TOP STORIES
US Deepens Sanctions On Iran's 'Shadow' Oil Fleet | Reuters
The Biden administration on Tuesday ramped up its sanctions on Iran, targeting 35 entities and vessels that it said transported illicit Iranian petroleum to foreign markets as part of what the U.S. Treasury Department called Tehran's "shadow fleet." The sanctions build on those previously imposed on Oct. 11 and come in response to Iran's Oct. 1 attack on Israel and to its announced nuclear escalations, the U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement. “Iran continues to funnel revenues from its petroleum trade toward the development of its nuclear program, proliferation of its ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and sponsorship of its regional terrorist proxies, risking further destabilizing the region,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.
With Assad Challenged, a Push to Cut Syria’s Ties to Iran Grows More Unlikely | The New York Times
For months, his country was battered by escalating Israeli bombardment, while behind the scenes, the United States and Gulf countries courted him diplomatically. It was a secretive, two-pronged approach meant to pressure President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to abandon his most important regional alliance with Hezbollah and Iran. The overtures to Mr. al-Assad were the product of what Israel and its allies saw as a rare but risky opportunity — with Iran’s regional network fracturing under Israeli attack, they hoped to force Iran’s most important partner out of the alliance, according to former U.S. officials, two European diplomats and four Israeli officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
US Military Destroys Weapons Systems In Syria’s Deir Ezzor After Attack On Base | Alarabiya News
The US military conducted what it says were self-defense strikes in Syria’s Deir Ezzor, US officials said Tuesday, adding that they were not related to ongoing clashes in northeastern Syria. Washington has so far distanced itself from the offensive launched against Syrian government-held areas of the country. The US has urged for de-escalation and said “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” a designated terrorist organization, was leading the offensive. The Pentagon said US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces destroyed several weapons systems near the MSS Euphrates in Syria on Tuesday morning. Three rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars were all targeted by the US after being deemed a “clear and imminent threat” to US and Coalition forces, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Russia, Iran Form Coalition To Support Houthis, Fuel Anti-American Resistance | Serambinews
With Iran's most powerful proxy force, Hezbollah, now crippled, the Houthis in Yemen -- aided by Tehran and now Moscow as well -- are emerging as a growing threat to American interests. The group is sure to pose an early challenge to President-elect Trump… The Houthis “will become more important in Iran’s axis of resistance after the defeat of Hezbollah,” United Against Nuclear Iran policy director Jason Brodsky told the Sun. “They are a viable target for the Americans, and they are also an easier target than, say, Russia and Ukraine.” Washington also needs to “start targeting the archers in Iran, not just the arrows in Yemen,” Mr. Brodsky said, adding that taming the Houthis could send a powerful global signal: “If we are reluctant to confront Iran and the Houthis, what does that say about our readiness to defend our interests against Russia, China and the rest of the region?”
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
The first priority for the Trump administration will be to release the hostages immediately and with no further delay, Donald Trump's newly-appointed Middle East Advisor, Massad Boulos, told French paper Le Point in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. Boulos added that while the release of the hostages should be separate from issues relating to the future of Gaza, a hostage deal should come within the framework of a temporary ceasefire. "The president believes that the hostages must be released immediately and that there must be no further delay," he told Le Point. "According to him, their fate should not be linked to other issues related to the day after in Gaza. Several countries are currently helping to achieve this goal, whether it is Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, or even Turkey."
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Expands Sanctions Against Iran’s ‘Shadow Fleet’ | Barron’s
The United States sanctioned 35 companies and ships Tuesday it accused of being involved in Iran's so-called "shadow fleet" illicitly selling Iranian oil to foreign markets in violation of existing designations. The sanctions, which include firms based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Panama, and Hong Kong, build on previous sanctions against Iran's oil industry, some of which came in response to Tehran's attacks against Israel earlier this year. Iran' illicit oil sales help fund its nuclear, ballistic missile and drone programs, along with regional proxies, "risking further destabilizing the region," Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iranian authorities have allowed Narges Mohammadi, the country’s most prominent human rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, to leave prison for 21 days to recover from surgery for suspected cancer, a decision her family has criticized as “too little, too late.” An Iranian prosecutor on Tuesday suspended Mohammadi’s prison term for three weeks – instead of the three months requested by her family and lawyers – to allow her to recover from an operation she had in November to remove part of a bone in her lower right leg, where doctors had discovered a lesion suspected of being cancerous. Mohammadi’s family told CNN that she has been left “unable to walk.” “She is in an ambulance on her way home,” the family said in a statement on Wednesday.
Iran Tightens Hijab Laws As Women's Resistance Grows | DW
The Iranian parliament has approved the so-called hijab and chastity bill, which mandates women to wear hijabs and introduces strict penalties on those who do not. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been required to cover their hair in public. Increasing numbers choose not to wear hijabs, especially since the 2022 death in police custody of Iranian-Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old had been arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran Rules Out US Talks Before Trump Takes Office | Iran International
Iran has no current intention to engage in dialogue with Washington, citing a lack of appropriate grounds for such discussions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told The New Arab on Monday. "We are waiting to see how the new administration formulates its policies, and then we will determine our course of action," he added in comments released on Tuesday. On Iran's negotiations with Europe over the nuclear issue, Araghchi, a key architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement, noted that Tehran has "many reasons to be pessimistic."
Trump Mulls Replacing Pete Hegseth With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis | The Wall Street Journal
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth, his pick to run the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid Republican senators’ concerns over mounting allegations about the former Fox News host’s personal life. Picking DeSantis, a 2024 GOP primary rival for the presidency, would amount to a stunning turn for Trump. But he would also find in the governor a well-known conservative with a service record who shares Trump’s—and Hegseth’s—view on culling what they see as “woke” policies in the military. Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth might not survive further scrutiny, according to people close to the president-elect’s team, which considers the next 48 hours to be crucial to his fate.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel Was Targeted In An Iranian Hack: Report | Newsweek
Kashyap "Kash" Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, was among the targets of an Iranian hack, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The Iranian hackers accessed some of Patel's communications, according to the news outlet. "Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration's efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump's policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director," Alex Pfeiffer, spokesperson for Trump's transition team, said in a statement to CNN. Newsweek reached out to Pfeiffer for comment on Tuesday night. This isn't the first time the Trump campaign has been the target of a hack by nation-state actors.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iranian President Sounds Alarm On Depleted Foreign Reserves | Iran International
Iran’s president warned on Monday that the state is short of foreign currency and without parliamentary allocation of dollars for imports, gasoline prices would rise amid the country's economic crisis. In a televised address, Masoud Pezeshkian admitted that in spite of promises that prices would not rise and that there would be no foreign exchange allocated for gasoline imports, it was a necessary means to manage in the worst recession since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. "When the allocation of foreign exchange is not compensated, gasoline prices will inevitably rise," he said.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRANS
Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani on Tuesday made his first public appearance in Beirut since he was seriously wounded in the face and hands in the first of two waves of Israeli attacks involving exploding devices in mid-September. Amani returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing medical treatment in Iran, and on Tuesday visited the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was killed on September 27 in a massive Israeli strike on his underground bunker. The wide-scale, coordinated explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah members on September 17 and 18 dealt a massive blow to the Iran-backed terror group and kicked off an Israeli campaign that continued with the assassination of almost all of Hezbollah’s leadership, including Nasrallah, and a limited Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
A Geopolitical Cauldron Simmers In Syria After Rebel Attacks | The New York Times
The timing appeared to be both calculated and opportunistic. As soon as a deal to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was signed last week, another conflict kicked off not far away in Syria. Syrian rebels launched sweeping assaults against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in northwestern Syria, taking control of large portions of territory, including much of the city of Aleppo. The rebels also forced Russian forces to abandon a base near Aleppo and militias backed by Iran to cede control of the town of Tel Rifaat, a Syrian outpost near the Turkish border, according to Syrian humanitarian and research groups.
Syrian Rebels Advance Close To Hama City, Piling Pressure On Assad And His Allies | Reuters
Fighters from a U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led coalition battled Syrian government forces in northeast Syria early on Tuesday, both sides said, opening a new front for President Bashar al-Assad who lost Aleppo in a sudden rebel advance last week. Airstrikes also targeted Iran-backed militia groups supporting Syrian government forces in the strategically vital region, a security source in eastern Syria and a Syrian army source said. The sources both blamed the airstrikes on the U.S.-led military coalition which operates against Islamic State in Syria and has a small detachment of American troops on the ground. Reuters could not independently confirm the foreign force was involved in strikes and the coalition did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran, Iraqi Militias Net Over $1 Billion In Fuel Oil Smuggling | Iran International
Iran and allied Iraqi militias have earned at least a billion dollars in a scheme to launder fuel oil from the Islamic Republic as originating from its Arab neighbor, Reuters reported, providing a key economic lifeline amid US-led sanctions. The profits come from sales abroad to mostly Asian markets as well as diversion to Iraqi asphalt plants at government-subsidized prices, the news agency reported citing sources and Western intelligence reports. They estimated that the proceeds from the illicit trade ranged from $1 billion to over $3 billion annually.
TURKEY & IRAN
Iran Expresses Syria Frustration To Turkey In A Tense Vist | Middle East Eye
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Ankara on Monday was fraught with tension as he accused Turkey of enabling a Syrianrebel offensive to seize Aleppo, two people familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Araghchi made the trip to Turkey after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, where he reaffirmed Tehran’s support for Damascus as rebels continued their stunning advance. Observers in Ankara expected Araghchi to deliver a message from Assad aimed at encouraging a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict. That didn't happen. “He didn’t bring anything from Assad,” said one person familiar with the talks. Instead, Araghchi expressed Tehran’s grievances, accusing Turkey of betrayal by allegedly supporting the rebel offensive. He also reiterated that Iran would back Assad under any circumstances.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Germany Arrests Lebanese Man Accused Of Being A Member Of Hezbollah | The Times Of Israel
German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the Lebanese terror organization in Germany. Federal prosecutors say the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested today in the Hannover region. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors say he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the terrorists.