TOP STORIES
Iran Says Will Hold Nuclear Talks With France, Germany, UK On Friday | RFI
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would take place on Friday, without specifying a venue. "A range of regional and international issues and topics, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed," the spokesman said in a foreign ministry statement. Baghaei described the upcoming meeting as a continuation of talks held with the countries in September on the sidelines of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Thursday, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution denouncing Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation.
Iran's Khamenei Calls For Death Sentence For Israeli Leaders | Reuters
The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah militants fighting Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was commenting on a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence chief and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri. "They issued an arrest warrant, that's not enough... Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders", Khamenei said, referring to the Israeli leaders. In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza."
Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the militant group’s heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon’s military said. The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military’s operations are directed solely against the militants.
UANI IN THE NEWS
New Zealand Lists Hezbollah And Houthis As Terrorist Organizations | The Jerusalem Post
New Zealand has designated Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Houthis as terrorist organizations, the New Zealand government announced on Wednesday... United Against Nuclear Iran’s policy director Jason Brodsky also shared his response, “Today, New Zealand has designated the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. Since 2010, it has listed just the military wing. As a member of the Five Eyes, this was long overdue for New Zealand.”
Israeli Rabbi Murdered In UAE | All Israel News
The Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry confirmed this morning that the body found in the UAE is that of missing Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad's emissary to Abu Dhabi... “This is very serious. Those kidnapped from Dubai have often been taken to Iran,” commented Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran. “The case of Jamshid Sharmahd looms large, who was also kidnapped from Dubai then taken to Oman and then onto Iran. Though the Iranians may fear an Israeli strike in response so they could take him to a third country where IRGC terrorists are active,” Brodsky wrote on 𝕏.
Rabbi Zvi Kogan Missing Amid Concerns Of Kidnapping | The Pinnacle Gazette
Rabbi Zvi Kogan, known as the Chabad emissary to Abu Dhabi, has gone missing under troubling circumstances, sparking fears of kidnapping and possibly even murder. The rabbi, who is both Israeli and Moldovan, was reported missing on Thursday afternoon, raising alarm bells within the Israeli government and among local communities...Security sources have indicated to Ynet and various media platforms, including Walla News, there is speculation he may have been murdered and his body has not been recovered. One unverified source even claims the perpetrators may have fled to Turkey following the incident. This has drawn parallels to previous cases involving individuals taken from Dubai to Iran, heightening concerns for Kogan's safety. The case of Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped and later executed after being taken to Iran, remains fresh in the minds of many. “We know Iranian intelligence operatives were surveilling him,” said Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, emphasizing the serious nature of the situation.
The US Congress should investigate China’s purchases of Iranian oil in the past five years, a top US advisory panel on China has urged, with Tehran looming as a larger issuein the next Trump presidency... The commission – citing advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and other sources tracking data on Iranian oil exports – said on Tuesday that China’s imports of Iranian oil rose 9 per cent year on year in 2023.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran To Hold Nuclear Talks With Three European Powers In Geneva On Friday | Reuters
Iran will hold talks about its disputed nuclear programme with three European powers on Nov. 29 , the Iranian foreign ministry said on Sunday, days after the U.N. atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran. Iran reacted to the resolution - proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States - with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. Japan's Kyodo news agency, which first reported that the meeting would take place on Friday in Geneva, said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Iran Deploys Advanced Centrifuges In Defiance Of IAEA Resolution | Iran International
Iran has begun deploying advanced centrifuges which enrich uranium for the country’s nuclear program in response to a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calling for greater transparency into Iran's nuclear activities. Speaking during an open session of parliament on Sunday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the resolution, accusing the United States and European nations of using Iran's nuclear program as a pretext for unjustified actions. He said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran's reciprocal response to this political misuse of the Board of Governors was immediately put into action, and the deployment of a set of new and advanced centrifuges has begun".
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Oil Prices Steady As Russia, Iran Tensions Fuel Supply Fears | Reuters
Oil prices steadied on Monday following 6% gains last week, with mounting tensions between Western powers and major oil producers Russia and Iran raising fears of supply disruptions and keeping a floor under prices. Brent crude futures fell 0.34%, or 26 cents, to $74.91 a barrel by 0931 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.89 a barrel, down 35 cents, or 0.49%. Both contracts last week notched their biggest weekly gains since late September after Russia fired a hypersonic missile at Ukraine in a warning to the United States and Britain following strikes by Kyiv on Russia using U.S. and British weapons. "Oil prices are starting the new week with some slight cool-off as market participants await more cues from geopolitical developments and the Fed's policy outlook to set the tone," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
Rent In Iran Soars By 42% Over Past Year, Joined By Rising Car And Energy Costs | Iran International
Recent statistics have shown sharp increases in housing rents and other essential costs as inflation soars amid Iran's worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Statistics Center revealed that rental rates in urban areas rose by approximately 42% in the last 12 months compared to the same period last year. This rate significantly outpaced general inflation by 8.6 percentage points, despite a government-imposed cap of 25% on rent hikes announced in July. Since July, following the implementation of a cap on rent increases, annual inflation in this sector, as reported by the Statistics Center, has been recorded at 41.4% in August, 41.7% in September, 41.8% in October, and now 41.7% in November.
MISSILE PROGRAM
Hezbollah Believed To Be Using Copy of Israeli Missile Against Israel | The New York Times
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been using an advanced missile against Israel that was reverse-engineered from an Israeli weapon it captured in a past war, according to Israeli defense officials. Hezbollah fighters are believed to have seized the original Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon and shipped them to their main state backer, Iran, for cloning, Israeli and Western defense officials and weapons experts say. Eighteen years later, Hezbollah is firing the rebranded Almas missiles at Israeli military bases, communication systems and air-defense launchers with enough precision and power to pose a significant challenge for Israeli military forces. The missiles have a range of up to 10 miles and carry advanced guidance seekers to track and lock onto targets.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Trump’s National Security Pick: I’m On Same Page As Jake Sullivan About ‘Our Adversaries’ | POLITICO
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) said Sunday that he has met with President Joe Biden’s National Security adviser Jake Sullivan — and that the two administrations are working collaboratively on national security issues during the transition... Waltz was also asked about the conflict in Gaza — and how the Trump administration broadly sees conflicts in the Middle East coming to an end. Waltz praised Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for operations against Hamas and Hezbollah, including the recent pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah. He noted that “Hamas has been devastated” and “Iran is incredibly exposed at this point.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joins ‘Fox News Sunday’ to preview the Trump administration’s border policy and approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel And Lebanon On Cusp Of Ceasefire Deal, Oficials Say | Axios
Israel and Lebanon are on the verge of a ceasefire agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollahconflict, two senior Israeli officials and two U.S. officials tell Axios. Why it matters: More than 3,500 Lebanese have been killed and more than 15,000 injured in more than a year of fighting. The agreement would also allow hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to gradually return home. Driving the news: The draft ceasefire agreement includes a 60-day transition period during which the Israeli military would withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army would deploy in areas close to the border and Hezbollah would move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.
UAE Arrests Three Suspects In Killing Of Israeli Rabbi | Reuters
Three people have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates in connection with the alleged murder of an Israeli citizen, the Emirati interior ministry said on Sunday. The ministry statement did not give details on the suspects or say if they had been charged, but said all legal powers would be used "to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability".
Iran Is Preparing To 'Respond' To Israel, Says Adviser To Supreme Leader | Reuters
Iran is preparing to "respond" to Israel, Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the country's supreme leader, said in an interview published by Iran's Tasnim news agency on Sunday. On Oct. 26, Israeli fighter jets carried out three waves of attacks on Iranian military targets, a few weeks after Iran fired a barrage of about 200 ballistic missiles against Israel. Iran has previously vowed to respond to Isarel's attacks.
IRAQ & IRAN
A recent Israeli airstrike in Syria killed Ali Mousa Daqduq, one of Hezbollah’s most wanted military leaders who served as the deputy commander of the Radwan Unit at the time of his death, a senior US defense official confirmed to NBC News. Daqduq, along with Qassem Soleimani, played an instrumental role in establishing Iraq’s Iran-backed Shia militias during the early 2000s. These militias now operate in Iraq, Syria, and Israel. Few details about Daqduq’s elimination are available. However, on November 10, both Israeli and Arab media reported that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strikes in Syria killed two prominent Hezbollah commanders: Ali Mousa Daqduq and Salim Ayyash. Despite the reports, the IDF did not comment on the reported targeting. Over the course of the war, the IDF has carried out numerous targeted eliminations of top Hezbollah commanders. For example, on September 24, an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed 12 Radwan Force commanders, including its chief, Ibrahim Aqil.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Iran Appoints Non-IRGC Official As Special Envoy For Afghanistan | Afghanistan International
Iran’s Foreign Minister has dismissed Hassan Kazemi Qomi from his role as Special Representative for Afghanistan, appointing Alireza Bikdeli as his successor. Bikdeli will now serve as the Special Representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Afghanistan, according to reports from Iranian media. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website notes that Bikdeli does not have a direct connection to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has historically played a significant role in shaping Iran’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan.