TOP STORIES
US Says Russia Received Missiles From Iran, Piles On Sanctions | Reuters
Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine, the United States said on Tuesday as it imposed fresh sanctions on ships and companies it said were involved in supplying Moscow with Iranian weapons. At a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Kyiv he and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy will make, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would be "a dramatic escalation."
Russia Is Close To Signing New Bilateral Treaty With Iran, Shoigu Says | Reuters
Russia has nearly completed the required procedures to sign a new bilateral treaty with Iran soon, state news agency TASS quoted top security official Sergei Shoigu as saying on Tuesday. "We look forward to the imminent conclusion of a new basic interstate treaty. We are completing the internal procedures necessary for the preparation of documents for signing by the presidents," Shoigu said. Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran and other states hostile towards the United States, such as North Korea, in the two and a half years since the start of the Ukraine war.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany are working to restrict direct flights between Europe and Iran in response to Tehran’s delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. The sanctions are being levied in coordination with actions by the U.S., with the Biden administration blacklisting a number of Iranian military officials, Iranian and Russian companies.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran Said To Test Missiles Ahead Of Expected Attack | i24 News
The impending Iranian attack on Israel ‘could be different’ than the April attack, Jason Brodsky tells Natasha Raquel — with Tehran undeterred by Western sanctions.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Concerns Grow Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities | Fox News
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the latest on allegations Iran is supplying Russia with missiles on 'Special Report.'
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iranian Artists Need Protection From State Threats – Report | Iran International
On the second anniversary of Iran's sweeping anti-regime protests, a new report by two rights groups calls for urgent international intervention to protect Iranian artists who face severe repression for their creative dissent. Compiled by the Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) and Voices Unbound (VU), the 100-page document urges the global community to recognize art as a form of political resistance and to take immediate steps to safeguard artists facing persecution. Despite condemnation from the international community, the report says dozens of Iranian artists are serving prison terms, and some face execution as a direct result of their creative work.
Human Rights Watch Reports Arrest, Harassment Of Iranian Protesters’ Families | Iran International
The Iranian authorities have been accused of wrongfully arresting, threatening and harassing family members of dozens of those killed, executed, or imprisoned during the nationwide protests since 2022. In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said “two years after the outbreak of the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Iranian authorities continue to silence and punish family members demanding accountability for violations against their loved ones.” Among them is Mashallah Karami, father of protester Mohammad, who was executed in January 2023. He has since been sentenced to 8 years and 10 months in prison on fake charges of “participation in money laundering” and “obtaining property through illegitimate means.” Now, he faces a fine and the confiscation of his assets as part of his sentence.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iraqi security officials said an explosion targeted a site used by the U.S. military next to Baghdad airport late Tuesday, one day before an expected visit by Iran’s president. The expected visit by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Baghdad Wednesday would be his first official trip abroad since taking office. Iraq’s security media cell said in a statement that an explosion was heard at 11 p.m. at the airport, in an area used by advisers to the U.S.-led international coalition.
USS Georgia Guided Missile Submarine Arrives In Middle East | Al-Monitor
The USS Georgia, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying more than 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles, has passed through the Suez Canal after several weeks in the Mediterranean, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday. The United States deployed the USS Georgia in response to retaliation threats from Iran and Hezbollah against Israel for twin assassinations of Hezbollah’s top commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut and Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. The Georgia has remained in the Mediterranean since then as Israel prepared for Hezbollah’s response, which the Israeli Air Force preempted with strikes across southern Lebanon in late August. Hezbollah then fired more than 320 drones and rockets into Israel.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Iran’s Missile Supply To Moscow May Reveal True Scale Of Pezeshikan’s Powers | The Guardian
…There are many possible explanations. The first is that Iran, as it claims, has not supplied the weapons. Ultimately, the intelligence that the US says it has been sharing with partners in recent days will be tested on the basis of the missiles expected to slam into Ukraine’s energy infrastructure later this winter. Iran also claims it has not supplied Shahed drones to Moscow, but their distinctive debris is littered around the country they invaded in 2022. The second explanation is that, in return for the missiles, Russia is supplying something that Iran finds irresistible either in the form of nuclear technology or nuclear materials. Blinken spoke in these terms at his joint press conference with the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, in London. Iran may have calculated Russia would emerge well from the struggle in Ukraine and wanted to be close to the victor. Russia’s former defence minister Sergei Shoigu was in Tehran recently discussing the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership. The third is that Pezeshkian is a well-intentioned figure distracted by a multitude of domestic crises. The contract to supply these missiles was, according to the US Treasury, signed in late 2023 before his election and the death of the previous president, Ebrahim Raisi, in May.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iranian President Visits Iraq On His First Foreign Trip | Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Iraq on Wednesday on his first foreign trip, signaling the clerical establishment's intention to strengthen ties with a strategic ally of both Tehran and Washington as regional tensions rise. Pezeshkian, a relative moderate who was elected in July, met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani at the start of his three-day visit that Baghdad said would include the signing of a number of agreements and discussion of the Gaza war and the situation in the Middle East.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Iran’s Interior Minister Says Afghans Should Go And Rebuild Their Own Country | Iran International
Iran's Minister of Interior has called for Afghan migrants residing in Iran to "go to their own country and work there to rebuild it" amid rising numbers of immigrants from neighboring Afghanistan. Eskandar Momeni's comments, delivered during a television appearance on Monday, have drawn criticism for perceived contradiction with Iran's own policies, particularly as the country continues to issue thousands of visas to Afghans daily. During the program, Momeni justified the remarks by stating that "Iran cannot handle this volume of migration." His comments, however, have been met with skepticism from observers who argue that Iran's actions contradict its rhetoric. While Iranian officials, including Momeni, repeatedly say that Afghan migrants should return home, their actions, such as the continued issuance of visas, suggest otherwise.