked officials.

Along Iraq’s borders, a corrupt customs-evasion cartel is diverting billions of dollars away from state coffers to line the pockets of armed groups, political parties and crooked officials. The prime beneficiaries are Iran-linked Shiite paramilitaries that intimidate federal officials who dare obstruct them, sometimes through chillingly specific death threats, a six-month AFP investigation has found. The network is so well-oiled and entrenched that revenues are parceled out among rival groups with remarkably little friction, part of a parallel system that Iraq’s finance minister has described as “state plunder.” (AFP)

03-27-2021
Syria Conflict

China agreed to invest $400 billion in Iran over 25 years in exchange for a steady supply of oil to fuel its growing economy under a newly signed sweeping economic and security agreement.

China agreed to invest $400 billion in Iran over 25 years in exchange for a steady supply of oil to fuel its growing economy under a sweeping economic and security agreement signed on Saturday. The deal could deepen China’s influence in the Middle East and undercut American efforts to keep Iran isolated. But it was not immediately clear how much of the agreement can be implemented while the U.S. dispute with Iran over its nuclear program remains unresolved. President Biden has offered to resume negotiations with Iran over the 2015 nuclear accord that his predecessor, President Donald J. Trump, abrogated three years after it was signed. American officials say both countries can take synchonized steps to bring Iran into compliance with the terms of the agreement while the United States gradually lifts sanctions. (New York Times)

03-25-2021
Syria Conflict

An Iranian missile struck an Israeli ship sailing from Tanzania to India, Israel’s Channel 12 said, without saying where it got the information or how Iran was implicated.

An Iranian missile struck an Israeli ship sailing from Tanzania to India, Israel’s Channel 12 said, without saying where it got the information or how Iran was implicated. It’s the fourth time in about a month that the bitter enemies have traded allegations of attacks at sea, and comes amid heightened tensions as Israel opposes U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to rejoin the 2015 deal that limited Iran’s nuclear activities. Israel’s army spokesman didn’t comment, and there was no response from XT Management, the company Channel 12 cited as owning the Israeli ship. Officials in Iran, where a public holiday is being celebrated, couldn’t be reached for comment. (Bloomberg)

03-22-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran is hiding equipment from international officials that could enable it to build a nuclear bomb, according to a report in the Telegraph citing unnamed Western intelligence officials.

Iran is hiding equipment from international officials that could enable it to build a nuclear bomb, according to a Monday report. Unnamed Western intelligence officials told The Telegraph that they fear Iran is concealing essential parts and pumps for centrifuges that are used to enrich uranium to the weapons-grade level of 90 percent. The machinery is allegedly hidden at secret sites run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the report said. Iran denies its nuclear program has military goals, but has repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel and has said that it can enrich uranium to 90% quickly if it wants. (Times of Israel)

03-22-2021
Syria Conflict

Syrian opposition media outlets are reporting that the Iranian proxy militia, Kataib al-Imam Ali, has opened a new recruitment center at the heart of the regime-run northern city of Aleppo.

Syrian opposition media outlets are reporting that the Iranian proxy militia, Kataib al-Imam Ali, has opened a new recruitment center at the heart of the regime-run northern city of Aleppo. Establishing the drafting center took place with consent from the Syrian regime, said local sources. Javad al-Ghaffari, a prominent Iranian leader who is based in Aleppo, had met with officials at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Damascus to discuss and approve the operation. All those willing to join the militia, including army defectors and dodgers of compulsory military service, will be accepted, sources predicted. Regime forces will drop their pursuit of anyone drafted into the Iranian militia, even if they are ex-soldiers wanted for decamping or citizens accused of draft evasion. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

03-22-2021
Military

Iran is planning to expand its submarine fleet amid continued maritime tensions with the U.S., Israel and other powers.

Iran is planning to expand its submarine fleet amid continued maritime tensions with the U.S., Israel and other powers as President Joe Biden pushes for a diplomatic thaw between Washington, D.C. and Tehran despite regional violence. Rear-Admiral Amir Rastegari, the head of the Defense Ministry's marine industries organization arm, told the state-run IRNA on Monday that the navy is planning to provide "light and semi-heavy domestically-developed submarines" to the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC maritime area of responsibility is the Persian Gulf stretching to the Strait of Hormuz, Rastegari said. Iran's navy oversees the eastern portion of the Strait of Hormuz into the Indian Ocean. (Newsweek)

03-21-2021
Anti-Americanism

Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army post in the U.S. capital, and against the Army’s vice chief of staff.

Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army post in the U.S. capital, and against the Army’s vice chief of staff, two senior U.S. intelligence officials said. They said communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting “USS Cole-style attacks” against the Army post, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat pulled up alongside the Navy destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors. The intelligence also revealed threats to kill Gen. Joseph M. Martin and plans to infiltrate and surveil the installation, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Army post, one of the oldest in the country, is Martin’s official residence. (Associated Press)

03-21-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country was in “no hurry” to revive the nuclear deal and warned the U.S. its current policy toward the Islamic Republic was doomed to fail unless sanctions are effectively and fully removed.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country was in “no hurry” to revive the nuclear deal and warned the U.S. its current policy toward the Islamic Republic was doomed to fail unless sanctions are effectively and fully removed. Khamenei’s speech, marking the Persian new year in Iran, highlighted his impatience with the Biden administration’s decision to maintain sanctions and continue a standoff that started almost three years ago when former President Donald Trump abandoned the multilateral, 2015 nuclear deal. “We shouldn’t burn opportunities, but we shouldn’t hurry either,” Khamenei said, adding “we have a lot of patience and will continue to do our own thing. If they accepted and implemented our desired policy, everything will be fixed. If not, things will remain as it is and there’s nothing wrong with that.” (Bloomberg)

03-19-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran will cold test its redesigned Arak nuclear reactor as prelude to fully commissioning it later in the year, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said.

Iran will cold test its redesigned Arak nuclear reactor as prelude to fully commissioning it later in the year, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Friday. Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted by local media as saying the cold testing, which usually include the initial startup of fluid systems and support systems, will take place early in the Iranian new year that begins this Sunday. “In other words, we have advanced work in the field of fuel, storage, etc,” Kamalvandi said. (Reuters)

03-18-2021
Human Rights

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, is in critical condition and near death after months of prolonged solitary confinement.

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, is in critical condition and near death after months of prolonged solitary confinement, U.N. human rights experts said on Thursday. “Djalali’s situation is truly horrific,” the experts said. In an appeal calling on Iran to release him, they said he had been held in solitary confinement for more than 100 days, with prison officials shining bright lights in his cell round the clock to deprive him of sleep. “Medical issues have prevented him from eating properly, resulting in dramatic weight loss,” said the experts, who include the U.N. special rapporteurs on the situation in Iran, arbitrary executions, arbitrary detentions and torture. (Reuters)

03-17-2021
Military

Iran’s civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator in a final report into the shooting-down of a Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020 that killed all 176 people aboard.

Iran’s civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator in a final report into the shooting-down of a Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020 that killed all 176 people aboard. The report on Wednesday into the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 “makes no attempt to answer critical questions about what truly happened and appears incomplete,” Canada said in a statement. Many of the victims killed in the crash were Canadian citizens or permanent residents. “There will be no solace for the families because the whole story, the complete story with the hard evidence to back it up is not being provided,” added Ralph Goodale, an advisor to Canada’s prime minister on PS752. (Reuters)

03-17-2021
Military

The Iranian Khorgo underground ballistic missile site is almost operational after new launching positions were constructed.

The Iranian Khorgo underground ballistic missile site is almost operational after new launching positions were constructed, satellite images obtained by Fox News show. Images taken by Maxar Technologies reveal four holes dug into the side of a mountain. Three of the shafts are hardened vertical launch positions in their final construction phase, according to a separate analysis done by the civilian intelligence group Intel Lab. "Considering the geographic location as well as the existing topography, once this complex reaches full operational capability, it will not be an easy task to neutralize it by conventional means," said Chief Intel Lab Analyst Itay Bar-Lev. (Fox News)

03-17-2021
Terrorism

The leaders of Russia and Iran last year ordered their governments to attempt to influence U.S. voters’ choices in the presidential election and undermine the public’s faith in American democracy.

The leaders of Russia and Iran last year ordered their governments to attempt to influence U.S. voters’ choices in the presidential election and undermine the public’s faith in American democracy, a U.S. intelligence assessment released Tuesday said. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a range of intelligence operations intended to hurt Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and support President Trump’s re-election, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved a digital scheme to undercut Mr. Trump’s re-election bid, the declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said. China didn’t undertake an effort to influence voters, considering but ultimately forgoing one because neither candidate appeared sufficiently favorable to Beijing to risk its being caught by the U.S., the report said. The report also found that Cuba, Venezuela and the militant group Hezbollah took some steps to influence the election as well, though it described those as generally smaller in scale to Russia’s and Iran’s meddling. (Wall Street Journal)

03-16-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has started enriching uranium at its underground Natanz plant with a second type of advanced centrifuge, the IR-4, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report reviewed by Reuters, in a further breach of Tehran’s deal with major powers.

Iran has started enriching uranium at its underground Natanz plant with a second type of advanced centrifuge, the IR-4, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, in a further breach of Tehran’s deal with major powers. Iran has recently accelerated its breaches of the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear activities in an apparent bid to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden as both sides are locked in a standoff over who should move first to save the deal. Tehran’s breaches began in 2019 in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and the reimposition of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who opposed the agreement and sought to wreck it. (Reuters)

03-16-2021
Military

Iranian state TV has aired footage of what it said was a new Revolutionary Guard base, a “missile city” armed to the teeth with cruise and ballistic weapons.

Iranian state TV has aired footage of what it said was a new Revolutionary Guard base, a “missile city” armed to the teeth with cruise and ballistic weapons.  Inside the underground facility, the footage broadcast Monday shows what appear to be advanced munitions including scores of missiles lined up along concrete walls. Outside, the base hosts what the Guard said is electronic warfare equipment, including radar, monitoring devices and simulation and disruption systems. “What we see today is a small section of the great and expansive missile capability of Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces,” Guards commander Gen. Hossein Salami said on the broadcast. (CNBC)

03-16-2021
Extremism

The chief of general staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, issued a fresh warning against Israel that Iran “has acquired what it takes to blow up the Zionist regime.”

The chief of general staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, issued a fresh warning March 16 against Israel. “Iran has acquired what it takes to blow up the Zionist regime,” Bagheri said. He said the potential “removal of the child-killing, malicious, fake regime from the political geography of the region is no illusion, but rather a genuine power that Iranian forces have gained with resolve and faith.” The statement was in apparent response a strong threat earlier this month by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who told Fox News that his country was updating plans to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. “We must stand independently and we must defend ourselves by ourselves,” Gantz warned, saying this would be the case if the world is unable to curb the Iranian nuclear program, which Israel has long considered as the top existential threat to its security. (Al-Monitor)

03-15-2021
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have charged French tourist Benjamin Briere, arrested 10 months ago, with espionage and “propaganda against the system”, one of his lawyers told Reuters.

Iranian authorities have charged French tourist Benjamin Briere, arrested 10 months ago, with espionage and “propaganda against the system”, one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday. The news comes as the United States and European parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, including France, are trying to restore the pact that was abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump’s successor Joe Biden has offered to join European countries in talks to revive the accord, but Tehran says Washington should first lift sanctions imposed in 2018 by Trump. “On Sunday (Briere) was charged with two counts of espionage and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” his lawyer Saeid Dehghan said, adding that Briere faced a lengthy jail sentence. (Reuters)

03-14-2021
Syria Conflict

Tehran supports attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas Quds Force has admitted.

Tehran supports attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas Quds Force has admitted. Ismail Qaani told a conference in the northeastern city of Mashhad that the Houthis had launched  “18 operations in less than 10 days” targeting the Kingdom. He said Iran supported all such armed groups around the world, which he described as “forces of resistance against global arrogance.” (Arab News)

03-14-2021
Human Rights

A trial to present new charges against a British-Iranian woman detained for five years in Iran has convened, her supporters said, casting uncertainty over her future following her release from prison.

A trial to present new charges against a British-Iranian woman detained for five years in Iran convened Sunday, her supporters said, casting uncertainty over her future following her release from prison. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe appeared in court to face charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime,” said Richard Ratcliffe, who has outspokenly campaigned for his wife’s release. Iranian authorities had introduced the new indictment months ago, but adjourned the trial until Zaghari-Ratcliffe completed her 5-year sentence on widely refuted spying charges last week. A verdict was expected within several days, he added. (Associated Press)

03-12-2021
Human Rights

An exiled Iranian Arab rights activist has revealed that three minority Arab dissidents executed by Iran’s Islamist authorities last month showed signs of torture before their death sentences were carried out.

An exiled Iranian Arab rights activist has revealed that three minority Arab dissidents executed by Iran’s Islamist authorities last month showed signs of torture before their death sentences were carried out. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Persian from London, researcher Karim Dahimi said dissidents Jasem Heidary, Ali Khasraji and Hossein Silawi had bruises when relatives were given a brief chance to see the men shortly before their Feb. 28 executions at Sepidar prison in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. The rights activist cited information he got from the relatives, whom he did not name. Dahimi has a reputation as a credible source on the human rights situation of his ethnic Ahwazi Arab minority group that lives mainly in Iran’s Khuzestan province, of which Ahvaz is the capital. His research is cited by international human rights organizations such as the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group. (Voice of America)

03-12-2021
Human Rights

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has described her five years of torture at the hands of the Iranian regime to independent investigators for the first time.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has described her five years of torture at the hands of the Iranian regime to independent investigators for the first time. During six hours of video consultation over three days, Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, detailed abuse including sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation, stress positions and prolonged handcuffing, chaining and blindfolding. Doctors diagnosed “serious and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression and obsessive compulsive disorder” after an evaluation conducted by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. The full report, which used United Nations standards for the assessment of torture, has been shared with The Times. The investigators conclude that she has no chance of recovery unless she is brought home for treatment. (The Times)

03-11-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed that the Islamic Republic’s presence in countries such as Iraq and Syria is not for military control, but rather for “advisory” assistance.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed that the Islamic Republic’s presence in countries such as Iraq and Syria is not for military control, but rather for “advisory” assistance. “We are there to support sovereign governments at their own behest,” he said, rejecting the US depiction of Iran as a “destabilizing” factor. Khamenei also criticized the American military for establishing bases in those two countries “without permission” from the hosts. The issue of Iran’s influence in the region has been at the core of its tensions with the West and Khamenei’s latest remarks appeared as yet another message of defiance and a clear statement that the issue is not up for negotiations. Instead, he insisted that it is the United States “that must leave Iraq and Syria.” (Al-Monitor)

03-10-2021
Human Rights

A U.N. report on the human rights situation in Iran presents a bleak picture of a society living under a system of brutal political repression and rampant violations of fundamental freedoms.

A U.N. report on the human rights situation in Iran presents a bleak picture of a society living under a system of brutal political repression and rampant violations of fundamental freedoms.  The report has been submitted to the U.N. human rights council. In his presentation to the council, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Javaid Rehman did not mince his words.  He urged the International community to make Iran accountable for perpetrating what he called the most egregious violations with impunity. "It is beyond belief that almost 18 months since the deadly crackdown against the November 2019 protests in Iran, the government has still not conducted a proper investigation nor held anyone accountable for the lethal force used against protestors, which caused at least 304 deaths," Rehman said. (Voice of America)

03-09-2021
Politics

Prominent members of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are lining up for this summer's presidential election.

Prominent members of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are lining up for this summer's presidential election, which marks the end of moderate President Hassan Rouhani's term and likely a pivot to a more combative and inflexible regime in Tehran. IRGC figures are hoping to capitalize on a conservative wave, buoyed by the failure of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal, former President Donald Trump's punitive "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's desire to secure the future of the Iranian theocracy. American sanctions and diplomatic isolation have choked Iran's economy, which has also struggled to stay afloat amid the chaos unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. (Newsweek)

03-08-2021
Extremism

Iran's defense minister has responded to the suggestion of military action from Israel by threatening to "raze" the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Iran's defense minister has responded to the suggestion of military action from Israel by threatening to "raze" the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, as regional tensions remain high amid U.S. President Joe Biden's efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal. Israel remains staunchly opposed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which it says is inadequate and will only embolden Tehran in its weapons programs, and has threatened military action against Iran's nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that his country would stop Iran's nuclear program "with or without" the JCPOA, while Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Israel Defense Forces chief Aviv Kohavi have both said their troops are drawing up attack plans. (Newsweek)

03-07-2021
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they attacked a major Saudi Arabian oil port on the Persian Gulf with drones and missiles.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they attacked a major Saudi Arabian oil port on the Persian Gulf with drones and missiles on Sunday. Saudi authorities said the strike caused no casualties or damage. The Saudi Energy Ministry said an assault “coming from the sea” had targeted petroleum tanks at the Ras Tanura port. It condemned what it called “repeated acts of sabotage and hostility” targeting energy supplies to the world. “All indications point to Iran,” said an adviser to the Saudi royal court who said he was briefed on the matter. He said it wasn’t clear whether the origin was Iran or Iraq but that it hadn’t come from the direction of Yemen. (Wall Street Journal)

03-04-2021
Terrorism

Iranian militia groups claim to have active cells of operatives stationed in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities, according to chatter in online forums used by these groups.

Iranian militia groups claim to have active cells of operatives stationed in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities, according to chatter in online forums used by these groups. Kawtheryoon Electronic Team, a Telegram network used by Iranian militia groups and supporters, claimed in a recent posting that Iranian "resistance cells are rooted even in America and its capital," according to a copy of the English-language posting captured by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which tracks radical groups. The group additionally claimed that terror factions associated with Iran are growing stronger and attracting more support than ever before. The group demanded the United States withdraw all of its troops from Iraq and the Middle East. The post included a picture of caskets containing U.S. soldiers. (Washington Free Beacon)

03-04-2021
Human Rights

A court in Iran has ordered the dissolution of a prominent Iranian NGO that fights poverty.

A court in Iran has ordered the dissolution of a prominent Iranian NGO that fights poverty. Imam Ali's Popular Students Relief Society (IAPSRS) announced the court decision on Twitter on March 3 without providing details, including whether it plans on appealing the ruling. The decision came after Iran's Interior Ministry filed a complaint against the NGO and called on the judiciary to order its dissolution, a move that Human Rights Watch (HRW) said "fits a broader pattern of repression faced by civil society, but with the targeting of IAPSRS, authorities are now even shuttering groups that have been officially registered with the government." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

03-04-2021
Syria Conflict

U.S. and Iraqi officials believe that an Iran-backed group, Kata’ib Hezbollah, with a history of targeting Americans in Iraq was responsible for a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base that hosts U.S. troops.

U.S. and Iraqi officials believe that an Iran-backed group with a history of targeting Americans in Iraq was responsible for Wednesday's attack on an Iraqi air base that hosts U.S. troops. While the investigation into the attack on Ain al-Asad air base in the western province of Anbar is still ongoing, officials believe that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed paramilitary force, or an affiliated group was responsible, according to two defense officials familiar with early intelligence. The two defense officials requested anonymity to discuss intelligence. A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, declined to offer immediate comment. (Politico)

03-03-2021
Terrorism

Israel accused Iran of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism.

Israel accused Iran on Wednesday of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism. The spill was caused by an oil tanker that was carrying pirated cargo from Iran to Syria last month, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said. The vessel sailed through the Gulf and the Red Sea without radio contact, switching its tracking devices back on before passing through Egypt’s Suez Canal, Gamliel told reporters. (Reuters)

03-01-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran rejected a European Union offer to hold direct nuclear talks with the U.S. in the coming days, risking renewed tension between Tehran and Western capitals.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, a mysterious explosion that further spiked security concerns in the region. Without offering any evidence to his claim, Netanyahu told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that “it was indeed an act by Iran, that’s clear.” “Iran is the greatest enemy of Israel, I am determined to halt it. We are hitting it in the entire region,” Netanyahu said. Iran promptly dismissed the charges. (Associated Press)

02-26-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran threatens to end a deal struck with the U.N. nuclear watchdog temporarily salvaging much monitoring of its activities if the agency’s board endorses a U.S.-led push to criticize Tehran next week.

Iran is threatening to end a deal struck with the U.N. nuclear watchdog last weekend temporarily salvaging much monitoring of its activities if the agency’s board endorses a U.S.-led push to criticise Tehran next week, an Iranian position paper shows. Tehran this week scaled back cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, ending extra inspection measures introduced by its 2015 nuclear accord with major powers. It was the latest of many steps retaliating for U.S. sanctions reimposed after the United States pulled out of that agreement in 2018. Iran and U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration are now locked in a standoff over who should move first to save the unravelling 2015 deal. Tehran says Washington should lift sanctions first.  Biden wants Iran to undo its many retaliatory breaches of the deal’s nuclear restrictions first. (Reuters)

02-25-2021
Human Rights

Iran summoned eight Baha’i citizens to begin prison terms after convicting them of security crimes for peaceful activities, including alleged communication with Western media and organizing educational programs for Baha’i children.

Iran has reportedly summoned eight Baha’i citizens to begin prison terms after convicting them of security crimes for peaceful activities, including alleged communication with Western media and organizing educational programs for Baha’i children. Speaking to VOA Persian on Monday, an Iran-based source who is familiar with the situation of the eight Baha’is residing in the southern port of Bandar Abbas said they received a court notice of the prison summons the day before. The source provided VOA an apparent copy of the document, which gives the six men and two women 10 days to turn themselves in to local authorities to start serving their sentences. VOA cannot independently verify the authenticity of the document as it is barred from reporting inside Iran. (Voice of America)

02-25-2021
Human Rights

Protesters in Iran’s impoverished southeast clashed with security forces for a third consecutive day, in the latest challenge for a government facing public resentment over widespread economic hardship in the country.

Protesters in Iran’s impoverished southeast clashed with security forces for a third consecutive day, in the latest challenge for a government facing public resentment over widespread economic hardship in the country. A crowd attacked a police station in the city of Saravan with grenades and light arms on Thursday, killing one policeman before security forces repelled the rioters, the government said. The unrest erupted earlier this week when protesters stormed a local governor’s building and another police station. Those incidents came in response to Revolutionary Guard patrols firing at alleged fuel smugglers crossing the Pakistani border, killing at least 10 people, according to rights activists in the area. (Wall Street Journal)

02-25-2021
Terrorism

Twitter has suspended hundreds of Iran-based accounts for allegedly manipulative behavior.

Twitter has suspended hundreds of Iran-based accounts for allegedly manipulative behavior. Twitter removed 238 accounts operating from Iran as part of an investigation into influence operations targeting the 2020 US presidential elections, the social media giant said in a press release on Tuesday. The investigation began in October when Twitter removed around 130 Iranian accounts. The FBI told Twitter the accounts were seeking to “disrupt the public conversation” during a presidential debate. (Al-Monitor)

02-24-2021
Syria Conflict

Venezuela and Iran, both sanctioned by the United States, have found a way to help each other as shipping companies stay away from dealings with the two oil-producing countries for fear of running afoul of the U.S.

Venezuela and Iran, both sanctioned by the United States, have found a way to help each other as shipping companies stay away from dealings with the two oil-producing countries for fear of running afoul of the U.S. Venezuela is shipping jet fuel to Iran in the same tankers in which Iran delivers gasoline and spare parts for the refineries in Venezuela, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter and documents of Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA it had seen. Venezuela, which has an excess of jet fuel with flights grounded in the country over the past year due to the coronavirus, is sending aviation fuel to Iran, after having received gasoline from the Islamic Republic, according to Reuters’ sources. (Oil Price)

02-23-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden’s administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden’s administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal. World powers slammed the restrictions as a “dangerous” move. It came as the International Atomic Energy Agency reported in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press that Iran had added 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 20% to its stockpile as of Feb. 16. (Associated Press)

02-22-2021
Nuclear Program

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday Iran might enrich uranium up to 60% purity if the country needed it and would never yield to U.S. pressure over its nuclear program.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday Iran might enrich uranium up to 60% purity if the country needed it and would never yield to U.S. pressure over its nuclear programme, state television reported. Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers, which it has been breaching since the United States withdrew in 2018, caps the fissile purity to which Tehran can refine uranium at 3.67%, well under the 20% achieved before the agreement and far below the 90% suitable for a nuclear weapon. “Iran’s uranium enrichment level will not be limited to 20%. We will increase it to whatever level the country needs ... We may increase it to 60%,” the TV quoted Khamenei as saying, upping the ante in a stand-off with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration over the future of the fraying deal. (Reuters)

02-19-2021
Syria Conflict

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias were most likely behind a deadly rocket barrage on a U.S.-led coalition base in northern Iraq earlier this week, but it's not clear whether Iran had any role in directing the attack, experts and a U.S. official said.

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias were most likely behind a deadly rocket barrage on a U.S.-led coalition base in northern Iraq earlier this week, but it's not clear whether Iran had any role in directing the attack, experts and a U.S. official said on Friday. The attack on Irbil on Monday in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq bore the telltale signs of the Shiite militias supported by Iran, with tactics, weapons and online posts that resembled previous assaults on U.S. targets in Iraq, a current U.S. official, a former senior U.S. diplomat, and a regional expert told NBC News. Iran said on Tuesday it had no links with the group that claimed to have carried out the attack. (NBC News)

02-17-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog it plans to install more of its advanced IR-2m centrifuges at an underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, a report by the agency said, which would deepen a breach of Iran’s nuclear deal.

Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog it plans to install more of its advanced IR-2m centrifuges at an underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, a report by the agency on Wednesday said, which would deepen a breach of Iran’s nuclear deal. “Iran indicated it plans to install two additional cascades of 174 IR-2m centrifuges at FEP to enrich ... up to 5% U-235. This will bring the total number of cascades of IR-2m centrifuges either planned, being installed, or operating in FEP to six,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report to member states obtained by Reuters. An IAEA report on Feb. 1 said Iran had brought a second cascade, or cluster, of IR-2m centrifuges online at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and was installing two more. Iran’s deal with major powers says it can only enrich at the FEP with far less efficient, first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. (Reuters)

02-16-2021
Military

The Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region.

The Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region, Iran’s state TV reported on Tuesday. The TV said units from Iran’s Navy and the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s naval forces will take part in the exercise dubbed “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” in the northern part of Indian Ocean, spanning a stretch of about a 17,000 kilometers (10,600 miles). According to Iranian Adm. Gholamreza Tahani, the drill spokesman, a Russian destroyer, logistics ship and a helicopter were to participate in the drill. This is the second such joint Russia-Iran exercise since 2019, when the two nations plus China held a four-day exercise. (Associated Press)

02-15-2021
Human Rights

The UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed concern over reports that the country has subjected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children to “torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”

The UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed concern over reports that the country has subjected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children to “torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” In a report released last week, Javaid Rehman said such practices, which violate Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, reportedly include “electric shocks and the administration of hormones and strong psychoactive medications.” Rehman said that members of Iran’s LGBT community “are often advised that their gender nonconformity or same-sex attraction represents so-called gender identity disorder, which necessitates ‘reparative’ therapies or sex reassignment surgeries, to ‘cure’ them.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

02-11-2021
Military

Iran is scheduled to unveil its homegrown Kaman-22 armed drone this month, said Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force last week.

Iran is scheduled to unveil its homegrown Kaman-22 armed drone this month, said Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force last week. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be an upgrade of the Kaman-12 drone, which was first introduced in September last year. The improved aircraft will be able to carry 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of explosives, Nasirzadeh said. Speaking during an online interview with Mehr News Agency, Nasirzadeh said professionals are being trained at Tehran’s Shahid Sattari Aeronautical University to operate the drone, and that exchange programs between Iranian students and Chinese and Pakistani institutions are underway. (Defense Post)

02-11-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has started producing uranium metal, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said, in a fresh breach of the limits laid out in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran has started producing uranium metal, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday, in a fresh breach of the limits laid out in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The latest violation of the deal, which is aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, came as Iran warned that time was running out for President Joe Biden's administration to save the agreement. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report obtained by CBS News United Nations' reporter Pamela Falk that on February 8, it verified 3.6 grams of uranium metal "had been produced" at Iran's Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant in Esfahan. IAEA director general Rafael Grossi informed member states of the new violation, the statement added. (CBS News)

02-11-2021
Extremism

Iranian schoolkids are studying anti-Semitism, hatred and conspiratorial material in their textbooks.

Iranian schoolkids are studying anti-Semitism, hatred and conspiratorial material in their textbooks, including a theory that Western media hyped up the COVID-19 pandemic to thwart large-scale attendance at last year’s celebration of the Iranian revolution, according to a comprehensive study published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Thursday. Specific examples include teaching students to chant “Death to Israel,” a nation the books describe as a fake regime that must be eliminated. They teach that Jews have conspired against Islam from its earliest days, forging Islamic scriptures and using warfare and even Freemasonry to achieve evil aims. (The Times of Israel)

02-09-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran’s intelligence minister said persistent Western pressure could push Tehran to fight back like a “cornered cat” and seek nuclear weapons, which the Islamic Republic has for years insisted it has no intention of ever developing.

Iran’s intelligence minister said persistent Western pressure could push Tehran to fight back like a “cornered cat” and seek nuclear weapons, which the Islamic Republic has for years insisted it has no intention of ever developing. The remarks made in a television interview are a rare suggestion that Iran might have an interest in nuclear weapons, which Western nations have accused Iran of pursuing. Iranian officials have repeatedly dismissed this charge, citing a fatwa or religious decree issued in the early 2000s by the Islamic Republic’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that bans the development or use of nuclear arms. (Reuters)

02-08-2021
Human Rights

Iran is running two surveillance operations in cyber-space, targeting more than 1,000 dissidents, according to a leading cyber-security company.

Iran is running two surveillance operations in cyber-space, targeting more than 1,000 dissidents, according to a leading cyber-security company. The efforts were directed against individuals in Iran and 12 other countries, including the UK and US, Check Point said. It said the two groups involved were using new techniques to install spyware on targets' PCs and mobile devices. And this was then being used to steal call recordings and media files. (Newsweek)

02-08-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran and North Korea cooperated on long-range missile development projects last year, according to a confidential United Nations report that may pressure the Biden administration to respond to one of its first major geopolitical crises.

Iran and North Korea cooperated on long-range missile development projects last year, according to a confidential United Nations report that may pressure the Biden administration to respond to one of its first major geopolitical crises. “This resumed cooperation is said to have included the transfer of critical parts, with the most recent shipment associated with this relationship taking place in 2020,” an independent panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea said in the report, citing a member state. Frequently on the fringes of international diplomacy, North Korea and Iran have long had a secretive, mutually beneficial relationship. The UN panel received information showing that Iran’s Shahid Haj Ali Movahed Research Center received “support and assistance” from North Korean missile specialists for a space launch vehicle, and that North Korea was involved in certain shipments to Iran. (Bloomberg)

02-06-2021
Terrorism

Iranian cyber actors are likely behind the creation of an inflammatory website called Enemies of the People and continue to be active despite earlier warnings, according to the FBI.

Iranian cyber actors are likely behind the creation of an inflammatory website called Enemies of the People and continue to be active despite earlier warnings, according to the FBI. The website contains, among other things, death threats directed toward U.S. election officials, the FBI said in a recent advisory. The intent is to "create fear, divisions, and mistrust in the United States and undermine public confidence in the US electoral process," the FBI said. The Iranian cyber group has also exposed officials' personal information and photographs, a practice known as doxing. (Fox News)

02-05-2021
Nuclear Program

United Nations inspectors have found new evidence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran, according to three diplomats briefed on the discovery, raising new questions about the scope of the country’s atomic ambitions.

United Nations inspectors have found new evidence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran, according to three diplomats briefed on the discovery, raising new questions about the scope of the country’s atomic ambitions. Samples taken from two sites during inspections in the fall by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency contained traces of radioactive material, the diplomats said, that could indicate Iran has undertaken work on nuclear weapons, based on where it was found. The diplomats said they didn’t know the exact nature of what was found. Last year, Iran blocked IAEA inspectors from checking the sites involved for seven months, leading to a standoff. Tehran has long denied that it has sought to make an atomic bomb and said all of its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes such as power generation and health care. There was no immediate comment from Iran on the findings. (Wall Street Journal)

02-04-2021
Human Rights

Amnesty International is urging the international community to "urgently intervene" to save the lives of four ethnic Baluch and four ethnic Arab men who are on death row following what the human rights watchdog called "flagrantly unfair trials."

Amnesty International is urging the international community to "urgently intervene" to save the lives of four ethnic Baluch and four ethnic Arab men who are on death row following what the human rights watchdog called "flagrantly unfair trials." "The recent escalation in executions of Baluchis and Ahwazi Arabs raises serious concerns that the authorities are using the death penalty to sow fear among disadvantaged ethnic minorities, as well as the wider population," Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at the London-based group, said in a statement on February 4. "The disproportionate use of the death penalty against Iran's ethnic minorities epitomizes the entrenched discrimination and repression they have faced for decades," Eltahawy added. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

02-04-2021
Terrorism

A Belgian court sentenced an Iranian diplomat to 20 years in prison for plotting a bomb attack against a gathering of Iranian dissidents outside Paris in 2018, in a case that has strained Tehran’s ties with Europe.

A Belgian court sentenced an Iranian diplomat to 20 years in prison for plotting a bomb attack against a gathering of Iranian dissidents outside Paris in 2018, in a case that has strained Tehran’s ties with Europe. Assadollah Assadi, a counselor at Iran’s embassy in Vienna, was Thursday convicted of organizing the foiled attack that targeted a rally held by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella opposition group dominated by the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or MEK. The court in Antwerp sentenced three other Iranians to 15, 17 and 18 years respectively in prison for collusion, concluding that Iranian state intelligence had ordered the plot. (Wall Street Journal)

02-03-2021
Nuclear Program

President Hassan Rouhani ruled out changes to Iran's nuclear accord with world powers and dismissed calls to broaden the terms of the deal.

President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday ruled out changes to Iran's nuclear accord with world powers and dismissed calls to broaden the terms of the deal. US President Joe Biden has voiced support for returning to the accord, from which Donald Trump exited, but has insisted that Tehran first resume full compliance and consider expanding the deal beyond the nuclear issue. "No clause of the JCPOA will change. Know this. And no one will be added to the JCPOA," Rouhani said at a televised cabinet meeting, using the deal's official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "This is the agreement. If they want it, everyone come into compliance. If they don't, they can go live their lives," he said. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

02-02-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has now two cascades of advanced centrifuges with almost four times the enrichment capacity of earlier ones running at its Natanz nuclear site.

Iran has now two cascades of advanced centrifuges with almost four times the enrichment capacity of earlier ones running at its Natanz nuclear site, its envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Tuesday. “Thanks to our diligent nuclear scientists, two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost 4 times the capacity of IR1 are now running ...successfully in Natanz,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on Twitter. “Installation of 2 cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordow. There’s more to come soon.” (Reuters)

02-01-2021
Military

Iran tested a new rocket with improved technology that could be used in its missile program, its latest attempt to raise the stakes for the Biden administration ahead of potential negotiations over a new nuclear deal.

Iran tested a new rocket on Monday with improved technology that could be used in its missile program, its latest attempt to raise the stakes for the Biden administration ahead of potential negotiations over a new nuclear deal. The new rocket, named Zuljanah, was developed under a government-backed program to send civilian satellites into orbit 310 miles above ground, according to a spokesman for the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Space Department. The technology is easily transferable to Iran’s military missile program run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, experts say. The Zuljanah features a solid-fuel-propelled motor that is the largest yet exhibited by Iran. Motors propelled by solid fuel, rather than liquid, are a key component in intercontinental ballistic missiles, which the U.S. seeks to prevent Iran from developing. (Wall Street Journal)

02-01-2021
Terrorism

Several Iranian agents who scouted out the Israeli, American, and Emirati embassies in an unnamed East African country in preparation for a potential attack have been arrested, according to an Israeli TV report.

Several Iranian agents who scouted out the Israeli, American, and Emirati embassies in an unnamed East African country in preparation for a potential attack have been arrested, according to a Monday Israeli TV report. The agents were sent by Iran to gather intelligence on the sites for a terror attack, Kan News reported, citing Western intelligence sources. Some held dual European and Iranian citizenship, and some were arrested in the East African country, while others were apprehended in different countries. The attack was thwarted last month, according to the report. (Times of Israel)

01-30-2021
Syria Conflict

United Nations experts are warning of a "growing body of evidence" that Iran is sending weapons to Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen.

United Nations experts are warning of a "growing body of evidence" that Iran is sending weapons to Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, in a report that warns of a deteriorating situation in the country with "devastating consequence" for the civilian population. The report by a U.N. panel of experts to the Security Council, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News, says "there is a growing body of evidence that shows that individuals or entities within the Islamic Republic of Iran are engaged in sending weapons and weapons components to the Houthis" in violation of U.N. resolutions. The evidence includes anti-tank guided missiles, sniper rifles and RPB launchers all with markings consistent with those made in Iran. (Fox News)

01-30-2021
Syria Conflict

Short and medium range surface-to-surface Iranian missiles were delivered to the Iraqi Hezbollah near the regime-controlled town of Al-Tabani in the western countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor province.

Short and medium range surface-to-surface Iranian missiles were delivered Friday to the Iraqi Hezbollah near the regime-controlled town of Al-Tabani in the western countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 56 missiles were delivered to the Hezbollah sites in civilian trucks via unofficial crossings between Syria and Iraq. Earlier this month, SOHR activists had monitored the Afghan Fatimiyoun Brigade unloading a weapons shipment from four large trucks used for transporting vegetables and fruits. The trucks were loaded with Iranian-made missiles, coming from Iraq. The shipments were stored in commercial warehouses rented from civilians in the area of Kua Ibn Aswad, located between Al-Mayadeen city and Mahakan town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

01-29-2021
Human Rights

The United Nations human rights office condemned an alleged spree of 28 executions in Iran, including several prisoners from minority groups, and called on Tehran to halt the hanging of an ethnic Baluchi man.

The United Nations human rights office on Friday condemned an alleged spree of 28 executions in Iran, including several prisoners from minority groups, and called on Tehran to halt the hanging of an ethnic Baluchi man. Iran has often faced criticism from world bodies and Western human rights group for its rights record and high number of executions - the world’s highest after China, according to Amnesty International. Tehran has dismissed the criticism as baseless and due to a lack of understanding of its Islamic laws. “#Iran: We strongly condemn the series of executions – at least 28 – since mid-December, including of people from minority groups,” the U.N. human rights office said on Twitter. (Reuters)

01-28-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has exceeded 17 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium within a month’s time, state TV reported, moving its nuclear program closer to weapons-grade enrichment levels amid heightened tensions with the U.S.

Iran has exceeded 17 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium within a month’s time, state TV reported Thursday, moving its nuclear program closer to weapons-grade enrichment levels amid heightened tensions with the U.S. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, during a visit to the country’s Fordo nuclear facility, said in a televised speech that in less than a month, scientists passed 17 kilograms (37.5 pounds) of 20% enriched uranium. Uranium enriched to 20% is a short technical step away from weapons-grade 90% enrichment. Western nations have criticized Iran’s enrichment activity and called on Tehran to adhere to a 2015 nuclear accord. (Associated Press)

01-26-2021
Human Rights

An Iranian-American has been sentenced to prison on spying charges, Iran's judiciary reported Tuesday, the latest dual national held in the country amid tensions with the West.

An Iranian-American has been sentenced to prison on spying charges, Iran's judiciary reported Tuesday, the latest dual national held in the country amid tensions with the West. Iran's judiciary did not name the man sentenced but said he had been free on bail and re-arrested while trying to flee the country. Iranian media said a businessman named Emad Sharghi was arrested while trying to leave the country through a western border. Iranian media said Sharghi is a dual U.S.-Iranian national, and that his wife's passport was also confiscated to prevent her leaving the country. It was the first arrest of an American or a U.S. dual national announced by Iran since President Joe Biden was sworn in earlier this month, and it may complicate Mr. Biden's efforts to bring Iran back into compliance with the nuclear accord that his predecessor pulled the U.S. out of in 2018. (CBS News)

01-26-2021
Human Rights

The Iranian regime's lethal assaults on decorated Iranian athletes continued unabated, with the execution of a second champion wrestler.

The Iranian regime's lethal assaults on decorated Iranian athletes continued unabated, with the execution of a second champion wrestler on Monday. The Jerusalem Post reported two weeks ago that the execution of wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini was imminent. He is from Andimeshk in the province of Khuzestan, and was arrested in 2015 and charged with pre-meditated murder, supposedly committed during a group fight. It is unclear whether the Islamic Republic authorities forced Hosseini to confess to a crime he did not commit. (Jerusalem Post)

01-19-2021
Anti-Americanism

Iran sanctioned President Trump and nine other U.S. officials, in a parting shot against an outgoing administration that has pummeled the country and its top officials with sanctions.

Iran sanctioned President Trump and nine other U.S. officials, in a parting shot against an outgoing administration that has pummeled the country and its top officials with sanctions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the U.S. officials were designated for their role in terrorist activities against Iran, including sanctions and last year’s killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. The Iranian sanctions also targeted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former and current special representatives for Iran Brian Hook and Elliott Abrams, as well as former national security adviser John Bolton. (Wall Street Journal)

01-18-2021
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi says the country is producing some 500 grams of uranium enriched to 20% purity a day, after beginning to do so earlier this month in breach of the 2015 nuclear accord.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi says the country is producing some 500 grams of uranium enriched to 20% purity a day, after beginning to do so earlier this month in breach of the 2015 nuclear accord. Salehi tells the Khamenei.ir website, the official site of Iran’s supreme leader, that nuclear scientists “are producing 20 grams every hour, meaning that practically, we are producing half a kilo every day.” Salehi says if other parties to the deal return to it, “we will return to our undertakings too.” (Times of Israel)

01-17-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran urged the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran’s nuclear program, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal.

Iran urged the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran’s nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal. The report quoted a statement from Iran’s nuclear department that asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid publishing details on Iran’s nuclear program that may cause confusion. “It is expected the international atomic energy agency avoid providing unnecessary details and prevent paving ground for misunderstanding” in the international community, the statement said. It did not elaborate. (Associated Press)

01-16-2021
Military

Long-range missiles from Iran splashed down close to a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean Saturday and 100 miles from the Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group.

Long-range missiles from Iran splashed down close to a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean Saturday and 100 miles from the Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group, Fox News has learned, in the latest example of rising tensions in the region.  U.S. officials say at least one of the missiles landed 20 miles from the commercial vessel but refused to offer more specifics about the ship, citing privacy concerns. The officials requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.  Iran tests missiles frequently. Senior U.S. military officials say 100 miles was a long way from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Another source says these missiles did not cause alarm, and this was a fairly standard routine exercise. (Fox News)

01-15-2021
Syria Conflict

Iranian forces and affiliated militias in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria carried out new redeployment and repositioning operations after their military sites and barracks were subjected to airstrikes, believed to be carried out by Israeli aircraft

Iranian forces and affiliated militias in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria carried out new redeployment and repositioning operations after their military sites and barracks were subjected to airstrikes, believed to be carried out by Israeli aircraft Jan. 13.  The redeployment included evacuating the sites affected by the bombing, emptying several weapons depots, and moving weapons to other locations in various neighborhoods in the cities of Deir ez-Zor, Abu Kamal and Mayadeen. Ahed Slebi, a journalist in the Naher Media Network, which covers news about Deir ez-Zor, told Al-Monitor, “The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] and its militias in Deir ez-Zor governorate have carried out unprecedented military action, due to the violent bombing that targeted their sites. The Iranian militias transferred the bulk of their members and military equipment to residential neighborhoods in Deir ez-Zor, al-Bukamal, and al-Mayadin. The new deployments included transferring rockets and heavy weapons and hiding them inside the tunnels that Iranian forces had previously dug in the vicinity of al-Bukamal and al-Mayadin and on the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor.” (Al-Monitor)

01-13-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran has started work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday, in the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six major powers as the country presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions.

Iran has started work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday, in the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six major powers as the country presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions. Iran has been accelerating its breaches of the deal in the past two months. Some of those steps were required by a law passed in response to the killing of its top nuclear scientist in November, which Tehran has blamed on its arch-foe Israel. They are also, however, part of a process started by Tehran in 2019 of committing breaches in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the deal and his reimposition of U.S. sanctions that the deal lifted in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities. (Reuters)

01-13-2021
Syria Conflict

Iran appears to have sent deadly drones to its allies in Yemen as Middle East tensions heat up across the Red Sea, another major flashpoint where rival forces operate, Newsweek has learned.

Iran appears to have sent deadly drones to its allies in Yemen as Middle East tensions heat up across the Red Sea, another major flashpoint where rival forces operate, Newsweek has learned. Imagery seen by Newsweek and confirmed by an expert who follows Iranian activities in the region indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also called "suicide drones," deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah, or Houthi, Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel movement. "The Iranians have delivered to their Houthi proxies in Yemen advanced UAVs," the expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. "They are forward deploying or prepositioning these drones in order to stage an attack against a variety of targets they have within range." (Newsweek)

01-08-2021
Military

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards unveiled an underground missile base at an undisclosed Gulf location, Iranian state media reported.

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards unveiled an underground missile base at an undisclosed Gulf location on Friday, Iranian state media reported, at a time of heightened tension between Tehran and the United States. “The base is one of several bases housing the Guards’ Navy’s strategic missiles,” the state media quoted the head of the Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, as saying. Last year, the Guards said Iran had built underground “missile cities” along the Gulf coastline, warning of a “nightmare for Iran’s enemies”. (Reuters)

01-08-2021
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s Supreme Leader banned the government from importing COVID-19 vaccines from the United States and Britain, labelling the Western powers “untrustworthy”, as the infection spreads in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country.

Iran’s Supreme Leader on Friday banned the government from importing COVID-19 vaccines from the United States and Britain, labeling the Western powers “untrustworthy”, as the infection spreads in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. In a live televised speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised the prospect of the two Western countries, long-time adversaries of the Islamic Republic, possibly seeking to spread the infection to other countries. He added however that Iran could obtain vaccines “from other reliable places”. He gave no details, but China and Russia are both allies of Iran. (Reuters)

01-07-2021
Anti-Americanism

The commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, has renewed threats of retaliation against Washington over the assassination of his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, asserting that it will be done on US soil.

The commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, has renewed threats of retaliation against Washington over the assassination of his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, asserting that it will be done on US soil. Qaani said that his troops had already initiated their operations to avenge Soleimani’s death, adding that they will soon reach “endpoint.” Speaking during a ceremony in Soleimani’s hometown, Kerman, Qaani advised US officials to stay indoors, warning that the revenge has begun, according to local media. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

01-05-2021
Syria Conflict

Armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops stormed a South Korean tanker and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran, the vessel’s owner said.

Armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops stormed a South Korean tanker and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran, the vessel’s owner said Tuesday, the latest maritime seizure by Tehran amid heightened tensions with the West over its nuclear program. The military raid on Monday on the MT Hankuk Chemi was at odds with Iranian explanations that they stopped the vessel for polluting the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, it appeared the Islamic Republic sought to increase its leverage over Seoul ahead of negotiations over billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks amid a U.S. pressure campaign targeting Iran. An Iranian government spokesman, when asked on Tuesday about the seizure, offered Tehran’s bluntest acknowledgment yet of a link with the frozen assets. (Associated Press)

01-04-2021
Nuclear Program

Iran on Monday resumed 20 percent uranium enrichment at its sensitive Fordow nuclear facility, state media reported — a major step away from a 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers.

Iran on Monday resumed 20 percent uranium enrichment at its sensitive Fordow nuclear facility, state media reported — a major step away from a 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers. The move could complicate the incoming Biden administration's plans to restart nuclear talks with Tehran. Iranian forces also seized a South Korean-flagged ship transiting the Persian Gulf. The enrichment process at Fordow — an underground facility near the holy city of Qom — began earlier Monday, government spokesman Ali Rabie said. He said Iran had notified the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. (Washington Post)

12-29-2020
Syria Conflict

An array of Palestinian militant groups launched rockets into the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip at the start of what they called their first-ever joint exercise, which Israeli media described as a show of force organized by Iran.

An array of Palestinian militant groups launched rockets into the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip on Tuesday at the start of what they called their first-ever joint exercise, which Israeli media described as a show of force organised by Iran. Gaza is run by Hamas and also home to other militant groups, including Islamic Jihad. The exercise was announced on behalf of a joint command set up by the groups in 2018. Eight rockets streaked through a cloudless sky in Gaza towards the Mediterranean after Abu Hamza, spokesman for Islamic Jihad, delivered a speech launching the drill. It will include land and coastal exercises described by the groups as a test of their preparedness for any future confrontation with Israel. (Reuters)

12-28-2020
Terrorism

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said his group now has twice as many precision-guided missiles as it had a year ago, saying Israel’s efforts to prevent it from acquiring them have failed.

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said his group now has twice as many precision-guided missiles as it had a year ago, saying Israel’s efforts to prevent it from acquiring them have failed. Hassan Nasrallah, in an end-of-year interview with the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, said his group has the capability to strike anywhere in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Nasrallah said that when Israel threatened through a U.S. official to target a Hezbollah facility in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region, his group warned it would retaliate for any such attack. (Associated Press)

12-28-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed factions in Iraq are increasing their threats against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Barham Salih.

Iran-backed factions in Iraq are increasing their threats against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Barham Salih as the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Iran’s Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis draws near. Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020. The escalation is taking place despite the outward calls for calm by the pro-Iran factions. Their actions, however, belie their words, prompting observers to speculate that they will continue to forge ahead towards a confrontation as long as relations between Washington and Tehran continue to be strained. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

12-25-2020
Terrorism

The hacking group Pay2Key, which has been linked to Iran, said it hacked the computer systems of the Israeli cyber security company Portnox, days after the same group hacked Israel Aerospace Industries.

The hacking group Pay2Key, which has been linked to Iran, said it hacked the computer systems of the Israeli cyber security company Portnox, days after the same group hacked Israel Aerospace Industries. The hacks were the latest in a series of cyberattacks on Israeli firms in recent months. The hacking group published documents related to firms using Portnox’s services, including Bezeq, Elbit, El Al, the Clalit health provider and more, according to the Ynet news site. The firms are some of Israel’s most prominent companies. (Times of Israel)

12-20-2020
Syria Conflict

Rockets targeted the US embassy in Baghdad in an escalation against US personnel and forces in Iraq.

Rockets targeted the US embassy in Baghdad on Sunday night in an escalation against US personnel and forces in Iraq. It comes a month before the US administration of President Donald Trump will leave office. In the past Iranian-backed militias have targeted US forces and facilities in Iraq with dozens of rocket attacks since May 2019. The attacks reached a crescendo over the summer and then appeared to slow down as the US threatened to close its embassy and strike at Iranian-backed groups. The volley of rockets included at least several rockets fired at the Green Zone in Baghdad. It is not the first attack of its kind but it appears more accurate and larger than past attacks. (Jerusalem Post)

12-18-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the U.S. over its atomic program.

Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the U.S. over its atomic program, satellite photos obtained Friday by The Associated Press show. Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at Fordo, whose discovery by the West in 2009 came in an earlier round of brinkmanship before world powers struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. While the purpose of the building remains unclear, any work at Fordo likely will trigger new concern in the waning days of the Trump administration before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. Already, Iran is building at its Natanz nuclear facility after a mysterious explosion in July there that Tehran described as a sabotage attack. "Any changes at this site will be carefully watched as a sign of where Iran's nuclear program is headed," said Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who studies Iran. (CBS News)

12-15-2020
Terrorism

Iran is not conducting its investigation into the downing of a civilian airliner in January properly and many questions remain unanswered.

Iran is not conducting its investigation into the downing of a civilian airliner in January properly and many questions remain unanswered, an independent Canadian report into the tragedy said on Tuesday. The 79-page document is the latest expression of frustration from Western nations into how the Islamic Republic is handling the aftermath of a disaster that claimed 176 lives. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after take-off, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high. Many of the victims were Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Former Canadian cabinet minister Ralph Goodale, charged with helping the victims’ families and examining how to deal with similar disasters in future, said “many of the key details of this horrific event” remain unknown. (Reuters)

12-15-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran's defense minister has announced that the organization overseeing the military's nuclear research projects will be given a 256 percent budget increase, less than a month after one of its leading scientists was assassinated near Tehran.

Iran's defense minister has announced that the organization overseeing the military's nuclear research projects will be given a 256 percent budget increase, less than a month after one of its leading scientists was assassinated near Tehran. Defense Minister Amir Hatami said Tuesday that the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research—widely known by its Farsi acronym, SPND—will have its annual budget more than trebled, according to the state-run Fars News Agency. The announcement marks another escalation in the international community's nuclear standoff with Iran, and comes despite pressure on Iran to scale back its nuclear activities, and threats from President Donald Trump's outgoing administration that it will not accept a nuclear Iran. (Newsweek)

12-15-2020
Terrorism

The United States designated the Bahrain-based Saraya al-Mukhtar group as a terrorist organization, accusing it of being backed by Iran and of having plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in the Gulf Arab state.

The United States on Tuesday designated the Bahrain-based Saraya al-Mukhtar group as a terrorist organization, accusing it of being backed by Iran and of having plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in the Gulf Arab state. The move, which comes amid a slew of sanctions announced by Washington as President Donald Trump’s term nears a close, designates Saraya al-Mukhtar, a marginal group operating underground, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”. Most of the group’s members are in jail or in Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saraya al-Mukhtar, or Mukhtar Brigades, was designated for “posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. (Reuters)

12-14-2020
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran’s missile programme, seen by Washington as a threat to regional stability, was non-negotiable and that U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden is “well aware of it”.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Tehran’s missile programme, seen by Washington as a threat to regional stability, was non-negotiable and that U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden is “well aware of it”. Biden’s victory has raised the possibility that Washington could rejoin a deal Iran reached with world powers in 2015, and he appears to see a return as a prelude to wider talks on Iran’s nuclear work, its ballistic missiles and regional activities. But Tehran has ruled out halting its missile programme or changing its regional policy, and instead has demanded a change in U.S. policy, including the lifting of sanctions and compensation for the economic damage caused during the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord. (Reuters)

12-12-2020
Human Rights

Iran executed a dissident, Ruhollah Zam, after convicting him of encouraging a wave of antigovernment protests in 2017 through an opposition Telegram channel he ran from exile in France.

Iran executed a dissident on Saturday after convicting him of encouraging a wave of antigovernment protests in 2017 through an opposition Telegram channel he ran from exile in France, Iranian news outlets reported. Ruhollah Zam ran Amad News, a popular channel on the messaging platform Telegram, which he used to share logistical details about the protests that rocked Iran in late 2017. His posts included protesters’ videos that helped publicize the news of the uprising at a time when the country was trying to suppress information. He had been in exile in France since 2011 and lived there until 2019, when he flew to Iraq and was later captured by the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. He was hanged after being convicted in June of the crime “corruption on earth,” which is often used to describe attempts to overthrow the Iranian government. (New York Times)

12-09-2020
Nuclear Program

The mysterious July explosion that destroyed a centrifuge assembly hall at Iran’s main nuclear fuel enrichment facility in Natanz was deemed by the Iranian authorities to be enemy sabotage.

The mysterious July explosion that destroyed a centrifuge assembly hall at Iran’s main nuclear fuel enrichment facility in Natanz was deemed by the Iranian authorities to be enemy sabotage, and provoked a defiant response: The wrecked building would be rebuilt in “the heart of the mountains,” the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said. Progress on that pledge, which could shield the facility from an aerial assault or other threats, has been unclear to outside observers.  But new satellite imagery is now shedding light on the Iranian plans. The Visual Investigations team of The New York Times has tracked construction at the site using the new imagery. For the first time, new tunnel entrances for underground construction are visible under a ridge in the mountain foothills south of the Natanz facility, about 140 miles south of Tehran. (New York Times)

12-08-2020
Extremism

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran and Damascus share a common goal of confronting Israel and will continue on that path until the Golan Heights has been returned to Syria.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Tehran and Damascus share a common goal of confronting Israel and will continue on that path until the Golan Heights has been returned to Syria. Rouhani’s website said the remarks came during a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its support to the Syrian government and people as our strategic ally and we will stand by Syria until its final victory,” Rouhani said, adding that confronting “Zionist occupiers and terrorism” is the joint goal of both nations. (Times of Israel)

12-08-2020
Syria Conflict

United Nations analysis of photos of four anti-tank guided missiles in Libya found that one “had characteristics consistent with the Iranian-produced Dehlavieh” missile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported to the Security Council.

A United Nations analysis of photos of four anti-tank guided missiles in Libya found that one “had characteristics consistent with the Iranian-produced Dehlavieh” missile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported to the Security Council. However, he said in his biannual report - submitted to the council late Monday and seen by Reuters on Tuesday - that the U.N. secretariat was “unable to ascertain if this anti-tank guided missile had been transferred to Libya” in violation of Security Council sanctions on Iran. The 15-member council banned weapons exports by Iran in 2007. Under a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and key global powers, which is enshrined in a Security Council resolution, the arms restrictions were lifted in October this year. (Reuters)

12-04-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has told the U.N. nuclear watchdog it plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.

Iran has told the U.N. nuclear watchdog it plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, the agency told member states on Friday in a report obtained by Reuters. “Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz ‘intends to start installation of three cascades of IR-2m centrifuge machines’ at FEP,” the agency wrote, adding that the three cascades were in addition to one of IR-2m machines already used for enrichment there. (Reuters)

12-03-2020
Nuclear Program

Iranian parliament has voted to increase its uranium enrichment levels and stop International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from examining facilities if the next U.S. administration declines to lift hefty U.S. banking and oil sanctions.

Less than a week after Iran's leading nuclear scientist was assassinated on the outskirts of Tehran, the Iranian parliament has voted to increase its uranium enrichment levels and stop International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from examining facilities if the next U.S. administration declines to lift hefty U.S. banking and oil sanctions by February.  Despite objections from President Hassan Rouhani, who expressed concern over diplomatic damages, the new legislation was ratified by the parliament on Wednesday, according to reports, thus paving the way for Iran to augment its uranium arsenal to levels prior to the 2015 deal.  "The criminal enemy will not feel remorse unless we show a fierce reaction," Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's Parliament and a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps touted against a chorus of "death to America" and "death to Israel" chants among the lawmakers. (Fox News)

12-03-2020
Human Rights

Nasrin Sotoudeh was sent back to jail despite doctors' determination that she needed to visit a heart clinic and otherwise stay home this week to recover from various health problems.

The husband of an Iranian rights lawyer furloughed from prison last month because of poor health said authorities sent her back to jail Wednesday despite doctors' determination that she needed to visit a heart clinic and otherwise stay home this week to recover from various health problems. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Persian from their home in Tehran, Reza Khandan said his wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, received a phone call earlier in the day from Qarchak prison in the southeast of the capital ordering her to report to the jail immediately. He said she went to the prison later Wednesday, abruptly ending a furlough that authorities granted her on November 7 to recover from respiratory and cardiac problems related to her recent hunger strikes in detention. Sotoudeh has been jailed since June 2018 for her legal work in defending women’s rights activists who were arrested for removing their hijabs in public defiance of Iran’s Islamist laws. Rights activists have said Sotoudeh is serving a prison sentence of more than 30 years and must complete 12 years before being eligible for parole. (Voice of America)

12-03-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran will not renegotiate the nuclear accord it reached with world powers, its foreign minister said, drawing a line in the sand ahead of Joe Biden’s assumption of the U.S. presidency.

Iran will not renegotiate the nuclear accord it reached with world powers, its foreign minister said, drawing a line in the sand ahead of Joe Biden’s assumption of the U.S. presidency. By walking out of an agreement anchored in a United Nations resolution, the U.S. is not in a position to impose conditions, Mohammad Javad Zarif told a virtual Rome conference on foreign affairs on Thursday. “The United States must cease its violations of international law, it doesn’t require any negotiations,” Zarif said. “We will not renegotiate a deal which we negotiated. The deal was about give and take, it wasn’t about one side asking and the other side giving.” (Bloomberg)

12-02-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran has sent arms and dispatched paramilitary operatives to help Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro maintain his hold on power, the top U.S. military commander for Central and South America said.

Iran has sent arms and dispatched paramilitary operatives to help Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro maintain his hold on power, the top U.S. military commander for Central and South America said Wednesday. “We see a growing Iranian influence in there,” Adm. Craig Faller, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, told reporters, citing the “alarming and concerning” presence of military personnel from the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran has used the force to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other foreign allies and proxies. Iran’s and Venezuela’s missions to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. (Wall Street Journal)

12-01-2020
Human Rights

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution, rights groups said.

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution, rights groups said on Tuesday. “On 1 December, a judge said Ahmadreza was to be transferred to Rajai Shahr prison TODAY to proceed with his imminent execution,” Amnesty International said on Twitter. “His lawyer was informed that Ahmadreza would be transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison ... today (Tuesday, Dec. 1),” Iran Human Rights said in a statement, quoting his wife Vida Mehrannia. (Reuters)

11-25-2020
Human Rights

Iran is intensifying its campaign of harassment against its Baha’i religious minority, carrying out what appears to be one of the largest coordinated raids of Baha’i homes in the Islamist-ruled country this year.

Iran is intensifying its campaign of harassment against its Baha’i religious minority, carrying out what appears to be one of the largest coordinated raids of Baha’i homes in the Islamist-ruled country this year, according to knowledgeable sources. Iran-based Baha’i sources told VOA's Persian Service that security forces raided the homes of around 50 Baha’i families on Sunday. They said the raids happened in different regions of the country, including the northern cities of Tehran, Karaj and Shahriar, the northern province of Mazandaran and the central province of Isfahan. Sources said the Iranian agents searched residences and seized personal documents and digital devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones. They said the agents also told some of the Baha’is whose homes were raided to report to local intelligence offices. (Voice of America)

11-19-2020
Military

Iran said it added a warship capable of carrying helicopters, drone aircraft and missiles to its fleet, signaling an intent to extend its naval influence beyond its native Persian Gulf.

Iran said it added a warship capable of carrying helicopters, drone aircraft and missiles to its fleet, signaling an intent to extend its naval influence beyond its native Persian Gulf. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detailed the 150-meter-long Shahid Rudaki in a statement on its website, Sepah news reported. The IRGC’s naval fleet is mostly made up of small speed boats deployed close to Iranian shores and around the Strait of Hormuz. The Shahid Rudaki will improve the security of Iran’s maritime transportation lines, according to the statement. (Bloomberg)

11-18-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has admitted a further breach of the 2015 nuclear deal by firing up advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges installed at its underground plant at Natanz.

Iran has admitted a further breach of the 2015 nuclear deal by firing up advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges installed at its underground plant at Natanz. The finding was made by the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate, the International Atomic Energy Association, and confirmed by the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA. Donald Trump last week considered but rejected a military strike on Natanz, south of Tehran and the country’s main uranium-enrichment site. But the latest move by Iran may be regarded by his administration as a provocation that changes his, or Israel’s, calculation of risk. The development comes weeks ahead of him standing down and being replaced by Joe Biden, who is committed to re-entering the nuclear deal struck under Barack Obama. (The Guardian)

11-17-2020
Syria Conflict

Three rockets, apparently fired by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, landed in the U.S. Embassy complex within Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

Three rockets, apparently fired by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, landed in the U.S. Embassy complex within Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone late Tuesday, amid rising tensions with Iran in the waning days of the Trump administration. A U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in advance of a formal statement, said initial reports indicated there had been no injuries to U.S. personnel or damage to American facilities. Another rocket reportedly landed elsewhere in the zone, and the Iraqi army said in a statement that another three fell outside the area, killing a young child and wounding five Iraqi civilians. The attack came as President Trump has consulted with top members of his national security team about a possible strike on Iran following reports of a sharp expansion in its uranium enrichment program. (Washington Post)

11-13-2020
Terrorism

Al Qaeda’s second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago,.

Al Qaeda’s second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago, intelligence officials have confirmed. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down on the streets of Tehran by two assassins on a motorcycle on Aug. 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. He was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden. The attack was carried out by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four of the officials. It is unclear what role if any was played by the United States, which had been tracking the movements of Mr. al-Masri and other Qaeda operatives in Iran for years. (New York Times)

11-11-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has finished moving a first cascade of advanced centrifuges from an above-ground plant at its main uranium enrichment site to an underground one in a fresh breach of its nuclear deal with big powers.

Iran has finished moving a first cascade of advanced centrifuges from an above-ground plant at its main uranium enrichment site to an underground one in a fresh breach of its nuclear deal with big powers, a U.N. atomic watchdog report showed on Wednesday. The transfer to the underground plant apparently built to withstand aerial bombardment was done in response to the burning down of an above-ground centrifuge-building workshop at Natanz in July, which Tehran has called an act of sabotage. It also slowed Iran’s output of enriched uranium, the report showed. The move was the latest of many deliberate breaches by Iran of its 2015 deal with major powers in response to Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the landmark accord and its reimposition of sanctions against Tehran. The deal says the underground plant at Natanz can only be used for first-generation IR-1 machines. (Reuters)

11-11-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran is continuing to build up its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and now holds roughly 12 times the amount permitted under the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran is continuing to build up its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and now holds roughly 12 times the amount permitted under the 2015 nuclear agreement, the United Nations Atomic Agency said in a report. The report’s findings underscore the challenge the incoming Biden administration faces in persuading Iran to fully return to the 2015 nuclear deal: Besides the stockpile of low-enriched uranium, which when further refined can be used to fuel a nuclear weapon, Iran is also taking steps to potentially accelerate its production of low-enriched uranium and is continuing its nuclear research. (Wall Street Journal)

11-05-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s regime thinks the next US administration will “surrender” to them and return to the Iran deal, according to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran’s regime thinks the next US administration will “surrender” to them and return to the Iran deal, according to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In a speech on Thursday about the Islamic Republic’s successes in improving its water infrastructure, he slammed the US. “The gentleman in the White House ruthlessly increased sanctions,” Rouhani said, referring to US President Donald Trump. This was an “economic war” that harmed Iran during the COVID-19 crisis, he said.  “They [the US] did not adhere to any principles: neither human-rights principles nor international law,” Rouhani said. “At the same time, I am confident that the Iranian nation will eventually win. It does not matter what the outcome of the US election is tonight or tomorrow, and whose power is in anyone’s hands. There is no doubt that the future US administration will succumb to the will of the Iranian people.” (Jerusalem Post)

11-04-2020
Terrorism

Federal officials said they seized 27 websites linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for allegedly posing as news outlets to spread disinformation.

Federal officials said they seized 27 websites linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for allegedly posing as news outlets to spread disinformation. Wednesday’s actions follow the seizure of 92 Iranian domains in October, part of the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to combat foreign disinformation in U.S. elections. The sites were targeted at American audiences, though some of the sites listed in the affidavit are entirely in Arabic or focused on news in the Middle East, according to archives seen by Bloomberg. “The anti-U.S., anti-Saudi and anti-Israeli material being promoted is in line with Iranian foreign policy and similar to previously identified Iranian covert influence campaigns,” according to a federal affidavit. “Also consistent with known Iranian covert influence campaigns, the network accomplishes Iranian propaganda objectives by manipulating U.S. public discourse and sowing discord in the American people through use of U.S. social media platforms and inauthentic news media outlets.” (Bloomberg)

11-04-2020
Military

Iran has shown off a new long-range missile system that, when launched, would cause the foes of the Islamic Republic to tremble, according to one of the country's most senior military officials.

Iran has shown off a new long-range missile system that, when launched, would cause the foes of the Islamic Republic to tremble, according to one of the country's most senior military officials. Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard, unveiled the system, which involves a complex, apparently underground series of rails to rapidly transport, fuel and fire off consecutive missiles. He issued a warning to foreign adversaries. "Our enemies are facing a decline in power, and with each passing day, the slope of this decline is accelerating," Salami said, "but the enemy's threats still remain." (Newsweek)

11-02-2020
Terrorism

Iranian hackers who sent a barrage of threatening emails to US voters last month were successful in accessing voter data from at least one state.

Iranian hackers who sent a barrage of threatening emails to US voters last month were successful in accessing voter data from at least one state, according to a joint statement issued late last Friday by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Although the state was not identified, alleged personal details of Alaska voters were briefly flashed in a video released by the hackers. The video accompanied a campaign that sent thousands of threatening emails to US voters disguised as a far-right pro-Trump group. The security breach is the latest attempt targeting the 2020 US elections, US intelligence officials warned, including attempts to hit the campaigns of President Donald Trump and his opponent, Joe Biden. (Al-Monitor)

10-29-2020
Terrorism

Hackers with links to the Iranian government have launched a cyber-attack against attendees of two upcoming international security conferences, according to information released by Microsoft.

Hackers with links to the Iranian government have launched a cyber-attack against attendees of two upcoming international security conferences, according to information released by Microsoft yesterday. The attendees include former ambassadors and other senior policy experts, with Microsoft suggesting that the perpetrators have engaged in the "attacks for intelligence collection purposes." Known as Phosphorus, the group behind the attacks has suspected links to the Iranian government. It sent fake invitation emails to around 100 potential attendees of the Munich Security Conference and the Think 20 (T20) Summit in Saudi Arabia. According to Microsoft’s Corporate VP of Customer Security and Trust, Tom Burt, the "emails use near-perfect English and were sent to former government officials, policy experts, academics and leaders from non-governmental organizations." (Forbes)

10-28-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has begun construction at its Natanz nuclear facility, satellite images show, just as the U.N. nuclear agency acknowledged Tehran is building an underground advanced centrifuge assembly plant after its last one exploded in a reported sabotage attack

Iran has begun construction at its Natanz nuclear facility, satellite images released Wednesday show, just as the U.N. nuclear agency acknowledged Tehran is building an underground advanced centrifuge assembly plant after its last one exploded in a reported sabotage attack last summer. The construction comes as the U.S. nears Election Day in a campaign pitting President Donald Trump, whose maximum pressure campaign against Iran has led Tehran to abandon all limits on its atomic program, and Joe Biden, who has expressed a willingness to return to the accord. The outcome of the vote likely will decide which approach America takes. Heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. nearly ignited a war at the start of the year. Since August, Iran has built a new or regraded road to the south of Natanz toward what analysts believe is a former firing range for security forces at the enrichment facility, images from San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc. show. (Associated Press)

10-28-2020
Human Rights

A senior member of Iran's medical association says the country's death toll from the coronavirus is three to four times the official number released by the government.

A senior member of Iran's medical association says the country's death toll from the coronavirus is three to four times the official number released by the government, the latest warning from Iranian doctors who are urging political leaders to take more aggressive action to contain the pandemic. Hossein Gheshlaghi, a senior member of Iran's Supreme Medical Council, a non-governmental professional association that licenses doctors, made the extraordinary assertion as the Iranian government faced another spike in infections. Gheshlaghi's comments follow a series of statements and letters from the professional association since March urging the government to follow scientific advice and to provide more resources for medical staff on the frontlines of the crisis. (NBC News)

10-27-2020
Human Rights

Iran has imposed harsh sentences on 36 residents of a southwestern city who joined the nation’s last major wave of anti-government protests in November 2019.

Iran has imposed harsh sentences on 36 residents of a southwestern city who joined the nation’s last major wave of anti-government protests in November 2019, according to a knowledgeable source who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. Speaking to VOA from Iran on Friday, the source said the 36 protesters from Behbahan in Khuzestan province were handed their sentences by the city’s criminal court October 22. The source said the defendants were sentenced to a cumulative total of 109 years in prison and 2,590 lashes, while each individual was fined more than 3 million tomans, equivalent to roughly $700.  A copy of the verdict, provided by the source and verified by VOA Persian, showed the protesters were convicted of disturbing public order, disobeying security agents and vandalizing public property. (Voice of America)

10-22-2020
Terrorism

Government analysts and private sector investigators were able to rapidly attribute to Iranian hackers a wave of thousands of threatening emails aimed at U.S. voters because of mistakes made in a video attached to some of the messages.

Government analysts and private sector investigators were able to rapidly attribute to Iranian hackers a wave of thousands of threatening emails aimed at U.S. voters because of mistakes made in a video attached to some of the messages, according to four people familiar with the matter. Those failures provided a rare opportunity for the U.S. government to identify and publicly announce blame for a malicious cyber operation in a matter of days, something that usually requires months of technical analysis and supporting intelligence. “Either they made a dumb mistake or wanted to get caught,” said a senior U.S. government official, who asked not to be identified. “We are not concerned about this activity being some kind of false flag due to other supporting evidence. This was Iran.” (Reuters)

10-22-2020
Terrorism

The United States has sanctioned five Iranian groups that it says attempted to interfere in the upcoming presidential election between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

The United States has sanctioned five Iranian groups that it says attempted to interfere in the upcoming presidential election between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden. In a statement on Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury said it designated Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IRGC’s Quds Force, and the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute “for having directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference” in the November 3 election. It also designated the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and International Union of Virtual Media “for being owned or controlled by” the IRGC’s Quds Force, the department said. “The Iranian regime uses false narratives and other misleading content to attempt to influence U.S. elections,” Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, said in the statement. (Al-Jazeera)

10-21-2020
Extremism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the idea of Muslim nations compromising with Israel, calling it a “humiliation,” and issued an ominous warning to nations seeking to normalize ties with the Jewish state.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the idea of Muslim nations compromising with Israel, calling it a “humiliation,” and issued an ominous warning to nations seeking to normalize ties with the Jewish state. “Muslim nations will never accept the humiliation of compromising with the Zionist regime,” Khamenei tweeted Tuesday. In recent months, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab nations to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israeli and American officials have expressed hope that other Gulf Arab countries will soon follow suit, with relations based on mutual commercial and security interests and shared enmity toward Iran. (Times of Israel)

10-21-2020
Human Rights

In Tehran, a court has upheld a sentence against Alireza Alinejad, the brother of the outspoken women's rights activist's Masih Alinejad, his attorney said.

In Tehran, a court has upheld a sentence against Alireza Alinejad, the brother of the outspoken women's rights activist's Masih Alinejad, his attorney said. "Branch 36 of the Appeals Court in Tehran province has upheld eight-year jail sentence for Alireza Alinejad, regardless of our objections," says Alireza's lawyer, Saeed Dehghan, adding, "I have decided to publish the defense bills soon." Alireza Alinejad is the brother of Masih Alinejad, an opposition activist in the United States. She has initiated popular campaigns against compulsory hijab in Iran. (Radio Farda)

10-21-2020
Military

As Iran faces pressure imposed both from external powers and regional unrest, the country's armed forces have staged a massive set of war games demonstrating their capabilities to protect the skies of the Islamic Republic.

As Iran faces pressure imposed both from external powers and regional unrest, the country's armed forces have staged a massive set of war games demonstrating their capabilities to protect the skies of the Islamic Republic. The drills came as the neighboring Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict occasionally spills over Iran's northwestern border, giving Iran an opportunity to flex its military muscle through impressive displays of firepower. The fiery exhibition provided an additional bonus for Tehran. With the lifting of a longstanding UN embargo against arms sales, the military exercises have allowed the country's defense industry to showcase a variety of domestically produced weapons that they are now free to sell to other countries. (Newsweek)

10-18-2020
Syria Conflict

Supporters of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi Shi’ite militia group, set fire to the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Baghdad.

Supporters of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi Shi’ite militia group, set fire Saturday to the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Baghdad. The protesters in the Iraqi capital were upset by comments made by a senior KDP official. Ex-foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said earlier this month that the government should “clean up” Baghdad’s Green Zone “from the presence of Hashd militias.” He said their ouster was an “essential task” as they are operating “outside the law.” The U.S. State Department issued a statement about the attack on the KDP offices by Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. (Voice of America)

10-16-2020
Terrorism

Iranian hackers contracted by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted prominent Israeli companies in a series of ransomware attacks.

Iranian hackers contracted by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted prominent Israeli companies in a series of ransomware attacks last month, a pair of cybersecurity firms reported Thursday. The attacks were attributed to “MuddyWater,” which Microsoft exposed earlier this month as a contractor for the IRGC — designated by both Israel and the US as a terror group. Dubbing the Iranian effort “Operation Quicksand,” the Clearsky and Profero cybersecurity firms said they “uncovered the first known instance of a potentially destructive attack executed by MuddyWater, focusing on prominent organizations in Israel and in other countries around the world.” (Times of Israel)

10-08-2020
Military

Iran heralded an anti-ship ballistic missile as a strategic game-changer for the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf regions.

Iran heralded an anti-ship ballistic missile as a strategic game-changer for the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf regions. The missile has a range up to 700 km., and Iran’s Fars News says it is a “new long arm” for the Islamic Republic. It was showcased during an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exhibit on the strength of the IRGC aerospace force. Iran has continued to show off new radars, drones and missiles in recent weeks, sending clear messages that are meant to threaten the US and its allies in the region. (Jerusalem Post)

10-08-2020
Terrorism

U.S. prosecutors have seized a network of web domains which they said were used in a campaign by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread political disinformation around the world.

U.S. prosecutors have seized a network of web domains which they said were used in a campaign by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread political disinformation around the world. In a statement released late on Wednesday, the Justice Department said it had taken control of 92 domains used by the IRGC to pose as independent media outlets targeting audiences in the United States, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia. “Today we are 92 domains closer to shutting down Iran’s worldwide disinformation campaign,” said U.S. Attorney David Anderson. “Iran cannot be allowed to hide behind fake news sites.” (Reuters)

10-01-2020
Syria Conflict

Turkey and Iran are increasingly adopting "game-changing" drones as their weapon of choice against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, prompting fears for the safety of civilians and stoking geopolitical tensions.

Turkey and Iran are increasingly adopting "game-changing" drones as their weapon of choice against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, prompting fears for the safety of civilians and stoking geopolitical tensions. "Not a day goes by without us seeing a drone," said Mohammad Hassan, mayor of Qandil, the mountainous Iraqi stronghold of Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "They fly so low Qandil's residents can see them with their naked eye," Hassan told AFP. (AFP)

10-01-2020
Syria Conflict

A captured gang of arms smugglers has revealed how Iran supplies weapons to Houthi militias in Yemen through a base in Somalia.

A captured gang of arms smugglers has revealed how Iran supplies weapons to Houthi militias in Yemen through a base in Somalia. The Houthis exploit poverty in Yemen to recruit fishermen as weapons smugglers, and send fighters to Iran for military training under cover of “humanitarian” flights from Yemen to Oman, the gang said. The four smugglers have been interrogated since May, when they were arrested with a cache of weapons in Bab Al-Mandab, the strategic strait joining the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. (Arab News)

09-30-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran has spent nearly $20 billion pushing its controversial foreign policy objectives in the region, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in an interview on state television.

Iran has spent nearly $20 billion pushing its controversial foreign policy objectives in the region, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in an interview on state television. Speaking to state TV channel Ofogh on September 26, Ali Fadavi said Iran had spent $19.6 billion on the 1980-1988 war with Iraq while adding that the cost for Iran's regional policies -- on such things as proxy armies and military aid in countries like Syria, Iraq, and Yemen -- was less than that. He added he could not remember the precise amount. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

09-29-2020
Military

Iran held an exhibition of its missiles and drones that showcased its successes in recent years.

Iran held an exhibition of its missiles and drones over the weekend that showcased its successes in recent years. The exhibition is supposed to show the successes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerial power. The show was open to government leaders and apparently the public, with the regime trying to show off its greatness ahead of the end of an arms embargo. Basically Tehran was saying: Look what we made despite the sanctions. The exhibit included the Fateh, Zlfiqar, Sajil and Shahab missiles, and others that Fars News called Qadr, Nazeat, Khorramshahr, Emad, Dezful and Ra’ad 500, as well as the older versions of the Scud missile. In all there were 15 Iranian missiles on display. Mobile launchers were also on display, showing how Iran moves the missiles around and can fire them from multiple locations. One of these locations appeared to be a missile hidden inside a sea container, suggesting this is how Iran moves missiles to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and maybe even to Yemen. (Jerusalem Post)

09-29-2020
Terrorism

Saudi Arabia said it dismantled a terrorist cell with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Saudi Arabia said it dismantled a terrorist cell with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the latest indication of heightened tensions in the Middle East as the two longtime rivals compete for regional supremacy. Saudi security forces arrested 10 people on Sept. 23, including three the kingdom said had received military training and instruction in making bombs in late 2017 at sites in Iran belonging to the Guards, the Saudi national security agency said late Monday. It didn’t identify the suspects, citing continuing investigations. The agency, known as the State Security Presidency, said it had seized nine improvised explosive devices and more than five kilograms of gunpowder, along with fuses, chemicals and electronics used in bomb-making. Photographs published in Saudi media showed a cache of arms including assault rifles, scopes and thousands of rounds of ammunition as well as military uniforms that had been confiscated at a house and a farm being used as storage sites. (Wall Street Journal)

09-26-2020
Military

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander revealed new information about the surveillance and detection of a US strike group, including USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander revealed on Friday new information about the surveillance and detection of a US strike group, including USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri told Iranian television that the US carriers were monitored by the army’s naval forces and IRGC’s navy under the supervision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the leadership of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. He said Iran monitored the US naval forces by air and by sea, adding that the flotilla has not entered the Gulf area for the past 10 months. “IRGC forces detected the US strike group. The Iran forces contacted them and asked them some questions,” Tangsiri said, confirming that the US forces responded to the Iranian inquiries. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

09-24-2020
Human Rights

The international community must do everything in its power to stop Iranian authorities from amputating the fingers of four men convicted of robbery following forced “confessions” and grossly unfair trials, said Amnesty International.

The international community must do everything in its power to stop Iranian authorities from amputating the fingers of four men convicted of robbery following forced “confessions” and grossly unfair trials, said Amnesty International today. According to information obtained by the organization, the sentences against the four men, Hadi Rostami (33), Mehdi Sharfian (37), Mehdi Shahivand (42) and Kasra Karami (40), have been upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court and referred to the Centre for the Implementation of Sentences. The sentences may be carried out at any moment. The four men, currently held in Urumieh prison in West Azerbaijan province, are sentenced to “have four fingers on their right hands completely cut off so that only the palm of their hands and their thumbs are left”, as per the punishment stipulated for certain types of robbery under Article 278 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code. (Amnesty International)

09-24-2020
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opened a new naval base along one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes on the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opened a new naval base along one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes on the Persian Gulf as frictions with the U.S. and its allies in the region loom over security in the waterway. The Shaheed Rahbari base near the port of Sirik, on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, took six years to build and will give Iran “full control” of various vessels that use the channel, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, a report on Press TV’s website said, citing an opening ceremony attended by IRGC commander Major General Hossein Salami. “The country’s combat operations, ship operations, reconnaissance as well as defensive and offensive operations in the Persian Gulf will further develop,” Salami was quoted as saying on Thursday. (Bloomberg)

09-23-2020
Syria Conflict

A senior spokesman for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says Iran plans to fortify Syria's air defense.

A senior spokesman for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says Iran plans to fortify Syria's air defense. Speaking to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-linked Fars news agency, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Tuesday, September 22 that Syria made the request during the recent visit of the Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, IRGC Major General Mohammad Baqeri, to Damascus, and as a result, "we have a contract with the Syrian government." Shekarchi stopped short of going into the details of the contract. (Radio Farda)

09-23-2020
Military

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard force has managed to fly a surveillance drone over the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard force has managed to fly a surveillance drone over the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier which last week transited through the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian news agency said Wednesday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is considered close to the paramilitary Guard, published images of the Nimitz, saying they were taken by Iranian-made drones, and showing fighter planes parked on the carrier’s deck. The Nimitz, and several other warships, passed last Friday through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important chokepoint for oil shipments, the U.S. Navy had said in what was described as a “scheduled maneuver.” (Associated Press)

09-22-2020
Anti-Americanism

“President [Donald] Trump ordered the assassination of a national hero for Iran and a hero for the region,” said Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of the killing of powerful Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike back in January.

“President [Donald] Trump ordered the assassination of a national hero for Iran and a hero for the region,” said Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of the killing of powerful Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike back in January. The attack on Soleimani’s convoy outside Baghdad’s International Airport also left several others dead, including pro-Iran Shiite commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.  Addressing a virtual meeting of the US-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations, Zarif called the killing “a great mistake” by the United States, adding that “the book” on Iran’s retaliatory measures “is not closed.” However, he noted, “I’m not in the business of making threats,” suggesting that any decisions about retaliation lie with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is constitutionally the commander-in-chief and holds the ultimate authority over all sensitive foreign policy matters. (Al-Monitor)

09-22-2020
Terrorism

An arms depot of the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon.

An arms depot of the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source said, injuring several people and sending a new shockwave across a nation grappling with its deepest crisis in three decades. The security source said the arms depot blast, which sent a huge column of black smoke into the sky, was caused by a “technical error”. The explosion rocked the village of Ain Qana in south Lebanon, a region that is a political stronghold of the heavily armed and politically powerful group which has fought wars with neighbouring Israel. (Reuters)

09-21-2020
Anti-Americanism

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said his country is capable of setting fire to all US bases in the Gulf “at once,” according to an interview on state TV.

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said his country is capable of setting fire to all US bases in the Gulf “at once” , according to an interview on state TV. General Hossein Salami, the commander of the IRGC - the most powerful and influential branch of Iran’s armed forces - said the US army “is exhausted and doesn’t have the power” to start a ground war with the Islamic Republic. He also ridiculed a US bid to forcibly restore United Nations sanctions on Iran. (Gulf News)

09-19-2020
Anti-Americanism

The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to go after everyone who had a role in a top general’s January killing during a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Saturday to go after everyone who had a role in a top general’s January killing during a U.S. drone strike in Iraq. The guard’s website quoted Gen. Hossein Salami as saying, “Mr. Trump! Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious and real.” U.S. President Donald Trump warned this week that Washington would harshly respond to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, tweeting that “if they hit us in any way, any form, written instructions already done we’re going to hit them 1000 times harder.” (Associated Press)

09-18-2020
Terrorism

Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems.

Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems — a capability Iran was not previously known to possess, according to two digital security reports released Friday. The operation not only targets domestic dissidents, religious and ethnic minorities and antigovernment activists abroad, but can also be used to spy on the general public inside Iran, said the reports by Check Point Software Technologies, a cybersecurity technology firm, and the Miaan Group, a human rights organization that focuses on digital security in the Middle East. The reports, which were reviewed by The New York Times in advance of their release, say that the hackers have successfully infiltrated what were thought to be secure mobile phones and computers belonging to the targets, overcoming obstacles created by encrypted applications such as Telegram and, according to Miaan, even gaining access to information on WhatsApp. Both are popular messaging tools in Iran. The hackers also have created malware disguised as Android applications, the reports said. (New York Times)

09-17-2020
Terrorism

Iranian hackers targeted aerospace and satellite technology companies at the behest of the country’s military, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Alexandria.

Iranian hackers targeted aerospace and satellite technology companies at the behest of the country’s military, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Alexandria. Prosecutors say one of the three accused, 34-year-old Said Pourkarim Arabi, is a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite Iranian security force that is designated by the United States as a terrorist group. Another is the head of a hacking collective called the Iranian Dark Coders Team, according to the indictment. Arabi and the other two people are accused of using social engineering, rather than sophisticated hacking techniques, to steal sensitive information. Pretending to be employees at the companies, they would entice real staffers or associates to click links that would give the hackers access to private files. (Washington Post)

09-15-2020
Syria Conflict

The Yemeni National Resistance Forces have thwarted another attempt to smuggle quantities of weapons and equipment by a cell of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, with the aim of delivering them to Al Houthi terrorists.

The Yemeni National Resistance Forces have thwarted another attempt to smuggle quantities of weapons and equipment by a cell of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, with the aim of delivering them to Al Houthi terrorists, local media reported. Coast Guard forces in the Red Sea sector were able to intercept a boat at sea, and arrested members of the smuggling cell, who are Houthis associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and operate within the weapons-smuggling network, Al Watan newspaper said. The Iranian regime’s support of its proxy in Yemen serves to prolong the war and destabilise the region, and is in violation of international law, officials and activists warn. (Gulf News)

09-15-2020
Terrorism

Two men have been indicted on charges stemming from the hacking of dozens of websites based in the United States, actions that the federal authorities said were taken in retaliation for the death in an American drone strike of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani.

Two men have been indicted on charges stemming from the hacking of dozens of websites based in the United States, actions that the federal authorities said were taken in retaliation for the death in an American drone strike of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani of Iran. The men, Behzad Mohammadzadeh and Marwan Abusrour, were charged with conspiracy to commit intentional damage to a protected computer and intentional damage to a protected computer, according to the indictment, which was dated Sept. 3 and unsealed on Tuesday. Mr. Mohammadzadeh, a citizen of Iran who the authorities believe is about 19 years old, and Mr. Abusrour, who is about 25 and whom the indictment identifies as “a stateless national of the Palestinian Authority,” are believed to be in their home countries. (New York Times)

09-14-2020
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran's atomic agency said that 1,044 centrifuges were active at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, in line with steps to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal.

The head of Iran's atomic agency said Sunday that 1,044 centrifuges were active at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, in line with steps to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal. The suspension of all enrichment at the underground facility near the Shiite holy city of Qom was one of the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities that it accepted in return for the lifting of international sanctions in the 2015 landmark accord. Tehran first announced the resumption of enrichment at Fordow last November, the fourth phase of its push since May 2019 to progressively suspend commitments to the deal. (Radio Farda)

09-13-2020
Terrorism

The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa.

The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, according to a U.S. government official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen the intelligence. News of the plot comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for President Donald Trump’s decision to kill a powerful Iranian general earlier this year, the officials said. If carried out, it could dramatically ratchet up already serious tensions between the U.S. and Iran and create enormous pressure on Trump to strike back — possibly in the middle of a tense election season. U.S. officials have been aware of a general threat against the ambassador, Lana Marks, since the spring, the officials said. But the intelligence about the threat to the ambassador has become more specific in recent weeks. The Iranian Embassy in Pretoria is involved in the plot, the U.S. government official said. (Politico)

09-13-2020
Anti-Americanism

The Iranian government weighed options to assassinate U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks.

The Iranian government weighed options to assassinate U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks. Although it was not clear why the Iranians were targeting Ambassador Marks, U.S. officials believed that the assassination plot grew out of a desire to retaliate against the U.S. for the drone strike that killed the IRGC’s Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, in January 2020. The Iranian embassy in Pretoria was allegedly involved in the plot, said U.S. government officials, pointing to the fact that Iran often plans terrorist attacks out of its embassies. The article also notes that the Iranian government has been developing a clandestine network in South Africa for years. (Politico)

09-12-2020
Human Rights

Iran said that it had executed a 27-year-old wrestler accused of murder after he took part in antigovernment protests two years ago, a case that set off a campaign by international sports groups to demand clemency for the athlete.

Iran said Saturday that it had executed a 27-year-old wrestler accused of murder after he took part in antigovernment protests two years ago, a case that set off a campaign by international sports groups to demand clemency for the athlete. The wrestler, Navid Afkari, was executed on Saturday morning at a prison in the southern city of Shiraz, his lawyers confirmed. Mr. Afkari was accused of fatally stabbing a water-utility worker amid unrest in his home city, Shiraz, a center of the antigovernment protests that swept the country in 2018. The charges against him had been met with widespread skepticism in Iran and abroad, with many government critics saying he was being used as an example to silence dissent. In an audiotape smuggled from prison, Mr. Afkari said he had been tortured until he falsely confessed to the crime. (New York Times)

09-08-2020
Human Rights

A British-Iranian woman held for years in Iran after being detained in 2016 while visiting family is set to face additional charges.

A British-Iranian woman held for years in Iran after being detained in 2016 while visiting family is set to face additional charges, Iranian state television announced on Tuesday, a move that could deepen the diplomatic impasse in the case. The woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, was sentenced to five years in prison after the Iranian authorities accused her of plotting to overthrow Iran’s government — charges that she, her family and international rights groups have long denied. According to an Iranian state television website, which cited an unnamed official, Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her lawyer were informed this morning of a “new indictment.” No further details about the additional charges were mentioned. (New York Times)

09-07-2020
Human Rights

Abolhassan Firoozabadi, the secretary of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace (ISCC), says that if Internet platforms are not compatible with the laws and standards of the Islamic Republic, they will be censored.

Abolhassan Firoozabadi, the secretary of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace (ISCC), says that if Internet platforms are not compatible with the laws and standards of the Islamic Republic, they will be censored. Firoozabadi said on Sunday that filters may be implemented on Internet content "if the platforms do not comply with Iranian law" or "create cultural, social, political and security issues" for Iran. Speaking on a TV show, Firoozabad praised China as a successful "model" in censoring the Internet for its citizens, which it implemented through simulating applications and tools, he noted. (Radio Farda)

09-01-2020
Extremism

The United Arab Emirates has betrayed the Islamic world and the Palestinians by reaching a deal toward normalizing ties with Israel, Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

The United Arab Emirates has betrayed the Islamic world and the Palestinians by reaching a deal toward normalising ties with Israel, Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday. “Of course, the UAE’s betrayal will not last long, but this stigma will always be remembered. They allowed the Zionist regime to have a foothold in the region and forgot Palestine,” Khamenei said in a speech. “The Emiratis will be disgraced forever for this treachery against the Islamic world, Arab nations and Palestine.” (Reuters)

08-28-2020
Nuclear Program

The domestic intelligence agency for the German state of Saarland added new weight to intelligence reports from its sister states that previously confirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran sought technology for WMDs and missile carrier systems.

The domestic intelligence agency for the German state of Saarland added new weight to intelligence reports from its sister states that previously confirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran sought technology for weapons of mass destruction and missile carrier systems during time period of 2019. The Jerusalem Post reviewed the 112-page intelligence report, which was released last week, titled “Overview of the situation” that addresses security threats faced by the small West German state Saarland. “Iran, Pakistan and, to a lesser extent Syria, made efforts to procure goods and know-how for the further development of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems,” wrote the intelligence officials for the Saarland. "Delivery system" is typically defined as the capability to launch missiles. (Jerusalem Post)

08-27-2020
Human Rights

The husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist who is on hunger strike at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, said her health has badly deteriorated after seventeen days of refusing food.

The husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist who is on hunger strike at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, said Thursday her health has badly deteriorated after seventeen days of refusing food. Ms. Sotoudeh went on a hunger strike on August 11 to protest the "unfair" and "illegal" conditions of political prisoners in Iran and said their situation has even worsened after the coronavirus pandemic. In social media posts on Thursday, Reza Khandan wrote that Ms. Sotoudeh's blood pressure and blood sugar levels are fluctuating greatly, and she has gone down to forty-seven kilos from fifty-three. According to Mr. Khandan nausea does not allow Ms. Sotoudeh to drink enough water or sugar so her blood sugar level sometimes drops to as low as 44. (Radio Farda)

08-26-2020
Terrorism

Unsophisticated Iranian hackers are attacking company networks with ransomware, a cybersecurity firm said.

Unsophisticated Iranian hackers are attacking company networks with ransomware, a cybersecurity firm said. The attackers have been using Dharma ransomware “and a mix of publicly available tools” to target companies in Russia, Japan, China and India, cybersecurity firm Group-IB said earlier this week. Dharma ransomware, which is gaining popularity with cybercriminals, is typically installed by hacking into computers over Remote Desktop Protocol Services (RDP) – a Microsoft-developed technology for connecting to other computers over a network. After scanning the Internet for computers running RDP, hackers will then try to brute force the password – trying multiple passwords hoping that one eventually works. Once access is gained, the attackers will install the ransomware, which encrypts the computer and locks out the users. Often, the attackers also try to encrypt other computers on the network. (Fox News)

08-25-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran won’t accept any additional demands beyond its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s top nuclear official declared Tuesday as the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog made his first visit to Iran.

Iran won’t accept any additional demands beyond its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s top nuclear official declared Tuesday as the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog made his first visit to Iran. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Iran on Monday to press for access to sites where the Islamic Republic is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material. Grossi took over the IAEA after the sudden death of its late director-general Yukiya Amano last year. Grossi’s visit comes as the U.S. is pushing to “snapback” U.N. sanctions on Iran for allegedly violating the nuclear deal with world powers. (Associated Press)

08-23-2020
Human Rights

A Revolutionary Court in Iran has ruled against fourteen activists who had protested mismanagement and corruption in the clergy-dominated country last November.

A Revolutionary Court in Iran has ruled against fourteen activists who had protested mismanagement and corruption in the clergy-dominated country last November. Some of the protesters are sentenced to one to five years in jail. Announcing the verdicts, a Telegram channel in Iran reported on Saturday, August 22, that prominent pro-reform political activist, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was sentenced to five years in prison, while his comrades, former members of Iran's parliament, Ali Shakouri Rad and Mohsen Armin, the son of an imprisoned dissident, Mohammad Hossein Karroubi, Qorban Behzadian Nejad, and a former Tehran city councilor Ms. Sediqeh Vasmaqi, were each sentenced to one year behind bars. In a statement in 2019, 77 political activists had called for, "The indiscriminate firing of a rifle procured through public treasury to defend ordinary and unarmed citizens who poured into the streets to express their protest and anger, is a crime--- a crime that the law and the judiciary should not hesitate for a moment in pursuing its initiators, commanders, and perpetrators." (Radio Farda)

08-20-2020
Military

Iran on Thursday unveiled two new types of long-range missiles, named after former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani and former Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, on the occasion of national Defense Industry Day.

Iran on Thursday unveiled two new types of long-range missiles on the occasion of national Defense Industry Day. The two new missiles, named after former IRGC Quds Force Commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) anti-terror group, were unveiled on Thursday during a virtual ceremony attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The first ballistic missile dubbed “Martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani” has a range close to 1,400 kilometers, while the second one dubbed “Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis” is a cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers. (Tasnim)

08-18-2020
Syria Conflict

As Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi prepares for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump this week, attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters have been on the rise.

As Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi prepares for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump this week, attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters have been on the rise. With Tehran and Washington competing for influence in Iraq, the gulf between pro-Iranian factions and Baghdad's US-friendly premier is growing. When Kadhemi meets Trump on Thursday for the first time, the top agenda for the Iraqi leader is the presence of 5,000 US troops deployed in his country. (AFP)

08-18-2020
Nuclear Program

A group of senior Iranian lawmakers have voiced support for boosting the Islamic Republic's nuclear production.

A group of senior Iranian lawmakers has voiced support for boosting the Islamic Republic's nuclear production, including the development of nuclear-powered submarine engines should the United States successfully trigger international sanctions that would effectively kill a five-year agreement among world powers. The Islamic Consultative Assembly's Commission of National Security and Foreign Policy released a seven-point statement Tuesday expressing confidence in Iran's ability to win the diplomatic dispute over whether the U.S. had the right to dismantle the 2015 nuclear agreement it abandoned in 2018. At the same time, the legislators laid out other measures to prepare for "the illegal activation of the trigger mechanism" that would revive pre-deal sanctions. The statement called on the Iran Atomic Energy Organization to "immediately return all nuclear activity" to levels attained before the accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This included activating IR4, IR6, IR8 centrifuges to supply enrich uranium at 190,000 separative work units and "to accelerate the construction of nuclear propellants in order to equip our country's navy." (Newsweek)

08-17-2020
Military

Iran's defense minister has said the country plans to export weapons as soon as sanctions preventing such sales are lifted, following the U.S. failure last week to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Tehran.

Iran's defense minister has said the country plans to export weapons as soon as sanctions preventing such sales are lifted, following the U.S. failure last week to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Tehran. Brigadier General Amir Hatami told reporters Sunday that sanctions have been unable to stifle Iran's arms industry, and vowed that the country "will use all capacities in the world to meet its arms requirements, selling and exporting weapons after sanctions removal," according to the Mehr News Agency. Hatami was one of several Iranian officials to celebrate the American failure to convince the U.N. Security Council to extend the arms embargo, which is due to expire in October. (Newsweek)

08-17-2020
Terrorism

US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, identifying payments linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group just last year alone.

US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, identifying payments linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group just last year alone, including a suicide bombing at a US air base in December, CNN has learned. "Bounties" were paid by a foreign government, identified to CNN as Iran, to the Haqqani network -- a terrorist group that is led by the second highest ranking leader of the Taliban -- for their attack on Bagram Air Base on December 11, which killed two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including four US personnel, according to a Pentagon briefing document reviewed by CNN. The name of the foreign government that made these payments remains classified but two sources familiar with the intelligence confirmed to CNN that it refers to Iran. (CNN)

08-15-2020
Extremism

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard vowed Saturday there would be dangerous consequences for the United Arab Emirates after it announced a historic deal with Israel to open up diplomatic relations.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard vowed Saturday there would be dangerous consequences for the United Arab Emirates after it announced a historic deal with Israel to open up diplomatic relations. The UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to establish normalized relations with Israel, Iran’s regional archenemy. As part of the U.S.-brokered deal, Israel agreed to temporarily put off the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. The Iranian Guard called the deal a “shameful” agreement and an “evil action” that was underwritten by the U.S., according to the group’s statement on a website it runs, Sepah News. (Associated Press)

08-14-2020
Extremism

Iran has condemned a deal establishing full diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, calling it a stab in the back to all Muslims.

Iran has condemned a deal establishing full diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, calling it a stab in the back to all Muslims. Tehran, in the foreign ministry statement on Friday, called the normalising of ties between the two countries a dangerous, "shameful" measure and warned the UAE against Israel interfering in the "political equations" of the Gulf region. "The UAE government and other accompanying governments must accept responsibility for all the consequences of this action," the statement said. The move was an act of "strategic stupidity from Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv that will undoubtedly strengthen the resistance axis in the region", it added. (Al-Jazeera)

08-13-2020
Syria Conflict

The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., the American military said.

The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., the American military said Thursday. The U.S. military’s Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan. The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said. (Associated Press)

08-13-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has reportedly been moving to boost uranium enrichment at the Natanz nuclear facility, the site of a mysterious blast last month that allegedly targeted advanced centrifuges.

Iran has reportedly been moving to boost uranium enrichment at the Natanz nuclear facility, the site of a mysterious blast last month that allegedly targeted advanced centrifuges. A document from the International Atomic Energy Agency cited by the Bloomberg news agency said new advanced centrifuges were being moved from a pilot facility to a new area at Natanz. Piping has been installed to accommodate higher volumes of enriched material produced by three new cascades, made up of 164 centrifuges each, the document stated. (Times of Israel)

08-10-2020
Human Rights

Iran shut down a newspaper after it quoted a former member of the national coronavirus taskforce as saying the country’s tolls from the epidemic could be 20 times higher than official figures, state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran shut down a newspaper on Monday after it quoted a former member of the national coronavirus taskforce as saying the country’s tolls from the epidemic could be 20 times higher than official figures, state news agency IRNA reported. “The Jahan-e Sanat newspaper was shut down today for publishing an interview on Sunday,” the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Mohammadreza Saadi, told IRNA. On Sunday, the newspaper published an interview with Mohammadreza Mahboubfar, in which he said: “The figures announced by the officials on coronavirus cases and deaths account for only 5% of the country’s real tolls”. (Reuters)

08-06-2020
Syria Conflict

Bahrain foiled two attempts to smuggle explosives from Iran after seizing two cars loaded with explosive materials, the Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday.

Bahrain foiled two attempts to smuggle explosives from Iran after seizing two cars loaded with explosive materials, the Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday. The ministry said those arrested confessed to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group being behind the operation. Hezbollah has previously attempted to conduct a similar operation in Bahrain in February 2011. Manama's authorities foiled at the time an attempt to smuggle a shipment of ammunition, explosives and weapons off the Bahraini coast and arrested a "terrorist cell" with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) the same year. (Al-Arabiya)

08-05-2020
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary said Mostafa Salehi, a protester detained during anti-government demonstrations in December 2017, has been put to the gallows.

Iran’s judiciary said Mostafa Salehi, a protester detained during anti-government demonstrations in December 2017, has been put to the gallows. The execution by hanging was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday at Dastgerd Prison, in the central city of Isfahan. One day before the execution, HRANA News Agency — run by a group of Iranian human rights advocates, whose activities are banned by the Islamic Republic — renewed calls for a halt to the order. In a detailed report, the group voiced concern that prison authorities were pressing ahead with the death penalty procedures as the convict was sent to solitary confinement and was barred from contacting his family, two common alarms in the run-up to most executions in Iran. Judges found Salehi guilty of premeditated murder of an officer with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the protests. In the proceedings, however, Salehi had denied the murder charges. IRGC-affiliated media outlets reported that Salehi had also acted as “riot leader” in his hometown of Kahriz-Sang, Isfahan province. (Al-Monitor)

08-03-2020
Terrorism

Israeli defense officials claimed that it is likely that Iran, rather than Hezbollah, was behind the local cell that attempted to plant explosive devices along the border between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights.

Israeli defense officials claimed that it is likely that Iran, rather than Hezbollah, was behind the local cell that attempted to plant explosive devices along the border between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights Sunday night. In a statement issued Monday by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, he initially said Hezbollah was responsible for the incident, but a correction that his office sent out moments later omitted any reference to the Lebanese group, and only referred to “terrorists.” Iran has used other similar local groups and Shi’ite militia members, who were sent to Syria to aid the Assad regime in the civil war, for similar purposes in the past. If it were indeed an Iranian-backed unit behind the incident, then it was probably a response to a series of recent airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria attributed to Israel. (Haaretz)

07-31-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country will not negotiate with the United States because America would only use talks for propaganda purposes.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday his country will not negotiate with the United States because America would only use talks for propaganda purposes. The Trump administration has said it is willing to talk with Iran “with no preconditions,” but that the U.S. will continue its campaign of pressure against the Islamic Republic. In a televise speech marking the Eid al-Adha holiday, Khamenei said President Donald Trump would benefit from talks, saying Trump wants to “use negotiations with us for propaganda like negotiations with North Korea.” Khamenei was referring to talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong un. (Associated Press)

07-30-2020
Military

Iran claims to have used its first military satellite—the launch of which was condemned by President Donald Trump's administration—to publish detailed images of a U.S. air base in Qatar, according to state media.

Iran claims to have used its first military satellite—the launch of which was condemned by President Donald Trump's administration—to publish detailed images of a U.S. air base in Qatar, according to state media. The state-backed Press TV channel reported Wednesday that Iran's Nour-1 satellite—operated by the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRCG)—took photos of the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, which hosts the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command and the headquarters of U.S. Air Forces Central Command. Press TV said the images covered the "full expanse" of the base, which it said hosts some 13,000 "terrorist" troops. Tehran has classified all U.S. forces as terrorists in retaliation for the Trump administration designating the IRGC a terrorist organization last year. (Newsweek)

07-29-2020
Military

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles as part of an exercise involving a mock-up American aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting its network of subterranean missile sites.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles Wednesday as part of an exercise involving a mock-up American aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting its network of subterranean missile sites. Although state television documentaries have focused on operations at underground bases, all have avoided showing geographic details revealing their locations. Wednesday’s launch from what appears to be central Iran’s desert plateau may have changed that amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S. over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as economic pressures grow. “We have carried out the launch of ballistic missiles from the depths of the earth for the first time,” Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guard’s aerospace division, told state TV. “That means without utilizing conventional launchpads, the buried missiles suddenly rip out of the earth and hit their targets precisely.” (Associated Press)

07-29-2020
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary has blocked the bank account of prominent imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh in a move aimed at adding pressure on her and her family.

Iran’s judiciary has blocked the bank account of prominent imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh in a move aimed at adding pressure on her and her family. Speaking to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on July 27, Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan, said his wife's bank account with Pasargad Bank in Tehran has been blocked since May on the orders of the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office. Sotoudeh, the co-winner of the European Parliament's 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, was sentenced last year to 38 years in prison over her defense of political prisoners, including women protesting the compulsory hijab law. Sotoudeh was also jailed from 2010 to 2013 over her human rights work. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

07-29-2020
Human Rights

A British-Australian academic serving a 10-year sentence for espionage in Iran has been moved to a notorious prison where concerns for her well-being have escalated, the Australian government confirmed.

A British-Australian academic serving a 10-year sentence for espionage in Iran has been moved to a notorious prison where concerns for her well-being have escalated, the Australian government confirmed Wednesday. Kylie Moore-Gilbert was a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies when she was sent to Tehran’s Evin Prison in September 2018. She had been arrested at Tehran airport while trying to leave the country after attending an academic conference. Iran told Australia that Moore-Gilbert had been recently moved to Qarchak Prison east of Tehran, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. (Associated Press)

07-28-2020
Military

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched missiles targeting a mock aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched missiles Tuesday targeting a mock aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a drill that included such a barrage of fire the U.S. military temporarily put two regional bases in the Mideast on alert amid tensions between the two countries. The drill — and the American response to it — underlined the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the U.S. after a series of escalating incidents last year led to an American drone strike killing a top Iranian general in Baghdad. Tehran responded to that strike by firing ballistic missiles that wounded dozens of American forces in Iraq. While the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed both Iran and the U.S. for months, there has been a growing confrontation as America argues to extend a yearslong U.N. weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October. A recent incident over Syria involving an American jet fighter approaching an Iranian passenger plane also has renewed tensions. Iranian commandos fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the replica in the footage aired Tuesday from the exercise called “Great Prophet 14.” Anti-aircraft guns opened fire on a target drone near the port city of Bandar Abbas. (Associated Press)

07-28-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that he turned down around 23 requests for talks after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that he turned down around 23 requests for talks after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. Addressing a meeting of Iranian officials, he said that over the past two years and three months he received 23 requests to meet US officials. "We did not hesitate to negotiate, but we are not looking for a show," he added, reported IRNA. Lifting the sanctions is not a precondition but a reality, the president said, adding that they are putting pressure on the Iranian people, not just the government, describing the sanctions as “economic terrorism.” (Asharq Al-Awsat)

07-27-2020
Terrorism

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated as Israeli forces repelled what security officials described as a border infiltration with heavy shelling in a clash that had both sides on high alert.

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated Monday as Israeli forces repelled what security officials described as a border infiltration with heavy shelling in a clash that had both sides on high alert.Hezbollah, which is known for claiming responsibility for its actions, denied launching an operation against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused its patron, Iran, of stoking the unrest by "entrenching its military in our region." In a televised address, Netanyahu said Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah was "embroiling Lebanon" at the behest of Iran. (Washington Post)

07-22-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeated threats to further retaliate against the U.S. for its assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeated threats to further retaliate against the U.S. for its assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani. The ayatollah met with new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Tehran on Tuesday and vowed to deliver a "counter blow" to the U.S. for the drone strike that killed Soleimani in Baghdad in January. Khamenei also warned Kadhimi that U.S. presence in Iraq would only bring the country more destruction and corruption. (Newsweek)

07-21-2020
Terrorism

Israel has reportedly thwarted a terrorist plot to kidnap of one of its soldiers, a plan its security services say was masterminded by Iran and Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah.

Israel has reportedly thwarted a terrorist plot to kidnap of one of its soldiers, a plan its security services say was masterminded by Iran and Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. The cell was intercepted and 10 members were arrested, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said. It said it believed the plot was meant to obtain leverage for the release of jailed Palestinians. The Shin Bet said the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, was to carry out the plot in the occupied West Bank. (The National)

07-20-2020
Human Rights

An Iranian convicted of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence was executed, according to Iran’s official IRIB news agency.

An Iranian convicted of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence was executed on Monday, according to Iran’s official IRIB news agency.  Last month, the judiciary said Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, who was arrested in 2018, had spied on former Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, adding, however, that the case was not connected to Soleimani’s killing earlier this year. … A report aired on Iranian state TV on Monday included footage of Mousavi-Majd talking about meeting with contacts from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad as well as audio of an alleged conversation between him and a CIA agent in English. (Reuters)

07-17-2020
Human Rights

Police dispersed protesters in southwestern Iran angry over the Islamic Republic’s anemic economy amid a U.S. sanctions campaign, a news report said, and internet access to the wider region was disrupted as demonstrators shared videos of the rally.

Police dispersed protesters in southwestern Iran angry over the Islamic Republic’s anemic economy amid a U.S. sanctions campaign, a news report said on Friday, and internet access to the wider region was disrupted as demonstrators shared videos of the rally. Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org reported the disruption affecting Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province late Thursday. The outage coincided with videos being published online of protesters gathering in the city of Behbahan, some 570 kilometers (355 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran. Those videos showed demonstrators chanting slogans heard at other protests in Iran over the last year, including: “Don’t be afraid, we are all together.” Others targeted Iran’s foreign policy, shouting: “No Gaza, no Lebanon, I will die for Iran.” (Associated Press)

07-16-2020
Terrorism

A leak from a suspected Iranian hacker crew has revealed just how it’s snooping on American officials’ online lives by taking control of their Google accounts, according to IBM researchers.

A leak from a suspected Iranian hacker crew has revealed just how it’s snooping on American officials’ online lives by taking control of their Google accounts, according to IBM researchers. The same hackers have reportedly been linked with attacks on President Trump's campaign staff, according to an IBM report shared with Forbes. The 40 gigabyte leak was discovered in May by IBM X-Force IRIS, a cyber intelligence unit within the tech giant. A simple misconfiguration of a server had left the data wide open to anyone who could find the relevant web address. The most revealing information came in the form of training videos, one of which showed how the hackers, dubbed ITG18 (though more widely referred to as Charming Kitten), had breached the Google account of a U.S. Navy official.  There was also evidence of failed phishing attempts targeting the personal accounts of an Iranian-American philanthropist and officials of the U.S. State Department, including one associated with the U.S. Virtual Embassy to Iran. And the leak uncloaked a number of fake online personas that the hackers were using to to target persons of interest, with one other victim being a member of Greece’s Hellenic Navy. (Forbes)

07-16-2020
Nuclear Program

The Chief of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Iran of "bad" consequences if access is not granted by the end of July to two sites where undeclared nuclear activities may have taken place in the past.

The Chief of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday warned Iran of "bad" consequences if access is not granted by the end of July to two sites where undeclared nuclear activities may have taken place in the past. “I keep insisting on the absolute necessity for us to resolve this issue very soon,” Rafael Mariano Grossi was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. He also pointed out that the issue was not going to just go away and urged Iran again to provide IAEA investigators access to the disputed sites. In a June report IAEA said Iran had not provided access to the two sites for four months. Subsequently, on June 19 the IAEA passed a resolution proposed by the European sides of the 2015 nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) against Iran. (Radio Farda)

07-15-2020
Extremism

Iran’s head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, slammed the US and Israel and said both countries would be punished and that only “difficult” days are ahead.

Iran’s head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, slammed the US and Israel and said both countries would be punished and that only “difficult” days are ahead. He praised a fire aboard a US ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, as divine punishment. “America lit a fire and today is on fire,” he said. Ghaani became head of the Quds Force after the US killed Qasem Soleimani in January. Soleimani was one of Iran’s most well-known commanders, responsible for supporting Iran’s actions from Lebanon to Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Iran has vowed revenge since his killing. (Jerusalem Post)

07-15-2020
Human Rights

Iranians from all walks of life — teachers, doctors, designers, cooks, actors, directors, artists, homemakers, bloggers — have taken to social media with a message for the government: Stop the executions.

Iranians from all walks of life — teachers, doctors, designers, cooks, actors, directors, artists, homemakers, bloggers — have taken to social media with a message for the government: Stop the executions. The online campaign, which took place on Tuesday and which analysts said was remarkable for its scope and the breadth of its support, was in response to the judiciary’s announcement earlier in the day that it had upheld the death sentences of three young men who joined antigovernment protests in November. Iran put 251 people to death last year, more than any country but China, according to Amnesty International. In recent weeks, many Iranians have been rattled by a series of executions based on murky charges, from drinking alcohol to political activism to allegedly spying for the C.I.A. (New York Times)

07-14-2020
Human Rights

Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that Iran has executed two Kurdish prisoners in the central prison of Urumiyeh despite pleas from various rights organizations to drop the death penalty.

Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that Iran has executed two Kurdish prisoners in the central prison of Urumiyeh in the early morning hours of Tuesday despite pleas from various rights organizations to drop the death penalty. The two prisoners, Diako Rasoulzadeh and Saber Sheikh-Abdollah who were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad for "enmity against God" and being members of Komala, were transferred to solitary cells on Monday in preparation for their execution. Komala is a banned Kurdish political party. Amnesty International had called on Iranian authorities to immediately stop the execution of the two prisoners in a tweet on its Persian-language account only hours before the execution and urged them to allow a fair trial not based on forced confessions as evidence. (Radio Farda)

07-14-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country’s judiciary said.

Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country’s judiciary said Tuesday. It was the second such execution in the past month. The report said Reza Asgari was executed last week. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Asgari had worked in the airspace department of the ministry and retired in 2016. “In the last years of his service, he joined the CIA, he sold information about our missiles ... to the CIA and took money from them,” Esmaili said. “He was identified, tried and sentenced to death.” (Associated Press)

07-14-2020
Human Rights

Human rights groups say Iran’s decision to uphold and schedule the execution of three protesters is unfair and should be repealed.

Human rights groups say Iran’s decision to uphold and schedule the execution of three protesters is unfair and should be repealed. Iran's judiciary announced on Tuesday that a court had upheld death sentences for three people linked to deadly protests last November. It is the first statement by Tehran on the trial of protesters Amirhossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi. The sentences were "confirmed by the Supreme Court after the defendants and their attorneys appealed", spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told the judiciary's Mizan Online website. (The National)

07-10-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran’s military chief has signed an agreement with Syria’s president to reinforce Syria’s air defense systems as part of a military cooperation agreement, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran’s military chief has signed an agreement with Syria’s president to reinforce Syria’s air defense systems as part of a military cooperation agreement, Iranian state TV reported Friday. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, met with Syria President Bashar Assad during his second visit to Syria since 2019. Assad said the agreement signed by both sides is the result of “years of cooperation for confronting terrorism” in Syria. (Associated Press)

07-08-2020
Syria Conflict

A powerful Iran-backed militia said there would be “escalation” if Iraq’s prime minister continues to clamp down on armed groups, as tensions spiked following the killing of a prominent analyst, pitting the state against rogue elements.

A powerful Iran-backed militia said Wednesday there would be “escalation” if Iraq’s prime minister continues to clamp down on armed groups, as tensions spiked following the killing of a prominent analyst, pitting the state against rogue elements. Hostilities have flared as Iraq reels from the assassination of Hisham al-Hashimi, 47, who was gunned down by unknown assailants on motorbikes outside his Baghdad home Monday. He had received death threats from the Islamic State group and Iran-backed militia groups. Al-Hashimi’s killers are still unknown but many point to the timing of the assassination, coming just two weeks after a raid on the headquarters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia south of Baghdad. They speculate al-Hashimi may have fallen victim to escalating tensions between the government and militia groups. Days before his death a study he wrote on the inner workings of Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq was published. (Associated Press)

07-08-2020
Syria Conflict

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that U.S. and partner forces seized a boat in June carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen as he renewed his call for the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that U.S. and partner forces seized a boat in June carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen as he renewed his call for the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran. “The Security Council must extend the arms embargo on Iran to prevent further conflict in the region,” Pompeo told a State Department news conference. “No serious person can possibly believe Iran will use any weapon it receives for peaceful ends.” Pompeo is leading a U.S. drive to persuade the Security Council to extend the embargo due to expire in mid-October under the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in 2018. (Reuters)

07-05-2020
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian conglomerate owned by the country’s military and tied to its missile program has established a retail foothold in Venezuela, according to officials and records detailing the move, deepening Tehran’s involvement with the Maduro government.

An Iranian conglomerate owned by the country’s military and tied to its missile program has established a retail foothold in Venezuela, according to officials and records detailing the move, deepening Tehran’s involvement with the Maduro government. The Iranian firm is working with the Maduro government’s troubled emergency food program, which is the subject of U.S. enforcement action as an alleged money-laundering operation, compounding U.S. concerns regarding the move. The arrival of the company, which also has ties to Iran’s elite military Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designated by the U.S. as a terror organization, bolsters Tehran’s foothold in the Western Hemisphere and comes as Venezuela increasingly seeks assistance from U.S. foes, including petroleum from Iran and energy-industry assistance from Russia. (Wall Street Journal)

07-01-2020
Syria Conflict

A new UN report has confirmed Iran’s role in the attack on Saudi Aramco facilities last September.

A new UN report has confirmed Iran’s role in the attack on Saudi Aramco facilities last September. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented the report to the Security Council in a video conference on Tuesday. The report comes with the Iran arms embargo set to expire on Oct. 18, 2020. Guterres told the council that the report highlights the Iranian regime’s aggressive approach in destabilizing the region through military and financial support of armed militias in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. (Arab News)

06-30-2020
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced to death a journalist whose online work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017.

Iran has sentenced to death a journalist whose online work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017. Ruhollah Zam had returned to Iran under unclear circumstances and was subsequently arrested. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced Zam’s sentence on Tuesday. Zam had run a website called AmadNews that posted embarrassing videos and information about Iranian officials. He had been living and working in exile in Paris before being convinced into returning to Iran, where he was arrested in October 2019. Zam later appeared in televised confessions, where he offered an apology for his past activities. (Associated Press)

06-30-2020
Terrorism

Hezbollah in Lebanon is trying to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out terrorist activities, according to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

Hezbollah in Lebanon is trying to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out terrorist activities, according to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). The Hezbollah cell, as well as the identity of Hezbollah detainees and recruits, was discovered following the June 6 arrest of two Israeli civilians from the northern Arab town of Majd el-Kurum and their subsequent interrogation by the Shin Bet. The investigation found that Beirut Hamud, a female Israeli citizen from Majd el-Kurum and currently living in Lebanon with her husband, Bilal Bizari, has been operating on behalf of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite terrorist organization. Hamud and Bizari work for Al-Ahkbar newspaper, which is affiliated with Hezbollah. As part of their work for Hezbollah, she and her husband recruit Israelis, the Shin Bet said. (Jerusalem Post)

06-30-2020
Human Rights

Female human rights activists imprisoned in Iran are facing a slew of new charges to prevent them from being temporarily released because of the Covid-19 epidemic, rights groups say.

Female human rights activists imprisoned in Iran are facing a slew of new charges to prevent them from being temporarily released because of the Covid-19 epidemic, rights groups say. Since Covid-19 spread rapidly through the country in early March, Iranian authorities have been under pressure to release all prisoners who pose no risk to society. Around 85,000 prisoners were temporarily released under a furlough scheme earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak, half of whom were believed to be political detainees. Yet dozens of women’s rights activists remain in prisons across the country, with groups including the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) accusing authorities of deliberately rendering them ineligible for release by bringing new charges. Those considered “security prisoners” with sentences of more than five years were automatically denied furlough. (The Guardian)

06-29-2020
Politics

Heated debates during last week's parliament meeting in Tehran are fueling concerns among millions of Iranians that the newly elected conservative lawmakers are prioritizing restrictions on social media over more urgent economic woes.

Heated debates during last week's parliament meeting in Tehran are fueling concerns among millions of Iranians that the newly elected conservative lawmakers are prioritizing restrictions on social media over more urgent economic woes, which they had promised to address upon taking their seats. The session saw Iran’s young Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi cornered and grilled by powerful hard-line parliamentarians, including the speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. In their ferocious attacks, the lawmakers particularly took aim at the popular social media platform Instagram, which is being used by an estimated half of the population in a country of 84 million. “It has turned into the killing ground of the religious convictions of our young generation,” ultraconservative lawmaker Mousa Ghazanfarabadi said of Instagram, the only Western social media network to so far survive the Islamic Republic’s strict bans. Ghazanfarabadi also blamed the app for the “disintegration of many Iranian families.” For his part, Ghalibaf squeezed the minister for failing to introduce regulatory policies into Iran’s cyberspace, which he said is plagued by “disinhibition” and lax rules. (Al-Monitor)

06-29-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for U.S. President Donald Trump and 35 others over the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani and has asked Interpol for help, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said, according to the Fars news agency.

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for U.S. President Donald Trump and 35 others over the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani and has asked Interpol for help, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on Monday, according to the Fars news agency. The United States and Interpol both dismissed the idea of acting on such a warrant. The United States killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, with a drone strike in Iraq on Jan. 3. Washington accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. Alqasimehr said the warrants had been issued on charges of murder and terrorist action. He said Iran had asked Interpol to issue a “red notice” seeking the arrest of Trump and the other individuals the Islamic Republic accuses of taking part in the killing of Soleimani. (Reuters)

06-29-2020
Human Rights

An Iranian who spied for U.S. and Israeli intelligence on slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran said, adding the case was not linked to Soleimani’s killing earlier this year.

An Iranian who spied for U.S. and Israeli intelligence on slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran said on Tuesday, adding the case was not linked to Soleimani’s killing earlier this year. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. Washington blamed Soleimani for masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. “Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, one of the spies for the CIA and the Mossad, has been sentenced to death ... He had shared information about the whereabouts of martyr Soleimani with our enemies,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said in a televised news conference. (Reuters)

06-27-2020
Human Rights

The Head of the Justice Department of Isfahan Province said eight individuals have been sentenced for "corruption on earth", a charge carrying the death sentence according to Iran's Islamic Penal Code.

The Head of the Justice Department of Isfahan Province on Friday said eight individuals have been sentenced for "corruption on earth", a charge carrying the death sentence according to Iran's Islamic Penal Code. Mohammad-Reza Habibi who was speaking at a Friday prayer sermon did not mention any details about these cases or which protests the defendants had participated in but said: "We will be decisive against mercenaries and rioters if crimes are committed like what happened in 2009, 2017 and last November [when protests broke out across the country]" and added that eight trials have finished and those involved have been sentenced for corruption on earth". Habibi's remarks came only a few days after reports said three young men were sentenced to death for participating in the nationwide protests in November 2019 in Tehran. The death sentences passed by the Revolutionary Court have reportedly been upheld by the Supreme Court. The Judiciary, however, has not yet officially announced the sentences. (Radio Farda)

06-26-2020
Terrorism

A court in Denmark sentenced on Friday a 40-year-old Norwegian man of Iranian descent to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of spying for Iran and being accessory to attempts to commit murder on Danish soil.

A court in Denmark sentenced on Friday a 40-year-old Norwegian man of Iranian descent to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of spying for Iran and being accessory to attempts to commit murder on Danish soil. The man, who was not identified by the court, “collected information about an exiled Iranian in Denmark” during the period of Sept. 25-27, 2018. The Roskilde city court said it was “proven” that the information was handed over to a person working for an unnamed Iranian intelligence service. It added that online chats between the defendant and the person working for the Iranian intelligence service “weighed in” as evidence. (AP)

06-26-2020
Human Rights

The U.S. State Department said that Iran will remain on tier 3 of the U.S. list of human trafficking because it does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and and is not making significant efforts to do so.

In its latest annual report on human trafficking, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday that Iran will remain on tier 3 of the U.S. list of human trafficking because it does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. In his message in conjunction with the annual report, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for tougher legal action against human traffickers by all governments, as well as increased support for victims, including the establishment of therapy and rehabilitation centers for them. …The third tier on the list includes countries such as Iran that do not comply with minimum standards and do not take action to improve the situation. The third group includes countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, China, Russia, Syria, Algeria, Venezuela, and Cuba. (Radio Farda)

06-26-2020
Extremism

Iran’s U.N. ambassador said that he believes a U.S. resolution to extend an arms embargo against his country will be defeated and warned it would be “a very, very big mistake” if the Trump administration then tries to re-impose U.N. sanctions.

Iran’s U.N. ambassador said Thursday that he believes a U.S. resolution to extend an arms embargo against his country will be defeated and warned it would be “a very, very big mistake” if the Trump administration then tries to re-impose U.N. sanctions. Ambassador Majid Ravanchi said restoring U.N. sanctions will end the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers and release Tehran from all its commitments. “If that happens, Iran will not be under constraint as to what course of action it should take,” he said reporters. “All options for Iran will be open.” (AP)

06-25-2020
Terrorism

The Microsoft Threat Protection Intelligence Team has identified a chain of attacks on its cloud service by a group linked to Iran and the Iranian Cyber Army.

The Microsoft Threat Protection Intelligence Team has identified a chain of attacks on its cloud service in a post published on June 18. According to Microsoft the group identified as HOLMIUM” has been performing espionage and destructive attacks targeting aerospace, defense, chemical, mining, and petrochemical-mining industries. Based on previous research by the Fireye the group has been linked to Iran and the Iranian Cyber Army. The attack consisted of sophisticated phishing emails giving the target an impression that the message was legitimate. (Radio Farda)

06-24-2020
Human Rights

Iran Human Rights News Agency (HRANA) reported that the Supreme Court of Iran has upheld the death sentences of three young men who were arrested by security forces during the November 2019 protests.

Iran Human Rights News Agency (HRANA) reported that the Supreme Court of Iran has upheld the death sentences of three young men who were arrested by security forces during the November 2019 protests. The confirmation of the death sentences passed on Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, who had all been sentenced to prison, lashes and a death sentence by the Revolutionary Court for various charges brought against them has not been officially announced. However, the lawyer of one of the defendants in the case who did not want to be named for his own safety, has informed HRANA of the Supreme Court's decision. Security forces identified and arrested Amir-Hossein Moradi from CCTV footage during the November 2019 protests. He was beaten during his arrest and interrogations and held in solitary confinement for a month. He was also tortured and coerced to appear on the state-run television to "confess" that he had set fire to banks and gas stations and damaged public property, even before having been tried and sentenced by a court. Moradi and other defendants in the case were denied access to lawyers during the investigation phase. (Radio Farda)

06-24-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran would be open to talks with the United States if Washington apologizes for exiting a 2015 nuclear deal and compensates Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, cautioning that U.S. calls for discussions were insincere.

Iran would be open to talks with the United States if Washington apologises for exiting a 2015 nuclear deal and compensates Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, cautioning that U.S. calls for discussions were insincere. The confrontation between arch foes Tehran and Washington has worsened since 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. Iran has refused to hold any talks with the United States, which is trying to force Tehran to negotiate a new deal, unless Washington lifts sanctions on Tehran and returns to the original agreement. (Reuters)

06-24-2020
Terrorism

The United States called Iran the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism” in its annual Country Reports on Terrorism.

The United States called Iran the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism” in its annual Country Reports on Terrorism. The report, released by the State Department on Wednesday, notes that Iran has continued to funnel money and resources for terrorist operations across the globe, including to groups such as Hezbollah. The report highlights the U.S. “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign and its impact on Iran’s coordination with foreign terrorist organizations. “In the past, Tehran has spent as much as $700 million per year to support terrorist groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas, though its ability to provide financial support in 2019 was constrained by crippling U.S. sanctions,” the report reads. (Washington Examiner)

06-24-2020
Military

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has established a secret facility near the city of Jajarm that has been producing aluminum powder for use in its missile program.

At the edge of the desert in North Khorasan province in northeast Iran, near the country’s largest deposit of bauxite, sits an aluminium production complex that the government has publicly hailed as a key part of its efforts to boost output of the metal. But the site near the city of Jajarm is also home to a secret facility set up by Iran’s elite security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, that has been producing aluminium powder for use in its missile programme, according to a former Iranian government official and documents relating to the facility he shared with Reuters. Aluminium powder, derived from bauxite, is a key ingredient in solid-fuel propellants used to launch missiles. Iran started producing the powder for military use more than five years ago, according to the former official, who from 2013 until 2018 was head of public relations and also parliamentary affairs envoy in the office of the vice president for executive affairs, which at the time oversaw some economic policies. The ex-official, Amir Moghadam, said he visited the little-known facility twice and that production was continuing when he left Iran in 2018. (Reuters)

06-23-2020
Military

Iran’s Defense Ministry revealed that the country produces 70 percent of the products needed for aircraft and helicopters locally, enabling it to keep building drones and missiles and replacing aircraft, even under tough sanctions.

Iran’s Defense Ministry revealed on Tuesday that the country produces 70 percent of the products needed for aircraft and helicopters locally. This has enabled it to keep building drones and missiles, and replacing aircraft even under tough sanctions. This means that the US maximum pressure campaign can only go so far in breaking Iran when it comes to its export of precision missiles to Hezbollah or drones to Yemen. The recent report was from Fars News in Iran. Iran’s new report specifically mentions missiles, vessels and aerospace, which relate to the arms industry. This includes clandestine programs, and also the ones Iran boasts about, such as the growing drone army it has built to carry out swarm and cruise missile attacks. (Jerusalem Post)

06-23-2020
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia announced that Houthi rebels in Yemen unleashed a ballistic missile and bomb-laden drone attack on various targets in the kingdom, including the cities of Najran and Jizan.

Saudi Arabia announced early on Tuesday that Houthi rebels in Yemen unleashed a ballistic missile and bomb-laden drone attack on various targets in the kingdom, including the cities of Najran and Jizan. According the Saudi statement its air defenses intercepted three ballistic missiles, and eight booby-trapped drones fired from Yemen. It appears that not all drones were intercepted but the statement did not say how many got through and where they might have exploded. Colonel Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the coalition, said in a statement the missiles were targeting civilians. (Radio Farda)

06-23-2020
Military

Iran’s Islamic Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that they plan to set up a permanent base in the Indian Ocean by the end of next March.

Iran’s Islamic Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that they plan to set up a permanent base in the Indian Ocean by the end of next March. “Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tasked the IRGC with permanent presence in waters far away from the country,” IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said. The IRGC commander said that “pirates and some foreign vessels had, in the past, created disturbances for the Iranian trawlers and dhows in the country’s southern waters.” “Through its powerful presence in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean, the IRGC will no longer leave any room for such acts of infringement,” he added. (The Arab Weekly)

06-19-2020
Human Rights

Iran has withheld confirmation of its apparent recent execution of a Kurdish activist, in the latest example of its long-running practice of secretly executing ethnic minority dissidents.

Iran has withheld confirmation of its apparent recent execution of a Kurdish activist, in the latest example of its long-running practice of secretly executing ethnic minority dissidents. Kurdish activist Hedayat Abdollahpour’s brother Farhad told VOA Persian that their father received a call on June 10 from an official who asserted that Hedayat was executed on or around May 21 in the northwestern town of Oshnavieh. Farhad Abdollahpour, who is based in neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan, reported that the caller said his brother Hedayat had been transferred to Oshnavieh for execution from a prison in Urmia, another northwestern Iranian city where the dissident had been on death row since 2017. He told VOA Persian that his brother’s two lawyers had yet to receive any written confirmation of the apparent execution from Iranian judicial authorities as of Friday. (Voice of America)

06-19-2020
Nuclear Program

International nuclear inspectors and the United States accused Iran of hiding suspected nuclear activity, the first time in more than eight years that Tehran has been accused of obstructing inspections.

International nuclear inspectors and the United States accused Iran on Friday of hiding suspected nuclear activity, the first time in more than eight years that Tehran has been accused of obstructing inspections, paving the way for a new confrontation with Western powers. The accusation came in a resolution passed by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations watchdog, after its new director general, Rafael Grossi, reported that Iranian officials had repeatedly blocked inspectors and “sanitized” a site they wanted to visit beginning last July. It was the first time that the big European powers — Britain, France and Germany — have sided with the Trump administration on a major Iran issue since splitting with President Trump on his decision more than two years ago to abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement negotiated by the administration of former President Barack Obama. (New York Times)

06-18-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran condemned as inhumane a fresh round of U.S. sanctions against its regional ally Syria and says it will expand its trade ties with Damascus.

Iran condemned as inhumane a fresh round of U.S. sanctions against its regional ally Syria and said it would expand its trade ties with Damascus. The United States on Wednesday imposed its toughest sanctions targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choke off revenue for his government and force it back to U.N.-led negotiations on ending his country’s war. “As the world is involved with the Corona pandemic, the imposition of such inhumane sanctions will only exacerbate the suffering of the Syrian people,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told state media. “We will continue our economic cooperation with the resilient Syrian nation and Syria’s government, and despite these sanctions, we will strengthen our economic relations with Syria,” Mousavi said. (Reuters)

06-18-2020
Military

Iran says its navy has successfully fired a new locally made cruise missile during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf.

Iran said its navy had successfully fired a new locally made cruise missile during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf. The test-firing comes as the United States is seeking an extension of a U.N.-imposed arms embargo against Iran, which is due to expire in October under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Washington withdrew from that pact. “During the exercises, short-range and long-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles were successfully fired from the coast and from decks of ships, hitting their targets with great precision,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The new generation cruise missiles, with a range of 280 km (175 miles) were tested during exercises by the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Oman, which lies next to the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the mouth of the Gulf, and the northern Indian Ocean, Tasnim said. (Reuters)

06-17-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has warned the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) against endorsing a draft resolution to push Tehran to allow access for inspectors to two disputed sites over unannounced nuclear activities.

Iran has warned the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) against endorsing a draft resolution to push Tehran to allow access for inspectors to two disputed sites over unannounced nuclear activities. “I note with serious concern that, for over four months, Iran has denied us access to two locations and that, for almost a year, it has not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the IAEA. “I call on Iran to cooperate immediately and fully with the Agency, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by us,” said Grossi. Iran's Ambassador to the UN in Vienna Kazem Gharib Abadi stated that "Introduction of this resolution aiming to call on Iran to cooperate with the Agency ... is disappointing and absolutely counterproductive." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

06-16-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran remains hell-bent on developing the deadliest weapons on the planet, according to a damning German intelligence service report released.

Iran remains hell-bent on developing the deadliest weapons on the planet, according to a damning German intelligence service report released. In a section titled “Proliferation,” the 181-page Baden-Württemberg state intelligence agency document reviewed by Fox News states that Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Syria are "still pursuing" such efforts. “They aim to complete existing arsenals, perfect the range, applicability and effectiveness of their weapons and develop new weapon systems,” the report said. “They try to obtain the necessary products and relevant know-how, among other things, through illegal procurement efforts in Germany.” (Fox News)

06-15-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran faces its first formal reprimand by international nuclear monitors in eight years after inspectors complained they haven’t been given access to places that may have hosted atomic activities two decades ago.

Iran faces its first formal reprimand by international nuclear monitors in eight years after inspectors complained they haven’t been given access to places that may have hosted atomic activities two decades ago. The resolution drafted by France, Germany and the U.K. asks Iran to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation, according to a single-page document seen by Bloomberg. It would be the first diplomatic rebuke passed by the board of the Vienna-based agency since 2012, and could set the stage for a new round of escalation over Iran’s nuclear program. “There are areas where our cooperation is ongoing, there are areas where we are in disagreement,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Monday at a press briefing. “It’s a mixed bag. I hope we can do better.” (Bloomberg)

06-14-2020
Nuclear Program

Israeli defense officials believe Iran hasn’t increased the pace of its nuclear enrichment in recent months, but nevertheless could be just two years from producing an atomic weapon, a report said.

Israeli defense officials believe Iran hasn’t increased the pace of its nuclear enrichment in recent months, but nevertheless could be just two years from producing an atomic weapon, a report said Sunday. The Walla news site quoted the unnamed senior officials as saying Jerusalem estimates the Islamic Republic continues to enrich uranium at a four percent level, the same as when the coronavirus crisis hit earlier this year. However, the report said Defense Minister Benny Gantz has been presented with an assessment that Tehran is just six months away from producing all the components of an atomic bomb, and two years away from assembling such a bomb. (Times of Israel)

06-13-2020
Human Rights

In its annual report on religious freedoms, the United States has once again accused Iran of widespread violations of the rights of religious minorities, including Baha'i and Sunni citizens.

In its annual report on religious freedoms, the United States has once again accused Iran of widespread violations of the rights of religious minorities, including Baha'i and Sunni citizens. The report has focused on the Islamic Republic's Constitution which is based on Sharia and paves the way for the heavy punishment of those who have abandoned their Islamic faith for another. The punishment in some cases could be the death penalty. The report has also highlighted the charge of so-called "waging war against God", which, for example, led to "the execution of two Sunni minority prisoners in Fajr prison, in Ahvaz, the capital city of the oil-rich province of Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. (Radio Farda)

06-12-2020
Anti-Americanism

The spokesman of Iran’s foreign ministry, Abbas Mousavi tells the United States, “You will soon kneel in front of Iranian Nation”, in a tweet responding to U.S. officials.

The spokesman of Iran’s foreign ministry, Abbas Mousavi tells the United States, “You will soon kneel in front of Iranian Nation”, in a tweet responding to U.S. officials. Abbas Mousavi on Friday tweeted in English attacking statements made recently by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook who had voiced satisfaction about the severe impact of American sanctions on Iran. Mousavi said, “A Govt whose policy is relying on ‘knee on neck’ of either its own people or others around the world should be indeed happy w/#EconomicTerrorism &pressure on the public. But you see that not the Iranians’ neck, but your knee was wrung”. (Radio Farda)

06-12-2020
Syria Conflict

The United Nations says it has determined that Iran was the source for several items in two arms shipments seized by the United States and for debris left by attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations and an international airport.

The United Nations says it has determined that Iran was the source for several items in two arms shipments seized by the United States and for debris left by attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations and an international airport, according to a new report. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some of the items seized by the U.S. in November 2019 and February 2020 “were identical or similar” to those found after the cruise missiles and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in 2019. He said in a report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press that some items seized by the U.S. in international waters off Yemen are not only Iranian but may have been transferred “in a manner inconsistent” with the council resolution that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. (AP)

06-09-2020
Syria Conflict

A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction that has close ties to neighboring Iran and opposes efforts aimed at ending the 18-year insurgency in Afghanistan has emerged.

A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction that has close ties to neighboring Iran and opposes efforts aimed at ending the 18-year insurgency in Afghanistan has emerged. The Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami, or Party of Islamic Guardianship, is believed to have split from the mainstream Taliban soon after the United States and the militant group signed a landmark peace agreement in February. The formation of the splinter group underlines the possible divisions within the Taliban, which has seen bitter leadership transitions and growing internal dissent in recent years. (Radio Farda)

06-09-2020
Military

The Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills.

As tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S., the Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills. The faux foe, seen in satellite photographs obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, resembles the Nimitz-class carriers that the U.S. Navy routinely sails into the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz, its narrow mouth where 20% of all the world’s oil passes through. While not yet acknowledged by Iranian officials, the replica’s appearance in the port city of Bandar Abbas suggests Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is preparing an encore of a similar mock-sinking it conducted in 2015. It also comes as Iran announced Tuesday it will execute a man it accused of sharing details on the movements of the Guard’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whom the U.S. killed in a January drone strike in Baghdad. (AP)

06-05-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran continued its elevated rate of nuclear-fuel production last quarter, even as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down swaths of the economy and international inspectors sought answers about previous nuclear activities.

Iran continued its elevated rate of nuclear-fuel production last quarter, even as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down swaths of the economy and international inspectors sought answers about previous nuclear activities. The country’s store of low-enriched uranium increased to 1,571.6 kilograms (3,465 pounds) over the quarter ending May 20, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Bloomberg. That’s more than a 50% jump over the amount stockpiled three months ago, and enough of the heavy metal to create two bombs if Iran chose to enrich the material to weapons grade. “The agency notes with serious concern that” Iran continues to deny access to two sites inspectors want to visit, where nuclear material may have been present in the early 2000s, read a restricted report circulated to diplomats in Vienna. “This is adversely affecting the agency’s ability to clarify and resolve the questions.” (Bloomberg)

06-05-2020
Nuclear Program

The United Nations atomic agency expressed “serious concern” about Iran’s failure to cooperate with its probe into undeclared nuclear material in the country, adding to calls from opponents of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran to kill off that agreement.

The United Nations atomic agency expressed “serious concern” Friday about Iran’s failure to cooperate with its probe into undeclared nuclear material in the country, adding to calls from opponents of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran to kill off that agreement. In two reports sent to member states by the International Atomic Energy Agency, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the Vienna-based organization said Iran had failed to give its inspectors access to two sites the agency wanted to visit. The agency also said Iran didn’t answer questions about the use of possible undeclared nuclear material in the early 2000s and what had happened to it since. The agency recorded another big jump in Iran’s nuclear-fuel stockpile, far above the levels permitted under the 2015 pact. Iran has reduced its compliance with the nuclear deal in response to sweeping U.S. sanctions. The Trump administration has called for its European allies—Britain, France and Germany—to exit from the agreement and work with Washington on a new tougher accord with Tehran. (Wall Street Journal)

06-04-2020
Terrorism

Chinese and Iranian government hackers have targeted the Gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively, Google announced.

Chinese and Iranian government hackers have targeted the Gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively, Google announced Thursday. There were no signs the accounts were compromised, a Google threat analyst said in a tweet Thursday, and law enforcement was notified. The disclosure is a fresh reminder that nation states are actively seeking to gain access to presidential campaigns — a practice that has taken place in every presidential election dating back more than a decade. (Washington Post)

06-01-2020
Terrorism

Iran tried to increase chlorine levels in the water flowing to residential areas during April’s cyberattack against Israel’s water systems, a Western intelligence official has told the Financial Times.

Iran tried to increase chlorine levels in the water flowing to residential areas during April’s cyberattack against Israel’s water systems, a Western intelligence official has told the Financial Times. The official told the British newspaper in a report published Monday that hundreds of people would have been at risk of getting sick and that the attack was close to being successful. The head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate hinted last week that the attack may have aimed to mix chlorine or other chemicals into the water supply. (Times of Israel)

06-01-2020
Extremism

Iran will continue fuel shipments to Venezuela if Caracas requests more supplies, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, despite Washington’s criticism of the trade between the two nations, which are both under U.S. sanctions.

Iran will continue fuel shipments to Venezuela if Caracas requests more supplies, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday, despite Washington’s criticism of the trade between the two nations, which are both under U.S. sanctions. “Iran practises its free trade rights with Venezuela and we are ready to send more ships if Caracas demands more supplies from Iran,” Abbas Mousavi told a weekly news conference broadcast live on state TV. Defying U.S. threats, Iran has sent a flotilla of five tankers of fuel to the South American oil-producing nation, which is suffering from a gasoline shortage. (Reuters)

06-01-2020
Human Rights

The Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Workers, an independent labor group, reported that one of its members, Rasoul Taleb Moghaddam, was arrested to be punished by 74 lashes.

The Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Workers, an independent labor group, reported on Monday, June 1 that one of its members, Rasoul Taleb Moghaddam, was arrested to be punished by 74 lashes. Taleb Moghaddam, who was among dozens arrested on the International Labor Day, May 1, 2019, in Tehran, surrendered himself at Tehran's notorious Evin prison on Monday. Before surrendering, Taleb Moghaddam was repeatedly threatened to either report to law enforcement or have his bail confiscated. (Radio Farda)

05-28-2020
Politics

Iran’s parliament elected a former mayor of Tehran tied to the Revolutionary Guard as its next speaker Thursday, solidifying hard-line control of the body as tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic remain high over its collapsed nuclear deal.

Iran’s parliament elected a former mayor of Tehran tied to the Revolutionary Guard as its next speaker Thursday, solidifying hard-line control of the body as tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic remain high over its collapsed nuclear deal. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf’s assumption of power comes after a string of failed presidential bids and 12 years as the leader of Iran’s capital city, in which he built onto Tehran’s subway and supported the construction of modern high-rises. Many, however, remember Qalibaf for his support as a Revolutionary Guard general for a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999. He also reportedly ordered live gunfire be used against Iranian students in 2003 while serving as the country’s police chief. (AP)

05-28-2020
Military

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned the United States against its naval presence in the Gulf as they received 110 new combat vessels.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned the United States against its naval presence in the Gulf as they received 110 new combat vessels. The vessels included Ashura-class speedboats, Zolfaghar coastal patrol boats and Taregh submarines, state television reported. "We announce today that wherever the Americans are, we are right next to them, and they will feel our presence even more in the near future," the Guards' navy chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said during a ceremony in southern Iran. (AFP)

05-26-2020
Human Rights

In a voice recording sent from Qarchak prison Soheila Hejab, a political and civil rights activist, has said that agents of the Revolutionary Guard brutalized and arrested her after attending an appeals court hearing.

In a voice recording sent from Qarchak prison Soheila Hejab, a political and civil rights activist, has said that agents of the Revolutionary Guard brutalized and arrested her after attending an appeals court hearing on Saturday. In her message, the activist says her assailants held her by her hair, dragged her on the ground and kicked her before taking her to the notorious Qarchak prison. According to Ms. Hejab her Revolutionary Guard interrogator has repeatedly threatened to have her killed by dangerous criminals in prison. (Radio Farda)

05-24-2020
Terrorism

Iran has been accused of using a “sophisticated state-sponsored program” of cyber disinformation to identify and arrest supporters of a London-based Persian-language news outlet.

Iran has been accused of using a “sophisticated state-sponsored program” of cyber disinformation to identify and arrest supporters of a London-based Persian-language news outlet. Iran International has been targeted by cybercriminals, thought to be working for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who have made replicas of the channel’s social media accounts and their most popular reporters. Mahmood Enayat, general manager at Iran International, said this is an attempt to identify and arrest the channel’s supporters in the country. (Arab News)

05-22-2020
Extremism

In a televised speech to mark Quds Day, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, reading from a prepared script, compared Israel to a “cancerous tumor in the region” that must be removed.

For the past four decades, on the last Friday of Ramadan, supporters of Iran’s government have marched to denounce Israel. They burn Israel’s flag. They mock effigies of the leaders of Israel and of its patron, the United States. They chant pledges to liberate Jerusalem, or Quds, as the city is known in Arabic. But the coronavirus pandemic forced Iran to cancel its annual Quds Day parade on Friday. Instead, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered a televised speech, compensating in rhetoric for the silence in the streets. Mr. Khamenei, reading from a prepared script, compared Israel to a “cancerous tumor in the region” that must be removed and to the coronavirus as “a reality that all wise people consider it mandatory to fight.” (New York Times)

05-20-2020
Human Rights

A court of appeals in Tehran has upheld the verdict against ten citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for reportedly supporting monarchy.

A court of appeals in Tehran has upheld the verdict against ten citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for reportedly supporting monarchy. Documents exclusively received by Radio Farda shows some details of the legal case and the names of the convicted individuals who have been sentenced to a total of 100 years and four months. Speaking to Radio Farda, a human rights activist Haroun Askari who recently left Iran for Turkey said, the suspects were initially sentenced by the notorious hardliner Judge Abolqassem Salavati in Branch 15 of Tehran's "Revolutionary Court". The verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the same court. (Radio Farda)

05-20-2020
Extremism

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei published an antisemitic poster evoking Nazi Germany’s “final solution” that destroyed European Jewry, in order to advance Tehran's quest to abolish Israel.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei published an antisemitic poster on Tuesday evoking Nazi Germany’s “final solution” that destroyed European Jewry, in order to advance Tehran's quest to abolish Israel. The poster’s language reads: "Palestine will be free. The final solution. Resistance is referendum." Khamenei displayed the antisemitic poster in English, Farsi and Arabic on his official homepage. (Jerusalem Post)

05-20-2020
Extremism

Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, ahead of this week’s annual observance of Quds (Jerusalem) Day to express support for Palestinians.

Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, ahead of this week’s annual observance of Quds (Jerusalem) Day to express support for Palestinians. “We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and fights the Zionist regime, and we do not hesitate to say this,” Khamenei said in a post on his official English-language Twitter account. Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy in the Middle East, has been a key supporter, along with Russia, of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s civil war, sending military advisers as well as material and regional Shi’ite militias. (Reuters)

05-20-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran has spent about $30 billion in Syria since the start of the civil war in the country in 2011, said a prominent Iranian lawmaker in rare remarks about Tehran’s spending in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Iran has spent about $30 billion in Syria since the start of the civil war in the country in 2011, said a prominent Iranian lawmaker in rare remarks about Tehran’s spending in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “We have probably paid $20-30 billion to Syria, and we have to take that money back,” Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said in an interview with the state-run news website Etemad Online. Falahatpisheh did not elaborate on how Tehran plans to get its money back from Syria. (Al-Arabiya)

05-19-2020
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani approved a resolution by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution to launch a new award named after slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, who was targeted by a US airstrike last January.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani approved a resolution by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution to launch a new award named after slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, who was targeted by a US airstrike last January. The award is granted in the main category of "struggle and resistance" and six sub-fields of "people and society", "culture and art", "politics", "education and research", "media", and "sports". A 19-member body would oversee the award to be held biennially. The body consists of representatives from militias and factions allied with Tehran including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Jihad, and Houthis. It also includes, inter alia, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister, and the head of the state-run Radio and Television Organization. (Asharq AlAwsat)

05-19-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran is refuting reports that it's reducing its presence in Syria and said it is seeking to bolster its ties with neighboring Iraq as the Islamic Republic pushes forward with a plan to expel the United States from the Middle East.

Iran is refuting reports that it's reducing its presence in Syria and said it is seeking to bolster its ties with neighboring Iraq as the Islamic Republic pushes forward with a plan to expel the United States from the Middle East. Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency cited who they said was a well-informed official Tuesday who denied outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennet's claim a day earlier that Iran "has begun the withdrawal process from Syria." His remarks followed reports earlier this month by other Israeli officials who argued Iran was gradually pulling out of the country, although Tehran disputed this. "There has been no change in the quantity and quality of Iran's advisory presence in Syria," the unnamed official told Fars News Agency. "We will stay in Syria as long as the Syrian government needs the help of the Iranian advisers." (Newsweek)

05-13-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran is building a new tunnel at the Imam Ali military base in Eastern Syria capable of storing advanced weapons systems, according to satellite images and analysis obtained by Fox News.

Iran is building a new tunnel at the Imam Ali military base in Eastern Syria capable of storing advanced weapons systems, according to satellite images and analysis obtained by Fox News. Images captured on May 12 show bulldozers at the entrance of the structure that is estimated to be around 15 feet wide. Satellite shots from April 1 show an excavator and bulldozers near where the new construction took place. (Fox News)

05-12-2020
Extremism

The Iranian parliament approved a bill including a list of measures against the State of Israel, such as the establishment of an Iranian consulate or embassy in Jerusalem to 'Palestine.'

The Iranian parliament approved a bill on Tuesday including a list of measures against the State of Israel, such as the establishment of an Iranian consulate or embassy in Jerusalem to 'Palestine,' boycott measures and bans on contact and agreements between Iran and Israel. The bill, featuring 14 articles, passed with 43 votes in favor and no votes against, according to the Iranian IRNA news agency. MPs chanted "down with Israel" after the bill was approved, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar news. The bill will be brought before the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee so that the parliament can vote on the law at the beginning of next week. (Jerusalem Post)

05-12-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran’s progress towards a possible nuclear weapon has continued unaffected by the Covid-19 outbreak, satellite imagery has shown.

Iran’s progress towards a possible nuclear weapon has continued unaffected by the Covid-19 outbreak, satellite imagery has shown. The commercially available footage of four Iranian facilities, analysed by Jane’s intelligence, showed Iran’s nuclear activity has not slowed during the pandemic. The activity and launch at the Shahrud Missile Test Complex in particular indicated that Iran’s missile and space programmes remained largely unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Jane’s. (The National)

05-08-2020
Terrorism

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc.

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus. In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Reuters was not able to determine whether the attack was successful. Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists. (Reuters)

05-08-2020
Terrorism

Iran is being linked to an attempted cyberattack last month that authorities believe was aimed at disrupting water supplies in at least two locations in Israel as that country was seeking to contain a covid-19 outbreak.

Iran is being linked to an attempted cyberattack last month that authorities believe was aimed at disrupting water supplies in at least two locations in Israel as that country was seeking to contain a covid-19 outbreak, according to foreign intelligence officials familiar with the matter. The incident, which occurred on April 24 and 25, was quickly detected and thwarted before it could cause damage. But Israeli officials and analysts fear that it could signal a further escalation in hostilities between the two countries and that Iran is getting bolder in its efforts to sabotage key systems.  “Cyberattacks that intentionally damage critical infrastructure shouldn’t be condoned,” said a senior Trump administration official, who declined to discuss any specific incident and who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the topic’s sensitivity. “We think they’re very destabilizing.” (Washington Post)

05-08-2020
Human Rights

Afghanistan has recovered 18 bodies of migrants who were allegedly beaten and tortured before being forced into a river by Iranian border guards last week, a senior Afghan official said.

Afghanistan has recovered 18 bodies of migrants who were allegedly beaten and tortured before being forced into a river by Iranian border guards last week, a senior Afghan official said on Friday. Afghan authorities are investigating claims the migrants drowned while illegally crossing into neighbouring Iran from the western Herat province. "Out of 55 Afghan migrants who were forced into the river, we have so far recovered 18 bodies," Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of Gulran district bordering Iran, told AFP news agency. (Al Jazeera)

05-06-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened a “crushing response” if the United States goes ahead with plans to extend an embargo on Iranian trade of conventional arms, which the United Nations is set to lift later this year.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened a “crushing response” on Wednesday if the United States goes ahead with plans to extend an embargo on Iranian trade of conventional arms, which the United Nations is set to lift later this year. Under Iran’s deal with world powers to accept limits to its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, a U.N. weapons embargo is due to expire in October. The United States, which exited the deal in 2018, says it wants to extend the embargo. In a speech on Wednesday, Rouhani repeated Iran’s longstanding criticism of Washington’s decision to exit the nuclear deal, which he called a “stupid mistake”. “If America wants to return to the deal, it should lift all the sanctions on Tehran and compensate for the reimposition of sanctions,” said Rouhani, a pragmatist whose rhetoric towards the United States is frequently more measured than that of some officials. “Iran will give a crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended,” Rouhani added. (Reuters)

05-06-2020
Politics

Iran’s hardliner election watchdog has opposed a last-ditch effort by the outgoing parliament to boost political competitiveness in the country’s closed electoral system.

Iran’s hardliner election watchdog has opposed a last-ditch effort by the outgoing parliament to boost political competitiveness in the country’s closed electoral system. The 92-year old chairman of the Guardian Council, Ahmad Jannati has said that a draft bill in parliament is aimed at watering down his council’s authority in approving candidates for elections. The Guardian Council vets all parliamentary and presidential candidates and as a norm rejects most aspirants. In last February’s parliamentary elections not only thousands of would-be candidates were disqualified but even 100 serving lawmakers were barred from running again. (Radio Farda)

05-05-2020
Syria Conflict

An Iranian airline sanctioned for giving support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah could have fuelled the spread of the coronavirus in the Middle East, an investigation has found.

An Iranian airline sanctioned for giving support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah could have fuelled the spread of the coronavirus in the Middle East, an investigation has found. Mahan Air operated passenger flights to four Chinese destinations on 16 round-trips in February and March despite the Iranian government suspending the company’s flights as Covid-19 gripped Iran, data on flightradar24.com showed. The flight destinations included Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, four of the biggest cities in China. Mahan Air also flew to Lebanon and Iraq after the flight ban and may have introduced the first cases in each country. (The National)

05-04-2020
Extremism

A top Iranian official has repeated his threat to “raze Israeli cities to the ground” if the Jewish state takes any action against the Islamic Republic, hinting that Tehran could attack even in retaliation to US military action.

A top Iranian official has repeated his threat to “raze Israeli cities to the ground” if the Jewish state takes any action against the Islamic Republic, hinting that Tehran could attack even in retaliation to US military action, in the tense aftermath of the killing earlier this year of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani. “If the Zionist entity takes even the slightest initiative, you may rest assured that we will raze the Israeli cities to the ground,” Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s powerful Expediency Council, told Qatar’s Al-Jazeera network in an April 28 TV interview translated and published Sunday by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Rezaei said that in the immediate aftermath of Soleimani’s killing in a January 3 airstrike in Iraq, “Tel Aviv was not the issue at hand — we had to deal with America.” (Times of Israel)

05-04-2020
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced an exiled husband and wife to a total of 16 years in jail over their popular Instagram accounts where they have a collective 1.5 million followers.

Iran has sentenced an exiled husband and wife to a total of 16 years in jail over their popular Instagram accounts where they have a collective 1.5 million followers. The couple announced late last month that a court in Iran had issued the sentence that also included 74 lashes for "propaganda against the regime", "obscene and vulgar", Radio Farda reported. The couple, Ahmad Moin-Shirazi and Shabnam Shahrokhi, say they left Iran last September after being summoned to the Intelligence Ministry on numerous occasions where they were accused of espionage and other crimes. (The National)

05-01-2020
Terrorism

Iran has slammed Germany's ban on the activities of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on its soil, saying it would face consequences for its decision to give in to Israeli and US pressure.

Iran has slammed Germany's ban on the activities of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on its soil, saying it would face consequences for its decision to give in to Israeli and US pressure. Germany branded Hezbollah a "Shiite terrorist organisation" on Thursday, with dozens of police and special forces storming mosques and associations across the country linked to the Lebanese militant group. In a statement issued overnight, Iran's foreign ministry said the ban ignores "realities in West Asia". The Islamic republic said the move was based solely on the goals of the "propaganda machine of the Zionists and America's confused regime". (AFP)

04-30-2020
Human Rights

A top Iranian official said the country has rounded up and arrested 3,600 of its citizens for “spreading rumors about coronavirus.”

A top Iranian official said the country has rounded up and arrested 3,600 of its citizens for “spreading rumors about coronavirus.” Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said Tuesday that Iranian police and Basij forces have arrested thousands of people and claimed the country’s “enemies” had “agents” working inside to undermine Iran. The Basij forces are a paramilitary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that are used for internal security. “Our enemies are always hostile and have agents to further their wishes in our country, but we had a very good performance in combating coronavirus in comparison with countries that claim to be advanced. You can see what disaster the United States is stuck in,” Shekarchi said. (Washington Examiner)

04-28-2020
Human Rights

The editor in chief and a social-media administrator of Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency were detained last week over a cartoon deemed insulting to the country's leadership.

The editor in chief and a social-media administrator of Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency were detained last week over a cartoon deemed insulting to the country's leadership. The cartoon, which appeared to mock Iran’s highest authority, was reportedly removed from ILNA’s Telegram channel shortly after being posted. ILNA’s editor in chief, Masud Heydari, has been released on bail but the news agency’s Telegram administrator Hamid Haghjoo remains in detention. It is not clear if the two have been charged. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

04-24-2020
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic of Iran imposed a sentence of lashes and prison on Mary (Fatemeh) Mohammadi, one of Iran’s most famous converts to Christianity, because she allegedly “disturbed the public order.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran imposed a sentence of lashes and prison on Mary (Fatemeh) Mohammadi, one of Iran’s most famous converts to Christianity, because she allegedly “disturbed the public order.” The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent  federal government commission, slammed Iran’s regime on Wednesday writing “USCIRF condemns Iran’s sentencing of Christian convert and social activist Mary Mohammadi. No peaceful activist should be targeted on the basis of their religious beliefs.” Iran’s authorities arrested the 21-year-old Mohammadi on January 12 near a protest where Iranians demonstrated in connection with Tehran’s downing of  Ukrainian Airline passenger Flight 752. (Jerusalem Post)

04-24-2020
Anti-Americanism

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) air arm has claimed his troops were ready to attack hundreds of additional American targets if January's limited exchange of fire escalated into a wider conflict.

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) air arm has claimed his troops were ready to attack hundreds of additional American targets if January's limited exchange of fire escalated into a wider conflict. IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh made the comments Friday when talking to reporters about the Corps' successful satellite launch earlier this week, which comes as Washington and Tehran exchange fresh military threats in the Persian Gulf. Iran and the U.S. appeared close to war in January after President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani. (Newsweek)

04-23-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran will destroy U.S. warships if Tehran’s security is threatened in the Gulf, head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami told state TV, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran over “harassment” of U.S. ships.

Iran will destroy U.S. warships if Tehran’s security is threatened in the Gulf, head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami told state TV on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran over “harassment” of U.S. ships. “I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,” Salami told state TV. “Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.” (Reuters)

04-22-2020
Human Rights

Iran’s state-run broadcaster has refused to allocate parts of its unused frequency bands, effectively keeping its monopolistic hold on the country’s internet infrastructure and keeping connectivity at barest minimum.

Iran’s state-run broadcaster has refused to allocate parts of its unused frequency bands, effectively keeping its monopolistic hold on the country’s internet infrastructure and keeping connectivity at barest minimum. The Islamic republic’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) and local internet infrastructure companies need 700 MHz and 800 MHz frequencies to develop the fifth-generation mobile Internet technology and increase the network capacity and speed, broadcast agency Radio Farda said, but gaining access to them means weakening the state TV’s monopoly on the production of videos and the flow of information. Communications authorities believe the frequency bands, if utilized, can lead to a reduction in the costs of connectivity cost and an increase in quality of internet in Iran. (Arab News)

04-22-2020
Human Rights

United Nations rights experts say they are “shocked” Iran has executed another juvenile offender in violation of international law.

United Nations rights experts say they are “shocked” Iran has executed another juvenile offender in violation of international law. Shayan Saeedpour, who was 17 years old at the time of his conviction for a fatal knife stabbing, was hanged on April 21, United Nations special rapporteurs Javaid Rehman and Agnes Callamard said in a statement. They expressed concern that Iran may soon carry out more executions, including of another juvenile offender, in response to recent prison riots. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

04-22-2020
Military

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space, dramatically revealing what experts described as a secret military space program that could advance its ballistic missile development.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space Wednesday, dramatically revealing what experts described as a secret military space program that could advance its ballistic missile development amid wider tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. Using a mobile launcher at a new launch site, the Guard said it put the “Noor,” or “Light,” satellite into a low orbit circling the Earth. While the U.S., Israel and other countries declined to immediately confirm the satellite reached orbit, their criticism suggested they believed the launch happened. Iranian state TV late Wednesday showed footage of what it said was the satellite and said it had orbited the earth within 90 minutes. It said the satellite’s signals were being received. (Associated Press)

04-21-2020
Human Rights

Iran's media freedom rank is 173 out of the 180 countries in the latest press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iran's media freedom rank is 173 out of the 180 countries in the latest press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released on Tuesday. The Islamic Republic's rank has dropped three points from 170 in 2019. The RSF report says Iran has been one of the world's most repressive countries for journalists for the past 40 years with unrelenting state control of news and information and at least 860 journalists and citizen-journalists imprisoned or executed since 1979. The report mentions extensive control over the media landscape and harassment of independent journalists, citizen-journalists and independent media coupled with intimidation, arbitrary arrest and long sentences imposed by revolutionary courts at the end of unfair trials as some of the factors that have made Iran an extremely difficult environment for journalists to work. (Radio Farda)

04-20-2020
Military

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced that it has significantly upgraded the range of its anti-warship missiles, the state-run news agency reported.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced on Monday that it has significantly upgraded the range of its anti-warship missiles, the state-run news agency reported. The Guard says it now possesses surface-to-surface and subsurface anti-warship missiles with a range as high as 700 kilometers (430 miles), according to its top naval officer, Adm. Ali Reza Tangsiri. In September, Iranian officials said the country’s most advanced anti-warship missiles had a range of about 300 kilometers, some 180 miles. (Associated Press)

04-19-2020
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s navy announced that the Islamic Republic will build nuclear submarines.

The head of Iran’s navy announced on Thursday that the Islamic Republic will build nuclear submarines. “It’s a kind of neglecting if the Islamic Republic does not think about using nuclear propulsion in submarines… this domestic capability exists in the Defense Ministry regarding the production of submarines bigger than Fateh – and certainly, the developing of submarine propulsion is on the agenda of the Navy,” Rear Adm. Khanzadi said, according to a report by the state-controlled Mehr news agency. Khanzadi said that “None of the international pacts ban using peaceful nuclear energy, but the peace we are talking about doesn’t find meaning without maintaining defense readiness.” (Jerusalem Post)

04-19-2020
Military

Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a mass of new drones for the Islamic Republic’s army and air force, some of which can fly more than 1,000 km. according to Tehran, which means they could reach Israel from Iran.

Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a mass of new drones over the weekend for the Islamic Republic’s army and air force. According to Tehran the drones have new capabilities, and can fly more than 1,000 km., which means they could reach Israel from Iran. Iran has been producing drones since the 1980s and is an innovator in drone warfare. It used 25 drones and cruise missiles to attack Saudi Arabia last September, and has flown drones into Israeli airspace. Iran’s Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Amir Hatami showed off the drones on Saturday. He said that one jet-powered UAV could fly at speeds of 900 km. per hour at an altitude of 12,000 meters. This would rival the best drones that the US and other countries are now using. These drones have a range of up to 1,500 km., he said, and can fly for several hours. It is a message to Israel, the US and their allies: We can reach you. (Jerusalem Post)

04-17-2020
Human Rights

The Free Trade Union of Workers in Iran has reported that a member of its board of directors, Ms. Nahid Khodajo, was summoned to Tehran's Evin Prison, to serve her sentence amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Free Trade Union of Workers in Iran has reported that a member of its board of directors, Ms. Nahid Khodajo, was summoned to Tehran's Evin Prison, to serve her sentence amid the coronavirus crisis. Deploring the decision, the April 16 statement says the Evin Court of Appeals has given Ms. Khodajoo five days to surrender herself to the prison and serve six years behind bars. "The judge has disregarded the fact that the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus has created an extremely life-threatening situation at prisons across the country", the statement noted. A retired worker and a member of the board of directors of the Free Trade Union of Iran, Khodajoo, was arrested in front of Majlis (Iranian parliament) on International Workers' Day last year and released on bail after 33 days in detention. She was later sentenced to six years in prison, and 74 lashes by an Islamic Revolutionary Court. (Radio Farda)

04-16-2020
Military

Eleven Iranian gunboats harassed U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships operating in the north Persian Gulf, the Navy said, calling Iran’s actions “dangerous and provocative.”

Eleven Iranian gunboats harassed U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships operating in the north Persian Gulf on Wednesday, the Navy said, calling Iran’s actions “dangerous and provocative.” At one point, the Iranian vessels, from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, came within 10 yards of the Coast Guard Cutter Maui, the Navy said. The U.S. ships issued several warnings through bridge-to-bridge radio and horn blasts, the Navy said. After an hour, the Iranian vessels “maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them,” the Navy said in a statement. (Wall Street Journal)

04-14-2020
Military

Iranian naval forces seized a Hong Kong-flagged tanker and redirected the vessel into Iranian waters before releasing it, according to Western and Emirati officials, prompting a warning to ships along the Persian Gulf’s key oil export route.

Iranian naval forces seized a Hong Kong-flagged tanker and redirected the vessel into Iranian waters before releasing it, according to Western and Emirati officials, prompting a warning Tuesday to ships along the Persian Gulf’s key oil export route. The alert comes amid mounting Iranian assertiveness along the key oil export route, say Western security officials, and as broader regional tensions simmer between Tehran and Saudi Arabia as well as Western powers. Tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz—near the area where the vessel was held—have been frequently stopped or approached by the Iranian navy in recent months. Over a third of the world’s seaborne oil transits through the Strait. (Wall Street Journal)

04-11-2020
Nuclear Program

The Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee declared that Tehran will move forward with its uranium enrichment process, triggering sharp criticism from the US State Department.

The Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee declared that Tehran will move forward with its uranium enrichment process, triggering sharp criticism from the US State Department on Thursday. According to a report in the Iranian regime’s state-controlled MEHR news agency, the foreign policy committee for Iran’s parliament warned “that in case Europe does not provide Iran with a practical guarantee on implementation of JCPOA, the Islamic Republic will continue its uranium enrichment to its desired level and volume.” The JCPOA is an abbreviation for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal. The US withdrew from it in 2018 because the agreement, according to the Trump administration, failed to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. The other world powers – UK, France, China, Russia and Germany – have stuck with the JCPOA. (Jerusalem Post)

04-09-2020
Human Rights

Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned.

Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned. In recent days, thousands of prisoners in at least eight prisons around the country have staged protests over fears of contracting the coronavirus, sparking deadly responses from prison officers and security forces. In several prisons, live ammunition and tear gas were used to suppress protests, killing around 35 prisoners and injuring hundreds of others, according to credible sources. In at least one prison, security forces beat those taking part in the protest action, possibly leading to the death of an inmate. (Amnesty International)

04-09-2020
Nuclear Program

A team of American experts says it has uncovered a previously unknown Islamic Republic nuclear weapons development site in Iran.

A team of American experts says it has uncovered a previously unknown Islamic Republic nuclear weapons development site in Iran. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) called on Tehran on April 8 to acknowledge the previously undisclosed site to international inspectors. … ISIS says that it has evidence the Islamic Republic operated the nuclear weapons development facility in northern Iran until at least 2011 when it was likely destroyed as Western nations began to investigate the country's weapons program. "Based on documents in the Iran Nuclear Archive, seized by Israel in early 2018, Iran’s Amad Plan created the Shahid Mahallati Uranium Metals Workshop near Tehran to research and develop uranium metallurgy related to building nuclear weapons", ISIS says. (Radio Farda)

04-08-2020
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s atomic agency on Tuesday said work to modernize the Arak heavy water plant was progressing, as were efforts to construct two new reactors at the Bushehr nuclear plant.

The head of Iran’s atomic agency on Tuesday said work to modernize the Arak heavy water plant was progressing, as were efforts to construct two new reactors at the Bushehr nuclear plant. “Modernization and completion of Khondab (Arak) heavy water reactor is underway based on the contents of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted saying by the Fars news agency, referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Salehi, who made the comments in a message marking the country’s national nuclear day, said Iran was pushing ahead with work in a number of fields related to its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment. He also said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran made 122 new nuclear-related achievements over the last year, but did not give details on what these were. (Times of Israel)

04-08-2020
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities were continuing and that a new generation of centrifuges would soon come online at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities were continuing despite the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country. "A new generation of centrifuges would soon come online at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant", Salehi said. Speaking to the monopolized state-run national television, Salehi once again maintained that Tehran's nuclear activities were solely for peaceful purposes. Earlier on April 5, speaking to Fars news agency Salehi had disclosed, "Nuclear activities, as well as research and development on the nuclear fuel cycle, uranium conversion, and enrichment (including production and storage), are being carried out without any restrictions." (Radio Farda)

04-07-2020
Military

Evidence suggests that Iran has deployed an array of anti-ship missiles and large rockets overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for the supply of oil from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Evidence suggests that Iran has deployed an array of anti-ship missiles and large rockets overlooking Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for the supply of oil from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The waterway is being patrolled by U.S. Navy and its allies to protect vessels from Iranian action. Multiple amateur videos and photos of the weapons lined up overlooking the beach began surfacing on social media on April 4. Geospatial analysis has confirmed that the location of one of the batteries is on Qeshm Island. The images show the weapons were deployed beside the coast road, facing east towards the Strait, between Qeshm and Borka Khalaf, and were lined up behind a protective sand berm. The space between them suggests a tactical deployment. It’s unclear whether it is an exercise or a show of force, and whether or not it was supposed to be seen. (Forbes)

04-02-2020
Terrorism

Hackers working in the interests of the Iranian government have attempted to break into the personal email accounts of staff at the World Health Organization during the coronavirus outbreak, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Hackers working in the interests of the Iranian government have attempted to break into the personal email accounts of staff at the World Health Organization during the coronavirus outbreak, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It is not clear if any accounts were compromised, but the attacks show how the WHO and other organizations at the center of a global effort to contain the coronavirus have come under a sustained digital bombardment by hackers seeking information about the outbreak. Reuters reported in March that hacking attempts against the United Nations health agency and its partners had more than doubled since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, which has now killed more than 40,000 worldwide. The latest effort has been ongoing since March 2 and attempted to steal passwords from WHO staff by sending malicious messages designed to mimic Google web services to their personal email accounts, a common hacking technique known as “phishing,” according to four people briefed on the attacks. Reuters confirmed their findings by reviewing a string of malicious websites and other forensic data. (Reuters)

04-01-2020
Terrorism

The United States believes Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was directly involved in the killing of an Iranian dissident last November in Turkey, a senior administration official told Reuters.

The United States believes Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was directly involved in the killing of an Iranian dissident last November in Turkey, a senior administration official told Reuters on Wednesday. Masoud Molavi Vardanjani was shot dead on an Istanbul street on Nov. 14, 2019. Citing Turkish officials, Reuters last week reported that two intelligence officers in Iran’s consulate in Istanbul had instigated his killing. “Given Iran’s history of targeted assassinations of Iranian dissidents and the methods used in Turkey, the United States government believes that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) was directly involved in Vardanjani’s killing,” a senior administration official told Reuters. (Reuters)

04-01-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran warned the United States it is leading the Middle East to disaster amid the coronavirus pandemic after reports that Patriot air defence missiles were deployed to Iraq.

Iran warned the United States it is leading the Middle East to disaster amid the coronavirus pandemic after reports that Patriot air defence missiles were deployed to Iraq. Washington had been in talks with Baghdad about the proposed deployment since January, but it was not immediately clear whether it secured its approval or not. Iran, which wields huge influence in its western neighbour, said it had not. The US deployment runs "counter to the official position of the Iraqi government, parliament and people", a foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday. It called for a halt to "warmongering during the coronavirus outbreak" and warned US military activities in the region could lead it to "instability and disaster". (Al Jazeera)

04-01-2020
Anti-Americanism

U.S. intelligence out of the Middle East suggests that Iran or Iran-backed forces are planning a potentially serious attack against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, said officials monitoring the information.

U.S. intelligence out of the Middle East suggests that Iran or Iran-backed forces are planning a potentially serious attack against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, said officials monitoring the information. “We’ve been seeing something brewing and developing pretty seriously,” a U.S. official said Wednesday. The intelligence has mounted over a two-week period, officials said. “We expect something soon,” the official said. Shiite militias such as Kataib Hezbollah have been targeting U.S. troops in Iraq in recent weeks with a series of rocket attacks. Two Americans and a British soldier were killed in a missile attack in March at Camp Taji, an Iraqi base where coalition troops are stationed. (Wall Street Journal)

03-27-2020
Military

Iran's Defence Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami said Iran has upgraded all its cruise missiles and is planning to increase the explosive power of their warheads, speed and maneuverability.

Iran's Defence Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami on March 26 said Iran has upgraded all its cruise missiles and is planning to increase the explosive power of their warheads, speed and maneuverability. According to a report by Iran's DEFA Press which covers military news, Brigadier-General Hatami said in the current Iranian year (which started on March 21) cruise missiles will become more responsive and capable of being deployed while on the move. Iranian-made air-launched cruise missiles are being worked on and may be unveiled during the current year, he was quoted as saying. He referred to Bavar-373, an Iranian long-range road-mobile surface-to-air missile system, and Khordad 15, a surface-to-air missile system as "turning points" in Iran's missile capabilities. The Khordad 15 system was unveiled to the public on 9 June 2019 by Hatami in Tehran, Iran. The system was developed by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization. (Radio Farda)

03-26-2020
Human Rights

A Navy veteran released from an Iranian prison last week on a medical furlough says he's sick with coronavirus symptoms and is requesting a humanitarian evacuation to the United States for medical treatment.

A Navy veteran released from an Iranian prison last week on a medical furlough says he's sick with coronavirus symptoms and is requesting a humanitarian evacuation to the United States for medical treatment. Michael White was hospitalized Wednesday in a crowded ward for coronavirus patients in Iran and has experienced fever, fatigue, a cough and shortness of breath since his furlough last week, according to a statement from Jon Franks, a family spokesman. White, of Imperial Beach, California, "is an immunocompromised cancer patient and his situation is urgent," Franks said. White has been tested for the coronavirus but the results haven't come back. (CBS News)

03-25-2020
Human Rights

As coronavirus spreads in Iran, authorities have moved swiftly and aggressively to contain independent reporting about it by harassing, detaining and censoring journalists and social media users.

As coronavirus spreads in Iran, authorities have moved swiftly and aggressively to contain independent reporting about it by harassing, detaining and censoring journalists and social media users. Tehran has questioned or detained journalists who contradicted or questioned official reports, warned that those publishing statistics other than government figures would be arrested, and issued censorship orders to news outlets. In at least one case, a journalist was forced to retract comments made on social media. Iran’s leaders downplayed the outbreak in February, when the first cases were reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a March 3 broadcast called on citizens to “not overestimate” the virus, and regime officials including Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have said on state media the virus “might be the product of an American biological [attack].” (Voice of America)

03-25-2020
Human Rights

Trump administration officials have concluded that Robert A. Levinson, the retired F.B.I. agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 on an unauthorized mission for the C.I.A., died while in Iranian custody, his family announced.

Trump administration officials have concluded that Robert A. Levinson, the retired F.B.I. agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 on an unauthorized mission for the C.I.A., died while in Iranian custody, his family announced on Wednesday. Newly revealed intelligence pointed to Mr. Levinson’s death, top national security officials told his relatives inside the White House Situation Room in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the meeting. The officials provided strong evidence that Mr. Levinson had died sometime in the past several years, the person said, but did not detail the proof. “We recently received information from U.S. officials that has led both them and us to conclude that our wonderful husband and father died while in Iranian custody,” Mr. Levinson’s family wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We don’t know when or how he died, only that it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.” (New York Times)

03-24-2020
Human Rights

Iran’s theocratic rulers have temporarily released some 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, in an effort to prevent the spread of the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak, but have refused to free many Iranian Christians.

Iran’s theocratic rulers have temporarily released some 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, in an effort to prevent the spread of the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak, but have refused to free many Iranian Christians jailed for practicing their faith. Article18, an organization that promotes religious freedom in Iran, told Fox News on Monday that four Iranian Christians serving 10-year sentences in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison are among the prisons denied temporary release “even though their requests for retrials have been accepted.” “We at Article18 ask for the immediate and unconditional release of all Christians detained on spurious charges related to their faith or religious activities,” Mansour Borji, the research and advocacy director for the London-based organization, said. “This is even more urgent given the current health crisis that threatens these detained Christians and their families back home.” (Fox News)

03-23-2020
Human Rights

Iranian regime officials stole more than $1 billion in humanitarian funds meant to be used to help the country's people fight the spread of coronavirus, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Iranian regime officials stole more than $1 billion in humanitarian funds meant to be used to help the country's people fight the spread of coronavirus, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. European countries intended for more than $1 billion cash for medical supplies to go to the Iranian people, who have been ravaged by the virus. But American officials say regime leaders instead pocketed the money and are now using it to protect themselves from the virus as it spreads throughout the population. This includes hoarding medical supplies that were meant to aid Iranian citizens. Multiple regional reports have showed that before and since the virus began spreading, Iranian leaders stole funds purposed directly to support the ailing Iranian people. (Washington Free Beacon)

03-22-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader refused U.S. assistance to fight the new coronavirus, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory claiming the virus could be man-made by America.

Iran’s supreme leader refused U.S. assistance Sunday to fight the new coronavirus, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory claiming the virus could be man-made by America. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments come as Iran faces crushing U.S. sanctions blocking the country from selling its crude oil and accessing international financial markets. But while Iranian civilian officials in recent days have increasingly criticized those sanctions, 80-year-old Khamenei instead chose to traffic in the same conspiracy theory increasingly used by Chinese officials about the new virus to deflect blame for the pandemic. (Associated Press)

03-17-2020
Syria Conflict

Two rockets have struck a training base south of Baghdad where US-led coalition troops and NATO trainers are present, Iraq's military has said.

Two rockets have struck a training base south of Baghdad where US-led coalition troops and NATO trainers are present, Iraq's military has said. The attack, the third targeting military bases hosting foreign forces in a week, targeted the Besmaya base south of Baghdad on Monday night, read the statement, making no mention of casualties. Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iraq that the US would retaliate "as necessary" against any new assaults on Americans. (Al Jazeera)

03-14-2020
Syria Conflict

Rockets hit a base housing U.S. troops in Iraq, wounding at least three American military personnel and two Iraqi troops in an attack that is likely to intensify tensions between the United States and Iran.

Rockets hit a base housing U.S. troops in Iraq on Saturday, wounding at least three American military personnel and two Iraqi troops in an attack that is likely to intensify tensions between the United States and Iran. Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokesman, said at least 25 107 mm rockets hit Camp Taji, a base north of Baghdad, on Saturday morning. Two of the Americans were seriously injured, the military said, adding that Iraqi security forces had made an arrest. The Iraqi military said in a statement that the “blatant attack” had struck Iraqi air defense units and warned the perpetrators and those who may have enabled them. It said seven rocket launchers had been found in a garage near the base, along with two dozen rockets that had not been fired. (Washington Post)

03-12-2020
Syria Conflict

The Pentagon’s top leaders confirmed that Iranian-backed militia groups were behind the rocket attack in Iraq that killed two U.S. troops and one British soldier a day earlier, saying that “all options are on the table” for a response.

The Pentagon’s top leaders on Thursday confirmed that Iranian-backed militia groups were behind the rocket attack in Iraq that killed two U.S. troops and one British soldier a day earlier, saying that “all options are on the table” for a response. “Yesterday’s attack by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups consisted of multiple indirect fires that originated from a stationary platform and was clearly targeting coalition and partnered forces on Camp Taji,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon. “Let me be clear, the United States will not tolerate attacks against our people, our interests or our allies,” Esper added. (The Hill)

03-12-2020
Human Rights

A top U.S. general said that Iran is significantly underreporting the number of its coronavirus victims and he believed that the global pandemic is making Tehran more dangerous.

A top U.S. general said on Thursday that Iran is significantly underreporting the number of its coronavirus victims and he believed that the global pandemic is making Tehran more dangerous, a day after an attack in Iraq that killed U.S. and British troops. “I think it is having an effect on how they make decisions, I think it slows them down...I believe the numbers are probably significantly underreported,” U.S. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of Central Command, said. McKenzie said while he did not know for sure what impact the virus was having that “authoritarian regimes” usually react to extreme pressure by looking at external threats. (Reuters)

03-11-2020
Human Rights

The newly released U.N. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran savaged Tehran’s failure to adhere to basic human rights norms.

The newly released U.N. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran savaged Tehran’s failure to adhere to basic human rights norms. Javaid Rehman, the U.N. Rapporteur who released his report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland,  on Monday, said: "Individuals who have called for the alleviation of economic hardships, and those who peacefully exercise their civil and political rights in defense of human rights have faced a harsh response. In particular, I remain deeply concerned at the arrest and imprisonment of human rights defenders and lawyers. I received reports that imprisoned human rights defender, Arash Sadeghi, has been denied treatment for bone cancer and a serious arm infection.” He added: “Prominent human rights lawyers, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Amirsalar Davoudi, remain imprisoned for their convictions connected to their representation of marginalized communities. Mr. Davoudi started a hunger strike last month. Labor rights activists and journalists reporting on industrial relations have been imprisoned for peaceful expression and assembly.” (Fox News)

03-11-2020
Nuclear Program

One of the three sites in Iran about which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has raised questions that Tehran has failed to answer may have hosted uranium metal, the United States said, providing new details on the locations.

One of the three sites in Iran about which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has raised questions that Tehran has failed to answer may have hosted uranium metal, the United States said on Wednesday, providing new details on the locations. The International Atomic Energy Agency policing Iran’s troubled nuclear deal with major powers rebuked Tehran last week for failing to reply to its questions about nuclear activities dating back to the early 2000s at three sites and for denying its inspectors access to two of them. Uranium metal has long been an issue of interest to the IAEA in investigating Iran’s past work. In 2005 Iran handed the IAEA a 15-page document given to it by a nuclear black market network showing how to make two uranium metal half-spheres like those that often make up the core of an atomic bomb. (Reuters)

03-05-2020
Human Rights

An Iranian director who won last month the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival has been summoned to serve a 1-year prison sentence over his movies, his lawyer says.

An Iranian director who won last month the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival has been summoned to serve a 1-year prison sentence over his movies, his lawyer says. Mohammad Rasoulof won the festival's Golden Bear for his film There Is No Evil, but was unable to accept the prize in person on February 29 due to a travel ban imposed on him by Iran’s authorities. His lawyer said the 48-year-old filmmaker received an order via text message from the judiciary on March 4 to appear and start serving a 12-month prison sentence handed down last year. The sentence came from films he made that authorities found to be “propaganda against the system,” said the lawyer, Nasser Zarafshan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

03-05-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran stood by its decision to deny U.N. nuclear inspectors access to sites where they have questions about past activities, arguing that the agency’s case is based on “fabricated” Israeli intelligence.

Iran on Thursday stood by its decision to deny U.N. nuclear inspectors access to sites where they have questions about past activities, arguing that the agency’s case is based on “fabricated” Israeli intelligence. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is policing Iran’s troubled nuclear deal with major powers, sounded an alarm on Tuesday over a lack of Iranian cooperation in clearing up what the IAEA suspects are undeclared activities and materials dating back to the early 2000s. Iran has denied it access to two sites. Diplomats who follow the IAEA say the decision to inspect those sites to take environmental samples was based at least in part on a trove of documents Israel says its intelligence agents seized in Iran. Israel calls it an “archive” of past activities. “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not want to set a bad precedence by giving legitimacy to such alleged information,” Iran’s mission to the IAEA in Vienna said in a statement. (Reuters)

03-04-2020
Extremism

Iran is continuing efforts to encourage anti-Americanism in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, to secure its own influence and interests.

Iran is continuing efforts to encourage anti-Americanism in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, to secure its own influence and interests. Dozens of Iran-aligned Muslim scholars from several countries, mainly in the Middle East, gathered Feb. 21 in Baghdad to participate in a forum of the fourth International Conference of Resistance Axis Scholars, an organization that brings together Muslim academics, both Shiite and Sunni, who believe in the goals of the Axis of Resistance led by Iran. Unsurprisingly, anti-American sentiment dominated the forum. One slogan displayed behind the speakers read, “The exit of American forces is inevitable." The meeting focused on several issues: Iraq's sovereignty and the presence of US forces, the state of the Muslim community in general and the Palestinian struggle. (Al-Monitor)

03-04-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed a US offer to help the Islamic republic fight its coronavirus outbreak, charging that "vicious" American sanctions are depriving the country of medicine.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed a US offer to help the Islamic republic fight its coronavirus outbreak, charging that "vicious" American sanctions are depriving the country of medicine. Iran has scrambled to halt the rapid spread of the virus that has claimed 92 lives out of 2,922 confirmed infections in the past two weeks. It has shut schools and universities, suspended major cultural and sporting events, and cut back on work hours. "Those who have deprived the people of even medicine and food through sanctions, who have done the most vicious things... they appear with a mask of sympathy and say that we want to help the nation of Iran," Rouhani said, in a clear reference to the United States. (AFP)

03-03-2020
Human Rights

Human rights group Amnesty International accused the Iranian security forces of killing 23 children, mostly with live ammunition, during a November crackdown on anti-government protests.

Human rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday accused the Iranian security forces of killing 23 children, mostly with live ammunition, during a November crackdown on anti-government protests. Protests broke out across Iran from November 15, after the announcement of a surprise petrol price rise. The authorities responded with a crackdown that Amnesty has already said left 304 people dead, a figure vehemently disputed by Tehran. Amnesty said in its new report it had evidence that at least 23 children were killed, 22 of them by the security forces "unlawfully firing live ammunition at unarmed protesters and bystanders." (Al Jazeera)

03-03-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium since early November, the United Nations’ atomic agency said, prompting warnings from experts and diplomats that Tehran has slashed the time it would need to amass enough fuel for a nuclear weapon.

Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium since early November, the United Nations’ atomic agency said Tuesday, prompting warnings from experts and diplomats that Tehran has slashed the time it would need to amass enough fuel for a nuclear weapon. Iran’s growing stockpile of enriched uranium may pose a major test for President Trump ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. Mr. Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. His administration has imposed harsh sanctions to press Tehran to stop all enrichment of nuclear material and halt its support for militant groups in the Middle East. When the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers took effect in January 2016, U.S. officials estimated that it would take at least a year for Iran to produce sufficient enriched uranium for a single nuclear weapon if it broke out of the agreement. (Wall Street Journal)

03-03-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran risks triggering a new crisis if it does not cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog after failing to answer its questions about past nuclear activities at three sites and denying it access to two of them, its chief said.

Iran risks triggering a new crisis if it does not cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog after failing to answer its questions about past nuclear activities at three sites and denying it access to two of them, its chief said on Tuesday. Rafael Grossi, who took up his post in December, spoke to Reuters in an interview hours after he and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) he heads released a report admonishing Iran. “We have been requesting some information and access from Iran but we haven’t been getting the information we require,” he said. “We have insisted and despite all our efforts we have not been able to get that, so the situation requires on my part such a step because what this means is that Iran is curtailing the ability of the agency to do its work.” (Reuters)

02-28-2020
Terrorism

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett signed an order to seize some $4 million in funds which Israel said were transferred from Iran to Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett signed an order Thursday to seize some $4 million in funds which Israel said were transferred from Iran to Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. The funds were intended to develop Hamas’ infrastructure in Gaza, including the production of weapons as well as payments to the organization’s operatives, the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement. The order signed by Bennett targets al-Mutahidoun currency-exchange company owned by Zuheir Shamlakh and his family, it said. The source of the money is “the Iranian government which works against the Israeli state," the statement added. (Asharq al-Awsat)

02-25-2020
Human Rights

An Iranian human rights group reported that a court has sentenced five individuals arrested during November protests to a total of thirty years in prison as well as flogging and exile.

An Iranian human rights group on February 25 reported that a court has sentenced five individuals arrested during November protests to a total of thirty years in prison as well as flogging and exile. Iranian authorities have not officially announced how many were arrested during the protests in November. It is also not clear how many of the arrested protesters are still being held in detention. Some of the protesters, however, have been put on trial in various regions. An overnight three-fold increase in gasoline prices in November 2019 triggered a wave of protests that soon turned into anti-Islamic Republic unrest in 29 out of 31 provinces of Iran. (Radio Farda)

02-24-2020
Military

Iran has sustained its military spending in the face of debilitating US sanctions, a military adviser to the supreme leader has said in a rare interview.

Iran has sustained its military spending in the face of debilitating US sanctions, a military adviser to the supreme leader has said in a rare interview, dismissing the Trump administration’s claims that its maximum pressure strategy has forced Tehran to slash its defence budgets. Iranian officials acknowledge the impact sanctions have had on their economy, which has been plunged into a deep recession as US president Donald Trump has ramped up the pressure on the Islamic republic. But Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan told the Financial Times that Tehran had not “made any cuts to the budgets of our military organisations”. (Financial Times)

02-23-2020
Human Rights

A Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced three people arrested in the heat of anti-government protests last November to death.

A Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced three people arrested in the heat of anti-government protests last November to death. They were sentenced behind closed doors by the notorious ultraconservative judge, Abolqassem Salavati. An Iranian monitoring groups, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has named the three as Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi, and Saeed Tamjidi. On top of the death penalty, Salavati sentenced Moradi to an extra fifteen years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of "cooperation in aggravated armed robbery" and one-year imprisonment for "crossing the border unlawfully." Salavati sentenced the other two, Rajabi and Tamjidi, each to ten years jail and 74 lashes for "cooperation in aggravated armed robbery" and one-year imprisonment for "crossing the border unlawfully." (Radio Farda)

02-23-2020
Politics

Iran’s conservatives won a landslide in the country’s parliamentary elections, strengthening hard-liners opposed to diplomacy with the West.

Iran’s conservatives won a landslide in the country’s parliamentary elections, strengthening hard-liners opposed to diplomacy with the West. But a record-low turnout dealt a public rebuke to the establishment’s call for unity in the face of escalating tensions with the U.S. Acknowledging the defeat of nonconservative factions, the moderate President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday called on the new lawmakers to represent not just those who voted but all Iranians. “Regardless of the result and political inclinations of those elected, we thank the people for the sake of their presence,” Mr. Rouhani said, according to the IRNA state news agency. Conservative factions won 221 of the 290 seats in Iran’s legislative assembly, up from 83 in the last elections in 2016, according to Icana, the parliament’s news service. Reformists and moderates lost out, as their tally dropped to 20 seats from 121 in the last elections, after thousands of their candidates were disqualified. Independents won 38 seats, while the share of seats won by women remained unchanged at 17, Icana said. (Wall Street Journal)

02-20-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States will sink like the “Titanic,” blaming it on “wealthy Zionist individuals and corporate owners” who he said controlled the US economy.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the United States will sink like the “Titanic,” blaming it on “wealthy Zionist individuals and corporate owners” who he said controlled the US economy. In a long series of tweets, Khamenei said the strength of the US economy was a “facade” and appeared to quote  progressive Democrats saying that US President Donald Trump was overseeing the transfer of US wealth to a few billionaires. “Today, the epitome of rebellion, arrogance and tyranny is the US government, which is controlled by the wealthy Zionist individuals and corporate owners,” Khamenei tweeted. “In the same way that the glory and splendor of the famous #Titanic ship did not prevent her from sinking, the apparent glory & splendor of the US won’t prevent it from sinking. And, the US will sink,” he said. (Times of Israel)

02-19-2020
Human Rights

Iran's electoral watchdog defended its decision to disqualify thousands of candidates, most of them moderates and reformists, for a parliamentary election in two days, saying it was done in accordance with the law.

Iran's electoral watchdog on Wednesday defended its decision to disqualify thousands of candidates for a parliamentary election in two days, saying it was done in accordance with the law. The Guardian Council, a powerful body that vets candidates for Iranian elections, also said it expected at least 50 percent of registered voters to turn out at Friday's election. Thousands of candidates, most of them moderates and reformists, have been barred from entering the race by the Council, which is dominated by ultra-conservatives. (AFP)

02-19-2020
Syria Conflict

A small instrument inside the drones that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry and those in the arsenal of Yemen’s Houthi rebels match components recovered in downed Iranian drones in Afghanistan and Iraq, two reports say.

A small instrument inside the drones that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry and those in the arsenal of Yemen’s Houthi rebels match components recovered in downed Iranian drones in Afghanistan and Iraq, two reports say. These gyroscopes have only been found inside drones manufactured by Iran, Conflict Armament Research said in a report released on Wednesday. That follows a recently released report from the United Nations saying its experts saw a similar gyroscope from an Iranian drone obtained by the U.S. military in Afghanistan, as well as in weapons shipments seized in the Arabian Sea bound for Yemen. The discovery further ties Iran to an attack that briefly halved Saudi Arabia’s oil output and saw energy prices spike by a level unseen since the 1991 Gulf War. It also ties Iran to the arming of the rebel Houthis in Yemen’s long civil war. Iran denies it had a hand in that assault but has increasingly promoted its influence over the Houthis and launched a ballistic missile attack on American troops in Iraq after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad last month. (The Associated Press)

02-19-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran has developed a new type of antiaircraft missile and shipped it to Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pentagon officials announced.

Iran has developed a new type of antiaircraft missile and shipped it to Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pentagon officials announced Wednesday. The weapons were seized by United States Navy warships in two separate shipments in the Arabian Sea. In a news briefing, Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, declined to comment on how the missiles worked. But a military official familiar with the weapons, referred to as 358 missiles, described them as cruise missiles that are designed to avoid United States defensive measures and that can down American military helicopters, as well as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey. The missiles consist of three parts: two motors and an explosive warhead. The weapon can be assembled after shipment and fired from a crude launcher on the ground. Once the missile is fired and traveling fast enough, a solid-fuel boost motor falls away and a cruise motor takes over; at that point, the weapon flies in a figure-eight pattern and looks for targets. (New York Times)

02-18-2020
Human Rights

Iran sentenced eight environmental activists, including an Iranian who reportedly also has British and American citizenship, to prison sentences ranging from four to 10 years on charges of spying.

Iran sentenced eight environmental activists, including an Iranian who reportedly also has British and American citizenship, to prison sentences ranging from four to 10 years on charges of spying for the United States and acting against Iran’s national security, the judiciary said Tuesday. According to the judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, an appeals court issued the final verdicts. Two of the activists, Morad Tahbaz and Niloufar Bayani, got 10 years each and were ordered to return the money they allegedly received from the U.S. government for their services. (Associated Press)

02-16-2020
Extremism

Iran will refuse to negotiate with the U.S. as long as Washington maintains its campaign of “maximum pressure”—even if President Trump is re-elected, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.

Iran will refuse to negotiate with the U.S. as long as Washington maintains its campaign of “maximum pressure”—even if President Trump is re-elected, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday. Mr. Rouhani’s defiant remarks solidify Iran’s hard line in a face-off with the Trump administration that only weeks ago brought Washington and Tehran to the brink of war. “It makes no difference who will be the next [American] administration,” Mr. Rouhani said, speaking at a news conference in the Iranian capital. “Iran will never negotiate under pressure.” (Wall Street Journal)

02-14-2020
Terrorism

Facebook has removed two separate networks of fake accounts originating in Iran and Russia, for "engaging in foreign or government interference".

Facebook has removed two separate networks of fake accounts originating in Iran and Russia, for "engaging in foreign or government interference".  The Russian operation, which Facebook linked to the country's military intelligence services, focused primarily on Ukraine and neighbouring countries. The small Iranian operation used accounts and personas on Facebook and Instagram to post content about US politics and the 2020 presidential election. (BBC)

02-13-2020
Syria Conflict

A U.S. Navy warship seized weapons believed to be of Iranian “design and manufacture,” including 150 anti-tank guided missiles and three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, the American military said.

A U.S. Navy warship seized weapons believed to be of Iranian “design and manufacture,” including 150 anti-tank guided missiles and three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, the American military said on Thursday. In a statement, the military said the guided-missile cruiser Normandy boarded a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, in the Arabian Sea on Sunday. “The weapons seized include 150 ‘Dehlavieh’ anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), which are Iranian-manufactured copies of Russian Kornet ATGMs,” the statement said. (Reuters)

02-10-2020
Military

The U.S. military on Monday disclosed a more than 50% jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, with the number of service members diagnosed climbing to over 100.

The U.S. military on Monday disclosed a more than 50% jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, with the number of service members diagnosed climbing to over 100. No U.S. troops were killed or faced immediate bodily injury when Iran fired missiles at the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport on Jan. 3. The missile attacks capped a spiral of violence that had started in late December. Both sides have refrained from further military escalation, but the mounting number of U.S. casualties could increase scrutiny on the Trump administration’s approach to Iran. (Reuters)

02-09-2020
Military

Iran unveiled a new short-range missile called Thunder and launched a satellite named Victory which failed to reach orbit.

Iran unveiled a new short-range missile called Thunder on Sunday and launched a satellite named Victory which failed to reach orbit. The developments took place at a time of high tension with the United States, which killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting an Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Iraq. Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said the satellite launch had not gone as planned. (Reuters)

02-03-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran’s president said that Tehran might reconsider providing U.N. inspectors with access to Iran’s nuclear facilities if the country were confronted with “a new situation,” the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran’s president said Monday that Tehran might reconsider providing U.N. inspectors with access to Iran’s nuclear facilities if the country were confronted with “a new situation,” the official IRNA news agency reported. Hassan Rouhani’s remarks came during a meeting with Josep Borrell, the European Union’s new foreign affairs chief, who was on his first visit to Iran since taking office. The visit is seen as the latest move by the EU to save Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The agreement hangs on a single thread, one that permits international inspection of its atomic sites, and is already threatened. (Associated Press)

01-30-2020
Extremism

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force has issued a message calling for resistance against U.S. President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” and praising the Palestinians for “standing alone” against it.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is seeking to play a major role against US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century.” At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force has issued a message calling for resistance against the plan and praising the Palestinians for “standing alone” against it. Iranian media reported on a speech by PIJ leader Khader Habib in Gaza's Deir al-Balah this week, in which he said that the Palestinians must not give up one inch of territory to the “conspiracy” that is Trump’s deal. He also slammed Jews and Zionists. Islamic Jihad claims Jerusalem is a “purely Islamic city” and that all of the land from the “river to the sea” belongs to Palestinians. He argued that the “Deal of the Century” will fail. The first option for PIJ is resistance and to realize national unity. “We will continue to oppose the deal in all its forms, and regain our rights and not surrender to the usurper, the Trump regime.” (Jerusalem Post)

01-28-2020
Terrorism

An Israeli cybersecurity firm said it believes a new strain of ransomware was created by Iran and has the ability to lock up or even delete industrial control systems.

An Israeli cybersecurity firm said it believes a new strain of ransomware was created by Iran and has the ability to lock up or even delete industrial control systems. Tel Aviv-based Otorio, a cybersecurity firm which specializes in industrial control systems (ICS), said that the ransomware called “Snake,” like others of its kind, encrypts programs and documents on infected machines. But it also removes all file copies from infected stations, preventing the victims from recovering encrypted files. Snake, which was recently discovered, searches for hundreds of specific programs -- including many industrial processes that belong to General Electric Co. -- in order to terminate them and allow it to encrypt the files, Otorio said. (Bloomberg)

01-28-2020
Military

Iran is apparently trying to launch a satellite into space despite a string of failures last year and U.S. concerns that the program is acting as a front for ballistic missile development.

Iran is apparently trying to launch a satellite into space despite a string of failures last year and U.S. concerns that the program is acting as a front for ballistic missile development. Images taken from space Sunday appear to show an increase in activity at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province. The photos, which were annotated by experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, show an apparent influx of cars and work activity at a launchpad, suggesting Iran might be repairing the damaged site. The activity depicted in the images has, in the past, signaled an impending launch. (Fox News)

01-28-2020
Nuclear Program

A group of Iranian lawmakers asked parliament to debate a motion for Iran to quit a treaty governing global nuclear arms control, a move apparently aimed at pressuring European powers to salvage Tehran's own 2015 nuclear deal.

A group of Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday asked parliament to debate a motion for Iran to quit a treaty governing global nuclear arms control, a move apparently aimed at pressuring European powers to salvage Tehran's own 2015 nuclear deal. A report on the assembly's news site ICANA said a minimum number of MPs had signed a request to parliament's managers to arrange a debate on the motion for Iran to take the far-reaching step of leaving the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last week that Iran could withdraw from the NPT if European countries refer the country to the U.N. Security Council over the 2015 deal, a move that would overturn diplomacy in Tehran's turbulent relations with Western powers. (Reuters)

01-27-2020
Terrorism

Israel's Channel 12 reported that cyber-attacks originating from Iran were among the 800 distinct cyber-attacks on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and planes of world leaders arriving in Israel to attend Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial on 23 January.

Israel's Channel 12 on Sunday reported that cyber-attacks originating from Iran were among the 800 distinct cyber-attacks on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and planes of world leaders arriving in Israel to attend Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial on 23 January. According to The Times of Israel on Sunday Channel 12 cited officials from the Airports Authority Cyber Division in a report that said last week, when world leaders including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Russian President Vladimir Putin were arriving in Israel to attend the memorial, more than 800 cyber-attacks targeted Israel's international airport and the planes landing there. Channel 12, also known as Keshet 12, is a free-to-air television owned by a media group of the same name. The report said the attacks originated in Iran, China, North Korea, Russia and Poland but since preparations had been made ahead of the momentous event for Israel, the threats were neutralized by Israel's cyber defense, Hercules. (Radio Farda)

01-25-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran has the capacity to enrich uranium at any percentage if Iranian authorities decide to do so, the deputy head of the country’s nuclear agency said in a report posted on its website on Saturday.

Iran has the capacity to enrich uranium at any percentage if Iranian authorities decide to do so, the deputy head of the country’s nuclear agency said in a report posted on its website on Saturday. “At the moment, if (Iranian authorities) make the decision, the Atomic Energy Organization, as the executor, will be able to enrich uranium at any percentage,” Ali Asghar Zarean said. Iran said earlier this month it would scrap limitations on enriching uranium, taking a further step back from commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, but pledged to continue cooperating with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. (Reuters)

01-25-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile has far exceeded the level allowed by its international nuclear deal, an aide to Iran’s nuclear chief said on Saturday.

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile has far exceeded the level allowed by its international nuclear deal, an aide to Iran’s nuclear chief said on Saturday. Ali Asghar Zarean said that Iran has stockpiled 1,200 kilograms, or about 2,600 pounds, which is well beyond what the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers allowed. “Iran is increasing its stockpile of the enriched uranium with full speed,” he said. The claim has not been verified by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog. (Associated Press)

01-23-2020
Politics

Leaders of Iran's reformist parties say the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections will come as no surprise as nearly all of the well-known reformist candidates have been disqualified by the hardliner-dominated Guardian Council.

Leaders of Iran's reformist parties say the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections will come as no surprise as nearly all of the well-known reformist candidates have been disqualified by the hardliner-dominated Guardian Council. They said at the end of a meeting on Wednesday January 22 that unless there is a meaningful revision in the results of the vetting, reformists have no one to represent them in many constituencies, semi-official news agency ISNA reported on Thursday. From among around 15,000 candidates only 60 low-key reformist figures have been qualified to run for the February 21 election. (Radio Farda)

01-22-2020
Syria Conflict

Iranian-backed Shi’ite factions have exhorted Iraqis to turn out for a “million-strong” march aimed at whipping up anti-American sentiment as the United States’ struggle with Iran plays out on the streets of Baghdad.

Iranian-backed Shi’ite factions have exhorted Iraqis to turn out for a “million-strong” march on Friday aimed at whipping up anti-American sentiment as the United States’ struggle with Iran plays out on the streets of Baghdad. Those behind the rally have two goals in mind - to pressure Washington to pull its troops out of Iraq, and to eclipse the mass anti-government protests that have challenged their grip on power. It is likely to end up at the gates of the U.S. Embassy, the seat of U.S. power in Iraq and the scene of violent clashes last month when militia supporters tried to storm the compound. It could turn nasty again. (Reuters)

01-21-2020
Extremism

An Iranian lawmaker offered a $3 million reward to anyone who killed U.S. President Donald Trump and said Iran could avoid threats if it had nuclear arms, ISNA news agency reported amid Tehran’s latest standoff with Washington.

An Iranian lawmaker offered a $3 million reward to anyone who killed U.S. President Donald Trump and said Iran could avoid threats if it had nuclear arms, ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday amid Tehran’s latest standoff with Washington. U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood dismissed the reward as “ridiculous”, telling reporters in Geneva it showed the “terrorist underpinnings” of Iran’s establishment. Tensions have escalated since Trump in 2018 pulled the United States out of a multilateral 2015 agreement meant to contain Iran’s nuclear program, saying it was flawed, then reimposed heavy U.S. sanctions on Tehran. The standoff erupted into tit-for-tat military strikes earlier this month. (Reuters)

01-20-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if European countries bring alleged violations of the historic nuclear deal with world powers to the United Nations Security Council.

Iran threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if European countries bring alleged violations of the historic nuclear deal with world powers to the United Nations Security Council. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued the warning on Monday saying the Islamic Republic could take other steps before withdrawing from the NPT, without specifying them. "If the Europeans continue their improper behaviour or send Iran's file to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the NPT," Zarif said in comments carried by Iranian news agencies. (Al Jazeera)

01-19-2020
Military

Iran said that two newly constructed satellites have passed pre-launch tests and will be transported to the nation’s space center for eventual launch, without elaborating.

Iran said Sunday that two newly constructed satellites have passed pre-launch tests and will be transported to the nation’s space center for eventual launch, without elaborating. Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted about the development, calling it an “important research step.” Iran has not said when it will launch the satellites, but often coordinates its launches with national holidays. It will celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution next month. (Associated Press)

01-18-2020
Syria Conflict

A missile attack launched by Shiite rebels in Yemen hit an army camp, killing at least 60 troops and injuring dozens of others, Yemeni officials and Saudi state television said.

A missile attack launched by Shiite rebels in Yemen hit an army camp Saturday, killing at least 60 troops and injuring dozens of others, Yemeni officials and Saudi state television said. The strike in the central province of Marib wounded about 10 others. Officials said they expected the death toll to rise as burn victims were rushed to hospitals. Marib lies about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of the capital, Sanaa. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media. (Associated Press)

01-17-2020
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader struck a defiant tone in a rare Friday public sermon, calling the United States an “arrogant power” and telling tens of thousands of chanting worshipers that God’s backing had allowed his country to “slap the face” of the U.S.

Iran’s supreme leader struck a defiant tone in a rare public sermon on Friday, calling the United States an “arrogant power” and telling tens of thousands of chanting worshipers that God’s backing had allowed his country to “slap the face” of the United States. In his first such address in eight years, the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sought to rally supporters and undermine critics after weeks of turbulence in the Middle East that brought Iran and the United States to the brink of war and prompted street protests in Iran over the accidental downing of a civilian jetliner by Iranian forces. Ayatollah Khamenei offered only scant condolences to the families who lost relatives in the crash, and instead sought to project strength. He dismissed protesters as “stooges of the United States,” lauded Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s foreign operations chief who was killed in an American drone strike, and praised a retaliatory Iranian missile attack on United States forces in Iraq. (New York Times)

01-16-2020
Nuclear Program

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the country is now enriching more uranium than it was before a 2015 deal with world powers that was supposed to scale back its nuclear activities, and in particular enrichment.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday the country is now enriching more uranium than it was before a 2015 deal with world powers that was supposed to scale back its nuclear activities, and in particular enrichment. “We are enriching more uranium than before the deal was reached,” Rouhani said in a televised speech according to the Reuters news agency. “Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress.” Rouhani also said he is working “daily to prevent war” as relations between Tehran and Washington go through a new period of maximum tension. (Times of Israel)

01-16-2020
Terrorism

Two men have been sentenced to prison on charges in connection with working on behalf of the government of Iran to monitor a Jewish center in Chicago and Americans who are members of an exiled Iranian opposition group.

Two men have been sentenced to prison on charges in connection with working on behalf of the government of Iran to monitor a Jewish center in Chicago and Americans who are members of an exiled Iranian opposition group. Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual Iranian-U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 38 months in prison on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington after pleading guilty Oct. 8 to one count of conspiracy and one count of acting as an undeclared agent of the Iranian government. Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen and U.S. permanent resident living in Costa Mesa, Calif., was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Friedman on one count of violating U.S. sanctions by giving photographs to Doostdar that he knew Doostdar would take to Iran, according to court records. (Washington Post)

01-15-2020
Politics

Iran’s president slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Iran’s president Wednesday slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections. Although hard-liners were among those disqualified by the powerful Guardian Council, most of those rejected were reformist and moderate candidates, according to Tehran’s reformist newspaper Etemad. President Hassan Rouhani appeared to confirm this in his stinging critique of the council, which barred more than 9,000 from the over 14,000 people who had registered to run. Among them are 90 sitting lawmakers out of some 247 who registered to run for re-election. (Associated Press)

01-15-2020
Human Rights

Iranian social media users reported that warnings issued by intelligence and security forces and heavy riot police presence on the streets has forced students to call off planned rallies in Tehran on the fifth day of protests in the country.

Iranian social media users on Wednesday reported that warning issued by intelligence and security forces and heavy riot police presence on the streets has forced students to call off planned rallies in Tehran on the fifth day of protests in the country. Since early afternoon social media users posted pictures and videos of large groups of security forces and fully-geared riot police around the capital's major universities, describing it as "laying siege to universities". Later on they reported that under heavy pressure students have called off their planned rallies at Tehran and Amir Kabir universities. (Radio Farda)

01-15-2020
Nuclear Program

Israel’s army intelligence says Iran will have enough enriched uranium to produce one nuclear bomb by the end of the year.

Israel’s army intelligence says Iran will have enough enriched uranium to produce one nuclear bomb by the end of the year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not let Iran become a nuclear power. Israeli military analysts say that by the end of 2020 Iran will have enough enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. The assessment comes after recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran brought them to the brink of war. The United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, and Israeli intelligence officials speculated that Iran would resume its efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb. Israeli army intelligence officials based their calculation on their assessment that it takes 40 kilograms of 90-percent enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. Iran announced several months ago that it no longer considered itself bound by the nuclear deal and would step up enrichment efforts. (Voice of America)

01-15-2020
Syria Conflict

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said European troops stationed in the Middle East could be in danger, suggesting that a collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal would threaten the region’s stability and security.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said European troops stationed in the Middle East could be in danger, suggesting that a collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal would threaten the region’s stability and security. The remarks come a day after Britain, France and Germany took the first steps toward reimposing sanctions on Iran following the sharp increase in tensions after the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Tehran’s attacks on military bases in Iraq that house U.S. troops. “The American soldier today is not secure. Tomorrow, the European soldier could be insecure too,” Mr. Rouhani told his weekly cabinet meeting, according to Iranian state media Wednesday. “Stop making mistakes!” Mr. Rouhani said. “Return and choose a path that is in favor of the stability and security of the region.” (Wall Street Journal)

01-14-2020
Military

Surveillance video from Iran circulating on social media appears to show two missiles hitting the Ukrainian passenger jet downed over Tehran, fired approximately 30 seconds apart, providing new information about the tragedy that killed 176 people.

Surveillance video from Iran circulating on social media Tuesday appears to show two missiles hitting the Ukrainian passenger jet downed over Tehran, fired approximately 30 seconds apart, providing new information about the tragedy that killed 176 people on the plane. The video was verified by Storyful, a social-media-intelligence company owned by News Corp, parent of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. It raises new questions about how forthcoming Iranian authorities were when, after three days of denial, they admitted they had mistakenly struck the Ukraine International Airlines flight without mentioning a second missile. It also possibly answers the question of why the Ukrainian airliner’s transponder stopped working before being hit by the missile that apparently brought the jet down last week. (Wall Street Journal)

01-14-2020
Military

Iran’s Tasnim news website close to the Revolutionary Guard has published new photos it claims to show “missile cities”, where “solid fuel” rockets are housed.

Iran’s Tasnim news website close to the Revolutionary Guard has published new photos it claims to show “missile cities”, where “solid fuel” rockets are housed. Tasnim also said that out of 15 missiles fired at U.S. bases in Iraq on January 8, two fell on Iranian territory, apparently due to technical malfunction. The release of photos by Tasnim coincides with the decision of the United Kingdom, France and Germany to trigger the dispute mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal as a response to Iran gradually reducing its commitments. (Radio Farda)

01-13-2020
Syria Conflict

U.S. commanders at the Iraqi military base targeted by Iranian missiles said they believe the attack was intended to kill American personnel, an act that could have pushed the two powers closer to outright war.

U.S. commanders at the Iraqi military base targeted by Iranian missiles said Monday they believe the attack was intended to kill American personnel, an act that could have pushed the two powers closer to outright war. The missile barrage last week against the sprawling Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq left deep craters and the crumpled wreckage of living quarters and a helicopter launch site. At least two soldiers were thrown through the window of a meters-high tower, and several dozen U.S. troops were later treated for concussion as a result of the missile strikes, military officials on the base said. "These were designed and organized to inflict as many casualties as possible," said Lt. Col. Tim Garland, commander of Task Force Jazeera and one of the most senior officials on the base that day. (Washington Post)

01-13-2020
Human Rights

Accusations of lethal force against protesters in Iran should be fully investigated, a spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Accusations of lethal force against protesters in Iran should be fully investigated, a spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, saying reports of violence against those protesting the downing of a civilian airliner were “worrying.” “We’re obviously following very closely the demonstrations that have been taking place today and over the weekend in Iran and the Secretary-General recalls the rights to freedom of expression and association in peaceful assembly of people,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Protesters denouncing Iran’s clerical rulers took to the streets and riot police deployed to face them on Monday, in a third day of demonstrations after authorities acknowledged accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane. (Reuters)

01-13-2020
Human Rights

Protesters took to the streets of Iran to denounce the country’s clerical rulers and riot police deployed to face them in a third day of demonstrations after authorities acknowledged shooting down a passenger plane by mistake.

Protesters took to the streets of Iran to denounce the country’s clerical rulers and riot police deployed to face them in a third day of demonstrations on Monday after authorities acknowledged shooting down a passenger plane by mistake. Iran’s president called last week’s downing of the Ukrainian plane a “disastrous mistake” on Saturday, and said its air defenses responded in error while on alert after Iran carried out missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. Iranian public anger, rumbling for days after Tehran had repeatedly denied it was to blame for the plane crash, erupted when the military admitted its role. (Reuters)

01-11-2020
Extremism

Students at Iran’s Islamic Azad University are being offered a novel new career choice — suicide terrorist.

Students at Iran’s Islamic Azad University are being offered a novel new career choice — suicide terrorist. Leaflets are being distributed at the influential school urging students to sign up for Jihad missions against the United States and Israel to avenge the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. “Registration for volunteers to commit a suicide attack against the United States and Israel,” it blares. “Hard revenge is underway for those criminals who killed Qassem Soleimani.” (New York Post)

01-09-2020
Anti-Americanism

A commander of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps declared that Iran would soon take “harsher revenge” on the United States for a drone strike last week that killed a top Iranian general.

A day after President Trump backed away from further military conflict with Iran, a commander of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps declared that Iran would soon take “harsher revenge” on the United States for a drone strike last week that killed a top Iranian general. But another Iranian military leader said his country’s missile attacks targeting Americans in Iraq this week had not been intended to kill anyone. The remarks were just some of the mixed messages put forth by Iranian leaders on Thursday after Iranian missile strikes, which hit two military bases in Iraq housing American troops. On Thursday the commander of the Revolution Guards air force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, described the strikes on the bases in Iraq as just the beginning of “a major operation” against the United States, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, but he also noted that the strikes had not aimed to kill anyone. He quickly followed up with the claim that “tens of people were killed and wounded,” a point disputed by American, Iraqi and other international accounts. A senior commander in the Revolutionary Guards, Abdollah Araghi, said on Thursday that Iran’s armed forces would “impose harsher revenge on the enemy in the near future,” according to Tasnim. (New York Times)

01-09-2020
Military

U.S., Canadian and U.K. officials believe that a Ukrainian commercial aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, was downed by a missile system fired by Iran, possibly by mistake.

U.S., Canadian and U.K. officials believe that a Ukrainian commercial aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, was downed by a missile system fired by Iran, possibly by mistake. “We have a high level of confidence that this was shot down by Iran,” one U.S. official said Thursday. The official said the plane was being tracked moments before it went down by Iranian radar used to aim missiles. A second official said the U.S. believes Iran may have downed the aircraft by mistake. The first official identified the weapon as a Russian-made SA-15 surface-to-air missile system, also referred to as the Gauntlet. Iran disputed the accusation, which a government spokesman called a “big lie.” (Wall Street Journal)

01-08-2020
Terrorism

Hackers looking to breach US computer networks sharply intensified their efforts following the death of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, but have had limited success, according to internet security researchers and state government officials.

Hackers looking to breach US computer networks sharply intensified their efforts following the death of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, but have had limited success, according to internet security researchers and state government officials. Soon after the strike that killed Soleimani, Iran-based attempts to hack federal, state and local government websites jumped 50% — and then continued to accelerate, said network security company Cloudflare Over the course of 48 hours, attacks traced to Iranian IP addresses nearly tripled against targets around the world, Cloudflare said, peaking at half a billion attempts per day. (CNN)

01-07-2020
Extremism

Iran has been considering 13 “revenge scenarios” in retaliation for a U.S. strike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraqi, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shimkani said, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Iran has been considering 13 “revenge scenarios” in retaliation for a U.S. strike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraqi, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Tuesday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. “The Americans should know that until now 13 revenge scenarios have been discussed in the council and even if there is consensus on the weakest scenario carrying it out can be a historic nightmare for the Americans,” Ali Shamkhani said. (Reuters)

01-07-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran retaliated for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi air bases housing U.S. forces. Washington and Tehran both confirmed that Iran was the source of the missiles.

Iran retaliated for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi air bases housing U.S. forces on Wednesday local time. Washington and Tehran both confirmed that Iran was the source of the missiles. The extent the damage was unclear. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the strikes were a "slap in the face" to the U.S. and not sufficient retaliation for the killing of Soleimani, a top general, last week. (NBC News)

01-05-2020
Nuclear Program

“Iran’s nuclear program will have no limitations in production, including enrichment capacity,” the Iranian government said in an announcement that seemed to signal the de facto collapse of the 2015 agreement.

The consequences of the American killing of a top Iranian general rippled across the Middle East and beyond on Sunday, with Iran all but abandoning a landmark nuclear agreement and Iraqi lawmakers voting to expel American forces from their country. Steeling for retaliation from Iran, an American-led coalition in Iraq and Syria suspended the campaign it has waged against the Islamic State for years, as hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the street to mourn the general, Qassim Suleimani. “Iran’s nuclear program will have no limitations in production, including enrichment capacity,” the Iranian government said in an announcement Sunday that seemed to signal the de facto collapse of the 2015 agreement. (New York Times)

01-03-2020
Syria Conflict

Iran promised vengeance after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East.

Iran promised vengeance after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East. Soleimani, a 62-year-old general who headed the elite Quds Force, was regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The overnight attack, authorized by President Donald Trump, was a dramatic escalation in a “shadow war” in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and its allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strike aimed to disrupt an “imminent attack” that would have endangered Americans in the Middle East. Democratic critics said the Republican president had raised the risk of more violence in a dangerous region. (Reuters)

12-31-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters protesting against deadly U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in an unprecedented attack on an American diplomatic mission in the country.

Militiamen and their supporters protesting against deadly U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack on an American diplomatic mission in the country. Embassy guards responded with stun grenades and tear gas after the attackers stormed and burned the security post at the entrance but did not breach the main compound. The incident marked a sharp escalation of the proxy conflict between Washington and Tehran - both influential players in Iraq - while mass protests are challenging Iraq’s own political system nearly 17 years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. It comes after months of security incidents in the region for which both sides have traded blame. (Reuters)

12-27-2019
Military

China, Russia and Iran began a four-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman amid ongoing friction in the economically important region between Tehran and Washington.

China, Russia and Iran began a four-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman on Friday amid ongoing friction in the economically important region between Tehran and Washington. The Gulf of Oman has been a focal point of geopolitical tensions in 2019, after two oil tankers were attacked in the narrow strait in June by an unidentified party. The US blamed Iran for the attack but Tehran denied the allegations. Then in July, Iran detained a British oil tanker, the Stena Impero, for two months. The vessels planned to leave Iran's Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman, before being deployed across areas in the north of the Indian Ocean, Second Rear Admiral Gholamreza Tahani said earlier, according to Iran's state-run Press TV. (CNN)

12-27-2019
Syria Conflict

A U.S. civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, U.S. officials said, alleging that the Iran-backed militia Kata’ib Hezbollah was behind the attack.

A U.S. civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk on Friday, U.S. officials said. Several U.S. service members and Iraq personnel were also wounded, the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said in a statement, adding that Iraqi security forces would be leading the response and investigation into the incident. U.S. officials said, on condition of anonymity, that the service members were lightly wounded and believed to be back on duty. (Reuters)

12-23-2019
Human Rights

The United States has confirmed a news report citing unnamed Iranian officials as saying about 1,500 people were killed in a crackdown by security forces on anti-government protests last month.

The United States has confirmed a news report citing unnamed Iranian officials as saying about 1,500 people were killed in a crackdown by security forces on anti-government protests last month. In a report published Monday, London-based Reuters said it obtained the death toll from three Iranian interior ministry officials who said the fatalities included "at least 17 teenagers and about 400 women as well as some members of the security forces and police." In a Monday tweet, the State Department quoted U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook as saying the Reuters report "underscores the urgency for the international community to punish the perpetrators and isolate the regime for the murder of 1,500 Iranian citizens." (VOA)

12-20-2019
Human Rights

Iran's Prosecutor General announced that "many of those detained" in the November protests across Iran have been indicted and their trials will begin next week.

Iran's Prosecutor General announced that "many of those detained" in the November protests across Iran have been indicted and their trials will begin next week. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri also said those who "could be freed" have already been released from prison. Iran has so far refused to disclose the number of the detainees or give any information about hundreds who were killed by the security forces' heavy-handed response to the protesters. Based on Radio Farda's data, at least 8,000 people were arrested in different cities across Iran between November 15, when the protests broke out, and December 5. Since then hundreds of more arrests have taken place. (Radio Farda)

12-19-2019
Human Rights

While 70 countries improved their human freedom ranking in the past year, Iran remained in the 154th place among the 162 countries in the Human Freedom Index (HFI).

While 70 countries improved their human freedom ranking in the past year, Iran remained in the 154th place among the 162 countries in the Human Freedom Index (HFI). The index which measures personal, civil and economic freedom at a global level, covers areas such as rule of law, security and safety, size of government, property rights, religion, civil society and expression. The HFI also found a strong relationship between human freedom and democracy and said Hong Kong is an outlier in this regard. The index which is the most comprehensive freedom index so far created for a globally meaningful set of countries covers 162 countries for 2017, the most recent year for which sufficient data are available. (Radio Farda)

12-19-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran President Hassan Rouhani said his country's nuclear experts have begun the testing of new, advanced IR-9 centrifuges for uranium enrichment, marking yet another violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani said his country's nuclear experts have begun the testing of new, advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment, marking yet another violation of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani spoke to Iranian expats during a meeting Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, about the success of Iran’s current centrifuge model and the testing of a new prototype, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “We have had great achievements and today, Iranian new IR-6 centrifuges are working and models IR-9 are currently being tested,” Rouhani is quoted as saying. The testing of new centrifuges for uranium enrichment is just Iran’s latest step away from its atomic accord with world powers since President Trump pulled America out of the 2015 nuclear deal. (Fox News)

12-18-2019
Human Rights

More than a month after the start of the latest round of anti-government protests in Iran, security forces are still arresting people in various cities, registering at least 650 new arrests in recent days.

More than a month after the start of the latest round of anti-government protests in Iran, security forces are still arresting people in various cities. The Police Chief in Kermanshah, Ali Akbar Javidan said on Wednesday December 18 that 250 more protesters have been arrested in that city. Elsewhere in Iran officials broke the news on Tuesday about more than 400 other arrests in Alborz Province near Tehran, as well as Khuzestan and Fars Provinces in the south. Although arbitrary arrests continue, there is still no official figure about the number of those detained during and after the protests that started on November 15 following a sudden three-fold rise in the price of gasoline. (Radio Farda)

12-16-2019
Human Rights

At least 304 people have been killed in Iran during anti-government unrest that broke out last month, Amnesty International said.

At least 304 people have been killed in Iran during anti-government unrest that broke out last month, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. Thousands have been arrested including children as young as 15 in a crackdown that followed the protests, London-based Amnesty said in a statement. “At least 304 people were killed and thousands were injured between 15 and 18 November as Iranian authorities crushed protests using lethal force,” it said. Amnesty said earlier this month that at least 208 were killed in the protests. Iranian authorities have dismissed Amnesty’s previous figures and have yet to give a death toll from the deadliest protests In Iran in decades. (Reuters)

12-11-2019
Syria Conflict

A senior U.S. military official said attacks by Iranian-backed groups on bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq were gathering pace and becoming more sophisticated, pushing all sides closer to an uncontrollable escalation.

A senior U.S. military official said on Wednesday attacks by Iranian-backed groups on bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq were gathering pace and becoming more sophisticated, pushing all sides closer to an uncontrollable escalation. His warning came two days after four Katyusha rockets struck a base near Baghdad international airport, wounding five members of Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service. It was the latest in a spate of rocket strikes in the past five weeks on military installations hosting members of the U.S.-led coalition whose objective is to defeat Islamic State insurgents. The official said the attacks were jeopardizing the coalition’s ability to combat Islamic State insurgents. (Reuters)

12-10-2019
Military

President Hassan Rouhani’s administration announced Tuesday that two billion euros ($2.22 billion) will be taken from Iran's National Development Fund and given to the military, boosting its budget by 8 percent in the next Iranian calendar year.

President Hassan Rouhani’s administration announced Tuesday that two billion euros ($2.22 billion) will be taken from Iran's National Development Fund and given to the military, boosting its budget by 8 percent in the next Iranian calendar year. Iran is in the grip of a deep recession with a 9 percent contraction this year and faces serious problems with earning hard currency for vital imports. Last month, the government raised the price of gasoline, sparking mass protests that were crushed with killing at least 208 protesters and possibly many more. Security forces have jailed 8,000 protesters. The Rouhani government’s announcement is seen as a possible reaction to hardliners in Iran complaining that the budget of the military has slightly decreased in the proposed budget. (Radio Farda)

12-10-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran is building an underground tunnel in Eastern Syria to store missiles and large-scale weapons, according to satellite images obtained by Fox News and Western intelligence sources who reviewed the information.

Iran is building an underground tunnel to store missiles and large-scale weapons, according to satellite images obtained by Fox News and Western intelligence sources who reviewed the information. The structure, housed within the Imam Ali military base in Eastern Syria, is estimated to be nearly 400 feet long, 15 feet wide and 13 feet deep. The first image--taken by Image Sat International (ISI), an end-to-end geospatial intelligence solutions company, where construction of the tunnel can be seen--was captured on Oct. 5. Two weeks later, a shed was used to hide the tunnel entrance from the air. Large dirt piles appeared at the opposite end of the tunnel as excavations continue. (Fox News)

12-09-2019
Syria Conflict

Four rockets landed inside the Baghdad international airport, U.S. military officials have told Fox News, blaming Iran and its proxy forces for the attack.

Four rockets landed inside the Baghdad international airport Sunday night, U.S. military officials have told Fox News, blaming Iran and its proxy forces for the attack. The rockets hit a building called the Diplomatic Support Center, located on the opposite side of the airport from the civilian runway and passenger terminal where U.S. military personnel are present.  The rockets landed between 100 and 400 yards away from American troops and civilians, one official said. Five Iraq soldiers were wounded by shrapnel, the officials said.  It’s not clear how severe the injuries were. (Fox News)

12-09-2019
Human Rights

Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, announced plans to replace the country’s internet with a state-run intranet, granting the government increased control over online activity.

Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, announced plans to replace the country’s internet with a state-run intranet, granting the government increased control over online activity. The announcement comes shortly after the Iranian government quelled mass protests by cutting off internet access across the country, CNET reports. With its own state-controlled network, Iran would be able to nip future protests in the bud by rapidly identifying dissidents and cutting them off from one another — a disturbing blow against online freedom and privacy. Rouhani framed the announcement as a matter of national autonomy, according to CNET. He told Parliament that “people will not need foreign [networks] to meet their needs,” and that the decision came straight down from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his superior within the federal government. (Futurism)

12-05-2019
Syria Conflict

More than a dozen people have been stabbed in a Baghdad square that has become a focal point for anti-government and anti-Iran protests after supporters of an Iranian-backed militia flooded the area.

More than a dozen people have been stabbed in a Baghdad square that has become a focal point for anti-government and anti-Iran protests after supporters of an Iranian-backed militia flooded the area. Thousands of men waving sticks, Iraqi flags and the insignia of the Hashd al-Shaabi armed group descended on Tahrir Square on Thursday morning in apparently coordinated marches from across the capital. Anti-government protesters who have been occupying the square for several weeks, some of whom are critical of Iranian influence in the country, said at least 15 people were stabbed before the militia-linked marchers withdrew by the late afternoon. (The Guardian)

12-05-2019
Human Rights

An investigation carried out by Radio Farda shows that around 8,000 protesters have been jailed following the protests that started on November 15 after a sudden three-fold hike in the price of gasoline.

Three weeks after the start of anti-government protests in Iran there are still conflicting reports on the number of arrests made by security forces. A member of the Iranian Parliament Hossein Naqavi Hosseini put the number at 7,000 as one of the official accounts. Iranian Judiciary officials have refused to provide any figures. It appears that they will announce the number after releasing most prisoners on bail, so that the number could be smaller and less embarrassing. As the usual practice in previous cases of major unrest in Iran has shown, the officials free the inmates with lesser charges on hefty bails and summon them to court later gradually. An investigation carried out by Radio Farda shows that around 8,000 protesters have been jailed following the protests that started on November 15 after a sudden three-fold hike in the price of gasoline. The protests quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations that were met by gunfire by security forces killing at least 208. (Radio Farda)

12-05-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran rejected pressure to shelve its ballistic missile program after a European letter to the U.N. Security Council accused Tehran of developing missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs.

Iran on Thursday rejected pressure to shelve its ballistic missile program after a European letter to the U.N. Security Council accused Tehran of developing missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. The British, German and French ambassadors to the Council, in a letter circulated on Wednesday, called on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to tell the body in his next report that Iran’s missile program was “inconsistent” with a U.N. resolution underpinning the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and six world powers. Iran responded defiantly, saying it was determined to proceed with its missile program, which it has repeatedly described as defensive in purpose and nothing to do with its nuclear activity. “Iran is determined to resolutely continue its activities related to ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles,” Iranian U.N. envoy Majid Takhte Ravanchi said in a letter to Guterres. (Reuters)

12-04-2019
Syria Conflict

A U.S. Navy warship seized advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat it had stopped in the Arabian Sea, U.S. officials said, as Trump’s administration pressures Tehran to curb its activities in the region.

A U.S. Navy warship seized advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat it had stopped in the Arabian Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as Trump’s administration pressures Tehran to curb its activities in the region. In a statement, the Pentagon confirmed that on Nov. 25 a U.S. warship found “advanced missile components” on a stateless vessel and an initial investigation indicated the parts were of Iranian origin. “A more thorough investigation is underway,” the statement said. U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the guided missile destroyer Forrest Sherman detained a small boat and a detachment of U.S. personnel boarded the vessel, where the missile parts were found. (Reuters)

12-04-2019
Terrorism

Iran’s state-sponsored hackers have deployed a new strain of malicious malware, warns IBM, which has been aimed at the “industrial and energy sectors” in the Middle East.

Iran’s state-sponsored hackers have deployed a new strain of malicious malware, warns IBM, which has been aimed at the “industrial and energy sectors” in the Middle East. No specific companies have been identified, but there’s no surprise in the nature of the attack. For Iran, its ongoing hybrid conflict with the U.S. and its allies has made these sectors a target. IBM has attributed the latest “destructive attacks” to Iran’s hyperactive APT34 “and at least one other group, [also] likely based out of Iran.” APT34 has hit the headlines a few times this year, including with a phishing attack using LinkedIn. But it’s the identity of that “one other group” that’s arguably more interesting. The sectoral targets and use of wiper malware points towards Iran’s APT33, arguably the best known of its threat actors. This is the group behind the Microsoft Outlook exploit in July, prompting a U.S. government warning, and which deployed its own VPN to veil “aggressive attacks” on U.S. and Middle East targets in the oil and gas sector. APT33 was also behind the infamous 2012 Shamoon attack on Saudi Aramco, an attack which erased the data on most of the company’s computers. (Forbes)

12-04-2019
Human Rights

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani claimed in a speech that some of the protesters who took to the streets across Iran in November had been "organized" by forces outside the country and promised Iranians that their "confessions will be aired" soon.

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani claimed in a speech on Wednesday that some of the protesters who took to the streets across Iran in November had been "organized" by forces outside the country and promised Iranians that their "confessions will be aired" soon. Speaking at a seminar at Tehran's Milad Tower the Iranian President alleged that these groups had been planning "for more than two years" to incite unrest during parliamentary elections (February 21) but took action sooner "by the order of their masters abroad" when protests against gasoline price hike gave them the opportunity. At the same time, Rouhani proposed to free all those detainees who were ordinary protesters, simply shouting slogan or “burning tires”. (Radio Farda)

12-04-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran has used the continuing chaos in Iraq to build up a hidden arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq, part of a widening effort to try to intimidate the Middle East and assert its power.

Iran has used the continuing chaos in Iraq to build up a hidden arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq, part of a widening effort to try to intimidate the Middle East and assert its power, according to American intelligence and military officials. The buildup comes as the United States has rebuilt its military presence in the Middle East to counter emerging threats to American interests, including attacks on oil tankers and facilities that intelligence officials have blamed on Iran. The missiles pose a threat to American allies and partners in the region, and could endanger American troops, the intelligence officials said. (New York Times)

12-03-2019
Human Rights

Iran acknowledged for the first time that its security forces shot and killed protesters across the country to put down demonstrations last month over the sharply spiking price of gasoline.

Iran acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that its security forces shot and killed protesters across the country to put down demonstrations last month over the sharply spiking price of gasoline, the deadliest unrest to hit the country since the turmoil of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A report by Iranian state television sought to portray those killed as “rioters” or foreign-backed insurgents who threatened military posts, oil tanks and the public. It acknowledged that the violence also killed passers-by, security forces and peaceful protesters without assigning blame. However, online videos of demonstrations purport to show security forces firing machine guns and rifles at crowds. Amnesty International believes the unrest beginning in mid-November and crackdown that followed killed at least 208 people. An Iranian judiciary official disputed the toll Tuesday as “sheer lies,” without offering any evidence to support his position. (Associated Press)

12-03-2019
Human Rights

Videos showing harrowing scenes of bleeding protesters, burning roadblocks and snipers on rooftops have emerged after Iran lifted a near-total internet blackout, opening a window onto what analysts say was one of Tehran's bloodiest crackdowns.

Videos showing harrowing scenes of bleeding protesters, burning roadblocks and snipers on rooftops have emerged after Iran lifted a near-total internet blackout, opening a window onto what analysts say was one of Tehran's bloodiest crackdowns. This repression "was harsher" than during previous protests in Iran, Kamran Matin, senior lecturer in International Relations at Sussex University in Britain, told AFP in Nicosia. "All the videos I have seen from before the internet was shut down show that from the moment of the gathering of people to 'shoot to kill' was very short." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

12-03-2019
Syria Conflict

There is fresh intelligence of a potential Iranian threat against US forces and interests in the Middle East, according to several US defense and administration officials.

There is fresh intelligence of a potential Iranian threat against US forces and interests in the Middle East, according to several US defense and administration officials. "There has been consistent intelligence in the last several weeks," one administration official told CNN A second official described it as information that has been gathered throughout November. The information is being gathered by military and intelligence agencies The officials would not say in what format the intelligence exists. But in the last several weeks there has been movement of Iranian forces and weapons that the US worries could be put in place for a potential attack, if one is ordered by the Iranian regime, the officials said. It's not clear if a potential threat would come from the central government or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (CNN)

12-02-2019
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian general has warned that Iran’s missile arsenals are aimed at 21 American military bases in the Middle East and the country is prepared for “the greatest war against the greatest enemy.”

An Iranian general has warned that Iran’s missile arsenals are aimed at 21 American military bases in the Middle East and the country is prepared for “the greatest war against the greatest enemy.” In a November 29 speech, at an event in the southern city of Bushehr commemorating 40 years since the establishment of the Basij paramilitary force, Gen. Allahnoor Noorollahi also said that Iran had the ability to raze Haifa and Tel Aviv to the ground. Noorollahi serves as a top adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Officers College. His speech was broadcast on Bushehr TV, and was reported on and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. (Times of Israel)

12-02-2019
Human Rights

Two weeks after the deadliest anti-regime protests in the four-decade history of the Islamic Republic, there are several reports on the "grave condition" of detained protesters, especially underage and child prisoners.

Two weeks after the deadliest anti-regime protests in the four-decade history of the Islamic Republic, there are several reports on the "grave condition" of detained protesters, especially underage and child prisoners. Citing "informed sources" in Sanandaj, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network KHRN reported that more than 100 of the detained protesters are held under grueling conditions in a military base run by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). There are also several underage and schoolchildren among the detainees; the sources told KHRN. Furthermore, the Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, reported that the Islamic Republic intelligence agents detained three under-eighteen-year-old brothers in Kermanshah, western Iran. The family of the detainees have no information about the condition and whereabouts of their loved ones, Hengaw said. The brothers have been identified as Mohammad Naderi's sons, fourteen-year-old Sajjad, sixteen-year-old Parham, and eighteen-year-old Pouria Naderi. (Radio Farda)

11-25-2019
Syria Conflict

Iranian officials looking to hit back at the U.S. over crippling economic sanctions and its withdrawal from a nuclear deal initially considered attacking American bases before launching airstrikes on a massive Saudi Arabian oil facility instead.

Iranian officials looking to hit back at the U.S. over crippling economic sanctions and its withdrawal from a nuclear deal initially considered attacking American bases before launching airstrikes on a massive Saudi Arabian oil facility instead, a new report claims. The decision to target the facility owned by Saudi Arabia’s Aramco state-run oil company on Sept. 14 came after top Iranian military officials huddled for a series of meetings in Tehran – one of which was attended by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ultimately signed off on the attack, officials familiar with the discussions told Reuters. “It is time to take out our swords and teach them a lesson,” a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps unit reportedly said during the first gathering in May. The officials told Reuters that the military brass assembled for at least five meetings at a heavily fortified compound in Tehran. They initially weighed striking a Saudi Arabian seaport, an airport and U.S. military installations, but scrapped the ideas over fears that they would prompt mass casualties and a harsh response from the U.S., the officials added. (Fox News)

11-25-2019
Human Rights

Iran rejected a U.S. court order for a Washington Post reporter to be paid $180 million in damages for Tehran jailing him on espionage charges.

Iran on Monday rejected a U.S. court order for a Washington Post reporter to be paid $180 million in damages for Tehran jailing him on espionage charges. Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in an Iranian prison before he was released in January 2016 in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United States. On Friday, a U.S. district court judge ordered damages be paid to Rezaian and his family in compensation for pain and suffering as well as economic losses. The order, from U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington, did not lay out specifically how the money should be paid to Rezaian — be it from Iran or possibly from a fund established by the U.S. government to compensate victims of state sponsored terrorism. That fund has previously been used to distribute money to victims of Iran's 1979 student takeover of the U.S. Embassy in the Iranian capital. (CBS News)

11-25-2019
Human Rights

Amnesty International said that the toll of protesters killed by the Iranian security forces has reached at least 143 since demonstrations broke out on November 15.

Amnesty International said Monday that the toll of protesters killed by the Iranian security forces has reached at least 143 since demonstrations broke out on November 15. The deaths have resulted almost entirely from the intentional use of firearms by the security forces - though one man was reported to have died after inhaling tear gas and another after being beaten, said the London-based human rights group. The death toll could be significantly higher, it added. “The rising death toll is an alarming indication of just how ruthless the treatment of unarmed protesters has been by the Iranian authorities,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research and Advocacy Director. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

11-25-2019
Anti-Americanism

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened the U.S. and its allies as he addressed a pro-government demonstration attended by tens of thousands of people denouncing last week’s violent protests over a fuel price hike.

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened the U.S. and its allies Monday as he addressed a pro-government demonstration attended by tens of thousands of people denouncing last week’s violent protests over a fuel price hike. Gen. Hossein Salami, echoing other Iranian officials, accused the U.S., Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia of stoking the unrest. He said the rise in gasoline prices was a “mere pretext” for an attack on the nation. “If you cross our red line, we will destroy you,” he said. “We will not leave any move unanswered.” He said if Iran decides to respond, “the enemy will not have security anywhere,” adding that “our patience has a limit.” (Associated Press)

11-23-2019
Military

Iran has showcased a new generation of "Mersad-16" missile system during a military exercise in Semnan Province, southeast of Tehran, IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran has showcased a new generation of "Mersad-16" missile system during a military exercise in Semnan Province, southeast of Tehran, IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday November 23. According to Tasnim, the system was successfully used against drones and other forms of unmanned flying objects. The report says the new generation of Mersad-16 missile systems are mobile, use new radars and launcher boxes, and can work also with the newly showcased missile Shalamcheh-2. Mersad is Iran's "first one hundred percent locally manufactured missile system," Tasnim noted, adding that it is an improved version of the U.S. MIM-23 system. (Radio Farda)

11-21-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran is continuing construction on an army base along the Iraq-Syria border, according to satellite images taken Sunday and obtained by Fox News.

Iran is continuing construction on an army base along the Iraq-Syria border, according to satellite images taken Sunday and obtained by Fox News. The base in eastern Syria had been partially destroyed during airstrikes in early September, said the report. But it stressed that the new images, examined by analysts at ImageSat International (ISI), showed eight zones of construction or reconstruction. Each zone had hangers big enough to conceal trucks and large quantities of equipment. There also was a checkpoint on both sides of the compound with fortified walls around the complex, said Fox News. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

11-21-2019
Nuclear Program

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says Iran has not provided additional details about the discovery of uranium particles of man-made origin at a location that had not been declared.

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says Iran has not provided additional details about the discovery of uranium particles of man-made origin at a location that had not been declared. Cornel Feruta, the acting director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told its board of governors Thursday that a meeting in Tehran was planned for next week to discuss the issue. Feruta reported to IAEA member states two weeks ago that his inspectors had confirmed traces of uranium “at a location in Iran not declared to the agency,” which appeared to confirm allegations made by the U.S. and Israel about a secret nuclear warehouse. (Associated Press)

11-20-2019
Human Rights

Iran's shutdown of domestic Internet access as part of a crackdown on anti-government protests has stretched beyond four days, an unprecedented outage that has caused growing harm to the economy.

Iran's shutdown of domestic Internet access as part of a crackdown on anti-government protests has stretched beyond four days, an unprecedented outage that has caused growing harm to the economy. "Digital rights are human rights: access must be restored to all Iranians," the group added. Iranian authorities imposed the shutdown to stop opposition activists from communicating and posting online images of nationwide protests that erupted last Friday in response to the government's abrupt 50% increase in the subsidized price of gasoline. The protests had spread to more than 50 urban centers in Iran by Saturday, according to images received from Iran and verified by VOA Persian. (VOA)

11-20-2019
Military

A new public report, details how the 40-year-old Islamic regime boosts its relatively weak conventional forces with “a hybrid approach to warfare” that relies on missiles, naval forces, and proxies to threaten its neighbors.

A new public report, Iran’s Military Power, produced by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, details how the 40-year-old Islamic regime boosts its relatively weak conventional forces with “a hybrid approach to warfare” that relies on missiles, naval forces, and proxies to threaten its neighbors. “Iran's military strategy is primarily based on deterrence and the ability to retaliate against an attacker,” said Christian Saunders, a senior Iran analyst with the DIA at a briefing for reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. “Iran probably will continue to focus on the domestic development of increasingly capable missiles, naval platforms and weapons, and air defenses while it attempts to upgrade some of its deteriorating air and ground capabilities primarily through foreign purchases.” The report cited the Iranian military’s three core capabilities: a vast arsenal of ballistic missiles, naval forces capable of threatening navigation, and the use of partners and proxies abroad. The report also breaks out a number of categories, as follows. (Washington Examiner)

11-20-2019
Human Rights

Tehran used arrests, deadly force and a prolonged internet blackout to contain nationwide protests that pose the most serious test in years for Iran’s leaders.

Tehran used arrests, deadly force and a prolonged internet blackout to contain nationwide protests that pose the most serious test in years for Iran’s leaders. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said demonstrations over higher fuel prices had been suppressed, but the government’s sweeping internet shutdown made it difficult to assess the state of protests that Amnesty International said left more than 100 people dead in five days. Tehran’s response came as the Islamic Republic faces new problems around the region, where demonstrators in Iraq and Lebanon are trying to dilute Iranian influence, and Israel is stepping up airstrikes targeting Iranian forces in Syria. (Wall Street Journal)

11-19-2019
Nuclear Program

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says Iran has breached another limit in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by stockpiling more heavy water than the accord allowed.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says Iran has breached another limit in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by stockpiling more heavy water than the accord allowed. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that Iran informed it on Nov. 16 that it had surpassed the 130 tons (143.3 U.S. tons) allowed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. The agency confirmed Nov. 17 that Iran’s stockpile had reached 131.5 tons. Heavy water helps cool reactors, producing plutonium as a byproduct that can be used in nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. (Associated Press)

11-19-2019
Military

Iran will likely buy new advanced fighter jets and tanks next year when a U.N. Security Council arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted.

Iran will likely buy new advanced fighter jets and tanks next year when a U.N. Security Council arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday as the Defense Intelligence Agency released a new assessment of Iran’s military capabilities. The DIA report concludes Tehran is committed to becoming the dominant power in the Middle East, and it warns that the Islamic Republic is making rapid progress developing attack drones and other missile systems. The report comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the West in the wake of a series of attacks on commercial shipping vehicles and Saudi oil facilities this year that have been blamed on Tehran. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, an intelligence official said Iran would probably buy the tanks and aircraft from Russia and China. The U.S. has stringent economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic and those would likely continue even if the U.N. embargo is lifted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. (Associated Press)

11-17-2019
Human Rights

Iran imposed an almost complete nationwide internet blackout, making one of its most draconian attempts to cut off Iranians from each other and the rest of the world.

Iran imposed an almost complete nationwide internet blackout on Sunday, making one of its most draconian attempts to cut off Iranians from each other and the rest of the world as widespread anti-government unrest roiled the streets of Tehran and other cities for a third day. The death toll for the three days of protests rose to at least 12; hundreds were injured; and more than 1,000 people have been arrested, according to semiofficial news agencies like Fars News. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader who has the last word on all state matters, called the demonstrators “thugs” and endorsed the government’s decision to raise prices it sets for rationed gasoline by 50 percent as of Friday and by 200 percent for gasoline that exceeds ration limits. Even after the price hike, gasoline in Iran is still cheaper than in most of the rest of the world — now the equivalent of about 50 cents a gallon. (New York Times)

11-16-2019
Military

Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Qassem Taqizadeh said that Tehran was working to expand the range of its cruise missiles and that it will soon be adding a home-grown laser air defense system to its arsenal.

Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Qassem Taqizadeh said Saturday that Tehran was working to expand the range of its cruise missiles and that it will soon be adding a home-grown laser air defense system to its arsenal. Taqizadeh said that Iran’s Defense Ministry was working on a new cruise missile prototype that will have “longer operational range and higher precision with the use of advanced digital and mapping technologies,” according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. He said the prototype would pass the testing stage in the near future. Taqizadeh also said that a project to produce a laser air defense system had recently been successfully completed and that Tehran was working to mass-produce the new weapon, Fars News reported. (Times of Israel)

11-14-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke at Iran’s 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference, delivering one of his strongest anti-US and anti-Israeli speeches ever.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke at Iran’s 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference on Nov. 14, delivering one of his strongest anti-US and anti-Israeli speeches ever. “No one doubts that [nothing good has come] from the arrogant powers and the United States,” Rouhani said at the annual conference, which brings Shiite and Sunni leaders and scholars together. He added, “In recent centuries, the source of every war, killing, bloodshed and conflict in the region has been the United States and the Zionist regime. From the killing of the people of Afghanistan to the killing of people in Iraq and Yemen to creating conflicts in various Muslim countries, they were all the plots of the United States in the region." Rouhani — who ran for president in 2013 primarily on the promise that through negotiations with Western countries such as the United States, Iran’s economic and political gridlock could be resolved — added, “Those who say the United States can be a solution — give us an example of which country the United States has helped.” (Al-Monitor)

11-14-2019
Nuclear Program

Former IAEA official Ollie Heinonen says diplomats working with the U.N. nuclear agency do not believe Iran’s apparent explanation for the presence of manmade uranium particles at a site in southern Tehran.

A former IAEA official says diplomats working with the U.N. nuclear agency do not believe Iran’s apparent explanation for the presence of manmade uranium particles at a site in southern Tehran. In a report published Monday, the IAEA said its inspectors monitoring Iranian compliance with commitments to curb potential weapons-related nuclear activities had “detected natural uranium particles of anthropogenic (manmade) origin at a location in Iran not declared to the agency.” The report, initially provided to IAEA member nations and later leaked to the media, did not identify the location of the particles or provide any other details about them. In an interview with VOA Persian, former IAEA Deputy Director General Ollie Heinonen said diplomats of multiple countries working with the IAEA told him that the agency’s inspectors found the uranium particles at a southern Tehran site previously identified by Israel as the location of an alleged secret nuclear warehouse. … “The diplomats told me the IAEA Secretariat described the particles as having been converted from raw uranium without specifying their exact chemical form,” Heinonen said. “They said these particles were not from yellowcake but from something more refined.” (VOA)

11-11-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran is enriching uranium at its underground Fordow site and rapidly accelerating enrichment more broadly, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed, outlining Tehran’s latest breaches of its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

Iran is enriching uranium at its underground Fordow site and rapidly accelerating enrichment more broadly, a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed on Monday, outlining Tehran’s latest breaches of its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. Iran is overstepping the deal’s limits on its nuclear activities one after the other in response to the United States’ withdrawal from the accord last year and its reimposition of sanctions that have crippled Iran’s oil trade. Tehran says it can quickly undo those breaches if those sanctions are removed. In perhaps its most symbolic breach yet, Iran said last week it had begun refining uranium at Fordow, a site built inside a mountain apparently to protect it from any aerial bombardment, and one that Tehran concealed from U.N. inspectors until 2009. (Reuters)

11-09-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran has the capacity to enrich uranium up to 60%, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Saturday, far more than is required for most civilian uses but short of the 90% needed to make nuclear bomb fuel.

Iran has the capacity to enrich uranium up to 60%, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Saturday, far more than is required for most civilian uses but short of the 90% needed to make nuclear bomb fuel. “The organization has the possibility to produce 5%, 20% and 60%, and has this capacity,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said during a news conference at the underground Fordow nuclear plant, the official IRIB news agency reported. “At the moment, the need is for 5%,” he added. (Reuters)

11-07-2019
Terrorism

Two men have pleaded guilty to acting as agents of Iran and spying on American citizens who oppose the Tehran regime and are part of the dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the Justice Department said.

Two men have pleaded guilty to acting as agents of Iran and spying on American citizens who oppose the Tehran regime and are part of the dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the Justice Department said Wednesday. Dual citizen Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, admitted on Oct. 8 to one count of acting as an agent of Iran and one count of conspiring against the statute that requires notifying the Attorney General when acting as an agent of a foreign power. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 17 and faces up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and 10 years for acting as a foreign agent. Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen who lives in California, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. He is due to be sentenced Jan. 15. Prosecutors said Doostdar traveled to the United States in 2017 to give Ghorbani instructions on surveilling American citizens who are part of MEK, the DOJ said. (Fox News)

11-07-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran's influence and strategic capabilities in the Middle East are increasing despite the reimposition of crippling US sanctions and a faltering nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran's influence and strategic capabilities in the Middle East are increasing despite the reimposition of crippling US sanctions and a faltering nuclear deal with world powers, a new report has said. The Islamic Republic's ability to "fight by, with and through third parties" in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen has contributed to Iran's regional impact, a study by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) found. This has brought Iran more regional influence and status than its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, according to the 217-page report titled Iran's Networks of Influence in the Middle East. (Al-Jazeera)

11-07-2019
Politics

The Iranian government is under growing domestic pressure to pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty next year, the country’s ambassador to the UK has said.

The Iranian government is under growing domestic pressure to pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty next year, the country’s ambassador to the UK has said. Hamid Baeidinejad said it was government policy to remain in the treaty but there were growing calls to pull out next year, when it is due for renewal, as it required Iran to make one-sided commitments. “There are views by some circles, some personalities, that Iran has not benefited from membership of the [treaty] and it is time to withdraw,” he said, adding that Iran remained committed on religious grounds to not developing nuclear weapons. (The Guardian)

11-07-2019
Nuclear Program

The U.S. accused Iran of intimidating nuclear inspectors after a woman from the United Nations atomic agency was blocked from entering the country’s main enrichment site and briefly stopped from leaving the country.

The U.S. accused Iran of intimidating nuclear inspectors after a woman from the United Nations atomic agency was blocked from entering the country’s main enrichment site and briefly stopped from leaving the country, as tensions mounted over the 2015 nuclear deal. Western diplomats said on Thursday that the inspector had been held by Iranian authorities last week and her papers confiscated after she had been prevented from entering Iran’s enrichment facility at Natanz, some 180 miles south of Tehran. The U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Jackie Wolcott, called the move an “outrageous provocation” and harassment of the agency’s monitoring work. (Wall Street Journal)

11-06-2019
Human Rights

A former Iranian beauty queen has spoken of the toll on her mental health as she enters her fourth week stranded in a Philippines airport, fearing that she will be deported to Tehran and executed for criticising the Iran regime if her asylum claim fails.

A former Iranian beauty queen has spoken of the toll on her mental health as she enters her fourth week stranded in a Philippines airport, fearing that she will be deported to Tehran and executed for criticising the Iran regime if her asylum claim fails. “I’m not in good condition,” Bahareh Zare Bahari, 31, told the Guardian on Wednesday from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino international airport. “My hair has started falling [out, and is in] bad condition because of the stress. Sometimes mentally I become too sick … I have no privacy here, because there’s no door in the room, so I’m always worried when I want to change my clothes.” Bahari has been detained since 17 October after Iranian authorities put out a red notice about her to Interpol. The notice reportedly relates to an alleged offence committed in Iran, but Bahari – who is also a model and actress – said Tehran was seeking to extradite her to punish her for her politics. (The Guardian)

11-06-2019
Terrorism

Swedish authorities charged a 46-year-old Swedish Iraqi national with spying on Iran's behalf for several years by gathering information on members of the Ahvazi Arab exile community.

Swedish authorities charged a man on Wednesday with spying on Iran's behalf for several years. The man, a 46-year-old Swedish-Iraqi national, is suspected of gathering information on members of the Ahvazi Arab exile community for a four-year period between April 2015 and February 2019 when he was arrested. The Ahvazi are an Arab ethnic minority living in the southwest Iranian province of Khusestan. The minority group faces discrimination and persecution by authorities there, according to Amnesty International. Figures for the number of Ahvazi living in Sweden are not available. (Deutsche Welle)

11-06-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran is nearing a new atomic crisis after failing to cooperate with international inspectors investigating radioactive samples discovered at a site identified by Israel.

Iran is nearing a new atomic crisis after failing to cooperate with international inspectors investigating radioactive samples discovered at a site identified by Israel. The International Atomic Energy Agency's top inspector, Massimo Aparo, told diplomats in a closed-door meeting in Vienna on Wednesday that Iran is evading attempts to discover the source of man-made and natural uranium particles detected at a warehouse in Tehran earlier this year, according to two officials familiar with the briefing who asked not to be identified. IAEA acting Director General Cornel Feruta is convening an extraordinary meeting of the 35-member board of governors Thursday to discuss the new concerns. The Romanian diplomat said only last month that Iran had taken "a step in the right direction" in attempting to clarify matters troubling inspectors. (Bloomberg)

11-06-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran injected uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear complex, taking its most-significant step away from its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran injected uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear complex early Thursday, taking its most-significant step away from its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran meanwhile also acknowledged blocking an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency from visiting its nuclear site at Natanz last week, the first known case of a United Nations inspector being blocked amid heightened tensions over its atomic program. Iran then cancelled her accreditation, according to Agence France-Presse. These latest steps put additional pressure on Europe to offer Tehran a way to sell its crude oil abroad despite the U.S. sanctions imposed on the country since President Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal over a year ago. The gas injection began after midnight at Fordo, a facility built under a mountain north of the Shiite holy city of Qom, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said. A United Nations official from the IAEA witnessed the injection, it said. The centrifuges ultimately will begin enriching uranium up to 4.5%, which is just beyond the limits of the nuclear deal, but nowhere near weapons-grade levels of 90%. (Associated Press)

11-04-2019
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s nuclear program says that Tehran is working on a prototype centrifuge, called an IR-9, that’s 50 times faster than those allowed under the nuclear deal with world powers.

The head of Iran’s nuclear program says that Tehran is working on a prototype centrifuge that’s 50 times faster than those allowed under the nuclear deal with world powers. The comments by Ali Akbar Salehi on Monday came as Iranians mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and start of the 444-day hostage crisis. Salehi says the prototype is called an IR-9 and that it would be as 50-times faster than the first-generation IR-1s allowed under the accord. (Associated Press)

11-04-2019
Anti-Americanism

Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” near the old U.S. embassy on Monday, the 40th anniversary on the seizure of the mission, with the country’s army chief comparing the United States with a poisonous scorpion intent on harming Iran.

Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” near the old U.S. embassy on Monday, the 40th anniversary on the seizure of the mission, with the country’s army chief comparing the United States with a poisonous scorpion intent on harming Iran. Crowds packed the streets around the former mission, dubbed the “den of spies” after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Hardline students stormed the embassy soon after the fall of the U.S.-backed shah, and 52 Americans were held hostage there for 444 days. The two countries have been enemies ever since. The U.S. and Israeli flags and effigies of President Donald Trump were set ablaze during marches and rallies that were held in some 1,000 communities across the country, state media said. (Reuters)

11-04-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran said that it had begun running a significant number of new, advanced uranium centrifuges, accelerating its ability to produce enough nuclear material to make a bomb and throwing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers into further disarray.

Iran said Monday that it had begun running a significant number of new, advanced uranium centrifuges, accelerating its ability to produce enough nuclear material to make a bomb and throwing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers into further disarray. The big question now is how quickly Iran, with its new capacity, could produce the fuel needed for a single bomb. Some analysts say that it might be able to do so in under a year. The announcement was Tehran’s third move in six months to ratchet up pressure on the West in response to President Trump's decision to exit the nuclear agreement and reimpose sanctions on Iran. (New York Times)

11-03-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran will not lift its ban on talks with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, describing the two countries as implacable foes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Iran will not lift its ban on talks with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, describing the two countries as implacable foes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. “One way to block America’s political infiltration is to ban any talks with America. It means Iran will not yield to America’s pressure,” Khamenei, who is Iran’s top authority, was quoted by state TV as saying. “Those who believe that negotiations with the enemy will solve our problems are 100% wrong,” (Reuters)

11-01-2019
Anti-Americanism

The representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the main conservative newspaper in Iran has once again demanded the “capture” of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

The representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the main conservative newspaper in Iran has once again demanded the “capture” of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. He had made a similar threat in early October. Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of hardliner Kayhan newspaper, directly controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has again alleged that protests in Iraq “are being managed by the embassies of America and Saudi Arabia”. Iranian officials have been making the allegation since the protests in Iraq against corruption and mismanagement began in early October, without presenting any evidence. Iran has gained extensive influence within Iraq’s parliament and politics, seeing the current political leadership as best suited to its interests. (Radio Farda)

10-27-2019
Syria Conflict

Iraqi protesters spoke out against Iran's influence in the country and stormed buildings belonging to Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias as well as the Iranian embassy in southern Iraq's Karbala, as renewed protests swept the nation.

Iraqi protesters spoke out against Iran's influence in the country and stormed buildings belonging to Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias as well as the Iranian embassy in southern Iraq's Karbala on Saturday, as renewed protests swept the nation, according to Sky News Arabia. At least seven protesters were killed and 38 wounded in the Iraqi city of Hilla early on Sunday, when members of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization militia opened fire on demonstrators, police and health sources said. Protesters had gathered across Iraq on Saturday in a second day of anti-government protests, in which at least 67 people have been killed. 63 people have died in the most recent bout of protests throughout Iraq on Friday and Saturday, according to Al-Arabiya. (Jerusalem Post)

10-24-2019
Human Rights

An UN independent expert charged with monitoring human rights in Iran has found it “distressing” that Tehran continues using the death penalty, including executing minors, in a report he presented to the UN General Assembly.

An UN independent expert charged with monitoring human rights in Iran has found it “distressing” that Tehran continues using the death penalty, including executing minors, in a report he presented to the UN General Assembly on October 23. Iran executed seven child offenders last year and two so far this year although it is prohibited to apply the death penalty to anyone under age 18, according to human rights law, Javaid Rehman told the UN’s human rights committee. Currently, there are 90 individuals on death row who are under age 18 at the time of their offenses, Rehman said, and that as of mid-July, at least 173 executions were carried out, including two 17-year-olds, based on “conservative estimates.” (Radio Farda)

10-24-2019
Human Rights

A semi-official Iranian news agency is reporting that authorities have amputated the hand of a convicted thief in a prison in the country’s north.

A semi-official Iranian news agency is reporting that authorities have amputated the hand of a convicted thief in a prison in the country’s north. Fars news agency reports that one hand of an unidentified convict was cut off in a prison in Sari city, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. The report said the convict committed 28 robberies. Fars didn’t say how much time the inmate was serving. (Associated Press)

10-23-2019
Terrorism

Russian hackers used Iranian cyber tools and digital infrastructure to launch attacks on government and industry groups in dozens of countries, national security officials from the U.S. and the United Kingdom said.

Russian hackers used Iranian cyber tools and digital infrastructure to launch attacks on government and industry groups in dozens of countries, national security officials from the U.S. and the United Kingdom said Monday. The Turla group, which is widely believed to be Russian in origin, used two Iranian hacking tools—Nautilus and Neuron—to target military, government, academic and scientific organizations in at least 35 different countries, according to a joint advisory released by the National Security Agency and the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre. So far, victims have largely been concentrated in the Middle East, officials said. While authorities had previously flagged Turla’s use of the tools, this latest advisory offers new details on their origin and the extent of their damage. The disclosure paints a picture of Russian hackers piggy-backing off the work of Iranian rivals to advance their own agenda. (Defense One)

10-23-2019
Politics

Hours after Iran’s presidency announced the approval of internationally mandated anti-corruption and anti-money laundering bills, the hardliner Judiciary denied any agreement between the three branches of power.

Hours after Iran’s presidency announced the approval of internationally mandated anti-corruption and anti-money laundering bills, the hardliner Judiciary denied any agreement between the three branches of power. On Wednesday, Rouhani’s chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi announced that a special council headed by the president, speaker of parliament and the head of the Judiciary have approved the long-debated bills demanded by the international financial watchdog, Financial Actions Task Force or FATF. However, he added that he was not aware of Khamenei's view on the three controversial bills. Almost immediately the Judiciary issued a statement calling Vaezi’s claim “untruthful”. (Radio Farda)

10-23-2019
Terrorism

Albanian police said they have discovered an Iranian paramilitary network that allegedly planned attacks in Albania against exiled members of an Iranian group seeking to overthrow the government in Tehran.

Albanian police said on Wednesday they have discovered an Iranian paramilitary network that allegedly planned attacks in Albania against exiled members of an Iranian group seeking to overthrow the government in Tehran. Police chief Ardi Veliu said the foreign wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard operated an “active terrorist cell” targeting Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, group members in Albania. He did not say what the alleged plot involved, or whether any arrests were made. A police statement alleged that two Iranian top security officials led the cell from Tehran. It also said the network was allegedly linked with organized crime groups in Turkey and used a former MEK member to collect information in Albania. (Associated Press)

10-17-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed militias deployed snipers on Baghdad rooftops during Iraq’s deadliest anti-government protests in years, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters.

Iran-backed militias deployed snipers on Baghdad rooftops during Iraq’s deadliest anti-government protests in years, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters. The deployment of militia fighters, which has not been previously reported, underscores the chaotic nature of Iraqi politics amid mass protests that led to more than 100 deaths and 6,000 injuries during the week starting Oct. 1. Such militias have become a fixture here with Iran’s rising influence. They sometimes operate in conjunction with Iraqi security forces but they retain their own command structures. The Iraqi security sources told Reuters that the leaders of Iran-aligned militias decided on their own to help put down the mass protests against the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, whose one-year-old administration is backed by powerful Iran-backed armed groups and political factions. “We have confirmed evidence that the snipers were elements of militias reporting directly to their commander instead of the chief commander of the armed forces,” said one of the Iraqi security sources. “They belong to a group that is very close to the Iranians.” (Reuters)

10-16-2019
Human Rights

Iran has been holding a second French researcher in custody for months, France’s foreign ministry said, denouncing the detention as “unacceptable” and demanding his release.

Iran has been holding a second French researcher in custody for months, France’s foreign ministry said Wednesday, denouncing the detention as “unacceptable” and demanding his release. The confirmation that Roland Marchal is being held in Iran — as well as his fellow-academic Fariba Adelkhah — comes at a time of high tensions and diplomatic maneuvering in the Persian Gulf. French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to serve as a mediator between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program. Marchal, a sub-Saharan Africa specialist at Paris university Sciences Po, was arrested in June when he visited Iran to see Adelkhah, according to Sciences Po professor Richard Banegas, who has worked closely with him. The two were in a romantic relationship, according to Banegas. (Associated Press)

10-16-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran will further reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal signed with world powers by limiting international inspectors’ access to its nuclear sites, senior Iranian MPs have said.

Iran will further reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal signed with world powers by limiting international inspectors’ access to its nuclear sites, senior Iranian MPs have said. The move, which is expected to take place at the beginning of November, will be the fourth Iranian step away from the deal, and puts pressure on France, Germany and the UK to make some form of counter-move. The joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) was signed in 2015 but Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, placing pressure on Europe to prove to Iran it was worth sticking with the deal. (The Guardian)

10-14-2019
Human Rights

Agents of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have captured and returned to Iran an exiled opposition figure who headed a popular anti-government social media outlet, Iranian state television reported.

Agents of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have captured and returned to Iran an exiled opposition figure who headed a popular anti-government social media outlet, Iranian state television reported on Monday. Ruhollah Zam, a journalist turned activist who headed Amadnews with has more 1 million followers on social media, was based in France and other parts of Europe. Zam’s capture was a “complex operation using intelligence deception”, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by the television. It did not say where the operation took place. “Despite being under the guidance of the French intelligence service and under the protection of the U.S. and Zionist (Israeli) intelligence services, ... he (Zam) was trapped by the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service,” the statement said. (Reuters)

10-12-2019
Anti-Americanism

A large group of Iranian lawmakers have submitted a proposal in parliament to stop the teaching of English as a second language in public schools, citing remarks by the country’s Supreme Leader.

A large group of Iranian lawmakers have submitted a proposal in parliament to stop the teaching of English as a second language in public schools, citing remarks by the country’s Supreme Leader. Three years ago, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei complained in a speech that teaching English was spreading even “into daycare” institutions. Now, 57 members of parliament are backing a draft law that if passed will bar the teaching of English in government schools and will be taught only in private institutions, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. (Radio Farda)

10-10-2019
Human Rights

The family of a political prisoner in Iran has told Radio Farda that intelligence agents prevented medical treatment in the city of Mashhad.

The family of a political prisoner in Iran has told Radio Farda Thursday that intelligence agents prevented medical treatment in the city of Mashhad. Mohammad Hossein Sepehri was arrested on August 11 along with 13 other individuals who had signed a letter asking Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to resign. Asghar Sepehri, Mohammad Hossein’s brother told Radio Farda, “my brother was on hunger strike for 33 days after his arrest and this led to the blockage of his intestine”. The family was able to meet Mr. Sepehri in prison and he told them that he was goven some medications in the intelligence ministry’s detention center, but these were ineffective. Following this unsuccessful treatment, intelligence agents prevented his transfer to an outside medical facility, saying that he is undergoing interrogations. (Radio Farda)

10-09-2019
Human Rights

Three young women who posted their own dance videos on Instagram were arrested in Iran and will be tried in court.

Three young women who posted their own dance videos on Instagram were arrested in Iran on October 8 and will be tried in court. Dancing in public is strictly forbidden in the Islamic Republic of Iran but uploading footage of one's dancing on social media is a faux pas that takes it a step further and turns the "crime" into an "enemy plot." The conservatives in Iran have repeatedly insisted that the "enemy" (the U.S.A. and its allies) is encouraging Iranian youth to publish "disgraceful" posts, such as dancing, on social media. Therefore, the clergy-dominated judiciary of the country does not hesitate to issue harsh sentences against those who circulate “deplorable” images of dancing on social media. (Radio Farda)

10-09-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran's nuclear chief said the country will start using 30 advanced centrifuges for enriching uranium, again violating terms of the 2015 nuclear deal and ramping up pressure on Europe to save the accord.

Iran's nuclear chief said Monday the country will start using 30 advanced centrifuges for enriching uranium, again violating terms of the 2015 nuclear deal and ramping up pressure on Europe to save the accord. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEO), told Iranian state television that additional IR-6 centrifuges will be used in the coming weeks. The centrifuges can enrich uranium 10 times faster than IR-1 centrifuges. The country is now producing up to 13 pounds of enriched uranium every day, according to Salehi. “It means we have restored pre-[nuclear]-deal capacity" of uranium production, he said. (Fox News)

10-07-2019
Military

The Iranian military says it has produced a new conversion kit to upgrade artillery rockets to surface-to-surface missiles, technology that Israel has accused Tehran of attempting to deliver to the Hezbollah terror group.

The Iranian military says it has produced a new conversion kit to upgrade artillery rockets to surface-to-surface missiles, technology that Israel has accused Tehran of attempting to deliver to the Hezbollah terror group. The Iranians unveiled the new guidance system upgrade, called Labeik, at an event Thursday at which a number of new military technologies were showcased, according to Jane’s Defence Weekly. Jane’s reported that Labeik appeared similar to the guidance systems on the Fateh-110 series of rockets, many of which are believed to be in the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to the report, the new system also looks to be compatible with Zelzal heavy artillery rockets. (Times of Israel)

10-06-2019
Human Rights

A poetry reciter in Iran has received a six-month prison sentence for reciting a poem, which mentioned corruption, discrimination abusing power and stealing public funds.

A poetry reciter in Iran has received a six-month prison sentence for reciting a poem, which mentioned corruption, discrimination abusing power and stealing public funds. Hossein Jannati, who once even recited a poem in the presence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was charged with “propaganda against the regime”, and a higher court confirmed the verdict on October 5. In a post on Instagram Mr. Jannati said he will always recite poems against vices such as “oppression, injustice, abuse of power and religion”. He added that if security organs and judges consider these vices related to the regime, then he is not responsible. The verdict against him stemmed from a poetry recitation at the university of Isfahan. (Radio Farda)

10-06-2019
Nuclear Program

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), warned Europeans that Iran would drop more of its nuclear commitments if they do not assist the Islamic Republic to economically benefit from the JCPOA.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrooz Kamalvandi, on Sunday warned Europeans that Iran would drop more of its nuclear commitments if they do not assist the Islamic Republic to economically benefit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran will continue to reduce its commitments" if the remaining parties to the deal do not realize their own commitments, Kamalvandi was cited as saying by official IRNA news agency. He reiterated that Iran's withdrawal from parts of its commitments were a reaction to the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the accord in May 2018. (Radio Farda)

10-03-2019
Syria Conflict

An Iranian oil tanker detained in July over suspicions it was violating European Union sanctions by transporting oil to Syria has been pictured off the coast again, sparking concerns that the ship could be transferring cargo.

An Iranian oil tanker detained in July over suspicions it was violating European Union sanctions by transporting oil to Syria has been pictured off the coast again, sparking concerns that the ship could be transferring cargo. Satellite images released Thursday showed Iran’s Adrian Darya 1, formerly named the Grace 1, pictured the previous day alongside a smaller vessel, the Jasmine. The two ships can be seen tethered together by mooring lines while a crane is deployed on the starboard side of the tanker. The scene and location of the ships have indicated that the tanker could be preparing to transfer its crude oil. (Fox News)

10-02-2019
Extremism

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps head General Hossien Salami said that Iran has "the capability to annihilate" Israel and that it must be "wiped off the world" map, during an IRGC commanders gathering.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps head General Hossien Salami said that Iran has "the capability to annihilate" Israel and that it must be "wiped off the world" map, during an IRGC commanders gathering on Monday.  During his speech, Salami said this idea is within Iran's reach. "The second step of the revolution is the step that rearranges the constellation of power in favor of the revolution," he said. "Iran's Islamic revolution will be on top of this constellation... In the second step we will be thinking of the global mobilization of Islam." (Jerusalem Post)

10-01-2019
Human Rights

Iranian courts have sentenced one man to death for spying for the US and jailed two others for 10 years for the same crime, as well as imprisoning a fourth person for six years for spying for Britain, an Iranian judiciary spokesman has said.

Iranian courts have sentenced one man to death for spying for the US and jailed two others for 10 years for the same crime, as well as imprisoning a fourth person for six years for spying for Britain, an Iranian judiciary spokesman has said. “One person has been sentenced to death for spying for America … but the ruling has been appealed,” Gholamhossein Esmaili told the judiciary’s news website, Mizan, on Tuesday. He also told the official Iranian TV channel: “A spy working for the Iranian defence ministry was sentenced to death on a charge of spying for the United States.” (The Guardian)

09-29-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran-backed rebels in Yemen said that they had killed 500 Saudi soldiers, adding to soaring tensions between Iran and the U.S., which has backed a Saudi-led military campaign against the rebels for the past four years.

Iran-backed rebels in Yemen said Sunday that they had killed 500 Saudi soldiers, adding to soaring tensions between Iran and the U.S., which has backed a Saudi-led military campaign against the rebels for the past four years. The claim by Yemen’s Houthis, who released a video purporting to also show the capture of some 2,000 Saudi soldiers as well as a range of Saudi military equipment seized near the border between the two nations, could not be independently verified. Regional and U.S. officials scrambled Sunday night to determine whether the video was legitimate or a possible propaganda stunt orchestrated by Iran, whose foreign minister made separate headlines over the weekend with new warnings for Washington. (Washington Times)

09-28-2019
Extremism

IRGC Deputy Commander for Operations has warned against any Israeli military operation against Iran, threatening "If Israel makes a strategic mistake, it has to collect bits and pieces of Tel Aviv from the lower depths of the Mediterranean Sea."

IRGC Deputy Commander for Operations Abbas Nilforoushan has warned against any Israeli military operation against Iran, threatening "If Israel makes a strategic mistake, it has to collect bits and pieces of Tel Aviv from the lower depths of the Mediterranean Sea." He added that world powers are incapable of assessing the consequences of an attack on Iran. In an interview with the IRGC's Tasnim news agency, General Nilforoushan said the reason for the sense of uncertainty is that "Iranian armed forces do not play according to the rules in their strategic depth which is as wide as West Asia." (Radio Farda)

09-26-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran has installed powerful new centrifuges in contravention of its 2015 agreement with world powers and is preparing new measures that will allow it to reconstitute its stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran has installed powerful new centrifuges in contravention of its 2015 agreement with world powers and is preparing new measures that will allow it to reconstitute its stockpile of enriched uranium. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors circulated the findings to member states on Thursday in a two-page restricted report seen by Bloomberg. The document references a pledge by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to break more research and development limits imposed by the deal. In addition to new advanced centrifuges being fed with uranium at a testing facility at Natanz, Iran is also reconstituting machines and infrastructure that will allow it to ramp up its program even further within a matter of weeks. (Bloomberg)

09-25-2019
Extremism

Iran announced that it would begin the process to include the American NGO United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in the list of terrorist organizations.

Iran announced on Tuesday that it would begin the process to include the American NGO United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in the list of terrorist organizations. UANI describes itself as a “not-for-profit, bi-partisan, advocacy group that seeks to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to obtain nuclear weapons.” According to its website, it was founded in 2008 by Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Middle East expert Ambassador Dennis Ross. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi’s announced the Tehran would label UANI as a terrorist group on the eve of the organization’s Iran Summit scheduled for Wednesday. The event will feature US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Jerusalem Post)

09-25-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran's president accused the United States of "merciless economic terrorism", using his UN speech to stress that security in the Persian Gulf can be guaranteed only when his nation's security is as well — and only with the involvement of Iran's neighbors.

Iran's president accused the United States of "merciless economic terrorism" on Wednesday, using his U.N. speech to stress that security in the Persian Gulf can be guaranteed only when his nation's security is as well — and only with the involvement of Iran's neighbors. Hassan Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly gathering that Iran would not negotiate on the issue of its nuclear program as long as sanctions remain in place. "Our response to any negotiation under sanctions is negative," he said. He said Iran has "resisted the most merciless economic terrorism" from a nation that is engaging in "international piracy." (Associated Press)

09-21-2019
Syria Conflict

Houthi militants in Yemen have warned foreign diplomats that Iran is preparing a follow-up strike to the missile and drone attack that crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil industry a week ago, people familiar with the matter said.

Houthi militants in Yemen have warned foreign diplomats that Iran is preparing a follow-up strike to the missile and drone attack that crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil industry a week ago, people familiar with the matter said. Leaders of the group said they were raising the alarm about the possible new attack after they were pressed by Iran to play a role in it, these people said. It couldn’t be determined how serious the threat was and Houthi claims have long been met with skepticism by Western officials. But Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have both received the information, according to people briefed on the warnings. Saudi Arabia has beefed up its security in response, according to people familiar with the moves. Saudi Arabian officials are concerned about an another attack on the oil industry or a strike on civilian airports, including the one in Riyadh, the capital. (Wall Street Journal)

09-21-2019
Extremism

Iran will pursue and seek to destroy any aggressor, even one carrying out a limited attack, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Saturday, after attacks on Saudi oil sites, which both Riyadh and American officials blamed on Tehran.

Iran will pursue and seek to destroy any aggressor, even one carrying out a limited attack, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Saturday, after attacks on Saudi oil sites, which both Riyadh and American officials blamed on Tehran. “Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited. We will pursue any aggressor,” the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, said in remarks broadcast on state TV. “And we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor.” President Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defenses after the Sept. 14 attack. (Reuters)

09-18-2019
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia displayed remnants of what it described as Iranian drones and cruise missiles used in an attack on Saudi oil facilities, saying they were “undeniable” evidence of Iranian aggression.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday displayed remnants of what it described as Iranian drones and cruise missiles used in an attack on Saudi oil facilities, saying they were “undeniable” evidence of Iranian aggression. A total of 25 drones and missiles were launched at two oil plants in last weekend’s strikes, including Iranian Delta Wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and “Ya Ali” cruise missiles, Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said. “The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” he told a news conference. “The evidence ... that you have seen in front of you, makes this undeniable.” (Reuters)

09-15-2019
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said that U.S. bases and aircraft carriers in the region were within range of Iranian missiles after the U.S. accused Iran of leading attacks on Saudi oil plants, raising tensions in the Middle East.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday that U.S. bases and aircraft carriers in the region were within range of Iranian missiles after the U.S. accused Iran of leading attacks on Saudi oil plants, raising tensions in the Middle East. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it attacked two Saudi Aramco oil plants on Saturday at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, knocking out more than half the Kingdom’s output. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind the attacks, ruling out Yemeni involvement and denouncing Tehran for engaging in false diplomacy. (Reuters)

09-14-2019
Syria Conflict

Drone attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck two key oil installations inside Saudi Arabia, damaging facilities that process the vast majority of the country’s crude output and raising the risk of a disruption in world oil supplies.

Drone attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck two key oil installations inside Saudi Arabia on Saturday, damaging facilities that process the vast majority of the country’s crude output and raising the risk of a disruption in world oil supplies. The attacks immediately escalated tensions in the Persian Gulf amid a standoff between the United States and Iran, even as key questions remained unanswered — where the drones were launched from, and how the Houthis managed to hit facilities deep in Saudi territory, some 500 miles from Yemeni soil. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind what he called “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply” and asserted that there was “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.” He did not, however, specify an alternative launch site, and the Saudis themselves refrained from pointing the finger directly at Iran. (New York Times)

09-11-2019
Human Rights

Two women who are dual British-Australian citizens and an Australian man have been detained in Iran, one of them sentenced to 10 years in prison, Australia’s government and media said.

Two women who are dual British-Australian citizens and an Australian man have been detained in Iran, one of them sentenced to 10 years in prison, Australia’s government and media said Wednesday. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the families of all three. The department said it could not comment further due to privacy obligations. The department also urged Australians to follow its travel advice, which includes a warning that foreigners risk arbitrary detention in Iran. (Associated Press)

09-11-2019
Extremism

Billboards with the slogans "Death to America — Death to Israel" have appeared in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in recent days.

Billboards with the slogans "Death to America — Death to Israel" have appeared in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in recent days. There are at least five of the large signs in central Baghdad, some less than a mile from the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi presidential palace and the national government's headquarters. The signs appear to be part of a campaign by Iran, carried out through proxy groups that directly threaten U.S. troops in Iraq, to demonstrate its strength and reach in the region as tension between Washington and Tehran threatens to explode into conflict. "The billboards erected in the streets of Baghdad are evidence of the government's inability to control pro-Iranian groups who want to drag Iraq into an international conflict that endangers the country's future on behalf of Iran," Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Iraq's Nineveh province, said last week. (CBS News)

09-10-2019
Human Rights

An Iranian woman detained for dressing as a man to sneak into a soccer stadium to watch a match has died after setting herself on fire upon learning she could spend six months in prison, semi-official news outlets reported.

An Iranian woman detained for dressing as a man to sneak into a soccer stadium to watch a match has died after setting herself on fire upon learning she could spend six months in prison, semi-official news outlets reported Tuesday. The self-immolation death of 29-year-old Sahar Khodayari has shocked Iranian officials and the public, becoming an immediate hashtag trend across social media in the Islamic Republic. It also comes as FIFA is working with Iranian authorities to overcome a ban on women entering stadiums for men’s games, a ban in place since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. FIFA wants the issue resolved before Oct. 10 when Iran — the top-ranked team in Asia — hosts its first home World Cup qualifier against Cambodia. (Associated Press)

09-10-2019
Nuclear Program

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran destroyed a facility this summer where it had conducted secret nuclear-weapons experiments, the latest volley in his campaign imploring world powers to heap more diplomatic pressure on Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran destroyed a facility this summer where it had conducted secret nuclear-weapons experiments, the latest volley in his campaign imploring world powers to heap more diplomatic pressure on Tehran. In a seven-minute televised address in Jerusalem in both Hebrew and English, Mr. Netanyahu showed satellite images of the alleged facility in central Iran, south of the city of Isfahan, from late June and late July that he said demonstrated that Iran destroyed the site. He said Iran did so after officials there learned that Israel had discovered it. “They just wiped it out,” Mr. Netanyahu said on Monday, walking over to the photos on a projector screen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Netanyahu gave no details about the nuclear work and didn’t say when Iran allegedly conducted nuclear weapons experiments at the facility. (Wall Street Journal)

09-10-2019
Human Rights

The Iranian Judiciary has condemned several labor activist during recent weeks to unusually long-term imprisonment and up to 148 lashes.

The Iranian Judiciary has condemned several labor activist during recent weeks to unusually long-term imprisonment and up to 148 lashes. Esmail Bakhshi who represents Haft Tappeh Sugar Mill workers has been sentenced to 14 years in jail and 74 lashes, while civil rights activist Sepideh Qolian was sentenced to over 19 years in jail and several others received sentences of 18 years for protesting about unpaid wages or supporting those who protested. Others, including journalists and photographers have also received unusually long-term prison terms. But why is the head of the Iran’s Judiciary, hardliner cleric Ebrahim Raeesi confronting labor activists as well as other civil rights activists with an iron fist? (Radio Farda)

09-10-2019
Syria Conflict

Britain’s foreign minister on Tuesday said Iranian tanker Adrian Darya had sold its crude oil to the Assad regime in Syria, breaking assurances it had given not to sell crude to the country.

Britain’s foreign minister on Tuesday said Iranian tanker Adrian Darya had sold its crude oil to the Assad regime in Syria, breaking assurances it had given not to sell crude to the country. The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was seized by British Royal Marine commandos on July 4 on suspicion of being en route to Syria. Gibraltar released it on Aug. 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria. But Britain’s foreign office said in a statement it was clear Iran had breached those assurances and that the oil had been transferred to Syria. (Reuters)

09-09-2019
Nuclear Program

The United Nations' atomic watchdog confirmed Monday that Iran has moved ahead with preparations to use more advanced centrifuges, in breach of limitations set by the unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

The United Nations' atomic watchdog confirmed Monday that Iran has moved ahead with preparations to use more advanced centrifuges, in breach of limitations set by the unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors verified new centrifuges, including 30 advanced IR-6 and three IR-6s models, had been or were being installed but not yet tested. The announcement followed the return from Tehran Sunday of IAEA Acting Director General Cornel Feruta, who was expected to brief the agency's board of governors later on Monday after his trip. He was also expected to shed more light on a report by the Reuters news agency that IAEA inspectors had discovered trace amounts of uranium at a facility in Tehran, flagged by Israel last year as a "secret atomic warehouse," which Iran has thus far not explained. (CBS News)

09-08-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and its external Quds Force are still moving oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars through sprawling illicit shipping networks, despite a maximum pressure sanctions regime from Washington and scores of corporate and go

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and its external Quds Force are still moving oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars through sprawling illicit shipping networks, despite a maximum pressure sanctions regime from Washington and scores of corporate and government entities blacklisted. Washington is working to crack down on this, the U.S. Treasury Department says, and it’s warning those in the maritime industry to be wary of involvement with regimes or entities that have been deemed terror sponsors by the U.S. — or face steep costs. Sigal Mandelker, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury Department, spoke to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble during a visit to Abu Dhabi. “What we’re doing on this trip and really every day is we’re telling the maritime industry that they need to be on high alert, they need to continue to sophisticate their ability to track vessels that are involved with any of these regimes,” Mandelker said. (CNBC)

09-08-2019
Nuclear Program

Samples taken by the U.N. nuclear watchdog at what Israel’s prime minister called a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran showed traces of uranium that Iran has yet to explain, two diplomats who follow the agency’s inspections work closely say.

Samples taken by the U.N. nuclear watchdog at what Israel’s prime minister called a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran showed traces of uranium that Iran has yet to explain, two diplomats who follow the agency’s inspections work closely say. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating the particles’ origin and has asked Iran to explain the traces. But Tehran has not done so, according to the diplomats, stoking tensions between Washington and Tehran. U.S. sanctions have slashed Iranian oil sales and Iran has responded by breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. In a speech a year ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vehemently opposed the deal, called on the IAEA to visit the site immediately, saying it had housed 15 kg (33 lb) of unspecified radioactive material that had since been removed. (Reuters)

09-07-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran said it is no longer abiding by limits imposed on its uranium enrichment and centrifuge research by the 2015 nuclear accord, throwing down a new challenge to European leaders struggling to reduce diplomatic tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Iran said it is no longer abiding by limits imposed on its uranium enrichment and centrifuge research by the 2015 nuclear accord, throwing down a new challenge to European leaders struggling to reduce diplomatic tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Islamic Republic will forge ahead with plans to develop its advanced centrifuges and has started injecting them with gas, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Saturday at a news conference. That’s a breach of a time-frame agreed within the deal that aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has been scaling back its compliance to the terms of the beleaguered deal since May as it pushes back against the “maximum pressure” offensive of U.S. President Donald Trump, who unilaterally left the accord last year. The U.S. and the Iranians have been unable to agree to terms that would let them discuss their standoff, even as Trump offered to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and ease restrictions so Tehran can use some of its oil wealth to access credit. (Bloomberg)

09-06-2019
Human Rights

A Norway-based Iranian human rights organization reports that 38 people were executed in Iran in August, double the rate in the same period last year.

A Norway-based Iranian human rights organization reports that 38 people were executed in Iran in August, double the rate in the same period last year. Iran Human Rights (IHR) says based on information it has collected 32 of those executed were convicted of first-degree murder, six were hanged for major narcotics and drug trafficking convictions. Two prisoners were executed on charges of “Moharebeh”, which in Islamic law means “waging war against God”. The Islamic Republic uses this serious accusation against those who question the basis of the Islamic political system or the legitimacy of clerical rule in Iran. Two executions took place in public while the rest were carried out in various prisons around the country. (Radio Farda)

09-03-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran will never hold bilateral talks with the United States but if it lifts all the sanctions it reimposed on Iran it can join multilateral talks between Iran and other parties to a 2015 nuclear deal, President Hassan Rouhani said.

Iran will never hold bilateral talks with the United States but if it lifts all the sanctions it reimposed on Iran it can join multilateral talks between Iran and other parties to a 2015 nuclear deal, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday. “No decision has ever been taken to hold talks with the U.S. and there has been a lot of offers for talks but our answer will always be negative,” Rouhani told an open session of parliament broadcast live on state radio. “If America lifts all the sanctions then like before it can join multilateral talks between Tehran and parties to the 2015 deal,” he added. U.S. President Donald Trump, although applying “maximum pressure” on Iran, has offered to meet its leaders and hold bilateral talks with no pre-conditions to end the confrontation between their countries. (Reuters)

09-03-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran has established a new military base in Syria and has plans to house thousands of troops at the location, according to multiple Western intelligence sources.

Iran has established a new military base in Syria and has plans to house thousands of troops at the location, according to multiple Western intelligence sources. The classified Iranian project, called the Imam Ali compound, was approved by top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian al-Quds Forces. Using a civilian satellite company, Fox News verified the information and obtained images that show a base being constructed on the Syria-Iraq border.  Analysts at Image Sat International (ISI) who reviewed the images say that precision-guided missiles could be housed at five different newly constructed buildings that are surrounded by large dirt mounds. The images also show, in the northwest part of the base, 10 additional storehouses with less external protection, as well as new buildings and missile storage structures. (Fox News)

09-02-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran will “take a strong step” away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if Europe cannot offer the country new terms by a deadline at the end of this week.

Iran will “take a strong step” away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if Europe cannot offer the country new terms by a deadline at the end of this week, a government spokesman said Monday as top Iranian diplomats traveled to France and Russia for last-minute talks. The comments from Ali Rabiei reinforced the Friday deadline Iran had set for Europe to offer it a way to sell its crude oil on the global market. Crushing U.S. sanctions imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal have curbed Iran’s oil exports and sent its economy into freefall. (Associated Press)

09-02-2019
Terrorism

The leader of Palestinian Hamas has written to the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to thank him for “the excellent reception” he offered a delegation visiting Iran and for his "extensive" support.

The leader of Palestinian Hamas has written to the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to thank him for “the excellent reception” he offered a delegation visiting Iran and for his "extensive" support. Khamenei’s official website reported that Ismail Haniyah in a letter to the Supreme Leader has also expressed “his utter joy” for “Iran’s readiness to equip the resistance for whatever it needs to discharge its duty” and has added, “I thank God for your presence”. Iran and its allies in the region use "resistance" as a term for all anti-Israeli and anti-US forces and activities. Haniya has also expressed his gratitude “for assistance, special and extensive support” of the Islamic Republic and especially Khamenei’s recent statements of support that “has opened new horizons” for Hamas. (Radio Farda)

09-02-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran is stifling a United Nations probe of its alleged storage of nuclear equipment and radioactive material in Tehran, diplomats say, leading to fresh concerns about Iran’s activities at a critical moment for the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran is stifling a United Nations probe of its alleged storage of nuclear equipment and radioactive material in Tehran, diplomats say, leading to fresh concerns about Iran’s activities at a critical moment for the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal. The diplomats said Iran has refused to provide answers to important questions raised by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency over allegations, first made public by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a year ago, that Iran had established a now-dismantled site in Tehran to store equipment and material used during past nuclear weapons work. It is the first time Iran seems to have refused to cooperate with the IAEA’s monitoring of its activities since the multination accord was implemented in January 2016. It comes as European powers, led by France, try to prevent the deal’s collapse after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and then reimposed tight sanctions on Iran, in violation of the deal. (Wall Street Journal)

08-31-2019
Human Rights

Human rights activists in Iran say a court in Tehran has condemned Atefeh Rangriz, a researcher arrested during Labor Day demonstrations on May 1, to 11 years in jail and 74 lashes.

Human rights activists in Iran say a court in Tehran has condemned Atefeh Rangriz, a researcher arrested during Labor Day demonstrations on May 1, to 11 years in jail and 74 lashes. Social media reports say the sentence was issued by notorious Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh at bench 28 of Iran's Revolutionary Court and was handed to Rangriz's defense lawyer. Iranian Judiciary officials have still not reacted to the report. Some 35 activists were arrested in a May Day demonstration in Tehran in front of the Iranian Parliament (Majles). (Radio Farda)

08-29-2019
Military

A rocket at an Iranian space center that was to conduct a satellite launch criticized by the U.S. apparently exploded on its launch pad Thursday, satellite images show, suggesting the Islamic Republic suffered its third failed launch this year alone.

A rocket at an Iranian space center that was to conduct a satellite launch criticized by the U.S. apparently exploded on its launch pad Thursday, satellite images show, suggesting the Islamic Republic suffered its third failed launch this year alone. State media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the incident at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran’s Semnan province. However, satellite images by Planet Labs Inc. showed a black plume of smoke rising above a launch pad there, with what appeared to be the charred remains of a rocket and its launch stand. In previous days, satellite images had shown officials there repainted the launch pad blue. (Associated Press)

08-29-2019
Syria Conflict

Israel’s prime minister accused Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah of racing to build a missile-production program in Lebanon, vowing to destroy the ambitious project and issuing a stern warning to his enemies to “be careful.”

Israel’s prime minister on Thursday accused Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah of racing to build a missile-production program in Lebanon, vowing to destroy the ambitious project and issuing a stern warning to his enemies to “be careful.” The threats ratcheted up an already tense standoff that has pushed the bitter adversaries closer toward open, armed conflict in recent weeks. “Today we uncovered part of Iran and Hezbollah’s precision missile project. We know a few other things,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a news conference. “We are determined to eliminate this dangerous project. The aim of the publication today is to convey a message that we will not sit by and allow our enemies to arm themselves with deadly weapons directed at us,” he said. (Associated Press)

08-28-2019
Extremism

A top Iranian general claimed on Wednesday that his country has "secret defense facilities and capabilities" that could be used to "punish" enemies.

A top Iranian general claimed on Wednesday that his country has "secret defense facilities and capabilities" that could be used to "punish" enemies. "We possess equipment that could punish the enemies in the furthest points if need be," Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Dadras warned, the Tehran Times reported. "Today, many of our equipment are unveiled, but our more effective equipment are not unveiled and they would appear when they are needed to strike a tough blow to the enemy [sic]," he said. According to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the commander "underlined that Iran's secret defense facilities and capabilities could scare enemies to death if necessary." (Newsweek)

08-28-2019
Nuclear Program

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on several Iranian men and their associated companies, which U.S. officials say were used to procure materials in Iran’s bid to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on several Iranian men and their associated companies, which U.S. officials say were used to procure materials in Iran’s bid to develop weapons of mass destruction. The action comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S. as the Trump administration’s broader “maximum pressure” campaign takes a deepening toll on Iran’s economy. “As the Iranian regime attempts to use complex schemes to hide its efforts to bolster its WMD program, the U.S. government will continue to thwart them at every turn,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement, using the abbreviation for weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury Department said Hamed and Hadi Dehghan used a network of companies that arranged more than $10 million dollars worth of proliferation-related transactions, including military-grade electronics for Iran’s defense industry. Many of their clients, the U.S. said, are key suppliers for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated terror group. Some of the procured products were bought from U.S. companies through firms registered overseas to mask their intended recipients. Neither man could be immediately reached for comment. (Wall Street Journal)

08-24-2019
Military

Iran has test fired a new missile, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Iran has test fired a new missile, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said on Saturday, according to the Tasnim news agency. “Our country is always the arena for testing a variety of defense and strategic systems and these are non-stop movements towards the growth of our deterrent power,” Salami said. “And yesterday was one of the successful days for this nation.” (Reuters)

08-22-2019
Military

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inducted a locally built air-defence system into the country's missile defence network at an unveiling ceremony in the capital, Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inducted a locally built air-defence system into the country's missile defence network at an unveiling ceremony in the capital, Tehran. The display of the new system, Bavar-373, on Tuesday came amid heightened tensions with the United States, which last year unilaterally withdrew from a multinational nuclear deal signed between world powers and Iran and reimposed crippling sanctions on it. Iranian officials have previously called Bavar, which means "believe" in Farsi, the country's first domestically produced long-range missile defence system. (Al-Jazeera)

08-21-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran may act “unpredictably” in response to the United States’ “unpredictable” policies under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday Tehran may act “unpredictably” in response to the United States’ “unpredictable” policies under U.S. President Donald Trump. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since President Trump’s administration last year quit an international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and began to ratchet up sanctions. Iranian officials denounced the new penalties as “economic warfare”. “Mutual unpredictability will lead to chaos. President Trump cannot expect to be unpredictable and expect others to be predictable. Unpredictability will lead to mutual unpredictability and unpredictability is chaotic,” Zarif said in a speech at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). (Reuters)

08-21-2019
Syria Conflict

The US blamed Iran for the shooting down of a US MQ-9 drone over Yemen by a surface-to-air missile, an apparent escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The US blamed Iran on Tuesday for the shooting down of a US MQ-9 drone over Yemen by a surface-to-air missile, an apparent escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. The US believes the missile was provided to Houthi rebels by Iran, a US official said, adding that it was not immediately clear if the drone was being operated by the US military or the intelligence community. The rebels, however, said the missile used was "developed locally" and appeared to suggest it was not provided to them by Iran. Statements from the Trump administration and the US military, however, clearly implicated Iran in the incident, which was first reported by Reuters. (CNN)

08-21-2019
Syria Conflict

If Iran’s oil exports are cut to zero, international waterways will not have the same security as before, its president said, cautioning Washington against raising pressure on Tehran in an angry confrontation between the longtime foes.

If Iran’s oil exports are cut to zero, international waterways will not have the same security as before, its president said on Wednesday, cautioning Washington against raising pressure on Tehran in an angry confrontation between the longtime foes. The comment by President Hassan Rouhani coincided with a remark by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that Tehran might act “unpredictably” in response to “unpredictable” U.S. policies under President Donald Trump. “World powers know that in the case that oil is completely sanctioned and Iran’s oil exports are brought down to zero, international waterways can’t have the same security as before,” Rouhani said while meeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Khamenei’s official website. (Reuters)

08-20-2019
Military

A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed his country has the most advanced missile technology in the Middle East.

A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed his country has the most advanced missile technology in the Middle East. “Today, we rank first in the missile technology at the regional level and are placed among the few global powers in this regard,” Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, was quoted as saying Sunday by Press TV. Hajizadeh claimed Iran was the leading regional power on drone technology and said the IRGC’s downing of a US unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in June showed the capabilities of Iranian radar and air-defense systems. (Times of Israel)

08-18-2019
Nuclear Program

The Islamic Republic of Iran is planning to work on introducing a new generation of uranium enriching centrifuges, the IR-8, a lawmaker told local media on Sunday August 18.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is planning to work on introducing a new generation of uranium enriching centrifuges, a lawmaker told local media on Sunday August 18. The IR-8 Centrifuges are 20 times more powerful than the first-generation equipment Iran has been using for uranium enrichment. Hamid Reza Hajibabaee quoted the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Chief Ali Akbar Salehi as telling parliamentarians that Iran has been producing IR-6 and IR-7 centrifuges so far, but it now plans to produce IR-8. But it is not clear how many IR-8 and centrifuges Iran plans to deploy eventually, considering limitations imposed by the 2015 nuclear agreement. (Radio Farda)

08-18-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran appears to be preparing another satellite launch via rocket after twice failing this year to put one in orbit, despite U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic's program helps it develop ballistic missiles.

Iran appears to be preparing another satellite launch via rocket after twice failing this year to put one in orbit, despite U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic's program helps it develop ballistic missiles. Satellite images of the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran's Semnan province this month show increased activity at the site, as heightened tensions persist between Washington and Tehran over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. While Iran routinely only announces such launches after the fact, that activity coupled with an official saying a satellite would soon be handed over to the country's Defense Ministry suggests the attempt will be coming soon. (Associated Press)

08-17-2019
Human Rights

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran says last year saw increasing restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and continuing violations of the right to life, liberty and a fair trial in Iran, including 253 executions.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran says last year saw increasing restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and continuing violations of the right to life, liberty and a fair trial in the Islamic Republic, including 253 reported executions of adults and children. Javaid Rehman who was appointed more than a year ago said in a report to the General Assembly circulated on August 16 that while executions were the lowest since 2007, "the number of executions remains one of the highest in the world." He says the significant decline is attributed to enforcement of a 2017 amendment to Iran's anti-narcotics law that saw the number of executions for drug-related offenses drop from 231 in 2017 to at least 24 in 2018. Rehman says seven child offenders were reported executed in 2018. (Radio Farda)

08-15-2019
Terrorism

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group had sharpened its military capabilities fighting in Syria and was now strong enough to “wipe the Zionist regime off the map” on its own.

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group had sharpened its military capabilities fighting in Syria and was now strong enough to “wipe the Zionist regime off the map” on its own. “They [the US and its allies] intended to undermine Iran’s regional influence, but everyone witnessed how this policy backfired to increase Iran’s influence and a united front was formed against the Zionist regime,” Gen. Hossein Salami said at a ceremony in the northern city of Urumiyeh, according to the Fars news agency. “The Lebanese Hezbollah has now developed such an extent of power through the experience of confrontation against proxy wars that it is now able to wipe the Zionist regime off the map in any possible war by itself,” he said. (Times of Israel)

08-14-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has criticized a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington's military build-up in the Gulf was aimed at "creating division and emptying the treasuries" of countries in the region.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has criticised a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington's military build-up in the Gulf was aimed at "creating division and emptying the treasuries" of countries in the region.  Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Rouhani said the Gulf countries could handle their own security and called for unity to do so. "All talks about establishing a new coalition in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman won't be practical," Rouhani said, according to the Iranian Student News Agency. "No doubt that it won't help the security of the region. There is no need for the presence of foreign forces to provide security." (Al-Jazeera)

08-14-2019
Human Rights

A British-Iranian academic, Kameel Ahmady, was arrested at his home in Tehran over the weekend, roiling relations once again between Iran and Britain just as they appeared to be making progress on the release of an Iranian tanker seized in Gibraltar.

A British-Iranian academic was arrested at his home in Tehran over the weekend, roiling relations once again between Iran and Britain just as they appeared to be making progress on the release of an Iranian tanker seized in Gibraltar. The academic, Kameel Ahmady, an acclaimed social anthropologist of Kurdish origin, was detained on Sunday after Iranian security forces raided his house and seized documents, including his birth certificate, his wife, Shafaq Rahmani, said in a text message. “A security prosecutor in Evin has issued a one-month arrest warrant for Kameel. No information about Kameel’s arrest or charge has been provided,” Ms. Rahmani wrote in an Instagram post, referring to Evin Prison, where a British-Iranian woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has been jailed since 2016 on espionage charges. (New York Times)

08-13-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran’s state TV reports that the country’s supreme leader is urging support for Yemen’s Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition that he says is trying to “disintegrate” the country.

Iran’s state TV reports that the country’s supreme leader is urging support for Yemen’s Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition that he says is trying to “disintegrate” the country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Mohammad Abdul Salam, the spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarallah Movement, in Tehran on Tuesday. The group is commonly referred to as the Houthis. Khamenei says Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their supporters seek to break up Yemen, “which must stand firm against this conspiracy.” (Associated Press)

08-13-2019
Nuclear Program

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi announced that the Islamic Republic's enriched uranium stockpile has reached 370 kilograms, above the JCPOA’s 300 kg limit, and warned, “this amount is growing fast.”

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi announced on Tuesday, August 13, that the Islamic Republic's enriched uranium stockpile has reached 370 kilograms. "We are producing [enriched uranium] with a good capacity and our stockpile is 60 to 70 kilograms above the 300kg [JCPOA limit] and this amount is growing fast," Behrouz Kamalvandi said on the sideline of a ceremony which marked the construction of a research center on separation and development of the applications of stable isotopes at Fordow nuclear facility in Qom. The 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, known as JCPOA, limits Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium to 300 kg. Echoing recent remarks by the Islamic Republic's President Hassan Rouhani, Kamalvandi also insisted, "Iran is not obliged to restrict its stockpile of heavy water to 130 tons," adding, "Although our heavy water exports are not big figures, we have diverse markets which include European and non-European countries. Iran should not lose any of these markets." (Radio Farda)

08-10-2019
Terrorism

An official with Palestinian terror group Hamas on Saturday told a Lebanese newspaper that in the next major conflagration, should the Gaza rulers feel that Israel is trying to “break” the group, its regional allies will join forces with Hamas.

An official with Palestinian terror group Hamas on Saturday told a Lebanese newspaper that in the next major conflagration, should the Gaza rulers feel that Israel is trying to “break” the group, its regional allies will join forces with Hamas. This was one of the understandings reached between Hamas and Iran during a high-level meeting last month in Tehran, the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese paper al-Akhbar reported (in Arabic) on Saturday. “If the Israeli enemy launches aggression against the Gaza Strip, and we estimate that it is a confined battle that will not develop into a war to break us, we will face it alone,” the official was quoted by the paper as saying. “But if the enemy [Israel] tries to break the resistance, the rest of the axis will join the battle,” he went on, in reference to Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah. (Times of Israel)

08-10-2019
Military

Iran unveiled on Saturday what authorities said was a locally upgraded radar system with a range of 400 km (250 miles) that could help defend against cruise and ballistic missiles and drones.

Iran unveiled on Saturday what authorities said was a locally upgraded radar system with a range of 400 km (250 miles) that could help defend against cruise and ballistic missiles and drones. The announcement comes at a time of rising tension between Iran and United States. Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone in the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile in June. Tehran says the drone was over its territory, but Washington says it was in international airspace. State television showed the Falaq, a mobile radar and a vehicle housing a control room, which it said was an improved version of the Gamma, a system that military experts said was of Russian origin. (Reuters)

08-08-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s intelligence minister has said that by pulling out of the nuclear agreement, President Donald Trump lost his last chance to talk with Iran and will take his wish for negotiations “to his grave with him”.

Iran’s intelligence minister has said that by pulling out of the nuclear agreement, President Donald Trump lost his last chance to talk with Iran and will take his wish for negotiations “to his grave with him”. Mahmoud Alavi was quoted by Iranian media on Thursday as saying that the U.S. president gave the coup de grace to his “last chance” to negotiate with Tehran. Alavi added, the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement known as JCPOA, and the reimposition of sanctions was a “violation of international commitments” and insisted that “ultimately victory will be with Iran”. (Radio Farda)

08-08-2019
Terrorism

The US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has issued a new warning to commercial shipping about Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, saying that some ships have reported having their GPS interfered with.

The US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has issued a new warning to commercial shipping about Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, saying that some ships have reported having their GPS interfered with. Additionally, the administration warned that there have been reports of "unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships." The warning, which was issued Wednesday, listed a series of incidents involving Iran since May, including Iran's seizure of the United Kingdom-flagged M/V STENA IMPERO and the detention and subsequent release of the Liberian-flagged M/V MESDAR. It said that during "at least two" recent encounters involving Iranian military forces, "vessels reported GPS interference. One vessel reportedly shut off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) before it was seized, complicating response efforts." "Vessels have also reported spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships," the warning added. (CNN)

08-07-2019
Syria Conflict

Rhetoric by pro-Iranian groups in Iraq, as well as the threat from Iranian-backed militias operating there, have increased in the last several months, according to a US report.

Rhetoric by pro-Iranian groups in Iraq, as well as the threat from Iranian-backed militias operating there, have increased in the last several months, according to a US report. The quarterly Lead Inspector General Report covers incidents from April to the end of June and examines the US-led anti-ISIS operations in Iraq and Syria. In Syria, the report notes that Iran “continues to field Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers, support Lebanese Hezbollah and command Shia foreign fighter networks.” This includes up to 3,000 IRGC and up to 100,000 of these Shi’ite fighters, some of whom come from as far away as Pakistan and Afghanistan and were recruited to help the Syrian regime. (Jerusalem Post)

08-07-2019
Military

Iran has unveiled three new precision-guided missiles amid tensions between Iran and the US and European countries in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has unveiled three new precision-guided missiles on Tuesday amid tensions between Iran and the US and European countries in the Strait of Hormuz. The air-to-air missiles revealed by Tehran are called the “Yasin” and the “Balaban,” as well as a new series of the “Qaem” missile, and were developed jointly by the Iranian Defense Ministry and Sa Iran (Iran Electronics Industries). According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, the Yasin is a smart guided missile with folding wings that can be fired from a range of 50 km. of its target from manned or unmanned aircraft. The Balaban smart bomb is guided by hybrid inertial navigation system (INS)/Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance and sensors to boost its precision capabilities and is equipped with folding wings and can be mounted under an aircraft.  The Qaem optic smart bomb meanwhile is a heat-seeking missile equipped with heat and cylinder seekers that allow the bomb to hit within 50 cm. of a target. (Jerusalem Post)

08-07-2019
Politics

Lambasting the Islamic Republic's judiciary for accusing journalists and political activists of "intelligence-related crimes," former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has also criticized the government and Majles (parliament) for standing idly by.

Lambasting the Islamic Republic's judiciary for accusing journalists and political activists of "intelligence-related crimes," former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has also criticized the government and Majles (parliament) for standing idly by. The mid-ranking cleric, and twice president (1997-2005), Khatami says that he is "surprised" that the government and Majles have kept mum against such injustice. "I am astonished that a government elected on the platform of providing people with their legal rights, as well as the pro-reform members of Majles, who boast about defending the nation and the constitution, do not step forward, and shout against this injustice?" Khatami told a gathering of journalists on Tuesday, August 6. (Radio Farda)

08-07-2019
Terrorism

Suspected Iranian hackers infiltrated critical infrastructure and government computers in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain within the last month, raising fears among leaders in the region that Tehran is stepping up its cyberattacks amid growing tensions

Suspected Iranian hackers infiltrated critical infrastructure and government computers in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain within the last month, raising fears among leaders in the region that Tehran is stepping up its cyberattacks amid growing tensions. The intrusions, according to people familiar with them, rose above the normal level of Iranian cyber activity in the region. On Monday, hackers broke into the systems of Bahrain’s National Security Agency—the country’s main criminal investigative authority—as well as the Ministry of Interior and the first deputy prime minister’s office, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. On July 25, Bahrain authorities identified intrusions into its Electricity and Water Authority. The hackers shut down several systems in what the authorities believed was a test run of Iran’s capability to disrupt the country, the person said. “They had command and control of some of the systems,” the person said. (Wall Street Journal)

08-06-2019
Anti-Americanism

War with Iran is the mother of all wars, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live on state TV, warning once again that shipping might not be safe in the Strait of Hormuz oil waterway.

War with Iran is the mother of all wars, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live on state TV, warning once again that shipping might not be safe in the Strait of Hormuz oil waterway. Tensions have risen between Iran and the West since last year when the United States pulled out of an international agreement which curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions on Iran. “Peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” Rouhani said at the Foreign Ministry in a speech which also praised Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the United States imposed sanctions on him on July 31. (Reuters)

08-06-2019
Terrorism

Two weeks after a visit to Tehran by representatives from HAMAS, Israeli media reported an eye-catching increase in Iran's financial assistance to this Palestinian group from $100 million to $360 million annually.

Two weeks after a visit to Tehran by representatives from HAMAS, Israeli media on Tuesday August 6 reported an eye-catching increase in Iran's financial assistance to this Palestinian group. Quoting unnamed Israeli government sources, these reports say Iran has increased its usual annual $100 million aide to HAMAS to $360 million after the visit. The Jerusalem Post and Israel's Channel 12 TV say the 3.5 fold rise in aide to HAMAS is aimed at meeting certain demands by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to these reports, Iran has asked HAMAS to provide Tehran with information about Israel's missile capabilities. (Radio Farda)

08-05-2019
Military

The head of Iran's navy has said his forces planned to train alongside their Russian counterparts by the end of the year as both nations stepped up their rhetoric against U.S. policies targeting them.

The head of Iran's navy has said his forces planned to train alongside their Russian counterparts by the end of the year as both nations stepped up their rhetoric against U.S. policies targeting them. Iranian naval commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi confirmed Sunday that Iran and Russia had signed their first-ever memorandum of understanding regarding inter-military affairs last week during his visit to Moscow. He also briefly discussed joint military exercises he previously said at the time would be held in the northern Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman. "Soon the preparations and maneuvers' planning will start and they will be conducted this year," Khanzadi said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency, which reported in English that the training could be carried by March 2020. (Newsweek)

08-05-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran told European powers it would further reduce compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal in about a month’s time if they were still failing to protect it from crippling U.S. sanctions, reimposed after Washington exited the deal.

Iran told European powers on Monday it would further reduce compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal in about a month’s time if they were still failing to protect it from crippling U.S. sanctions, reimposed after Washington exited the deal. European signatories to the deal have so far been helpless to prevent U.S. President Donald Trump trying to force Iran to accept stricter limits to its nuclear activity and regional behavior by strangling its vital oil trade. Iran has threatened to block all energy exports out of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil traffic passes, if it is unable to sell oil as promised by the 2015 deal in exchange for curbing its uranium enrichment program. “With the continuation of the inaction of the Europeans in carrying out their commitments (to the nuclear deal) ... Iran will take a third step (in reducing commitments) in approximately one month,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. (Reuters)

08-04-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, state television reported, the third time Tehran has reported detaining a tanker in the last month.

Iran seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, state television reported on Sunday, the third time Tehran has reported detaining a tanker in the last month as the United States applies its campaign of “maximum pressure,” sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the country. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps detained the tanker on Wednesday along with the seven members of the ship’s foreign crew, according to official Iranian news agencies, which cited a naval commander. Iran said the tanker was “smuggling” fuel to some Arab states, without offering evidence. The oil tanker was an Iraqi ship, the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting the Revolutionary Guards Corps. (New York Times)

08-02-2019
Human Rights

Three women held in custody for "disrespecting compulsory hijab," or the so-called Islamic dress code, have been sentenced to a total of 55 years and six months.

Three women held in custody for "disrespecting compulsory hijab," or the so-called Islamic dress code, have been sentenced to a total of 55 years and six months. A "Revolutionary Court" in the capital city of Tehran delivered the verdict to Monireh Arabshahi, Yasamin Ariany, and Mojgan Keshavarz who are behind bars in the notorious Qarchak prison. Arabshahi and Ariany's legal counsel, Amir Raeesian, told Ensaf News website August 1 that if the verdict is upheld, his clients would be sentenced to ten years to serve, each. In Iran if a prison term is unusually long, a shorter sentence is set to be served. Usually, the shorter sentence to be served is a little more than half of the original long prison term. (Radio Farda)

08-01-2019
Syria Conflict

An airstrike launched by the Houthi faction in Yemen killed at least 40 people, including a senior Yemeni military commander, at a parade in the city of Aden, officials said.

An airstrike launched by the Houthi faction in Yemen on Thursday killed at least 40 people, including a senior Yemeni military commander, at a parade in the city of Aden, officials said. In a separate attack in the city, a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into a police station, killing at least 11 people, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that blast. At least 50 people were wounded in the two attacks in Aden, the provisional capital of the Saudi-backed forces in the country’s civil war. The missile strike on the military parade was the bloodiest assault on the Saudi-backed forces and their territory since their other main external sponsor, the United Arab Emirates, announced a steep drawdown of troops last month. (New York Times)

08-01-2019
Human Rights

A Swedish-Iranian medical doctor and researcher who has been in jail in Iran since 2016 on charges of "espionage" with a death sentence, has been moved to solitary confinement in an unidentified place, the inmate's wife told Radio Farda.

A Swedish-Iranian medical doctor and researcher who has been in jail in Iran since 2916 on charges of "espionage" with a death sentence, has been moved to an unidentified place, the inmate's wife told Radio Farda on Thursday August 1. Ahmad Reza Jalali (Djalali) was arrested by Iranian intelligence while visiting Iran to attend a scientific conference at the invitation of the University of Tehran in May 2016. Vida Mehran Nia, Jalali's wife , told Radio Farda that moving Jalali to solitary confinement in an unidentified place came as a surprise to the inmate and his family. Jalali called his wife in Sweden on Tuesday, and told her that he has been moved to a cell which is monitored by CCTV. Human rights watchdogs all over the world have protested Jalaii's death sentence which has been confirmed by the Iranian Supreme Court. (Radio Farda)

07-29-2019
Military

The head of Iran's navy has said he signed a document to expand ties with Russia, with whom his forces planned on conducting joint drills in the same tense waters that the United States sought to counter the Islamic Republic with international support.

The head of Iran's navy has said he signed a document to expand ties with Russia, with whom his forces planned on conducting joint drills in the same tense waters that the United States sought to counter the Islamic Republic with international support. Iranian naval commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said Monday that he signed an unprecedented memorandum of understanding with Russia, largely involving the two countries' naval forces, and that it "may be considered as a turning point in relations of Tehran in Moscow," according to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency. The news came as Khanzadi was visiting St. Petersburg to celebrate Russia's Navy Day and he further announced that "joint Russian-Iranian exercises in the Indian Ocean are expected to take place soon." "When we talk about the Indian Ocean, perhaps the most significant part of the area is the northern Indian Ocean, which flows into the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz and also the Persian Gulf," Khanzadi said. (Newsweek)

07-28-2019
Nuclear Program

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, told lawmakers on Sunday that Iran will restart activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, the ISNA news agency reported.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, told lawmakers on Sunday that Iran will restart activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, the ISNA news agency reported. ISNA cited a member of parliament who attended the meeting. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads. Iran stopped complying in May with some commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal that was agreed with global powers, after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and re-introduced sanctions on Tehran. (Reuters)

07-26-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran fired a Shahab-3 medium-range missile, a United States military official said, playing it down by saying that it did not pose a threat to American or other Western shipping or military bases in the region.

Iran fired a Shahab-3 medium-range missile on Wednesday, a United States military official said, playing it down by saying that it did not pose a threat to American or other Western shipping or military bases in the region. The missile was launched from the southern coast of Iran and landed east of Tehran, the official said on Thursday, adding that it flew about 1,100 kilometers, or about 680 miles, and stayed inside Iran for the entire flight. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence analyses, said that American officials had been closely monitoring the test site as Iran prepared the missile for launch. (New York Times)

07-25-2019
Terrorism

The Shin Bet intelligence agency said that it busted an Iranian espionage network that aimed to recruit operatives in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip "for the benefit of Iranian intelligence."

The Shin Bet intelligence agency said Wednesday that it busted an Iranian espionage network that aimed to recruit operatives in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip "for the benefit of Iranian intelligence." The Shin Bet cooperated with Israeli police, the army and other security bodies in this regard. According to a statement issued by the agency, the network was based in Syria under Iranian guidance and was led by a Syrian operative nicknamed ‘Abu Jihad.’ It attempted to recruit people via preliminary contacts based on fictitious Facebook profiles and later messaging apps. “Using social networks to recruit people is a method known to intelligence elements including those affiliated with terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The affair joins other recent events in which terrorist elements (including those from Hamas and Hezbollah) have established contacts with Israeli Arabs and Palestinians over the internet in order to recruit them for intelligence gathering and terrorist activity,” revealed the statement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

07-24-2019
Human Rights

Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic republic.

Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic republic, a charge that is often brought against intellectuals and critics of the Iranian establishment. Rasoulof told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on July 22 that he also has been banned from leaving the country for two years and faces a two-year ban on membership in political and social parties and organizations. He has 20 days to appeal the sentence. The 47-year-old filmmaker, who has been detained and banned from leaving the country in the past, says the content of movies, which authorities consider a threat against the clerical establishment, is the reason for his new conviction. (RFE/RL)

07-24-2019
Anti-Americanism

The top military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Tehran would not negotiate with the United States under any circumstances, an apparent hardening of its position as the Gulf tanker crisis escalates.

The top military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Tehran would not negotiate with the United States under any circumstances, an apparent hardening of its position as the Gulf tanker crisis escalates. … The tough remarks by Khamenei’s aide, Hossein Dehghan, a senior commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards whose views are seen as reflecting those of Khamenei, appeared to take a firm line in response to Western proposals to beef up security in the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the seizure of the ship. Dehghan said Iran would take action if the status of the strait were altered, and that no country would be allowed to ship oil through it unless all countries can. (Reuters)

07-23-2019
Terrorism

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations accused Iran of exploiting civilian companies and maritime channels to smuggle weapons manufacturing equipment to its Lebanese proxy group, Hezbollah.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday accused Iran of exploiting civilian companies and maritime channels to smuggle weapons manufacturing equipment to its Lebanese proxy group, Hezbollah. In the quarterly meeting on the Middle East, Ambassador Danny Danon told the Security Council that Israeli intelligence has uncovered evidence showing Iran’s Quds Force has been using the port of Beirut to ship items to the terror group since last year. “In the years 2018-2019, Israel found that dual-use items are smuggled into Lebanon to advance Hezbollah’s rocket and missile capabilities,” he said. “Iran and the Quds Force have begun to advance the exploitation of the civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut,” Danon said. “The Port of Beirut has become the Port of Hezbollah.” (Times of Israel)

07-22-2019
Terrorism

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with a delegation from the Palestinian terror group Hamas and held talks with its deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, who is heading the delegation.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met Monday with a delegation from the Palestinian terror group Hamas and held talks with its deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, who is heading the delegation. Khamenei told the Hamas officials that supporting the Palestinians “is an ideological and religious matter” and strongly condemned the Mideast peace plan pushed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which he said the Palestinians have “precision missiles” to resist. “The dangerous conspiracy of the ‘Deal of the Century’ is aimed at destroying the Palestinian identity among the Palestinian public and youth,” an English statement on his website quoted him as saying. (Times of Israel)

07-19-2019
Anti-Americanism

Immediately after entering the Strait of Hormuz at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, a group of six U.S. Navy ships had a series of tense encounters with the Iranian military, culminating in the downing of an Iranian drone.

Immediately after entering the Strait of Hormuz at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, a group of six U.S. Navy ships had a series of tense encounters with the Iranian military, culminating in the downing of an Iranian drone. The incident came after the group of six ships led by this sea-to-land assault vessel headed into waters where the U.S. and the U.K. have blamed Iran for attacking or harassing commercial vessels. Iran downed an American spy drone over the Persian Gulf last month and, on Thursday, seized a foreign vessel it accused of smuggling. An unarmed Iranian navy Bell 212 helicopter flew alongside the Boxer, yards away from the deck, before it was chased away by a U.S. helicopter. The commander of the Boxer, Capt. Ronald Dowdell, called the engagement “surreal.” The convoy swept past the speed boats without incident but was followed by the larger Iranian military vessel, which came as close as 500 yards to the Boxer—the distance the U.S. navy allows before verbally communicating to a ship not to come any closer. (Wall Street Journal)

07-18-2019
Syria Conflict

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran has detained a foreign oil tanker it said had been smuggling fuel, Iranian news media reported, days after a United Arab Emirates vessel with the same name disappeared in the Persian Gulf.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran has detained a foreign oil tanker it said had been smuggling fuel, Iranian news media reported on Thursday, days after a United Arab Emirates vessel with the same name disappeared in the Persian Gulf. The disclosure raised tensions in the running conflict that has pitted Iran against some of its regional neighbors and the United States. Several state news organizations in Iran reported the seizure of the tanker, based on a statement from the Revolutionary Guards, which claimed that the ship had been carrying one million liters of contraband fuel. The Iranian state news agency Al Alam reported that the Revolutionary Guards detained the ship on Sunday. (The New York Times)

07-18-2019
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary has just confirmed the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian anthropologist, in Tehran.

Iran’s judiciary has just confirmed the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian anthropologist, in Tehran. Media sources had earlier reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Organization arrested Adelkhah, a researcher at the Paris-based academic institute Sciences Po, at her home on June 7. She has been detained ever since. The accusations against her remain unclear, but her arrest fits an all-too-familiar pattern concerning Iran’s targeting of dual nationals. As the IRGC Intelligence Organization has gained more power domestically, the agency has carried out the majority of arrests of Iranian dual national citizens and foreigners whom it perceives have links with Western academic, economic, and cultural institutions. These include academics, art curators, and journalists. During interrogations, IRGC officials reportedly accuse detainees of espionage, not based on specific evidence, but simply because of detainees’ affiliations with Western public institutions. Iranian state media also broadcast so-called “documentaries,” accusing suspects of being spies for foreign countries before they are convicted. (Human Rights Watch)

07-18-2019
Nuclear Program

The United States imposed sanctions on an international network of companies and their agents it said were involved in the procurement of materials for Iran’s nuclear program.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on an international network of companies and their agents it said were involved in the procurement of materials for Iran’s nuclear program. They are the first punitive steps by Washington since Tehran announced earlier this month it would increase its levels of enriched uranium that can be used for bomb fuel. Tehran announced on July 1 that it had amassed more low-enriched uranium than permitted under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, marking its first major step beyond the terms of the pact since the United States withdrew more than a year ago. “Treasury is taking action to shut down an Iranian nuclear procurement network that leverages Chinese- and Belgium-based front companies to acquire critical nuclear materials and benefit the regime’s malign ambitions,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. (Reuters)

07-17-2019
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it launched a drone attack on Jizan airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia, part of an escalation of cross-border assaults in the 4-year-old conflict.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it launched a drone attack on Jizan airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia early on Wednesday, part of an escalation of cross-border assaults in the 4-year-old conflict. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said it had intercepted and downed a Houthi drone heading towards civilian targets in Jizan. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said the attack disrupted operations at the airport. The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, have in the past few months stepped up their attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia. In response, the coalition has targeted military sites belonging to the group, especially around Sanaa. (Reuters)

07-17-2019
Human Rights

A British-Iranian woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, detained in Tehran since 2016 has been moved to a hospital psychiatric unit, her family said, prompting fears for her well-being.

A British-Iranian woman detained in Tehran since 2016 has been moved to a hospital psychiatric unit, her family said, prompting fears for her well-being. The moving of the woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was initially seen as a positive development, because she had been requesting treatment for months. But her family said on Wednesday that they had not been able to speak with her for days. They say she is under the watch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful arm of the Iranian military. And they worry that the group’s involvement could mean that she is being pressured by the government. (The New York Times)

07-17-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran is capable of shutting the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial choke-point for oil flows -- but doesn’t want to do it, the country’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

Iran is capable of shutting the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial choke-point for oil flows -- but doesn’t want to do it, the country’s foreign minister said. “We certainly have the ability to do it, but we certainly don’t want to do it because the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf are our lifeline,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York. “It has to be secured. We play a big role in securing it, but it has to be secure for everybody.” About one-third of the world’s seaborne crude and fuels passed through the Strait of Hormuz last year, highlighting its key role in global oil markets. In May and June, six tankers were attacked in the region. While Iran has been blamed for attacks on merchant shipping, it has denied responsibility. (Bloomberg)

07-16-2019
Extremism

Ayatollah Khamenei struck a belligerent tone in an escalating confrontation with the West, promising further Iranian violations of the fraying nuclear agreement and retaliation for what he called the piracy of an Iranian tanker by “the vicious British."

Iran’s top leader struck a belligerent tone Tuesday in an escalating confrontation with the West, promising further Iranian violations of the fraying nuclear agreement and retaliation for what he called the piracy of an Iranian tanker by “the vicious British.” The defiance expressed by the top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, contrasted with what seemed like a less confrontational stance taken at the White House. President Trump told reporters that “we’re not looking for regime change” in Iran and that Iranian leaders had communicated a desire for negotiations with the United States despite their hostile remarks in public. “They’d like to talk, and we’ll see what happens,” Mr. Trump said. Mike Pompeo, Mr. Trump’s secretary of state, asserted that Iran was willing to negotiate over its missile program, an area of Western concern that was not covered in the 2015 nuclear agreement. (The New York Times)

07-13-2019
Terrorism

Iran won’t stand alone in fighting the U.S. if war breaks out between the two nations, the Islamic Republic’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah said.

Iran won’t stand alone in fighting the U.S. if war breaks out between the two nations, the Islamic Republic’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah said. Groups backed by Iran are currently in talks about the possibility of such a conflict, Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the militant organization, said in an interview broadcast Friday on its Al Manar TV. “Are we going to sit back and watch? Iran won’t be alone in the war, that is clear,” he said. (Bloomberg)

07-11-2019
Human Rights

The Iranian Human Rights News Agency, HRANA, reported that outspoken political activist Mohammad Nourizad, has been jailed.

The Iranian Human Rights News Agency, HRANA, reported on Wednesday July 10 that outspoken political activist Mohammad Nourizad, has been jailed. Nourizad was one of the signatories of a statement by 14 Iranian activists who called on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to resign in order to end the country's political deadlock. Nourizad had said on Monday that he was going to Tehran's Evin Prison, where he was summoned to offer explanations about his visit to flood stricken areas in northern Iran in April. However, social media activists link the arrest to the statement signed by Nourizad and 13 other political activists. (Radio Farda)

07-11-2019
Military

Three Iranian boats briefly tried to block passage of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.

Three Iranian boats on Thursday briefly tried to block passage of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Britain’s Defense Ministry said, in the latest sign that Tehran is seeking any possible pressure point it can exploit in its escalating confrontation with the West. The tanker, British Heritage, was under escort by a warship, the Montrose, and after a brief standoff but no exchange of fire the three Iranian boats complied with “verbal warnings” to retreat, the ministry said in a statement. “We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,” it said. (New York Times)

07-11-2019
Nuclear Program

If European countries do not meet their commitments under a nuclear deal then Iran will “strongly” take more steps to reduce its own obligations, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

If European countries do not meet their commitments under a nuclear deal then Iran will “strongly” take more steps to reduce its own obligations, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. … Iran threatened on Monday to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up uranium enrichment to 20% purity, a move that would go far beyond the small steps Iran has taken in the past week to nudge stocks of fissile material just beyond limits in the pact. “In the event that Europe does not act on its commitments during the 60-day time span which we are currently in, Iran will take the third step strongly,” Mojtaba Zolnour, the chairman of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy commission, said, according to Fars. (Reuters)

07-08-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran has surpassed the 3.67% cap on uranium enrichment set by a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and is now enriching uranium at 4.5%, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said.

Iran has surpassed the cap on uranium enrichment set by a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Monday, warning that Tehran would take further steps to reduce its commitments under the accord. Behrouz Kamalvandi, speaking to local news agencies, said Iran has exceeded the 3.67 percent limit and is now enriching uranium at 4.5 percent, a rate far below the 90 percent needed to produce a nuclear weapon. The move was designed to pressure Europe to reset the terms of the nuclear agreement following a U.S. withdrawal from the pact last year. The deal curbed Iran’s atomic energy activities in exchange for widespread sanctions relief. (Washington Post)

07-08-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran warned it will take further steps to breach the 2015 nuclear accord in early September if it doesn’t receive long-sought relief from U.S. economic sanctions, as it began enriching uranium above limits set out in the deal.

Iran warned it will take further steps to breach the 2015 nuclear accord in early September if it doesn’t receive long-sought relief from U.S. economic sanctions, as it began enriching uranium above limits set out in the deal. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday that Iran is prepared to take harder and more steadfast measures than the modest steps it has recently taken to expand its nuclear program, setting in motion what is likely to become months of escalating tension with Washington. President Trump said on Sunday that Iran “better be careful,” while senior U.S. officials signaled that Washington had every intention of continuing its economic-pressure campaign.

07-07-2019
Extremism

If Iran decides to confront you, a missile strike on the Dimona reactor would be enough," said Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi-Kermani in a sermon addressing the United States and Israel, according to a report by Radio Farda.

If Iran decides to confront you, a missile strike on the Dimona reactor would be enough," said Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi-Kermani in a sermon addressing the United States and Israel, according to a report by Radio Farda. Movahedi-Kermani threatened that such an attack on the nuclear reactor in Israel's Negev desert would "plow Israel 200 times." "You are living in a glass house. You’d better watch out," said the Tehran-based Imam. He also warned the US against a military attack on Iran, saying: "Think of an attack only if you want to change the color of the Persian Gulf waters from azure to red." (Jerusalem Post)

07-06-2019
Syria Conflict

In a growing and increasingly consistent sign that Iran is linked to Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Iranian media plastered headlines with a story of a drone attack on Jizan Airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

In a growing and increasingly consistent sign that Iran is linked to Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Iranian media plastered headlines with a story of a drone attack on Jizan Airport in southern Saudi Arabia. The report from Fars News says the Yemeni Armed Forces – its term for the Houthi rebels – launched a drone attack Thursday night on Jizan Airport and “significant military targets” at the airport. The drones were described as Qasef-K2, which were using precision guidance. The Houthis claimed the attack was the latest in a series retaliating for Saudi airstrikes over the last four years, since Riyadh intervened in Yemen to stop the Houthis seizing the Port of Aden. The Houthis also said the drone raid was an attempt to show the US what they are capable of. Houthis celebrated what they claimed was the end of flights in Jizan due to the drones. Tasnim News also reported the attack. (Jerusalem Post)

07-05-2019
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic has executed at least 110 people between January 1 and June 30, 2019, in prisons or in public, Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO) reports.

The Islamic Republic has executed at least 110 people between January 1 and June 30, 2019, in prisons or in public, Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO) reports. The number shows a rise compared with the same period last year. Two juveniles were among the executed, IHRO says, adding, the executioners hanged them in the central prison in the city of Shiraz (known as Adel Abad, meaning "Prosperous Place of Justice" in Persian). The hangings triggered widespread international criticism. Amin Sedaghat and Mehdi Sohrabifar, 17-year old cousins, were executed in early morning on April 25. They were 15 at the time of their arrest for rape and robbery, while one of them had a mental disability. (Radio Farda)

07-04-2019
Syria Conflict

British special forces seized a supertanker off Gibraltar carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European and U.S. sanctions against the war-torn country.

British special forces seized a supertanker off Gibraltar carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European and U.S. sanctions against the war-torn country. Iran responded by declaring the action illegal and summoning the British ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Tehran to explain the ship’s arrest. The diplomatic row heightened tensions just as the U.K., France and Germany try to keep the Islamic Republic from walking away from an international deal to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. quit the pact a year ago, prompting Tehran to make good on an earlier warning that it would exceed the limits on its stockpile of enriched uranium. While Syrians will feel the immediate impact of halting the crucial oil shipment to the country, the arrested vessel shows the difficulty Iran faces in finding outlets for its crude as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up sanctions. Iran’s oil production has dropped by 1.5 million barrel a day over the past year, poleaxing the Islamic Republic’s economy. (Bloomberg)

07-01-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran said that it has exceeded the 300-kilogram (660-pound) stockpile limit for low-enriched uranium allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers because Europe has failed to mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions.

Iran said Monday that it has exceeded the stockpile limit for low-enriched uranium allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers because Europe has failed to mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions, a move that could add to the friction between Tehran and Washington. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium exceeded the 300-kilogram (660-pound) limit allowed under the deal, spokesman Fredrik Dahl said.  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the move was “reversible” but warned that Iran could continue to reduce its commitment to the agreement if Europe does not take action to uphold the other side of the deal, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. (Washington Post)

06-30-2019
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia has intercepted two drones launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a Saudi-led coalition spokesman has said.

Saudi Arabia has intercepted two drones launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a Saudi-led coalition spokesman has said. The first drone targeted the province of Jizan, while the second was aimed at a residential area in Asir province, the coalition said in a statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency late on Saturday. Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said the drones caused no damage or casualties. (Al Jazeera)

06-27-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran will exceed limits on low-enriched uranium set by the 2015 nuclear accord unless Britain, France and Germany take timely, practical steps to preserve the agreement that is "now in critical condition," the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. said.

Iran will exceed limits on low-enriched uranium set by the 2015 nuclear accord unless Britain, France and Germany take timely, practical steps to preserve the agreement that is "now in critical condition," the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. said Wednesday. Majid Takht Ravanchi told a Security Council meeting that the three European countries, which support the deal, and the United States, which pulled out of it, will have to "accept the full responsibility for any possible consequences" if serious steps aren't taken. Britain, France, Germany and three other European Union countries responded by strongly urging Iran to abide by the agreement and "refrain from escalatory steps." (Associated Press)

06-26-2019
Anti-Americanism

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled out any negotiations with Washington and said that only the threat of military force provides protection from American domination.

In his first public comments since President Trump aborted an imminent attack on Iran last week, its top leader on Wednesday ruled out any negotiations with Washington and said that only the threat of military force provides protection from American domination. “Negotiation is an effort to deceive into doing what the U.S. desires,” said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the English translation on his official website. “It is like you hold a weapon, so the other side does not dare come close,” the ayatollah said, and then the Americans order Iran to drop the weapon “so I can do whatever I want to you.” “This is what they mean by negotiation,” he said. “If you accept their request, you will suffer the worst things, and if you don’t accept it, you will face the huff and puff and their hassles over human rights excuses.” (New York Times)

06-24-2019
Terrorism

Iran is setting up a network of terror cells in Africa to attack US and other Western targets in retaliation for Washington’s decision to impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Western security officials.

Iran is setting up a network of terror cells in Africa to attack US and other Western targets in retaliation for Washington’s decision to impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Western security officials. The new terror network has been established on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds Force, the elite section of Iran’s Republican Guard Corps that has responsibility for overseas operations. The aim of the new terror cell is to target US and other Western military bases on the continent, as well as embassies and officials. The Iranian cells are said to be active in a number of African countries including Sudan, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Gambia and the Central African Republic. (Telegraph)

06-23-2019
Syria Conflict

One person was killed and seven others were wounded in an attack by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels on a Saudi airport, Saudi Arabia said.

One person was killed and seven others were wounded on Sunday in an attack by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels on a Saudi airport, Saudi Arabia said. The strike came as the American secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, traveled to the country for talks on Iran. … Sunday’s attack by the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, targeted the Saudi airport in Abha. Saudi Arabia has been at war with the Houthis in Yemen for more than four years. A Houthi spokesman, Yahia al-Sarie, said earlier Sunday that the rebels had launched drones against Saudi airports in the southern cities of Abha and Jizan. Saudi Arabia’s military spokesman, Col. Turki al-Maliki, did not say what type of weapon was used in the attack late Sunday. The Saudi Press Agency reported that a Syrian resident of Saudi Arabia had been killed, but did not identify the nationalities of those wounded. (Associated Press)

06-21-2019
Terrorism

A multinational task force said it is keeping Iran on a financial blacklist for failing to take action to head off funds flowing to terrorists.

A multinational task force said Friday it is keeping Iran on a financial blacklist for failing to take action to head off funds flowing to terrorists. The 38-nation Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said it will require more onerous financial oversight if Tehran fails to meet an October deadline for improving its controls. "The FATF expects Iran to proceed swiftly in the reform path to ensure that it addresses all of the remaining items," according to the statement, while welcoming "high-level political commitment" to repair the deficiencies. (AFP)

06-20-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran shot down a United States military drone, further escalating the already volatile situation playing out between Washington and Tehran in the Middle East.

Iran shot down a United States military drone on Thursday, further escalating the already volatile situation playing out between Washington and Tehran in the Middle East. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had shot down an "intruding American spy drone" after it entered into the country's territory Thursday. A US official confirmed to CNN a drone had been shot down, but said the incident occurred in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping routes. The location of the drone has become a key point of contention since the incident. Iran maintains that the US aircraft was downed in Iranian territory, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeting a timeline of the incident later on Thursday. "At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode & violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25°59'43"N 57°02'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak," he wrote. The United States countered with its own coordinates, suggesting that the drone had been flying in international airspace when it was shot down, at a point about nine nautical miles southwest of that cited by Iran. (CNN)

06-20-2019
Terrorism

Three different cybersecurity firms now say they've watched Iran's hackers try to gain access to a wide array of US organizations.

WHEN TWO COUNTRIES begin to threaten war in 2019, it's a safe bet that they've already been hacking each other's networks. Right on schedule, three different cybersecurity firms now say they've watched Iran's hackers try to gain access to a wide array of US organizations over the past few weeks, just as military tensions between the two countries rise to a breaking point—though it's not yet clear whether those hacker intrusions are aimed at intelligence gathering, laying the groundwork for a more disruptive cyberattack, or both. Analysts at two security firms, Crowdstrike and Dragos, tell WIRED that they've seen a new campaign of targeted phishing emails sent to a variety of US targets last week from a hacker group known by the names APT33, Magnallium, or Refined Kitten and widely believed to be working in the service of the Iranian government. Dragos named the Department of Energy and US national labs as some of the half-dozen targeted organizations. A third security firm, FireEye, independently confirmed that it's seen a broad Iranian phishing campaign targeting both government agencies and private sector companies in the US and Europe, without naming APT33 specifically. None of the companies had any knowledge of successful intrusions. (Wired)

06-17-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran said that its stockpile of enriched uranium will surpass limits set by the 2015 international nuclear deal 10 days from now, unless European partners in the agreement do more to help it circumvent U.S. sanctions.

Iran said Monday that its stockpile of enriched uranium will surpass limits set by the 2015 international nuclear deal 10 days from now, unless European partners in the agreement do more to help it circumvent U.S. sanctions — a step by Tehran likely to add to growing U.S.-Iran tensions. The announcement, made by the spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was the first time Tehran explicitly said it was on track to violate the agreement. The increase in both quantity and quality of the enriched fuel could shorten the time, currently estimated at one year, that it would take to produce enough for a nuclear weapon. “There is still time for the European countries, but if they want more time it means that they either can’t or don’t want to honor their obligations” under the deal, spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told reporters gathered at Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor. (Washington Post)

06-16-2019
Syria Conflict

Houthi rebels in Yemen recently shot down a U.S. government-operated drone with assistance from Iran, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Houthi rebels in Yemen recently shot down a U.S. government-operated drone with assistance from Iran, the U.S. military said in a statement on Sunday. Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said the altitude at which the MQ-9 drone was shot down on June 6 marked “an improvement over previous Houthi capability,” a fact that led the military to conclude the rebel group had help from Iran. Brown also noted that on June 13, Iran separately tried to shoot down yet another U.S. drone over the Gulf of Oman in an effort to disrupt surveillance of Iran’s attack on Kokuka Courageous, one of two oil tankers attacked on Thursday. (Reuters)

06-15-2019
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Houthi movement launched fresh drone attacks targeting Jizan and Abha airports in southern Saudi Arabia, the group’s Al-Masirah TV said, adding the installations were out of service.

Yemen’s Houthi movement launched fresh drone attacks targeting Jizan and Abha airports in southern Saudi Arabia, the group’s Al-Masirah TV said on Saturday, adding the installations were out of service. The Saudi-led coalition said in a statement that it had intercepted and downed a Houthi drone targeting the southwestern city of Abha. The Iran-aligned group said multiple drone strike targeted control rooms at Jizan airport and a fuel station at Abha airport. (Reuters)

06-13-2019
Human Rights

Workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane plant say the judicial authorities in Tehran are incessantly harassing their imprisoned co-workers and their relatives.

Workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane plant say the judicial authorities in Tehran are incessantly harassing their imprisoned co-workers and their relatives. Speaking to Radio Farda, a Haft Tappeh worker disclosed that following the referral of legal cases against his peers to the capital city, and placing detained workers behind bars in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, it has become increasingly difficult for family members to visit them from from the oil-rich Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. Thousands of Haft Tappeh workers held massive protests last November, demanding long overdue wages and the return of the agro-industrial complex’s ownership to the public sector. (Radio Farda)

06-13-2019
Syria Conflict

The U.S. blamed Iran for attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, saying the assaults were the latest in a series of hostile actions meant to disrupt the flow of oil.

The U.S. blamed Iran for attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, saying the assaults were the latest in a series of hostile actions meant to disrupt the flow of oil. “Taken as a whole, these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, vowing the U.S. would defend itself and its partners. The flare-up is the latest since President Trump’s decision last year to pull out of a 2015 international deal to cap Iran’s nuclear program. Four tankers were attacked last month in the Gulf of Oman, an incident the U.S. also blamed on Iran. (Wall Street Journal)

06-12-2019
Human Rights

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese man and permanent U.S. resident who was recently released from an Iranian prison, said he was subjected to "all kinds of torture," both physical and mental, during his detention in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

A Lebanese man and permanent U.S. resident who was released after spending years in an Iranian prison called on President Donald Trump and Western countries to "please get back your hostages from Iran," adding that he saw American detainees during his nearly four-year imprisonment. In an interview with The Associated Press, Nizar Zakka said he was subjected to "all kinds of torture," both physical and mental, during his detention in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, including standing on one leg for hours, extended periods of interrogation and lack of food. "Nobody on earth deserves such suffering," he said in the 30-minute emotional interview during which he broke down in tears at one point. (Associated Press)

06-12-2019
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia has said it will carry out urgent reprisals as it accused Iran of being behind a late-night cruise missile attack by Houthi rebel fighters on a Saudi international airport that injured 26 people.

Saudi Arabia has said it will carry out urgent reprisals as it accused Iran of being behind a late-night cruise missile attack by Houthi rebel fighters on a Saudi international airport that injured 26 people. The Saudi foreign ministry said the Command of Joint Forces of the Coalition promised it “will take urgent and timely measures to deter these Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias”. The attack on Abha airport was condemned across the Middle East and by the US defence department. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which has been fighting a four-year civil war against the Houthi rebels, claimed the missile directed at the airport had been supplied by Iran, even claiming Iranian experts were present at the missile’s launch. (The Guardian)

06-11-2019
Human Rights

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday cited "moral principles" when asked why Iran executes homosexuals for their sexual orientation, as he also attacked the US and Israel for "violating human rights."

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday cited "moral principles" when asked why Iran executes homosexuals for their sexual orientation, as he also attacked the US and Israel for "violating human rights." At a press conference in the Iranian capital with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, Zarif was asked by Bild reporter Paul Ronzheimer about the death penalty for gay people in the Middle Eastern country. "Our society has moral principles, and according to these principles we live," Zarif responded. "These are moral principles regarding the behavior of people in general. And that's because the law is upheld and you abide by laws." (Business Insider)

06-10-2019
Military

Iran said that it had unveiled a new domestically produced air defense system, called the Khordad 15 and inaugurated by Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

Iran said Sunday that it had unveiled a new domestically produced air defense system, called the Khordad 15 and inaugurated by Defense Minister Amir Hatami. It is named for a protest in 1963 against the arrest of Ayatollah Khomeini. This is the latest in a series of local Iranian military endeavors, including new ships, missiles and drones that the country boasts to have built. The new defense system supposedly can intercept up to six “incoming hostile targets simultaneously,” according to Iranian state media. Hatami said the system can detect targets up to 85 km. away and hit them at distances up to 45 km. It uses a Sayyad 3 missile, Press TV reported. According to Tasnim News, it is under the command of Alireza Sabahifard, head of Iran’s air defense systems. Iran previously was using a system linked to the S-200, which is antiquated but which Iran upgraded in 2013. (Jerusalem Post)

06-10-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, warned the U.S. that it “cannot expect to stay safe” after launching what he described as an economic war against Tehran, taking a hard-line stance amid a visit by Germany’s top diplomat.

Iran’s foreign minister warned the U.S. on Monday that it “cannot expect to stay safe” after launching what he described as an economic war against Tehran, taking a hard-line stance amid a visit by Germany’s top diplomat seeking to defuse tensions. A stern-faced Mohammad Javad Zarif offered a series of threats over the ongoing tensions gripping the Persian Gulf. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trump’s decision over a year ago to withdraw America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Trump also reinstated tough sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil sector. “Mr. Trump himself has announced that the U.S. has launched an economic war against Iran,” Zarif said. “The only solution for reducing tensions in this region is stopping that economic war.” Zarif also warned: “Whoever starts a war with us will not be the one who finishes it.” (Associated Press)

06-10-2019
Nuclear Program

International inspectors said on Monday that Iran was ramping up its production of nuclear fuel, following through on a threat to begin walking away from restrictions agreed to in a 2015 nuclear accord that President Trump has abandoned.

International inspectors said on Monday that Iran was ramping up its production of nuclear fuel, following through on a threat to begin walking away from restrictions agreed to in a 2015 nuclear accord that President Trump has abandoned. The announcement of Iran’s actions came from Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is responsible for verifying Iran’s compliance with its obligations under the 2015 deal negotiated by the Obama administration. “Yes, production rate is increasing,” he said at a news conference in Vienna, in response to a question about whether Iran was enforcing orders President Hassan Rouhani issued last month. The fuel in question is low-enriched uranium, used in nuclear power plants. It would have to be further enriched to be used in a weapon. (New York Times)

06-05-2019
Nuclear Program

A former deputy head of the UN’s atomic watchdog, Olli Heinonen, said that Iran is capable of producing enough enriched uranium a nuclear bomb in six to eight months.

A former deputy head of the UN’s atomic watchdog said Wednesday that Iran is capable of producing enough enriched uranium a nuclear bomb in six to eight months. In an interview with Israel’s Army Radio, Olli Heinonen said that Israel and the Gulf states “have a reason to worry.” Heinonen said that despite assertions to the contrary by the current leadership of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, which he left in 2010, Tehran has not been adhering to the 2015 nuclear deal. “Iran is actually weaponizing uranium enrichment without making a weapon,” he claimed. (Times of Israel)

06-05-2019
Extremism

Iran’s supreme leader accused Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries of betraying the Palestinians by cooperating with the U.S. and Israel.

Iran’s supreme leader accused Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries of betraying the Palestinians by cooperating with the U.S. and Israel, in an attempt to rally regional supporters and raise the stakes for the Trump administration’s long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the Arab countries were committing “a big treason to the Islamic world” by supporting the U.S.’s so-called deal of the century. His remarks were an attempt to place Iran at the helm of the Palestinian cause, an emotive issue that continues to resonate across the Middle East, as part of Tehran’s bid for regional leadership and amid growing tensions with Washington and Arab rivals. (Wall Street Journal)

06-03-2019
Human Rights

An Iranian lawyer, Amir Salar Davoudi, has been jailed for 30 years after setting up a channel on the popular social media platform Telegram, highlighting human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic.

An Iranian lawyer has been jailed for 30 years after setting up a channel on the popular social media platform Telegram, highlighting human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. Amir Salar Davoudi was convicted by a revolutionary court for “propaganda against the state” and “insulting officials” and is set to be flogged 111 times. According to his lawyer Vahid Farahani, Davoudi was also accused of “collaborating with an enemy state” after giving an interview to Voice of America Persian-language television. (VOA)

06-02-2019
Anti-Americanism

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened that U.S. military personnel and warships in the region are within the range of Iranian missiles.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened that U.S. military personnel and warships in the region are within the range of Iranian missiles. … Rahim Safavi, a former commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who is currently Khamenei's top military adviser, told IRGC-linked Fars news agency on Sunday that "The United States has more than 25 military bases in the region where over 20,000 U.S. military personnel are based."

06-01-2019
Anti-Americanism

Hezbollah's leader warned the United States against striking Iran, saying if it does "the entire region will burn."

Hezbollah's leader warned the United States against striking Iran, saying if it does "the entire region will burn." US President Donald Trump "knows that when the region is on fire, a barrel of oil will be $200 or $300," Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, said Friday during a televised speech. "The US knows well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran's borders. The entire region will burn, leading to all US forces and interests in the region to be annihilated." (CNN)

05-30-2019
Terrorism

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar thanked Iran for providing his terror group the rockets it used to strike deep into Israel and warned the Jewish state that Tel Aviv would be struck again in response to any offensive against the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday thanked Iran for providing his terror group the rockets it used to strike deep into Israel and warned the Jewish state that Tel Aviv would be struck again in response to any offensive against the Gaza Strip. “Iran provided us with rockets, and we surprised the world when our resistance targeted Beersheba,” Sinwar said in a live TV address, referring to the weekend of violence at the beginning of the month, during which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired nearly 700 rockets at Israel. “Had it not been for Iran, the resistance in Palestine would not have possessed its current capabilities,” Sinwar said. (Times of Israel)

05-29-2019
Anti-Americanism

A network of fake social media accounts impersonated political candidates and journalists to spread messages in support of Iran and against U.S. President Donald Trump around the 2018 congressional elections, cybersecurity firm FireEye said.

A network of fake social media accounts impersonated political candidates and journalists to spread messages in support of Iran and against U.S. President Donald Trump around the 2018 congressional elections, cybersecurity firm FireEye said on Tuesday. The findings show how unidentified, possibly government-backed, groups could manipulate social media platforms to promote stories and other content that can influence the opinions of American voters, the researchers said. This particular operation was largely focused on promoting “anti-Saudi, anti-Israeli, and pro-Palestinian themes,” according to the report by FireEye. (Reuters)

05-25-2019
Syria Conflict

American military officials said Friday that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is directly responsible for attacks on tankers off the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.

American military officials said Friday that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is directly responsible for attacks on tankers off the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. The officials said the attacks were part of a “campaign” by the Iranian regime that prompted the U.S. to deploy additional troops to the Middle East. “The attack against the shipping in Fujairah we attribute it to the IRGC,” said Rear Admiral Michael Gilday, the director of the Joint Staff. He added that the Pentagon attributed limpet mines used in the attack to the IRGC. He declined to describe “the means of delivery” of the mines. (Fox News)

05-23-2019
Politics

Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has openly shrugged off responsibility for the nuclear agreement Iran concluded with world powers in 2015.

Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has openly shrugged off responsibility for the nuclear agreement Iran concluded with world powers in 2015. Khamenei, who was speaking to hand-picked representatives of Iranian students on Wednesday, May 22, expressed his dissatisfaction with the way President Hassan Rouhani and his team handled the nuclear deal also known as JCPOA. He insisted that "I did not believe in the way the JCPOA was done, and I have made this clear to the president and the foreign minister on many occasions." Referring to a letter he sent to President Rouhani on October 21, 2015, Khamenei noted, "Read my letter regarding the JCPOA and the conditions set for its ratification. But, if these conditions were not met, it is not the Leader’s responsibility to intervene." (Radio Farda)

05-23-2019
Syria Conflict

New satellite images indicate Iran is building a border crossing at the Syrian-Iraqi border, which would open up a coveted land route from Iran to Lebanon, according to Western intelligence sources.

New satellite images indicate Iran is building a border crossing at the Syrian-Iraqi border, which would open up a coveted land route from Iran to Lebanon, according to Western intelligence sources. The images, obtained exclusively by Fox News and captured earlier this week, show a new construction in the Albukamal Al-Qaim crossing. The area is under the control of Pro-Iranian Shiite militias. Last summer, Iran increased its presence in the area. According to analysts for ISI, which captures satellite data, the existing border crossing is still closed and destroyed, and the Iranians have put a lot of effort and resources into building the new one. The border crossing would enable Iran to maintain land access in Syria, Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. Regional and western sources said the Iranians are planning to use this new route for smuggling operations, including trafficking weapons and oil, to avoid the looming U.S. sanctions. Without Syrian or Iraqi supervision, Iran and its allies would have an unprecedented advantage in transferring whatever they wish, experts say. (Fox News)

05-22-2019
Extremism

Iran’s youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in comments published on his official website.

Iran’s youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday in comments published on his official website. “You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel,” Khamenei said in a meeting with students. He gave no further details. (Reuters)

05-21-2019
Syria Conflict

Air defense crews raced to action in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Najran Tuesday night to intercept an attack from Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels as tensions remain high between Tehran and the United States.

Air defense crews raced to action in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Najran Tuesday night to intercept an attack from Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels as tensions remain high between Tehran and the United States. The attack on Najran, about 10 miles north of the Saudi border with Yemen, was carried out by one Qasef K-2 drone armed with an explosive warhead and targeted a Saudi airport and military facility, the Houthi news outlet Al Masirah said. The broadcaster added that the drone struck an "arms depot," causing a fire. Najran has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began four years ago. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading a Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim states seeking to restore the internationally recognized government ousted from power in Yemen by the Houthis in late 2014. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (ABC News)

05-20-2019
Syria Conflict

A rocket hit the Green Zone in Baghdad, home to Iraqi government offices and those of other foreign governments, where tensions were already high amid a standoff with Iran.

A rocket hit the Green Zone in Baghdad on Sunday night, home to Iraqi government offices and those of other foreign governments, where tensions were already high amid a standoff with Iran. No one was hurt, said Gen. Yahya Rasool of the Baghdad Joint Command, which includes American and Iraqi forces. He confirmed that a Katyusha rocket had landed in the heavily fortified zone and said it had been fired from across the Tigris River. The American Embassy said that there was no damage to American facilities and that no one had claimed responsibility. (New York Times)

05-20-2019
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia said that it had intercepted two missiles in Mecca province fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who earlier denied having targeted Islam’s holiest site.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it had intercepted two missiles in Mecca province fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who earlier denied having targeted Islam’s holiest site. The foiled strike comes at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Gulf Arab states and a roughly four-year conflict in Yemen largely seen as a proxy war between the two sides. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading a Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim states that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government ousted from power in Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014. A Saudi coalition spokesman said, “Royal Saudi Defence Forces spotted aerial targets flying through restricted areas in the provinces of Jeddah and Taif and dealt with them as required by the situation,” according to Saudi’s state news agency SPA. (Reuters)

05-20-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran is ramping up its uranium output, a provocative step that threatens to further inflame simmering tensions with the United States and deepen regional conflict following a series of dangerous escalations in the Middle East.

Iran is ramping up its uranium output, a provocative step that threatens to further inflame simmering tensions with the United States and deepen regional conflict following a series of dangerous escalations in the Middle East. Iranian production of low-enriched uranium has recently increased fourfold, putting the nation on a path to exceed limits on nuclear materials set out in a 2015 agreement with world powers, a spokesperson for Iran’s atomic energy agency told Iranian news outlets on Monday. The supplies in question are not enriched to a level suitable for weapons development. Still, the increased output threatens to further erode the Iran nuclear deal and destabilize a region that provides much of the world’s energy supply. (CNBC)

05-17-2019
Syria Conflict

A U.S. assessment determined it is "highly likely" that Iran was behind the attacks on four tankers last weekend, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the findings.

A U.S. assessment determined it is "highly likely" that Iran was behind the attacks on four tankers last weekend, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the findings. The U.S. has evidence, including photos of the damage and forensics, tying Iran or its proxies to the Sunday attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, one of the officials said. The four ships — two from Saudi Arabia and one each from the UAE and Norway — were struck with what is now believed to be explosive charges, the officials said. (NBC News)

05-17-2019
Anti-Americanism

A top Republican lawmaker said that the threat from Iran picked up by U.S. intelligence was very specific and involved the possible kidnapping and killing of American soldiers.

A top Republican lawmaker said Friday that the threat from Iran picked up by U.S. intelligence – which sparked a U.S. military deployment to the Middle East and heightened tensions across the region – was very specific and involved the possible kidnapping and killing of American soldiers. "To the extent I can discuss it, it was human intelligence," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told USA TODAY on Friday. He was referring to intelligence information that prompted the Pentagon to deploy an aircraft carrier, along with B-52 bombers and other military forces, to the Middle East. Trump administration officials said the move was made to counter what they described as credible threats from Iran to U.S. forces in the region. (USA Today)

05-16-2019
Terrorism

A former Uggs salesman with a rocky marriage has been found guilty of working as a “sleeper” agent for an arm of Hezbollah while living in the Bronx — helping the terror group prepare for attacks on New York City.

A former Uggs salesman with a rocky marriage has been found guilty of working as a “sleeper” agent for an arm of Hezbollah while living in the Bronx — helping the terror group prepare for attacks on New York City. After less than a day of deliberations, a Manhattan federal jury found Bronx resident Ali Kourani, 34, guilty on eight counts that included providing support to Hezbollah, which carries up to life in prison. Kourani, looking business casual in a rumpled white dress shirt and dark pants, sat motionless as the jury of eight women and four men rendered its verdict following a weeklong trial. He was hauled in on the charges in 2017 after he spilled his guts to the feds with hopes of becoming an informant — rather than a convicted felon facing a potential life sentence. (New York Post)

05-16-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran’s most prominent military leader, Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, has recently met Iraqi militias in Baghdad and told them to “prepare for proxy war”, the Guardian has learned.

Iran’s most prominent military leader has recently met Iraqi militias in Baghdad and told them to “prepare for proxy war”, the Guardian has learned. Two senior intelligence sources said that Qassem Suleimani, leader of Iran’s powerful Quds force, summoned the militias under Tehran’s influence three weeks ago, amid a heightened state of tension in the region. The move to mobilise Iran’s regional allies is understood to have triggered fears in the US that Washington’s interests in the Middle East are facing a pressing threat. The UK raised its threat levels for British troops in Iraq on Thursday. While Suleimani has met regularly with leaders of Iraq’s myriad Shia groups over the past five years, the nature and tone of this gathering was different. “It wasn’t quite a call to arms, but it wasn’t far off,” one source said. (The Guardian)

05-15-2019
Extremism

Iran’s military commanders said the Islamic Republic was on the verge of an all-out confrontation with its enemies and was ready to counter any threat.

Iran’s military commanders said on Wednesday the Islamic Republic was on the verge of an all-out confrontation with its enemies and was ready to counter any threat. “Iran has the highest level of defense-military preparedness to confront any type of threat and excessive demands,” Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). He said Iran would defeat an American and Israeli alliance. … The commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said: “We are on the cusp of a full-scale confrontation with the enemy,” the Fars news agency reported. (Reuters)

05-14-2019
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been damaged in an act of sabotage, ratcheting up tensions in the region.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been damaged in an act of sabotage, ratcheting up tensions in the region. A Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdul Salam, claimed responsibility for the drone strikes on Twitter, saying that they were a response to Saudi “aggression” and “genocide” in Yemen. Although the Houthis are backed by Iran, it was unclear whether the attacks were related to increasing tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf. (New York Times)

05-13-2019
Syria Conflict

An initial U.S. assessment indicated Iran likely was behind the attack on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers and two other vessels damaged over the weekend near the Strait of Hormuz.

An initial U.S. assessment indicated Iran likely was behind the attack on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers and two other vessels damaged over the weekend near the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said, a finding that, if confirmed, would further inflame military tensions in the Persian Gulf. The assessment, while not conclusive, was the first suggestion by any nation that Iran was responsible for the attack and comes after a series of U.S. warnings against aggression by Iran or its allies and proxies against military or commercial vessels in the region. The U.S. official, who declined to be identified, didn’t offer details about what led to the assessment or its implications for a possible U.S. response. The U.S. has said in the past week that it was sending an aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, a bomber task force and an antimissile system to the region after it alleged intelligence showed Iran posed a threat to its troops. (Wall Street Journal)

05-09-2019
Syria Conflict

The U.S. decision to surge additional military forces into the Middle East was based on intelligence that the Iranian regime has told some of its proxy forces and surrogates that they can now go after American military personnel and assets in the region.

The U.S. decision to surge additional military forces into the Middle East was based in part on intelligence that the Iranian regime has told some of its proxy forces and surrogates that they can now go after American military personnel and assets in the region, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence. The intelligence shows that an Iranian official discussed activating Iranian-backed groups to target Americans, but did not mention targeting the militaries of other nations, the officials said. Among the specific threats the U.S. military is now tracking, officials say, are possible missile attacks by Iranian dhows, or small ships, in the Persian Gulf; attacks in Iraq by Iranian-trained Shiite militia groups; and attacks against U.S. ships by the Houthi rebels in Yemen. (NBC News)

05-08-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran threatened to enrich its uranium stockpile closer to weapons-grade levels in 60 days if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for its 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran threatened Wednesday to enrich its uranium stockpile closer to weapons-grade levels in 60 days if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for its 2015 nuclear deal, raising regional tensions as a U.S. aircraft carrier and bombers headed to the Middle East to confront Tehran. A televised address by President Hassan Rouhani, who once pledged that the landmark deal would draw Iran closer to the West, saw the cleric instead pressure Europe to shield Tehran from the sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the agreement exactly a year earlier. Rouhani’s threats put the world on notice that it cannot continue to rely on Iran complying with terms of the unraveling deal in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, a U.S. campaign of sanctions hammering Iran’s anemic economy and blocking its sale of oil on the global market is only making life worse, putting further pressure on both its Shiite theocracy and its 80 million people. (Associated Press)

05-02-2019
Terrorism

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed Thursday his Iran-backed terror group would “annihilate and destroy” the Israeli military if the latter entered Lebanon in a future war.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed Thursday his Iran-backed terror group would “annihilate and destroy” the Israeli military if the latter entered Lebanon in a future war. “Israel wants a war? Let it go to war. The Israeli units and brigades that dare to enter southern Lebanon will be annihilated and destroyed on live television before the whole world,” he said, according to multiple media reports in Israel and Lebanon. The taunts are typical of the Lebanese terror group leader, whose organization faced its last war with Israel in 2006. (Times of Israel)

05-02-2019
Human Rights

The US and human rights groups have expressed outrage over reports that Iran has executed two 17-year-old boys, who were 15 when they were convicted in 2017 on multiple rape charges, after what activists said was an unfair trial.

The US and human rights groups have expressed outrage over reports that Iran has executed two 17-year-old boys. Mehdi Sohrabifar and Amin Sedaghat were 15 when they were convicted in 2017 on multiple rape charges, after what activists said was an unfair trial. They are believed to have been moved from a juvenile facility to a prison a day before their deaths last Thursday. Iranian authorities reportedly did not inform the boys' families or lawyers that they had been sentenced to death. (BBC)

05-02-2019
Human Rights

Iranian authorities violently dispersed gatherings of independent Iranian labor organizations and arrested dozens of activists who were protesting in association with International Workers’ Day (May Day).

Iranian authorities violently dispersed gatherings of independent Iranian labor organizations and arrested dozens of activists who were protesting in association with International Workers’ Day (May Day). According to the labor organizations involved, dozens of people have been arrested so far. Protesters gathered May 1 in front of Iran’s parliament building, where a number of well-known protesters — including Reza Shahabi, Kayvan Samimi, Hassan Saedi, Vahid Fereydouni and Mohammad Ali Eslaghi — were arrested. Teachers, retirees and students also joined the protests. According to fliers calling for the protests, some of the issues were “instability in the labor force, low and delayed wages, privatization, unsuccessful businesses, and pressure on independent unions and activists.” A previous labor protest April 26 in Tehran was also violently dispersed by security forces and led to the arrests of activists and organizers. While most of the individuals who were arrested from that protest were released the same day, three individuals remain in custody. (Al-Monitor)

04-30-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed a bill into law declaring all U.S. forces in the Middle East terrorists and calling the U.S. government a sponsor of terrorism.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed a bill into law on Tuesday declaring all U.S. forces in the Middle East terrorists and calling the U.S. government a sponsor of terrorism. The bill was passed by parliament last week in retaliation for President Donald Trump's decision this month to designate Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organization. It was not clear what the impact of the new Iranian law might have on U.S. forces or their Middle East operations. (VOA)

04-23-2019
Military

Iran will increase naval ties with China in the Northern Indian Ocean, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi told his Chinese counterpart, saying it would accelerate the withdrawal of other countries from the region.

Iran will increase naval ties with China in the Northern Indian Ocean, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi told his Chinese counterpart, saying it would accelerate the withdrawal of other countries from the region. “Given the strategic geopolitical situation (of both states), today, we are witnessing a leap in marine civilization in the Pacific Ocean by China and Northern Indian Ocean by Islamic Iran, which will force the arrogant powers to leave our naval zones and the regional powers will certainly fill the security vacuum and there will be no need to foreigners’ presence,” Rear Admiral Khanzadi was quoted as saying in China on Monday, by Iran’s Fars News. Before leaving Tehran, Khanzadi – who is in China to attend the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy – said that the main goal of the trip was to develop interaction and contact between the two navies. (Jerusalem Post)

04-18-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on countries across the Middle East to unite against the United States during an address at an Army Day parade in Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on countries across the Middle East to unite against the United States during an address at an Army Day parade in Tehran. Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday, Rouhani also urged neighbouring countries to "drive back Zionism", saying the US and its ally Israel were the root cause of the region's problems. He added that Iran's armed forces were not a threat against any regional country. (Al Jazeera)

04-15-2019
Syria Conflict

Satellite images released by the Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) showed the complete destruction of a possible Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in Syria’s Masyaf District, allegedly struck by Israel.

Satellite images released by the Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) on Sunday showed the complete destruction of a possible Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in Syria’s Masyaf District, allegedly struck by Israel on Saturday. “The main industrial structures were completely destroyed, including the main hangar and the adjacent three production hangers and buildings. The rest of the structures were affected and damaged by the blast,” ISI said, adding that they “assess that all the elements and/or equip-ment which were inside are completely destroyed as well.” According to ISI, “if the bombed site was indeed a missile factory, it could allow for the produc-tion and assembly of different SSM [surface-to-surface missile] elements or for improving the accuracy of missiles.” (Jerusalem Post)

04-10-2019
Nuclear Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened the U.S. with unveiling more advanced centrifuges after Washington designated Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization”.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened the U.S. with unveiling more advanced centrifuges after Washington designated Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization”. Speaking on April 9 at the ceremony for 13th National Day of Nuclear Technology in Iran, Rouhani addressed Washington, saying, "You were afraid of IR1 centrifuges, today we unveiled IR6, and if you continue to walk down this road, you will see cascades of IR8 in the near future." Rouhani went even further, highlighting the threat by praising Tehran's missile power. "If you want to limit Iran’s military power, you know that we have developed missiles since last year that you wouldn’t even imagine," he said. (Radio Farda)

04-09-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian lawmakers dressed in paramilitary uniforms chanted “Death to America” as they convened for an open session of parliament after the White House designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organization.

Iranian lawmakers dressed in paramilitary uniforms chanted “Death to America” as they convened Tuesday for an open session of parliament after the White House designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organization. President Hassan Rouhani declared that the force’s popularity would only surge in the wake of the designation, saying guard members would be dearer “than any other time in the hearts of Iranian nation.” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the guard and said America’s “evil designs would not harm” the force. (Associated Press)

04-04-2019
Human Rights

Exiled Iranian opposition activists say Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired on protesters who tried to stop it from diverting floodwaters in a southwestern town, resulting in a protester's death.

Exiled Iranian opposition activists say Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired on protesters who tried to stop it from diverting floodwaters in a southwestern town, resulting in a protester's death. The activists said the protester died after being shot by IRGC forces in Wednesday's predawn confrontation in the Dasht-e-Azadegan district of Khuzestan province. They said minority Iranian Arab residents of the area, also known as Ahwazis, were trying to stop the IRGC from destroying a dyke and diverting floodwaters into their farmland. The Iran National Council for Free Elections opposition group said the IRCG forces wanted to divert floodwaters to prevent them from entering IRCG-controlled oil installations in the neighboring town of Susangerd. In a Wednesday Instagram post, the group said one protester was killed and several were wounded by IRGC fire. (VOA)

04-04-2019
Nuclear Program

The United Nations’ atomic agency has heeded calls by the U.S. and Israel to inspect a site that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed last fall was housing Iranian nuclear equipment and material.

The United Nations’ atomic agency has heeded calls by the U.S. and Israel to inspect a site that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed last fall was housing Iranian nuclear equipment and material, according to officials familiar with the agency’s work. But the visit may have come too late to yield proof of the claims. The International Atomic Energy Agency first sent a team of inspectors to the site, which is in Tehran, in February, according to the officials. The agency’s staff took a series of environmental samples that are currently being analyzed, they said. It isn’t clear when the IAEA first asked for access to the site. The tests theoretically could show the presence of nuclear material at the site. But experts say that given the amount of time that has elapsed and the likely removal of equipment, it will be hard to clearly identify whether the Israeli claims are true. (Wall Street Journal)

04-03-2019
Terrorism

Britain’s Sky News says U.S.-based cybersecurity experts have found that a group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has carried out two cyberattacks on British institutions in recent years.

Britain’s Sky News says U.S.-based cybersecurity experts have found that a group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has carried out two cyberattacks on British institutions in recent years. A Wednesday report by the British news agency said the California-based cyber experts, whom it did not identify, determined that a suspected IRGC-linked group was behind a previously undisclosed attack on British public and private entities on Dec. 23, 2018, and a previously reported attack on the British parliament’s email network on June 23, 2017. Sky News said it passed the California cyber experts’ findings to British security services, who declined to publicly confirm Iran’s involvement in the two incidents. But the London-based news agency, whose report was cited by several other British news outlets, said four unnamed “security sources” believed the allegations of Iranian involvement to be accurate. (VOA)

03-27-2019
Terrorism

Microsoft took control of 99 websites that it said Iranian hackers had used to try to steal sensitive information from targets in the United States, according to unsealed court documents.

Microsoft took control of 99 websites that it said Iranian hackers had used to try to steal sensitive information from targets in the United States, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. By taking over the sites, Microsoft can stop future cyberattacks and monitor how previously infected computers were compromised, the company said. The hackers “specifically directed” their attacks on people in Washington, Microsoft said in the filing. The hacking group typically has targeted the personal email accounts of people working in both the public and private sectors, including dissidents and workers in government agencies, Microsoft said in court documents. (New York Times)

03-26-2019
Syria Conflict

The U.S. blacklisted members of what officials said was a “vast network” operating in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that helped Iran exchange over $1 billion in currency to finance Iranian military operations throughout the region.

The U.S. blacklisted members of what officials said was a “vast network” operating in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that helped Iran exchange over $1 billion in currency to finance Iranian military operations throughout the region. The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that more than two dozen sanctioned currency-exchange houses, trading companies and officials helped Iran’s military exchange Iranian rials into euros and U.S. dollars. The U.S. sanctions highlight a financing strategy that intelligence analysts say is being widely employed to help Iran counter the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Tehran. (Wall Street Journal)

03-26-2019
Syria Conflict

In Islamic State’s former eastern Syrian stronghold, the Islamic Republic of Iran is parlaying its military and economic might into a lasting foothold.

In Islamic State’s former eastern Syrian stronghold, the Islamic Republic of Iran is parlaying its military and economic might into a lasting foothold. On the heels of an Iranian military intervention that has helped bring President Bashar al-Assad to the edge of victory in Syria’s eight-year-long war, Tehran is moving to cement its long-term influence in Syria by cultivating goodwill and winning converts to the Shiite Muslim sect. To Syrians battered by war, Iran is offering cash, food, Iranian ID cards, public services and free education. Iran’s hearts-and-minds campaign undermines efforts by the U.S., Israel and Arab states to roll back Tehran’s influence and force it out of Syria. (Wall Street Journal)

03-21-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran is determined to boost its defense capabilities despite mounting pressure from the United States and its allies to curb its ballistic missile program, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

Iran is determined to boost its defense capabilities despite mounting pressure from the United States and its allies to curb its ballistic missile program, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday. “We need to take Iran to a point that enemy understand that they cannot threaten Iran ... America’s sanctions will make Iran self-sufficient,” Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state TV. “They have always stabbed Iran in the back ... The Western countries have proved they cannot be trusted,” he said in the speech in the holy Shi’ite city of Mashhad. “This mechanism set by the Europeans is like a bitter joke,” Khamenei said, referring to a channel opened by the European signatories of the deal for non-dollar trade with Iran to get around the U.S. sanction. (Reuters)

03-18-2019
Extremism

Iran’s president urged Iranians to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterating his long-standing charge that the U.S. and its allies are responsible for the country’s ailing economy.

Iran’s president on Monday urged Iranians to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterating his long-standing charge that the U.S. and its allies are responsible for the country’s ailing economy. President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks were meant to deflect criticism of his administration’s performance amid a spiraling economy after President Donald Trump last year pulled America out of the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, targeting Iran’s vital oil sector. “Put all your curses on those who created the current situation,” Rouhani urged Iranians, adding that “the United States, the Zionists” and Saudi Arabia were to blame. He didn’t say what kind of curses the Iranians should invoke. (AP)

03-18-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran and Syria demanded the United States withdraw its troops from Syria, and the Damascus government threatened U.S.-backed Kurdish forces with military defeat if they did not agree a return of state authority.

Iran and Syria on Monday demanded the United States withdraw its troops from Syria, and the Damascus government threatened U.S.-backed Kurdish forces with military defeat if they did not agree a return of state authority. The Iranian and Syrian military chiefs were speaking after a meeting in Damascus that also included their Iraqi counterpart, who gave a political boost to President Bashar al-Assad and Tehran by announcing the Syrian border would soon be reopened. The United States said last month it would keep some forces in Syria, reversing course from an earlier decision to pull them all out once Islamic State is militarily defeated. (Reuters)

03-14-2019
Military

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency says the country’s Revolutionary Guard is holding a drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz to test dozens of Iranian-made drones, including armed drones.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency says the country’s Revolutionary Guard is holding a drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz to test dozens of Iranian-made drones, including armed drones. Thursday’s report says it’s the first time such a high number of offensive drones are being used in a drill. It quotes Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh of the Guard’s aerospace division as saying Iran has the region’s biggest offensive drone fleet. It says the drones flew for about 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles, then hit their targets. (Associated Press)

03-14-2019
Nuclear Program

New evidence disclosed in Iran’s secret nuclear files taken by the Mossad show that its underground Fordow nuclear facility is older than it has admitted.

New evidence disclosed in Iran’s secret nuclear files taken by the Mossad show that its underground Fordow nuclear facility is older than it has admitted, according to a think-tank report. This discovery could be significant, says the Institute for Science and International Security, because it shows that Iran is still lying to the international community about a nuclear facility that has no reasonable use other than military. The report says that photographs and documents it reviewed from the materials taken from Iran in January 2018 by the Mossad date the facility to as much as five years earlier than the Islamic Republic has led the world to believe. (Jerusalem Post)

03-14-2019
Human Rights

Lawyers representing the family of an American citizen from San Diego detained in Iran said that the Navy veteran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Lawyers representing the family of an American citizen from San Diego detained in Iran said Thursday that the Navy veteran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for disclosing private information by posting a photo on Instagram of a woman he was visiting. Michael White, 46, was detained in Mashhad, a religious city in eastern Iran, last July after traveling there to visit the woman. It was his third time visiting her in the Islamic Republic, said Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for his family. White is being held in Vakilabad Prison, which is known for its executions of drug traffickers. (Los Angeles Times)

03-13-2019
Human Rights

Organizers of a fashion show in Iran were charged after videos of the event, which featured fantasy-inspired dresses and women not wearing hijabs, surfaced on social media.

Organisers of a fashion show in Iran were charged after videos of the event, which featured fantasy-inspired dresses and women not wearing hijabs, surfaced on social media. The outfits were considered by the public prosecutor to have strayed too far from traditional Islamic clothing. An Iranian fashion label organised a private show in the high-end salon Ayneh Divan on March 1 in Lavasan, an affluent suburb of Tehran, sending women down the runway without hijabs, a violation of the country’s strict laws mandating that women appear in public with headscarves. Some were also arrayed in elaborate, fantasy-inspired outfits, which, while not a justifiable crime, is nevertheless seen as promoting a Western lifestyle and not tolerated by conservatives. (France 24)

03-12-2019
Military

The United Nations is investigating two North Korean missile and arms companies suspected of operating in Iran in possible violation of international sanctions, according to a report by a U.N. panel of experts.

The United Nations is investigating two North Korean missile and arms companies suspected of operating in Iran in possible violation of international sanctions, according to a report by a U.N. panel of experts. The presidents of top North Korean regime arms firms, KOMID, which exports equipment for ballistic missiles and other weapons, and Green Pine, which sells conventional arms, recently traveled to Iran, according to air passenger documents cited by the report by the U.N. panel. A U.N. member state informed the panel that the two North Korean arms firms — which are both blacklisted by the United Nations — are “extremely active in Iran now,” Hugh Griffiths, coordinator of the U.N. panel assessing sanctions on North Korea, told NBC News in an exclusive television interview. (NBC News)

03-12-2019
Politics

Iran’s newly appointed head of all-powerful Judiciary has also been elected as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which elects the Supreme Leader in Iran.

Iran’s newly appointed head of all-powerful Judiciary has also been elected as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which elects the Supreme Leader in Iran. Ebrahim Raeesi (Raeisi) was elected on Monday with 43 votes out of 78 members present, defeating the former head of the Judiciary, ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani and Fazel Golpaygani, Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday. There have been rumors for months that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been grooming Raeesi to succeed him. His recent appointment as chief judge reinforced those rumors. (Radio Farda)

03-12-2019
Military

A top Iranian military figure known for his shadowy role in Iran's foreign intervention in Iraq and Syria has received his country's highest military honor at a ceremony Monday alongside supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A top Iranian military figure known for his shadowy role in Iran's foreign intervention in Iraq and Syria has received his country's highest military honor at a ceremony Monday alongside supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' expeditionary Quds Force, became the first Iranian general to receive the Order of the Zulfiqar since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew a West-sponsored monarchy. With the U.S. attempting to contain Tehran's growing influence across the region, Soleimani has been a persistent, popular symbol of Iran's footprint abroad. "He has time and time again exposed his life to the invasion of the enemy and he has done so in the way of God, for God and purely for the sake of God. And he has made a great endeavor," Khamenei said. "I hope that God the Exalted will reward and bless him, that He will help him live a blissful life and that he will make his end marked by martyrdom. (Newsweek)

03-12-2019
Human Rights

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes, according to her family.

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes, according to her family. Sotoudeh is well known for representing human rights defenders, dissidents and women who protested against the compulsory wearing of a headscarf in Iran. According to IRNA, Iran's state-owned news service, the human rights lawyer was convicted of "gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security" and for "insulting the Supreme Leader". A Facebook post by her husband Reza Khandan said the ruling sentenced her to 33 years and 148 lashes. He added that the punishment brings her prison time to 38 years. In 2016, she was sentenced in absentia to five years, according to Khandan. (CNN)

03-08-2019
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia’s air defense systems shot down a drone alleged to have “Iranian characteristics and specifications” over the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s air defense systems shot down a drone over the kingdom on Friday, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said, and it accused the country’s Houthi fighters of launching the aircraft and targeting civilians. Some civilians suffered light injuries from debris when the drone was shot down, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said, according to Saudi state television. The aircraft had been heading toward residential areas in Abha, around 230 km (140 miles) north of the border with Yemen, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said. An inspection of the wreckage showed the drone had “Iranian characteristics and specifications,” Maliki said. (Reuters)

03-06-2019
Terrorism

Cyberattacks linked to Iranian hackers have targeted thousands of people at more than 200 companies over the past two years, Microsoft Corp. said.

Cyberattacks linked to Iranian hackers have targeted thousands of people at more than 200 companies over the past two years, Microsoft Corp. said, part of a wave of computer intrusions from the country that researchers say has hit businesses and government entities around the globe. The campaign, the scope of which hadn’t previously been reported, stole corporate secrets and wiped data from computers. It caused damages estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity and affected oil-and-gas companies, heavy-machinery manufacturers and international conglomerates in more than a half-dozen countries including Saudi Arabia, Germany, the U.K., India and the U.S., according to researchers at Microsoft, which deployed incident-response teams to some of the affected companies. “These destructive attacks…are massively destabilizing events,” said John Lambert, the head of Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center. Microsoft traced the attacks to a group it calls Holmium. It is one of several linked by other researchers over the past year to hackers in Iran, a country that many security researchers say aspires to join Russia and China as one of the world’s premier cyber powers. Some of Holmium’s hacking was done by a group that other security companies call APT33, Microsoft said. (Wall Street Journal)

03-06-2019
Politics

An Iranian cleric known for his role in condemning thousands of political prisoners to death in the 1980s will take leadership of Iran’s powerful judiciary this week, in a move that is expected to keep the post under the influence of hard-liners.

An Iranian cleric known for his role in condemning thousands of political prisoners to death in the 1980s will take leadership of Iran’s powerful judiciary this week, in a move that is expected to keep the post under the influence of hard-liners. Ebrahim Raisi is set to take oath as Iran’s new chief of judiciary on Friday, according to an Iranian lawmaker quoted in state media. He succeeds Sadegh Larijani, another conservative cleric, who served as chief justice for 10 years before being named in December as head of head of a council that advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mr. Khamenei’s appointment of Mr. Raisi extends the hold of hard-liners and illustrates the enduring marginalization of reformists pushing for an overhaul of the judicial system and protection of human rights. (Wall Street Journal)

03-06-2019
Human Rights

A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who defended protesters against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarves for women has been convicted and faces years in prison, an activist group said.

A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran who defended protesters against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarves for women has been convicted and faces years in prison, an activist group said Wednesday. The conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who previously served three years in prison for her work, underlines the limits of challenging Iran’s theocracy as it faces economic pressure exacerbated by the U.S. pulling out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. It also highlights the limits of Iran’s civilian government as well, as the administration of President Hassan Rouhani and others have signaled an easing of their concern over the mandatory hijab. It shows “the insecurity the regime has to any peaceful challenge,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, which reported Sotoudeh’s conviction. “It knows a large segment of the country . are fed up with the hijab laws.” (Associated Press)

03-04-2019
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s judiciary charged a female equality activist with violating its national security because she sought to “normalize same-sex relations” in a country that imposes capital punishment for homosexuality.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s judiciary charged a female equality activist with violating its national security because she sought to “normalize same-sex relations” in a country that imposes capital punishment for homosexuality. The Iranian lesbian and transgender network group, 6rang, wrote on its website in late February that Rezvaneh Mohammadi’s charges include “collusion against national security by normalizing same-sex relations.” This is the first time that an activist faces such an accusation in Iran. She may be sentenced up to five years imprisonment.” Volker Beck, a leading German expert and activist on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that “this case is not about homosexuality, it is about freedom.” (Jerusalem Post)

03-04-2019
Human Rights

Michael R. White, the U.S. Navy veteran imprisoned in Iran since July, was beaten after his arrest, has no money to hire a lawyer and still does not know what charges — if any — have been filed against him, his mother said.

Michael R. White, the Navy veteran imprisoned in Iran since July, was beaten after his arrest, has no money to hire a lawyer and still does not know what charges — if any — have been filed against him, his mother said Monday. Joanne White also said that her son, a former cancer patient, had been taken to a court at least twice and that his health was deteriorating. A family spokesman, Jonathan Franks, said a GoFundMe page had been started to raise funds for Mr. White’s legal representation in Iran. Ms. White learned of her son’s travails after diplomats from the Swiss Embassy in Tehran visited him on Feb. 6 at the prison where he has been held, in the northeast city of Mashhad. The Swiss Embassy represents American interests in Iran. (New York Times)

03-01-2019
Syria Conflict

A new report from the Syrian Republican Guard revealed that several of the casualties from the Israeli attack this month on the Al-Quneitra Governorate were, in fact, Iranian soldiers.

A new report from the Syrian Republican Guard revealed this week that several of the casualties from the Israeli attack this month on the Al-Quneitra Governorate were, in fact, Iranian soldiers. According to the Syrian Republican Guard, five of the recovered corpses from the Israeli attack on the military garrison in western Al-Quneitra were found to be the remains of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel that were positioned near the border of the occupied Golan Heights. Thanks to DNA evidence, the Syrian military was able to confirm that the soldiers in western Al-Quneitra were from the IRGC; they have since begun the process of returning the bodies to Iran. While the DNA evidence helped confirm the identity of the soldiers, it also inadvertently revealed that the Iranian forces were still present along the border with the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. (Al-Masdar News)

02-28-2019
Extremism

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, has threatened to “break America, Israel and Saudi Arabia” and vowed that Tehran will “never lay down” its weapons.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander has threatened to “break America, Israel and Saudi Arabia” and vowed that Tehran will “never lay down” its weapons. Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly made the threats during a speech on February 19 just days after a deadly suicide car bombing killed 27 members of the organization. “Our nation’s sword has been drawn out of its sheath. Our enemies should know that we will never let them be,” Salami said. “The Saud regime should know that it will not last,” he added. (Al-Arabiya)

02-28-2019
Terrorism

The Iranian-backed hackers who stole personal data on Australian lawmakers earlier this year are the same group that attacked the British Parliament in 2017.

The Iranian-backed hackers who stole personal data on Australian lawmakers earlier this year are the same group that attacked the British Parliament in 2017, according to new research by a cybersecurity firm that sheds light on Iran's campaign of cyberespionage against its adversaries. A report by Los Angeles-based Resecurity, obtained exclusively by NBC News, says the Feb. 8 hack of the Australian Parliament "is a part of a multi-year cyberespionage campaign" by an Iranian-backed hacking group they call Iridium. "This actor targets sensitive government, diplomatic and military resources" in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S., the firm says. (NBC News)

02-27-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the United States an untrustworthy and warmongering country on Wednesday, and urged neighboring Armenia to expand ties with Tehran despite U.S. pressures.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the United States an untrustworthy and warmongering country on Wednesday, and urged neighbouring Armenia to expand ties with Tehran despite U.S. pressures. Iran is struggling with the sanctions imposed by Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers last year, calling it deeply flawed. “Americans are totally untrustworthy and they want sedition, corruption, disagreement and war everywhere. They are against Iran-Armenia relations,” Khamenei’s official website quoted him as saying during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran. “We are committed to good relations with our neighbours, but U.S. officials like (national security adviser) John Bolton have no understanding of human issues and relations,” Khamenei said. Bolton takes a particularly hawkish view of Iran in the Trump administration. (Reuters)

02-26-2019
Terrorism

Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, has announced the development of a new accurate missile made with the help of Iran, which said it is capable of reaching Tel Aviv and Netanya in the center of Israel.

Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, has announced the development of a new accurate missile, which said it is capable of reaching Tel Aviv and Netanya in the center of Israel, threatening to turn Israeli cities into "hell" in any future confrontation. In a documentary broadcast on Iranian television, the Brigades’ military spokesman said that the missile was made with the help of Iran, adding that the first missile to be launched by the movement towards Tel Aviv “will be Iranian-made.” The group had fired Iranian-made missiles at Tel Aviv more than six years ago during the war that erupted in 2012. In the new documentary, Islamic Jihad said its engineers succeeded in redeveloping its rocket arsenal, which was destroyed in previous military confrontations. The movement warned that it would surprise Israel and respond to any future attack. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

02-25-2019
Terrorism

The Israeli military detected and blocked an attempt by Iran to infiltrate its missile warning system in 2017.

The Israeli military detected and blocked an attempt by Iran to infiltrate its missile warning system in 2017, preventing a potentially life-threatening situation in which Israeli citizens could no longer rely on the sirens that alert them to an incoming attack, a senior cyber defense official told the Bloomberg news outlet on Monday. The Iranian effort was first spotted in 2017 and, once its target was understood, the Israel Defense Forces worked to block the cyber attack and track the hackers, Brig. Gen. (res.) Noam Sha’ar, the outgoing head of the cyber defense division of the military’s Cyber Defense Directorate, told the website. (Times of Israel)

02-25-2019
Human Rights

A member of the Iranian Parliament (Majles) has disclosed that the country's Supreme National Security Council has banned the publication of news reports about water-related problems including shortage and misuse of resources.

A member of the Iranian Parliament (Majles) has disclosed that the country's Supreme National Security Council has banned the publication of news reports about water-related problems including shortage and misuse of resources. The disclosure appears to have happened inadvertently when the official news agency IRNA quoted Ardeshir Nourial, a lawmaker on Saturday February 23 as having said that officials in Isfahan Province, ignore government directives including the ban on publication of news reports on water shortage. Isfahan and its surrounding towns and villages have been the scene of protest demonstrations during the past year against government measures, including allocating the province's water to other areas. (Radio Farda)

02-25-2019
Syria Conflict

Syrian President Bashar Assad has made an unannounced trip to Iran, where he met with the supreme leader and other top officials to discuss the planned U.S. troop withdrawal and Turkey’s efforts to set up a buffer zone in northern Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has made an unannounced trip to Iran, where he met with the supreme leader and other top officials to discuss the planned U.S. troop withdrawal and Turkey’s efforts to set up a buffer zone in northern Syria, state media reported Monday. Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the rare trip abroad — his third since the civil war broke out in 2011. The other two trips were to Russia. Tehran has given the Syrian government billions of dollars in aid and sent Iran-backed fighters to battle alongside his forces — assistance that, along with Russian air power, has helped turn the tide in Assad’s favor. (Associated Press)

02-24-2019
Military

Iran successfully tested a cruise missile during naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

Iran successfully tested a cruise missile on Sunday during naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Tehran has in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route at the mouth of the Gulf, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action, including attempts to halt Iranian oil exports through sanctions. In August Washington said Iran had test-fired a short-range anti-ship missile in the strait during naval drills it believed were intended as a warning after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran. “On the third day of the ... exercises, a Ghadir-class Iranian navy submarine successfully launched a cruise missile,” official news agency IRNA reported. (Reuters)

02-21-2019
Terrorism

Hackers based in Iran and implicated in attacks on the U.S. and Western allies were behind a computer breach of Australia’s Parliament and political parties, a U.S. cyber research company alleged.

Hackers based in Iran and implicated in attacks on the U.S. and Western allies were behind a computer breach of Australia’s Parliament and political parties, a U.S. cyber research company alleged. This month’s attacks were part of a global espionage campaign that cybersecurity companies say began last year and that has mostly targeted the Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprising the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. They think the attacks were retaliation for President Trump’s decision to withdraw from a nuclear agreement with Iran. The focus and pattern of the attack is compatible with the activity of an Iranian state actor connected to the Mabna Institute, said cybersecurity company Resecurity President Charles Yoo. The Mabna Institute is a technology company linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. (Wall Street Journal)

02-21-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran’s foreign minister has accused Israel of “adventurism” for its attacks in Syria and says he cannot rule out a military confrontation between Iran and Israel.

Iran’s foreign minister has accused Israel of “adventurism” for its attacks in Syria and says he cannot rule out a military confrontation between Iran and Israel. In an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published on Thursday, February 21, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran is in Syria by the invitation of the host government, but Israel with its attacks violates Syrian and Lebanese airspace and international law. Zarif said, “Israel has embarked on adventurism, and adventurism is always dangerous”. Asked if he thinks there can be a military confrontation between Israel and Iran, Zarif said, “I don’t know but I cannot rule it out”. (Radio Farda)

02-21-2019
Human Rights

Iranian security has arrested six Iranian Christian converts in the northern city of Rasht during February, according to sources who spoke to Radio Farda.

Iranian security has arrested six Iranian Christian converts in the northern city of Rasht during February, according to sources who spoke to Radio Farda. Converting to another religion is forbidden in Islam and in countries where religious law applies converts can be prosecuted. Iran regularly arrests Christian converts, whose numbers have been rising in recent years, reaching tens of thousands or more according to some estimates. A well-informed source named the detainees as: Khalil Pour-Dehghan, Hossein Kadivar, Abdolreza Ali Haghnezhad, Kamal Nemanian, Mohammad Vafadar and Mohammad Eslamdoost. (Radio Farda)

02-17-2019
Military

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated a new domestically-built submarine armed with cruise missiles at a time of rising tensions with its arch-enemy the United States.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday inaugurated a new domestically-built submarine armed with cruise missiles at a time of rising tensions with its arch-enemy the United States. “From this moment, the Fateh Submarine joins Iran’s naval force with my order,” Rouhani said in a ceremony broadcast live on the state-run English-language Press TV. The Fateh “Conqueror” submarine weighs 600 tonnes, Press TV said, adding that it “enjoys state-of-the-art weaponry, including torpedoes, naval mines and cruise missiles that could be launched from a submerged position”. (Reuters)

02-14-2019
Terrorism

An Iranian-linked terrorist group, Saraya al-Ashtar, has released a statement threatening attacks on American and British targets in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

An Iranian-linked terrorist group has released a statement threatening attacks on American and British targets in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Saraya al-Ashtar, recognized by the United States and the United Kingdom as a terrorist organization, accused “American and British intelligence” of operating in Bahrain, and said: “so we say to the conspirators against our people that your support for the occupying Khalifa regime will carry a high price for you and will make you a legitimate target for our attacks.” The terrorist group also decried the Bahraini “regime’s openness to the Zionists” saying that it “has strengthened the will and the soul of the Islamic Resistance in Bahrain.” The statement also said that the “Zionist targets in Bahrain are a direct target of our attacks and revenge.” Saraya al-Ashtar, also known as the al-Ashtar Brigades, have claimed responsibility for more than 20 attacks in Bahrain, mainly against police officers and security forces. They were added to a designated terror list by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. (Al-Arabiya)

02-13-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran can only lose by negotiating with the United States and must be careful to limit any dealings with some “untrustworthy” European states, the Islamic Republic’s top leader said.

Iran can only lose by negotiating with the United States and must be careful to limit any dealings with some “untrustworthy” European states, the Islamic Republic’s top leader said on Wednesday. “With regard to America, no problem can be resolved and negotiations with it have nothing but economic and spiritual loss,” Khamenei wrote on his official website. “Today, the Iranian people see some European countries as cunning and untrustworthy along with the criminal America. The government of the Islamic Republic must carefully preserve its boundaries with them.” (Reuters)

02-12-2019
Anti-Americanism

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched on the streets of Tehran, burning American flags and taunting the West as it celebrated the Islamic Revolution's 40th anniversary.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched on the streets of Tehran Monday, burning American flags and taunting the West as it celebrated the Islamic Revolution's 40th anniversary by vowing to boost its ballistic missiles in defiance of U.S. efforts to curb its military. Students, clerics and women dressed in black and carried pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in an Islamic uprising that still haunts the West. "Iran will continue to expand its military might and missile program," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the crowd who gathered in Azadi (Freedom) Square. He spoke for nearly 45 minutes, lashing out frequently at Tehran's enemies. (Fox News)

02-11-2019
Terrorism

The leader of the Hezbollah terror group said Tehran had assisted it in facing off against “Zionist aggression,” during a meeting with Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Lebanon.

The leader of the Hezbollah terror group said Tehran had assisted it in facing off against “Zionist aggression,” during a meeting with Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday in Lebanon. Zarif pledged continued support for Hezbollah, which has repeatedly threatened to use its large missile arsenal to target Israel, during the meeting with leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV reported. “Nasrallah thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran and its officials and people for what it has offered to Lebanon, Palestine and the region’s resistance movements and peoples in the confrontation against Zionist aggression and takfiri terrorism,” Al-Manar said, according to a translation by the NaharNet website. (Times of Israel)

02-11-2019
Nuclear Program

A senior Iranian official said that the Islamic Republic has the chemical and technical know-how to produce a nuclear weapon, according to Farsi language remarks independently translated for the Washington Free Beacon.

A senior Iranian official said over the weekend that the Islamic Republic has the chemical and technical know-how to produce a nuclear weapon, according to Farsi language remarks independently translated for the Washington Free Beacon. Ahmad Khatami, a senior member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, which enjoys close ties with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, claimed in recent comments that having a nuclear missile "is vital for Iran to confront the U.S. and its allies," according to Farsi language comments made over the weekend. "Having missile[s] and nuclear authority is vital for Iran to confront the U.S. and its allies." Khatami was quoted as saying in remarks in which he also referred to the United States as a thug. (Washington Free Beacon)

02-08-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranians will chant “Death to America” as long as Washington continues its hostile policies, but the slogan is directed at President Donald Trump and U.S. leaders, not the American nation, Iran’s supreme leader said.

Iranians will chant “Death to America” as long as Washington continues its hostile policies, but the slogan is directed at President Donald Trump and U.S. leaders, not the American nation, Iran’s supreme leader said on Friday. “As long as America continues its wickedness, the Iranian nation will not abandon ‘Death to America’,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering of Iranian Air Force officers marking the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, according to his official website. Trump pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last year and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, dealing a blow to the country’s economy. “‘Death to America’ means death to Trump, (National Security Adviser) John Bolton, and (Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo. It means death to American rulers,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. (Reuters)

02-07-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran appears to have attempted a second satellite launch despite U.S. criticism that its space program helps the country develop ballistic missiles, released satellite images suggest.

Iran appears to have attempted a second satellite launch despite U.S. criticism that its space program helps the country develop ballistic missiles, satellite images released Thursday suggest. Iran did not immediately acknowledge conducting such a launch. Images released by the Colorado-based company DigitalGlobe show a rocket at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran’s Semnan province on Tuesday. Images from Wednesday show the rocket was gone with what appears to be burn marks on its launch pad. It wasn’t immediately clear if the satellite, if launched, made it into orbit. In the images, words written in Farsi in large characters on the launch pad appeared to say in part “40 years” and “Iranian made,” in different sections. That is likely in reference to the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, which authorities have been celebrating this month. (Associated Press)

02-07-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards inaugurated a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km (621 miles), the semi-official Fars news agency reported, ignoring demands Western demands that Tehran halt its missile program.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards inaugurated a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km (621 miles), the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday, ignoring demands Western demands that Tehran halt its missile program.

Fars published pictures of an underground missile factory called “underground city”, saying the “Dezful” missile was a version of the Zolfaghar missile that has a 700 km range and a 450 kg (992 lb) warhead. (Reuters)

02-06-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iranian state media has released an animated video showing one of the country’s Ghadir-class submarines sinking an American aircraft carrier.

Iranian state media has released an animated video showing one of the country’s Ghadir-class submarines sinking an American aircraft carrier. The IRINN news channel aired the clip on February 1, according to a transcription provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). The video opens with the aircraft carrier cruising on an open sea escorted by four smaller ships and carrying two planes on its deck. A green periscope bearing an Iranian flag then appears, sinister music begins playing, and one by one, the American ships disappear beneath the surface. The clip ends with the submarine towing the American ships underwater past a logo reading “40 years,” a reference to the 40th anniversary of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, and a voiceover saying, “Our Iran has the technology to manufacture very advanced Ghadir-class submarines.” (Times of Israel)

02-05-2019
Military

Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution by unveiling a new land attack cruise missile called the Hoveizeh that experts say looks like a knockoff of the Kh-55, a nuclear-capable Soviet missile.

Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution by unveiling a new land attack cruise missile called the Hoveizeh that experts say looks like a knockoff of the Kh-55, a nuclear-capable Soviet missile. A 2015 deal struck between the US, UK, Russia, China, France, Germany, the EU and Iran forbids Tehran from building nuclear weapons, but the deal places no real limits on Iran's missile program. While the UN and US have argued that Iran violates the spirit of the nuclear deal with its repeated missile launches, and France threatens additional sanctions on Iran if tests continue, Iran holds that the missile activity doesn't break with the letter of the deal. (Business Insider)

02-04-2019
Human Rights

Iran has detained another environmentalist who worked for the same Iranian conservation organization as eight activists who went on trial in Tehran last week after spending a year in detention.

Iran has detained another environmentalist who worked for the same Iranian conservation organization as eight activists who went on trial in Tehran last week after spending a year in detention. A reliable source in Iran told VOA Persian that Iranian authorities detained Pouria Sepahvand of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation on Saturday. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) confirmed Sepahvand's arrest in a Monday tweet and said he had been taken to an unknown location. Sepahvand's arrest came on the same day that eight of his colleagues appeared in a Tehran court for a second closed-door session of their trial, whose first session was held on January 30. Iran's state-controlled Fars News Agency has referred to the defendants, who include six men and two women, as "individuals accused of spying on the country's military installations." (Voice of America)

02-04-2019
Military

Iran has equipped its most advanced, longest-range missiles, which can hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf, with new precision guided warheads, state media reported.

Iran has equipped its most advanced, longest-range missiles, which can hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf, with new precision guided warheads, state media reported Sunday. According to the unsourced report in the Fars news agency, the new home-made guided warheads have now been attached to the Khoramshahr, a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles.) “The new generation of missiles with guided warheads has been named Khoramshahr 2 and they can be controlled until hitting the target and are able to carry warheads weighing nearly 2 tons,” the report said. (Times of Israel)

02-04-2019
Terrorism

An Iranian dissident in Berlin told German police that he was attacked by three men who called him by name and threatened him in Persian before beating him and stamping on him.

An Iranian dissident in Berlin told German police that he was attacked by three men who called him by name and threatened him in Persian before beating him and stamping on him. If linked to Iranian government agents, the attack could further strain Iran’s ties with the European Union, which last month imposed sanctions on an Iranian intelligence unit. The Netherlands has accused Iran of two killings on its soil. France and Denmark have also accused Iran of plotting assassinations of dissidents in Europe. Iran denies the allegations. (Reuters)

01-29-2019
Terrorism

Iran appears to be broadening its presence in cyberspace, stealing information that would allow its cyber spies to monitor and track key political and business officials, including some in the United States.

Iran appears to be broadening its presence in cyberspace, stealing information that would allow its cyber spies to monitor and track key political and business officials, including some in the United States. A new, U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday warned Iranian cyber actors "are targeting U.S. Government officials, government organizations, and companies to gain intelligence and position themselves for future cyber operations." The latest Worldwide Threat Assessment also said Tehran has been preparing to use such information for a range of possible cyber attacks against the U.S. and its allies, though it did not share specifics. (Voice of America)

01-29-2019
Extremism

Iran's capital city has banned the public from walking pet dogs, as part of a long-standing official campaign to discourage dog-ownership.

Iran's capital city has banned the public from walking pet dogs, as part of a long-standing official campaign to discourage dog-ownership. Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi said "we have received permission from the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, and will take measures against people walking dogs in public spaces, such as parks". He told the Young Journalists Club news agency that the ban was due to dogs "creating fear and anxiety" among members of the public. As if this were not draconian enough, Brigadier-General Rahimi added that driving with a dog in your car was also banned. (BBC)

01-29-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran on Tuesday dismissed pressure from France and other Western powers for talks over its ballistic missile program, but said it had no plans to increase the range of the weapons.

Iran on Tuesday dismissed pressure from France and other Western powers for talks over its ballistic missile program, but said it had no plans to increase the range of the weapons. France said last week it was ready to impose further sanctions on Iran if no progress was made in talks about the missiles, described by Tehran as defensive but seen in the West as a destabilizing factor in a volatile region. “Negotiations over Iran’s missile and defensive capabilities are not acceptable in any way,” Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency. He said French leaders were only raising the issue to distract attention from anti-government demonstrations in their country. Iran on Monday denied that it was holding any talks with France about the missiles. (Reuters)

01-28-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran struck economic and trade deals with Syria, as it widens its role there after helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reclaim most of his country.

Iran struck economic and trade deals with Syria on Monday, as it widens its role there after helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reclaim most of his country. Tehran has reached “very important agreements on banking cooperation” with Syria, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said in the Syrian capital Damascus. Iran will also help repair power stations across Syria and set up a new plant in the coastal province of Latakia, he added. During Syria’s eight-year conflict, Tehran has dispatched forces and allied Shi’ite militias, including Hezbollah, to provide Damascus with vital military support. Experts say Tehran is now looking to reap a financial dividend. (Reuters)

01-27-2019
Human Rights

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Iran to stop persecuting journalists for their work after Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Yashar Soltani to five years for his coverage of Tehran land deals.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Iran to stop persecuting journalists for their work after Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Yashar Soltani to five years for his coverage of Tehran land deals. Mr Soltani, the editor-in-chief of Memari News, was investigating corruption in municipal real estate sales in the Iranian capital. He revealed that the mayor's office in Tehran illegally sold public land to political allies at discounted rates. He was charged with "spreading lies in order to disturb public opinion, gathering classified information with the intent to harm national security, [and] defamation and threats against a government contractor," his lawyer, Seyed Sadeq Kashani, told the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency. (The National)

01-26-2019
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic of Iran publicly hanged a 31-year-old Iranian man after he was found guilty of charges related to violations of Iran’s anti-gay laws, according to the state-controlled Iranian Students’ News Agency.

The Islamic Republic of Iran publicly hanged a 31-year-old Iranian man after he was found guilty of charges related to violations of Iran’s anti-gay laws, according to the state-controlled Iranian Students’ News Agency. The unidentified man was hanged on January 10 in the southwestern city of Kazeroon based on criminal violations of “lavat-e be onf” – sexual intercourse between two men, as well as kidnapping charges, according to ISNA. Iran’s radical sharia law system prescribes the death penalty for gay sex. (Jerusalem Post)

01-25-2019
Military

Iran staged war games involving newly developed rapid redeployment units focused on fighting enemy aggressors and armed militants, state media reported, amid increased tensions with the United States and following a militant attack.

Iran staged war games on Friday involving newly developed rapid redeployment units focused on fighting enemy aggressors and armed militants, state media reported, amid increased tensions with the United States and following a militant attack. Around 12,000 elite troops, armoured vehicles, fighter jets and drones were taking part in the two-day exercises, staged in the central province of Isfahan, state television said. Deployed by transport planes and 60 helicopters, commandos hunted mock armed militants, while an armoured battalion blocked “enemy” forces trying to retreat, state media said. (Reuters)

01-23-2019
Nuclear Program

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says his country has taken key steps toward being able to quickly resume uranium enrichment to the 20% level.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says his country has taken key steps toward being able to quickly resume uranium enrichment to the 20% level, an activity it agreed to suspend under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) struck with world powers in 2015. Ali Akbar Salehi made the remarks in a lengthy face-to-face interview on Iranian state broadcaster's Channel 4 on Jan. 22. The nuclear chief unveiled details about the path Iran has already taken toward being able to resume its largely restricted nuclear program. The new plans range from building more power plants to a scheduled transfer of 30 tons of yellowcake to the uranium conversion facility outside the city of Esfahan. The latter would be a key step toward ensuring the availability of raw material should Iran decide to exit the nuclear deal and ramp up its enrichment activities. (Al-Monitor)

01-23-2019
Human Rights

Iranian authorities arrested more than 7,000 dissidents last year in a sweeping crackdown that led to hundreds being jailed or flogged, at least 26 protesters being killed, and nine people dying in custody amid suspicious circumstances.

Iranian authorities arrested more than 7,000 dissidents last year in a sweeping crackdown that led to hundreds being jailed or flogged, at least 26 protesters being killed, and nine people dying in custody amid suspicious circumstances, according to Amnesty International. Those rounded up during violent dispersals of peaceful protests in what Amnesty called “a year of shame for Iran” included journalists, lawyers, minority rights activists and women who protested against being forced to wear headscarves. Iranian authorities beat unarmed protesters and used live ammunition, teargas and water cannon throughout the year – particularly in January, July and August – with thousands arbitrarily arrested and detained, new figures assert. “2018 will go down in history as a year of shame for Iran,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East research and advocacy director. (The Guardian)

01-22-2019
Human Rights

Two labour rights activists who were rearrested after speaking out about beatings and other abuse they suffered in detention last year are at grave risk of further torture, Amnesty International has warned.

Two labour rights activists who were rearrested after speaking out about beatings and other abuse they suffered in detention last year are at grave risk of further torture, Amnesty International has warned. Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian were violently arrested in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, on 20 January in apparent reprisal for talking publicly about the torture they have said they endured in detention during November and December 2018, provoking a public outcry. “There are real fears that Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian could be facing a second round of torture after their rearrest. The timing of their arrest strongly suggests it is part of a sinister attempt to silence and punish them for speaking out about the horrific abuse they suffered in custody. The authorities must release them immediately and unconditionally, ensure their allegations of torture are independently investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. (Amnesty International)

01-21-2019
Extremism

The commander of Iran’s air force, Brigadier Aziz Nasirzadeh, said that Iran will “eliminate Israel from the Earth” in a fiery statement to the Young Journalist Club, a website supervised by state television.

The commander of Iran’s air force, Brigadier Aziz Nasirzadeh, said that Iran will “eliminate Israel from the Earth” in a fiery statement to the Young Journalist Club, a website supervised by state television. “The young people are impatient and fully ready to battle the Zionist regime and make them vanish from the Earth,” Nasirzadeh said. “Our next generation with the knowledge necessary to learn their strengths are the promised ones who will destroy Israel,” he added in the statement. (Al-Arabiya)

01-20-2019
Human Rights

Iranian state TV aired prison confessions of two labor activists and a civil activist who were arrested in November during labor protests in southwestern, oil-rich Khuzestan province.

Iranian state TV January 19 aired prison confessions of two labor activists and a civil activist who were arrested in November during labor protests in southwestern, oil-rich Khuzestan province. The civil activist, Sepideh Qolian tweeted that the forced confessions broadcast are evidence of torture against the detainees. Previously, Qolian and Esmail Bakhshi, a labor leader, had publicly complained that they were both tortured in custody. This led to days of controversy among parliamentarians and government officials. First officials promised to investigate the matter but gradually as the first wave of public outcry died down, they began to backtrack and even talk of prosecuting Bakhshi for making the torture claim. The TV program showed detainees confessing to belong to an emigre Marxist group, an accusation both the accused and the group have rejected as fabrication. (Radio Farda)

01-19-2019
Syria Conflict

Fuel is being shipped illegally from Iran to Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen to finance their war against the government, and both sides are violating international law with their military campaigns and arbitrary detention of rivals, U.N. experts said.

Fuel is being shipped illegally from Iran to Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen to finance their war against the government, and both sides are violating international law with their military campaigns and arbitrary detention of rivals, U.N. experts said in a new report. The experts painted a grim picture of a “deeply fractured” country sliding toward “humanitarian and economic catastrophe” with no sign of victory by either side in a conflict that many view as a proxy war between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. In the 85-page report to the Security Council seen Friday by The Associated Press, the experts said the government and its coalition partners led by Saudi Arabia made “significant progress” on the ground against the Houthis in 2018 — but their aim of restoring the government’s authority throughout the country “is far from being realized.” At the same time, the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against Yemen said “the Houthi leadership has continued to consolidate its hold over government and non-government institutions.” (Associated Press)

01-17-2019
Human Rights

Iranian authorities carried out mass arrests and serious due process violations during 2018 in response to protests across the country over deteriorating economic conditions, perceptions of corruption, and the lack of political and social freedoms.

Iranian authorities carried out arbitrary mass arrests and serious due process violations during 2018 in response to protests across the country over deteriorating economic conditions, perceptions of corruption, and the lack of political and social freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. Authorities tightened their grip on peaceful activism, detaining lawyers, human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists. “Iranian leaders blame the world for their problems, but don’t look in the mirror to reflect on how their own systematic repression contributes to Iranians’ frustration,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Iran’s security apparatus and its repressive, unaccountable judiciary are serious obstacles to respect for and protection of human rights.” (Human Rights Watch)

01-16-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran will be ready for a new satellite launch in a few months’ time after a failed attempt this week, President Hassan Rouhani said, ignoring U.S. and European warnings to avoid such activity.

Iran will be ready for a new satellite launch in a few months’ time after a failed attempt this week, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, ignoring U.S. and European warnings to avoid such activity. Iran’s bid to send a satellite, named Payam, into orbit failed on Tuesday as its launching rocket did not reach adequate speed in its third stage. Rouhani was quoted by state media as saying, however, that Iran had “achieved great success in building satellites and launching them. That means we are on the right track. “The remaining problems are minor, will be resolved in a few months, and we will soon be ready for a new launch,” he said. (Reuters)

01-16-2019
Syria Conflict

Iran will keep military forces in Syria, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said, defying Israeli threats that they might be targeted if they do not leave the country.

Iran will keep military forces in Syria, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, defying Israeli threats that they might be targeted if they do not leave the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israeli forces would continue to attack Iranians in Syria and warned them “to get out of there fast, because we will continue with our resolute policy”. Rebuffing the threats, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Revolutionary Guards top commander, was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will keep all its military and revolutionary advisers and its weapons in Syria.” (Reuters)

01-15-2019
Terrorism

Prosecutors in Germany say an army employee has been detained on suspicion of spying for the Iranian intelligence service.

Prosecutors in Germany say an army employee has been detained on suspicion of spying for the Iranian intelligence service. The federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the 50-year-old German-Afghan dual citizen, whose name was only given as Abdul Hamid S. in line with German privacy rules, was detained Tuesday in the Rhineland in western Germany. He worked as a translator for the German army and is accused of having passed on information to the Iranian intelligence service. (Associated Press)

01-15-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran can enrich uranium up to 20 percent within four days, its atomic energy chief said, a comment apparently aimed at showing Tehran could quickly expand its enrichment program if its nuclear deal with world powers collapses.

Iran can enrich uranium up to 20 percent within four days, its atomic energy chief said on Tuesday, a comment apparently aimed at showing Tehran could quickly expand its enrichment program if its nuclear deal with world powers collapses. Iran’s 2015 accord with world powers caps the level to which it is able to enrich uranium to 3.67 percent purity, well below the 20 percent it was reaching before the deal, and the roughly 90 percent suitable for a nuclear weapon. “If we want to come out of the nuclear deal and produce, within four days we could start our 20 percent,” Ali Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the semi-official Fars News Agency. “But we already have stockpiles of 20 percent, and the capability.” (Reuters)

01-15-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran launched a satellite that failed to reach orbit, after the US warned against the launch earlier this month.

Iran launched a satellite on Tuesday that failed to reach orbit, after the US warned against the launch earlier this month. The satellite "did not reach enough speed in the third stage and was not put into orbit," Mohammad Jahromi, the country's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, told the official IRNA news agency after a ceremony was held for the launch at Imam Khomeini Spaceport early Tuesday. The minister said Iran would launch another satellite soon. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran earlier this month to scrap its planned satellite launch, threatening to increase sanctions on the country. (CNN)

01-13-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran is taking preliminary steps to design uranium fuel with a purity of 20 percent for reactors instead of having to copy foreign designs, Iran’s nuclear chief said.

Iran is taking preliminary steps to design uranium fuel with a purity of 20 percent for reactors instead of having to copy foreign designs, Iran’s nuclear chief said on Sunday. Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers caps the level to which it is able to enrich uranium to 3.67 percent purity, well below the 20 percent it was reaching before the deal, and the roughly 90 percent that is weapons-grade. Iran is, however, allowed to produce nuclear fuel under strict conditions that need to be approved by a working group set up by the signatories to the deal. Those conditions include ensuring that the fuel cannot be converted to uranium hexafluoride, the feedstock for centrifuges that enrich uranium. (Reuters)

01-11-2019
Syria Conflict

A bomb-laden drone launched by the Houthi rebels, which exploded over a Yemeni military parade at al-Anad Air Base in the southern province of Lahj, was most likely manufactured by Iran, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

A bomb-laden drone launched by the Houthi rebels, which exploded on Thursday over a Yemeni military parade at al-Anad Air Base in the southern province of Lahj, was most likely manufactured by Iran, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The attack, 50 kilometers north of Aden, left four troops dead and another 20 injured.  The government described the attack as "a message of blatant defiance to the international community and outright rejection to peace efforts." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

01-10-2019
Extremism

A top Iranian general has said Iran will annihilate Israel, boasted that Iran could easily defeat Saudi Arabia, and threatened to overrun American military bases in the Middle East.

A top Iranian general has said Iran will annihilate Israel, boasted that Iran could easily defeat Saudi Arabia, and threatened to overrun American military bases in the Middle East. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Deputy Commander for Cultural and Social Affairs, said in a December 28 interview with the Iraqi television network Al-Nujaba that the “Islamic revolution in Iran will not back down” from the goal of “wiping out” the Jewish state. The interview was translated Wednesday by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Naqdi, a former head of the regime’s Basij militia, insisted in the interview that “Israel must be destroyed and wiped out. There is no doubt that the Zionists must be annihilated and destroyed. This will definitely happen.” He added: “Neither Russia nor any other country can intermediate between us and the Zionists. The Islamic revolution in Iran will not back down even an inch from its position regarding the wiping out of Israel.” (Times of Israel)

01-10-2019
Nuclear Program

Iran's president said the Islamic Republic soon will send two new satellites into orbit using Iran-made rockets, despite U.S. concern the launch could help further develop its ballistic missiles.

Iran's president said Thursday the Islamic Republic soon will send two new satellites into orbit using Iran-made rockets, despite U.S. concern the launch could help further develop its ballistic missiles. President Hassan Rouhani's comments, during a commemoration for the late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, confirmed the rocket launches would take place. "Soon, in the coming weeks, we will send two satellites into space using our domestically-made rockets," Rouhani said, without elaborating. (Associated Press)

01-10-2019
Terrorism

Cyber attackers in Iran could be behind a wave of hacks on government and communications infrastructure that will require a coordinated global response to repel, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc.

Cyber attackers in Iran could be behind a wave of hacks on government and communications infrastructure that will require a coordinated global response to repel, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc. FireEye researchers have identified attacks on dozens of Internet sites belonging to entities across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America, the firm said in a report published Thursday. The actor or actors have “a nexus to Iran,” it said. (Bloomberg)

01-09-2019
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader called U.S. officials “first-class idiots,” mocking American leaders as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured the Mideast to promote the White House’s tough stance on Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday called U.S. officials “first-class idiots,” mocking American leaders as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured the Mideast to promote the White House’s tough stance on Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments were unusually harsh, reflecting the broader tension between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Khamenei, speaking to a group from Iran’s religious capital of Qom, made the remark while recounting a story about a U.S. official once predicting he’d celebrate Christmas in Iran. “Some U.S. officials pretend that they are mad,” Khamenei said. “Of course I don’t agree with that, but they are first-class idiots.” (Associated Press)

01-07-2019
Human Rights

Iran has been holding an American Navy veteran in prison on unspecified charges since late July, when he was seized while visiting an Iranian girlfriend, his mother said.

Iran has been holding an American Navy veteran in prison on unspecified charges since late July, when he was seized while visiting an Iranian girlfriend, his mother said Monday. The imprisonment of the veteran, Michael R. White, 46, from Imperial Beach, Calif., could further complicate relations between the United States and Iran. Tension between the countries worsened substantially after President Trump renounced the nuclear accord with Iran last May and reimposed severe sanctions. (New York Times)

01-04-2019
Military

The Iranian navy will send warships to deploy in the Atlantic from March, a top commander said, as the Islamic Republic seeks to increase the operating range of its naval forces to the backyard of the United States, its arch foe.

The Iranian navy will send warships to deploy in the Atlantic from March, a top commander said on Friday, as the Islamic Republic seeks to increase the operating range of its naval forces to the backyard of the United States, its arch foe. Iran sees the presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Gulf as a security concern and its navy has sought to counter that by showing the flag near American waters. A flotilla will leave for the Atlantic early in the Iranian new year, starting from March, Iran’s naval deputy commander said. (Reuters)

01-03-2019
Nuclear Program

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran against launching three spacecraft in the coming months, describing them as a cover for testing technology that is necessary to lob a warhead at the United States and other nations.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran on Thursday against launching three spacecraft in the coming months, describing them as a cover for testing technology that is necessary to lob a warhead at the United States and other nations. His statement seemed intended to build a legal case for diplomatic, military or covert action against the Iranian missile program. It was surprising only because Iran has been launching modest space missions, mostly to deploy satellites, since 2005. The stark warning on Thursday was immediately rejected by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, who shot back in a tweet that Tehran’s launch of space vehicles — and of missiles — is “NOT in violation of Res 2231.” (New York Times)

01-02-2019
Human Rights

Authorities in Iran are preparing to block access to Instagram, extending their crackdown on social media to the only major platform still freely available.

Authorities in Iran are preparing to block access to Instagram, extending their crackdown on social media to the only major platform still freely available. The National Cyberspace Council approved steps toward blocking the service, Javad Javidnia, deputy for cyberspace affairs at the public prosecutor’s office, was cited as saying by the semi-official Donya-e Eqtesad newspaper. Instagram would join Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Telegram in being banned in the Islamic Republic, ostensibly for reasons of national security. Despite the restrictions, Iranians including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif continue to use the services, which are widely accessible via proxy servers. Rouhani’s verified Twitter account has over 800,000 followers. (Bloomberg)

12-31-2018
Military

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they plan to upgrade their speed boats in the Gulf with radar-evading stealth technology and new missile launchers as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington in the vital oil shipping route.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they plan to upgrade their speed boats in the Gulf with radar-evading stealth technology and new missile launchers as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington in the vital oil shipping route. Ending a long absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region, the USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf last week, and was shadowed by the Revolutionary Guards’ speed boats. There have been periodic confrontations between the Revolutionary Guards vessels and U.S. military in the Gulf, although the number of incidents has dropped in recent months. “We are trying to increase the agility of the Guards’ speed boats and equip them with stealth technology to facilitate their operations,” Alireza Tangsiri, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy chief, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. (Reuters)

12-31-2018
Extremism

Iran's Supreme Leader met with Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad al-Nakhala in Teheran to emphasize his support for the Palestinian people and hailed Israel’s “downfall and demise,” the Iranian network Press TV reported.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei met with Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad al-Nakhala in Teheran on Monday to emphasize his support for the Palestinian people, the Iranian network Press TV reported Monday. “As long as there is resistance, the Zionist regime’s downfall and demise will continue," said Khamenei. According to the report, Khamenei congratulated leaders of the Islamic Jihad for, what he called, their victory against Israel in Gaza. “During the previous two wars, the Zionist regime called for truce after 22 days on one occasion and 8 days on another, but in the latest confrontation it requested a ceasefire after only 48 hours,” Khamenei explained. “This means the Zionist regime has been brought to its knees.” (Jerusalem Post)

12-31-2018
Politics

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have made a move to strengthen the hard-line camp and weaken the moderates -- and also may have cleaned up his line of succession.

By appointing a conservative ally to head the influential Expediency Council, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have made a move to strengthen the hard-line camp and weaken the moderates -- and also may have cleaned up his line of succession. "This is not good news for the moderates within the establishment," Paris-based political analyst Taghi Rahmani said of Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani's appointment to both head the Expediency Council and take a seat the powerful Guardians Council. The Expediency Council is tasked with mediating disputes between parliament and the Guardians Council, which determines whether laws are compliant with the Islamic republic's constitution and also vets election candidates. In addition to taking on his new roles, Larijani will retain his seat as head of the country's Judiciary. "It demonstrates that Khamenei prefers the extremists to manage the country's affairs," Rahmani said. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

12-27-2018
Syria Conflict

Militias affiliated with Iran in Iraq threatened to respond to American President Donald Trump’s visit to Iraq.

Militias affiliated with Iran in Iraq threatened to respond to American President Donald Trump’s visit to Iraq on Wednesday. Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Harakat al-Nujaba said Trump’s visit to Al Asad Air Base in Anbar “will not go unpunished.” Harakat al-Nujaba said it will not allow turning Iraq into an American base that threatens neighboring countries and called on the Iraqi government to expel American troops from the country as their presence harms the country’s sovereignty. (Al-Arabiya)

12-24-2018
Human Rights

A parliamentary motion banning child marriage in Iran has been rejected by Majles (parliament), an MP reported.

A parliamentary motion banning child marriage in Iran has been rejected by Majles (parliament), an MP reported. A member of women's faction in the Islamic Republic's parliament, Tayyebeh Seyavoshi says, "The Legal and Judicial Commission of Majles has rejected a parliamentary motion that proposed a ban on allowing under thirteen-year-old girls to marry." Following the rejection, Ms. Seyavoshi says, "We are waiting for the Commission's official report, and then, decide on our next step." According to a member of the Legal and Judicial commission, Yahya Kamalpour, the motion was rejected after Grand Ayatollahs and sources of emulation" vehemently opposed it. (Radio Farda)

12-22-2018
Military

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards launched war games in the Gulf after a U.S. aircraft carrier entered the waterway amid rising tension between the countries over reimposed U.S. sanctions.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards launched war games in the Gulf today after a U.S. aircraft carrier entered the waterway amid rising tension between the countries over reimposed U.S. sanctions. State television showed amphibious forces landing on Iran's Gulf island of Qeshm during the exercises, which featured naval vessels, helicopters, drones, rocket launchers and commando units. 'Hopefully, with these exercises, our enemies will realise more than ever how devastating our response would be to any move by them,' state news agency IRNA quoted Guards chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying. (Daily Mail)

12-21-2018
Human Rights

Iran faces new criticism from Baha’i activists for its delayed release of an ailing Baha’i leader imprisoned for a decade and for its threat to jail a Baha’i woman for 11 years.

Iran faces new criticism from Baha’i activists for its delayed release of an ailing Baha’i leader imprisoned for a decade and for its threat to jail a Baha’i woman for 11 years. The Baha’i International Community (BIC) said Iran released the last of seven imprisoned former leaders of the country’s Baha’i minority on Thursday. BIC sent VOA Persian photos of 56-year-old Afif Naeimi, a father of two from Tehran, with loved ones who greeted him with flowers after he emerged from the city’s Evin prison. Naeimi and the six other Iranian Baha’i leaders had been arrested in 2008 on national-security-related charges rejected as baseless by BIC, which said they were part of a long-running persecution of Iranian Baha’is by Tehran’s Islamist rulers who view them as heretics. (Voice of America)

12-19-2018
Human Rights

For the second day in a row, Iranian authorities detained a number of steel mill workers after five weeks of protests over delays in salaries.

For the second day in a row, Iranian authorities on Tuesday detained a number of steel mill workers after five weeks of protests over delays in salaries. The factory of the state-owned National Iranian Steel Group in Ahvaz, the capital of southwestern Khuzestan province, was founded in early 1960s and has nearly 4,000 workers. It was privatized in 2008 but following financial problems, its ownership returned to a government bank in 2016. The head of the Iranian workers union said that the authorities arrested 10 workers on Tuesday, raising the number of laborers detained since the launch of a campaign of arrest against them at dawn Monday, to 41. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

12-18-2018
Human Rights

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty.

The UN General Assembly on Monday approved a resolution urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty. The Canadian-drafted resolution was adopted by a vote of 84 to 30 with 67 abstentions. The resolution “strongly urges” Iran to eliminate discrimination against women in law and practice and expresses “serious concern about ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.” (Associated Press)

12-18-2018
Terrorism

According to a cyber security research lab Certfa Iran backed hackers targeted U.S. government officials, think-tank employees and nuclear scientists around the world.

According to a cyber security research lab Certfa Iran backed hackers targeted U.S. government officials, think-tank employees and nuclear scientists around the world. The hackers used sophisticated "Phishing attacks through email or social media and messaging accounts of public figures.” The attackers allegedly also managed to breach two-factor authentication. According at an AP report Certfa managed to extract a partial list of 77 Yahoo and Gmail addresses accidentally left by hackers on one of their servers. Certfa researchers allege that the hacking group Charming Kitten is behind this attack because "domain names and servers of this campaign are very similar to the methods" of Charming Kitten. Although the group used Virtual Private Networks to mask their locations Certfa says they managed to trace some of the IP address to Iran. (Radio Farda)

12-16-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have confirmed the death of a social media activist jailed on security charges, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported, after Western rights groups said he had died following a 60-day hunger strike in prison.

Iranian authorities have confirmed the death of a social media activist jailed on security charges, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday, after Western rights groups said he had died following a 60-day hunger strike in prison. “The political prisoner Vahid Sayyadi Nasiri, on hunger strike since October 13, 2018 to protest the denial of his right to counsel and inhumane prison conditions..., has died at the Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom,” the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on its website. ISNA quoted an unidentified source as saying Nasiri had been jailed twice for belonging to a royalist group and planning acts of sabotage including an explosion. He had been taken from prison to a hospital where he died due to a liver disease on Dec. 12, the source said, without referring to a hunger strike. (Reuters)

12-15-2018
Extremism

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said US sanctions will have no impact on the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday said US sanctions will have no impact on the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad. "It is obvious that we are facing pressure by the US sanctions. But will that lead to a change in policy? I can assure you it won't," Zarif told the Doha Forum policy conference in Qatar. "If there is an art we have perfected in Iran and can teach to others for a price, it is the art of evading sanctions," he added. (Daily Mail)

12-13-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian political activist, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, detained in Qom Prison, died in his cell after a 60-day hunger strike.

An Iranian political activist, detained in Qom Prison, died in his cell on Wednesday after a 60-day hunger strike. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri was jailed in 2015 and sentenced to eight years after he was accused of insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and spreading “propaganda against the state” on his Facebook account, according to the advocacy group Iran Human Rights Monitor. During his initial detention at Raja’i Shahr and Evin prisons, Iran Human Rights Monitor alleges that Sayadi Nasiri had been harassed by operatives linked to the Iranian regime. The group say he was attacked in May 2017 by a fellow prisoner, and again in February, this time by two offenders. Sayadi Nasiri was released in March having served two-and-a-half years of his sentence, but detained again in August 2018. (Time)

12-12-2018
Human Rights

Dissident Iranian lawyer Ghasem Sholesaadi has been sentenced to six years in prison, his lawyer said.

Dissident Iranian lawyer Ghasem Sholesaadi has been sentenced to six years in prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. Sholesaadi was arrested Aug. 18 while taking part in a small protest outside the Iranian Parliament against the barring of candidates from elections. The conservative-dominated Guardian Council reserves the right to veto any candidates from presidential and parliamentary elections. "Mr. Sholesaadi has been sentenced to five years of prison for 'assembling and conspiring against national security' by the 15th branch of Tehran's revolutionary court," his lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, told AFP. "He also received one further year for 'propagation against the system,’" Aghasi added. (Agence France Presse)

12-11-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has confirmed a recent ballistic missile test that was condemned by the United States.

Iran has confirmed a recent ballistic missile test that was condemned by the United States. The semi-official Fars news agency on Tuesday quoted Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh as saying the test was an “important one.” Hajizadeh, who leads the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, said the American outcry “indicates that the test was very important to them.” The U.S. seized on the missile test to urge European countries to follow its lead in restoring tough sanctions on Iran. (The Associated Press)

12-11-2018
Syria Conflict

Two launch units for anti-tank guided missiles recovered by a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen appear to have been manufactured in Iran during 2016 and 2017, according to a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters.

Two launch units for anti-tank guided missiles recovered by a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen appear to have been manufactured in Iran during 2016 and 2017, according to a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters on Tuesday. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres does not specifically state whether the discovery of the units in Yemen was a violation of a U.N. resolution that took effect in January 2016. It prevents Iran from importing and exporting arms or related materiel unless the Security Council has given approval. “The Secretariat found that they had characteristics of Iranian manufacture and that their markings indicated production dates in 2016 and 2017,” Guterres said in his biannual report to the Security Council on the implementation of sanctions on Iran. (Reuters)

12-10-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested over 100 Christians in the past few days, as they seek to crack down on conversions and what they claim is proselytizing by evangelicals.

Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested over 100 Christians in the past few days, as they seek to crack down on conversions and what they claim is proselytizing by evangelicals. Citing Open Doors UK, a charity that monitors persecution of Christians around the world, the Telegraph reported Monday that growing public interest in the minority faith, which makes up less than 1 percent — or around 350,000 — of the population, has worried the Islamic regime, leading to to crackdowns on churches and congregants. While the existing Christian minority is accepted by Iran’s rulers, conversion from Islam is a punishable offense. “This spike in arrests is highly concerning,” Zoe Smith, head of advocacy at Open Doors, told the paper. “It follows an established trend of the Iranian government: as the number of converts to Christianity increase, so the authorities place greater restrictions on churches. (Times of Israel)

12-10-2018
Human Rights

Iran has detained an Australian-based academic on charges of trying to “infiltrate” Iranian institutions, according to state media.

Iran has detained an Australian-based academic on charges of trying to “infiltrate” Iranian institutions, according to state media. State news agency IRNA identified the detainee as population expert Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi who was held as she was leaving Iran. Hosseini-Chavoshi is affiliated with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Population control became a sensitive issue in Iran when the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a decree in 2014 calling for a population increase after decades of state-promoted birth control. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

12-09-2018
Nuclear Program

Tehran has “significantly expanded” its missile testing, including a missile that can reach European countries, the German daily Die Welt reported.

Tehran has “significantly expanded” its missile testing, including a missile that can reach European countries, the German daily Die Welt reported on Sunday.  The increase in tests marks a doubling of the country’s test missile launches. The regime tested four medium-range and one short-range missile in 2017, less than half the number of tests in 2018, according to documentation seen by the newspaper. Iran tested medium-range missiles at least seven times in 2018, Die Welt said, testing short-range and cruise missiles an additional five times. Three variants of the Shabab-3 medium-range missile were tested, according to information provided to the paper, while two variants of the Qiam-1 were tested and the Khorramshahr missile was also tested at least once. (Jerusalem Post)

12-06-2018
Human Rights

Iran executed 12 prisoners in Kerman Central Prison, most of them convicted of drug charges.

Iran on Thursday executed 12 prisoners in Kerman Central Prison, most of them convicted of drug charges. Four of the executed prisoners were identified as, Abdolghani Ghalandarzehi, Yaghub Ghalandarzehi, Jalil Khodabakhsh and Yousef Jalaledin, all from Iran’s ethnic Baluch minority. According to witnesses, the bodies of 12 people executed today were handed over to their families. (Iran Human Rights Monitor)

12-04-2018
Syria Conflict

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened again to close the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened again to close the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea. The state TV quotes Rouhani as saying on Tuesday that “if someday, the United States decides to block Iran’s oil (exports), no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf.” The strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is crucial to global energy supplies. Rouhani also pledged that the United States wouldn’t be able to prevent Iran from exporting its crude. (Associated Press)

12-04-2018
Terrorism

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of ultimate responsibility for the attack tunnels, built by Hezbollah, one of which was destroyed today in the IDF's operation Northern Shield on the Lebanon border.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of ultimate responsibility for the attack tunnels, built by Hezbollah, one of which was destroyed today in the IDF's operation Northern Shield on the Lebanon border. This act is part of Iran's web of terror in the region and the world, Netanyahu said. "We are acting to prevent Iran gaining a foothold in Syria and in Lebanon." The goal of the Hezbollah tunnel, Netanyahu said, is to capture Israeli territory in the Galilee. (Jerusalem Post)

12-04-2018
Military

Iran intends to expand the range of its air-to-air missiles and has carried out very good measures in this regard, commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh says.

Iran intends to expand the range of its air-to-air missiles and has carried out very good measures in this regard, commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh says. "One of our most important programs is increasing the range of missiles and ammunition," Nasirzadeh said in an interview with Fars news agency on Tuesday. "We are after standoff missiles and ammunition and see no limitations for ourselves in this field because the Air Force should boost the country's deterrent power along with other [Armed] Forces," he added. (Press TV)

12-01-2018
Military

Iran’s navy launched a domestically made destroyer, which state media said has radar-evading stealth properties, as tensions rise with arch-enemy, the United States.

Iran’s navy on Saturday launched a domestically made destroyer, which state media said has radar-evading stealth properties, as tensions rise with arch-enemy, the United States. In a ceremony carried live on state television, the Sahand destroyer — which can sustain voyages lasting five months without resupply — joined Iran’s regular navy at a base in Bandar Abbas on the Gulf. The Sahand has a flight deck for helicopters, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and electronic warfare capabilities, state television reported. (Reuters)

12-01-2018
Nuclear Program

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran's government had just test-fired a medium-range missile "that is capable of carrying multiple warheads."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday that Iran's government had just test-fired a medium-range missile "that is capable of carrying multiple warheads." The ballistic missile Iran tested has the ability to hit parts of Europe and any location in the Middle East, the secretary said, which he claimed would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution that called Iran to not pursue "any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology." "We condemn these activities," Pompeo said, "and call upon Iran to cease immediately all activities relating to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons." (NBC News)

11-30-2018
Extremism

A Tehran-based agency has quietly fed propaganda through at least 70 websites to countries from Afghanistan to Russia.

A Tehran-based agency has quietly fed propaganda through at least 70 websites to countries from Afghanistan to Russia. And American firms have helped. Website Nile Net Online promises Egyptians “true news” from its offices in the heart of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, “to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab world.” Until recently, Nile Net Online had more than 115,000 page-followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But its contact telephone numbers, including one listed as 0123456789, don’t work. A Facebook map showing its location dropped a pin onto the middle of the street, rather than any building. And regulars at the square, including a newspaper stallholder and a policeman, say they have never heard of the website. The reason: Nile Net Online is part of an influence operation based in Tehran. It’s one of more than 70 websites found by Reuters which push Iranian propaganda to 15 countries, in an operation that cybersecurity experts, social media firms and journalists are only starting to uncover. The sites found by Reuters are visited by more than half a million people a month, and have been promoted by social media accounts with more than a million followers. (Reuters)

11-29-2018
Military

Iran’s navy has acquired two new mini submarines designed for operations in shallow waters such as the Persian Gulf, the Iranian state TV reported.

Iran’s navy has acquired two new mini submarines designed for operations in shallow waters such as the Persian Gulf, the Iranian state TV reported on Thursday. The report said one of the mini submarines — also known as midget submarines — was dubbed Ghadir-955 and was built in 18 months. The other, a previously built Ghadir-942, took 10 months to overhaul. The subs have sonar-evading technology and can launch missiles from under water, as well as fire torpedoes and drop marine mines, the TV said. Iran began manufacturing Ghadir subs in 2005. The first was unveiled in 2007 and by 2012, five such submarines were incorporated into Iran’s navy. (Associated Press)

11-29-2018
Terrorism

An Iranian cargo plane allegedly transporting advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group was spotted flying directly from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday morning, hours before Israel allegedly conducted airstrikes on pro-Iranian targets in Syria.

An Iranian cargo plane allegedly transporting advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group was spotted flying directly from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday morning, hours before Israel allegedly conducted airstrikes on pro-Iranian targets in Syria. Israeli and American security officials have long claimed that Iran has been supplying Lebanon’s Hezbollah with advanced munitions by shipping them through ostensibly civilian airlines, including the one that flew into Lebanon on Thursday: Fars Air Qeshm. However, these cargo planes typically unload their materiel in Syria or stop there en route to Beirut, rather than flying directly into Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. (Times of Israel)

11-29-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran is using teams of hit squads in Iraq to silence critics of Iranian attempts to meddle in Iraq’s new government, according to British security officials.

Iran is using teams of hit squads in Iraq to silence critics of Iranian attempts to meddle in Iraq’s new government, according to British security officials. The hit squads are said to have been deployed on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force, with the aim of intimidating Iraqi opponents of Iranian interference in Iraqi politics. The hit squads were deployed after Iraqi general election in May, when Iranian attempts to establish a controlling influence over the new Iraqi government were stymied by the failure of Tehran-backed candidates to win sufficient votes. (Telegraph)

11-29-2018
Syria Conflict

The Trump administration accused Iran of stepping up violations of a U.N. ban on arms exports by sending rockets and other weaponry to rebels in Afghanistan and Yemen.

The Trump administration on Thursday accused Iran of stepping up violations of a U.N. ban on arms exports by sending rockets and other weaponry to rebels in Afghanistan and Yemen. The new allegations come as the U.S. ramps up pressure on Iran to halt what it calls “malign activities” in the Middle East and elsewhere by reinstating sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew in May. Iran has denied such accusations in the past. In a presentation at a military base in Washington, the administration displayed weapons and fragments of weapons seized in Afghanistan, Bahrain and Yemen that it said are evidence Iran is a “grave and escalating threat” that must be stopped. The material was added to a collection presented by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last December when she laid out a case for pulling out of the nuclear agreement. (Associated Press)

11-28-2018
Terrorism

Two Iranians were behind the ransomware attack that crippled Atlanta’s government for days this year, the Justice Department said in an unsealed indictment, detailing a sophisticated scheme of attacks.

Two Iranians were behind the ransomware attack that crippled Atlanta’s government for days this year, the Justice Department said in an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, detailing a sophisticated scheme of attacks on hospitals, government agencies and other organizations. The men, Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, chose targets with complex yet vulnerable systems — organizations that could afford to pay ransoms and needed to urgently restore their systems back online, prosecutors said. In the case of Atlanta, one of the most sustained and consequential cyberattacks ever launched against a major American city, the pair broke into the city’s computer systems and held their data hostage for about $51,000 worth of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, prosecutors said. (New York Times)

11-27-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran is determined to fight against US Donald Trump's anticipated Israel-Palestinian peace plan, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said according to semi-official news agency ISNA.

Iran is determined to fight against US Donald Trump's anticipated Israel-Palestinian peace plan, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday according to semi-official news agency ISNA. Trump has dubbed his administration's long-awaited plan the "ultimate deal", which has already unsettled the Palestinians although no details have yet been disclosed. Speaking in Tehran, Larijani said the "deal of the century" was a "plot" between Iran's arch foe Israel and the United States to establish the Jewish state's domination in the Middle East. "We will stand against the regime of Israel and won't let this deal take place in the region," Larijani said at an annual conference on Islamic unity. (Agence France Presse)

11-26-2018
Military

Iran says it is ready to export domestically built fighter jets after showcasing them to potential buyers during an air show on Kish Island.

Iran says it is ready to export domestically built fighter jets after showcasing them to potential buyers during an upcoming air show on Kish Island. Brigadier General Abdoklarim Banitarafi, head of Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), made the announcement on Monday, before the air show’s opening ceremony. “We have already taken the necessary steps to export products that we are authorized to sell,” he told reporters, noting that Tehran will resume selling trainer jets as well. (Press TV)

11-24-2018
Extremism

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called Israel a “cancerous tumor” established by Western countries to advance their interests in the Middle East.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday called Israel a “cancerous tumor” established by Western countries to advance their interests in the Middle East. Iran’s leaders frequently condemn Israel and predict its demise, but Rouhani, a relative moderate, rarely employs such rhetoric. Addressing an annual Islamic Unity Conference on Saturday, Rouhani said “one of the ominous results of World War II was the formation of a cancerous tumor in the region.” He went on to refer to Israel as a “fake regime” set up by Western countries. (Associated Press)

11-22-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has not declared all its chemical weapons capabilities to the global chemical weapons agency in The Hague, in violation of an international non-proliferation convention, the U.S. ambassador to the organization said.

Iran has not declared all its chemical weapons capabilities to the global chemical weapons agency in The Hague, in violation of an international non-proliferation convention, the U.S. ambassador to the organization said on Thursday. Ambassador Kenneth Ward told a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Iran had failed to report a production facility for the filling of aerial bombs and maintains a program to obtain banned toxic munitions. (Reuters)

11-20-2018
Syria Conflict

The Treasury Department on Tuesday added a network of Russian and Iranian companies to its blacklist for shipping oil to Syria in violation of sanctions.

The Treasury Department on Tuesday added a network of Russian and Iranian companies to its blacklist for shipping oil to Syria in violation of sanctions. The network helps fuel the Syrian war effort of President Bashar Assad while providing revenue for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the sanctions. “The United States in its continued efforts will not allow these dirty dealings to flourish,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Tuesday. “Iran will not be allowed to exploit the international financial system to hide revenue streams it uses to fund terrorist activity.” (Associated Press)

11-15-2018
Human Rights

A U.N. committee on human rights approved a resolution urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty.

A U.N. committee on human rights approved a resolution Thursday urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty. The General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee adopted the resolution by a vote of 85-30, with 68 abstentions. It is virtually certain to be approved by the 193-member world body next month. The resolution “strongly urges” Iran to eliminate discrimination against women in law and practice and expresses “serious concern about ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.” It singles out violations including harassment, intimidation and persecution against religious minorities including Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Jews, Sufi Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians and members of the Baha’i faith — and urges the release of religious practitioners including Baha’i leaders. (Associated Press)

11-14-2018
Human Rights

Rights group Amnesty International condemned Iran's execution of a gold trader and his accomplice as "abhorrent" and said it followed a "grossly unfair show trial".

Rights group Amnesty International condemned Iran's execution on Wednesday of a gold trader and his accomplice as "abhorrent" and said it followed a "grossly unfair show trial". Vahid Mazloomin and accomplice Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi were executed after being found guilty of "corruption on earth", Iran's most serious capital offence, the judiciary's Mizan website said. Mazloomin had been dubbed the "Sultan of Coins" for allegedly exploiting a surge in gold demand from savers spooked by this year's currency crisis in Iran. "With these abhorrent executions the Iranian authorities have flagrantly violated international law," said Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa research director, Philip Luther. (Radio Farda)

11-13-2018
Terrorism

The U.S.'s lead counterterrorism envoy has accused Iran of spending $1 billion a year on supporting groups considered terrorist organizations by the U.S.

The U.S.'s lead counterterrorism envoy has accused Iran of spending $1 billion a year on supporting groups considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. Nathan A. Sales, the State Department's ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism, targeted Iran in a blistering lecture given on Tuesday to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank founded by the former deputy research director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He accused Tehran of propping up various militias across the region, including the Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, the Palestinian Sunni Muslim group Hamas and the Zaidi Shiite Muslim Ansar Allah militia, also known as the Houthis. "Let me give you some numbers. This may sound hard to believe, but Iran provides Hizballah alone some $700 million a year. It gives another $100 million to various Palestinian terrorist groups. When you throw in the money provided to other terrorists, the total comes close to one billion dollars," Sales said. (Newsweek)

11-07-2018
Terrorism

Three Iranians traveling with fake Israeli passports were detained in Bulgaria over the weekend, The Sofia Globe reported.

Three Iranians traveling with fake Israeli passports were detained in Bulgaria over the weekend, The Sofia Globe reported. The men were detained at the Bulgarian border as they attempted to enter the Kapitan Andreevo crossing from Turkey – a major transit point for entering Europe, the report said. It is unclear though, how they managed to travel through Turkey without being detected. The three men, aged 21, 28 and 32 arrived on October 31 and carried Israeli passports that had been “falsified,” the Interior Ministry told the Bulgarian media. They were detained by border police and then taken to a detention center in Lyubimets, in the southeast portion of the country where “fast-track proceedings” – a way to quickly deport the individuals – were initiated. (Jerusalem Post)

11-07-2018
Syria Conflict

Iranian forces in Syria may present a threat to the US and in Iraq the Iranian threat is increasing, according to a new report from the US Department of Defense.

Iranian forces in Syria may present a threat to the US and in Iraq the Iranian threat is increasing, according to a new report from the US Department of Defense. The Lead Inspector General report on Operation Inherent Resolve was released on Tuesday and reviews the US role fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.  However the quarterly report, which covers operations from July to September of this year, notes that Iran is increasingly a threat to the US and examines how Washington is now changing its posture in Syria as the mission changes. In the last several months US officials have said that American troops would remain in Syria as long as Iranian troops were also present in the country. The US is now seeking to “leverage” its influence in Syria to remove Iran. (Jerusalem Post)

11-06-2018
Human Rights

Iran’s judiciary convicted at least 24 protesters, including two women, on vaguely defined national security charges, Human Rights Watch said.

Iran’s judiciary convicted at least 24 protesters, including two women, on vaguely defined national security charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Their prison sentences ranged from six months to six years. They were among more than 50 people arrested on August 2 during a protest in Tehran about deteriorating economic conditions and corruption. Authorities also arrested a human rights lawyer who had been convicted to three years in prison for reporting a protester’s death in detention on October 28. (Al-Arabiya)

11-05-2018
Extremism

Iran greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions with air defense drills and an acknowledgement from President Hassan Rouhani the nation faces a "war situation," raising Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic republic takes hold.

Iran greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Monday with air defense drills and an acknowledgement from President Hassan Rouhani the nation faces a "war situation," raising Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic republic takes hold. The sanctions end all the economic benefits America granted Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, though Iran for now continues to abide by the accord that saw it limit its enrichment of uranium. While for now not threatening to resume higher enrichment, Iranian officials in recent months have made a point to threaten that could resume at any time faster than before. The new American sanctions particularly hurt Iran's vital oil industry, a crucial source of hard currency for its anemic economy. Its national currency has plummeted over the last year, sending prices for everything from mobile phones to medicine skyrocketing. (Associated Press)

11-04-2018
Terrorism

Iran's powerful Guardian Council rejected a bill on joining the UN convention against terrorist financing seen as crucial to maintaining trade and banking ties with the world.

Iran's powerful Guardian Council on Sunday rejected a bill on joining the UN convention against terrorist financing seen as crucial to maintaining trade and banking ties with the world. The conservative-dominated council, which oversees legislation passed by the parliament, said aspects of the bill were against Islamic law and the constitution and sent it back to lawmakers for revision. "The Guardian Council has in several sessions reviewed the bill... and it has considered it to have flaws and ambiguities," wrote spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaie on Twitter. The bill, narrowly passed by parliament on October 7, is one of four put forward by the government of President Hassan Rouhani in order to meet demands set by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors countries' efforts to tackle money-laundering and terrorist financing. (Agence France Presse)

10-25-2018
Human Rights

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, presented his report in his first mission, in front a UN panel in New York, criticizing the increase in executions and suppressions inside the Islamic Republic.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Javid Rehman, presented his report in his first mission, in front a UN panel in New York on Wednesday, with the United Kingdom, United States and the European Union criticizing the increase in executions and suppressions inside the Islamic Republic.

Rehman, a British-Pakistani legal scholar, reported that Iran has witnessed lately a wave of protests against the economic and living conditions which the authorities tried to suppress.

Rehman called on the Iranian government to allow him to visit the country in order to assess the human rights situation through interviews with Iranian citizens and to provide information on reports provided by international human rights organizations on violations, particularly executions, torture, suppression of freedom of assembly, opinion and expression, as well as depriving religious and ethnic minorities of their fundamental rights. (Al-Arabiya)

10-24-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran was closer to developing nuclear weapons than previously thought, according to a think tank report.

Iran was closer to developing nuclear weapons than previously thought, according to a think tank report issued late Tuesday. A report by the Institute for Science and International Security said that combining new information produced by the Mossad during its January raid on a Tehran warehouse along with satellite imagery “conclusively shows that the Parchin site did house high explosive chambers capable for use in nuclear weapons research and development.” While the focus of the report is Iran’s activities up until 2003, the premise of the report and of the documents which the Mossad appropriated from a site in Tehran (which had not been disclosed to the IAEA) is that the tests performed mean Iran could be capable of building a weapon faster than previously thought. (Jerusalem Post)

10-23-2018
Syria Conflict

Illicit exports of crude oil from Iran to Syria spiked in the first two weeks of October to roughly 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), more than twice the reported high for previous two-week periods this year.

Illicit exports of crude oil from Iran to Syria spiked in the first two weeks of October to roughly 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), more than twice the reported high for previous two-week periods this year. The shipments provide a crucial lifeline for the cash-strapped Assad regime, whose persistent evasion of U.S. and EU sanctions has yet to provoke fully effective enforcement measures. New data from both Bloomberg and Tanker Trackers indicate a surge of deliveries to the Assad regime, which has maintained control of Syria’s Mediterranean ports since the outbreak of war in 2011. Bloomberg reported 143,000 bpd of deliveries in the first two weeks of October, versus 71,000 bpd for the same period in September. Tanker Trackers estimated the flow at 156,000 bpd, versus 77,000 bpd for early September. While the pace of deliveries may vary substantially during a single month, the amount already received in these two weeks is significant. Even if Syria imported no Iranian oil for the rest of October, this monthly total would represent a peak for 2018. (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

10-20-2018
Terrorism

American and western intelligence sources believe Iran has been increasing its shipments of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, increasing the threat to Israel.

American and western intelligence sources believe Iran has been increasing its shipments of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, deliveries that now include Global Positioning System (GPS) components to make previously unguided rockets into precision guided-missiles, increasing the threat to Israel. One of the Iranian flights arrived in Lebanon three days ago, officials tell Fox News. Iran’s Fars Air Qeshm flight number QFZ-9950 departed Tehran International Airport on Tuesday at 9:33 a.m. local time, and flew to an unknown destination, according to flight data obtained by Fox News. Later in the day, the Boeing 747 jet touched down in Syria’s capital Damascus before continuing on to Beirut, arriving just past 2 p.m., according to the flight tracker software. On Wednesday evening, the Iranian cargo plane departed Beirut for Doha, Qatar arriving just after midnight local time, and returned to Iran’s capital Thursday at 6:31 p.m. Western intelligence sources said the Iranian cargo plane carried weapons components, including GPS devices to make precision-guided weapons in Iranian factories inside Lebanon. (Fox News)

10-16-2018
Military

Iran has extended the range of its land-to-sea ballistic missiles to 700 km (435 miles), a senior Iranian military official said amid rising tensions with the United States over Tehran’s missile program.

Iran has extended the range of its land-to-sea ballistic missiles to 700 km (435 miles), a senior Iranian military official said on Tuesday amid rising tensions with the United States over Tehran’s missile program. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in May and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, saying the deal was flawed because it did not include curbs on Iran’s development of ballistic missiles or its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq. Iran, which says its missile program is purely defensive, has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if the United States tries to strangle Iranian oil exports. “We have managed to make land-to-sea ballistic, not cruise, missiles that can hit any vessel or ship from 700 km,” Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ air space division, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. (Reuters)

10-13-2018
Terrorism

An Al-Qaeda-linked militant group is using Iran as its main transit point for illegal charcoal exports from Somalia, enabling the group to earn millions of dollars in profits, a report to the UN Security Council seen by media says.

An Al-Qaeda-linked militant group is using Iran as its main transit point for illegal charcoal exports from Somalia, enabling the group to earn millions of dollars in profits, a report to the UN Security Council seen by media says. According to a report cited by AFP and Reuters on October 12, since March, the main destination for the illegal shipments has been ports in Iran, where the charcoal is packaged into white bags labelled "Product of Iran." The United Nations has banned Somali charcoal imports since 2012 to cut sources of revenue for Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that generates revenues for its Islamist insurgency by levying taxes on charcoal production in the regions it controls. The UN estimates that, despite UN sanctions banning such exports, Somalia produced some 3.6 million bags of charcoal in 2017 for export, generating some $7.5 million in revenue for Al-Shabaab. (RFE/RL)

10-12-2018
Syria Conflict

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran will give a crushing response to any threat to its security even if it requires extraterritorial operations.

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran will give a crushing response to any threat to its security even if it requires extraterritorial operations.

“Iran will never avoid giving response [to threats] beyond its borders if its security is put in danger,” Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari told Yemen’s al-Masirah TV on Friday.

General Jafari also referred to US President Donald Trump’s claim that his administration has decreased the Islamic Republic’s power, and said, “If in the past we could defend the Southwest Asia … in 12 minutes, we can do it now in a shorter time.”

The Iranian commander’s remarks came after Trump claimed on Tuesday Iran planned to take control of the Middle East in just “12 minutes.” (Press TV)

10-09-2018
Terrorism

Criminal networks are using Iran as a transit point for illicit Somali charcoal exports that earn Islamist militants al Shabaab millions of dollars annually in tax, U.N. sanctions monitors said in a report seen by Reuters.

Criminal networks are using Iran as a transit point for illicit Somali charcoal exports that earn Islamist militants al Shabaab millions of dollars annually in tax, U.N. sanctions monitors said in a report seen by Reuters.

In the unpublished annual report to the U.N. Security Council, the monitors add that domestic revenue generation by al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab “is more geographically diversified and systematic” than that of Somalia’s federal government.

The report says that since March the main destination for shipments - using fake country of origin certificates from Comoros, Ivory Coast and Ghana - has been ports in Iran, where the charcoal is packaged into white bags labeled “Product of Iran”.

“The bags were then reloaded onto smaller, Iran-flagged dhows (boats), and exported to Port Al Hamriya, Dubai, UAE, using certificates of origin falsely indicating the ‘country of manufacture’ of the charcoal as Iran,” the monitors wrote. (Reuters)

10-09-2018
Terrorism

A network of Hezbollah hackers posed as attractive women on social media to dupe users into downloading dangerous software, allowing them to hack into mobile devices across the world.

A network of Hezbollah hackers used old tricks on social media to hack into mobile devices across the world. Posing as attractive girls on Facebook, they would contact users and start chatting. After steering the conversation to increasingly sensual topics, the profiles would then ask the user to install a ‘more private and secure application‘.

According to the counterintelligence service’s press release, some impassioned users, mostly men, would comply and install the app. Unaware that it gave hackers access to their sensitive information, including contacts, photographs, calls, text messages, GPS data and the option to secretly record the owner via the mobile device.

The hacking attacks through servers placed in the Czech Republic, the wider EU and the US, originated from the middle east. They were aimed at various regions across the world including Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East itself. (Radio Praha)

10-02-2018
Syria Conflict

The United States accused Iran of recklessly firing missiles into southern Syria, an area where American troops are operating, but said the missiles did not come close to hitting U.S. forces.

The United States on Tuesday accused Iran of recklessly firing missiles into southern Syria, an area where American troops are operating, but said the missiles did not come close to hitting U.S. forces. A Pentagon statement called the Monday attack “reckless, unsafe and escalatory.” The U.S. would not say precisely where the barrage of six missiles landed in relation to U.S. troops, but a spokesman said they were never in direct danger of being hit. (Washington Examiner)

10-02-2018
Terrorism

French police detained three people and seized weapons during raids of a dozen homes.

French police detained three people and seized weapons during raids of a dozen homes and the headquarters of a Muslim association based outside the port city of Dunkirk during an anti-terrorism operation early Tuesday, officials said. Authorities froze the funds of the Centre Zahra France, along with those of three other organizations and four men linked to the groups. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the prefecture of the region was in the process of closing the prayer room of Zahra France, headquartered in Grande-Synthe. He said the three detained were taken in for illegal weapons possession. Police didn’t say what types of weapons were found. About 200 police officers searched homes and the headquarters of the association. Some French media reports said that Zahra France was a leading center for Shiite Islam in Europe and is suspected of links to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, and to the Palestinian Hamas. The information couldn’t be immediately confirmed. (Times of Israel)

10-02-2018
Human Rights

Iran has executed a female victim of domestic and sexual violence who was convicted of killing her husband when she was a minor following a 2014 “grossly unfair trial,” according to Amnesty International.

Iran has executed a female victim of domestic and sexual violence who was convicted of killing her husband when she was a minor, according to Amnesty International. The execution of Zeinab Sekaanvand is "profoundly unjust and shows the Iranian authorities' contempt for the right of children to life," the London-based human rights watchdog said on October 2. A statement said the 24-year-old was hanged early in the day in Urumieh central prison in West Azerbaijan province. An ethnic Kurd, Sekaanvand was 15 when she married her husband, according to Amnesty, and she was sentenced to death in October 2014 following a "grossly unfair trial" for allegedly stabbing him to death. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty)

09-29-2018
Military

The Iranian Navy on Saturday boasted that it possessed airships capable of carrying out the swiftest missile strikes in the world against enemy targets.

The Iranian Navy on Saturday boasted that it possessed airships capable of carrying out the swiftest missile strikes in the world against enemy targets. The commander of the Iranian Navy’s Airborne Unit General Pilot Mansour Rouh Ol-Amini told the Fars News Agency that the country had “two models of BH7 and SRN6 airships and they have given us the capacity to declare that we now have the swiftest missile platforms that can fly at a high-speed and leave the region after fire.” (Times of Israel)

09-29-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage purporting to show a close encounter between the Revolutionary Guard’s navy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt early this year.

Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage purporting to show a close encounter between the Revolutionary Guard’s navy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt early this year. PressTV’s website says the encounter occurred March 21 in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea. The TV agency says the video was aired Saturday as part of a documentary. The footage is likely meant as a show of strength amid new U.S. sanctions on Iran and the Trump administration plans to bring Iranian oil exports down to zero. In the video, Guard speedboats are seen closing in on the U.S. carrier. (Associated Press)

09-28-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to respect Tehran’s “red lines” or face retaliation, as the United States and its Gulf allies increase pressure on Tehran to curb its regional influence.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to respect Tehran’s “red lines” or face retaliation, as the United States and its Gulf allies increase pressure on Tehran to curb its regional influence. Iran accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding five gunmen who attacked a military parade in Iran on Sept. 22 and killed 25 people, 12 of them members of the elite Guards. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied any involvement. The Revolutionary Guards have vowed to exact “deadly and unforgettable” vengeance. “If you cross our red lines, we will surely cross yours. You know the storm the Iranian nation can create,” the Fars news agency quoted Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guards, as saying. (Reuters)

09-27-2018
Terrorism

The Israeli military released a video clip and photos of what it said were Hezbollah Shi’ite militia rocket building sites in Lebanon.

The Israeli military on Thursday released a video clip and photos of what it said were Hezbollah Shi’ite militia rocket building sites in Lebanon. The images were distributed minutes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly that Israel had evidence that Iran was helping Hezbollah give its missiles precision-guided accuracy. “In Lebanon, Iran is directing Hezbollah to build secret sites to convert inaccurate projectiles into precision-guided missiles, missiles that can target deep inside Israel within an accuracy of 10 metres (yards),” he said. (Reuters)

09-27-2018
Syria Conflict

A US intelligence assessment has concluded that Iranian-backed militias and proxy forces could be planning a strike against US military forces or interests in the Middle East, according to three defense officials.

A US intelligence assessment conducted in recent days has concluded that Iranian-backed militias and proxy forces could be planning a strike against US military forces or interests in the Middle East, according to three defense officials. Officials emphasize their concern centers around the threat from those militias located in Syria and several other locations in the Middle East. They all describe the potential threat as ongoing and worrisome. However, they would not describe the specific intelligence that continues to be gathered. These militias have increased access to ballistic missile and other advanced weapons inventories as Iran continues to move weaponry into Syria. While there are no specific indicators of an Iranian attack, the concerns stem in part from Iran's statements that the US was one of the countries behind an attack on an Iranian military parade this month that killed at least 29 people. (CNN)

09-25-2018
Syria Conflict

An Iranian media outlet close to the hard-line Revolutionary Guard published a video threatening missile attacks on the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, further raising tensions after a weekend militant attack on an Iranian military

An Iranian media outlet close to the hard-line Revolutionary Guard published a video Tuesday threatening missile attacks on the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, further raising tensions after a weekend militant attack on an Iranian military parade. The video, in a tweet by the semi-official Fars news agency that was later deleted, comes as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for the attack in the city of Ahvaz on Saturday, which killed at least 24 people and wounded over 60. Saudi Arabia adamantly rejected the allegations. The threat amplifies the unease felt across the Persian Gulf, as Iran’s economy reels in the wake of America’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and Saudi and Emirati forces are bogged down in their war against Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen. (The Associated Press)

09-25-2018
Syria Conflict

Bahrain's attorney general charged nearly 170 people on Tuesday with forming a Shiite "terrorist organisation" named for Lebanon's famed militant group Hezbollah.

Bahrain's attorney general charged nearly 170 people on Tuesday with forming a Shiite "terrorist organisation" named for Lebanon's famed militant group Hezbollah. The small but strategic Gulf Arab kingdom has been dogged by persistent low-level violence since 2011 when its Sunni minority rulers bloodily suppressed Shiite-led protests for a constitutional monarchy with an elected prime minister. The authorities have repeatedly accused Shiite Iran and it allies, including Hezbollah, of fomenting the unrest. Iran denies the charge. Attorney general Ahmad al-Hamadi said 169 people, 111 of whom are in custody, will be tried for "forming a terrorist organisation... under the name Bahrain Hezbollah" in collaboration with the Iranian intelligence services. (Agence France Presse)

09-21-2018
Military

Iran’s air force is carrying out a drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea, the country’s official IRNA news agency said.

Iran’s air force is carrying out a drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea, the country’s official IRNA news agency said Friday. The drill involves the military’s and Revolutionary Guard fighter jets, including U.S.-made F-4, French Mirage and Russian Sukhoi-22 planes, the report said, adding that five logistics and combat helicopters are also taking part in the exercise over the Persian Gulf waters and the Sea of Oman. IRNA said the maneuver is a warning to Iran’s enemies that they face a quick, “stern response” in case of any ill-will toward Iran. (Associated Press)

09-20-2018
Syria Conflict

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his group is getting precision rockets despite Israeli actions to cut smuggling routes through Syria.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday that his group is getting precision rockets despite Israeli actions to cut smuggling routes through Syria. Israel on Monday attacked a facility near the coastal Syrian city of Latakia, which it said was used by the Syrian military to transfer weapons manufacturing systems to Iran and Hezbollah. "No matter what you do to cut the route, the matter is over and the resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets and weapons capabilities," Nasrallah said, addressing Israel in a broadcast speech. (Ha’aretz)

09-20-2018
Terrorism

Iran continues to wreak havoc in the Middle East by allowing Al Qaeda to maintain a "facilitation base" within the Islamic Republic's borders, according to the U.S State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism.

Iran continues to wreak havoc in the Middle East by allowing Al Qaeda to maintain a "facilitation base" within the Islamic Republic's borders, according to the U.S State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism. The report, released this week, reinforces assessments published in years past that not only does Iran enable Al Qaeda to conduct global operations from within its borders, but also remains "unwilling to bring to justice senior Al Qaeda members residing in Iran and has refused to publicly identify the members in its custody.” “This has been known within the U.S. intelligence community for years. Although Iran and Al Qaeda are at odds in Syria and Yemen, the Iranian regime has allowed this 'core pipeline' to exist since well before Osama bin Laden's death,” said Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and Senior Editor of the Long War Journal. (Fox News)

09-19-2018
Terrorism

The United States has once again named Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of fueling conflicts and undermining governments throughout the Middle East.

The United States has once again named Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of fueling conflicts and undermining governments throughout the Middle East. An annual survey on global terrorism, released by the State Department on September 19, said Iran and its proxies are responsible for intensifying multiple conflicts and undermining U.S. interests in the region. "Designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2017, including support for Lebanese Hizballah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various groups in Syria, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East," the report said. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

09-18-2018
Terrorism

An Iranian government-aligned group of hackers launched a major campaign targeting Mideast energy firms and others ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a cybersecurity firm said, warning further attacks remain possible as America re-imposes others on Tehran.

An Iranian government-aligned group of hackers launched a major campaign targeting Mideast energy firms and others ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a cybersecurity firm said Tuesday, warning further attacks remain possible as America re-imposes others on Tehran. While the firm FireEye says the so-called "spear-phishing" email campaign only involves hackers stealing information from infected computers, it involves a similar type of malware previously used to inject a program that destroyed tens of thousands of terminals in Saudi Arabia. The firm warns that raises the danger level ahead of America re-imposing crushing sanctions on Iran's oil industry in early November. A grand jury has indicted 12 Russian nationals for computer hacking aimed at interfering in the 2016 U.S. election. "Whenever we see Iranian threat groups active in this region, particularly in line with geopolitical events, we have to be concerned they might either be engaged in or pre-positioning for a disruptive attack," Alister Shepherd, a director for a FireEye subsidiary, told The Associated Press. (Associated Press)

09-15-2018
Human Rights

Iranian media are reporting that the country's General Prosecutor has ordered the closure of a reformist newspaper on charges of insulting the Shiite religion.

Iranian media are reporting that the country's General Prosecutor has ordered the closure of a reformist newspaper on charges of insulting the Shiite religion. The Friday reports say that the "Sedayeh Eslahat" newspaper was ordered shut down for publishing an article on female-to-male gender reassignment surgery. The prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, ordered the editor be punished, too, the reports said. On Thursday, a headline on the newspaper's front page read: "Ruqayyah became Mahdi after 22 years." (Associated Press)

09-13-2018
Syria Conflict

The chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said that Tehran’s missile attack on an Iranian Kurdish rebel base in northern Iraq last week was a warning to hostile powers, Iranian state television reported.

The chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Thursday that Tehran’s missile attack on an Iranian Kurdish rebel base in northern Iraq last week was a warning to hostile powers, Iranian state television reported. The Guards fired seven missiles at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an armed opposition group that fights for greater autonomy for Iran’s Kurdish community. “The attack against the terrorists in Iraq’s Kurdistan conveys a message to the enemies, particularly those superpowers who think they can impose their evil plots on Iran and bully us,” state TV quoted Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying. Iran has repeatedly threatened to destroy U.S. military bases across the Middle East and target Israel within minutes if attacked by the United States and its regional allies. “All those who have forces, bases and equipment within a 2,000 km (1,200 mile) radius should know that our missiles are highly precise.” (Reuters)

09-11-2018
Extremism

The White House said Iranian-backed militias in Iraq had carried out “life-threatening attacks” against the U.S. consulate in Basra and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and warned Washington would hold Tehran responsible if there are future assaults.

The White House said Iranian-backed militias in Iraq had carried out “life-threatening attacks” against the U.S. consulate in Basra and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and warned Washington would hold Tehran responsible if there are future assaults. “The United States will hold the regime in Tehran accountable for any attack that results in injury to our personnel or damage to United States government facilities,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday. “America will respond swiftly and decisively in defense of American lives.” The statement followed an attack on Saturday in which several rockets were fired at the Basra airport, where the U.S. consulate is located. At least one rocket also was fired at the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where the U.S. Embassy is based, and mortar fire also struck the Green Zone earlier in the week. No Americans were injured and no U.S. property was hit in the attacks. (Wall Street Journal)

09-10-2018
Extremism

A top Iranian military leader, warned that Iran is plotting strikes outside of its own borders and will even go "beyond the seas" to carry out attacks on those it perceives as enemies.

A top Iranian military leader warned on Monday that Iran is plotting strikes outside of its own borders and will even go "beyond the seas" to carry out attacks on those it perceives as enemies, statements that further highlight Iran's clandestine operations inside the United States and in Europe. "We warn the enemies of the Islamic Revolution that if they make an aggression against the Islamic Iran, we will chase and punish them not only outside the borders but also beyond the seas," General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top aide to Iran's Supreme Leader, was quoted as saying on Monday in remarks in Tehran. (Washington Free Beacon)

09-09-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting an Iraqi base of a Kurdish separatist group.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Sunday claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting an Iraqi base of a Kurdish separatist group. Iranian state television aired footage of surface-to-surface missiles launching Saturday toward the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan base in Iraq, as well as drone footage of the base in the aftermath of the strike, which the separatists say killed at least 11 people and wounded 50. The footage’s release appeared to be a stark warning by the Guard to the separatist group, known by the acronym PDKI, which has resumed hit-and-run attacks in Iran after some two decades of uneasy peace. A Kurdish attack in July killed at least 10 Iranian border guards, likely sparking the Guard’s show of force. (Associated Press)

09-09-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has completed a facility to build advanced centrifuges, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying, as Tehran prepares to increase its uranium-enrichment capacity if the nuclear deal collapses after the United States exits.

Iran has completed a facility to build advanced centrifuges, Iran’s nuclear chief was quoted on Sunday as saying, as Tehran prepares to increase its uranium-enrichment capacity if the nuclear deal collapses after the United States exits. In June, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the facility at the Natanz nuclear plant would be completed within a month. Salehi’s statement in June came days after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered preparations to increase the country’s uranium enrichment capacity if the nuclear agreement with world powers collapsed. On Sunday, the official news agency IRNA quoted Salehi as saying: “(Ayatollah Khamenei) had ordered us to set up and complete a very advanced hall for the construction of modern centrifuges, and this hall has now been fully equipped and set up.” (Reuters)

09-08-2018
Human Rights

Iran says it has executed three Iranian Kurds accused of belonging to a militant group and taking part in attacks against civilians and security forces in western Iran.

Iran says it has executed three Iranian Kurds accused of belonging to a militant group and taking part in attacks against civilians and security forces in western Iran. The executions reportedly took place despite calls by UN human rights special rapporteurs Javaid Rehman and Agnes Callamard, who said in a statement on September 7 that the men had not been given a fair trial. Amnesty International said the men had been denied access to their lawyers after being arrested and had said they were tortured into making confessions. "We are horrified by the news that the Iranian authorities have executed these men, despite widespread condemnation of their death sentences and calls from UN human rights experts and other bodies to halt their executions," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a September 8 statement. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

09-08-2018
Syria Conflict

Authorities in Bahrain say they've arrested 14 Iranians they allege entered the island nation on "forged Asian passports."

Authorities in Bahrain say they've arrested 14 Iranians they allege entered the island nation on "forged Asian passports." Bahrain's Interior Ministry made the announcement Saturday night, saying those arrested paid for the Asian passports in cash to be able to enter the island off Saudi Arabia. The statement did not identify those arrested, nor did it offer a motive for their entry into Bahrain. (Associated Press)

09-06-2018
Extremism

An Israeli cybersecurity firm announced Thursday it had uncovered three Iran-run fake Hebrew and Arabic news sites targeting Israelis, as well as a score of fake social media accounts.

An Israeli cybersecurity firm announced Thursday it had uncovered three Iran-run fake Hebrew and Arabic news sites targeting Israelis, as well as a score of fake social media accounts. ClearSky said one of the sites is the Hebrew-language Tel Aviv Times, which engages in “distorting news,” and the other two are Arabic language news outlets that promote the Islamic Republic. It also said there were 14 fake Facebook profiles and 11 fake Twitter accounts that were part of this Iranian “infrastructure,” which have thousands of followers between them, though many of them closed down after being uncovered by ClearSky, the company said. (Times of Israel)

09-05-2018
Human Rights

With four more Iranian human rights defenders arrested in Tehran since August 31, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the country’s authorities have "ramped up" their crackdown against activists.

With four more Iranian human rights defenders arrested in Tehran since August 31, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the country’s authorities have "ramped up" their crackdown against activists. "The most reputable rights defenders, who have stepped up to be the messenger for millions of Iranians' discontent, are now in jail," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said in a statement on September 5. The New York-based watchdog called on the authorities to immediately release the jailed human rights defenders, saying they appear to have been arrested "solely for peaceful dissent." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

09-05-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran will begin uranium enrichment beyond previous levels if the remaining parties fail to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal, its Atomic Energy Organisation told local media on Wednesday.

Iran will begin uranium enrichment beyond previous levels if the remaining parties fail to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal, its Atomic Energy Organisation told local media on Wednesday. "We will not return to previous levels if our counterparts leave the JCPOA (nuclear deal), but will instead reach even more advanced levels," the organisation's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB. "We are at a considerably more advanced status than when we signed the deal. The country is moving ahead in nuclear activities at a favourable pace," he added. (Agence France Presse)

09-04-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have detained Reza Khandan, the husband of prominent jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

Iranian authorities have detained Reza Khandan, the husband of prominent jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Khandan's arrest early on September 4 comes just hours after he raised concerns in a Facebook post about human rights violations in Iran, including the imprisonment of human rights defenders and the prosecution of women who have campaigned against the Islamic hijab. Khandan has publicly campaigned for the release of his wife, who was arrested in June. A source who did not want to be named told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that charges against Khandan include acting against national security and promoting "anti-hijab" activities. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

09-03-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said at the start of a visit to Damascus that “terrorists must be purged” from Syria’s Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control.

Iran’s foreign minister said at the start of a visit to Damascus on Monday that “terrorists must be purged” from Syria’s Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control. Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments in Damascus were reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency and came as Syrian forces and their allies are preparing for an assault on Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country. “Syria’s territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes,” Zarif said. (Associated Press)

09-03-2018
Terrorism

An Iranian aviation company is suspected of smuggling arms into Lebanon.

An Iranian civil aviation company is suspected of smuggling arms into Lebanon, destined for the militant group Hezbollah and Iranian weapons factories -- and western intelligence sources said Monday they've uncovered the unexpected routes that Iran apparently took to try avoiding detection. The sources identified two rare and unusual Qeshm Fars Air flights from Tehran to the international airport in Beirut during the past two months. The first flight, on July 9, involved a Boeing 747 that departed from an air force base in Tehran, stopped for a short layover at the international airport in Damascus, Syria, and then continued with a rather “uncharacteristic flight path” to the Beirut international airport, where it landed shortly after 4 p.m. local time. According to flight data obtained by Fox News, the route passed over northern Lebanon, not following any commonly used flight path. A regional intelligence source who asked to remain anonymous said: “The Iranians are trying to come up with new ways and routes to smuggle weapons from Iran to its allies in the Middle East, testing and defying the West’s abilities to track them down.” (Fox News)

09-01-2018
Military

Iran plans to boost its ballistic and cruise missile capacity and acquire modern fighter planes and submarines, the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted a senior Defence Ministry official as saying.

Iran plans to boost its ballistic and cruise missile capacity and acquire modern fighter planes and submarines, the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted a senior Defence Ministry official as saying on Saturday. News of the military development plans came a day after Iran dismissed a French call for negotiations on Tehran’s future nuclear plans, its ballistic missile arsenal and its role in wars in Syria and Yemen, following the U.S. pullout from Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers. State media also reported the launch earlier this week of war games involving some 150,000 volunteer Basij militia members, who vowed to defend the Islamic state against “foreign threats” including its arch foe, the United States. (Reuters)

08-31-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran has given ballistic missiles to Shi’ite proxies in Iraq and is developing the capacity to build more there to deter attacks on its interests in the Middle East and to give it the means to hit regional foes, Iranian, Iraqi and Western sources said.

Iran has given ballistic missiles to Shi’ite proxies in Iraq and is developing the capacity to build more there to deter attacks on its interests in the Middle East and to give it the means to hit regional foes, Iranian, Iraqi and Western sources said. Any sign that Iran is preparing a more aggressive missile policy in Iraq will exacerbate tensions between Tehran and Washington, already heightened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. It would also embarrass France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the three European signatories to the nuclear deal, as they have been trying to salvage the agreement despite new U.S. sanctions against Tehran. According to three Iranian officials, two Iraqi intelligence sources and two Western intelligence sources, Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to allies in Iraq over the last few months. Five of the officials said it was helping those groups to start making their own. (Reuters)

08-30-2018
Syria Conflict

Satellite photos purported to show the establishment of an Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in Syria, raising fresh concerns over the extent of the two countries’ military cooperation on Israel’s northern border.

Satellite photos published Thursday purported to show the establishment of an Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in Syria, raising fresh concerns over the extent of the two countries’ military cooperation on Israel’s northern border. The photos, which were taken by ImageSat International and published by Channel 10 news, were said to show a facility outside Wadi Jahannam in northwest Syria resembling Iran’s Parchin facility, which has been linked to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Beyond noting an apparent surge in construction work at the site and the building’s seeming similarity to Parchin, Channel 10 did not say how it was identified as a missile factory. (Times of Israel)

08-30-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iran's most senior general has threatened to shut down the world's busiest oil chokepoint if the U.S. manages to completely cut his country's oil and gas trade.

Iran's most senior general has threatened to shut down the world's busiest oil chokepoint if the U.S. manages to completely cut his country's oil and gas trade. Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the head of the Iranian military's chief of staff, told naval commanders of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards force Thursday that the entire third of the world's oil that passes through the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz would be stopped in the event that President Donald Trump's policies succeeded in reducing Iran's oil exports to zero, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. Trump has abandoned a historic nuclear deal with Iran and has reimposed unilateral sanctions intended to strangle the Shiite Muslim revolutionary's economy. (Newsweek)

08-29-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran could abandon its nuclear accord with world powers after the U.S. withdrawal if it does not serve its interests, casting doubt on negotiations with European countries to salvage the deal.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran could abandon its nuclear accord with world powers after the U.S. withdrawal if it does not serve its interests, casting doubt on negotiations with European countries to salvage the deal. “The nuclear deal is a means, not the goal, and if we come to this conclusion that it does not serve our national interests, we can abandon it,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by his official website on Wednesday. He said Tehran should “give up hope” on Europe to save the deal. (Reuters)

08-28-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran will maintain its military presence in Syria despite U.S. pressure for its withdrawal, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday, revealing more details about a military cooperation deal that Tehran and Damascus signed this week.

Iran will maintain its military presence in Syria despite U.S. pressure for its withdrawal, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday, revealing more details about a military cooperation deal that Tehran and Damascus signed this week. Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami visited Damascus on Saturday for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and senior military officials. He signed a deal for military cooperation in a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, but details of the accord were not revealed. “The continued presence of Iranian (military) advisers in Syria was part of this military cooperation agreement between Tehran and Damascus,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Tehran’s military attache to Damascus, Abolqassem Alinejad, as saying. (Reuters)

08-28-2018
Extremism

An apparent Iranian influence operation targeting internet users worldwide is significantly bigger than previously identified, Reuters has found, encompassing a sprawling network of anonymous websites and social media accounts in 11 different languages.

An apparent Iranian influence operation targeting internet users worldwide is significantly bigger than previously identified, Reuters has found, encompassing a sprawling network of anonymous websites and social media accounts in 11 different languages. Facebook and other companies said last week that multiple social media accounts and websites were part of an Iranian project to covertly influence public opinion in other countries. A Reuters analysis has identified 10 more sites and dozens of social media accounts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. U.S.-based cyber security firm FireEye Inc and Israeli firm ClearSky reviewed Reuters’ findings and said technical indicators showed the web of newly-identified sites and social media accounts - called the International Union of Virtual Media, or IUVM - was a piece of the same campaign, parts of which were taken down last week by Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc. (Reuters)

08-26-2018
Human Rights

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a detained British-Iranian aid worker sentenced to five years in jail in Iran, was returned to prison after a request to extend her three-day temporary release was rejected, her husband said.

A detained British-Iranian aid worker sentenced to five years in jail in Iran was returned to prison on Sunday after a request to extend her three-day temporary release was rejected, her husband said. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 at a Tehran airport as she was heading back to Britain with her two-year-old daughter after a family visit. She was convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran’s clerical establishment, a charge denied by her family and the Foundation, a charity organization that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News. (Reuters)

08-25-2018
Terrorism

Hackers linked with the Iranian government are targeting universities and academic institutions around the world as part of a major campaign to steal unpublished research and obtain intellectual property, security researchers have revealed.

Hackers linked with the Iranian government are targeting universities and academic institutions around the world as part of a major campaign to steal unpublished research and obtain intellectual property, security researchers have revealed. Cyber experts from IT firm Secureworks discovered the attacks, which they believe stem from the Cobalt Dickens group operating out of Iran. The hackers targeted 76 universities located in 14 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (The Independent)

08-23-2018
Extremism

Google said that it had removed 58 accounts on its various services that it found had connections to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Iran's state media organization.

Iran's covert social media-based propaganda campaign extended to Google and its video platform YouTube, the company said Thursday. Google said that it had removed 58 accounts on its various services that it found had connections to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Iran's state media organization. The U.S. blacklisted IRIB in 2013 as part of its efforts to force the country to stop its nuclear program. The search company is at least the third Silicon Valley firm this week to say it had found evidence of an Iran-based effort to use fake names to push political content to people in the U.S. and other countries. Facebook and Twitter said Tuesday that they had removed such accounts. (NBC News)

08-22-2018
Military

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it will continue increasing the country’s defensive capabilities and will not surrender to pressure over its missile program.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it will continue increasing the country’s defensive capabilities, and will not surrender to pressure over its missile program. “(Iran’s) missile program has turned into the main challenge of the enemies of the Iranian nation, especially the United States, the Zionist regime (of Israel) and the Saudi rulers," the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency. “Increasing defensive capabilities will remain the main strategy of the armed forces.” (Reuters)

08-22-2018
Terrorism

The U.S. has charged two alleged agents of Iran, accusing them of conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States and collecting intelligence on Americans linked to a political organization.

The U.S. has charged two alleged agents of Iran, accusing them of conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States and collecting intelligence on Americans linked to a political organization that wants to see the current Iranian government overthrown. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington says the pair with links to both Iran and California were involved in conducting surveillance last year on several Jewish centers, specifically Hillel Center and Rohr Chabad Center in Chicago. Charged were Ahmadreza (ahmad-RAY-zuh) Doostdar (DOOS-dar) and Majid (mah-JEED) Ghorbani (gore-BAH-nee). They also are accused of working to penetrate an Iranian dissident group in the United States and sending intelligence and photographs of individuals attending the group's rallies back to Tehran. (Associated Press)

08-21-2018
Military

Iran revealed what is said was its first-ever domestic fighter jet in a show of force that appeared to be aimed at the US amid increasing tensions over Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Iran revealed what is said was its first-ever domestic fighter jet on Tuesday in a show of force that appeared to be aimed at the US amid increasing tensions over Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Tehran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was pictured in the cockpit of the new “Kowsar” fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in the Iranian capital. The photos and reports of the new fighter jet were widely circulated by Iranian state media and regime-aligned outlets. State media said the jet has “advanced avionics” and a multi-purpose radar. It claimed it was "100-percent indigenously made" for the first time in Iranian history. (The National)

08-21-2018
Extremism

Facebook said it had removed hundreds of Iran-based pages, groups and accounts, alleging that they formed a network linked to Iranian state media that covertly spread political content to people on four continents including in the U.S.

Facebook said on Tuesday it had removed hundreds of Iran-based pages, groups and accounts, alleging that they formed a network linked to Iranian state media that covertly spread political content to people on four continents including in the U.S. Facebook said in a blog post that the 652 pages, groups and accounts were in violation of its terms of service because they were engaged in "coordinated inauthentic behavior." Facebook generally requires people to use their real names on the social network. Twitter followed suit, saying it had suspended 284 accounts for engaging in "coordinated manipulation" on its network and that many of the accounts had originated in Iran. (NBC News)

08-20-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian journalist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for “insulting” an imam from the ninth century on Twitter, his lawyer told local media on Monday.

An Iranian journalist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for “insulting” an imam from the ninth century on Twitter, his lawyer told local media on Monday. Mir Mohammad-Hossein Mir-Esmaili, a journalist for the Jahan-e Sanat daily, was arrested while trying to leave the country in April 2017. It followed a Twitter post in which he said Imam Reza, one of the 12 revered figures in Iran’s dominant strand of Shiite Islam, was “one of us,” implying that he would have allowed young people to enjoy themselves. (AFP)

08-17-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian news outlet focusing on Iran’s Gonabadi Dervish minority says two of its editors have received lengthy prison sentences for involvement in anti-government protests in February.

An Iranian news outlet focusing on Iran’s Gonabadi Dervish minority says two of its editors have received lengthy prison sentences for involvement in anti-government protests in February. In a tweet posted Thursday, Majzooban Noor said a Tehran Revolutionary court sentenced news editor Reza Entesari to seven years in prison, 74 lashes, two years of exile in the northeastern city of Khaf, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on political and media activity. In an earlier tweet published Wednesday, the news outlet said another of its editors, Mostafa Abdi, received an even tougher punishment from a Tehran Revolutionary court. It said Abdi was sentenced to 26 years and three months in prison and 148 lashes, in addition to two years of exile in the southeastern province of Sistan Baluchistan and two-year bans on leaving the country and engaging in political and media activity. (Voice of America)

08-17-2018
Human Rights

Forty young people have been detained at a mixed-gender “night party” in Birjand, the capital city of South Khorasan province, the local Prosecutor General has disclosed.

Forty young people have been detained at a mixed-gender “night party” in Birjand, the capital city of South Khorasan province, the local Prosecutor General has disclosed. The detainees are 20-30-year old, the Islamic Republic’s official News Agency, IRNA, cited the Prosecutor as saying. “The detainees, sixteen males and 24 females, were arrested and charged with drinking and storing alcoholic beverages, as well as other social misconduct”, said Ahmad Reza A’rab Sheibanei. (Radio Farda)

08-16-2018
Terrorism

A recent report by the United Nations indicates that terror group al Qaeda is having a resurgence around the world due in part to help from Iran.

A recent report by the United Nations indicates that terror group al Qaeda is having a resurgence around the world due in part to help from Iran. The report was delivered to the Security Council this week, Fox News reports, and said one of the world's biggest threats will come from al Qaeda under the leadership of Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son. Al Qaeda has grown mostly in Somalia, Yemen, and South Asia, where it has a stronger presence than ISIS. The report also says that Iran is allowing al Qaeda leader Aiman al-Zawahiri to work and coordinate efforts from their country, as noted by the Tower. (Washington Free Beacon)

08-13-2018
Politics

Iran’s supreme leader made his sharpest criticism yet of his country’s president on Monday, faulting him for having crossed “red lines” in nuclear negotiations with the United States and other failures that have created an economic crisis.

Iran’s supreme leader made his sharpest criticism yet of his country’s president on Monday, faulting him for having crossed “red lines” in nuclear negotiations with the United States and other failures that have created an economic crisis. The remarks by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, compounded the pressure on Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, who is contending with economic protests, anger over endemic corruption, the threat of possible armed conflict with the United States and calls from Iran’s hard-line factions for resignations in his government. Mr. Rouhani’s promises that the 2015 nuclear agreement reached with the United States and other world powers would lead to an economic revival in Iran have been thwarted since the Trump administration renounced the agreement in May and moved to restore American sanctions. (New York Times)

08-13-2018
Military

Iran unveiled a next generation short-range ballistic missile on Monday and vowed to further boost its capabilities, Iranian media said, at a time of rising tensions with the United States.

Iran unveiled a next generation short-range ballistic missile on Monday and vowed to further boost its capabilities, Iranian media said, at a time of rising tensions with the United States. State broadcaster IRIB said the new Fateh Mobin missile had "successfully passed its tests" and could strike targets on land and sea. "As promised to our dear people, we will not spare any effort to increase the missile capabilities of the country and we will certainly increase our missile power every day," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said, quoted by conservative news agency Tasnim. (AFP)

08-11-2018
Human Rights

An Iran-based human rights group says dozens of Iranian security personnel have raided a prison ward housing minority Sunni inmates in the city of Karaj, beating the prisoners and taking their belongings.

An Iran-based human rights group says dozens of Iranian security personnel have raided a prison ward housing minority Sunni inmates in the city of Karaj, beating the prisoners and taking their belongings. In a report published Thursday, Iran’s Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said it learned of Tuesday’s incident at the Rajaei Shahr prison in Karaj’s Gohardasht district from an informed source. HRANA, one of the few Iranian rights groups gathering reliable information from inside Iran, quoted the source as saying the prison raid targeted a ward housing Sunnis detained for their religious and political activities. (Voice of America)

08-11-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran announced it was taking back another portion of the 20 percent enriched uranium stockpile it handed over to Russia as part of the nuclear deal signed in 2015 with world powers in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran on Saturday announced it was taking back another portion of the 20 percent enriched uranium stockpile it handed over to Russia as part of the nuclear deal signed in 2015 with world powers in exchange for sanctions relief. Spokesman and vice-president of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Behrouz Kamalvandi said the re-imposition of US sanctions following President Donald Trump’s exit in May from the accord necessitated returning the uranium for domestic needs. “If the fuel is sold to us, we do not need to produce it by ourselves,” Kamalvandi said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. (Times of Israel)

08-09-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told North Korea's foreign minister that the United States cannot be trusted, Tehran's state media said, as the United States seeks a deal to rein in the North's nuclear and missile programs.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told North Korea's foreign minister that the United States cannot be trusted, Tehran's state media said, as the United States seeks a deal to rein in the North's nuclear and missile programs. Iran dismissed a last-minute offer from Washington for talks this week, saying it could not negotiate after the Trump administration reneged on a 2015 deal to lift sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's own nuclear program. North Korea's top diplomat, Ri Yong Ho, visited Iran as the United States reintroduced sanctions against the Islamic Republic. "The U.S. administration performance in these years has led the country to be considered untrustworthy and unreliable around the world which does not meet any of its obligations," Rouhani was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as telling Ri on Wednesday. (Reuters)

08-07-2018
Syria Conflict

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander admitted that the Houthi attack that targeted the two Saudi oil tankers in Bab al-Mandeb Strait was carried out as per a request from the Revolutionary Guards.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander admitted that the Houthi attack that targeted the two Saudi oil tankers in Bab al-Mandeb Strait was carried out as per a request from the Revolutionary Guards. According to the Iranian news agency Fars, the Revolutionary Guards Commander Nasser Shabani said: “We asked the Yemenis to attack the two Saudi oil tankers, so they did it.” The Fars News Agency deleted the article, which is considered a blatant admission by Iran of supporting the Houthi militias, minutes after publishing it. (Al-Arabiya)

08-07-2018
Terrorism

Iranian hackers are developing software attacks that render computer systems inoperable until a digital ransom is paid, a new report says, a threat that comes as the U.S. moves to reimpose tough economic sanctions on the country.

Iranian hackers are developing software attacks that render computer systems inoperable until a digital ransom is paid, a new report says, a threat that comes as the U.S. moves to reimpose tough economic sanctions on the country. Over the past two years, researchers at Accenture PLC’s iDefense cybersecurity-intelligence group have tracked five new types of so-called ransomware they say were built by hackers in Iran. The ransomware appears to be an attempt to secure payments in digital currencies such as bitcoin, Jim Guinn, head of Accenture’s industrial cybersecurity business, said in an interview. The software Accenture discovered contains a number of digital clues linking it to Iran. Some samples contain messages in the Farsi language and link to computers based in Iran, it said, while others are designed to avoid locking up Iranian computer systems with ransomware. (Wall Street Journal)

08-03-2018
Terrorism

A slate of investigations into alleged terror plots and killings sponsored by Iran has opened a new front in U.S. efforts to persuade European governments to cut ties with Tehran following President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May.

A slate of investigations into alleged terror plots and killings sponsored by Iran has opened a new front in U.S. efforts to persuade European governments to cut ties with Tehran following President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May. Washington, Israel and Iranian dissident groups say the alleged recent operations show that Iran has ended years of caution about hunting its enemies in Europe. They are urging European governments to withdraw support for Iran and ban Iranian officials from the region. But European officials, some skeptical that Iran’s government is behind the plots, are reluctant to adopt a harder line. (Wall Street Journal)

08-02-2018
Nuclear Program

A suspected attempt to fly missile warhead components to Iran via Heathrow has been thwarted by the UK Border Force.

A suspected attempt to fly missile warhead components to Iran via Heathrow has been thwarted by the UK Border Force. At least two “O rings” — which can be used to form seals in rockets — were detected during an inspection of freight being flown out from the airport. They were supposedly being sent for use in the Iranian oil industry. But Border Force staff halted the shipment after becoming suspicious that the real intention was to use them in missiles. An investigation is now under way which could lead to criminal action against those responsible for sending the parts. (Evening Standard)

08-02-2018
Military

Iran began a major naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz, in an apparent response to rhetoric from President Donald Trump in recent days that he would ratchet up pressure against Tehran, U.S. defense officials said.

Iran began a major naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz Thursday, in an apparent response to rhetoric from President Donald Trump in recent days that he would ratchet up pressure against Tehran, U.S. defense officials said. The U.S. believes the exercises “fully started” Thursday, one defense official said, and could continue until Aug. 6. A second official said there are more than 100 boats and ships participating in the exercise, but most are considered smaller craft. On Thursday, the U.S. saw boats going in and out of port, the first defense official said. An air component, consisting primarily of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are also are participating in the exercise, a military official said. (Wall Street Journal)

08-01-2018
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are still arming themselves with ballistic missiles and drones that “show characteristics similar” to Iranian-made weapons, a report by a UN panel of experts has found.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are still arming themselves with ballistic missiles and drones that “show characteristics similar” to Iranian-made weapons, a report by a UN panel of experts has found. In a confidential report to the UN Security Council, a copy of which was seen by AFP on Monday, the panel said it “continues to believe” that short-range ballistic missiles and other weaponry were transferred from Iran to Yemen after an arms embargo was imposed in 2015. Recent inspections of weaponry including missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by the Houthis “show characteristics similar to weapons systems known to be produced in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, said the 125-page report. (Agence France Presse)

07-31-2018
Anti-Americanism

The head of Iran's most powerful military body on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's offer of direct talks with Iranian leaders, saying Tehran never would allow talks with what he called the "Great Satan."

The head of Iran's most powerful military body on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's offer of direct talks with Iranian leaders, saying Tehran never would allow talks with what he called the "Great Satan." The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Ali Jafari, made the comment in an open letter published by Iran's state-controlled Fars News Agency. In the letter, Jafari said Iran never would allow talks with the Great Satan, his label for the U.S., because the nation's faith in Islam has made it "enormously different from submissive nations." Jafari also described Trump as an "amateurish president" whose wish for Iranian officials to request a meeting would go with him "to the grave." (Voice of America)

07-27-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps employed German companies to disguise illicit activities in its funding of the war against the pro-US government in Gulf country's capital of Sana'a.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps employed German companies to disguise illicit activities in its funding of the war against the pro-US government in Gulf country's capital of Sana'a. Time Magazine reported on Thursday: "For several years, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been using German front companies to buy advanced printing machinery, watermarked paper and specialty inks in violation of European export controls. " According to interviews with US Treasury Department officials, Time added: "The IRGC had then printed counterfeit Yemeni bank notes potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars and used them to help fund its proxy war against the beleaguered pro-US government in the capital of Sana’a. German companies were being used as a cover by the Iranians to finance the world’s worst humanitarian conflict." (Jerusalem Post)

07-26-2018
Anti-Americanism

Qassem Soleimani, a powerful commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, said that Donald Trump should address any threats against Tehran directly to him, and mocked the U.S. president as using the language of “night clubs and gambling halls”.

A powerful commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that Donald Trump should address any threats against Tehran directly to him, and mocked the U.S. president as using the language of “night clubs and gambling halls”. The comments by Major-General Qassem Soleimani, who heads the Quds Force of the Guards, were the latest salvo in a war of words between the two countries. “As a soldier, it is my duty to respond to your threats ... If you wants to use the language of threat ... talk to me, not to the president (Hassan Rouhani). It is not in our president’s dignity to respond to you,” Soleimani was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. (Reuters)

07-26-2018
Terrorism

China, Russia and Iran are ramping up their theft of trade secrets and proprietary information from U.S. companies, government labs and universities to hurdle America’s competitive edge.

China, Russia and Iran are ramping up their theft of trade secrets and proprietary information from U.S. companies, government labs and universities to hurdle America’s competitive edge. A new government cyber report, released Thursday by the National Counterintelligence Security Center, offers these recent examples of the economic espionage it says poses a significant threat to U.S. prosperity and security:

—An Iranian hacker group called Rocket Kitten has been targeting U.S. defense companies seeking sensitive U.S. military technology to help Tehran improve its missile and space programs.

—The Iranian OilRig hacking group, which historically has targeted Saudi Arabia, has stepped up its attacks on U.S. financial institutions and information technology companies.

—The Iranian hacking outfit called APT33 has targeted energy companies to help improve Iran’s petrochemical production and technology. (Associated Press)

07-25-2018
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting all oil shipments going through an important Red Sea waterway, accusing Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen of attacking two crude tankers.

Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting all oil shipments going through an important Red Sea waterway, accusing Iran-allied rebels of attacking two crude tankers on Wednesday. Stopping crude shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb strait—which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden—marks another escalation in the war between an Arab military coalition and Houthi rebels for control of Yemen. Saudi Arabia is attempting to ramp up oil exports amid an effort to keep the world well-supplied with oil as the U.S. squeezes Riyadh’s rival, Iran, with new sanctions that could reduce its oil exports. Saudi Arabia said the Houthis attacked two very large crude carriers operated by Saudi National Shipping Corp. in the Red Sea on Wednesday. One of the ships sustained minimal damage. No injuries nor oil spill have been reported, according to an emailed statement from the kingdom. (Wall Street Journal)

07-25-2018
Terrorism

A U.S.-based cybersecurity firm has uncovered a new “highly active” espionage group believed to be based in Iran that is breaking into networks of government organizations and other firms located in the Middle East.

A U.S.-based cybersecurity firm has uncovered a new “highly active” espionage group believed to be based in Iran that is breaking into networks of government organizations and other firms located in the Middle East. Symantec released information early Wednesday on the hacking collective, which researchers have dubbed “Leafminer.” The group is allegedly targeting organizations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Eqypt, Israel and Afghanistan. Leafminer’s targets reportedly cut across several sectors, including energy, telecommunications, financial services, transportation and government. (The Hill)

07-24-2018
Politics

Several top managers at Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade have been put behind bars as the nation increasingly discovers that rampant corruption is a major cause behind the current economic turmoil.

Several top managers at Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade have been put behind bars as the nation increasingly discovers that rampant corruption is a major cause behind the current economic turmoil. Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei announced that at least five top managers at the ministry were arrested — four of whom are now in custody. The arrests were apparently made in connection to vehicle import fraud and the abuse of the official rate currency offered at the lower level of 42,000 rials per US dollar. Vehicle imports have long been seen as monopolized by well-connected, mafia-style corporations, which have benefited from the rial devaluation and enjoyed government privileges. Ejei went into further detail by publicly naming the director general of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization and one of his deputies as two of those arrested. "The prosecutors have been ordered to speed up the probe, show no leniency to the defendants and disregard their positions," he added. (Al-Monitor)

07-22-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cautioned U.S. President Donald Trump about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying “war with Iran is the mother of all wars”, but did not rule out peace between the two countries.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday cautioned U.S. President Donald Trump about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying “war with Iran is the mother of all wars”, but did not rule out peace between the two countries. Iran faces increased U.S. pressure and looming sanctions after Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Addressing a gathering of Iranian diplomats, Rouhani said: “Mr Trump, don’t play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret,” the state new agency IRNA reported. “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” Rouhani said, leaving open the possibility of peace between the two countries, at odds since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Reuters)

07-21-2018
Nuclear Program

A German intelligence report from Hamburg said Iran’s regime is continuing to seek weapons of mass destruction, delivering another intelligence agency blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s belief that the 2015 atomic deal with Iran curbed Tehran.

A German intelligence report from the city-state of Hamburg said Iran’s regime is continuing to seek weapons of mass destruction, delivering another intelligence agency blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s belief that the 2015 atomic deal with the Islamic Republic curbed Tehran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. The Jerusalem Post reviewed the 211- page document that states “some of the crisis countries... are still making an effort to obtain products for the manufacture of atomic, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction (proliferation) and the corresponding missile carrier technology (rocket technology).” The Hamburg report on Thursday added that “the current main focus points of countries in the area of relevant proliferation activities are: Iran, Syria, Pakistan and North Korea.” (Jerusalem Post)

07-19-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran says it is continuing to acquire uranium and is close to finishing a plant where it can build more centrifuges to enrich uranium.

Iran says it is continuing to acquire uranium and is close to finishing a plant where it can build more centrifuges to enrich uranium. The announcement on July 18 comes a day after Iran filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States in response to President Donald Trump's decision in May to pull his country out of the 2015 nuclear accord and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other hard-liners in Iran have questioned whether Iran should continue honoring its obligations under the landmark deal with world powers after Trump's decision. (RFE/RL)

07-19-2018
Human Rights

Tehran’s prosecutor Jafari Dolatabad says verdicts have been issued against 258 Iranian dervishes of the Gonabadi order for participation in February protests, state-run news agency IRNA reported.

Tehran’s prosecutor Jafari Dolatabad says verdicts have been issued against 258 Iranian dervishes of the Gonabadi order, state-run news agency IRNA reported July 17. Ten dervishes of the same order had earlier been sentenced to “69 years in prison, 444 lashes, and fourteen years of exile,” according to a website close to the dervish religious order, Majzooban-i Noor (Enchanted by Light). Dolatabadi described the condemned dervishes, who are adherents to a minority Sufi Muslim faith, as the “elements of last February’s turmoil,” a reference to several days of protests by dervishes in February in Tehran that saw hundreds arrested and at least five dead. Enchanted By Light has also reported that 46 dervishes of the Gonabadi order had been sentenced to 171 years. (Radio Farda)

07-18-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work.

Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work. The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal from the pact. (Reuters)

07-16-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of people in fresh crackdowns on models and associated colleagues posting “immoral images” online.

Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of people in fresh crackdowns on models and associated colleagues posting “immoral images” online. The official IRNA news agency reported Monday that officials in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, some 1250 kilometers, or 630 miles, south of the capital Tehran, arrested eight women and 36 other people in the photography, beauty salons and wedding businesses who used Instagram to share what they considered indecent images and clips. Police said they were “damaging public virtue through the organized spreading of anti-cultural” activities. (Associated Press)

07-13-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran has no intention of leaving Syria regardless of U.S. and Israeli pressure, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior envoy to Iran's leader said.

Iran has no intention of leaving Syria regardless of U.S. and Israeli pressure, a senior envoy to Iran's leader said Friday, reaffirming a tough stance on the issue expected to top the agenda of the upcoming U.S.-Russian summit. The statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came in the wake of his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Putin that Israel wants Iran to leave Syria. (Associated Press)

07-12-2018
Human Rights

Amnesty International is denouncing Iran for the public flogging of a young man whose alleged crime was having consumed alcohol at a wedding ten years ago, when he was 14 or 15 years old.

Amnesty International is denouncing Iran for the public flogging of a young man whose alleged crime was having consumed alcohol at a wedding when he was 14 or 15 years old. Amnesty in a statement issued late on July 11 called the flogging "horrific" and "absolutely shocking," and said it violated international law as well as international conventions on civil and children's rights. The public flogging took place on July 10 in Niazmand Square in Kashmar in Iran's Razavi Khorasan Province, where the man, who was identified only as M. R., was flogged 80 times on his back for having consumed alcohol at a wedding 10 years ago when he was a teenager. (RFE/RL)

07-11-2018
Terrorism

An Iranian diplomat is suspected of involvement in a bomb plot against an Iranian opposition rally in France.

An Iranian diplomat is suspected of involvement in a bomb plot against an Iranian opposition rally in France. Assadollah Assadi was charged in Germany on Wednesday with activity as a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit murder. Assadi, a Vienna-based diplomat, is suspected of contracting a couple in Belgium to attack an annual meeting of an exiled Iranian opposition group in Villepinte, near Paris, German federal prosecutors said. He allegedly gave the Antwerp-based couple a device containing 500 grams of the explosive TATP during a meeting in Luxembourg in late June, prosecutors said in a written statement. Assadi was detained earlier this month near the German city of Aschaffenburg on a European warrant after the couple with Iranian roots was stopped in Belgium and authorities reported finding powerful explosives in their car. (Associated Press)

07-10-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian woman who peacefully protested the obligatory hijab rule by removing her head scarf in public in Tehran in December says she has been sentenced to two years in prison in addition to an 18-year suspended prison term.

An Iranian woman who peacefully protested the obligatory hijab rule by removing her head scarf in public in Tehran in December says she has been sentenced to two years in prison in addition to an 18-year suspended prison term. Shaparak Shajarizadeh also says she has left Iran to escape "injustices." In a live broadcast shared widely on social media this week, Shajarizadeh said that she was sentenced to prison for opposing the compulsory hijab. "This means that I will have to be silent for 20 years and not get involved in any activities," Shajarizadeh said on Instagram. (RFE/RL)

07-10-2018
Terrorism

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of using its embassies to plot terrorist attacks in Europe and warned Tehran that its actions have "a real high cost" after it threatened to disrupt Mideast oil supplies.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused Iran of using its embassies to plot terrorist attacks in Europe and warned Tehran that its actions have "a real high cost" after it threatened to disrupt Mideast oil supplies. Pompeo's comments came during a short trip to the United Arab Emirates, a staunch U.S. ally, and as senior U.S. officials were wrapping up three days of talks in neighboring Saudi Arabia on countering threats from Iran and starving it of oil revenue. "Just this past week there were Iranians arrested in Europe who were preparing to conduct a terror plot in Paris, France. We have seen this malign behavior in Europe," Pompeo said in an interview with Sky News Arabia. (Associated Press)

07-09-2018
Human Rights

Iran has arrested a number of people over videos that were posted on Instagram, including a young woman who filmed herself dancing to music.

Iran has arrested a number of people over videos that were posted on Instagram, including a young woman who filmed herself dancing to music. According to activists, Maedeh Hojabri was one of a number of users behind popular Instagram accounts who have been arrested. The identities of the other detainees have not been confirmed. Her account, which has been suspended, was reported to have had more than 600,000 followers. Hojabri has since appeared on a state television programme with other detainees, in which she and others made what activists say were forced confessions, a tactic often used by Iranian authorities. (The Guardian)

07-09-2018
Human Rights

In a letter to the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, more than fifty Iranian dissidents have urged him to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for its role in violation of human rights in the country.

In a letter to the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, more than fifty Iranian dissidents have urged him to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for its role in violation of human rights in the country. Referring to IRIB’s newscast style, systematic abuse of human rights, propagating the Islamic Republic’s destabilizing policies in the region and disrupting free flow of information by jamming independent TV and radio shows, the dissidents have insisted that it is time to end Washington’s waiver of sanctions against the state-run organization. The role of IRIB in paving the way for the Iranian establishment to abuse human rights still needs a thorough review, the signatories have affirmed in their July 7 letter, adding, “IRIB has continued human rights violations through airing forced confession of people suspected for being opponents of the regime.” (Radio Farda)

07-08-2018
Human Rights

Up to fifty persons have been arrested in northwestern Iran, days ahead of the annual gathering at a historic fortress in Eastern Azarbaijan province, human rights activists report.

Up to fifty persons have been arrested in northwestern Iran, days ahead of the annual gathering at a historic fortress in Eastern Azarbaijan province, human rights activists report. In recent years, thousands of Iranians, mostly Azeri speaking activists, gather at Babak Fortress usually during the first weekend in July for the annual commemoration of Babak Khorramdin, celebrating his birthday. The Islamic Republic authorities every year try to prevent the gathering, which takes the overtones of both Azeri and Iranian patriotism. (Radio Farda)

07-05-2018
Syria Conflict

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their forces were ready to implement Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz and that if Iran cannot sell its oil under the U.S. pressure, no other regional country will be allowed to.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday their forces were ready to implement Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz and that if Iran cannot sell its oil under the U.S. pressure, no other regional country will be allowed to. "We are hopeful that this plan expressed by our president will be implemented if needed ... We will make the enemy understand that either all can use the Strait of Hormuz or no one," Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. On Wednesday, a Revolutionary Guards commander said Iran would block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz was U.S. President Donald Trump to stop Iranian oil sales. (Reuters)

07-04-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran could reduce its co-operation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, President Hassan Rouhani told the body’s head, after he warned U.S. President Donald Trump of “consequences” of fresh sanctions against Iranian oil sales.

Iran could reduce its co-operation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, President Hassan Rouhani told the body’s head on Wednesday, after he warned U.S. President Donald Trump of “consequences” of fresh sanctions against Iranian oil sales. In May, Trump pulled out of a multinational deal under which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs to its nuclear program, verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Washington has since told countries they must stop buying Iranian oil from Nov. 4 or face financial measures. “Iran’s nuclear activities have always been for peaceful purposes, but it is Iran that would decide on its level of cooperation with the IAEA,” Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as saying after meeting IAEA head Yukiya Amano in Vienna. (Reuters)

07-02-2018
Extremism

An Iranian general has accused Israel of causing climate change in the revolutionary Shiite Muslim republic by stealing the water out of clouds passing over the Mediterranean.

An Iranian general has accused Israel of causing climate change in the revolutionary Shiite Muslim republic by stealing the water out of clouds passing over the Mediterranean. Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization, revealed the charges during an agricultural conference in the capital city of Tehran. He claimed Iranian scientific centers have proven that Israel and an unnamed neighboring country were secretly cooperating to extract the moisture out of clouds bound to pass over Iran, thus robbing the country of rain and snow. "Joint teams from Israel and one of the neighboring countries make the clouds entering into Iran barren. Moreover, we are faced with the cases of cloud theft and snow theft," Jalali said, according to a translation reported by Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency of comments featured by the Iranian Students' News Agency. (Newsweek)

06-29-2018
Nuclear Program

The Islamic Republic of Iran sought to obtain illicit goods for its missile program from Germany, the intelligence agency for Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, announced.

The Islamic Republic of Iran sought to obtain illicit goods for its missile program from Germany, the intelligence agency for Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, announced on Friday. In the report reviewed by The Jerusalem Post, the intelligence agency wrote: “Because of the demand for relevant goods for its rocket program, Iran continues to represent proliferation defense in our work.” The report cited Iran’s activities in its section titled “Education and Defense from Proliferation.” The report, which covers 2017, stated that in connection with illegal Iranian and Pakistani efforts to obtain missile technology “in the overwhelming majority of the number of cases, however, there occurred no delivery of the particular goods.” (Jerusalem Post)

06-29-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran say it will stop implementing the landmark 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) if all member states, international organizations, and the remaining parties to the agreement cannot guarantee its benefits for Iran.

Iran say it will stop implementing the landmark 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) if all member states, international organizations, and the remaining parties to the agreement cannot guarantee its benefits for Iran. “There shall be no doubt that if, after the exhaustion of available remedies, rights and benefits of the Iranian people are not fully guaranteed, it is Iran’s unquestionable right — recognized also under the JCPOA and Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) — to take appropriate actions and to treat the re-imposition of nuclear-related sanctions by the United States ‘as grounds to cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA in whole or in part',” a statement released by the Iran’s mission to the UN in New York said on Thursday, June 28. (Radio Farda)

06-27-2018
Human Rights

Iran’s supreme leader demanded punishment for those who disrupt business, signaling a tougher line after two days of strikes by market traders, the biggest unrest since the start of the year.

Iran’s supreme leader demanded punishment for those who disrupt business, signaling a tougher line after two days of strikes by market traders, the biggest unrest since the start of the year. With the economy facing the prospect of new U.S. sanctions, the country’s leadership signaled it was taking a united front toward the unrest. In a speech, President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who has long sought more open economic relations with the outside world, blamed Washington for Iran’s hardship, calling on Iranians to “bring America to its knees”. At Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Wednesday, business was back to normal after the two-day strike had closed most shops. (Reuters)

06-27-2018
Human Rights

An international rights group said it had learned that Iran quietly executed a teenager for a crime he committed when he was 14 years old.

An international rights group said it had learned that Iran quietly executed a teenager for a crime he committed when he was 14 years old. Amnesty International's London-based Iran researcher Raha Bahreini told VOA Persian her group heard from local sources that Abolfazl Chezani Sharahi was executed Wednesday at dawn in Qom prison, south of Tehran. Sharahi had been sentenced to death in September 2014 for fatally stabbing a young man during a fight in December 2013, when Sharahi was 14. Bahreini said Iranian authorities transferred him to solitary confinement on Tuesday in preparation for his execution — the fifth such transfer since 2014. (Voice of America)

06-27-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran says it has restarted production at a “major” uranium facility involved in its nuclear program, though it still pledges to follow the terms of the country’s landmark atomic deal.

Iran says it has restarted production at a “major” uranium facility involved in its nuclear program, though it still pledges to follow the terms of the country’s landmark atomic deal now under threat after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled America out of the accord. Iranian comments about the Isfahan plant, which produces material needed to enrich uranium, appear aimed at pressuring Europeans and others to come up with a way to circumvent new U.S. sanctions. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a statement late Wednesday it reopened a plant that converts yellowcake, a uranium powder, into uranium hexafluoride gas. That gas is what scientists put inside of centrifuges to make enriched uranium that can be used in nuclear power plants or in atomic bombs. (Associated Press)

06-25-2018
Syria Conflict

The Iranian supreme leader’s top military adviser, Yahya Rahim Safavi, has threatened Saudi Arabia with “a barrage of missiles.”

The Iranian supreme leader’s top military adviser, Yahya Rahim Safavi, has threatened Saudi Arabia with “a barrage of missiles.” “If Saudis dare to attack Iran, the royal palaces in Riyadh will be immediately showered with 1,000 missiles,” said Safavi, former chief-commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), in response to a question concerning a possible Saudi attack against Iran. Speaking to a military audience in the city of Shiraz, Safavi said on June 24 that Iran is the number one power in the whole region and none of the regional problems could be tackled without Iran’s involvement. (Radio Farda)

06-23-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday that one of its senior commanders was killed on Friday while fighting Islamic State fighters in northeastern Syria.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday that one of its senior commanders was killed on Friday while fighting Islamic State fighters in northeastern Syria. The exact circumstances of Shahrokh Daiepour’s death were not disclosed, but the state-run Fars news agency said he had been involved in training fighters from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy which has been fighting in Syria alongside forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. Daiepour had served as a commander in the Islamic Republic’s Navy during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. (Times of Israel)

06-21-2018
Anti-Americanism

A senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed that the U.S. was behind the creation of ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria.

A senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed that the U.S. was behind the creation of ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria. Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Ali Akbar Velayati also warned that America’s involvement in the country could prove bloody, the official state Fars news agency said. “The Americans themselves have created the ISIL [ISIS] and the al-Nusra in Syria and now they have come onto the scene and occupied Eastern Euphrates,” Velayati said. (Newsweek)

06-21-2018
Nuclear Program

The director of the AEOI has voiced doubts about the future of the 2015 nuclear agreement after the U.S. pullout from the deal, saying proposals put forward by the European countries to safeguard the nuclear pact are not satisfying for Iran.

The director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has voiced doubts about the future of the 2015 nuclear agreement after the U.S. pullout from the deal, saying proposals put forward by the European countries to safeguard the nuclear pact are not satisfying for the Islamic Republic. Ali Akbar Salehi made the comments in a Wednesday meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Oslo, Tasnim reported. “If it continues like this, all sides will lose,” Salehi warned. Salehi denounced as “destructive” Washington’s policies toward the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name for the nuclear pact, saying such policies are “doomed to failure”. (Tehran Times)

06-21-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities have arrested a lawyer for spreading "lies" after claiming that a Sufi man executed this week was wrongfully convicted of killing three police officers, local media report.

Iranian authorities have arrested a lawyer for spreading "lies" after claiming that a Sufi man executed this week was wrongfully convicted of killing three police officers, local media report. The semiofficial Fars news agency said on June 20 that an arrest warrant was issued against Zeinab Taheri for making "false statements" and because of "her lies propagated online claiming [Mohammad Salas] was not guilty." The judiciary chief for Tehran Province, Gholamhossein Esmaili, was quoted as saying that Taheri was never a lawyer for Salas and did not have reliable information on the case. (RFE/RL)

06-20-2018
Terrorism

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly opposed joining a global anti-money laundering convention.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly opposed joining a global anti-money laundering convention. Referring to recent debates in country's parliament on joining the Financial Action Task Force, Khamenei told lawmakers Wednesday: "It is not necessary to join conventions whose depths we are unaware of." Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, said the parliament should instead prepare its own bills against money laundering and terrorism, accusing the convention of merely "securing the interests" of big powers. (Associated Press)

06-18-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities executed a member of a Sufi order who was accused of ramming a bus into three policemen and killing them during a protest in February in Tehran, drawing criticism from observers who said he received unfair treatment.

Iranian authorities executed a member of a Sufi order Monday who was accused of ramming a bus into three policemen and killing them during a protest in February in Tehran, drawing criticism from observers who said he received unfair treatment. Mohammad Salas, 51, was hanged Monday morning in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, according the official website of Iran’s judiciary. He was later buried in his hometown of Borujerd, Lorestan province, according to a Tweet by his lawyer, Zeynab Taheri. The State Department called for Iran to release about 300 Sufis who were detained during February’s clashes and said Salas’ execution was “brutal and unjust.” (Los Angeles Times)

06-15-2018
Syria Conflict

The United Nations has determined that debris from five ballistic missiles launched from Yemen into Saudi Arabia since July contained components manufactured in Iran and shared key design features with an Iranian missile, a new report says.

The United Nations has determined that debris from five ballistic missiles launched from Yemen into Saudi Arabia since July contained components manufactured in Iran and shared key design features with an Iranian missile, a new report says. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the UN Security Council, which was seen by media on June 14, that -- while the missile parts are Iranian -- the United Nations has been unable to determine whether they were transferred from Iran after UN restrictions went into force in January 2016. Guterres said the UN was also "confident" that some arms seized by Bahrain and recovered by the United Arab Emirates from an unmanned vessel laden with explosives were manufactured in Iran. (RFE/RL)

06-15-2018
Human Rights

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blamed foreign media for the recent economic turbulence in his country and lamented the fact that Iranians trust foreign outlets more than domestic ones.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blamed foreign media for the recent economic turbulence in his country and lamented the fact that Iranians trust foreign outlets more than domestic ones. “Today, our main problem is not the economy, culture, or security, but a psychological war,” Rouhani said June 13 while addressing a group of Iranian journalists and media officials, adding, “the biggest grief of a nation is when foreign media are their [main] source of information.” Iranians are avid consumers of radio and TV news, as well as on-line content offered by international Persian language broadcasters such as RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, Voice of America, and the BBC. Iran’s constitution does not allow private individuals to launch radio and TV programs, and all existing channels are under the umbrella of a state-run organization controlled by conservatives and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Radio Farda)

06-14-2018
Syria Conflict

Iranian President Hassan defended Iran’s growing military presence in Syria, claiming that the Islamic Republic was engaged in “fighting terrorism.”

Iranian President Hassan defended Iran’s growing military presence in Syria, claiming that the Islamic Republic was engaged in “fighting terrorism.” During a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, both parties discussed bilateral relations, regional affairs and issues related to the nuclear deal. On the Syrian issue, Rouhani told Macron that “unlike the illegitimate presence of certain states in that country, the presence of Iranian advisers in Syrian is quite legal and based on the official request of the Syrian government with an aim of fighting terrorism.” (Asharq Al-awsat)

06-13-2018
Human Rights

Iranian authorities jailed a prominent human rights lawyer who has defended women who removed their mandatory Islamic head scarves in public.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested at her home by unidentified agents and taken to Evin Prison in Tehran, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group. Her husband, Reza Khandan, said the agents told him she must serve a five-year sentence but did not say on what charges she was being detained, the group said. Khandan confirmed her arrest to The Times. Separately, state media reported that Farhad Jafari, a well known writer in the city of Mashhad, was arrested 12 days ago for supporting “the girls of Enghelab Avenue,” near the Tehran square where, in December, a woman removed her headscarf in protest of modesty laws that require Iranian women to cover their hair. (Los Angeles Times)

06-10-2018
Terrorism

Israel has complained to the UN Security Council, saying that Hamas is working with Hezbollah to establish missile factories and training camps in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria reported.

Israel has complained to the UN Security Council, saying that Hamas is working with Hezbollah to establish missile factories and training camps in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria reported Saturday. According to the report, Israel sent a letter to the UN Security Council and General Assembly that included intelligence showing the effort of the two terrorist groups to set up missile factories and training facilities for thousands of Palestinian fighters. Israel requested that the UN intervene to stop cooperation between the two groups, charging it was a “blatant violation” of UN Security Resolution 1701, which set the terms to end the 34-day Second Lebanon War fought between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. (Jerusalem Post)

06-08-2018
Extremism

Iran held its annual day of protest against Israel on Friday, determined to show defiance at a time of mounting pressure from the United States and its regional allies.

Iran held its annual day of protest against Israel on Friday, determined to show defiance at a time of mounting pressure from the United States and its regional allies. "The US, Saudi Arabia and Israel want to put Iran in a corner, but they don't know that with this action they are threatening their own security," said parliament speaker Ali Larijani, addressing a crowd in Tehran. Thousands took to the streets in the capital and other cities for Qods (Jerusalem) Day, held every year since the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution to show support for the Palestinians. This year's event saw the usual burning of flags and chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel", as well as a huge Donald Trump figure being hanged from a crane. (AFP)

06-08-2018
Nuclear Program

Three centrifuges labeled in English in the background of a live television interview showed advanced devices Tehran is prohibited from using by the nuclear deal with world powers.

The star of a live television interview in Iran’s new nuclear workshop wasn’t the head of the country’s atomic agency, but three centrifuges labeled in English in the background, advanced devices Tehran is prohibited from using by the nuclear deal with world powers. The placement of the centrifuges, identified as IR-2M, IR-4 and IR-6, may have served as a subtle warning to Europe as it tries to salvage the atomic accord after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it and restore U.S. sanctions. In recent days Iranian officials from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on down have vowed to boost the country’s uranium enrichment capacity. The moves they have outlined would not violate the 2015 nuclear accord, but would allow Iran to quickly ramp up enrichment if the agreement unravels. (The Associated Press)

06-08-2018
Nuclear Program

Mohammad Javad Zarif, is asking world powers that remain committed to its 2015 nuclear deal to resist what he called U.S. "bullying tactics" and ensure that Iran is compensated for economic losses that result from U.S. withdrawal from the agreement.

Iran's top diplomat is asking world powers that remain committed to its 2015 nuclear deal to resist what he called U.S. "bullying tactics" and ensure that Iran is compensated for economic losses that result from U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. In a letter made public on Twitter by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on June 7, Zarif said that for the deal to "survive," the "remaining signatories and other economic partners" need to "make up for Iran's losses" caused by the U.S. exit and planned reimposition of U.S. sanctions previously lifted under the deal. Zarif said that "some of the most significant economic benefits to Iran from the [nuclear deal] derive from the sanctions-lifting obligation of the United States" and Iran is now seeking to determine "whether and how the remaining participants and economic partners can ensure the full benefits that the Iranian people are entitled to derive." (RFE/RL)

06-08-2018
Syria Conflict

The Syrian regime is disguising Iran-allied militias as its own fighters, according to rebels, a battlefield feint that appears calculated to try to avoid further Israeli air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria.

The Syrian regime is disguising Iran-allied militias as its own fighters, according to rebels, a battlefield feint that appears calculated to try to avoid further Israeli air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria. Israel, which has said it won’t allow forces loyal to Iran to entrench near its border, has watched closely as the regime and its allies appear to be preparing a military assault on rebels in southwestern Syria. After initially appearing to withdraw, military convoys of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and other Iran-backed militias have returned to both Daraa and Quneitra provinces in Syria’s southwest near Israel, dressed in Syrian military uniforms and under Syrian flags, according to multiple rebel commanders. The convoys that returned were equipped with rockets and missiles, one of the rebel commanders said. (Wall Street Journal)

06-07-2018
Syria Conflict

A Saudi court has sentenced four people to death for links to regional rival Iran, alleging that they were plotting the assassination of "prominent figures", state media said.

A Saudi court has sentenced four people to death for links to regional rival Iran, alleging that they were plotting the assassination of "prominent figures", state media said Thursday. "The criminal court has sentenced four terrorists to death for forming a cell for Iran," the state-owned Al-Ekhbariya TV reported. "The terrorists were trained in camps in Iran" and "planned to assassinate prominent figures," Al-Ekhbariya said, without giving any more details on those convicted. (Radio Farda)

06-06-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran will not heed a call to cooperate more fully with U.N. nuclear inspectors until a standoff over the future of its agreement with major powers is resolved, its envoy to the agency said.

Iran will not heed a call to cooperate more fully with U.N. nuclear inspectors until a standoff over the future of its agreement with major powers is resolved, its envoy to the agency said on Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is policing the restrictions placed on Iran’s activities under the deal, has said Tehran is implementing its commitments, but also called for “timely and proactive cooperation” on providing access for snap inspections. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has said the comment is “not an expression of concern or complaints but rather an encouragement to Iran”. Diplomats who deal with the agency, however, say it follows an inspection in late April that went down to the wire in terms of how quickly the IAEA team gained access to one site. (Reuters)

06-05-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it will increase its nuclear enrichment capacity within the limits set by the 2015 agreement with world powers.

Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it will increase its nuclear enrichment capacity within the limits set by the 2015 agreement with world powers. The modest steps announced Tuesday appeared to be mainly aimed at signaling that Iran could resume its drive toward industrial-scale enrichment if the nuclear accord comes unraveled. Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran’s nuclear agency, was quoted by state TV as saying a letter was submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency detailing the move. Kamalvandi said Iran is “providing infrastructure and arrangements for high-speed and capacity in production of UF4 and UF6 gases as well as rotor of centrifuges.” (The Associated Press)

06-04-2018
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at Israel, calling the Jewish state the “cancerous tumor” of the region that must be “removed and eradicated.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday lashed out at Israel, calling the Jewish state the “cancerous tumor” of the region that must be “removed and eradicated.” In a series of tweets Sunday, Khamenei leveled harsh criticism at Israel for its handling of the violent Hamas-orchestrated “March of Return” protests along the Gaza border. “Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken,” he said. “#Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.” (Times of Israel)

06-02-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran’s regime has not stopped its drive to secure technology and scientific knowledge to produce weapon of mass destruction, the intelligence agency of the German state of Baden-Württemberg disclosed in a report last week.

Iran’s regime has not stopped its drive to secure technology and scientific knowledge to produce weapon of mass destruction, the intelligence agency of the German state of Baden-Württemberg disclosed in a report last week. “Iran continued to undertake, as did Pakistan and Syria, efforts to obtain goods and know-how to be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction and to optimize corresponding missile delivery systems,” said the intelligence document, reviewed by FoxNews.com. (Fox News)

06-01-2018
Human Rights

Iran's judicial and security authorities have stepped up crackdown on the very experts and activists who are leading efforts to address the country’s growing water scarcity and environmental problems.

While Iran’s environmental challenges have reached crisis level, the country’s judicial and security authorities have stepped up crackdown on the very experts and activists who are leading efforts to address the country’s growing water scarcity and environmental problems, adversely affecting tens of millions of Iranians on a daily basis. In recent months, intelligence operatives of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have arrested scores of water management and environmental experts and activists on spurious charges. The IRGC, in collusion with the country’s repressive Judiciary, accuses those arrested of working for foreign intelligence agencies; but in reality, the IRGC targets these individuals because it considers them a threat to its environmentally-destructive construction projects. (Middle East Institute)

05-29-2018
Terrorism

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has amassed a net personal worth of around $250 million due to his organization's illegal drug smuggling operations, Al-Ittihad, an Arabic language newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, reported.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has amassed a net personal worth of around $250 million due to his organization's illegal drug smuggling operations, Al-Ittihad, an Arabic language newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, reported on Monday. According to the report, which relies on senior Lebanese government sources, the scope of Nasrallah's fortune was discovered within the framework of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation against Hezbollah – which aside from its designation as a terrorist organization also operates as one of the largest drug cartels in the world. Due to economic sanctions the U.S. has reimposed on Iran and the massive reduction of Tehran's budget to Hezbollah, Al-Ittihad reported, compounded by the heavy financial toll exacted by involvement in the Syrian civil war, Nasrallah ordered an expansion of the organization's drug-related activities – which resulted in extensive financial gains for Hezbollah and a personal windfall for Nasrallah himself. (Israel Hayom)

05-29-2018
Terrorism

Some of the dozens of mortars and rockets fired into Israel by Gaza-based terrorists on Tuesday, May 29 were made in Iran and smuggled into the Strip, the Israeli army said.

Some of the dozens of mortars and rockets fired into Israel by Gaza-based terrorists on Tuesday were made in Iran and smuggled into the Strip, the army said. In a statement, the army said that during the day more than 70 mortars and rockets were fired, with many intercepted. “Among the munitions fired at Israel were also rockets manufactured in Iran,” it said. It gave no details on the types of rockets. IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said in separate comments that some of the mortar shells appeared to be an Iranian-made variety that had been smuggled into the coastal enclave. (Times of Israel)

05-27-2018
Human Rights

Iranian security forces will "resolutely confront" unrest that could be exploited by the United States and other enemies, a judiciary spokesman said, after a wave of protests across the country mainly about economic issues.

Iranian security forces will "resolutely confront" unrest that could be exploited by the United States and other enemies, a judiciary spokesman said on Sunday, after a wave of protests across the country mainly about economic issues. The likely return of U.S. economic sanctions after Washington withdrew from an Iranian nuclear deal with world powers has triggered labour unrest and protests in Iran in the past few weeks by various groups, including teachers and truckers. (Reuters)

05-27-2018
Syria Conflict

The secretary of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Security Council has reiterated that Iran’s military presence in Syria, its regional policies and missile program will continue and are non-negotiable.

The secretary of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Security Council has reiterated that Iran’s military presence in Syria, its regional policies and missile program will continue and are non-negotiable. On May 17, Russian president Vladimir Putin had said that after the stabilization of the situation in Syria he hopes all foreign troops will be withdrawn from Syria. Speaking to Al Jezeera TV network, Ali Shamkhani, an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Rear Admiral, without mentioning the Putin's statement, insisted, “The Islamic Republic will never leave Syria because its presence is at the request of the Syrian government.” (Radio Farda)

05-25-2018
Syria Conflict

Yemeni Houthi rebels have fired several missiles into Saudi Arabia over the past two days, Iranian and Arab media reported.

Yemeni Houthi rebels have fired several missiles into Saudi Arabia over the past two days, Iranian and Arab media reported. According to Tasnim News Agency, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Houthis fired a missile dubbed “Badr-1” at the Saudi border city of Najran on Friday. Quoting Houthi rebel sources, Tasnim said the target was a gathering of Saudi military forces in the border region. The Saudi Royal Air Defense Force said it successfully intercepted the missiles coming from Houthi-held region in Yemen toward Najran. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen criticized Houthis for deliberately targeting civilian and populated areas, but said there were no casualties. (Middle East Institute)

05-24-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran’s supreme leader has threatened to pull his country out of the nuclear deal and resume enriching uranium if European countries do not promise to buy Iranian oil and to oppose all new US sanctions against Tehran.

Iran’s supreme leader has threatened to pull his country out of the nuclear deal and resume enriching uranium if European countries do not promise to buy Iranian oil and to oppose all new US sanctions against Tehran. Three days after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo delivered America’s extensive list of demands of Iran for a new nuclear agreement, Ayatollah Khamenei laid out his own demands of European countries for Iran to stay in the 2015 deal. “If the Europeans hesitate in responding to our demands, Iran is entitled to resuming its nuclear activities,” he said in a statement. (Telegraph)

05-23-2018
Military

Weapons researchers have identified activity at a remote secret facility in the Iranian desert that points to the covert development of long-range missiles that could potentially be used to attack the United States, The New York Times reported.

Weapons researchers have identified activity at a remote secret facility in the Iranian desert that points to the covert development of long-range missiles that could potentially be used to attack the United States, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Satellite images appear to show, among other things, activity around a tunnel leading underground and evidence of powerful rocket engine tests that scorched telltale marks in the desert sand near the city of Shahrud, the report said. (Times of Israel)

05-22-2018
Anti-Americanism

A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on U.S. threats to tighten sanctions, saying the Islamic Republic’s people would respond by punching U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth.

A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on U.S. threats to tighten sanctions on Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republic’s people would respond by punching U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth. Pompeo said on Monday Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear program and pulling out of the Syrian civil war. “The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them,” Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran said, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency. (Reuters)

05-17-2018
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that "Palestine will be liberated from the enemies and Jerusalem will be its capital."

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that "Palestine will be liberated from the enemies and Jerusalem will be its capital." Speaking ahead of the Islamic summit in Istanbul and in honor of the start of Ramadan, he added that "The Palestinians are suffering under [the rule of] a fake entity, and Muslims are content to stand by and watch.  "The United States is a partner to the Israeli entity in its crimes against the Palestinians." (Jerusalem Post)

05-17-2018
Politics

A violent protest in the city of Kazeroon in southwestern Iran has left at least one person dead and six others injured, Iranian media report.

A violent protest in the city of Kazeroon in southwestern Iran has left at least one person dead and six others injured, Iranian media report. Esmail Tabadar, the governor of the province of Fars, where Kazeroon is located, confirmed the death of one protester in a May 17 interview with the semiofficial ISNA news agency. In a statement published by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency on May 17, the Interior Ministry urged “the wise people of Kazeroon to be alert against plots of the opposition groups and enemies of Iran." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

05-14-2018
Extremism

A hardline Iranian organization is reportedly offering a $100,000 reward to any person who bombs the newly opened U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, according to a translation of Farsi language reports.

A hardline Iranian organization is reportedly offering a $100,000 reward to any person who bombs the newly opened U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, according to a translation of Farsi language reports. A group known as the Iranian Justice Seeker Student Movement is reported to have disseminated posters calling for an attack on the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which has been opposed by Palestinian and Iranian officials as an affront to the holy city.

"The Student Justice Movement will support anybody who destroy the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem," the poster states in Farsi, Arabic, and English, according to an independent translation of the propaganda poster provided to the Free Beacon. There will be a "$100,000 dollar prize for the person who destroys the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem," the poster states. (Washington Free Beacon)

05-13-2018
Politics

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani must apologize to the people of Iran for signing the Iran nuclear deal, the country's conservative Assembly of Experts said in a statement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani must apologize to the people of Iran for signing the Iran nuclear deal, the country's conservative Assembly of Experts said in a statement released Sunday. In light of the "damage" caused by President Donald Trump's decision that the United States would withdraw from the agreement, the statement "honestly and frankly" called on Rouhani to apologize for "not adhering to the red lines" set by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Assembly of Experts is an elected body of theologians charged by Iran's constitution with selecting and overseeing the Supreme Leader, the religious scholar who wields ultimate power in the Islamic Republic. In practice, however, the body has become a rubber stamp for arch-conservative Khamenei. (Jerusalem Post)

05-11-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran says it is ready to restart nuclear enrichment on an "industrial scale" in the wake of the US decision to abandon the deal that curbs the country's nuclear ambitions.

Iran says it is ready to restart nuclear enrichment on an "industrial scale" in the wake of the US decision to abandon the deal that curbs the country's nuclear ambitions. In a statement published Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he would embark on a round of international diplomacy to try and save the deal. At the same time, the country would make preparations to restart its nuclear program, he said. (CNN)

05-10-2018
Human Rights

Organizers of a teachers' protest in the Iranian capital, Tehran, say security forces have violently broken up their rally, beating up some of the demonstrators and arresting at least six of them.

Organizers of a teachers' protest in the Iranian capital, Tehran, say security forces have violently broken up their rally, beating up some of the demonstrators and arresting at least six of them. Dozens of retired and practicing teachers attended Thursday's protest outside the Iranian government's planning and budget organization building in Tehran. It was one of several rallies around the country organized by the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teacher Trade Associations to protest what it says are poor salaries for teachers and insufficient funding of the public education system as a whole. The teachers association of Tehran reported that Iranian security forces used force to break up the rally, beating several protesters including women. A member of the association, Sedighe Pakzamir, tweeted the names of six education activists who she said were arrested. Iran's Human Rights Activist News Agency quoted the Tehran association as saying the number of those detained was at least 15. (Voice of America)

05-09-2018
Syria Conflict

Yemen’s Iran-allied Shiite rebels fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi capital, according to the rebels and the Saudi military, which said its air defense forces intercepted missiles in the skies over Riyadh and the southern city of Jizan.

Yemen’s Shiite rebels fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi capital on Wednesday, according to the rebels and the Saudi military, which said its air defense forces intercepted missiles in the skies over Riyadh and the southern city of Jizan. The cross-border attack by the Iran-allied rebels, known as Houthis, came amid mounting regional tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran. Saudi coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said a ballistic missile was shot down by the Kingdom’s air defense forces in the skies over the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Earlier, the military said it had intercepted two missiles fired across the border at southern Jizan province, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Riyadh. (Associated Press)

05-09-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader chastised President Donald Trump over his decision to pull America out of the 2015 nuclear deal, while lawmakers lit a paper U.S. flag on fire inside parliament, shouting, “Death to America!”

Iran’s supreme leader chastised President Donald Trump on Wednesday over his decision to pull America out of the 2015 nuclear deal, while lawmakers lit a paper U.S. flag on fire inside parliament, shouting, “Death to America!” The government backlash reflected broad public anger in Iran over Trump’s decision, which threatens to destroy the landmark agreement. While Iranian officials, including the parliament speaker, say they hope Europe will work with them to preserve the deal, many are pessimistic. In comments before school teachers, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Trump: “You cannot do a damn thing!” The exhortation from Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, follows a pattern of Iranian leaders declaring their nation’s ability to resist foreign pressure or interference. (Associated Press)

05-09-2018
Syria Conflict

Confrontation between Israel and Iranian forces in Syria sharply escalated as Israel said Iran launched a barrage of 20 missiles toward its positions in the Golan Heights.

Confrontation between Israel and Iranian forces in Syria sharply escalated early Thursday morning as Israel said Iran launched a barrage of 20 missiles toward its positions in the Golan Heights. Heavy military jet activity, explosions and air-defense fire could be heard throughout the night in the area. An Israeli military spokesman said the rockets were fired by Iran’s Quds Force, a special forces unit affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, marking the first time Iranian forces have ever fired directly on Israeli troops. The Israeli military said several of the rockets had been intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system, and sparks could be seen as they broke up in the sky. (Washington Post)

05-09-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran’s supreme leader hinted that his country might step up its nuclear program, signaling a possible escalation in an already volatile relationship with Washington.

Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday hinted that his country might step up its nuclear program, signaling a possible escalation in an already volatile relationship with Washington after President Trump announced he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal. “Last night, you heard the president of America making petty and mindless statements,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, told a group of teachers in his Tehran office, according to the semiofficial news agency Fars. “There were perhaps more than 10 lies in his statements.” “He threatened both the system and the nation that ‘I will do this and that,’” the ayatollah said. “I say on behalf of the nation of Iran: ‘Mr. Trump, you won’t do a damn thing!’” (New York Times)

05-03-2018
Nuclear Program

An Israeli satellite imaging company released images showing what it described as “unusual” movement around the Iranian Fordo nuclear facility.

An Israeli satellite imaging company on Thursday released images showing what it described as “unusual” movement around the Iranian Fordo nuclear facility, a one-time uranium enrichment plant buried deep underground that was converted to a research center as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. The photographs, which show large numbers of vehicles at the entrance to the facility and other signs of increased activity there, do not in themselves indicate any violation of the nuclear accord, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. The underground site, which has been protected by the powerful S-300 air defense system since 2016, was not shuttered as part of the accord, but the types of activities allowed there were heavily curtailed. Barring a massive, heretofore undetected effort by Iran to bring Fordo back online in violation of the JCPOA, the increased activity could likely be attributed to an attempt by the Islamic Republic to imply that it is prepared to begin enriching uranium at the site if the US pulls out of the agreement. (Times of Israel)

05-02-2018
Nuclear Program

A top Iranian diplomat warned that if the United States withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal in the coming days, Tehran could resume its uranium enrichment activities.

A top Iranian diplomat warned on Wednesday that if the United States withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal in the coming days, Tehran could resume its uranium enrichment activities. “Iran would be ready to go back to the previous situation,” Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, told CNN in an interview. “It could be enriching uranium. It could be redefining our cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy Agency], and some other activities that are under consideration.” Baeidinejad also said President Donald Trump is not being “constructive.” (The Daily Beast)

04-30-2018
Nuclear Program

Revealing a huge archive of stolen Iranian nuclear plans, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel accused Iran of lying for years about its efforts to build a nuclear weapon.

Revealing a huge archive of stolen Iranian nuclear plans, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel accused Iran on Monday of lying for years about its efforts to build a nuclear weapon. Days before President Trump was to decide whether to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Mr. Netanyahu presented records from a secret warehouse in Tehran, making the case that Iranian leaders had deceived the international nuclear agency when they insisted their nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. Israeli spies seized the documents in an overnight raid in January, a senior Israeli official said. (New York Times)

04-30-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has the technical capability to enrich uranium to a higher level than it could before a multinational nuclear deal was reached to curb its nuclear program, state TV quoted the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, as saying.

Iran has the technical capability to enrich uranium to a higher level than it could before a multinational nuclear deal was reached to curb its nuclear program, state TV quoted the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, as saying. U.S. President Donald) Trump has given European signatories to the 2015 deal a May 12 deadline to “fix the terrible flaws” in the agreement, or he will refuse to extend U.S. sanctions relief on Iran. Salehi warned Trump against taking that course. “Iran is not bluffing. ... Technically, we are fully prepared to enrich uranium higher than we used to produce before the deal was reached. ... I hope Trump comes to his senses and stays in the deal.” (Reuters)

04-30-2018
Human Rights

Iran moved to shut down the messaging app Telegram, highlighting the regime’s concern over the popular platform’s role in organizing widespread unrest that has rippled through the country in recent months.

Iran moved to shut down the messaging app Telegram on Monday, highlighting the regime’s concern over the popular platform’s role in organizing widespread unrest that has rippled through the country in recent months. Using the app was prohibited as of Monday under a ruling by a Tehran-based court, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. The order said Telegram gave Islamic State “safe ground” in an attack in Tehran last year and also blamed its role in protests in December and January, the biggest in Iran in almost a decade. It ordered telecommunications providers to block the service. (Wall Street Journal)

04-26-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported.

Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported on Thursday. "The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist... All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. (Reuters)

 

 

04-25-2018
Extremism

Iran is promoting a domestically-produced mobile messaging app, complete with a "Death to America" emoji, in an attempt to get millions of Iranians to abandon the popular Telegram service, which it blames for promoting unrest in the country.

Iran is promoting a domestically-produced mobile messaging app, complete with a "Death to America" emoji, in an attempt to get millions of Iranians to abandon the popular Telegram service, which it blames for promoting unrest in the country. Among the features on new app Soroush are a series of emojis featuring a chador-clad woman clutching a picture of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and placards wishing death to Israel, America and Freemasons. (CNN)

04-25-2018
Syria Conflict

US intelligence is monitoring a series of cargo flights from Iran into Syria that the US suspects may be carrying weapons systems into Syria for potential use by Bashar al-Assad's regime or Iranian forces.

US intelligence is monitoring a series of cargo flights from Iran into Syria that the US suspects may be carrying weapons systems into Syria for potential use by Bashar al-Assad's regime or Iranian forces, CNN has learned. An administration official confirms to CNN that the flights took place and the US and Israel are both concerned the cargo could potentially include weapons that could eventually be used to threaten Israel. While weapons shipments into Syria are not uncommon, these flights involving Iran have caught the attention of US intelligence because they occurred in the days after the April 13 US airstrikes on Assad regime targets. (CNN)

04-25-2018
Human Rights

Iran has arrested a British-Iranian dual citizen who traveled to Tehran from London on an invitation to speak at an academic workshop, according to friends of his family and human-rights organizations.

Iran has arrested a British-Iranian dual citizen who traveled to Tehran from London on an invitation to speak at an academic workshop, according to friends of his family and human-rights organizations. Abbas Edalat, a professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College and a British-Iranian dual citizen, was arrested in Tehran, friends of the family said. The arrest of Abbas Edalat, a professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College in London, comes at a time of particularly tense relations between Iran and the West over the fate of the nuclear deal. (Wall Street Journal)

04-25-2018
Anti-Americanism

A top Iranian general has threatened to sink the US Navy’s ships, warning that the US would find itself in a “catastrophic situation” amid an ongoing war of words between the countries over the possibility President Trump could exit the nuclear deal.

A top Iranian general has threatened to sink the United States Navy’s ships, warning that the US would find itself in a “catastrophic situation” amid an ongoing war of words between the countries over the possibility President Donald Trump could exit a landmark nuclear deal. “The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late,” the Revolutionary Guard Corps’s navy commander, Admiral Ali Fadavim, told Iranian television on Saturday. “They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation,” Fadavi threatened in an interview with IRINN TV, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute. (Times of Israel)

04-24-2018
Nuclear Program

A senior Iranian official said that Tehran might quit a treaty designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons if U.S. President Donald Trump scraps the nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers in 2015.

A senior Iranian official said on Tuesday that Tehran might quit a treaty designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons if U.S. President Donald Trump scraps the nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers in 2015. In a news conference broadcast on state television, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was ready for some “surprising actions” if the nuclear deal was scrapped. Answering a question about the possibility of Tehran withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Shamkhani said: “This is one of three options that we are considering.” (Reuters)

04-20-2018
Extremism

The deputy head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened Israel with destruction, saying, “the finger is on the trigger and the missiles are ready at any given moment that the enemy conducts something against us, and we will launch them.”

The deputy head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened Israel with destruction on Friday, saying, “the finger is on the trigger and the missiles are ready at any given moment that the enemy conducts something against us, and we will launch them.” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami was speaking before Friday prayers in Tehran. (Ha’aretz)

04-19-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran warned the United States of “unpleasant” consequences if Washington pulls out of a multinational nuclear deal, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran warned the United States on Thursday of “unpleasant” consequences if Washington pulls out of a multinational nuclear deal, Iranian state TV reported. “Iran has several options if the United States leaves the nuclear deal. Tehran’s reaction to America’s withdrawal of the deal will be unpleasant,” TV quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying on his arrival in New York. (Reuters)

04-18-2018
Military

An unidentified air-launched cruise missile, rarely seen, was on display at Iran’s Army Day parade.

An unidentified air-launched cruise missile, rarely seen, was on display at Iran’s Army Day parade on Wednesday. Marked with initials of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, the missile features trapezoidal grid fins ― most commonly associated with U.S. missiles ― and a seeker in the tip. According to Ian Williams, associate director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, this suggests the mysterious missile is equipped with some kind of homing guidance. A sign written in Farsi that accompanied the missile said the munition is “electro-optically guided up to 100 km.” During the parade, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the country would “produce or acquire any weapons we need,” without waiting for approval from the international community. (Defense News)

04-16-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary forces have laid siege to an American air base northwest of Baghdad to pressure the US military not to use Iraqi airspace for any attacks against the Assad regime in Syria, Iranian and Lebanese media outlets reported.

Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary forces have laid siege to an American air base northwest of Baghdad to pressure the US military not to use Iraqi airspace for any attacks against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Iranian and Lebanese media outlets reported. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, a mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guards, quoted the Arabic-language al-Diyar newspaper as saying that the militia forces encircling the American base were equipped with heavy weapons, including ground-to-ground and anti-aircraft missiles and tanks. According to the newspaper, a commander of the Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) – also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi – has threatened the US commander in charge of the al-Zahra base that the militia forces would attack the installation if it is used for flying fighter jets to attack Syria. The Lebanese paper added that the US military has asked the Iraqi government to deploy army troops to break the siege. (Middle East Institute)

04-15-2018
Syria Conflict

The Yemeni government says that Iran supplied the Houthi rebels with drones used to attack Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni government says that Iran supplied the Houthi rebels with drones used to attack Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, Riyadh said it shot down two drones in the south of the country and intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis in Yemen. The drones are “made in Iran”, said Yemen’s internationally-recognised government on Saturday. It added that the country’s military did not possess such aircraft and it was “impossible to manufacture them locally”. (The National)

04-14-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said coordinated air strikes on Syria by the United States, France and Britain were a crime that would bring no benefit.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said coordinated air strikes on Syria by the United States, France and Britain on Saturday were a crime that would bring no benefit. “Today’s dawn attack on Syria is a crime. I clearly declare that the president of the United States, the president of France and the British prime minister are criminals,” Khamenei said in a speech, according to his Twitter account. “They will not benefit (from the attack) as they went to Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan in the past years and committed such crimes and did not gain any benefits,” Khamenei added. (Reuters)

04-12-2018
Extremism

“If Israel wants to continue its treacherous existence ... it should avoid stupid measures. If they give excuses to Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative said.

Iran could destroy Israel so Tel Aviv should avoid any stupid measures against the Islamic Republic, the supreme leader’s representative to the Quds force said on Thursday according to the semi-official Fars news agency. “If Israel wants to continue its treacherous existence ... it should avoid stupid measures. If they give excuses to Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative at the Quds force cleric Ali Shirazi was quoted by Fars as saying. “Iran can destroy Israel.” The Quds Force is the espionage and paramilitary wing, in charge of overseas operations, of the elite Revolutionary Guards. (Reuters)

04-12-2018
Human Rights

“More than half (51%) of all recorded executions in 2017 were carried out in Iran,” according to a report released on April 12 by London-based international human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

In a report released on April 12, London-based international human rights watchdog Amnesty International said “more than half (51%) of all recorded executions in 2017 were carried out in Iran.” Iran ranks second in the world after China in terms of executions and has “carried out 84% of the global total number of executions with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.” However, Amnesty International has observed that there has been “a slight decrease (5%) in execution figures” in Iran compared to 2016. (Radio Farda)

04-10-2018
Nuclear Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the United States would regret withdrawing from the nuclear deal, and that Iran would respond in "less than a week" if that happened.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that the United States would regret withdrawing from the nuclear deal, and that Iran would respond in "less than a week" if that happened. "We will not be the first to violate the accord but they should definitely know that they will regret it if they violate it," Rouhani told a conference to mark National Nuclear Technology Day in Tehran. "We are much more prepared than they think, and they will see that if they violate this accord, within a week, less than a week, they will see the result." (Agence France Presse)

04-05-2018
Politics

A group of 300 conservative figures in Iran wrote an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asking for structural reforms for the country.

A group of 300 conservative figures in Iran wrote an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asking for structural reforms for the country. The letter, which was published on various Telegram channels, was billed as an open letter from “officials of revolutionary organizations and student activists … about existing concerns regarding the state of the Islamic Republic and the need for fundamental reforms.” The letter is rare given that calls for reform addressed directly to the supreme leader typically do not come from the right but from Reformist figures or groups.

 

The letter stated that while these groups of activists have written about the state of the country regarding their concerns, they have never written to Khamenei directly. However, in accordance with their view, “day by day the government is resembling a lifeless body and breaking from within … and in consideration that the country needs structural and fundamental reforms … and no other official has the discretion,” they decided it was time to address Khamenei directly. (Al-Monitor)

04-04-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran's influence is looming large as Iraqis prepare to head to the polls for parliamentary elections in May, with many in the country worried that Tehran may be looking to strengthen its political grip on Baghdad through the ballot box.

Iran's influence is looming large as Iraqis prepare to head to the polls for parliamentary elections in May, with many in the country worried that Tehran may be looking to strengthen its political grip on Baghdad through the ballot box.

Iranian support and military advisers helped Baghdad's Shiite-led government beat back the Islamic State group. But with IS militants now largely defeated militarily, Iran's expanding influence has emerged as one of Iraq's most divisive issues ahead of the balloting.

That influence has sown fear among Iraq's disenchanted minority Sunnis, who bore the brunt of the war's destruction, and has also caused concern in Washington. Despite tensions between the United States and Iran, both remain key allies of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month accused Iran of "mucking around" in Iraq's upcoming elections, telling reporters the U.S. has what he called "worrisome evidence" that Iran is funneling "not an insignificant amount of money" into Iraq to try to sway votes. Baghdad rejected the accusation. (Associated Press)

04-03-2018
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attacked the United States and Israel for their roles in Syria before he boarded a plane for Turkey where he was scheduled to meet President Tayyip Erdogan and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attacked the United States and Israel for their roles in Syria before he boarded a plane for Turkey where he was scheduled to meet President Tayyip Erdogan and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Americans are against the Syrian government establishing its authority throughout the whole country and are even thinking of a breakup [of the country],” he said in a ceremony broadcast live from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport.

“There’s interference from Zionist forces in Syria which has increased problems. They don’t respect Syrian national sovereignty. They bomb areas in Syria. They support terrorists. These are all issues which have increased Syria’s problems,” he said. (Reuters)

04-02-2018
Human Rights

The husband of a British-Iranian woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, being held in an Iranian jail said the case had now gone beyond his worst fears, with the two-year anniversary of her detention passing without any sign of her release.

The husband of a British-Iranian woman being held in an Iranian jail said the case had now gone beyond his worst fears, with the two-year anniversary of her detention due to pass on Tuesday without any sign of her release.

The MP Tulip Siddiq said she believed Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, had been given false hope by the Foreign Office in the run-up to Boris Johnson’s visit to Iran late last year.

She said she had seen hope ebb away after the charity worker was detained past Christmas and also beyond the Iranian new year two weeks ago.

Ratcliffe has not seen his wife or his daughter Gabriella since his wife’s detention in 2016. (The Guardian)

03-30-2018
Military

Four days into 2018, two Iranian nationals tried to buy parts of an advanced missile in Kyiv, according a spokesperson for the Ukrainian intelligence service. This effort appears to have violated a UN arms embargo on Iran.

Four days into 2018, two Iranian nationals tried to buy parts of an advanced missile in Kyiv, according a spokesperson for the Ukrainian intelligence service. This effort appears to have violated a UN arms embargo on Iran.

Masked men in Ukraine’s secret police arrested the men and found parts of the missile in their vehicle, according to the spokesperson. What followed became a secret diplomatic incident, and both men were detained and then quietly deported to Iran.

Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence service, described this all to American government officials during a recent trip to Washington.

The attempt as alleged by Ukrainian intelligence sources likely violated United Nations’ prohibitions on Iranian arms procurement. And it shows Iran may intend to procure weapons that would let it make the Persian Gulf more dangerous than ever. (Daily Beast)

03-28-2018
Terrorism

Top Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said that Hamas-Iran relations were the closest they had been since the Syrian civil war blew up in 2011.

Top Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk has said in an interview to London’s Al-Hiwar television station that Hamas-Iran relations were the closest they had been since the Syrian civil war blew up in 2011.

 His comments were reported on Wednesday by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center after years of the Syrian war in which Hamas and Iran reduced their cooperation as Iran supported the Shi’ite-allied Assad regime and Hamas supported a range of Sunni rebel forces.

But with the Assad regime having mostly defeated the Sunni forces and with Hamas’ resources and allies limited to a historic low, Abu Marzouk said that no one had any right to criticize Hamas for accepting military or economic aid from Iran. (Jerusalem Post)

03-27-2018
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic of Iran, along with China, Syria, Turkey, and Vietnam, held its position as one of the five largest prisons for journalists in the world as of the end of the last Iranian year ending March 21, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Islamic Republic, along with China, Syria, Turkey, and Vietnam, held its position as one of the five largest prisons for journalists in the world as of the end of the last Iranian year ending March 21, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told Radio Farda.

Speaking to Radio Farda’s Mahtab Vahidi Rad, RSF Iran Desk Head Reza Moeinei said Iran ranked 165 out of 180 countries listed according to how dangerous they are for journalists, with 180 being the most dangerous.

Iran has been among the 15 most dangerous countries for journalists since Reporters Without Borders (RSF) initiated the rankings more than twenty years ago, evaluating countries on the basis of their degree of safety for media staff. (Radio Farda)

03-26-2018
Syria Conflict

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabia on the third anniversary of a kingdom-led war in Yemen, with fragments of one missile over Riyadh killing one person and wounding two.

Yemen's Shiite rebels fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabia late Sunday on the third anniversary of a kingdom-led war in Yemen, with fragments of one missile over Riyadh killing one person and wounding two. The casualties were the first in Saudi Arabia's capital since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began in March 2015, though previous rockets fired by the Yemeni rebels have caused deaths in other parts of the kingdom.

The rebels known as Houthis said they launched a missile attack targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and other sites, again showing their ability to strike deep into the neighboring kingdom amid the stalemated war in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country. (CBS News)

03-26-2018
Syria Conflict

Roadside bombs disguised as rocks in Yemen bear similarities to others used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and by insurgents in Iraq and Bahrain, suggesting at the least an Iranian influence in their manufacture, a watchdog group said.

Roadside bombs disguised as rocks in Yemen bear similarities to others used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and by insurgents in Iraq and Bahrain, suggesting at the least an Iranian influence in their manufacture, a watchdog group said on Monday.

The report by Conflict Armament Research comes as the West and United Nations researchers accuse Iran of supplying arms to Yemen’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who have held the country’s capital since September 2014.

Those weapons allegedly included ballistic missiles used to target Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition of Arab nations backed by the United States that is stuck in a stalemate war with the Houthis. A barrage of Houthi missile fire late on Sunday killed one person in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and wounded two others. (Associated Press)

03-23-2018
Terrorism

The Trump administration announced sanctions and criminal indictments against an Iranian hacker network it said was involved in “one of the largest state-sponsored hacking campaigns” ever ever prosecuted by the United States.

The Trump administration on Friday announced sanctions and criminal indictments against an Iranian hacker network it said was involved in “one of the largest state-sponsored hacking campaigns” ever prosecuted by the United States, targeting hundreds of U.S. and foreign universities, as well as dozens of U.S. companies and government agencies, and the United Nations. None of the alleged hackers were direct employees of the Iranian government, but all worked at the behest of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, officials said. While not the first such punishments imposed on Iran for malicious cyber acts, the new measures address more extensive Iranian efforts than previously alleged. Nine of 10 named individuals were connected to the Mabna Institute, a Shiraz-based tech firm that the Justice Department alleged hacks on behalf of Iranian universities and the IRGC. The institute conducted “massive, coordinated intrusions” into the computer systems of at least 144 U.S. universities and 176 foreign universities in 21 countries, including Britain and Canada, officials said. (Washington Post)

03-21-2018
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran has neutralized US plans in the Middle East, in a speech marking the Persian New Year.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran has neutralized US plans in the Middle East, in a speech Wednesday marking the Persian New Year. “Those who interfere in all the affairs of the world protest and ask: ‘Why does Iran intervene in the affairs of Iraq and Syria?’ What is it to you? The Islamic Republic of Iran has succeeded in neutralizing US plans in the region,” he said. Khamenei accused the United States of planning to “create oppressive and rebel groups like Daesh [the Islamic State group] to distract people in the region from the Zionist regime [Israel] and keep them occupied with internal conflicts.” (Agence France Presse)

03-19-2018
Politics

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disclosed the size of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei's fortune estimated at $800 billion toman, the equivalent of about $190 bln.

In an uncommon escalation of the brewing power struggle within the different wings in Iran, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disclosed the size of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei's fortune estimated at $800 billion toman, the equivalent of about $190 bln, accusing him of stealing people' money and advancing oppression to silence critics. The dolatebahar website, associated with Ahmadinejad, published two lengthy letters on Sunday from Ahmadinejad addressing Khamenei, criticizing the acquisition of some $190 bln in illegal ways that are not subject to financial control by the institutions of the Supreme Leader. According to Ahmadinejad, these funds were appropriated to institutions under the control of the leader's office, counting the Benayad 15 Khordad Foundation, the Benayad Mistaathafen Foundation, the Stad Agri Ferman Imam Center, the Revolutionary Guard Cooperative Benyad Taawon Sibeh, the army cooperative Benayad Artash , the Basij Cooperation Niyad Basij cooperation, the Ministry of Defense Cooperative Benayad Cooperative for Defense Ministries and the Khomeini Charitable Committee Khimtah Imded Imam Khomeini. (Al Arabiya)

03-15-2018
Syria Conflict

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday accused Iran of funneling money into Iraq to sway the outcome of its elections in May, calling it part of a broader pattern of destabilizing Iranian actions across the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday accused Iran of funneling money into Iraq to sway the outcome of its elections in May, calling it part of a broader pattern of destabilizing Iranian actions across the Middle East. Mr. Mattis declined to say what outcome Iran was aiming for in Iraq, but he said it was sending “not an insignificant amount of money” to the country to sway votes. He mentioned no dollar amounts. (New York Times)

03-14-2018
Politics

Escalating street protests by Iranians against water shortages in a rural part of central Iran have inspired more domestic criticism of the government's handling of the nation's water resources.

Escalating street protests by Iranians against water shortages in a rural part of central Iran have inspired more domestic criticism of the government's handling of the nation's water resources. Overseas-based human rights groups say the protests by farmers in Varzaneh in Isfahan province began last month and escalated into violent confrontations with security forces last week. Iranian state-affiliated news agency Mehr said a member of parliament for Isfahan province blamed the violence on the government. In a report published Sunday, Mehr quoted Hassan Kamran-Dastjerdi as telling an open session of parliament that Iran's energy ministry has "plundered" water from Varzaneh's farmers by redirecting it to steel factories and refineries in neighboring areas. He said the farmers had been working on the land along the Zayandeh River for centuries. (Voice of America)

03-12-2018
Human Rights

An unnamed British-Iranian national has been sentenced to six years in prison on spying charges, the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary reported, the latest dual national convicted in the country.

An unnamed British-Iranian national has been sentenced to six years in prison on spying charges, the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary reported Sunday, the latest dual national convicted in the country. Mizan news agency quoted Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announcing the sentencing, though he did not elaborate on what the charges entailed. However, there is no known case of a British-Iranian national being sentenced to six years in prison, suggesting this is a new case. (Associated Press)

03-11-2018
Human Rights

British broadcaster the BBC said it was appealing to the United Nations to protect its journalists in Iran after it said persecution and harassment by the Iranian authorities escalated in 2017.

British broadcaster the BBC said on Monday it was appealing to the United Nations to protect its journalists in Iran after it said persecution and harassment by the Iranian authorities escalated in 2017. “The BBC is taking the unprecedented step of appealing to the United Nations because our own attempts to persuade the Iranian authorities to end their harassment have been completely ignored,” BBC Director General Tony Hall said in a statement. “In fact, during the past nine years, the collective punishment of BBC Persian Service journalists and their families has worsened.” (Reuters)

03-08-2018
Human Rights

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seeking to stop women removing their head scarves in public, defended the garments Thursday, saying wearing them protected against “a deviant lifestyle.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seeking to stop women removing their head scarves in public, defended the garments Thursday, saying wearing them protected against “a deviant lifestyle.” The comments were the first from Iran’s most powerful figure since the spread of a movement in which women remove their head scarves, or hijabs, in the streets, to protest against laws requiring them to don them in public places. Scores of women have been captured on video with their heads uncovered in 2018 in cities and towns across the country. “By promoting modest dress (#hijab), #Islam has blocked the path which would lead women to such a deviant lifestyle,” Mr. Khamenei said Thursday on his official Twitter account. “Hijab is a means of immunity, not restriction.” (Wall Street Journal)

03-07-2018
Nuclear Program

A senior Iranian military official said his country has tripled its missile production, amid efforts by the international community to curb it.

A senior Iranian military official said his country has tripled its missile production, amid efforts by the international community to curb it. Speaking at his military headquarters, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, also slammed the world powers, including Israel, for their “hypocrisy” in trying to contain Iran’s military aspirations and limit its missile production, Iran’s Fars news agency reported Wednesday. “In the past we had to explain our actions to various bodies, but not any more,” he said. “The law of the world is the hands of the United States, Britain, France and the Zionist regime and they have written these laws with arrogance. But if they want they change them.” (Times of Israel)

03-05-2018
Human Rights

Iran has arrested activists and political opponents in a clampdown on freedom of expression as use of torture continues despite promises of reform, a United Nations report said.

Iran has arrested activists and political opponents in a clampdown on freedom of expression as use of torture continues despite promises of reform, a United Nations report said on Monday. The report was compiled by Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer serving as U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran who died suddenly last month. Her report to the U.N. Human Rights Council was finalised, although diplomats said Tehran had tried to block its publication. (Reuters)

03-05-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran said it could produce higher enriched uranium within two days if the United States quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers.

Iran said on Monday it could produce higher enriched uranium within two days if the United States quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers, Tehran’s Arabic language al-Alam TV reported. “If America pulls out of the deal ... Iran could resume its 20 percent uranium enrichment in less than 48 hours,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, told al-Alam TV. Uranium refined to 20 percent fissile purity is well beyond the 5 percent normally required to fuel civilian nuclear power plants, though still well short of highly enriched, or 80-90 percent, purity needed for a nuclear bomb. (Reuters)

03-03-2018
Terrorism

Bahrain said it had rounded up 116 members of an armed network established and supported by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, suspected of plotting attacks on Bahraini government officials and security forces.

Bahrain said on Saturday it had rounded up 116 members of an armed network established and supported by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, suspected of plotting attacks on Bahraini government officials and security forces. The interior ministry in Bahrain said in a statement that investigators found sites used by the militants to manufacture and store explosives intended to be used for “terrorist attacks”. (Reuters)

03-01-2018
Terrorism

An Iran-based hacking group that in the past has conducted domestic surveillance is turning its gaze outward across the Middle East, according to a new report from Symantec.

An Iran-based hacking group that in the past has conducted domestic surveillance is turning its gaze outward across the Middle East, according to a new report from Symantec. The cybersecurity firm said last year, the group attacked organizations in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Some of the sectors the group, known as Chafer, has targeted include airlines, aircraft services, telecom firms, and technology companies serving the air and sea transport sectors. (CNBC)

03-01-2018
Extremism

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his "resistance" after seven years of war.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters, on Thursday praised Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his "resistance" after seven years of war. "Syria is on the front lines today; it is our duty to defend the Syrian resistance," Khamenei said, quoted on his official website. "Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, appeared as a great example of resistance and a fighting image; he never hesitated and stood strong: this is extremely important for a nation," he added. (Agence France Presse)

02-28-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran has built another permanent military base outside Syria’s capital city complete with hangers used to store missiles capable of hitting all of Israel, according to Western intelligence sources.

Iran has built another permanent military base outside Syria’s capital city complete with hangers used to store missiles capable of hitting all of Israel, according to Western intelligence sources. Exclusive satellite images from ImageSat International obtained by Fox News show what is believed to be the new Iranian base, eight miles northwest of Damascus, operated by the Quds Force — the special operations arm of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  The photos show two new white hangars, each roughly 30 yards by 20 yards, used to store short- and medium-range missiles. (Fox News)

02-27-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran is a major threat to U.S. interests and the long-term stability of the Mideast, the head of U.S. military's Central Command warned U.S lawmakers.

Iran is a major threat to U.S. interests and the long-term stability of the Mideast, the head of U.S. military's Central Command warned U.S lawmakers Tuesday. "Iran is generating instability across the region, and the Iranian Threat Network continues to increase in strength, enhancing its capacity to threaten U.S. and partner nation interests," General Joe Votel said in a 45-page set of prepared remarks he presented to the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on terrorism. (VOA)

02-27-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran blasted US President Donald Trump’s conditions for renewing a landmark nuclear deal it signed in 2015 between with world powers, calling the conditions “worthless” and “inappropriate.”

Iran blasted US President Donald Trump’s conditions for renewing a landmark nuclear deal it signed in 2015 between with world powers, calling the conditions “worthless” and “inappropriate.” “The US has a long-term experience of raising allegations and projecting the blame on Iran and this story will continue given the US excessive demands,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters Monday in Tehran. “We should not take seriously the words which are in vain and worthless, because such words are continuously repeated and I think that they will not yield any results for the US,” he added, according to the semi-official Fars news site. (Times of Israel)

02-25-2018
Syria Conflict

Iran said pro-Damascus forces would press ahead with attacks on eastern Ghouta, an insurgent enclave near the Syrian capital, in defiance of a U.N. resolution demanding a 30-day truce across the country.

Iran said pro-Damascus forces would press ahead with attacks on an insurgent enclave near the Syrian capital, as ground fighting raged on there in defiance of a U.N. resolution demanding a 30-day truce across the country. Anti-government rebels said they clashed with pro-government forces near Damascus on Sunday, as rescuers and residents said warplanes struck some towns in the eastern Ghouta pocket. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes and artillery killed nine people and injured 31 in the eastern suburbs. (Reuters)

02-23-2018
Human Rights

Iranian security officers have arrested two women who protested against the compulsory hijab in Tehran by removing their head scarves in public and waving them while standing on utility boxes.

Iranian security officers have arrested two women who protested against the compulsory hijab in Tehran by removing their head scarves in public and waving them while standing on utility boxes. Shaparak Shadizadeh, one of the two women arrested, was taken into custody on February 21. Her family said she was beaten up during the arrest. Another woman was reportedly arrested on February 22. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

02-22-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran will withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit and major banks continue to shun the Islamic Republic, its deputy foreign minister said.

Iran will withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit and major banks continue to shun the Islamic Republic, its deputy foreign minister said on Thursday. Under the deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions that have crippled its economy. Despite that, big banks have continued to stay away for fear of falling foul of remaining U.S. sanctions - something that has hampered Iran’s efforts to rebuild foreign trade and lure investment. (Reuters)

02-22-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran has disclosed plans to develop nuclear reactors for ships, despite a deal with world powers that curtails its atomic program.

Iran has disclosed plans to develop nuclear reactors for ships, despite a deal with world powers that curtails its atomic program. The project is likely to get a cool response in Washington. Tehran has told United Nations nuclear inspectors of its plan to build nuclear reactors for ships, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday. In a quarterly report on Iran's conformity with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal that restricted Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA said the Islamic Republic remained compliant and had informed the agency of a "decision that has been taken to construct naval nuclear propulsion in future." (Deutsche Welle)

02-20-2018
Extremism

Tel Aviv will be “leveled to the ground” if Israel attacks Iran, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not escape with his life, a senior official in the Islamic republic’s regime threatened.

Tel Aviv will be “leveled to the ground” if Israel attacks Iran, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not escape with his life, a senior official in the Islamic republic’s regime threatened. His comments came in response to Netanyahu’s speech on Sunday at the Munich Security Conference, in which the prime minister brandished a piece of an Iranian drone downed in Israeli airspace and threatened direct military action against Iran. “About Netanyahu’s unwise words, I should say that if they carry out the slightest unwise move against Iran, we will level Tel Aviv to the ground,” Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council and former chief of the country’s Revolutionary Guards, told the Hezbollah-affiliated Arabic-language al-Manar TV channel Monday. (Times of Israel)

02-15-2018
Extremism

Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force, lashed out at Israel during a commemoration for a Hezbollah figure killed in a 2008 Damascus car bombing that the group blamed on Israel.

A top Iranian general has lashed out at Israel during a commemoration for a Hezbollah figure killed in a 2008 Damascus car bombing that the group blamed on Israel. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force, pledged retaliation for Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s ex-military chief who was considered one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists by Israel and the United States. Soleimani says the appropriate revenge for Mughniyeh’s slaying is “not launching one missile or killing one person, but the dismantling and uprooting of the baby-killing Zionist regime.” (The Associated Press)

02-14-2018
Syria Conflict

Hezbollah claims it will have nearly half-a-million missiles aimed at Israel within the next year amid ongoing efforts by the Islamic Republic to transfer advanced missile technology to regional hotspots such as Lebanon and Syria.

An Iranian-backed terror group claims it will have nearly half-a-million missiles aimed at Israel within the next year amid ongoing efforts by the Islamic Republic to transfer advanced missile technology to regional hotspots such as Lebanon and Syria, which are located on Israel's borders. Militants tied to Hezbollah, the Iranian-controlled terror group that operates along Israel's northern border in Lebanon, claim they have deployed more than 70,000 long-range missiles across Syria and Lebanon in preparation for a strike on Israel. The number of missiles could grow to nearly half-a-million within the next year, according to these militant groups. (Washington Free Beacon)

02-11-2018
Anti-Americanism

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied to mark the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, denouncing the United States and Israel as oppressors.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Sunday to mark the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, denouncing the United States and Israel as oppressors. In a show of defiance of Western pressure to curb its ballistic missile program, Iran put its Ghadr ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles) on display in Tehran’s central Vali-ye Asr street. (Reuters)

02-11-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian-Canadian university professor detained in Tehran has died in custody, marking the latest suspicious death of a detainee in Iran after a crackdown on dissent following nationwide protests.

An Iranian-Canadian university professor detained in Tehran has died in custody, activists and a family member said Sunday, marking the latest suspicious death of a detainee in Iran after a crackdown on dissent following nationwide protests. They identified the professor as Kavous Seyed-Emami, a 63-year-old professor of sociology at Imam Sadeq University in Tehran and the managing director of the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation. His son and the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran say that authorities told Seyed-Emami's family that he committed suicide in custody, something they described as suspicious following other detainee deaths. (The Associated Press)

02-10-2018
Syria Conflict

In its most serious engagement in neighboring Syria since fighting there began in 2011, Israel shot down an infiltrating Iranian drone and struck Iranian targets deep in Syria before one of its own jets was downed.

In its most serious engagement in neighboring Syria since fighting there began in 2011, Israel shot down an infiltrating Iranian drone Saturday and struck Iranian targets deep in Syria before one of its own jets was downed. The sudden escalation offers what could be a harbinger of what lies ahead as the Syrian fighting winds down and an emboldened Iran establishes a military presence that Israel vows it will never accept. Israel has issued several stern warnings of late about the increased Iranian involvement along its border in Syria and Lebanon. The Israeli Cabinet just held a meeting near the Syrian border to highlight the new threats, which it attributes to Iran's growing confidence given the success of the government of Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war thanks to their support. (ABC News)

02-08-2018
Anti-Americanism

The two main Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq warn that U.S. forces in the country face possible attack by their forces, should Washington not carry out a full withdrawal of American troops from the country.

The two main Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq warn that U.S. forces in the country face possible attack by their forces, should Washington not carry out a full withdrawal of American troops from the country. Members of Shia-led Kata’ib Hezbollah, Badr Organization and other Iranian-linked paramilitaries under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) banner stood ready to battle back against the American “occupation force” inside Iraq, said Kata’ib Hezbollah spokesman Jafar al-Hussaini. “Iraq will not see stability with America’s presence. The Americans have not entered Iraq based on the Iraqi government’s consent,” Mr. al-Hussaini said in an interview with Lebanese news outlets. “Our combatants have limited weapons but a confrontation with the American forces may begin at any moment. Unlike in the past, the Americans this time will not benefit from any mediation,” he added. (Washington Times)

02-06-2018
Human Rights

An ailing Iranian-American dual national held in Tehran was returned to prison after Iran's government refused to agree to an extended medical release.

An ailing Iranian-American dual national held in Tehran was returned to prison Tuesday after Iran's government refused to agree to an extended medical release, his family and attorney said. Iran's judiciary had allowed 81-year-old Baquer Namazi to leave Evin prison for a few days following recent surgery to install a pacemaker, but his family had hoped it would be extended. Lawyer Jared Genser said Namazi was assessed by Iran's medical examiner, who recommended he be allowed a three-month respite and left open the possibility it could be extended even longer. Amid high hopes that Iran would allow the three-month leave, Namazi's family received a call Tuesday from prison officials informing them that he must return immediately. He was dropped off at the prison shortly thereafter, Genser said, calling it "tantamount to a death sentence that will be imposed quickly." (The Associated Press)

02-06-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has again ruled out negotiations on the country's missiles program, saying it did not aim to make weapons of mass destruction.

Iran's President Hassan Rohani has again ruled out negotiations on the country's missiles program, saying it did not aim to make weapons of mass destruction. "We will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons," Rohani told a press conference in Tehran on February 6. "Our missiles are used to defend ourselves. They are defensive. They have not been made to be used as weapons of mass destruction." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

02-05-2018
Military

Iran announced that it has begun mass-producing a new weaponized drone that carries smart bombs capable of precision strikes.

Iran announced on Monday that it has begun mass-producing a new weaponized drone that carries smart bombs capable of precision strikes, according to the Islamic Republic's military leaders. Iran, which has engaged in a massive military buildup since receiving billions of dollars in cash windfalls as a result of the landmark nuclear deal, says that these advanced new drones will be delivered to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC, which has been coordinating war efforts across the Middle East, including most controversially in Syria, where Iranian-backed forces have attacked U.S. troops. The new drones, dubbed the Mohajer 6, are "equipped with the smart Qa'em precision-striking bombs and different electro-optical explorers and different warheads, [and] can trace, intercept and destroy the target," Iranian Defense Minister and Brigadier General Amir Hatami said on Monday during a speech celebrating the new weaponry. (Washington Free Beacon)

02-05-2018
Syria Conflict

Saudi Arabia's air force intercepts a ballistic missile launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's air force intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Kingdom's military said Monday. Col. Turki Al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting the Yemeni government, told state media that the missile was launched from Yemen's northern government of Sa'adah and targeted the city of Khamis Mushait, about 100 miles north of the Saudi-Yemen border. Maliki accused the Houthis of targeting densely populated cities and accused the Iranian regime of violating international law by providing "tangible capabilities" to the rebel group. He also called on the international community "to hold Iran accountable for its support and blatant defiance of international norms, values, and laws." (Fox News)

02-02-2018
Human Rights

Tehran police arrest 29 women for appearing in public without a headscarf as protests against the dress code in force since the Islamic revolution of 1979 intensify.

Tehran police have arrested 29 women for appearing in public without a headscarf as protests against the dress code in force since the Islamic revolution of 1979 intensify, Iranian media reported Friday. Those arrested were accused of public order offences and referred to the state prosecutor's office, the Fars, ILNA and Tasnim news agencies reported without elaborating. (Agence France Presse)

02-02-2018
Politics

Iranians are deeply dissatisfied with their government’s management of the economy and want it to do more to fight corruption, according to the first major gauge of public opinion since widespread protests rocked the country last month.

Iranians are deeply dissatisfied with their government’s management of the economy and want it to do more to fight corruption, according to the first major gauge of public opinion since widespread protests rocked the country last month. The survey, carried out by phone interviewers under the auspices of the University of Maryland, provides a rare glimpse of political and economic views in a country where reliable polling is scarce, and comes just weeks after the biggest bout of unrest in Iran this decade caught the ruling class by surprise. Those protests started as complaints against financial fraud and rising prices but very quickly turned into demonstrations against Iran’s regime. (Wall Street Journal)

02-01-2018
Syria Conflict

The top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the country’s leadership had no intention of reining in its influence across the Middle East despite U.S. pressure to do so.

The top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday the country’s leadership had no intention of reining in its influence across the Middle East despite U.S. pressure to do so, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. U.S. President Donald Trump, who sees Iran as a rising threat to regional stability in the Middle East, has pledged to work with Gulf Arab states and Israel to curb what they say are Tehran’s attempts to extend its influence in the region. “Iran’s influence in the region is inevitable and to remain a key player in the region, this influence will continue,” the adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, was quoted by Fars as saying. (Reuters)

01-30-2018
Human Rights

An Iranian court has sentenced a wealthy Iranian-American art gallery owner and his wife to long prison terms on espionage and other charges.

An Iranian court has sentenced a wealthy Iranian-American art gallery owner and his wife to long prison terms on espionage and other charges, according to a letter he wrote from jail. Karan Vafadari, a 55-year-old landowner and member of the Zoroastrian religious minority, was given a sentence of 27 years in prison, 124 lashes and a cash fine of $243,000 and confiscation of all his assets, according to the letter, which was published Tuesday on the website of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based human-rights organization. Mr. Vafadari’s wife, Afarin Nayssari, a 46-year-old architect and U.S. green-card holder, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to the letter, whose authenticity was confirmed by Mr. Vafadari’s family. The couple have been held in Tehran’s Evin prison since July 2016. (Wall Street Journal)

01-25-2018
Syria Conflict

“Iran is currently controlling 82,000 fighters in Syria,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the UN Security Council.

“Iran is currently controlling 82,000 fighters in Syria,” Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the UN Security Council on Thursday. Danon told the executive body that he was ready to expose “classified information” for the first time, “because it is vital for the world to understand that if we turn a blind eye in Syria, the Iranian threat will only grow. This includes 3,000 members of Iran’s infamous Revolutionary Guard, 9,000 fighters from Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, and 10,000 members of violent Shi’a militias recruited from across the Middle East including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In addition, Iran also directly commands 60,000 local Syrian fighters.” (Jerusalem Post)

01-25-2018
Military

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has green-lighted the siphoning of $2.5 billion from a currency-reserve fund to boost military spending.

With some Iranians still hopping mad about state spending on religious institutions and foreign military ventures, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has green-lighted the siphoning of $2.5 billion from a currency-reserve fund to boost military spending. The announcement follows by less than two weeks an official clampdown on street protests over rising prices and other economic grievances that spread to more than 90 cities, according to RFE/RL's Radio Farda. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

01-18-2018
Terrorism

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh penned a letter to Supreme Leader Khamenei praising Iranian support for the militant group, and particularly Tehran’s “unwavering and valuable” stance on the issue of Jerusalem.

In a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian Hamas, has praised Iranian support for the militant group, and particularly Tehran’s “unwavering and valuable” stance on the issue of Jerusalem. According to the Iranian media, Haniyeh denounced President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and emphasized in the letter that launching another intifada against Israel would be the best course of action at present. "With the outbreak of the roaring popular Intifada in the West Bank and al-Quds, we will foil with God's permission the conspiracy of the tyrant of the time and the rulers of hypocrisy in the capitals near and far, who want to put an end to the Palestinian issue." He also thanked Khamenei for his guidance to the “resistance movement” and cautioned that Washington’s Jerusalem announcement was part of a broader “conspiracy” to “destroy the pillars of resistance” and pave the way for Israel’s normalization of relations with the Islamic countries in the region. (Middle East Institute)

01-17-2018
Terrorism

German security forces raided the homes of 10 suspected Iranian spies believed to be members of the IRGC Quds Force. The suspected spies had been gathering information on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and targets related to the local Jewish community.

The German journalist who first reported raids by local security forces at the homes of suspected Iranian spies across Germany supplied new details Wednesday about the Israeli and Jewish targets allegedly monitored by the suspects. Josef Hufelschulte, of the weekly German-language magazine FOCUS, told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the suspected spies had been gathering information on the Israeli embassy in Berlin, as well as on targets related to the local Jewish community, including kindergartens. The operatives were monitored by German intelligence services for two months before the raids were conducted, Hufelschulte said. On Tuesday, German authorities said they were conducting searches across the country in connection with 10 suspected Iranian spies, with FOCUS magazine claiming that they were members of an elite military force that had been eyeing Israeli and Jewish targets. The report said that arrest warrants for the suspects listed them as members of the al-Quds force, which is part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. (Times of Israel)

01-08-2018
Nuclear Program

Iran says it might reconsider its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog if the United States failed to respect its commitments in the nuclear deal Tehran struck with world powers in 2015.

Iran said on Monday it might reconsider its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog if the United States failed to respect its commitments in the nuclear deal Tehran struck with world powers in 2015. U.S. President Donald Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue waiving U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports under the terms of the nuclear pact that eased economic pressure on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. In October, Trump refused to certify that Iran was complying with the deal, also known by its acronym JCPOA, even though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was. “If the United States does not meet its commitment in the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran would take decisions that might affect its current cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted as telling IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in a phone call. (Reuters)

01-04-2018
Human Rights

More than a thousand people have been rounded up and detained in Iran over the past week as authorities try to quell the largest street protests in nearly a decade.

More than a thousand people have been rounded up and detained in Iran over the past week, rights groups and the State Department said Thursday, as authorities try to quell the largest street protests in nearly a decade.  Amnesty International warned that those being held risk torture and ill-treatment in the country’s prisons, calling for the release of those arrested for demonstrating peacefully. Earlier this week, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Court warned that arrested demonstrators could face the death penalty.  “The Iranian authorities have an appalling track record of carrying out mass arbitrary arrests of peaceful demonstrators,” said Philip Luther, the regional research and advocacy director at Amnesty. “Given the alarming scale of the current wave of arrests, it is highly likely that many of those held are peaceful protesters who have been detained arbitrarily and now find themselves in prisons where conditions are dire and torture is a common tool to extract confessions and punish dissidents.” (Washington Post)

01-02-2018
Human Rights

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Iran's "enemies" for stirring up unrest in the country, as the death toll from days of anti-government protests climbed to 21.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday blamed Iran's "enemies" for stirring up unrest in the country, as the death toll from days of anti-government protests climbed to 21. In his first remarks since the demonstrations erupted last Thursday, Khamenei accused the nation's enemies of "joining forces" and blamed them for the protests that have turned violent. "The enemy is waiting for an opportunity, for a flaw, through which they can enter. Look at these events over the last few days. All those who are against the Islamic Republic -- those who have money, those who have the politics, those who have the weapons, those who have the intelligence -- they have all joined forces in order to create problems for the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution," he said, without naming any particular country. (CNN)

12-24-2017
Syria Conflict

Syrian army forces backed by Iranian-backed militias pushed deeper into the last rebel-held enclave near a strategic border area with Israel and Lebanon in a new expansion of Tehran’s influence in the war-torn country.

Syrian army forces backed by Iranian-backed militias pushed deeper into the last rebel-held enclave near a strategic border area with Israel and Lebanon in a new expansion of Tehran’s influence in the war-torn country. The army and the Shi‘ite forces helped by Druze militias in the area advanced east and south of the Sunni-rebel held bastion of Beit Jin backed by some of the heaviest aerial bombing and artillery shelling since a major assault began more than two months ago to seize the area, rebels said. The Syrian army said it had encircled the village of Mughr al Meer at the foothills of Mount Hermon as troops moved toward Beit Jin amid fierce clashes. On Monday, the army said they had cut off insurgent supply lines and made further advances. The enclave is the last rebel bastion left in the southwest of Damascus known as the Western Ghouta that had since last year fallen under government control after months of heavy bombing on civilian areas and years of siege tactics that forced rebels to surrender. (Reuters)

12-14-2017
Syria Conflict

The United States presents for the first time pieces of what it says were Iranian weapons supplied to the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran is violating U.N. resolutions.

The United States on Thursday presented for the first time pieces of what it said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating U.N. resolutions. The arms included charred remnants of what the Pentagon said was an Iranian-made short-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen on Nov. 4 at King Khaled International Airport outside Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, as well as a drone and an anti-tank weapon recovered in Yemen by the Saudis. Iran has denied supplying the Houthis with such weaponry and on Thursday described the arms displayed as “fabricated.” (Reuters)

12-06-2017
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasts his US counterpart Donald Trump's plan to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying it would not be tolerated.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted his US counterpart Donald Trump's plan to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday, saying it would not be tolerated. Rouhani also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone, describing Trump's announcement as "wrong, illegitimate, provocative and very dangerous", according to an account posted on the Iranian government's website. (Agence France Presse)

12-04-2017
Syria Conflict

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels kill the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, punishing him for switching sides and seeking peace with Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s civil war has taken a dramatic turn after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, punishing him for switching sides and seeking peace with Saudi Arabia. Pictures of Saleh’s corpse appeared on Houthi-run television after the militia said it had killed him as he fled the capital, Sana’a. He had ruled Yemen for more than 30 years and was forced to resign in 2011 as part of the Arab spring political revolution. Houthi military officials said Saleh was killed as he was travelling with other top party leaders from Sana’a to his hometown of Sanhan. Houthi fighters followed him in 20 armoured vehicles, then attacked and killed him and almost all those with him. Gruesome video footage of his blood-spattered body were distributed on social media. (The Guardian)

11-30-2017
Syria Conflict

For the second time in a month, the Saudi military has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile it said was launched from Yemen. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed success in the missile launch, saying it was a test firing.

For the second time in a month, the Saudi military has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile it said was launched from Yemen on Thursday. The Saudi Press Agency, quoting Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the official spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the war in Yemen, said the missile was headed towards the Saudi city of Khamis Mushait on its southwestern border. It was destroyed without causing any casualties, the spokesman was quoted as saying, but there were no details on how the missile was intercepted. Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed success in the missile launch, saying it was a test firing, according to the pro-Houthi news agency SABA in Yemen. (CNN)

11-24-2017
Extremism

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatens that any future war in the region will result in the annihilation of Israel.

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday threatened that any future war in the region will result in the annihilation of Israel. “It is a proven claim that today we say any new war will lead to the eradication of the Zionist regime,” Ali Jafari told Iranian reporters in Tehran according to semi-official media outlets. (Times of Israel)

11-16-2017
Syria Conflict

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi must disband the majority of the Iran-linked Shia paramilitary groups that fought alongside the army against the Islamic State or risk sparking an outbreak of sectarian violence.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi must disband the majority of the Iran-linked Shia paramilitary groups that fought alongside the army against the Islamic State or risk sparking an outbreak of sectarian violence following the terror group’s looming defeat, one of Iraq’s leading Sunni politicians warned Thursday. With the Islamic State nearly pushed out of the country, senior lawmakers and top leaders in the Abadi government face the task of knitting the often-feuding segments of Iraqi society back into a cohesive state, Salim al-Jubouri, speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, said on a visit to Washington. “Our message is not to be desperate” for U.S. or international intervention to avoid renewed fighting between Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and other minorities, he told the Washington-based think tank U.S. Institute for Peace. (Washington Times)

11-15-2017
Syria Conflict

Bahrain says a bomb attack on a police bus which killed an officer and wounded nine last month was carried out by a militant cell trained by its arch-foe Iran.

Bahrain said on Wednesday a bomb attack on a police bus which killed an officer and wounded nine last month was carried out by a militant cell trained by its arch-foe Iran. After authorities quashed Shi‘ite Muslim-led ”Arab Spring” protests on the Sunni-ruled island in 2011, militants have launched deadly bombing and shooting attacks against security forces that Bahrain blames on Tehran’s Shi‘ite theocracy. Iran denies any role in Bahrain’s unrest. (Reuters)

11-10-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran is establishing a permanent military base inside Syria.

Iran is establishing a permanent military base inside Syria, a Western intelligence source has told the BBC. The Iranian military is said to have established a compound at a site used by the Syrian army outside El-Kiswah, 14 km (8 miles) south of Damascus. The report comes amid growing tensions over Iranian influence in Syria and across the region. (BBC)

11-06-2017
Syria Conflict

Yemeni rebels’ missile attack on the Saudi capital could be considered an Iranian act of war, Saudi Arabia says, in a statement likely to intensify tensions between the archrivals.

Yemeni rebels’ missile attack on the Saudi capital on Saturday could be considered an Iranian act of war, Saudi Arabia said, in a statement likely to intensify tensions between the archrivals. Saudi Arabia intercepted the ballistic missile east of Riyadh’s main airport after it flew more than 500 miles from Yemen. It was fired by Houthi rebels, who are seen by Saudi Arabia as proxies of Iran. The Saudi-led military coalition that has been at war with the Houthis in Yemen for more than 2½ years “considers this a blatant act of military aggression by the Iranian regime and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” according to a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Debris from the missile showed it was made in Iran, the statement said, adding that the coalition “reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner, in accordance with international law and based on the right of self-defense.” (Wall Street Journal)

11-02-2017
Anti-Americanism

The United States is Iran’s “number one enemy” and Tehran will never succumb to Washington’s pressure over a multinational nuclear deal, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says in a televised speech.

The United States is Iran’s “number one enemy” and Tehran will never succumb to Washington’s pressure over a multinational nuclear deal, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump broke ranks with other major powers last month by refusing to formally certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. Under that deal, most sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear work. “The American president’s foolish remarks against our people show the depth of America’s hostility towards the entire Iranian nation,” Iran’s top authority Khamenei told a group of students. “America is the number one enemy of our nation.” (Reuters)

10-31-2017
Terrorism

The Israeli military faces thousands of cyber attacks a day and many are orchestrated by Iran whose hacking capabilities are improving.

The Israeli military faces thousands of cyber attacks a day and many are orchestrated by Iran whose hacking capabilities are improving, the Israeli general in charge of network security said. Major General Nadav Padan, who heads the military’s command, control, computer, communications and intelligence (C4I) plus cyber division, told a Reuters Summit that Iran has mounted attacks on Israel with the help of proxies like Lebanese Shi‘ite group Hezbollah. “They are not the state of the art, they are not the strongest superpower in the cyber dimension, but they are getting better and better,” Padan said. (Reuters)

10-26-2017
Human Rights

A U.N. special rapporteur says there has been little change in the human rights situation in Iran over the past year, voicing outrage over the harassment of journalists and adding that progress on women’s rights was extremely slow.

A U.N. special rapporteur said on Thursday there had been little change in the human rights situation in Iran over the past year, voicing outrage over the harassment of journalists and adding that progress on women’s rights was extremely slow. A day after submitting her report to the world body, Asma Jahangir, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Iran rights situation, told reporters that torture was widespread in Iran and that some people were imprisoned for seeking justice. Jahangir said she had not attempted to assess the impact of sanctions on human rights in Iran in her report because she had not been allowed to visit the country, which does not recognize her mandate. (Reuters)

10-18-2017
Nuclear Program

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Tehran willstick to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but will "shred it" if the United States pulled out.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred it" if the United States pulled out, state TV reported. Khamenei spoke five days after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it. (Reuters)

10-13-2017
Nuclear Program

President Trump officially disavowed the international nuclear deal with Iran, undermining but not terminating an agreement he called weak and poorly constructed.

President Trump on Friday officially disavowed the international nuclear deal with Iran, undermining but not terminating an agreement he called weak and poorly constructed. The administration asked Congress to attach new caveats that could either alter the pact or lead to its rupture. Sounding frustrated and angry, Trump also threatened to unilaterally withdraw from the seven-nation accord if his concerns are not met. “We will not continue down the path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout,” Trump said in remarks delivered at the White House. His decision to withdraw presidential “certification” of the deal throws its future into doubt by tying continued U.S. participation to new requirements for Iran. But the approach also falls well short of Trump’s repeated campaign vow to scrap the deal altogether, marking the latest collision between his “America first” worldview and the realities of global diplomacy and dealmaking. (Washington Post)

10-09-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran tried to obtain illicit technology that could be used for military nuclear and ballistic missile programs, raising questions about a possible violation of the 2015 agreement intended to stop Tehran’s drive to become an atomic armed power.

Iran tried to obtain illicit technology that could be used for military nuclear and ballistic missile programs, raising questions about a possible violation of the 2015 agreement intended to stop Tehran’s drive to become an atomic armed power, according to three German intelligence reports obtained by Fox News. The new intelligence, detailing reports from September and October and disclosed just ahead of President Trump’s planned announcement Thursday on whether the U.S. will recertify the Iran deal, reveals that Iran’s regime made “32 procurement attempts … that definitely or with high likelihood were undertaken for the benefit of proliferation programs.” According to the document, the 32 attempts took place in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. (Fox News)

10-08-2017
Anti-Americanism

Iran warnes the United States against designating its Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist group and says U.S. regional military bases would be at risk if further sanctions are passed.

Iran warned the United States against designating its Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist group and said U.S. regional military bases would be at risk if further sanctions were passed. The warning came after the White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump would announce new U.S. responses to Iran’s missile tests, support for “terrorism” and cyber operations as part of his new Iran strategy. “As we’ve announced in the past, if America’s new law for sanctions is passed, this country will have to move their regional bases outside the 2,000 km range of Iran’s missiles,” Guards’ commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said, according to state media. (Reuters)

10-02-2017
Human Rights

Seven reformists in Iran including a brother of ex-president Mohammad Khatami have been given one-year jail terms and banned from all political and media activity for two years.

Seven reformists in Iran including a brother of ex-president Mohammad Khatami have been given one-year jail terms and banned from all political and media activity for two years, one said Monday. "I can confirm this report but we will have to appeal," university academic Mohammad Reza Jalaipour told AFP in a text message. Lawyer Hojat Kermani, quoted by ILNA news agency, named four of the other reformists convicted as ex-deputy parliament speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami, former legislator Mohsen Safaie Farahani, Azar Mansouri, a member of an advisory panel for president Khatami during his 1997-2005 term, and Hossein Kashefi. (Agence France Presse)

09-27-2017
Military

The commander of the Iranian Navy, announced that researchers are studying on nuclear-fueled engines for submarines, warships and destroyers to make them needless of refueling in long voyages in international waters.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of the Iranian Navy, announced on Tuesday that researchers are studying on nuclear-fueled engines for submarines, warships and destroyers to make them needless of refueling in long voyages in international waters. In December 2016 President Hassan Rouhani ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to start developing systems for nuclear-powered marine vessels. (Tehran Times)

09-23-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard unveil its latest ballistic missile capable of reaching much of the Middle East, including Israel.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Friday unveiled its latest ballistic missile capable of reaching much of the Middle East, including Israel, while the country’s president vowed that Tehran would press ahead with its missile program in defiance of U.S. demands to the contrary. The unveiling came during a military parade in Tehran that commemorated the 1980s Iraq-Iran war. The move was a direct challenge to President Trump, who in August signed a bill imposing mandatory penalties on those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. (The Associated Press)

09-12-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran signs deals with Damascus to repair Syria’s power grid.

Iran signed deals with Damascus on Tuesday to repair Syria’s power grid, state media said, a potentially lucrative move for Tehran that points to a deepening economic role after years of fighting in the Syrian conflict. Shunned by Western powers, the Syrian government is looking to friendly states such as Iran, Russia and China to play a major role in rebuilding the country, as the war heads toward its seventh year. Since at least 2012, Iran has provided critical military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, helping it regain control of swathes of the country. Iran experts say Tehran is now looking to reap a financial dividend. (Reuters)

09-09-2017
Nuclear Program

North Korea’s sudden advancement in developing nuclear weapons may be due to secret support from Iran, British officials fear.

North Korea’s sudden advancement in developing nuclear weapons may be due to secret support from Iran, British officials fear. The Foreign Office is investigating whether “current and former nuclear states” helped Kim Jong-Un in his drive to mount nuclear warheads on missiles. Senior Whitehall sources told The Sunday Telegraph it is not credible that North Korean scientists alone brought about the technological advances. Iran is top of the list of countries suspected of giving some form of assistance, while Russia is also in the spotlight. (The Telegraph)

09-03-2017
Human Rights

Iran confirms that an appeals court has upheld 10-year jail terms against a U.S. citizen, two Iranian-Americans and a U.S. resident from Lebanon who had been convicted on spying charges.

Iran confirmed on Sunday that an appeals court had upheld 10-year jail terms against a U.S. citizen, two Iranian-Americans and a U.S. resident from Lebanon who had been convicted on spying charges. In July, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Iran would face “new and serious consequences” unless all “unjustly detained” American citizens were released and returned. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi identified the four as Princeton University student Xiyue Wang, Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his elderly father Baquer and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen with permanent U.S. residency, the judiciary’s official news website reported. (Reuters)

08-29-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran dismisses a U.S. demand for United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit its military bases as “merely a dream”.

Iran has dismissed a U.S. demand for United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit its military bases as “merely a dream”. It also said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was unlikely to agree anyway. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, last week pressed the IAEA to seek access to Iranian military bases to ensure that they were not concealing activities banned by the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major powers. (Reuters)

08-29-2017
Terrorism

Hamas has managed to increase its military capabilities recently and Tehran is again its biggest backer after years of tension, according to Hamas’ leader in Gaza Strip Yehya al-Sinwar.

Hamas has managed to increase its military capabilities recently and Tehran is again its biggest backer after years of tension, according to Hamas’ leader in Gaza Strip Yehya al-Sinwar. Sinwar told reporters that Iran is now “the largest backer financially and militarily” of Hamas’s armed wing. It was his first meeting with journalists since taking up his post in February. “Relations with Iran are excellent and Iran is the largest supporter of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades with money and arms,” Sinwar said in a meeting in his office in the strip. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

08-28-2017
Military

Iran’s advanced S-300 air defense system, delivered by Russia after years of delay, is now “fully integrated” into the air defense network.

Iran’s advanced S-300 air defense system, delivered by Russia after years of delay, is now “fully integrated” into the air defense network, a senior Iranian air force commander told the country’s state media Sunday. In an interview with the Tasnim news network, Gen. Abolfazl Sepehri Rad, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, said the missile defense system has been stationed across Iran and is ready for “practical operations.” (Times of Israel)

08-23-2017
Syria Conflict

New photographs show Iran shipping militant soldiers to Syria on commercial airline flights.

New photographs obtained by congressional leaders show Iran shipping militant soldiers to Syria on commercial airline flights, a move that violates the landmark nuclear agreement and has sparked calls from U.S. lawmakers for a formal investigation by the Trump administration, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. Photographs published by a Washington, D.C., think-tank and provided to Congress show Iran using its flagship commercial carrier, Iran Air, to ferry militants to Syria, where they have joined the fight against U.S. forces in the region. The new photographic evidence has roiled congressional leaders, who accuse Iran of violating the nuclear deal, which prohibits it from using commercial air carriers for military purposes. These lawmakers are demanding the Trump administration investigate the matter and consider imposing new sanctions on Iran. (Washington Free Beacon)

08-22-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran’s atomic chief says the Islamic Republic needs only five days to ramp up its uranium enrichment to 20 percent, a level at which the material could quickly be further enriched for use in a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s atomic chief said Tuesday the Islamic Republic needs only five days to ramp up its uranium enrichment to 20 percent, a level at which the material could quickly be further enriched for use in a nuclear weapon. The comments by Ali Akbar Salehi to Iranian state television come as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly has threatened to renegotiate or walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal. Salehi’s warning, along with recent comments by President Hassan Rouhani, show Iran is willing to push back against Trump while still acknowledging it wants to keep the deal, which lifted crippling economic sanctions. (The Associated Press)

08-20-2017
Syria Conflict

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his army has foiled Western attempts to overthrow his government thanks to assistance from allies including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his army has foiled Western attempts to overthrow his government thanks to assistance from allies including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. "Their direct support -- politically, economically, and militarily -- has made possible bigger advances on the battlefield and reduced the losses and burdens of war," Assad said during a televised address on August 20. He stressed, however, that "the battle continues" and that it was too early to speak of victory in the country's 6 1/2-year-old civil war. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

08-15-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran's president issues a direct threat to the West, claiming his country is capable of revitalizing its nuclear program within hours and quickly bringing it to even more advanced levels.

Iran's president issued a direct threat to the West on Tuesday, claiming his country is capable of revitalizing its nuclear program within hours and quickly bringing it to even more advanced levels than when Iran reached a deal with world powers that limited its ability to produce nuclear weapons. Hassan Rouhani's remarks to lawmakers follow the Iranian parliament's move earlier this week to increase spending on the country's ballistic missile program and the foreign operations of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. (The Associated Press)

08-13-2017
Military

Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to increase the country’s budget for its ballistic missile program and foreign operations by the Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to increase the country’s budget for its ballistic missile program and foreign operations by the Revolutionary Guards, a direct challenge to new United States sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Some lawmakers should “Death to America” after the outlines of the bill to “counter America’s terrorist and adventurist actions” were passed by an overwhelming number of votes in Parliament, state television reported. The increase in the military budget and other measures came in retaliation to legislation passed by Congress and reluctantly signed by President Trump this month to impose new sanctions on Iran over its missile program. (New York Times)

08-08-2017
Anti-Americanism

An unarmed Iranian drone buzzed an American Super Hornet fighter jet as it circled an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

An unarmed Iranian drone buzzed an American Super Hornet fighter jet as it circled an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday. A statement released by the military’s Central Command said that despite repeated radio calls demanding that Iran keep the drone clear of American flight operations in the vicinity of the aircraft carrier Nimitz, the Iranian vehicle came within 100 feet of the fighter jet, which had to swerve to avoid a collision. (New York Times)

08-08-2017
Politics

Iran's newly re-elected President has not included any women in his proposed list of 17 ministers reneging on an election pledge to his largely reformist base.

Iran's newly re-elected President has not included any women in his proposed list of 17 ministers, according to Iranian state media, reneging on an election pledge to his largely reformist base. Hassan Rouhani presented his list of Cabinet nominees for all but one of the 18 minister roles on Tuesday. The exclusion of women from the proposed list was widely expected, though appointing a female minister was a central promise made by Rouhani during the election campaign. (CNN)

08-01-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have started using a new route across the Gulf to funnel covert arms shipments to their Houthi allies in Yemen’s civil war.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have started using a new route across the Gulf to funnel covert arms shipments to their Houthi allies in Yemen’s civil war, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. In March, regional and Western sources told Reuters that Iran was shipping weapons and military advisers to the Houthis either directly to Yemen or via Somalia. This route however risked contact with international naval vessels on patrol in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. For the last six months the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has begun using waters further up the Gulf between Kuwait and Iran as it looks for new ways to beat an embargo on arms shipments to fellow Shi‘ites in the Houthi movement, Western and Iranian sources say. (Reuters)

07-30-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran has built up a multinational network of tens of thousands of young men from across the Middle East, turning them into a well-drilled fighting machine that is outgunning the US on the battlefield.

Iran has built up a multinational network of tens of thousands of young men from across the Middle East, turning them into a well-drilled fighting machine that is outgunning the US on the battlefield, as Tehran outsmarts the White House in the corridors of power. These men can be found leading the defense of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, recapturing land from ISIS in Iraq, and fighting for control of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The transnational militia of Shiite men — which has no official title — is now the dominant force in the region, enabling Iran to take full advantage in the absence of a coherent strategy from the Trump White House. Over six months, BuzzFeed News spoke to researchers, officials, and militia fighters who described what they knew about the Iranian program, overseen by the secretive Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and its infamous commander Qassem Suleimani — who often shows up on front lines in Iraq and Syria. (BuzzFeed News)

07-27-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran successfully tests a rocket that can deliver satellites into orbit, an action the United States says breaches a U.N. Security Council resolution because of its potential use in ballistic missile development.

Iran successfully tested a rocket that can deliver satellites into orbit, state television reported on Thursday, an action the United States said breaches a U.N. Security Council resolution because of its potential use in ballistic missile development. Iranian state television showed footage of the firing of the rocket, mounted on a launchpad carrying pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, and Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The rocket launch violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Thursday. (Reuters)

07-16-2017
Human Rights

An American student from Princeton University is arrested in Iran and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges he was spying for the United States.

An American student from Princeton University was arrested in Iran and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges he was spying for the United States, an Iranian judiciary official said on Sunday, an action bound to aggravate relations between the two countries. The arrest and sentencing of the American, Xiyue Wang, a graduate student in history, was announced months after he had vanished in Iran, where he was doing research for a doctoral thesis. There had been rumors of his arrest, but the announcement on Sunday from Iran was the first official confirmation. (New York Times)

07-12-2017
Human Rights

Following a pause in executions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Iran has carried out 56 executions over a 12 day period.

Following a pause in executions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, executions in Iran have dramatically increased since Saturday July 1.  In the past twelve days, Iran Human Rights has reported on 56 executions carried out in Iran. 31 of the 56 prisoners were reportedly hanged on drug related charges. Only seven of the 56 executions were reported by official Iranian sources, including the Judiciary and state-run media. (Iran Human Rights)

07-06-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran is targeting German companies in its bid to advance its missile program, in possible violation of an international agreement, and at least on occasion with the aid of a Chinese company.

Iran is targeting German companies in its bid to advance its missile program, in possible violation of an international agreement, and at least on occasion with the aid of a Chinese company, according to a damning recent report from a German intelligence agency. The 181-page report, published last month and released Tuesday by officials from the heavily industrialized southern German state of Baden-Württemberg, warned that Iran is actively seeking “products and scientific know-how for the field of developing weapons of mass destruction as well missile technology.” The Islamic Republic is targeting German companies through various fronts, according to the report. “[Iran is seeking] products and scientific know-how for the field of developing weapons of mass destruction as well missile technology.” “This case shows that so-called indirect deliveries across third countries is still Iran’s procurement strategy,” wrote the intelligence officials. (Fox News)

07-04-2017
Anti-Americanism

Iranian artist Hadi Asadi has beaten hundreds of other contestants to win first place in a “Trumpism” cartoon contest held in Tehran — his winning caricature depicting President Trump as a flame-haired man wearing a suit made of dollar bills.

Iranian artist Hadi Asadi has beaten hundreds of other contestants to win first place in a “Trumpism” cartoon contest held in Tehran — his winning caricature depicting President Trump as a flame-haired man wearing a suit made of dollar bills, drooling onto a pile of books. The competition, called the International Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest, was announced last month. It was organized by a group that has also organized cartoon contests on themes such as the Islamic State and the Holocaust (the group says the latter was designed to highlight double standards on free speech). (The Washington Post)

06-27-2017
Nuclear Program

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley says that she's worried Iran will acquire nuclear weapons and provide them to terrorist groups, with the tacit support of the Russians.

President Trump's top diplomat at the United Nations said Tuesday that she's worried Iran will acquire nuclear weapons and provide them to terrorist groups, with the tacit support of the Russians. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told a House Appropriations subcommittee that she believes the Iran nuclear agreement reached under the Obama administration will only "delay something that's going to happen," which is Iran's achievement of a nuclear weapon. She said that poses the risk that Iran could share that technology with terrorist groups it supports. "They're going to continue their nuclear capabilities and we just gave them a lot of money to do it with," she said. "And my concern is they are associating with are all the groups we're trying to defeat." "So, not only did we give that capability to Iran, we are now giving it to those terrorist organizations we're trying to defeat," she added. (Washington Examiner)

06-24-2017
Extremism

Iran holds major anti-Israel rallies across the country with protesters chanting “Death to Israel” and declaring that destroying the Jewish state is “the Muslim world’s top priority.”

Iran held major anti-Israel rallies across the country Friday, with protesters chanting “Death to Israel” and declaring that destroying the Jewish state is “the Muslim world’s top priority.” Iranians participating in Quds Day rallies also called for unity among pro-Palestinian groups against the “child-murdering” Israeli government, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard used the demonstration in the capital’s Valiasr Square to showcase three surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, including the Zolfaghar — the type that Iran used this week to target the Islamic State group in Syria. (The Times of Israel)

06-23-2017
Terrorism

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says that a future war waged by Israel against Syria or Lebanon could draw thousands of fighters from countries including Iran and Iraq.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that a future war waged by Israel against Syria or Lebanon could draw thousands of fighters from countries including Iran and Iraq. His comments indicated that the same array of Iranian-backed Shi‘ite militias - but not countries - currently fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad could take part in any future conflict with Israel. (Reuters)

06-18-2017
Anti-Americanism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and what he characterized as its hostility to the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out on Sunday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and what he characterized as its hostility to the Islamic Republic. “This inexperienced group has not recognized the people and leaders of Iran,” he said, according to the website for state TV. “When they get hit in the mouth, at that time they’ll know what’s going on.” (Reuters)

06-14-2017
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian vessel trained a laser on a U.S. Marines helicopter in an incident the Navy deemed “unsafe and unprofessional.”

An Iranian vessel trained a laser on a U.S. Marines helicopter Tuesday in an incident the Navy deemed “unsafe and unprofessional,” the U.S. military said Wednesday. “Naval Forces Central Command assesses this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional due to the Iranian vessel shining a laser on one of the formation’s helicopters,” Fifth Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Bill Urban said in statement.  “Illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles.” (The Hill)

06-09-2017
Terrorism

U.S. authorities have charged two operatives belonging to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah with terrorism offenses, accused of plotting to target American and Israeli targets in New York and Panama.

U.S. authorities have charged two operatives belonging to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah with terrorism offenses, accused of plotting to target American and Israeli targets in New York and Panama. Police arrested Samer El Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, and Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, on June 1. They both appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday. U.S. authorities said the pair had been supporting “Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad organization” and had been in Lebanon for weapons and bomb-making training. (Newsweek)

06-05-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran is believed to be developing advanced nuclear-related capabilities that could significantly reduce the time it needs to build a deliverable nuclear weapon.

Iran is believed to be developing advanced nuclear-related capabilities that could significantly reduce the time it needs to build a deliverable nuclear weapon, according to statements by Iranian officials that have fueled speculation among White House officials and nuclear experts that the landmark accord has heightened rather than reduced the Islamic Regime's nuclear threat. The head of Iran's nuclear program recently announced the Islamic Republic could mass produce advanced nuclear centrifuges capable of more quickly enriching uranium, the key component in a nuclear weapon. Work of this nature appears to violate key clauses of the nuclear agreement that prohibits Iran from engaging in such activity for the next decade or so. The mass production of this equipment "would greatly expand Iran's ability to sneak-out or breakout to nuclear weapons capability," according to nuclear verification experts who disclosed in a recent report that restrictions imposed by the Iran deal are failing to stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear pursuits. (Washington Free Beacon)

05-30-2017
Terrorism

Iran has agreed in principle to renew its funding for the Hamas terror group.

Iran has agreed in principle to renew its funding for the Hamas terror group, according to a report published in a London-based Arabic daily Tuesday. Palestinian officials told Asharq al-Awsat that Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Gaza-based terror group, will visit Tehran in the near future to bridge gaps between the parties and resolve old disagreements. The deal to restore Hamas’s financial support came after marathon meetings in Lebanon between officials from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hamas, and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group, the report said. (The Times of Israel)

05-25-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran is trying to gain a military base near the Israeli-Syrian border.

Iran is trying to gain a military base near the Israeli-Syrian border, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers warned the Trump administration. "A permanent Iranian military base in Syria, potentially near the border with Israel or Jordan, would increase Iran's operational capacity to inflict serious damage against two of our closest allies in the region," Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Washington Examiner)

05-22-2017
Military

Iran attempted to launch a cruise missile from a submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran attempted to launch a cruise missile from a submarine in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday but the test failed, two U.S. officials told Fox News. An Iranian Yono-class “midget” submarine conducted the missile launch. North Korea and Iran are the only two countries in the world that operate this type of submarine. (Fox News)

05-12-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran continues to make critical technological strides in its efforts to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering nuclear weapons over great distances according to the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats.

Iran continues to make critical technological strides in its efforts to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering nuclear weapons over great distances, efforts that violate international prohibitions, according to the director of national intelligence, who informed Congress this week that the Islamic Republic "would choose ballistic missiles as its preferred method of delivering nuclear weapons." The disclosure comes just days after Iranian leaders announced the upcoming launch of two new domestically produced satellites. Iran has long used its space program as cover for illicit missile work, as the know-how needed to launch such equipment can be applied to long-range ballistic missile technology. Daniel Coats, America's top spymaster, informed Congress this week in an intelligence briefing that Iran's ballistic missile work continues unimpeded and could be used by the Islamic Republic to launch a nuclear weapon, according to unclassified testimony. (Washington Free Beacon)

05-10-2017
Politics

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that any disrupters of national elections will receive a “slap in the face.”

Iran’s highest leader said on Wednesday that any disrupters of national elections, which are less than two weeks away, would receive a “slap in the face,” underscoring the political tensions lurking behind the vote. The warning came in a widely publicized speech by the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to graduating cadets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the powerful paramilitary force, in which he emphasized that security was the most important issue in the May 19 election, when Iranians will choose a new president and city and village councils. (New York Times)

05-03-2017
Military

Iran is using the billions in cash resources provided under the nuclear deal to engage in an unprecedented military buildup.

Iran is using the billions in cash resources provided under the landmark nuclear deal to engage in an unprecedented military buildup meant to transform the Islamic Republic's fighting force into an "offensive" juggernaut, according to a largely unreported announcement by Iranian military leaders that has sparked concern among U.S. national security insiders and sources on Capitol Hill. Iranian officials announced late last month that Iran's defense budget had increased by 145 percent under President Hassan Rouhani and that the military is moving forward with a massive restructuring effort aimed at making it "a forward moving force," according to regional reports. (Washington Free Beacon)

04-26-2017
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer fired a warning flare toward an Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel coming near it in the Persian Gulf.

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer fired a warning flare toward an Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel coming near it in the Persian Gulf, an American official said on Wednesday, the latest tense naval encounter between the two countries. The incident happened Monday as the vessel attempted to draw closer to the USS Mahan despite the destroyer trying to turn away from it, said Lt. Ian McConnaughey, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The “Mahan made several attempts to contact the Iranian vessel by bridge-to-bridge radio, issuing warning messages and twice sounding the internationally recognized danger signal of five short blasts with the ship’s whistle, as well as deploying a flare to determine the Iranian vessel’s intentions,” McConnaughey said in a statement to The Associated Press. (Associated Press)

04-20-2017
Syria Conflict

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Iran and its ally Hezbollah of conspiring to destabilize the Middle East.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Iran and its ally Hezbollah on Thursday of conspiring to destabilize the Middle East - a charge "categorically" rejected by Iran's U.N. envoy as a misleading propaganda campaign perpetrated by Israel and others in the region. Haley is the current Security Council president and she asked members to focus on the factors causing conflicts across the region during their monthly meeting on the situation in the Middle East instead of engaging in what she called routine "Israel bashing." Her targets at the open meeting, where over 50 countries spoke, were Iran and Hezbollah who are supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, training "deadly militias" in Iraq and arming Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. "For decades, they have committed terrorist acts across the region," Haley said. (Washington Post)

04-20-2017
Nuclear Program

President Donald Trump says Iran is failing to fulfill the "spirit" of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran is failing to fulfill the "spirit" of its nuclear deal with world powers, President Donald Trump declared Thursday, setting an ominous tone for his forthcoming decision about whether to pull the U.S. out of the landmark agreement. As he often had during the president campaign, Trump ripped into the deal struck by Iran, the U.S. and other world powers in 2015 and said "it shouldn't have been signed." Yet he pointedly stopped sort of telegraphing whether or not the U.S. would stay in. "They are not living up to the spirit of the agreement, I can tell you that," Trump said of the Iranians, though he did not mention any specific violations. Earlier this week, the administration certified to Congress than Iran was complying - at least technically - with the terms of the deal, clearing the way for Iran to continue enjoying sanctions relief in the near term. (AP)

04-19-2017
Syria Conflict

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says, "We will have to overcome Iran's efforts to destabilize yet another country and create another militia in their image of Lebanese Hezbollah, but the bottom line is we are on the right path for it..."

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday that Iran's destabilizing influence in the Middle East would have to be overcome to end the conflict in Yemen, as the United States weighs increasing support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting there. At least 10,000 people have been killed and more than 3 million displaced in the war in Yemen, now in its third year. Millions of people are also struggling to feed themselves. "We will have to overcome Iran's efforts to destabilize yet another country and create another militia in their image of Lebanese Hezbollah, but the bottom line is we are on the right path for it," Mattis told reporters in Riyadh after meeting senior Saudi officials. Mattis said the goal was for there to be a political solution through U.N.-brokered negotiations to resolve the conflict in Yemen. (Reuters)

04-19-2017
Syria Conflict

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accuses Iran of 'alarming ongoing provocations' to destabilize countries in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of 'alarming ongoing provocations' to destabilize countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy toward Tehran.Tillerson told reporters the review, which he announced on Tuesday, would not only look at Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behavior in the region which he said undermined U.S. interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. His tough words matched those of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said in a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that Iran's destabilizing influence would have to be overcome to end the conflict in Yemen. (Reuters)

04-18-2017
Human Rights

The Islamic Republic of Iran arrested more than 30 men who are believed to be gay at a private party last week in the Esfahan province.

The Islamic Republic of Iran arrested more than 30 men who are believed to be gay at a private party last week in the Esfahan province.  The prominent Canadian NGO Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) first reported on the violent crackdown, saying the men were between the ages of 16 and 30. "IRQR received several reports in last few days and were able to confirm that police attacked guests and physically beat them. Police detained them all at the Basij (Revolutionary Guard Militia) Station and then transferred them to Esfahan's Dastgerd Prison. A few people managed to escape and we received reports that there were several heterosexual individuals among those arrested," the human rights NGO wrote in its website on Thursday. (JPost)

04-18-2017
Syria Conflict

A ceremony in Iran's holy city of Qom shines a light on Iran's widening influence over an armed fringe of the opposition in Bahrain.

At a wake in Iran's holy city of Qom in February, a small group of Bahraini emigres and clerics mourned a young militant killed in a gun battle with Bahrain's security forces. The eulogy was delivered by an exiled Bahraini cleric who has called for the island's Shi'ite Muslim majority to uproot the Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy in a holy war. "The choice of resistance is widening and spreading on the ground," said the cleric, Murtada al-Sanadi, who has been named by the United States as a "specially designated global terrorist" backed by Iran. The ceremony shines a light on Iran's widening influence over an armed fringe of the opposition in Bahrain, a country with a strategic value that belies its small size. It hosts a U.S. naval base and is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, Iran's main regional rival. A quickening tempo of mostly crude bombing and shooting attacks has accompanied a government crackdown, which culminated last year in the dissolution of the main opposition bloc. (Reuters)

04-15-2017
Military

President Hassan Rouhani says, "The strengthening of the capability of the Iranian armed forces ... is only for defending the country and we will ask no one's permission to build up the armed forces, and to build missiles and aircraft."

Iran will ask "no one's permission" to build up its missile capability, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, in what appeared to be a defiant response to U.S. efforts to hamper the Iranian military. Facing an election in May where he hopes to secure a second four-year term, Rouhani has had to defend himself from opponents who say he has been too eager to appease the West, after agreeing to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the nuclear deal and said during his election campaign he would stop Iran's missile program. After Iran test-fired a new ballistic missile in January, Trump tweeted that it was "playing with fire". Addressing an event showcasing some locally built military hardware, broadcast on state TV, Rouhani said: "The strengthening of the capability of the Iranian armed forces ... is only for defending the country and we will ask no one's permission to build up the armed forces, and to build missiles and aircraft." (Reuters)

04-13-2017
Human Rights

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Gen. Soleimani's brother, Sohrab Soleimani, who has been accused of committing human-rights violations as head of the Tehran Prisons Organization.

The Trump administration on Thursday sanctioned the brother of Iran's top spy master and military strategist for alleged human-rights violations, amid growing calls by Congress for the White House to confront Tehran and bring home U.S. citizens still imprisoned in the country. Successive U.S. administrations have fixated on curtailing the activities of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of international operations of Iran's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Gen. Soleimani is overseeing Iran's military operations in Syria, which are designed to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. and its Middle East allies also said they have seen Gen. Soleimani's hand in Revolutionary Guard military activities in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Gen. Soleimani's brother, Sohrab Soleimani, who has been accused of committing human-rights violations as head of the Tehran Prisons Organization. (WSJ)

04-13-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran and Russia have stepped up challenges to U.S. power in Afghanistan, American and Afghan officials say, seizing on the uncertainty of future U.S. policy to expand ties with the Taliban and weaken the country's Western-backed government.

Iran and Russia have stepped up challenges to U.S. power in Afghanistan, American and Afghan officials say, seizing on the uncertainty of future U.S. policy to expand ties with the Taliban and weaken the country's Western-backed government. The moves come as tensions have flared between the United States, Iran and Russia over the conflict in Syria, and officials worry that the fallout could hurt Afghanistan's chances for peace. For years, Iran and Russia have pushed for a U.S. withdrawal. Now, as the Taliban gains ground and the White House appears to lack a clear Afghan policy, Iran and Russia have boosted support for insurgents and sidelined the United States from regional diplomacy on the war. Russia on Friday will host high-level talks on Afghanistan with Iranian, Pakistani and Chinese diplomats, the Kremlin said. But the United States, irked by Moscow's recent outreach to the Taliban, has not confirmed whether it will attend. (Washington Post)

04-12-2017
Human Rights

Iranian social media activists arrested ahead of next month's presidential elections are being held on security and obscenity charges.

Iranian social media activists arrested ahead of next month's presidential elections are being held on security and obscenity charges, the judiciary said Wednesday. "Some of these people have been arrested on national security charges and some... for committing crimes against public decency and publishing obscene content," deputy judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie told the Mizan Online news agency. Twelve people who run reformist and pro-government discussion forums on the popular messaging app Telegram were arrested last month. Authorities released no information at the time of their arrests and the detainees have not appeared in open court. Local media said the Telegram channels were shut down after the arrests. At least one was restored within a few days, but has not posted anything since March 17. (AFP)

04-11-2017
Human Rights

The European Union extends until April 2018 sanctions against Iran for "serious human rights violations."

The European Union on Tuesday extended until April 2018 sanctions against Iran for "serious human rights violations", a narrower measure than restrictions the bloc had already lifted after an international accord on Tehran's nuclear programme. The EU has pursued rapprochement with Iran since the 2015 nuclear deal, which reversed a decade of hard-hitting Western financial and trade sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Top EU officials have been shuttling in and out of Tehran since, often accompanied by large European business delegations. But the bloc has also extended by a year its travel ban and an asset freeze on 82 Iranian people and one entity, as well as a ban on exports to Iran of equipment for monitoring telecommunications and other gear that "might be used for internal repression." (Reuters)

04-10-2017
Syria Conflict

In a statement released by Russia and Iran, "The United States crossed red lines by attacking Syria, from now on we will respond to anyone, including America if it attacks Syria and crosses the red lines..."

A statement released by "the joint command operation center of Syrian allies," a group that includes Russia and Iran, warned the U.S. against further military actions in the war-torn country, following a missile strike on a Syrian air base last week. Referring to its defense of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the group warned that they would support Syria and its people "with all means that we have." "The United States crossed red lines by attacking Syria, from now on we will respond to anyone, including America if it attacks Syria and crosses the red lines," the statement read. "America knows very well our ability and capabilities to respond well to them, [and] we will respond without taking into consideration any reaction and consequences." The statement did not include critical details like what kind of military operation would cross such a red line, or what kind of response would be made on the part of Syria and its allies, but noted that they would work to "liberate" Syria from occupation. (ABC News)

04-07-2017
Human Rights

On April 7, 2017, hundreds of runners took part in Tehran's first-ever marathon, but many women were outraged to find they could only run a short distance in a closed-off stadium.

Hundreds of runners took part in Tehran's first-ever marathon on Friday, but many women were outraged to find they could only run a short distance in a closed-off stadium.While men ran through Iran's capital in the morning, women were allowed to run just 10 kilometers (six miles) in Azadi stadium in the afternoon - with no male spectators or officials permitted. Many were baffled by the move, since there are no rules against men and women running together in Iran - and joggers of both sexes are often seen in parks and public areas. "I registered but I quit. I took back my 500,000 rials ($15) because we were deceived," Nasim, an architect in her 30s, told AFP. (AFP)

04-06-2017
Politics

The announcement that a prominent conservative cleric will run for Iran's presidency next month has transformed the race, potentially unifying opponents to President Hassan Rouhani in a strong challenge to his re-election.

The announcement that a prominent conservative cleric will run for Iran's presidency next month has transformed the race, potentially unifying opponents to President Hassan Rouhani in a strong challenge to his re-election. Ebrahim Raisi declared his candidacy on Thursday, according to Tasnim news agency, a day after two other conservatives, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, bowed out. The emergence of a single strong opponent could not only narrow Rouhani's chance of winning on May 19, but also position Raisi as the front-runner to succeed 77-year-old Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, when he dies. "This is going to be a very serious race with huge consequences for the Iranian electorate," Sanam Vakil, an associate fellow at Chatham House, said by phone. "The stakes are very high." (Bloomberg)

03-31-2017
Terrorism

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says Iran is continuing to behave as an exporter of terrorism and still sponsors militant activity.

Iran is continuing to behave as an exporter of terrorism and still sponsors militant activity, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said in London on Friday. Asked about comments Mattis made in 2012 that the three primary threats the United States faced were "Iran, Iran, Iran," Mattis told reporters that Iran's behavior had not changed in the years since. "At the time when I spoke about Iran I was a commander of US central command and that (Iran) was the primary exporter of terrorism, frankly, it was the primary state sponsor of terrorism and it continues that kind of behavior today," Mattis said. (Reuters)

03-30-2017
Syria Conflict

Gulf ministers meeting in Riyadh condemn what they termed Iran's support for "terrorist gangs" in Bahrain and urge Tehran to stop fueling "sectarian conflicts".

Gulf ministers meeting in Riyadh on Thursday condemned what they termed Iran's support for "terrorist gangs" in Bahrain and urged Tehran to stop fueling "sectarian conflicts". In a statement issued at the end of a meeting in Riyadh, the ministers of the Arab states of the Gulf expressed "condemnation of the provocative and irresponsible statements, and acts of aggression by the Iranian regime towards the kingdom of Bahrain". They also deplored Tehran's "support to terrorist gangs" and accused it of "fueling sectarian strife to harm national unity in the kingdom". The ministerial council urged Iran to "abandon politics that lead to nourishing sectarian and confessional conflicts, and to stop forming and supporting groups and militias that fuel these conflicts in Arab states." (AFP)

03-29-2017
Syria Conflict

Yemen's embattled president has launched a scathing verbal attack on Iran, saying the non-Arab and mostly Shiite nation is pursuing expansionist policies to destroy the Arab identity.

Yemen's embattled president has launched a scathing verbal attack on Iran, saying the non-Arab and mostly Shiite nation is pursuing expansionist policies to destroy the Arab identity. Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi told an Arab summit in Jordan on Wednesday that Iran "is the true sponsor of terrorism." Civil war has raged in Yemen for two years. The fighting pits Hadi's troops, backed by a Saudi-led international military coalition of mostly Arab states, against Shiite Houthi rebels, led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi and backed by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his forces. Iran supports fellow Shiite Houthis. (Associated Press)

03-29-2017
Syria Conflict

The nation's top military official in the Middle East says Iran is one of the greatest threats to the U.S. today and has increased its "destabilizing role" in the region.

The nation's top military official in the Middle East on Wednesday said Iran is one of the greatest threats to the U.S. today and has increased its "destabilizing role" in the region. "I believe that Iran is operating in what I call a gray zone," Commander of the U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. Joseph Votel, told the House Armed Services Committee in testimony Wednesday. "And it's an area between normal competition between states - and it's just short of open conflict." The general said Iran is exploiting this area in a variety of different ways, through things such as "lethal aid facilitation," the use of "surrogate forces" and cyber activities, among other things. He also believes Iran poses "the greatest long-term threat to stability" in the entire region. (CNBC)

03-28-2017
Terrorism

A German court has sentenced a 31-year-old Pakistani, Haider Syed Mustafa, to four years and three months in prison for spying for Iran by seeking out possible Jewish and Israeli-related targets for attacks in Germany and France.

A German court has sentenced a 31-year-old Pakistani to four years and three months in prison for spying for Iran by seeking out possible Jewish and Israeli-related targets for attacks in Germany and France. The German news agency dpa reported Tuesday that Haider Syed Mustafa was convicted by a Berlin court for collecting extensive material on the former head of the German-Israeli Association and on a French-Israeli professor from an economic university in Paris, for the elite Quds Force unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. No attacks were carried out. Mustafa, who came to Germany in 2012 to study for an engineering degree at the University of Bremen, received more than 2,000 euros (2,170 dollars) for his spying activities which included shooting hundreds of photos and creating presentations on the potential targets. He refused to testify during the trial. (Associated Press)

03-27-2017
Human Rights

Three prisoners by the names of Sina Dehghan, Mohammad Nouri and Marjan Davari have reportedly been sentenced to death by Iranian courts based solely on opinions or beliefs they expressed.

Three prisoners by the names of Sina Dehghan, Mohammad Nouri and Marjan Davari have reportedly been sentenced to death by Iranian courts based solely on opinions or beliefs they expressed. "Verdicts like the ones issued to Sina Dehghan, Mohammad Nouri and Marjan Davari are reminiscent of the ones issued in the medieval times. The international community must speak out about their death sentences. We call for global condemnation," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for Iran Human Rights. According to close sources, Sina Dehghan, a resident of Tehran, was arrested on October 21, 2015 by Ministry of Intelligence agents from the city of Arak. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Dehghan was reportedly just finishing up his mandatory military service at a base in Tehran operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Close sources say that prior to his arrest, Sina Dehghan along with Mohammad Nouri, Sahar Elyasi, and an individual under the age of 18 used the messenger app "Line" to share content that the judicial and security authorities in Iran consider offensive to Islam. (Iran Human Rights)

03-26-2017
Terrorism

Bahrain says it has broken an Iranian-linked "terrorist cell" suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on a police bus in February and plotting to assassinate senior officials.

Bahrain said on Sunday it had broken an Iranian-linked "terrorist cell" suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on a police bus in February and plotting to assassinate senior officials, state news agency BNA reported. The agency quoted an Interior Ministry statement as saying that the 14-member cell was working under direct supervision from two exiled Bahrainis living in Iran, one of them recently designated by the United States as a "global terrorist". Tensions have been rising in the kingdom since last year after authorities stepped up a crackdown on dissent, banning the main opposition group al-Wefaq, arresting a leading activist and critic of the government and revoking the citizenship of the spiritual leader of the country's majority Shi'ites. (Reuters)

03-26-2017
Anti-Americanism

Iran has imposed sanctions on 15 U.S. companies for alleged human rights violations and cooperating with Israel.

Iran has imposed sanctions on 15 U.S. companies for alleged human rights violations and cooperating with Israel, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, in a tit-for-tat reaction to a move by Washington. The agency quoted Iran's foreign ministry as saying the companies had "flagrantly violated human rights" and cooperated with Israel in its "terrorism" against the Palestinians and the expansion of Jewish settlements. It was not immediately clear if any of the companies, which included defense technology firm Raytheon, had any dealings with Iran or whether they would be affected in any way by Tehran's action, which IRNA said would include seizure of their assets and a ban on contacts with them. The sanctioned companies also included ITT Corporation, United Technologies and specialty vehicles maker Oshkosh Corp. (Reuters)

03-22-2017
Syria Conflict

Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to Yemen's rebel Houthi movement, stepping up support for its Shi'ite ally in a civil war whose outcome could sway the balance of power in the Middle East.

Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to Yemen's rebel Houthi movement, stepping up support for its Shi'ite ally in a civil war whose outcome could sway the balance of power in the Middle East, regional and Western sources say. Iran's enemy Saudi Arabia is leading a Sunni Arab coalition fighting the Houthis in the impoverished state on the tip of the Arabian peninsula - part of the same regional power struggle that is fuelling the war in Syria. Sources with knowledge of the military movements, who declined to be identified, said that in recent months Iran has taken a greater role in the two-year-old conflict by stepping up arms supplies and other support. This mirrors the strategy it has used to support its Lebanese ally Hezbollah in Syria. (Reuters)

03-22-2017
Anti-Americanism

U.S. Navy commanders accuse Iran of jeopardizing international navigation by "harassing" warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and say future incidents could result in miscalculation and lead to an armed clash.

U.S. Navy commanders accused Iran of jeopardizing international navigation by "harassing" warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and said future incidents could result in miscalculation and lead to an armed clash. They spoke after the U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush confronted what one of the commanding officers described as two sets of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats that had approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait on Tuesday on a journey from the Indian Ocean into the Gulf. It was the first time a U.S. carrier entered the narrow waterway, where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually, since President Donald Trump took office in January pledging a tougher U.S. stance toward Iran. (Reuters)

03-20-2017
Nuclear Program

Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif warns that if the United States continues reneging on its commitments under the nuclear deal the Islamic Republic will resume its nuclear activities with "even greater" speed.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned late on Monday that if the United States continues reneging on its commitments under the nuclear deal to the extent that Iran sees the keeping of the deal not in conformity with its national interests the Islamic Republic will resume its nuclear activities with "even greater" speed. The July 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, went into effect in January 2016. According to the JCPOA, Iran put limits on its nuclear activities in return for a termination of all nuclear related sanctions. To back up his statement, Zarif told reporters in Isfahan that Iranian experts have succeeded to develop the country's "most advanced" centrifuges which are capable of refining uranium 20 times more than the old generations, ISNA reported. (Tehran Times, "Zarif: Iran Will Resume Nuclear Work With 'Greater Soeed' if U.S. Violates Deal," 3/20/2017).

03-19-2017
Extremism

In honor of Iranian mother's day, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to Twitter to assert that the West considers women to be "goods and means of pleasure" and that this is the product of the "Zionists' plot."

In honor of Iranian mother's day, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to Twitter Sunday to share his views on gender issues, asserting that the West considers women to be "goods and means of pleasure" and that this is the product of the "Zionists' plot." The seven-tweet ramble came on the birth anniversary of Fatimah Zahra, the daughter of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, which is also designated as mother's day in the country. Accordingly, Khamenei began his message by identifying Fatimah's positive traits that make her the "perfect role model for Muslim women." These included "grandeur & stature beyond human's understanding and imagination." (Times of Isreal)

03-18-2017
Human Rights

Iranian MPs have criticized the arrests of journalists and social media organizers, with one directly accusing the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian MPs have criticized the arrests of journalists and social media organizers ahead of the presidential election in May, with one directly accusing the elite Revolutionary Guards in a letter published Saturday. The arrests in recent days are alleged to have targeted unnamed people who run channels on the popular messaging site Telegram supporting reformists and the moderate government of President Hassan Rouhani. Two prominent journalists - Ehsan Mazandarani and Morad Saghafi - have also been detained. Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist MP, wrote an open letter to Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad-Ali Jafari, calling on the organization to stay out of politics. (AFP)

 

03-17-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran has challenged the need for it to ship sensitive material abroad if its stock exceeds a limit set by its nuclear deal with major powers.

Iran has challenged the need for it to ship sensitive material abroad if its stock exceeds a limit set by its nuclear deal with major powers. The challenge raises the prospect of a confrontation with the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump because diplomats say Iran is only months away from reaching that cap. The 2015 deal restricts Iran's atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against Tehran. One restriction is on its stock of heavy water, a moderator used in a type of reactor that can produce plutonium, like an unfinished one at Arak that had its core removed under the accord. Iran has already exceeded the 130-tonne limit on its heavy water stock twice. The latest standoff with Washington over the issue was only defused in December when Iran shipped the excess amount to Oman, where the heavy water is being stored until a buyer can be found. In a letter to the U.N. nuclear watchdog circulated to member states on Thursday and posted on the agency's website, however, Iran argued that the deal does not require it to ship excess heavy water out of the country. (Reuters)

03-17-2017
Human Rights

Iran's hardline judiciary has sentenced the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to jail for "anti-state propaganda, spreading lies against the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards Corps."

Iran's hardline judiciary has sentenced the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to jail for "anti-state propaganda, spreading lies against the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards Corps", the opposition website Kalemeh reported on Friday. The Islamic Republic has piled pressure on the pro-reform opposition ahead of a presidential election on May 19, when hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani hope to regain control of executive power. "Again Faezeh Hashemi has been sentenced to six months' jail because of her critical remarks about Judiciary and the Guards," Kalemeh reported. Judicial officials were not immediately available to comment. The 55-year-old Hashemi, a women's rights activist and a former member of parliament, has 21 days to appeal the sentence. She was also jailed for six months in 2012 for "spreading anti-state propaganda". (Reuters)

03-15-2017
Human Rights

Security agents arrest Morad Saghafi, the reformist editor-in-chief of Goftegoo (Conversation) magazine.

Amid a widening crackdown on journalists and activists in Iran ahead of the country's May 2017 presidential election, security agents arrested Morad Saghafi, the reformist editor-in-chief of Goftegoo (Conversation) magazine, on March 15, 2017. His lawyer, Hamed Zargar, said on March 16 that Saghafi had a phone conversation with a family member the day after he was arrested, and has little chance of being released on bail before the start of the Iranian New Year on March 21. Saghafi owns the Shirazeh (Essence) publishing house and is the executive director of Yek Shahr (One City), a non-governmental organization that aims to "elevate the people's ability to enjoy their rights as citizens and improve their lives." (Center for Human Rights in Iran)

03-13-2017
Human Rights

The son of a detained Iranian opposition leader has been sentenced to six months in jail.

The son of a detained Iranian opposition leader has been sentenced to six months in jail, his brother said on Monday, after releasing an open letter from his father demanding to be put on trial after years of his house arrest. Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament, has been under house arrest since 2011 with his fellow presidential contender Mir Hussein Mousavi after denouncing the results of 2009 election as rigged, and calling for street protests. His son, Mohammad Hossein Karroubi, was accused of publishing propaganda against the state over the letter to President Hassan Rouhani in which Karroubi said: "I want you to ask the despotic regime to grant me a public trial." (Reuters)
 

03-13-2017
Human Rights

According to a UN monitor studying human rights in Iran, "Reformists in Iran are under pressure, detainees face torture and abuse, and people are being executed at an 'alarming' rate."

Reformists in Iran are under pressure, detainees face torture and abuse, and people are being executed at an "alarming" rate, a UN monitor studying human rights in the tightly controlled country says. The bleak picture presented to the UN Human Rights Council on March 13 comes ahead of a May 19 presidential election in Iran. "All reports indicate a high level of control over citizens and that democratic space is severely limited," Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur for Iran, told the council in Geneva. Jahangir did not refer directly to the election, but she noted that three opposition figures who publicly challenged the official results of Iran's 2009 presidential election -- former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Musavi; his wife, university professor Zahra Rahnavard; and reformist cleric Mehdi Karrubi -- have been kept under house arrest for nearly six years without being formally charged. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

03-13-2017
Terrorism

Iran has established rocket factories in Lebanon that are under the full control of the Hezbollah terror group.

Iran has established rocket factories in Lebanon that are under the full control of the Hezbollah terror group, a top Iranian general told a Kuwaiti newspaper. Citing one of the deputy heads of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the al-Jarida newspaper reported Monday that Iran in recent months has established factories for manufacturing both rockets and firearms in Lebanon. The newspaper did not say which of IRGC chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari's deputies made the assertion. The report came just days after Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, a former brigadier general in the IRGC, said Hezbollah is now capable of producing rockets that can hit any part of Israel. Dehghan offered no details of the new capabilities. (Times of Israel)

03-12-2017
Human Rights

Iranian, Afarin Nayassar, and a US-Iranian dual national, Karan Vafadari, were sentenced to death in Iran on charges of founding a "cult" and promoting moral corruption.

An Iranian and a US-Iranian dual national were sentenced to death in Iran on Sunday on charges of founding a "cult" and promoting moral corruption. The defendants, who have not been named, are believed to be a couple involved in the art industry who were arrested in July last year. They ran a leading art gallery in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and were known to associate with foreign diplomats. Iran has arrested several Iranians holding dual nationality in recent months in a move analysts suggest is intended to intimidate those associated with foreign businesses or who have social connections with foreigners. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran prosecutor-general, said on Sunday that the man and woman had been sentenced because they established "a new cult" and made "alcoholic beverages, encouraged vice through throwing mixed parties and exhibiting and selling obscene images at gallery." (Financial Times)

03-07-2017
Syria Conflict

More than 2,000 fighters sent from Iran have been killed in Iraq and Syria.

More than 2,000 fighters sent from Iran have been killed in Iraq and Syria, the head of Iran's veterans' affairs office said on Tuesday. "Some 2,100 martyrs have been martyred so far in Iraq or other places defending the holy mausoleums," Mohammad Ali Shahidi told the state-run IRNA news agency. Shahidi, who is head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, was speaking at a conference on martyrdom culture in Tehran. The figure was more than double the number he gave in November, which referred only to Syria. Iran is, with Russia, the main military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and also organises militias fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq. Shahidi did not provide details on the nationalities of those killed. Iran oversees "volunteer" fighters recruited from among its own nationals as well as Shiite communities in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan. The families of those killed in battle are given Iranian citizenship under a law passed last May. (AFP)

03-06-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles. One of the tests was successful, destroying a floating barge approximately 155 miles away.

Continuing a pattern of provocative actions, Iran this weekend test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles and sent fast-attack vessels close to a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News. One of Iran's ballistic missile tests were successful, destroying a floating barge approximately 155 miles away, two U.S. officials with knowledge of the launch told Fox News. The launches of the Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles were the first tests of the missile in two years, one official said. It was not immediately clear if this was the first successful test at sea -- raising concerns for the U.S. Navy, which operates warships in the area, one of which had an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. boats on Saturday. The IRGC boats approached to within 600 yard of the tracking ship USNS Invincible and then stopped, officials confirmed to Fox News. The Invincible was accompanied by three ships from the British Royal Navy and all four ships were forced to change course, Reuters reported. The Iranian provocations were partially obscured by a worldwide focus on North Korea's own ballistic missile tests. (Fox News)

03-06-2017
Anti-Americanism

Multiple fast-attack vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came close to a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing it to change direction.

Multiple fast-attack vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came close to a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, forcing it to change direction, a U.S. official told Reuters on Monday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boats came within 600 yards (meters) of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, and stopped. The Invincible and three ships from the British Royal Navy accompanying it had to change course. The official said attempts were made to communicate over radio, but there was no response and the interaction was "unsafe and unprofessional." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could not immediately be reached for a comment. Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran last year after a deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. But serious differences remain over Iran's ballistic missile program and conflicts in Syria and Iraq. While still a presidential candidate in September, Donald Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water." (Reuters)

 

03-03-2017
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. Navy surveillance ship has a close encounter with an Iranian navy frigate in the Middle East.

A U.S. Navy surveillance ship had a close encounter with an Iranian navy frigate in the Middle East, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. The frigate came within 150 yards of the USNS Invincible on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, just south of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The gulf separates Oman from southeastern Iran. The encounter was deemed “unprofessional” but not unsafe because the frigate was on a parallel course with the Invincible at the point of closest approach. The Invincible is outfitted with sonar to track submarines and radar to monitor missile tests. (CBS News)

02-22-2017
Anti-Americanism

The United States should expect a "strong slap in the face" if it underestimates Iran's defensive capabilities, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards said as Tehran concluded war games.

The United States should expect a "strong slap in the face" if it underestimates Iran's defensive capabilities, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, as Tehran concluded war games. Since taking office last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to get tough with Iran, warning the Islamic Republic after its ballistic missile test on Jan. 29 that it was playing with fire and all U.S. options were on the table. "The enemy should not be mistaken in its assessments, and it will receive a strong slap in the face if it does make such a mistake," said General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Guards’ ground forces, quoted by the Guards' website Sepahnews. On Wednesday, the Revolutionary Guards concluded three days of exercises with rockets, artillery, tanks and helicopters, weeks after Trump warned that he had put Tehran "on notice" over the missile launch. "The message of these exercises ... for world arrogance is not to do anything stupid," said Pakpour, quoted by the semi-official news agency Tasnim. "Everyone could see today what power we have on the ground." The Guards said they test-fired "advanced rockets" and used drones in the three-day exercises which were held in central and eastern Iran. (Reuters)

02-21-2017
Extremism

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls for the "complete liberation" of Palestine from the "tumour" of Israel, renewing his regime's refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Tuesday for the "complete liberation" of Palestine from the "tumour" of Israel, renewing his regime's refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist. Khamenei was speaking at the sixth international conference in support of Palestinian intifada (uprising), one of a number of showcase events the Tehran authorities organise in solidarity with the Palestinians. "This cancerous tumour, since its start, has grown incrementally and its treatment must be incremental too," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television. "Multiple intifadas and continuous resistance have succeeded in achieving very important incremental goals. "It continues to advance towards its other objectives, ultimately the complete liberation of Palestine," he added… Moderate President Hassan Rouhani, and the conservative brothers who head parliament and the judiciary -- Ali Larijani and Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani -- flanked the supreme leader as he spoke. (AFP)

02-20-2017
Military

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has launched several sophisticated rockets during military exercises... the launch of the "smart and advanced" rockets came during an annual three-day maneuver which began in Iran's central desert...

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has launched several sophisticated rockets during military exercises, Iranian media reported on Monday... the launch of the "smart and advanced" rockets came during an annual three-day maneuver which began on Monday in Iran's central desert... Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces told the channel that rockets with ranges of more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) as well as the Fajr-3, Fajr-4 and Fajr-5 rockets, all believed to have under 100-kilometer range, were all successfully tested in the exercise. (AP)

02-15-2017
Anti-Americanism

A full-length animated film depicting an armed confrontation between Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the U.S. navy is soon to open in Iranian cinemas, amid rising tensions over President Donald Trump's hardening rhetoric against Tehran.

A full-length animated film depicting an armed confrontation between Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the U.S. navy is soon to open in Iranian cinemas, amid rising tensions over President Donald Trump's hardening rhetoric against Tehran... The 88-minute animation opens with the U.S. army attacking an Iranian nuclear reactor, and the U.S. navy in the Gulf hitting strategic locations across the county. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful branch of the Iranian military, retaliates with full force, raining ballistic missiles on the U.S. warships. "They all sink and the film ends as the American ships have turned into an aquarium for fishes at the bottom of the sea," Azima said... The main Iranian commander in the film has been intentionally depicted as Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC commander who is overseeing Iran's military operations in Syria and Iraq against Islamist militants. (Reuters)

02-15-2017
Politics

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejects calls for “national reconciliation,” effectively guaranteeing that opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the “Green Movement” protests will remain under house arrest.

Three months before presidential elections in Iran, it appears incumbent Hassan Rouhani will not fulfill a key pledge he made before winning office: to free opposition leaders held under house arrest since a 2009 crackdown. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected calls for “national reconciliation,” effectively guaranteeing that opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi — leaders of the “Green Movement” protests that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election — will remain under house arrest. It was the latest setback to reformists who back the moderate Rouhani, who signed the historic nuclear agreement that improved Iran’s relations with the West, but is facing criticism from conservatives as the economy has failed to improve even as many international sanctions were lifted. (Los Angeles Times)

02-10-2017
Anti-Americanism

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied to swear allegiance to the clerical establishment following U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that he had put the Islamic Republic "on notice."

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday to swear allegiance to the clerical establishment following U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that he had put the Islamic Republic "on notice", state TV reported... They carried "Death to America" banners and effigies of Trump, while a military police band played traditional Iranian revolutionary songs. State TV showed footage of people stepping on Trump's picture in a central Tehran street. Marchers carried the Iranian flag and banners saying: "Thanks Mr. Trump for showing the real face of America." ... "Some inexperienced figures in the region and America are threatening Iran ... They should know that the language of threats has never worked with Iran," Rouhani told the crowd at Azadi Square. "Our nation is vigilant and will make those threatening Iran regret it ... They should learn to respect Iran and Iranians ... We will strongly confront any war-mongering policies." The rallies were rife with anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli sentiment. Some carried pictures of Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May captioned "Death to the Devil Triangle". (Reuters)

02-09-2017
Military

Iran launched another missile from the same launch pad east of Tehran where it conducted a previous ballistic missile test last month.

Iran launched another missile Wednesday from the same launch pad east of Tehran where it conducted a previous ballistic missile test last month, an official told Fox News. The Semnan launch pad was the same as the one where Fox News reported exclusively on Tuesday, satellite photos showed Iran had placed a Safir rocket poised to put a satellite into space before it was taken off the launcher. The reason Iran scrubbed the previous launch is not yet known. The missile used in Wednesday's launch was a short-range Mersad surface-to-air missile, which impacted 35 miles away, according to a U.S. official. This latest test comes less than a week after the U.S. placed new sanctions on Iran. There's been a flurry of activity at the Semnan launch pad, located about 140 miles east of Tehran, in recent weeks, officials have told Fox News. (Fox News)

02-07-2017
Anti-Americanism

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new U.S. president had shown the "real face" of American corruption.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new U.S. president had shown the "real face" of American corruption. In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on Feb. 10, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Trump had tried but failed to frighten Iranians, Khamenei said. "We are thankful to (Trump) for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America," Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran, according to his website... In remarks published on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would not agree to renegotiate its nuclear agreement. "I believe Trump will push for renegotiation. But Iran and European countries will not accept that," Mohammad Javad Zarif told Ettelaat newspaper. "We will have difficult days ahead." ... "No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. "(Trump) says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats." (Reuters)

02-05-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran's nuclear chief says it will have 60 percent more stockpiled uranium than it did prior to the landmark 2015 agreement.

Iran's nuclear chief says it will have 60 percent more stockpiled uranium than it did prior to the landmark 2015 agreement with world powers after a shipment expected later this week. Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday as saying that Iran will receive a final batch of 149 tons of natural uranium by Tuesday, in addition to 210 tons already delivered since early 2016. (AP)

02-05-2017
Anti-Americanism

A senior member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and former IRGC official warns that the slightest aggression by Washington against Iran will be responded by razing to the ground the US military base in Bahrain.

A senior member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps official warned that the slightest aggression by Washington against Iran will be responded by razing to the ground the US military base in Bahrain. "The US army's fifth fleet has occupied a part of Bahrain, and the enemy's farthest military base is in the Indian Ocean but these points are all within the range of Iran's missile systems and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake," Mojtaba Zonour, a former advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader's Representative at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Saturday evening. (Fars News Agency)

02-04-2017
Military

Iran held military exercises involving missile and radar systems, just a day after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Tehran for a recent ballistic missile test.

Iran held military exercises involving missile and radar systems Saturday, just a day after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Tehran for a recent ballistic missile test. The morning drills were an illustration of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ rejection of sanctions and preparedness to deal with threats, according to the guards’ official website. “We will do our best to defend the Iranian nation’s security day in and day out, and if the enemy makes any mistake our roaring missiles will land on their heads,” Brig. Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh, the IRGC aerospace forces’ commander, was quoted as saying. The aerospace unit of the IRGC, an elite military force charged with protecting the country’s Islamic system, carried out the drills in Semnan province, east of Tehran. (Wall Street Journal)

02-04-2017
Human Rights

A scientist who worked for a Belgian university has been sentenced to death in Iran on suspicion of espionage.

A scientist who worked for a Belgian university has been sentenced to death in Iran on suspicion of espionage. Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian national and professor of disaster medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), was arrested in April 2016 while visiting family in the country.   He is due to be executed in two weeks, according to VUB. Dr Djalali’s family and colleagues kept news of the arrest quiet in an attempt to avoid worsening the situation but have spoken out following the issuance of the death penalty. The university’s rector, Caroline Pauwels, said: “A scientist performing important humanitarian work, gets sentenced without public trial and is looking at the death penalty. This is an outrageous violation of universal human rights, against which we should react decisively.” ... In custody, Dr Djalali conducted three hunger strikes, according to the petition, which have cost him his health and 20kg in bodyweight. He was forced to sign a confession to an unknown offence, the petition said. (The Independent)

02-04-2017
Extremism

A senior Iranian government official warns Tehran will swiftly retaliate against Israel if the US launched a military strike against Iran.

A senior Iranian government official on Saturday warned Tehran would swiftly retaliate against Israel if the US launched a military strike against Iran. Mojtaba Zonour, a member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and a former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps official, boasted an Iranian missile could hit Tel Aviv in under seven minutes, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported. Zonour said Tehran would strike the Israeli coastal city and “raze to the ground” a US military base in Bahrain “if the enemy makes a mistake.” “And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv,” he added. (Times of Israel)

02-03-2017
Human Rights

Iranian authorities hanged 87 people in the month of January 2017, including two juvenile prisoners and six prisoners who were executed in public.

According to reports compiled by Iran Human Rights, the Iranian authorities hanged 87 people in the month of January 2017, including two juvenile prisoners and six prisoners who were executed in public. Out of the 87 executions, only 19 of them were announced by official Iranian sources. Most of the executions which were carried out in Iran in January 2017 were for drug related charges. According to research conducted by Iran Human Rights, executions tend to significantly increase in the months leading to an election in Iran but significantly decrease or stop a couple weeks before the election. Iran Human Rights is deeply concerned that a new wave of executions have started in Iran and worries that the number of executions will increase following the "Fajr Decade" celebrations. (IHR)

02-03-2017
Human Rights

Iran's supreme court has ruled that a woman must be blinded in one eye as punishment for an acid attack that left her victim sightless, using the principle of "eye for an eye" of Islamic Sharia law.

Iran's supreme court has ruled that a woman must be blinded in one eye as punishment for an acid attack that left her victim sightless, using the principle of "eye for an eye" of Islamic Sharia law, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday. Under Iran's Sharia law, imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution, qesas (retribution) is permitted in cases where bodily injuries are inflicted. The convicted attacker, who was not identified, was found guilty of throwing acid in the face of her victim, identified as Sima, two years ago in the city of Dehdasht, Tasnim reported. "The sentence to blindness in one eye, payment of blood money (compensation), and seven years imprisonment have been confirmed by the highest court," Tasnim quoted head of judiciary Majid Karami in the province of Kohgiluyeh as saying. (Reuters)

02-02-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran has tested a cruise missile called "Sumar" that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile.

Iran has tested a cruise missile called "Sumar" that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt reported Thursday, citing unspecified intelligence sources... The newspaper said the Sumar cruise missile was built in Iran and traveled around 600 km in its first known successful test. The missile is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have a range of 2,000 to 3,000 km, the paper said, citing intelligence sources. Cruise missiles are harder to counter than ballistic missiles since they fly at lower altitudes and can evade enemy radar, confounding missile defense missiles and hitting targets deep inside an opponent's territory. But the biggest advantage from Iran's point of view, a security expert told Die Welt, was that cruise missiles are not mentioned in any United Nations resolutions that ban work on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. (Reuters)

01-29-2017
Nuclear Program

Iran conducted its first ballistic missile test under Donald Trump's presidency, in yet another apparent violation of a United Nations resolution.

Iran conducted its first ballistic missile test under Donald Trump's presidency, in yet another apparent violation of a United Nations resolution, U.S. officials told Fox News on Monday. The launch occurred Sunday at a well-known test site outside Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran, Fox News was first to learn. The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding, in a failed test of a reentry vehicle, officials said. Iran defense minister Brigadier Gen. Hossein Dehqan said in September that Iran would start production of the missile. U.N. resolution 2231 -- put in place days after the Iran nuclear deal was signed -- calls on the Islamic Republic not to conduct such tests... The U.S. intelligence community was able to identify Sunday's launch due to its robust satellite network. The overhead system can detect the heat signature of missile launches and explosions from bombs being dropped around the world... "Iran's missile tests are an unacceptable act of aggression-something we have seen occur time and again for the last 18 months," Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, CEO of the non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran, responded. (Fox News)

01-28-2017
Human Rights

Two juvenile offenders were executed in Kerman (southeastern Iran) and Tabriz (northwestern Iran) prisons. This is in addition to the more than 70 people who have been executed since the beginning of 2017.

Two juvenile offenders were executed in Kerman (southeastern Iran) and Tabriz (northwestern Iran) prisons. This is in addition to the more than 70 people who have been executed since the beginning of 2017. Iran Human Rights calls for international reactions to the wave of executions and in particular juvenile executions in Iran... The Iranian authorities lead the world in the most executions of minors, despite the revisions made to the Islamic Penal Code and that child executions violate Iran's international obligations. (IHR)

01-23-2017
Terrorism

Iran continues to provide the Taliban with missiles to hit Afghan forces, the governor of Helmand province told Afghanistan’s daily newspaper Hayat Allah Hayat.

Iran continues to provide the Taliban with missiles to hit Afghan forces, the governor of Helmand province told Afghanistan’s daily newspaper Hayat Allah Hayat. He stated that ten rockets were fired by the Taliban at government headquarters in Helmand province, which borders Pakistan, and that the inscription on the missiles showed that they were made in Iran. Afghan officials added that Iranian-made missiles launched by the Taliban were found in clashes that took place in the cities of Krmesar and Sunken. The governor believes that the reason behind Tehran’s support of the Taliban is due to the dispute between Iran and Afghanistan regarding the Helman River, which flows into lake Hamon in Baluchestan province in eastern Iran. Tehran believes Afghanistan changed the path of the river causing the lake to dry out. (Al Arabiya)

01-22-2017
Human Rights

An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a five-year jail sentence for British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on security charges.

An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a five-year jail sentence for British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on security charges, Iran's judiciary spokesman said on Sunday. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family said in September that a Revolutionary Court had handed down the sentence on undisclosed charges. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said the term had been upheld. "The five-year prison verdict against the security defendant Nazanin Zaghari has been finalised," the judiciary's website Mizan quoted Ejei as telling a weekly news conference. Ejei also said Farhad Abd-Saleh was handed a five-year sentence on appeal on security charges, without elaborating. Iranian authorities have given few details about Abd-Saleh, who was named in October along with five others, some of them Iranian dual nationals, who had been sentenced to 10 years in jail for "espionage and collaborating with the American government". (Reuters)

01-19-2017
Politics

"Of nearly 110 agreements worth at least $80 billion that have been struck since the deal was reached in July 2015, 90 have been with companies owned or controlled by Iranian state entities..."

When world powers agreed in 2015 to lift sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, the deal's supporters in the United States, Europe and Tehran hoped renewed trade and investment could boost Iran's private sector and weaken the state's hold on the economy. But a Reuters review of business accords reached since then shows that the Iranian winners so far are mostly companies owned or controlled by the state, including Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Of nearly 110 agreements worth at least $80 billion that have been struck since the deal was reached in July 2015, 90 have been with companies owned or controlled by Iranian state entities, the Reuters analysis shows... In Iran, Khamenei and other anti-Western hardliners have repeatedly criticized it because they are concerned it would open the door to Western involvement in Iran's economy... No matter what hardliners have said about the nuclear pact, though, the Reuters analysis shows that businesses which answer ultimately to the Supreme Leader stand to gain from it... The state dominates Iran's economy, so state-controlled firms were always likely to win most business after sanctions were lifted. Iranian officials estimate that the private sector makes up only 20 percent of Iran's economy. In Iran, "you make money if you're close to the centers of power," said Ali Ansari, an Iran scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "The economy hasn't been restructured or reorganized. You're recycling wealth through the elite." ... Counter to the hopes of supporters of the nuclear accord, the initial wave of investment looks likely to further strengthen the power of the state, including Khamenei, whose power far surpasses Rouhani's. (Reuters)

01-18-2017
Human Rights

Iran’s persistent use of cruel and inhuman punishments, including floggings, amputations and forced blinding over the past year, exposes the authorities’ utterly brutal sense of justice...

Iran’s persistent use of cruel and inhuman punishments, including floggings, amputations and forced blinding over the past year, exposes the authorities’ utterly brutal sense of justice, said Amnesty International. Hundreds are routinely flogged in Iran each year, sometimes in public. In the most recent flogging case recorded by Amnesty International, a journalist was lashed 40 times in Najaf Abad, Esfahan Province, on 5 January after a court found him guilty of inaccurately reporting the number of motorcycles confiscated by police in the city. “The authorities’ prolific use of corporal punishment, including flogging, amputation and blinding, throughout 2016 highlights the inhumanity of a justice system that legalizes brutality. These cruel and inhuman punishments are a shocking assault on human dignity and violate the absolute international prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment,” said Randa Habib, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “The latest flogging of a journalist raises alarms that the authorities intend to continue the spree of cruel punishments we have witnessed over the past year into 2017.” (Amnesty International)

01-12-2017
Human Rights

Iranian-born Swedish resident and expert in emergency disaster medicine Ahmadreza Jalali has been held in Evin Prison for almost nine months.

In yet another case of a foreign resident or dual national from a western country grabbed and imprisoned in Iran without access to a lawyer or any other aspect of due process, Iranian-born Swedish resident and expert in emergency disaster medicine Ahmadreza Jalali has been held in Evin Prison for almost nine months. He is now approaching three weeks on hunger strike in protest against his detainment. Jalali was arrested by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence on April 24, 2016 while visiting the Iranian capital, after being officially invited by Tehran University... “Ahmadreza had always traveled to Iran by invitation of state organizations, including the Red Crescent, and never experienced any problems before,” his wife Vida Mehran-nia told the Campaign, adding that her husband has been charged with “collaborating with enemy states.” ... Mehran-nia told the Campaign that her husband began his hunger strike on December 25, the day his interrogators told him he would receive the maximum punishment... A non-practicing general medicine physician with a post-doctorate degree in emergency and disaster medicine, Jalali lives in Sweden with his wife and two children. (ICHRI)

01-10-2017
Syria Conflict

Photographs released by the Australian government show that light anti-armor weapons seized from a smuggling vessel near Yemen's coast appear to have been manufactured in Iran.

Photographs recently released by the Australian government show that light anti-armor weapons seized from a smuggling vessel near Yemen's coast appear to have been manufactured in Iran, further suggesting that Tehran has had a hand in a high-seas gunrunning operation to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The weapons, a selection of at least nine rocket-propelled grenade launchers, were among thousands of weapons seized by an Australian warship, the Darwin, in February from an Iranian dhow that was sailing under the name Samer. Iran has been repeatedly accused of providing arms helping to fuel one side of the war in Yemen, in which rebels from the country's north, known as the Houthis, ousted the government from the capital, Sana, in 2014... That finding follows a report late last year by Conflict Armament Research, a private arms consultancy, that said the available evidence pointed to an apparent "weapon pipeline, extending from Iran to Somalia and Yemen, which involves the transfer, by dhow, of significant quantities of Iranian-manufactured weapons and weapons that plausibly derive from Iranian stockpiles. (New York Times)

01-10-2017
Terrorism

A US court orders the governments of Iran and Syria to pay nearly $200 million to the family of an Israeli infant killed by a Hamas terrorist in a 2014 vehicular attack in Jerusalem.

A US court this week ordered the governments of Iran and Syria to pay nearly $200 million to the family of an Israeli infant killed by a Hamas terrorist in a 2014 vehicular attack in Jerusalem. The US District Court in Washington, DC ruled Tuesday that Tehran and Damascus were liable to provide compensation for damages amounting to $178,500,000 due to their financial backing of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas. The Israeli NGO Shurat HaDin represented the family of dual Israeli-American citizen Chaya Zissel Braun, the three-month-old baby who was killed when Palestinian terrorist Abdel Rahman Shaludi rammed his vehicle into a crowd of people at the Ammunition Hill light-rail station in the capital. Israeli officials identified the perpetrator as a convicted terrorist who had previously served a prison sentence and had ties to Hamas. (Jerusalem Post)

01-10-2017
Politics

At the massive funeral for Ayatollah Rafsanjani, crowds challenged the authorities by chanting opposition slogans.

Iranians bade farewell to Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Tuesday, with the sprawling state funeral veering slightly off script when groups of mourners started shouting opposition slogans. The authorities were forced to raise the volume on the loudspeakers playing lamentation songs after some in the crowds took up cries of “Oh, Hussein, Mir Hussein,” a reference to a former presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, who has been under house arrest since 2011. Some of the chants were aimed at Russia, Iran’s ally in the Syrian conflict. Video clips on social media showed mourners shouting “Death to Russia” and “the Russian Embassy is the den of espionage,” as they passed the embassy’s complex in the heart of Tehran. People also called for the release of hunger strikers in Iranian prisons. (The New York Times)

01-09-2017
Human Rights

A U.N. expert focusing on human rights in Iran is warning about the health risk of prisoners who have been conducting prolonged hunger strikes to protest against their detention.

A U.N. expert focusing on human rights in Iran is warning about the health risk of prisoners who have been conducting prolonged hunger strikes to protest against their detention. Special rapporteur Asma Jahangir says at least eight prisoners of conscience have been on life-threatening hunger strikes in recent weeks, and called on Iranian leaders to release all people “arbitrarily detained” for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression. Jahangir said in a statement Monday that the eight “are left with no other option but to put their life at risk to contest the legality of their detention.” (AP)

01-09-2017
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they closed in at a high rate of speed near the Strait of Hormuz.

A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they closed in at a high rate of speed near the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday. The incident, which occurred Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water." The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired. The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said. (Reuters)

01-08-2017
Politics

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died at the age of 82, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment.

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. He had been described as "a pillar of the Islamic revolution". His pragmatic policies – economic liberalisation, better relations with the West and empowering elected bodies - appealed to many Iranians but were despised by hardliners. Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran but since 2009 Rafsanjani and his family faced political isolation over their support for the opposition movement which lost a disputed election that year to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rafsanjani headed the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council. He was also a member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader, Iran's most powerful figure. His absence from that debate, whenever it happens, means the chances of a pragmatist emerging as the next supreme leader are reduced. His death ahead of May's presidential elections is a blow to moderate president Hassan Rouhani who allied himself with Rafsanjani to win the 2013 election and went on to resolve Iran's long standoff with the West on the nuclear programme. (Reuters)

01-08-2017
Syria Conflict

The United Nations chief expressed concern to the Security Council that Iran may have violated an arms embargo by supplying weapons and missiles to Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, according to a confidential report.

The United Nations chief expressed concern to the Security Council that Iran may have violated an arms embargo by supplying weapons and missiles to Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, according to a confidential report, seen by Reuters on Sunday. The second bi-annual report, due to be discussed by the 15-member council on Jan. 18, also cites an accusation by France that an arms shipment seized in the northern Indian Ocean in March was from Iran and likely bound for Somalia or Yemen. Most U.N. sanctions were lifted a year ago under a deal Iran made with Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, the United States and the European Union to curb its nuclear program. But Iran is still subject to an arms embargo and other restrictions, which are not technically part of the nuclear agreement. The report was submitted to the Security Council on Dec. 30 by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before he was succeeded by Antonio Guterres on Jan. 1. It comes just weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to either scrap the nuclear agreement or seek a better deal, takes office. (Reuters)

01-03-2017
Human Rights

The fate of a hunger-striking activist imprisoned in Iran has sparked a rare unauthorized protest near the prison where he's being held.

The fate of a hunger-striking activist imprisoned in Iran has sparked a rare unauthorized protest near the prison where he's being held. Videos posted online show dozens of people taking part in a protest Monday supporting Arash Sadeghi... Sadeghi is serving a 15-year sentence. Amnesty International says he was convicted of "spreading propaganda against the system" and "insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic." Sadeghi began his hunger strike after his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, was arrested in late October. Amnesty says she is serving a six-year prison sentence over an unpublished fictional story found in her home about a woman burning a Quran in anger over another woman being stoned to death for adultery. (AP)

12-29-2016
Syria Conflict

Allegations over Russia and Iran's deepening ties with the Taliban have ignited concerns of a renewed "Great Game" of proxy warfare in Afghanistan hat could undermine US-backed troops and push the country deeper into turmoil.

Allegations over Russia and Iran's deepening ties with the Taliban have ignited concerns of a renewed "Great Game" of proxy warfare in Afghanistan that could undermine US-backed troops and push the country deeper into turmoil. (AFP)

12-27-2016
Politics

Mehdi Karroubi, a leading member of the Iranian opposition who has been under house arrest for almost six years, announced he is quitting his party, Iranian media reported

Mehdi Karroubi, a leading member of the Iranian opposition who has been under house arrest for almost six years, announced he is quitting his party, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi were reformist candidates during the 2009 presidential election, and questioned the shock victory of conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which led to mass protests. Two years later, both leaders ended up under house arrest for their part in the protests, which regime leaders still call "the sedition". "Considering my situation since (2011) and given that I do not know how long this will last, I ask my friends to accept my resignation," Karroubi, 79, wrote in a letter to his party, according to reformist newspaper Shargh... Karroubi said his resignation was aimed at preserving the unity of his party, National Trust, ahead of the presidential election in May -- despite it being banned since his arrest... President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who allied with the reformists to win power in 2013, has failed to secure the release of Karroubi and Mousavi as he promised during his campaign. (AFP)

12-25-2016
Human Rights

Four fingers of the right hand of two prisoners were amputated in an Iranian prison on the Christmas day, December 25.

Four fingers of the right hand of two prisoners were amputated in an Iranian prison on the Christmas day, December 25... According to close sources the two prisoners who were brothers, were sentenced to prison and amputation of four fingers of the right hand because of a robbery they allegedly committed in 2011. (Iran Human Rights (IHR)).

12-19-2016
Terrorism

"Evidence of Russian and Iranian cooperation with the Taliban has been found," Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, chairman of the Afghan Senate says.

The Afghan Senate on Monday said it will investigate growing military ties between Taliban insurgents and Iran and Russia. "Evidence of Russian and Iranian cooperation with the Taliban has been found," Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, chairman of the Afghan Senate said. He added that reports of foreign links to the Taliban are "worrisome." The probe comes after U.S. General John Nicholson, leader of NATO's Resolute Support Afghan mission, said over the weekend that Taliban connections to Russia and Iran are not advancing the cause of stability in the region... Iran is accused by Afghan officials of harboring Taliban fighters from Afghanistan in cross-border areas. “Families of a number of high ranking Taliban leaders reside in Iran,” Asif Nang, the governor of western Farah province, recently told Radio Liberty. “They live in cities such as Yazd, Kerman, and Mashhad, and come back to Afghanistan for subversive activities.” ... Locals say they often see Taliban crossing borders into Iran... “Iran not only has hosted Taliban families, it has supplied the group with weapons that could target and damage tanks and planes,” lawmaker Jumadin Gayanwal from southeastern Paktika province said. (Voice of America)

12-19-2016
Nuclear Program

Two diplomats say the UN nuclear agency has warned Tehran that unless it slows the process it could soon bust through its cap on material that could be used to make a bomb.

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency said Monday that Iran is complying with obligations limiting uranium enrichment, but two diplomats say the agency has warned Tehran that unless it slows the process it could soon bust through its cap on material that could be used to make a bomb. A nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers stipulates that Iran can possess only low-enriched uranium — which is not suitable for weapons — and no more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) at any time. That’s far less than would be needed to make a nuclear weapon, even if it were further enriched to weapons-grade levels. But even a slight violation of Iran’s enrichment commitments would be politically volatile at a time when the deal is on shaky ground. The incoming U.S. administration wants the agreement renegotiated, and many American lawmakers oppose it. Iran says it won’t renegotiate the deal, and accuses the United States of reneging on commitments to lift sanctions. (AP)

12-17-2016
Extremism

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemns Britain as a "source of evil and misery" for the Middle East after British Prime Minister Theresa May called Iran a regional threat.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Britain on Saturday as a "source of evil and misery" for the Middle East after British Prime Minister Theresa May called Iran a regional threat. "Shamelessly, the British have recently called ... Iran a threat to the region, but everyone knows that ... it is the British who have always been the source of threats, corruption and misery," the state news agency IRNA quoted Khamenei as telling participants at an Islamic unity conference in Tehran. Khamenei called "policies and the actions of the British in the past two centuries a source of evil and misery for the peoples of the region", IRNA added. May called on Gulf Arab heads of state at a summit last week to work with London "to push back against Iran's aggressive regional actions, whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria or in the Gulf itself". (Reuters)

12-16-2016
Human Rights

The appointment of ultra-conservative hardliner Gholam-Hossein Gheibparvar as the new commander of Iran’s Basij, a volunteer militia under the authority of the Revolutionary Guards, has raised fears of increased intimidation and repression.

The appointment of ultra-conservative hardliner Gholam-Hossein Gheibparvar as the new commander of Iran’s Basij, a volunteer militia under the authority of the Revolutionary Guards, has raised fears of increased intimidation and repression of anyone deemed guilty of political dissent. Brigadier General Gheibparvar believes, in contrast to the Constitution, that the Revolutionary Guards holds the authority to interfere in all aspects of life in the Islamic Republic to protect the revolution. His track record of iron-fist policies significantly contributed to his rise in Iran’s military apparatus. His predecessor, Mohammad Reza Naghdi—who was put on the U.S. sanctions list in 2011 for “being responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Iran since the June 2009 disputed presidential election”—was similarly appointed as Basij commander in 2009 because of his reputation as the ruthless head of Tehran’ police intelligence unit in the 1990s. (International Campaign of Human Rights in Iran)

12-16-2016
Syria Conflict

The leaders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launch provocative statements against the Gulf states threatening to intervene in Bahrain and Yemen.

The leaders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched provocative statements against the Gulf states threatening to intervene in Bahrain and Yemen. The comments were reported by Iranian media after what they described as a “victory in Aleppo,” upon the massacres, starvation and displacement against civilians. Aleppo was considered as one of the strongholds of the opposition; however, the Syrian regime took a hold of it with the help and support of Iranian and Russian military troops. In this context, the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hossein Salami told the official Iranian news agency Islamic Republic News Agency that “The victory in Aleppo will pave the way for liberating Bahrain,” pointing out that Iran has an expansion project that will extend to Bahrain, Yemen and Mosul after the fall of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Salami said that “the people of Bahrain will achieve their wishes, the Yemeni people will be delighted, and the residents of Mosul will taste victory, these are all divine promises,” as he put it. He also pointed out that Iran is still providing unlimited support for the Houthi group, highlighting that Iranian missile could destroy the enemy targets in any area. (Al Arabiya)

12-15-2016
Human Rights

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reports that the country's authorities have detained 120 people in a private party in a coffee shop in Tehran.

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency is reporting that the country's authorities have detained 120 people in a private party in a coffee shop in Tehran. The Wednesday report quotes Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, as saying "15 bottles of alcohol were found and 15 people were drunk and the coffee shop was closed." ... Dolatabadi said the 120 people were arrested on Tuesday night for attending a mixed-gender party, and that authorities also arrested two "underground singers." (AP)

12-15-2016
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on all Muslims to unite against the "great conspiracy" of the enemies to destroy Islamic communities through sectarian wars.

  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on all Muslims to unite against the "great conspiracy" of the enemies to destroy Islamic communities through sectarian wars. Rouhani addressed scores of thinkers from around the world at an international Islamic unity conference in Tehran on Thursday, saying that the ongoing bloodletting in Muslim countries is being orchestrated by major powers and the Zionists... "Big powers set up streams of blood in the streets of Mosul and destroyed this beautiful city. They took away sleep from Muslims and enslaved Muslim and Christian girls who were under the banner of a single government," he said... "We must take pride in a Jihad which is in line with the judgment of the Holy Qur'an. We know of no Jihad other than the one standing against tyranny and defending the dignity of Islam and Muslims," he added. Rouhani held hope that Muslims would unite by clinging to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and identify the "Zionist regime" of Israel as their "biggest enemy", when Yemen would achieve liberation and those who are aiding terrorists with money and arms would face the Islamic Ummah with shame. (Press TV)
12-14-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran has played a pivotal role in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's campaign to crush rebel resistance in Aleppo and is now close to establishing a "Shi'ite crescent" of regional influence stretching from the Afghan border to the Mediterranean Sea.

Iran has played a pivotal role in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's campaign to crush rebel resistance in Aleppo and is now close to establishing a "Shi'ite crescent" of regional influence stretching from the Afghan border to the Mediterranean Sea. Revolutionary Guards commanders and senior clerics in Tehran have this week praised Iran's defeat of "Wahhabi terrorists" in Syria and the country they characterize as the rebels' patron, Sunni Muslim regional rival Saudi Arabia... For the first time, Tehran could exert authority over a vast sweep of the Middle East extending through Iraq and Syria into Lebanon - an arc of influence that Sunni Arab powers, particularly Saudi Arabia, have been warning about for years... Establishing such a "Shi'ite crescent" would give Tehran immense political clout in the region as it vies with arch-rival Riyadh and allow it to protect Shi'ite communities in these countries. It would also present a military threat to Israel, through Syria and Lebanon, which Iranian officials regard as a deterrent to any Israeli aggression towards Iran. (Reuters)

12-13-2016
Extremism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warns of Israel's misusing the insecurities in the region, and said the Palestinians have no way out, but resistance and jihad against Tel Aviv.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of Israel's misusing the insecurities in the region, and said the Palestinians have no way out, but resistance and jihad against Tel Aviv. "Today, the world public opinion is faced with this strong argument that the Zionist regime has never been after peace, and this argument and reasoning should be used to show that there is no way, but jihad and resistance for the Palestinians against the usurper regime," President Rouhani said in a meeting with Leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah in Tehran on Tuesday. Warning that the Zionist regime has in the past two decades misused the security problems in the region, he said that the regime and its supporters have paved the ground for terrorists' operation in the regional states, specially Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and even North Africa to make them busy with internal security problems and forget the Palestinian issue. Abdullah, for his part, appreciated Iran's support for the Palestinian people and resistance groups, and said if Iran didn’t help, the Palestinians wouldn’t be able to maintain their position and inform the world of their ideas and causes. (Fars News Agency)

12-13-2016
Nuclear Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani orders the development of a nuclear-propulsion system for ships, describing the move as a response to the recent extension of sanctions by the U.S. Congress.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the development of a nuclear-propulsion system for ships, describing the move as a response to the recent extension of sanctions by the U.S. Congress. He also requested a study of fuel production for the propulsion system and set a three-month deadline for a progress report on both steps, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Tuesday. The White House said the announcement didn’t breach the Islamic Republic’s nuclear deal last year with the U.S. and five other powers. But Mr. Rouhani’s order nevertheless inserts new contention into a relationship that’s expected to strain further when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. It is unclear whether the move was political posturing aimed mainly at a domestic audience upset at the extension of sanctions or if Iran will follow through on the development of nuclear-powered ships... Many nuclear-powered vessels are fueled with uranium enriched above 90%... The use of any grade of uranium exceeding 3.67% enrichment would violate the nuclear agreement. (Wall Street Journal)

12-05-2016
Syria Conflict

Recent cyberattacks have frozen an unspecified number of computers at two government agencies in Saudi Arabia, and security experts say it is likely that Iran is behind the digital mayhem.

Recent cyberattacks have frozen an unspecified number of computers at two government agencies in Saudi Arabia, and security experts say it is likely that Iran is behind the digital mayhem. The attacks are believed to have affected thousands of computers at the Saudi civil aviation and transportation agencies, harkening back to a devastating Iranian cyberattack in 2012 that nearly crippled the Saudi state oil company, Aramco... “Since the (U.S.) election especially, there’s been a pretty drastic increase in the amount of targeting of Saudi and Israeli institutions by hacking groups that we absolutely know are based out of Iran,” said Collin Anderson, an independent researcher currently writing a report on Iranian cyber warfare for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Anderson said “reasonable degrees of evidence” link the hacking to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s most powerful security and military organization. (McClatchy)

12-05-2016
Human Rights

Twelve people involved in the fashion industry in Iran are reported to have been jailed for "spreading prostitution" via images posted online.

Twelve people involved in the fashion industry in Iran are reported to have been jailed for "spreading prostitution" via images posted online. The eight women and four men were handed sentences of between five months and six years by a court in Shiraz, a lawyer told the Ilna news agency. They were also banned from working in fashion and travelling abroad for two years afterwards, Mahmoud Taravat said... The 12 were convicted of charges including spreading prostitution and promoting corruption via the publication of obscene images online, inciting Muslims to corrupt themselves through putting on fashion shows, and spreading a "Western-style culture of nudity". (BBC News)

12-05-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says, "America... is our enemy, we have no doubt about this. The Americans want to put as much pressure on us as they can..."

"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that Congress's decision to renew US sanctions for 10 years would elicit a "harsh reaction" and proved the United States was still an enemy. "America... is our enemy, we have no doubt about this. The Americans want to put as much pressure on us as they can," Rouhani said in a speech to students at Tehran University. The Iran Sanctions Act passed the US Senate 99-0 last week, after easily clearing the House of Representatives in November... "If this is implemented... it would be a blatant and clear breach of the JCPOA (nuclear agreement) and would face a very harsh reaction from us," Rouhani said. The actual language in the agreement could be interpreted in different ways. It calls on the US to "cease the application of... all nuclear-related sanctions". It does not specify whether Washington can keep them in reserve for possible use in the future. At a press conference on Tuesday, conservative parliament speaker Ali Larijani said parts of the deal were "rushed". "Some of the sections of the JCPOA should have been written with more precision to stop differing interpretations," Larijani said. "I believe Iran should file a complaint in regard of the Americans' breach of the JCPOA," he added." (AFP)

12-02-2016
Anti-Americanism

An American-Iranian dual national and his wife have been in detention in Iran without charge or access to lawyers since their arrest by elite Revolutionary Guards in July.

"An American-Iranian dual national and his wife have been in detention in Iran without charge or access to lawyers since their arrest by elite Revolutionary Guards in July, a New York-based rights group said on Friday. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) said Karan Vafadari and his wife Afarin Niasari, who run an art gallery in Tehran, were being held in Tehran's Evin Prison. The Islamic Republic does not recognise dual nationality, a position that prevents Western embassy officials from visiting such detainees. "Yet another case of a dual national snatched and held without charge or access to a lawyer represents an alarming continuation of a judicial system run by intelligence agencies with no respect for the law and no accountability," said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the human rights group. The statement said families of the arrested couple decided not to publicize their cases, hoping it would be resolved. "Then when the family started receiving anonymous phone threats and demands for money, they decided to go public and write a letter to Iran's supreme leader," the statement said." (Reuters)

12-01-2016
Terrorism

Two Iranian men were charged in a Kenyan court with collecting information to facilitate a terrorist act after they were allegedly found with video footage of the Israeli embassy.

"Two Iranian men were charged Thursday in a Kenyan court with collecting information to facilitate a terrorist act after they were allegedly found with video footage of the Israeli embassy. Sayed Nasrollah Ebrahim and Abdolhosein Gholi Safaee were arrested Tuesday in an Iranian diplomatic car on Bishops Road in Nairobi, after they had come from visiting Kamiti Prison where they saw two other Iranians who have been jailed for 15 years on terrorism charges, said prosecutor Duncan Ondimu. The suspects were taking the pictures using a mobile phone, Ondimu said. A Kenyan driver, Moses Keyah Mmboga, who was chauffeuring the vehicle belonging to the Iranian embassy, has been charged with the suspects and also faces a separate charge of "abetting terrorism". Iranian agents are suspected in attacks or thwarted attacks around the globe in recent years, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand and India. Most of the plots had Israeli targets. In June 2013 a Kenyan court convicted two Iranian nationals of being Quds agents plotting attacks against Western targets in Kenya and they were sentenced to life in prison." (AP)

12-01-2016
Human Rights

The dual national translator for a prestigious film festival was prevented from boarding a flight to Germany at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and her passport confiscated as she was leaving the country together with her colleague.

The dual national translator for a prestigious film festival was prevented from boarding a flight to Germany at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and her passport confiscated as she was leaving the country together with her colleague on November 27. “Nooshafarin Dastoori has been summoned to the Intelligence Ministry to explain some things,” an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, although it was not clear what the ministry was seeking. “Everything seemed to be going well until the last airport checkpoint, when Ms. Dastoori was prevented from boarding the plain and her passport was taken away. I know that she was questioned at the security office in the airport but she was not given a reason why she was not allowed to travel abroad. They only told her that she had to stay in Iran for the time being and answer a few questions,” said the source. Dastoori, a German-Iranian national, is an assistant to Anke Leweke, the Iran Consultant for the Berlin Film Festival. They were in Tehran to select films, which were confiscated at the airport, according to the source. (International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

11-30-2016
Syria Conflict

Weapon shipments intercepted in the Arabian sea by Australian, French and U.S. warships contained large quantities of Russian and Iranian weapons, some of which had markings similar to munitions recovered from Houthi fighters in Yemen.

Weapon shipments intercepted in the Arabian sea by Australian, French and U.S. warships this year contained large quantities of Russian and Iranian weapons, some of which had markings similar to munitions recovered from Houthi fighters in Yemen, according to a new report released by an independent research group Wednesday. In October, U.S. officials claimed to have captured five shipments of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen. The report, published by Conflict Armament Research, or CAR, draws on markings found on rifles, rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and munitions, providing some of the more concrete evidence to date of Iran’s logistical support to Houthis fighting in Yemen’s nearly two-year-old civil war... “CAR’s analysis of the seized materiel … suggests the existence of a weapon pipeline extending from Iran to Somalia and Yemen, which involves the transfer, by dhow, of significant quantities of Iranian-manufactured weapons and weapons that plausibly derive from Iranian stockpiles,” the report says.(Washington Post)

11-29-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran will increase its uranium enrichment capacity if the US renews sanctions against the Islamic Republic and violates the landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, a senior Iranian lawmaker says.

"Iran will increase its uranium enrichment capacity if the US renews sanctions against the Islamic Republic and violates the landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, a senior Iranian lawmaker says. “In case of the extension of sanctions [against Iran] and violation of the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), we will raise uranium production and enrichment to 190,000 SWU (separative work units),” the chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said on Tuesday. He added that the “retaliatory measure” will be carried out in line with legislation passed by the Iranian Parliament... "'Initiating sanctions' is no different from 'renewing them after their expiration,' and the latter is also [an instance of imposing] sanctions and violation of the previous commitments by the opposite side," Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday." (Press TV)

11-27-2016
Human Rights

The son of one of Iran's founding revolutionaries was sentenced to several years in jail after releasing a decades-old tape in which his father denounced the mass execution of prisoners.

The son of one of Iran's founding revolutionaries was sentenced to several years in jail Sunday after releasing a decades-old tape in which his father denounced the mass execution of prisoners, local media reported. Ahmad Montazeri, 60, was convicted by a clerical court in the holy city of Qom on charges of "acting against the national security" and "releasing a classified audio file," the ISNA news agency reported. He received a further year for "propaganda against the system," ISNA said. The court said he would only serve six years in view of his lack of previous convictions, his age, and "reverence" for a brother he lost in an insurgent attack. Montazeri is the son of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who for decades was right-hand man to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's Islamic revolution. The elder Montazeri was one of the few Iranian leaders to voice opposition in 1988 when Khomeini ordered the execution of thousands of political dissidents held in the country's jails. (AFP)

11-26-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran's chief of staff of the armed forces says that Tehran may be interested in setting up naval bases in both Syria and Yemen, the semi-official Tasnim reported.

Iran's chief of staff of the armed forces said Saturday that Tehran may be interested in setting up naval bases in both Syria and Yemen, the semi-official Tasnim reported. The report by Tasnim, close to military, quoted Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri as saying, "Maybe, at some point we will need bases on the shores of Yemen and Syria." He said "Having naval bases in remote distances is not less than nuclear power. It is ten times more important and creates deterrence." Gen. Bagheri added that setting up naval platforms off the shores of those countries requires "infrastructures there first." He said Iran is also able to set up permanent platforms for military purposes in the Persian Gulf and roving ones in other places. (AP)

11-26-2016
Anti-Americanism

A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as "unsafe and unprofessional." The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8. During his campaign, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessel that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water," if he was elected. Trump is due to take office on Jan. 20... The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident took place when a Navy MH-60 helicopter flew within half a mile (0.8 km) of two Iranian vessels in international waters. One of the vessels pointed a weapon at the helicopter, the U.S. officials said. "The behavior by our standards is provocative and could be seen as an escalation," the officials said. At no point did the crew of the helicopter feel threatened, they added. (Reuters)

11-24-2016
Human Rights

Iranian filmmaker Keywan Karimi has begun serving a year-long prison sentence handed down over footage authorities deemed insulting.

Iranian filmmaker Keywan Karimi has begun serving a year-long prison sentence handed down over footage authorities deemed insulting, his production company confirmed on Thursday. The charges against the 30-year-old stemmed from a film he directed called "Writing on the City" that focuses on political graffiti in Iran from the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution to the contested 2009 election. He was initially sentenced to six years behind bars after being found guilty of "insulting sanctities" in October 2015. In February, an appeals court reduced the sentence to one year but kept the requirement that Karimi endure 223 lashes as stipulated in his original sentence. Speaking to The Associated Press earlier this week, Karimi said he hopes to use the time behind bars to complete the script for his next film. "Be sure, I'm strong. Inside, and mentally, I'm ready," he said. (AP)

11-22-2016
Syria Conflict

More than 1,000 soldiers deployed by Iran to Syria to back the government side in its civil war have been killed, an Iranian official says, underlining Tehran's increasing presence on front lines of the conflict.

More than 1,000 soldiers deployed by Iran to Syria to back the government side in its civil war have been killed, an Iranian official said, underlining Tehran's increasing presence on front lines of the conflict. It was a major increase in the reported death toll from just four months ago, when the Islamic Republic announced that 400 of its soldiers had died on Syria's battlefields... Although many of the soldiers the Shi'ite Muslim Iran sends are its own nationals, it is casting its recruitment net wide, training and deploying Shi'ites from neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. Half of the death toll reported in August were Afghan citizens. "Now the number of Iran's martyrs as defenders of shrine has exceeded 1,000," Mohammadali Shahidi Mahallati, head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs, which offers financial support to the relatives of those killed fighting for Iran, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. (Reuters)

11-22-2016
Terrorism

Iran is smuggling weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah through commercial flights from the Islamic Republic to Lebanon, according to intelligence information revealed by Israel's UN ambassador to the Security Council.

Iran is smuggling weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah through commercial flights from the Islamic Republic to Lebanon, according to intelligence information revealed by Israel's UN ambassador to the Security Council, which was cleared for publication on Tuesday. UN Ambassador Danny Danon sent an urgent letter to the Security Council members in which he revealed the smuggling route from Iran's Revolutionary Guards to Hezbollah: "The Iranian Al-Quds Force packs weapons, ammunition and missile technology to Hezbollah in suitcases and puts them on Mahan Air flights." Danon added that "these planes fly directly to the airport in Lebanon or Damascus and from there the weapons are transferred on the ground to Hezbollah." The UN envoy wrote that "Iran continues to violate Security Council resolutions, including Resolutions 1701 and 2231." Iran arms terrorist organizations in the Middle East and works to undermine stability in the entire region, he added. (The Jerusalem Post)

11-21-2016
Human Rights

A British-Iranian woman serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran is at breaking point after going on a five-day hunger strike in protest against her incarceration.

A British-Iranian woman serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran is at breaking point after going on a five-day hunger strike in protest against her incarceration, according to her husband. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with Thomson Reuters Foundation, is being held at Tehran's Evin prison. In September she was found guilty of offences relating to national security, but the precise reason for her arrest has not been clarified... "She is at breaking point," her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, told the Guardian. "When [Iranian-Canadian professor] Homa Hoodfar was released [in September], she was really hopeful that she would be next and she got moved into a big room. She was very excited. Then she got moved back to a small room, which sent her down to a sense that nothing is going to happen, and that's when she started feeling suicidal." Ratcliffe said he last spoke to his wife a week ago but only found out about the hunger strike late last week when her family were summoned to the prison. (The Guardian)

11-21-2016
Extremism

Commander of Iran's Basij (Volunteer Force) Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlines that the Palestinian territories will be freed from Israel's occupation in the next 10 years.

Commander of Iran's Basij (Volunteer Force) Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlined that the Palestinian territories will be freed from Israel's occupation in the next 10 years. Addressing elite students in Alborz province near Tehran on Monday, Naqdi expressed the hope that the notions, thoughts and ideology that led to Iran's Islamic Revolution would help Palestinians get rid of Israel in the next 10 years. Elaborating on his reasons for predicting the liberation of Palestine and annihilation of Israel by 2025, he said that the Islamic Revolution helped Iran get rid of the US over 35 years ago, rescued the country from Saddam Hussein's aggression and helped the Lebanese to get rid of the Americans. "Considering these developments, liberation of Palestine by the Islamic Revolution is not unlikely at all," Naqdi said. In relevant remarks earlier this month, General Naqdi underlined that the US will collapse in less than 20 years, adding that President-elect Donald Trump will speed up the process. (Fars News Agency)

11-17-2016
Nuclear Program

The head of the UN atomic watchdog chided Iran after a second minor breach this year by Tehran of the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

"The head of the UN atomic watchdog chided Iran on Thursday after a second minor breach this year by Tehran of the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week showed that Iran's stock of so-called heavy water had inched above the level agreed under the landmark accord. Heavy water, a modified form of normal water, is used in certain types of nuclear reactors. "Iran has since made preparations to transfer a quantity of heavy water out of the country," which will bring it below the ceiling, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano told the agency's board. "It is important that such situations should be avoided in future in order to maintain international confidence in the implementation" of the deal, he said in Vienna." (AFP)

11-16-2016
Human Rights

Videos showing apparently coerced confessions of prisoners — interwoven with ominous-sounding music and clips of unrelated assaults by militants of the Islamic State — have been shown on Iranian state television in the months since the mass executions.

"When Iran conducted a mass hanging in August of Sunni prisoners accused of attacks in its restive western Kurdish region, the executions were widely criticized as an egregious human rights violation. But death-penalty opponents also were appalled at what came next. Videos that showed apparently coerced confessions of the prisoners — interwoven with ominous-sounding music and clips of unrelated assaults by militants of the Islamic State — have been shown on Iranian state television in the months since the executions. Produced and disseminated by official media outlets, the videos contain no apologies for the mass hangings. They apparently are meant to exploit fears among the country’s majority Shiite population about the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group ensconced in Syria and Iraq that shares antipathy for both Iran and the West. Human rights groups say the hangings in Iran on Aug. 2 put 20 to 25 prisoners to death, one of the largest mass executions ever carried out in that country. In a report about the videos issued Wednesday, titled “Broadcasting Injustice, Boasting of Mass Killing,” the rights group Amnesty International accused Iran of having used stage-managed confessions, falsehoods and sensationalist screen titles like “In the Devil’s Hands” and “In the Depth of Darkness” to justify the mass hangings to a domestic audience." (The New York Times)

11-15-2016
Human Rights

Dozens of businesses in Iran owned by members of the Baha’i faith have been indefinitely shut down by the authorities after some owners closed their establishments to honor the birthdays of two of the faith’s holiest figures.

Dozens of businesses in Iran owned by members of the Baha’i faith have been indefinitely shut down by the authorities after some owners closed their establishments to honor the birthdays of two of the faith’s holiest figures... Between November 6-10, 2016 the police closed down several Baha’i shops in Karaj, the Campaign has learned. The Baha’i World News Service also reported that 104 Baha’is shops in the cities of Noshahr, Shahsavar, Tonekabon, Amol, Bahmanir, Kerman, Bandar Abbas, and Sari “were sealed by Iranian authorities after they were temporarily closed to observe Baha’i holy days on 1 and 2 November.”  According to the Baha’i calendar, November 1 is the birthday of the Bab, the faith’s prophet, and November 2 is the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh, the faith’s founder. (International Campaign for HUman Rights in Iran)

11-15-2016
Human Rights

A U.N. committee urges Iran to cease enforced disappearances and the widespread use of arbitrary detention and has expressed serious concern about severe limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief.

A U.N. committee on Tuesday urged Iran to cease enforced disappearances and the widespread use of arbitrary detention and has expressed serious concern about severe limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief. The General Assembly's human rights committee approved the measure by a vote of 85 in favor, 35 against and 63 countries abstaining. The assembly is virtually certain to adopt the resolution when it's put to a vote next month. The measure welcomed pledges by Iran's president to eliminate discrimination against women and ethnic minorities as well as granting greater space for freedom of expression. But it also expressed concern over the "alarmingly high frequency" of the death penalty and urged Iran to eliminate laws and practices that constitute human rights violations against women and girls. Iran's Foreign Ministry swiftly rejected the vote. (AP)

11-15-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's missile programme is "non-negotiable" and tests will continue, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi says, following criticism from European Union diplomats.

Iran's missile programme is "non-negotiable" and tests will continue, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on Tuesday, following criticism from European Union diplomats. "Iran's defence capabilities cannot be compromised and are under no circumstance negotiable," he told state television IRIB. "Missile tests are conducted within the framework of Iran's defence policies." A meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday urged Tehran to refrain from ballistic missile testing. Iran's military has carried out a number of missile tests in recent months, which the United States and European governments have said are a breach of its commitments under last year's nuclear deal. (AFP)

11-14-2016
Human Rights

A 28-year-old Iranian woman received 80 lashes after an Iranian court found her guilty of the offences more than two years after she attended a party in the second biggest city of Mashhad.

A WOMAN has laid bare the brutal punishment she reportedly received at the hands of authorities after she was caught attending a party with boys and drinking alcohol. The 28-year-old Iranian woman received 80 lashes after an Iranian court found her guilty of the offences more than two years after she attended a party in the second biggest city of Mashhad. Masih Alinejad, a former journalist who administers the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom, posted an interview with the unnamed woman who suffered shocking injuries after her ordeal. Posting under the #NoToLashes, Alinejad’s post goes into detail how the woman was initially arrested for consuming alcohol at a party, something which is strictly forbidden in Iran. (News.com.au)

11-14-2016
Syria Conflict

Eleven Middle East and North African countries accused Iran of sponsoring "terrorism" and constantly interfering in the internal affairs of Arab nations, sparking tension and instability in the region.

Eleven Middle East and North African countries accused Iran of sponsoring "terrorism" and constantly interfering in the internal affairs of Arab nations, sparking tension and instability in the region. In a letter to the U.N. General Assembly circulated Monday, the 11 countries cited Iran's support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Shiite Hezbollah group in Lebanon which has sent fighters to support the Syrian government. They also accused Iran of supporting "terrorist groups and cells" in Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere. The Arab nations reiterated a statement by Bahrain's foreign minister in September that the only way forward is for Iran "to comprehensively change its foreign policies and end hostilities." The letter, organized by the United Arab Emirates, was signed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. The 11 countries condemned Iran for sponsoring "terrorism" in the region, particularly in Yemen where they said Tehran is supporting the Houthis financially and militarily by training their fighters and illegally sending them weapons and ammunition. (AP)

11-14-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani blasts the US, Israel and certain regional states for creating and assisting the terrorist groups in the region.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani blasted the US, Israel and certain regional states for creating and assisting the terrorist groups in the region. "Today, there is precise intelligence showing that the US and the Zionist regime are assisting with the creation and supporting the terrorist stream in the region, and the governments of certain regional states are also suffering this plague," Larijani said in Tehran on Monday, addressing a ceremony to commemorate the martyrdom of Mohsen Khazaei, reporter of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, who was killed in Aleppo on Saturday. The Iranian speaker said that turmoil and spread of terrorism in the region creates the best conditions for the Zionist regime to survive. (Fars News Agency)

11-13-2016
Syria Conflict

Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, the advisor to the Iranian foreign affairs minister, said Iranian missiles are not only manufactured in Syria but in other countries in the region as well.

Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, the advisor to the Iranian foreign affairs minister, said Iranian missiles are not only manufactured in Syria but in other countries in the region as well. He said Iran expanded its missiles’ production outside its borders due to the “increasing Israeli threats in the region.” Although he did not reveal much about the production Iranian missiles, he said Iraq is one of the countries where ballistic missiles are produced. His statements come two days after the Iranian chief of staff said that manufacturing ballistic missiles has been carried out in Aleppo during the past years. (Al Arabiya)

11-13-2016
Anti-Americanism

Commander of Iran's Basij (Volunteer Force) Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlines that the US will collapse in less than 20 years, adding that President-elect Donald Trump will speed up the process.

Commander of Iran's Basij (Volunteer Force) Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlined that the US will collapse in less than 20 years, adding that President-elect Donald Trump will speed up the process. "According to the analysis made by the behind-the-stage and shadow decision-makers of the establishment in the US, the United States will collapse in 2035 and I think that it is an optimistic analysis as this will take place much earlier," Naqdi told FNA on Sunday. He referred to the election of Trump as the new US president, and said, "The person that has ascended to power displays the reality of the US." Noting that Barack Obama showed the face of the US in disguise, Naqdi said that Trump is the real face of the US and he may accelerate collapse of the US. (Fars News Agency)

11-11-2016
Terrorism

Iran’s top general says the Islamic Republic set up a missile factory in Syria which transferred supplies to Hezbollah to use in the 2006 war against Israel.

Iran’s top general said the Islamic Republic set up a missile factory in Syria which transferred supplies to Hezbollah to use in the 2006 war against Israel. “Iran established the missile industry for Syria in Aleppo in the past years and produced missiles and they were used during the 33-day war against Israel,” Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted General Mohammad Hossein Bagher as saying. (Times of Israel)

11-11-2016
Human Rights

23 people have been executed during the last six days in Iran... Six prisoners were executed in Iran yesterday.

23 people have been executed during the last six days in Iran... Six prisoners were executed in Iran yesterday. One prisoner was hanged publicly in the village of Chelmeh near the city of Mashhad (northeastern Iran) reported the Iranian media. (Iran Human Rights)

11-10-2016
Military

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri says Iran has gained such great missile capabilities that enemies would not begin to contemplate attacking the country.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said Iran has gained such great missile capabilities that enemies would not begin to contemplate attacking the country. “Our missile power has reached a point that the enemies cannot decide to invade,” the senior officer said at a cultural ceremony on Thursday, held in commemoration of Brigadier General Hassan Tehrani-Moqaddam, known as the father of Iran's missile program, who was martyred in 2011. Highlighting Iran’s success to acquire the technical expertise to produce missiles with solid fuel, Major General Baqeri said Iran’s progress in the missile industry was so rapid that none of the modern anti-missile systems could defeat the Iranian projectiles in terms of speed, power and precision. He also warned the “insane” Zionist regime of Israel that a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran will not have an end, until the enemies concede defeat in a humiliated manner. The top commander further pointed to Iran’s assistance to its allies in the region, saying Syria, which once refused to supply more missiles to Iran during the Iraqi imposed war in the 1980s, enjoyed the missile industries that Iran set up in the city of Aleppo later. The missiles manufactured in Aleppo were used against the Tel Aviv regime in the 33-day war, the general added, referring to an Israeli war against Lebanon in the summer of 2006. (Tasnim News Agency)

11-09-2016
Nuclear Program

The United Nations agency monitoring the nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers says that Iran is in violation of the deal meant to curb its ability to make atomic arms by storing marginally more heavy water than the agreement allows.

The United Nations agency monitoring the nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers said Wednesday that Iran is in violation of the deal meant to curb its ability to make atomic arms by storing marginally more heavy water than the agreement allows. Heavy water is a concern because it is used to cool reactors that can produce substantial amounts of plutonium. That, in turn, can be applied to making the fissile core of nuclear warheads. The U.N's International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press that Iran had exceeded the heavy water allotment of 130 metric tons (143.3 tons) only slightly — by 100 kilograms (220 pounds.) The report also noted that Iran had served notice it would resolve the issue by exporting 5 metric tons, substantially over the excess amount. Wednesday's report said the agency verified the overhang on Tuesday, just days after IAEA chief Yukiya Amano "expressed concerns" to top Iranian officials. A senior diplomat familiar with the issue said the Iranians had told the IAEA that the shipment would be leaving their country within the next few days... Still, with both sides closely watching for violations, the breach was sensitive even beyond the technical uses of heavy water, especially since it was the second such breach since implementation of the deal curbing Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. (AP)

11-07-2016
Anti-Americanism

The detention in Iran of Lebanese citizen and U.S. permanent resident Nizar Zakka is a “U.S. Iranian problem,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says during an official visit to Lebanon.

The detention in Iran of Lebanese citizen and U.S. permanent resident Nizar Zakka is a “U.S. Iranian problem,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said during an official visit to Lebanon on Monday, as the man's family urged that he be repatriated to Lebanon. “What happened with Mr. Zakka is not a problem between Iran and Lebanon, seeing as the problem was the violation of the applicable laws in Iran by a foreigner, and the problem is actually between the United States and Iran,” Zarif said in response to a reporter's question. After being detained for around a year without trial over spying allegations, Zakka was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine on September 20. “The sentence that was given to Nizar Zakka more than a month ago is an unjust ruling and it should not apply to a Lebanese citizen,” Zakka's family said in a statement it issued on the occasion's of Zarif's visit earlier in the day. (Naharnet)

11-04-2016
Anti-Americanism

Thousands of Iranians have burned the American flag and chanted anti-U.S. slogans as they marked the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students 37 years ago.

Thousands of Iranians have burned the American flag and chanted anti-U.S. slogans as they marked the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students 37 years ago. Such protests take place every year outside the compound that once housed the embassy on the anniversary of the 1979 takeover that followed the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Iranians at the rally outside the former embassy building on Thursday chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" and burned the U.S. and Israeli flags. On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days after Washington refused to hand over Iran's toppled shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for trial in Iran. (AP)

11-03-2016
Nuclear Program

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warns that if the US government reneges on the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as JCPOA, Iran will “send the deal to Museum”.

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned that if the US government reneges on the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as JCPOA, Iran will “send the deal to Museum”. “The Americans should be aware that if they fail to meet their obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), we will send the deal to Museum,” Brigadier General Salami said during a massive demonstration held in Tehran on Thursday to mark the “National Day of Fight against Global Arrogance”. He further emphasized that if Washington reneges on the agreement, the two sides will “go back to square one" and the Islamic Republic will activate its decommissioned centrifuges. In that case, the country not only will refuse to stop its nuclear program but also develop the activities, the commander went on to say. (Tasnim)

11-02-2016
Terrorism

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country’s elite military force, is sending assets to infiltrate the United States and Europe at the direction of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country’s elite military force, is sending assets to infiltrate the United States and Europe at the direction of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to recent Farsi-language comments from an Iranian military leader. The IRGC “will be in the U.S. and Europe very soon,” according to the Iranian military commander, who said that these forces would operate with the goal of bolstering Iran’s hardline regime and thwarting potential plots against the Islamic Republic. “The whole world should know that the IRGC will be in the U.S. and Europe very soon,” Salar Abnoush, deputy coordinator of Iran’s Khatam-al-Anbia Garrison, an IRGC command front, was quoted as saying in an Iranian state-controlled publication closely tied to the IRGC... “The IRGC is [the] strong guardian of the Islamic Republic,” Abnoush was quoted as saying. “The Fedayeen of Velayat [fighting force] are under the order of Iran’s Supreme leader. Defending and protecting the Velayat [the Supreme Leader] has no border and limit.” (Washington Free Beacon)

11-02-2016
Anti-Americanism

Massoumeh Ebtekar Iran's vice-president celebrates the 444-day siege of the U.S. Embassy and says, "she is still proud of their work in releasing documents found in the CIA's files."

The Iranian students who stormed the US embassy in 1979 and released thousands of secret CIA documents were the WikiLeaks of their time, their former lead spokesperson has told AFP. Every year on November 3-4, Iran celebrates the 444-day siege of the embassy when more than 50 diplomats, staff and spies were taken hostage by Islamist students demanding the extradition of the shah, who had fled to America after being deposed a few months earlier in the Islamic revolution. Massoumeh Ebtekar is now Iran's vice-president and one of its most recognisable politicians, feted globally for her work as head of the environment department. But back then, she was a 20-year-old medical student -- nicknamed "Mary" by the international press -- who became the face of the hostage crisis thanks to her fluent English. She now regrets the diplomatic isolation that followed the embassy siege, but she is still proud of their work in releasing documents found in the CIA's files -- some painstakingly reassembled after embassy staff frantically shredded as many as possible when the students stormed the building. "Revealing these documents was very similar to what WikiLeaks is doing these days. It was the WikiLeaks of those ages," Ebtekar told AFP. (AFP)

11-02-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Americans as “liars, untrustworthy, deceitful and backstabbers” while saying he still opposed any direct negotiations with the U.S. following the nuclear deal.

It seems everyone has an opinion about the U.S. presidential election, including Iran’s supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized both Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump in a speech he gave on Wednesday marking the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In his remarks, Khamenei said Clinton and Trump’s comments in the presidential debates “are sufficient for the annihilation of the reputation of the United States.” ... He also described Americans as “liars, untrustworthy, deceitful and backstabbers” while saying he still opposed any direct negotiations with the U.S. following the nuclear deal. (AP)

10-31-2016
Human Rights

Iran's Islamic Republic has arrested the organizers of a march near the tomb of the ancient Persian king Cyrus the Great that attracted thousands of people celebrating the country's pre-Islamic glory.

Iran's Islamic Republic has arrested the organizers of a march last week near the tomb of the ancient Persian king Cyrus the Great that attracted thousands of people celebrating the country's pre-Islamic glory. Crowds of mostly young Iranians attended the march near the ancient city of Pasargadae in central province of Fars on Friday to celebrate the day unofficially marked in the Iranian calendar as Cyrus Day. Videos released on social media show them chanting "Iran is our country, Cyrus is our father." Reuters could not independently verify the videos' authenticity. "The main leaders and organizers of this gathering who chanted unconventional slogans against the (Islamic Republic's) values have been arrested," said prosecutor Ali Salehi in the provincial capital Shiraz on Monday, according to Fars news agency. (Reuters)

10-31-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran welcomes the election of Michel Aoun as Lebanon's new president, calling it a victory for the Shi'ite group Hezbollah, Tehran's ally in Lebanon.

Iran welcomed the election of Michel Aoun as Lebanon's new president on Monday, calling it a victory for the Shi'ite group Hezbollah, Tehran's ally in Lebanon. Aoun, a leader of Lebanon's Christian community, secured the post in a parliamentary vote, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum in a deal with Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri, who is now expected to become prime minister. "The election of Michel Aoun as president shows new support for the Islamic resistance (against Israel)," Ali Akbar Velayati, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top foreign policy adviser, was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency. "This is surely a victory for Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of (Hezbollah and) Islamic Resistance in Lebanon." ... Iran's President Hassan Rouhani congratulated Aoun, a former army commander, in a phone call, an official in Rouhani's office tweeted, calling it a victory for resistance and for ethnic tolerance in Lebanon. (Reuters)

10-30-2016
Syria Conflict

Mullah Zabihullah, the official spokesman of the “Afghan Taliban” and the second man in the movement reveals the presence of relations and new networks with Iran.

Mullah Zabihullah, the official spokesman of the “Afghan Taliban” and the second man in the movement revealed the presence of relations and new networks with Iran. “The movement is trying to benefit from all legitimate means to reach a regional agreement as part of the war against the American invasion; therefore, the Imara holds ongoing networks with a large number of regional and neighboring states.” He said to the London based Asharq Al-Awsat in an email 18 months ago, that the movement had received drone planes, which help film suicidal operations. (Al Arabiya)

10-27-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran has supplied weapons to the Houthis in Yemen — including coastal defense cruise missiles like the ones that were fired at US Navy ships earlier this month.

U.S. officials tell NBC News that they believe Iran has supplied weapons to the Houthis in Yemen — including coastal defense cruise missiles like the ones that were fired at US Navy ships earlier this month. "We believe that Iran is connected to this," Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan said. The head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, who is tasked with securing the waters off of Yemen, disclosed today that the U.S. and partner nations have intercepted five weapons shipments from Iran that were headed to the Houthis in Yemen... Donegan said the first intercept occurred in April 2015 when seven ships guarded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy attempted to move weapons to Yemen... Donegan believes other shipments from Iran did make it into Yemen and into Houthi hands. "We did not catch or pick up all the ships," he said, adding, "It's fortunate we were able to find [these ships]. There certainly are others." (NBC)

10-26-2016
Military

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards say they have developed a "suicide drone" capable of delivering explosives to blow up targets at sea and on land.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had developed a "suicide drone" capable of delivering explosives to blow up targets at sea and on land. The new drone is primarily for maritime surveillance and "has not been designed to be armed with missiles," the Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Guards, reported. "(But) it can carry heavy payloads of explosives for combat missions to launch suicide attacks. "Flying at a high cruising speed near the surface of the water, the aircraft can collide with the target and destroy it, either a vessel or an onshore command centre." (AFP)

10-25-2016
Human Rights

The Baha'i International Community says that Iran's effort to crush the religious minority has continued unabated and intensified on some fronts despite President Hassan Rouhani's promises to end religious discrimination.

The Baha'i International Community said Tuesday that Iran's effort to crush the religious minority has continued unabated and intensified on some fronts despite President Hassan Rouhani's promises to end religious discrimination. In a 122-page report, the community said Rouhani's government has stepped-up its "campaign to incite hatred against Baha'is" including by disseminating more than 20,000 pieces of anti-Baha'i propaganda in the Iranian media. Since Rouhani was inaugurated in August 2013, the report said at least 151 Baha'is have been arrested, and at least 388 incidents of economic discrimination have been documented ranging from threats and intimidation to shop closings. The report also said that under Rouhani, thousands of Baha'is have been blocked from attending universities and 28 followers have been expelled. (AP)

10-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

Robin Shahini, an Iranian-American held in Tehran has reportedly been sentenced to 18 years in prison for “collaboration with a hostile government,” yet another dual national convicted in a secret trial since Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

An Iranian-American held in Tehran has reportedly been sentenced to 18 years in prison for “collaboration with a hostile government,” yet another dual national convicted in a secret trial since Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The sentence handed down to Robin Shahini, a 46-year-old graduate student who lives in San Diego, is the harshest yet for those detained in what analysts believe is hard-liner plan to use them as bargaining chips in future negotiations. Shahini told Vice News in an interview aired late on Monday that he “just laughed” after hearing his sentence. He acknowledged supporting the protests that followed Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election, but denied being involved in any sort of spying. “Whatever information they had is all the pictures I posted in Facebook, in my web blog, and they use all those evidence to accuse me,” Shahini said in a telephone call from prison... For Shahini, he said he wasn’t sure whether he’d file an appeal, but said he also had another option to protest his sentence. “I do a hunger strike — until either they free me or I die,” he said. (AP)

10-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. permanent resident who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year says Tehran is demanding a ransom in exchange for his release.

A U.S. permanent resident who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year says Tehran is demanding a ransom in exchange for his release. That demand is likely to rekindle complaints by Republicans that the Obama administration has given an incentive to Iran to take and hold hostages in return for ransom payments, by timing out a $400 million cash payment to Iran in January in order to ensure the release of four hostages... Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and permanent resident of the United States, said through his attorney Tuesday that Iranian officials in April told him it would take as much as $2 billion to ensure his release from captivity. In September, Iranian officials lowered that amount to $4 million, and told him that he was spared the death penalty but would remain in prison for 10 years until the payments is made. (Washington Examiner)

10-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

Secretary of Iran's SNSC Ali Shamkhani says the Iranian nation will not change its anti-Zionist and anti-American attitudes over marginal issues.

Secretary of Iran's SNSC Ali Shamkhani said the Iranian nation will not change its anti-Zionist and anti-American attitudes over marginal issues... Shamkhani referred to guided plots to distract attention from cruelty of the Zionist Regime to terrorism in Islamic countries reiterating “people of Iran would never alter their anti-Zionist and anti-American positioning with minute matters.” (Mehr News

10-24-2016
Human Rights

The Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release writer and human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, following her arrest today, Amnesty International urged.

The Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release writer and human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, following her arrest today, Amnesty International urged. Despite the fact that no official summons has been issued, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee’s home was raided this morning by officials, who violently broke through her front door before taking her to Evin Prison in Tehran. It appears that she has been taken to the women’s ward to begin serving her six-year sentence. She has been convicted of charges including “insulting Islamic sanctities,” for writing an unpublished story about the horrific practice of stoning in Iran. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee’s husband, Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist and prisoner of conscience, has since started a hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment. (Amnesty International

10-24-2016
Syria Conflict

IRGC chief commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari praised the Fatehin battalion, reaffirming ongoing plans to establish these units beyond Tehran province and across the country.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held a commemoration ceremony in Tehran on Friday for members of the Fatehin (“Conquerors”) Special Unit of the Basij paramilitary killed in combat in Syria. IRGC chief commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari praised the Fatehin battalion, reaffirming ongoing plans to establish these units beyond Tehran province and across the country. Jafari told the media that he had given a report to the supreme leader about the expansion of the Fatehin... The Fatehin unit of Qom province held its first drill in September. The drill’s motto was “the path to Jerusalem goes through Karbala,” first proclaimed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, during the Iran-Iraq war... Mehdi Hadavandi, the commander of the Fatehin Basij Tehran unit as well as the unit’s Syria operations, said the IRGC has set up “special courses” for “resistance forces,” which include Iranian as well as proxies, for combat in Iraq and Syria... “Today we are witnessing the formation of the army of the Master of Time [12th Shiite Imam Mahdi who will herald the apocalypse] in Syria,” proclaimed Hadavandi earlier this month at a ceremony for Ashura religious mourning ceremony in Tehran. (Long War Journal

10-24-2016
Extremism

Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says that the fabricated Zionist regime is the rootcause of terrorism in the Middle East region orchestrated by western powers.

Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday that the fabricated Zionist regime is the rootcause of terrorism in the Middle East region orchestrated by western powers. Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Austrian parliament vice-speaker Karlheinz Kopf. Rafsanjani said that nine million Palestinian displaced by the occupying Zionist regime have unclear fate and that the countries which brought Zionists to the Middle East region to get rid of their hardliners and backed the Zionists crimes and atrocities against Palestinian people should take a decisive measures to stop the humanitarian plight of the Palestinians. (IRNA)

10-24-2016
Nuclear Program

Presidential Office Director Mohammad Nahavandian says, Iran has already exported heavy water to the United States and Russia...This means an undisputable victory for Iran in attending the global economy in nuclear energy.

The purity of the heavy water at Iran’s Arak nuclear reactor (aka IR-40) has improved from 75.99 percent to 95.99 percent, said Presidential Office Director Mohammad Nahavandian. Noting that Iran has already exported heavy water to the United States and Russia, the official said plans are made to sell more the product to other countries, the president’s official website reported October 24. “This means an undisputable victory for Iran in attending the global economy in nuclear energy,” he stressed. (Trend News Agency)

10-23-2016
Anti-Americanism

President Rouhani criticizes American democracy, "You see the United States that claims it has had democracy for more than 200 years, look at the country, what the situation is where morality has no place."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday criticized the U.S. presidential candidates' behavior during their recent debates. "Did you see the debate and the way of their speaking, accusing and mocking each other? Do we want such a democracy in our country? Do we want such elections in our country?" Rouhani said, speaking to a crowd in the Iranian city of Arak. "You see the United States that claims it has had democracy for more than 200 years," he said in comments broadcast live by state TV. "Look at the country, what the situation is where morality has no place." Rouhani said that during his September visit to the UN General Assembly, he was asked which of the candidates he preferred. "I said what? Should I prefer bad to worse or worse to bad?" Iran's state TV has broadcast two of the debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in full. It has closely followed the campaign, often highlighting economic and social problems in the U.S. and the most confrontational debate segments. (AP)

10-23-2016
Syria Conflict

Senior military advisor to the supreme leader and former chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces says, the presence of Iranian advisors in Iraq and Syria, and Iran's support for Yemen and Hezbollah, manifested its revolutionary and religious ideology.

Hassan Firouzabadi, senior military advisor to the supreme leader and former chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, told the Iranian Fars news agency that the presence of Iranian advisors in Iraq and Syria, and Iran's support for Yemen and Hezbollah, manifested its revolutionary and religious ideology. He denied, however, that Iran meddled in other countries' internal affairs or sought to extend its territorial control. He confirmed Iran had sent advisors to the Gaza Strip and provided the Palestinians with guidance and technology. (The Mejr Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center)

 

10-21-2016
Terrorism

The Islamic Jihad Islamist movement staged a public show of force in the Gaza Strip, with its leader praising Iran and criticising Arab states.

The Islamic Jihad Islamist movement staged a public show of force in the Gaza Strip on Friday, with its leader praising Iran and criticising Arab states... Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah spoke via a video link, using his speech to accuse some Arab countries of abandoning the Palestinian cause. "If the Arabs turn their backs on Palestine and embrace Israel, they can no longer condemn the resistance for taking support from Iran," Shalah said, without naming any countries. "(Iran) is the only country which commits to the unending support of the Palestinian cause." (AFP)

10-20-2016
Terrorism

The U.S. Treasury moved to disrupt the fundraising and operation of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, imposing sanctions on four operatives and a firm that have assisted the organization, long seen as a terrorist outfit by Washington.

The U.S. Treasury moved to disrupt the fundraising and operation of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group on Thursday, imposing sanctions on four operatives and a firm that have assisted the organization, long seen as a terrorist outfit by Washington. In a related action, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Hezbollah commander Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'i under U.S. counter-terrorism rules. 'Ali Tabataba'i has commanded Hezbollah special forces, has operated in Syria and has been reported to be in Yemen, the State Department said in a statement. The sanctions prevent U.S. citizens from doing business with the individuals and organization, Global Cleaners SARL. Saudi Arabia joined the United States in imposing sanctions on some of the people, the Treasury Department said in statement. (Reuters)

10-20-2016
Human Rights

The wife of an Iranian-Austrian man sentenced recently by an Iranian court to 10 years in prison on spying charges has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her husband is a "simple businessman" unjustly imprisoned.

The wife of an Iranian-Austrian man sentenced recently by an Iranian court to 10 years in prison on spying charges has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her husband is a "simple businessman" unjustly imprisoned. Harika Ghaderi's husband, businessman Kamran Ghaderi, was initially detained in Tehran in January but his conviction and sentence for espionage and cooperation with the United States were revealed earlier this week. "How can they say something like that about Kamran? I don't understand," Ghaderi's wife said, adding that he had no ties to the United States and was not involved in politics... Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said on October 18 that the 52-year-old Ghaderi was among six individuals who received 10-year sentences for what he described as spying and working with the hostile government in Washington... Ghaderi is the CEO of Avanoc, an IT management and consulting company that has worked in Iran for many years, his wife told Radio Farda. (RFE/RL)

10-20-2016
Terrorism

Argentina issued another extradition warrant for an Iranian ex-foreign minister over the deadly bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

"Argentina issued another extradition warrant Thursday for an Iranian ex-foreign minister over the deadly bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994, the government said. Investigating Judge Rodolfo Canicoba asked Baghdad to extradite Ali Akbar Velayati, who is on the Interpol wanted list, since he is currently on Iraqi soil. He asked Iraq to arrest Velayati "in order to extradite him, after learning via the international press that the accused travelled to Baghdad" on Wednesday, the Argentine justice ministry said in a statement. In July Argentina issued a similar warrant to Singapore and Malaysia after learning Velayati was on a lecture tour to those countries. Argentine investigators accuse Velayati and four other Iranian former officials, including ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, of orchestrating the July 18, 1994 car bombing at the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association in Buenos Aires." (AFP)

10-20-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran has stepped up weapons transfers to the Houthis, the militia fighting the Saudi-backed government in Yemen, U.S., Western and Iranian officials tell Reuters, a development that threatens to prolong and intensify the 19-month-old war.

Iran has stepped up weapons transfers to the Houthis, the militia fighting the Saudi-backed government in Yemen, U.S., Western and Iranian officials tell Reuters, a development that threatens to prolong and intensify the 19-month-old war. The increased pace of transfers in recent months, which officials said include missiles and small arms, could exacerbate a security headache for the United States, which last week struck Houthi targets with cruise missiles in retaliation for failed missile attacks on a U.S. Navy destroyer. Much of the recent smuggling activity has been through Oman, which neighbors Yemen, including via overland routes that take advantage of porous borders between the two countries, the officials said. (Reuters)

10-19-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran says it will accept no US "interference" after Washington demanded the release of a dual national and his 80-year-old father given 10 year sentences for espionage. Three other Iranian-American dual nationals were also sentenced to 10 years.

"Iran said on Wednesday it would accept no US "interference" after Washington demanded the release of a dual national and his 80-year-old father given 10 year sentences for espionage. The State Department demanded the immediate release of Siamak and Baqher Namazi, both Iranian-American dual nationals, after their sentences were announced on Tuesday. But foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told Iranian media: "The government and the Iranian people give no importance to the statements and interference of American officials and their efforts to divide the ranks of the Iranian people. The American threats only add to the wall of mistrust Iranians have regarding the United States." Washington expressed concern over the health of the elder Namazi, a former UN Children's Fund employee who also served as the governor of an Iranian province before the Islamic revolution of 1979. Both were jailed for 10 years for "espionage and collaboration with the American government", Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolat-Abadi announced on Tuesday. Three other Iranian-American dual nationals -- Farhad Abd-Saleh, Kamran Ghaderi and Alireza Omidvar -- were also sentenced to 10 years on the same charges, along with a US resident from Lebanon, Nezar Zaka." (AFP)

10-19-2016
Anti-Americanism

The top U.S. commander in the Middle East says he suspects Iran is playing a role in recent missile launches by Houthi rebels in Yemen against U.S. ships in the Red Sea.

The top U.S. commander in the Middle East said he suspects Iran is playing a role in recent missile launches by Houthi rebels in Yemen against U.S. ships in the Red Sea.  "I do think that Iran is playing a role in some of this. They have a relationship with the Houthis, so I do suspect there is a role in that," said U.S. Central Command leader Army Gen. Joseph Votel at the Center for American Progress.   It was the closest a U.S. official has come to directly attributing the missile attacks to Iran, which supports the Houthis in their civil war against the embattled regime. Last week, U.S. ships were fired upon at least two times while in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, prompting a U.S. destroyer to destroy three radar sites that U.S. officials say they believe were used in the missile launches. (The Hill)

10-18-2016
Terrorism

Iranian officials maintain that they will continue to fund global terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which are committed to Israel’s destruction, despite objections from the United States.

Iranian officials maintain that they will continue to fund global terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which are committed to Israel’s destruction, despite objections from the United States. “When they ask the foreign minister of America why do you violate your commitments under the JCPOA, they say we have acted on our commitments and even gone further than they require. However, Iranians must do certain things, such as ceasing their support for terrorists and halting their missile activities,” Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran’s Judiciary, was quoted as saying in Farsi-language reports on Monday. “However, what they mean by terrorists are resistance groups like Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, which have stood against the violations and crimes of the Zionist regime,” Larijani said. (Washington Free Beacon)

10-18-2016
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian-American businessman and his father have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran, the latest dual nationals imprisoned since the nuclear deal.

"An Iranian-American businessman and his father have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran, a state-run judicial news agency reported Tuesday, the latest dual nationals imprisoned since the nuclear deal. The announcement by the Mizan news agency came a day after it released footage of businessman Siamak Namazi, a sign of the power still wielded by hard-liners in the Islamic Republic. The Mizan report said Namazi and his father Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF representative who once served as governor of Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-backed shah, were convicted of "cooperating with the hostile American government." ... The report also said Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon, also received a 10-year prison sentence. His supporters had earlier told The Associated Press about the sentence, though the Mizan report was the first official Iranian report of it. The report also said two others had been convicted as well, without naming them or identifying their nationalities." (AP)

10-17-2016
Syria Conflict

A prominent Iranian official has boasted that his country interference in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq is in line with objectives to export the “Islamic Revolution” throughout the region.

A prominent Iranian official has boasted that his country interference in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq is in line with objectives to export the “Islamic Revolution” throughout the region. Hassan Fariuzabadi - the military advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said in an interview with semi official news agency, Fars: “We do not interfere and we do not want to expand our territory”, adding: “what is clear is our system is an Islamic revolution”, referring to Ruhollah Khomeini’s declared aim in 1979 of exporting the revolution... In an unprecedented statement, Khamenei Advisor revealed in the interview published Saturday, that his country sent, in the past years, military advisers to Gaza strip and trained the “Palestinian forces.” (Al Arabiya)

10-17-2016
Human Rights

Hard-liners in Iran posted a video online showing a detained Iranian-American businessman for the first time since his arrest in the country a year ago, a taunting challenge to the United States in the wake of the nuclear deal with Tehran.

"Hard-liners in Iran posted a video online Monday showing a detained Iranian-American businessman for the first time since his arrest in the country a year ago, a taunting challenge to the United States in the wake of the nuclear deal with Tehran. The minute-long video featuring Siamak Namazi, dubbed over with what sounded like a dramatic film score, highlighted recent tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. It also comes as hard-liners in Iran's security forces continue to target dual nationals and anyone with Western ties after the nuclear deal negotiated by the moderate administration of President Hassan Rouhani. The montage of clips includes an Iranian drone flying over a U.S. aircraft carrier and American sailors on their knees after being briefly detained by Iran in January. It shows Namazi's U.S. passport, his United Arab Emirates ID card and a clip of him in a conference room, his arms raised at his sides. At the end of the video, it shows a still image of U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican who chairs the House's Foreign Affairs Committee. It quotes a statement by Royce from last year describing Namazi's arrest as "latest show of contempt for America." ... It wasn't clear why hard-liners chose to release the video, which was posted online Monday by Iran's state-run Mizan judicial news agency. However, it comes as Namazi, who earlier advocated for closer ties between Iran and the U.S., faces his one-year anniversary of being detained in Iran." (AP)

 

10-16-2016
Human Rights

Iranian media says authorities have detained 11 members of a "modeling and decadence network."

"Iranian media says authorities have detained 11 members of a "modeling and decadence network." The semi-official Tasnim news agency said Sunday that the network was involved in producing and publishing pornographic pictures on social media. It said authorities shuttered three underground studios used for the purpose. The report said the 11 people detained were "key elements" of the network, which was active in the southeastern city of Zahedan." (AP)

10-16-2016
Anti-Americanism

Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri says, “the US presence in the region is [like] a malignant cancerous tumor and the only way to treat it is to remove this infected tumor and kick the US out of the region."

"Chief spokesman for Iran's Armed Forces says the United States is the most important reason behind all the current problems in the Middle East, stressing that Washington must accept its strategic mistakes and leave the region. “The root cause of all the problems in the West Asia region is the US hegemony,” Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday... “The US presence in the region is [like] a malignant cancerous tumor and the only way to treat it is to remove this infected tumor and kick the US out of the region,” Jazayeri added." (Press TV)

10-15-2016
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. Navy destroyer was targeted on in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the third such incident in the past week.

"A U.S. Navy destroyer was targeted on Saturday in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the third such incident in the past week, U.S. officials said. Multiple surface-to-surface missiles were fired at the USS Mason sailing in international waters in the Red Sea but the warship used on-board countermeasures to defend itself and was not hit, one defense official said, citing initial information. The latest attack could provoke further retaliation by the U.S. military, which launched cruise missiles on Thursday against three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in response to the two previous failed missile firings against the Mason. "The Mason once again appears to have come under attack in the Red Sea, again from coastal defense cruise missiles fired from the coast of Yemen," Admiral John Richardson, U.S. chief of naval operations, said during a ship christening in Baltimore on Saturday." (Reuters)

10-13-2016
Military

Russia has completed the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, which has sparked concern in Israel.

"Russia has completed the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, RIA news agency quoted Russia's state arms export agency as saying on Thursday. Russia's agreement to provide Iran with S-300 has sparked concern in Israel. Moscow canceled the contract to deliver S-300s to Iran in 2010 under pressure from the West." (RIA)

10-12-2016
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. warship operating off the coast of Yemen was targeted a second time by what appeared to be Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in southern Yemen.

"A U.S. warship operating off the coast of Yemen was targeted a second time Wednesday by what appeared to be Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in southern Yemen... Officials said the USS Mason, a destroyer, wasn't hit or damaged when two missiles were fired from a Houthi-controlled area known as al-Hudaydah. Iran backs the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been engaged in a bloody civil war that pits them against a Saudi Arabia-led coalition that is backed by the U.S. It was the second such attempted attack since Sunday, when missiles fired from the same region missed the Mason... Pentagon officials stressed that the Mason was operating in international waters off the Red Sea coast of Yemen about 6 p.m. local time Wednesday when the second attack occurred." (The Wall Street Journal)

 

10-12-2016
Terrorism

The Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah vowed to maintain its "jihad" in neighbouring Syria at a huge rally in Beirut, a day after its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the war was in a phase of escalation.

"The Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah vowed to maintain its "jihad" in neighbouring Syria at a huge rally in Beirut on Wednesday, a day after its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the war was in a phase of escalation. Addressing thousands marking Shi'ite Islam's annual Ashura religious commemoration in a heavily secured square in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold, Nasrallah said the war in Syria was being fought in defence of the whole region. "We will continue to bear our great responsibilities of jihad there. Your sons are there, and your men, your brothers, your husbands. They are defending their existence, dignity and the resistance," he said... Since Hezbollah's entry into Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, some 1,500 of its fighters have died, say security sources in Lebanon. These have included about 350 this year; their images, often in heroic pose, are displayed on posters in Shi'ite villages across Lebanon." (Reuters)

10-11-2016
Anti-Americanism

The Pentagon won't rule out that Iranian missiles provided to rebels in Yemen were used to fire upon two U.S. warships in the Red Sea. Capt. Jeff Davis says, "It's no secret that Iran has been actively supplying them and giving them the tools of war."

"The Pentagon won't rule out that Iranian missiles provided to rebels in Yemen were used to fire upon two U.S. warships in the Red Sea on Sunday, spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Tuesday. The destroyer USS Mason and amphibious warship USS Ponce were conducting 'routine operations in international waters' in the Red Sea on Sunday night when the first of two cruise missiles was detected heading toward them, Davis said... On Tuesday, Davis confirmed that both missiles were launched from a coastal area of Yemen that is under the control of Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite rebels... Davis said Tuesday that while the Houthis may have obtained advanced weaponry through the facilities they now control in Yemen, the U.S. was not ruling out that the missiles might have come from Iran. 'It's no secret that Iran has been actively supplying them and giving them the tools of war,' Davis said." (Stars & Stripes)

10-09-2016
Syria Conflict

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fire two missiles at a U.S. Navy destroyer operating off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.

"Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a U.S. Navy destroyer operating off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea on Sunday -- though neither missile hit the ship, the Pentagon said in a statement. Though the American warship wasn't struck, the ship was definitely targeted, a U.S. defense official told Fox News. This dramatic escalation comes a week after the U.S. Navy sent warships to the area when a United Arab Emirates flagged auxiliary ship was destroyed off the coast of Yemen by the Houthis. "We assess the missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen," Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said. "The United States remains committed to ensuring freedom of navigation everywhere in the world, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our ships and our servicemembers." ... U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying missiles and other weapons to the Houthis." (Fox News)

 

10-07-2016
Human Rights

The United Nations human rights investigator for Iran called for the immediate release of three Iranians with dual nationality whose health is a matter of concern.

"The United Nations human rights investigator for Iran called on Friday for the immediate release of three Iranians with dual nationality whose health is a matter of concern. Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, in particular highlighted the case of the Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April with her 2-year-old daughter and tried in August. An Iranian revolutionary court sentenced her to five years in prison on charges that remain secret, her family said last month. "Sentencing individuals for charges that are kept secret from defendants and their defense lawyers is a mockery of justice," Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, said in a statement. He said her health had "seriously deteriorated" since her arrest." (Reuters)

10-06-2016
Syria Conflict

As Saudi Arabia holds a naval drill in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a powerful Iranian general has been quoted as suggesting the kingdom's deputy crown prince is so "impatient" he may kill his own father to take the throne.

"As Saudi Arabia holds a naval drill in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a powerful Iranian general has been quoted as suggesting the kingdom's deputy crown prince is so "impatient" he may kill his own father to take the throne. Harsh rhetoric has been common between the two rivals since January but the remarks by Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani's take things to an entirely different level by discussing Saudi King Salman being killed. Meanwhile, Iran already has warned Saudi Arabia to stay away from its territorial waters as heavily armed Saudi frogmen and warships take part in the Gulf Shield 1 drill across the larger Persian Gulf, adding to the tensions between the two rival Mideast powers." (AP)

10-06-2016
Human Rights

Iranian judges have ordered a young female writer and activist to serve a six-year jail term for writing an unpublished fictional story about stoning to death in her country.

"Iranian judges have ordered a young female writer and activist to serve a six-year jail term for writing an unpublished fictional story about stoning to death in her country. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee received a phone call on Tuesday from judicial officials ordering her to Evin prison in Tehran, where her husband, Arash Sadeghi, a prominent student activist, is serving a 19-year sentence.  Ebrahimi Iraee told Voice of America’s Persian network this week that she had been sentenced to five years in prison for insulting Islamic sanctities and one extra year for spreading propaganda against the ruling system." (The Guardian)

10-05-2016
Human Rights

Montreal's Homa Hoodfar says members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard psychologically tortured her during dozens of interrogations over the course of 112 brutal days in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

Montreal's Homa Hoodfar says members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard psychologically tortured her during dozens of interrogations over the course of 112 brutal days in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.  They threatened "they would send my dead body back to Canada," the retired Concordia University professor told CBC News in her first interview since her release on Sept. 26… She says the interrogators tried to break her spirit. The worst part, she said, was when they played music from the funeral of her husband, who died in December 2014. They had found the music on Hoodfar's iPad… Hoodfar says she hopes she wasn't traded as part of an embassy deal. "I know that has happened sometimes," she said. "But that's one of the concerns I have." (CBC News)

10-04-2016
Human Rights

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has given a damning assessment of human rights in Iran, highlighting the “alarming rate” of executions and saying little progress has been made under president Hassan Rouhani.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has given a damning assessment of human rights in Iran, highlighting the “alarming rate” of executions and saying little progress has been made under president Hassan Rouhani. In spite of his achievements on the international front, most notably reaching last year’s landmark nuclear deal, Rouhani’s promises of domestic improvements have stalled in the face of resistance from hardliners. Ban’s 19-page report, released this week, says he remains “deeply troubled” by accounts “of executions, floggings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, unfair trials, denial of access to medical care and possible torture and ill-treatment”. (The Guardian)

10-03-2016
Human Rights

Iran's head of Judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, says that the Judiciary has no plans to abolish the death penalty and called on Iranian judicial officials to not hesitate in carrying out the execution sentences for alleged drug offenders.

"Iran's head of Judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, recently said that the Judiciary has no plans to abolish the death penalty and called on Iranian judicial officials to not hesitate in carrying out the execution sentences for alleged drug offenders. Amoli Larijani's official remarks were made on Thursday September 29 in Mashhad, at the 13th annual conference for Iran's revolutionary, military and public courts. According to Iranian state run media, Fars, in his remarks Amoli Larijani referred to drug traffickers as "merchants of death" and rejected calls for the complete abolition of the death penalty for crimes related to drug trafficking." ( Iran Human Rights)

10-03-2016
Human Rights

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian filed a federal lawsuit against the Iranian government, claiming he was taken hostage and psychologically tortured during his 18 months in prison in an effort by Tehran to influence negotiations.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and his family filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Iranian government, claiming he was taken hostage and psychologically tortured during his 18 months in prison in an effort by Tehran to influence negotiations for a nuclear agreement with Iran. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, says Rezaian was targeted for arrest to gain advantage in a prisoner exchange and to “extort” concessions from the U.S. government in the multinational talks over lifting sanctions if Iran agreed to limits on its nuclear program. Iranian officials repeatedly told Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who also was detained for more than two months, that Rezaian had “value” as a bargaining chip for a prisoner swap, the suit says... “For nearly eighteen months, Iran held and terrorized Jason for the purpose of gaining negotiating leverage and ultimately exchanging him with the United States for something of value to Iran,” the suit states. (Washington Post)

10-02-2016
Terrorism

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says, “I am happy and proud of the fact that my brothers Qasem Soleimani, Hassan Nasrallah and Ramadan Abdullah [Shalah] contact me every day and thank me for the Islamic Republic's policies..."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif appeared before the Iranian parliament Oct. 2 to address questions about Iran’s diplomatic approach in the aftermath of the nuclear deal. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed with six world powers led to the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions in return for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Javad Karimi Ghodoosi, a member of parliament from the Principlist faction who has been an outspoken critic of Iran’s current government, posed questions that triggered an outburst by Zarif... Voicing his displeasure with Ghodoosi and stressing his ministry’s compliance with the policies of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Zarif replied in a harsh tone, “I am happy and proud of the fact that my brothers Qasem Soleimani, Hassan Nasrallah and Ramadan Abdullah [Shalah] contact me every day and thank me for the Islamic Republic's policies. … So please do not question our foreign policy.” (Al-Monitor)

10-01-2016
Military

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force has released photos of a US drone captured by Iran which is similar to a new attack drone built by Iran's Revolutionary Guard that can carry four precision-guided bombs.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guard has built a new attack drone which is similar to a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle captured five years ago, Iranian media reported on Saturday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency says the "Saegheh" (Thunderbolt) drone is similar to the RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone. Iran's state-run Press TV says the long-range drone can carry four precision-guided bombs. Neither report gave figures for the drone's range. Iran claimed to have shot down an RQ-170 drone used by the Central Intelligence Agency in December 2011 and broadcast footage of the recovered aircraft. It also claims to have captured three American ScanEagle drones. Iran said last year that it had successfully tested its replica of the RQ-170. Also on Saturday, Tasnim published photos of what it said was a U.S.-made MQ-1C drone captured recently by the Guard. It did not say when or how the drone was captured." (AP)

"The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force on Saturday released the first photos of a US drone captured by Iran. According to the IRGC, the photos show an American MQ-1C Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) now in possession of the IRGC forces. It is not clear when exactly the drone has been captured by Iran. The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle attack drone is a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft that is an upgraded MQ-1 Predator as an extended-range multi-purpose UAV." (Tasnim)

09-28-2016
Nuclear Program

A senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards says Iran is in possession of missiles that can hit Israel, stating that the “Zionist regime is our biggest target.”

A senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that Iran is in possession of missiles that can hit Israel. Iran's Press TV quoted Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh as telling reporters that "we do not need missiles with a range of over 2,000 kilometers. The longest range required for [Iran's] missiles is the [Israeli] occupied lands." The commander warned that "the Zionist regime is our biggest target." (Jerusalem Post)

09-28-2016
Human Rights

An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a 16-year sentence for one of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights activists, Narges Mohammadi.

An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a 16-year sentence for one of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights activists, her lawyer said Wednesday. The activist, Narges Mohammadi, 44, a human rights lawyer, has been in and out of jail over the past 15 years and has had several confrontations with Iran’s hard-line dominated judiciary. Her arrest in 2015 and conviction a year later were severe blows to Iran’s small and embattled community of women’s rights activists, highlighting the severe pressures they face. “She has committed no crime and has just been doing her job as a lawyer and citizen,” said Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and prominent activist who spent two years in prison but who was granted an early release in 2013. Ms. Sotoudeh characterized her colleague as a law-abiding citizen who defended victims of acid attacks and voted while in prison during the 2015 parliamentary elections. “Every day Narges is behind bars is one too many,” Ms. Sotoudeh said. (The New York Times)

09-26-2016
Human Rights

A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.

A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services. Homa Hoodfar was flown to the Arab Gulf nation of Oman, the brief report from the IRNA news agency said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter. Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after traveling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband. Her family said she has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since June. Hoodfar until recently taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal's Concordia University. In July, Iran announced indictments for Hoodfar and three others, without providing any details about the accusations. In recent weeks, Hoodfar's supporters described her health as deteriorating while she was in solitary confinement, saying she was "barely able to walk or talk." (AP)

 

09-26-2016
Syria Conflict

As many as 3,000 Iranian-backed fighters have arrived in Aleppo supporting the Syrian regime in its fight to crush the rebellion.

As deadly airstrikes pounded Aleppo, Syria over the weekend, a major foreign ground force was also converging on the region. As many as 3,000 Iranian-backed fighters have arrived in Aleppo supporting the Syrian regime in its fight to crush the rebellion, two U.S. officials confirm to Fox News. There are an estimated 250,000 Syrian civilians trapped in Aleppo facing an onslaught of Russian and Syrian bombs, according to reports. The Iranian-backed Shiite militias include fighters from neighboring Iraq as well as Afghanistan, officials say. Many of those fighters had already been in Syria but recently descended on Aleppo. (Fox News)

09-25-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran’s Defense Ministry has released a video of the latest homegrown ballistic missile, Zolfaqar, being launched and hitting a target.

Iran's Defense Ministry on Sunday released video of the latest homegrown ballistic missile, Zolfaqar, being launched and hitting a target. The video shows Zolfaqar moving upward with a thick vapor trail and then detonating a target in the middle of a desert area. Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan inaugurated the mass production line of the tactical ballistic missile. Zolfaqar runs on solid fuel and can hit targets with pin-point accuracy in a range of 750 kilometers. (Tasnim)

09-23-2016
Anti-Americanism

An Iranian general in charge of the Islamic Republic’s air defense says his forces warned off an American U2 spy plane trying to fly over his country.

An Iranian general in charge of the Islamic Republic’s air defense says his forces warned off an American U2 spy plane trying to fly over his country. Iranian state television broadcast the comments by Gen. Farzad Esmaili on Friday, saying the incident happened “in recent days.” Esmaili said the plane flew away, without elaborating on where the aircraft attempted to enter Iranian airspace. (AP)

09-23-2016
Human Rights

An advocacy group has called for the immediate release of two Iranian journalists detained in Tehran.

An advocacy group has called for the immediate release of two Iranian journalists detained in Tehran. The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement early Friday highlighting the cases of Sadra Mohaqeq, an editor at the pro-reform daily newspaper Shargh, and Yashar Soltani, who writes for the news website Memari News. Sherif Mansour of the committee says the reporters' detention shows, "whether journalists are advocating for national political reform or reporting on a local land deal, they are not safe from Iranian prisons." (AP)

09-22-2016
Human Rights

A prisoner is publicly executed in a sports stadium in the city of Neyriz in southern Iran.

A prisoner sentenced to public execution for rape and murder was hanged in public at a sports stadium in the city of Neyriz (Fars province, southern Iran) on the morning of Thursday September 22. According to Iranian state run news agency Mehr, quoting the press department of the Judiciary in Fars, a prisoner identified as "Saeed T." was hanged in public on the morning of Thursday September 22 at a sports stadium in the city of Neyriz. Photos of this public hanging shows that at least one child was present and watching the execution. This is not the first time that Iranian authorities have used a sports stadium to carry out an execution. In 2013, after learning about a public execution carried out in a sports stadium in northeastern Iran, FIFA issued a warning to Iranian officials and called on them to ensure that the act is not repeated. (Iran Human Rights)

 

09-22-2016
Human Rights

Women in Iran have been posting photos on social media of themselves riding bicycles, defying a fatwa forbidding them from cycling in public.

Women in Iran have been posting photos on social media of themselves riding bicycles, defying a fatwa forbidding them from cycling in public. It had been understood women that could cycle as long as religious concerns were respected. But when asked recently, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said women were not allowed to cycle in public or in the presence of strangers... A video a mother and daughter filmed of themselves cycling in Iran has had 98,000 views since it was posted on My Stealthy Freedom's Facebook page on Monday. Campaign founder Masih Alinejad, who is based in New York, said: "They told me that they are not going to give up because they think biking is their absolute right. "It is absolutely shameful to hear such a backward fatwa against women in the 21st Century. (BBC)

 

09-22-2016
Syria Conflict

Abandoning a long-standing reticence, Iranians are increasingly candid about their involvement in Syria's war, and informal recruiters are now openly calling for volunteers to defend the Islamic Republic and fellow Shi'ites against Sunni militants.

Abandoning a long-standing reticence, Iranians are increasingly candid about their involvement in Syria's war, and informal recruiters are now openly calling for volunteers to defend the Islamic Republic and fellow Shi'ites against Sunni militants. With public opinion swinging behind the cause, numbers of would-be fighters have soared far beyond what Tehran is prepared to deploy in Syria… Once Tehran described these forces as military "advisers" but with around 400 killed on the battlefield, this discretion has slipped and several thousand are now believed to be fighting Islamic State and other groups trying to topple Assad. Many Iranians initially opposed involvement in the war, harbouring little sympathy for Assad. But now they are warming to the mission, believing that Islamic State is a threat to the existence of their country best fought outside Iran's borders. Iran alludes to its fighters in Syria as "defenders of the shrine", a reference to the Sayeda Zeinab mosque near Damascus, which is where a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad is said to be buried, as well as other shrines revered by Shi’ites. It is casting its recruitment net wide. As well as Iranians, it has gathered Shi'ites from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to battle the Syrian opposition in what has become a sectarian conflict. Fighters killed in Syria are praised as heroes on state television and given lavish funerals. Iranian wrestler Saeed Abdevali dedicated the bronze medal he won at the Rio Olympics to the families of "defenders of the shrine" who have been killed. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described the wars in Syria and Iraq, where Iranian-backed authorities are also fighting Sunni militants, as crucial to the survival of the Islamic Republic. If Iranians had not gone and died fighting there, "the enemy would enter the country", he said. (Reuters)

09-21-2016
Military

Iran marked the anniversary of its 1980 invasion by Iraq by showing off its latest ships and missiles and telling the United States not to meddle in the Gulf.

Iran marked the anniversary of its 1980 invasion by Iraq by showing off its latest ships and missiles and telling the United States not to meddle in the Gulf. At a parade in Tehran on Wednesday, shown on state TV, the military displayed long-range missiles, tanks, and the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system. At the port of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf, the navy showed off 500 vessels, as well as submarines and helicopters, at a time of high tension with the United States in the strategic waterway. U.S. officials say there have been more than 30 close encounters between U.S. and Iranian vessels in the Gulf so far this year, over twice as many as in the same period of 2015. (Reuters)

09-21-2016
Extremism

Iran unveiled a new missile carried by a military truck which bore a banner printed with a 2013 anti-Israeli quote by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that Iran will annihilate the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa should Israel attack Iran.

Iran's chief of staff of the armed forces said Wednesday a $38 billion aid deal between the United States and Israel makes Iran more determined to strengthen its military… During a separate parade Wednesday in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, Iran unveiled a new missile, known as Zolfaghar. It was carried by military truck which bore a banner printed with a 2013 anti-Israeli quote by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that Iran will annihilate the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa should Israel attack Iran. (AP)

09-20-2016
Human Rights

A U.S. permanent resident detained for a year in Iran over spying allegations has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine.

A U.S. permanent resident detained for a year in Iran over spying allegations has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine, his supporters said Tuesday, the latest move in a crackdown on those with foreign ties following last year's nuclear deal. The sentence for Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen who advocates for internet freedom and whose nonprofit group did work for the U.S. government, comes as Iranian officials attend the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York. It also shows the challenge faced by Western governments and those wanting warmer ties with Iran, where hard-liners in the security forces and judiciary target dual nationals and others in secret trials. "There's no regard for any international order, any international agreement or any international state of relations that they care about," said David Ramadan, a former Virginia state legislator who co-founded a group called Friends of Nizar Zakka. A statement early Tuesday from Jason Poblete, a U.S. lawyer representing Zakka, said a Revolutionary Court in Tehran handed down the sentence in a 60-page verdict that Zakka's supporters have yet to see. (AP)

09-20-2016
Nuclear Program

North Korea says it successfully tested a high-powered rocket engine for launching satellites. The description of the new engine matched that of a rocket booster the U.S. has alleged Pyongyang was collaborating on with Iran.

North Korea said it had successfully tested a high-powered rocket engine for launching satellites, elevating concerns it is making progress in developing a long-range ballistic missile. The description of the new engine matched that of a rocket booster the U.S. has alleged Pyongyang was collaborating on with Iran, experts said, indicating the North Korean technology might be shared with Tehran... The description of the engine also indicated it may be the same as a rocket booster that North Korea has allegedly worked on with Iran. In January, U.S. Treasury sanctioned two Iranian officials who it said had traveled to Pyongyang with engineers in recent years to jointly develop an 80-ton rocket booster. “It’s one and the same,” said Jeffrey Lewis, an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute, adding that a rocket engine of that size would represent an upgrade to Iran’s current capabilities. (WSJ)

09-19-2016
Human Rights

Sadra Mohaghegh, the social affairs editor of the reformist Shargh newspaper, was arrested on September 19, 2016. “S-M” had been detained by “one of the security agencies” for working with “anti-revolutionary” media outlet.

Sadra Mohaghegh, the social affairs editor of the reformist Shargh newspaper, was arrested on September 19, 2016, but the circumstances surrounding his arrest and the charges against him are unclear, according to his lawyer. The arrest comes on the heels of an international tour by President Hassan Rouhani that will end at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he will have a press conference on September 22. The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on September 19 that a newspaper editor identified as “S-M” had been detained by “one of the security agencies” for working with “anti-revolutionary” media outlets. Later that day, Shargh confirmed Mohaghegh’s arrest via its Twitter account. Mohaghegh is well known for his reports on environmental issues and informative social media postings; a few hours after his arrest, his Twitter and Facebook accounts became inaccessible. He was briefly arrested on two previous occasions, in 2012 and 2013, but was never prosecuted. (International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran)

09-18-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader says to the commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards force, the Islamic Republic must stand strong against Washington on the region's conflicts.

Iran's supreme leader said the Islamic republic must stand strong against Washington on the region's conflicts, in an address Sunday to commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards force. "The Americans insist we negotiate with them on regional issues, especially on Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in the speech published on his official website. "What is their main goal for requesting these talks? They have no aim but to prevent the presence in the region of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the main factor of America's failures," said Khamenei. (AFP)

09-17-2016
Extremism

Iranian President Rouhani says, "The Zionist regime seeks to devise and exploit the ongoing developments in the Middle East, particularly the emergence and spread of terrorist and extremist groups such as Daesh..."

The Iranian President said world challenges should not be allowed to divert attention from the plight of the Palestinians. “The Zionist regime seeks to devise and exploit the ongoing developments in the Middle East, particularly the emergence and spread of terrorist and extremist groups such as Daesh to overshadow its crimes against the oppressed Palestinian nation and others regional nations.” (Press TV)

09-13-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran threatens to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf.

"Iran threatened to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, the latest in a series of recent provocations between Iran and the US military in the region, three US defense officials with knowledge of the incident told Fox News. On Sept. 10, a Navy P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with a crew of roughly 24, were flying a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, according to officials. Iran's territorial waters-like all nations--extend 12 miles into the sea, according to international maritime law. At some point during the flight, the Iranian military warned the two aircraft to change course or risk getting shot down.  The US military planes ignored the warning and continued flying in international airspace, although close to Iranian territory, the officials told Fox.  "We wanted to test the Iranian reaction," one US official told Fox News when asked why the US jets were flying close to Iran. "It's one thing to tell someone to get off your lawn, but we weren't on their lawn," the official continued.  "Anytime you threaten to shoot someone down, it's not considered professional." (Fox News)

09-13-2016
Human Rights

The outlook for release of Montreal anthropologist Homa Hoodfar from Iran’s Evin prison darkened with news that a hard-line judge has dismissed her lawyer and chosen another to represent her without her consent.

"The outlook for release of Montreal anthropologist Homa Hoodfar from Iran’s Evin prison darkened Tuesday with news that a hard-line judge has dismissed her lawyer and chosen another to represent her without her consent. “This seems to be standard procedure for this judge, who has been violating many laws,” said Hoodfar’s niece, Amanda Ghahremani, speaking from Montreal. “He’s denied access to her lawyers, her family, she is in solitary confinement and has not been moved to a general ward. Her health is our biggest concern.” The judge, Abolqasem Salvati, known for earlier draconian verdicts, has presided over high profile cases of Iranian-born journalist Jason Rezaian, Canadian permanent resident Mostafa Azizi and Iranian-British charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was sentenced last week to five years in prison." (Toronto Star

09-11-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran begins building its second nuclear power plant with Russian help, the first such project since last year's landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran began building its second nuclear power plant with Russian help on Saturday, the first such project since last year's landmark nuclear deal with world powers. The project in the southern port city of Bushehr will eventually include two power plants expected to go online in 10 years. Construction on the second plant is set to begin in 2018. The entire project will cost more than $8.5 billion, with each plant producing 1,057 megawatts of electricity. "Construction of the power plant is a symbol of Iran enjoying the results of the nuclear deal," Senior Vice-President Ishaq Jahangiri said at a ceremony marking the start of the project. "We will continue working with Russia as a strategic partner and friend," he added. Iran's sole operational nuclear reactor, also built in Bushehr with Russian assistance, produces 1,000 megawatts. It went online in 2011, and the two countries have agreed to cooperate on future projects. (AP)

09-09-2016
Extremism

Memari News, an independent website dedicated to news about architecture and urban development, has been suspended for publishing a letter from Iran’s National Inspection Organization to the Tehran Municipality.

Memari News, an independent website dedicated to news about architecture and urban development, has been suspended for publishing a letter from Iran’s National Inspection Organization to the Tehran Municipality that declared the sale and grant of certain lands to municipality workers and other officials to be against the law. “The Tehran Prosecutor’s suspension of a website for publishing an official letter is a blatant abuse of power aimed at suppressing media organizations that are trying to keep officials accountable for their actions,” said the Campaign’s executive director Hadi Ghaemi.“The Judiciary is making a mockery of its claim to be fighting corruption and protecting the rights of citizens by closing down news sites that expose unlawful activities,” Ghaemi added.Memari News noted in its report that the letter from the National Inspection Organization was not marked classified. The organization investigated Tehran Municipality under Article 598 of the New Islamic Penal Code which deals with abuse of government funds and properties and found violations in excess of 2.2 trillion tomans ($702 million USD). It pointed fingers at several senior municipality officials as well as city council members, Members of Parliament and police officers. (International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran)

09-09-2016
Human Rights

Iran has sentenced an Iranian-British charity worker to five years in prison, after detaining her while on a family trip to the country in April, her husband says.

"Iran has sentenced an Iranian-British charity worker to five years in prison, after detaining her while on a family trip to the country in April, her husband said on Friday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is one of several dual nationals Iran has arrested in recent months, some of whom have been accused of spying. Abolghassem Salavati, an Islamic Revolutionary Court judge who has handled numerous high-profile cases involving foreigners, handed down the sentence in Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case on Tuesday, her husband Richard Ratcliffe said. Mr. Salavati presided over a three-hour trial on Aug. 14 at which Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyer was present, according to her family. The family said the proceedings were held in secret, and it was denied permission to attend. Mr. Ratcliffe said Iran hadn’t revealed specific charges against his wife. “A sentence with secret charges still seems crazy,” he said. “Literally it is a punishment without a crime.” (WSJ)

09-07-2016
Syria Conflict

A bitter war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia intensified with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni saying, "this incident proves once again that this cursed, evil family does not deserve to be in charge and manage the holy sites."

 

A bitter war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia intensified Wednesday ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage from which Iranians have been excluded for the first time in decades. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted the “incompetence" of the Saudi royal family as he met with the families of victims of a deadly stampede during last year's hajj. "This incident proves once again that this cursed, evil family does not deserve to be in charge and manage the holy sites," Khamenei said. (AFP)

09-06-2016
Anti-Americanism

A U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship changed course after a fast-attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came within 100 yards (91 meters) of it in the central Gulf.

A U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship changed course after a fast-attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came within 100 yards (91 meters) of it in the central Gulf on Sunday, U.S. Defense Department officials said on Tuesday. It was at least the fourth such incident in less than a month. U.S. officials are concerned that these actions by Iran could lead to mistakes... there have been 31 similar interactions with Iranian ships this year, almost double the amount from the same period last year. "We don't see this type of unsafe and unprofessional activity from any other nation," the defense official added. (Reuters)

09-05-2016
Syria Conflict

With Iranians blocked from the hajj pilgrimage, Supreme Leader Khamenei issued a furious rebuke against rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites.

With Iranians blocked from this month's hajj pilgrimage, their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a furious rebuke to rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Saudi rulers... who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved?s House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US," Khamenei said. He accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, of politicising the annual hajj pilgrimage, due to start at the end of the week, turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)". For the first time in almost three decades, Iranians have been effectively barred from participating in this year's pilgrimage to Mecca after talks on logistics and security fell apart. But even by recent standards, with relations between the rival Middle Eastern powers at an all-time low, the language was tough. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei wrote in a statement on his website. (AFP)

08-31-2016
Military

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that Iran needs to boost its offensive military capabilities. "In order to secure our population, our country and our future we have to increase our offensive capabilities as well as our defensive capabilities."

"Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Iran needs to boost its offensive military capabilities. "In order to secure our population, our country and our future we have to increase our offensive capabilities as well as our defensive capabilities,” he said at a military expo in Tehran where a number of top military officials gathered, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)... Khamenei also said that expanding defensive capabilities was necessary “so that oppressive powers feel threatened”, an allusion to the United States and key European allies." (Reuters)

08-29-2016
Human Rights

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, has expressed outrage at the execution on 27 August of 12 people, including Alireza Madadpour, on drug-related charges.

"The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, has expressed outrage at the execution on 27 August of 12 people, including Alireza Madadpour, on drug-related charges. Mr. Shaheed had appealed publicly on 26 August to the Iranian authorities not to go ahead with the planned executions at Karaj Central Prison. 'The execution of individuals for drug-related offences is simply illegal,' Mr. Shaheed said, noting that international law only allows the imposition of the death penalty for the 'most serious crimes', where there is intentional killing, and after a fair trial that respects the most stringent due process guarantees. None of these conditions were respected, at least in the case of Mr. Madadpour. 'Combating drug trafficking, a serious concern in Iran, does not justify the use of the death penalty in drug-related cases,' the Special Rapporteur stressed. 'The execution of Mr. Madadpour and 11 others shows the Iranian authorities’ complete disregard of its obligations under international human rights law and especially of international fair trial standards and due process guarantees,' Mr. Shaheed added." (UN)

08-29-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran has deployed the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defence system around its Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility.

"Iran has deployed the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defence system around its Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility, Iranian state media reported on Monday. Iranian state TV on Sunday aired footage of deployment of the recently delivered missile system to the nuclear site in the central Iran. 'Our main priority is to protect Iran's nuclear facilities under any circumstances,' Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) air defense force told state TV... The IRGC's Esmaili did not say whether the system was operational, but added: 'Today, Iran's sky is one of the most secure in the Middle East'. Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the country's military power was for defensive purposes. 'The S-300 system is a defence system not an assault one, but the Americans did their utmost to prevent Iran from getting it,' Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state TV." (Reuters)

08-29-2016
Anti-Americanism

"The number of provocative interactions between Iranian vessels and the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf nearly doubled in the first half of 2016 compared with the same time period."

"Dangerous confrontations between Iran and the U.S. Navy are becoming even more frequent than previously estimated, Fox News has learned. According to new data shared Monday with Fox News by a U.S. defense official, the number of provocative interactions between Iranian vessels and the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf nearly doubled in the first half of 2016 compared with the same time period a year ago. 'In the first half of 2016, we have seen nearly twice as many unprofessional and/or unsafe interactions when compared to the first half last year. That's a disturbing rise and it has continued into the second half of the year,' said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. In the first half of 2016, there were 19 dangerous interactions with the Iranians, which the U.S. Navy characterized as 'unsafe and unprofessional.' In the first half of 2015, that number was 10, according to the official. The Iranian vessels acted as the aggressors every time, according to the U.S. Navy. The account follows a Fox News report on Friday citing estimates that such confrontations are up more than 50 percent this year. The defense official, though, said Monday the U.S. Navy had gone through its numbers over the weekend and reclassified some of them. (U.S. Central Command had issued a statement in July saying there were 26 dangerous interactions in the first half of 2016.) The new numbers show an even sharper rise in the first half of the year, though the number itself is lower than Central Command first estimated." (Fox News)

08-29-2016
Human Rights

A professor from Montreal who has been imprisoned in Iran was recently hospitalized and is barely conscious and can hardly walk or talk, according to family.

"A professor from Montreal who has been imprisoned in Iran was recently hospitalized and is barely conscious and can hardly walk or talk, according to family. Homa Hoodfar, an anthropologist at Concordia University, is being kept in solitary confinement nearly three months after her arrest in Tehran on June 6 while on a personal and research visit to Iran, her niece Amanda Ghahremani said. Hoodfar's family says Iranian authorities have refused regular visits by her lawyer and have tried to dismiss him. During his one visit in July, he was forbidden to discuss her case and has been denied all access to her legal file, the family said. 'It has become clear that the authorities are not prioritizing her health and do not intend to respect Homa's due process rights under Iranian law,' Ghahremani said... 'The continued solitary incarceration and illegal psychological pressure applied by the presiding judge to break her and confess to these fabricated charges are of great concern to Professor Hoodfar's family and friends,' a news release from the family says." (CBC)

08-28-2016
Human Rights

Iran says that a person close to the government team that negotiated its nuclear agreement with foreign powers has been arrested on accusations of espionage and released on bail.

"Iran said on Sunday that a person close to the government team that negotiated its nuclear agreement with foreign powers had been arrested on accusations of espionage and released on bail. The disclosure, reported in the state news media, appeared to be the latest sign of the Iranian leadership’s frustration over the agreement, which has failed so far to yield the significant economic benefits for the country that its advocates had promised. Iranian officials have blamed the United States for that problem... There were unconfirmed reports last week that the Iranian authorities had arrested Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, who has dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship, on espionage suspicions. Mr. Esfahani, an adviser to Iran’s central bank, helped the Iranian nuclear negotiators bargain for sanctions relief in exchange for Iran’s pledges of verifiably peaceful nuclear work. The official Islamic Republic News Agency said a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, speaking at a weekly news conference on Sunday in Tehran, had 'confirmed the arrest of an individual from the negotiating team.' But the spokesman also said that 'his charge of spying has not been proved' and that the suspect had been released on bail pending an investigation." (NYT)

08-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian naval boats made dangerous maneuvers around United States warships in the Persian Gulf area on at least four occasions this week, including one episode in which the Americans fired warning shots from a 50-caliber deck gun to prevent a collision.

"Iranian naval boats made dangerous maneuvers around United States warships in the Persian Gulf area on at least four occasions this week, Pentagon officials said Thursday, including one episode in which the Americans fired warning shots from a 50-caliber deck gun to prevent a collision. It was unclear whether the confrontations — one near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and three in the northern Persian Gulf on Wednesday — were deliberate efforts to send a hostile message about American naval activity. Still, they underscored the risk of an armed clash between Iran and the United States in an area that has been a perennial source of tension for the two countries. There was no immediate comment from Iran about Wednesday’s encounters. But its defense minister denied that Iranian vessels had done anything wrong in the Tuesday episode and accused the Americans of trespassing to provoke a response. Cmdr. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, called the Iranian behavior on Wednesday a violation of international law and accused the Iranians of ignoring repeated warnings from the American vessels, creating a 'dangerous, harassing situation that could have led to further escalation.' In a statement, Commander Urban said Wednesday’s episodes included two in which the Squall and the Tempest, American coastal patrol ships operating in international waters, were harassed by three boats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which crisscrossed the Tempest’s bow and created 'a possible collision hazard.' Later, he said, an Iranian patrol vessel approached the Tempest head-on despite repeated radio, flare and loudspeaker warnings. 'Ultimately, Squall resorted to firing three warning shots from their 50-caliber gun, which caused the Iranian vessel to turn away,' Commander Urban said. In the third episode on Wednesday, he said, the Stout, a guided missile destroyer, was harassed by the same vessel that had menaced the Tempest and the Squall. It crossed the Stout’s bow three times in an 'unsafe intercept,' Commander Urban said, and the Stout maneuvered away and 'employed devices,' which he did not identify, to dissuade the Iranian vessel from further harassment." (NYT)

08-24-2016
Anti-Americanism

Four ships from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S. destroyer near the Persian Gulf in what the U.S. Navy called an 'unsafe and unprofessional' interaction."

"Four ships from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S. destroyer near the Persian Gulf in what the U.S. Navy called an 'unsafe and unprofessional' interaction. The USS Nitze, an Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer, was transiting international waters near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday when the four Iranian vessels approached at high speed and failed to respond to 12 separate radio communications, according to Cdr. William Urban, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The USS Nitze blew its whistle in five short blasts on three occasions—signaling the Iranian vessels were on a dangerous course—and fired off 10 flares in the direction of the approaching ships before altering course to avoid a potential collision, Cmdr. Urban said. As two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the destroyer, the quartet finally slowed speed and motored away from the U.S. ship, according to Cmdr. Urban, who characterized the interaction as a dangerous, harassing situation that could have led to further escalation. The USS Nitze was transiting the waters with the USS Mason, another guided-missile destroyer. The incident was one of many interactions between Iranian and American ships in and around the Persian Gulf in recent months. But it was one of few the U.S. Navy has deemed unsafe or unprofessional. According to a U.S. defense official, the Navy deemed about 10% of the hundreds of interactions between Iranian and American ships unsafe or unprofessional in 2015 and the first half of 2016. The official said the number of interactions—both safe and unsafe—has increased this year compared with 2015." (WSJ)

08-23-2016
Human Rights

"The cyber-arm of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says it has summoned, detained and warned some 450 administrators of social media groups in recent weeks."

"The cyber-arm of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says it has summoned, detained and warned some 450 administrators of social media groups in recent weeks. The announcement Tuesday, carried on a website affiliated with the Guard's cyber arm, says those detained used social media like the messaging app Telegram, which is popular in Iran. The announcement says those detained or summoned made posts that were considered immoral, were related to modeling, or which insulted religious beliefs. It says the Guard only took action after 'judicial procedures' were completed, without elaborating." (AP)

08-21-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran has reportedly formed what it calls the 'Liberation Army' whose units will be deployed in the Arab countries."

"Iran has reportedly formed what it calls the 'Liberation Army' whose units will be deployed in Arab countries, according to a news website. Currently, Iran is involved in multiple conflicts where Shia and Sunni Muslims are locked in a power struggle, notably Syria and Yemen. Mohammad Ali Al Falaki, a retired commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in an interview published on Thursday by Mashregh News that Iran is fighting on three fronts: Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Iran 'created the Liberation Army in Syria under the leadership of Qassem Soleimani', said Falaki, who leads forces in Syria... 'The forces that belong to this army are not Iranians only. In any place where there is a fight, we organise and supply the army from the people of the area,' said Falaki." (Al Jazeera)

08-21-2016
Military

President Rouhani says, "Iran's military budget had more than doubled compared with last year. If we are able to discuss with world powers world powers around the negotiating table, it is because of our national strength, because of our national unity."

"Iran released images of its first domestically built long-range missile defence system on Sunday, a project started when the country was under international sanctions. Images on multiple state news agencies showed President Hassan Rouhani and Minister of Defence Hossein Dehghan standing in front of the new Bavar 373 missile defence system. The system was designed to intercept cruise missiles, drones, combat aircraft and ballistic missiles, according to earlier statements by Dehghan... In an earlier speech at Friday prayers, he said: 'Our missile power is at such a level that we are able to destroy all our targets at any operational range.' Rouhani said in a televised speech on Sunday that Iran's military budget had more than doubled compared with last year. 'If we are able to discuss with world powers around the negotiating table, it is because of our national strength, because of our national unity,' he said." (AFP)

08-17-2016
Human Rights

"Iran has arrested several Iranians holding dual nationality in what has been seen as a new round of intimidation targeting people connected to foreign circles and businesses."

"Iran has arrested several Iranians holding dual nationality in what has been seen as a new round of intimidation targeting people connected to foreign circles and businesses. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran's state prosector, said on Tuesday that a dual national whose 'activities were in the economic sector' was arrested last week for alleged links to Britain's intelligence services. He gave no further details but the arrest followed the detention last month of two leading figures in Iran's art business, apparently for socialising with foreign diplomats and allegedly having alcohol at their home... Iran's judiciary said two dual nationals - widely assumed to be the pair in the art industry - were arrested last month last month because they invited foreign diplomats to parties and had 4,000 litres of alcohol in their home. Alcohol is banned by the Islamic state but widely used in private gatherings... Earlier this year, Revolutionary Guards broke up a party in Tehran attended by foreign diplomats, Iranian artists, businessmen and athletes, and detained the hostess, a western-educated ophthalmologist in her late 60s." (FT)

08-16-2016
Human Rights

Tehran's top prosecutor says that authorities have arrested a dual citizen who has been in contact with British intelligence services. The person faces espionage charges after being taken into custody.

"Tehran's top prosecutor said Tuesday that the authorities had arrested a dual citizen who had been in contact with British intelligence services, the latest in a string of such detentions this year. The person faces espionage charges after being taken into custody, prosecutor general Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi told the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He didn't disclose the person's name or second nationality, or elaborate further on the case. The U.K. government said it was seeking information following the reported detention of a dual Iranian-British national in Iran. At least six other Iranian dual nationals have been arrested this year, many of whom stand accused of spying or attempting to undermine the Iranian system." (WSJ)

08-16-2016
Syria Conflict

In a first, Iran allows Russian warplanes to take off from its territory to strike opposition targets in Syria, deepening involvement in the five-year Syrian civil war and angering the United States.

"Russia's use of an Iranian air base to bomb targets in Syria sends a message to Washington as it weighs a military partnership with Moscow: Join us or we'll look to your enemies. Tuesday's missions were unprecedented. Iran allowed Russian warplanes to take off from its territory to strike opposition targets in Syria. The move came with little notice to the United States, which has watched helplessly the escalating bloodshed near Aleppo, the country's biggest city, and even offered an alliance with Russia against Islamic State and other extremist fighters as a way to get Syria's government out of the fight. The negotiations have dragged on for weeks. Russia has grown impatient, with top officials several times suggesting an imminent deal, only to have American officials counter that the sides weren't close. The bombing runs from a base near the Iranian city of Hamedan, 175 miles southwest of Tehran, may have been a reminder to the Obama administration that Moscow could be cozying up to Iran if Washington doesn't come around. 'The Russians are showing they have options in Syria while they have Washington over a barrel on Aleppo,' said Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He said the operations also cement Russia's alliance with Iran in the region." (AP)

08-10-2016
Human Rights

"An audio file recently released by the website of the late Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri...has shed light on the cleric's objections to a string of executions in the late 1980s and his eventual falling out with the ruling establishment."

"An audio file recently released by the website of the late Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri — the onetime deputy supreme leader of Iran who was a leading Shiite cleric — has shed light on the cleric’s objections to a string of executions in the late 1980s and his eventual falling out with the ruling establishment. In the final months of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, the Iranian group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) launched an attack from inside Iraq against western Iran. While the attack was quickly countered, it led to perhaps the last fateful decision of the Islamic Republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini shortly before his death in which thousands of mostly MEK members who had been imprisoned in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution were executed. Montazeri, who had been groomed to replace Khomeini and was one of the most well-known figures of the revolution, objected so adamantly to the order that he quickly lost his place within the government. His objection to the executions has been previously published in his autobiography. But the release of the audio file has brought this news to the surface once again and has revealed the harshness in which he dealt with the individuals involved." (Al-Monitor)

08-10-2016
Human Rights

Amnesty International says, "Iranian authorities have intensified their repression of women's rights activists in the country in the first half of this year."

"Iranian authorities have intensified their repression of women's rights activists in the country in the first half of this year, carrying out a series of harsh interrogations and increasingly likening any collective initiative relating to women's rights to criminal activity, Amnesty International said today. The organization's research reveals that since January 2016 more than a dozen women's rights activists in Tehran have been summoned for long, intensive interrogations by the Revolutionary Guards, and threatened with imprisonment on national security-related charges. Many had been involved in a campaign launched in October 2015, which advocated for increased representation of women in Iran's February 2016 parliamentary election. 'It is utterly shameful that the Iranian authorities are treating peaceful activists who seek women's equal participation in decision-making bodies as enemies of the state. Speaking up for women's equality is not a crime. We are calling for an immediate end to this heightened harassment and intimidation, which is yet another blow for women's rights in Iran,' said Magdalena Mughrabi, Interim Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International." (Amnesty)

08-09-2016
Nuclear Program

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says, "the construction of two nuclear power plants with $10bn worth of investment will soon begin on President Rouhani's orders."

"The AEOI head Ali Akbar Salehi said Tue. the construction of two nuclear power plants with $10bn worth of investment will soon begin on President Rouhani’s orders. Ali Akbar Salehi, Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), referred to the efforts made by the Western countries in exerting pressures and imposing various kinds of threats on the Iranian negotiating team in the course of nuclear talks, adding 'their problem is not with our armaments, economy, technology, trade, or even science. Their problem is with the Iranian nation; they are worried about the message of the Islamic Revolution reaching across the world.' 'The US has settled its scores with its potential rivals but Iran has stood up against it,' Salehi said. 'This is a serious political challenge that does not form in vacuum and requires producing content and ideologies.' Salehi went on to add that major European banks are not working with Iran due to pressure from the United States. 'We need to speak up louder to the world and this needs to happen faster,' Salehi said. 'The US is worried that the content of the Islamic Republic’s productions would reach the world.' ... Salehi further noted that with the implementation of the JCPOA, the right to enrichment and heavy water production has been preserved in the country, adding 'Iran's heavy water production surplus is currently on a sale agenda and our nuclear industry is functioning well.'" (Mehr Iran)

08-09-2016
Nuclear Program

The U.S. Defense Department says, "Iran has gradually improved its offensive cyber abilities and developed more advanced ballistic missiles since signing an accord last year to curb its nuclear program."

"Iran has gradually improved its offensive cyber abilities and developed more advanced ballistic missiles since signing an accord last year to curb its nuclear program, the U.S. Defense Department said. The Islamic Republic now has a 'substantial inventory of missiles capable of reaching targets throughout the region, including U.S. military bases and Israel,' according to an unclassified summary from a Pentagon assessment of Iran's military prowess. The annual report, mandated by Congress, is the first issued since the U.S. and five other world powers signed the accord with Iran in July last year to curtail its nuclear ambitions in return for ending sanctions. The full report, which includes classified details, was submitted May 31 to congressional defense committees. While the summary includes only one line on Iran's cyber capabilities, the findings echo a recent report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Michael Eisenstadt, who found that Iran's cyber operations have evolved 'from a low-tech means of lashing out at its enemies to a pillar of its national security concept.'" (Bloomberg)

08-09-2016
Human Rights

"The lawyer of prominent Iranian journalist says a court has sentenced his client to three years in prison on charges of insulting authorities and spreading propaganda against the ruling system."

"The lawyer of prominent Iranian journalist says a court has sentenced his client to three years in prison on charges of insulting authorities and spreading propaganda against the ruling system. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei [said]... that his client, Isa Saharkhiz, who was detained in November, can appeal the verdict within the next 20 days. The lawyer says the verdict was announced on Monday and that Saharkhiz got two years for insulting authorities and one year for spreading propaganda. Saharkhiz was recently hospitalized because of a heart problem. His detention came amid a campaign that saw the arrests of other cultural figures critical of Iran's clerical system. Saharkhiz had been released in 2013 after serving nearly five years in prison on similar charges." (AP)

08-09-2016
Human Rights

"The lawyer of prominent Iranian journalist says a court has sentenced his client to three years in prison on charges of insulting authorities and spreading propaganda against the ruling system."

"The lawyer of prominent Iranian journalist says a court has sentenced his client to three years in prison on charges of insulting authorities and spreading propaganda against the ruling system. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei [said]... that his client, Isa Saharkhiz, who was detained in November, can appeal the verdict within the next 20 days. The lawyer says the verdict was announced on Monday and that Saharkhiz got two years for insulting authorities and one year for spreading propaganda. Saharkhiz was recently hospitalized because of a heart problem. His detention came amid a campaign that saw the arrests of other cultural figures critical of Iran's clerical system. Saharkhiz had been released in 2013 after serving nearly five years in prison on similar charges." (AP)

08-09-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian hackers have targeted the regime's perceived opponents by hacking into their computers to install spy software, mapped out the millions of Iranian users of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, and and targeted journalists for espionage."

"The email arrived on the afternoon of March 9, 2016, and it appeared to bring news from an exile's most feared bureaucracy: the U.S. immigration service. 'You received this email because you do not have a Permanent Residence, your Permanent Residence Status needs to be adjusted or you need to renew/replace your Permanent Residence Card,' the email read. Sent from a dhs.gov mailing address, containing links to the relevant forms, and ending with a cheerful sign-off - 'With Best Regards' - the email had the look of a legitimate piece of correspondence from the U.S. government. It wasn't: The email had actually been sent from a hacker likely working on behalf of the Iranian government. The links to the requested forms contained malware designed to spy on its recipients - a human rights activist and likely others in the Iranian diaspora - on behalf of Tehran. The email wasn't an isolated attack against a potential dissident. Tehran is increasingly turning the tools of computer espionage against both exiles abroad and potential dissidents at home. Western researchers have found evidence that Iranian hackers have targeted the regime's perceived opponents by hacking into their computers to install spy software, mapped out the millions of Iranian users of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, and targeted journalists for espionage." (FP)

08-07-2016
Human Rights

"The Iranian government has executed a nuclear scientist who was believed to have cooperated with U.S. intelligence but who returned to Iran after claiming he had been abducted and tortured by the CIA."

"The Iranian government has executed a nuclear scientist who was believed to have cooperated with U.S. intelligence but who returned to Iran after claiming he had been abducted and tortured by the CIA... Amiri went missing in Saudi Arabia in May or June 2009 while on religious pilgrimage to Mecca. In the following months, Iranian officials accused the U.S. of abducting him. The State Department claimed for months that it 'had no information' on Amiri... Clinton confirmed... during a news conference, that Amiri had been present in the U.S., saying he arrived 'of his own free will and he is free to go. These are decisions that are his alone to make.' When he did land in his native country on July 15, 2010, he was given a hero's welcome, and Iranian officials cast him as a double agent, claiming he had infiltrated U.S. intelligence and that Iran had the upper hand in an intelligence war. But soon after returning home, Amiri was taken into custody, presumably imprisoned because of his dalliance with the U.S." (Politico)

08-06-2016
Extremism

Iran has officially become the first nation to ban Pokemon Go and has begun arresting Pokemon Go users on the streets and deleting the game from confiscated smartphones.

"The Iranian regime apparently has little tolerance for virtual monsters. On Friday, Iran officially became the first nation to ban Pokemon Go, the dizzyingly popular mobile phone app game that has taken the world by storm in recent months... Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, general secretary of the regime's Internet Supervisory and Monitoring of Iran Committee, said in an interview... that Pokemon Go was banned... Khoramabadi said national security concerns accounted for the ban, adding, 'It might also endanger the security and safety of citizens'... Pokemon Go is gaining increasing popularity in Iran despite Internet restrictions that force Iranians to find alternative access to online sites based outside the country... Despite the obstacles, Iranian users say they have successfully found some of the games' virtual characters in buses in Tehran, parks, restaurants and in Hafeziyeh, the most famous tourist site in Shiraz. Users brag about their hunts by posting screen shots on Twitter, which is also a banned portal in Iran... Analysts in Tehran tell VOA that Iran's moral police unit, known as 'Gashte Ershad,' was a major force behind the ban. There are reports that moral police units have begun arresting Pokemon Go users on the streets and are deleting the game from confiscated smartphones. Some users are complaining about their plight on Twitter." (VOA)

08-05-2016
Nuclear Program

"Russian President Vladimir Putin plans on backing Iran's nuclear programme beyond the current agreement for Russia to deliver nuclear reactors to Tehran, state news agency RIA Novosti has reported."

"Russian President Vladimir Putin plans on backing Iran's nuclear programme beyond the current agreement for Russia to deliver nuclear reactors to Tehran, state news agency RIA Novosti has reported. The two countries struck a deal for Russia to deliver two nuclear reactors, which could be increased to a potential six, in 2014. Putin will meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Azerbaijan next week; ahead of the visit, he said Moscow is more than willing to extend the nuclear partnership... 'Firstly, this will affect the joint work in the nuclear sphere,' Putin said. 'Also, we will increase joint trade efforts. During the first five months of this year it grew by 70 percent, to $855 million.' Russia is in the process of delivering the S-300 missile system to Iran-a deal that was put on hold when the U.N. banned the international community from trading arms with Tehran in 2010. Putin, Rouhani and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev will discuss further regional cooperation, including Russia and Iran's military cooperation in support of the Syrian government, next week." (Newsweek)

08-05-2016
Human Rights

The United Nations' top official for human rights has criticized Iran for executing 20 people this week and expressed "serious doubts about the fairness of the trials, respect for due process and other rights of the accused."

"The United Nations' top official for human rights has criticized Iran for executing 20 people this week. A statement Friday by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said there were 'serious doubts about the fairness of the trials, respect for due process and other rights of the accused' before their executions. On Tuesday, Iran's judiciary announced the executions, identifying those put to death as Kurdish Islamic extremists who were convicted of armed robbery, killing civilians and planning bomb attacks. Zeid said reports suggested most, if not all, of those executed were Sunnis from Iran's Kurdish minority. Kurdish fighters increasingly have battled Iranian security forces in recent weeks in northwestern Iran, leading to fatalities on both sides." (AP)

08-04-2016
Human Rights

Human rights groups condemn the execution of at least 20 Kurdish activists in Iran who had been charged with links to terrorism. The rights activists say the government's accusations are baseless.

"Human rights groups on Thursday condemned the execution of at least 20 Kurdish activists in Iran who had been charged with links to terrorism... The Iranian government said that the men had ties to foreign Islamist groups, an apparent reference to Islamic State, and that they were plotting to carry out attacks inside Iran. But rights activists said the government's accusations were baseless. 'Some of them had been in prison even before Daesh [Islamic State] or other Sunni extremist groups appeared in the region,' said an attorney from Tehran who requested anonymity. Shahram Ahmadi, 29, a Kurdish activist from Sanandaj, was among those who were hanged. He was reportedly arrested for distributing leaflets that demanded rights for the Sunni minority in Iran... Rights activists in Iran say the government is using IS as an excuse to instill fear in the public... 'Kurds in Iran are persecuted twice - first because they are Kurds, and second because they are Sunnis,' said Azad Moradian, spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Kurdish American Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran... Tehran has accused foreign powers, Saudi Arabia in particular, of backing Kurdish rebels against Iranian forces. But Kurdish groups say this is merely a pretext for the government to justify its suppression of Kurds. 'These [executions] have something to do with Iran's regional policy,' said Moradian. 'Iran is afraid of a Saudi influence in Sunni Kurds. And so these executions could be a message for Saudi Arabia.'" (VOA)

08-04-2016
Human Rights

Iran says, "it hanged 20 "terrorist" Sunni prisoners, in one of the Islamic Republic's biggest mass executions in recent years."

"Iran said Thursday it had hanged 20 "terrorist" Sunni prisoners, in one of the Islamic Republic's biggest mass executions in recent years. The men, who were hanged on Tuesday, were accused of carrying out a string of attacks against civilians and religious leaders in Iran's western Kurdish region, state media reported.Those hanged on Tuesday did not deserve mercy, IRIB state television quoted Montazeri as saying." (AFP)

08-02-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian hackers have compromised more than a dozen accounts on the Telegram instant messaging service and identified the phone numbers of 15 million Iranian users, the largest known breach of the encrypted communications system."

"Iranian hackers have compromised more than a dozen accounts on the Telegram instant messaging service and identified the phone numbers of 15 million Iranian users, the largest known breach of the encrypted communications system, cyber researchers told Reuters. The attacks, which took place this year and have not been previously reported, jeopardized the communications of activists, journalists and other people in sensitive positions in Iran, where Telegram is used by some 20 million people... Telegram promotes itself as an ultra secure instant messaging system because all data is encrypted from start to finish, known in the industry as end-to-end encryption. A number of other messaging services, including Facebook Inc's (FB.O) WhatsApp, say they have similar capabilities... The researchers said the Telegram victims included political activists involved in reformist movements and opposition organizations... Cyber experts say Iranian hackers have become increasingly sophisticated, able to adapt to evolving social media habits... targets included members of the Saudi royal family, Israeli nuclear scientists, NATO officials and Iranian dissidents." (Reuters)

08-02-2016
Human Rights

Iran's regime executed a gay adolescent in July. This is the first confirmed execution of someone convicted as a juvenile in the Islamic Republic in 2016 and is in violation of international law.

"Iran's regime executed a gay adolescent in July - the first confirmed execution of someone convicted as a juvenile in the Islamic Republic in 2016 - Amnesty International reported this week. Hassan Afshar, 19, was hanged in Arak Prison in Iran's Markazi Province on July 18, after he was convicted of 'forced male-to-male anal intercourse' ('lavat-e be onf') in early 2015... Amnesty said the Iranian authorities received a complaint accusing Afshar and two other adolescents of forcing a teenage boy to have sex. Afshar, who was arrested in December, 2014, said that the same-sex relations were consensual and the accuser had freely engaged in prior homosexual relations. 'Iran has proved that its sickening enthusiasm for putting juveniles to death, in contravention of international law, knows no bounds,' said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International... Iran frequently executes gay men for same-sex relations and frames the men for rape charges to justify its Islamic law application of lethal homophobia." (Jerusalem Post)

08-01-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says, "Tehran will refuse to engage in any further talks with Washington due to what he described as U.S. violations of the deal."

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that average Iranians have not seen any benefit from the nuclear deal with world powers... saying: 'Weren't the supposed sanctions lifted to change the life of the people? Is any tangible effect seen in people's life after six months?' Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, said the U.S. has continued to thwart Iran's economic relations with other countries despite the landmark accord. He said Tehran will not accept any further talks with Washington due to what he described as U.S. violations of the deal, though he's previously ruled out further negotiations in other speeches." (AP)

07-27-2016
Human Rights

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British charity worker, "detained in Iran for more than 100 days is now so frail she's barely able to walk."

"A British mum detained in Iran for more than 100 days is now so frail she’s barely able to walk. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker with dual citizenship, has so far been kept in solitary confinement for six weeks of her 115-day detention. Because of the brutal conditions, Nazanin has lost a significant amount of weight and her hair is falling out. Her husband Richard Ratcliffe and the Thomson Reuters Foundation, where Nazanin works, have now delivered a letter to Boris Johnson imploring him to take her case seriously... Both Richard and Nazanin have also been separated from their two-year-old daughter Gabriella, who had her passport confiscated when her mum was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on April 3." (Metro UK)

07-27-2016
Syria Conflict

A top Iranian Commander visited the Israeli-Syrian border. This is the first time the Iranian regime has publicly acknowledged a visit by a senior regime official to the area, raising concern from Israeli officials.

“A top Iranian general recently visited the Israeli-Syrian border to tour a city on Israel’s doorstep, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday, marking the first time the government has publicized a visit by a senior regime official to the area. General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij paramilitary force, a massive volunteer organization under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that performs domestic security functions, traveled to the city of Quneitra in southwest Syria. He also inspected the demarcation line dividing the Golan Heights, a strategic rocky plateau by the border that Israel has controlled since the 1967 Six Day War… Naqdi’s stop comes after several cross-border incidents between the Syrian army, fighting for embattled President Bashar al-Assad, and the Israel Defense Forces. Two Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles shot two missiles by a residential building in Quneitra on Monday, resulting in no injuries, after a stray mortar fell inside the Golan Heights near Israel’s border… Israeli officials are concerned that Iran and Hezbollah will use the fighting in Syria as a way to set up a new front against Israel in the southern part of the country, and Naqdi’s visit could raise concerns that Tehran is trying again to set up military posts near Quneitra. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Naqdi in 2011 'for being responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Iran.' Naqdi oversaw on Sunday the destruction of 100,000 satellite dishes for causing 'increased divorce, addiction, and insecurity in society” and for damaging Iran’s Islamic “morality and culture.’" (Washington Free Beacon)

07-26-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities have executed at least 250 people between January 1 and July 20 of this year...an average of more than one execution each day."

"According to a report published by Iran Human Rights (IHR), Iranian authorities have executed at least 250 people between January 1 and July 20 of this year. This represents an average of more than one execution each day. Still, the execution numbers so far in 2016 are significantly lower than the numbers for the same period in 2015. Last year, Iranian authorities executed more than 700 people in the first seven months of the year. The execution numbers for the whole year were more than 969, the highest in more than 25 years. 'Despite the significant reduction in the number of executions compared to the last two years, Iran remains on top of the list of executioners after China. Moreover, there is no indication that the reduction in the number of executions so far is due to a change of policy by the Iranian authorities. The numbers are lower than last year most probably because of the parliamentary elections in February and March of this year and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in June,' says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for Iran Human Rights." (IHR)

07-26-2016
Nuclear Program

Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says, "Iran has drawn up plans to bring its nuclear activities to the previous stage if the West refrains from honoring its obligations under the nuclear deal."

"Iran has drawn up plans to bring its nuclear activities to the previous stage if the West refrains from honoring its obligations under the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi has said... 'Necessary preparations have been made of for a quick reversibility in case of the violation of the JCPOA by the other side,' Salehi said in an interview with the IRIB published on Saturday. Salehi’s deputy Behrouz Kamalvandi has also said that Iran is capable of restoring its nuclear activities to the pre-nuclear deal in a span of 45 days. 'In a month-and-half we can increase our centrifuges and (nuclear) material,' Kamalvandi told the Mehr news agency published on Saturday... Elsewhere, Salehi said that final steps to sell 40 tons of heavy water to Russia have been taken and the agreement will be signed soon. He added some big European corporations seek to buy heavy water from Iran and the issue is under negotiation." (Tehran Times)

07-26-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Shadmani renews Iran’s threats to block the Strait of Hormuz. He also blames the U.S. for supporting terrorist groups.

"Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Shadmani renewed Tehran's threat that the country would block the Strait of Hormuz if it is faced with enemies' direct military action. 'If the enemy makes a small mistake, we will shut the Strait of Hormuz, kill their sedition in the bud and endanger the arrogant powers' interests,' General Shadmani said, addressing a gathering in the Western city of Kermanshah on Tuesday. His remarks came after Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned the US in May to avoid crisis escalation, and said the Iranian Armed Forces will stop and block the passage of any vessel that they deem as a threat in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Salami pointed to the US presence in the region, and said, 'We warn the Americans not to repeat their past mistakes and they should learn from historical realities.' Elsewhere, General Shadmani blamed the US for supporting the terrorist groups in the region to guarantee the Zionist regime's survival, and said, 'The Islamic Revolution has endangered the life of the Quds Occupying Regime and today the resistance front has grown across the world.'" (Fars News)

07-26-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran intercepts an Emirati-owned ship due to exclusion of the Persian Gulf's full name from the ship's documents.

"A cargo ship owned by an Emirati company sailing across the Persian Gulf with the flag of Panama was intercepted at a southern Iranian port on Tuesday after maritime control detected exclusion of the Persian Gulf’s full name from the ship’s documents. Aboutaleb Gerailoo, an official at the Port and Maritime Organization of the southwestern province of Khuzestan, said the Persian Gulf’s name was missing from the documents of the ship, named Feodora. Iranian authorities stopped the ship after noticing that its documents contain a 'fake term' instead of Persian Gulf, he added, stressing that all foreign vessels sailing through Iran’s maritime routes have to use the historically and internationally-recognized name of the Persian Gulf. The ship was interrupted at the port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, and will not be offered any service by Iran until the fake name in its papers are corrected, the official said." (Tasnim)

07-25-2016
Terrorism

Kosovo charges an Iranian man with "financing terrorism and money laundering."

"Kosovan authorities said Monday they had charged an Iranian man with 'financing terrorism and money laundering' via an aid group he runs, alleging he received some 900,000 euros ($990,000) in undeclared cash between 2014 and 2015. Officials did not name the man but local media identified him as Hasan Azari Bejandi, who runs the Qur'an NGO and oversees the activities of four other religious organizations suspected of having links to Tehran. The groups operations have been suspended as a result of the investigation, authorities said. Kosovo newspaper Express reported the NGOs had been spreading anti-Western and anti-Semitic sentiment." (AFP)

07-25-2016
Human Rights

Iran detains up to 150 young people "after the morality police raided what has been described as a mixed gender party near Tehran."

"Up to 150 people have been detained in Iran after the morality police raided what has been described as a mixed-gender party near Tehran... Mohsen Khancherli, a senior police commander, confirmed to the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday that the arrests had been made, but did not say whether any of those detained were still in custody. 'A while ago, we received a tipoff about a mixed-gender party at a garden in the vicinity of Islamshahr, in the west of the Tehran province,' he said. '[Police forces managed] to arrest tens of boys and girls during a joint operation with one of the relevant departments.' Khancherli said police were closely monitoring gardens and public halls in the area, noting that their efforts had been stepped up during summer. 'In this garden, which was situated next to an unlicensed studio for recording underground music, nearly 150 boys and girls had gathered in a mixed-gender party under the pretext of a birthday celebration,' he said. 'But all participants were detained by the police and subsequently referred to the judicial authorities.'" (Guardian)

07-24-2016
Extremism

"Iran destroys 100,000 satellite dishes and receivers as part of a widespread crackdown against the illegal devices that authorities say are morally damaging."

"Iran destroyed 100,000 satellite dishes and receivers on Sunday as part of a widespread crackdown against the illegal devices that authorities say are morally damaging, a news website reported. The destruction ceremony took place in Tehran in the presence of General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, head of Iran's Basij militia, who warned of the impact that satellite television was having in the conservative country. 'The truth is that most satellite channels... deviate the society's morality and culture,' he said at the event according to Basij News. 'What these televisions really achieve is increased divorce, addiction and insecurity in society.' Naghdi added that a total of one million Iranians had already voluntarily handed over their satellite apparatuses to authorities. Under Iranian law, satellite equipment is banned and those who distribute, use, or repair them can be fined up to $2,800 (2,500 euros). Iranian police regularly raid neighbourhoods and confiscate dishes from rooftops." (AFP)

07-21-2016
Anti-Americanism

"A San Diego man has been detained by Iranian authorities...Robin Shahini, a U.S. citizen and May graduate of San Diego State, might have been detained because of his online comments criticizing Iran's human rights record."

"A San Diego man has been detained by Iranian authorities, according to friends and family members who have not heard from him in more than one week. The man, Gholamrez 'Reza' Shahini, who goes by 'Robin,' traveled to Iran to visit family this month. He had been staying at his mother’s house in his native Gorgan, a city about 250 miles northeast of Tehran and near the Caspian Sea, according to Mohammad Shahini, a second cousin. Robin Shahini, a U.S. citizen and a May graduate of San Diego State, might have been detained because of his online comments criticizing Iran's human rights record, said Denera Ragoonanan, a friend of Robin Shahini. 'Robin has been known for his advocacy of human rights on social media. This advocacy, unfortunately, has not sat well with the Iranian government,' Ragoonanan wrote on her Facebook page, accompanied by a photo of Shahini and other friends... Ragoonanan said Shahini was visited by Iranian intelligence July 11 and taken from his mother’s home." (LAT)

07-21-2016
Anti-Americanism

Commander of the IRGC says, "the IRGC naval forces are in such good level of military preparedness that they can send the US warships to the bottom of the Persian Gulf."

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the IRGC naval forces are in such good level of military preparedness that they can send the US warships to the bottom of the Persian Gulf. In a Thursday address to a gathering of IRGC Navy commanders in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, Major General Jafari said the IRGC naval forces have pretty good conditions... In separate comments yesterday, the top general unveiled plans for multiple war games in the current Iranian year (ends on March 20, 2017) to maintain the military preparedness of the IRGC forces and send enemies the message that the forces are ready to bury them in the Persian Gulf waters." (Tasnim News)

07-21-2016
Syria Conflict

IRGC commander claims, "Iran’s neighbors are actively trying to spread unrest inside Iran...particularly the House of Saud have become 'clear enemies and today spend a lot of money to spread instability to Iran."

"During a speech to Iran’s naval commanders July 21, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari spoke about the threats to Iran in the Persian Gulf region and the importance of maintaining security. Jafari said that some of Iran’s neighbors are actively trying to spread unrest inside Iran, adding that some regional countries and particularly the House of Saud have become 'clear enemies and today spend a lot of money to spread instability to Iran.' Jafari did not say exactly what Saudi Arabia is doing. Mohsen Rezaei, a former IRGC commander during the Iran-Iraq War and the current secretary of Iran's Expediency Council, recently accused Saudi Arabia of establishing a training camp in Iraqi Kurdistan near Iran’s borders." (Al-Monitor)

07-20-2016
Terrorism

An Argentina judge requests the arrest of an adviser to "Iran's supreme leader who is accused of masterminding the South American country's worst terrorist attack," the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

"An Argentine judge is requesting that Singapore and Malaysia arrest an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader who is accused of masterminding the South American country’s worst terrorist attack. Ali Akbar Velayati was foreign minister of Iran at the time of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and is now an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Velayati is visiting Southeast Asia to attend a regional summit. Argentine Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his request seeks to reinforce existing arrest orders. Former Iranian officials have been on an Interpol capture list for years, but Argentine prosecutors have never been able to question them." (Associated Press)

07-20-2016
Nuclear Program

Iranian parliament speaker threatens to re-open enrichment facilities in reaction to the recent UN report on the implementation of the JCPOA.

"The Iranian parliament speaker asked the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Wednesday to prepare a plan for the re-opening of shuttered uranium enrichment facilities, reacting to the recent UN report on the implementation of the JCPOA. 'It is necessary for the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran) to act in compliance with the law passed on the reopening of the nuclear plant to enrich uranium proportionate to the country’s needs and prepare a plan and keeps the Majlis (parliament) posted on it,' Ali Larijani said... The remarks by Larijani come after the UN Security Council briefing on the first report of the secretary general on the implementation of resolution 2231 adopted immediately after the conclusion of the nuclear deal between Iran and great powers in July 2015. Iran has strongly objected to the report, calling it 'biased' and 'unrealistic.' While ambiguous, Larijani should be referring to the Natanz and Fordow facilities by the 'nuclear plant.' Clarifying Larijani’s words, AEOI Director Ali Akbar Salehi said Larijani had meant reversing the stalled uranium enrichment program." (Tehran Times)

07-20-2016
Terrorism

The US Treasury Department sanctions three al Qaeda members "using Iran as a base to raise funds, acquire weapons and move fighters across the Middle East and South Asia."

"The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned three alleged al Qaeda members the U.S. said are using Iran as a base to raise funds, acquire weapons and move fighters across the Middle East and South Asia. The Treasury’s designations are the latest in a string announced in recent years outlining Iran’s alleged complicity in al Qaeda’s operations. The activities are a challenge to the Obama administration’s hope to cooperate with Tehran in combating international terrorist organizations, like al Qaeda and Islamic State, in the wake of last year’s landmark nuclear agreement... The Treasury said in its designation that an al Qaeda operative named Yisra Muhammad Ibrahim Bayumi has used Iran as a base to raise funds for extremists fighting in Syria. Mr. Bayumi was also charged with liaising with Iranian authorities to free militants detained in the Shiite-dominate country. 'Bayumi is a veteran al Qaeda member who has been located in Iran since 2014 and a member of al Qaeda since at least 2006,' the Treasury said in its designation. The Treasury blacklisted two other Iran-based men who the U.S. believes are important logistical planners for the terrorist organization. Faisal Jassim Mohammed Al-Amri Al-Khalidi was accused of coordinating operations of al Qaeda-linked groups in Pakistan. Abu Bakr Muhammad Muhammad Ghumayn was accused of overseeing the funding and operations of al Qaeda members inside Iran. 'As of 2015, Ghumayn assumed control of the financing and organization of al Qaeda members located in Iran,' the Treasury said in its statement." (Wall Street Journal)

07-19-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's foreign minister says "a document submitted by Iran to the IAEA and outlining plans to expand Iran's enrichment program, is a 'matter of pride.'"

"Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday extolled the country's ability to bring its nuclear program back on track as limits on the landmark 15-year accord between Tehran and world powers ease in the coming years. Mohammad Javad Zarif said a document, submitted by Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency and outlining plans to expand Iran's uranium enrichment program, is a 'matter of pride.' He said it was created by Iran's 'negotiators and industry experts' and that even foreign media have noted Iran is likely to strive for restoring its full enrichment after 10 years. Zarif's remarks, carried by the semi-official Fars news agency, followed revelations the day before of the confidential document — an add-on agreement to the nuclear deal with world powers — that Iran gave the IAEA. The document, obtained by The Associated Press in Vienna, outlines Tehran's plans to expand its uranium enrichment program after the first 10 years of the nuclear deal. It's the only text linked to last year's deal between Iran and six world powers — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany — that has not been made public, although U.S. officials say members of Congress who expressed interest were briefed on its substance. Zarif said the addendum to the nuclear deal will soon be made public, but he did not elaborate. 'God willing, when the complete text of the document is published, it will be clear where we will stand in 15 years,' he said." (AP) http://t.uani.com/29VJdLN

07-19-2016
Human Rights

"In the past nine months, the Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least six dual-national Iranians… the highest number of Iranians with dual-nationality detained at one time in recent years to have been acknowledged.”

"In the past nine months, the Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least six dual-national Iranians, their friends and family members say, the highest number of Iranians with dual-nationality detained at one time in recent years to have been acknowledged. The government has confirmed most of the detentions, without giving details of any charges. Analysts say the circumstances are often similar: arrest on arrival or departure from Tehran’s airport, the announcement of a period of interrogation followed by a hardline website publishing a list of alleged crimes, usually plotting to overthrow the government, before they set foot in court... According to former prisoners, families of current ones and diplomats, in some cases the detainees are kept to be used for a prisoner exchange with Western countries... In late June, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lead interrogator presented an unusual proposal: her husband should pressure the UK government 'to reach an agreement' and in exchange her case would be closed before going to court. The interrogator did not give any further details on what the agreement would entail, Ratcliffe told Reuters. He said he relayed the proposal to the UK Foreign Office and was told they had no information about any agreement. The interrogator also told her mother during a visit to Evin prison last Wednesday that the agreement he was referring to was an 'exchange,' Ratcliffe added."(Reuters)

07-18-2016
Human Rights

Iran Human Rights says, "at least 30 people were hanged in Iran in the past week."

"At least 30 people were hanged in Iran in the past week, according to official and unofficial sources. Most of the executions were reportedly carried out on Sunday July 17. Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and state media, have been silent about most of these executions." (IHR)

07-18-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran’s ballistic missile launches are inconsistent with the spirit of the nuclear deal and Iran should refrain from conducting such launches," the UN Secretary General states in a newly released report.

 

"Iran’s ballistic missile launches are inconsistent with the spirit of a nuclear deal, the United Nation’s secretary-general said in a report publicly released Monday, though he refrained from calling the launches an outright violation. 'I call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to refrain from conducting such launches, given that they have the potential to increase tensions in the region,' Ban Ki-moon wrote in a report the U.N. Security Council. 'Whereas it is for the Security Council to interpret its own resolutions, I am concerned that those launches are not consistent with the constructive spirit demonstrated by the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.' The document is Ban’s first biannual report to the Security Council on the landmark nuclear deal since 'Implementation Day' six months ago and comes just after the one-year anniversary of the deal being reached. Though Ban said he is encouraged by Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments, the country continues to engage in other improper activity, such as the ballistic missile launches and shipping arms to Yemen." (The Hill)

07-18-2016
Politics

"Hardliners are gaining authority in a backlash against President Hassan Rouhani...and Rouhani himself now has 'serious doubts about running for a second term.'"

"A year after Iran's nuclear deal with the West, hardliners are gaining authority in a backlash against pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani that his allies say could leave him sidelined or push him out of power in an election next year... now that the negotiations are over, Rouhani's supporters say that Khamenei and his followers are trying to restrict the president's authority or replace him. In the face of such pressure, Rouhani himself may decide not to stand again. Already, hardliners are blaming the president's faction for the failure of the deal to deliver a swift improvement in living standards, at a time when prices for oil exports are low and promised foreign investment has yet to arrive. 'The political infighting has intensified in Iran. The legitimacy of the establishment is at stake,' said a senior official, who asked not to be identified. 'It will deepen further until the presidential election next year,' the official said, adding that Rouhani himself now had 'serious doubts about running for a second term'... The parlous state of Iran's economy pushed Iran's top leaders to accept Rouhani as the best option to resolve their nuclear dispute with the West. But Rouhani's allies believe that those close to Khamenei no longer see Rouhani as useful." (Reuters)

07-17-2016
Politics

"President Hassan Rouhani is confronting a major scandal involving inflated salaries for the managers and executives of state-run companies."

 

"Less than a year before new elections, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is confronting a major scandal involving inflated salaries for the managers and executives of state-run companies. In recent weeks, the Iranian news media have been publishing payment slips showing many top managers of state-run companies earning what for Iran are astronomical bonuses and salaries, often hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. Mr. Rouhani was elected in 2013 promising to end corruption in government and revive the economy by completing a nuclear deal and ending sanctions. With sanctions still largely in place, however, the economy remains moribund. Now, having cleaned house after supplanting the corruption-riddled administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and putting his own people at the top rungs of state-run enterprises, Mr. Rouhani finds himself increasingly vulnerable as the disclosures of inflated salaries multiply. 'Mr. Rouhani’s friends are his enemies,' said Mohammad Reza Sabzalipour, the head of the Tehran office of the World Trade Center organization. 'They are cronies.' ... 'What is emerging is a mechanism similar to that in the former Soviet Union,' said Saeed Laylaz, an economist close to the government. 'The elites are rewarded with money and privileges in return for their loyalties.'" (NYT)

07-13-2016
Nuclear Program

Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says "the country's experts are now testing newly-designed centrifuges... the speed at which Iran can bring its frozen operations back into action would surprise the opposite party."

 

"Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi announced that the country's experts are now testing newly-designed centrifuges. 'At present, works on IR2 and IR2M centrifuges has almost ended but they need to go through a number of more tests,' Kamalvandi said on Wednesday. He underlined Iran's capability to resume the frozen part of its nuclear activities if the powers defy their undertakings under the nuclear deal, and warned that if such a thing happens, the speed at which Iran can bring its frozen operations back into action would suprise the opposite party. 'They have seen how smart our scientists are and we are not therefore concerned about returning to the past conditions and capacities and we are able to develop even more than the past,' Kamalvandi said... Iran in January unveiled the latest generation of its centrifuges that are 15 times more powerful than its currently operating IR1. While the first generation of its centrifuges had the enrichment capacity of 1 to 1.5 SUWs, the IR8 enjoys the capacity of 15 to 20 SUWs." (FarsNews)

07-13-2016
Nuclear Program

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warns that "Tehran could quickly restore its nuclear capacity if the terms of the accord are breached."

 

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of his country’s landmark nuclear deal with the U.S. and other world powers with a warning that Tehran could quickly restore its nuclear capacity if the terms of accord are breached... On Wednesday, Mr. Rouhani, a strong proponent of the accord, said Iran would continue to adhere to the terms of the deal but expressed wariness over whether the other signatories would do so. 'We always keep our word,' the Iranian leader said on state television. 'But if they want to breach their commitment, our nuclear capabilities are such that we can reach the level we want in a short period of time.'" (WSJ)

07-12-2016
Terrorism

Bahrain arrests two men suspected of planting a bomb that killed a Bahraini woman in June and says "the men received training in weapons and explosives from Iran's Revolutionary Guards."

 

"Bahrain has arrested two men suspected of planting a bomb that killed a Bahraini woman in late June and of having received training and support from Iran, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. A ministry statement identified a third suspect in the blast but said he had fled to Iran, the Middle East's Shi'ite Muslim power across the Gulf from Sunni Muslim-ruled Bahrain. The bomb blast occurred on a road as the woman passed in her car in the village of East Eker, south of the capital Manama, on June 30, the statement said. Shrapnel hit the car, killing her and injuring her three children. The statement accused the three men of receiving training in weapons and explosives from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. One man traveled to Iran for his training, it said." (Reuters)

07-12-2016
Nuclear Program

In violation of a UN Security Council Resolution, Iran attempts to launch “a version of the North Korean BM-25 Musudan ballistic missile.”

 

"Two days before the anniversary of the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, the Islamic Republic attempted to launch a new type of ballistic missile using North Korean technology, multiple intelligence officials tell Fox News. The test, in violation of a UN resolution, failed shortly after liftoff when the missile exploded, sources said. The effort occurred on the evening of July 11-12 near the Iranian city of Saman, an hour west of Isfahan, where Iran has conducted similar ballistic missile tests in the past. It would be at least the fourth time Iran has launched or attempted to launch a ballistic missile since the nuclear accord was signed on July 14, 2015... The most recent test was the first time Iran attempted to launch a version of the North Korean BM-25 Musudan ballistic missile, which has a maximum range of nearly 2,500 miles, putting U.S. forces in the Middle East and Israel within reach. The extent of North Korea’s involvement in the failed launch is not immediately clear, apart from North Korea sharing their technology, according to officials." (Fox News)

07-12-2016
Terrorism

New evidence of the Al Qaeda-Iran connection reveals that "Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran were working on chemical and biological weapons."

 

"Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran worked on chemical and biological weapons, according to a letter written to Osama bin Laden that is described in a new book by a top former U.S. intelligence official. The letter was captured by a U.S. military sensitive site exploitation team during the raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad headquarters in May 2011. It is described in Field of Fight, out Tuesday from Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Michael Ledeen of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 'One letter to bin Laden reveals that al Qaeda was working on chemical and biological weapons in Iran,' Flynn writes. Flynn's claim, if true, significantly advances what we know about al Qaeda's activity in Iran. The book was cleared by the intelligence community's classification review process. And U.S. intelligence sources familiar with the bin Laden documents tell us the disclosure on al Qaeda's WMD work is accurate... 'There's a lot of information on Iran in the files and computer discs captured at the Pakistan hideout of Osama bin Laden,' Flynn writes in the introduction." (Weekly Standard)

07-11-2016
Anti-Americanism

Head of U.S. Central Command says, "boats from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came 'unacceptably close' to harassing an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz."

 

"Boats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps maneuvered dangerously close to a U.S. military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, part of a pattern that the top American general in the region—who was on the ship at the time—said risked grave miscalculation. 'What concerns me is our people don’t always have a lot of time to deal with those interactions,' said Gen. Joe Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, as he stood on the bridge of the amphibious ship later in the day. 'It’s measured in minutes to really have the opportunity to make the right decision.' The five Iranian boats included four small patrol craft and a larger boat called a Houdong fast-attack craft. At least one of the patrol boats was equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun and what is known as a multiple rail rocket launcher. They came within several hundred yards of the American ship. The series of encounters on Monday took place as the New Orleans sailed in international waters through the strait. Gen. Votel, on a swing through the Middle East this week, voiced concern about how quickly such an encounter could turn lethal for the ship, which was carrying about 700 Marines. In the case of Monday’s incident, U.S. officials didn’t consider the Iranian ships to be technically harassing the American warship, but said they came unacceptably close to doing so." (Wall Street Journal) 

07-11-2016
Human Rights

Iran's judiciary indicts three detained Iranian dual-nationals and a Lebanese citizen, and are being kept behind bars on various charges.

 

"Iran's judiciary has indicted three detained Iranian dual-nationals and a Lebanese citizen also held in the Islamic Republic, the judiciary's official news website Mizan said on Monday. Several Iranian dual nationals from the United Sates, Britain, Canada and France have been detained in the past few months and are being kept behind bars on various charges, including espionage or collaborating with a hostile government. 'After the issuance of indictments, the cases against (British-Iranian) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, (American-Iranian) Siamak Namazi, (Canadian-Iranian) Homa Hoodfar and (U.S.-Lebanese) Nizar Zekka ... have been referred to court for processing,' the website quoted Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi as saying. He did not provide details about the charges brought against the four. Dolatabadi also did not say whether the court was a Revolutionary Court, which handles security-related cases. A judiciary source told Reuters their cases had been referred to the court 'within the past two weeks'. 'But it does not mean that they will stand trial soon. Iran's judiciary is reviewing their cases very carefully,' said the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter." (Reuters)

07-11-2016
Terrorism

Israel outlaws a Palestinian group for "acting as a front for Iran-directed militant activities targeting Israelis and the regime of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas."

 

"Israel announced Monday it had outlawed a Palestinian group it says acted as a front for Iran-directed militant activities targeting Israelis and the regime of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman signed the order outlawing Al-Hirak Al-Shababi ('the youth movement') at the recommendation of the Shin Bet internal security agency, a ministry statement read. The decision followed 'significant information indicating that the group is directed by Hezbollah and Iran to carry out attacks against Israelis, and ignite a wave of violence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem at Israel and the Palestinian Authority,' it read. While the group claimed to be a collective of youths seeking to change the situation in the West Bank through civil activity, it was in fact 'a terror group headed by two opponents of the Palestinian Authority', the statement read. The defence ministry named them as Munir Asli, living in Lebanon, and Hilmi Balbisi, living in Jordan. It said they are 'directed and funded by Hezbollah and Iran', which have both transferred 'hundreds of thousands of shekels' over the past two years to fund the group's activities." (AFP)

07-09-2016
Nuclear Program

German intelligence reports reveal the vast scale of the Islamic Republic's activities to advance its chemical and biological weapons capabilities.

 

"Iran's proliferation activities span eight German states and involve a range of activities to advance its chemical and biological warfare capabilities, as well as its nuclear and missile programs. The vast scale of the Islamic Republic’s network to obtain nuclear and missile technology goes beyond what was disclosed in recent German intelligence reports released on Thursday. The Jerusalem Post has examined intelligence data and reports from the 16 German states, which included new information on Iranian chemical and biological weapons programs. Half of Germany’s state governments reported in their 2015 intelligence documents attempts by Tehran to secure nuclear-related goods." (JPost)

07-09-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's top nuclear official accuses German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's criticism of Iran's commitment to the nuclear deal as being part of a conspiracy against the Islamic Republic.

 

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s criticism of Iran’s commitment to the nuclear deal may be part of a conspiracy against the Islamic Republic, according to the country’s top nuclear official. Iran must be vigilant following the comments from both Ban and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview to state TV according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. The world leaders this week criticized the country for failing to cooperate on issues including restrictions on its ballistic missile program. 'A conspiracy is underway, otherwise there is no reason for Mr. Ban and Ms. Merkel to make such an outcry,' Salehi said. 'I sense that they are in the process of laying groundwork and concocting.'" (Bloomberg)

07-09-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman rejects comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and says, "Iran will continue 'with full force' its missile program based on defensive plans and national security calculations."

 

"Iran will press on with its missile program 'with full force', a foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying on Saturday, adding that critical comments by Germany's leader were unhelpful. Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in Berlin on Thursday that missile launches by Iran earlier this year were inconsistent with a U.N. resolution urging it to refrain for up to eight years from missile work designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Merkel's remarks were 'not constructive' and would have no bearing on the program, according to state news agency IRNA. Reiterating Tehran's assertion that the missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons, he added: 'Iran will continue with full force its missile program based on its defensive plans and national security calculations.' On Friday, Iran rejected as 'unrealistic' a report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticizing its missile launches as inconsistent with its deal with world powers to curb sensitive nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. Reuters reported on Thursday that a confidential report by Ban had found the tests to be inconsistent 'with the constructive spirit' of the July 2015 agreement... Germany's domestic intelligence agency said in its annual report that Iranian efforts to illegally procure technology, especially in the nuclear area, had continued at a 'high level' in 2015. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, criticized the comments by Ban and Merkel and denied Iran had been trying to purchase nuclear technology on the black market. 'I feel they are cooking up a plot against us. We should be vigilant,' he was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency." (Reuters)

07-08-2016
Nuclear Program

German intelligence reports say, "Iran continued trying to illegally procure nuclear equipment from Germany after forging last year's nuclear agreement with world powers."

 

"Iran continued trying to illegally procure nuclear equipment from Germany after forging last year’s landmark nuclear agreement with world powers, German intelligence officials said, even as the Foreign Ministry in Berlin and the White House played down the reports. German authorities detected repeated efforts by Iran-tied companies and organizations to obtain such equipment in the months after July 2015, when Tehran and six world powers reached the deal in Vienna, officials said... Such efforts continued this year, but at a significantly lower level, the German officials said, elaborating on two recent German intelligence reports covering 2015. However, U.S. and German officials on Friday rejected the suggestion that Iran might have breached the agreement since it went into effect on Jan. 16... On Monday, the annual report from the domestic intelligence agency in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous, said it detected 141 procurement efforts in 2015 that were likely related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. About two-thirds of them were 'attributed to Iranian programs' and more than 90% were blocked before any export took place, the agency said. In its annual report released June 28, the federal domestic intelligence agency said 'Illegal Iranian procurement efforts in Germany remained at a quantitatively high level in 2015,' especially 'for goods that can be used in the area of nuclear technology.'" (Wall Street Journal)

07-07-2016
Nuclear Program

U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon says, "Iran's ballistic missile launches 'are not consistent with the constructive spirit' of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers."

 

"Iran's ballistic missile launches 'are not consistent with the constructive spirit' of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, but it is up to the United Nations Security Council to decide if they violated a resolution, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said in a confidential report seen by Reuters on Thursday. Ban's reluctance to state whether the March missile launches flouted the Council resolution, which was adopted a year ago as part of the deal to curb Iran's nuclear work, further weakens the case for new sanctions that hinged on the interpretation of ambiguous language in the resolution... Under the U.N. resolution, Iran is 'called upon' to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years. Critics of the deal have said the language does not make it obligatory. 'I call upon Iran to refrain from conducting such ballistic missile launches since they have the potential to increase tensions in the region,' Ban wrote in his first bi-annual report to the 15-member Security Council on the implementation of remaining sanctions and restrictions. 'While it is for the Security Council to interpret its own resolutions, I am concerned that those ballistic missile launches are not consistent with the constructive spirit demonstrated by the signing of the (Iran nuclear deal),' he said. The council is due to discuss Ban's report on July 18. The United States, Britain, France, and Germany wrote to Ban in March about the missile tests, which they said were 'inconsistent with' and 'in defiance of' the council resolution. The letter said the missiles used in the launches were 'inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons' and also asked that the Security Council discuss 'appropriate responses' to Tehran's failure to comply with its obligations." (Reuters

07-07-2016
Extremism

German authorities arrest a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations.

 

"German authorities have arrested a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the 31-year-old, identified only as Syed Mustufa H. in keeping with German privacy rules, was arrested on Tuesday in the northern city of Bremen. They said in a statement that he was 'in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran,' without elaborating. He is alleged to have spied on the former head of the German-Israeli Society and people close to him, among others, and handed over information to Iran in October. The ex-head of the German-Israeli group, former lawmaker Reinhold Robbe, told the Bild newspaper that he wasn't surprised by the alleged espionage and he 'will not be intimidated.'" (AP)

07-07-2016
Nuclear Program

German Chancellor Angela Merkel states in the Bundestag that Iran has "continued unabated to develop its rocket program in conflict with the relevant provisions of the UN Security Council.'"

 

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated on Thursday that Iran has run afoul of UN Security Council regulations to stop its illicit military rocket program. Her comments follow a startling report from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, which stated in its late June report that Iran has continued to seek illegal nuclear technology. Chancellor Angel Merkel said in the Bundestag Iran 'continued unabated to develop its rocket program in conflict with the relevant provisions of the UN Security Council.' Merkel said that NATO's anti-missile system targets Iran's rocket program and was 'developed purely for defense.' ... Germany's intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said in the report, that Iran's ' illegal proliferation-sensitive procurement activities in Germany registered by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution persisted in 2015 at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level. This holds true in particular with regard to items which can be used in the field of nuclear technology.' The report noted 'a further increase in the already considerable procurement efforts in connection with Iran's ambitious missile technology program which could, among other things, potentially serve to deliver nuclear weapons. Against this backdrop it is safe to expect that Iran will continue it sensitive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives.'" (JPost

07-06-2016
Extremism

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei "says recent bombings in Muslim countries are the fruit of terrorism which US, UK and Israeli intel agencies have nurtured in order to consign Palestine into oblivion."

 

"Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says recent bombings in Muslim countries are the fruit of terrorism which US, UK and Israeli intel agencies have nurtured in order to consign Palestine into oblivion. 'In Baghdad, several hundred families saw the loss of their loved ones at the hands of criminals and terrorists and those who want to promote a fabricated and fake Islam among people at the order of their masters... 'This is the result of terrorism nurtured by security services of America, the Zionist regime and England,' the Leader said during Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran Wednesday... Ayatollah Khamenei said Muslim countries are the target of a scheme to turn certain political differences into civil wars. 'The enemies are trying to consign the Palestinian issue into oblivion. They want to have the Islamic world preoccupied with internal problems so that the Palestinian issue is forgotten and the Zionist regime is given a chance to pursue its wicked goals.' ... The main aim of the global arrogance, foremost the US, in wreaking tragedies in the region is to relegate the Palestinian issue to neglect, Ayatollah Khamenei repeated. The Leader called Palestine as the 'core issue of the world of Islam,' saying no Muslim or non-Muslim country with a conscience should ever forget the Palestinian issue. 'The Zionist regime will definitely get slapped for the pressures which it metes out to the besieged and oppressed Palestinian nation,' Ayatollah Khamenei added." (Press TV

07-03-2016
Extremism

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says, "Those who believe in looking to the West for the progress of the country have lost their minds because wisdom tells us to learn from experience."

 

"Iran will never coordinate with the United States in Syria and other regional conflicts, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks published on his website Sunday. 'We don't want such a coordination as their main objective is to stop Iran's presence in the region,' Khamenei said in a transcript from a speech to university students... Khamenei repeated demands for the US to stop interfering in the region and said Washington was still acting aggressively despite last year's nuclear accord with world powers to end Iran's isolation. 'Americans are still engaged in hostility against the nation of Iran, be it the Congress or the US administration,' he said... 'Those who believe in looking to the West for the progress of the country have lost their minds because wisdom tells us to learn from experience,' Khamenei said." (AFP

07-01-2016
Extremism

On Quds Day, Deputy IRGC Hossein Salami Commander declares, "Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are provided more than ever... Today, more than 100,000 missiles are ready to fly from Lebanon."

 

"A senior Iranian commander called on the Tel Aviv regime to learn from its past mistakes, saying that hundreds of missiles are ready across the Islamic regions to hit Israel in case of any wrong move by Zionists. 'Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime (of Israel) are provided more than ever,' Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said, addressing the weekly Friday Prayers in Tehran held after massive rallies marking the International Quds Day. 'Today, more than 100,000 missiles are ready to fly from Lebanon,' he said, adding that whenever the Zionists attempt to repeat their past mistakes based on their wrong estimates, the missiles will be fired and hit Israel and will lead to new developments. The commander went on to say that in addition to missiles, there are 'tens of thousands of destructive long-range missiles' in some other Islamic regions, which are targeting the entire Israeli-occupied territories, ranging from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and are ready for order to remove Israel from the political geography of the world. '...If the Zionists make a wrong move, all the occupied territories will come under attack from dedicated fighters and God willing, the territories will be liberated,' Brigadier General Salami noted." (Tasnim

07-01-2016
Extremism

Marking anti-Israel Quds Day, Foreign Minister Zarif states, "The Zionist regime and Takfiri groups are, in fact, a single danger, both of which are guided by same powers in the world and the region."

 

"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif highlighted the Zionist regime of Israel's heinous crimes against the Palestinian people and said the regime and Takfiri (extremist) groups are considered as a common threat to the world. 'The Zionist regime and Takfiri groups are, in fact, a single danger, both of which are guided by same powers in the world and the region,' Zarif told reporters at a massive rally in Tehran on Friday morning, held to mark the International Quds Days. 'The Takfiri currents and their supporters have forgotten the reality of Israel's enmity against the Islamic world and have targeted Muslims, instead of the regime' the Iranian top diplomat said." (Tasnim)

07-01-2016
Extremism

Tens of thousands of Iranians participated in annual Quds Day anti-Israel rallies, chanting "Death to Israel" and Death to America." President Rouhani says, "The Zionist regime is a regional base for America and the global arrogance."

 

"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani accused Western powers of trying to exploit differences between the world's Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims to divert attention from the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state television reported on Friday. Rouhani's comments came as tens of thousands of Iranians joined anti-Israel rallies across the country to express support for the Palestinians. They chanted 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America' and burned the Israeli flag. 'The global arrogance (the United States and its allies) wants to create discord among Muslims ... Unity is the only way to restore stability in the region,' Rouhani said. 'We stand with the dispossessed Palestinian nation.' ... 'The Zionist regime (Israel) is a regional base for America and the global arrogance ... Disunity and discord among Muslim and terrorist groups in the region ... have diverted us from the important issue of Palestine,' Rouhani said." (Reuters

06-30-2016
Anti-Americanism

The U.S. Navy says "that an investigation into Iran's detention of 10 sailors and the seizure of their two riverine boats in the Arabian Gulf earlier this year showed that Iran broke international law."

 

"The Navy's top officer said Thursday that an investigation into Iran's detention of 10 sailors and the seizure of their two riverine boats in the Arabian Gulf earlier this year showed that Iran broke international law. 'These two boats and their crew members had every right to be where they were on that day,' said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson during a press briefing. 'The investigation concluded that Iran violated international law by impeding the boat's innocent passage transit and they violated sovereign immunity by boarding, searching and seizing the boats and by photographing and videotaping the crew,' he said. The investigation's conclusion now raises the question of whether and how the Obama administration will seek redress from Iran... Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the report confirmed Iran's 'flagrant violations of international,' and criticized the administration for thanking Iran for releasing the sailors. 'The Navy investigation confirms what has been obvious from the beginning: that Iran's obstruction, boarding, and seizure of sovereign U.S. Navy vessels at gunpoint and the detention, interrogation, and recording of 10 American sailors were flagrant violations of international law,' he said in a statement. 'Yet five months later, the Administration has shamefully failed to retract its craven statements of gratitude and praise for Iran's illegal behavior. This Administration's groveling to Iran has placed all American service members at greater risk,' he added." (The Hill)

06-30-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says [Iran] will discard...nuclear deal...if Western countries attempt to re-apply economic pressure on Iran under new pretexts."

 

"Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani says the Islamic Republic will discard a nuclear deal it has struck with six world powers if Western countries attempt to re-apply economic pressure on Iran under new pretexts. Speaking on Thursday, Larijani said Iran can see no change in the behavior of the countries with which it has struck the nuclear deal, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 'We keep zooming in on their behavior and we see no kind of compromise or conciliatory behavior,' he said, emphasizing, however, that the sides to the JCPOA have no intention of doing away with the nuclear agreement... Larijani said that the Western countries have 'concerns' on other issues and seek to re-impose the sanctions against Iran under such allegations as Iranian involvement in terrorism and the status of human rights in the country. 'We have already told the Westerners,' the Iranian Parliament speaker said, 'that if they engage in looking for pretexts so they can re-impose the sanctions under new excuses, we will discard the nuclear deal.' Larijani said one of the Western objectives in trying to apply pressure to Iran with new bans is to 'reduce Iranian influence in the region.'" (Press TV

06-30-2016
Anti-Americanism

A Navy investigation finds "Iran used 'intimidation tactics' when interrogating the 10 American sailors arrested in the Persian Gulf in January." Iran "also collected passwords to the sailors' personal phones and laptops during their overnight detention."

 

"Iran used 'intimidation tactics' when interrogating the 10 American sailors arrested in the Persian Gulf in January, according to a Navy investigation into the incident. Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp Navy interrogated the U.S. crewmembers individually to obtain information about U.S. forces, according to the declassified investigation findings released Thursday. Iran's detention of the American personnel overnight on Jan. 12 violated international law and sovereign immunity, investigators concluded. Details surrounding the incident, which has fueled efforts by Iran to embarrass the United States, have been sparse since U.S. Central Command released a preliminary timeline of the event days after the arrests. The newly released findings cast light on the events leading up to the sailors' detention, as well as their treatment and interrogation while in Iranian custody. 'Interrogators employed intimidation tactics such as slapping the table, spinning the captive's chair, or threatening to move them to the Iranian mainland; no crewmember was harmed,' the findings state. Iranian personnel demanded to know what the U.S. boats were doing wading into Iranian territorial waters, where they came from, and 'where their mothership was.' The Iranians interrogated the crewmembers as a group and later individually interrogated seven of the 10 Americans in a separate room. The sole female crewmember's interrogation was also recorded. The Iranians asked questions about U.S. forces and also collected passwords to the sailors' personal phones and laptops during their overnight detention." (Free Beacon)

06-30-2016
Extremism

Iran's Revolutionary Guards declares that 25 years from now "no Israel would be present on the map," pledging to liberate Jerusalem from Zionists on the eve of anti-Israel Quds Day.

 

"Iran's Revolutionary Guards envisage a Jerusalem in 25 years from now when 'no Israel would be present on the map,' the military organization said in a statement, according to the Iranian news agency. The latest threat by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, came in a statement carried by MEHR news agency, claiming the organization had devoted '37 years of unremitting support for Palestine' during Ramadan. 'Liberation of the beloved Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinians from under the occupation of Zionists by the courage provided by the Islamic Revolution and a globalized approach to systematically fighting dominance and Zionism on International Quds Day, have bestowed upon Resistance Front strength and unflagging spirit which had made of Resistance an iron fist against any compromise with illegitimate regime of criminal Zionists,' the statement said." (Haaretz)

06-30-2016
Terrorism

Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has reportedly "uninterruptedly received financial and military aid from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), exceeding 45 million dollars annually."

 

"Palestinian sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that three Hamas leaders have been spending relentless efforts to restore the organization's relationship with Iran. Hamas had undergone disputes with Iran concerning standpoints taken on the Syria war. The Palestinian organization, unlike Iran, had widely supported the Syrian revolution against dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sources revealed that Palestinian leader of Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Marwan Issa along with other military leaders like, Yehya al-Sinwar, Mahmoud al-Zahar, have maintained contact with Iran over the past period. The three commanders had uninterruptedly received financial and military aid from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), exceeding 45 million dollars annually- noting that prior to dispute rising, Hamas' military division received far more significant financial and military aid from Iran. Sources revealed that internal friction strikes the Hamas organization with the group's military division often being in disagreement with its political administration. The military wing looks forward to restoring connections with Iran and delivering them into a stronger state, guaranteeing the constant flow of funds." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

06-29-2016
Terrorism

Al-Monitor reports "Hamas has decided to resume public relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran after years of apathy between them as a result of the Syrian crisis."

 

"Hamas has decided to resume public relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran after years of apathy between them as a result of the Syrian crisis. Signs confirming the rapprochement came from the deputy chairmen of Hamas' political bureau, Mousa Abu Marzouk and Ismail Haniyeh. In a June 15 interview with Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Marzouk praised Iran for the first time since Hamas left the Syrian capital of Damascus. He said, 'The support offered by Iran to the Palestinian resistance - be it in logistics, training or funds - is unmatched and beyond the capabilities of other countries. Iran's support and backing to the resistance and the Palestinian cause is clear, explicit and equal to the stance of Arab, Muslim and free peoples of the world who back and support the resistance.' Relations between Hamas and Tehran began to deteriorate in 2012, after the wave of Arab Spring revolutions reached Syria, which is the main ally of Iran in the Middle East... Abu Marzouk's statements and Haniyeh's telephone call came to confirm the change occurring in the Islamic movement's relationship with Tehran and endorsed the fact that relations between them had been restored with a resumption of Iranian funding... The source, who requested anonymity, added, 'Hamas' military wing strongly endorsed the resumption of said relations, especially in light of the urgent need for funds and military support that only Iran can provide.'" (Al-Monitor

06-29-2016
Extremism

Promoting anti-Israel Quds Day rallies days away, Iranian President Rouhani says, "By behind-the-scene attempts, terror, and creating conflicts among the regional and Muslim world countries... the Zionists are trying to make others forget their crimes."

 

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined that the main goal of the current turmoil and crises in the regional states is diverting attentions from the Zionists' 70 years of occupation and crimes against the Palestinian nation. 'By behind-the-scene attempts, terror, and creating conflicts among the regional and Muslim world countries and Muslim against Muslim and Muslim against Christian wars in recent years, the Zionists are trying to make others forget their crimes and make the Muslims, the regional people and the world forget the oppressed Palestine and the savagery of the Zionists,' Rouhani said, addressing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday. 'We shouldn't let the Zionists' big crimes be forgotten, and the oppressed Palestinian nation which has been displaced and forced out of its own home feel disappointment,' he added. Rouhani called on all Iranian and world nations to show massive turnout in the International Quds Day rallies on Friday." (Fars

06-24-2016
Terrorism

In defiance of U.S. sanctions, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah declares, "We are open about the fact that Hezbollah's budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, are from the Islamic Republic of Iran."

 

"Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said his group would not be affected by fresh US sanctions because it receives its money directly from Iran, not via Lebanese banks. In a speech broadcast by the Shiite party's Al-Manar station, Nasrallah brushed off assertions that Hezbollah would be hurt by US sanctions on Lebanese financial institutions that work with the group. 'We do not have any business projects or investments via banks,' Nasrallah said, insisting the group 'will not be affected.' 'We are open about the fact that Hezbollah's budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, are from the Islamic Republic of Iran,' he added. Iran was instrumental in Hezbollah's inception three decades ago and has provided financial and military support to the group. In December, the US Congress voted to impose sanctions on banks that deal with Hezbollah, considered a 'terrorist group' by the US. And last month, Lebanon's central bank instructed the country's banks and financial institutions to comply with the new measure against the Lebanese Shiite group. Hezbollah has fiercely criticised the law and accused central bank governor Riad Salameh of 'yielding' to Washington's demands. 'As long as Iran has money, we have money... Just as we receive the rockets that we use to threaten Israel, we are receiving our money. No law will prevent us from receiving it,' Nasrallah said." (AFP

06-20-2016
Syria Conflict

IRGC-Quds Force head Gen. Qassem Soleimani issues threats indicating "that Iran was prepared to support an armed uprising there, after the Bahraini authorities revoked the citizenship of a leading Shiite opposition cleric."

"Threats issued on Monday by a senior Iranian commander to the Sunni-led island state of Bahrain seemed to indicate that Iran was prepared to support an armed uprising there, after the Bahraini authorities revoked the citizenship of a leading Shiite opposition cleric. In a statement, the commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the high-profile leader of the elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denounced the 'mistreatment' of the cleric and threatened Bahrain with 'a bloody intifada.' Bahrain's leaders have accused the Quds Force of sending weapons to local insurgents, which Iran denies. But General Soleimani's explosive remarks suggested that Tehran was losing patience. The action against the cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, 'is a red line, and passing this red line will create flames of fire in Bahrain and the entire region,' General Soleimani said. 'And the people will have no choice but armed resistance.' The statement, coming from General Soleimani, who is leading the country's military efforts in Syria and Iraq, was widely perceived as a serious threat. 'This shows that we have a new strategy of supporting an intifada in Bahrain,' said Hamidreza Taraghi, a political analyst close to Iran's leadership." (NYT

06-20-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities ... shut down the Ghanoon newspaper, which has criticized the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)."

"Iranian authorities on Monday shut down the Ghanoon newspaper, which has criticized the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the newspaper said in a statement on its website. The move came days after President Hassan Rouhani called for greater freedom of expression in the media. Ghanoon said it been shut by the judiciary after complaints made by the IRGC's Department of Intelligence. The paper has been accused of 'libel and publishing falsehoods to create public anxiety,' according to its website. It did not specify which reports had upset the IRGC. Ghanoon was temporarily banned in 2014 over a report about possible corruption charges against a former member of the IRGC after he was released on bail. The newspaper also came under attack in January when it criticised the way the Guards handled the arrest of 10 American sailors in Iranian waters. It wrote that the video which aired on the Islamic Republic's state television showing U.S Navy personnel kneeling with their hands behind their heads was reminiscent of beheadings by Islamic State." (Reuters

06-19-2016
Nuclear Program

Contradicting Tehran's longstanding denials, "The Obama administration has concluded that uranium particles discovered last year at a secretive Iranian military base likely were tied to the country's past, covert nuclear weapons program."

 

"The Obama administration has concluded that uranium particles discovered last year at a secretive Iranian military base likely were tied to the country's past, covert nuclear weapons program, current and former officials said, a finding that contradicts Tehran's longstanding denials that it was pursuing a bomb. Traces of man-made uranium were found at the Parchin facility, southeast of Tehran, by investigators from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, as part of an investigation tied to the landmark nuclear deal reached last July between Iran and global powers. The Iranians have claimed that the site was used for developing and testing conventional weapons. The particles were the first physical evidence-on top of satellite imagery and documents from defectors-to support the charge that Iran had been pursuing a bomb there. The Obama administration didn't comment about the uranium in December when the IAEA released its report; the finding got only one brief mention in the 16 pages. But in recent interviews, current and former U.S. officials asked about the uranium finding said the working assumption now is that it is tied to nuclear weapons development that Iran is believed to have pursued more than a decade ago." (WSJ

06-17-2016
Anti-Americanism

Tehran's Interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammed Emami-Kashani says "the spread of drugs is the US policy," alleging "they (the US policy makers) import terrorism on the one hand and drug on the other hand."

"Tehran's Interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammed Emami-Kashani said ominous triangle of Saudi money, Zionist's policy and US power prevents the progress of original Islam. Ayatollah Emami-Kashani who led this week's ritual ofFriday Prayers in Tehran noted the Islam that Takfiris and ISIL preach is not the noble and original one. Praising Leader's comments on Islam, he noted that the only person who well describes the Revolution at home and abroad is the Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei; 'He stands at the peak, where he sees all the world and then makes remarks.' ... Emami-Kashani in another part of his sermon in Friday Prayers this week, said the spread of drugs is the US policy, saying 'they (the US policy makers) import terrorism on the one hand and drug on the other hand.'" (Mehr

06-16-2016
Politics

"Revelations of exorbitant salaries paid to senior officials have sparked widespread anger in Iran, threatening to undermine public support for President Hassan Rouhani as he prepares to run for re-election next year."

"Revelations of exorbitant salaries paid to senior officials have sparked widespread anger in Iran, threatening to undermine public support for President Hassan Rouhani as he prepares to run for re-election next year. Rouhani's government has launched an investigation into public pay following the reports of executives at the state insurance regulator earning more than 50 times the base government salary. The president's opponents are demanding answers on behalf of struggling Iranians who have yet to see the promised economic benefits of the country's nuclear deal with world powers. The Iranian parliament's conservative speaker, Ali Larijani, hammered the message home in the legislature on Tuesday, announcing the Supreme Audit Court would release a report on the issue next week. 'These excessive salaries have caused anxiety in society,' Larijani said, responding to a claim from another conservative MP that a senior health ministry official was earning 2 billion rials ($58,000) a month, far above the base public sector salary of about $400 a month." (AFP)

06-16-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran is suing the US in the UN International Court of Justice, accusing Washington DC, of violating a 1955 treaty by freezing its assets."

"Iran is suing the U.S. in the International Court of Justice, accusing Washington, D.C., of violating a 1955 treaty by freezing its assets, the United Nations' main judicial arm said Wednesday. The case, filed Tuesday, follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision in April that gave victims of alleged Iran-linked terror attacks the right to collect some $2 billion in Iranian assets that are frozen in the U.S. Tehran alleges the U.S. seized assets of Iranian entities that weren't party to judgments and were immune from enforcement proceedings under the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, the ICJ said in a statement. Iran said U.S. courts had awarded more than $56 billion worth of damages against it over Tehran's alleged involvement in terrorist attacks, according to the ICJ... Attacks blamed on Iran include the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing, in which 241 American military personnel were killed in Lebanon. Victims of that attack and others have won U.S. court cases against Iran in recent years, and sought to collect damages... Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that his government would pursue the ICJ case until it won back its assets and received compensation. He rejected allegations of Iranian involvement in the Beirut bombing. 'American courts have ruled through illegitimate decrees that these assets must be put at the disposal of Americans and the families of those who were killed in Lebanon,' he said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. 'It's not clear what Americans were doing in Lebanon and what this issue has to do with Iran.'" (WSJ)

06-16-2016
Human Rights

"UN calls for the immediate release of prominent Iranian women's rights activist Bahareh Hedayat and has expressed concern for her health in a report published on Wednesday by a human rights group."

"A United Nations body has called for the immediate release of prominent Iranian women's rights activist Bahareh Hedayat and has expressed concern for her health in a report published on Wednesday by a human rights group. Until her arrest in 2009 Hedayat had been involved in projects calling for gender equality and had reported on cases of sexual violence against female students at universities. She has spent some of her time at Evin prison in solitary confinement. 'The deprivation of liberty of Bahareh Hedayat was arbitrary,' the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in its report, compiled in May after a request from the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI). The report said Hedayat, who was also arrested and released multiple times from 2006, should be compensated for her time spent in detention. Hedayat was convicted in 2010 on charges of insulting Iran's Supreme Leader and president and acting against national security." (Reuters)

06-15-2016
Human Rights

"A British-Iranian woman who was arrested in Iran in April is accused of seeking to 'overthrow the regime', according to a statement from the IRGC."

"A British-Iranian woman who was arrested in Iran in April was accused on Wednesday of seeking to 'overthrow the regime', according to a statement from the powerful Revolutionary Guards. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was accused of being 'involved in the soft overthrow of the Islamic republic through... her membership in foreign companies and institutions,' the Mizan news agency quoted a regional Guards branch as saying. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, was arrested at Tehran airport on April 3 as she prepared to return to Britain with her daughter after visiting family in Iran, her husband told AFP last week. Iran doesn't recognise dual-citizenship and, if put on trial, she will be considered an Iranian. According to the Guards, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was 'identified and arrested after massive intelligence operations' as one of 'the heads of foreign-linked hostile networks.' She was alleged to have conducted 'various missions... leading her criminal activities under the direction of media and intelligence services of foreign governments.' 'Further investigations are being done and her case has been sent to Tehran for legal proceedings,' the statement added." (AFP)

06-14-2016
Nuclear Program

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei threatens to "set fire" to the nuclear deal if American presidential candidates renege on the agreement.

"Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened on Tuesday to 'set fire' to the nuclear deal sealed with world powers if U.S. presidential candidates reneged on the agreement... 'The Islamic Republic won't be the first to violate the nuclear deal. Staying faithful to a promise is a Koranic order,' Khamenei said, according to state media. 'But if the threat from the American presidential candidates to tear up the deal becomes operational then the Islamic Republic will set fire to the deal.' ... Khamenei noted that sanctions had not been completely lifted, issues with Iranian banks had not been resolved and that Iranian money that was being kept in other countries had not been returned. 'The nuclear deal has holes which, if they were closed, would reduce or cancel its disadvantages,' he said. He added: 'Some think that we can get along with the Americans and solve our problems. This is an incorrect idea and a delusion.'" (Reuters)

06-14-2016
Human Rights

"In Iran, gay and transsexual people are being forced to carry 'gay' ID cards as the price of avoiding conscription and years of abuse and harassment in the armed forces."

"Gay and transsexual people in Iran are being forced to carry 'gay' ID cards as the price of avoiding conscription and years of abuse and harassment in the armed forces. Military service is compulsory for men once they reach 18, but the state offers a get-out clause to those who are gay and those who have undergone sex-change operations - most of which are carried out under duress from the government in an attempt to 'cure' them." (The Times of London)

06-14-2016
Nuclear Program

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warns "Iran has the capability to ... obtain 100,000 SWUs in less than a year and a half thanks to the new generation centrifuges; so the other side should not think our hands are tied."

"On Tuesday evening, the heads of the three branches, government officials and a group of senior managers of various sectors as well as political, social and cultural representatives met with the Leader of the Revolution... The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the threats by some US presidential hopefuls to scrap last year's nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, saying the Islamic Republic will strongly respond to any such move. 'The agenda of the enemy today is to stop or eliminate the capabilities of the Islamic Republic or at least to prevent their growth,' Ayatollah Khamenei added... 'Fortunately Iran has the capability to return to the previous status and we can- if we deem necessary- obtain 100,000 SWUs in less than a year and a half thanks to the new generation centrifuges; so the other side should not think our hands are tied.'" (Khamenei.ir)

06-14-2016
Human Rights

"Senior Islamic cleric Seyyed Youssef Tabatabi-nejad, who leads Friday prayers in Isfahan, encouraged the country's morality police to crack down on 'improper veiling' and suggested women's immodest clothing was having an impact on the environment."

"Immorality among women is causing a river in Iran to dry up, according to a senior cleric from the Islamic Republic. Seyyed Youssef Tabatabi-nejad, who leads Friday prayers in Isfahan, encouraged the country's morality police to crack down on 'improper veiling' and suggested women's immodest clothing was having an impact on the environment. In a sermon this week, he said: 'My office has received photos of women next to the dry Zayandeh-rud River pictured as if they are in Europe. It is these sorts of acts that cause the river to dry up even further,' ISNA News Agency reported." (Independent)

06-13-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran is going to deploy a largely Shiite mercenary force of Afghans in Syria alongside its own troops, Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, and Shiites whom Iran has marshaled from Iraq and Pakistan."

"His is one of many stories heard here in Herat, an ancient and largely Shiite city in northwest Afghanistan, that gives rare insight into how far the Islamic Republic is going to deploy a largely Shiite mercenary force of Afghans in Syria alongside its own troops, Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, and Shiites whom Iran has marshaled from Iraq and Pakistan... Iran's use of Afghan fighters to bolster pro-government ranks in the Syrian war is no longer a secret, and is increasingly publicized inside Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, met in March with families of Afghans killed in Syria, praised their sacrifice, and said: 'I am proud of you.' Some Afghans fight willingly for religious reasons, eager to take up a cause of 'defending' Shiite shrines in Syria. Others fight for cash, upwards of $700 per month, or choose to realize promises of Iranian citizenship, schooling for their children, and jobs, if they survive the frontline - benefits usually beyond reach for Afghan migrants in Iran. Still other Afghans report coercion and intimidation, and say their second-class status inside Iran - among an estimated 3 million Afghans, only one-third are legal migrants - is taken advantage of. Afghans' 'vulnerable legal position in Iran and the fear of deportation may contribute to their decision [to join militias in Syria], making it less than voluntary,' Human Rights Watch said in a January report." (CSM)

06-13-2016
Human Rights

"Local authorities sentence an Iranian blogger to 444 lashes for his blog posts about social affairs and civil rights. Mohammad Reza Fathi, was found guilty of 'spreading lies' and 'disturbing public opinion' over articles published on his blog."

"Local authorities have sentenced an Iranian blogger to 444 lashes for his blog posts about social affairs and civil rights. Mohammad Reza Fathi, who lives in Saveh, a city in the Markazi province of Iran, was found guilty of 'spreading lies' and 'disturbing public opinion' over articles published on his blog, according to the newspaper Yas. Fathi denied the accusations against him, and has appealed the verdict. 'My blog posts were about social affairs,' the blogger said. 'I was only defending citizens' rights and public funds.' Flogging is a common form of punishment in Iran." (Journalism Is Not a Crime)

06-13-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says that despite the historic nuclear deal reached last year with Western powers, the Islamic Republic would never trust the United States."

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that despite the historic nuclear deal reached last year with Western powers, the Islamic Republic would never trust the United States. 'We never trust the US and the basis of our power is our fight against hegemony,' Zarif told Iranian lawmakers during an address to parliament. Zarif went on to accuse Washington of perpetuating a hostile policy towards Iran, and of procrastinating the implementation of the sanctions relief for a nuclear rollback agreement that officially came into force earlier this year. 'The nuclear agreement doesn't mean that the other side's hostilities have ended since they always consider the Islamic Republic of Iran as an obstacle on their way; also it doesn't mean that they have withdrawn from their stonewalling,' he said... Earlier this month, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the US, Britain and Israel as the Islamic Republic's 'main enemies,' and accused Washington of breaking its promises." (Times of Israel

06-09-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities arrest a Canadian-Iranian professor of social anthropology, the latest in a string of cases involving dual nationals which has prompted concern over the country's political atmosphere."

"Iranian authorities have arrested a Canadian-Iranian professor of social anthropology, the latest in a string of cases involving dual nationals which has prompted concern over the country's political atmosphere. Homa Hoodfar was arrested earlier this week after nearly three months of repeated questioning by the Iranian intelligence service, her sister told the Guardian on Wednesday. Hoodfar is the latest in the ever-expanding list of dual nationals targeted in recent months. Several Iranian dual nationals from the US, the UK, Canada and France are currently behind bars or facing regular questioning, often accused of espionage or collaborating with a hostile government. The 65-year-old scholar travelled to her home country in February, principally for personal reasons, but she also continued her academic research while in the country, her family said. Her trip coincided with parliamentary elections during which a record number of women were elected as MPs, mostly allied with the moderate administration of Hassan Rouhani. In March, members of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards raided Hoodfar's flat a day before she was due to fly to London, where she planned to join her family for the Persian new year and the 70th birthday of her brother. The authorities confiscated her belongings and her three passports, and summoned Hoodfar for regular questioning. Hoodfar's family had chosen not to go public until now because they believed the interrogations were the result of a misunderstanding and would soon end, according to her sister, Katayoon Hoodfar." (Guardian)

06-08-2016
Extremism

""Iran international goalkeeper Sosha Makani has been suspended for six months for 'inappropriate' conduct, including the wearing of what media have dubbed 'SpongeBob trousers', ISNA news agency reported."

"Iran international goalkeeper Sosha Makani has been suspended for six months for 'inappropriate' conduct, including the wearing of what media have dubbed 'SpongeBob trousers', ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday. The Iranian football federation's morality committee cited Makani's clothing as one of the reasons for handing out the punishment. 'Among the matters reviewed was Sosha Makani's unconventional and inappropriate clothing,' it said about the 29-year-old, who played for Persepolis in the Iranian first division last season." (AFP)
06-07-2016
Human Rights

A three-minute trial in 2015 found brothers Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian, 26 and 31, and their friend Yousef Emadi, 35, guilty of "insulting Islamic sanctities, spreading propaganda against the system' and 'illegal audio-visual activities."

"Two musicians and a film-maker have begun three-year jail sentences in Iran for the online distribution of underground music. The three men, who have been described by Amnesty as prisoners of conscience, were summoned to serve their sentences last week after an appeals court upheld their conviction. A three-minute trial in 2015 found brothers Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian, 26 and 31, and their friend Yousef Emadi, 35, guilty of 'insulting Islamic sanctities', 'spreading propaganda against the system' and 'illegal audio-visual activities' for the distribution of music unlicensed by the cultural ministry. They did not have access to lawyers during the trial, activists said." (Guardian)

06-06-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran blasts the West's double-standard policies in fighting terrorism, says "today, the US is using the ISIL as an instrument and defends the Zionist regime but puts Iran in the list of terrorists because (Iran) has stood against and confronted (the US)."

"Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani blasted the West's double-standard policies in fighting terrorism, and said the US State Department's report will no way stop Tehran's efforts in the war on terrorism in the region. 'Today, the US is using the ISIL as an instrument and defends the Zionist regime but puts Iran in the list of terrorists because the Islamic Republic has stood against and confronted their main strategy and hegemony,' Shamkhani told reporters in Tehran on Sunday. 'But this will not affect the Islamic Republic of Iran's policies in defending the regional states and it shows the West's double-standard policy on terrorism,' he added." (Fars Iran)

06-03-2016
Terrorism

US State Department as has done in numerous previous years, identified Iran as the world's "foremost state sponsor of terrorism" in 2015, says Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism despite sealing a nuclear deal with world powers.

"The U.S. said the number of global terrorist attacks declined slightly between 2014 and 2015, although the Islamic State group expanded its reach. Iran remained the leading state sponsor of terrorism despite sealing a nuclear deal with world powers, the State Department said in its annual survey of worldwide terrorism released Thursday... as it has done in numerous previous years, the report identified Iran as the world's 'foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015' through its provision of financial support, training and equipping of various extremist groups, notably Lebanon's Hezbollah, as well as the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad... Although it achieved a diplomatic resolution to concerns over its nuclear program, Iran in 2015 continued to use the Quds Force of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to implement foreign policy goals, which include creating instability throughout the Middle East, according to the report. In addition to arming the Hezbollah and the Assad government, it also provided weapons and other assistance to militants in Bahrain and remained active in supporting anti-Israel groups such as Hamas, the report said." (AP)

06-03-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader calls US, UK and Israel; "main enemies" and accuses Washington of procrastination over the nuclear deal, saying "for a country to integrate its economy into the world economy is not an honour, it's a loss and defeat."

"Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out Friday at the United States, Britain and Israel as the Islamic republic's 'main enemies', accusing Washington of procrastinating over Tehran's landmark nuclear deal. 'It's the US, the evil Britain, and the damned and cancerous Zionist regime. These are the main enemies,' Khamenei said in a televised speech marking the 27th anniversary of the death of his revolutionary predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The supreme leader mentioned the nuclear deal with world powers that came into force in January, and accused Washington of breaking its promises. 'We sat down and negotiated with the P5+1 group and even separately with the Americans over the nuclear issue,' he said during a televised speech to thousands gathered at Khomeini's extravagant mausoleum in southern Tehran. 'The other side, the Americans, made some commitments. The Islamic republic completed its commitments but the other unfaithful side is procrastinating.' 'Whoever trusts in the United States is committing a big mistake and will be hit with a slap,' he added. Khamenei's address was met with chants from the crowd of 'Death to America', a common cry during his anti-Western speeches... Khamenei went on to emphasise the importance of a domestic 'resistance economy', rather than reliance on foreign investment. 'To think that the economic boom of the country can be merely reached through foreign investment is a mistake,' he said. 'More important than foreign investment is activating domestic potential. For a country to integrate its economy into the world economy is not an honour, it's a loss and defeat.'" (AFP)

06-01-2016
Extremism

Iranian sponsors "Zionist caliphate" cartoon contest, with "Zionism, terrorism and racism" and "ISIL terrorism and genocide in the name of religion and to the benefit of the Zionists" as the designated themes.

"An Iranian museum on Tuesday kicked off a 'Zionist caliphate' cartoon contest, with 'Zionism, terrorism and racism' and 'ISIL terrorism and genocide in the name of religion and to the benefit of the Zionists' the designated themes. The contest by Iranian Cultural-Art Masaf Institute will offer one $5,000 award for best cartoon, $1,000 for best caricature and four $500 awards to the other top entries, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. In its portrait session, participants are asked to focus on Theodor Herzl and Queen Elizabeth. The competition is dedicated to the 'Nakba,' or displacement of Palestinians in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel, according to the report. The 'Zionist caliphate' contest was announced a day after Iran's annual Holocaust cartoon contest - which has been condemned by Israel, Germany, the US, and UNESCO - concluded." (Times of Israel)
05-31-2016
Syria Conflict

"Sunni politicians in Iraq condemned a visit by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to Shi'ite paramilitary forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army to drive Islamic State militants out of the Sunni city of Falluja."

"Sunni politicians in Iraq condemned on Saturday a visit by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to Shi'ite paramilitary forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army to drive Islamic State militants out of the Sunni city of Falluja. Three lawmakers from the province of Anbar told Reuters the visit by Iran's al-Quds brigade commander could fuel sectarian tension and cast doubt on Baghdad's assertions that the offensive is an Iraqi-led effort to defeat Islamic State, and not to settle scores with the Sunnis... In recent days, Iranian media published pictures of what they said was a visit by Soleimani to Falluja and a meeting he held with the leaders of the Iraqi coalition of Shi'ite militias known as Popular Mobilization, or Hashid Shaabi. It is the second time Soleimani has appeared in Iraqi conflict zones. About a year ago, witnesses said he was present when Popular Mobilization fighters ousted Islamic State militants from cities north of the capital. An Iraqi government spokesman did not confirm Soleimani's visit and stressed that Iranian advisors are present in Iraq in order to assist in the war on Islamic State (IS) in the same capacity as those of the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition. Member of parliament (MP) Hamid al-Mutlaq rejected that, however. 'We are Iraqis and not Iranians,' he said. 'Would Turkish or Saudi advisers be welcomed to assist in the battle?' he added, drawing a parallel between the three regional powers bordering Iraq -- mainly-Sunni Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and Shi'ite Iran. 'Soleimani's presence is suspicious and a cause for concern; he is absolutely not welcome in the area,' said Falluja parliamentarian Salim Muttar al-Issawi." (Reuters)

05-31-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran is working on construction of the largest missile base for the IRGC near Sayed Sadiq, which belongs to Iraqi Kurdistan due to strategic value.

"Exposing regional plans of Iran, a Kurdish official revealed that the Iranian regime has launched its construction of the largest missile and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base. The center is being established near Sayed Sadiq which belongs to the Sulaymaniyah Governorate located in the Iraqi Kurdistan... The official further revealed that the number of IRGC commanders and officers frequently visiting the location and supervising the construction are being present on a daily basis. Quds Force division had deployed a large number of unit 400 members who are assigned with monitoring and dealing with Iran-backed Kurdish forces to the area... 'The IRGC had started since May 7 its construction of a military base in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, inside Iraqi Kurdistan,' the official said. 'According to our information, the Iranian regime is working on founding a missile base in the region, given its strategic value. The location influences a majority of its vicinity. Iranian military helicopters consistently hover over the region; meanwhile IRGC soldiers and machines work on construction.'" (Asharq Al-Awsat)

05-31-2016
Politics

Ali Larijani was re-elected speaker of Iran's Parliament, denying Rouhani's supporters a post they thought they had earned with a big win in the elections.

 

"A leading conservative was re-elected speaker of Iran's Parliament on Tuesday, denying reformists a post they thought they had earned with a big win in February elections. In a mild surprise, an overwhelming majority of Iran's lawmakers chose a conservative candidate, Ali Larijani, who has held the position since 2008. Mr. Larijani, 57, scion of a powerful Iranian family, is not considered a die-hard conservative, as he managed the Parliament's approval last summer of the nuclear agreement with Western powers. Moreover, Mr. Larijani has supported in recent years the government of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who was elected on promises of reaching a nuclear deal and loosening Iran's severe restrictions on personal freedoms. Of 276 lawmakers present in the 290-seat house, Mr. Larijani won 237 votes, Iranian state television reported. Mr. Larijani's election was something of a formality. His main reformist opponent, Mohammad Reza Aref - who served as first vice president from 2001 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami, then the liberal reformist president - withdrew from the race on Monday." (NYT)

05-31-2016
Human Rights

"Iran has given foreign messaging apps a year to move data they hold about Iranian users onto servers inside the country, prompting privacy and security concerns on social media. Iran has some of the strictest controls on internet access in the world."

 

"Iran has given foreign messaging apps a year to move data they hold about Iranian users onto servers inside the country, prompting privacy and security concerns on social media. Iran has some of the strictest controls on internet access in the world and blocks access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, although many users are able to access them through widely available software. 'Foreign messaging companies active in the country are required to transfer all data and activity linked to Iranian citizens into the country in order to ensure their continued activity,' Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace said in new regulations carried by state news agency IRNA on Sunday. The council, whose members are selected by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave social media companies a year to comply, IRNA said, adding that the measures were based on the 'guidelines and concerns of the supreme leader'. The new requirements could affect messaging app Telegram in particular. The cloud-based instant messaging service has gained popularity because of its high level of security and is estimated to have about 20 million users in Iran, which has a total population of about 80 million... Social media users reacted with concern to the planned changes. 'Telegram's data centres are to be moved inside the country so they can delete what they want and arrest who they want,' @Mehrdxd said in a tweet. 'I would stop using #Telegram if the servers are moved inside the country because it would not be safe anymore,' @Gonahkar (Guilty) wrote in a tweet." (Reuters)

05-31-2016
Syria Conflict

"US commandos are on the front lines in Syria in a new push toward the Islamic State's de facto capital in Raqqa, but in Iraq it is an entirely different story: Iran, not the US, has become the face of an operation to retake the jihadist stronghold."

 

"American commandos are on the front lines in Syria in a new push toward the Islamic State's de facto capital in Raqqa, but in Iraq it is an entirely different story: Iran, not the United States, has become the face of an operation to retake the jihadist stronghold of Falluja from the militant group. On the outskirts of Falluja, tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police officers and Shiite militiamen backed by Iran are preparing for an assault on the Sunni city, raising fears of a sectarian blood bath. Iran has placed advisers, including its top spymaster, Qassim Suleimani, on the ground to assist in the operation. The battle over Falluja has evolved into yet another example of how United States and Iranian interests seemingly converge and clash at the same time in Iraq. Both want to defeat the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. But the United States has long believed that Iran's role, which relies on militias accused of sectarian abuses, can make matters worse by angering Sunnis and making them more sympathetic to the militants... In an extraordinary statement on Wednesday, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the world's pre-eminent Shiite religious leader, who lives in Najaf in southern Iraq and is said to be concerned by Iran's growing role in Iraq, urged security forces and militia to restrain themselves and abide by 'the standard behaviors of jihad.'" (NYT)

05-27-2016
Human Rights

"More than 30 college students were arrested, interrogated and within 24 hours were each given 99 lashes for attending a graduation party that included men and women, Iran's judiciary has announced."

 

"More than 30 college students were arrested, interrogated and within 24 hours were each given 99 lashes for attending a graduation party that included men and women, Iran's judiciary has announced. The punishments, which were believed to be part of a wider crackdown by a judiciary dominated by hard-liners, were meted out in Qazvin, about 90 miles northwest of the capital, and were carried out in record time, Mizan, a news agency affiliated with the judiciary, reported on Thursday, citing the city's prosecutor. The Qazvin prosecutor, Esmail Sadeghi Niaraki, said that more than 30 female and male students - the women were described as 'half naked,' meaning they were not wearing Islamic coverings, scarves and long coats - were arrested while 'dancing and jubilating' after the authorities received a report that a party attended both by men and women was being held in a villa on the outskirts of Qazvin. An arrest warrant was issued, he said, and the defendants were sentenced to 99 lashes after being questioned. 'We hope this will be a lesson for those who break Islamic norms in private places,' Mr. Niaraki said. Mixed-gender parties, dancing and the consumption of alcohol are illegal in Iran, although they have become common over the past decade, especially in cities." (NYT)

05-27-2016
Nuclear Program

"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined that Iran's nuclear advancements and power forced the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) to negotiate a deal with Tehran."

"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined that Iran's nuclear advancements and power forced the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) to negotiate a deal with Tehran. 'The other sides accepted (to recognize) Iran's nuclear industry after they saw Iran's might, that is enrichment to the 20% level, because everyone knows that reaching the 20% level is the most difficult part of enrichment,' Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing Experts Assembly's newly-elected head Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and members in a meeting in Tehran on Thursday. He said that building 19,000 first-generation centrifuges, launching 10,000 centrifuges, production of the second, third and fourth generations of centrifuges and construction of a heavy water plant are other symbols of Iran's nuclear power, and added, 'The enemy which once wasn't ready to accept even the existence of one centrifuge in Iran, was forced to accept the same fact after facing the country's nuclear power; actually, the Americans didn't make this concession but we took it in light of our own power.'" (Fars Iran)

05-26-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for vigilance against what he called a 'soft war' mounted by the West and aimed at weakening the clerical establishment."

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for vigilance against what he called a 'soft war' mounted by the West and aimed at weakening the clerical establishment, state television reported on Thursday... 'Our officials and all parts of the establishment should be vigilant about the West's continued soft war against Iran...the enemies want to weaken the system from inside,' Khamenei said. In a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, with authority to appoint and dismiss the supreme Leader, Khamenei told Iranian officials: 'By impairing centers of powers in Iran, it will be easy to harm the establishment from inside.' ... 'The only way to materialize the (1979 Islamic) revolution's goals is national unity and not to obey the enemy,' he said... 'Iran's enemies try to influence decision-making centers, alter Iranian officials' positions and change people's beliefs,' Khamenei said. 'We should be strong and empowered.'" (Reuters)

05-26-2016
Terrorism

"Iran decides to provide fixed financial support of $70 million as an annual budget to the Palestinian Jihad Islamic Movement, Palestinian sources close to the movement stated."

"Iran decided to provide fixed financial support to the Palestinian Jihad Islamic Movement, has visited Tehran in April, Palestinian sources close to the movement stated. The PIJ delegation was headed by its Secretary General Ramadan Shalah and included his assistants Ziad Nakhleh and military official of the movement Akram Ajuri. It held several public meetings with Iranian leaderships and other private meetings with the Commander of the Iranian National Guard and Commander of the Quds Force Qassem Soleimani. The parties discussed various files that elaborated the Iranian vision for the PIJ Movement in the coming years. One of the major decisions taken by Qassem Soleimani and approved by the political and military offices of the Movement, according to the sources, was restructuring al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the PIJ, and assigning Khaled Mansour the general commander of the Brigades in Gazza Strip. Notably, Mansour is considered to be one of the most prominent leaders who are close to Iran and is respected and honored by the PIJ Movement. Soleimani also ordered allocating $70 million as an annual budget for the Quds Brigades, transferred from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's treasury. Tehran pledged funding the movement consistently after a hiatus for two years." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

05-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

"IRGC Commander warns that certain reactionary regimes in the region have become a tool of the US to wage proxy wars to block Iran's growing influence in the region."

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that certain reactionary regimes in the region have become a tool of the US to wage proxy wars to block Iran's growing influence in the region. 'The US has opted for a warmongering approach using evil and reactionary regimes in the region after the Islamic Revolution's continued success and the hegemonic system's failure in controlling the Islamic Revolution's influence,' General Jafari said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Monday. He said that the corrupt regional regime's greed for power has led them commit savage acts against the defenseless people in Yemen and Syria, attempt to disturb the political and security system in Iraq, supply the Takfiri groups with weapons and suppress the innocent Bahraini people. General Jafari also blasted a number of the world Muslim bodies for turning into instruments of protecting the US and Israel's interests in the region." (Fars Iran)

05-25-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Top Military Aide to the Iranian Supreme Leader Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi called on Iranian officials to keep vigilant against the plots hatched by the US officials to influence and penetrate into the country's decision-making bodies."

"Top Military Aide to the Iranian Supreme Leader Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi called on Iranian officials to keep vigilant against the plots hatched by the US officials to influence and penetrate into the country's decision-making bodies. 'One of the tactics used by the enemies is to penetrate into different decision-making bodies,' Rahim Safavi said, addressing a gathering in the Central city of Isfahan Tuesday afternoon. The Leader's top aide noted that the enemies have changed their tactics and instead of conventional war they are trying to penetrate into the decision-making bodies." (Fars Iran)

05-25-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran's defense minister says Iraq and Syria, currently engaged in war on Takfiri groups, have fallen prey to a plot designed jointly by the United States and the Zionists."

"Iran's defense minister says Iraq and Syria, currently engaged in war on Takfiri groups, have fallen prey to a plot designed jointly by the United States and the Zionists. 'What is today happening in Syria and Iraq is a deep-seated US-Zionist conspiracy that has triggered war in Muslim territories,' Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan told reporters on Tuesday. 'Zionists are supporting terrorists and equipping them, i.e. pitting them against Muslims. What is important for them is to guarantee the Zionist regime's security,' he added." (Press TV Iran)

05-24-2016
Politics

"A powerful anti-Western cleric was chosen as the head of Iran's new Assembly of Experts... Ahmad Jannati, 90, is a an outspoken critic of President Hassan Rouhani and his attempts to end Iran's global isolation by normalizing ties with the West."

"A powerful anti-Western cleric was chosen on Tuesday as the head of Iran's new Assembly of Experts, in a sign that hardliners are still in firm control of the body in charge of choosing the next supreme leader. Ahmad Jannati, 90, is a an outspoken critic of President Hassan Rouhani and his attempts to end Iran's global isolation by normalizing ties with the West. The 88-member assembly, consisting mostly of elderly clerics, is expected to choose the successor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 77 and rumored to be in frail health... The selection of Jannati, with 51 votes according to state media, as the new head is likely to surprise voters in the February election who managed to block many hardliners from keeping their seats in the assembly. Jannati had squeezed in as the last of 16 members elected in the capital Tehran. Jannati is also the chairman of the Guardian Council, a hardline vetting body that disqualified the majority of prominent reformist and many moderate candidates from running in the February elections. Even by the standards of Iran's clerical establishment, Jannati stands out for his virulently anti-Western opinions, once accusing the West of having created al Qaeda and describing U.S. forces in Iraq as 'bloodthirsty wolves.'" (Reuters)

05-24-2016
Human Rights

"For the first time, Iran has officially acknowledged that it has imprisoned a US permanent resident who advocates for Internet freedom."

"For the first time, Iran has officially acknowledged that it has imprisoned a U.S. permanent resident who advocates for Internet freedom. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Tehran 'will try to speed up' the case of Lebanese citizen Nizar Zakka, who disappeared in Tehran in September after attending a government-sponsored conference." (RFE/RL)

05-24-2016
Human Rights

"A teachers' union leader in Iran has warned of an intensifying campaign of harassment and imprisonment by the Iranian authorities against teachers' union representatives."

 

"A teachers' union leader in Iran has warned of an intensifying campaign of harassment and imprisonment by the Iranian authorities against teachers' union representatives. Hashem Khastar, from Mashhad in north-east Iran, says there have been hunger strikes staged by teachers in protest against jailings and the denial of human rights. Mr Khastar, from the teachers' union in Khorasan Razavi province, says he has been jailed three times. He says this followed his defence of the right of teachers to belong to an independent union and that he was jailed for 'trying to bring out the voice of the innocent teachers of Iran'. 'The teachers want, through this teachers' movement, to achieve democracy,' he says." (BBC)

05-23-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme leader Khamenei says that "US hostility against the Islamic Republic stems from Iran's defiance of Washington's arrogant policies: 'the main cause of all these enmities and fabrication of pretexts is [Iran's] defiance of Arrogance.'"

"Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the US hostility against the Islamic Republic stems from Iran's defiance of Washington's arrogant policies. 'The main cause of all these enmities and fabrication of pretexts is [Iran's] defiance of Arrogance (a reference to the hegemonic powers led by the US),' the Leader said while addressing a commencement ceremony for graduates of Imam Hussein Military Academy in Tehran on Monday. Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the US hostile stances against Iran's nuclear program, missile power and human rights record. 'Were the Iranian nation ready to surrender, they (arrogant powers) would have comprised over [Iran's] missile power and nuclear energy and they would have made no mention of human rights,' said the Leader. Regarding Iran's missile program, Ayatollah Khamenei said: 'Recently they have embarked on massive [media] hype campaign, but they must know that such hues and cry will have no effect and they cannot do a damn thing.' The Leader said the US officials have acknowledged that the Iranian nation refuses to submit to the bullying tactics of arrogant powers due to its adherence to Islamic ideology. Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted 'steadfastness', 'defiance of the enemy' and 'safeguarding the revolutionary and Islamic identity' as the main factors of the strength of the Islamic establishment and the Iranian nation." (Press TV Iran)

05-22-2016
Syria Conflict

"The man killed by a US drone attack in Pakistan and believed to be Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour had just returned from Iran when his vehicle was struck, security officials told AFP Sunday."

"The man killed by a US drone attack in Pakistan and believed to be Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour had just returned from Iran when his vehicle was struck, security officials told AFP Sunday. The driver -- who also died in Saturday's attack -- was a civilian who worked for a local rental company, according to the officials, contradicting the US account that he was a 'second combatant'. The US late Saturday said Mansour was 'likely killed' in the attack in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan. Afghanistan's spy agency said Sunday that Mansour was dead. Neither the Taliban nor Pakistan have confirmed the death. Pakistani ID documents found on the alleged militant leader could shed light on the degree of official support he received in the country. His passport showed he had left for Iran on March 28 and returned the day he was killed. 'He was returning from Iran when he was hit by a drone strike near the town of Ahmad Wal,' one security official said." (AFP)

05-22-2016
Extremism

"Iranian military commander boasts that 'if the Supreme Leader's orders [are] to be executed...we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes.'"

"A senior Iranian military commander boasted that the Islamic Republic could 'raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes.' Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite unit al-Quds Force, said if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order to destroy Israel, the Iranian military had the capacity to do so quickly. 'If the Supreme Leader's orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes,' Karimpour said Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. A senior Iranian general on May 9 announced that the country's armed forces successfully tested a precision-guided, medium-range ballistic missile two weeks earlier that could reach Israel, the state-run Tasnim agency reported. 'We test-fired a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a margin of error of eight meters,' Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi was quoted as saying at a Tehran science conference. The eight-meter margin means the 'missile enjoys zero error,' he told conference participants. Iran in March tested ballistic missiles, including two with the words 'Israel must be wiped off the earth' emblazoned on them, according to the US and other Western powers... Khamenei has repeatedly threatened to annihilate the Jewish state, and in September 2015 suggested Israel would not be around in 25 years. In a quote posted to Twitter by Khamenei's official account on September 9, 2015, Khamenei addressed Israel, saying, 'You will not see next 25 years,' and added that the Jewish state will be hounded until it is destroyed." (Times of Israel)
05-20-2016
Nuclear Program

"Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, will start work on Iran's Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant by the end of this year after the construction site preparations are completed."

"Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, will start work on Iran's Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant by the end of this year after the construction site preparations are completed. 'We hope that the Iranian side will identify seismic parameters at the site so we could start work on several new blocks already before this year is out,' a source at Rosatom said on Thursday. Russia has already built a power plant in Bushehr. The agreement for the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was finalized in 1995, but the project was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial issues. Mahmoud Shoori said that after the construction and launch of the first stage of the Bushehr plant, Iran realized that it needed at least two more units and decided to give the job to Russia's Rosatom. 'Our longtime experience of productive cooperation with Russia and the technological potential Russia demonstrated during the construction of Bushehr-1 convinced us that we had made the right choice.' Mahmoud Shoori said." (Sputnik Russia)

05-20-2016
Human Rights

"An already-imprisoned prominent human rights activist in Iran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a new trial, a ruling denounced by the UN", this shows that "Iran's abusive criminal justice system is used as a tool of repression."

"An already-imprisoned prominent human rights activist in Iran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a new trial, a ruling denounced Friday by the United Nations as it called for her immediate release. Iranian media and officials have not commented on the sentence for Narges Mohammadi, who has campaigned against the death penalty and serves as the vice president of the now-banned Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. A statement from the center said Mohammadi was sentenced in Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges including planning crimes to harm the security of Iran, spreading propaganda against the government and forming and managing an illegal group. Mohammadi already is serving a six-year sentence, which means the new court ruling will extend her time in prison by four years, supporters say... In a statement, the office of the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was 'appalled' by Mohammadi's sentence and said she was denied the specialized medical care she needs. 'Her sentencing is illustrative of an increasingly low tolerance for human rights advocacy in Iran,' the U.N. office said. 'We urge the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate release of Ms. Mohammadi and all those detained for merely exercising their human rights.' Amnesty International said Thursday that Mohammadi's sentence shows how 'Iran's abusive criminal justice system is used as a tool of repression.'" (AP)

05-20-2016
Syria Conflict

"Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah vows to strengthen its presence in war-torn Syria and send more leaders to the conflict, a week after its top military commander there was killed."

"Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah on Friday vowed to strengthen its presence in war-torn Syria and send more leaders to the conflict, a week after its top military commander there was killed. The death of Mustafa Badreddine, who Hezbollah said was killed near Damascus by shellfire from Sunni Islamist rebels, was one of the biggest blows yet to the Iranian-backed group's leadership. Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful political and military group, has provided crucial support to the Syrian army, along with Iranian forces and the Russian air force. The group is estimated to have lost around 1,200 fighters in Syria's five-year-old conflict. 'No death of any of our leaders has driven us from the battle. This precious blood will push us to a larger, stronger and more sophisticated presence,' leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on the group's Al Manar television. 'We are staying in Syria. More leaders will go to Syria than the number that were there before. We will be present in different forms as well,' he said without elaborating. 'We will complete this battle.' Nasrallah spoke on a big screen, projected live in a hall in southern Beirut as part of a ceremony honouring Badreddine a week after his death... At least four prominent figures in Hezbollah have been killed in Syria since January 2015. A number of high-ranking Iranian officers have also been killed, either fighting Syrian insurgents or in Israeli attacks." (Reuters)

05-18-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran's IRGC says that "many Iranians have volunteered to fight in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's war against 'terrorism'...denies having any conventional armed forces in Syria, but acknowledges having military advisers and volunteers."

"Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday many Iranians have volunteered to fight in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's war against 'terrorism', the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported... 'Many young Iranians from different parts of the country and of different ethnicities have volunteered to go to Syria ... to help the Syrian government and the Syrian people in their fight against terrorism...,' Tasnim quoted the head of the IRGC's public relations office, General Ramezan Sharif, as saying... The Islamic Republic denies having any conventional armed forces in Syria, but has acknowledged having military advisers and volunteers from the IRGC there to help Assad's forces. Last month, however, Tehran said military commandos had also been dispatched to Syria as advisers, suggesting it was using its regular army as well as forces from the IRGC. However, Iran's army chief later said those personnel were volunteers working under IRGC supervision, and that the regular army was not directly involved... In the past few months Iran has sustained serious losses in Syria, including several high-ranking members of the IRGC. Iranian media have reported the death of over 100 members of the IRGC and its affiliated volunteer, the Basij militia, in Syria... 'Syria is the golden ring of resistance front,' Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Iran's Student News Agency ISNA." (Reuters)

05-18-2016
Nuclear Program

"A senior Judiciary official called on Western countries not to violate or undermine a recent deal between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear program...warns Western countries against impairing the deal."

"A senior Judiciary official called on Western countries not to violate or undermine a recent deal between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear program. Speaking in Tehran on Monday, Mohammad Javad Larijani, head of the Judiciary department for human rights, noted that Iran has made major accomplishments in the field of nuclear technology but put some restrictions on its nuclear program under the deal, Nasim reported. He warned Western countries against impairing the deal otherwise Iran would resume its previous work 'at a much higher speed.'" (Tehran Times)

05-18-2016
Human Rights

Former Iranian President issues a terse public reprimand saying his daughter had made a big mistake in visiting the Bahais, describes the Bahai faith as "'a deviant sect', which 'we disavow and have always done.'"

"A political storm has erupted in Iran after the daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani visited a leader of the persecuted Bahai religious minority while she was on leave from prison. Senior conservative clerics denounced Faezeh Hashemi following her meeting with Fariba Kamalabadi, a mother-of-three who was temporarily released and allowed home to see her newborn grandchild. Iran's religious establishment regards the Bahai faith, which emerged in Iran in the 19th Century, as a heretical sect. Bahais, who number approximately 300,000 and are heavily concentrated in Tehran and Semnan, are often denounced as unclean and accused of being agents of the US and Israel. In response to the criticism of Ms Hashemi's visit and calls for her to be prosecuted, her father issued a terse public reprimand saying she had made a big mistake that had to be rectified. He described the Bahai faith as 'a deviant sect', which 'we disavow and have always done.'" (BBC)

05-17-2016
Syria Conflict

"The military wing of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has been instructed by Iran to suspend operations against Israel and to target Saudi Arabia instead", in aftermath of apparent assassination of Hezbollah commander in Syria, by Saudi-supported forces.

"The military wing of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has been instructed by Iran to suspend operations against Israel and to target Saudi Arabia instead, Middle East Eye can reveal. The instruction comes in the wake of widespread anger at the apparent assassination of Mustafa Badreddine, its military commander in Syria and head of the movement's military wing, which Hezbollah blamed on 'takfiri' forces supported by Riyadh. According to well informed sources in Lebanon, the order was conveyed in person by Qasim Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) who came to Beirut to give his condolescences. Soleimani also named Badreddine's successor and his two deputies, which is believed to be an unprecedented move in the relationship between Iran and the Lebanese movement. Previous appointments have been an internal matter for Hezbollah in consultation with Iran, MEE understands. Badreddine's replacement is Fuad Shukr, whose nom de guerre is al-Hajj Mohsen, the sources told MEE... Iran's order to Hezbollah, and the fact that they have gone to such lengths as to appoint a successor, confirms the significance to Iran of Badreddine's death, the exact circumstances of which are still a matter of speculation. His death near Damascus airport was initially blamed on an Israeli covert operation, but this was contradicted by a Hezbollah statement." (Middle East Eye)

05-17-2016
Human Rights

"At least 13 prisoners were hanged in Iran: six prisoners at Yazd Central Prison (central Iran), six prisoners at Urmia Central Prison (northwestern Iran), and one prisoner in public in Mashhad (northeastern Iran)."

"At least 13 prisoners were hanged in Iran on Tuesday May 17: six prisoners at Yazd Central Prison (central Iran), six prisoners at Urmia Central Prison (northwestern Iran), and one prisoner in public in Mashhad (northeastern Iran)... Fararu, an Iranian news website close to the authorities, reports on the execution of a prisoner, identified only as 'Hamed', reportedly on death row on armed robbery charges and hanged in public at 6:45am in a city square in Mashhad (Razavi Khorasan province). In the pictures published by Fararu it shows that Hamed was executed in front of people, including children." (IHR)

05-17-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's parliament votes through a law obliging the government to demand damages from the US for 63 years of 'hostile action and crimes', state television reported."

"Iran's parliament Tuesday voted through a law obliging the government to demand damages from the United States for 63 years of 'hostile action and crimes', state television reported. 'The government has the duty to take the necessary measures seeking compensation for material and moral damages caused by the United States' to the country and Iranians over the past 63 years, the text reads. It cites 'material or moral damage' caused by the U.S. during the coup against nationalist leader Mohammad Mossadegh (1953), in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), in the destruction of oil platforms in the Gulf and in espionage against the Islamic republic. Parliament did not specify a sum, but Vice President Majid Ansari said during the debate that 'Iranian courts have already ruled that the U.S. pay $50 billion in damages for its hostile actions' towards the country. The law was passed by the conservative-dominated outgoing parliament in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month. On April 20, the U.S. body ruled that Iran must hand nearly $2 billion in frozen central bank assets to the survivors and relatives of those killed in attacks it has been accused of organizing. These attacks include the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. The ruling affects around 1,000 Americans." (AFP)

05-17-2016
Extremism

"Iran’s revolutionary guard has accused Kim Kardashian West of using her Instagram account to corrupt the country’s women and youth."

"Iran’s revolutionary guard has accused Kim Kardashian West of using her Instagram account to corrupt the country’s women and youth. The Iranian police organization that monitors the country’s Islamic culture to avoid outside influence has said that the reality TV star is working in coordination with Instagram. 'They are targeting young people and women,' said the organization’s spokesman Mostafa Alizadeh, according to Iran Wire, a website run by Iranian journalists. 'Ms. Kim Kardashian is a popular fashion model so Instagram’s CEO tells her, ‘make this native,’' he added. 'There is no doubt that financial support is involved as well. We are taking this very seriously.' Iranian authorities have arrested eight people in modeling, photography or fashion throughout the country whose photos seemed at odds with the Islamic culture. 'Our aim is to teach them a lesson and make them wake up,' said a represenative from the prosecutor's office, reported Iran Wire." (The Hill)

05-17-2016
Extremism

Iranian news report claims that Holocaust cartoon contest comparing "Hitler and [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu" has the goal to "enhance" freedom of speech.

"An Iranian television news report about the country's current Holocaust cartoon contest described how one section was 'dedicated to drawings of people like Hitler and [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu' and that the goal was to 'enhance' freedom of speech. The segment on Al-Alam TV, an Arabic-language station based in Tehran, was broadcast Sunday and covered the previous day's opening of the Second International Holocaust Cartoon Contest, an event that has been condemned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and by the US State Department. An English-language subtitled version of the television report was provided Tuesday by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington-based watchdog group. Along with footage of the opening ceremony, reporter Salim Issa explained that 'the goals of the contest are to enhance the culture of freedom of speech by means of modern art and to open new horizons for cultural and artistic cooperation and exchange between Iranian and foreign artists.' Issa highlighted 'the largest and most symbolic picture in exhibition,' a drawing showing a kite in Palestinian national colors flying above gray, imposing brick walls arranged in a swastika... Another section of the exhibit, which runs for two weeks, is 'dedicated to drawings of people like Hitler and Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of the Israeli occupation, who appeared in one painting wielding a sword like an ISIS terrorist.'" (Times of Israel)

05-16-2016
Terrorism

"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the death of Hezbollah's military chief will certainly stiffen the Lebanese resistance movement's determination to fight the Israeli regime and terrorism."

"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the death of Hezbollah's military chief will certainly stiffen the Lebanese resistance movement's determination to fight the Israeli regime and terrorism. In a message to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, Zarif expressed the Islamic Republic's condolences on the killing of Mustafa Badreddine by the Israeli regime. The Iranian minister said Badreddine was 'all passion and devotion' in defending the ideals of Islam and the resistant Lebanese people and in fighting terrorism. In a statement on Friday, Hezbollah said it is investigating to find out whether a blast which claimed the life of its top military commander was caused by an airstrike, missile attack or artillery." (Press TV Iran)

05-16-2016
Human Rights

"The US condemns the 2008 arrests of Baha'i leaders in Iran and asks the Islamic Republic to free them, calls upon call upon Iranian authorities to uphold their own laws and meet their international obligations."

"The United States condemned the 2008 arrests of Baha'i leaders in Iran Saturday and asked the Islamic Republic to free them. Iran arrested Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm, and Mahvash Sabet. They were all convicted of espionage, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic Republic. They were sentenced to 20 years in prison. 'We join the international community in condemning their continued imprisonment and calling upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to release them immediately, along with all other prisoners of conscience in Iran,' State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement issued on Saturday. 'Furthermore, we call upon Iranian authorities to uphold their own laws and meet their international obligations that guarantee freedom of expression, religion, opinion, and assembly for all citizens,' the statement added." (CNN

05-16-2016
Human Rights

"Iran has arrested eight people for working in 'un-Islamic' online modelling networks, particularly on Instagram, the head of Tehran's cybercrimes court said on state television."

"Iran has arrested eight people for working in 'un-Islamic' online modelling networks, particularly on Instagram, the head of Tehran's cybercrimes court said on state television. The arrests were made under a two-year-old sting operation named 'Spider II', targeting among others models who post photos online without the hijab covering the hair that is compulsory for women in public in Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution. It identified 170 people running online Instagram pages -- 59 photographers and makeup artists, 58 models, 51 fashion salon managers and designers, and two active institutions, according to a statement from the special court. 'We found out that about 20 percent of the (Iranian) Instagram feed is run by the modelling circle,' Javad Babaei said on state television late Sunday. They have been 'making and spreading immoral and un-Islamic culture and promiscuity', he said. Babaei said it was the judiciary's duty to 'confront those who committed these crimes in an organised manner'. In addition to the eight arrests, criminal cases have been opened against 21 other people, he said. The sting operation has homed in on a database of over 300 popular Iranian Instagram accounts and connected accounts, Babaei said." (AFP)

05-14-2016
Extremism

"Iranians staged an international contest for cartoons depicting the Holocaust but insisted the event was aimed at criticizing alleged Western double standards regarding free expression and not at denying the Nazi genocide."

"Iranians staged an international contest for cartoons depicting the Holocaust on Saturday but insisted the event was aimed at criticizing alleged Western double standards regarding free expression and not at denying the Nazi genocide. The event was nevertheless likely to shock many around the world and could embarrass Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other moderates who have tried to improve ties with the West following last year's landmark nuclear deal. Iran has long backed armed groups committed to Israel's destruction and its leaders have called for it to be wiped off the map. Iran has also criticized depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, arguing that Western countries tolerate expression deemed offensive to Islam but not the questioning or denial of the Holocaust. 'We have never been after denying of the Holocaust or ridiculing its victims,' contest organizer Masuod Shojai Tabatabaei said in a speech opening the event. 'If you find a single design that ridicules victims or denies, we are ready to close the exhibition,' he said. 'Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust were subject to oppression by Nazis.' ... The denial or questioning of the genocide is widespread in the Middle East, where many believe it has been used as a pretext for the creation of Israel and to excuse Israel's actions toward the Palestinians. 'Holocaust means mass killing,' Tabatabaei said. 'We are witnessing the biggest killings by the Zionist regime in Gaza and Palestine.'" (AP)
05-09-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Former US Marine who was held prisoner in Iran is suing the Islamist-led country seeking damages for torture while in custody... Lawsuit attempts to provide justice for this man and his family."

 

"A former U.S. Marine who was held prisoner in Iran for more than four years is suing the Islamist-led country, seeking damages for torture he endured while in custody, his lawyers announced Monday. Amir Hekmati, an Iranian-American from Michigan, was convicted on vague espionage charges after being taken into custody while on a visit to Iran. He and three other Americans of Iranian descent were released earlier this year as part of a prisoner swap negotiated between Iranian officials and the Obama administration. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and it seeks economic, compensatory, and punitive damages from a country that does not have diplomatic ties with the United States and is unlikely to recognize any court ruling against it. According to a news release, the complaint maintains that 'Iran's despicable behavior was outside the scope of immunity provided by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and therefore subjects Iran to suit in the United States.' It says that Hekmati was subject to beatings, sleep deprivation, forced drugging and psychological abuse. 'Iran's treatment of Amir Hekmati was utterly contemptible,' his attorney, Scott Gilbert, said in a statement. 'Amir can never be adequately compensated for his suffering. ... Our intention, with the filing of this lawsuit, is to attempt to provide at least some measure of justice for Amir and his family.'" (Politico)

05-09-2016
Anti-Americanism

"IRGC commander warns that his forces would drown American warships should they pose the slightest territorial threat to the country, says 'Wherever the Americans look in the Persian Gulf, they will see us.'"

 

"A commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that his forces would drown American warships should they pose the slightest territorial threat to the country. 'Wherever the Americans look in the Persian Gulf, they will see us,' Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, commander of the IRGC Navy, said in remarks on state television on Mondaynight. 'They know that if they commit the slightest mistake, we will drown their vessels in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, or the Sea of Oman,' he added. The commander further highlighted the Navy's defense might, saying Iran's enemies are only aware of a small fraction of the country's military capabilities. The IRGC has underground facilities housing surface-to-sea missiles and vessels, Fadavi noted." (Press TV Iran)

05-09-2016
Human Rights

"A British-Iranian woman is being held in solitary confinement in Iran: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 37-year-old project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news agency's charitable arm (has been arrested) by Iran's elite IRGC."

 

"A British-Iranian woman is being held in solitary confinement in Iran, away from her two-year-old daughter, after they attempted to return to the UK from a family visit. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 37-year-old project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news agency's charitable arm, was arrested in early April in Tehran by members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport, where she and her daughter, Gabriella, were about to board a flight back to the UK. The mother has since been separated from her daughter, who is British and does not have Iranian nationality; she has been placed in the care of Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family in Iran and her passport confiscated. Her father, Richard Ratcliffe, who has been advised not to travel to Iran, says he has not seen or held his daughter since she went holiday, or spoken to his wife since her arrest. 'It is now nearly two months since I saw or held my little girl. I cannot get her back: her passport is confiscated, I have no visa, and I have been advised not to try and go to Iran,' Ratcliffe said... 'It is hard to understand how a young mother and her small child on holiday could be considered an issue of national security. She has been over to visit her family regularly since making Britain her home,' her husband said in a statement. He has not been able to speak to his wife since the arrest. 'The cruelty of the situation seems both outrageous and arbitrary - that a young mum and baby can be treated as some national security threat is absurd, far outside any reality our family was familiar with,' he said. 'But it is also very real. In its isolation and pressures on her, it is a cruelty that is clearly deliberate and designed. And I have been powerless to stop it. After 36 days we have gone public, against the advice of the [Foreign Office], in the hope that with others and with public pressure that might change.'" (Guardian)

05-09-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iranian lawmakers call on President Rouhani to stop implementing a nuclear agreement if the US continues violating the accord and maintains its hostile policies...They accused the US of backpedaling on the agreement", reports Iran's Press TV.

 

"A group of Iranian lawmakers have called on President Hassan Rouhani to stop implementing a nuclear agreement if the US continues violating the accord and maintains its hostile policies. As many as 102 legislators on Monday urged President Rouhani to set a deadline for reconsidering Iran's voluntary implementation of nuclear-related measures under the agreement. They asked the government to resume all nuclear activities under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in case the US refuses to return some $2 billion recently taken away from frozen Iranian assets. They accused the US administration of backpedaling on the June 2015 agreement, sabotaging the deal and blackmailing over the removal of sanctions. The lawmakers asked the government to respond in kind, with regard to the seizure of Iran's frozen assets by the US." (Press TV Iran)

05-09-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran's elite IRGC members were killed during an attack by militants in northern Syria in what shows Tehran's deep involvement in the Syrian civil war. Iran is one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers along with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah."

 

"More than a dozen members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards were killed this week during an attack by militants in northern Syria in what shows Tehran's deep involvement in the Syrian civil war. Iran has been one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers and has, along with Lebanon's Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group, sent fighters to battle on the government's side. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted Hossein Ali Rezaei, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard in the northern province of Mazandaran, as saying that 13 members were killed and 21 were wounded. Rezaei did not say when or where the incident occurred but another semi-official news agency, Tasnim, quoted a Revolutionary Guard spokesman in the same area as saying that they were killed when a coalition of insurgents, including al-Qaida's branch in Syria known as the Nusra Front, seized the northern village of Khan Touman from pro-government forces... The announcement in Tehran came as a senior Iranian official met with Assad in Damascus and vowed continued support for his government in the country's five-year-old civil war. Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by Syria's state news agency SANA as saying that Tehran will always stand by Syria because it 'knows that terrorism does not target Syria but the whole people of the region.'" (AP)

05-09-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran test-fires another ballistic missile, the latest in a spate of tests following the implementation of the nuclear deal with world powers earlier this year"

"Iran test-fired another ballistic missile, the latest in a spate of tests following the implementation of the nuclear deal with world powers earlier this year, according to a report Monday by the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency. The test-firing of the missile was carried out two weeks ago, the agency quoted Gen. Ali Abdollahi, deputy chief of the armed forces' headquarters, as saying. Tasnim is close to the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard, which is in charge of Iranian ballistic missiles program. The agency said the missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers, or 1,250 miles - enough to reach much of the Middle East. Iranian military commanders have described them as a strategic asset and a strong deterrent, capable of hitting U.S. bases or Israel in the event of a strike on Iran. Iran insists the ballistic tests do not violate the nuclear deal and is likely seeking to demonstrate it is making progress with its ballistic program, despite scaling back on the nuclear program following the deal that led to the lifting of international sanction on Tehran. Abdollahi said the latest missile tested is very accurate, within 8 meters (yards). 'Eight meters means nothing, it means it's without any error,' he said. He did not elaborate. Last month, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guard's airspace division, said a new, upgraded version of the Sajjil - a solid fuel high-speed missile with a range of 1,200 miles that was first tested in 2008 - would soon be ready. But it was not immediately clear if the missile Abdollahi referred to was the new Sajjil. In March, Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles - one emblazoned with the phrase 'Israel must be wiped out' in Hebrew - that set off an international outcry." (AP)
 

05-06-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's President Rouhani criticizes the US for supporting terrorism in strongest terms since taking office in 2013, says "the responsibility for all of these crimes is [on] the Zionists and the Americans."

 

"In the latest attack, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who has always distrusted the United States while simultaneously giving the green light for the nuclear negotiations - accused the United States of being anti-Shiite, the predominant sect to which the majority of Iranians belong. 'Today, anti-Islam, anti-Iran and anti-Shiism are the definitive policies of America and the governments who are affiliated with it,' said Khamenei during a May 5 speech to administration officials, the heads of branches of the government and ambassadors from Islamic countries on the occasion of the anniversary of the day Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation. Khamenei criticized the United States, which he referred to with the religiously charged terms of 'ignorance and idolatrous,' for having dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima, killing hundreds of thousands but after many years 'still not ready to apologize.' He also blamed the United States for destroying the infrastructure of countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq and not being willing to accept responsibility for what they have done. According to Khamenei, 'reactionary Islam' - the violent jihadi movements taking over parts of the Middle East - and 'American Islam' - a softer and more liberal type of Islam promoted by Western countries - are two movements with the same goals. Khamenei also repeated an old claim that terrorists groups in the Middle East are supported by the United States, saying, 'Corrupt groups who committed the worst crimes in the name of Islam are supported and backed by the West.' He continued, 'In appearance the West forms an anti-Islamic State coalition, but in reality they support this group and within the anti-Islam framework refer to them as the Islamic State and ruin the image of Islam.' ... Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also addressed the crowd at the event, echoing many of Khamenei's criticisms of the United States. Rouhani said that anti-Islam Westerners and their mercenaries in the region are 'the two blades of a scissor.' While he did not blame the United States or the West for supporting terrorist groups in the region, he did criticize the US occupation of Afghanistan and invasion of Iraq, and the chaos those military campaigns created, saying, 'The responsibility for all of these crimes is [on] the Zionists and the Americans.' Rouhani's criticism of the United States is perhaps his strongest since taking office in 2013." (Al-Monitor)

05-06-2016
Human Rights

"Iran's Intelligence Ministry officials are increasingly harassing and threatening independent journalists in an apparent move to dissuade them from feeling emboldened by centrist candidates' gains in the county's recent Parliamentary election."

 

"Iran's Intelligence Ministry officials are increasingly harassing and threatening independent journalists in an apparent move to dissuade them from feeling emboldened by reformist and centrist candidates' gains in the county's recent Parliamentary elections. 'I received calls on my mobile phone two or three times a day from an unknown number. After three days I finally answered and a man who introduced himself as an agent of the Intelligence Ministry asked me to go to the Laleh Hotel's restaurant for a friendly meeting,' one journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The agent then reminded the journalist about the 'red lines' journalists should not cross, the source told the Campaign. 'He told me not to be deceived by promises. My place is not in prison, he said, and he told me not to assume something significant has happened with the change in Parliament's make-up [which has tilted] in favor of the reformists,' said the journalist. 'He said I'm under surveillance and warned me that [while I] may not be arrested, my articles would be saved as evidence,' added the journalist. The intimidation of journalists has been a long-standing practice of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Yet these recent incidents involved the Ministry of Intelligence, which is under the direct authority of President Rouhani." (ICHRI)

05-05-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Tensions between Iran and the US show signs of worsening as the Iranians threaten to block a vital Persian Gulf access route and protest what they call the American 'meddling approach and and tone.'"

 

"Tensions between Iran and the United States, never far from the surface, showed signs of worsening on Wednesday, with the Iranians threatening to block a vital Persian Gulf access route and protesting what they called the American 'meddling approach and tone.' The Iranian messages, conveyed in statements by a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and by the Foreign Ministry, came a few days after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, expressed exasperation with the United States, questioning the longstanding deployment of the Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf. 'It is Americans who should explain why they have come here from the other side of the world and stage war games,' the ayatollah said in remarks widely reported in Iran's state news media. Together, the messages appeared to reflect a steady buildup of anti-American sentiment in Iran recently despite the nuclear agreement that took effect in January, which, on paper at least, eased the country's economic isolation... But the Iranians have not yet benefited economically and have accused the United States of obstructing their ability to do business and attract investments, in part because of other American financial restrictions unaffected by the nuclear agreement... The Iranians have also taken note of efforts by some lawmakers in Washington who opposed the nuclear agreement and who have warned against a resumption of commercial dealings with Iran. On Monday, for example, three members of Congress sent a letter to Boeing's chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, urging him 'in the strongest possible terms' not to execute any sales to Iran, which the company is considering after meeting with Iranian aviation officials last month. Boeing has not commented on the letter but has acknowledged opening discussions with Iran. The Iranians have also been seething over an April 20 Supreme Court ruling that permitted the use of nearly $2 billion in seized Iranian assets to compensate American victims of overseas attacks that United States officials have attributed to Iran despite its denials. Iran remains on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, another sore point with the Iranians." (NYT)

05-05-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan pledges support for Palestinian groups that fight against the 'Zionist regime,' in a meeting with the head of Islamic Jihad."

 

"Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan pledged support for Palestinian groups that fight against the 'Zionist regime,' in a meeting with the head of Islamic Jihad. 'The secret of victory over the Zionist regime and the liberation of the Holy al-Quds [Jerusalem] lie in the unity of all Muslims,' Dehqan told Ramadan Shalah in their meeting in Iran on Tuesday, Fars News Agency reported. 'The goal of the big powers is to wage war, create turmoil and promote terrorism in the region in a bid to guarantee the security of the Zionist regime and forget the Palestinian cause,' the defense minister said. Shalah and his delegation met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, and have met other Iranian leaders during their current visit." (JPost)

05-04-2016
Anti-Americanism

"The deputy commander of Iran's powerful IRGC says Iranian forces will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies if they 'threaten' the Islamic Republic."

 

"The deputy commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Iranian forces will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the United States and its allies if they 'threaten' the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday. The comments by Gen. Hossein Salami, carried on state television, follow a long history of both rhetoric and confrontation between Iran and the U.S. over the narrow strait, through which nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes. The remarks by the acting commander of the Guard also follow those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who on Monday criticized U.S. activities in the Persian Gulf. It's unclear whether that signals any new Iranian concern over the strait or possible confrontation with the U.S. following its nuclear deal with world powers. In his remarks, Salami said that 'Americans should learn from recent historical truths,' likely referring to the January capture of 10 U.S. sailors who entered Iranian waters. The sailors were released less than a day later, though state TV aired footage of the sailors on their knees with their hands on their heads. 'If the Americans and their regional allies want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and threaten us, we will not allow any entry,' Salami said, without elaborating on what he and other leaders would consider a threat. He added: 'Americans cannot make safe any part of the world.'" (AP)

05-03-2016
Human Rights

"In Iran, religious freedom is 'deteriorating.' Religious minorities are subject to arrest, torture and even execution 'based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused,' the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

 

"In Iran, religious freedom is 'deteriorating,' according to a new government report. Religious minorities are subject to arrest, torture and even execution 'based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused,' the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote in a report issued Monday. The population of Iran is 99 percent Muslim, made up mostly of Shi'a Muslims. According to the report, the government discriminates against people of other faiths - such as Sunni Muslims and Christians - who are facing 'increasing religious freedom abuses.' 'Since President Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013, the number of individuals from religious minority communities who are in prison because of their beliefs has increased,' the report noted... In Iran, the report encouraged the Obama administration to 'ensure that violations of freedom of religion or belief and related human rights are part of multilateral or bilateral discussions with the Iranian government whenever possible, and continue to work closely with European and other allies to apply pressure through a combination of advocacy, diplomacy, and targeted sanctions.'" (The Hill)

05-03-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader says "that the United States is the Middle East's main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second

"Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said; that the United States is the Middle East's main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second. Speaking at a meeting in Tehran on Sunday with the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ramadan Abdullah, Khamenei said that looking at the turmoil in the region in a 'macro' sense, the US was clearly to blame, with Israel following closely behind. PIJ is an Islamist terrorist organization. In comments carried by Iranian websites, some of which were then posted to Khamenei's Twitter page, the Iranian leader unleashed a series of anti-US and anti-Israel remarks. Khamenei, said Iran's Mehr News agency, 'reaffirmed that with this perspective in regional issues, Iran sees the United States as main enemy with the Zionist regime standing behind it. He pointed to extensive, unprecedented sanctions of US and its followers against the Islamic establishment in recent years and dubbed the objective of them as discouraging Iran from continuing its path; 'but they failed to achieve their goals and will fail in future as well.'' The ongoing unrest in the Middle East, Khamenei alleged, is a continuance of the 'war' waged on Iran by US-led Western governments since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 'and the Palestine issue is the key issue,' Khamenei tweeted. The Iranian leader said Iran was backing embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad 'because those standing against Syria are in fact enemies to core of Islam and serve the interests of the US and Zionist regime.' In yet another swipe at the US, the Iranian supreme leader said an 'arrogance front' has tried to portray the unrest in the region as a power play between Shia and Sunni Islam but that 'clash is a colonialist, US plot.' The supreme leader further said that 'defending Palestine' was an Iranian duty that also symbolized 'defending Islam,' and vowed to keep supporting the Palestinian cause." (Times of Israel)

05-03-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader says "that the United States is the Middle East's main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second."

"Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that the United States is the Middle East's main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second. Speaking at a meeting in Tehran on Sunday with the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ramadan Abdullah, Khamenei said that looking at the turmoil in the region in a 'macro' sense, the US was clearly to blame, with Israel following closely behind. PIJ is an Islamist terrorist organization. In comments carried by Iranian websites, some of which were then posted to Khamenei's Twitter page, the Iranian leader unleashed a series of anti-US and anti-Israel remarks. Khamenei, said Iran's Mehr News agency, 'reaffirmed that with this perspective in regional issues, Iran sees the United States as main enemy with the Zionist regime standing behind it. He pointed to extensive, unprecedented sanctions of US and its followers against the Islamic establishment in recent years and dubbed the objective of them as discouraging Iran from continuing its path; 'but they failed to achieve their goals and will fail in future as well.'' The ongoing unrest in the Middle East, Khamenei alleged, is a continuance of the 'war' waged on Iran by US-led Western governments since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 'and the Palestine issue is the key issue,' Khamenei tweeted. The Iranian leader said Iran was backing embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad 'because those standing against Syria are in fact enemies to core of Islam and serve the interests of the US and Zionist regime.' In yet another swipe at the US, the Iranian supreme leader said an 'arrogance front' has tried to portray the unrest in the region as a power play between Shia and Sunni Islam but that 'clash is a colonialist, US plot.' The supreme leader further said that 'defending Palestine' was an Iranian duty that also symbolized 'defending Islam,' and vowed to keep supporting the Palestinian cause." (Times of Israel) 

05-02-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran offers to help the global community construct nuclear power plants, according to a top official, who says Iran would be home to seven new nuclear plants by 2020, according to recent remarks (by) the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization."

 

"Iran is offering to help the global community construct nuclear power plants, according to a top official, who said that Iran would be home to seven new nuclear plants by 2020, according to recent remarks. Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, announced on Friday that Iran has the technology and know-how to help the world's advanced nations construct nuclear power plants. Iran is currently holding talks with a variety of nations aimed at cementing new deals to construct new nuclear plants, Kamalvandi was quoted as saying in the country's state-controlled press. 'Besides Bushehr nuclear power plant and two other plants being constructed in Iran, four others will be built by 2020,' Kamalvandi announced. Iran has been working with Russia to construct several new nuclear plants in the country. 'The Islamic Republic is pursuing a plan 'to build at least one nuclear power plant every 15 years,' Kamalvandi said in separate remarks this month." (Free Beacon)

05-02-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran passes a law allowing the government to grant citizenship to the families of foreigners killed while fighting for the Islamic republic."

 

"Iran has passed a law allowing the government to grant citizenship to the families of foreigners killed while fighting for the Islamic republic, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday. 'Members of the parliament authorised the government to grant Iranian citizenship to the wife, children and parents of foreign martyrs who died on a mission... during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and afterwards,' it said. Citizenship must be awarded 'within a maximum period of one year after the request', IRNA added... The law could apply to 'volunteers' from Afghanistan and Pakistan who are fighting in Syria and Iraq against jihadists including the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front... Tehran says its Fatemiyoun Brigade, comprised of Afghan recruits, are volunteers defending sacred Shiite sites in Syria and Iraq against Sunni extremists like those of IS... Iranian media regularly report on the death of Afghan and Pakistani volunteers in Syria and Iraq, whose bodies are buried in Iran." (AFP)

05-02-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Supreme Leader criticizes the US presence in the Persian Gulf region, saying American forces should go back to the Bay of Pigs, state media reported."

 

"Iran's Supreme Leader criticized the U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf region on Monday, saying American forces should go back to the Bay of Pigs, state media reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a group of teachers Monday that American military drills in the region were proof of U.S. arrogance. 'They sit together, scheme and say that Iran must not hold war games in the Persian Gulf. What a foolish remark! They come here from the other side of the globe and stage war games. What are you doing here? Go back to the Bay of Pigs. Go and hold exercises there. What are you doing in the Persian Gulf? The Persian Gulf is our home,' said Khamenei. State TV broadcast part of his speech. His remarks were an apparent reference to the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba by 1,500 CIA-trained exiles. Muslims also view pigs as unclean animals as the Quran prohibits followers of Islam from eating pork." (AP)

05-01-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Leader says "that the United States is the Middle East's main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second."

"Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that the United States is the Middle East’s main enemy, with the 'Zionist regime' a close second. Speaking at a meeting in Tehran on Sunday with the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ramadan Abdullah, Khamenei said that looking at the turmoil in the region in a 'macro' sense, the US was clearly to blame, with Israel following closely behind. PIJ is an Islamist terrorist organization. In comments carried by Iranian websites, some of which were then posted to Khamenei’s Twitter page, the Iranian leader unleashed a series of anti-US and anti-Israel remarks. Khamenei, said Iran’s Mehr News agency, 'reaffirmed that with this perspective in regional issues, Iran sees the United States as main enemy with the Zionist regime standing behind it. He pointed to extensive, unprecedented sanctions of US and its followers against the Islamic establishment in recent years and dubbed the objective of them as discouraging Iran from continuing its path; ‘but they failed to achieve their goals and will fail in future as well.’' The ongoing unrest in the Middle East, Khamenei alleged, is a continuance of the 'war' waged on Iran by US-led Western governments since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 'and the Palestine issue is the key issue,' Khamenei tweeted. The Iranian leader said Iran was backing embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad 'because those standing against Syria are in fact enemies to core of Islam and serve the interests of the US and Zionist regime.' In yet another swipe at the US, the Iranian supreme leader said an 'arrogance front' has tried to portray the unrest in the region as a power play between Shia and Sunni Islam but that 'clash is a colonialist, US plot.' The supreme leader further said that 'defending Palestine' was an Iranian duty that also symbolized 'defending Islam,' and vowed to keep supporting the Palestinian cause." (Times of Israel)

04-28-2016
Extremism

"Secretary of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest and Exhibition Seyed Massoud Shojayee Tabatabayee says the event is aimed at preventing the Zionist regime's further crime against the Palestinians, and is not at all after antisemitism."

 

"Secretary of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest and Exhibition Seyed Massoud Shojayee Tabatabayee said the event is aimed at preventing the Zionist regime's further crime against the Palestinians, and is not at all after antisemitism. 'We are not after anti-Semites, rather we seek to address the fake Zionist regime,' Shojayee Tabatabayee told FNA on Wednesday. 'The issues that we raise about the Holocaust are not related to spreading racist hatred and violence,' he added, referring to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent interview with New Yorker on the Holocaust Contest in Iran. When asked by the New Yorker in an interview earlier this week, why Iran allows a cartoon festival on the Holocaust, Zarif told the US magazine 'why does the United States have the Ku Klux Klan? Is the government of the United States responsible for the fact that there are racially hateful organizations in the United States? Don't consider Iran a monolith. The Iranian government does not support, nor does it organize, any cartoon festival of the nature that you're talking about'. Shojayee Tabatabayee filed a response to Zarif, saying 'Generally speaking, Mr. Zarif is not familiar with the events happening in relation to the Holocaust exhibition (and cartoon contest) and no one has provided him with any relevant information either'. He, meantime, pointed to the western media (including Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo)'s blasphemous cartoons of Islam's holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and said 'we held the first edition of the Holocaust Cartoon Contest' as the westerners claim that freedom of expression is limitless and anything can be worked on." (Fars Iran)

04-28-2016
Military

"'Iran and Russia have developed 'specific plans' for bolstering the two countries' military and technical cooperation', says Iran's Defense Minister."

 

"Iran and Russia have developed 'specific plans' for bolstering the two countries' military and technical cooperation, says Iran's defense minister. Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan made the announcement following a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held on the sidelines of the 5th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS) in the Russian capital on Wednesday. During the meeting 'Russia and Iran reached... some agreements and drew up specific plans towards furthering military and technical cooperation,' he noted. Referring to Iran's historical nuclear agreement, Dehqan said 'under the current conditions bright horizons can be drawn for strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields.' ... Dehqan noted that close cooperation between Tehran and Moscow will help return 'stability and security' to the world and hasten the eradication of terrorism and the problems it creates." (Press TV Iran)

04-27-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's supreme leader and president accuses the United States of hostility and bad faith, saying the implementation of its nuclear deal with world powers was not being honoured."

 

"Iran's supreme leader and president accused the United States of hostility and bad faith Wednesday, saying the implementation of its nuclear deal with world powers was not being honoured. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed other officials in Tehran who allege that Washington is creating hurdles for European financial institutions, more than three months after the agreement came into force. With nuclear-related sanctions lifted, US and European diplomats have said there is no bar on non-American banks doing business with Iran. But it is not happening in reality, Khamenei said. 'On paper they say that foreign banks can do business with Iran but, in practice, they are fomenting Iranophobia to prevent relations. The United States creates disruptions and then asks us afterwards: 'Why are you suspicious'?' Khamenei told workers in the capital. European officials have told AFP their bankers fear they could face fines or even criminal cases against their US subsidiaries if they rush back to Tehran. At a separate event, President Hassan Rouhani criticised a decision by the US Supreme Court last week to make $2 billion of frozen Iranian assets available to American victims of terror attacks. US officials blame Tehran for attacks including the bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. Tehran threatened on Monday to take action in the International Court of Justice against the US if the $2 billion belonging to Iran's Central Bank is 'diverted' to 1,000 Americans affected by the ruling. 'This is a totally illegal action and contrary to international rules and immunity of central banks,' Rouhani said, calling it 'a violation and open hostility by the United States against the Iranian people.'" (AFP)

04-26-2016
Human Rights

"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Iran 169th of 180 countries in its 2016 edition of the World Press Freedom Index. Iran climbed four places since last year's report but remains one of the most repressive countries in the world."

 

"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Iran 169th of 180 countries in its 2016 edition of the World Press Freedom Index. Iran climbed four places since last year's report but remains one of the most repressive countries in the world when it comes to press freedom. According the RSF report, which was published on Wednesday, 20 April, this year's index saw a 'deep and disturbing decline in respect for media freedom at both the global and regional levels.' Since 2013, the overall level of media freedom in the world has declined by 13.6 percent... Iran is rated the world's third biggest prison for journalists by RSF, and ranks among the top three most censored countries in Freedom House Freedom House's annual study of internet freedom." (Journalism Is Not a Crime)

04-26-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran threatens to sue the US at the ICJ "to prevent the distribution of nearly $2 billion in impounded assets from Iran's central bank to compensate American victims of overseas attacks."

 

"Iran said on Monday that it would seek to sue the United States at the International Court of Justice at The Hague to prevent the distribution of nearly $2 billion in impounded assets from Iran's central bank to compensate American victims of overseas attacks. Distribution of the impounded assets, which the United States Supreme Court validated in a decision last week, has enraged the Iranians and threatened to damage the improvement in relations created by the deal reached last July on Iran's nuclear activities. The Supreme Court decision affected more than 1,000 Americans - survivors of, and relatives of people killed in, attacks that the American authorities have attributed to Iranian operatives. The attacks include the 1983 truck bombing of a Marine base in Beirut and a truck bombing in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in 1996. The Iranians have denied responsibility for these attacks and have accused the United States of using them as an excuse to steal their money through the Supreme Court decision. 'We hold the U.S. administration responsible for preservation of Iranian funds, and if they are plundered, we will lodge a complaint with the I.C.J. for reparation,' Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters on Mondayin Tehran. He was referring to the International Court of Justice." (NYT)

04-26-2016
Human Rights

"An Iranian revolutionary court handed down long prison terms to four journalists supportive of the government of President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian news media reported. All were convicted on charges of having acted against national security."

 

"An Iranian revolutionary court handed down long prison terms on Tuesday to four journalists supportive of the government of President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian news media reported. All were convicted on charges of having acted against national security. Noting that Mr. Rouhani has called for more press freedom in several speeches, analysts said the prison sentences were a warning by Iran's conservative-dominated judiciary that it would not accept any relaxation of the rules for journalists. A prominent reporter and actress, Afarin Chitsaz, was sentenced to 10 years, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported... All of the journalists worked for reformist newspapers. They included the editor in chief of Farhikhtegan, Eshan Manzandarani, who received a seven-year sentence. The other two were Davood Asadi, who received five years, and Eshan Safarzaiee, who received seven years. The four were arrested in November by the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on suspicion of assisting the United States in ''infiltrating' the country. Ms. Chitsaz was also convicted of 'having connections with foreign governments,' her lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, said in an interview... International press freedom groups denounced the punishments. 'Convicting journalists for 'acting against national security' underlines the need to change the overbroad laws that lead to the harassment and jailing of the media,' the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement. 'Iranian authorities must cease imprisoning journalists.'" (NYT)

"An Iranian court has sentenced four pro-reform journalists to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years after convicting them on charges of acting against national security. State TV's website said on Tuesday that the verdicts can be appealed. The four were arrested in November as part of ongoing crackdown by hard-liners, a move that was criticized by moderate President Hassan Rouhani. Several Iranian activists and cultural figures were also arrested in the run-up to February elections for parliament and the all-cleric Assembly of Experts. The four sentenced have worked for various newspapers, including pro-reform Farhikhtegan daily. They include Davood Asadi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ehsun Mazandarani was given a seven-year term while Afarin Chitsaz and Ehsan Safarzaiee each have to spend five years behind bars." (AP)

04-26-2016
Syria Conflict

US and Iran are unable to work together to defeat the Islamic State, despite the nuclear deal. Furthermore, "Iran's proxies are undercutting efforts to unite the civilian population, a necessity if Iraq is to eventually extinguish extremism."

 

"Iraqi forces, backed by American airstrikes and advised by American officers, have been making strides in Anbar Province, slowly taking back territory from the Islamic State. But in Falluja, a city in Sunni-dominated Anbar that has been in the hands of the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, civilians are starving as the Iraqi Army and militias lay siege to the city. And elsewhere in the province, Shiite militias supported by Iran are carrying out kidnappings and murders and restricting the movement of Sunni Arab civilians, according to American and Iraqi officials... A growing number of critics are warning that American-backed military victories need to be backed up with political reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Arabs, something Iran is working against, and with determined efforts to rebuild cities so that civilians can return. In Anbar, they note, the situation is bleak: Shiite militias have worsened sectarian animosities, and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been unable to return home. More broadly, analysts and officials say, it has become clear that though the United States and Iran both want to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq, they have been unable to work together to promote unity in the country - even after a deal was reached last year over Iran's nuclear program, which many hoped would allow them to cooperate more closely... Iran's proxies are undercutting efforts to unite the civilian population, a necessity if Iraq is to eventually extinguish extremism." (NYT)

04-25-2016
Human Rights

"A French-Iranian citizen who left Iran in 2009 after facing espionage charges has been sentenced to six years in jail following her return to the country to visit her critically ill mother, an opposition website reports."

 

"A French-Iranian citizen who left Iran in 2009 after facing espionage charges has been sentenced to six years in jail following her return to the country to visit her critically ill mother, an opposition website reported. Former French embassy employee Nazak Afshar, 58, was arrested last month on arrival at Tehran airport, website Kaleme said late on Sunday. She was freed on bail from Evin prison after sentencing, it said. The Iranian judiciary has not commented on her case or made the charges against her public. Afshar, who had dual citizenship, was arrested and tried in 2009 on charges of spying and acting against Iran's national security. No verdict was issued and she was freed following the intervention of the French government, leaving the country the same year. The potential opening up to the West after last year's nuclear deal has alarmed Iranian hardliners, and Afshar's arrest appears to be part of a crackdown against what some officials have portrayed as Western infiltration. Several other dual-nationality citizens or expatriates have been arrested on returning to visit Iran, and a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said on Sunday that four had recently been sentenced for their connections to foreign countries. 'Five people who were arrested recently for their connections outside the country were put on trial ...and four of them have received their sentences,' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency... Iranian conservative media reported last week that the presenter of a pro-opposition television channel was arrested as he traveled to Iran in 'the disguise of visiting relatives.' Sabri Hassanpour, was host of the online network 'Simay-e Rahayi' (Liberation TV) in the Netherlands, and an outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic. Other dual nationals Iran is holding include Iranian-Briton Kamal Foroughi, 76, who was arrested in 2011 while working in Tehran as a business consultant. Iranian-US citizens Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father, Baquer, are also in jail." (Reuters)

04-22-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran attempts to launch a new long-range rocket in order to place a satellite into orbit, violating a UN Security Council resolution which prohibits the testing of ballistic missile technology.

 

"While President Obama was preparing to head to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Iran launched a new long-range rocket but it did not accomplish the rogue nation's goal of putting a satellite into orbit, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday. The Pentagon is concerned the components Iran uses to put a missile into space are the same ones used for an potential long-range strike against the West in the future. Last month the secretive regime reportedly tested missiles featuring the phrase 'Israel must be wiped out' scrawled on them in Hebrew. Iran has launched a series of rockets into orbit within the past year. The State Department claims such launches do not violate the nuclear deal signed with the U.S. and other Western nations, but are 'inconsistent' with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which was tied to the nuclear deal when it went into effect. The resolution states Iran cannot 'undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.' 'If it's true, and we're talking about a ballistic missile launch or the testing of ballistic missile technologies, that's obviously of concern to us,' State Dept. spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. The vehicle launched on Tuesday was a Simorgh rocket, The Washington Free Beacon reports. In 2010, then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first unveiled the rocket to the public." (Fox News

04-22-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran denounces as 'theft' a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American families of those killed in attacks blamed on the Islamic Republic, state television reported."

 

"Iran has denounced as 'theft' a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American families of those killed in attacks blamed on the Islamic Republic, state television reported. The ruling was handed down on Wednesday as U.S. President Barack Obama visited Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, hoping to reduce Gulf states' fears over Iranian influence in the region. 'This is totally rejected. It is theft ... it is like stealing Iran's money and we condemn it,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying. 'The decision is incompatible with international laws.' The court found that the U.S. Congress had not usurped the authority of the courts by passing a law in 2012 stating that the frozen funds should go toward satisfying a $2.65 billion judgment against Iran won by the families in a U.S. federal court in 2007. The ruling would affect, among others, the families of 241 U.S. soldiers killed in truck bomb attacks on a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in October 1983... 'The (U.S. court) ruling again displayed America's hostility towards Iran ... and proved that America cannot be trusted,' Jaber Ansari said." (Reuters)

04-21-2016
Anti-Americanism

"US Supreme Court rules that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran."

 

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran. The court's 6-2 ruling dealt a setback to Iran's central bank, finding that the U.S. Congress did not usurp the authority of American courts by passing a 2012 law stating that the frozen funds should go toward satisfying a $2.65 billion judgment won by the families against Iran in U.S. federal court in 2007. Bank Markazi had challenged a 2014 ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the assets, bonds held in a trust account overseen by former federal judge Stanley Sporkin, should be handed over to the more than 1,000 American plaintiffs. With the legal questions resolved, lawyers for the plaintiffs said all that is left is for a federal judge to allow Sporkin to distribute the funds. The lead plaintiff was Deborah Peterson, whose brother, Marine Lance Corporal James Knipple, died in the Beirut bombing. Peterson said for her the legal fight has never been about the just money. 'The mission was for those responsible for the bombing to be held accountable and for the world to understand what happened in Beirut,' Peterson said. Ted Olson, the lawyer for the victims who argued the case before the Supreme Court, said the ruling brings 'long-overdue relief to more than 1,000 victims of Iranian terrorism and their families, many of whom have waited decades for redress.' ... Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who authored the 2012 legislation in question, called the ruling 'a long-awaited victory for justice.' 'So long as Iran continues its support for terrorism, its regime will be held liable for its actions,' Menendez said. The Obama administration filed court papers backing the families. The assets held in New York were part of the Iranian bank's foreign currency reserves. They were traced to a Citibank account in New York held by Luxemburg-based Clearstream Banking, which acted as a intermediary for Banca UBAE, an Italian bank of which Bank Markazi is a customer." (Reuters)

04-20-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran's Supreme Leader attacks Saudi Arabia's attempts to isolate its ally Hezbollah, says: "Hezbollah is shining in the Muslim world. It doesn't matter if a corrupt, dependent and hollow government with the use of petrodollars condemns it in a statement."

 

"U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman ahead of a summit with other Gulf Arab leaders on Thursday and with regional tensions with Iran likely to be high on the agenda. Obama comes to the world's top oil exporter for a fourth and likely last time as president hoping to reassure it and other Gulf allies of Washington's commitment to their security, and to seek ways to reduce sectarian tensions in the region... The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman which are ruled mostly by Sunni Muslim monarchies, with the exception of Oman. They see Shi'ite Iran as a threat to their security and say its involvement in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen has fueled conflict and deepened sectarian divisions. That tension surfaced again on Wednesday when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei attacked Riyadh's attempts to isolate its ally, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, in a series of fiery Tweets. 'Hezbollah is shining in the Muslim world. It doesn't matter if a corrupt, dependent and hollow government with the use of petrodollars condemns it in a statement. To hell with it,' he wrote. The White House shares the view of Gulf Arab states that Tehran plays a destabilizing role, but has said it hopes to bring them and Iran to develop a 'cold peace' in which their rivalry does not further inflame smoldering Middle East tensions. Greeting Obama in an ornate room in a Riyadh palace, King Salman said he was pleased the American president was visiting and Obama thanked him for hosting the summit. Before Obama met King Salman, in an ornate room in a Riyadh palace, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter had talks with his Gulf Arab counterparts on ways of countering Iranian influence and fighting the Islamic State group, hours before President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia. They agreed on joint cooperation toward improving Gulf missile defense, special forces and maritime security, but no new deals were announced. The GCC secretary general said the bloc and the United States would stage joint maritime patrols to stop weapons smuggling to Iran. American officials said these were already taking place and did not represent a new step." (Reuters)

04-18-2016
Human Rights

"Police in Iran's capital have a network of 7,000 undercover agents whose job is to inform on alleged moral transgressors in the Islamic republic."

 

"Police in Iran's capital have a network of 7,000 undercover agents whose job is to inform on alleged moral transgressors in the Islamic republic, a top official said Monday. Bad veiling -- covering the head is mandatory for women in Iran -- and anti-social behaviour is among the crimes the force has been tasked with tackling. The men and women's 'undercover patrols will confront implicit transgressions in the city,' according to General Hossein Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief. 'Confronting bad hijab and removal of veils inside cars, driving recklessly, parading in the streets, harassing women and stopping noise pollution are the priorities' for the agents, he said Sajedinia's remarks were published by Mizan Online, the official news service for Iran's judiciary, along with pictures of himself and a large formation of plain-clothed agents in Tehran." (AFP)

04-18-2016
Human Rights

Iranian physicist Omid Kokabee is imprisoned due to refusal to collaborate on Iran's nuclear programme, his family now asks for his release due to cancer diagnosis.

 

"An Iranian physicist imprisoned in Tehran since 2011 is suffering from life-threatening kidney cancer, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said on Monday. Omid Kokabee, 34, was arrested while on a visit to Iran from the United States, where he was studying physics at the University of Texas. He was charged with communicating with a hostile government and receiving illegitimate funds. His family has asked for his immediate release due to his severe health condition. 'The prison doctors were prescribing painkiller without even examining him,' an informed source was quoted as saying by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an independent organisation based in New York. 'It was only last week that Omid was diagnosed with cancer and now the cancerous tumour has spread all over his right kidney,' it said. Iranian judiciary officials have said Kokabee was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail and the Islamic Republic will not bow to international pressure calling for his release. Kokabee has said he had been tortured in prison, both physically and mentally, and forced to make confessions. In letters from Evin prison in 2011 and 2013, Kokabee wrote that his imprisonment was the result of his refusal to heed pressure by Iranian government to collaborate on a secret research project, most probably refering to Iran's nuclear programme." (Reuters)

04-17-2016
Syria Conflict

On Iran's National Army Day parade, Iran's President claims 'If tomorrow your capitals face danger from terrorism or Zionism, the power that will give you a positive answer is the Islamic Republic of Iran,'"

 

"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday vowed to defend Muslim countries against terrorism and Israel while insisting that its neighbors should not feel threatened. Speaking during a National Army Day parade in which Iranian forces displayed sophisticated air defense systems recently acquired from Russia, Rouhani praised Tehran's role in helping the Syrian and Iraqi governments roll back the Islamic State group. 'If tomorrow your capitals face danger from terrorism or Zionism, the power that will give you a positive answer is the Islamic Republic of Iran,' he said. But he added that Iran would only help if Muslim countries asked it to, and said its military power was purely for defensive and deterrent purposes." (AP)

04-17-2016
Politics

"A newly elected female MP in Iran is to be barred from entering the next parliament apparently because she is alleged to have shaken hands with an unrelated man during a trip abroad."

 

"A newly elected female MP in Iran is to be barred from entering the next parliament apparently because she is alleged to have shaken hands with an unrelated man during a trip abroad. Minoo Khaleghi, a reformist politician and environmental activist, has denied claims about the handshake, which would be illegal under Iran's Islamic law. Khaleghi was elected in February as a new member of the Iranian parliament, the Majlis, from the constituency of Isfahan, the country's top tourist destination. She had been qualified to run, meaning that the powerful guardian council, which vets all candidates, had approved her candidacy. But the controversial body of clerics and jurists has changed its mind, nullifying her votes even though election officials endorsed the results in Isfahan and found no major discrepancy in the counting process. Critics, including the outspoken MP Ali Motahari, have warned that the disqualification of a candidate who had been initially qualified and then elected sets a dangerous precedent. It also puts a spotlight on the role of the guardian council, an unelected body which has blocked a significant number of reformists and dissidents from running in Iranian elections in recent years." (Guardian)

04-16-2016
Syria Conflict

"US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says that Iran is exercising a 'maligned influence' in the Middle East against which US troops are serving as a deterrent... in the gulf region to talk with (the) leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries."

 

"U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said on Saturday (April 16) that Iran is exercising a 'maligned influence' in the Middle East against which U.S. troops are serving as a deterrent. Speaking to U.S. troops stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, Carter said the recent nuclear deal with Iran was positive but did not rule Iran out as a threat. 'We have the nuclear deal with Iran, which is a good deal in the sense that it took the nuclear weapons out of the picture, provided it's implements and all of that, and we're watching that. But that doesn't take Iran out of the picture, and the possibility of either outright aggression or the kind of malign activity that you see them exercising in the region that a lot of our friends and partners including our hosts here and other in the regions are concerned about,' he said. Carter, who also spoke about the need to destroy the Islamic State, said U.S. troops were in the region to back up U.S. allies. 'So you too are part of the system of deterrents and countering Iran's malign influence in the region, standing tall with our friends,' he said. The U.S. Secretary of Defense is in the gulf region to talk with leaders in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries about the fight against Islamic State militants and other defense issues." (Reuters)

04-16-2016
Human Rights

Signed statement by prominent figures from Brazil, India, Australia, Germany, the UK and the US asked Ayatollah Khamenei to stop the harassment and discrimination against Baha'i business owners in Iran.

 

"In a signed statement addressed to Iran's supreme leader, 54 leading business people and economists from countries around the world asked Ayatollah Khamenei to stop the harassment and discrimination against Baha'i business owners in Iran. 'We view the recent spate of business closures by Iranian authorities not only as a violation of religious freedom and human rights, but also as an affront to the freedom to do business,' the letter, which was signed by prominent figures from Brazil, India, Australia, Germany, the US, and the UK, stated. The letter noted that since October 2014, Iranian authorities had closed at least eighty Baha'i-owned businesses in the cities of Kerman, Rafsanjan and Sari because their owners had temporarily closed their doors to observe Baha'i holy days, and had pressured Baha'i business owners to sign pledges that they would no longer close their shops on Baha'i holy days. 'The closing of Baha'i businesses and the constant harassment of Baha'is are against Iran's international commitments guaranteeing freedom of religion,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'The business community worldwide should let Iran know that if Iran wishes to be open for business it must respect the law and the rights of Baha'is,' he added." (ICHRI)

04-16-2016
Syria Conflict

"Jordan says it is recalling its ambassador to Iran for consultations, suggesting the decision is linked to continued tensions between Tehran and Jordan ally Saudi Arabia."

 

"Jordan says it is recalling its ambassador to Iran for consultations, suggesting the decision is linked to continued tensions between Tehran and Jordan ally Saudi Arabia. Government spokesman Mohammed Momani said on Monday that Jordan took the step because of what he described as Iranian interference in the 'internal affairs of neighboring countries, especially Gulf countries.' He did not cite a specific trigger for the decision, but suggested it was linked to the attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions by protesters in Shiite-led Iran earlier this year. The attacks came after the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia. Momani said in comments published by the state news agency Petra that Iran has 'not responded' to calls by Jordan and others to respect the sovereignty of Arab countries." (AP)

04-15-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran is sending thousands of Afghan men to fight alongside Syrian government forces...this national Shia Muslim militia (is) in effect a 'Foreign Legion' that Iran has mobilised to support the Syrian (regime)."

 

"As the five-year conflict in Syria grinds on, BBC Persian has found evidence that Iran is sending thousands of Afghan men to fight alongside Syrian government forces. The men, who are mainly ethnic Hazaras, are recruited from impoverished and vulnerable migrant communities in Iran, and sent to join a multi-national Shia Muslim militia - in effect a 'Foreign Legion' - that Iran has mobilised to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many have since fled the battlefield and joined the refugee trail to Europe. In a small town in Germany, we meet 'Amir', an Afghan man in his early twenties. He was born to refugee parents in Isfahan, Iran, and is now himself an asylum seeker in Europe. Like most of the almost three million Afghans in Iran, he lived as a second-class citizen." (BBC)

04-15-2016
Syria Conflict

"Leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations accused Iran of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria and Yemen, a condemnation that may widen the divide between Iran and its main rival, Saudi Arabia."

 

"Leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations accused Iran on Friday of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria and Yemen, a condemnation that may widen the divide between Iran and its main rival, Saudi Arabia. The leaders, including Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, have been attending a summit in Istanbul this week of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss a such issues as the humanitarian fall-out from Syria's civil war. 'The conference deplored Iran's interference in the internal affairs of the States of the region and other member states including Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, and its continued support for terrorism,' the OIC said in its final summit communique. It also stressed the need for 'cooperative relations' between Iran and other Muslim countries, including refraining from the use or threat of force." (Reuters)

04-15-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani travels to Moscow once again to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in defiance of a United Nations ban forbidding him from international travel', multiple intelligence report to Fox News.

 

"Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani traveled to Moscow once again to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high ranking officials in defiance of a United Nations ban forbidding him from international travel, multiple intelligence sources tell Fox News. This marked Soleimani's second trip to Moscow since July, days after a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers was reached on July 14. Fox News learned Soleimani has departed Moscow, opting to return to Tehran after one day instead of a planned two-day trip. This marks the first face-to-face meeting between Soleimani and Putin since the Russian president ordered his military to begin a partial withdrawal of forces from Syria last month. Soleimani arrived in Moscow from Tehran early Thursday morning via private jet, a charter operated by Mahan Air, an Iranian airline. This week, Russia sent its first component of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Tehran, a delivery planned during Soleimani's last trip to Moscow. Using a private jet to travel to Moscow indicates that Soleimani wants to avoid public disclosure of his clandestine travels. Sources say that he has canceled a number of trips to Moscow recently, fearing that he would be exposed. Soleimani was first designated a terrorist and sanctioned by the United States in 2005 for his role as a supporter of terrorism. He is responsible for coordinating Shia-militias that killed hundreds of American troops in Iraq during the second Iraq war." (Fox News)

04-15-2016
Extremism

"Iranian President Rouhani slammed the 'Zionist regime of Israel' saying, 'we should always be vigilant against the danger of the Zionist regime as the main source of violence and extremism.'"

 

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed the Zionist regime of Israel for its continued aggression against the oppressed people of Palestine, describing Tel Aviv as the root source of violence and extremism in the Middle East. Addressing the 13th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday, Rouhani expressed deep sorrow over the negligence of the international community on the issue of Palestine and Israeli crimes. 'We should always be vigilant against the danger of the Zionist regime as the main source of violence and extremism,' he said in his address, adding that the continued massacre of innocent Palestinian people, mostly women and children, in the occupied Palestinian territories and the siege of the Gaza Strip show the violent nature of the Zionist regime of Israel that continues its brutalities with the international community, western powers in particular, turning a blind eye to the atrocities." (Tasnim Iran)

04-14-2016
Human Rights

"UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein appeals to Iran to halt executions for drug offences until Parliament debates a new law that would remove the mandatory death penalty for drug crimes."

 

"UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Thursday appealed to Iran to halt executions for drug offences until Parliament debates a new law that would remove the mandatory death penalty for drug crimes. Five men were hanged last weekend, three of them on charges of narcotics trafficking. The other two men were convicted of murder. In at least one of the cases, that of Rashid Kouhi, there were serious concerns about the fairness of the trial and the denial of his right to appeal. Kouhi was sentenced to death in 2012 after he was found in possession of 800 grams of crystal meth. He was executed on Saturday, 9 April in Gilan province in northern Iran. Last year, at least 966 people were executed in Iran - the highest rate in more than two decades - the majority for drug offences. At least four of those executed in 2015 were juveniles. However, in December last year, 70 Members of Parliament presented a bill to amend the existing mandatory death penalty for drug offences. The bill, which was introduced in Parliament in January this year, provides for life imprisonment in such cases. It remains to be seen whether it will be taken forward in the new Parliament. 'There have been encouraging signs from within Iran towards reform of the law, from the judiciary, the executive and the legislature and I hope the new parliament will adopt these changes. But it is unfortunate that executions for drug-related offences - crimes that clearly do not meet the threshold under international human rights law for application of the death penalty - continue to be carried out in the meantime,' High Commissioner Zeid said." (UN)

04-13-2016
Human Rights

Iran's president has fallen under scrutiny over recent juvenile executions in the Islamic republic; 'Rouhani doesn't seem at all interested to push for it, fight the battle and improve the human rights situation...and that's a problem."

 

"The case presented by the Iranian judiciary was simple: In the southern province of Fars, Fatemeh Salbehi suffocated her husband after drugging him, a capital crime in the Islamic Republic. What made the case controversial is that Salbehi was only 17, a minor by international legal standards, when she allegedly committed the crime. Her alleged confession also came during a series of interrogations where there was no lawyer present. The case was retried but Salbehi was hanged in the Adel Abad prison in Shiraz last October. The issue has come under scrutiny because of a scathing U.N. report on human rights in Iran last month which highlighted what it called the 'alarmingly high' rate of executions in the country, including juveniles. That report, along with an Amnesty International report in January, spurred commentary from ordinary Iranians on social media at least some of which criticized President Hassan Rouhani for not doing more to stop the juvenile executions. Iran has the highest rate of juvenile executions in the world, despite being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that forbids capital punishment for anyone under 18... The juvenile executions have continued despite campaign promises made by Rouhani in 2013 to reform human rights... 'The administration can't just keep hiding behind the nuclear issue,' said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'Rouhani doesn't seem at all interested to push for it, fight the battle and improve the human rights situation. And that's a problem because we're now into the third year of his term.'" (Reuters)

04-12-2016
Human Rights

UK government pleads for the life of a British-Iranian businessman who was sentenced to death in Iran last month, UK officials are seeking consular access to Mehdi Shams in Tehran.

 

"Britain is to plead for the life of an Iranian businessman who boasted that he ran a multibillion-dollar nuclear sanctions busting operation from a Surrey mansion. Mehdi Shams, an Iranian businessman who was sentenced to death in Iran last month, holds a British passport. UK officials are seeking consular access to him in Tehran. Mr Shams had well-documented associations with a number of companies and individuals who had faced international sanctions for their links to oil smuggling and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. His self-confessed sanctions busting was run from a £2 million mansion in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey." (Times of London)

04-12-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran's Brigadier General Hamidreza Pourdastan, says it is "Iran's new strategy to send more advisers to the Syrian war" after "four of the first military advisors of the Islamic Republic's army...were killed in Syria by takfiri groups."

 

"Four soldiers in Iran's regular army were killed in Syria, the Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, only a week after Tehran announced the deployment of army commandos to help President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war there... To date, most Iranians involved in the Syrian war have been from the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran is believed to have sent hundreds as military advisers. But an officer in the Iranian army's ground force said last week that commandos from the army's Brigade 65 and other units were sent to Syria as advisers. 'Four of the first military advisors of the Islamic Republic's army...were killed in Syria by takfiri groups,' Tasnim reported... Commenting on the deployment of Brigade 65 to Syria, the commander of ground forces, Brigadier General Hamidreza Pourdastan, said on Monday it was Iran's new strategy to send more advisers to the Syrian war." (Reuters)

04-12-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran believes that the government of Bashar al-Assad should remain in power until the end of the presidency term and the removal of Assad is a redline for us" says senior advisor to Iran's Supreme leader.

 

"The idea of the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a redline for the Islamic Republic, says a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. 'Iran believes that the government of Bashar al-Assad should remain in power until the end of the presidency term and the removal of Assad is a redline for us,' Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Ayatollah Khamenei on international affairs, said in a televised interview on Saturday. He emphasized that only the Syrian people can decide the future of their country and their president. The Iranian official also commented on the policies of the United States in the Middle East, saying Washington has suffered repeated failures in its regional policies. People in Afghanistan and Iraq, Velayati said, have pushed Americans out of their countries and now the US authorities cannot tolerate Iran's influence in countries such as Iraq and Syria. 'At the request of these governments (Iraq and Syria), we support them [in their fight] against terrorists and it is none of Americans' business to say anything in this regard,' Velayati stated. He noted that Washington is behind the creation of terrorist groups such as the Daesh Takfiri group. The Iranian official warned that the US seeks to disintegrate Muslim countries so that proxy governments would be formed to support the Israeli regime. Velayati also emphasized that whether the Americans accept it or not, the time for their presence in the region is over." (Press TV Iran)

04-12-2016
Syria Conflict

"Russia starts sales of S-300 systems to Iran. The deal is to be completed by the end of the year, says Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin."

 

"Russia has started sales of S-300 systems to Iran. The deal is to be completed by the end of the year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Monday. In an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station, he said Russia has already sent the first batch of S-300 systems to Iran. 'We are acting in strict compliance with the contract. They pay, we sell. We have already started. It is a supply in full sets,' he said. In his words, the number of missile systems and the number of missiles are stipulated by the contract. 'I cannot say what exactly has been supplied but the supply was conducted by a logistics route elaborated by Russian and Iranian specialists,' he said. According to Rogozin, having received the first batch of these systems, Iran is abandoning its claim to Russia from the international court of arbitration. 'They have agreed it with the Majlis, their parliament, so, the deal is being realized in full,' he said." (TASS Russia)

04-12-2016
Syria Conflict

Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman after visit to Egypt meets with Jordan's King Abdullah during diplomatic meeting issue joint statement to reject Iranian influence in the region.

 

"After the arrival of the Saudi deputy crown prince to Jordan on Monday, both Riyadh and Amman said in a joint statement that they rejected Iranian interference in the region, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was welcomed by Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday in the same day Saudi King Salman finished his five-year visit to Egypt." (Al Arabiya)

04-11-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's defense minister poured scorn on US Secretary of State John Kerry's accusations that Tehran is 'destabilizing' the Middle East, countering that America should get out of the region."

 

"Iran's defense minister poured scorn Saturday on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's accusations that Tehran is 'destabilizing' the Middle East, countering that America should get out of the region. The broadside illustrated new tension between Iran and the United States, despite last year's nuclear deal, with contrasting stances on the conflicts in Yemen and Syria underpinning the latest barbs. If the U.S. seeks 'stability' it should 'leave the region and stop suppo9rting terrorists,' Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said, quoted by the website of state television. 'If John Kerry thought about these subjects, he would no longer utter nonsense and foolish words.' The reaction came after Kerry speaking on a visit to Bahrain on Thursday condemned 'the destabilizing actions of Iran,' noting that the United States was taking Tehran's actions 'very seriously'. But Dehghan denounced Kerry's remarks as a sign of 'frustration' at 'Iran's defense capabilities', charging that it is the U.S. that is intervening in the Middle East on account of massive arms sales... The secretary of state also said that the U.S. and GCC nations 'remain united in our opposition to Iran's missile activities'. However, a top Iranian military official said Saturday there would be no change to the missile program. 'The U.S. is not qualified to make comments about our defense power,' said Revolutionary Guards deputy chief General Hossein Salami. 'Our missile capabilities will never be negotiated or compromised.'" (AFP)

04-11-2016
Politics

"Former Iranian presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, under house arrest since 2011, appeals to President Hassan Rouhani for a court hearing where he could show two elections he lost were rigged."

 

"Former Iranian presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, under house arrest since 2011, appealed to President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday for a court hearing where he could show two elections he lost were rigged. Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament, said in a letter to Rouhani that Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, Basij militia and intelligence ministry falsified the results of the 2005 and 2009 polls that Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won. He also said Iranian authorities used 'thugs' to attack political critics, embassies and cultural centers. Karroubi and fellow reformist presidential contender Mir Hussein Moussavi, who has also been under house arrest since 2011, have been accused of stoking unrest after the 2009 polls. But neither of the two figureheads of the country's 'green movement' have been formally charged or had their day in court. Public criticism of authorities in Iran, particularly from a former insider like Karroubi, is rare. 'The only path is reform and returning to the direction of the law,' Karroubi wrote in the letter, where he also said he did not think Rouhani could end his house arrest... Rouhani hinted during his 2013 election campaign that he might release the two political prisoners, but has not taken up the issue that has polarized the Islamic Republic and could lead to a showdown with hardliners opposed to him."

04-11-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran's foreign minister says the country's missile program is not up for negotiation with the United States. The missile program and 'defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not negotiable.'"

 

"Iran's foreign minister said Sunday the country's missile program is not up for negotiation with the United States. The missile program and 'defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not negotiable,' said Mohammad Javad Zarif after meeting with his Estonian counterpart, Marina Kaljurand. He added that if Washington was serious about defensive issues in the Middle East, it should stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and Israel. A Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes and battling the Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen since March 2015. Iran also supports anti-Israeli militant groups... Zarif on Sunday also hinted that regional U.S. allies are among those quietly supporting the extremist Islamic State group. 'The U.S. needs to view regional issues more seriously than raise baseless and threadbare allegations against Iran,' said Zarif. 'Mr. Kerry should ask U.S. allies where the Islamic State's arms come from.'" (AP)

"A top Iranian military official has roundly rejected US Secretary of State John Kerry's calls for missile negotiations with Tehran and urged Iran's Foreign Ministry to respond 'firmly to the impudence.' The strong-worded reaction from deputy joint chief of staff of the armed forces, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri, on Friday came a day after Kerry suggested the US was open to a 'new arrangement' with Iran for resolving the issue. 'We are stressing what has been said several times: the missile power is non-negotiable and among the red lines of the Iranian nation and for developing its defense capabilities, Iran doesn't get permission from anybody,' he said. Jazayeri said Iran is 'following its deterrent doctrine and defensive strategy for security independent of the will and intent of arrogant powers and aliens.' The country, he said, 'will not allow anybody to interfere in this regard' and 'will cut any hand which is intended to interfere in it.' Jazayeri urged Iran's diplomatic establishment which hammered out a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program 'to deal firmly and transparently with the American meddling in Iranian affairs, especially in the defensive sphere.' 'The country's diplomatic apparatus is expected to show a timely and decisive reaction to American impudence, especially by the US secretary of state,' he said. 'And by announcing strategic unity and national determination existing in the Islamic Iran for protecting, strengthening and developing defensive and missile capabilities, (it should) purge any thought of a rift and ambivalence in this regard from the minds of American officials,' he added." (Press TV Iran)

04-08-2016
Military

"Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced plans to boost the penetration and destructive power of missile payloads along with the much improved precision-striking capability."

 

"Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced plans to boost the penetration and destructive power of missile payloads along with the much improved precision-striking capability. 'Concurrently with its efforts to increase the precision-striking power of its weapons systems, the defense ministry has also paid attention to boosting the destructive and penetration power of different weapons' warheads and has put on its agenda the acquisition of the technical know-how to produce Octogen explosive materials and Octogen-based weapons,' General Dehqan said, addressing a ceremony to inaugurate a plant which produces the new generation of explosive materials (Octogen) in Tehran on Wednesday. Octogen (HMX) is used exclusively for military purposes to implode fissionable ... as a component of rocket propellant, and as a high explosive buster charge. Blasting certain western states for creating conditions in which no country that masters the technical know-how helps Iran, General Dehqan said, 'We should endeavor to reinvigorate our infrastructures in the defense industries, reduce dependence and use domestic industries.'" (Fars Iran)

04-08-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran says "for years, we have been building power on the presumption of a widespread war with the US and its allies and have developed all our capacities and capabilities for decisive victories over such enemies."

 

"The Islamic Republic has shaped the structure of its military power proportionate to possible military threats posed by the US and its allies, IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said. 'For years, we have been building power on the presumption of a widespread war with the US and its allies, and have developed all our capacities and capabilities for decisive victories over such enemies,' Jafari said in a gathering of senior IRGC commanders in Tehran on Tuesday. 'Before political and diplomatic options, we have gotten prepared for a military option,' Major General Jafari underlined. He then made it clear that Iran does not welcome any war, but if the time comes for a military confrontation, it will be regarded as an opportunity like the Iraqi imposed war in the 1980s, reiterating that, like in the past, the US will not be able 'to do a damn thing'. The commander also pledged that the IRGC will press ahead with its missile program, saying new missiles with more accuracy and destructive power will continue to be mass produced. The top general also highlighted the extensive plans the IRGC has prepared to show appropriate reaction to the 'stupid' conducts by the Arab allies of the US. 'Regimes like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and their peers are symbols of modern political underdevelopment, and the IRGC... has made preparations for response to their rudeness and stupid behavior, which stems from (their) reliance on the US power,' General Jafari pointed out." (Tasnim Iran)

04-07-2016
Syria Conflict

"US Secretary of State John Kerry and Bahrain's Foreign Minister call on Iran to stop escalating its provocative behavior across the Middle East and pursue a more constructive foreign policy three months into the implementation of the nuclear deal."

 

"Secretary of State John Kerry and Bahrain's foreign minister called on Iran Thursday to stop escalating its provocative behavior across the Middle East and pursue a more constructive foreign policy three months into the implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal. The U.S., Bahrain and other Gulf Arab countries have expressed increasing concerns about Iran's continued missile tests, its weapons shipments to Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the participation of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah fighters in the Syrian civil war in support of the Assad regime. The chief U.S. diplomat is in Bahrain to consult with officials from Bahrain and other Gulf Arab countries frustrated by Tehran's policies. Mr. Kerry is laying the groundwork for meetings between President Barack Obama and Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh later this month. Mr. Obama held a meeting in Washington last year with Gulf Arab leaders and senior officials to pledge military aid and calm allies' nerves about Tehran as the nuclear deal neared completion. On Thursday, about a year after Iran and five world powers agreed on the parameters of the final nuclear accord, Messrs. Kerry and his counterpart in Manama, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told reporters after a meeting Thursday morning that Tehran is fueling conflicts across the region, including in Syria and Yemen. 'Today we are noticing two things that we kind have expected,' Mr. Al Khalifa said, outlining the views of Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional alliance of six Arab countries. 'The missile program is moving forward with full support of the leadership of the Islamic Republic and we are seeing the hegemonic interventions through proxies in several parts of our region continuing unabated.'" (WSJ)

04-07-2016
Nuclear Program

US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh al-Khalifa who says ''the missile program is moving forward with full support from the top of the leadership... we are seeing the hegemonic interventions continuing unabated."

 

"A year after he struck the outlines of a nuclear deal with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry finds himself confronting a new challenge from Tehran: While it is observing the nuclear agreement to the letter, its missile launches, arms shipments to Yemen and involvement in Syria have, if anything, accelerated. Mr. Kerry arrived here for a meeting of the Arab states this week with the objective of reassuring them with an array of plans for new missile and cyberdefenses. Instead, he found himself disputing the argument of one leading diplomat from the United Arab Emirates that Tehran today is 'as dangerous as ever.' Without nuclear fuel or the ability to produce more, Mr. Kerry argued, Iran is far less of a threat than it was, adding that 'the crisis was the potential of a nuclear weapon.' But his hosts at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council echoed the concern here on Thursday that, even with the nuclear threat off the table, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps seemed to be active everywhere. 'We are noticing two things that we kind of have expected,' Bahrain's foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, said at a joint news conference with Mr. Kerry. 'The missile program is moving forward with full support from the top of the leadership of the Islamic Republic, and we are seeing the hegemonic interventions' by Tehran 'continuing unabated.' Mr. Kerry is fully acknowledging those facts. On Thursday morning, touring the sprawling naval base of the United States Fifth Fleet here, he was briefed on four interceptions in recent months of Iranian shipments of small arms headed to Yemen." (NYT)

04-05-2016
Nuclear Program

"US President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, says that "Iran, by testing ballistic missiles, was undermining the 'spirit' of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers."

 

"During an April 1 speech at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, US President Barack Obama said that Iran, by testing ballistic missiles, was undermining the 'spirit' of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers. The comments have struck a nerve in Iran, particularly among critics of President Hassan Rouhani who believe that the nuclear deal has had little impact on the country's economy. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Hassan Firouzabadi, who has in previous statements supported the nuclear deal, rejected Obama's idea that there is a 'spirit' to the nuclear agreement. In an April 5 meeting with other officials of the armed forces, Firouzabadi said, 'When we reviewed the details of the Barjam we saw nothing but text, and we have no information on the spirit of the BARJAM.' 'BARJAM' is the Persian acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plant of Action (JCPOA)... Obama's comments on Iran's missile program also received a response from the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari. In an April 5 address to IRGC commanders, Jafari said that they are rooted in America's 'fear of IRGC's missiles,' adding that Iran's enemies 'must remain in this fear.' Jafari also took this opportunity to question the nuclear agreement and reject Rouhani's ideas of trying to build domestic momentum from it. 'Barjam has never been considered a proud document and it will never be,' Jafari said. 'Barjam is a diplomatic text with an uncertain end; a large part of it is the obligations of an enemy that is unreliable and spiteful,' he said." (Al-Monitor)

04-04-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran's Major Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, pledges continued support for Hamas and says "we sent several ships full of arms to the resistance, [but] some were intercepted."

 

"Relations with Iran were also on the agenda given the February visit of a Hamas delegation to the Iranian capital that produced an agreement between the two sides to enter a new era in relations based on new rules. The delegation to Tehran met Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' foreign operations branch. Soleimani advised the movement to keep its distance from all the chaos in the region and pledged Iran's continued support, although Abu Marzouk in a leaked phone call accused Iran of lying about its claims of supporting the movement. Marzouk's accusation prompted Soleimani to say at the meeting, 'Iran never lied, and we won't lie. We sent several ships full of arms to the resistance, [but] some were intercepted. We won't leave you alone. Whenever there's a new technology that we can send, we won't hesitate to. This is our duty. Whoever says the contrary should remember that this is all [taking place] before God's eyes." (Al-Monitor)

04-04-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iranian military official says commandos from an Iranian army unit have been deployed to Syria on an advisory mission."

 

"An Iranian military official says commandos from an Iranian army unit have been deployed to Syria on an advisory mission. Brigadier General Ali Arasteh, the deputy for coordination in the Iranian Army's Ground Forces, told Tasnim news agency on Monday that the Iranian commandos, from Brigade 65 of the Forces, had took on a mission of advising Syrian forces." (Press TV Iran)

04-04-2016
Nuclear Program

Iranian official warns about Iran's missile power as a redline which can no way be encroached, says "the US calculations about the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation are fully incorrect".

 

"Deputy Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri warned the US officials that Iran's missile power is a redline which can no way be encroached. 'The US calculations about the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation are fully incorrect,' Jazzayeri said on Monday. 'The White House should know that defense capacities and missile power, specially at the present juncture where plots and threats are galore, is among the Iranian nation's redlines and a backup for the country's national security and we don't allow anyone to violate it,' he added. Jazzayeri described as 'ridiculous' US President Barack Obama's attempts to link facilitated removal of the sanctions with a halt to Iran's missile program, and said the Americans' rationale and line of action is based on making vows and breaking them." (Fars Iran)

04-04-2016
Syria Conflict

"Bahrain's foreign minister says that Gulf Arab states were prepared to confront Iran over its foreign policy and Tehran should drop its support for Middle East factions."

 

"Bahrain's foreign minister said on Friday that Gulf Arab states were prepared to confront Iran over its foreign policy and Tehran should drop its support for Middle East factions. Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa also played down any difference with the United States over remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama last month telling Saudi Arabia and Iran 'to find an effective way to share the neighborhood'. Ties between Bahrain and Washington remained strong, he said... 'We send a message to Iran and to all its followers. We are now serious about confronting it and we have no hesitation to defend our people, states, interests and brothers in the region because this is a vital issue for us,' Sheikh Khaled said in an interview with the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel. Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting unrest in the country and of supplying weapons to Shi'ite militants behind several bomb attacks on security forces. Iran denies the charges. Sheikh Khaled said Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states were ready to turn a new page with Iran if it changed its policies. 'The main step is that Iran must completely change its foreign policy towards the countries of the region,' he said. This included Iran dropping its support for the Lebanese Hezbollah organization and other groups." (Reuters

04-04-2016
Syria Conflict

Pentagon announces that "the crew of a US Navy ship stopped a massive Iranian arms shipment dead in its tracks, seizing thousands of weapons, AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers that were likely headed to Yemen."

 

"The crew of a U.S. Navy ship stopped a massive Iranian arms shipment dead in its tracks, seizing thousands of weapons, AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers that were likely headed to Yemen, the Pentagon announced Monday. The seizure, which unfolded in the Arabian Sea on March 28, was the third of its kind in recent weeks, military officials say. Iran has been supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen in their proxy war against a Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States. Like Iran, the Houthis are a Shia-led group. The arms shipment appears to mark the latest provocative action from the Islamic republic. On Friday, President Obama said Iran was obeying the 'letter' of its landmark nuclear agreement with the West, but not the 'spirit' of it. The Navy said the shipment included 1,500 AK-47s, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns. After the U.S. seized the weapons stash from the dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, officials let the crew go. A U.S. official told Fox News current rules do not allow the U.S. Navy or other western naval forces to seize the crew in addition to illicit cargo. 'You have to find a country willing to prosecute,' the official said." (Fox News)

"The U.S. Navy has confiscated a cache of weapons that it believes was being transported from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen, marking at least the third time in two months that such a shipment was stopped, Navy officials said. Naval forces aboard the USS Sirocco, a coastal patrol ship, intercepted and seized the weapons March 28 from a small craft commonly known as a dhow in the Arabian Sea, the Navy announced Monday. The cache included about 1,500 Kalashnikov rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns, the Navy said. Naval forces aboard the USS Gravely, a larger guided-missile destroyer, also responded. The dhow and its crew were allowed to depart after the weapons were seized. Photos released Monday by the Navy show the weapons lined up on the Gravely. 'Our naval forces, and those of our partners, will continue to conduct maritime security operations in the region in order to disrupt the flow of illicit weapons to Houthi insurgents in Yemen,' said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a Navy spokesman in the Middle East. 'These weapons only serve to exacerbate the situation there and prolong the conflict.' In earlier seizures, the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Darwin intercepted a craftFeb. 27 that was carrying nearly 2,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 100 RPG launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM machine gun barrels and 20 60mm mortar tubes. In another incident, the French navy destroyer FS Provence intercepted a ship March 20 that was carrying about 2,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 64 Dragunov marksman rifles, nine antitank missiles and other equipment, the Navy said. The ships are part of the Combined Maritime Forces led by Adm. Kevin Donegan, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command." (WashPost

04-01-2016
Syria Conflict

Former Prime Minister of Lebanon says "the issue of Iranian influence isn't a Saudi issue, it's an Arab issue."

 

"Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday urged Iran to turn its interference in Arab countries into a constructive involvement, calling on the Islamic Republic to support all of Lebanon and not just a specific faction. In a wide-ranging interview with Russia Today's Worlds Apart, Hariri also discussed the war in Syria, saying that Russian involvement aimed at protecting the Syrian state. 'Iran's involvement in the region has to be a constructive involvement. ... The involvement of Iran should be [to] the benefit of the whole of Lebanon, not for a faction of Lebanese who are only Shiite,' Hariri said, in English, in reference to Hezbollah, who is backed by Iran. 'If you want to help Lebanon, you have to help the whole Lebanese government. You don't help a faction in the Lebanese government.' The Future Movement leader arrived in Moscow Tuesday on a visit during which he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Hariri and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries. 'I don't think Saudi Arabia wants bad relationships with Iran, but Iran's involvement in countries like Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria are not involvements that build trust between the two countries,' he said. 'The issue of Iranian influence isn't a Saudi issue, it's an Arab issue.'" (Daily Star Lebanon)

04-01-2016
Nuclear Program

"President Obama criticizes Iranian leaders for undermining the 'spirit' of last year's historic nuclear agreement, even as they stick to the 'letter' of the pact" in comments after the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.

 

"President Obama on Friday criticized Iranian leaders for undermining the 'spirit' of last year's historic nuclear agreement, even as they stick to the 'letter' of the pact. In comments following the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Obama denied speculation that the United States would ease rules preventing dollars from being used in financial transactions with Iran, in order to boost the country's engagement with the rest of the world. Instead, Obama claimed, that Iran's troubles even after the lifting of sanctions under the nuclear deal were due to its continued support of Hezbollah, ballistic missile tests and other aggressive behavior. 'Iran so far has followed the letter of the agreement, but the spirit of the agreement involves Iran also sending signals to the world community and businesses that it is not going to be engaging in a range of provocative actions that are going to scare businesses off,' Obama said at a press conference. 'When they launch ballistic missiles with slogans calling for the destruction of Israel, that makes businesses nervous.' 'Iran has to understand what every country in the world understands, which is businesses want to go where they feel safe, where they don't see massive controversy, where they can be confident that transactions are going to operate normally,' he added. 'And that's an adjustment that Iran's going to have to make as well.' ... Earlier this week, multiple reports indicated that the White House was considering easing financial rules to let foreign companies use the dollar to do business with Iran. But on Friday, Obama appeared to shoot the idea down. 'That's not actually the approach that we're taking,' he said. 'It is not necessary that we take the approach of them going through dollar transactions,' he added. 'It is possible for them to work through European financial institutions as well.' Instead, Obama said, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and other U.S. officials would help 'provide clarity' to global businesses about what kinds of work they can do in Iran under current rules." (The Hill)

03-31-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran's supreme leader backed the country's missile program, criticizing a prominent ayatollah who had suggested that in the future, negotiations were far more important."

 

"Iran's supreme leader backed the country's missile program on Wednesday, criticizing a prominent ayatollah who had suggested that in the future, negotiations were far more important. Defending the military's recent tests, which critics, particularly in the United States, say are a violation of the recently concluded nuclear agreement, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that both negotiations and the testing of missiles were important to Iran. 'If the Islamic system pursues technology and negotiations without defense power, then this will be a retreat in the face of threats from other insignificant countries,' Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying in an address in Tehran. 'Enemies continue strengthening their military and missile sectors. How can anyone say that the era of missiles has passed?' Ayatollah Khamenei was responding to a comment posted on Twitter over a week ago by Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and influential supporter of Iran's moderate president, Hassan Rouhani. Ayatollah Rafsanjani wrote that the 'world of tomorrow is one of negotiations, not the world of missiles.' Ayatollah Khamenei, in a rare open criticism, reacted harshly, though he referred only indirectly to Ayatollah Rafsanjani's remark. 'People say that tomorrow's world is a world of negotiations and not a world of missiles,' he said. 'If they say this thoughtlessly, it shows that they are thoughtless. However, if this is intentional, then this is treachery.'" (NYT)

03-30-2016
Nuclear Program

The US and its EU allies say in a joint letter that the recent missile tests by Iran were '"in defiance of the UN Security Council resolution" that endorsed last year's historic nuclear deal.

"By launching nuclear-capable missiles Iran has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed last year's historic nuclear deal, the United States and its European allies said in a joint letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Iran's recent ballistic tests involved missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and were 'inconsistent with' and 'in defiance of' council resolution 2231, adopted last July, said the joint U.S., British, French, German letter to Spain's U.N. Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. The letter said the missiles used in the recent launches were 'inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons.' It also asked that the Security Council discuss 'appropriate responses' to Tehran's failure to comply with its obligations and urged Ban to report back on Iranian missile work inconsistent with 2231. Spain has been assigned the task of coordinating council discussions on resolution 2231. Council diplomats have said the case for new U.N. sanctions was weak, hinging on interpretation of ambiguous language in a resolution adopted as part of a July nuclear deal to drastically restrict Iran's nuclear work... The four powers' carefully worded letter stopped short of calling the Iranian launches a 'violation' of the resolution, which 'calls upon' Iran to refrain for up to eight years from activity, including launches, related to ballistic missiles designed with the capability of delivering nuclear weapons. Diplomats say key powers agree that request is not legally binding and cannot be enforced under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which deals with sanctions and authorization of military force. But Western nations, which view the language as a ban, say there is a political obligation on Iran to comply... The letter said the four Western powers 'note with concern that Iranian military leaders have reportedly claimed these missiles are designed to be a direct threat to Israel.' Several diplomats said the most Iran could expect would be a public rebuke by the Security Council... But a council rebuke could provide a legal springboard for European countries to consider new sanctions against Iran, Western diplomats said." (Reuters

03-30-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameni says that "missile power was key to the country's future security...those who believe only diplomacy is the key to Iran's future are acting out of 'ignorance or treason.'"

"Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that missile power was key to the country's future security, slapping down moderates who say the focus should be on diplomacy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran, praised the powerful Revolutionary Guards for their 'show of advanced and precise missiles' in recent tests that drew Western criticism. 'In this jungle-like world, if the Islamic republic seeks negotiations, trade and even technology and science, but has no defence power, won't even small countries dare threaten Iran?' Khamenei said in remarks published on his official website. 'Our enemies are constantly enhancing their military and missile capabilities and given this how can we say the age of missiles has passed?' His comments appeared aimed at ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a senior leader of the reformist and moderate camp, who last week tweeted: 'Tomorrow's world is the world of dialogue not missiles.' They also came a day after the United States, France, Britain and Germany said Iran's recent ballistic missile tests violate UN Security Council resolutions... Iran has twice tested ballistic missiles since the July 14 deal, prompting Western condemnation and new US sanctions. 'The enemies of the revolution... use dialogue, economic trade, sanctions, military threats and any other means to further their goals,' Khamenei said. 'We should be able to confront and defend in all of these fields.' He said those who believe only diplomacy is the key to Iran's future are acting out of 'ignorance or treason.'" (AFP)

03-29-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian Kurd, already serving nine years in prison after two unfair trials, has been sentenced to a further five years in prison after writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran."

 

"Iranian Kurdish farmer Yousef Kakehmami, already serving nine years in prison after two unfair trials, has been sentenced to a further five years in prison after writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran." (Amnesty)

03-29-2016
Human Rights

"Iranian Supreme Court orders a man's eye to be gouge out as retribution under the strict interpretation of Sharia law."

"The Iranian Supreme Court has sentenced a man to have his eye gouged out after blinding another man in a street fight. The 28-year-old, identified only as Saman, was convicted under Iran's strict retribution laws after fighting in the street with his then 25-year-old victim when he was 23. According to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO, Saman claimed he had unintentionally blinded the man with a metal rod... Last year, a man convicted of attacking another man with acid - blinding and disfiguring him for life in the city of Qoms - was sedated and had his left eye gouged out." (Independent)

03-28-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran will pursue its development of ballistic missiles despite the US blacklisting of more Iranian companies linked to the program... even if they build a wall around Iran, our missile program will not stop", says senior IRGC commander.

"Iran will pursue its development of ballistic missiles despite the U.S. blacklisting of more Iranian companies linked to the program, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Monday. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired several ballistic missiles this month, drawing condemnation from Western leaders who believe the tests violate a United Nations resolution. The U.S. Treasury Department blacklistedon Thursday two Iranian companies, cutting them off from international finance over their connection to the missile program. Washington had imposed similar sanctions on 11 businesses and individuals in January over a missile test carried out by the IRGC in October 2015. 'Even if they build a wall around Iran, our missile program will not stop,' Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's aerospace arm, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. 'They are trying to frighten our officials with sanctions and invasion. This fear is our biggest threat.' U.S. officials said Iran's missile test would violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to conduct 'any activity' related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons... President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatic conservative, said on Sunday that boosting Iran's defense capabilities is a 'strategic policy' though Iran should take care not to provoke its enemies."(Reuters

03-28-2016
Syria Conflict

IRGC Commander says "conditions are very good for the resistance front in Syria...As long as there is Islamic Revolution, the resistance will go on... The enemies of Islam, including the Zionist regime, will be destroyed within the next 25 years.”

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said conditions are very good for the resistance front in Syria. Speaking to journalists in the Northern city of Gilan on Monday, the IRGC commander said the ancient city of Palymra has been liberated, and now the main focus is now on pushing back the terrorist group of ISIL further, and stressed that the ongoing ceasefire has not changed Russia's Syria policy as it is still in coordination with the resistance front. 'Liberation of Palmyra shows continuing coordination between Russia and Syria. As long as there is Islamic Revolution, the resistance will go on,' he added. The IRGC commander further noted that the ISIL has waged a proxy war on the resistance front, adding that conditions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen are now good and to the benefit of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. 'As maintained by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the enemies of Islam, including the Zionist regime, will be destroyed within the next 25 years,' Jafari added." (Fars Iran)

03-26-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran accuses Washington of cyber attacks, denies cyber attack charges brought against IRGC computer specialists by US Justice Department.

"Iran brushed aside cyber-attack charges brought against seven of its citizens by U.S. prosecutors, accusing Washington of putting millions of Iranians in danger with its own attacks on Iran's nuclear program. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, told reporters that the U.S. 'is not in any position to charge citizens of other countries, not least Iran's, without providing any documentary evidence,' according to the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency on Saturday... 'Iran has never had dangerous actions in cyberspace on its agenda nor has it ever supported such actions,' Jaberi Ansari said, adding that the U.S. was behind a series of cyber-attacks on Iran's nuclear program that put 'the lives of millions of innocent people' at risk of an environment disaster." (Bloomberg)

"The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed an indictment against seven computer specialists who regularly worked for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, charging that they carried out cyberattacks on dozens of American banks and tried to take over the controls of a small dam in a suburb of New York. The indictment, while long expected, represents the first time the Obama administration had sought action against Iranians for a wave of computer attacks on the United States that began in 2011 and proceeded for more than a year, paralyzing some banks and freezing customers out of online banking. The indictment stops short of charging that the attacks were directed by the Revolutionary Guards, a branch of the Iranian military. But it referred to the seven Iranians as 'experienced computer hackers' who 'performed work on behalf of the Iranian government, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.' Nothing in the indictment addresses the motives for the attacks. But intelligence experts have long speculated that the cyberactions directed at roughly four dozen financial institutions - including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Capital One and PNC Bank - were intended to be retaliation for an American-led cyberattack on Iran's main nuclear enrichment plant. That attack, which employed the so-called Stuxnet virus, was revealed in 2010... But the case of the Bowman Dam in Rye, N.Y., was entirely different: It appeared to be an effort to take over the dam itself. The attempt failed because the dam was under repair and offline, but in some ways it worried American investigators more because it was aimed at seizing control of a piece of infrastructure." (NYT

03-24-2016
Human Rights

Iran appeals court sentences prominent television producer over exercising right to freedom and expression.

"An Iranian appeals court has sentenced the prominent television producer and writer Mostafa Azizi to two years in prison, reducing his initial sentence of eight years, according to his son. Mostafa Azizi, a Canadian resident, was arrested in February 2015 while visiting his family in Iran. He was convicted of several offenses for exercising his right to freedom of expression, including posting on social media. In June 2015, Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Azizi to eight years in prison on charges of 'collusion against national security,' 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'spreading propaganda against the system.' Before his trial took place, he spent a month in solitary confinement in Section 2A of Evin Prison, which is run by the Revolutionary Guards, where he was harshly interrogated and given no access to his family or a lawyer. He was then transferred to Evin's communal Ward 8." (Journalism Is Not a Crime

03-24-2016
Politics

Iran's Guardian Council disqualifies a newly-elected female member of parliament and throws down an unprecedented challenge to the moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

"A powerful supervisory council in Iran has disqualified a newly-elected female member of parliament, throwing down an unprecedented challenge to moderate President Hassan Rouhani. The conservative Guardian Council ruled that Minoo Khaleghi couldn't take her seat less than a month after she and other allies of Rouhani had made significant gains in parliamentary elections. It was the first time the council, which vets prospective candidates as well as proposed legislation, had made such a move after an election. The council didn't give a reason for ruling out Khaleghi, who received the third-highest vote among the five lawmakers elected from the central district of Isfahan, the state-run Mehr news agency cited Isfahan Governor Rasoul Zargarpour as saying on Wednesday. The dispute over Khaleghi is the first big test for Rouhani since an alliance of so-called reformist and moderate lawmakers supportive of his agenda to reintegrate Iran into the world economy edged out conservatives as the largest bloc in the 290-seat parliament. 'It's not surprising that the first victim is a woman,' said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. 'It's a convenient way to demonstrate that the old guard still stands.'" (Bloomberg)

"The reformist MP Minoo Khaleghi, newly elected to Parliament from the city of Isfahan and one of 14 women who ran successfully in Iran's recent elections, has been disqualified by the Guardian Council. No reason has been given for Khaleghi's disqualification, and the disqualification of a candidate after being vetted, allowed to run, and elected is extremely rare, although not unprecedented in Iran. 'What hardliners couldn't achieve through the ballot box, they're trying to achieve through post-election maneuvering,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'The Guardian Council abused their power to vet candidates by disqualifying the vast majority of reformist candidates. And when reformists still scored impressive gains, they abuse it again by negating those gains after-the-fact,' Ghaemi added. Reformists have called on President Hassan Rouhani to prevent this move by hardliners to block their candidates from serving even after they are elected." (ICHRI

03-24-2016
Human Rights

Nobel Panel condemns Iran's death threats toward Persian-British writer Salman Rushdie, after 27 years.

"The Swedish Academy, which selects the winners of the Nobel Prize in literature, has condemned an Iranian death warrant against British writer Salman Rushdie, 27 years after it was pronounced. Two members quit the academy in 1989 after it refused to condemn Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini's fatwa against Rushdie for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his book 'The Satanic Verses.' Citing its code against political involvement, the academy issued a statement defending free expression but without explicitly supporting Rushdie. However, in a statement posted on its website Thursday, the academy for the first time denounced the fatwa and reward money for Rushdie's death as 'flagrant breaches of international law.' It didn't specify what prompted its change of heart, but cited state-run Iranian media outlets' recent decision to raise the bounty by $600,000. 'The fact that the death sentence has been passed as punishment for a work of literature also implies a serious violation of free speech,' the academy said, adding that literature must be free from political control." (AP)

03-23-2016
Human Rights

UN votes to continue monitoring human rights in Iran after reports that executions have increased to the highest number in more than two decades.

"The United Nations Human Rights Council voted Wednesday to renew its agreement with a special rapporteur to continue monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Iran. The resolution was adopted with 20 countries voting to extend the mandate of Ahmed Shaheed, while 15 nations opposed the mandate, and 11 abstained. Among the countries that voted against extending the mandate were Russia, China, Cuba and South Africa. In a statement, UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights group, called the adoption of the resolution 'a concrete sign that the international community recognizes that human rights violations are ongoing in the country and stands in solidarity with the numerous victims in Iran.' The transgressions Iran is accused of include restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, the arbitrary detention of journalists and political and civic figures, discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and violence against women and the suppression of their rights, advocates said. Last year, executions increased to the highest number in more than two decades, according to Shaheed's most recent report." (LAT)

03-20-2016
Syria Conflict

"US authorities say discovered weapons were initially sent from Iran and were probably intended for Houthi rebels in Yemen by way of Somalia"...this provides another example of forces inside Iran stoking sectarian tensions in the Middle East.

"A large weapons cache headed for Somalia was discovered and seized by the French on March 20, authorities said. It's the second large weapons seizure in the region this month, and both may have been headed to Yemen from Iran. According to a U.S. assessment, the arms that were most recently seized originated in Iran, and their likely ultimate destination was Yemen, Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for U.S. 5th Fleet, told CNN. Iran has been accused of arming Houthis -- fellow Shiite Muslims fighting against the government in Yemen's civil war -- before. Stephens would not specify whether or not the United States believed this weapons shipment was headed to Houthi rebels. Earlier this month, a similar arms cache was discovered off the coast of Oman. U.S. authorities said those weapons were believed to be initially sent from Iran and were probably intended for Houthi rebels in Yemen by way of Somalia, according to Lt. Ian McConnaughey with the U.S. Navy. The March 20 discovery is the third such weapons seizure since September, Stephens said. French forces spotted the ship carrying the arms as part of routine surveillance in the northern Indian Ocean. On board the vessel, they found discovered 'several hundred AK47 assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank weapons,' according to a March 28 news release by the Combined Maritime Forces. The CMF is a multinational naval partnership -- which includes France -- that helps police more than 3 million square miles of international waters... This latest weapons seizure would provide another example of forces inside Iran stoking sectarian tensions in the Middle East if the U.S. assessment proves correct." (CNN

03-20-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian-backed militia threatens US armed forces fighting the Islamic State, saying 'if the US administration doesn't withdraw its forces immediately, we will deal with them as forces of occupation'.

Reuters: "An Iranian-backed militia said on Monday it said it would treat U.S. Marines deployed in Iraq to fight Islamic State as forces of occupation and 'deal' with the foreign troops. Washington said on Sunday a detachment of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit was in Iraq, bolstering efforts by the United States and a coalition of allies against Islamic State. 'If the U.S. administration doesn't withdraw its forces immediately, we will deal with them as forces of occupation,' the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on its TV channel, al-Ahd. 'The forces of occupation are making a new suspicious attempt to restore their presence in the country under the pretext of fighting their own creation, Daesh,' the Shi'ite Muslim militia added, referring to an acronym for Islamic State, a ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim movement." (Reuters)

03-20-2016
Syria Conflict

"General Saeed Qasemi, a Revolutionary Guards commander and the commander of Ansar Hezbollah, a paramilitary conservative Islamic group in Iran, has demanded that Iran annex Bahrain."

"General Saeed Qasemi, a Revolutionary Guards commander and the commander of Ansar Hezbollah, a paramilitary conservative Islamic group in Iran, has demanded that Iran annex Bahrain, the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated news agency Tasnim reported Sunday. Speaking at a forum in the city of Bushehr, Qasemi urged the annexation of Bahrain to Iran, explaining that 'Bahrain is an Iranian province that was detached from the Islamic Republic of Iran due to the Western colonialism.' 'Iran must make efforts to bring Bahrain back into Iranian territory and transform it into a part of Bushehr province,' Qasemi further stated. General Qasemi was a senior commander during the Iran-Iraq war that erupted in September 1980, and is also considered a crony of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Similar declarations regarding the dire need to annex Bahrain to Iran are recurrently voiced by senior Iranian officials." (JPost

03-20-2016
Anti-Americanism

On Iran's New Year, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that the US is still fundamentally hostile to Iran after nuclear deal, also calls for 'year of the Resistance Economy: Action and Implementation.'

Reuters: "The United States is still fundamentally hostile to Iran and its policies have undermined the benefits of sanctions relief, the Islamic Republic's hardline leader said on Sunday, warning Iranians not to trust their old enemy. Ringing in a new Iranian year at a televised rally in the Shi'ite holy city of Mashhad, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said fear of U.S. regulations was keeping big foreign companies, particularly in the financial sector, away from Iran. The uncompromising stance of Iran's most senior figure poses a challenge to President Hassan Rouhani, the architect of last year's nuclear deal who hopes to open Iran's economy to the world. In keeping with the deal, many international sanctions on Iran were lifted in January. Since then foreign business delegations have flocked to Tehran and billions of dollars of deals have been signed. But European banks and other companies have stayed away, largely due to remaining U.S. sanctions. That, Khamenei said, was a sign that Iran should be economically self-reliant because the U.S. and its allies were not reliable partners. 'In Western countries and places which are under U.S. influence, our banking transactions and the repatriation of our funds from their banks face problems ... because (banks) fear the Americans,' he said. 'The U.S. Treasury ... acts in such a way that big corporations, big institutions and big banks do not dare to come and deal with Iran,' Khamenei said. The Central Bank of Iran has also said remaining U.S. sanctions have scared off European firms. To drive the point home, the stage on which Khamenei sat carried a giant banner reading 'the year of the Resistance Economy: Action and Implementation', his chosen slogan for the Iranian year 1395 that began on Sunday." (Reuters)

03-19-2016
Syria Conflict

Arab countries are concerned about Iran's expanding influence in the Middle East, says the Lebanese PM

"Prime Minister Tammam Salam justified Arab countries' concerns about a possible Iranian advancement in the region, describing attempts to challenge it as 'legal.' 'Iran is expanding vastly in the Arab world, while Arabs are not intervening in its affairs. The complaints are legal and based on distrust,' Salam said in an interview with the Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. The premier said that his government is relentlessly seeking to rectify Lebanon's gap with Arab countries, particularly Gulf states, by affirming Lebanon's keenness to preserve Arab consensus and unity. The Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council has been alarmed by the international rehabilitation of Tehran since it reached a deal with major powers last year, ending a 13-year standoff over its controversial nuclear program. The intensifying battle for influence between the region's main Sunni and Shiite powers has sparked growing concern in Lebanon, which is witnessing measures being taken against suspected Hezbollah-linked individuals and companies in Gulf countries." (Daily Star Lebanon):

03-18-2016
Human Rights

"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its concern about the conditions in which journalists are being detained in Iran"

"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its concern about the conditions in which journalists are being detained in Iran, especially Afarine Chitsaz of the daily newspaper Iran, a young woman arrested at the same time as three other journalists on 2 November. She was able to make a short phone call after her arrest but the authorities have provided no official information about her detention. According to the information obtained by RSF, she is now being held in isolation in Section 2A of Tehran's Evin prison. The Revolutionary Guards control this section and subject detainees to a great deal of pressure, often with the aim of extracting confessions to be used at their trials. Iran is the world's biggest prison for women journalists, with four others currently held. The other four - Rihaneh Tabatabai, Roya Saberi Negad Nobakht, Narges Mohammadi and Atena Ferghdani - are serving jail terms ranging from one to twelve years and some some are in poor health." (RSF)

03-18-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's IRGC is planning to build a statue of the US sailors who were captured in Iranian waters earlier this year in order to 'extol the virtues of the Iranian military.'

"Iran's Revolutionary Guard is planning to build a statue of the US sailors who were captured in Iranian waters earlier this year, a senior officer said. The provocative proposal is likely to cause outrage in the US and be seized on by Republicans opposed to President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran. Commander Ali Fadavi, the head of the Guard's naval forces, said the monument of the surrendering Americans would be a 'tourist attraction'. 'There are very many photographs of the major incident of arresting US Marines in the Persian Gulf in the media and we intend to build a symbol out of them inside one of our naval monuments,' he told Iran's Defense Press news agency... The statue is likely to be built on Kharg, a small Iranian island in the Persian Gulf not far from where the sailors were captured. The monument could feature as a stop for travelers on the Rahian-e-Nour, a semi-mandatory pro-regime pilgrimage that takes visitors to historical spots from the Iran-Iraq war and extols the virtues of the Iranian military." (Daily Telegraph)

03-17-2016
Politics

"Iranian tycoon's death sentence feeds perceptions of high-level corruption", Iranians are frustrated about the opaque nature and outcome of the judicial proceedings against the businessman

"Iran's planned execution of billionaire Babak Zanjani for corruption will mask the identity of senior officials who supported him, say the president and two lawmakers independently assessing a case that has fueled public cynicism about political graft. Hundreds of Iranians have taken to social media to vent their frustration about the opaque nature and outcome of the judicial proceedings against the businessman, who says he was backed by powerful officials during the term of hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Zanjani has said he helped Iran circumvent sanctions by selling its oil abroad. He was arrested in 2013 and detained in Tehran, accused by the judiciary of pocketing more than $2.7 billion for oil sold on behalf of the Ahmadinejad government, months after moderate President Hassan Rouhani won power campaigning against corruption in government... The case has highlighted the complexities of Iran's system of clerical and republican rule where power is wielded by both elected and unelected officials. But much remains unclear, including any involvement of government figures in Zanjani's financial transactions, due to the opaque nature of the Iranian political and judicial systems. Rouhani, who says he wants to wipe out the corruption that spread during his predecessor's tenure, has publicly criticized the handling of the case. The president has questioned who enabled Zanjani to carry out deals involving huge sums of money and whether that money can be recovered if he is executed 'Who protected him and created a space for him to do such things?' Rouhani said at a gathering during a visit to the city of Yazd last week. 'What the people want is to know how and with who's permission this individual was able to sell oil and where has all of this money gone now?' 'Execution isn't going to solve any problem,' he added... 'Executing the accused will allow the hands behind the scene, who were even more responsible for this case than the accused, to be forgotten,' Hussein Dehdashti, an independent lawmaker, said on March 6 after the sentence was announced, according to the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency. Amir Abbas Soltani, another independent lawmaker on the committee, said: 'The government officials who were corrupt and profiteering are still being protected and have not been confronted.'" (Reuters)

03-17-2016
Syria Conflict

'The security issue from Iran was always there and I think will always continue. It is not something new' says senior security official from Kuwait

Reuters: "Kuwait is not a 'free-rider' in U.S.-led campaigns against terrorism and other threats, a senior Kuwaiti security official said on Thursday, rejecting comments by President Barack Obama critical of some U.S. allies. Sheikh Thamer al-Sabah, President of Kuwait's National Security Bureau, was referring to Obama's remarks to The Atlantic magazine last week in which he said some states in the Gulf and Europe were 'free-riders' who called for U.S. action without getting involved themselves... He said Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers had not diminished Kuwait's concerns over Iran. These included militant sleeper cells and spies, involvement in regional conflicts and the safety of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Kuwait is the closest major population center to it. 'The security issue from Iran was always there and I think will always continue. It is not something new,' he said. 'I salute you for trying your best to work with Iran only on their nuclear program despite knowing what Iran is doing for Hezbollah in Lebanon, for other places in the world, for bombings, for hijacking of aircraft, for assassinations of people,' he added. 'I salute them on how they can actually sit down and talk about only the nuclear program with the knowledge they have of how Iran is capable of doing all of these things. I can't do it.' He voiced concern about Iraq, where Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias are fighting alongside government forces against Islamic State." (Reuters)

03-17-2016
Terrorism

Evidence against Iran and Hezbollah keep on accumulating on both being firsthand involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of US citizens. The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the IRGC and Quds Force may have been involved.

"Evidence against Iran and Hezbollah keep on accumulating on both being firsthand involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that reportedly killed thousands of U.S. citizens. Asharq Al-Awsat has exclusively attained and published six documents New York courthouse Judge George Daniels used for the verdict which fines Iran with billions of dollars in compensation for the families of the victims of the attack. The verdict also specialized a cut for compensating the insurance companies that bore fiscal losses due to the 9/11 attacks. George Daniels condemned Iran for facilitating the execution of the terrorist attacks that affected both New York and Washington. Documents procured by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper emphasize Iran smoothing out the route for al-Qaeda terrorists moving to campgrounds in Afghanistan for training, which proved necessary for the 9/11 attacks to hit target. Moreover, documents exposed that Hezbollah alleged minister of defense Imad Mughniyeh- assassinated in 2008- had visited the perpetrators in October 2000 and had arranged their flight to Iran with new passports for their assurance before dispatching them for the attack. Iranian administration had also given orders for border checkpoints and observatories to stamp the passports of the terrorist attackers, in a move to facilitate their advance. Al-Qaeda persistently had a supporting lifeline provided by the Iranian government, which also provided the terrorist organization- according to the documents- with both financial backing and safe haven to terrorist top leaders after the September 11 attacks... The trial revealed that each of Osama bin Laden , Ayman al-Zawahiri-current leader of al-Qaeda- ,Mughniyeh and other Iranian attaches met in Khartoum, Sudan to establish an alliance supporting terrorism. A courthouse judiciary source, requesting anonymity, revealed that six people and bodies are accused in the case filed against Iran. The six comprise, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, former Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Brig. Gen. Mohammed Baqir tho al-Qader. Administrational bodies among the accused are the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its special operations division, the Quds Force." (Asharq Al-Awsat)

03-17-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said that Iran may have violated international law when it seized 10 American sailors in the Persian Gulf, saying 'Iran's actions were outrageous, unprofessional and inconsistent with international law.'"

"Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said on Thursday that Iran may have violated international law when it seized 10 American sailors in the Persian Gulf in January. 'Iran's actions were outrageous, unprofessional and inconsistent with international law,' Mr. Carter said in a testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The sailors were detained after veering off course into Iranian territorial waters near Farsi Island, the home of an Iranian Navy base, and were freed after about 14 hours. Video footage released by the Iranian government showed the sailors kneeling at gunpoint with their hands clasped behind their heads. At the time, the Obama administration emphasized the sailors' quick release, calling it a result of the diplomatic channels opened by the nuclear deal struck last year with Iran. Secretary of State John Kerry, who built a close relationship during the nuclear talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, thanked Iran for its cooperation... Mr. Carter initially showed restraint in his remarks about the episode, but two weeks after the detention, he said he was 'very, very angry' about the sailors' treatment. On Thursday, Mr. McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, pressed Mr. Carter about the administration's response. 'You've made it quite clear that you're outraged and all that,' Mr. McCain said. 'But what specifically have you recommended to do in response to that?' ... According to a Navy spokesman, a report on the episode was given to Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, the commander of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, on Feb. 28. The spokesman said that after the review process was complete, a redacted version would be released to the public." (NYT)

03-16-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iran plans to deploy commandos and snipers in Iraq and Syria as military advisers", says senior Iranian army commander.

"A senior army commander said Iran plans to deploy commandos and snipers in Iraq and Syria as military advisers. 'At some point we might decide to use our commandos and snipers as military advisers in Iraq and Syria,' Deputy Chief Liaison of the Army's Ground Force General Ali Arasteh told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. He said the first group of commandos and snipers are being trained for the purpose and the country might decide to send them to Iraq and Syria in the near future." (Fras Iran)

03-15-2016
Nuclear Program

US rebukes Iran at the UN over a series of 'provocative and destabilizing' ballistic missile tests, US ambassador to the UN called them 'dangerous launches' which have elevated tensions between Iran and the US on this issue.

"The United States rebuked Iran on Friday over a series of 'provocative and destabilizing' ballistic missile tests this week and all but accused the Iranians of having violated a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on them to refrain from such acts. The American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said in a statement that the United States had scheduled a Security Council meeting for Monday to address what she called 'these dangerous launches.' Ms. Power's statement elevated the tension between the United States and Iran over the missile issue, which threatens to undercut the improved atmosphere in the two months since the landmark Iranian nuclear agreement went into effect... Security Council Resolution 2231, which formally abrogated all of the Council's nuclear-related sanctions against Iran once the agreement took effect, also included language meant to prevent Iran from launching missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons... 'The United States is deeply concerned about Iran's recent ballistic missile launches, which are provocative and destabilizing,' Ms. Power said in her statement. She also criticized Iranian military leaders who were quoted in Iranian news media as saying that the missile tests were meant to be a direct threat to Israel. 'We condemn such threats against another U.N. member state and one of our closest allies,' she said. The missile launches, she said, 'underscore the need to work with partners around the world to slow and degrade Iran's missile program.'" (NYT)

03-15-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's state TV says the country has retrieved thousands of pages of information from devices used by 10 U.S. Navy sailors briefly detained by Iran."

"Iran's state TV says the country has retrieved thousands of pages of information from devices used by 10 U.S. Navy sailors briefly detained by Iran in January. The Tuesday report quotes Gen. Ali Razmjou saying the information was retrieved from laptops, GPS devices and maps. Razmjou is a naval commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard. Gen. Razmjou said the move falls within Iran's rights under international regulations. He says the information fills about 13 thousand pages. The nine men and one woman were detained for less than a day in January after they drifted into Iranian waters off of Farsi Island, an outpost in the middle of the Persian Gulf that has been used as a base for Revolutionary Guard speedboats since the 1980s." (NYT)

03-15-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif says that the tests of nuclear-capable missiles are legal and did not break UN rules

"Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that he had deliberately negotiated the wording of the latest United Nations resolution restraining his country's nuclear program to ensure that the test-firing of nuclear-capable Iranian missiles would be legal. Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a speech at the Australian National University that Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted after the Iranian nuclear deal was signed last year, did not bar Iran from testing the type of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that it launched last week. 'It doesn't call upon Iran not to test ballistic missiles, or ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads ... it calls upon Iran not to test ballistic missiles that were designed to be capable,' Zarif said. 'That word took me about seven months to negotiate, so everybody knew what it meant,' he said, referring to 'designed.' ... Zarif on Tuesday became the first Iranian foreign minister to visit Australia since 2002. He was welcomed by key Australian officials, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull." (AP)

03-15-2016
Syria Conflict

"Hezbollah should bear the consequences of interfering in the affairs of Gulf countries", says a high-ranking security official from the UAE

"Hezbollah should bear the consequences of interfering in the affairs of Gulf countries, a high-ranking security official in the UAE said Tuesday, accusing the party's chief of war crimes in Syria. 'As long as Hezbollah [chief Sayyed Hasan] Nasrallah chooses to harm our Gulf states, then it should bear the resulting confrontation,' Dubai's General Security chief Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said in the first of a series of tweets. The Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab Interior Ministers and Arab Foreign Ministers separately designated Hezbollah a 'terrorist organization' recently. The development came as tension soared between the party and Saudi Arabia, the leading GCC country... 'Nasrallah's hatred toward Arabs will make him taste the humiliation and hatred that Arabs will inflict on him and his terrorist supporters,' Tamim said. He called on Arabs to start a campaign against Nasrallah by boycotting the leader and cutting all ties with Hezbollah. Bahrain's Interior Ministry Mondayannounced the deportation of a number of Lebanese it accused of belonging to or supporting Hezbollah, a day after Riyadh said it would punish anyone with ties to the group. 'Nasrallah chose to import [military] training, smuggling, bombing and terrorism to our countries. He should be taught a lesson,' the official added. The security chief described Nasrallah as the 'head of terror,' chastising his pride in his ties with Iran. 'Shame on him.' 'Shiites in Lebanon deem him (Nasrallah) as an Iranian agent targeting Arabs,' he continued, accusing the Hezbollah chief of being a 'war criminal in Syria.'" Daily Star (Lebanon)

03-15-2016
Syria Conflict

"Foreign military and security threats have all turned into an opportunity for Iran to spread the Islamic Revolution's dialogue across the globe" says IRGC General

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said foreign military threats have turned into opportunities for Iran in the push to spread the Islamic Revolution's dialogue in the world. 'Foreign military and security threats have all turned into an opportunity for Iran to spread the Islamic Revolution's dialogue across the globe,' General Jafari said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday. He said enemies have also targeted the resistance front in order to curb and contain the Islamic Revolution and its discourse, but this threat has become an opportunity too." (Fars Iran)

03-14-2016
Syria Conflict

Iranian Qods Force General Soleimani says Saudi Arabia’s government was “illegitimate” and condemned the country’s military engagement in Yemen, saying “it has always been the Saudis who have engaged in adventurism against Islam, and against us."

"In a sharply worded speech, commander of the Iranian expeditionary Qods Force Ghasem Soleimani said Saudi Arabia's government was 'illegitimate' and condemned the country's military engagement in Yemen. 'It has always been the Saudis who have engaged in adventurism against Islam, and against us,' he said. The speech, delivered to a crowd in the provincial capital of Kerman, southeastern Iran, was the first time Soleimani had explicitly and publicly criticized Saudi Arabia. Prior to this, he had openly condemned various individual Saudi policies, but never attacked the entire political system and the House of Saud outright. Praising the Iranian political system, the special forces commander said that as the center of Islam and the Shi'a faith, Iran enjoys democracy, while in Saudi Arabia the power is monopolized by one family. Soleimani used the speech to praise Iran's political system and to celebrate its military achievement. He described Iran as a 'decent, peace-loving, and tolerant' nation and said that, since the 1979 revolution, Iran had never behaved in a hostile manner against Saudi Arabia or other neighboring countries. He dismissed accusations made by some international media and political commentators that Iran's involvement in the Syrian conflict was reckless and risky. Without a doubt, Soleimani said, Iran would continued to defend itself, but he stopped short of saying what Iran's next steps in Syria might be." (IranWire)

03-14-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran may still depend on North Korea to procure materials for missiles", report says.

"A report by Washington's Congressional Research Service (CRS) raised suspicions that Iran boosted its missile development by taking help from North Korea and may still be dependent on the Kim Jong Un regime to get some materials for the ballistic missiles, Yonhap reported. The CRS report cited the intelligence community to say that North Korea's cooperation with Iran was significant until the 2000s. 'Iran has likely exceeded North Korea's ability to develop, test and build ballistic missiles. But Tehran may, to some extent, still rely on Pyongyang for certain materials for producing Iranian ballistic missiles, Iran's claims to the contrary notwithstanding,' the report said, according to Yonhap: 'For example, some observers argue that Iran may not be able to produce even its Scud B and Scud C equivalents - Shahab-1 and Shahab-2, respectively - without some foreign support for key materials or components.'" (IBT)

03-14-2016
Nuclear Program

US vows to continue push for UN action on Iran's recent ballistic missile tests and accuses Russia for not responding to UNSC violation.

"The United States on Monday vowed to continue pushing for United Nations Security Council action on Iran's recent ballistic missile tests and accused Russia of looking for reasons not to respond to Iranian violations of a U.N. resolution. 'This merits a council response,' U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation Security Council convened at Washington's request. 'Russia seems to be lawyering its way to look for reasons not to act,' she said. 'We're not going to give up at the Security Council, no matter the quibbling that we heard today about this and that.' Power was referring to comments from Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who made clear that in the view of veto-wielding Russia, Iran's ballistic missile tests did not violate council resolution 2231, adopted in July, that endorsed an historic nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. 'A call is different from a ban so legally you cannot violate a call, you can comply with a call or you can ignore the call, but you cannot violate a call,' Churkin said. 'The legal distinction is there.' Resolution 2231 'calls upon' Iran to refrain from certain ballistic missile activity. Western nations see that as a clear ban, though council diplomats say China and other council members agree with Russia's and Iran's view that such work is not banned. Iran's U.N. mission issued a statement opposing Monday's council discussion of its missile tests. It added that statements Iranians made about Israel were merely a response to Israeli threats." (Reuters)

03-13-2016
Human Rights

"Former French employee arrested in Tehran" on charges of spying and acting against Iran's national security.

"A former employee of the French embassy in Tehran has been arrested at the airport after arriving in Iran to visit her critically ill mother, the opposition website Kalemeh reported on Saturday. Nazak Afshar, 58, who has French-Iranian citizenship, had previously been arrested in 2009 on charges of spying and of acting against Iran's national security. Although she was put on trial at the time, no verdict was issued and she was freed following the intervention of the French government. She left the country the same year. Afshar had traveled to Iran to visit her mother after 'doctors had given up hope of her recovery', the website said, without giving details of the ailment. The potential opening up to the West after last year's nuclear deal has alarmed Iranian hardliners and the arrest of Afshar and the detention of other people with dual citizenship appear to be part of a crackdown on what some officials have called Western infiltration. Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October while visiting family. Baquer Namazi, Siamak's 80-year-old father who is also a dual citizen, was arrested in February on his arrival in Tehran. An Iranian-British former BBC journalist, Bahman Daroshafaei, was also detained in February but was released on bail three weeks later." (Reuters

03-11-2016
Terrorism

"Arab League has branded Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group as a terrorist organization,a move that raises concerns of deepening divisions among Arab countries and ramps up the pressure on the Shiite group, which is fighting on the side of Syria."

"The Arab League on Friday formally branded Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group a terrorist organization, a move that raises concerns of deepening divisions among Arab countries and ramps up the pressure on the Shiite group, which is fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria. The decision came during a foreign ministers' meeting of the Arab League at the organization's seat in Cairo, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported. It came just a day after the league elected veteran Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Aboul-Gheit as its new chief. The move aligns the 22-member league firmly behind Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf Arab nations, which made the same formal branding against Hezbollah on March 2. It also brings the league in line with the United States, which is closely allied with the Gulf states and has long considered Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization. The European Union only lists the military wing of Hezbollah on its terrorist blacklist. In Cairo, Saudi Ambassador Ahmed Qattan, told the satellite TV station Al Arabiya that the vote was not unanimous as Lebanon and Iraq abstained... The league's decision also reflects deep regional divisions between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shiite powerhouse Iran, Hezbollah's patron." (AP)

03-11-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian cleric warns government about US officials supposedly seeking to influence the country's decision-making bodies through the recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and the world powers.

"Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani called on Iranian parliamentarians to keep vigilant against the plots hatched by the US officials to influence and penetrate into the country's decision-making bodies through the recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and the world powers. Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said, 'As Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has always said we should keep vigilant in a bid not to allow the enemy's penetration.' He underlined that the enemy has focused on penetrations to make the country insecure in political, economic and military fields. The senior Iranian cleric reiterated that the country's parliamentarians should watch out the western countries' penetration efforts in Iran's key sectors."  Fars (Iran)

03-10-2016
Human Rights

UN investigator says that executions in Iran have reached the highest level in more than a quarter-century. Iran is one of the world's leading users of the death penalty, along with China and Saudi Arabia.

"Executions in Iran surged to nearly 1,000 in 2015, a United Nations investigator said on Thursday, the highest level in more than a quarter-century. The investigator, Ahmed Shaheed, the special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, said in a report to the organization's Human Rights Council that at least 966 people were put to death in the country last year, roughly double the number executed in 2010 and 10 times as many as were executed in 2005. Iran has been one of the world's leading users of the death penalty, along with China and Saudi Arabia. According to annual figures on capital punishment compiled by Amnesty International, the 2015 figure for Iran is the highest since 1989, when more than 1,500 people were executed. Most executions in Iran are by hanging, with a majority of the condemned having been convicted of drug-related offenses. Mr. Shaheed's report, presented at the Human Rights Council's meeting in Geneva, came less than two months after Amnesty International said Iran was a leading executioner of juvenile offenders, despite improved legal protections for children in the country and Tehran's longstanding pledge to abolish the death penalty for convicts younger than 18. Amnesty said more than 160 condemned Iranian juveniles were on death row. Month-by-month figures in Mr. Shaheed's report showed that executions increased fairly steadily in the first half of 2015, reaching 136 in June - more than four per day - which the investigator called 'especially alarming.' Mr. Shaheed also criticized Iran for what he described as the country's 'widening crackdown on freedom of expression and opinion' last year, despite pledges by President Hassan Rouhani to relax constraints. While Mr. Shaheed welcomed the release of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter freed in January after a year and a half in prison, he said hundreds of Iranian journalists, bloggers and activists were confined in prison and detention facilities." (NYT

03-10-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeated his stance, saying: 'We must have relations with the world but not with America and the Zionist regime (Israel)'

"Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday Iran's economy had not yet benefited from the Western delegations visiting Iran as they had failed to deliver on their promises. 'We haven't seen anything tangible from these delegations visiting Iran ... We are expecting to see some real improvements. Promises on paper have no value,' Khamenei said in a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, according to state television. Hardline allies of Khamenei, wary of losing their grip in power, have criticized multi-billion-euro deals with European multinationals since a nuclear deal was reached with six major powers in 2015... Khamenei also praised the high turnout of 62 percent in two crucial elections of parliament and Assembly of experts last month, but warned about efforts by Iran's 'enemies' to infiltrate. 'We have been harmed by the West and we should not forget it. I am not suggesting cutting ties with them but we should be careful,' he said... Rouhani and his allies have signaled the government's willingness to improve ties with 'the Great Satan' and to discuss the regional crisis with the United States. But Khamenei repeated his stance, saying: 'We must have relations with the world but not with America and the Zionist regime (Israel).'" (Reuters)

03-10-2016
Politics

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says that, in choosing his successor, the Assembly of Experts should 'remain 'revolutionary...think revolutionary, and act revolutionary.'"

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says that, in choosing his successor, the Assembly of Experts should remain 'revolutionary' and take an uncompromising stance. 'The duty of the Assembly of Experts is to remain revolutionary, think revolutionary, and act revolutionary,' Khamenei was quoted as saying by Iranian domestic media. Khamenei made the comments on March 10 in a meeting with members of the assembly that is tasked with selecting the country's supreme leader should Khamenei die or become incapacitated. The Iranian leader praised the relatively high turnout in the February 26 vote for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts that saw gains for the moderate allies of Iran's President Hassan Rohani. 'Elections were healthy ... exactly the opposite of what our enemies have claimed over the years,' Khamenei said." (RFE/RL)

03-09-2016
Syria Conflict

U.S. top military commander overseeing the Middle East says that despite the nuclear deal, Iran shows no signs of altering its destabilizing behavior, says 'Iran today is a significant destabilizing force in the region.'

The top U.S. military commander overseeing the Middle East said Tuesday that despite the nuclear deal, Iran shows no signs of altering its destabilizing behavior. 'There are a number of things that lead me to personally believe that, you know, their behavior is not - they haven't changed any course yet,' said Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, at a Senate hearing... Austin said he was concerned about Iran's continued testing of ballistic missiles, which the U.S. intelligence community believes is Iran's preferred method for delivering a nuclear weapon. 'What I would say is that what we and the people in the region are concerned about is that they already have overmatch with the numbers of ballistic missiles,' Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 'The people in the region, they remained concerned about [Iran's] cyber capabilities, their ability to mine the straits,' he added. 'And certainly the activity of their Quds forces ... we see malign activity, not only throughout the region, but around the globe as well.' ... 'We've not yet seen any indication that they intend to pursue a different path. The fact remains that Iran today is a significant destabilizing force in the region.' 'Some of the behavior that we've seen from Iran of late is certainly not the behavior that you would expect to see from a nation that wants to be taken seriously as a respected member of the international community,' he said." (The Hill)

03-09-2016
Terrorism

"Osama bin Laden relied on Iran as a conduit to replenish his terrorist army with money and fighters as he worked to keep al Qaeda in the killing business during his decade in hiding."

"Osama bin Laden relied on Iran as a conduit to replenish his terrorist army with money and fighters as he worked to keep al Qaeda in the killing business during his decade in hiding. Details on the Iran-bin Laden strategic link come from the terrorist leader himself, who handwrote a steady stream of letters from various hideouts, including the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Navy SEALs killed him in May 2011. The SEALs seized reams of documents, and the government released a second declassified batch this month. It has been known that Iran allowed al Qaeda fighters to travel through its territory from the tribal areas of Pakistan to Iraq, where the parent terrorist group founded al Qaeda in Iraq. Iran also gave safe haven, sometimes in the form of accommodations, to al Qaeda leaders and bin Laden family members. The bin Laden letters show the relationship ran deeper. While not an operational alliance, it was a logistical one. It underscores the reality that both Sunni Muslim al Qaeda and the Shiite Iranian regime shared one overriding emotion: an intense hatred of the United States. Iran itself, and through surrogates such as Hezbollah, has been responsible for the killings of hundreds of Americans. It trained Iraqi Shiites in how to bomb and shell U.S. military personnel in Iraq. In that vein, Iran was an ally of al Qaeda in Iraq, which was targeting the same personnel. In a 2007 letter to a terrorist named 'Karim' at a time of intense fighting in Iraq, bin Laden warned his ally not to begin attacking Iran in retaliation for Tehran's arming and training of Iraqi Shiites. 'You did not consult with us on that serious issue that affects the general welfare of all of us,' bin Laden admonished Karim, who had made public threats. 'We expected you would consult with us for these important matters, for as you are aware, Iran is our main artery for funds, personnel, and communication, as well as the matter of hostages.' That disclosure, that Iran is a 'main' logistics channel, would indicate that Tehran was either actively supporting al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal regions or tacitly letting the flow go through its territory. Why else would bin Laden not want to agitate Tehran? The manpower flow through Iran appears to have continued for years... 'It was sort of a nonaggression pact between Iran and al Qaeda,' said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East scholar at the Congressional Research Service. 'A lot of this was tactical. This was part of Iran's way of saying, 'We're not going to make trouble for your people, and in return, you don't make trouble for us.'' A senior U.S. intelligence official told The Washington Times that Karim was Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who led al Qaeda in Iraq in 2007. Al-Masri was killed in April 2010 by a U.S.-Iraq raid. A month later, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi assumed command of what became the Islamic State of Iraq. He fled for civil war-torn Syria and founded what is today the Islamic State terrorist army that controls sections of both countries." (WT)

03-09-2016
Politics

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameni picks Ebrahim Raeisi to head influential Islamic foundation

"In a message of condolence for Saturday's funeral of Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi in Mashhad, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said the departed cleric, who died the previous day aged 80, had been 'a sympathetic brother...[and] comrade of difficult days'. But Khamenei lost no time in appointing Ebrahim Raeisi, the 55-year-old national prosecutor-general, to follow Vaez-Tabasi as chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, the foundation that manages the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. Raeisi is a close ally of Khamenei, and his appointment will strengthen links between the leader's office and the shrine, whose annual turnover - based on endowments, property and companies - is many billions of dollars. The leader has chosen another ally, Ahmad Alamolhoda, as his representative for Khorasan province, a second post left vacant by Vaez-Tabasi's passing. Vaez-Tabasi was close to former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an ally of president Hassan Rouhani... Raeisi, who holds the clerical rank of hojjatoleslam, is a different character. At last year's 36th anniversary of the taking of the embassy hostages, which featured criticism of the Rouhani administration as well as denunciations of the United States as the 'Great Satan', Raeisi announced that the intelligence and security forces had 'identified and cracked down on a network of penetration in media and cyberspace, and detained spies and writers hired by Americans'. Two years ago, Raeisi accused the west of promoting homosexuality around the world in the name of human rights, and he has also reportedly defended the amputation of the hands of thieves... At the time of the 1988 executions of 3,000-5,000 political prisoners ordered by then leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, Raeisi was deputy prosecutor in Tehran, a role he had held since 1984-5... As head of the shrine, Raeisi could play a huge role in the future succession to Khamenei, 76, as leader, especially as he is also a member for south Khorasan province of the Experts Assembly, the body that chooses the leader should a need arise." (Guardian)

03-09-2016
Military

IRGC commander says that 'we have huge reserves of various range ballistic missiles that are ready to target enemies and their aims, at any time, from different points of the country.'

'We have huge reserves of various range ballistic missiles that are ready to target enemies and their aims, at any time, from different points of the country,' Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, told reporters on the sidelines of the missile-firing drills in Kavir, Qum Province, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported... 'Taking into account that Hezbollah has stored more than 100,000 missiles,' General Salami said, 'the Islamic Republic possesses 10 times more missiles of different types, and its power is unlimited.'" (NYT)

03-09-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran test-fires two ballistic missiles with the phrase 'Israel must be wiped out' written in Hebrew on them as a show of force by the Islamic Republic.

"Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles Wednesday with the phrase 'Israel must be wiped out' written in Hebrew on them, state media reported, a show of force by the Islamic Republic as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel. Such phrases have been emblazoned on Iranian missiles before, but this test comes shortly after the implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers, including the U.S., and follows similar drills in recent days... The semiofficial Fars news agency offered pictures Wednesday it said were of the Qadr H missiles being fired. It said they were fired in Iran's eastern Alborz mountain range to hit a target some 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) away off Iran's coast into the Sea of Oman. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols that region, declined to comment on the test. Fars and state media reported the Hebrew inscription on the missiles... Fars quoted Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, as saying the test was aimed at showing Israel that Iran could hit it. 'The 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) range of our missiles is to confront the Zionist regime,' Hajizadeh said. 'Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries and it will not last long in a war. It will collapse even before being hit by these missiles.' ... The firing of the Qadr H missiles comes after a U.S. State Department spokesman on Tuesday criticized another missile launch, saying Washington planned to bring it before the United Nations Security Council." (AP

03-09-2016
Syria Conflict

Houthi senior official tells ally Iran to stay out of Yemen civil war crisis.

"A senior Houthi official told Iranian officials on Wednesday to stay out of Yemen's conflict, after an Iranian general said Tehran might send military advisers to help Houthi forces fighting a Gulf Arab coalition. The Houthis usually see Shi'ite Iran as a friendly power in their year-old war against the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which is trying to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. 'Officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran must be silent and leave aside the exploitation of the Yemen file,' the official, Yousef al-Feshi, a member of the Houthis' Revolutionary Committee, said in a posting on Facebook. It was the first public remark from a senior official in the Houthi group, seen to be very close to Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, to be directed at Iranian officials. On Tuesday, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, suggested in an interview with the Tasnim news agency that Iran might support the Houthis in a similar way it has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. Feshi's posting coincided with a visit by a Houthi delegation to Saudi Arabia, a move that could signal an attempt to end a year of fighting that has killed some 6,000 people." (Reuters)

03-09-2016
Terrorism

US court orders Iran to pay more than $10.5 billion in damages to people killed in 9/11 attacks.

"Iran was ordered by a U.S. judge to pay more than $10.5 billion in damages to families of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and to a group of insurers. U.S. District Judge George Daniels in New York issued a default judgment Wednesday against Iran for $7.5 billion to the estates and families of people who died at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It includes $2 million to each estate for the victims' pain and suffering plus $6.88 million in punitive damages. Daniels also awarded $3 billion to insurers including Chubb Ltd. that paid property damage, business interruption and other claims. Earlier in the case, Daniels found that Iran had failed to defend claims that it aided the Sept. 11 hijackers and was therefore liable for damages tied to the attacks. Daniels's ruling Wednesday adopts damages findings by a U.S. magistrate judge in December. While it is difficult to collect damages from an unwilling foreign nation, the plaintiffs may try to collect part of the judgments using a law that permits parties to tap terrorists' assets frozen by the government. The case is In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 03-cv-09848, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)." (Bloomberg)

03-09-2016
Nuclear Program

IRGC senior commander says that Iran's ballistic missile program will not stop under any circumstances and that Tehran has missiles ready to be fired, also says that 'our primary enemy is America.'

"A senior Revolutionary Guards commander has said that Iran's ballistic missile program will not stop under any circumstances and that Tehran has missiles ready to be fired, according to Iranian state television. Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh made his comments after a series of ballistic missile tests conducted by guard units that drew international concern, including a call by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for new sanctions against Iran... 'Iran's missile program will not stop under any circumstances,' Hajizadeh said. 'The IRGC has never accepted the U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iran's missile work. 'We are always ready to defend the country against any aggressor. Iran will not turn into Yemen, Iraq or Syria,' he was quoted as saying by state television... The Guards said the tests were aimed at displaying Iran's 'deterrent power and its ability to confront any threat'. 'Some of the missiles carried 24 warheads and one tonne of TNT,' said Hajizadeh, who heads the Guard's aerospace division. Hajizadeh said Iran had no intention of starting a war, 'but the Zionist regime (Israel) is our enemy and we don't trust American officials.' 'We have underground tunnels around the country and under mountains, where we store our missiles... These tunnels cannot be destroyed even if targeted by atomic bombs,' he said... U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about the missile tests, a State Department spokesman said. But Iran's Students News Agency ISNA said on Thursday that Zarif and Kerry had not discussed the issue. 'John Kerry has sent emails to Zarif asking for a telephone call to discuss issues, including Iran's missile tests, but it did not happen because Zarif is on an official visit,' ISNA quoted a source as saying." (Reuters)

Al-Monitor: "[Amir Ali Haji-Zadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force] called the press conference to discuss the IRGC's highly publicized testing of ballistic missiles that day. According to Haji-Zadeh, the missiles were launched from the Alborz Mountains, in the north, and traveled approximately 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) to the southeast of the country. Haji-Zadeh, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jaffari and deputy IRGC commander Hossein Salami were present at the launches, the second such tests in two days... Based on Haji-Zadeh's comments at the press conference, the IRGC is already expecting a US reaction. 'However much the enemy increases pressure and sanctions, the response of the IRGC will be increased,' he said. 'After the nuclear deal, the enemy has targeted Iran's national security, and the sanctions are meant to weaken Iran.' The launches were Iran's first ballistic missile tests since the Jan. 16 'implementation day' for the nuclear deal. The Fars News Agency wrote that the tests 'were a clear answer' to actions taken to counter Iran's defensive capabilities. One day after implementation day, the United States sanctioned 11 people and companies affiliated with Iran's ballistic missile program. When asked if ballistic missiles were being developed with Israel in mind, Haji-Zadeh said, 'The Zionist regime is at the end of the line, and its life will not be long.' He added, however, 'I believe that to get rid of the Zionist regime, missiles are not necessary, and over time, they will collapse and fall.' The notation 'Israel will be wiped from the pages of time' was written in Hebrew on the missiles. Haji-Zadeh stressed that Iran would not start a war, but that its leaders take its enemies seriously. He said, '[The] evils of the Zionist regime are clear for everyone, [and] the reason for designs of missiles with a 2,000-kilometer range is because of [Israel].' He also asserted, however, 'Our primary enemy is America.'" (Al-Monitor)

03-09-2016
Syria Conflict

"Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies could turn a page and build strong relations with Iran if it respects them and stops 'meddling' in their affairs, says Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

"Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies could turn a page and build strong relations with Iran if it respects them and stops 'meddling' in their affairs, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Wednesday. 'If Iran changes its way and its policies, nothing would prevent turning a page and building the best relationship based on good neighbourliness, with no meddling in the affairs of others,' he told reporters in Riyadh. 'There is no need for mediation' in such a case, said Jubeir, whose country severed all links with the Islamic republic in January after crowds attacked the kingdom's diplomatic missions in Iran. Jubeir said relations with Tehran had deteriorated 'due to the sectarian policies' followed by Shiite-dominated Iran and 'its support for terrorism and implanting of terrorist cells in the countries of the region'. 'Iran is a neighbouring Muslim country that has a great civilisation and a friendly people, but the policies that followed the revolution of (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini have been aggressive,' he said. Jubeir was speaking after a meeting of Gulf foreign ministers and their counterparts from Jordan and Morocco. In a joint statement, ministers meeting in Riyadh urged Iran to respect UN resolution 2231 which endorsed the nuclear deal and included curbs on ballistic missiles, as Tehran defiantly fired two more missiles on Wednesday." (AFP)

03-09-2016
Anti-Americanism

US still maintains priority of finding an American hostage who has been held for over 9 years in Iran.

"Nine years after Robert Levinson went missing on an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, President Obama reiterated on Wednesday that the United States has not abandoned him. 'We continue to call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide assistance in his case, as agreed to as part of the prisoner exchange finalized earlier this year, so that we can bring Mr. Levinson home,' Obama said in a statement on Wednesday, the ninthanniversary of the former FBI agent's disappearance. 'Finding Mr. Levinson remains a top priority for the United States, and we continue to spare no effort to bring him home,' Obama maintained. 'Today the United States renews its unrelenting commitment to securing Mr. Levinson's return.' Wednesday's anniversary follows Levinson's notable absence in a deal reached earlier this year between Washington and Tehran to release four Americans in Iran and drop charges on people in the U.S. accused of violating sanctions restrictions. The agreement came on the eve of implementation of the nuclear deal reached among Iran and other world powers. Levinson's family did not know whether he was included in the swap until after initial media reports emerged, leaving them frustrated. His daughter, Sarah Moriarty, claimed at the time that the family had 'reached our breaking point' with the Obama administration. 'We are crushed and outraged,' she said." (The Hill)

03-08-2016
Syria Conflict

US top military commander overseeing the Middle East says that despite the nuclear deal, Iran shows no signs of altering its destabilizing behavior, says 'Iran today is a significant destabilizing force in the region.'

 

"The top U.S. military commander overseeing the Middle East said Tuesday that despite the nuclear deal, Iran shows no signs of altering its destabilizing behavior. 'There are a number of things that lead me to personally believe that, you know, their behavior is not - they haven't changed any course yet,' said Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, at a Senate hearing... Austin said he was concerned about Iran's continued testing of ballistic missiles, which the U.S. intelligence community believes is Iran's preferred method for delivering a nuclear weapon. 'What I would say is that what we and the people in the region are concerned about is that they already have overmatch with the numbers of ballistic missiles,' Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 'The people in the region, they remained concerned about [Iran's] cyber capabilities, their ability to mine the straits,' he added. 'And certainly the activity of their Quds forces ... we see malign activity, not only throughout the region, but around the globe as well.' ... 'We've not yet seen any indication that they intend to pursue a different path. The fact remains that Iran today is a significant destabilizing force in the region.' 'Some of the behavior that we've seen from Iran of late is certainly not the behavior that you would expect to see from a nation that wants to be taken seriously as a respected member of the international community,' he said." (The Hill)

03-08-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran's IRGC test-fired several ballistic missiles challenging a UN resolution and drawing a threat of diplomatic response from the US.

"Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired several ballistic missiles on Tuesday, state television said, challenging a United Nations resolution and drawing a threat of a diplomatic response from the United States. Two months ago, Washington imposed sanctions against businesses and individuals linked to Iran's missile program over a test of the medium-range Emad missile carried out in October 2015. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington would review the incident and, if it is confirmed, raise it in the U.N. Security Council and seek an 'appropriate response'. 'We also continue to aggressively apply our unilateral tools to counter threats from Iran's missile program,' Toner added, in a possible reference to additional U.S. sanctions. An Iranian state television report showed a missile being fired from a fortified underground silo at night time. The presenter said it was a medium-range Qiam-1 missile, and the test took place in the early hours of Tuesday. The report said the Guards had fired several missiles from silos across the country, though it only showed footage of one. 'The missiles struck a target 700 km away,' said Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's aerospace arm... U.S. and French officials said a missile test by Iran would violate U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to conduct 'any activity' related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. However, Washington said that a fresh missile test would not violate the Iran nuclear deal itself, under which Tehran agreed to restrict its atomic program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The deal was endorsed in resolution 2231. It is unlikely the Security Council would take action on Iranian missile tests, diplomats say." (Reuters)

03-08-2016
Nuclear Program

Iran conducts multiple ballistic missile tests in display of 'deterrent power.'

AFP: "Iran conducted multiple ballistic missile tests Tuesday in what it said was a display of 'deterrent power,' defying US sanctions imposed earlier this year aimed at disrupting its missile programme. State media announced that short-, medium- and long-range precision guided missiles were fired from several sites to show the country's 'all-out readiness to confront threats' against its territorial integrity. Pictures of the launches were broadcast and reports said the armaments used had ranges of 300 kilometres (190 miles), 500 km, 800 km and 2,000 km. The United States hit Iran with fresh sanctions on its missile programme in January, 24 hours after separate sanctions related to Tehran's nuclear activities had been lifted under a landmark deal with world powers. The latest tests, during an exercise named 'The Power of Velayat', a reference to the religious doctrine of the Islamic republic's leadership, were undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards and its Aerospace wing... Major General Ali Jafari, the Guards' top commander, and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, spoke about the tests on television, with the latter downplaying the effect of US efforts to disrupt its activities. 'Our main enemies, the Americans, who mutter about plans, have activated new missile sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran and are seeking to weaken the country's missile capability,' Hajizadeh said. 'The Guards and other armed forces are defenders of the revolution and the country will not pay a toll to anyone... and will stand against their excessive demands.' ... On October 11, Tehran conducted the first of two ballistic missile tests which angered Washington. State television weeks later aired unprecedented footage of underground missile storage bunkers. A UN panel said in December that the tests breached previous resolutions aimed at stopping Tehran from developing missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead... The White House had first threatened to impose the measures in December but withdrew them after Rouhani hit out at both their timing and intent. Missiles were not part of the nuclear agreement. Asked before the missile sanctions were announced how Iran would react to fresh measures against it, Rouhani said: 'Any action will be met by a reaction.'" (AFP)

03-07-2016
Terrorism

UAE Foreign Minister calls for an end to Iranian intervention in the region, says that Iran's constitution stipulates that Islamic revolution and sectarianism should be exported.

"Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said it is necessary to put an end to the Iranian intervention in the region, stressing that Iran was the only country whose constitution stipulated that the revolution and sectarianism should be exported." (Al Arabiya)

03-07-2016
Human Rights

Iran's secret house church Christian movement grows up to 1 mission people, with help from abroad.

The number of Muslim converts who are risking prison or death by secretly worshipping as Christians in Iran's house church movement has grown to as many as 1 million people, according to watchdog groups. The London-based Pars Theological Center is training at least 200 Iranian Christians to become the next generation of Iran's church leaders, the Christian Post reported. The persecution of Christians has persisted in Iran since the 1979 rise of the country's theocratic Shiite Muslim government -- with Christians facing the threat of death, lashing and torture. About 100 Christians currently remain imprisoned under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's rule. In 2010, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country's underground house churches 'threaten the Islamic faith and deceive young Muslims.' Despite the crackdown, there is now a growing movement of Christians in the Islamic Republic. Groups like Open Doors USA estimate around 450,000 practicing Christians in the country, while other estimates record more than 1 million Christians in Iran... While Iran has released high-profile Christian pastors from captivity -- most notably Iranian American Saeed Abedini -- other Christian ministers still languish in the country's prisons. Pastor Farshid Fathi has been locked up in Iran's notorious Evin prison since December 2010 for what the American Center for Law and Justice describes as practicing his Christian faith... Another Christian minister, Pastor Behnam Irani, is serving six years in Ghezal Hezar prison for alleged 'actions against the state,' after he preached to a group of converted Christians in a house church as well as sharing his faith with Muslims." (Fox News)

03-07-2016
Human Rights

Islamic regime sets new restrictions on concerts held at universities in aftermath of moderate electoral gains.

"Iran has set new restrictions on concerts held at universities, as hard-liners dig in their heels after election gains for moderates who might seek to ease some of the Islamic republic's harshest limits on cultural life. The regulations, issued by the state council for the Islamization of universities and educational centers, declares that 'holding concerts and independent musical programs is not a priority for universities and is not allowed.' But it adds that only 'fine and valuable Iranian music' that 'strengthens national identity' and is in line with 'Islamic norms' can be played while emphasizing that promoting music is not part of universities' mission. The regulations also say that music played at university concerts should encourage commitment to 'moral, social, political, and revolutionary responsibilities.' It also says that music should not create 'excitement that is out of the norm' or provoke 'lust.' Lyrics that encourage 'promiscuity,' 'despair and hopelessness,' 'superficiality,' and 'neglect human dignity' should be avoided, according to the regulations as published by the news site Khabaronline.ir. The new restrictions come several months after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly criticized university concerts and mixed student camps as very wrong. In a July 2015 meeting with a group of students, Khamenei quoted approvingly a student as saying that 'university is not a place for concerts.' 'Sending students to mixed camps and holding concerts in universities to, in our minds, create joy in the student environment, is among the most wrong deeds,' Khamenei was quoted as saying by domestic media." (RFE/RL)

03-07-2016
Human Rights

Iran's Islamic hardliners set new restrictions on concerts held at universities to be in line with 'Islamic norms.'

"Iran has set new restrictions on concerts held at universities, as hard-liners dig in their heels after election gains for moderates who might seek to ease some of the Islamic republic's harshest limits on cultural life. The regulations, issued by the state council for the Islamization of universities and educational centers, declares that 'holding concerts and independent musical programs is not a priority for universities and is not allowed.' But it adds that only 'fine and valuable Iranian music' that 'strengthens national identity' and is in line with 'Islamic norms' can be played while emphasizing that promoting music is not part of universities' mission. The regulations also say that music played at university concerts should encourage commitment to 'moral, social, political, and revolutionary responsibilities.' It also says that music should not create 'excitement that is out of the norm' or provoke 'lust.' Lyrics that encourage 'promiscuity,' 'despair and hopelessness,' 'superficiality,' and 'neglect human dignity' should be avoided, according to the regulations as published by the news site Khabaronline.ir. The new restrictions come several months after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly criticized university concerts and mixed student camps as very wrong. In a July 2015 meeting with a group of students, Khamenei quoted approvingly a student as saying that 'university is not a place for concerts.' 'Sending students to mixed camps and holding concerts in universities to, in our minds, create joy in the student environment, is among the most wrong deeds,' Khamenei was quoted as saying by domestic media." (RFE/RL)

03-07-2016
Human Rights

Iran upholds prison sentence of student activist Arash Sadeghi for 'collusion against national security,' 'propaganda against the state,' 'spreading lies in cyberspace' and 'insulting the Founder of the Islamic Republic [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini].

"An Appeals Court in Iran has upheld the 15-year prison sentence of the student activist Arash Sadeghi for 'collusion against national security,' 'propaganda against the state,' 'spreading lies in cyberspace' and 'insulting the Founder of the Islamic Republic [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini].' Sadeghi's sentence has been confirmed without taking into consideration Article 134 of Iran's New Islamic Penal Code, which limits a prison term to the heaviest sentence of the most serious charge in cases of multiple charges. Sadeghi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his lawyer, Amir Raeesian, was not allowed to be present at the opening session of his trial. Raeesian was allowed to attend the second session but wasn't permitted to read the case file. Raeesian was only able to see a portion of the file just before the Appeals Court hearing. Political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran are routinely subjected to due process violations such as denial of full access to counsel or a lawyer's full access to case files... Sadeghi's wife, Golrokh Iraee, an accountant with no previous criminal record, has also been sentenced to six years in prison for 'propaganda against the state' and 'insulting the sacred.'" (ICHRI)

03-07-2016
Syria Conflict

"Weapons seized by Australia may have come from Iran, intended for Houthis."

"An Australian naval ship has seized a large arms cache that may have come from Iran and headed to Yemen by way of Somalia. The Australian Navy said that one of its ships patrolling the region, the HMAS Darwin, intercepted a small, stateless fishing vessel about 170 nautical miles off the coast of Oman when it made the discovery. On board they found more than 2,000 pieces of weaponry -- including 1,989 AK-47 assault rifles and 100 rocket-propelled grenades. According to a U.S. assessment, the weapons were believed to be initially sent from Iran and were likely intended for Houthi rebels in Yemen, Lt. Ian McConnaughey with the U.S. Navy told CNN... Iran has been accused before of attempting to arm the Shiite Houthis in a civil war that's largely a proxy fight between those two parties and Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni gulf states." (CNN)

03-07-2016
Syria Conflict

The IRGC is using Lebanon as a operations room for sending fighters particularly to Syria, Iraq and Yemen while interfering in their internal affairs.

"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is using Lebanon as a military operations room sending fighters all over the world, particularly to Syria, Iraq and Yemen, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Sunday, in the latest revelations about Iran's meddling in the internal affairs of regional states. He also vowed not to let Lebanon fall under Iranian influence amid the ongoing fierce power struggle in the region between the two rival regional powers: Saudi Arabia and Iran. 'The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is using Lebanon as an external operations room for training and sending fighters to all the world from Bosnia, Iraq, Yemen and Syria,' Machnouk said in an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel. He said 'Arab negligence' of Lebanon over the past 30 years had led the country to fall under Syrian and Iranian influence. 'The decision to confront [Iran's influence] was taken only weeks ago, while we have faced [Syrian domination of Lebanon] for tens of years, offering martyrs. To the day, the serial of martyrs has not ended in Lebanon,' Machnouk said. 'Nonetheless, we will prove that we are capable of a peaceful and political confrontation [against Iran],' he said. 'We will do what we can in order for Lebanon not to be a Persian thorn in the Arabs' belly. Our options are peaceful and we will not allow to be dragged into a military confrontation or sectarian strife.' Machnouk, a leading figure in the Future Movement, said the Arab confrontation against Iran's expanding influence in the region needs 'mobilization, planning, preparations and consultations among all concerned political forces.'" (Daily Star Lebanon)

03-07-2016
Human Rights

International Campaign for Human Rights in IranNavid Kamran, a former political prisoner reports that a former political prisoner has been sentenced to prison without any new evidence supporting the charge against him of 'propaganda against the state.'

"Navid Kamran, a former political prisoner, has been sentenced to one year in prison without any new evidence supporting the charge against him of 'propaganda against the state,' he told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'When the agents came into the shop jointly owned by me and [former prisoner of conscience] Arash [Sadeghi], they only had a warrant for Arash's arrest. Nevertheless, they also arrested me, Arash's wife [Golrokh Iraee], and Behnam Mousivand,' Kamran told the Campaign in an interview. 'All the things they accused me of during interrogation and the trial were stuff I did years ago for which I've already spent time in prison. It seems that now that they had me under arrest, they wanted to punish me.' Kamran was arrested at his stationery store on Azarbaijan Street in Tehran on September 6, 2014 along with three others including his business partner, former student activist Arash Sadeghi, by the Revolutionary Guard's Intelligence Organization." (ICHRI)

03-03-2016
Human Rights

Civil rights activist Esmail Ahmadi-Ragheb is sentenced to prison for 'propaganda against the state.'

"The civil rights activist Esmail Ahmadi-Ragheb has been sentenced to six months in prison for 'propaganda against the state' by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Shahriar, Tehran Province, for posting content on social media that was critical of government policy. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Ahmadi-Ragheb said that his comments and photos on Facebook were used as evidence for the anti-state propaganda charge. 'One of the things I had mentioned a lot in my Facebook posts was the term religious dictatorship. That was taken as evidence, so was my participation in a rally in support of [human rights lawyer] Nasrin Sotoudeh in front of the Bar Association as well as my meeting with Sattar Beheshti's [a blogger murdered by his interrogators in prison] mother and my participation in gatherings in support of political prisoners. They told me all these activities were illegal,' he said. Ahmadi-Ragheb, known by his nickname of Zartosht, said he will appeal the sentence but must also appear in another trial on March 8, 2016 at Branch 1044 of the Revolutionary Court to defend himself against the charge of 'disturbing public order.'" (ICHRI)

03-03-2016
Politics

"A hard-line Iranian lawmaker has come under fire for declaring that women should not be allowed to serve in parliament: 'the parliament is not a place for women, it's a place for men.'"

"A hard-line Iranian lawmaker has come under fire for declaring that women should not be allowed to serve in parliament. 'The parliament is not a place for women, it's a place for men,' lawmaker Nader Ghazipur said in a video posted online in which he appears to suggest that women can be abused and places women in the same category as 'donkeys,' a term used to insult a person's intelligence. 'We didn't easily win control over the country to send every fox, kid, and donkey there. The parliament is not a place for donkeys,' he said. Ghazipour, 57, was reelected to Iran's parliament last week in his hometown of Orumiyeh in West Azerbaijan Province. He appears to have made the comments during a meeting at his campaign headquarters." (RFE/RL)  

03-02-2016
Terrorism

Gulf Arab states declare Hezbollah a terrorist group in dangerously escalating tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

"A Saudi-dominated political bloc on Wednesday formally designated Lebanon's Hezbollah militia a terrorist organization, a move that signals dangerously escalating tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Gulf Cooperation Council's decision against the Iranian-allied group comes two weeks after Saudi Arabia canceled a $4 billion aid package for strengthening Lebanese security services. The move was rooted in anger over the Hezbollah's dominance of Lebanese security and political institutions. Saudi Arabia and other GCC member states quickly followed it by advising their citizens to leave Lebanon... A blistering statement posted on the GCC website accused Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite Muslim movement, of 'hostile acts' in the six states in the Sunni-led bloc: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The statement, citing GCC Secretary General Rashid al-Zayani, accused the group of recruitment to carry out terrorist attacks, as well as the smuggling of weapons and explosives, 'in flagrant violation of [GCC members'] sovereignty, security and stability.' All Hezbollah leaders and affiliated factions fall under the new terrorism designation, said the statement, which also charged that the Lebanese Shiite militia is responsible for 'terror and incitement' in Yemen and Iraq... Wednesday's announcement followed a provocative speech a day earlier by Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah, who denounced Saudi Arabia, its role in region and its recent decision to halt military and security aid to Lebanon. The decision to cut off aid and other Saudi moves, Nasrallah said, signal that 'we have entered a new phase of political and media struggle which Saudi Arabia has escalated.'" (WashPost)

03-01-2016
Terrorism

Newly released documents reveal Al Qaeda's financial ties to Turkey and Iran.

"Newly released documents written by Osama bin Laden include the late terrorist's will, personal letters and warnings to countries including the United States... Bin Laden did express concern about attacking Iran and Turkey, however, because much of al Qaeda's money traveled through those countries on its way to members of the organization... Bin Laden also feared that one of his wives might have been implanted with a small tracking device in her tooth during a visit to a dentist in Iran, telling her, 'The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli.'" (CNN)

03-01-2016
Anti-Americanism

US Navy's top military officers state that Iran's detention of 10 sailors in January is an act that violates international law.

"The U.S. Navy's top military officer told lawmakers Tuesday that Iran's detention of 10 sailors in January went against international law. 'Those sailors by international law should not have been captured and detained,' said Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, at a House budget hearing. 'I think we've made that very clear that that behavior is not consistent with international law,' he said. Richardson called the incident 'another indication of the type of threat we're dealing with here.' On Jan. 12, Iran intercepted the sailors as they were transiting two small craft, known as riverine boats, from Kuwait to Bahrain. Defense officials have said a navigational error caused the boats to drift into Iranian waters. The Iranian military boarded the boats and filmed crew members kneeling with their hands on their head, and in following days released video of the sailors being detained, including one wiping away tears... 'We don't want our sailors ever treated in that manner again, and there should be some repercussions,' Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee said at the hearing. 'Absolutely,' agreed Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who opposed the deal. Richardson said a Navy investigation into the matter would be released in a month or two. The Navy chief also said that despite the Iran nuclear deal, 'not much has changed' in terms of Iran as a threat. 'Iran has been acting with malign intent across several different vectors, whether it's short-range or medium-range ballistic missiles; whether it's anti-ship coastal defense cruise missiles - you know, across the spectrum,' he said." (The Hill)

02-29-2016
Politics

Iran's early election results indicate that hardline officials have been elected 'who have expressed hatred for the United States and Israel and who stand accused of planning the murder of political opponents.'

"Early election results from Iran indicate that the country elected on Friday another crop of hardline officials, including those who have expressed hatred for the United States and Israel and who stand accused of planning the murder of political opponents, according to information provided by organizations that observed the elections. As the names of those officials who won a seat on Iran's Assembly of Experts and other governing bodies begins to emerge, experts say it is becoming clear that hardline extremists will continue to control the Iranian government. While some western media outlets have claimed that reformists made inroads in the latest election, regional experts explained that this is not the case, as moderate political camps ultimately endorsed on their voting lists more hardline candidates aligned with the Iranian ruling regime... 'Radicals dominated the Assembly of Experts, as expected,' said Amir Toumaj, an Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 'The Guardian Council engineered the field so it would be that way.' Most of those who were prevented from running include those who have advocated warmer ties with Western powers. 'The bulk of the disqualified candidates represent comparatively pragmatic elements of the ruling elite-among them Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic's late founder and first supreme leader,' Saeed Ghasseminejad, also an Iran expert at FDD, wrote in a policy brief last week. 'On the other hand, most of the approved contenders are radical revolutionaries - devotees of the supreme leader with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),' he wrote. 'It is mathematically impossible for the less-hardline factions to win at the ballot box." (Free Beacon)

02-28-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will continue to develop its missile program and that Tehran needs 'no permission' to enhance the country's defense capabilities."

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will continue to develop its missile program and that Tehran needs 'no permission' to enhance the country's defense capabilities. 'We have announced that we will not ask permission from anyone to [strengthen] our defense and missile capability,' Zarif said in an interview with Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, on Sunday. The top Iranian diplomat went on to say that the country's missile program does not breach the July nuclear agreement struck between Tehran and six world powers and that the deal does not ban Iran from boosting its defense capabilities... Zarif said that Iran's missile program will continue apace and will be provided with all necessary materials and equipment. He further dismissed as 'unacceptable' claims by US officials that the Islamic Republic's missile tests are in breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying none of the Iranian missiles have been designed to carry 'nuclear warheads.' On October 11, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired its first guided ballistic missile dubbed Emad." (Press TV Iran)

02-28-2016
Politics

The IRGC said election winners would protect Iran "against foreign enemies," help "defeat the global arrogance (United States)", and that "high turnout was evidence of broad popular support of the ruling system."

"Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards on Sunday said the winners of Friday's elections would protect the Islamic Republic against foreign enemies, and the high turnout was evidence of broad popular support of the ruling system. 'There is no doubt that the election winners will do their best to protect Iran's dignity, power and independence; resolve the main issues for society and the people; and defeat the global arrogance (United States) by their awareness and wisdom,' the Guards said in a statement carried on the Tasnim news agency." (Reuters

02-28-2016
Human Rights

Iranian appeals court has sentenced musicians and a filmaker to prison for 'propaganda against the regime.'

"An Iranian appeals court has sentenced two musicians and a filmmaker to three years in prison and a three-year suspended sentence on charges of 'insulting the sacred' and 'propaganda against the regime' in connection with the production and promotion of underground music. Branch 54 of Iran's Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hassan Babaee, handed down the sentences to Mehdi Rajabian, a musician and founder of BargMusic, his brother Hossein Rajabian, an independent filmmaker, and Yousef Emadi, manager of BargMusic, on Sunday, February 28, 2016, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The BargMusic website distributes alternative music across Iran and promotes the work of Iranian artists and lyricists, including female soloists. The three artists were initially given a six-year prison sentence in December 2015 by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh of the 28th branch of the Revolutionary Court. They were also ordered to pay a fine of 200 million rials ($6,600), which was upheld by the appeals court... Emadi and the Rajabian brothers are among dozens of Iranian journalists, writers and artists arrested or sentenced to prison in the last couple of months." (IranWire)

02-28-2016
Politics

Supreme Leader Khamenei praises high turnout in the election and advises the newly elected bodies that "Advancement doesn't mean getting absorbed by global arrogance" (United States)

"In his first comments since the elections, Iran's deeply anti-Western Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised the high turnout but made no direct comment on the results. However in a statement he appeared to set out the values he would like to see in the newly elected bodies, suggesting they should not be influenced by the West. 'Advancement doesn't mean getting absorbed by global arrogance', he said, using a term for the United States. A more toughly worded comment came from hardline judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Emoli Larijani, who accused reformists of working with 'American and English media outlets' to block hardliners from winning seats the experts assembly. 'Is this type of coordination with foreigners in order to push out these figures from the Assembly of Experts in the interests of the regime?' he said in a statement. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful hardline paramilitary organisation close to Khamenei, issued a statement praising the turnout and implicitly accepting the results, but it too described the anti-U.S. stance it would like to see. 'The election winners will do their best to protect Iran's dignity, power and independence; resolve the main issues for society and the people; and defeat the global arrogance by their awareness and wisdom,' it said, referring to the United States." (Reuters

02-25-2016
Syria Conflict

Yemen's Saudi-backed government accuses Hezbollah of training Houthi rebels

Reuters: "Yemen's Gulf-backed government on Wednesday accused the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militia Hezbollah of training the Houthi rebels and fighting alongside them in attacks on Saudi Arabia's border, it said in a statement carried by official media. Yemen's government and its Gulf partners have long accused Hezbollah's ally Iran of backing the Houthis and seeking to transform the group into a replica of the Lebanese militia to use as a proxy against its main regional rival, Saudi Arabia. Its latest assertion is based on 'many documents and physical evidence' which Hezbollah would not be able to deny, it said, but that it did not immediately produce."

02-24-2016
Anti-Americanism

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns Iranian voters against Western infiltration in upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

Reuters: "Iran's top leader warned voters on Wednesday the West was plotting to influence elections pitting centrists close to President Hassan Rouhani against conservative hardliners in a contest that could shape the Islamic Republic for years to come. In remarks reflecting an abiding mistrust of Rouhani's rapprochement with the West, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he was confident Iranians would vote in favor of keeping Iran's anti-Western stance on Friday in the first elections since last year's nuclear accord with world powers. Rouhani's allies, who hope the deal will hasten Iran's opening up to the world after years of sanctions, have come under increasing pressure in the election campaign from hardliners who accuse them of links to Western powers including the United States and Britain... Rouhani on Wednesday denied accusations from hardliners that the candidates close to him were affiliated with Western powers, calling it an insult to the intelligence of Iranians. In remarks on his official website, Khamenei was quoted as saying he was certain the United States had concocted a plot after the nuclear deal to 'infiltrate' the Islamic Republic. 'When I talked about a U.S. infiltration plot, it made some people in the country frustrated,' said the Shi'ite clerical leader, who has final say on all major state policy in Iran... 'They complain (about) why we talk about infiltration all the time ... But this is a real plot. Sometimes even the infiltrators don't know they are a part of it,' he said. 'One of the enemy's ruses is to portray a false dichotomy between a pro-government and anti-government parliament,' Khamenei was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA. 'The nation does not want a pro- or anti-government parliament, but rather a strong and faithful parliament that is aware of its duties and is not intimidated by the United States,' he said... potential detente with the West has alarmed hardliners, who have seen a flood of European trade and investment delegations arrive in Tehran to discuss possible deals in the wake of the nuclear agreement. Since then, hardline security officials have arrested dozens of artists, journalists and businessmen, including Iranians holding joint U.S. or British citizenship, as part of a crackdown on 'Western infiltration.'"

02-24-2016
Terrorism

Iran says it will pay thousands of dollars to families of Palestinians killed in attacks against Israelis.

Reuters: "Iran will pay thousands of dollars to families of Palestinians killed in a wave of anti-Israeli protests and violence, or whose homes have been demolished by Israel, Tehran's ambassador to Lebanon said on Wednesday. Scores of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in five months of street violence. Palestinians have carried out stabbings, shootings and car rammings, and Israeli security forces have shot dead many assailants... 'The decision firstly includes giving an amount worth $7,000 to every family of a martyr of the intifada in Jerusalem,' ambassador Mohammad Fathali said at a Beirut news conference. Iran would also offer '$30,000 to every family whose home the occupation (Israel) has demolished for the participation of one of its sons' in the unrest, he said."

02-24-2016
Human Rights

70-year old father of a student who has been missing for 17 years since his arrest has been sentenced to 91 days in prison for allegedly participating in protest

ICHRI: "The 70-year-old father of a student who has not been heard from for 17 years since his arrest has been sentenced to 91 days in prison and 74 lashes for 'disturbing public order' by allegedly participating in a gathering in support of an imprisoned spiritual leader. But Hashem Zeinali was only there to demand answers about his son and got mixed into the crowd, according to his wife. Speaking to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Akram Neghabi said the focus of her husband's interrogation indicated that the authorities targeted Neghabi for seeking answers about their son rather than having any connection to the case of the spiritual leader, Mohammad Ali Taheri, who has been persecuted for his alternative spiritual beliefs. 'My husband told the judge that he respects Mr. Taheri and his followers but my husband is searching for our missing son and that's why he was in front of Evin Prison on that day holding our son Saeed's picture,' Neghabi told the Campaign. 'During interrogations, the Revolutionary Guards told my husband that they had not arrested our son and he should take back his accusations, therefore they knew he was not a Taheri follower,' she said."

02-23-2016
Human Rights

Iranian vice president claims that there is a village in Sistan & Baluchistan Province where every man has been executed on drug charges

IHR: "Iranian vice-president claims there is a village in the Sistan & Baluchestan province (southern Iran) where every single man has been executed on drug charges. Talking to state run news agency Mehr on Tuesday February 23 about the huge problem of drug usage and offenses in Iran, Shahindokht Molaverdi, Iranian Vice President for Women & Family Affairs (appointed by Hassan Rouhani in 2013) said: 'We have a village in Sistan & Baluchestan where every single man has been executed. Today the children [of these men] are potential drug traffickers; either because they will seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers or because they will need to financially provide for their families, as a result of lack of support by the government [and since the breadwinners of their families were the men who were executed].' Every year several hundred people are hanged in Iran for drug related charges. According to IHR, majority of people executed in Iran belong to the most marginalized groups in society, and ethnic regions are the most affected. 'Iranian authorities have repeatedly admitted that the death penalty has not solved the problem of drug trafficking, but they still continue to execute people for drug charges. In 2015 the number of executions in Iran for drug offenses was the highest in 20 years,' says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights. IHR once again calls on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and country donors to stop providing equipment, funding, and technology to Iran until the death penalty is no longer issued for drug offenses... The UN must not continue funding the Iranian authorities' 'killing machine' under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking."

02-22-2016
Human Rights

An appeals court confirms the six-year sentence for Kurdish filmmaker Keywan Karimi for insulting the Islamic Republic, "suspending five of them, and condemned him to 223 lashes and a fine for 'shaking hands with women and drinking alcoholic drinks".

"An Iranian film-maker convicted of insulting the Islamic Republic has lost his appeal and now faces jail and lashing, a source said on Monday, as an apparent crackdown on artists and writers intensified ahead of elections this week. Keywan Karimi, 30, was found guilty last year of 'insulting the sacred and spreading propaganda' in a documentary about political graffiti in Tehran called 'Writing On The City'. An appeals court this week confirmed Karimi's six-year sentence, suspending five of them, and condemned him to 223 lashes and a fine for 'shaking hands with women and drinking alcoholic drinks,' a source close to the issue said... Karimi is one of dozens of artists, journalists and business people, including Iranians holding joint U.S. or British citizenship, arrested in the run-up to Friday's election of parliamentarians and of the clerics who will choose the next supreme leader... The same source, who asked not to be identified, said verdicts has been issued this week to at least 12 film-makers, photographers and writers. He said they were under pressure not to talk to the media and make this public." (Reuters)

02-22-2016
Terrorism

"A group of hard-line Iranian news media organizations says it has raised $600,000 to add to a bounty for the killing of the British novelist Salman Rushdie."

"A group of hard-line Iranian news media organizations says it has raised $600,000 to add to a bounty for the killing of the British novelist Salman Rushdie. Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling for Mr. Rushdie to be killed because of his book 'The Satanic Verses,' which the ayatollah found to be blasphemous and insulting toward Muslims. Mr. Rushdie has since then been living largely out of sight and under the protection of bodyguards. The semiofficial Fars news agency, one of the organizations involved, reported that the new reward money was gathered during a trade fair called the Islamic Republic's Digital Media Exhibition. It quoted the secretary of the exhibition saying that the $600,000 had been announced last week to mark the anniversary of the 1989 fatwa... The decree had already put a considerable price on Mr. Rushdie's head: A religious organization called the 15 Khordad Foundation initially offered a $2.7 million reward to anyone carrying out the fatwa, then increased it to $3.3 million in 2012. The new money, bringing the total bounty to nearly $4 million, came from 40 news outlets listed by Fars, which said that it had contributed $30,000." (NYT)

02-22-2016
Anti-Americanism

U.S. citizen Baquer Namazi, the 80-year-old father of imprisoned Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi, is arrested.

WashPost: "An elderly U.S. citizen whose son was arrested in Iran last fall has also been detained in Tehran, his family said Wednesday. Baquer Namazi, 80, was arrested Monday evening and apparently taken to Tehran's Evin prison, according to a Facebook posting by his wife, Effie. Their son, Siamak, an Iranian American businessman based in Dubai, has been held by Iranian security authorities since October. It is not clear what crime he is accused of committing, and no charges in his case have been announced. In an open Facebook message to friends and relatives, Effie Namazi wrote that neither she nor a family lawyer has been able to get more information about the circumstances behind her husband's arrest. 'Now both my innocent son Siamak and my Baquer are in prison for no reason,' she wrote. 'This is a nightmare I can't describe.' The Iranian lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabei, told the Associated Press on Thursday that he does not believe the elder Namazi will face 'political charges,' and is being held 'for some investigation only.' 'It is unlikely that he will be charged,' the lawyer told AP. Baquer Namazi has a heart ailment and other conditions requiring medication, his wife wrote. She described herself as 'extremely concerned and worried sick' about his health. Her husband was a prominent official during the rule of the shah, who was toppled in the Islamic revolution of 1979. Namazi, a former governor of the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, was allowed to leave Iran with his family in 1983 and immigrate to the United States. He subsequently moved permanently back to Iran. Most recently, Namazi was the head of Hamyaran, a group of Iranian nongovernmental organizations. His son worked for Crescent Petroleum in the United Arab Emirates... 'I pray to God that my Siamak and Baquer return home to me and that they are released,' Effie Namazi wrote. 'Please keep them in your prayers.'"

02-21-2016
Anti-Americanism

Reuters reports that detained Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi "has been denied access to his lawyer by authorities," amid reports that he recently began a hunger strike.

"An detained in Iran since October , his attorney and family said in an interview and on social media over the last two days. Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October while visiting family, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to be identified. Iranian authorities have not announced any charges against him. Five other American citizens were released from Iranian prisons more than a month ago as part of an historic prisoner swap with the United States. After their release, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that he had commitments from Iran that Namazi's case would be resolved soon. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei said in a phone interview on Friday that he is representing Namazi and that Iran's judiciary chief has not yet allowed him to meet with his client. Such permission is required by Iranian law if an individual is accused of national security-related crimes, he said, adding that he has not been officially informed of Namazi's charges. 'Not me, nor any other lawyer has received such permission from the head of judiciary so far,' Tabatabaei said. 'His mother has met him a few times, but his father has not been allowed to see him.' ... In a post on Facebook on Saturday, Namazi's mother, Effie Namazi, said she had not been able to see her son for some time, and did not know his condition. But she said she had received news through his cellmate's family that Namazi had begun a hunger strike." (Reuters)

02-21-2016
Terrorism

According to the Manila Times, "An alleged terrorist plot to hijack or bomb a passenger plane from the Saudi Arabian air fleet [by Iran] has reached an 'advanced stage' of implementation".

"An alleged terrorist plot to hijack or bomb a passenger plane from the Saudi Arabian air fleet has reached an 'advanced stage' of implementation, according to a reliable airport source. The airport source on Saturday cited the threat of terrorist attack that would be carried out somewhere in Southeast Asia after Iran warned of 'divine revenge' against Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's recent execution of a religious leader, a prominent cleric. The source confirmed that the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the Philippines has informed the Department of Foreign Affairs that its government intelligence had received information that 'Iranian Revolutionary Guards' are allegedly preparing to mount the attack. The Manila Times has obtained a copy of that confidential communication written by a retired admiral in behalf of the Foreign Affairs secretary, dated January this year, indicating that the plan has reached the 'advanced stage.' The dispatch revealed that the 'implementing and planning team is said to consist of 10 persons and six of them are Yemeni nationals tasked to execute the plan, and some of them have already been identified.' ... The source said it is possible that the terrorist plot would be launched in Malaysia, Indonesia or the Philippines." (Manila Times)

02-21-2016
Human Rights

Iran's judiciary confirms sentences of up to 15 years for four civil rights activists ahead of parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

IHR: "In the months leading to the Iranian 2016 elections, authorities have cracked down heavily on Iran's fragile civil society. On Sunday February 21 Branch 54 of Tehran's Appeals Court reportedly confirmed prison sentences for four civil rights activists: Arash Sadeghi, 15 years in prison; Golrokh Irayee, six years in prison; Navid Kamran, one year in prison; and Behnam Mousivand, one year in prison. Close sources say the court justified the rulings by citing peaceful activities, such as: posting on Facebook, participating in a protest gathering of Gonabadi Dervishes, having contact with human rights activists and groups in addition to having contact with news media groups and independent journalists outside Iran. This is the second case file for Arash Sadeghi and Behnam Mousivand; Sadeghi also has a four-year suspended prison term and Mousivand a two-year suspended prison term... IHR considers the current human rights situation in Iran a crisis that requires the attention of the public, in particular European governments and the United Nations. 'The Iranian judiciary and security insitutions are ruthless in their repression of Iran's fragile civil society and are attempting to silence any voice of dissent in Iran. The Eruopean Union and the United Nations should not be silent to the unlawful behavior of Iranian authorities,' says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights."

02-20-2016
Anti-Americanism

IranWire reports: "After many years of incarceration and house arrest, American-Iranian dual national Dr Kian Tajbakhsh, 53, was at last permitted to leave Iran in late January" for the U.S.

"After many years of incarceration and house arrest, American-Iranian dual national Dr Kian Tajbakhsh, 53, was at last permitted to leave Iran in late January and be reunited with family and friends in New York in the United States. Tajbakhsh was first detained by the Iranian authorities in 2007 for four months. He was rearrested in 2009 for his alleged involvement in the protests that followed the 2009 presidential election. For this, he has been charged with a number of offences, including espionage. Since the 2009 arrest, he has either been in detention or on parole in Iran. Then, on January 28, Tajbakhsh was at last able to leave the country with his wife Bahar and daughter Hasti after the authorities handed them back their travel papers earlier that month, coinciding with the release of US-Iranian prisoners Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, on January 16. Dr Kian Tajbakhsh, who is one of the world's leading experts in urban planning and local government reform, has taught at a number of well-respected Iranian and American universities, including Columbia University in New York. He has also acted as a consultant for several Iranian government organizations, including the Ministry of the Interior and international non-governmental organizations, including the Open Society Institute and the World Bank. Since his recent return to the US, Tajbakhsh has resumed teaching at Columbia... On January 31, just days after he had left Iran, Dr Kian Tajbakhsh posted a message on the 'Free Kian' website - a site that has chronicled his case and campaigned for his release since 2009 - thanking all his family, friends and colleagues that have worked tirelessly over the years to secure his freedom and enable him to return to the US." (IranWire)

02-20-2016
Human Rights

Siamak Namazi is being held incommunicado in Tehran's Evin Prison, without access to a lawyer or visits by his family

ICHRI: "Siamek Namazi, the Iranian-American businessman who was arrested in October while visiting family in Tehran, is being held incommunicado in Evin Prison and denied access to his lawyer and visits by family members. Namazi's family has reported that the imprisoned dual national has gone on a hunger strike. 'As a mother I ask the authorities to at least allow me and Siamak's father to visit him as soon as possible to convince him to stop his hunger strike,' wrote Effat Namazi in a Facebook post on February 20, 2016. Namazi was arrested on October 15, 2016 and is being held in Evin's Ward 2-A, which is controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization. 'Unfortunately, I've not been able to visit Siamak, despite an order from the Assistant Supervisor of Security Prisons,' wrote Effat Namazi. 'His lawyer has not been able to see him either.' 'We recently heard through Twitter that Siamak's cellmate said he had gone on a hunger strike,' added Effat Namazi. 'This news has made the family much more worried because it will certainly harm his health.' Namazi was heading the strategic planning division for Crescent Petroleum, an oil and gas company based in the United Arab Emirates, when he was arrested."

02-20-2016
Human Rights

18 civil rights defenders "who were arrested while peacefully protesting outside Evin Prison in November 2015" are each sentenced to 91 days in prison and 74 lashes.

"18 civil rights defenders, who were arrested while peacefully protesting outside Evin Prison in November 2015, have each been issued prison and lashing sentences. Branch 1060 of Tehran's criminal court has sentenced each of the 18 individuals to 91 days in prison and 74 lashes. Based on the information received by Iran Human Rights, the court sentenced two of the individuals to an additional two-year suspended prison term. The names of the 18 are: Simin Ayvaz-Zadeh (mother of civil rights activist Omid Alishenas), Hashem Zeinali (father of missing student Saeed Zeinali), Reza Malek (former political prisoner), Ehsan Kheybar, Abdolazim Oruji, Mohsen Haseli, Mohsen Shojah, Khadijeh (Leyla) Mirghaffari, Azam Najafi, Parvin Soleimani, Shermin Yemeni, Sara Saiee, Arshia Rahmati, Massoud Hamidi, Ali Babaiee, Esmaeil Hosseini, Farideh Tousi, and Zahra Modarreszadeh. 'They didn't commit any actual crime and their actions were in line with their right to freedom of assembly; as per Article 27 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which has been adopted by the UN General Assembly and ratified by Iran,' Mohammad Moghimi, a human rights lawyer for the 18 defenders, tells Iran Human Rights. Iran Human Rights condemns the unlawful actions committed by Iran's judicial system and calls on Iranian authorities to end the repression and eradication of civil society in Iran. 'Iranian authorities have once again shown their intolerance to the peaceful activities of civil society. All levels of government within the Islamic Republic of Iran are responsible for the treatment of these 18 individuals,' says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson for Iran Human Rights." (IHR)

02-19-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iranian clerics used their last Friday prayer sermons before key polls next week to urge the faithful to elect candidates... hostile to the United States."

"Iranian clerics used their last Friday prayer sermons before key polls next week to urge the faithful to elect candidates loyal to the Islamic revolution and hostile to the United States. They accused Western media of attempting to sway voters against the revolution's supporters in next Friday's twin elections to parliament and the Assembly of Experts, the body which elects and supervises Iran's supreme leader. 'Today, they name the pillars of the revolution and ask people not to vote for them, and then name others and call for their election,' complained Tehran prayer leader Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi. 'Revolutionary Muslims should do the opposite.' In Iran's second city Mashhad, prayer leader Mohammad Bagher Farzaneh urged the faithful to elect members of parliament who have 'Death the America' written 'on their foreheads', the ISNA news agency reported. In the southwestern city of Ahvaz, the prayer leader urged people to vote for 'champions of the fight against the United States,' the official IRNA news agency said." (AFP

02-18-2016
Syria Conflict

Iranian government, in conjunction with universities, to develop 'smart filtering' to improve internet censoring abilities.

ICHRI: "The Iranian government, in a joint project with several domestic universities, is spending $36 million to develop what it calls 'smart filtering' in order to strengthen its Internet censorship capabilities. Smart filtering refers to the selective blocking of content within a website, as opposed to the complete blocking or shutting down of an entire website. The initiative, announced by deputy Communications and Information Technology Minister Ali Asghar Amidian in an interview with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) on February 18, 2016, reflects growing concern among hardliners in Iran over the state's ability to control the citizenry's access to information given the huge growth of Internet use in the country. It also reflects an unspoken acknowledgement of the state's movement away from the wholesale blocking of websites that have become widely used in Iran, by both the citizenry and state officials. According to Asadollah Dehnad, the acting director of the Telecommunications Company of Iran, who was quoted by Citna, the Iranian technology news agency on January 18, the average Iranian spends more than two hours a day on Telegram and 'that means many times more than watching [state] television.' It has been almost a decade since Iranian officials promised to introduce 'smart filtering.' To date, however, they have had little success."

02-17-2016
Human Rights

The Independent reports that members of the metal band "Confess" "have reportedly been jailed and face execution for blasphemy".

"Members of a metal band in Iran have reportedly been jailed and face execution for blasphemy, it has been reported. Trev McKendry, CEO of Metal Nation, claimed in a post on Metal Nation News that the Iranian band Confess have been in prison since November last year on the grounds of blasphemy and running an illegal band and record label. Two of the members of Confess, Nikan Siyanor Khosravi and Khosravi Arash Chemical Ilkhani, were reportedly held in solitary confinement until 5 February when they were released on bail. According to the Metal Nation News source, the men face between six months and six years in prison, but if they are found guilty of blasphemy they could be executed... The full charges levied against the band reportedly include blasphemy; advertising against the system; forming and running an illegal band and record label 'in the satanic metal & rock music style'; writing anti-religious, atheist, political and anarchistic lyrics; and conducting interviews with 'forbidden' foreign radio stations." (Independent)

02-17-2016
Anti-Americanism

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says "the global Zionism network dictates the US and many EU members' policies vis-a-vis Iran."

"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the global Zionism network dictates the US and many EU members' policies vis-a-vis Iran. Addressing a large crowd from East Azarbaijan province in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said, 'The US and many European governments' policies are dominated by this (Zionist) network, and the Americans' dealing with Iran's nuclear issue should be understood within this particular framework.' 'Following the lengthy trend of the talks and the pursuing nuclear deal, a US official has in recent days said they would take (the necessary) action to dissuade foreign investments in Iran,' the Leader reminded, adding in response that 'this demonstrates the depths of the US hostility toward the Iranian nation.' He said the Iranian team of nuclear negotiators and their backers at home made industrious efforts to strike a deal in a bid to improve Iranian economy through foreign investment, 'but the Americans now want to block this path'. 'And that's exactly why it has been repeatedly stated that Americans are not trustworthy,' the Iranian Leader reiterated. In response to Washington's protests against the slogan of Death to America in nationwide rallies, the Leader said, 'When you act like this, when your past and present is nothing but open hostility, what else do you expect from the Iranian people?' In conclusion, the Leader said, 'The reality is this: After the marathon talks and the (nuclear) deal, they are now saying we won't. In broad daylight, they threaten us with new sanctions.'" (Fars)

02-17-2016
Syria Conflict

The Wall Street Journal reports: Hezbollah along with members of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard unit and thousands of Iran-funded and trained Shiite fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere are leading the... ground assault" of Aleppo.

WSJ: "Hezbollah along with members of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard unit and thousands of Iran-funded and trained Shiite fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere are leading the current ground assault in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, pressing an offensive just before a cease-fire is supposed to take hold to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the start of peace negotiations... Tehran's commitment to the cause is reflected in the deployment of the Shiite foreign fighters, and shows how intent it is to maintain the momentum that has allowed the regime, backed by Russian airstrikes, to reclaim swaths of territory from the rebels. 'These allies are together in the same command center, working, planning and coordinating their operations in the battlefield,' said a senior official in the Iran-Russia-Syrian regime military alliance. 'Retaking Aleppo will restore the regime's strength and control over Syria; toppling the regime is now a thing of the past.' ... The projection of power in northern Syria is the strongest signal by Shiite-led Iran that it intends both directly and via its Shiite proxies to bolster its reach and influence throughout the region. Already, Iran's rivals-Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Turkey-have signaled they might get involved militarily to prevent Iran and Russia from crushing opposition rebels in and around Aleppo. Phillip Smyth, a researcher with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and expert on Shiite groups in Syria, said Iran has worked for decades to assemble and synthesize this network of proxies starting in the 1980s... 'Iran has now fully developed this foreign legion of sorts,' Mr. Smyth said. 'Saudis are left in the dust by this Iranian effort.' ... Mr. Smyth said the core of the Iran-led forces in Syria include several thousand Iranian fighters, up to 8,000 from Hezbollah, an estimated 6,000 Iraqis and about 3,500 Afghans... 'The alliance of Iran, Russia, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon is marching toward victory and the Americans must realize that the region's future will be decided by the Islamic Revolution's strength,' said Yahya Rahim-Safavi, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, during a ceremony on Thursday marking the 37th anniversary of the revolution that put the clergy at the helm of power." (WSJ)

02-14-2016
Syria Conflict

On the 11th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Rafik al-Hariri, allegedly by Iran's proxy Hezbollah, Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri says that "Lebanon will not be, under any circumstances, an Iranian province."

"Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri said on Sunday Lebanon would never be an 'Iranian province' hostile to Saudi Arabia, and attacked Shi'ite Hezbollah's role in the Syrian war in a speech reflecting regional tensions. The former prime minister was speaking in Beirut on the 11th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Rafik al-Hariri. It was only his third visit to the country since the Hezbollah-dominated March 8 alliance toppled his cabinet in 2011... 'We will not allow anyone to pull Lebanon to the camp of hostility toward Saudi Arabia and its Arab brothers. Lebanon will not be, under any circumstances, an Iranian province. We are Arabs, and Arabs we shall remain,' said Hariri, who is backed by Saudi Arabia. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, is fighting alongside the Syrian army in support of President Bashar al-Assad in a war against insurgents who have received backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other states. Five Hezbollah members have been indicted by an international tribunal over the 2005 killing of Rafik al-Hariri." (Reuters)

02-14-2016
Human Rights

On the fifth anniversary of the house arrests of Iran's reformist opposition leaders, the U.S. State Department condemns their continued detention and calls for their release.

"The U.S. State Department on Sunday marked the five-year anniversary of the house arrests of several Iranian opposition leaders, condemning their continued detention and calling for their release. 'Five years ago today, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran placed former senior Iranian officials and 2009 presidential election candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, as well as Mousavi's wife, women's rights advocate Zahra Rahnavard, under house arrest without formally charging them with any crimes,' spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. 'We join the international community in condemning their continued detention and the harassment of their family members, and in calling for their immediate release.' The statement said the United States will keep pushing the Iranian government to 'respect its international obligations, including minimum fair trial guarantees and not subjecting its citizens to arbitrary arrest or detention.' 'We repeat our appeal for the immediate release of these individuals and of all prisoners who are being held for their religious or political beliefs,' Toner added." (The Hill)

02-11-2016
Anti-Americanism

Tens of thousands of Iranians chanting "Death to America and Israel" commemorate the 37th anniversary of the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.

"If you thought anti-American sentiment in Iran had waned after the nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions, you could be wrong. Tens of thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran's Azadi Square Thursday, chanting 'Death to America and Israel' and waving anti-Western placards on the 37th anniversary of the country's 1979 Islamic revolution... There were several homages in the rally to the incident last month where 10 U.S. Navy sailors were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard - including a parade float. President Hassan Rouhani gave an address, saying that Iranians will 'never yield' to outside pressure. 'Our nuclear victory showed to the world that Iranians are capable of winning any battle, including diplomatic battles,' Rouhani told the crowds." (NBC)

02-10-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iranian state television released images and video of a U.S. sailor crying in custody from last month's incident in which Iran detained 10 American sailors. In response, the U.S. Navy says, "The detention of our personnel was outrageous and unacceptable."

"Images of a U.S. sailor crying in custody are being broadcast on Iran's state television as the latest propaganda salvo from the Iranian government in the wake of its provocative January arrest of 10 American sailors in their waters. The latest move prompted a condemnation from the U.S. Navy, calling the sailors' treatment 'outrageous and unacceptable.' ... The new images sparked a fierce response from the Navy. 'As Secretary [of State John] Kerry has said, we are disgusted by the exploitation of our Sailors in Iranian propaganda,' said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, spokesman for Naval Forces Central Command, in a statement. 'The detention of our personnel was outrageous and unacceptable.' ... In some of the most extensive comments from the Navy to date on the sailors' treatment, Stephens said the Iranians should have escorted the riverines from their waters and offered assistance if mechanical issues prevented them from complying immediately. 'Professional mariners understand that it is a duty and obligation to assist other mariners who suffer mechanical problems or who find themselves off track at sea,' Stephens said. 'The responsible action for the Iranians to have taken upon discovering our RCBs in their waters would have been to calmly and peacefully direct our RCBs out of their territorial waters or offer assistance if the apparent mechanical issues in one of the boats prevented them from departing immediately. It's outrageous and unacceptable that our Sailors were held at gunpoint and detained. We are grateful diplomacy worked at the end of the day, but it would never have come to that had the Iranian maritime forces involved behaved professionally and responsibly.'" (Military Times)

02-04-2016
Human Rights

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child says "Iran must reform its laws that allows girls as young as nine to be executed for crimes or forced into sexual relations with older husbands."

"Iran must reform its laws that allows girls as young as nine to be executed for crimes or forced into sexual relations with older husbands, a United Nations watchdog... Iran continues to execute children and youth who committed a crime while under 18 years of age, in violation of international standards, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said, after its 18 independent experts reviewed Iran and 13 other countries. 'The age of criminal responsibility in Iran is discriminatory, it is lower and lower for girls, that is to say 9 lunar years while for boys it is 15. At nine a girl can marry, even if the law sets the age at 13,' said Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, a panel member. Nine lunar years in the Iranian calendar is equivalent to 8 years and nine months, a U.N. spokeswoman said. The age for boys having criminal responsibility is 15, but the age for girls at 9 is 'extremely low', Idrissi said. The experts deplored that Iran 'allows sexual intercourse with girls as young as 9 lunar years and that other forms of sexual abuse of even young children is not criminalized'. They called for the age of sexual consent to be raised to 16. 'The Committee is seriously concerned about the reports of increasing numbers of girls at the age of 10 years or younger who are subjected to child and forced marriages to much older men.'Girls suffered discrimination in the family, in the criminal justice system, in property rights, and elsewhere, while a legal obligation for girls to be subject to male guardianship is 'incompatible' Tehran's treaty obligations, the panel said." (Reuters

02-03-2016
Human Rights

Authorities arrest former BBC journalist and dual Iranian-British citizen Bahman Daroshafaei.

"Authorities in Iran have arrested a former BBC journalist on the eve of a visit to London by Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. Bahman Daroshafaei was taken to jail on Wednesday after facing a series of interrogations, according to sources in Tehran. Daroshafaei is of dual Iranian-British nationality and is a former employee of the BBC's Persian service, which is loathed by the Iranian establishment... Daroshafaei, who left BBC Persian two years ago to return to Iran to work on children's literature, was active on social media, particularly on issues relating to human rights, such as the situation of imprisoned journalists and activists. He had worked for the corporation for five years as a staff journalist." (Guardian

02-01-2016
Human Rights

Two juvenile offenders belonging to the Baluchi minority are executed on drug-related charges

"According to close sources, two Baluchi prisoners were hanged to death at Yazd Central Prison on drug related charges. The executions were reportedly carried out on Monday February 1. According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, the names of the prisoners are Khaled Kordi and Moslem Abarian. A relative of Khaled Kordi confirms to Iran Human Rights that both prisoners were under the age of 18 at the time of their arrests. Iranian authorities carried out the executions without informing the family members of the prisoners. The two prisoners were reportedly riding a bus to work when they were arrested by Iranian authorities for drug offenses. The relative tells IHR that he believes Khaled and Moslem were innocent and the drugs were planted on them by someone else on the bus. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran is a signatory of, bans death sentences for offenses committed under the age of 18." (IHR

01-27-2016
Anti-Americanism

The head of the Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Unit says the U.S. is heading toward a dramatic collapse, and its only chance of survival is to follow Iran's lead.

"The United States is heading toward dramatic collapse, according to Hasan Taeb, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Unit. Taeb said on January 27 that the United States' only chance of survival was Iran, which he described as the major power in the Middle East. If President Obama's administration failed to follow Iran's lead, his country was destined for failure - in the Middle East, but also closer to home. He said the US was heading for a break-up not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union, echoing previous comments by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei." (IranWire

01-05-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's supreme leader says that the US was seeking to influence next month's elections in the Islamic republic but says such efforts would receive a 'punch in the mouth.'"

 

"Iran's supreme leader said Monday the United States was seeking to influence next month's elections in the Islamic republic but said such efforts would receive a 'punch in the mouth.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments related to parliamentary polls and a ballot for the Assembly of Experts, a powerful committee of clerics who will pick the country's next supreme leader when the incumbent, who is 76, dies. Both elections take place on February 26. Khamenei told a meeting of prayer leaders that attempts by 'enemies' to distance Iran from its revolutionary mandate - the Islamic republic was formed in 1979 after the overthrow of a U.S.-backed shah - would fail. 'Americans have set their eyes covetously on elections but the great and vigilant nation of Iran will act contrary to the enemies' will, whether be it in elections or on other issues, and as before will punch them in the mouth,' he said. The supreme leader, whose authority outweighs all politicians including Rouhani, has warned in recent months that July's nuclear deal - which is yet to be implemented - would be followed by U.S. attempts to 'infiltrate' Iran. Reiterating such sentiments on Monday, he said the U.S. goal was to bring the Islamic republic closer to 'their own goals rather than Iran's goals of the revolution'. 'Those who have access to information know what traps have been laid or are being laid for the country in order (for them) to infiltrate the nation's will and decisions,' Khamenei said. 'We must all be vigilant with regards to infiltration,' he warned, comparing any such person who managed to find their way into parliament or the Assembly of Experts to 'termites who would gnaw and weaken (Iran's) foundations from within.'" (AFP)

01-05-2016
Nuclear Program

"Iran unveils a new underground missile depot with state television showing Emad precision-guided missiles in store which the US says can take a nuclear warhead and violate a 2010 UN Security Council resolution."

 

"Iran unveiled a new underground missile depot on Tuesday with state television showing Emad precision-guided missiles in store which the United States says can take a nuclear warhead and violate a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution. The defiant move to publicize Iran's missile program seemed certain to irk the United States as it plans to dismantle nearly all sanctions on Iran under a breakthrough nuclear agreement. Tasnim news agency and state television video said the underground facility, situated in mountains and run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was inaugurated by the speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani. Release of one-minute video followed footage of another underground missile depot last October. The United States says the Emad, which Iran tested in October, would be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and U.S. officials say Washington will respond to the Emad tests with fresh sanctions against Iranian individuals and businesses linked to the program. Iran's boasting about its missile capabilities are a challenge for U.S. President Barack Obama's administration as the United States and European Union plan to dismantle nearly all international sanctions against Tehran under the nuclear deal reached in July... The Revolutionary Guards' second-in-command, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, said last Friday that Iran's depots and underground facilities are so full that they do not know how to store their new missiles." (Reuters)

01-05-2016
Human Rights

Despite "President Hassan Rouhani's pledges during his election campaign in 2013 that 'all ethnicities, all religions, even religious minorities, must feel justice,' the targeting of Christian converts for state persecution and prosecution has continued.

 

Despite "President Hassan Rouhani's pledges during his election campaign in 2013 that 'All ethnicities, all religions, even religious minorities, must feel justice,' the targeting of Christian converts for state persecution and prosecution has continued unabated under his administration. Most recently, two days before Christmas, officials from the Administration's Intelligence Ministry arrested a Christian convert in Isfahan, according to the Alliance of Iranian Churches known as Hamgam, carting him and an assortment of his personal belongings off to an undisclosed location. The arrest of leaders of minority faiths in Iran, especially those that engage in proselytizing, and the systematic discrimination of members of such faith in all walks of life, have led the UN Secretary-General and the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran to consistently cite the denial of freedom of religion as a major human rights violation in Iran. 'Agents of the Intelligence Ministry in Isfahan entered the home of Meysam Hojati on December 23, 2015, scolded him in front of his parents, slapped him on the face, searched his home and took personal belongings including his computer, phone, Holy Book and Christian pamphlets,' Mansour Borji, a spokesperson for the Alliance told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'They took him away handcuffed and blindfolded. The agents even took the Christmas tree. That's really strange. Why would they care about a Christmas tree?' he added." (ICHRI)

01-05-2016
Syria Conflict

"The UN Security Council strongly condemns an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters angered by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric."

 

"The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters angered by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. The statement by the 15-member council, which called on Iran to protect diplomatic personnel and property, made no mention of the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr... 'The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, and its Consulate General in Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in intrusions into the diplomatic and consular premises, causing serious damage,' said the council statement. Expressing 'deep concern' over the attacks, the council 'called on the Iranian authorities to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel, and to respect fully their international obligations in this regard.' Council members urged the sides to 'maintain dialogue and take steps to reduce tensions in the region.'" (AFP)

01-05-2016
Nuclear Program

"A leading Iranian political scholar has stated that the 'knowledge and capability to build the atomic bomb is necessary' says that 'we consider having the knowledge essential to gain power for the system, so we can assist the Imam of the Age (Mahdi).'"

 

"A leading Iranian political scholar has stated that the 'knowledge and capability to build the atomic bomb is necessary' for its global standing, according to recent comments carried by the country's state-controlled Persian language press. Mahdi Taeb, a prominent mullah and political figure tied to the country's hardline regime, said in recent comments that Iran must obtain the knowledge and technology necessary to build a nuclear weapon in order to boost the Islamic Republic's global standing... 'The Islamic Republic's centrifuges are, in reality, getting power for this divine government,' said Taeb, whose brother, Hossein, heads the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence branch. 'In this important path, we consider accessing the knowledge and capability to build the atomic bomb necessary, even though we call it haram,' or prohibited, Taeb said, according to Persian language comments published by the Iranian Students' News Agency that were translated and provided to the Washington Free Beacon. 'We consider having the knowledge essential to gain power for the system, so we can assist the Imam of the Age [Mahdi].' ... Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Taeb's comments reflect the Iranian regime 'apocalyptic' roots." (Free Beacon)

01-04-2016
Politics

During International Conference of Islamic Unity in Tehran, President Rohani says "Iran's security today is established under the supreme leader" adding that the protests displayed broad support for the Islamic regime.

 

"Iran is marking six years since tens of thousands of hard-line supporters took to the streets to show their support for the clerical establishment, countering mass demonstrations against the results of the country's 2009 presidential election. Government rallies and ceremonies were being held in Tehran and throughout the country on December 30 to commemorate the display of popular support that followed the hotly disputed election result, which gave hard-line incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad a second term as president. Various events marking the pro-government street rallies that helped put an end to the reform-minded opposition 'Green Movement' were scheduled over the course of a few days... Ahmadinejad's successor, Hassan Rohani, was cast as a relative moderate and rode the promise of reform to victory in Iran's 2013 presidential election. On December 29, however, he took a hard-line position on the 2009 events, describing the pro-government rallies as 'epic' while speaking at the International Conference of Islamic Unity in Tehran. 'Iran's security today is established under the supreme leader,' said Rohani, adding that the protests displayed broad support for Iran's Islamic system of government. Rohani's remarks provoked angry reactions among activists and social-media users who seek democracy in Iran." (RFE/RL)

01-04-2016
Anti-Americanism

US military officials say that "the rockets fired by Iran's IRGC near the American warships in the heavily trafficked Strait of Hormuz could inflame tensions, as they came dangerously lose to commercial ships."

 

"After two recent Iranian ballistic missile tests made clear that Tehran had no intention of obeying a United Nations prohibition on such launches, Obama administration officials on Wednesday handed Congress a draft list of fresh sanctions they are preparing against Tehran - to be imposed even as separate nuclear-related sanctions are lifted in coming weeks. The new sanctions are designed, administration officials say, to make clear that the United States remains committed to containing Iran's regional ambitions, which have so rattled its Arab neighbors. But they are also intended as a carefully calibrated answer to critics, from Capitol Hill to Saudi Arabia, who have argued in recent months that President Obama is willing to overlook almost any Iranian transgression in order to avoid derailing the nuclear deal he pursued for so many years. There is now almost no doubt that the nuclear accord will go into effect. But the past few days have been full of sobering reminders that the grander objective of that deal - some gradual steps toward an era of wary cooperation, or at least a cessation of hostilities between Washington and Tehran - remains a long way away. Just last week, the Republican-led Congress inserted new rules into the budget signed by Mr. Obama that were clearly intended to discourage foreigners from doing business with Tehran. Then on Saturday, the Iranian Navy harassed an American aircraft carrier and a French frigate in the Strait of Hormuz, launching rockets that passed within 1,500 yards of the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman. It seemed an act somewhere between recklessness and outright aggression. So much for détente... Meanwhile, the rockets fired by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps near the American warships in the heavily trafficked Strait of Hormuz could inflame tensions, as well, military officials said. The rockets, Navy officials said, also came dangerously close to commercial ships. 'It's the equivalent of walking onto I-95 and deciding to have a weapons test,' said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the Navy's Fifth Fleet." (NYT)

01-04-2016
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's President denounced the US for suggesting the possibility of new sanctions over Iranian missiles, and he ordered his Defense Ministry to respond by swiftly building more of them..says "we are going to expand our missiles."

 

"Iran's president denounced the United States on Thursday for suggesting the possibility of new sanctions over Iranian missiles, and he ordered his Defense Ministry to respond by swiftly building more of them... The official Islamic Republic News Agency said Mr. Rouhani, responding to the American government's 'illegal intervention in Tehran's right to boost its defensive power,' had instructed the defense minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, to 'quickly and firmly continue with its plans to produce different missiles needed by the country's armed forces.' The news agency also quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaber Ansari, as warning the United States against what he called actions that are 'unilateral, arbitrary and illegal.' Speaking later on state television's nightly news program, General Dehghan said he intended to make Iran's missiles more powerful. 'Given the current circumstances in the region and the world, we believe peace and security can only be achieved through strength,' he said. 'Therefore, we are going to expand our missiles in terms of range and accuracy.'" (NYT)

01-04-2016
Syria Conflict

Iran's Supreme Leader says "the unjustly spilled blood of this oppressed martyr will no doubt soon show its effect and divine vengeance will befall Saudi politicians" describing the execution as a "political error.'"

 

"Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attacking Saudi Arabia for the second straight day over its execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric, said on Sunday politicians in the Sunni kingdom would face divine retribution for his death. 'The unjustly spilled blood of this oppressed martyr will no doubt soon show its effect and divine vengeance will befall Saudi politicians,' state TV reported Khamenei as saying. It said he described the execution as a 'political error.'" (Reuters)

01-04-2016
Anti-Americanism

Iran's IRGC Commander says "as long as the US supports Israel we will expand our missile capabilities...'Iran's missile capabilities have never been the subject of negotiations with the Americans and will never be.'"

 

"A series of Iranian officials vowed on Friday to expand Tehran's missile capabilities, a challenge to the United States which has threatened to impose new sanctions even as the vast bulk of its measures against Iran are due to be lifted under a nuclear deal. 'As long as the United States supports Israel we will expand our missile capabilities,' the Revolutionary Guards' second-in-command, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. 'We don't have enough space to store our missiles. All our depots and underground facilities are full,' he said in Friday Prayers in Tehran. Defence Minister Hossein Dehqan said Iran would boost its missile program and had never agreed to restrictions on it. 'Iran's missile capabilities have never been the subject of negotiations with the Americans and will never be,' he was quoted as saying by Press TV, an Iranian state channel. The defiant comments are a challenge for the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as the United States and European Union plan to dismantle nearly all international sanctions against Iran under the breakthrough nuclear agreement reached in July." (Reuters)

01-02-2016
Syria Conflict

"Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after Saudi Arabia executed an outspoken Shiite cleric who had criticized the kingdom's treatment of its Shiite minority. Protestors chanted 'Death to the Al Saud family.'"

 

"Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran on Saturday after Saudi Arabia executed an outspoken Shiite cleric who had criticized the kingdom's treatment of its Shiite minority. The cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, was among 47 men executed in Saudi Arabia on terrorism-related charges, drawing condemnation from Iran and its allies in the region, and sparking fears that sectarian tensions could rise across the Middle East... 'It is clear that this barren and irresponsible policy will have consequences for those endorsing it, and the Saudi government will have to pay for pursuing this policy,' said Hossein Jaberi-Ansari, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported late Saturday that the Saudi Foreign Ministry had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Riyadh to give him 'a statement of protest in severe language' because of the 'aggressive' statements made by Iran about the executions. The ministry called them 'blatant interference in the kingdom's affairs.' The ministry also said it held Iran responsible for protecting the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, the Saudi Consulate in the city of Mashhad and their employees, the news agency reported, citing an unnamed Foreign Ministry official. Protesters tore down a flag from the Saudi Consulate in Mashhad on Saturday. In Tehran, protesters broke furniture and smashed windows in an annex to the embassy, a witness who was reached by telephone said. The protesters also set fire to the room, said the witness, who would provide only his first name, Abolfazl, because he had been involved in the protest. The protest turned violent after participants began throwing fire bombs at the embassy and then broke into the compound. The police arrived and cleared the embassy grounds of protesters and extinguished the fire, he said. The semiofficial Iranian Students' News Agency said the crowd had been chanting 'Death to the Al Saud family,' which rules Saudi Arabia, before some protesters entered the embassy and threw papers from the roof. It did not mention the fire or destruction of embassy property. Pictures of a ransacked office and flames inside the building that matched the description of the scene by Abolfazl were widely circulated on social media." (NYT)

12-30-2015
Anti-Americanism

US military officials accuse Iran's military of "highly provocative" actions after the IRGC conducted exercises near US war ships in the Persian Gulf.

 

"Senior U.S. military commanders on Wednesday accused Iran's military of 'highly provocative' actions in firing unguided rockets 1,500 yards from ships including an American aircraft carrier. The USS Harry S. Truman was crossing international waters in the Strait of Hormuz when Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRCGN) conducted a live-fire exercise right nearby, according to a statement. An Iranian navy attack craft fired several unguided rockets near the carrier, officials said. A French frigate, the U.S. destroyer USS Bulkeley and other commercial traffic were also in the area at the time of Saturday's incident. Only 23 seconds warning was given before the weapons were fired, according to U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. The rockets were not fired at the Truman and other ships, and there were no direct communications between U.S. and Iranian navies, military officials said. 'The IRGCN's actions were highly provocative,' Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said Wednesday in a statement. 'Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international maritime law.'" (NBC)

12-30-2015
Nuclear Program

Iranian politician says that "'Iran will have a new generation of centrifuges in the (near) future that can help the country to improve its nuclear technology structure."

 

"Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani announced that the country will gain access to modern nuclear technology to upgrade its centrifuges. 'Iran will have a new generation of centrifuges in the (near) future that can help the country to improve its nuclear technology structure,' Larijani said, addressing a ceremony in the city of Qom, Central Iran, on Wednesday. He reiterated that the quality of centrifuges is more important than their quantity, and said, 'The new generation of Iran's centrifuges will be of a much higher quality as compared with the previous ones.' In mid-September, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced that Iran was seeking Russia's help to enhance its centrifuges." (Fars Iran)

12-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme leader "highlighted the US deep hostility towards Islam, saying American officials favor division between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims contrary to their remarks."

 

"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei highlighted the US deep hostility towards Islam, saying American officials favor division between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims contrary to their remarks. 'The incumbent US officials are against Islam in essence, and contrary to the remarks they make, they are after creating discord among Muslims,' Ayatollah Khamenei said on Tuesday, in a gathering of Iranian officials, ambassadors of Islamic countries, and participants at the Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran... The Leader explained that a clue to US push for Muslim disunity is creation of the terrorist groups, such as Daesh (also known as ISIL), which have come into being with the financial and political supports of those allied with the US. There is no difference between Shiites and Sunnis in the eyes of Americans, Imam Khamenei stressed, saying the US opposes 'any Muslim that wants to live on the basis of Islamic rules and strive for it.' ... The main objective of the arrogant front is to incite internal wars among Muslims and destroy infrastructures of the Muslim states, like Syria, Yemen and Libya, the Supreme Leader warned." (Tasnim Iran)

12-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

"An Iranian hactivist group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that gave it access to the control system for a dam in the suburbs of New York - an intrusion that one official said may be 'just the tip of the iceberg.'"

 

"An Iranian hactivist group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that gave it access to the control system for a dam in the suburbs of New York - an intrusion that one official said may be 'just the tip of the iceberg.' The group, SOBH Cyber Jihad, sent a message through another Iran-linked hacker outfit, Parastoo, promising that it would release the technical information that proves it was behind the 2013 breach, according to Flashpoint Intelligence. The hackers claimed they kept quiet about the attack for two years because of a 'state-level' warning not to go public with it 'for the greater good.' It wasn't until the Wall Street Journal reported the breach this weekend that SOBH Cyber Jihad said it decided to take credit for the operation against the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye Brook, N.Y., just north of New York City. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the revelation should be a wakeup call that the nation's critical infrastructure is too vulnerable to 'evil-doers' toiling away at keyboards." (NBC)

12-22-2015
Nuclear Program

Iran's Defense Minister says that, "Iran will implement the deal after the Western countries show their commitment", also says "we have not halted designing, producing and testing our missiles, (on the contrary) we have even increased our production."

 

"Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan underlined that Iran will implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after the western countries show their commitment to the nuclear agreement reached between Tehran and the powers in Vienna in July. General Dehqan pointed to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany) the commitments and undertakings of the western countries, and said, 'We will implement the JCPOA only if the other side fulfills its commitments and if it fails to do so, we will drop the implementation of the JCPOA.' The defense minister, meantime, underlined that the country has developed its missile industries and production. 'We have not halted designing, producing and testing our missiles, (on the contrary) we have even increased our production,' General Dehqan said, addressing a ceremony in the city of Sari, Northern Iran on Monday." (IRNA Iran)

12-22-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system of a small dam less than 20 miles from NYC two years ago, sparking concerns that reached to the White House, according to former and current US officials and experts familiar with the incident."

 

"Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system of a small dam less than 20 miles from New York City two years ago, sparking concerns that reached to the White House, according to former and current U.S. officials and experts familiar with the previously undisclosed incident. The breach came amid attacks by hackers linked to Iran's government against the websites of U.S. banks, and just a few years after American spies had damaged an Iranian nuclear facility with a sophisticated computer worm called Stuxnet. In October 2012, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called out Iran's hacking, prompting fears of cyberwar. The still-classified dam intrusion illustrates a top concern for U.S. officials as they enter an age of digital state-on-state conflict. America's power grid, factories, pipelines, bridges and dams-all prime targets for digital armies-are sitting largely unprotected on the Internet. And, unlike in a traditional war, it is sometimes difficult to know whether or where an opponent has struck. In the case of the dam hack, federal investigators initially thought the target might have been a much larger dam in Oregon... The incident at the New York dam was a wake-up call for U.S. officials, demonstrating that Iran had greater digital-warfare capability than believed and could inflict real-world damage, according to people familiar with the matter. At a congressional hearing in February, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called Iranian hackers 'motivated and unpredictable cyber actors.' ... U.S. intelligence agencies noticed the intrusion as they monitored computers they believed were linked to Iranian hackers targeting American firms, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. officials had linked these hackers to repeated disruptions at consumer-banking websites, including those of Capital One Financial Corp., PNC Financial Services Group and SunTrust Banks Inc., the Journal reported at the time... Officials feared that hackers breached the systems at the Arthur R. Bowman Dam in Oregon, a 245-foot-tall earthen structure that irrigates local agriculture and prevents flooding in Prineville, Ore., population: 9,200. The White House was notified of the discovery, on the belief that it was a new escalation in the ongoing digital conflict with Iran, three people familiar with the incident said." (WSJ)

12-22-2015
Nuclear Program

"Russia will start constructing two nuclear reactors in Iran... as Tehran seeks to reduce its reliance on oil and gas with 20 facilities over the coming years."

 

"Russia will start constructing two nuclear reactors in Iran next week, as Tehran seeks to reduce its reliance on oil and gas with 20 facilities over the coming years, an official said Tuesday. The start of construction follows a historic deal between Iran and world powers in July that ends a decade-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme. And it comes a year after Tehran signed a contract with Moscow to construct two reactors at the existing Russian-built Bushehr power plant. A series of agreements signed between the two countries last year foresees eventually increasing the total number of Russian-built reactors in the country to nine. Work on the two facilities 'will commence next week,' state television's website quoted atomic energy agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying. Iran plans to build 20 more nuclear plants in the future, including four in Bushehr. The accord does not limit Iran's development of civilian nuclear sites. The two reactors will be financed by Iran, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom, said last year... And they plan to boost trade volume, as they signed several joint development documents last month during Russian President Vladimir Putin's first visit to Iran in eight years. On Monday, Iran's Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade, Mohammad Reza Nematzade, and his Russian counterpart, Denis Manturov, opened an industrial exhibition in Tehran. The three-day fair by Russian industrial holding Rostec State Corp, along with hundreds of business leaders, aims to introduce Russian industries to Iran, state television's website reported. Rostec owns 700 enterprises, organised into 14 holding companies, and nine of which are focused on the military. Russia is 'not afraid' of Western economic delegations trying to dominate Iranian markets after the lifting of sanctions, a Rostec official said Tuesday... Iranian engineers were examining the Sukhoi Superjet 100, in which the Russians travelled, Kladov said. 'If we can technically satisfy' Iran, a possible number 'around 100 aircraft' would be sold to Iran, he added. Rostec Helicopters was also in talks with Iran to sell new Russian medical helicopters. Rostec will also repair and upgrade a fleet of 50 Russian helicopters now operating in Iran." (AFP)

12-21-2015
Anti-Americanism

US officials discover cyberattackers "who opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid...digital clues pointed to Iranian hackers."

 

"Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid. Digital clues pointed to Iranian hackers. And Wallace found that they had already taken passwords, as well as engineering drawings of dozens of power plants, at least one with the title 'Mission Critical.' The drawings were so detailed that experts say skilled attackers could have used them, along with other tools and malicious code, to knock out electricity flowing to millions of homes... 'If the geopolitical situation changes and Iran wants to target these facilities, if they have this kind of information it will make it a lot easier,' said Robert M. Lee, a former U.S. Air Force cyberwarfare operations officer. 'It will also help them stay quiet and stealthy inside.' ... Attributing attacks is notoriously tricky. Neither U.S. officials nor cybersecurity experts would or could say if the Islamic Republic of Iran was involved in the attack Wallace discovered involving Calpine Corp., a power producer with 82 plants operating in 18 states and Canada... Cylance researchers said the intruders stored their stolen goods on seven unencrypted FTP servers requiring no authentication to access details about Calpine's plants. Jumbled in the folders was code that could be used to spread malware to other companies without being traced back to the attackers' computers, as well as handcrafted software designed to mask that the Internet Protocol addresses they were using were in Iran. Circumstantial evidence such as snippets of Persian comments in the code helped investigators conclude that Iran was the source of the attacks." (AP

12-18-2015
Extremism

Iran to hold an international cartoon contest focusing on the Holocaust, sponsors say accusation that "Israel leveraged the genocide of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust against the Palestinians."

 

"An international cartoon contest held in Tehran is set this year to focus on the Holocaust, offering a $50,000 cash prize to the winner. The organizers of the 11th Tehran International Cartoon Biennial announced on Wednesday that the competition scheduled for June 2016 was expected to draw in participants from 50 countries, according to Iran's semi-official IRNA news agency... 'We do not mean to approve or deny the Holocaust, however, the main question is that why is there no permission to talk about the Holocaust despite their (the West) belief in freedom of speech,' IRNA quoted contest secretary Masud Shojai-Tabatabai as saying. However, he indicated the accusation that Israel leveraged the genocide of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust against the Palestinians. 'Moreover, why should the oppressed people of Palestine pay the price for the Holocaust?' he was quoted as saying. On the sidelines of the competition encouraging illustrators to draw about the Holocaust, the biennial had reportedly arranged for a geopolitcially-motived portrait contest focusing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Iran's foe Israel. Last May, a similar competition took place in Iran at the Second International Holocaust Cartoon Contest." (JPost)

12-18-2015
Human Rights

"The 193-member UN General Assembly condemns human rights abuses in North Korea and Iran, a rebuke rejected by Pyongyang and Tehran. This resolution 'takes place at the time Iran has pursued a policy of constructive engagement with the world."'

 

"The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Thursday condemned human rights abuses in North Korea and Iran, a rebuke rejected by Pyongyang and Tehran. The North Korea resolution was adopted with 119 votes in favor, 19 against and 48 abstentions and the Iran resolution received 81 votes in favor, 37 against and 67 abstentions. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but can carry political weight. The resolutions on human rights in Iran and North Korea have become an annual event... The resolution on Iran, which was drafted by Canada, criticized Tehran for cracking down on activists, journalists and dissidents and for its increased use of the death penalty... Iran told the General Assembly the resolution was biased and an 'insincere and indefensible political move.' It said the resolution 'takes place at the time Iran has pursued a policy of constructive engagement with the world.'" (Reuters)

12-17-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran warns the US despite nuclear deal, military commander blames "the US for training terrorists to act against Iran, and says 'also, on their websites, they teach street riots in Iran.'"

 

"Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi warned that Washington has not changed its inimical approach and policies against Iran after the nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers. 'Certain sides want to fool us and say that the US has changed while they have had one bill against Iran every month in average, either approved or not approved, after the nuclear agreement; therefore, their hostility has not changed,' Naqdi said, addressing a gathering of Basij forces in the Northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday. He also blamed the US for training terrorists to act against Iran, and said, 'Also, on their websites, they teach street riots in Iran.'" (Fars Iran)

12-17-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities should approve proposed drug law amendments to end the use of the death penalty for all nonviolent drug offenses.. also investigate and bring to justice those responsible for abuses of prisoners held on drug charges" say prisoners.

 

"The Iranian authorities should approve proposed drug law amendments to end the use of the death penalty for all nonviolent drug offenses. The authorities should also investigate and bring to justice those responsible for abuses of prisoners held on drug charges. In phone interviews in March and November 2015, with eight prisoners on death row or awaiting sentencing on drug-related charges that carry the death penalty, Human Rights Watch documented serious due process and other violations. The interviewees are among more than 2,000 people held in a unit of Ghezel Hesar prison, most of whom have been sentenced to death on drug charges. 'Alleged drug offenders face egregious violations of their rights, beginning with the moment authorities make drug arrests on dubious legal grounds,' said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director. 'Packing death row with drug offenders won’t solve Iran’s drug problem.' Prisoners contacted via cell phones told Human Rights Watch that agents of the Department for Combating Drugs routinely blindfold and beat detainees and force them to sign confessions. The prisoners also said that authorities refuse to show the accused the evidence against them. Instead, some said, court interrogators and judges said that their rulings are based on 'intuition.'" (HRW)

12-16-2015
Nuclear Program

US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power says that "this council cannot allow Iran to feel that it can violate our resolutions with impunity," and stressed the importance of sanctions enforcement for "a credible, enforceable nuclear deal."

 

"Iran's firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October violated U.N. sanctions banning the Islamic Republic from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons, U.N. experts said in a new report... The United States, France, Britain and Germany asked the Security Council on Oct. 21 to investigate and take 'appropriate action' against Iran for the Oct. 10 missile launch. The Dec. 11 report by experts from the council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran supports the contention of the four countries that the firing violated U.N. sanctions. Whether the Security Council takes any action remains to be seen. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power accused some unnamed council members of refusing to take action against Iran for sanctions violations in recent months, but said the United States will keep pressing for enforcement. 'Instead of an effective, timely response the Security Council has dithered,' she told a council meeting considering a report from the Iran sanctions committee. She pointed to the lack of action on the Oct. 10 missile launch, a visit to Moscow by Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who is subject to a U.N. travel ban, and the interception off the coast of Oman of a banned shipment of arms from Iran in late September. 'This council cannot allow Iran to feel that it can violate our resolutions with impunity,' Power said, stressing the importance of sanctions enforcement for 'a credible, enforceable nuclear deal.' ... The panel said it has not yet investigated a subsequent Iranian ballistic missile launch reported by the media on Nov. 21 and therefore 'cannot determine whether it was another Emad test.' ... The report by the chair of the Iran Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Román Oyarzunttee, cited another investigation by the panel into an allegation that Iran attempted to procure titanium alloy bars, which can withstand extreme temperatures and be used in military and space equipment, in violation of sanctions. It said the panel 'could not reach a definitive conclusion on this being 'a willful violation' by Iranian authorities.'" (AP)

12-16-2015
Syria Conflict

"Commander of foreign operations for Iran's elite IRGC visits Russia and meets with President Vladimir Putin, a sign of closer ties as their regional alliance gains momentum."

 

"The commander of foreign operations for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards visited Russia last week and met President Vladimir Putin, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday, a sign of closer ties as their regional alliance gains momentum. General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, last visited in July to aid in planning the Russian military intervention in Syria. Russia and Iran support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels in that country's civil war. Backed by Russian air strikes, hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria since late September to take part in a pro-government ground offensive, their biggest deployment in the country to date. Soleimani has been subject to an international travel ban and asset freeze by the U.N. Security Council since 2007 for his alleged role in illicit arms trafficking and smuggling nuclear materials. 'General Soleimani held a meeting with President Putin and high-ranking Russian military and security officials during a three-day visit last week... They discussed the latest developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon,' Fars said, quoting unnamed sources. Soleimani has helped lead Iran's efforts to fight armed insurgents in Syria and neighboring Iraq and reports directly to the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Last month, Putin met Khamenei in Tehran. Iranian officials described the two-hour meeting as 'unprecedented in the history of both countries.' According to the unnamed sources quoted by Fars, Putin called Soleimani 'my friend, Qassem' during their meeting." (Reuters)

12-16-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran violated a UN Security Council resolution by testing a new ballistic missile in October, finds a panel of experts in a confidential report, increasing pressure on the Obama administration as it moves to implement a separate nuclear deal with Iran."

 

"Iran violated a United Nations Security Council resolution by testing a new ballistic missile in October, a panel of experts found in a confidential report, increasing pressure on the Obama administration as it moves to implement a separate international nuclear deal with Tehran. U.S. officials asked the Security Council on Tuesday to address the Oct. 10 test and a second launch on Nov. 21 of a ballistic missile capable of delivering atomic weapons. The council, however, adjourned without taking action... The missile tests raise fears about the intentions of regime hard-liners, including Iran's paramount political figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once the constraints of the economic sanctions are lifted. Critics of the agreement said it added up to a situation that allowed Iran to misbehave with impunity. The Obama administration is facing a two-way test: It wants to implement the agreement as a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's foreign policy, but also must deliver on pledges to maintain a tough stance against Iran's efforts to promote a Middle East agenda frequently at odds with U.S. interests. The developments at the U.N. came on the same day diplomats in Vienna unanimously decided to close an investigation into Iran's past nuclear-weapons programs... 'I fear the Iranians are taking action after action in this area and others to demonstrate that they are willing to flout international rules, regulations and restrictions, and in the absence of our decisive action, these misdeeds by the Iranians will simply continue and escalate,' said Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) on the Senate floor. Mr. Coons and other U.S. lawmakers said that if the U.N. doesn't retaliate with punishment as allowed by Security Council resolutions still in force, then the U.S. should take unilateral action. 'Iran's lies and obstruction have paid off,' said Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of the decision by the board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, to close the investigation into Iran's past activities. He called the decision a 'capitulation.' Israel, which strongly opposed the nuclear pact, said that 'serious doubts and outstanding issues regarding Iran's program still remain,' despite the IAEA decision. 'For over a decade, Iran has been non-cooperative and deceptive,' a foreign ministry spokesman said... Members of the Security Council debated the committee's report on Iran's violations, but diplomats said the discussion was inconclusive. Russia and China-which hold veto power-refused to condemn Iran. 'They are concerned that the nuclear deal with Iran would fall apart if any action is taken,' said a Western diplomat. The U.S. and its European allies called for Iran to be held accountable. But U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power didn't say what measure should be taken or introduce a resolution. 'This will be a long-term challenge,' she said. France's representative expressed concern that Iran's violations so soon after reaching the nuclear deal 'hardly bode well and demonstrates the extent to which we must be wary.' The report on the missile launch, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the ballistic missile, dubbed Emad, was an improved version of previous missiles, with a range of up to 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), a payload of up to 1,400 kilograms (1.5 tons), and better maneuvering capability when descending on a target. 'Iran is continuing to focus on further improvement of the performance of its existing ballistic-missile system with a particular focus on accuracy,' said the report." (WSJ)

12-16-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Whenever America has aimed at entering a country, it has done so through sandwiches and McDonald's [restaurants] and opened an infiltration window,' says (former) Supreme leader Khatami, according to domestic media."

 

"Iran has banned the import of hundreds of American goods that include toilet paper, shuttlecocks, and tanks in a move that appears largely designed to clap alarm bells about creeping U.S. influence. The 227-item ban list was issued by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran on December 14 and reportedly sent to the relevant provincial authorities. The measure comes against a backdrop of warnings among hard-liners that a recent agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear program could open the door to growing U.S. influence and 'infiltration.' U.S. law has long prohibited U.S. individuals or entities from doing business with Iran, a result of the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and taking of American hostages in 1979-81, and that continuing trade embargo would appear to make this recent Iranian move unnecessary. But Iranian Commerce and Industry Minister Reza Nematzadeh last month ordered a ban on U.S. consumer goods. He touted a necessity 'to stop the entry of American consumer goods and to prohibit products that symbolize the presence of the United States in the country.' Nematzadeh cited a demand by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to empower Iranian production and avoid U.S. consumer goods. Khamenei, who has the last say on political and religious affairs in the Islamic republic, has repeatedly warned since the nuclear deal was signed in July of U.S. efforts to 'infiltrate' Iran -- including using money and sex to achieve Washington's purported aim... Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, was quoted last month as saying that the United States uses 'sandwiches' to expand its influence. 'Whenever America has aimed at entering a country, it has done so through sandwiches and McDonald's [restaurants] and opened an infiltration window,' Khatami said, according to domestic media." (RFE/RL

12-16-2015
Military

"Today, everyone is speaking about the Islamic Republic's might and the enemies have also admitted it and have surrendered to the Islamic Revolution's power and we see this clearly," says Iran's IRGC Commander.

 

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari underlined Iran's growing might and power, and said the enemies have also admitted this fact. 'Today, everyone is speaking about the Islamic Republic's might and the enemies have also admitted it and have surrendered to the Islamic Revolution's power and we see this clearly,' Jafari said, addressing a gathering of Basiji (Volunteer) forces in the Northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday. He also stressed that 37 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it is still continuing its path more powerfully than ever. Jafari, meantime, warned that the enemies have resorted to new and highly complicated methods to weaken Iran's power, and said, 'Their goal has not changed and they have only changed their method, and we should also know that while the Revolution stays on course, hostility of the enemies, specially the US, will not fade away and it is just their method that changes.'" (Fars Iran)

12-14-2015
Human Rights

"Iran has impounded tens of thousands of cars because women inside the vehicles had not properly covered their hair with a headscarf, Tehran's traffic police say."

 

"Iran has impounded tens of thousands of cars since March because women inside the vehicles had not properly covered their hair with a headscarf, Tehran's traffic police said Tuesday. 'Over the past eight months, more than 40,000 cases of bad hijab (headscarf) have been dealt with,' said Brigadier General Teymour Hosseini, quoted by ISNA news agency. 'In most cases, the cars were impounded and cases were referred to the judiciary,' he said, while some of the women stopped could face cash fines or warnings. Police warned in November that women who fail to observe hijab, the mandatory Islamic dress code in Iran, while driving would have their cars impounded for a week. The measure is part of a wider traffic police crackdown that could also see male drivers targeted. When in public, all women in the Islamic republic, including foreigners, are required to wear at least a loose scarf covering the hair and neck." (AFP)

12-14-2015
Military

End of economic sanctions on Iran could bring Russia billions in weapons contracts, "considering the fact that this is a large country with large military forces, we are talking very big contracts, worth billions," says Russian official.

 

"The lifting of international economic sanctions on Iran could bring Russia billions in weapons contracts, the Russian president's top aide for military-industrial cooperation has said. 'When all the restrictions are removed and all the sanctions are lifted we will have quite a serious development in the field of military-industrial cooperation. It is already taking place in fields that are not covered by sanctions, and in future we are expecting to enter very large projects,' Vladimir Kozhin said in an interview with Izvestia daily. The official added that Iran has shown great interest in cooperation with Russian weapons companies because practically all of its military forces require a major overhaul. 'Considering the fact that this is a large country with large military forces, we are talking very big contracts, worth billions,' Kozhin noted." (RT)

12-11-2015
Terrorism

"In a video message addressed to the Iranian people and leaders, the deputy chief of Hamas asked for support against Israel.. says 'we know how great and holy Palestine is to you dear ones - that is why this intifada will continue.'"

 

"In a video message addressed to the Iranian people and leaders, the deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, asked for support against Israel. The video comes at a time when during the last 2½ months knife stabbings by Palestinians and shootings by the Israeli military have so far resulted in the deaths of 19 Israelis and 106 Palestinians. The video also comes as a surprise given that relations between Iran and Hamas have soured over the Syrian civil war, and even scheduling a meeting between the two has been an impossible feat. In the three-minute video shared by Raja News, Haniyeh attempted to convince Iranian leaders the current unrest by mostly unorganized Palestinian youths is indeed a third intifada. 'From the holy land of Palestine, from Jerusalem, to the Muslim and brotherly nation of Iran, I state this intifada is blessed, this intifada is sacred,' he said. 'From the scenes at Al-Aqsa Mosque, it has taken shape from the spirit of faith, the spirit of jihad and the spirit of resistance.' ... Haniyeh said, 'Brothers and sisters, the great nation of Iran, today we know the important place that Palestine is to the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the administration, parliament and the people of Iran. And we know how great and holy Palestine is to you dear ones - that is why this intifada will continue.'" (Al-Monitor

12-10-2015
Human Rights

"A court in the north of Iran has reportedly sentenced a woman to lashings, 25 years in prison, and also death by stoning for allegedly assisting in the murder of her husband, Arash Babaieepour Tabrizinejad."

 

"A court in the north of Iran has reportedly sentenced a woman to lashings, 25 years in prison, and also death by stoning for allegedly assisting in the murder of her husband, Arash Babaieepour Tabrizinejad. Her sentence was reportedly issued by Branch 2 of a criminal court in Gilan." (IHR)

"As the world marks International Human Rights Day on Thursday, Iran is continuing its execution spree with the announcement that a woman has been sentenced to death by stoning. The gruesome penalty, in which the wrongdoer is buried up to their shoulders and pelted with rocks, was first reported on the Persian-language Iranian website LAHIG. The woman, who was identified only by the initials 'A.Kh,' was convicted of being complicit in her husband's murder. An Iranian criminal court in Rasht, the capital city of the northern province of Gilan, handed down the brutal sentence. 'The rate of executions in Iran has not decreased in the last few years, it has increased,' Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, a prominent Canadian-Iranian human rights activist based in Toronto, told FoxNews.com. 'Although stoning has become more rare in Iran, such sentences are still being issued by Iranian judges. The probability of a stoning sentence to be carried out is slim due to the international sensitivity of the issue; there is a great chance her sentence may be converted to death by hanging.'" (Fox News)

12-10-2015
Anti-Americanism

IRGC Commander says "US is in no position to confront Muslim countries...US has failed in its hostile policies towards the Iranian nation and the other world countries, the developments in the world are no more in favor of Washington."

 

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari on Wednesday said the US is in no position to confront Muslim countries. It has been proven that the US has no longer the power for direct confrontation with Muslim countries, General Jafari said while addressing a gathering in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz. He further said that the world's fate and the future of Islam will be determined in the conflicts in West Asia. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has stressed frequently that the US has failed in its hostile policies towards the Iranian nation and the other world countries, saying the developments in the world are no more in favor of Washington." (Iran)

12-10-2015
Syria Conflict

Gulf Arab leaders meet in Saudi Arabia and call for political solution to the wars in Yemen and Syria, Saudi Foreign Minister concludes that "'Iran is playing a negative role in most regional issues."

 

"Gulf Arab leaders meeting in Saudi Arabia on Thursday reiterated their calls for a political solution to the wars in Yemen and Syria, but the kingdom's foreign minister went a step further and criticized Iran's role in those conflicts. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters after the two-day summit in Riyadh concluded that 'Iran is playing a negative role in most regional issues.' He added that he met only for 'a few minutes' with his Iranian counterpart in Vienna last month on the sidelines of a meeting to discuss ways to end the nearly five-year Syrian war, in which Saudi Arabia and Iran are backing opposite sides of the conflict. Riyadh is also hosting a Syrian opposition summit that gathered more than 100 factions, including rebel groups, in an effort to unite their ranks ahead of proposed peace talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government. Al-Jubeir said that the kingdom hopes for better relations with Iran, but added the Islamic Republic's policies have hindered diplomatic ties." (AP)

12-09-2015
Human Rights

Iran's judicial authorities indict managing editor of prominent daily newspaper, Mahmoud Doaei of the Ettelaat, one of Iran's oldest newspapers was an early figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

 

"Iran's conservative judicial authorities indicted the managing editor of a prominent daily newspaper on Tuesday, saying that he had violated prohibitions on the coverage of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist-minded former president they now describe as a seditionist. Rights activists said the indictment was a sign not only of the escalating repression of the news media in Iran, but also of heightening tensions between hard-line factions and the administration of the current president, Hassan Rouhani, with parliamentary elections due in February. 'It is absurd that Khatami, president for eight years, has been declared essentially nonexistent to such an extent that disseminating his picture and voice is considered a crime,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group based in New York. The indictment was also notable because the editor, Mahmoud Doaei, of the Ettelaat, one of Iran's oldest newspapers, was an early figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution." (NYT)

12-09-2015
Human Rights

"President Hassan Rouhani and other senior government officials were met with students expressing frustration over the continuing repression in Iran and demanding for the release of political prisoners, at a ceremony marking Students Day in Iran."

 

"President Hassan Rouhani and other senior government officials were met with students expressing frustration over the continuing repression in Iran and demanding for the release of political prisoners, at a ceremony marking Students Day (December 7) in Iran. Notably, many of the students explicitly called for the end of house arrests of Green Movement opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi. 'Today, not only is the issue of house arrests still unresolved, but also [former President] Seyed Mohammad Khatami, one of your most important supporters, is banned from appearing in the media. Are these consistent with your campaign promises?' asked Khashayar Pourtaheri, Secretary of Sharif University's Islamic Students Association, in remarks addressed to President Rouhani. 'Mr. Rouhani! For how long will you go on making ambiguous and sarcastic statements? How much more time do you need to carry out your promises?' Hedieh Zahed, a student body representative, asked Rouhani in her speech if he was 'aware of the cold [repressive] atmosphere surrounding universities' and if he knew that 'students are harassed and humiliated for taking part in political and cultural activities in universities.' ... Most of the slogans at the Students Day event were a reminder that those wounds have not healed. The students shouted, 'The Green Movement is not dead!' 'Rouhani! End the house arrests!' and 'Rouhani! Don't forget Mousavi.' Hardline students in the audience shouted back with 'Death to provocateurs' and security guards removed posters of reformist politician Mohammad Khatami." (ICHRI)

12-08-2015
Nuclear Program

Iran carries out new medium range ballistic missile test in breach of two UN Security Council resolutions, the test was held on November 21 near Pakistan; "US is deeply concerned about Iran's recent ballistic missile launch", says US Ambassador to the UN.

 

"Iran has carried out a new medium range ballistic missile test in breach of two United Nations Security Council resolutions, a senior U.S. official told Fox News on Monday. Western intelligence says the test was held Nov. 21 near Chabahar, a port city in southeast Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province near the border with Pakistan. The launch took place from a known missile test site along the Gulf of Oman. The missile, known as a Ghadr-110, has a range of 1,800 - 2000 km, or 1200 miles, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The missile fired in November is an improved version of the Shahab 3, and is similar to the precision guided missile tested by Iran on Oct. 10, which elicited strong condemnation from members of the U.N. Security Council. 'The United States is deeply concerned about Iran's recent ballistic missile launch,' Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said in a statement after the last Iranian ballistic missile test in October... A senior administration official told Fox News on Monday the White House was 'aware' of reports of the missile test, but had 'no further comment at this time.' Iran appears to be in a race against the clock to improve the accuracy of its ballistic missile arsenal in the wake of the nuclear agreement signed in July." (Fox News)

12-04-2015
Human Rights

Iranian concert closures and cancellations draw attention to domestic issues for Iran's President after resolving the nuclear deal.

 

"Hardline sympathisers in Iran have been causing the abrupt closure of concerts, intimidating musicians in a show of force aimed at the moderate administration of President Hassan Rouhani. Although it has become easier to perform music since Rouhani came to power, an increasing number of performances, including one by Tehran's reborn symphony orchestra, have been cancelled at the last minute after intervention from forces that remain unknown to the artists. The cancellations are becoming a major challenge for the president, who is being urged to shift his attention to domestic issues after resolving the impasse over the country's nuclear programme. Hardliners, unhappy with the way the nuclear accord boosted Rouhani's status at home, are making sure he will have a tough time ahead in the remaining two years of his presidency." (Guardian)

12-03-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian-American is executed in Iran for a crime he allegedly committed in California seven years ago - even though there is no judicial treaty between Iran and the US, making it impossible for Iranian authorities to have gathered information" from US.

 

"An Iranian-American man has been executed in Iran for a crime he allegedly committed in California seven years ago - even though there is no judicial treaty between Iran and the US, making it impossible for Iranian authorities to have gathered information from their American counterparts. Hamid Sameie, also known as Sam, was hanged last month in Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, after being found guilty in an Iranian court of murdering another dual national in Los Angeles in 2008. The government-run Iran newspaper reported that the execution took place but provided few details. According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group, however, Sameie was sentenced to death for the murder of a man identified as Behrouz Janmohammadi. His close associates have told IHR that it was an act of self-defence... Sameie, who had a car sales business in Los Angeles - home to a large population of Iranian exiles - was believed to have been a friend and a former business partner of Janmohammadi before they fell out... Sameie's body is believed to have been returned to his family after his execution and he has been buried in a cemetery close to Tehran... Amiry-Moghaddam said his organisation has documented the execution of at least 850 convicts since the beginning of 2015, the highest annual rate in at least 25 years." (Guardian)

"A human rights organization claimed on Tuesday that an Iranian-American man had been hanged by the Islamic regime for committing murder in California... 'According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death sentence for Hamid Samiee and another prisoner at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison on Wednesday November 4,' Iran Human Rights, a nonprofit organization that claims to have sources within Iran, disclosed on Tuesday. 'Samiee, reportedly accused of committing an act of murder in California, was arrested by Iranian authorities upon his return to Iran,' according to the organization's report. 'He was sentenced to death by Branch 71 of Tehran's Criminal Court for the murder of an Iranian man identified as Behrouz Janmohammadi.' ... A State Department official told the Washington Free Beacon Tuesday afternoon that Samiei is a dual citizen and that it is looking into the reports on his hanging. 'We are aware of reports of the execution in Iran of a dual citizen, Mr. Hamid Samiei,' said the State Department official, who was not authorized to speak on record. 'We do not yet have official confirmation of his death and are seeking more information.' The State Department has been aware of Samiei's plight since late October, the source said. 'This case was brought to our attention on October 28, immediately after the Foreign Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran was notified of Mr. Samiei's impending execution,' the official said. 'We are not aware of any notification to the Department of State or the Swiss Foreign Interests Section of Mr. Samiei's arrest, sentencing, or imprisonment prior to October 28. Iran does not recognize dual nationality.' (Free Beacon

12-03-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran was actively designing a nuclear weapon until 2009, more recently than the United States and other Western intelligence agencies have publicly acknowledged, according to a final report by the United Nations nuclear inspection agency."

 

"Iran was actively designing a nuclear weapon until 2009, more recently than the United States and other Western intelligence agencies have publicly acknowledged, according to a final report by the United Nations nuclear inspection agency. The report, based on partial answers Iran provided after reaching its nuclear accord with the West in July, concluded that Tehran conducted 'computer modeling of a nuclear explosive device' before 2004. It then resumed the efforts during President Bush's second term and continued them into President Obama's first year in office. But while the International Atomic Energy Agency detailed a long list of experiments Iran had conducted that were 'relevant to a nuclear explosive device,' it found no evidence that the effort succeeded in developing a complete blueprint for a bomb. In part, that may have been because Iran refused to answer several essential questions, and appeared to have destroyed potential evidence in others... Mr. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, concluded this year that it was more important to secure a deal that will, if carried out fully, prevent Iran from gaining the material to build a bomb for at least 15 years than making it admit to past activities. So, the report's publication allows the deal to go through, no matter how definitive or inconclusive the final result. But Iran's refusal to cooperate on central points could set a dangerous precedent as the United Nations agency tries to convince other countries with nuclear technology that they must fully answer queries to determine if they have a secret weapons program. The agency's bottom-line assessment was that Iran had made a 'coordinated effort' to design and conduct tests on nuclear weapon components before 2003 - echoing a United States national intelligence estimate published in 2007 - and that it had conducted 'some activities' thereafter. 'These activities did not advance beyond feasibility and scientific studies' and the acquisition of technical capabilities, the agency concluded. The efforts ended after 2009... Tehran gave no substantive answers to one quarter of the dozen specific questions or documents it was asked about, leaving open the question of how much progress it had made... Iran's refusal to answer some of the questions also does not portend well for transparency about its activities... 'Prior to 2003 they had a full-scale Manhattan Project,' said Gary Samore, Mr. Obama's top nuclear proliferation expert in the first term." (NYT)

12-03-2015
Human Rights

"Britain's foreign ministry has said it is seeking the release of a British-Iranian citizen from jail in Iran, where he has been held for four years on espionage charges."

 

"Britain's foreign ministry has said it is seeking the release of a British-Iranian citizen from jail in Iran, where he has been held for four years on espionage charges. Kamal Foroughi, 76, was arrested in 2011 while working in Tehran as a business consultant, his son Kamran said. His arrest was first reported by the Guardian newspaper in October this year, when Foroughi's family decided to break their silence. The revelation came amid a renewed crackdown on dissent in Iran, which analysts said has intensified since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in September of Western 'infiltration' in the Islamic Republic. A British foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that Foreign Minister Philip Hammond had raised the case with Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, and that Britain is seeking Foroughi's immediate release on medical grounds." (Reuters)

12-03-2015
Anti-Americanism

"The Washington Post and other supporters of journalist Jason Rezaian amplified demands for his release from Iranian custody, a day before the reporter marks 500 days since his arrest and subsequent closed-door trial" on false charges.

 

"The Washington Post and other supporters of journalist Jason Rezaian on Wednesday amplified demands for his release from Iranian custody, a day before the reporter marks 500 days since his arrest and subsequent closed-door trial on charges that included espionage. The new pressures, including updated filings by The Post with a U.N. panel, seek to boost international leverage on Iran after the reported conviction and sentencing of Rezaian, The Post's correspondent in Tehran. The case has drawn widespread outrage from media-freedom groups and sharp criticism from senior Obama administration officials and U.S. lawmakers. The Post, meanwhile, has strongly denied any wrongdoing by Rezaian and has called the detention 'cruel and arbitrary' treatment of a journalist who never strayed beyond the normal work of news gathering. 'This isn't a real case,' said David W. Bowker, an attorney at the firm of WilmerHale who is representing The Post, 'but rather a case of political theater.' ... Martin Baron, executive editor of The Post, called the 500-day mark in Rezaian's detention 'the grimmest' of milestones - 56 days longer than the hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic revolution. 'Five hundred days robbed of his life, 500 days deprived of his family, 500 days denied any semblance of justice,' Baron said in a statement." (WashPost)

"The brother of a Washington Post reporter detained in Iran since July 2014 delivered a petition to Iran's United Nations mission on Thursday demanding the journalist's release. 'They need to know that folks around the world are concerned about this,' Ali Rezaian said before handing over the petition seeking the release of his brother Jason Rezaian. Thursday marked 500 days since Jason Rezaian's arrest on July 22, 2014. Rezaian was detained with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two photojournalists. The others were released, but Rezaian went on trial in four closed-door court hearings at Tehran's Revolutionary Court. Iranian state TV reported last month that Rezaian had been sentenced to an unspecified prison term following his conviction on charges that include espionage... Also on Thursday, the publisher of The Washington Post said the United States, other governments and businesses should keep Rezaian in mind when considering improved relations with Iran. Publisher Frederick J. Ryan Jr. said in a statement that 'if the callous regime in Tehran imprisons and abuses a fully accredited and innocent journalist, what might they do to a visiting delegation?' He also wondered 'how would they treat employees stationed in Iran?'" (AP

12-02-2015
Human Rights

"A human rights organization claims that an Iranian-American man had been hanged by the Islamic regime for committing murder in California... 'According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death sentence for Hamid Samiee."

 

"A human rights organization claimed on Tuesday that an Iranian-American man had been hanged by the Islamic regime for committing murder in California... 'According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death sentence for Hamid Samiee and another prisoner at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison on Wednesday November 4,' Iran Human Rights, a nonprofit organization that claims to have sources within Iran, disclosed on Tuesday. 'Samiee, reportedly accused of committing an act of murder in California, was arrested by Iranian authorities upon his return to Iran,' according to the organization's report. 'He was sentenced to death by Branch 71 of Tehran's Criminal Court for the murder of an Iranian man identified as Behrouz Janmohammadi.' ... A State Department official told the Washington Free Beacon Tuesday afternoon that Samiei is a dual citizen and that it is looking into the reports on his hanging. 'We are aware of reports of the execution in Iran of a dual citizen, Mr. Hamid Samiei,' said the State Department official, who was not authorized to speak on record. 'We do not yet have official confirmation of his death and are seeking more information.' The State Department has been aware of Samiei's plight since late October, the source said. 'This case was brought to our attention on October 28, immediately after the Foreign Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran was notified of Mr. Samiei's impending execution,' the official said. 'We are not aware of any notification to the Department of State or the Swiss Foreign Interests Section of Mr. Samiei's arrest, sentencing, or imprisonment prior to October 28. Iran does not recognize dual nationality.'"
(Free Beacon)

12-02-2015
Nuclear Program

Obama administration acknowledges that the nuclear deal is not 'legally binding,'..."(this) is sure to heighten congressional concerns that Iran might violate the deal's terms."

 

"President Obama didn't require Iranian leaders to sign the nuclear deal that his team negotiated with the regime, and the deal is not 'legally binding,' his administration acknowledged in a letter to Representative Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) obtained by National Review. 'The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,' wrote Julia Frifield, the State Department assistant secretary for legislative affairs, in the November 19 letter. Frifield wrote the letter in response to a letter Pompeo sent Secretary of State John Kerry, in which he observed that the deal the president had submitted to Congress was unsigned and wondered if the administration had given lawmakers the final agreement. Frifield's response emphasizes that Congress did receive the final version of the deal. But by characterizing the JCPOA as a set of 'political commitments' rather than a more formal agreement, it is sure to heighten congressional concerns that Iran might violate the deal's terms. 'The success of the JCPOA will depend not on whether it is legally binding or signed, but rather on the extensive verification measures we have put in place, as well as Iran's understanding that we have the capacity to re-impose - and ramp up - our sanctions if Iran does not meet its commitments,' Frifield wrote to Pompeo." (NRO)

12-02-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian poet and songwriter has been arrested in Tehran for reasons that remain unclear...His arrest comes on the heels of a warning by Iran's Culture Ministry to artists who work with Persian-language television channels that broadcast (from abroad)."

 

"A well-known Iranian poet and songwriter has been arrested in Tehran for reasons that remain unclear. Forty-year-old Yaghma Golruyi was detained at his home in the Iranian capital on November 30, his wife, Athena Habibi, said via social media. Habibi said security agents took her husband to an 'unknown location.' 'So far we don't have any news about him and we're deeply worried about his health,' Habibi wrote on her Instagram account on December 1. Iranian authorities frequently jail suspects or try defendants without public explanation. Habibi urged friends and fans to spread the news while warning against 'any comment' that could complicate his situation... His arrest comes on the heels of a warning by Iran's Culture Ministry to artists who work with Persian-language television channels that broadcast to the country from abroad. 'They will be warned and there will be legal action if they insist on the cooperation,' ministry spokesman Hossein Nushabadi was quoted as saying by the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Golruyi released a music video in March titled Liberation, which highlighted Iranian women who have made strides in various areas despite state-imposed restrictions and legal discrimination. 'We're happy, joyful, and smiling even though we're in a prison,' Golruyi sings in the clip to images of Iranian female athletes, rights advocates, scientists, artists, and others, adding in the refrain, 'We know we're free at the end of the story.'" (RFE/RL)

12-02-2015
Nuclear Program

"UN atomic agency is set to issue its final report on allegations that Iran worked in the past on nuclear arms - a summary that will likely be inconclusive. The report is significant because it is linked to the lifting of sanctions on Tehran."

 

"The UN atomic agency is set to issue its final report on allegations that Iran worked in the past on nuclear arms - a summary that will likely be inconclusive. The report, expected later Wednesday, is significant because it is linked to the lifting of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. Yukiya Amano, the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, has already said that his report won't be 'black and white.' But he must present a final report that says Iran has met all deadlines in supplying information requested by the IAEA for the agency's 35-nation board to approve closure of the nearly decade-long investigation." (AP)

"The existence of Iran's nuclear weapons program was verified last week, according to a statement issued Friday by the New York-based watchdog United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI). The statement, signed by UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, was a response to the Dec. 2 release of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program. 'The IAEA report is disturbing as it reveals that Iran continues to act as a nuclear weapons outlaw,' the statement began. 'It exposes that, at minimum, Iran continued nuclear weapons development through 2009. Notably, the IAEA could not describe the extent of Iran's nuclear weapons program after 2009 because Iran failed to answer basic questions and provide requested information.' It goes on: 'Iran's intractable refusal to offer transparency regarding its illegal nuclear weapons program is the latest wakeup call regarding the dangerous nature of the Iranian regime. Iran's defiance regarding its nuclear weapons program is yet another grave risk factor for countries, businesses and persons who would seek to renew business ties to Iran. No responsible country, business or person should risk renewed business with Iran.' ... The IAEA report comes on the heels of two separate threats from Tehran - in the form of an ultimatum - that if the international community persisted in examining the PMD of Iran's nuclear program, there would be no implementation of the JCPOA." (Algemeiner)

12-02-2015
Syria Conflict

"Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim armed groups pledges to fight any US forces deployed in the country after the US says it was sending an elite special unit to help combat Islamic State.

 

"Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim armed groups on Tuesday pledged to fight any U.S. forces deployed in the country after the United States said it was sending an elite special unit to help combat Islamic State. Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered few details on the new 'expeditionary' group, but said it would be larger than the roughly 50 U.S. special operations troops being sent to Syria to fight the ultra-hardline Sunni militants there. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new force will be based in Iraq. 'We will chase and fight any American force deployed in Iraq,' said Jafaar Hussaini, a spokesman for one of the Shi'ite armed groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah. 'Any such American force will become a primary target for our group. We fought them before and we are ready to resume fighting.' Spokesmen for the Iranian-backed Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq made similar statements to Reuters, expressing their distrust of American forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the subsequent occupation." (Reuters)

12-01-2015
Human Rights

"An Iranian-American man has reportedly been hanged in Iran. According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death sentence for Hamid Samiee and another prisoner at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison."

 

"An Iranian-American man has reportedly been hanged in Iran. According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death sentence for Hamid Samiee and another prisoner at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison on Wednesday November 4. Samiee, reportedly accused of committing an act of murder in California, was arrested by Iranian authorities upon his return to Iran. He was sentenced to death by Branch 71 of Tehran's Criminal Court for the murder of an Iranian man identified as Behrouz Janmohammadi. Confirmed sources say Samiee was arrested in 2008 after the murder victim's family had reported him to Iranian authorities. An individual close to Samiee who asked to be anonymous tells Iran Human Rights: 'Hamid and Behrouz were friends in California until they were involved in an altercation that resulted in Behrouz drawing a knife on Hamid; and Hamid exercised self defense, which resulted in Behrouz's death. Following the incident, Hamid managed to make his way back to Iran where he was arrested by authorities just a few months after his arrival. Hamid endured extreme torture and was forced to confess against himself; and a lot of his confessions were false. Iranian authorities extracted forced confessions from Hamid even before the murder scene was reconstructed and the murder weapon discovered. Authorities did not even consider Hamid's testimony that he acted in self defense; all they cared about was that Hamid confessed the way they instructed him to.'" (IHR)

11-30-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran is 'closer than ever' to the bomb, and completing it would be 'easier than putting in a contact lens,' says senior Iranian official.. Hashemi Rafsanjani's comments marked the first time an official admitted that the country sought a nuclear weapon."

 

"Iran is 'closer than ever' to the bomb, and completing it would be 'easier than putting in a contact lens,' a senior Iranian official was quoted saying on Thursday. The claim by Hassan Karimpour, an adviser to Iran's Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani, was reported Thursday in Iranian media, and quoted on the BBC's Persian language website and Israel's Hebrew-language Channel 2 TV. Finishing a nuclear bomb would be 'easy to do, as soon as the spiritual ban on nuclear weapons were lifted,' Channel 2 quoted Karimpour as saying. The Iranian regime has repeatedly vowed that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and spiritual leader Ali Khamenei has issued fatwas forbidding nuclear weapons. According to Fars news, Karimpour also said Iran has 14 missile depots, buried between 30 and 500 meters underground, equipped with automatic launchers, and that any country that dared to attack Iran would be riddled with large numbers of missiles fired from these depots... A former Iranian president reportedly admitted last month that the country's nuclear program was started with the intent of building a nuclear weapon. The reported comments by Hashemi Rafsanjani to the state-run IRNA news agency marked the first time a top Iranian official - current or former - had said the country sought a nuclear weapon." (Times of Israel)

11-30-2015
Politics

"Ahead of two key (Iranian elections) in February, the Supreme Leader's hard-line allies have cracked down on activists, journalists and artists to try to tighten their grip on the country's faction-ridden politics, officials and analysts say."

 

"Ahead of two key elections in Iran in February, the Supreme Leader's hard-line allies have cracked down on activists, journalists and artists to try to tighten their grip on the country's faction-ridden politics, officials and analysts say. Rights groups and opposition websites said dozens were summoned by the intelligence ministry for interrogation and had been detained. The Iranian government has denied there has been a wave of arrests, describing the reports as 'baseless'. Some officials and analysts believe that the aim is to limit pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani's influence and popularity after his success in reaching a historic nuclear deal with the six major powers in July that ended over a decade-old stand-off. 'The hard-liners are wary of Rouhani's influence at home and abroad. They fear it may harm the balance of power in Iran,' a senior official close to Rouhani told Reuters on condition of anonymity... Analysts say that suppressing dissenting voices has been stepped up since September when the country's most powerful figure Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of 'infiltration' by Iran's enemies... 'Growing prestige at home and abroad for Rouhani means less authority for Khamenei and it has always been Khamenei's red line,' said political analyst Hamid Farahvashian. 'More flexibility in foreign policy, has always led to more pressure at home in Iran,' he said... Some supporters of Rouhani are losing patience, fearing now that he might lack the authority to create a freer society. 'Rouhani blames hard-liners for the limitations but words are not enough. I still support him because there is no other option,' said a journalist in Tehran, who asked not to be named. 'His only concern is the economy and keeping his position.' ... some doubt that Rouhani, who represented Khamenei on the Supreme National Security Council for more than two decades, has the stomach to confront the leader and his hard-line supporters to improve Iran's human rights record. 'He is part of the establishment. He has gained this status because of the Islamic republic of Iran. Why should he shoot himself by weakening the system?' said Farahvashian." (Reuters)

11-29-2015
Human Rights

"A high-profile performance in Iran by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra is cancelled at the last minute because it was due to feature female musicians, its furious conductor says. 'They invited us themselves and yet they disrespected us.'"

 

"A high-profile performance in Iran by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra was cancelled at the last minute because it was due to feature female musicians, its furious conductor said on Sunday. Ali Rahbari said he was told 15 minutes before the orchestra was scheduled to play at a major sporting event that they could not. 'The chairs were laid out and everything looked fine,' he said, referring to the World Wrestling Clubs Cup competition which opened in the Iranian capital on Thursday. 'But before performing the national anthem, all of a sudden they announced women cannot play on stage.' Neither Rahbari or the ISNA news agency, which reported his comments, detailed who 'they' were. 'I was offended and said it was impossible for me to accept such an insult,' Rahbari added. 'We either play all together or we leave'. Efforts to resolve the issue failed. 'It's absolutely impossible for women to play musical instruments on stage,' Rahbari quoted organisers of the ceremony as saying. Banned from singing solo in public since the Islamic revolution of 1979, female Iranian musicians have repeatedly complained of having been stopped from performing, particularly outside Tehran. But Thursday's refusal, according to ISNA, was the first time a performance by the Symphony Orchestra, one of Iran's oldest, had been cancelled because of its female members. 'They invited us themselves and yet they disrespected us,' Rahbari said. 'Why shouldn't they be allowed to perform the national anthem of their country?'" (AFP)

11-28-2015
Terrorism

"Kenyan security forces have arrested two Kenyan men with links to Iran on suspicion of planning attacks in the East African nation...those two men also had links to Quds Force."

 

"Kenyan security forces have arrested two Kenyan men with links to Iran on suspicion of planning attacks in the East African nation, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday... 'The two men, Abubakar Sadiq Louw and Yassin Sambai Juma, have admitted to conspiring to mount terror attacks against Western targets in Kenya,' the ministry said. It said their targets included 'hotels in Nairobi frequented by Western tourists and diplomats.' Louw, 69, was a Kenyan passport holder and a prominent figure in Nairobi's Shi'ite Muslim community, the ministry said in the statement. Suspected of working on behalf of Iran's elite military Qods Force, Louw recruited 25-year-old Juma from Nairobi, it said. Louw told investigators he had arranged for Juma to travel to Iran and introduced him to a Qods force contact, the ministry added... Two Iranian men were sentenced to life in prison by a Kenyan court in 2013 for planning to carry out bombings a year earlier in the East African country. The ministry said those two men also had links to Qods Force." (Reuters)

11-25-2015
Terrorism

Iran's Supreme Leader says that Iran would support the Palestinian uprising against Israel "in any way as long as we we can"... Teheran claims moral, financial and humanitarian support to the Palestinian Islamic terrorist group Hamas.

 

"Iran's supreme leader said on Wednesday that Iran would support the Palestinian uprising against Israel 'in any way we can', and rejected U.S. accusations that a recent wave of Palestinian knife and car-ramming attacks amounted to 'terrorism'. Khamenei was speaking a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, described the spate of attacks as 'terrorism' that should be condemned. Israel and the United States have long accused Iran of supplying arms to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, considered by Washington as a terrorist organization. Tehran says it gives only moral, financial and humanitarian support. 'Despite all the efforts of the Arrogance (the United States) ... and even with cooperation from Arab countries, the Palestinian intifada (uprising) has started in the West Bank,' state television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying. 'We will defend the movement of the Palestinian people with all of our existence, and in any way and as long as we can,' Khamenei reportedly told a gathering of the Basij, Iran's volunteer militia." (Reuters

11-25-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Supreme leader says the United States is using 'money and sexual attractions' to try to infiltrate the Islamic Republic and warned Iranians not to fall into the 'enemy's trap.'"

 

"Iran's top leader said Wednesday the United States is using 'money and sexual attractions' to try to infiltrate the Islamic Republic and warned Iranians not to fall into the 'enemy's trap.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Revolutionary Guard commanders that authorities should take concerns about 'infiltration' seriously and political factions should not use the issue against each other. 'The enemy sets up a network within a nation and inside a country mainly through the two means of money and sexual attractions to change ideals, beliefs and consequently the lifestyle,' he said in comments posted on his website and broadcast on state TV. His comments appeared to lend support to a recent wave of arrests of pro-Western writers and journalists, which hard-liners in the judiciary and security services have said is necessary to prevent Western infiltration." (AP)

11-24-2015
Anti-Americanism

In the aftermath of the historic deal with Iran, American officials see surge in sophisticated cyberattacks against the State Department...though officials say that none of this will affect the coming turning point in the nuclear deal.

 

"Four months after a historic accord with Tehran to limit its atomic ambitions, American officials and private security groups say they see a surge in sophisticated computer espionage by Iran, culminating in a series of cyberattacks against State Department officials over the past month. The surge has led American officials to a stark conclusion: For Iran, cyberespionage - with the power it gives the Iranians to jab at the United States and its neighbors without provoking a military response - is becoming a tool to seek the kind of influence that some hard-liners in Iran may have hoped its nuclear program would eventually provide... Over the past month, Iranian hackers identified individual State Department officials who focus on Iran and the Middle East, and broke into their email and social media accounts, according to diplomatic and law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation. The State Department became aware of the compromises only after Facebook told the victims that state-sponsored hackers had compromised their accounts. 'It was very carefully designed and showed the degree to which they understood which of our staff was working on Iran issues now that the nuclear deal is done,' said one senior American official who oversees much of that operation and who requested anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation. 'It was subtle.' ... Some researchers witnessed an even more troubling trend: In the months leading up to the talks, Iran's hackers began probing critical infrastructure networks in what appeared to be reconnaissance for cyberattacks meant to cause physical damage, said John Hultquist, the director of cyberespionage analysis at iSight Partners... Some details of the espionage on State Department employees were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. State Department officials say none of this will affect the coming turning points in the nuclear deal." (NYT)

11-24-2015
Syria Conflict

"IRGC paramilitary forces hold war game that simulates the capture of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israeli control...forces stormed and 'liberated' a replica of the mosque."

 

"Paramilitary forces from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard have held a war game simulating the capture of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israeli control, state media reported Saturday. It said forces stormed and 'liberated' a replica of the mosque in the exercise. They say thousands of members of the Basij, the paramilitary unit of the Guard, participated in Friday's exercise outside the holy city of Qom in central Iran. The symbolic operations were backed up by Guard helicopters, drones and Tucano planes that bombed hypothetical enemy positions before ground troops captured the replica of the mosque set up at the top of a mountain." (AP)

11-22-2015
Human Rights

"Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who has been held by the government of Iran for the past 16 months and was convicted on unspecified charges last month, has been sentenced to a prison term, the state news agency announces."

 

"Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who has been held by the government of Iran for the past 16 months and was convicted on unspecified charges last month, has been sentenced to a prison term, the state news agency announced Sunday. Rezaian faced four charges, including espionage, according to his lawyer. But in announcing a conviction in October, Iranian authorities did not provide any details of the verdict. Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, confirmed the punishment in a statement posted on the official Islamic Republic News Agency's Web site, according to the Associated Press. He did not say how long the prison term would be. 'The verdict has been issued but has not been officially handed down to the accused or his lawyer,' Mohseni-Ejei said. 'Given the fact that the verdict has not been officially handed down, I cannot reveal the details, but what I can say is that the accused has been sentenced to prison.' ... 'We're aware of the reports in the Iranian media but have no further information at this time,' said Douglas Jehl, The Post's foreign editor. 'Every day that Jason is in prison is an injustice. He has done nothing wrong. 'Even after keeping Jason in prison 488 days so far, Iran has produced no evidence of wrongdoing,' Jehl added. 'His trial and sentence are a sham, and he should be released immediately.'" (WashPost)

11-20-2015
Syria Conflict

"Iranian and Lebanese forces are in de facto control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army, according to former Syrian soldiers....Foreign militias have overrun the Syrian army. 'One thing to realise is that there is no Syrian army anymore.'"

 

"Iranian and Lebanese forces are in de facto control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army, according to former Syrian soldiers. Khaled al-Shami told Middle East Eye columnist Lara Nelson that foreign militias have overrun the Syrian army. 'One important thing to realise is that there is no Syrian army anymore, it is just militias, mostly Iranians and Lebanese,' he told Nelson, in a column published on Wednesday. Shami defected from Assad's troops to join the Syrian opposition in July. He was a soldier in the ninth armoured division and served in southern Syria, where President Assad's forces are battling a coalition of rebel groups. Now living in Jordan, Shami said that 70 percent of troops in the ninth armoured division are either Lebanese or Iranian... Former Syrian soldier Shami said his experience in the army suggested Iran and Hezbollah are not playing a supporting role, and instead are controlling President Assad's forces. 'The Iranians and Hezbollah are not under the control of the Syrian army, it's the exact opposite,' he said. 'Ten high-ranking Iranian officers control the [ninth armoured] division, they plan the operations. Only Iranian or Hezbollah forces can access operations rooms, no Syrian soldiers are allowed in.' Shami said that in battles 'the commander is an Iranian IRGC (Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps), his deputy will be a Hezbollah officer.' Abu Osama al-Jolani, a Free Syrian Army commander and former Syrian army officer, told Nelson: 'Everyone we are fighting now are foreigners.' Another Syrian army officer who had defected told Nelson that Syrians in President Assad's army are treated poorly compared with Iranians and Lebanese." (Middle East Eye)

11-20-2015
Human Rights

"The UN General Assembly's human rights committee criticized Iran for cracking down on activists, journalists and dissidents and its increased use of the death penalty, a rebuke Tehran dismissed as 'Iranophobia.'"

 

"The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee on Thursday criticized Iran for cracking down on activists, journalists and dissidents and its increased use of the death penalty, a rebuke Tehran dismissed as 'Iranophobia.' The non-binding resolution, which was drafted by Canada, was adopted by the 193-nation assembly's Third Committee with 76 votes in favor, 35 against and 68 abstentions... It noted the 'alarming high frequency' of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic. The resolution said Iran continued to execute minors in violation of international conventions it has signed. It also said some juvenile executions were for offenses not considered 'most serious crimes.' Iran's deputy U.N. representative, Ambassador Gholamhossein Dehghani, slammed the resolution as a 'selective and politicized distortion of facts' reflective of 'nothing but baseless and pure speculation and hearsay and ... Iranophobia.' He had sharp words for Canada, saying it 'stubbornly continued a deliberate policy of incitement' toward Iran... The resolution urged Tehran to improve conditions in Iranian prisons and ensure there was no torture. It demanded that Iran end what it said were 'widespread and serious restrictions, in law and in practice, on the right to freedom of expression, opinion, association and peaceful assembly' of dissidents and human rights defenders. It said they were subjected to 'ongoing harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention and prosecution.'" (Reuters

11-20-2015
Human Rights

"The recently announced arrests of 170 people by Iran's IRGC amounts to the largest crackdown since the violent state suppression of the protests that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election in Iran."

 

"The recently announced arrests of 170 people in Qazvin Province, a number of others in Gilan Province, and five journalists in Tehran, all by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, amounts to the largest crackdown since the violent state suppression of the protests that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election in Iran. Judiciary officials have expressed no knowledge about the arrests in Qazvin and it is not clear whether the Revolutionary Guards acted directly or with a court warrant. 'These arrests by the Revolutionary Guards are effectively abductions, not arrests,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, 'because the Judiciary says they know nothing about at least 170 of them.' 'People are transferred to unknown locations, without oversight by the Judiciary,' continued Ghaemi, 'and if the Judiciary disavows knowledge of it, that means the Guards are arresting people without judicial warrants.' The Revolutionary Guards' Gerdab website reported on October 16, 2015, that the Guards' cyber unit in Qazvin Province had arrested 170 'managers of groups active in mobile social networks.' Their announcement, which was also carried by the Fars news agencies, both of which are close to the Revolutionary Guards, claimed that those who were arrested were acting 'against moral security' and distributing 'indecent and immoral' content in the form of text and images that 'encouraged people to commit obscene acts' and 'insult ethnic minorities, officials and distinguished national figures.'" (ICHRI)

11-20-2015
Syria Conflict

"The UN General Assembly's human rights committee adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution condemning Iranian and Russian intervention in Syria, a decision that the Syrian and Iranian delegations rejected as unhelpful and unjustified."

 

"The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee on Thursday adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution condemning Iranian and Russian intervention in Syria, a decision that the Syrian and Iranian delegations rejected as unhelpful and unjustified. The non-binding resolution, authored by Saudi Arabia and co-sponsored by Qatar and other Arab nations, the United States and other Western powers, was adopted by the 193-nation assembly's Third Committee. There were 115 votes in favor, 15 against and 51 abstentions. Without explicitly naming Russia, it said the General Assembly 'strongly condemns all attacks against the Syrian moderate opposition and calls for their immediate cessation, given that such attacks benefit so-called ISIL (Daesh) and other terrorist groups, such as al Nusra Front.' 'ISIL' and 'Daesh' are names for Islamic State... The resolution also condemned the presence in Syria of 'all foreign terrorist fighters ... and foreign forces fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime, particularly the al Quds Brigades, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (of Iran) and militia groups, such as Hezbollah.'" (Reuters)

11-19-2015
Human Rights

"The journalist Solmaz Ikdar is sentenced to three years in prison for 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'propaganda against the state.' the charges were based on content she posted on her Facebook page."

 

"The journalist Solmaz Ikdar has been sentenced to three years in prison for 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'propaganda against the state.' The charges were based on content she posted on her Facebook page. The trial, presided over by Judge Moghisseh, took place on October 20, 2015, and Ikdar's sentence was issued on November 10, 2015, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Ikdar, 33, has spent her journalism career writing for several reformist publications, including Shargh, Bahar, Farhikhtegan, and Mardom-e Emrooz. Her sentencing takes place within the context of an intensified campaign by hardliners against journalists and reformists in Iran. During recent weeks, several Iranian journalists have been arrested by the Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Organization. Authorities in Iran have also cracked down particularly hard on any dissenting opinion expressed on social media, a platform they have come to fear due to its widespread use among Iranian youth." (ICHRI)

11-18-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran claims that the US created the Islamic State terror group and is behind the terror attacks in Paris, military official says that "'if we write the word Israel instead of ISIL, the behind the scene of the recent events in France will come into light."

 

"A video produced by the office of Iran's top leader claims that the United States created the Islamic State terror group and is behind last Friday's terror assault in Paris that killed 129. The video was posted to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Facebook page on Tuesday, the MEMRI research institute reported. It was produced by the office of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's 'Supreme Leader.' In stilted, apparently computer-generated English, an announcer explains over images from the Paris attacks and Middle Eastern conflict zones that American and Saudi 'involvement in creating the ISIS [Islamic State] project is being exposed more than ever.' 'France is going through sad bloody nights,' the narrator says. 'Bloodiest blood has been shed on the streets of Paris, reportedly by the ISIS terrorists. Many express condolences. Even the Saudi king and the US president. The same ones' who the video claims are behind IS. Titled, 'Who was behind the Paris attacks,' the four-minute video argues that the US founded IS in a bid to resist Shiite forces in Syria and elsewhere, and has funded, armed and trained the group indirectly through American allies in the region. On the IRGC-run Facebook page, the video is tied to a thumbnail image of US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi appearing to converse with one another." (Times of Israel

11-18-2015
Human Rights

"An Iranian journalist and political activist says she had been sentenced to one year in jail after being found guilty of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic."

 

"An Iranian journalist and political activist said on Wednesday she had been sentenced to one year in jail after being found guilty of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic. Reyhaneh Tabatabaei, 35, told Reuters her lawyer was informed on Tuesday of the sentence, which also included a two-year ban on joining political parties and writing for any newspaper or website. It came a day after authorities arrested a cartoonist and sent him to prison to complete a suspended jail sentence, the latest in a series detentions of journalists, artists and activists. Tabatabaei had been arrested twice in the last five years and had spent almost six months in Evin prison, two months of it in solitary confinement. Her last hearing in the Islamic Revolutionary Court was in November last year." (Reuters)

11-17-2015
Syria Conflict

"Iran holds firm that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be allowed to run in any future elections in his country, presenting a potentially fatal blow to renewed international talks (including the US, Russia and Iran) aimed at ending the Syrian civil war."

 

"Iran is holding firm that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be allowed to run in any future elections in his country, presenting a potentially fatal blow to renewed international talks aimed at ending the Syrian civil war. On Saturday, 17 countries met in Vienna, including the U.S., Russia and Iran, and outlined a framework for reaching a cease-fire in Syria and then a political transition. Left unresolved, according to diplomats who attended, is what happens to Mr. Assad. The U.S. and its closest Middle East allies, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, have demanded that Mr. Assad leave office as part of efforts to reconcile Syria's warring factions. Secretary of State John Kerry has voiced hopes in recent weeks that Russia and Iran, Mr. Assad's closest allies, will agree to a political transition in Damascus that excludes the Syrian dictator, provided their security and economic interests are respected. A leading Iranian diplomat at the Vienna talks, however, on Sunday reaffirmed Tehran's position that foreign powers cannot decide to bar Mr. Assad from future elections. A communiqué released after the meeting in the Austrian capital said the United Nations would seek to hold a vote in Syria in around 18 months. Iranian diplomats have said in recent days that they explicitly blocked efforts by the U.S and other countries to block Mr. Assad from running for re-election. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran did not allow this issue to be included in the final statement,' Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told state media on Sunday. 'We emphasized that only the people of Syria have the right to decide on this matter.' The Iranian diplomat, who focuses on Arab and African affairs at Tehran's foreign ministry, added: 'We stressed unequivocally that only Assad himself can decide on his participation or non-participation in the elections and [that] it is only the people of Syria who can say whether they will vote for him or not.'" (WSJ)

11-16-2015
Terrorism

"Iran is trying to build a Hezbollah-style terror group in the Gaza Strip (as) Iran's IRGC is allocating funds to the nascent group, transferred through a charitable organization named after the founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution."

 

"Iran is trying to build a Hezbollah-style terror group in the Gaza Strip, Israel's Channel 2 reported Friday night. Al-Sabirin (the name comes from the Arabic word for 'patience') has begun recruiting an intended initial force of 400 fighters, the TV report said, and is directly funded by the regime in Tehran. Because it follows Shi'ite Islam - as does Iran and the Iranian proxy militia Hezbollah in Lebanon - it is having a difficult time gaining recruits among Gaza's Sunni Muslims. Nonetheless, the report said, Iran's Revolutionary Guards is allocating funds to the nascent group, transferred through a charitable organization named after the founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini. Headed by a former Islamic Jihad leader named Hisham Salem, Al-Sabirin has fired rockets into Israel, and lost one fighter, named in the TV report as Ahmed al-Sirahi, in clashes with Israel forces at the Gaza border last month... Iran's drive to establish its own organization in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip began 18 months ago, the TV report said, and Tehran has now suspended all funding to Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad, in part because of their opposition to the Assad regime that Iran and Hezbollah are supporting in Syria." (Times of Israel)

11-16-2015
Human Rights

Iran's Supreme leader Khamenei "wanted the agreement, but he didn't want an opening" say experts, as a result Khameni has allowed for the repressive apparatus "to aggressively counter any political, social and economic change agents."

 

"A prominent Iranian recently blasted the symbiotic relationship between state media and security forces, saying he can tell by reading the critical stories who is about to be arrested. That disgruntled Iranian was not some activist for press freedom but Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani. His unusual critique in a speech broadcast on state television last weekend demonstrates how much conflict within the Iranian government has spilled into the open in the wake of the country's nuclear deal with the United States and five other world powers. Rouhani, a pragmatist, has repeatedly pushed back against a crackdown underway from isolationist hard-liners who control the judiciary and intelligence branches and who are working to undermine the nuclear deal. The hard-liners are signaling that Rouhani's attempts to reestablish Iran's place in the world can go only so far. Whichever side prevails in parliamentary elections scheduled for late February could determine the path Iran will take for years to come... 'Ayatollah Khamenei wanted the agreement, but he didn't want an opening,' said Ray Takeyh, a fellow in Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. 'He was concerned about the cultural infiltration that accompanies any potential opening. One way to protect the system and ideology would be to have a crackdown.' ... 'For Iran's deep state, the nuclear deal was merely a tactical, temporary compromise, not a strategic reorientation,' said Karim Sadjadpour, a policy analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'Khamenei has seemingly given a carte blanche to Iran's repressive apparatus to aggressively counter any political, social and economic change agents.' ... 'They're sending the same message' as in previous crackdowns, said Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. 'The Islamic republic isn't going anywhere. The ideology won't be modulated by this particular diplomatic agreement, and anyone who dabbles in building bridges - to the United States in particular - is at risk.'" (WashPost)

11-16-2015
Human Rights

"A prominent press cartoonist in Iran is arrested at work by security agents...after the publication of a cartoon by Mr. Heidari depicting tearful solidarity with the people of France over the attacks Friday that left at least 129 people dead."

 

"A prominent press cartoonist in Iran was arrested at work on Monday by security agents who provided no explanation, according to an Iranian news website and rights activists. The cartoonist, Hadi Heidari, appeared to be the latest in Iran's literary world to have run afoul of conservatives suspicious of interactions with the West. The Tabnak news site, a Persian-language service in Iran, said Mr. Heidari was taken into custody for 'unknown reasons' Monday afternoon while at work at The Shahrvand, a daily newspaper in Tehran that is owned by Iran's Red Crescent Society, or Red Cross. Iranian rights activists, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for protection, said they had learned of Mr. Heidari's arrest from his colleagues at The Shahrvand, who described the arresting agents as members of the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The arrest had not been reported in the official news media as of Monday night. It came after the publication of a cartoon by Mr. Heidari depicting tearful solidarity with the people of France over the attacks Friday that left at least 129 people dead." (NYT)

11-16-2015
Terrorism

Iranian press condemns terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday the 13th though some blamed it on France's policies in the Middle East claiming "that ISIS is a creation of the West" and that "the West eventually tasted its own cooking in Syria."

 

"Iran's press on Sunday largely condemned the jihadist attacks that killed 129 people in Paris and expressed sympathy for the victims, but conservative newspapers put the blame on France's policies in Syria. In their first reactions to the events of late Friday, Iranian newspapers reflected the country's divisions between reformists and hardliners fiercely critical of the West. Moderate President Hassan Rouhani had on Saturday condemned the coordinated assaults claimed by the Islamic State group as 'crimes against humanity'... Ultra-conservative newspapers meanwhile suggested the attacks were the consequences of French policies, with some parroting conspiracy theories that claim IS is a creation of the West. On its front page, hardline paper Javan featured an illustration of a masked jihadist with a gun and a machete standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, waving a mixed flag of the United States and IS. 'Return to home,' its headline said, quoting reports that some 200 French jihadists had returned to the country after fighting with IS abroad. In Kayhan -- Iran's oldest and most-vocal hardline paper -- editor Hossein Shariatmadari repeated a conspiracy theory often cited in Iranian media that IS is a creation of the West and Israel under an operation dubbed 'Hornet's Nest'. 'Now the designers of the Hornet's Nest must await the return of the wasps to the real nest -- wasps that carry automatic rifles and grenades,' Shariatmadari wrote. Another ultra-conservative paper, Vatan-e Emrooz, came under fire on social media after it headlined its story on the attacks 'Dinner is Ready' over a picture of a body covered in a white sheet and empty cafe chairs at one of the restaurants that was attacked. 'The West eventually tasted its own cooking in Syria,' the newspaper wrote, prompting a backlash from Iranians like one Twitter user who wrote: 'Damn the person who wrote the headline for this paper.'" (AFP)

11-15-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents carried out the arrest of 20 Baha'is.. as part of a massive operation, they also closed down Baha'i-run businesses... So far, no information has been made available about the the charges against the Baha'is."

 

"On the morning of Sunday, November 15, Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents carried out the arrest of 20 Baha'is in Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad. As part of a massive operation, they also closed down Baha'i-run businesses in the province of Mazandaran... So far, no information has been made available about the charges against the Baha'is. Their families have not been informed of their whereabouts. According to reports, it is likely that the prisoners have been taken to detention centers run by the Intelligence Ministry in their respective cities. On the same day of the arrests took place, the Bureau of Public Places in the province of Mazandaran sealed and shut down 23 businesses belonging to Baha'is, including in the cities of Sari, Ghaem Shahr, Tonekabon and Babolsar. This followed the businesses being closed on Saturday, November 14, a religious holiday for Baha'is. Authorities have in the past objected to Baha'i businesses observing holidays, threatening them with closure if they failed to keep the same business hours as non-Baha'i shops and services." (IranWire

"In a fresh crackdown on Iran's Baha'i community, one of the most persecuted religious minorities in Iran, 15 followers of the faith were simultaneously arrested in Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad on November 15, 2015, by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence agents. Padideh Sabeti, a spokesperson for the Baha'i International Community, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that all the arrested individuals are ordinary Baha'i citizens, and that the reason for the arrests is unknown. Two of those arrested, Sahab Rouhani and Matin Janamian from Isfahan, were released that same night. The latest arrests bring the total number of Baha'is in Iran's prisons to 79, Padideh Sabeti told the Campaign. In addition, a number of Baha'i-owned shops in Kerman, Rafsanjan, and Qaem Shahr have been shut down in recent days for unspecified reasons." (CHRI)

11-13-2015
Human Rights

"President Hassan Rouhani defends Iran's execution of alleged drug offenders, saying 'if we abolish the death penalty, we would make it easier for drugs to be trafficked to European countries, and that would be dangerous for you.'"

 

"In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, President Hassan Rouhani defends Iran's execution of alleged drug offenders. Responding to a question about Iran's large number of executions, Rouhani repeated the answer often given by Iranian authorities: 'Most executions in Iran are related to drug trafficking crimes, due to the long and porous border shared with our Afghan neighbour. If we abolish the death penalty, we would make it easier for drugs to be trafficked to European countries, and that would be dangerous for you.' The comments were made on Thursday November 12, two days before the start of Rouhani's scheduled visit to Italy and France. Iran Human Rights calls on the Italian and French governments to put the death penalty on top of the agenda during President Rouhani's visit to these countries. 'When the president of a country which executes an average of three people a day comes to visit, the death penalty must be the main issue of discussion with him. Italy and France are two of the world's foremost countries engaged in the abolition of the death penalty, it is expected that Iran's use of the death penalty will be on top of the agenda in their talks with Mr. Rouhani,' says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR." (IHR)

11-13-2015
Human Rights

"Akram al Kaabi, the leader of the Iranian-supported Harakat al Nujaba militia that is based in Iraq and is an integral part of the Popular Mobilization Forces", says that he would and could depose the Iraqi government if ordered by Iran's Supreme leader.

 

"Akram al Kaabi, the leader of the Iranian-supported Harakat al Nujaba militia that is based in Iraq and is an integral part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, has said that he would and could depose the Iraqi government if ordered to do so by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. He also said that he and his group take political and religious guidance from Khamenei, and not Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric. The militia commander, who is listed by the US as an individual who threatens the security of Iraq and remains hostile to the US, was photographed in Syria's Aleppo province just days ago. Kaabi was there to direct an operation in coordination with Iranian and Syrian forces. He arrived in Syria just days after meeting with the leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, who takes direction from Iran's Qods Force. Kaabi made the statements in two interviews, one with Al Sumariyah Television on Nov. 4 and another with Biladi Channel on Nov. 7. Translations of the interviews were obtained by The Long War Journal." (Long War Journal)

11-12-2015
Anti-Americanism

"The nuclear deal between world powers and Iran could lead to better relations between Tehran and Washington and the eventual re-opening of embassies in both capitals" says the Iranian President. However, he said he expects the US to apologize to Iran.

 

"The nuclear deal between world powers and Iran could lead to better relations between Tehran and Washington and the eventual re-opening of embassies in both capitals, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying on Thursday. However, he said he expected the United States to apologize to Iranians before diplomatic relations could be restored.. 'The way this agreement is applied can have an impact on the future,' Rouhani said in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper ahead of his trip to Italy this weekend, his first to a European capital. 'If it is well applied it can lay the foundation for fewer tensions with the United States, creating the conditions to open a new era. But if the Americans don't respect their part of the nuclear accord, then surely our relationship will remain as it has been in the past,' he said... Asked about the possible re-opening of embassies, Rouhani said: 'One day these embassies will re-open but what counts is behavior. The Americans hold the key to this.' He added that if 'they modify their policies, correct errors committed in these 37 years and apologize to the Iranian people, the situation will change and good things can happen.'" (Reuters)

11-11-2015
Human Rights

"Iran should stop arresting, prosecuting and harassing journalists and online activists, and provide a safe space for freedom of expression as the country prepares for parliamentary elections early next year, say UN human rights experts."

 

"The authorities in Iran should stop arresting, prosecuting and harassing journalists and online activists, and provide a safe space for freedom of expression as the country prepares for parliamentary elections early next year, UN human rights experts said today. 'Increasing intimidation of journalists is hindering their ability to operate freely in the country,' said Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran. He noted that in recent days, Iranian intelligence and security officials have arrested a number of journalists in what appeared to be a new crackdown on freedom of expression and the media. The arrest on 2 November of five journalists, including Afarine Chitsaz, Ehssan Mazandarani, Saman Safarzai, and Issa Saharkhiz, by plainclothes members of the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence units was particularly worrying, Mr. Shaheed said... 'The government of Iran should not silence critical or dissenting voices under the guise of vague and unsubstantiated national security concerns,' Mr. Shaheed said. As a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran has international obligations to allow and protect the right to a free press and access to information, he stressed." (UN)

11-11-2015
Human Rights

Iran sentences journalist Solmaz Ikdar to a three-year prison sentence on charges of insulting the supreme leader and propaganda against the state.

 

"A judge in Iran handed down a three-year prison sentence to journalist Solmaz Ikdar today, November 10, on charges of insulting the supreme leader and propaganda against the state. Judge Moghiseh, well known for his harsh treatment of independent journalists, sentenced the 33-year-old, who has worked for a range of publications in Iran, including Farhikhtegan, Mardom-e Emruz, Aseman, Bahar, and Sharq. Ikdar was stopped at the airport on June 18, 2015 and denied the right to travel abroad. She had planned to study abroad after being expelled from university in 2008 in connection with a previous charge of propaganda against the regime. She was sentenced to six months in a probation facility." (IranWire)

11-11-2015
Human Rights

"Jafar Azimzadeh, the head of Iran's Free Trade Union, has reported to serve out a six-year prison sentence for "assembly and colluding against national security", "disrupting public order" and "propaganda activities."

 

"Jafar Azimzadeh, the head of Iran's Free Trade Union, has reported to Evin Prison to serve out a six-year prison sentence. According to the Free Trade Union website, Azimzadeh reported to Evin on Sunday November 8 at 10 AM after receiving a summons last week. The labour activist's charges included 'assembly and colluding against national security', 'disrupting public order' and 'propaganda activities against the regime'. He is also banned from political and media activities. Many workers from Sanandaj, Karaj and Tehran showed up at the Evin Prison grounds with banners challenging the incarceration of their colleague... Azimzadeh was also accused by the court of having 'a Marxist mindset.'" (Radio Zamaneh)

11-10-2015
Anti-Americanism

"The commander of Iran's Joint Staff of Armed Forces has lashed out at US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for his recent remarks about Iran, saying Carter has gone too far. "America and the allies of the White House enjoy killing Muslims."

 

"The commander of Iran's Joint Staff of Armed Forces has lashed out at U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for his recent remarks about Iran, saying Carter has gone too far. 'America and the allies of the White House enjoy killing Muslims. The Takfiri terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and the North of Africa have not satiated their desire. That is why they want to set Muslims at loggerheads,' Hassan Firouzabadi said on Sunday, according to ISNA." (Tehran Times)

11-09-2015
Syria Conflict

"Russia has finalized a contract for the delivery of advanced air-defense missile systems to Iran, the head of a Russian state-controlled industrial conglomerate says..." This missile system deal is seen as destabilizing for Israel and the US.

 

"Russia has finalized a contract for the delivery of advanced air-defense missile systems to Iran, the head of a Russian state-controlled industrial conglomerate said Monday. Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russian Technologies, the holding company that includes the Rosoboronexport arms trader, said Monday on a trip to Dubai that 'the contract with Iran for the S-300 has entered into force,' according to Russian news agencies. Russia in 2010 froze a deal to supply advanced S-300 missile systems to Iran, linking the decision to U.N. sanctions. President Vladimir Putin lifted the suspension earlier this year following Iran's deal with six world powers that curbed its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Once the first part of the contract is fulfilled, Moscow expects Iran to drop its lawsuit at a court in Geneva seeking damages for the suspension of the original deal, Chemezov said. He wouldn't specify what version of the system Russia will supply or when the delivery will be made. Russian officials have said that the specific model of the S-300 that Russia was to deliver under the 2007 contract is no longer produced, and offered Iran a modified version of it. The missile system deal has long worried Israel and other countries in the region, as well as the U.S., which see it as destabilizing." (AP)

11-09-2015
Syria Conflict

European authorities take action to shut down cyber espionage operation linked to Iran's IRGC aimed against Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and the United States.

 

"European authorities have taken action to shut down a cyber espionage operation linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard in the first operation of its kind since Tehran signed a nuclear treaty, according to security researchers who located computers used to launch attacks. The hacker group - dubbed 'Rocket Kitten' by security experts who have been hunting the hacker group since early 2014 - has mounted cyberattacks on high-profile political and defense figures globally since that time. The action is likely to hamper Tehran's efforts to gather sensitive intelligence from rivals including Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, the United States and Venezuela, which were among the nations targeted. Researchers from U.S.-Israeli security firm Check Point Software said the 1,600 high-profile targets include members of the Saudi royal family, Israeli nuclear scientists, NATO officials and Iranian dissidents and even the wives of high-ranking generals from unnamed countries. The company said it had informed national computer security response teams in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, who in turn alerted police in those countries to the locations of 'command and control' servers used to mount attacks controlled from Iran." (Reuters)

11-09-2015
Human Rights

"Several journalists were arrested in Iran in an intensifying campaign of repression" based on the belief that the US intends to use any post-nuclear deal opening in Iran to 'infiltrate' and undermine the Islamic Republic.

 

"Several journalists were arrested in Iran over the past week in an intensifying campaign of repression that is based on the belief, spearheaded by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, that the US intends to use any post-nuclear deal opening in Iran to 'infiltrate' and undermine the Islamic Republic. The journalists, arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization, include Isa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Afarin Chitsaz, and Saman Safarzaei, with a probable fifth whose identity is unconfirmed. All were critical of hardline policies or close to the Rouhani administration, which pushed for the nuclear negotiations and Iran’s re-engagement with the world. The seizures follow the arrests of numerous activists, dual Iranian-American nationals, and cultural figures over the last several months. The crackdown, which has been building in intensity over the past months, appears to be aimed at squashing any expectations of a broader rapprochement with the US following the nuclear deal. It has been kicked into high gear with vitriolic statements first made by Khamenei regarding a US-led 'infiltration plot,' and then echoed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Members of Parliament demanding the arrest of such 'infiltrators' and 'spies.' 'Hardliners have thrived on isolation and vilification of the US. They are terrified of re-engagement with the West,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'And Iranian citizens are paying the price for their fear.' ... 'These arrests are a blatant campaign of intimidation,' said Ghaemi. 'Rouhani should speak out in defense of his citizens and the international community should forcefully register its utter rejection of such unlawful behavior.'" (ICHRI)

11-08-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers has done little to stop the country from pursuing activities beyond its shores that the US considers destabilizing, US military commander says 'I don't know that we've seen a change in behavior.'"

 

"Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers has done little to stop the country from pursuing activities beyond its shores that the U.S. considers destabilizing, the U.S. naval commander charged with securing the waters around the Arabian Peninsula said Sunday. Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, made the comments during an interview with The Associated Press at the opening day of the Dubai Airshow. He was careful not to underplay the significance of Tehran's willingness to come to the negotiating table to hammer out a deal completed in July that gives it broad sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. But he noted that other actions such as attempts to smuggle military equipment to Yemen and harassing ships transiting the Gulf continue just as they did before the agreement. 'We're still concerned about Iran's behavior overall. Positive about the nuclear agreement, but concerned ... about some of their malign behavior related to other things unrelated to the nuclear issue,' he said. Aside from the nuclear negotiations, 'I don't know that we've seen a change in behavior,' he added, speaking aboard a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane on display at the biennial show." (AP)

11-06-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Minister of Justice says that "Iran sees the United States as the main supporter of terrorism and drug trafficking in the world" at UN Conference on Corruption in Russia.

 

"Iran's Minister of Justice Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi underlined that Iran sees the United States as the main supporter of terrorism and drug trafficking in the world. 'I want to say that we perceive the United States as country supporting terrorism and spread of narcotic substances,' Pour-Mohammadi, who is in Russia attending a conference, said at a meeting with Ilyas Umakhanov, deputy speaker of the Russian parliament upper chamber, Sputnik reported on Thursday. He added that since the deployment of the US forces to Afghanistan, the volume of drug production has seen a 10-fold increase. 'Today, financial support and supply of weapons (to terror groups) are carried out either by the United States or by its allies,' he said. The Iranian justice minister is participating in the sixth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption underway in the Russian city of St. Petersburg." (Tasnim Iran)

11-06-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran is banning the entry of US consumer goods...in order to boost national production, it is necessary... to stop entry of American consumer goods and to prohibit products that symbolise the presence of the US in the country" says Commerce Minister.

 

"Iran is banning the entry of US consumer goods, the commerce and industry minister said Thursday, as the country prepares for a lifting of economic sanctions. 'In order to boost national production, it is necessary... to stop entry of American consumer goods and to prohibit products that symbolise the presence of the United States in the country,' Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh wrote on his ministry's website. The minister said the measure complies with a letter last month from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to President Hassan Rouhani calling for domestic production to be boosted... Nematzadeh's announcement came a day after demonstrations across Iran marked the 36th anniversary of the storming of the US embassy in Tehran by Islamist students, an act that plunged diplomatic relations with Washington into the deep freeze for decades. Demonstrators gathered outside the former mission and across Iran for the 'National Day of the Fight Against Global Arrogance' -- a term often used by Khamenei. They held placards with slogans including 'Down with USA' and 'Down with Israel.'" (AFP)

11-05-2015
Human Rights

"IRGC arrests three pro-reform journalists, one of whom has been critical recently of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed that they were part of an 'infiltration network linked to hostile Western governments.'"

 

"Iranian authorities have arrested three pro-reform journalists, one of whom has been critical recently of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies reported Tuesday. State television said the elite Revolutionary Guards had arrested 'several members of an infiltration network linked to hostile Western governments who were working in the country's media and social networks.' It did not give details, but said they would be published later. The ILNA news agency, which is close to Iran's reformists, had earlier reported the arrest of journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani, but did not say when they were detained or on what charges... Separately, the Mehr news agency, close to moderate conservatives, announced the arrest of Afarine Chitsaz, a journalist with government newspaper Iran." (AFP)

11-05-2015
Anti-Americanism

IRGC's cyberwarfare against American government agencies results in a surge of attacks coinciding with the arrest of Siamak Namazi, an energy industry executive and business consultant who has pushed for stronger U.S.-Iranian economic and diplomatic ties.

 

"Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard military force hacked email and social-media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks in attacks believed to be tied to the arrest in Tehran of an Iranian-American businessman, U.S. officials said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, has routinely conducted cyberwarfare against American government agencies for years. But the U.S. officials said there has been a surge in such attacks coinciding with the arrest last month of Siamak Namazi, an energy industry executive and business consultant who has pushed for stronger U.S.-Iranian economic and diplomatic ties. Obama administration personnel are among a larger group of people who have had their computer systems hacked in recent weeks, including journalists and academics, the officials said. Those attacked in the administration included officials working at the State Department's Office of Iranian Affairs and its Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. 'U.S. officials were among many who were targeted by recent cyberattacks,' said an administration official, adding that the U.S. is still investigating possible links to the Namazi case. 'U.S. officials believe some of the more recent attacks may be linked to reports of detained dual citizens and others.' ... Computer experts have noted that by hacking a target's contacts-particularly their social-media accounts-the number of people associated with that target can grow exponentially. If the target's Facebook account has 200 friends, and each of those had 200 friends, a skilled hacker could potentially gain access to 40,000 users-even if most of them aren't actually associated with the original target." (WSJ)

11-04-2015
Syria Conflict

"Iran is recruiting Afghan refugees to fight in Syria, promising a monthly salary and residence permits in exchange for what it claims to be a sacred endeavor to save Shia shrines in Damascus."

 

"Iran is recruiting Afghan refugees to fight in Syria, promising a monthly salary and residence permits in exchange for what it claims to be a sacred endeavour to save Shia shrines in Damascus. The Fatemioun military division of Afghan refugees living in Iran and Syria is now the second largest foreign military contingent fighting in support of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Iranian state-affiliated agencies reported in May that at least 200 Fatemioun members had been killed in Syria since the beginning of the war. How many more have died since is not clear. Iran has always claimed it is participating in an advisory capacity in Syria, dispatching senior commanders to plan and oversee operations, but the Afghan involvement shows it is using other methods. Recruitment is taking place on a daily basis in Mashhad and Qom, two Iranian cities with the largest population of Afghan refugees... Iran is also accepting Afghans below the age of 18 provided they have written permission from their parents, the Guardian has learned. At least one 16-year-old Iran-based Afghan refugee was killed in Syria earlier this autumn... 'This is mere exploitation of vulnerable people,' said Mujtaba Jalali, a 24-year-old Iranian-born Afghan refugee from Mashhad who has recently fled to Europe. Jalali, a professional photographer, has visited at least 10 funerals in his city held for Afghans who have lost their lives in Syria. The Guardian is publishing his photographs for the first time, some of which reveal the identities of the Fatemioun members killed." (Guardian)

11-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Chanting 'Death to America' and burning the US flag, thousands of Iranians joined protests marking the 36th anniversary of the seizure of Washington's embassy in Tehran. The outpouring of anti-US sentiment came despite a landmark nuclear deal."

 

"Chanting 'Death to America' and burning the US flag, thousands of Iranians joined protests Wednesday marking the 36th anniversary of the seizure of Washington's embassy in Tehran. The outpouring of anti-US sentiment came despite a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers including Washington in July. The storming of the embassy by students, months after the Islamic revolution, led to a 444-day hostage crisis and a break in diplomatic relations that continues to this day. Demonstrators gathered outside the former US embassy in Tehran and across Iran for what was declared 'national day of the fight against global arrogance' -- a term often used by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters held placards with slogans including 'Down with U.S.A' and 'Down with Israel'. Prosecutor General Ebrahim Raisi gave a fiery speech attacking US 'atrocities' ranging from slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, phone tapping and 'the killing of 300,000 Iraqis.'" (AFP)

11-04-2015
Human Rights

Iranian state television claims that the Washington-based Lebanese reporter Nizar Zakka is an American spy, his family is "shocked by these false accusations."

 

"Iranian state television on Tuesday claimed that a Washington-based Lebanese citizen missing in Tehran since September is actually an American spy now in the custody of authorities. However, those who know Nizar Zakka - who holds permanent-resident status in the United States - said an image of him in army-style fatigues shown on Iranian state TV came from him recently taking part in a homecoming parade as an alumnus of his military high school in Georgia. Through a lawyer, the Zakka family said they were 'shocked by these false accusations,' and stressed that he has no 'relation with any military, security institution or secret services whatsoever.' The state TV report is the first official word in Iran about Zakka since his disappearance. It comes as four Americans are known to be held by Iranian authorities after the Islamic Republic struck a nuclear deal with world powers and amid increasingly hostile rhetoric against the U.S. in the agreement's wake. Jim Benson, the president of Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, said state TV even identified the wrong man in the image as Zakka." (AP

11-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran marks its "National Day against Global Arrogance" with shouts of "God damn America" and "no compromise, no surrender to US."

 

"Thousands of Iranians burned the American flag and chanted slogans Wednesday as they marked the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students 36 years ago... Protesters on Wednesday carried placards reading 'political and security penetration is forbidden.' They pumped their fists in the air, shouting 'God damn America,' and 'No compromise, no surrender to U.S.' Others carried banners rejecting U.S. fast food chains McDonald's and Starbucks. Authorities recently closed a newly opened knock-off of KFC, saying it was unlicensed. Hard-liners view fast food outlets and other American products as part of a 'cultural invasion' by the U.S. aimed at undermining Islamic rule and public morality... Iran's state TV showed similar demonstrations in other Iranian cities to mark the occasion, known as the 'National Day against Global Arrogance.' Wednesday's rally in Tehran also saw State Prosecutor Ebrahim Raeisi announce that the intelligence department of the elite Revolutionary Guard had detained a number of writers... 'Under no circumstances will we allow penetration of Americans in economic, social and cultural areas,' he added." (AP)

11-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

"US military leaders disclose in testimony before the Senate that Iranian terror activities have claimed the lives of around 500 U.S. soldiers, which accounts for at least 14 percent of all American casualties in Iraq from 2003 to 2011."

 

"Nearly 200 U.S. troops have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured by Iranian-made explosives in Iraq, according to new disclosures from a partially declassified report conducted by U.S. Central Command and described by sources to the Washington Free Beacon. The number of U.S. deaths resulting from Iranian terrorism were revealed for the first time on Wednesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) during a hearing focusing on the Obama administration's failure to prosecute terrorists directly responsible for the deaths of Americans. At least 196 U.S. service members fighting in Iraq were killed directly as a result of Iranian-made explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, according to Cruz and congressional sources familiar with Centcom's mostly classified report. The deaths took place between 2003 and 2011. The Iranian explosive devices wounded another 861 U.S. soldiers, and a total of 1,534 attacks were carried out on U.S. military members over this period, according to sources familiar with the report, which was provided to Cruz's office. The explosive devices are a 'hallmark weapon' of Iran's Quds force, a paramilitary group that operates outside of Iran's borders, according to sources familiar with the report. It has been determined that only Iranian-backed operatives use these weapons in Iraq. U.S. military leaders disclosed in testimony before the Senate that Iranian terror activities have claimed the lives of around 500 U.S. soldiers, which accounts for at least 14 percent of all American casualties in Iraq from 2003 to 2011." (Free Beacon)

11-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

"The US embassy takeover formed the foundation of the country's independence and fight against the arrogant powers by Iran" says Iranian President Rouhani on the anniversary of the US embassy takeover in Teheran.

 

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined that the anniversary of the US embassy takeover in November 1979 marks the beginning of a new era of important political developments in Iran and also ushered the nation in an era of independence. 'The US embassy takeover formed the foundation of the country's independence and fight against the arrogant powers by Iran,' President Rouhani said on Tuesday, addressing a meeting of the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council. The Iranian president lauded the Iranian students for their determining role in the political developments and safeguarding the Islamic Revolution's achievements. Since the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran, Iranians have been celebrating the occasion every year by holding rallies on the anniversary and marking it as the National Day against the 'Global Arrogance.'" (Fars Iran)

11-02-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities arrested prominent journalist Isa Saharkhiz for 'insulting the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and propaganda against the regime", he had been previously imprisoned after serving as deputy Minister of Culture.

 

"Iranian authorities arrested prominent journalist Isa Saharkhiz on Monday for 'insulting the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and propaganda against the regime', his family said on social media. A post on Saharkhiz's Facebook page reporting his detention included what it said was a picture of a search warrant for his home. An Iranian journalist who knows Saharkhiz told Reuters the page was under the control of a family member. Saharkhiz's son, Mehdi, also announced the arrest on Twitter and said his father had started a hunger strike... The journalist, who previously served as deputy minister of culture, spent four years in jail from 2009 to 2013 on charges of insulting Iranian leaders and harming national security." (Reuters

11-02-2015
Syria Conflict

"Bahrain Minister of Foreign Affairs accuses Iran of attempting to destabilize his country by training and supporting its Bahrain citizens to carry out attacks., says Iran supports 'sabotage, terrorism and instigation to violence' in the Gulf island."

 

"Officials here on Saturday accused Iran of training and supplying people who sought to carry out terror attacks and create political turmoil on the tiny Gulf island. Bahrain Chief of Public Security Tariq Al Hasan said the country's police and intelligence services have disrupted a number of attacks by intercepting smuggled vessels with weapons from Iran and discovering concealed facilities to make improvised explosive devices, also with material supplied by Iran. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Al Hasan said a list of targets included police and military bases, as well as officials, but the Bahrain police official didn't provide details. Earlier Saturday, Bahrain Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa also accused Iran of attempting to destabilize the country by training and supporting its Bahrain citizens to carry out attacks. 'Daesh isn't the only terrorist threat,' Bahrain's foreign minister told a regional security conference, referring to another name for Islamic State. The allegations made during a security conference, called the Manama Dialogue, reflected festering tensions between Iran and Gulf countries. In early October, Bahrain recalled its ambassador from Iran and expelled Iran's charge d'affairs, saying Iran supported 'sabotage, terrorism and instigation to violence' in the Gulf island." (WSJ)

11-01-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran's Supreme leader criticizes US policy in the Middle East, says "America is the main part of the problem in the region, not part of the solution,' because of "US support for 'the Zionist regime' in Israel."

 

"Iran's supreme leader dismissed Sunday the chances of foreign countries bartering a deal over Syria's future, suggesting they should focus on securing a halt to fighting that allows fresh elections. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also repeated his ban on direct talks with the United States about turmoil in the Middle East, saying US objectives in the region were utterly at odds with Iranian policy. The comments, to Iran's ambassadors and other top diplomats, were Khamenei's first since his country joined international negotiations on the four-year Syrian conflict. He said Syria's people must choose who their leader would be, rather than the US and other foreign powers trying to decide for them. 'The Americans seek to impose their own interests, not solve problems. They want to impose 60, 70 percent of their will,' he said, alluding to the peace talks which took place Friday in Vienna... Khamenei also took aim at wider US policy in the Middle East. 'America is the main part of the problem in the region, not part of the solution,' he said, citing US support for 'the Zionist regime' in Israel. 'These policies differ 180 degrees with the policies of the Islamic republic,' he added, also criticising Saudi Arabia for its 'double standards' of conducting an air war in Yemen." (http://t.uani.com/1WrrKgy " style="font-weight: normal;">AP)

"A clear majority of Iranian legislators said Monday the Islamic republic will not abandon the slogan of 'Death to America' despite its July nuclear accord with world powers. 'The martyr-nurturing nation of Iran is not at all prepared to abandon the slogan of Death to America under the pretext of a nuclear agreement,' 192 members of Iran's 290-seat parliament said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA. They said the slogan, chanted at the weekly Friday prayers in mosques and at protests, had 'turned into the symbol of the Islamic republic and all struggling nations'. The statement was issued two days before Iran's commemoration of the start of the November 4, 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran by radical Islamic students that led to a 444-day hostage crisis and a break in diplomatic relations between the two countries lasting up to the present day. In the aftermath of the July 14nuclear deal with world powers, 'the government and the Majlis (parliament) should act carefully in line with the honourable leader's wise guidance', the legislators said, referring to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The leader has endorsed the deal which curbs Iran's nuclear drive in return for a lifting of sanctions, but has repeatedly warned against US 'infiltration' of the values of Iranian society. 'America is the main part of the problem in the region, not part of the solution,' he said on Sunday, citing US support for 'the Zionist regime' in Israel. US regional 'policies differ 180 degrees with the policies of the Islamic republic', he added." (Reuters)

11-01-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's supreme leader has warned against importing American consumer goods as the Islamic republic prepares for the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear deal."

 

"Iran's supreme leader has warned against importing American consumer goods as the Islamic republic prepares for the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear deal. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's website on Sunday quotes him as advising authorities to 'be watchful about irregular imports after lifting sanctions and seriously avoid importing consumer goods from the United States.'" (AP)

11-01-2015
Human Rights

"Two Iranian poets sentenced to long prison terms and floggings have vaulted to international literary prominence over their prosecution, which appears to reflect a tough new crackdown on rights and creative arts in Iran."

 

"Two Iranian poets sentenced to long prison terms and floggings have vaulted to international literary prominence over their prosecution, which appears to reflect a tough new crackdown on rights and creative arts in Iran. On Sunday, the PEN American Center, an advocacy group that promotes free expression worldwide, sent a petition signed by 116 poets and writers to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beseeching him to grant pardons to the condemned poets, Fatemeh Ekhtesari, 31, and Mehdi Mousavi, 41. 'We are deeply concerned by the inhuman sentences levied against Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Mousavi for the simple act of expressing themselves by creating art,' read the letter, which was posted on the group's website." (NYT)

10-31-2015
Human Rights

"Founder and Secretary-General of the Union of Arab ICT Associations Nizar Zakka is being held in Tehran by the Iranian IRGC", Zakka is a Lebanese-American citizen who has disappeared in Iran.

 

"Founder and Secretary-General of the Union of Arab ICT Associations Nizar Zakka is being held in Tehran by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, sources told The Daily Star Friday. According to IJMA3-USA, a Washington based advocate of online freedom in the Middle East, Zakka traveled to Tehran on Sept. 15 and disappeared on Sept. 18. He was invited to Iran by Shahendokht Molafrdi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's vice president of women's affairs, in order to attend the Second International Conference and Exhibition on Women in Sustainable Development, named 'Entrepreneurship and Employment.' 'We don't have any document or information that confirms he is being held by the Iranian authorities,' Zakka's lawyer Majid Dimashkieh told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. The Lebanese-American citizen disappeared 40 days ago according to his lawyer. The family refrained from publicizing the issue to prevent it from becoming a political matter. Zakka arrived in Iran and gave his scheduled speech at the state-sponsored conference. He was last seen on Sept. 18 when he was spotted taking a taxi to the airport from his hotel, according to a signed statement by his lawyer Antoine Abu Dib. Yet Zakka never made it to his flight. Several days later his wife received a call from him telling her he was being held by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard... The family is expected to hold a news conference in the coming few days detailing the circumstances of the case in an effort to secure Zakka's release." (Daily Star Lebanon)

 

10-30-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran has arrested another American holding dual citizenship, bringing to four the number of Iranian Americans imprisoned in Tehran"... Iranian Americans are particularly vulnerable to arrest because Iran does not recognize dual nationality.

"Iran has arrested another American holding dual citizenship, bringing to four the number of Iranian Americans imprisoned in Tehran after they came under suspicion by hard-line security forces. Siamak Namazi, a businessman based in Dubai who is in his early 40s, was arrested earlier this month when he was visiting a friend in Tehran, according to a family friend who did not want to be identified. It was not clear whether any charges have been brought against him or what authorities might allege he did. Namazi, the son of a former governor in the oil-rich Iranian province of Khuzestan, comes from a prominent Iranian family. Namazi's family came to the United States in 1983 when he was a boy, and he later returned to Iran after graduating from college to serve in the Iranian military. He has consulted on business opportunities in Iran for more than a decade... Iranian Americans such as Namazi are particularly vulnerable to arrest because Iran does not recognize dual nationality. An Iranian official in Vienna for talks on the Syrian war said the arrest of Namazi and other Iranian Americans should not deter other dual nationals from visiting the country." (WashPost)

10-30-2015
Terrorism

"The commander of Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim al-Mukhtar Army militia claimed responsibility for a deadly rocket attack on a camp holding members of an exiled Iranian opposition group near Baghdad", according to Iran's Fars news agency.

"The commander of Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim al-Mukhtar Army militia claimed responsibility on Friday for a deadly rocket attack on a camp holding members of an exiled Iranian opposition group near Baghdad, according to Iran's Fars news agency. About 15 rockets crashed near the camp of the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) next to Baghdad International Airport on Thursday and killed 23 of its members, a Paris-based spokesman for the group said. 'We warned the members of this terrorist organization to leave Iraq as soon as possible ... If they don't do so, there will more similar attacks,' al-Mukhtar Army commander Wathiq al Battat was quoted as saying by Fars. The Al-Mukhtar Army has said it is supported and funded by Iran's government... The United States urged the Iraqi government to increase security at so-called Camp Liberty and find those responsible for the attack and hold them accountable. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR also condemned Thursday's attack. 'This is a most deplorable act and I am greatly concerned at the harm ... inflicted on those living at Camp Liberty,' U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said." (Reuters)

10-30-2015
Politics

Analysts say, "the Islamic Republic will remain a risky market for foreign companies and Iranian-American investors...after Iranian businessmen with links to foreign companies have been detained,interrogated and warned against..by the IRGC."

"In the past few weeks, Iranian businessmen with links to foreign companies have been detained, interrogated and warned against wading into economic monopolies controlled by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to several businessmen interviewed inside and outside of Iran... People familiar with Mr. Namazi's case said that his detention has sent chills across the business community in Iran and significantly dampened the interest among the diaspora for taking their money back home. 'Everyone is now hitting the pause button,' said an Iranian businessman in London. 'If they don't want the benefit of our knowledge, money and network then that's fine. We will take our business elsewhere.' An Iranian-American banker said he canceled his trip to Tehran this week in light of Mr. Namazi's detention. Another prominent businessman in Tehran, who said he was working to attract foreign investors to Iran, said that he was under surveillance and interrogated weekly by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents. Several businessmen said a plan to invite so-called young leaders selected by the World Economic Forum on a trip to Iran was approved by President Rouhani and a fund was allocated for the exchange. But the Guards intervened, forcing them to cancel the invitation days ahead of the trip. One businessman said that his contact at Mr. Rouhani's office stopped taking his calls after he was called in for questioning by the Guards. Such developments undermine Mr. Rouhani's claims that Iran has changed in the aftermath of the nuclear deal and now welcomes economic engagement. Analysts say the Islamic Republic will remain a risky market for foreign companies and Iranian-American investors." (WSJ)

10-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iran says "the US is pretending to be fighting the ISIL in the region, but it is seeking to break up Iraq and Syria into several smaller countries...the US is trying to topple the Syrian government in order to strengthen the ISIL in Iraq."

"Iranian Supreme Leader's top Adviser for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati blasted the US for trying to disintegrate the regional countries under the pretext of forming anti-ISIL coalition. 'The US is pretending to be fighting the ISIL in the region, but it is seeking to break up Iraq and Syria into several smaller countries,' Velayati said, addressing a meeting in the city of Kerman, Southern Iran, on Thursday. He reiterated that the US is trying to topple the Syrian government in order to strengthen the ISIL in Iraq." (Fars Iran)

10-29-2015
Syria Conflict

"Russia has helped Iran deliver weapons into Syria twice a day over the past 10 days...through Russian cargo planes" according to Western intelligence sources.

"Russia has helped Iran deliver weapons into Syria twice a day over the past 10 days, western intelligence sources tell Fox News. Those sources say Russian cargo planes transported the weapons. The planes were spotted earlier this month on the tarmac at the Russian air base in Latakia, Syria's primary port city. The flights are not registered, and are in breach of two United Nations Security Council resolutions which impose an arms embargo on Iran. Fox News is told the increased Russian transport of Iranian weapons is being coordinated by Qassem Soulimeini, the head of the Iranian Al-Quds force, as well as President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. An Iranian civilian airline, Mahan Air, is flying military personnel into Syria several times each day from Tehran to Latakia." (Fox News)

10-29-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran considered pursuing a nuclear deterrent when it began its nuclear program in the 1980s, during an eight-year war with Iraq, a former president says."

"Iran considered pursuing a nuclear deterrent when it began its nuclear program in the 1980s, during an eight-year war with Iraq, a former president has been quoted as saying. Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's comments comes at a sensitive moment, as Iran implements an agreement reached with world powers in July aimed at curbing its nuclear program, to allay Western fears it was trying to build an atomic bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, is investigating whether Iran's nuclear program ever had a military application. It is due to issue a report by Dec. 15. Throughout the negotiations, Iran insisted its program had only ever been for peaceful purposes. In an interview with Iran's Nuclear Hope magazine this week, Rafsanjani suggested that officials were thinking about a deterrent capability when the nuclear program first began but it never took shape. 'When we first began, we were at war and we sought to have that possibility for the day that the enemy might use a nuclear weapon. That was the thinking. But it never became real,' Rafsanjani said in the interview, which was carried by state news agency IRNA on Tuesday... 'Our basic doctrine was always a peaceful nuclear application, but it never left our mind that if one day we should be threatened and it was imperative, we should be able to go down the other path,' he added... Rafsanjani also said he had traveled to Pakistan to try to meet Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, who later helped North Korea to develop a bomb, but did not meet with him. Khan was at the center of the world's biggest nuclear proliferation scandal in 2004, when he confessed to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya." (Reuters)

10-28-2015
Human Rights

"Esmail Gerami Moghaddam, a former Member of Parliament and spokesman for a reformist party has been sentenced to six years in prison for 'collusion against the state' and 'propaganda against the state.'"

"Esmail Gerami Moghaddam, a former Member of Parliament and spokesman for a reformist party has been sentenced to six years in prison. Moghaddam's lawyer, Nemat Ahmadi, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the trial took place on September 29, 2015, and was presided by Judge Salavati who issued a sentence of five years in prison for 'collusion against the state.' Salavati also reinstated a one-year prison sentence issued earlier against Moghaddam in absentia for 'propaganda against the state' based on Article 500 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code." (ICHRI)

10-28-2015
Human Rights

"A prominent global communications technology expert has gone missing after participating in a conference in Tehran..The announcement of Zakka's disappearance follows the arrests of two other businessmen who had traveled to Iran to explore business..."

"A prominent global communications technology expert has gone missing after participating in a conference in Tehran, IranWire has learned. Nazar Zakka, a Lebanese information and communications technology (ICT) expert, disappeared on September 18 after attending a conference on Entrepreneurship and Employment at the 2nd International Conference & Exhibition on Women in Sustainable Development in Tehran. President Rouhani's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi invited Zakka to the four-day conference, where he delivered a speech about the role of ICT in empowering women on September 18, after arriving in Iran on September 11. Zakka also took part in round-table discussions at the meeting, which was attended by high-level Iranian ministry officials. On September 18, Zakka left his hotel by taxi to travel to the airport to travel back to Beirut. He did not arrive back in his home country... The announcement of Zakka's disappearance follows the arrests of two other businessmen who had traveled to Iran to explore business opportunities. On October 15, security agents arrested Siamak Namazi, the Iranian-American director of the strategic planning office of Crescent Oil Company. At the time of his arrest, agents ransacked Namazi's family's home and confiscated personal items. Prior to this, around the same time as Zakka's arrest, authorities detained a Europe-based Iranian businessman." (IranWire)

10-28-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Washington has come to realize that it lacks the ability to pose an effective military threat to Iran and has, thus, shifted its focus to soft war plots as its main agenda" an Iranian military official says.

"Washington has come to realize that it lacks the ability to pose an effective military threat to Iran and has, thus, shifted its focus to soft war plots as its main agenda, Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said Wednesday. 'For different reasons, the US does not deem the military option against Iran as to be effective... ,' Jalali said, addressing Civil Defense Conference in Tehran on Wednesday. Jalali further pointed to the US role in the 2009 post-election unrest in Iran and Washington's efforts to influence the elections mechanisms in the country, and said, 'Permanent and continued penetration into the country is their plan and approach, and to stand against this plan, a serious approach is needed in the cyberspace and in mobile-related cyberspace to confront the enemy.'" (Fars Iran)

10-27-2015
Human Rights

Iran to execute more than 1,000 people this year, even as it seems more willing to engage with the UN on human rights...UN rapporteur on Iran, says "human rights violators should be named and shamed and targeted with sanctions such as a travel ban."

"Iran could be on track to execute more than 1,000 people this year, even as it seems more willing to engage with the United Nations on human rights after a nuclear deal with world powers, a U.N. investigator said on Monday. U.N. special rapporteur on Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, suggested that human rights violators should be named and shamed and targeted with sanctions such as a travel ban. Shaheed described his latest report to the United Nations as 'marginally more optimistic than my previous reports' and told reporters he had witnessed more 'meaningful' engagement between Iran and the world body. He said he met for the first time with members of the Iranian judiciary and security forces in Geneva last month. 'Their response to my current report has been the most substantive over the past 4-1/2 years,' he said. 'But other developments in Iran over the past 12 months gives us pause on why we should not put too much weight on this because there have been rising executions,' Shaheed said, adding that women are still treated as second-class citizens. Some 700 people have already been executed in Iran in 2015 and the country is 'possibly on track to exceed a 1,000 by the end of the year,' Shaheed said. He has reported that at least 753 people were executed in Iran in 2014." (Reuters)

10-27-2015
Nuclear Program

IRGC Bridgadier General says "Iran's high-precision missiles are capable of destroying enemy targets 2,000 km away... We don't study the (UN) resolutions since we are responsible for developing the power and no one can dictate to us."

"Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Iran's high-precision missiles are capable of destroying enemy targets 2,000 km away. 'When our defense industries build missiles with a range of 2,000 km and a zero margin of error, this means that we can target any fixed and mobile base in this operational radius with 100% precision and a zero margin of error,' Salami said in an interview with the state TV on Monday night. He underscored the country's resolve to continue fortifying its defensive power, and said, 'We don't study the resolutions (approved to curb Iran's missile power) since we are responsible for developing the power and no one can dictate anything to us.' Salami referred to Iran's recent unveiling of a deep underground tunnel facility packed with missiles and launcher units a few days after the country tested a new long-range missile, and said, 'That was one of our oldest stockpiles and we haven't yet shown our modern missile depots, where missiles with big cross sections have been stockpiled.'" (Fars Iran)

10-26-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iranian Supreme Leader's representative at the IRGC Ali Saeedi warns of US plots and attempts to penetrate into Iran through cultural invasion. In his view, US cultural penetration cannot be tolerated."

"Iranian Supreme Leader's representative at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ali Saeedi warned of the US plots and attempts to penetrate into Iran through cultural invasion. 'The US penetration could happen in a number of dimensions; first is through economy and impregnate Iran's market with luxurious and consumption goods; second is through policy; and third is through cultural invasion which should be seen as the most crucial move of the enemy against Iran,' Saeedi said in Tehran on Sunday evening. He referred to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's warnings about cultural penetration, and said, 'In his view, the US cultural penetration cannot be tolerated and the government and different walks of people should prevent it through cultural works.' Saeedi warned that the US which has held talks with Iran within the framework of Tehran-powers nuclear negotiations and is after increasing interactions with the country is pursuing the 5 goals of starting negotiations on other issues than the nuclear case to meddle with Iran's missile, military, etc. issues; resolving Europe's economic problems through using the Iranian market potentials; cutting Iran's relations with Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Hezbollah; strengthening the compromise and reconciliation-seeking streams, victimizing the resistance front in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and stirring difference and division between Iran and Iraq." (Fars Iran)

10-26-2015
Syria Conflict

Iran vows to use long-range missiles on Israel in case of any anti-Iran move, IRGC military official says: "Zionist regime's collapse may happen sooner than the next 25 years...We are willing that Israel take military action against Iran..."

"Commander of Iran's Army Ground Force vowed that the country's long-range missiles will rain on Israel in case of any anti-Iran move, saying the Zionist regime's collapse may happen sooner than the next 25 years, a period cited in the Supreme Leader's comments. 'We are willing that Israel take (military) action (against Iran), so that we would turn the Supreme Leader's remarks into reality as soon as possible,' Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said in an interview with Al Alam Arabic-language news channel on Sunday." (Tasnim Iran)

10-23-2015
Anti-Americanism

100 days since the nuclear deal was reached, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warns over 70 times against the threat of political, cultural and economic penetration of the US.

"Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Khatami warned against the plots hatched by the US to penetrate into Iran. Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami said, 'It is now 100 days since Iran and the world powers reached a nuclear agreement in Vienna on July 14 and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned over 70 times against the threat of political, cultural and economic penetration of the US; therefore officials should take good care not to allow an enemy that was expelled 36 years ago to come back.' He said those who are optimistic about the empty promises made by the US are politically immature, and added, 'A Cuban envoy said that although the US has promised to lift Washington's sanctions on Cuba, the US has not fulfilled its duty yet.'" (Fars Iran)

10-23-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani thanks Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for approving the nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 of the UN Security Council. Rouhani's letter seemed to downplay Khamenei's 'conditional approval' of the deal."

"In a letter published on the president's website, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has thanked Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for approving the nuclear deal between Iran and five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Rouhani's letter seemed to downplay Khamenei's 'conditional approval' of the nuclear deal Oct. 21, and focused more on using the 'win-win' strategy for future prospects of cooperation between Iran and other countries. Rouhani's Oct. 22 letter said that Khamenei's 'stamp of approval for the results of the administration and the negotiators ... will start a new chapter toward excellence for the Islamic Republic of Iran.' The letter added, 'The oppressive international economic, trade, and financial sanctions or the unilateral sanctions by the [UN] Security Council, European Union, and America against the Islamic Republic of Iran, have been eliminated.' In the letter, Rouhani optimistically said that as a result of the nuclear deal, Iran's 'role as a primary provider of stability and security in the region' has been set. The letter also stated that the 'Zionist project' to demonize Iran has failed for the first time in decades. Rouhani also praised what he called unprecedented accomplishments in international agreements, such as, 'for the first time in the history of the United Nations, [nuclear] enrichment by a non-permanent member was directly accepted by the UNSC.' He also wrote that for the first time, 'six binding resolutions of the Security Council ... have been suspended at once through negotiations and the 'win-win' approach of the JCPOA has become a model of resolving peacefully complex world problems.' Newspapers supportive of the nuclear deal downplayed Khamenei's conditions while those critical focused on his warnings about the United States and his doubts about the deal." (Al-Monitor)

10-23-2015
Syria Conflict

IRGC Commander predicts the "collapse of the House of Saud... in the footsepts of Zionist Israel." as "a propaganda war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, bitter rivals on opposite sides of the Middle East's biggest current crises" is heating up.

Guardian: "The propaganda war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, bitter rivals on opposite sides of the Middle East's biggest current crises, is hotting up, with near daily exchanges and insults between ministers and state media outlets. In the past week alone senior figures from both countries have cast diplomatic niceties to the desert winds and attacked each other publicly. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, said on Monday that Iran was 'occupying Arab lands' in Syria - where it supports Bashar al-Assad. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's deputy foreign minister, retorted that the Saudis were in no position to complain as they were 'occupying' Yemen - where Tehran backs the Houthi rebels. Iran ramped up its anti-Saudi rhetoric after the recent hajj tragedy in Mecca but it went on the offensive at the start of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen in March, with a Revolutionary Guard commander predicting the 'collapse of the House of Saud ... in the footsteps of Zionist Israel'. Saudi-affiliated media began highlighting the situation in Ahwaz (Khuzestan or Arabistan), in south-western Iran, where Arabic-speaking citizens complain of discrimination, a subject clearly calculated to raise hackles in Tehran."

10-23-2015
Anti-Americanism

In post-nuclear deal Iran, "instead of a new era of budding US-Iran cooperation, a retrenchment is under way in Tehran that favors hard-line suspicions of the West, and especially the United States."

"The key to unlocking decades of mutual US-Iran hostility - and to ending the 15-month imprisonment of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian - was once widely believed to be the historic nuclear deal agreed to last July. But instead of a new era of budding US-Iran cooperation, a retrenchment is under way in Tehran that favors hard-line suspicions of the West, and especially the United States. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has set the tone, referring since September to America as the 'Great Satan' that used the nuclear negotiations only to 'penetrate' and damage Iran, 'open the way for imposition' of its influence, and 'change' the calculations of Iranian officials. Mr. Khamenei has explicitly forbidden any further negotiations with the US, and has accused President Barack Obama of lying about not wanting to overthrow the Islamic Republic. In a letter that conditionally accepted the nuclear deal Wednesday, he pointedly told President Hassan Rouhani that the US 'has shown nothing but hostility' toward Iran and will always do so. Those moves undermine Mr. Rouhani's stated aim to reengage with the US and the West, and reportedly include the arrest of another US-Iranian dual citizen last week. Negotiators from both the US and Iran had indicated to each other that the nuclear deal could herald a broader though limited cooperation on thorny regional issues like the self-declared Islamic State and the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. And in September, Rouhani said it was 'an impossibility' to think that US-Iran animosity would continue 'until the end of the world.' But Khamenei's comments have halted any forward dynamic for now, underscoring the challenge of moving beyond the entrenched distrust of the US that has been a pillar of Iran's revolution for decades. The warnings about US 'infiltration' appear to have also affected the case of Mr. Rezaian. A torrent of new details about the espionage allegations against him has been made public in recent days." (CSM)

10-22-2015
Human Rights

Intelligence Ministry has banned at least 26 popular Iranian singers..."this suggests that cultural censorship is very much ongoing, and in fact now goes much further than bans on pop music alone."

"The Intelligence Ministry has banned at least 26 popular Iranian singers, including Shahram Shokoohi, Mohsen Yeganeh, Reza Sadeghi and Sirvan Khosravi, from performing in Iran after their music was broadcast by satellite networks abroad. But the list of affected artists could be higher still, according to an extensive report published by Etemad newspaper on October 19. According to the investigation, the music department at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance sent a letter to a number of prominent Iranian artists informing them of the ban, and the head of the department confirmed the news. The latest reports say there are at least 26 Iranian musicians and singers who have received an official ban in connection with a range of crimes including, but not limited to, 'publishing music online,' 'publishing music on foreign networks,' including the Washington-based Radio Javan, and for 'inappropriate behavior' during concerts held outside of Iran. Although reports are yet to be confirmed, the list of banned artists is thought to also include traditional singers like Homayoon Shajarian and Hafez Nazeri, suggesting it is not only pop artists who are being targeted... Rouhani and Jannati's promises to lift bans on artists have not been fulfilled, and the latest developments do little to inspire confidence in the government when it comes to cultural matters... All of this would suggest that cultural censorship is very much ongoing, and in fact now goes much further than bans on pop music alone." (IranWire)

10-22-2015
Nuclear Program

Iran's Supreme Leader publicly endorses the nuclear deal or the first time but also warns that Tehran expects all sanctions to be lifted or it would walk away from the deal, maybe cancel agreement in case of new sanctions.

"Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday publicly endorsed for the first time the July nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, state news agencies reported. But the provisional endorsement was accompanied by a warning that Tehran expected all sanctions to be lifted or it would walk away from the deal. The support of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the final step in an approval process involving the Supreme National Security Council, the Iranian Parliament and the Guardian Council. Iran can now begin carrying out the measures outlined in the agreement, including dismantling thousands of centrifuges used for enrichment and downsizing a heavy water plant so it can no longer produce plutonium. The endorsement was included in a letter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani that included accusations against the United States, Iran's longtime enemy, and pointed out several flaws in the deal, state television reported. Calling for close supervision of the application of the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Ayatollah Khamenei said the deal 'suffers from several ambiguities, and structural weaknesses.' He added that without close oversight, the deal would lead to 'great damage to the present and future' for Iran... While the agreement stipulates that sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear work are to be lifted, older measures are to remain in place. A central issue is that the United States will continue to regard Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism because of its support for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. That could potentially restrict payments between Iran and Europe, because many financial transactions pass through New York. Ayatollah Khamenei warned that any 'repetitive and self-made pretexts' of new sanctions, over human rights and terrorism charges, for instance, must be answered by the Iranian government's canceling the nuclear agreement." (NYT)

10-22-2015
Nuclear Program

"Nuclear deal allows for Iran to expand its nuclear program on an industrial-sized scale by 2030...When the limitations of the JCPOA start to fade away after ten years, we will see other centrifuges...emerging."

"And the country must also prepare, he added, 'to reach 190,000 SWUs [separative work units]' in 15 years - a goal Khamenei had set out before the nuclear negotiations had begun in earnest. The nuclear deal allows for Iran to expand its nuclear program on an industrial- sized scale by 2030. Iran currently operates a model of centrifuge dubbed the IR-1- a 1970s-technology device that enriches uranium at a slow pace. According to Harvard University's Olli Heinonen, who once served as deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that model, at its best, reaches a capacity of 1 SWU per year. 'In my view, [Khamenei] maintains as his goal to have a 190000 SWU/year capacity,' Heinonen told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. 'Thus you can also say that the goal could be 190,000 centrifuges.' 'However, the IR-1s are not reliable and old technology,' he added. 'This is why Iran is developing more advanced centrifuges. When the limitations of the JCPOA start to fade away after ten years, we will see other centrifuges than IR-1 emerging.'" (JPost

10-21-2015
Nuclear Program

"The US, France, Britain and Germany ask the UN Security Council to investigate and take 'appropriate action' against Iran for conducting a ballistic missile test earlier this month, which they say violated UN sanctions."

"The United States, France, Britain and Germany asked the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to investigate and take 'appropriate action' against Iran for conducting a ballistic missile test earlier this month, which they say violated U.N. sanctions. A report to the council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran from the four countries, which U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power raised at a council meeting, said the medium-range missile launched by Iran on Oct. 10 'is inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.' It said the missile firing is 'a serious violation' of a Security Council resolution adopted on June 9, 2010 that bans Iran from undertaking 'any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.' The launch was Iran's first missile test since the historic nuclear deal reached July 14 between Iran and six world powers - the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China. While condemning the ballistic missile test, the United States has made clear that it is 'entirely separate' from the nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from developing atomic weapons. Power called the launch 'provocative' and said she underscored to the council 'that the United States considers it to be a serious matter and undermines regional stability. 'We call on the (sanctions) committee, with the support of the independent U.N. panel of experts, to review this matter quickly and recommend appropriate action,' she said in a statement. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the action 'will depend on their technical experts' view of the launch.' 'It's clear in our view that is a violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions which remain in force after the Iran deal,' he said. Rycroft said everyone wants to see the Iran nuclear deal implemented 'properly and fairly and fully by all parties, but that includes ensuring that launches of ballistic missiles which are ... in clear violation of Security Council resolution have to be pursued.'" (AP)

10-20-2015
Human Rights

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Iran's execution of two minors last week, while voicing his concern about the rise in executions in the Islamic republic. UN urges Iran to call a moratorium on the death penalty and then to abolish it."

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned Iran's execution of two minors last week, while voicing his concern about the rise in executions in the Islamic republic. '(Ban) is deeply saddened by the news of the execution of two juvenile offenders last week in Iran,' Ban's press office said in a statement. It added that Iran has ratified both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the death penalty for anyone under the age of eighteen. The statement said Ban was concerned last week's executions 'reflect a worrying trend in Iran.' 'Over 700 executions are reported to have taken place so far this year, including at least 40 public, marking the highest total recorded in the past 12 years,' it said. The U.N. said the majority of Iranian death sentences were imposed for drug-related offences - crimes that fall below the threshold of the 'most serious crimes' as required by international law. It added that Ban urged Iran to call a moratorium on the death penalty and then to abolish it." (Reuters)

10-20-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iran's recent ballistic missile test was 'a clear violation' of UN sanctions, and the US will seek action from the UN Security Council" says US Ambassador Samantha Power after reviewing available information.

"Iran's recent ballistic missile test was 'a clear violation' of U.N. sanctions, and the United States will seek action from the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Friday. Power said that after reviewing available information, the United States has confirmed that the medium-range ballistic missile launched on Oct. 10 was 'inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.' She said this violated a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on June 9, 2010 which imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran. It was Iran's first missile test since the historic nuclear deal reached July 14 between Iran and world powers. While condemning the ballistic missile test, the United States has made clear that it is 'entirely separate' from the nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from developing atomic weapons. The 2010 U.N. resolution bans Iran from undertaking 'any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.' President Barack Obama said Friday the Iran nuclear deal was never intended to resolve the range of other issues where the U.S. and Iran have significant differences, including ballistic missiles. He said the U.S. would continue to put pressure on Iran to make clear there are costs for its bad behavior. But he said those efforts wouldn't be any more effective if the U.S. hadn't entered into a nuclear accord with Iran. 'Iran has often violated some of the prohibitions surrounding missile testing,' Obama said. Power said the United States is preparing a report to the Security Council committee that monitors sanctions against Iran. She did not specify what action the U.S. would seek. 'The Security Council prohibition on Iran's ballistic missile activities, as well as the arms embargo, remain in place and we will continue to press the Security Council for an appropriate response to Iran's disregard for its international obligations,' she said in a statement sent to The Associated Press." (AP)

10-20-2015
Syria Conflict

General Qasem Soleimani of Iran's elite Quds Force orders thousands of Iraqi Shiite militia allies into Syria for the operation to recapture Aleppo, militiamen are to join Iranian troops and forces from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia.

Ma"In a striking sign of Iran's growing regional influence, a major assault on Syria's most populous city is being coordinated by an Iranian military commander using Shiite forces from three countries to back President Bashar al-Assad's beleaguered troops, militia officials said.j. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, has ordered thousands of Iraqi Shiite militia allies into Syria for the operation to recapture Aleppo, according to officials from three of the militias. The militiamen are to join Iranian troops and forces from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia, the officials said. Soleimani has been a frequent sight on the battlefields in neighboring Iraq, where he has been advising Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants. But the war there has stagnated, and the shift of the commander along with Iraqi militiamen and Quds Force members to Syria appears to signal a change in Iranian priorities... Phillip Smyth, a researcher on Shiite groups at the University of Maryland, said Iran is clearly increasing its participation on the front lines of the Syrian conflict. 'It's not only one of the largest open deployments [by Iran and its proxies during the war] but it has also involved one of the largest Iraq-focused Shia militia recruitment efforts for Syria in years,' Smyth said." (WashPost)

10-20-2015
Human Rights

Internet researcher says that "Tehran has a record of making social media applications 'unusable'... this is one thing that the Iranian government has a history of doing, it's a more subtle way of getting what you want."

"A renowned Russian Internet entrepreneur who created a mobile messaging app popular in Iran said Iranian authorities temporarily blocked the app after his company refused their demands to help them 'spy on their citizens.' Pavel Durov, the enigmatic founder of Russia's most popular social-networking site, Vkontakte, said on Twitter on October 20 that Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology demanded that the app, called Telegram, provide the ministry 'with spying and censorship tools.' 'We ignored the demand, they blocked us,' Durov wrote. Late October 20, after word of the blockage was publicized, Durov tweeted that 'Telegram traffic is no longer limited in Iran after a week's interference and...2 hours full blocking.' ... Following Durov's claim on October 20 that Iranian authorities had blocked Telegram, Internet researcher Colin Anderson told RFE/RL that Tehran has a record of making social media applications 'unusable.' 'This is one of the thing that the Iranian government has a history of doing which is not necessarily completely blocking access to, but making a service unusable,' said Anderson, who is based in Washington, D.C. 'So it's a more subtle way of getting what you want, which is to coerce people into other services or disrupt access.'" (RFE/RL)

10-19-2015
Syria Conflict

President Rouhani asserts "countries at the forefront of the fight against the Zionists are supported by Iran", says "Lebanon is a cause of regional stability being at the forefront of the resistance against Zionist invasion."

"President Rouhani asserted countries at the forefront of the fight against the Zionists are supported by Iran. At a meeting with Lebanon's Foreing Minister Gebran Bassil, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani deemed Lebanon as a cause of regional stability being at the forefront of the resistance against Zionist invasion; 'Lebanese people, with different ethnicities and religions have managed to maintain their alliance despite many conspiracies,' he noted... The Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, for his part, praised Iran's permanent support of Lebanon in fighting the Israeli regime and terrorism; 'we believe Iran's nuclear deal will bring advantages to the region because it will allow isolation to be replaced by the logic of dialogue,' he stated... Bassil stressed that the Zionists and terrorists share common interests, noting that 'Iran has set the ground to combat terrorism; we need to work together in this path.' 'The Islamic Republic of Iran can be the messenger of democracy in the region due to its positions,' concluded the Lebanese foreign minister." (Mehr Iran)

10-19-2015
Human Rights

Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) citizen and instructor, Azita Rafizadeh is sentenced to 4 years of prison as result of her work at a Baha'i organization.

"Azita Rafizadeh, a Baha'i citizen and instructor at the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) online university, must report to prison on October 24, 2015, to begin serving her four-year sentence, she told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Her sentence was a result of her work at BIHE, and her refusal to disavow it. The Baha'i are one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran." (ICHRI)

10-19-2015
Human Rights

"An influential Iranian lawmaker delivered inflammatory new accusations against Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post's Tehran reporter convicted of espionage this month, asserting that he had plotted with seditionists."

"An influential Iranian lawmaker delivered inflammatory new accusations on Monday against Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post's Tehran reporter convicted of espionage this month, asserting that he had plotted with seditionists. In an interview with Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency, the lawmaker, Javad Karimi-Qoddusi, also sought to depict Mr. Rezaian as a nefarious spy who had used his credentials as a journalist as a ruse to gain insights that would be valuable to the Iranian government's enemies. The thrust of the accusations made by Mr. Karimi-Qoddusi, a member of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was that Mr. Rezaian had frequently shared information with the State Department and other official arms of the United States, and believed that under an American rapprochement with Iran, the Iranian government would be 'toppled within 48 months.' The lawmaker asserted that Mr. Rezaian had also cultivated contacts with Iran's enemies, including representatives of Israel and members of the National Front - apparently a reference to a liberal, secular party that was suppressed in 1981 and that Mr. Karimi-Qoddusi described as an apostate group. Mr. Rezaian grew so close with officials of President Hassan Rouhani's inner circle, the lawmaker said, that he even knew the type of chewing gum Mr. Rouhani preferred. 'He was completely familiar with modern espionage methods and sought to gather very important information in social, cultural and political aspects,' Mr. Karimi-Qoddusi said in the interview, published in Persian on the Fars website." (NYT)

10-16-2015
Syria Conflict

Iran blasts the West for supporting Takfiri terrorist groups, says that the West has created the Islamic State "for the sake of maintaining the security of Israel.

"Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri blasted the western countries for supporting the Takfiri terrorist groups, and said that the West has created the ISIL for the sake of maintaining the security of Israel. 'Today by looking at this issue (of terrorism) from every angle, we see the Americans standing behind the scene of ISIL terrorism in the region; they do this to sway away threats from Israel,' General Jazzayeri said on Friday, addressing the funeral procession ceremony held for two Iranian military commanders killed in Syria. He pointed to Iran's military counseling services for Syria and the martyrdom of Iranian military commanders in the Arab country, and said, 'Were it not because of Iran's wisdom, Syria would not be in the hands of the Americans and Israelis...'" (Fars Iran)

10-14-2015
Nuclear Program

"For the very first time, the IRGC has allowed footage of one of the country's missile launch facilities located 500m underground to be released to state media.. says 'only the tip of iceberg.'"

"For the very first time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has allowed footage of one of the country's missile launch facilities located 500m underground to be released to state media. According to IRGC Aerospace Force Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, long-range missiles in all bases are assembled on the launcher, ready to hit targets should the country come under attack. According to Hajizadeh, the base as one of hundreds of underground missile launch pads, is 'only the tip of iceberg.'" Mehr (Iran):

10-14-2015
Nuclear Program

Iran test-fires a new long-range surface-to-surface missile, says that it will continue missile program despite UN Security Council resolutions and despite Iran's nuclear deal with the West.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guard opened the doors of a secret underground missile base to state TV, showing off medium- and long-range missiles. The station Wednesday aired footage of long tunnels with ready-to-fire missiles on the back of trucks. The broadcast said the facility is one of hundreds of underground missile bases around the country. It didn't disclose the location but said it was 500 meters (1,600 feet) underground. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard's aerospace branch, boasted that the facility is the 'tip of the iceberg' of the Guard's military might. The broadcast appeared aimed at showing that the Guard will continue its missile program despite U.N. Security Council resolutions and despite Iran's nuclear deal with the West. Days earlier, Iran said it successfully test-fired a new long-range surface-to-surface missile." (AP)

10-14-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iranian state television broadcast unprecedented footage of a deep underground tunnel packed with missiles and launcher units" IRGC says 'if enemies make a mistake, missile bases will erupt like a volcano from the depth of earth.'"

"Iranian state television broadcast unprecedented footage Wednesday of a deep underground tunnel packed with missiles and launcher units, which officials said could be used if 'enemies make a mistake'. The pictures were released just three days after Iran tested a new long-range missile that the United States said may have breached a UN Security Council resolution... The tunnel, hundreds of metres (yards) long and about 10 metres high, was filled with missiles and hardware. Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division, said numerous such tunnels exist across the country at a depth of 500 metres. 'The Islamic republic's long-range missile bases are stationed and ready under the high mountains in all the country's provinces and cities,' he said, according to the Guards' website. The commander said the missiles were ready to be launched from all over Iran, on the order of 'the supreme commander-in-chief', Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'This is a sample of our massive missile bases,' he said, adding that 'a new and advanced generation of long-range liquid and solid fuel missiles' would start to replace the current weapons next year. The commander seemed to suggest the show of strength was in response to Western powers, especially the US, which despite the nuclear deal, have said options against Iran, including the military one, remain on the table. 'Those who pin hope on options on the table, should only have a look at the Islamic republic's army options under the table.' Hajizadeh said Iran would not start any war but 'if enemies make a mistake, missile bases will erupt like a volcano from the depth of earth.'" (AFP)

10-14-2015
Human Rights

"An award-winning Iranian filmmaker whose work focuses on the travails of modern life and political expression in the Islamic Republic has been sentenced to six years in prison over his movies."

AP: "An award-winning Iranian filmmaker whose work focuses on the travails of modern life and political expression in the Islamic Republic has been sentenced to six years in prison over his movies. The conviction of Keywan Karimi follows similar punishments for other artists and journalists in Iran, even as its moderate government moves toward detente with the West over its contested nuclear program. The case underscores both the murky limits of expression in Iran and the power hard-liners still maintain in the country. 'I don't know what happened that I should go to jail for six years,' Karimi told The Associated Press. 'I speak about the government, I speak about society, I speak about (graffiti), I speak about a laborer. 'Watch my movies and ... (then) judge me.' Both Karimi and his lawyer Amir Raeisian say a court sentenced the filmmaker on charges of 'insulting sanctities' in Iran... The footage involved both a 'video clip' and a film he directed called 'Writing on the City,' which focuses on political graffiti in Iran from its 1979 Islamic Revolution to its contested 2009 election." http://t.uani.com/1k4Pi9P

10-14-2015
Human Rights

"A Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced the poets Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi to 9 years and 6 months and 99 lashes, and 11 years and 99 lashes, respectively, on charges of 'insulting the sacred.'"

"A Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced the poets Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi to 9 years and 6 months and 99 lashes, and 11 years and 99 lashes, respectively, on charges of 'insulting the sacred' for the social criticism expressed in their poetry. The flogging sentences were a result of the charge of 'illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery,' for shaking hands with strangers (a person of the opposite sex who is not one's immediate kin or spouse), according to Amir Raeesian, the lawyer representing Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Moosavi, who spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'These sentences show that repression in Iran is intensifying,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'Hardliners aren't just going after political activists, they are determined to stamp out any social or cultural expression with which they disagree.' The Campaign has learned that a third individual, the filmmaker Kayvan Karimi, was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 223 lashes on similar charges... The convictions in the two poets' case were also based on forced false confessions, a routine practice in Iran in politically motivated cases in which there is no evidence against the defendant." (ICHRI)

10-14-2015
Human Rights

"76-year-old British national has been held in an Iranian jail for more than 4 years and convicted of spying, his family has revealed, described as one of the 'oldest and loneliest prisoners in Iran."

"A 76-year-old British national has been held in an Iranian jail for more than four years and convicted of spying, his family has revealed, as they seek to draw attention to the plight of a man they describe as one of the 'oldest and loneliest prisoners in Iran'. Kamal Foroughi, a businessman who was working in Tehran as a consultant for the Malaysian national oil and gas company Petronas, was arrested in May 2011 when plainclothes officers picked him up from his flat in the Iranian capital. They did not show a warrant for his arrest, according to his family. Foroughi was held at the notorious Evin prison and eventually sentenced in 2013 to a total of eight years' imprisonment, which he is still serving in Evin. The news about his arrest has only just come to light after his family decided to break their silence... Foroughi's consultancy role at Petronas included arranging and participating in meetings with senior Iranian oil and gas officials and facilitating scholarships for Iranian students on a government bursary to study in Malaysia." (Guardian)

10-13-2015
Human Rights

"A recent revelation by satirical cartoonist Atena Farghadani that she was forced to undergo a 'virginity and pregnancy test', prior to her trial for a charge of 'illegitimate sexual relations' for shaking hands with her lawyer."

"A recent revelation by satirical cartoonist Atena Farghadani that she was forced to undergo a 'virginity and pregnancy test', prior to her trial for a charge of 'illegitimate sexual relations' for shaking hands with her lawyer, has added another stain on Iran's shameful record of violence against women, Amnesty International said today. In a note written by Atena Farghadani leaked from prison, which has been seen by Amnesty International, she says the judicial authorities took her to a medical centre outside the prison on 12 August 2015 and forced her to submit to the tests, purportedly with the purpose of investigating the charge against her. 'It is shocking that on top of imposing a ludicrous charge on Atena Farghadani for the 'crime' of shaking hands with her lawyer, the Iranian authorities have forced her to undergo a 'virginity and pregnancy test',' said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. 'In doing so, the Iranian judicial authorities have truly reached an outrageous low, seeking to exploit the stigma attached to sexual and gender-based violence in order to intimidate, punish or harass her.'" (Amnesty

10-13-2015
Human Rights

Amnesty Report "underlines the importance of the clear provision in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is binding on Iran, that no death sentences may be imposed for offences committed by individuals under the age of 18."

"Reports have emerged of a second execution of a juvenile offender in Iran in just a few days Amnesty International said today, which reveal the full horror of the country's deeply flawed juvenile justice system. Fatemeh Salbehi, a 23-year-old woman, was hanged yesterday for a crime she allegedly committed when she was 17, only a few days after another juvenile offender, Samad Zahabi, was hanged for a crime he also committed at 17. Fatemeh Salbehi was hanged in Shiraz's prison in Fars Province despite Iran being bound by an absolute international legal ban on juvenile executions, and severe flaws in her trial and appeal. She had been sentenced to death in May 2010 for the murder of her 30- year- old husband, Hamed Sadeghi, whom she had been forced to marry at the age of 16... This underlines the importance of the clear provision in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is binding on Iran, that no death sentences may be imposed for offences committed by individuals under the age of 18." (Amnesty)

10-12-2015
Nuclear Program

"Obama administration believes that Iran likely violated a UN resolution by test-launching a new long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile...the administration has yet to formally refer the matter to the UN."

"The Obama administration believes that Iran likely violated a United Nations resolution by test-launching a new long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile over the weekend. The administration has yet to formally refer the matter to the United Nations, but initial analyses suggest that the Sunday launch likely violated a Security Council resolution seeking to undercut Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile powers, a senior administration official said... However, the launch would not be in violation of the landmark international agreement struck between the U.S., Iran and other world powers to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions, officials insisted." (The Hill)

10-12-2015
Nuclear Program

US officials say, "tensions between the U.S. and Iran, rather than easing as a result of July's nuclear accord, are increasing over a wide spectrum of issues tied to the broader Middle East security landscape and to domestic Iranian politics."

"Tensions between the U.S. and Iran, rather than easing as a result of July's nuclear accord, are increasing over a wide spectrum of issues tied to the broader Middle East security landscape and to domestic Iranian politics, current and former U.S. officials say... The Obama administration's ability to implement the nuclear accord amid such tumult could be compromised, said former U.S. officials involved in the Iran diplomacy. 'There's a risk that nonnuclear issues could sink the overall deal,' said Richard Nephew, who was a top negotiator with Iran up until late 2014. 'The optics are terrible'... President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly said through nearly three years of negotiations with Iran that capping its nuclear program was a major success in itself. But in the wake of the agreement, both officials also have raised hopes of cooperating with Iran to stabilize regional hot spots, including Syria and Yemen... Now, however, many U.S. and Arab officials believe Iran and Russia were plotting a joint defense of Mr. Assad even before the nuclear deal was concluded in Austria... Mr. Obama's critics in Washington are accusing the White House of having been duped by Moscow and Tehran in the late stages of the talks... 'Both in its nuclear negotiations and its consideration of Americans detained in Iran, the administration has shown a dangerous naiveté regarding who it is dealing with' in Tehran, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Monday." (WSJ

10-12-2015
Human Rights

Washington Post Exectutive Editor says "under Khamenei, the country's ultimate religious and political authority, firmly in control of key levers of power, the case served to underscore the relative impotence of the Rouhani government."

"Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent in Tehran imprisoned for more than 14 months, has been convicted in an espionage trial that ended two months ago, Iranian State television has reported... But many details remained unknown. Rezaian faced four charges - the most serious of which was espionage - and it was not immediately clear whether he was convicted of all charges. Rezaian and The Post have strongly denied the accusations, and his case has drawn wide-ranging denunciations including statements from the White House and media freedom groups. It also was not known what sentence has been imposed. The judge who heard the case is known for handing down harsh sentences, and Rezaian potentially faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years... Martin Baron, executive editor of The Post, called the guilty verdict 'an outrageous injustice' and 'contemptible'... With hard-liners under Khamenei, the country's ultimate religious and political authority, firmly in control of key levers of power, the case served to underscore the relative impotence of the Rouhani government in judicial and national security matters." (WashPost)

10-12-2015
Syria Conflict

IRGC Commander "downplayed enemies' war rhetoric against Iran....they have tested us once and if necessary, there are people who will blow up themselves to destroy the US warships."

Fars News (Iran): "Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy General Alireza Tangsiri warned the enemies against any aggressive move, and said the IRGC forces will chase the US troops even to the Gulf of Mexico if they ever make a mistake and take a hostile move against Iran.... He downplayed enemies' war rhetoric against Iran, and said, 'They have tested us once and if necessary, there are people who will blow up themselves with ammunitions to destroy the US warships'... In relevant remarks earlier this month, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said all US military bases in the Middle-East are within the range of the IRGC's missiles, but the country still sees no restriction for boosting its missile capabilities." (Fras News Iran
10-11-2015
Nuclear Program

Iran tested a new guided long-range ballistic missile..the missile launch may have violated the terms of the agreement, reached in Vienna with six world powers...according to the deal, it placed restrictions on Iran's ambitious missile program.

"Iran tested a new guided long-range ballistic missile on Sunday... The missile launch may have violated the terms of the agreement, reached in Vienna with six world powers. According to some readings of the deal, it placed restrictions on Iran's ambitious missile program... The missile - named Emad, or pillar - is a step up from Iran's Shahab-3 missiles because it can be guided toward its target, the Iranian defense minister, Hossein Dehghan, told the semiofficial Fars news agency. In recent decades, with Iran's air force plagued by economic sanctions and other restrictions, the country has invested heavily in its nuclear program and has produced missiles that can reach as far as Europe." (NYT)

10-09-2015
Human Rights

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian's unlawful imprisonment in Iran has been held for the same amount of time as US government employees during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981.

"Friday, October 9 marks the 444th day of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian's unlawful imprisonment in Iran. Rezaian, a private citizen and fully accredited journalist, will have been held for the same amount of time as U.S. government employees during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981, a milestone significant in its injustice. 'We again call on Iran to release Jason without further delay. Jason has been subjected to a secret, sham trial, solitary confinement, relentless interrogations, physical mistreatment and psychological abuse. His trial concluded almost two months ago, yet still no verdict has been rendered. That he has been imprisoned as long as those taken during the hostage crisis decades ago should be cause for shame and outrage,' said Martin Baron, executive editor, The Washington Post. 'Jason is innocent, and he deserves to be freed immediately.' In August, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention took up Jason's case and called on Iran to uphold international legal obligations, and took up 'urgent action' to further confront Iran in its handling of the case. 'Iran continues to tell the world it has changed, but how can they expect the international community to believe that if Iran continues to treat Jason the way they treated the U.S. hostages more than 35 years ago,' said Frederick J. Ryan, Jr., publisher, The Washington Post. 'It is hard to understand how the United States government or any nation can place the slightest confidence in the words of an oppressive regime that has consistently denied Jason's basic human rights and is violating their own laws regarding the rights of the accused.'" (WashPost)

10-09-2015
Syria Conflict

A top Iranian military commander who was regarded as an authority on asymmetrical warfare, played a crucial role in Tehran's efforts to defend the Syrian regime, was killed in northern Syria.

"A top Iranian military commander who played a crucial role in Tehran's efforts to defend the Syrian regime was killed in the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Iran said Friday.... Gen. Hamedani was regarded in Iran as an authority on asymmetrical warfare... A longtime commander in the elite military unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he is believed to have directly overseen the organization of pro-regime forces into groups such as the Popular Committees, which were later folded into the so-called National Defense Force. These local militiamen are now estimated to number anywhere between 150,000 and 190,000 people, more than what is left of Syria's conventional army. They are mainly members of President Bashar al-Assad's Shiite Muslim-linked Alawite sect, while some belong to Syria's own small Shiite community... Iranian state media, quoting a statement by the IRGC, said Gen. Hamedani died at the hands of 'Daesh [ISIS] terrorists' on Thursday while conducting advisory duties." (WSJ)

10-08-2015
Military

"IRGC Commander says "all US Military bases in the Middle East are within range of Iran's missile...(also that) missile drills are conducted without a halt and according to our annual time-table, but only some of them are publicized through the media."

"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said all US military bases in the Middle East are within the range of the IRGC's missiles, but the country still sees no restriction for boosting its missile capabilities. 'Some of the threats by the US are aimed at appeasing the Zionists, while others are for the purpose of domestic consumption (in the US), but what is important is that they are aware of and acknowledge our capabilities and deterrence power; we do not feel any need to increase the range of our missiles and (our perceived enemy) targets are fully within the range of our missiles,' Brigadier General Hajizadeh said, addressing a group of professors of Iran's Science and Technology University in Tehran on Sunday. He pointed to the allegations made about imposing restrictions on Iran's missile technology, and said, 'We do not see any restriction for our missiles and the IRGC's preparedness and missile drills are conducted without a halt and according to our annual time-table, but only some of them are publicized through the media.'" (Fars Iran

10-08-2015
Syria Conflict

"Iran lobbied Russian campaign, Syria officials say"

"Iran played an integral role leading up to Russia's move to launch its air campaign in Syria and play a stronger role in Iraq, with one of Tehran's most powerful generals meeting for three hours with President Vladimir Putin to push for intervention, Iraqi government officials tell The Associated Press. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, went to Moscow in August with the message that Russian airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria were imperative, said the two senior officials, who were later briefed on the meeting. Soleimani and Putin reviewed maps and surveillance photos and shared intelligence, all suggesting the militant group would expand its reach to Russia's doorstep in the Caucuses if Moscow didn't act, the two officials said. The meeting also covered plans to create a joint intelligence-sharing center between Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia in Baghdad, which began operating later the same month. Soleimani also met with senior Russian military officials during his visit, the officials said." (AP)

10-07-2015
Anti-Americanism

In a post-nuclear deal Iran, further "negotiating with America is forbidden, because not only does this negotiation not have any benefits, but it has innumerable harms" says Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameni.

"In a post-nuclear deal Iran, where the taboo of Iranian and American officials meeting face to face is broken, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to warn of the dangers that American influence will bring to the country. In a speech Oct. 7 with commanders and officers from Iran's navy, Khamenei said, 'Negotiating with America is forbidden, because not only does this negotiation not have any benefits, but it has innumerable harms.' ... In the Oct. 7 speech, Khamenei warned, 'The biggest plans and most efforts of the arrogant powers is for enmity with the Islamic system of Iran, and America's claims to negotiations with Iran is within this framework and for influence.' Without mentioning names, Khamenei said there are 'easy-minded' individuals in Iran who are unaware of this issue and ignore their own country's national interests." (Al-Monitor)

10-07-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei bans further negotiations between Iran and the US. Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, already said last month there would be no more talks with the US after the nuclear deal."

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned any further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran's isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July. Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, already said last month there would be no more talks with the United States after the nuclear deal, but has not previously declared an outright ban. His statements directly contradict those of moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who says his government is ready to hold talks with the United States on how to resolve the conflict in Syria, where the two countries back opposing sides. 'Negotiations with the United States open gates to their economic, cultural, political and security influence. Even during the nuclear negotiations they tried to harm our national interests.,' Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website. 'Our negotiators were vigilant but the Americans took advantage of a few chances,' he said... In his address to Revolutionary Guards Navy commanders, Khamenei said talks with the United States brought only disadvantages to Iran. 'Through negotiations Americans seek to influence Iran ... but there are naive people in Iran who don't understand this,' Khamenei was quoted as saying to the IRGC commanders, who are also running much of Iran's military involvement in Syria... 'We are in a critical situation now as the enemies are trying to change the mentality of our officials and our people on the revolution and our national interests,' Khamenei told the Guards." (Reuters)

10-07-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Cybersecurity researchers uncover a network of fake LinkedIn profiles, which they suspect were being used by hackers in Iran to build relationships with potential victims around the world, according to a new report to be published."

"Be careful whom you're connecting with on LinkedIn. Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a network of fake LinkedIn profiles, which they suspect were being used by hackers in Iran to build relationships with potential victims around the world, according to a new report to be published Wednesday by security firm Dell SecureWorks Inc. This tactic, known as 'social engineering,' is one where hackers trick people to get them to cough up personal or sensitive information. 'Having those trust relationships gives [hackers] a platform to do a bunch of different things,' said Tom Finney, a security researcher at Dell Secureworks. The 25 fake profiles described in the report were connected to more than 200 legitimate LinkedIn profiles - mostly individuals based in the Middle East who worked in sectors like telecom and defense. Those individuals and their companies likely have information that would be of interest to an Iranian cyber group, Dell Secureworks said. A spokeswoman for LinkedIn says the company has since removed all of the fake profiles. LinkedIn has a team dedicated to protecting members from these sorts of risks, she said. Dell SecureWorks say they believe the group behind the fake LinkedIn profiles, labeled internally as 'TG-2889,' is the same Iran-based group that also created malware last year disguised as a resume application submitter for a job opening; as the victim filled out the fake job application, the malware took over the victims' computers, a scheme that was uncovered in a separate security firm's report last year." (WSJ)

10-06-2015
Syria Conflict

Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard warns: "if deemed necessary, Iran will use its language of might...to defend the dignity and honor of especially the Iranian people, against the tyrannical and ignorant Saudi rulers."

"The first plane carrying bodies of Iranian pilgrims killed in the hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia arrived in TehranSaturday, nine days after the disaster that escalated tensions between the two regional rivals. President Hassan Rouhani and other senior officials were at the airport for the arrival of the plane, which carried 104 bodies. State TV says another flight is due later in the day... Iran has blamed Saudi 'mismanagement' for the stampede, which took place after two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow street, causing hundreds to suffocate or be trampled. It has also accused Riyadh of a cover-up, saying the real death toll exceeds 4,700, without providing evidence to support its claim... 'It should become clear whether some individuals were guilty in this incident or not. If it is proven that some officers were culpable, under no circumstances will we let the blood of our loved ones go in vain,' Rouhani said. 'In this incident, the language we have used has been the language of emotions, brotherhood and politeness and when necessary, we have used the language of diplomacy. If deemed necessary, the Islamic Republic of Iran will use its language of might,' he added, without elaborating. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard, warned that Iran was ready to take 'revenge' over the incident. 'The Guard is resolutely ready, if required at any time or place, to defend the dignity and honor of Muslims, especially the Iranian people, against the tyrannical and ignorant Saudi rulers, and will exact tough revenge for this horrible crime from the Al Saud,' he said in comments posted on the Guard website Saturday, referring to Saudi Arabia's ruling family." (AP

10-06-2015
Syria Conflict

"Top Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in Moscow supports Russian military intervention to reshape the civil war and forge a new Iranian-Russian alliance in support of Assad in Syria."

"At a meeting in Moscow in July, a top Iranian general unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory - with Russia's help. Major General Qassem Soleimani's visit to Moscow was the first step in planning for a Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Iranian-Russian alliance in support of Assad. As Russian warplanes bomb rebels from above, the arrival of Iranian special forces for ground operations underscores several months of planning between Assad's two most important allies, driven by panic at rapid insurgent gains. Soleimani is the commander of the Quds Force, the elite extra-territorial special forces arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and reports directly to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Senior regional sources say he has already been overseeing ground operations against insurgents in Syria and is now at the heart of planning for the new Russian- and Iranian-backed offensive... Three senior officials in the region say Soleimani's July trip was preceded by high-level Russian-Iranian contacts that produced political agreement on the need to pump in new support for Assad as his losses accelerated... The decision for a joint Iranian-Russian military effort in Syria was taken at a meeting between Russia's foreign minister and Khamenei a few months ago, said a senior official of a country in the region, involved in security matters. 'Soleimani, assigned by Khamenei to run the Iranian side of the operation, traveled to Moscow to discuss details. And he also traveled to Syria several times since then,' the official said." (Reuters)

10-05-2015
Syria Conflict

"Russia's alliance with Iran in Syria during the UN General Assembly underscores a troubling development for the US and its European allies.."despite July's nuclear deal, battle lines have deepened in the Middle East."

"Russia's move to cement its alliance with Iran in Syria during last week's meeting of 200 world leaders here underscored a troubling development for the Obama administration and its European allies: Despite July's nuclear deal, battle lines have deepened in the Middle East. Russia appears increasingly willing to strengthen ties with Tehran to prop up the Assad regime in Damascus and cooperate on other issues. Meanwhile, the region's proxy wars have intensified as Saudi Arabia seeks to stymie Iran's push for wider regional clout before Tehran gains a major economic boost from the easing of Western sanctions early next year. Saudi officials made it clear at the U.N. that they wanted no part of any regional discussions involving Iran. After the July 14 deal, President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials publicly voiced hope that the nuclear accord could open a window for greater cooperation between the West and Tehran, while European officials said it showed the West could work with Russia to soothe international tensions, despite discord over Ukraine... So far, none of these efforts has borne fruit. Despite a string of high-level talks with Western leaders, including two bilaterals between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran has displayed little interest in cooperation with the West." (WSJ)

10-05-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani rejected the notion of any normalization of ties between Tehran and Washington, warning Iranian officials to be mindful of the US hostility towards the country."

"Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani rejected the notion of any normalization of ties between Tehran and Washington, warning Iranian officials to be mindful of the US hostility towards the country. 'We recommend the (Iranian) politicians and diplomatic body to adjust their behavior proportional to the Americans' conduct, and to be aware that it is impossible to make friends with the enemy,' Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said in a gathering of senior judiciary officials on Monday. Enumerating a litany of US crimes and hostile actions against Iran, the top official stressed the need for Iran's reaction on the basis of realities and the West's approach." (Tasnim Iran)

10-05-2015
Nuclear Program

"Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri underscores that the country will not implement any part of the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the world powers that could debilitate its defensive power."

"Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri underscored that the country will not implement any part of the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the world powers that could debilitate its defensive power. Asked to comment on the statements of a number of politicians who have said the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers would undermine Iran's military capabilities, Jazzayeri told FNA on Monday that enemies' schemes to weaken the Islamic Republic of Iran's defensive power will fail, 'and fortunately, there is not even the slightest doubt about the ascending trend of the Armed Forces' capabilities and skills,'. He referred to the war rhetoric against Iran by the US and Israel, and said, 'Therefore, we should increase our military power to safeguard the national security of Iran and our friends and this important issue will not be affected by any other phenomenon.' 'Any parts of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which could leave (negative) impacts on the country's defensive power will not be implemented; I tell this to both the Iranians and the foreigners,' Jazzayeri stressed. Noting that the Armed Forces have special plans after the approval of the JCPOA, he said Iran will soon stage several missile drills." (Fars Iran)

10-05-2015
Syria Conflict

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says "Iran has become an occupying force in Syria,' and that "it has already sent thousands of Quds Force fighters and Shiite militias, such as Hezbollah and other militias from the region, to support Assad in Syria."

"Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that ongoing discussions are focused on whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 'will step down at the beginning of the transitional stage or whether he will stay in Syria without any powers or privileges.' ... Jubeir added that Iran 'has become an occupying force in Syria,' and that 'it has already sent thousands of Quds Force fighters and Shiite militias, such as [members] of Hezbollah and other militias from the region, to support Assad's regime.' According to Jubeir, 'If Iran wants to play a role in finding a political solution in Syria,' it ought to withdraw its forces and militias from Syria. He noted that this is 'not a condition, rather, it is the most important role Iran can play in helping Syria get over its ongoing crisis.' Regarding the dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran, he said, 'The issue is linked to Iran's actions, not words,' referring to the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries that have been facing, since the Iranian revolution, the hostile policies of Iran that 'interferes in the region's affairs in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is also trying to smuggle explosives to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while seeking to build cells inside Arab countries with the goal of destruction.' He added that Iran 'is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it is working on destabilizing the region. If it wants to build good relations with its neighbors, it ought to deal with them based on the good neighborliness principle and not to interfere in their affairs. We [would] welcome such a step.'" (Al-Monitor)

10-05-2015
Human Rights

"IRGC accuses Jason Rezaian, the jailed Washington Post correspondent, of hatching an elaborate espionage operation on behalf of the US government prior to his arrest in July 2014", he was charged with espionage and attempting to overthrow the regime.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guards have accused Jason Rezaian, the jailed Washington Post correspondent, of hatching an elaborate espionage operation on behalf of the United States government prior to his arrest in July 2014. On Sunday, October 4, the spokesman for parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Nozar Shafiyee, told Fars News Agency that intelligence officials from the Revolutionary Guards had discovered that Rezaian had worked with the United States government on a plot to topple the Iranian regime. Jason Rezaian was given the 'duty' of carrying out US Senate plans to 'revive its pre-Revolution relations with Iran' and overthrow the government, Shafiyee said, citing a recent report by the Revolutionary Guards. Rezaian was charged with espionage and three other serious charges in April, after serving nine months in prison without being told why he had been arrested. But claims that he was involved, or even initiated, a largescale operation to topple the regime, while at the same time boosting the United States government's agenda in the country, are relatively new. Prior to the latest Revolutionary Guards report, in early September, the Revolutionary Guards released a film that described how Rezaian established a sophisticated spy network, linking him with other journalists who had previously been jailed in the country and were considered to be enemies of the Iranian regime." (IranWire

10-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

IRGC Commander says that the conflict between Tehran and Washington will never end; "the raison detre of our quarrel with them is a quarrel between the right and wrong in nature, hence, this conflict will never end."

"Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said the conflict between Tehran and Washington will never end, implying that the US would never tolerate an independent actor like Iran. 'The Americans have been the origin of any action taken against the Revolution (in Iran) during the last 4 decades; the raison detre of our quarrel with them is a quarrel between the right and wrong in nature, hence, this conflict will never end,' Fadavi said, addressing a ceremony to unveil an exhibition of the latest achievements of the IRGC Navy in Tehran on Friday night. Stressing that the Americans can never provide the military and political requirements for waging war on Iran, he said, 'Today the Islamic Republic enjoys such a power and capabilities that the enemy cannot even think of confronting Iran.' Fadavi, meantime, underlined that the Americans merely understand the language of force and power and therefore, Iran is always increasing its military capabilities." (Fras Iran)

10-04-2015
Anti-Americanism

IRGC Commander says that the conflict between Tehran and Washington will never end; "the raison detre of our quarrel with them is a quarrel between the right and wrong in nature, hence, this conflict will never end."

"Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said the conflict between Tehran and Washington will never end, implying that the US would never tolerate an independent actor like Iran. 'The Americans have been the origin of any action taken against the Revolution (in Iran) during the last 4 decades; the raison detre of our quarrel with them is a quarrel between the right and wrong in nature, hence, this conflict will never end,' Fadavi said, addressing a ceremony to unveil an exhibition of the latest achievements of the IRGC Navy in Tehran on Friday night. Stressing that the Americans can never provide the military and political requirements for waging war on Iran, he said, 'Today the Islamic Republic enjoys such a power and capabilities that the enemy cannot even think of confronting Iran.' Fadavi, meantime, underlined that the Americans merely understand the language of force and power and therefore, Iran is always increasing its military capabilities." (Fras Iran)

10-04-2015
Politics

"Iran's government announces support of the nuclear deal with the US and world powers on condition there would be no need of military sites and no curbs on developing its missile program."

"A committee of Iran's conservative-dominated parliament gave its support on Sunday to Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers on condition there would be no foreign inspections of military sites and no curbs on developing its missile program. These proposals, contained in a report by a special parliamentary committee evaluating the agreement, could become law if passed by the assembly and approved by a top clerical body that vets proposed legislation. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sept 3 he favored a vote in parliament on the nuclear deal, but it will still go to him, as the country's highest authority with the ultimate say on all state policy, for approval... 'The vital necessity of protecting military secrets makes it imperative to ban visits of foreigners to (military installations) under the guise of inspections and interviews with nuclear scientists,' the report carried by Fars state news agency said. 'In order to guarantee the country's security ... special attention should be given to missile capability ... and helping countries which fight terrorism and fulfilling the military needs of friendly countries,' the report, also carried on state broadcaster IRIB's website, added. The report also said the government should suspend its measures limiting Iran's nuclear program under the agreement if any sanctions are reimposed against the Islamic Republic." (Reuters

10-02-2015
Syria Conflict

Iran expands its role in Syria in the wake of Russia’s airstrikes. Politicians close to Tehran say a decision was made, in close coordination with the Russians and Syrians to expand Iran's network of local and foreign proxies.

"Iran is expanding its already sizable role in Syria's multisided war in the wake of Russia's airstrikes, despite the risk of antagonizing the U.S. and its Persian Gulf allies who want to push aside President Bashar al-Assad. Politicians in the region close to Tehran as well as analysts who have been closely following its role in Syria say a decision has been made, in close coordination with the Russians and the Assad regime, to increase the number of fighters on the ground through Iran's network of local and foreign proxies. The support also could involve more Iranian commanders, military advisers and expert fighters usually assigned to these units, these people said... Experts believe Iran has some 7,000 IRGC members and Iranian paramilitary volunteers operating in Syria already... What's more, some experts estimate 20,000 Shiite foreign fighters are on the ground, backed by both Shiite Iran and its main proxy in the region, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. About 5,000 of them are new arrivals from Iraq in July and August alone, said Phillip Smyth, a researcher at the University of Maryland." (WSJ)

10-02-2015
Syria Conflict

US President Obama predicts that Russian and Iranian efforts to defend the Syrian government "would lead only to a quagmire", says "Iran and Assad make up Mr. Putin's coalition at the moment, the rest of the world makes up ours."

"The already fragmented battlefield in Syria grew even more complicated on Friday, as Russia and Iran expanded their military efforts to defend the beleaguered Syrian government in defiance of President Obama, who predicted that their actions would lead only to a 'quagmire.' In his first comments since Russia began airstrikes on Syrian targets this week, Mr. Obama said that Moscow was acting 'not out of strength but out of weakness.' Bristling at criticism of his own Syria policy, he rejected domestic opponents who offer 'half-baked ideas' that amount to 'a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.' 'An attempt by Russia and Iran to prop up Assad and try to pacify the population is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire and it won't work,' Mr. Obama said during a news conference at the White House on Friday, referring to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, a longtime ally of both Russia and Iran. 'And they will be there for a while if they don't take a different course.' Neither Russia nor Iran showed signs of listening... American officials said 300 to 600 Iranian troops had arrived in recent days, augmenting some 1,500 who have been in Syria for months along with more than 5,000 militia fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group allied with Iran that has played an increasingly important role defending government territory... Clearly frustrated by assertions that Mr. Putin had gotten the upper hand, Mr. Obama said the Russians were the ones who were isolated. 'Iran and Assad make up Mr. Putin's coalition at the moment,' he said. 'The rest of the world makes up ours.'" (NYT)

10-01-2015
Syria Conflict

Iranian troops join major ground offensive on behalf of Syrian government in civil war while Russian warplanes bomb a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA.

"Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government, sources said on Thursday, a further sign of the rapid internationalization of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake. Russian warplanes bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War. The U.S. and Russian militaries will hold talks at 11 a.m. EDT via video link to seek ways to keep their militaries apart as they wage parallel campaigns of air strikes in Syria, a U.S. defense official said. Russian jets struck targets near the cities of Hama and Homs in western Syria on the second day of their surprise air campaign, which they launched on Wednesday. Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions, but the area where it struck is held by a rival insurgent alliance, which unlike Islamic State is supported by U.S. allies including Arab states and Turkey... Two Lebanese sources told Reuters hundreds of Iranian troops had reached Syria in the past 10 days with weapons to mount a major ground offensive. They would also be backed by Assad's Lebanese Hezbollah allies and by Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq, while the Russians would provide air support. 'The vanguard of Iranian ground forces began arriving in Syria: soldiers and officers specifically to participate in this battle. They are not advisers ... we mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more,' one of the sources said." (Reuters)

10-01-2015
Military

Iran's Supreme Leader calls for stronger Armed Forces in order 'to protect the Islamic Republic's influence in the Middle East...(to be) more capable, powerful and influential in the region and the world.'

"Iran's supreme leader called on the armed forces on Thursday to increase their capabilities in order to protect the Islamic Republic's influence in the Middle East and deter would-be attackers. 'The armed forces must urgently increase their readiness, so that the enemy dare not think of attacking,' Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by Iranian agencies in a meeting with army commanders... 'The future of the country is in the hands of its youth, who must recognise their strength and help tomorrow's Iran be more capable, powerful, and influential in the region and the world,' Khamenei said." (Reuters)

10-01-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iran is unlikely to normalize relations with the United States despite a landmark nuclear deal... 'Iran will never accept normalization of ties with America,' says a senior Iranian diplomat, 'for the leader it is just a non-negotiable red line.'"

"Iran is unlikely to normalize relations with the United States despite a landmark nuclear deal reached with America and other major powers and the first handshake between a U.S. president and a high-ranking Iranian official in more than 30 years... But analysts and officials say this improvement will go no further than an exchange of intelligence between the two nations through back-channels and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has no intention of restoring diplomatic ties... Khamenei has continued to denounce the United States publicly, suggesting that antagonism prevailing between Iran and the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran will not abate because of the nuclear deal. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties shortly after the revolution... Khamenei has backed Rouhani's efforts to reach the deal, under which Iran will curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions which have severely damaged the economy. 'But he will never accept normalization of ties with America,' a senior Iranian diplomat, who declined to be named, said. 'For the leader it is just a non-negotiable red line.'" (Reuters)

09-30-2015
Nuclear Program

"Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined the end of inspections and visits to the country's military site in Parchin."

"Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined the end of inspections and visits to the country's military site in Parchin. 'No other visits will be paid to Parchin at any level,' Shamkhani told FNA on Wednesday. Asked about Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano's visit to Parchin, he said, 'No inspection was carried out and Amano's presence at Parchin was just visit different from inspection.'" (Fars Iran)

09-30-2015
Syria Conflict

"A ship carrying illicit arms from Iran intercepted off the southern Arabian Peninsula by a member of a U.S.-backed naval coalition and was not registered with any country, says US Navy.

AP: "A ship carrying illicit arms believed to be from Iran was intercepted last week off the southern Arabian Peninsula by a member of a U.S.-backed naval coalition and was not registered with any country, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday... The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said a member of the Combined Maritime Forces, a longstanding multinational coalition, intercepted the vessel in international waters last Friday. An American guided missile destroyer, the USS Forrest Sherman, arrived to assist once the weapons were found aboard the dhow, a type of vessel commonly used in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. A search of the ship determined that it was 'stateless,' or not formally registered to any country, although it appears to have been coming from Iran, according to the U.S. Navy. 'Based on statements from the dhow's crew, the port of origin of the dhow and its illicit weapons cache is believed to be Iran,' the Navy said, adding that the weapons included anti-tank arms thought to be of Iranian and Russian origin. The dhow's crew alleged that the vessel was bound for Somalia, which sits just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. They were allowed to depart once the weapons were confiscated, the U.S. said. Most of the weapons were dumped into the sea, though some were retained for further analysis by sailors aboard the American warship... According to the Saudi coalition, the ship was carrying 18 pieces of one type of anti-tank missile and 54 of another, as well as launchers and other equipment. Fourteen crew members aboard the ship were arrested, including the captain, identified as Bakhsh Jakal, it said. The ship was registered to an Iranian named Hogan Mohammed Hout. It was licensed as a fishing vessel and was carrying papers indicating it was checked by port and customs officials in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, according to the Saudi-led coalition." (AP)

09-30-2015
Terrorism

IRGC linked bomb-making factory has been discovered by Bahraini security forces, a number of suspects arrested in aftermath of recent bomb attacks on security forces.

"Bahraini security forces have discovered a large bomb-making factory and arrested a number of suspects linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. The report comes as part of campaign by security forces to crack down on militants behind recent bomb attacks on security forces that had killed or wounded several people this year. Last July a bomb killed two policemen and wounded six others in the worst attack of its kind in months. The interior ministry said that the bomb-making facility in Nuweidrat, a residential district south of the capital Manama, contained more than 1.5 tonnes of high-grade explosives, making it one of the biggest finds in the kingdom. 'The facility had been adapted to accommodate an elaborate network of hidden underground bunkers and an above-ground manufacturing operation,' the statement said. Chief of Police Major-General Tariq Al Hasan said Iran was responsible for the plant. 'This significant discovery marks yet another disturbing incident in which relentless Iranian actions are attempting to undermine security and stability within Bahrain and the wider region,' he said in the statement. 'The sophistication of terrorist-related incidents in Bahrain has increased markedly during 2015, and the professionalism with which these materials are manufactured, concealed, and deployed is a clear indication of international support and sponsorship,' he added." (Reuters

09-30-2015
Syria Conflict

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accuses Saudi Arabia of hampering the transfer of bodies of Iranian pilgrims killed in a crush at haj last week, adding fuel to a growing spat over the disaster in which nearly 800 people died."

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of hampering the transfer of bodies of Iranian pilgrims killed in a crush at haj last week, adding fuel to a growing spat over the disaster in which nearly 800 people died. Iran has been the most vocal in its criticism of Saudi Arabia for the disaster last Thursday, in which at least 239 Iranians were killed. Tehran says 200 of its pilgrims are still missing. Iranian officials say Saudi Arabia has not done enough to identify and transfer the bodies of the victims to Iran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Iran will not allow a single Iranian to be buried in Saudi Arabia. 'Saudi Arabia failed to help the injured and are causing trouble in transfer of the bodies to Iran ... the slightest disrespect to Iranians will be met with a harsh reaction from us,' Khamenei told graduates of the Iranian Army's military academies in the city of Noshahr. 'We have shown self-restraint so far, but the Saudis should know Iran is more powerful and has more capabilities and they cannot compete with us in any front,' he added." (Reuters)

09-30-2015
Syria Conflict

"Saudi-led coalition says that it had seized an Iranian fishing boat in the Arabian Sea loaded with weapons destined for Shiite rebels it is fighting in Yemen."

"The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday it had seized an Iranian fishing boat in the Arabian Sea loaded with weapons destined for Shiite rebels it is fighting in Yemen. A coalition statement said that the vessel was intercepted on Saturday and that 14 Iranians and weapons including anti-tank shells were found on board. It said that papers found on board the boat showed that it was registered to an Iranian and was licensed for fishing by the Iranian authorities. It listed the weapons seized as 18 anti-armoured Concourse shells, 54 anti-tank BGM17 shells, 15 shell battery kits, four firing guidance systems, five binocular batteries, three launchers, one launchers' holder and three batteries. The vessel was seized 150 nautical miles off the Omani port of Salalah, the coalition statement said." (AFP)

09-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Iranian foreign minister's reported handshake with US President Barack Obama triggered chants of 'Death to America' in Tehran's parliament and a warning against 'another kind of spying.'"

 

AFP: "The Iranian foreign minister's reported handshake with US President Barack Obamatriggered chants of 'Death to America' in Tehran's parliament Wednesday and a warning against 'another kind of spying'. The foreign ministry has confirmed a 'completely accidental' encounter between Obama and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, without denying there was a handshake as reported by Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency. But hardline lawmakers went on the offensive against Zarif. 'With whose permission have they met Obama?' deputy Bahram Biranvand asked angrily. 'Last time they talked to Obama on the phone and this time, with whose permission' did Iran's minister shake hands with the US leader? ... Zarif also came under indirect attack from Iran's ultraconservative judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie, Fars news agency reported. Without naming Zarif, Ejeie alluded to the Obama handshake and said: 'Some spies are paid but there is another kind of spying that we have to watch out for. He prepares the ground for the enemy. These people would say: Why not allow a friendly handshake with the enemy? What's wrong with shaking hands with Obama? What's wrong with sitting with them, chatting away and drinking with them?'" (AFP

09-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

US President Obama is first to greet a top Iranian official since the Islamic revolution in 1979 but Iran calls it "unrevolutionary" and that the US "remains the number of enemy of the Islamic Republic."

"An ultraconservative Iranian lawmaker hit out Tuesday at reports Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shook hands with US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly, branding it as unrevolutionary. The remarks came after Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency and international media outlets documented the impromptu encounter in New York on Monday. 'Dr Zarif was leaving the hall when he accidentally faced Mr Obama and John Kerry, who were about to enter. They briefly greeted each other and the two shook hands,' ISNA said, citing a source close to Iran's UN delegation. Although Kerry, the US Secretary of State, and Zarif shook hands numerous times during talks that ended with a July 14 deal on Iran's nuclear programme, the handshake with Obama would be the first known between a US president and a top Iranian official since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Despite the nuclear deal, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the United States remains the 'number one enemy' of the Islamic republic, a statement reiterated by lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour. 'We hope this news is not confirmed because if Mr Zarif has done such a thing, he has definitely ignored the system's red lines,' Haghighatpour was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency. Haghighatpour is a member of a special committee established by parliament to review the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers led by the US. He said the circumstances were not yet right to shake hands with a US president. 'America is still the enemy of the Iranian nation and the US insists on its enmity towards Iran. Therefore, shaking hands with the enemy is contrary to the revolution's principles and against the nation's rights,' he said. In Tehran, the foreign ministry's media office said no meeting was pre-planned with Obama and the encounter was 'completely accidental,' but it did not deny there was a handshake." (AFP)

"Iranian hard-liners wasted no time labeling Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as 'unrevolutionary' for shaking hands with Barack Obama. It's the first gesture of its kind between a U.S. president and a high-ranking Iranian official in more than three decades. It took place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and overnight caused a stir back in Tehran. Lawmaker Hamid Rasaee posted a picture of a handshake between a man and a red-skinned devil with long black nails on his Instagram account... 'Two years ago Rouhani spoke with Obama by chance, last year, Zarif and Kerry took a stroll without any prior intention in front of international media,' Rasaee said on his Instagram account. 'This year, Zarif accidentally bumped into Obama and had an exchange. History is full of these chance encounters,' Rasaee wrote on his page... 'This action took place even though serious warnings had been given to the negotiating team to not give the Americans the opportunity to display such show against the Islamic Republic,' wrote hard-line news website Rajanews... The symbolic act was 'an ugly thing to do and Zarif should apologize to the Iranian nation for this,' said Mansour Haghighatpour, deputy head of the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, according to the Fars news agency. 'Shaking hands with the Americans and drinking Nescafe with them, this should only happen if they apologize to us.'" (Bloomberg

09-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

US President Obama is first to greet a top Iranian official since the Islamic revolution in 1979 but Iran calls it "unrevolutionary" and that the US "remains the number of enemy of the Islamic Republic."

"An ultraconservative Iranian lawmaker hit out Tuesday at reports Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shook hands with US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly, branding it as unrevolutionary. The remarks came after Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency and international media outlets documented the impromptu encounter in New York on Monday. 'Dr Zarif was leaving the hall when he accidentally faced Mr Obama and John Kerry, who were about to enter. They briefly greeted each other and the two shook hands,' ISNA said, citing a source close to Iran's UN delegation. Although Kerry, the US Secretary of State, and Zarif shook hands numerous times during talks that ended with a July 14 deal on Iran's nuclear programme, the handshake with Obama would be the first known between a US president and a top Iranian official since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Despite the nuclear deal, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the United States remains the 'number one enemy' of the Islamic republic, a statement reiterated by lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour. 'We hope this news is not confirmed because if Mr Zarif has done such a thing, he has definitely ignored the system's red lines,' Haghighatpour was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency. Haghighatpour is a member of a special committee established by parliament to review the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers led by the US. He said the circumstances were not yet right to shake hands with a US president. 'America is still the enemy of the Iranian nation and the US insists on its enmity towards Iran. Therefore, shaking hands with the enemy is contrary to the revolution's principles and against the nation's rights,' he said. In Tehran, the foreign ministry's media office said no meeting was pre-planned with Obama and the encounter was 'completely accidental,' but it did not deny there was a handshake." (AFP)

Iranian hard-liners wasted no time labeling Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as 'unrevolutionary' for shaking hands with Barack Obama. It's the first gesture of its kind between a U.S. president and a high-ranking Iranian official in more than three decades. It took place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and overnight caused a stir back in Tehran. Lawmaker Hamid Rasaee posted a picture of a handshake between a man and a red-skinned devil with long black nails on his Instagram account... 'Two years ago Rouhani spoke with Obama by chance, last year, Zarif and Kerry took a stroll without any prior intention in front of international media,' Rasaee said on his Instagram account. 'This year, Zarif accidentally bumped into Obama and had an exchange. History is full of these chance encounters,' Rasaee wrote on his page... 'This action took place even though serious warnings had been given to the negotiating team to not give the Americans the opportunity to display such show against the Islamic Republic,' wrote hard-line news website Rajanews... The symbolic act was 'an ugly thing to do and Zarif should apologize to the Iranian nation for this,' said Mansour Haghighatpour, deputy head of the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, according to the Fars news agency. 'Shaking hands with the Americans and drinking Nescafe with them, this should only happen if they apologize to us.'" (Bloomberg)

 

09-29-2015
Syria Conflict

In UN General Assembly speech, the Yemeni President Mansour Hadi accused Iran of seeking his country's destruction. "This was indeed a desperate attempt to impose the Iranian model through the use of force."

"Yemeni President Mansour Hadi on Tuesday accused Iran of seeking his country's destruction by backing Houthi rebels in Yemen's civil war. In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Hadi blamed Iran for supporting what he called a 'military and political coup d'état' by Houthi rebels to undermine a political transition. 'We find ourselves mixed in this battle, this fight for this country and the legitimacy of the state to ensure the country not fall into the hands of Iran, which would like to see the destruction of the country,' Mr. Hadi said. 'This was indeed a desperate attempt to impose the Iranian model through the use of force.'" (WSJ)

09-28-2015
Anti-Americanism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blames the US and its support for Israel as major causes of terrorism in the Middle East in front of the UN General Assembly.

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday offered to help root out terrorism in the Middle East and said the United States and its support for Israel are a major cause of the violence. Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly that terrorists excuse their brutality as a reaction to military interventions and occupations by what he termed 'newcomers' to the region. 'If not for the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and its unwarranted support for the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the oppressed nation of Palestine, today the terrorists would not have an excuse for the justification of their crimes,' he said. Rouhani's speech was closely watched because it was his first address to the world body since Iran finished a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States and five other nations. He said the deal, finalized in July, marked a 'new chapter' in Iran's dealings with the world, so his swipe at the United States was striking. Rouhani said the United States and its allies in the region - an apparent reference to Israel and the Sunni Muslim states in the Persian Gulf - 'only cultivate the seeds of extremism and division.' 'This must be brought to an end and its actions must be made compatible with the realities of the region,' he said... He said Iran is prepared to help bring democracy to Syria and Yemen." (WashPost)

09-28-2015
Syria Conflict

Iran says stampede in Mina which killed over 2,000 Hajj pilgrims may have resulted from a plot, given the good relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

"Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri said the Thursday stampede in Mina which killed over 2,000 Hajj pilgrims may have resulted from a plot, given the good relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv. 'Given the usurper Zionist regime's infiltration and influence on the al-Saud, there is a growing possibility that the crane crash incident at the Grand Mosque (in the holy city of Mecca) and the death of thousands of people in Mina were the result of deliberate crime,' Jazzayeri told FNA on Monday. The deputy chief of staff, who made the remarks during a visit to FNA today, further cautioned that making the Grand Mosque in Mecca unsafe and insecure is a major policy of the US and Israel. 'Given the eyewitness accounts and the increasing possibility that the two painful and regrettable incidents at the Grand Mosque and Mina have been the result of intentional action, fact-finding groups from all Muslim states have the responsibility to decrypt this al-Saud' crime.'" (Fars Iran)

09-28-2015
Anti-Americanism

"Tehran says that negligence and mismanagement by Saudi organizers caused last week's hajj stampede that left at least 464 Iranians dead... and according to the head of Iran's paramilitary Basij force, there is one main culprit -- the United States."

RFE/RL: "Tehran has said that negligence and mismanagement by Saudi organizers caused last week's hajj stampede that left at least 464 Iranians dead... And according to the head of Iran's paramilitary Basij force, there is one main culprit -- the United States. 'The Americans are behind the Mina disaster. From their propaganda, we can understand that they're aiming at turning away people from the principle of hajj,' Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naghdi was quoted as saying by Iranian media on September 29. Naghdi, who has a record of blaming the United States for many of the world's problems, added that Washington wanted 'to put hajj under question' and 'give Islam an ugly face.' ... His claim is one of several conspiracy theories related to the tragedy that have been pushed by Iranian hard-line media and officials as Saudi Arabia investigates the deadly incident... The deputy chief of staff of Iranian Brigadier General Massud Jazayeri suggested that the September 24 stampede and the deadly Mecca crane collapse on September 11 may have been deliberately orchestrated by Israel and the Saudi government. 'Given the oppressor Zionist regime's infiltration and influence on the Al-Saud, there is a growing possibility that the two incidents -- the crane-crash incident at the Grand Mosque [in Mecca] and the death of thousands of people in Mina -- were deliberate,' Jazayeri told the semiofficial Fars news agency on September 28." (RFE/RL

09-27-2015
Syria Conflict

'Everyone has accepted' Assad should stay, says Rouhani in speech to UN General Assembly in New York.

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday he saw a widespread acceptance among major powers that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad should stay in office. 'I think today everyone has accepted that President Assad must remain so that we can combat the terrorists,' Rouhani told CNN... 'In Syria, when our first objective is to drive out terrorists and combatting terrorists to defeat them, we have no solution other than to strengthen the central authority and the central government of that country as a central seat of power,' said Rouhani, who is visiting New York for the UN General Assembly." (AFP)

09-25-2015
Syria Conflict

Fox News reports: "Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias..."

"Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the Islamic State, Fox News has learned. Western intelligence sources say the coordination cell includes low-level Russian generals. U.S. officials say it is not clear whether the Iraqi government is involved at the moment. Describing the arrival of Russian military personnel in Baghdad, one senior U.S. official said, 'They are popping up everywhere.' The Russians already have been building up their military presence in Syria, a subject expected to factor prominently in a planned meeting between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New York Monday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. While the U.S. also is fighting the Islamic State, the Obama administration has voiced concern that Russia's involvement, at least in Syria, could have a destabilizing effect." (Fox News

09-22-2015
Syria Conflict

Iran's Army commander says, "We will annihilate Israel for sure," and voices eagerness to destroy Israel in less than the 25 years that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has predicted it will take for Israel to meet its demise.

"Iran's Army commander on Tuesday voiced the country's eagerness to face down Israel militarily and destroy the regime even sooner than the next 25 years, a period that Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has recently cited. 'We will annihilate Israel for sure,' Major General Ataollah Salehi told reporters on the sidelines of military parades in Tehran, held to commemorate the start of the Sacred Defense Week. 'We are also eager that Israel take (military) action against us sooner, so that we would mark the destruction (of Israel) earlier than the 25 years that has been pledged,' the top commander added. Major General Salehi noted that annihilation of the Tel Aviv regime by Iran will even rid the 'US nation' of the Israeli influence. Earlier this month, Ayatollah Khamenei slammed Israel as a fake regime, saying some Zionists have described the conclusion of talks on Iran's nuclear program as something that has eased Tel Aviv's concerns about the Islamic Republic for 25 years. 'But we tell them (the Zionists) that you will basically not witness the 25 years from now, and by God's grace, nothing called the Zionist regime will exist in the region (by then),' the Leader said on September 9." (Tasnim

09-21-2015
Terrorism

The Times of Israel reports: "Since the deal was signed, Iran has significantly increased its financial support for... Hamas and Hezbollah."

"Since the deal was signed, Iran has significantly increased its financial support for two of the largest terror groups in the region that have become political players, Hamas and Hezbollah. In the years before the deal was signed, the crippling sanctions limited this support, which had significantly diminished along with Iran's economy. But Tehran's belief that tens, or hundreds, of billions of dollars will flow into the country in the coming years as a result of sanctions relief has led to a decision to boost the cash flow to these terror organizations. This support, for example, has enabled Hezbollah to obtain highly developed new armaments, including advanced technologies that many militaries around the world would envy. Al-Rai, a Kuwaiti newspaper, reported Saturday that Hezbollah has received all the advanced weaponry that Syria has obtained from the Russians. The report cited a security source involved in the fighting in Zabadani, on the Syria-Lebanon border, where Hezbollah is fighting the al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State, and other groups. It is evidently the growing Iranian financial support that is enabling the Lebanese Shiite militia to purchase advanced weapons, including ones that were hitherto outside of its reach... As regards the Palestinians, in the past two months, Iran has sent suitcases of cash - literally - to Hamas's military wing in Gaza." (Times of Israel

09-21-2015
Syria Conflict

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Russia and Iran have stepped up coordination inside Syria... according to officials in the U.S. and Middle East."

"Russia and Iran have stepped up coordination inside Syria as they move to safeguard President Bashar al-Assad's control over his coastal stronghold, according to officials in the U.S. and Middle East, creating a new complication for Washington's diplomatic goals. Senior Russian and Iranian diplomats, generals and strategists have held a string of high-level talks in Moscow in recent months to discuss Mr. Assad's defense and the Kremlin's military buildup in Syria, according to these officials. The buildup is continuing: On Monday, U.S. defense officials said Russian surveillance drones have started flying missions over Syria, and Moscow has sent two dozen more fighter jets to Syria... Coordinating efforts cited by the U.S. and Middle East officials included a secret visit in late July by the commander of Iran's elite overseas military unit, the Qods Force. Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani directs Tehran's military and intelligence support for the Assad regime and is one of the most powerful leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also visited Moscow last month to discuss Syria and other issues with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov." (WSJ

09-16-2015
Anti-Americanism

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warns the IRGC to be on alert for "political and cultural" infiltration by the United States... "Enemy means global arrogance, the ultimate symbol of which is the United States."

"Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards Wednesday to be on alert for 'political and cultural' infiltration by the United States. 'The main purpose of the enemies is for Iranians to give up on their revolutionary mentality,' Khamenei told a gathering of Guards commanders and personnel in Tehran. 'Enemy means global arrogance, the ultimate symbol of which is the United States,' he said, calling on the powerful branch of the military to protect the revolution. 'Economic and security breaches are definitely dangerous, and have dire consequences,' he said. 'But political and cultural intrusion by the enemy is a more serious danger that everyone should be vigilant about,' he added. The enemies 'are waiting for a time when the nation and system fall asleep, for example in 10 years when I may not be here, to realise their objectives,' the 76-year-old said. 'But the nation and the authorities won't let that happen.'" (AFP

09-14-2015
Terrorism

Sky News reports that "Iran has released five senior al Qaeda operatives from detention and will soon allow them to leave the country, prompting fears they will join other terrorists in Syria planning attacks on the West."

"Iran has released five senior al Qaeda operatives from detention and will soon allow them to leave the country, prompting fears they will join other terrorists in Syria planning attacks on the West. According to intelligence sources, three of the five are members of al Qaeda's ruling committee the Shura Council. They were released in exchange for an Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Yemen earlier this year. The move comes not long after the American-led coalition in Syria bombed and killed several members of an organisation known as the Khorasan Group - an al Qaeda network based in Syria but focusing on planning attacks in the West using operatives with foreign passports. Among those killed was Mohsin al Fadhli, who had also been based in Iran and was released by Tehran. Intelligence sources said that while the Shi'a theocracy of Iran and the Sunni extremist group al Qaeda were theoretical enemies, there has been an 'understanding' that the two would avoid attacks on one another and focus on battling the 'shared threat' of the West. Among those released in exchange for the Iranian diplomat was Abu al Kheir al Masri - the former head of al Qaeda's 'external relations' committee, who was once seen as a possible replacement for Osama bin Laden at the top of the organisation. Alongside him was Saif al Adel - considered Number Three in the al Qaeda hierarchy, according to an intelligence report seen by Sky News." (Sky News

09-03-2015
Anti-Americanism

The Deputy Commander of the IRGC declares that despite the nuclear deal, "The United States is the number one enemy of the Iranian Muslim nation and the Islamic world."

"Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami on Thursday said the recent conclusion of nuclear talks would not end Washington's enmity towards Iran and Islam. Addressing a large group of Basij volunteer forces in a massive drill in Tehran, General Salami said, 'The United States is the number one enemy of the Iranian Muslim nation and the Islamic world' whether or not a nuclear deal whose text was finalized by Iran and world powers in July will be signed. He further denounced the US war rhetoric against Iran, saying that Americans know that all their interests are within the range of Iran's fire. 'Our enemies are well aware of our capabilities and defensive and offensive capacities, but still talk about the availability of military option,' he added." (Tasnim)

09-02-2015
Syria Conflict

A senior IRGC commander says Iran "will continue enhancing its [military] preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine."

"A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that Iran will continue boosting its military preparedness until it takes down Israel and sets Palestine free. '...they (the US and the Zionists) should know that the Islamic Revolution will continue enhancing its preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine,' IRGC's top commander in Tehran province, Brigadier General Mohsen Kazzemeini, told operating units in Tharallah Drills in the Iranian capital on Wednesday. 'And we will continue defending not just our own country, but also all the oppressed people of the world, specially those countries that are standing on the forefront of confrontation with the Zionists,' continued the General... In relevant remarks in 2014, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei noted that criminal acts of the wolfish and child-killer Zionist regime in Gaza had revealed its true nature, and said, 'Only way to solve this problem is full annihilation and destruction of the Zionist regime.'" (Fars)

09-02-2015
Nuclear Program

Addressing the Assembly of Experts, Deputy Foreign Minister Araqchi says Iran is going to vastly expand its nuclear program within 15 years to a capacity of 190,000 SWU with sixth and eight generation advanced centrifuges.

"Iran's entire nuclear industry, including uranium enrichment, is recognized under the nuclear deal, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said, noting that nuclear research and development will be pursued in full. Addressing members of the Assembly of Experts on Wednesday, Araqchi also vowed that Iran will not halt the enrichment of uranium even for a single day. He also added that Iran is going to use generation 6 and 8 centrifuges to reach 190,000 SWUs for enrichment in 15 years. 'The lifting of sanctions, as required by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was also among the achievements of the nuclear negotiation team,' he said." (Tehran Times

09-02-2015
Human Rights

Head of Tehran's traffic police says women drivers in the capital "could have their cars impounded by police if they are caught driving with a poorly fixed veil or without their heads covered."

"Women drivers in Iran's capital could have their cars impounded by police if they are caught driving with a poorly fixed veil or without their heads covered, a police chief said Wednesday. 'If a (female) driver in a car is poorly veiled or has taken her veil off, the vehicle will be seized in accordance with the law,' the head of Tehran's traffic police, General Teymour Hosseini, was quoted as saying by the official ISNA news agency. He added that any woman who had her car seized would need to obtain a court order before getting it back. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, wearing a veil in public has been mandatory for all women in Iran... 'Unfortunately, some streets of the capital have come to resemble fashion salons,' Iran's judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani said this week, questioning the 'tolerance' that has led to 'such a situation.'" (AFP)

09-01-2015
Anti-Americanism

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard says the U.S. is still the "Great Satan" while the head of Iran's Experts Assembly declares, "The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the U.S. its No. 1 enemy."

"The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday that the U.S. is still the 'Great Satan,' regardless of the nuclear deal struck with Americans and world powers over the Islamic Republic's contested nuclear program. The comments by Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, reported by the official Guard website, said that 'the enmity against Iranian nation by the U.S. has not lessened and it has been increased.' 'We should not be deceived by the U.S.,' Jafari reportedly said. 'It wants to infiltrate into Iran, resorting to new instruments and method.' ... Earlier Tuesday, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the head of powerful Iran's Experts Assembly, which oversees the nation's Supreme Leader and institutions under his supervision, also said the nuclear deal will not alter Iran's foreign policy toward the United States. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the U.S. its No. 1 enemy,' Yazdi said. 'If you try to discover the root of the sedition that is happening around us today, you will identify U.S. as its main supporter.'" (AP

09-01-2015
Terrorism

Kuwait charges "24 people suspected of links to Iran and Shiite militia group Hezbollah with plotting attacks against the Gulf state."

"Kuwait on Tuesday charged 24 people suspected of links to Iran and Shiite militia group Hezbollah with plotting attacks against the Gulf state, a statement by the public prosecutor said. The men were charged with 'spying for the Islamic republic of Iran and Hezbollah to carry out aggressive acts against the State of Kuwait' by smuggling in and assembling explosives, as well as possessing firearms and ammunition, the statement said. They were also charged with 'carrying out acts that would undermine the unity and territorial integrity' of Kuwait, and of possessing eavesdropping devices, it said... Prosecutors said the suspects were linked with a 'terror cell' the interior ministry said it had busted last month while seizing large amounts of weapons, ammunition and explosives. Officials said at the time that three men had been arrested and confessed to joining an illegal group that local media reported was Hezbollah. Media had reported that more arrests followed and the prosecutor said 22 of the suspects charged on Tuesday had received explosives and weapon training to 'achieve illegal goals.'" (AFP

09-01-2015
Anti-Americanism

In a speech to the Assembly of Experts, IRGC-Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani says the collapse of American power in the region has already happened due to the strengthening of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in charge of operations outside the country's borders, gave what was billed as 'a special speech' to the Assembly of Experts Sept. 1 to discuss regional matters. Parts of the speech were shared with Iranian news agencies by members of the assembly in attendance. In an interview with Tasnim News Agency, Assembly of Experts member Hojat al-Islam Seyyed Mojtaba Taheri said that Soleimani's speech focused on 'Iraq, Syria, Yemen, America's roles, the enemies of Islam and the presence of [the Islamic State] and takfiris in the region.' Taheri added, 'Gen. Soleimani said that the collapse of American power in the region has happened. He gave the factors for this collapse, and one of the most influential reasons for it is the strong logic of the Islamic Republic of Iran in various arenas.' One of the top headlines in Iranian news agencies this morning read, 'The collapse of American power in the region has happened.' Taheri continued, 'Gen. Soleimani said the spiritual influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region has resulted in strengthening the line of resistance and the Islamic Revolution, and for this, America and Israel and their allies have been challenged.'" (Al-Monitor)

08-31-2015
Nuclear Program

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announces a 15-year nuclear development plan to further expand Iran's nuclear program.

"Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced that the country is compiling a 15-year-long plan to further expand its peaceful nuclear know-how and capabilities. 'A 15-year-long plan is being compiled and the plan will be reviewed every 5 years,' Salehi said, addressing a ceremony at Fordo nuclear site near the Central city of Qom on Monday. 'One of our plans is to move on the path of commercialization and we hope to gain success in this arena,' he added. Salehi also announced Iran's plans to construct a nuclear hospital and two small nuclear power plants in the Southern province of Bushehr to desalinate water. In relevant remarks on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani announced that Iran would commercialize nuclear technology as soon as the nuclear agreement comes into practice in near future. 'Our nuclear program has been recognized in the Resolution 2231 and world powers are eager to cooperate with us in this regard,' Rouhani told reporters. The president added that the Islamic Republic plans to export enriched UF6 and import yellow cake from abroad." (Fars)

08-30-2015
Syria Conflict

A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker who heads the Kuwaiti parliament's foreign relations committee says, "It has become clear to all that Iran is an enemy plotting to swallow up our states and resources and is the true enemy of the region."

"A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker on Sunday described Iran as the 'true enemy' of Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states, in a sign of growing tensions with the Shiite power. 'It has become clear to all that Iran is an enemy plotting to swallow up our states and resources and is the true enemy of the region,' Hamad al-Harashani, the head of the Kuwaiti parliament's foreign relations committee, said in a statement. It was the strongest Kuwaiti criticism in years of Iran, with which Kuwait has traditionally had better ties than its fellow Gulf Arab states. Harashani singled out an apparent bomb attack Friday in Bahrain as 'yet further evidence of Iran's aggression' in the region... 'Iran is seeking to spread chaos and undermine the ruling regimes' in the region, Harashani said, calling on Gulf states to boost security coordination. Kuwait and Iran were on relatively good terms for years until the Gulf state this month broke up a 'terrorist cell' and seized large quantities of weapons and explosives. Local media reported that the cell belonged to pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah." (AFP

08-29-2015
Anti-Americanism

Marking the fourth anniversary of the imprisonment of U.S. Marine veteran Amir Hekmati on "false espionage charges," Secretary of State John Kerry calls for Iran to release him.

"US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday urged Iran to free Amir Hekmati, an American who served as a US Marine, from four years of 'unjust detention.' Saturday marks the fourth anniversary of Hekmati's imprisonment on what Kerry called 'false espionage charges' while Hekmati was visiting relatives in the Islamic republic. 'We repeat our call on the Iranian government to release Amir on humanitarian grounds,' Kerry said in a statement. 'This is a milestone no family wants to mark, and the Hekmati family has shown inspiring perseverance in the face of this injustice,' he added. 'And as befits a former Marine, Amir has shown tremendous courage in the face of this unjust detention.' Kerry reiterated his government's call for Iran to release two other Americans. These include pastor Saeed Abedini, who was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to eight years in jail for gathering a group of people to study the Bible, and Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. Kerry also urged Iran to 'work cooperatively' to help locate Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared while on Iran's Kish island in 2007." (AFP

08-14-2015
Human Rights

UN human rights experts express grave concern "about Iran's continued detention of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and called on authorities in Tehran to release him immediately."

"U.N. human rights experts expressed grave concern Friday about Iran's continued detention of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and called on authorities in Tehran to release him immediately. 'The arrest, detention and secret trial of Mr. Rezaian violate his rights and intimidate all those working in the media in Iran,' said David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. 'His continued detention violates basic rules that not only aim to protect journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and others, but to guarantee everyone's right to information.' Two other U.N. human rights experts, including the head of the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, backed calls for Rezaian's release... Martin Baron, executive editor of The Post, said in a statement that the independent U.N. experts have 'sounded a powerful call for the government of Iran to uphold its international legal obligations in a case that has been anything but just.'" (WashPost

08-13-2015
Terrorism

Bahrain's chief of police says five suspects with links to Iran have been arrested in connection with a July 28 bombing that killed two police officers and wounded six others.

"Bahrain's chief of police says five suspects with links to Iran have been arrested in connection with a bombing last month that killed two police and wounded six others. Maj. Gen. Tariq al-Hassan says investigators have connected the suspects to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, as well as the Iranian-armed and funded Lebanese Hezbollah group. The statement by Bahrain's Interior Ministry was carried by the state-run news agency Thursday. The July 28 bombing targeted a bus carrying policemen near a primary school south of the capital in an area called Sitra." (AP

08-11-2015
Terrorism

Visiting Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif says Iran's major challenge in the region is in "confronting...the Zionist and extremist regime."

"Fresh off the successfully negotiated agreement on Iran's nuclear project, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Beirut on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic's major challenge in the region is in 'confronting...the Zionist and extremist regime.' Zarif arrived on an official visit to the Lebanese capital on Tuesday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including a 'new plan' on how to resolve the crisis in neighboring Syria, according to an Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman. Tehran's top diplomat also met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. According to Al-Safir, Zarif held a long meeting with Nasrallah on Tuesday evening... Shortly after arriving in Beirut, Zarif warned that Israel played a 'dangerous game' with the Iranian nuclear file, a game in which it has been defeated... Zarif said it was necessary to 'confront the challenges of the region, the most important of which is the Zionist and extremist regime.'" (JPost)

08-06-2015
Terrorism

"The shadowy Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani recently visited Moscow to meet with senior Russian leaders...despite a travel ban and U.N. Security Council resolutions barring him from leaving Iran."

 

"The shadowy Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani recently visited Moscow to meet with senior Russian leaders, according to two Western intelligence sources, despite a travel ban and U.N. Security Council resolutions barring him from leaving Iran...Soleimani was first designated a terrorist and sanctioned by the U.S. in 2005 for his role as a supporter of terrorism. In October 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department tied Soleimani to the failed Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States at a popular restaurant in Washington, D.C...Soleimani arrived in Moscow on Air Iran flight #5130, a commercial flight from Tehran, at 6:50 a.m. on July 24, a Friday. He left Moscow the following Sunday, July 26, at 10:25 p.m. on flight #5120, according to Western intelligence sources. U.N. sanctions have not yet been lifted against Iran, and Soleimani, as head of the Iranian Quds Force is sanctioned as part of Security Council Resolution 1747. He is prohibited to travel, and any country that lets him transit or travel is defying the sanctions." (Fox News)

07-25-2015
Extremism

A US Defense official says, "an Iranian warship briefly pointed weapons on its deck at a U.S. military helicopter and coalition warship."

"An Iranian warship briefly pointed weapons on its deck at a U.S. military helicopter and coalition warship two weeks ago in the Gulf of Aden, a Defense official told CNN on Wednesday. The two ships were just a few hundred yards apart on July 25 when Iranian crew members pointed what are believed to be on-deck machine guns at the warship and the U.S. military helicopter that had just landed on that coalition ship's deck, the Defense official said... In a statement released early Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Navy characterized the interaction as "unsafe and unprofessional." (CNN)

07-25-2015
Terrorism

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader says Iran will not abandon support after the nuclear deal.

"The Lebanese Hezbollah group believes it can still count on Iran's support following Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday..."Iran's relationship with its allies is based on ideological grounds and come before the political interests," Nasrallah said...Nasrallah said his group was proud of Tehran's financial backing, which allowed it to stand up to Israel and U.S. policies in the region." (Reuters)

07-23-2015
Human Rights

"Iranian authorities are believed to have executed an astonishing 694 people between 1 January and 15 July 2015, said Amnesty International, in what it termed an unprecedented spike."

 

"Amnesty International on Thursday protested at what it called a 'staggering execution spree' in Iran so far this year that has seen almost 700 people put to death. Iranian authorities are believed to have executed an astonishing 694 people between 1 January and 15 July, 2015, said the London-based rights group, in what it termed an unprecedented spike. At this shocking pace, Iran is set to surpass the total number of executions in the country recorded by Amnesty for the whole of 2014. Amnesty said the surge 'reveals just how out of step Iran is with the rest of the world when it comes to the use of the death penalty'". (Yahoo News)