TOP STORIES
Trump’s Return Gives Israel A Gap To Derail Iran’s Nuclear Plans | Bloomberg
Israel sees Donald Trump’s dramatic US election victory as freeing its hand to press on with the wars against Hamas and Hezbollah and even contemplate strikes aimed at disabling Iran’s nuclear program. “You do what you have to do,” Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month when asked how to handle the showdown with Iran and its regional proxies. That carte blanche contrasts with calls by outgoing American leader Joe Biden for Netanyahu to show restraint and ensure more aid is dispensed to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, even as he’s stepped up military support to Israel. The likelihood of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities has increased, said Nadav Shtrauchler, a former Netanyahu adviser.
An Iranian student who stripped to her underwear in Tehran to protest alleged harassment over her clothing has been transferred to a center of "specialized care", the Iranian Embassy in Paris said Wednesday. "The student in question suffers from psychological fragility and was transferred by an ambulance of the emergency social services to a specialized care center," it said, without giving further details about the center. Concern has grown over the whereabouts and welfare of the young woman, with activists worried authorities could confine her in a psychiatric institution. The statement from the Paris embassy described her as a mother of two children who was separated from her husband.
UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Says He May Head To Iran Soon As Trump Return Looms | Reuters
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed atomic programme and that he expected to work cooperatively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Grossi had previously said he hoped to go to Tehran ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. vote as he seeks to resolve several long-standing issues that have dogged relations between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western powers. "We are already talking to colleagues in Iran for my next visit maybe in a few days. We still have to confirm the time but this will be done," he told a news conference in Rome after a nuclear energy event. Without confirming it, Iranian officials have welcomed a visit from Grossi, saying Tehran is ready to cooperate with the IAEA to resolve outstanding issues, without giving details.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iranian Rial Reportedly At Historic Low, As Trump Wins US Election | Jewish News Syndicate
The Iranian rial dropped to a historic low compared with the dollar on Wednesday, as former President Donald Trump was elected the 47th U.S. president, the Associated Press reported. “The rial traded at 703,000 rials to the dollar, traders in Tehran said, breaking through the record before recovering slightly later in the day to 696,150 to $1,” per the AP. “Speaks for itself,” wrote Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.’
Former US Iran Envoy Brian Hook Set For A Comeback In Trump 2.0 | Iran International
US media has reported that Donald Trump’s former Iran special envoy is making a comeback as the new administration is formed in transition, likely signaling a tough policy on Iran… Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against a Nuclear Iran, told Iran International: “Personnel is policy and I think Brian heading transition efforts at the State Department is a signal that the incoming Trump administration will be reassessing US Iran policy and reviving a maximum pressure approach, which was very successful.” Hook’s legacy leaves Iran experts such as Brodsky open to his return, while the State Department continues to put out the fires of last year’s embarrassing dismissal of Iran envoy, Robert Malley, accused of leaking secret files on Iran.
Iranian Officials Downplay Importance Of U.S. Election | i24 News
Iranians react to Trump’s U.S. election victory. Natasha Kirtchuk and Jason Brodsky, a policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, discuss the topic.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Trump's Victory Pressures Tehran On Nuclear Strategy | Iran International
Minutes after Donald Trump declared victory, hardline Iranian lawmaker Ahmad Naderi summed up the establishment’s stance: “We have a blood feud against Trump!”—a reference to his 2020 order to kill Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Hard feelings toward trump among Iranian officials existed even before Soleimani was killed. In 2019, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had delivered a message from the US president: “I do not see Trump as worthy of any message exchange, and I have no reply for him, now or in the future.”
IAEA Chief Says May Visit Iran Soon For Nuclear Talks | Jewish News Syndicate
International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi may travel to Iran in the coming days to discuss unresolved issues around Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Grossi also said he expects to work collaboratively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “We are already talking to colleagues in Iran for my next visit, maybe in a few days. We still have to confirm the time but this will be done,” he said, according to Reuters.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom Movement Regains Spotlight | Iran International
When an Iranian university student stripped down to her underwear—a move that drew global attention from figures like Richard Branson to Nobel Peace laureates—her protest refocused attention on the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. The mysterious young woman was said to have resorted to the unheard of action, in a strictly controlled Muslim country, after she was harassed by university security for not wearing proper hijab. International human rights lawyer Gissou Nia said the female university student is another example in a long list of cases where women’s bodies are being policed.
Student Who Stripped On Campus Undergoing Treatment, Iran Minister Says | Iran International
The female university student who shed her clothing on Saturday in an apparent protest over Islamic dress code enforcement was not expelled and is now undergoing treatment, an Iranian minister said on Wednesday without providing details. "Investigations revealed that she is experiencing family and psychological challenges and is currently receiving treatment with her family’s support," science minister Hossein Simaei Sarraf said. Sarraf provided no additional details about the woman’s medical diagnosis, the reasons for her treatment or where it is taking place.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran Says US Elections Are An Opportunity To Review ‘Wrong Approaches’ | Reuters
U.S. elections are an opportunity to review the "wrong approaches" of the American government, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday according to state media, after Donald Trump won the presidency on Wednesday. Former President Donald Trump's return to the White House could mean tougher enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, which he initiated in 2018 after exiting a nuclear pact between Tehran and global powers. "We had bitter experiences with various U.S. governments' past policies and approaches. Elections are an opportunity to review the wrong approaches of the past," Baghaei said.
Iran Reacts To Trump’s Victory, Citing ‘Bitter Experiences’ With US Policy | Iran International
Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded cautiously on Thursday to US President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory, reflecting on past US policies and stressing that Tehran will judge the new administration by its actions. As Trump prepares to return to the White House as the 47th president, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry expressed Tehran’s cautious stance, stating, “We have had very bitter experiences with the past policies and approaches of various US administrations.” In a statement, ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the actions of the US government will be the ultimate benchmark for Iran. "What matters to Iran and serves as a criterion for evaluation is the performance of the US government," he added.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The United States is continuing to send forces to the Middle East ahead of an expected Iranian attack on Israel, with flight tracking sites showing American F-15E aircraft en route to Jordan. According to Haaretz, at least 12 of the jets are on their way to the region, joining the fighter planes already deployed. There is no formal announcement from the US military. Iranian leaders have warned they will mete out a “punishing” reprisal attack against Israel for a series of retaliatory sorties on October 26 — themselves a reaction to a massive Iranian ballistic missile attack on October 1 — that Jerusalem says knocked out the Islamic Republic’s air defenses and missile production capabilities.
ECONOMIC WARFARE
Iran’s Booming Oil Flow Under Scrutiny After Trump Win | Bloomberg
Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House has brought Iran’s booming oil flows back into focus — as well as the possibility that the president-elect will once again try to crush them. Back in 2019, Trump led the US in a so-called maximum pressure campaign designed to choke off the Islamic Republic’s exports and, with it, Tehran’s access to petrodollars. Under Joe Biden’s leadership, however, flows have boomed again with an emphasis on policies that cause friction to Iran’s shipments but don’t curtail them.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel Airstrikes Hit Beirut Suburbs | Voice Of America
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes Thursday targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon killed at least 40 people. Thursday’s attacks included a strike near Lebanon’s international airport, which came after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order telling people to leave the area. Israel’s military said Thursday it had conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah headquarters and military infrastructure in Beirut.
CHINA & IRAN
Trump Could Harden Iran Oil Stand But Raise China Ire, Analysts Say | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump's return to the White House could mean tougher enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, potentially trimming global supplies, but could also carry geopolitical risks including raising the ire of its top customer China, according to analysts. Cracking down on OPEC-member Iran would support global oil prices, but the effect could also be offset by other Trump policies, from measures to expand domestic drilling, the imposition of tariffs on China that could depress economic activity, or an easing of relations with Russia that could unfetter its sanctioned crude shipments. “Trump cuts both ways for oil prices,” said Clay Seigle, board member at the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations and chairman of its Finance Committee.
China's Cheap Iranian Oil Supply At Risk From Tighter Trump Sanctions | Reuters
China faces a squeeze on supplies of cheap Iranian crude, which make up about 13% of imports by the world's biggest buyer of oil, if Donald Trump ramps up enforcement of sanctions on Tehran after his return as U.S. president in January. Trump, who won Tuesday's election, Edison Research projected, is expected during his second term to re-impose his "maximum pressure policy" of heightened sanctions on Iran's oil industry over concerns about its nuclear programme, say Iranian, Arab and Western officials.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran-Backed Militia Threatens US Bases In Iraq | Jewish News Syndicate
An Iranian-backed militia in Iraq is threatening to attack American bases in the country if it is determined that Israel used Iraqi territory in its retaliatory strike against Iran on Oct. 26. Sheikh Ali al-Asadi, head of the Political Council of the Nujaba Movement, also known as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, made the threat to Newsweek in an article published on Monday. Iranian and Iraqi officials have claimed that Israel did use Iraqi airspace in its attack, but Asadi disputed this.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian Interior Minister, said that the production of traditional drugs in Afghanistan has decreased, but the production of industrial drugs such as methamphetamine has increased. Momeni called the rise in the production of industrial drugs in Afghanistan dangerous for the security of the region and the world. Iran's interior minister made the remarks on Wednesday, November 6, on the sidelines of an Iranian cabinet meeting.