TOP STORIES
Biden Warns Iran After Tit-For-Tat Strikes In Syria | Reuters
President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria. Later, officials said that another U.S. service member was wounded on Friday in the latest tit-for-tat strike between Iran-backed forces and U.S. personnel in Syria. That comes on top of seven casualties on Thursday, which Washington blamed on a drone of Iranian origin, and included an American contractor being killed and five U.S. troops and another contractor being wounded.
Activists Push, But Europe Hesitates To Call Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Terrorists | Forbes
In late February, British-Iranian human rights activist Vahid Beheshti set up camp opposite the entrance to the Foreign Office in central London and began a hunger strike. He had one main demand: that the UK government designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist group. More than a month later, he is still there, having lost around 11 kilos. “Sometimes I get cold. Sometimes I get weak and sometimes I think I have energy.
Weekly Protests Persist In Iran’s Southeast Amid Internet Disruption | Al-Arabiya News
Weekly protests against Iran’s clerical leaders continued in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan as thousands took to the streets on Friday, according to footage circulating on social media. Videos on Twitter also showed protesters marching near Zahedan’s Makki Grand Mosque and chanting in support of Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric. Videos posted on Twitter by Hal Vash, a group that monitors developments in the province, showed protesters in the provincial capital Zahedan shouting slogans against the country’s theocratic leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the Basij, a paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) often used in crackdowns on protests.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Oil Spills And Near Misses: More Ghost Tankers Ship Sanctioned Fuel | Claims Journal
…The number of tankers transporting Iranian crude and products – excluding the state’s own fleet – has risen to above 300 this month from 70 in November 2020, said Claire Jungman, chief of staff at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which tracks Iranian-related tanker traffic via satellite data.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Netanyahu Told UK Israel Will Respond To Iran's 90% Uranium Enrichment | Iran International
Israeli will respond if Iran enriches uranium to weapons-grade 90 percent, even without US help, Benjamin Netanyahu has told his British counterpart. A senior Israeli official, who accompanied Netanyahu on his trip to London on Friday, informed Iran International that the Israeli prime minister told UK's Rishi Sunak that "military attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran are not the only solution for Israel, and this country is considering other solutions to stop Iran." Since mid-2020, several acts of sabotage and explosions in Iran's nuclear facilities have been attributed to Israel. Successive Israeli governments have firmly stated that the Jewish state will not tolerate a nuclear armed Iran and will use all options to protect its security.
How To Stop Iran’s Drive To Obtain Nuclear Weapons Short Of Bombing It: Report | Fox News
Amid the shocking revelation that the Iranian regime enriched near weapons-grade uranium for an atomic weapon, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Friday published a highly detailed report to counter Tehran’s drive to become a nuclear power. The MEMRI report argues that powerful steps can be taken by the Biden administration and Europe to impede Iran’s atomic weapon ambitions short of military strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. MEMRI lays out a "Plan of Action" that aims to chip away at the legitimacy of the Islamic revolutionary state.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
The State Department says it would support a decision by the United Kingdom to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group, the latest sign that the Biden administration is giving up hopes of reviving the Iran nuclear deal. "We encourage our allies and partners to use any appropriate tools to pressure the IRGC," a State Department spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon, following reports the administration was lobbying the U.K. against a designation. "It is up to each country or bloc of countries to determine what designations are applicable under their available legal authorities and in their best interests."
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Condemns France For 'Repression' Of Protests | Voice Of America
Iran on Friday condemned what it called France's repression of protests after more than 450 people were arrested and nearly as many police were injured in demonstrations against pension reforms. Protesters clashed with French security forces Thursday in the most serious violence yet of a three-month revolt against President Emmanuel Macron's decision to change the retirement age from 62 to 64. "We strongly condemn the repression of the peaceful demonstrations of the French people," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted in French.
Rebellion In Iran: How Far Will The Regime Go? | Financial Times
When the Islamic regime called, hundreds of thousands rallied. In cities across Iran, women, mostly in traditional black chador body cloaks, joined huge crowds of men carrying banners, portraits of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and national flags to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution. The mass gatherings last month offered a chance for the leadership to put on a muscular display of support after months of nationwide protests that presented one of the biggest domestic threats to the republic since its founding.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
UK Intel Says Russia Used Over 70 Iran-Made Drones In Ukraine In March | i24 News
Russia has reportedly launched at least 71 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukrainian targets since the beginning of March, Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday. According to UK intelligence, the Russian army started using “one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVS)” after a two-week break in February. “Russia has likely started receiving regular resupplies of small numbers of Shahed OWA-UAVs,” the UK intelligence report said. These launches are likely being carried out from Russia’s Krasnodar region in the east and Bryansk region bordering Ukraine in the north.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran Shuts Businesses For ‘Disrespecting Ramadhan’ Amid Nowruz Holidays | Iran International
Police have shut down dozens of businesses in Iran for disrespecting fasting rules and issued warnings to many others amid the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) holidays. A police official in Khuzestan Province said Saturday that fifty-five businesses, were shut down in Ahvaz, the capital of the province, for breaking the rules of fasting. Colonel Mohammad-Hossein Mohammadvand said 229 businesses were inspected, 55 were shut down and 14 others received warnings that they will be shut down if they do not abide by the rules. Inspection will continue until the end of Ramadhan, he said.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Republicans are accusing Joe Biden of taking nearly 14 hours to tell Congress about the strike by Iran proxies that killed an American contractor and injured US troops. The GOP sources, speaking to NBC News, believe the president waited to alert them to the strike - which he authorized a retaliation for - to push through amendments to a proposed repeal of the AUMF bill which allows him to authorize military force. The drone attack took place at around 6:38 a.m. ET on Thursday. Congress did not learn about it until about 8 p.m. that evening, the insiders claimed.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Iran-Backed Fighters On Alert In East Syria After US Strikes | Associated Press
Iran-backed fighters were on alert in eastern Syria on Saturday, a day afte r U.S. forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites in the war-torn country, opposition activists said. The airstrikes came after a suspected Iran-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six other Americans on Thursday. The situation was calm following a day in which rockets were fired at bases housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria. The rockets came after U.S. airstrikes on three different areas in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq, opposition activists said.
Iran, Syria Condemn US Attacks On Iran-Linked Facilities | Al Jazeera
The governments of Iran and Syria have condemned the United States for attacks on Syrian soil that reportedly killed 19 people, which Washington said it carried out following a drone attack on US forces. Both the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministries late on Saturday slammed the US air attacks that targeted the strategic region of Deir ez-Zor bordering Iraq. In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the “terrorist” attacks by the US hit civilian targets and constituted a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. “The US claims that it is present in Syria to fight Daesh [ISIL] that itself had a major role in creating is just an excuse to continue its occupation and loot Syria’s national wealth, including its energy resources and wheat,” he said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Mikati Meets Iranian Foreign Relations Chief Kamal Kharrazi | The National
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council for Foreign Relations, the state's National News Agency has reported. The two sides discussed regional issues and relations between Lebanon and Iran. The meeting, on Thursday, was attended by Iran's Ambassador in Beirut Mojtaba Amani. Mr Kharrazi also met Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah, to discuss political developments in the region. Mr Kharrazi arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday after a visit to Syria where he held a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and other top officials.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Saudi, Iranian Foreign Ministers To Meet During Muslim Holy Month | Reuters
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said on Monday, under a deal to restore ties. Both ministers spoke by phone for the second time in a few days, SPA said. "During the call, a number of common issues were discussed in light of the tripartite agreement that was signed in the People's Republic of China. The two ministers also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between them during the ongoing month of Ramadan," SPA said.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran-Iraq Agreement About More Than Borders | Al Monitor
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), continued his diplomatic surge of recent weeks, signing a border security agreement in Baghdad on March 19. The memorandum of understanding commits Iraq to cracking down on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups operating from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. It’s a message to Baghdad, but also to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iran has accused Iranian Kurdish armed groups of coordination with Israel and launching attacks against Iran from Iraqi territory to support protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in the custody of the morality police in September 2022.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Amid Armenia-Azerbaijan Tensions, Irgc Commander Visits Border Regions | Iran International
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Ground Force commander visited border regions in the northwest near Armenia and Azerbaijan where tensions between the two Transcaucasian countries have spiked. Brigadier-General Mohammad Pakpour visited an area under control of IRGC’s Ashura camp located around the common borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, where a resumption of military conflict is feared. The two countries fought a war in 2020 over disputed territories and Yerevan has accused Baku of recent border incursions.
