TOP STORIES
Eyeing Showdown With Hezbollah, Israel Presses Shadow Campaign In Syria | Reuters
Israel has intensified covert strikes in Syria against weapons sites, supply routes and Iranian-linked commanders, seven regional officials and diplomats said, ahead of a threatened full-scale assault on Tehran's key ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. A June 2 air raid that killed 18 people, including an adviser with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, targeted a clandestine, fortified weapons site near Aleppo, three of the sources said. In May, an air strike hit a convoy of trucks headed to Lebanon carrying missile parts and another raid killed Hezbollah operatives, four said. Israel has for years struck militant groups backed by arch-foe Iran in Syria and elsewhere, in a low-level campaign that burst into open confrontation after Israel and Palestinian group Hamas - another Iranian ally - went to war in Gaza on Oct. 7.
Kremlin Says Russia and Iran Continuing Work On Cooperation Pact, Schedule May Shift | Reuters
Moscow and Tehran are continuing their work on a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement, although the schedule of specific events may shift, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, adding Russia intended to develop ties with Iran. Earlier Russia's RIA state news agency reported that the agreement had been temporarily suspended due to problems faced by Iranian partners, however Iran's ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said this was not the case, according to a statement carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA. Since the state of the war in Ukraine, Russia has moved to strengthen its political, trade and military ties with Iran in a deepening relationship that the United States and Israel view with concern. Moscow and Tehran are pushing against what they see as damaging U.S. foreign policy and want to establish what they say would be a fairer multipolar world order. Work on a new major agreement between Moscow and Tehran was announced in September 2022 during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the late President of the Islamic Republic Ebrahim Raisi.
How Israeli Strikes Are Raising The Cost Of Iran's Presence In Syria | Al Monitor
The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) pledged on Friday revenge against Israel after an Iranian officer was killed in an airstrike near the Syrian city of Aleppo on June 3. Describing Israeli officials as "child-killing Zionist criminals," Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said Israel "will pay a heavy price for the innocent blood that it has shed," according to his statement as published by the Fars News Agency. Iran's state TV aired footage of a funeral in the city of Shahr-e-Rey, south of the capital, Tehran, on Thursday for the officer who has been identified as Saeed Abyar. Iranian authorities have not elaborated on the rank of the officer, who served with the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas branch that maintains a vast presence and operational reach across the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Who Are Iran's Presidential Candidates? | UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky For Iran International
On Sunday, Iran announced the finalists for the presidency after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The list represents Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s purge of the system with an eye towards his own succession. Former Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who has an extensive resume across different organs of the Iranian system, was disqualified for the second time since 2021. This represents another humiliation for Larijani and speaks to his family’s growing ostracization from power. His brother Sadegh Larijani, while chairman of the Expediency Council, was so disgusted by the Guardian Council’s decision to disapprove of Ali’s candidacy in 2021 that he resigned as a member. Among the concerns of the system is likely that Larijani’s daughter Fatemeh Ardeshir Larijani has been living in the United States for years and is now an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine.
Treasury Sanctions 10 People, Companies, Ship Tied to Houthis | Jewish News Syndicate
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 10 individuals, companies and ships that “have engaged in the illicit transport of oil and other commodities, including for the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal.” The sanctions target “maritime shipping and financial facilitators, several vessel managers and owners, and a company involved in forging shipping documents,” per the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Today’s action, the seventh round of sanctions targeting the network of Sa’id al-Jamal since October 2023, underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to isolating and disrupting the financing of international terrorist groups such as the Houthis,” it said. […] “This is a first for the Biden administration to sanction captains,” wrote Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Downplays IAEA Resolution | Iran International
Iran's Acting Foreign Minister has downplayed the recent IAEA Board of Governors resolution censuring Iran, stating that issuing resolutions has no impact on Iran's "determination" to develop its nuclear projects. Ali Bagheri made the remarks at the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Monday following an announcement last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors to pass a resolution censuring Iran for its lack of cooperation with nuclear inspections. It said Iran had failed to address questions about undisclosed nuclear activities. The resolution, backed by Western powers, calls on Iran to provide access to sites and information necessary for verifying its nuclear program. During his Monday speech, Bagheri also accused the US of using dollar dependence as a weapon and claimed that Iran will not allow regional stability and security to be disrupted by what he termed "occupying aggressors."
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Imposes Fresh Sanctions Targeting Houthi Oil Shipments | Bloomberg
The US unveiled sanctions on 10 people, ships and companies in a fresh bid to choke off commodity revenue for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have disrupted trade flows through the Red Sea with repeated attacks on commercial shippers. The action targeted the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal, who has already been subjected to repeated sanctions, the US Treasury Department said in a statement. Also among the targets was Hong Kong based-Lainey Shipping Ltd., the owner of a Panama-flagged ship called Janet that has carried sanctioned cargo. “The Houthis continue to leverage an expansive support network to facilitate their illicit activities, including hiding the origin of cargo, forging shipping documents, and providing services to sanctioned vessels,” Treasury Under Secretary Brian Nelson said in the statement. The US and its allies have launched repeated military strikes and imposed numerous sanctions on the Houthis in the months since the group began attacking ships passing through the Red Sea in response to Israel’s strikes on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. So far though, those attacks have done little to deter the Houthis and global tanker flows remain severely disrupted.
MISSILE PROGRAM
Iran Bought 300 Tons Of Refined Uranium From Niger | Newsmax
Iran has agreed on a $56 million deal with Niger to purchase 300 tons of refined uranium — called "yellowcake" — in exchange for drones and surface-to-air missiles, according to Iran International. Yellowcake, so called because of its yellowish hue, is a concentrated form of uranium oxide produced from uranium ore, according to the June 1 report. Africa Intelligence first reported in late April that covert negotiations between Iran and Niger were afoot as early as August 2023. French newspaper Le Monde soon after reported that the uranium is produced in mines located in Arlit, Niger, belonging to French fuel company Orano since 1971. Uranium is Niger's most important export, according to Le Monde.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iranian Artist Atena Farghdani Sentenced To Six Years In Prison | Iran Wire
Atena Farghdani, a prominent Iranian painter and cartoonist, has been sentenced to six years in prison by a revolutionary court in Tehran, her lawyer Mohammad Moghimi announced on Monday. In a post on his X account, Moghimi said that Farghdani received a 5-year sentence for "insulting the sacred" and an additional 1-year term for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" from the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court. The lawyer said the court imposed the maximum punishments for the two charges against Farghdani by treating them as separate crimes, despite them stemming from the same alleged actions. Moghimi had previously disclosed that Farghdani was arrested in June 2023 after visiting the Evin Prosecutor's Office. He said she was "severely assaulted" by authorities, with visible injuries to her face.
Kurdish Citizen In Iran Hangs Himself After State Intimidation | Iran International
Farhad Beigi Garousi, a Kurdish citizen and a detainee from the 2022 nationwide protests in Kermanshah Province, committed suicide after continuous intimidation from Iran's security agencies. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported on Saturday that Garousi, 21, who had been detained for over a year during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement sparked by the death in morality-police custody of Mahsa Amini, and was temporarily released on bail, hanged himself at his family home in the city of Sahneh. Garousi had been under constant pressure from Iranian security agencies over the past four months, recently informed that he must present himself to Dieselabad Prison in Kermanshah, from where he would be transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran’s Presidential Election Race Begins With Six Candidates In The Fray | The National
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili are among six candidates in the running for the presidency after having their candidacy approved by the country’s Guardian Council. The June 28 vote for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month, will be dominated by hardliners after the council, which oversees Iran’s elections, included only one reformist in the list of approved candidates released on Sunday. Vice President Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, former justice and interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi and Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist member of Parliament, complete the field.
Disqualified Reformist Challenges Guardian Council's Decision | Iran Wire
Several prominent figures disqualified from running in Iran's upcoming presidential election have issued statements protesting their exclusion and demanding that the Guardian Council explain its decision-making process. Eshaq Jahangiri, a reformist and former vice president in Hassan Rouhani's administration, called his disqualification "incompatible with the fundamental rights of the nation" in a June 10 statement. He urged the Guardian Council to publish the reasons for barring his candidacy. Jahangiri demanded that the Council clarify why he was disqualified, saying there is a "serious demand" for the process to be made transparent. In his statement, Jahangiri endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as the only approved reformist candidate, praising him for his "honesty, courage, and clean hands in governance." Abbas Akhondi, a disqualified reformist candidate, also sent a letter protesting his exclusion, which he deemed lacking "legal aspects" and an "oppression and persecution" against himself and his political allies who had nominated him.
How Iran Will Elect Its President, And Why He Matters | Bloomberg
Iran is scheduled to hold a snap presidential election on June 28 following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. While ultimate power in Iran rests with the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the president can sometimes influence policy by drawing on a base of popular support, political affiliations and links to powerful institutions. The vote comes at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West, with Tehran mobilizing a regional network of proxy militias to target Israel in response to its military offensive in Gaza. The president acts as a deputy to the supreme leader, advising him on matters of government, implementing his instructions and, more broadly, serving as an agent for his policy agenda.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel has intensified covert strikes in Syria against weapons sites, supply routes and Iranian-linked commanders, seven regional officials and diplomats said, ahead of a threatened full-scale assault on Tehran's key ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. A June 2 air raid that killed 18 people, including an adviser with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, targeted a clandestine, fortified weapons site near Aleppo, three of the sources said. In May, an air strike hit a convoy of trucks headed to Lebanon carrying missile parts and another raid killed Hezbollah operatives, four said. Israel has for years struck militant groups backed by arch-foe Iran in Syria and elsewhere, in a low-level campaign that burst into open confrontation after Israel and Palestinian group Hamas - another Iranian ally - went to war in Gaza on Oct. 7.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran Receives Message From Bahrain Seeking Normalization Of Ties | Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran said it received a message from Bahrain to normalize relations between the two countries after a hiatus of more than eight years. Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian president, said in a televised interview on Friday that Bahrain is keen to establish political relations with his country. “Bahrain had sent a direct message to Iran asking for the resumption of bilateral relations and made the same request in a meeting held between the King of Bahrain and Russian officials,” Jamshidi said. During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 23, King Hamad said Bahrain looked forward to improving its relations with Iran. He added that there was no reason to postpone the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Iran. At the time, the Interfax news agency quoted King Hamad as saying: “Arab countries are in agreement over the need to hold a peace conference to resolve the problem of the Middle East.”
Iran Continues Efforts For Release Of Official Arrested In France | Iran International
Tehran has announced ongoing efforts to secure the release of Bashir Biazar, a former managing director of the state broadcaster who has been detained in France and is awaiting deportation. Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said Monday that diplomatic actions have been taken since the moment they were informed of Biazar’s arrest, without elaborating further. “The Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Embassy have been actively following up on his case through diplomatic notes and phone calls,” he noted, adding that the ministry has also discussed his release with the French ambassador in Tehran, Nicolas Roche. Biazar, who was in charge of the state TV’s music office, is currently in administrative detention—a procedure utilized for urgent deportation cases under French law.
MISCELLANEOUS
Individuals presenting themselves as advisors to presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have approached European and American diplomats and officials in the past two weeks, according to a European diplomat. “The gist of their argument is that Iran needs a strongman when Khamenei dies, and that strongman is Ghalibaf,” the diplomat said on the condition of anonymity. “They’ve been warning us that internal conflicts within the regime will intensify in the post-Khamenei era, and only Mr Ghalibaf has the necessary authority and connections to rein in different factions and bring security and peace to Iran.” During the 2005 presidential election, Ghalibaf presented himself as a modernist who aimed to be “an Islamic Reza Shah,” referring to Reza Shah Pahlavi, the authoritarian monarch who ruled Iran between 1925 and 1941. Many Iranians in the past two decades have been chanting Reza Shah’s name during anti-government protests.