TOP STORIES
US Targets Iran-Backed Group In Bahrain With Sanctions On Affiliates, Treasury Says | Reuters
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four individuals in Iran for aiding the Bahrain-based, U.S.-designated terrorist group al-Ashtar Brigades, the Treasury Department said in a statement. The sanctions were imposed in coordination with Bahrain's government and allege that the targeted individuals "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of" al-Ashtar Brigades. The U.S. action "underscores our collective commitment to disrupting Iran's destabilizing forces and threats, particularly those which threaten our partners in the region and around the world," Brian Nelson, U.S. under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
Amid global concerns of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claims Tehran has prevented its inspectors from monitoring the country’s nuclear program. In its recent quarterly report, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog warned Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium continues to increase. According to the IAEA, Iran has enriched uranium up to 60% purity, which is only a short, technical step away from the weapons-grade level of roughly 90%. Experts say, in theory, Iran has roughly enough to make several atomic weapons, according to the IAEA’s numbers. The United States last week called on Iran to dilute all the uranium it has enriched to up to 60% purity. At the beginning of March, the U.S. threatened future action against Iran if it continues to keep the IAEA in the dark. Some analysts argue the White House is not doing enough.
Europeans Thwart More Terror Plots Emanating From Iran | Iran International
European security agencies have thwarted multiple terror plots by Iran-backed extremists, spurred on by the war in Gaza, the latest of which in Italy. Italian authorities have detained three Palestinians believed to be affiliated with the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a designated terror group by the US and EU, for allegedly planning assaults on civilian and military targets in Europe. In October, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea revealed that Mossad and intelligence agencies abroad had foiled 27 attacks on Jewish and Israeli figures over the last year. In an undisclosed investigation last December, authorities in Austria and Bosnia apprehended two groups of Afghan and Syrian refugees in possession of weapons, including Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols. Investigators found images of Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on the suspects’ phones, the latest in a series of Iran-backed plots against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Advocacy Group Urges Withdrawal Of US Visa To Iranian Vice President | Iran Wire
… The advocacy group, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said in a statement that it sent a formal letter to the US Deputy Secretary of State requesting Khazali's visa be revoked. The group cited "systematic oppression of women and girls" in Iran as the reason for their opposition. They further argued that the US government is not legally bound to grant visas to foreign officials for participation in UN meetings. In a speech at the UN, she reportedly claimed that Iranian women have made "significant progress" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, this assertion has been challenged by critics who point to restrictions on clothing choices mandated by the hijab law.
Top Iranian Official Calls For Israel To Be Kicked Out Of UN Women’s Rights Conference | Fox News
A top Iranian official on Monday demanded that Israel be expelled from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip. Speaking at the commission’s 68th annual gathering, Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Ensieh Khazali criticized Israel for its response to the Oct. 7 massacre, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killed 1,200 civilians, and injured hundreds of others. "On behalf of the powerful women of Iran, and in one voice with the resistant and pacifist women, I urge a revocation of the membership of the terrorist Israeli regime to this commission," she said. Khazali then pivoted to the status of women in Iran…Khazali’s appearance sparked an uproar among critics of the Islamic Republic. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has called on the State Department to revoke Khazali’s visa to the U.S. In a statement, the group alleged that Khazali was a "key enabler of women’s rights abuses in Iran" and a "supporter of child marriage." The group cited a report from the U.N. Human Rights Council which had found cases of women and girls in Iran who had been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.
Biden's Wrong Approach To The Threats On America | Israel Hayom
… A report released this month by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) found that during Mr. Biden's three years in office "Iran has managed to sell $90 billion worth of US-sanctioned oil, setting new export records in the process." Sanctions haven't worked, the UANI report explains because "Ongoing hesitance to enforce oil sanctions on Iran has proven to be a defining characteristic of the Biden Administration's foreign policy." At no point in this SOTU did Mr. Biden give any indication that he is considering what it will mean if Tehran – where "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" have been chanted for 45 years – goes nuclear.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
President In Firing Line As Iran's Real Wages Plummet To Decade Low | Iran International
During President Ebrahim Raisi's two-year tenure, Iran has witnessed a stark decline in the real value of wages, reaching its lowest point in ten years, reports Etemad newspaper. In 2011, the real wage stood at $243, but it has since plummeted to a mere $88, marking a staggering 64% decrease over 12 years. The concerning trend coincides with the closely linked issue of consumer purchasing power, heavily influenced by the fluctuating US dollar rate, currently at 600,000 rials. The anticipation of further depreciation of the rial in the upcoming year, poses a significant challenge, potentially eroding the minimum wage's value against the dollar. Persistent inflation and a sluggish economy have severely weakened the purchasing power of average Iranians, pushing tens of millions into the category of "working poor." Experts indicate that the poverty line for Tehran residents hovers around 300,000,000 rials ($500) per month, approximately three times the current minimum wage.
Venezuela Tries To Mend Oil Alliance With Iran As US Poised To Restart Sanctions | Fox News
Iran and Venezuela are trying to patch together an oil alliance that began to fray last year, according to six people familiar with the matter, after the South American country fell behind on oil swaps that had boosted crude exports and helped stem domestic fuel shortages. The expected April return of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry will make the Iran alliance critical to keeping its lagging energy sector afloat. Washington last year temporarily relaxed sanctions on Venezuela's promise to allow a competitive presidential election, something that has not happened. The situation is growing dire. A review of shipping data and documents from Venezuela's oil company PDVSA show that Venezuela fell behind in payments to Iran, a shortfall that worsened when the U.S. began to issue licenses in late 2022. Those authorizations prompted the state firm to reassign cargoes originally planned for Iran to cash-paying customers.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Arrests Four Over Video Of Woman's Argument With Cleric | Voice Of America
Iran has arrested four people on suspicion of giving a foreign-based broadcaster video of an argument between a Shiite cleric and a woman not wearing the mandatory headscarf, Iranian media reported Tuesday. Closed-circuit television footage of the row in Iran's Shiite clerical center of Qom has gone viral on social media and has also been aired by the London-based news channel Iran International, regarded as an "enemy media" outlet by the Tehran authorities. In the video, the woman confronts the cleric for allegedly taking photographs of her waiting with her child in a Qom clinic without the headscarf that has been obligatory for women in public since the years after the 1979 revolution. The deputy prosecutor of Qom, Ruhollah Moslemhkani, said four of the "main publishers and senders" of the video to the "enemy [Iran] International network" had been arrested, the Fars news agency reported. "What is clear to us, and we are sure of, is a design and planning had been made to create division and sedition in the society," he said.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
US Intel Community Foresees Serious Challenges For Iranian Regime | Iran International
The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could “challenge” the Islamic Republic, the US intelligence community has suggested in its annual Threat Assessment. Published Monday, the report says the state in Iran has undergone only a single supreme leader transition in its 45-year history and is mired by “elite factionalism.” Khamenei –who will be 85 next month– has held the ostensibly elected position by a small group of clerics since 1989. He still seems to have a tight grip on power, despite widespread discontent in the country over corruption, injustice, antediluvian social restrictions, and what many people see as utter incompetence in solving the array of issues they face. “Iran’s economy continues to struggle amidst high inflation,” reads the 2024 US intelligence community report. ”Most wages are unable to keep pace with the higher prices, leading to declines in households’ spending power.”
Iran Official Says Health System Faces 'Disaster' Over Nurse Exodus | Radio Free Europe
A member of the leadership of Iran's Medical Council (IRIMC) says the issue of nurses migrating to other countries has become a full-blown crisis, leaving Iran's hospitals far below international standards for treating patients. Abolghasem Talebi, a member of the Supreme Council of IRIMC, told state-run radio on March 11 that the stark disparity between Iran and the global standard for nurse-to-bed ratios highlights the critical state of the country's health-care system. He said nearly 3,000 nurses leave Iran each year, a figure that starkly contrasts with the 10,000 individuals trained annually at the country's educational institutions. This mass exodus, Talebi said, creates a "disaster" for the nation's health-care system. "While the international norm stands at three nurses per bed, Iran's ratio is alarmingly less than a third of this benchmark," he said. Talebi said Iran's health-care system currently employs around 240,000 nurses and that even with recruitment efforts trying to match the current total number of active nurses the system remains well below accepted international standards.
14 Dead In Iran's Fire Festival Chaharshanbe Suri, Spike In Injuries | Iran Wire
Iranian authorities have confirmed that at least 14 people have died and over 3,000 others have sustained injuries during Chaharshanbe Suri, the Persian festival of fire. Jafar Miyadfar, head of Iran's emergency organization, has said that a total of 3,253 people have been injured, with 394 individuals transported to medical centers by emergency services until Tuesday night. Miyadfar disclosed that the death toll has climbed to 14. Elaborating on the injuries, he said, "Out of the total number of injured, 189 individuals underwent amputations, 1,070 sustained eye injuries, and 982 suffered burns." Further, the official noted a 24 percent rise in the number of injuries in this year's Chaharshanbe Suri incidents compared to last year. Reports from Tehran indicate disruptions in city traffic concurrent with Chaharshanbe Suri. Numerous social media users have characterized Tehran's traffic as "chaotic" and "frustrating." Tehran police announced the seizure of 42 tons of fireworks ahead of the Chaharshanbe Suri celebrations.
CONGRESS & IRAN
The Biden administration is poised to issue a fresh sanctions waiver for Iran that will grant the country access to upward of $10 billion in frozen assets, providing Tehran with "a financial lifeline" as it foments terrorism across the Middle East, according to a group of GOP lawmakers. In November, shortly after Hamas's attack on Israel, the State Department signed off on a sanctions waiver that permits Iraq to transfer multibillion-dollar electricity payments to Iran. The waiver, which grants Tehran access to around $10 billion in frozen funds, is set to expire this month unless the Biden administration renews it. A group of Republican lawmakers is concerned that the sanctions waiver will be approved, according to a letter sent late Monday to the Treasury and State Departments and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The lawmakers ask the Biden administration to provide information on how much cash Iran has been able to access in the months since sanctions were lifted.
IRAQ & IRAN
Spotlight On Iran-Iraq Security Deal As Border Fence Erected | Amwaj Media
The story: The erection of a fence along a section of the border with Iran has ignited protests in Iraqi Kurdistan. Demonstrators in the Halabja district have taken to the streets, saying that the measure impairs their livelihoods. The fencing appears to be part of a landmark security agreement signed between Iran and Iraq last year. Under the terms of the accord, Baghdad agreed to tighten control of the border as well as disarm and relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. While the new fencing is seen as unlikely to seal the border, the Islamic Republic seems more adamant than ever about uprooting its Kurdish foes from Iraq. The coverage: Rudaw, an outlet linked to the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), aired a report on Mar. 6 showing masked Halabja locals protesting the barbed wire fencing and removing its posts. Locals told Rudaw that the fence disrupts their farming and livestock activities, and also severs cross-border family ties.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Ex-Iran FM Blasts Taliban As Illegitimate Rulers | Iran International
Iran's former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has stated that the Taliban's legitimacy remains in question in spite of their ruling neighboring Afghanistan. In an interview with Faraz Daily, Zarif said the question of the Taliban's legitimacy in Afghanistan remains a highly debated issue both domestically and internationally. He added that “if Iran remains passive in the face of regional dynamics involving the United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan, the matter of Taliban legitimacy could escalate into both an opportunity and a threat for the Islamic Republic.” He further stated that should the Taliban establish legitimate rule in Afghanistan, Iran would ultimately need to cooperate with its neighbor. Zarif's remarks come in the wake of his previous welcoming of the Taliban delegation in 2021, where he hailed them expressing solidarity with their fight against "foreign" occupiers. Tensions persist between Iran and the Taliban, particularly regarding water issues. An Iranian parliamentary delegation's visit to Kabul in August aimed to address concerns about the Taliban's alleged obstruction of the Helmand River flow, affecting Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan region.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Turkey, Iran And Morocco Joust For Influence In Africa's Sahel | France 24
Turkish military equipment and Moroccan and Iranian development and infrastructure projects are tempting for cash-strapped Sahelian military regimes grappling with jihadist violence. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have undergone coups since 2020, against a backdrop of a bloody jihadist insurgency. Their military rulers have since exited a wider Western African bloc and created a joint defence pact to fight the jihadists. Under-equipped Sahelian armies want "to develop endogenous capabilities to reduce our dependence", Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traore said… ran meanwhile has signed several cooperation agreements with Burkina Faso in energy, urban planning, higher education, and construction. In late January, Tehran announced the creation of two universities in Mali and inked various cooperation agreements.