TOP STORIES
India Condemns Iran Supreme Leader's Comments On Treatment Of Minorities | Reuters
India has condemned comments made by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the treatment of Muslims in the South Asian nation, calling his remarks "misinformed and unacceptable.” "We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India or any other place," Khamenei said in a social media post on Monday. In response, India's foreign ministry said it "strongly deplored" the comments.
Iran Will Never Give Up On Its Missile Program, Says President | Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran would never give up on its missile program as it needs such deterrence for its security in a region where Iran's arch-foe Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day.” The Islamic Republic has for years defied Western calls to limit its missile program. The United States and its allies have more recently accused Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.
Iran's President Says Tehran Did Not Transfer Weapons To Russia Since He Took Office | Reuters
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his government had not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August after Western powers accused Tehran of delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September. The United States and its allies accused Iran last week of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.
UANI IN THE NEWS
US And UK Worried Over Russia Possibly Helping Iran With Its Nuclear Program | i24 News
'There has been no work done on the diplomatic isolation, and I've seen nothing publicly about the development of a credible military threat to Iran,' @JasonMBrodsky tells @laura_i24.
The Logic Of Police Violence In Iran | Middle East Forum
UANI Senior Advisor Saeid Golkar: “Today marks the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was mortally wounded in police custody after her detention by Iranian police for allegedly violating the regime’s dress code. Her murder sparked the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and more than a year of protests that shook regime legitimacy to its core. The regime appears not to have learned its lesson. On August 27, 2024, Mohammad Mir Mousavi died due to torture in police custody in Lahijan, near the Caspian coast.”
Iran’s Arming Of Militants Breaches 2023 Saudi Deal, Top Diplomat Says | Iran International
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat has accused Iran of breaching the terms of the 2023 agreement to resume ties as it continues to arm and fund armed militant groups in the region. Jason Brodsky, the policy director for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), agreed that the Biden administration's inability to deter Iran has led to an emboldened stance not only from the Islamic Republic but also from its proxies. “We have a deterrence deficit with Iran. They have been attacking our forces. They have been attacking commercial vessels with impunity since October 2023,” he said.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran’s President Insists Tehran Wants To Negotiate Over Its Nuclear Program | Associated Press
Iran’s new reformist president insisted Monday that Tehran didn’t want to enrich uranium at near-weapons grade levels but had been forced to by the U.S. withdrawal from its nuclear deal with world powers. The comments by President Masoud Pezeshkian, in response to a question by The Associated Press at his first news conference, underlines a campaign promise he made to try to see international sanctions on the Islamic Republic lifted. However, it remains unclear just how much room for negotiation Pezeshkian will have — and just who will be in the White House come next year.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Fresh UK Sanctions Target Iran's Defense Industry | Iran International
The United Kingdom introduced fresh trade sanctions against Iran targeting its defense industry on Monday, a week after accusing Iran of delivering ballistic missiles to Russia. The new measures aim to cut off financing and delivery to Iran of material deemed to have military uses. “These measures will disrupt Iran’s production and supply of unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles and further increase the pressure on Iran’s defense industry,” the UK government said in a statement.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
A Pakistani national with alleged close ties to Iran pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges accusing him of plotting to have U.S. politicians assassinated on U.S. soil. Asif Merchant, also known as "Asif Raza Merchant," pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court in New York on Monday. He was indicted Sept. 10 with attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Hezbollah Members Wounded In Lebanon When Pagers Explode | Reuters
At least three people were killed, and more than 1,000 others, including Hezbollah fighters, medics and Iran's envoy to Beirut, were wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, security sources told Reuters. A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the "biggest security breach" the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
Israel has re-equipped 97 rapid response units on its northern border as a diplomatic solution to resolve the conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah looks ever more elusive. The joint Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD) and the Israel Defense Forces operation has seen the procurement of over 9,000 cutting-edge Arad rifles at a cost of $13.5m. The rifles, developed and manufactured in Israel, now bolster the 5,000 Arad rifles previously acquired at the onset of the current war.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed at a press conference in Tehran on Monday his willingness to improve Iranian-Saudi relations, calling the two nations "brothers" and adding that he would visit Riyadh when the opportunity presented itself. In his first press conference since assuming office in July, Pezeshkian spoke about the possibility of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visiting Iran. “We are brothers, so there is no place for hostility. I welcome any move that can solve the differences between Muslims,” he told the press.
Houthi Official Claims US Offered To Recognize Terror Government In Yemen | The Jerusalem Post
The US offered to recognize the Houthi government in Sanaa in a bid to stop the Yemeni terror group's attacks, a senior Houthi official said on Monday, in remarks that a US official said were false. The Houthi official's remarks came a day after a ballistic missile from the Iran-aligned group reached central Israel for the first time, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say Israel would inflict a "heavy price" on them. "There is always communication after every operation we conduct," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV. "These calls are based on either threat or presenting some temptations, but they have given up achieving any accomplishment in that direction." A US official, speaking anonymously, called the remarks "a total fabrication."
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran Releases Austrian Citizen From Prison Before End Of Sentence | Reuters
Iran has granted an early release from prison to Austrian citizen Christian Weber, who was convicted of offenses that originally included spying, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday. "I am very pleased that ... the Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Tehran have succeeded in securing the early release of Christian Weber from Iranian custody," Nehammer said on social media platform X.