TOP STORIES
Iran's Uranium Enrichment Rolls On, Key Issues Stalled, IAEA Reports Show | Reuters
Iran's production of highly enriched uranium continues, and it has not improved cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog despite a resolution demanding this at the agency's last board meeting, watchdog reports seen by Reuters showed on Thursday. Despite the resolution passed at the last quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors in June, nuclear diplomacy has largely been on hold with the election last month of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the U.S. presidential election due in November.
Secretive Trader ‘Hector’ Seen as Global Kingpin for Iranian Oil | Bloomberg
When Milavous Group Ltd. rented an upper floor in a swanky Dubai corporate tower two years ago, few had heard of the firm. Yet within months it won outsized influence in global energy markets — said to be steered by a businessman whom traders describe as one of the most powerful kingpins distributing Iranian oil worldwide. From its perch in Dubai, Milavous has raked in billions of dollars in sales from commodities originating out of Iran, Russia and elsewhere, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity discussing confidential business dealings.
US Military Says It Rescued Two Civilian Iranian Mariners In International Waters | Al Arabiya
Sailors assigned to a US aircraft carrier rescued two civilian Iranian mariners in international waters on Aug. 23, the US military said in a statement on Thursday. “The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group rescued two mariners in distress in the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations (AOR),” the US Central Command said. Two carrier strike groups — the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln – were currently in the Middle East. The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group was conducting routine operations in Central Command’s area of operation.
UANI IN THE NEWS
What Is Behind The Delay In Iran’s Promised Retaliation Against Israel? | Al Arabiya
Nearly a month has passed since Iran vowed to “punish” Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. “A war with Israel would drag the US into a bigger conflict, which may hurt the chances of Kamala Harris in the November election. The Islamic Republic will do anything to stop Trump from being elected again,” Saeid Golkar, an associate professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and senior advisor at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Al Arabiya English.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Appoints National Oil Company CEO, SHANA Says | Reuters
Iran's new oil minister Mohsen Paknejad appointed Hamid Boord as CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Iran's oil ministry news agency SHANA reported on Thursday. "By order of the oil minister, Hamid Boord has been appointed as deputy oil minister and CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company," SHANA said. The minister also appointed members of the company's administrative board, SHANA added.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Israel Accuses Iran Of Building Terrorist Infrastructure In West Bank | Iran International
An Israeli official, speaking to Iran International, revealed that "terrorists, with the support of the Islamic Republic," have established military bases in cities and refugee camps across the West Bank. The official emphasized that Israel's ongoing operation, aimed at dismantling this Iranian-backed network, has no set end date. The senior Israeli official outlined the extent of Iran's involvement in the West Bank, accusing Tehran of being the driving force behind the growing militant presence in the region. "Tehran has been involved in equipping, planning, and building terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank for more than two and a half years," the official stated.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran’s president ordered an investigation Thursday into the death of a man in custody after activists alleged he had been tortured to death by police officers in the country’s north, the latest such fatality to gain the nation’s attention. The order came from reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, elected last month, who campaigned on a promise to halt such deaths in custody. In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf correctly, sparked nationwide protests. In the latest case, five police officers have already been temporarily detained as the investigation is ongoing.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Stretched US Navy Eyes Risky New Waters In South China Sea | Reuters
As two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups patrolled the Indian Ocean this week in an explicit effort to deter Iran from striking Israel and sparking a major regional conflict, a very different military messaging effort was underway in a luxury conference center in Manila. The 35th annual Military Law and Operations Conference organized by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command – running from Aug. 27-30 – is held every year in a different country in the region – but its presence in the capital of the Philippines this week was likely far from a coincidence.
Iran’s New President Wants Better Ties With The West. Can He Succeed? | Financial Times
Masoud Pezeshkian pledged to boost the economy and ease social restrictions. But he faces factional infighting, international skepticism and hostilities with Israel.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Defense Minister Says Israel Must ‘Widen The Goals’ Of War To Return Residents To The North | Fox
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday said Israel must expand its stated goals in the ongoing war in Gaza to include returning Israelis to their homes in the north after they were evacuated amid ongoing attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a strategic briefing and discussion with the IDF chief of the general staff and senior IDF officials, Gallant said Israel’s mission on the northern front was clear, "ensuring the safe return of the northern communities to their homes." "In order to achieve this, we must widen the goals of this war," Gallant said, adding that he plans to raise the issue before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Cabinet.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Ukraine Opens Case Against Iranian General For Aiding Russia In War Crimes | Iran International
Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, announced that a case has been opened against an IRGC brigadier general, Abbas Mousavi Sharifi Mollasaraei, on suspicion of aiding Russia in war and war crimes against Ukrainian. On August 26, a day after this announcement, Yuriy Bilousov, Head of the War Crimes Department at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office, stated in a television program that the opening of this criminal case signifies that Ukraine now recognizes Iran as a party involved in the war on its territory: "In fact, Ukraine has informed the entire world and presented evidence showing that Iranian military representatives are participating in Russia's attack on Ukraine."