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Having faced continuous drone attacks by Iran and its proxies over the last two years, the US military is responding by standing up its first one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East—and using drones that borrow design and technology directly from Iran. The squadron falls under the control of a task force set up by US Central Command just months ago, Task Force Scorpion Strike, and will use drones called Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS drones. The LUCAS drones were created after developers reverse-engineered a Shahed drone from Iran, which the US captured a few years ago, a US defense official said. The Shahed drones have also been employed by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.
In the Aftermath of War with Israel, Iran Execution Rate Spikes to 20 Year High | Haaretz
On the morning of November 10, inside Evin Prison in Tehran, guards in Ward 7 closed off the doors leading to Ehsan Afrashteh’s cell. The 31-year-old civil engineer had been sentenced to death on charges of spying for Israel and was awaiting his second retrial. “After brutally beating him, he was taken to a high-security ward, his head and face were covered in blood, begging for help from others,” a post on Iranian journalist and human rights activist Mehdi Mahmoudian's X account read only minutes after it happened.
Iran Wants to Buy Water from Neighbouring Countries | Deutsche Presse-Agentur
The Iranian government is planning to buy water from neighbouring countries in response to a nationwide drought. “If a country is willing to sell water, we will buy it,” said Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi . . .
UANI IN THE NEWS
A string of clips apparently showing CCTV footage of Iranian soldiers getting blown up by Israeli air strikes was partially generated by AI – but not all of it, an expert on the country has told the JC. . . . Kasra Aarabi, Director of IRGC Research, United Against Nuclear Iran, said that most of the clips in the sequence were AI-generated, but one was real. The genuine clip, he said, was the one seen in playing slow motion and had been shot at the Tabriz air defence base, which is not an IRGC station but is run by the Artesh, the regular Iranian army.
Iran’s one-way Shahed drones, capable of carrying explosives over long distances, have been used by Iran to target Israel, while Russia has purchased large quantities of them to launch large swarm attacks against Ukraine. It comes as top officials showcased an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone launched by Russia in Speaker’s House at the House of Commons. This weapon, acquired from Ukraine by UANI, has never before been showcased in Europe. . . . MP Tom Tugendhat, senior advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and former Minister of State for Security, told The Sun: “That’s exactly what we were preparing for and I’m sure that the current government are continuing to prepare for. The reality is these weapon systems are not just targeting Ukraine, they’re not just targeting Poland. They’re being built to intimidate us.”
Pentagon Deploys New Kamikaze Drone Copied from Iranian Design | Wall Street Journal
[Photograph Caption] A downed Shahed-136 drone on display [at a UANI event] on Capitol Hill.
[Photograph Caption] Former security minister Tom Tugendhat (third right) and Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski (second right), address attendees in front of a downed Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drone, the type used by Vladimir Putin’s forces, during a press conference organised by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), in Speaker’s Court at the House of Commons, Westminster.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iranians Seek Portable Wealth as Hedge Against Falling Currency After Israel War | Washington Post
When it comes to financial security for Iran’s jittery public after the 12-day war with Israel , all that glitters is gold—and for many, it remains the most trusted hedge against inflation, sanctions and a weakening rial currency. Traders in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar say every new headline about United Nations “snapback” sanctions, the rial’s fall or renewed regional tensions have sent waves of people into buying so-called “value-preserving assets.” Those include dollars, gold, silver, diamonds, cryptocurrencies and, to a lesser extent, equities.
HOSTAGES
Last week I quietly marked the fifth anniversary of my freedom from prison in Iran. November 25 was on the surface a day like any other, unremarkable to most family and friends, but to me this date is more significant than my own birthday. It has been five years since I was pulled, blindfolded and handcuffed, from a soli[t]ary confinement cell in Evin prison, thrown into the back of a car and, after an abortive attempt to film a propaganda video in front of the prison gates, deposited outside the Australian ambassador’s residence in downtown Tehran. . . . Last week, the Australian government gave me a most welcome anniversary present. Five years to the day that I landed back in Australia, the attorney-general, foreign minister and home affairs minister announced that the government had officially listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the group that took me hostage, as a state sponsor of terrorism.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
UN Experts Urge Iran Not to Execute Child Bride over Death of Abusive Husband | Agence France-Presse
UN rights experts are urging Iran to halt the execution of a woman over the death of her abusive husband, whom she was married off to at 12 years old. Goli Kouhkan, an undocumented Baluch woman today aged 25, is set to be executed this month, eight independent United Nations experts warned in a statement published yesterday.
Iran Rapidly Expands Surveillance Camera Network Across Cities | IranWire
The cameras appeared gradually at first. A few new lenses on bridges. Some updated systems on street corners. But over the past year, the proliferation of surveillance equipment across Iranian cities has accelerated at an unprecedented pace, transforming urban landscapes into an open-air monitoring system. From Tehran’s streets to trains across the country, from government offices to private businesses, the Islamic Republic is building one of the world’s most comprehensive surveillance networks.
Iran Returned Bodies of Afghan Migrants 24 Days After Border Killings | Afghanistan International
Families of ten Afghan migrants killed by Iranian border forces say the Islamic Republic returned their bodies only after keeping them “hidden for about 24 days. They condemned what they described as the “inhumane” treatment of the victims and called on international organisations and the Taliban to launch an investigation.
Iranian Guitarist Held in Solitary Confinement | IranWire
An Iranian musician and guitarist has been held in solitary confinement for eight days after being arrested at his home by intelligence agents. Meysam Beyg Mohammadi was detained at night at his home in Abbas Abad, a city in northern Mazandaran province, by agents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization.
Iranian Blogger Ordered to Prison on Charges of ‘Pro-Israel Propaganda’ | IranWire
An Iranian blogger has been ordered to report to prison to serve a three-and-a-half-year sentence for propaganda against the state, she said in social media posts. Donya Hosseini said she was summoned on November 30 to the judicial enforcement branch to begin serving the sentence. She received a travel ban notice on December 1. Hosseini was convicted of “propaganda against the system in the direction of strengthening the Zionist regime.”
Iran’s Khamenei Defends Hijab as More Women Flout Dress Code | Agence France-Presse
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a staunch defense of the hijab as more women flout the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code, prompting criticism from ultraconservatives.
Iran Bans Online Streaming of World Cup Draw After US Visa Denials | IranWire
Iran’s media regulator banned live streaming of the 2026 World Cup draw on Tuesday after the United States refused to issue visas to several Iranian football officials seeking to attend the ceremony.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Afghanistan, Iran Among Nations Facing New Trump Immigration Pause | Scripps
The Trump administration is pausing immigration applications from individuals in 19 countries, according to a policy memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Venezuela and Cuba, have been under U.S. travel restrictions since a presidential proclamation in June. The memo also halts all asylum applications, regardless of nationality, pending a comprehensive review. The move comes days after a National Guard member was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting in Washington, D.C.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
IRGC to Hold Naval Drills in Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz | Iran International
Iran’s IRGC Navy will launch a two day exercise on Thursday in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Oman Sea and around the country’s southern islands, state media said.
U.S. Troops Get Attack Drones Similar to Iran’s Deadly Shahed | Axios
American troops in the Middle East are now armed with attack drones reminiscent of the Iranian-made Shahed, which has been adopted by Houthi rebels and Russian forces alike.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iranian Grammy Winner Hajipour Sparks Controversy with State-Sanctioned Album | Radio Farda
Shervin Hajipour, the Iranian Grammy Award winner whose hit song became the anthem of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, has announced the release of his state-sanctioned debut album—a move that has sparked criticism from some of his supporters.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iraq Freezes Funds of Hezbollah and Houthis, Official Gazette Says | Reuters
Iraq will freeze the money of Iran-backed armed groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis, the official gazette said. The move will likely be welcomed by Washington, which has long sought to reduce Iran's influence in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East where Tehran has allies.
Iraq said it will correct an official gazette entry that appeared to designate Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi movement as terrorist groups and subject them to asset freezes, adding that approvals were limited to listings tied exclusively to Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The Iraqi News Agency said the Justice Ministry’s Iraqi Gazette notice, the government's official record, will be amended by removing unnamed parties from the list.
ISRAEL & IRAN
Iranian intelligence agents have stepped up their efforts to recruit Israelis as spies since the war between the countries in June, and have tried to draw in youths, Bat Yam’s mayor says in an interview. Speaking to Channel 12, Mayor Tzvika Brot claims that millions of Israelis, himself included, have received texts from Iranian agents recently, as Tehran attempts to recruit as many spies as possible into its network. The recruitment texts “don’t hide” and plainly state that the senders are Iranian agents seeking to pay Israelis to carry out espionage missions, he claims.
Ashkelon Man Indicted for Allegedly Spying for Iran as Cases Continue to Pile Up | Times of Israel
Prosecutors indicted an Ashkelon resident on Thursday on suspicion of spying for Iran over the course of several months, as Tehran has stepped up its efforts to recruit Israelis online in exchange for large sums of money.
GULF STATES & IRAN
Senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani cautioned Persian Gulf neighbors after the GCC renewed claims over three Iranian islands and backed Saudi and Kuwaiti ownership of the Arash/Durra gas field, framing the dispute as a test of regional red lines amid post-war tensions. Shamkhani, a former secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and now the Supreme Leader’s representative to Iran’s Defense Council, called the GCC stance unconstructive in a post on X.
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran Plans to Attend World Cup Draw in Apparent U-Turn | Agence France-Presse
Iran said Wednesday it would now send representatives to the World Cup finals draw in Washington in a complete reversal of an earlier decision to boycott the event over visa issues.