TOP STORIES
Fuel Oil Smuggling Network Rakes In $1 Billion For Iran And Its Proxies | Reuters
A sophisticated fuel oil smuggling network that some experts believe generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani took office in 2022, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The operation exploits a government policy under which Iraq allocates fuel oil to asphalt plants at heavily subsidised prices and involves a network of companies, groups and individuals in Iraq, Iran and Gulf states, according to the five people and three Western intelligence reports, two from August this year and one which was undated. Under the scheme, anywhere from 500,000 to 750,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO), including high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) - equivalent to 3.4 million to 5 million barrels of oil - is diverted from the plants each month and exported, mostly to Asia, two of the sources said.
US, UAE Discussed Lifting Assad Sanctions In Exchange For Break With Iran, Sources Say | Reuters
The U.S. and the United Arab Emirates have discussed with each other the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he peels himself away from Iran and cuts off weapons routes to Lebanon's Hezbollah, five people familiar with the matter said. The conversations intensified in recent months, the sources said, driven by the possible expiry on Dec. 20 of sweeping U.S. sanctions on Syria and by Israel's campaign against Tehran's regional network, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Iranian assets in Syria.
Syrian Forces Regroup With Help From Iran, Russia After Shock Rebel Advance | The Washington Post
Russia launched airstrikes in support of the Syrian army Monday in an effort to stanch a major rebel advance that surprised and overwhelmed the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad late last week. After initially withdrawing from some areas, Syrian government forces appeared to be regrouping to counterattack Monday. The Syrian army said its warplanes also carried out airstrikes against the rebel forces that are posing the most significant challenge to Assad’s rule in more than a decade. And in the background, Iranian officials launched a diplomatic blitz to shore up the Assad regime.
UANI IN THE NEWS
After jihadist rebel groups captured the city of Aleppo in northern Syria over the weekend, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari issued the military’s first official statement regarding the situation in Israel’s northeastern neighbor... “I think this is fanciful,” commented Jason Brodsky, policy director for the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) think tank. “Assad is dependent on Iran's regime, especially in the current dynamic. So much so that there are unconfirmed reports that IRGC commander Javad Ghaffari, who was forced to leave Syria after a fall out with Assad, is now reentering the country. I feel like this idea keeps coming up but never works,” Brodsky wrote on 𝕏.
Panama says it will de-flag six ships blacklisted by the UK for hauling Russian oil. The six are among 30 vessels named by the UK last week in its biggest package of measures against the shadow fleet so far...Campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran said in March that nearly 40% of tankers carrying Iranian crude operated under the Panamanian flag.
Former Soldier Daniel Khalife Guilty Of Spying | Sky News
"If China constitutes the largest long-term threat to the UK, then Iran's regime poses the most immediate," Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC Research for United Against Nuclear Iran, tells Gillian Joseph of Sky News.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Canada Designates Yemen's Iran-Backed Houthis As Terrorist Organization | Iran International
Canada on Monday listed Yemen's Ansarallah as a terrorist entity, joining other Western nations in proscribing the Iran-backed group commonly referred to as the Houthis. Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with Iran-backed Hamas, have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea, targeting commercial shipping following a call for a blockade of Israel by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "Ansarallah has met the definition of a 'terrorist group' under Canada’s Criminal Code which prohibits certain actions in relation to terrorist groups, including those related to terrorist financing, travel and recruitment," a statement by the Canadian government said.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Condemned 14 Political Prisoners To Death Last Month, Rights Groups Say | Iran International
Iran sentenced at least 14 political prisoners to death in November and carried out at least 135 executions, the second-highest monthly total in 2024 according to rights groups, highlighting authorities' use of capital punishment to quell dissent. The executions included 127 men, 4 women, and a juvenile, with 11 Afghan nationals among those put to death, US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Monday. Additionally, 37 individuals were sentenced to death, including 68 for drug-related offenses. Fourteen fresh death sentences in political cases last month also indicated the ruling theocracy was determined to make a strong example of participants in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests which began in 2022.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Trump's FBI Nominee May Take A Hardline Stance On Iran's Activities In The US | Iran International
US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Kash Patel as FBI Director could potentially sharpen US efforts to prevent Iranian influence operations in the United States that have raised alarm since 2023. Patel, a former prosecutor and senior intelligence official during Trump’s presidency, has been an ardent critic of the Biden administration’s policies toward Tehran, accusing them of empowering the Islamic Republic through financial and strategic concessions. In an interview with Fox Business in March, Patel said, “President Biden gave Iran $7 billion and opened up the global financial oil trade sector to them to make another $80 billion.”
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Israel unleashed its largest wave of airstrikes across Lebanon since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week, killing at least 11 people on Monday after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were Israeli truce violations. The projectiles were apparently the first time that Hezbollah took aim at Israeli forces after the 60-day ceasefire went into effect last Wednesday. The increasingly fragile truce aimed to end more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel — part of a wider regional conflict sparked by the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza, saying on social media that if they are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY.”
Israeli Airstrike Said To Target Car Near Damascus Airport | The Times Of Israel
An Israeli airstrike targeted a car on a road leading to Damascus International Airport, Syria’s state news agency SANA reports. No further details are given. Syrian media report an Israeli drone strike on a car in the Damascus countryside, Southern Syria.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Hezbollah Not Intending To Send Fighters To Assad In Syria For Now, Sources Say | Reuters
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah does not currently intend to send fighters to northern Syria to support the Syrian army there, three sources familiar with the Iran-backed group's thinking told Reuters on Monday. An alliance of rebel fighters launched a surprise offensive last week on northern Syria, sweeping through government-held territory in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib and forcing government troops out of Aleppo city in the biggest setback for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in years. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday Syria's military was capable of confronting the rebels but "resistance groups will help and Iran will provide any support needed", referring to the regional militia groups Tehran backs.
Putin Discusses Syria Situation With Iran's Pezeshkian By Phone, Says Kremlin | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the escalating situation in Syria with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian by phone, the Kremlin said on Monday. "The focus was on the escalating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Kremlin statement said. "Unconditional support was expressed for the actions of the legitimate authorities of Syria to restore constitutional order and to restore the political, economic and social stability of the Syrian state." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was ready for any cooperation with Russia to control the regional situation and help resolve the crisis in Syria, according to the Iranian government's website.
Kremlin Says No Date Yet For Iranian President's Visit To Russia | Reuters
A visit to Russia by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is being prepared, but there is no clarity yet on when it will take place, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Peskov said it was unclear whether the visit would happen this year, but that a date for the trip could be agreed very quickly if necessary. "Such a visit is being prepared, preparations are underway," Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing when asked about the matter. Moscow is preparing to sign a new bilateral treaty with Tehran that will include closer defence cooperation, the kind of treaty that Russian President Vladimir Putin often signs in person with his foreign counterparts. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state television in late October the treaty would be signed "in the near future". Moscow signed a similar "comprehensive" treaty with North Korea, which includes a mutual defence clause, in June.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iraqi Militias Enter Syria To Reinforce Government Forces, Military Sources Say | Reuters
Hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossed into Syria overnight to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, Syrian and Iraqi sources said on Monday, and Tehran pledged to aid the Damascus government. At least 300 fighters, primarily from the Badr and Nujabaa groups, crossed late on Sunday using a dirt road to avoid the official border crossing, two Iraqi security sources said. "These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," a senior Syrian military source said, adding the fighters had crossed in small groups to avoid airstrikes.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
The expert meeting of the foreign ministers of the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) began on Monday without the presence of Taliban members in Mashhad. The main meeting of ECO foreign ministers will be held tomorrow (Tuesday). It is not yet clear whether the Taliban has been invited to the meeting or not. Earlier, an Iranian Foreign Ministry official had said that Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, will not attend the 28th meeting of foreign ministers of the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO). Ahmad Masoumifar clarified that not inviting the Taliban is the decision of the ECO secretariat. The Taliban has not commented on the group's presence at the summit.
TURKEY & IRAN
The recent rapid advance by opposition fighters in Syria shows that Syrian President Bashar Assad must reconcile with his own people and hold dialogue with the opposition, the Turkish foreign minister said Monday. At a joint news conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, Hakan Fidan said Turkey and Iran, which support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, have agreed to resume diplomatic efforts along with Russia to restore calm days after insurgents launched a lightning offensive and captured almost all of the country’s largest city, Aleppo. The swift advance by fighters that Turkey supports was a huge embarrassment for Assad and it comes at a time when his allies — Iran and groups it backs and Russia — are preoccupied with their own conflicts.
CYBERWARFARE
Iranian Cyberattacks Target Senior Israeli Figures - Shin Bet | Iran International
Israel's internal security service Shin Bet assesses that Iran is behind more than 200 phishing attempts against senior Israeli officials, according to a report in the Times of Israel on Monday. The scope of the targets was not limited to political figures, the newspaper reported citing officials from the agency, it allegedly also included Israeli media personalities, journalists and academics. Shin Bet said the hackers approached their targets on WhatsApp, Telegram and email by trying to get them to download an app that would reportedly give Iran access to their devices.