TOP STORIES
Iran Faces Problems On Multiple Fronts | Bloomberg
Iran is once again at the center of the latest flashpoint in the Middle East: a drone attack on a military depot near the central city of Isfahan. So far, and somewhat uncharacteristically, the Islamic Republic hasn’t blamed anyone for the strike — usually by this stage officials will make a reference to “foreign enemies” or explicitly point the finger at Israel. The attack comes as violence soars in the occupied West Bank and both events — and how they may affect security calculations in both Tel Aviv and Tehran — are set to overshadow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s current visit to Israel.
Journalist-activist Masih Alinejad is calling on President Biden to lay out a clear Iran policy after three members of a group with ties to Iran were charged in an alleged assassination plot against her. "I want President Biden to clearly lay out Iran policy because we have to know that...the U.S. government, one day they're sanctioned the clerics, the mullahs, but next day they go and they want to negotiate with the same murderers, with the same killers," she told "America Reports" on Monday. Last summer, Alinejad was targeted at her Brooklyn home by a man with a loaded AK-47-style rifle, according to a previous Fox News report. The Justice Department has charged Rafat Amirov, 43, of Iran, Polad Omarov, 38, of the Czech Republic and Slovenia and Khalid Mehdiyev, 24, of Yonkers, New York, with money laundering and murder-for-hire in the alleged Iran-backed plot.
The Bare-Chested Boxer Who Became A Hero To Iran’s Protest Movement | CNN
The video was instantly viral: Cell phone footage from anti-government protests in Iran’s Kurdish city of Sanandaj showed a bare-chested man wielding a knife, encircled by about a dozen regime forces armed with guns. Security officers appeared to take turns cautiously swinging their batons at the protester, some even firing their guns at him, as they sprang back and forth with every lunge he made. Eventually the protester fell to his knees, after being shot multiple times at close range, he says.
UANI IN THE NEWS
UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky Interview | CNN International
On January 30, 2023, UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky appeared on "Connect the World With Becky Anderson", CNN International's flagship Middle East program. Brodsky discussed an Israeli drone strike on an Iranian Ministry of Defense facility in Isfahan, the center of defense industrial production in Iran's missile, drone, and nuclear programs. "The evidence in the public space indicates that this may have been focused on Iran's missile program, there's a lot of production of the Shahab-3 missile, which can reach Israel... there may have also been a hypersonic element."
Explained: Why Is Israel Targeting Iran’s Drone Facilities? | India Today
… Earlier in its report on Iran’s growing military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Program, the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a non-partisan advocacy group, stated that UAVs provide Iran with "an additional means of lethal power projection outside of its borders. Iran is also providing UAV systems to its proxies who act on Tehran’s behalf, further enhancing its ability to threaten the US and its allies." According to a November 2019 US Defence Intelligence Agency assessment of Iran’s military strength, "UAVs are Iran’s most rapidly advancing air capability,"- serving two primary military functions of surveillance and attack. "Iran has used drones to harass US air carriers and threaten freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, gain military advantage in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts, and breach Israeli and Saudi airspace," the report further adds. Its growing drone repository is inclusive of the Kaman-12 drone, Khodkar, a jet-propelled drone called the Kian, and long-range and endurance attack drones named Fotros, along with the Shahed-129 and Mohajer-6.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
EU officials have said that listing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist entity would further dampen prospects of reviving a defunct nuclear deal meant to curb Iran’s nuclear activities. The move is currently under discussion among the bloc's member states and championed by several countries including Germany. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell plays a strategic role as lead mediator between the parties — France, Germany, the UK, Russia and China — that signed a 2015 deal with Iran to block its access to a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Top Iran Filmmaker Banned From Travel After Backing Protests | Voice Of America
Iranian authorities have imposed a travel ban on leading filmmaker Masoud Kimiai, local media reported Monday, after he expressed support for protests that have gripped the Islamic republic for months. Iran has seen a wave of demonstrations that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an ethnic Kurd, following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. "The filmmaker, who wanted to go to the Netherlands on Sunday evening to participate in the Rotterdam film festival, was banned from leaving the airport," the local Tehran daily Hamshahri said on its website.
Condition Of Belgian Aid Worker Jailed In Iran 'Deteriorating', Says Closest Friend | EuroNews
The health of a Belgian humanitarian aid worker jailed in Iran is deteriorating, according to his best friend. Olivier Vandecasteele was imprisoned in Tehran last February on the eve of his return home and sentenced to 40 years in jail with 74 lashes. But after nearly one year in solitary confinement his closest friend Olivier Van Steirtegem - who has been helping in the fight for his release - says his condition is not good.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran To Expand Shipbuilding Operation As Part Of Navy Bulk Up | Jerusalem Post
Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani said Iran is looking to expand operations on the coast of the Makran region in the Sistan and Baluchistan province. According to Irani, the navy and army want to focus on various fields such as fisheries and shipbuilding and providing facilities to repair ships. While these may be purely mundane discussions about improving Iran’s facilities along the coast, they could also be important, as this is the same area where Iran holds weapons – including drones – that have been used in naval drills. Iran’s navy is currently conducting a circumnavigation of the world, sending ships to Brazil through the Panama Canal. Last year, Iran flew drones from the port of Chabahar to attack a ship in the Gulf of Oman. It also attacked a ship in July 2021.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Government Incapable Of Helping Quake Survivors In Iran | Iran International
The victims of a recent earthquake in Iran’s West Azarbaijan province are in critical condition while the authorities keep promising to resolve their issues soon. Reports from Khoy, the epicenter of the Saturday quake say the victims spent Sunday night in the streets amid freezing temperatures. According to the reports received by Iran International, the process of providing aid to the affected people is “terrible.”
