TOP STORIES
Iran Says It Can Build New Nuclear Facilities If Enemies Strike | Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Tehran's enemies may be able to strike the country's nuclear centres but they cannot deprive it of its ability to build new ones. He made his comments after the Washington Post reported that U.S. intelligence believes Israel is likely to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear programme by the middle of the year. "They threaten us that they will hit nuclear facilities... If you (the enemy) strike a hundred of those we will build a thousand other ones... You can hit the buildings and the places but you cannot hit those who build it," Pezeshkian said, according to state media.
The first of two vessels carrying 1,000 tons of a Chinese-made chemical that could be a key component in fuel for Iran’s military missile program has anchored outside the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Thursday, ship tracking data shows. It could be a signal that Iran’s missile production is back to business as usual after the devastating, and embarrassing, attacks by Israel on key factories last year. The ship, Golbon, left the Chinese port of Taicang three weeks ago loaded with most of a 1,000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Iran’s mid-range conventional missiles, according to two European intelligence sources.
Europe must reinstate harsh United Nations sanctions on Iran, U.S. lawmakers insisted in a new resolution that accused Tehran of repeated violations of the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration. The bipartisan legislation calls on the U.K., France and Germany to invoke "snapback" sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council immediately – and follow the U.S.’s lead under President Donald Trump’s "maximum pressure" executive order to isolate Iran over its nuclear activity. "Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and their actions have led to the murder of American servicemembers," said Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., the number two Republican on Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill, which has 11 cosponsors in the Senate.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Israel Slams Palestinian ‘Deception Scheme’ Over Claim It Halted Terror Rewards Program | WFIN
[…] Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), summed up a recent trend of foreign leaders caving to the Trump administration. “I think it speaks to the Trump effect. Foreign leaders fear crossing the president because he knows how to engage in coercive diplomacy, and it produces outcomes which advance U.S. interests like this. Iran and other countries are watching very carefully how the president pressures other governments, and this will shape their decision-making. Thus far, Tehran has been more risk-averse since President Trump has been in office,” he told Fox News Digital.
Israel Targets Hezbollah Weapons, Launchers In Lebanon | Jewish News Syndicate
[…] Lebanon has barred Iranian airlines Mahan Air and Iran Air from flying to Beirut, according to local reports. The decision follows accusations by Israel’s military that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force has been using civilian flights to smuggle cash to Hezbollah via Beirut International Airport. Jason Brodsky, @JasonMBrodsky: “Following the IDF's disclosure yesterday that Iran's regime is using Beirut airport to funnel money to Hezbollah, Lebanese aviation authorities informed Mahar Air that its flight to Beirut would be not permitted to land.” Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, said that these funds were intended to arm Hezbollah for attacks against Israel. In response, Saeed Chalondari, CEO of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport, confirmed that flights to Beirut had been canceled due to lack of permission.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
US intelligence agencies recently warned both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel will likely attempt to strike facilities key to Iran’s nuclear program this year, according to sources familiar with the assessments. Israel’s willingness to use military force runs counter to President Donald Trump’s current desire for a peace deal with Tehran, and the recent US intelligence cautions that major strikes on Iranian nuclear sites could increase the risk of a wider war breaking out in the Middle East. Overall, Israel is also still pursuing the broader goal of causing regime change in Iran, one of the recent US intelligence reports says. The action Israel is considering taking would go further than its targeted strikes on military targets in Iran last year in retaliation for the ballistic missile attacks Tehran launched on Israel which it said were in response to the Israeli killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Trump Will Not Allow It – US Warns Iran Against Owning Nuclear Weapon | Daily Post
The United States government has declared that President Donald Trump will not allow the Islamic State of Iran to own a nuclear weapon. The spokesman of the White House National Security Council, Brian Hughes, disclosed this in an interview with The Washington Post. According to Brian, Trump “will not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon.” Brian noted that while Trump prefers a peaceful resolution with Iran, he will not wait indefinitely for negotiations. This comes as as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s intelligence directorate and the Defense Intelligence Agency, warned that Israel might attack Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump expressed readiness for a deal with Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Experts Doubt Effectiveness Of Trump’s Oil Sanctions On Iran | Iran International
Despite President Donald Trump's announcement to reinstate his maximum pressure sanctions on Iran, experts doubt the policy can truly cut Tehran's oil shipments to force the concessions he seeks. Although concerned about Trump's announcement last week, officials in Tehran insist that the country will continue its oil exports through illicit channels, drawing parallels to Russian oil sales. Iran's oil minister said this week that Trump's sanctions policy on Tehran has failed, along with his goal of cutting Iran's oil exports to zero. "The more they restrict us, the more complex our response will be," Mohsen Paknejad was quoted as saying by state media. "The dream of cutting Iran's oil exports to zero is one they will never achieve."
MISSILE PROGRAM
Chinese-Made Chemical Shipment Signals Iran's Missile Production Resumes | Inkl
The Golbon vessel, carrying 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a key component in Iran's missile program, has arrived at the Bandar Abbas port in Iran. This shipment signals a potential resurgence in Iran's missile production following setbacks in Syria and Lebanon and Israeli attacks on its facilities last year. The sodium perchlorate on board could be used to produce propellant for Iran's mid-range missiles, with the capacity to power hundreds of rocket motors. The procurement was made on behalf of Iran's Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization, responsible for missile development. China, a key ally of Iran, has supplied the chemical, emphasizing its economic ties with Tehran. While the delivery is not illegal, the US and UK have imposed sanctions on the shipping company involved.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Court Reissues Death Sentence For Labor Activist | Iran International
A court in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, has reissued a death sentence for labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, her supporters announced Thursday citing her lawyers. The Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi, supported by her family, said Branch 2 of Rasht's Revolutionary Court reinstated the sentence after Iran’s Supreme Court overturned her initial conviction. The case had then referred to another branch for retrial, the group said in a statement on X. "Mohammad Ali Darvish Goftar, head of Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, upheld the ruling. He is the son of Ahmad Darvish Goftar, the judge of Branch 1, who had issued the original death sentence," the group said.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Trump Talks Offer 'Part Of Maximum Pressure' | MEHR
Ali Shamkhani said the US proposes holding dialogue with Iran but at the same time it intensifies sanctions against the country. Negotiation should be carried out at the proper time from a position of strength and with the aim of securing national interests, not as a solution to internal problems, he added. He emphasized that negotiations would be meaningful only if both sides demonstrate the necessary will and capacity to reach a lasting agreement, but “experience provers that the US has not remained committed to its obligations.” The senior official once again reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite the US’ unilateral withdrawal, according to Press TV.
CONGRESS & IRAN
The head of the Senate's foreign policy committee outlined demands on Thursday for US sanctions relief for Syria, including eliminating Russian and Iranian influence inside the country, as the new government in Damascus increases engagement with Moscow. Republican Jim Risch, who leads the powerful foreign relations committee that has oversight of the State Department, laid out a four-point list of expectations for Syria's transitional government under President Ahmad Al Shara. The list also includes providing evidence that the interim government will not allow Syria to become a launch pad for terrorist attacks against the US and its partners, the destruction of the Assad regime's Captagon stockpile, and an account of American citizens detained by former president Bashar Al Assad's regime, including journalist Austin Tice.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Hezbollah Supporters Converge on Beirut Airport Over Iran Flight | Bloomberg
Supporters of the militant group Hezbollah blocked the entrance to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport and surrounding roads after Lebanese authorities prohibited an Iranian plane from landing. The confrontation unfolded a day after the Israel Defense Forces accused Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and the Quds Force, a wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of using Beirut-bound civilian flights to smuggle money. The protesters, some of whom held placards bearing photos and slogans championing the late leader Hassan Nasrallah, set tires alight, causing congestions near the airport. The Lebanese army stepped in to disperse the angry crowds and make the airport accessible, according to the state-run news agency NNA.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran Forges Deeper Ties With Sudan In Boost To Wider Influence | Bloomberg
Iran and Sudan agreed to cooperate in the fields of mining, banking and livestock production, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said, stoking concerns the Islamic Republic is widening its influence on the fringes of the Middle East. The announcement followed meetings in Port Sudan this week between an Iranian delegation headed by Abu Al-Fadil Kodi, assistant minister of economy and finance, and a host of Sudanese officials including Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim. Iran’s recent rapprochement with Sudan’s army has bolstered its fight against the Rapid Support Forces militia, which has lost ground in the capital Khartoum and central areas during the country’s ongoing and devastating civil war.
The British ambassador to Iran met with two Britons — a man and a woman — being held in Iran on security-related charges, the official IRNA news agency reported. The report late Wednesday said Ambassador Hugo Shorter met the two in the southern Iranian city of Kerman and in the presence of officials from the justice department and the governor’s office. The report neither identifies them nor elaborates on the time or place of their detention, though it calls them “suspects,” suggesting they have not been sentenced and were possibly detained in recent weeks. IRNA published two images that showed the two sitting opposite the ambassador at a meeting table.