TOP STORIES
Iranian German Jamshid Sharmahd, Who Lived In U.S., Executed In Iran | Los Angeles Times
Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces, has been executed in Iran after being convicted on terror charges disputed by his family, the country’s judiciary reported Monday. Sharmahd, 69, was one of several Iranian dissidents abroad in recent years either tricked or kidnapped back to Iran as Tehran began lashing out after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Sharmahd’s execution comes just two days after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran amid the ongoing Mideast wars. While not directly linking his execution to the attack, the judiciary accused him of being “under orders from masters in Western intelligence agencies, the United States and the child-killing Zionist regime” when allegedly carrying out attacks in Iran.
US Warns Iran At UN Of 'Severe Consequences' In Case Of New Attacks | Reuters
The United States warned Iran at the United Nations Security Council on Monday of "severe consequences" if it undertakes any further aggressive acts against Israel or U.S. personnel in the Middle East. "We will not hesitate to act in self defense. Let there be no confusion. The United States does not want to see further escalation. We believe this should be the end of the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-member council. The Security Council met after Israel struck missile factories and other sites in Iran before dawn on Saturday. It was retaliation for Iran's Oct. 1 attack on Israel with about 200 ballistic missiles.
Israel’s Strike On Iran Also Hit Russian Arms Industry’s Once-Strong Image | The Wall Street Journal
Israel’s airstrikes early Saturday didn’t just destroy critical Iranian military infrastructure. They also battered the reputation of Russian military equipment, which has already been pummeled by poor performance during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Iran’s Russian-made air-defense equipment stopped few if any of the missiles that Israel launched from 100 jet fighters, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. Among Iran’s losses in the strikes were its three Russian S-300 air-defense systems. Israel earlier this year hit Iran’s only other S-300. The destruction comes atop similar strikes on S-300s by Ukrainian forces fighting Russia, plus even more embarrassing losses for Moscow. Kyiv has hit more-advanced S-400 systems, including strikes in May and in August that destroyed components or entire air-interceptor complexes.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Mullah Regime Executes German-Iranians | Bild
The German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd (69) has been executed by the Mullah regime. According to regime media, the death sentence against the German was carried out this morning. Sharmahd, who grew up in Hanover, worked as a software engineer and later ran a website in the USA where he denounced the crimes of the mullah regime and drew attention to the human rights violations of the Islamists. This put him in the regime's crosshairs: When Sharmahd had to make a stopover in Dubai on a business trip from Frankfurt in July 2020, he was kidnapped by agents of the Iranian regime. […] "It is a failure of German and American politics when the Islamic Republic executes a German citizen who has lived in the United States for decades," criticizes Iran expert Jason Brodsky of the NGO UANI, which campaigns against nuclear armament of the mullah regime. “Germany should break off or at least downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic because of this crime,” said Brodsky.
Iran Executes Iranian-German Prisoner Who Lived In US | Newsweek
An Iranian-German prisoner that previously lived in the U.S. was executed in Iran this week. On Monday, Iran executed Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German dual citizen kidnapped by Iranian security forces in Dubai in 2020, according to a statement from the country's judiciary on Monday... Jason Brodsky of United Against Nuclear Iran said on X: "Some deeply upsetting news: #Iran regime media is reporting that Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen who has lived in the U.S. for years, has been executed by the Islamic Republic. This sets a chilling precedent that the Islamic Republic can kidnap a Western national and then murder them. Shades of Tehran's execution of Habib Chaab. There better be a decisive response from Berlin and Washington here.”
Top strategists in Iran are ramping a push to obtain nuclear weapons and test them after the death of Hamas leader, and Tehran ally, Yahya Sinwar further exposed the country's vulnerabilities. […] Sinwar's death also represents a huge stumbling block for Iran, who could struggle to quickly form a strong relationship with other Hamas figures. Kasra Aarabi, director of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) research at United Against Nuclear Iran, a non-profit dedicated to preventing Iran from fulfilling its ambition to possess nuclear weapons, said Sinwar's death caused "irreparable damage." He told The Mirror: "While critics of Israel’s actions will claim Sinwar can be easily replaced, they fail to understand that the Iranian regime’s terrorist militia network is a deeply personalistic system, which operates through close patron-client relationships that have been cultivated over decades.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Israel is determined to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at the opening plenum of the Knesset’s winter session. He touted the IDF’s successful airstrike against Iran’s conventional military targets, including its production of antiballistic missiles, early Saturday. “Stopping the Iranian nuclear program is at the forefront of our minds, and for obvious reasons, I cannot share with you all our plans and actions in this regard,” Netanyahu said. “Our long-term strategy, which I hope will be achieved in the near future, is to dismantle the axis of evil, cut off its arms in the South and in the North... to exact a heavy price from Iran and its proxies, and to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” he said.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
US Presses Ahead With Modest Mideast Plans Despite Election Uncertainty | Associated Press
With the U.S. presidential election just a week away, the Biden administration is not giving up hope for short-term deals for cease-fires between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But U.S. officials are mindful that political uncertainty in the United States has made the sides reluctant to commit to any significant agreements before it is clear who has won the White House. In the meantime, the Middle East is uneasy about what happens next after Israel struck Iranian military targets over the weekend in retaliation for Iran’s barrage of ballistic missile attacks on Oct. 1.
Iran Executes US Resident, German Citizen Sharmahd Days After Israeli Attack | Iran International
Iran executed Jamshid Sharmahd, a 68-year-old software developer and California resident who also held German citizenship, the Judiciary's news agency said on Monday, two days after the biggest Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic in its history. Sharmahd was abducted by Iranian agents during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and forcibly taken to Iran. In February 2023, the Iranian judiciary sentenced him to death on charges of endangering national security. Sharmahd was convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group named Tondar accused of a deadly bombing incident that occurred in 2008 at a religious center in Shiraz, killing 14 and injuring 215 more. The accusation, repeatedly denied by the political prisoner, was never substantiated by documented evidence.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
As Gaza Talks Resume, Little Progress Is Expected Before The U.S. Election | The New York Times
As the Biden administration makes a final diplomatic push in the Middle East before next week’s U.S. presidential election, little is expected to be achieved before the result is known, officials and analysts in the region said on Monday. Envoys from Israel, Egypt, the United States and Qatar renewed talks in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Monday over a cease-fire in Gaza. American mediators were also expected this week to continue to try to reach a truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But few expect a conclusive result from either effort before the election next Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel waiting to see who will succeed President Biden before committing to a diplomatic trajectory, according to four officials briefed on Israel’s internal thinking. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Iran’s air defenses and missile production capabilities have been weakened by Israel’s strikes, calling it “a change in the balance of power.” The remarks are made shortly after the IDF’s strikes on Iran late Friday, but only released by Gallant’s office now. “The response seems very precise, high-quality, and deadly for what we wanted to hit and I think the IDF has not done an operation like this, the Air Force has not done an operation like this since Operation Focus,” Gallant says to top IAF officials and IDF chief of staff, referring to the opening strikes of the 1967 Six Day War. “This is a proof of ability… A very accurate hit on the radars and the air defense systems, which actually creates a big disadvantage for the enemy when we want to attack later,” he says.
ECONOMIC WARFARE
Iran Moves To Triple Military Budget Amid Israel Tensions | Barron’s
Iran's government has proposed to triple its military budget, its spokeswoman said Tuesday, as tensions with arch-rival Israel rise following recent tit-for-tat missile strikes. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani outlined the move that would see "a significant increase of more than 200 percent in the country's military budget" at a news conference in Tehran. She did not elaborate and Tehran has not disclosed any figures, but according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think tank, Iran's military spending in 2023 was about $10.3 billion. The proposed budget will be debated, with lawmakers expected to finalise it in March. Iran and Israel on Monday accused each other of endangering Middle East peace in a heated exchange at a UN meeting.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Authorities Block Iranians From Ancient Sites Ahead Of Cyrus The Great Day | Iran International
This week, Iranian authorities once again closed access to the ancient city of Persepolis and the tomb of one of Persia's most celebrated rulers to prevent Iranians from gathering to honor Cyrus the Great. “The deployment of law enforcement and security forces in Pasargadae began on October 26, and fencing and concrete barriers have also been set up on the road leading to the tomb of Cyrus,” wrote Seday-e Miras, connected to the state's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, on Sunday. According to this report, access restrictions to these two historic sites apply only to Iranian citizens until Thursday, while foreign tourists and tour groups can still visit Pasargadae, the original capital of the Achaemenid Empire, and Persepolis, its ceremonial capital, without restrictions.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Reporter Torches Russia In Shock Iran Foreign Ministry Press Conference | Iran International
reporter blasted Russia at a usually staid Iranian foreign ministry press conference on Monday for failing to provide Iran with means to defend itself against an Israeli attack, discomfiting a government spokesman who urged civility. Russia's failure to provide promised S-400 anti-aircraft systems or Su-35 fighters left Iran vulnerable, Ali-Akbar Saadati of the Kar va Kargar daily said, even after Tehran had provided Moscow hundreds of drones for its invasion of Ukraine.
How Israel’s Attack On Iran Hurts Russia | The Telegraph
Iran’s ability to supply ballistic missiles to Russia has been hit by Saturday’s Israeli strikes on weapons facilities across the Islamic Republic. While the attack, involving more than 100 aircraft, targeted Iran’s ability to strike Israel, it could also have serious repercussions for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Satellite images showed some sites hit by Israel housed “planetary mixers”, which are used to make solid fuel for ballistic missiles. As a result, if Iran needs its own supply of missiles for fresh attacks on Israel, experts say it could now struggle to provide more projectiles to Russia due to a lack of fuel.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Houthi Forces Attack Greek Bulker In Red Sea | The Maritime Executive
Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched another attack on a merchant ship, ending a comparatively peaceful gap of 18 days in the Red Sea. The attack followed two days after Israel's long-expected airstrike on Iran, the Houthi organization's primary sponsor. On Monday at about 1435 hours GMT, the master of a merchant ship reported an explosion near his ship. A second explosion followed at 1503, followed by a third at 1637. The vessel and the crew are reported safe and are continuing to the next port of call, according to the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The multiple-strike pattern follows the recent Houthi practice of targeting a vessel repeatedly as it transits past the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Police Chief: Iran Expels 850,000 Undocumented Afghan Migrants | News.Az
The chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces announced on Monday that 850,000 undocumented Afghan migrants have been repatriated, part of a larger plan to deport 2 million illegal residents by the end of the Iranian year on March 20, News.Az reports citing Iran Front Page. Answering a question posed by Tasnim News Agency, General Ahmad Reza Radan emphasized that the police are committed to ensuring that illegal foreign nationals cannot find employment or settle in the country. He highlighted that some of these individuals voluntarily surrendered, while others were identified and arrested. When asked whether the expulsion of illegal foreign nationals would impact crime reduction, General Radan affirmed that it would. However, he noted that the precise results would need to be evaluated over the long term.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Germany protested to Iran on Tuesday over the execution of Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who lived in the U.S. and was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces, and recalled its ambassador to Berlin for consultations. The Foreign Ministry wrote on the social network X that Iran’s charge d’affaires in Berlin was summoned to hear “our sharp protest” against Tehran’s action and added that it reserves the right to take “further measures.” It didn’t elaborate. At the same time, German Ambassador Markus Potzel “protested in the strongest terms against the murder of Jamshid Sharmahd” to the Iranian foreign minister, it said. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock then recalled him to Berlin for consultations.
MISCELLANEOUS
How Russia, China And Iran Are Interfering In The Presidential Election | The New York Times
When Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, spreading divisive and inflammatory posts online to stoke outrage, its posts were brash and riddled with spelling errors and strange syntax. They were designed to get attention by any means necessary. “Hillary is a Satan,” one Russian-made Facebook post read. Now, eight years later, foreign interference in American elections has become far more sophisticated, and far more difficult to track. Disinformation from abroad — particularly from Russia, China and Iran — has matured into a consistent and pernicious threat, as the countries test, iterate and deploy increasingly nuanced tactics, according to U.S. intelligence and defense officials, tech companies and academic researchers. The ability to sway even a small pocket of Americans could have outsize consequences for the presidential election, which polls generally consider a neck-and-neck race.