TOP STORIES
Iran is pursuing research that has put it in a better position to launch a nuclear-weapons program, according to a new assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies. The shift in Washington’s view of Iran’s nuclear efforts comes at a critical time, with Iran having produced enough highly-enriched nuclear fuel for a few nuclear weapons. The U.S. intelligence community still believes that Iran isn’t currently working to build a nuclear device, a U.S. official said. Nor does it have evidence that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, is considering resuming his country’s nuclear-weapons program, which U.S. intelligence says was largely suspended in 2003.
New Israeli Intelligence Suggests Iran Prepares To Attack Israel Within Days: Sources | Axios
The Israeli intelligence community's updated assessment is that Iran is poised to attack Israel directly in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas' political leader in Tehran and is likely to do it within days, two sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios. The new intelligence assessment indicates an attack could come before the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal talks planned for Thursday, potentially jeopardizing negotiations at what Israeli officials have said is a "now-or-never" moment for a potential deal between Israel and Hamas.
Iran Gives Ominous High Explosive Missile Warning | Newsweek
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy (IRGCN) announced it has new cruise missiles equipped with highly explosive warheads that are undetectable, Tasnim news agency has claimed. Tensions have been rising in the Middle East as Israel braces for retaliation following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran and Hezbollah are widely expected to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel over the killing of officials in Iran and Beirut. There are growing fears among the international community of a full-blown Middle East war after Iran vowed to exact retribution following the assassination of the leader of the political wing of Hamas.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran Prepares For Impending Attack On Israel | i24 News
Israel waits for Iran's response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, which Tehran blames on the Jewish state 'Psychological warfare is part of the Iranian strategy... there is still time in that timeframe when compared in April,' @JasonMBrodsky tells @benitalevin
Trump Campaign Says Iran Was Behind Hack | i24 News
Iran is accused of hacking Trump's presidential campaign 'Tehran would not welcome the return of President Trump to office... because he has traditionally been much harder on Iran,' @Norman_Roule says.
Iran's Oil Finds New Destinations In Tehran Export Push, Sources Say | Reuters
Iran has sent small shipments of crude oil to new destinations such as Bangladesh and Oman, according to shipping sources and data, the latest sign of Tehran pushing to sustain output at close to its highest in five years... In one new trade, the Golden Eagle tanker sailed near the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh earlier this year after receiving oil from another vessel that loaded it from Iran’s Kharg Island according to available evidence based on shipping data, Claire Jungman, from U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, told Reuters.
Iran Opens New Directions For Oil Exports | News.AZ International
…The American human rights group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) recorded that the Liberian-flagged tanker Golden Eagle, which previously loaded oil from Iran’s Kharg Island, transferred part of its cargo onto smaller tankers near the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Although the Bangladeshi state oil corporation denies purchasing this cargo, the exact buyer remains unknown.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Nobel Winner Hurt In Prison Clashes With Guards: Family | Al-Monitor
Jailed Iranian Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi and other female inmates were hurt in clashes that erupted at Tehran's Evin prison following a spate of executions, her family said, raising new concerns for her health. Iranian authorities acknowledged a confrontation had taken place on Tuesday but blamed Mohammadi for a "provocation" and denied any of the prisoners had been beaten. Human rights activist Mohammadi, 52, who won the 2023 prize for her campaigning including against the death penalty, has been jailed since November 2021, and has spent much of the past decade in and out of prison.
Nurses' Strike Hits Day Six In Southern Iran, Extends To Other Cities | Iran International
On Saturday, public hospital nurses in Shiraz, southern Iran, extended their strike into a sixth day, joined by others in protest against harsh working conditions, low wages, and ongoing government neglect. Reports from workers rights group on social media indicate that nurses at several major public hospitals in Shiraz, including Namazi, Faghihi, Chamran, Amir Oncology, Zeinabieh, Ali Asghar, and Amir al-Momenin, have initiated a strike that has now spread to cities such as Abadeh, Tabriz, Zanjan, Karaj, and Fasa. The nurses are protesting grueling working conditions, inadequate compensation for long hours, outdated nursing service tariffs, insufficient overtime pay, and the non-payment of welfare benefits. They are also decrying the Ministry of Health's lack of accountability.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, the Defense Department said Sunday. The moves come as the U.S. and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire agreement that could help calm soaring tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
U.S. Prepares For Crucial Week As Gaza Deal Faces "Now-Or-Never" Moment | Axios
A train of top Biden administration officials is planning to head to the Middle East for a dramatic week of high-stakes diplomacy to try to prevent war in the region and secure a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. The results of the coming week will indicate whether the region is going to sink even deeper into crisis and a widening perpetual war, — or if, for the first time since Oct. 7, there will be a significant change of course. The outcome could shape President Biden's legacy.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran's IRGC Bolsters Navy With Cruise Missiles Amid Flaring Tensions | Al-Monitor
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it had introduced significant additions of cruise missiles and combat drones to its naval units to enhance conflict preparedness, as the region was expecting a promised Iranian attack on Israel. The 2,640 new weapons, according to the IRGC's Tasnim News Agency, included medium- and long-range missiles, drones, electronic warfare tools and naval radars, among other equipment, some of which was unveiled during a ceremony attended by the IRGC's top commanders in the Persian Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas. The new missiles, the Guards said, had been equipped with such new capabilities as highly explosive and radar-evading warheads. "Upon impact, those missiles will cause enemy destroyers to immediately sink," Tasnim added. It noted that the latest state-of-the-art technology needed in surface and under-surface operations had also been embedded into the new weapons. The deployment of the missiles and drones occurred at a moment of heightened tension between Iran and Israel after the killing late July in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas movement.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday proposed former nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi as the country’s new foreign minister and also sought to appoint a woman as roads and housing minister. If approved, she would be Iran’s first female minister in more than a decade. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf read out the list of proposed ministers to lawmakers. The hard-line-dominated chamber will have two weeks to review qualifications and give a vote of confidence to the proposed ministers. Araghchi, 61, a career diplomat, was a member of the Iranian negotiating team that reached a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015 that capped Tehran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Iran To Deliver Hundreds Of Ballistic Missiles To Russia Soon, Intel Sources Say | Reuters
Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources said, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of the satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russian defence ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract on Dec. 13 in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by Iran’s government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) called the Ababil, said the two intelligence officials, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.
CHINA & IRAN
China Supports Iran In Defending Security, Says Foreign Minister | Reuters
China supports Iran in defending its "sovereignty, security and national dignity", Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Iran's acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday, according to a statement by China's foreign ministry. In the phone call, Wang repeated Beijing's denunciation of the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike had violated Iran's sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
CYBERWARFARE
Donald Trump’s Campaign Says Its Emails Were Hacked And Points To Iran | Fortune
Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said Saturday that it has been hacked and suggested Iranian actors were involved in stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents. The campaign provided no specific evidence of Iran’s involvement, but the claim comes a day after Microsoft issued a report detailing foreign agents’ attempts to interfere in the U.S. campaign in 2024.It cited an instance of an Iranian military intelligence unit in June sending “a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor.”