TOP STORIES
White House Warns Iran Against Meddling In Gaza Protests In US | Reuters
The White House on Tuesday accused Tehran of trying to take advantage of Gaza-related protests in the U.S. and described such behavior as unacceptable, following a warning by the top U.S. intelligence official that Iran was trying to stoke discord in American society. The warning, issued earlier on Tuesday by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, said actors tied to Iran's government had posed as activists online, sought to encourage protests regarding Gaza and even provided demonstrators with financial support. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said freedom of expression was vital to American democracy, but the government also had a duty to warn citizens about foreign influence operations. "Americans across the political spectrum, acting in good faith, have sought to express their own independent views on the conflict in Gaza. The freedom to express diverse views when done peacefully is essential to our democracy," she said. "At the same time, the U.S. government has a duty to warn Americans about foreign malign influences. ... We will continue to expose attempts to undermine our democracy in our society just as we are today."
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Has Dismantled An Armed Group, Says State TV | Associated Press
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard forces have dismantled armed bandits in the northwest of the country, state TV reported Tuesday. The report said ground forces of the Revolutionary Guard, known as IRGC in West Azerbaijan province, dismantled a counter-revolutionary terrorist team that was planning to enter Iran from its northwestern borders. Several members of the “terrorist” team were killed and wounded in the operation, and their equipment was confiscated by the Guard, said the state TV. The Guard warned that any action against the security and territorial integrity of Iran would be met with a decisive and firm response, it added. The TV report did not elaborate on the exact location of the operation. The province has borders with two countries, Turkey and Iraq. The border with Turkey is 550 kilometers (341 miles) long. The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group. In 2022, Iran’s intelligence forces dismantled the biggest spy network affiliated with Israel that allegedly tried to hire thugs to carry out sabotage in the country.
Reacting To Censure, Iran Expands Enrichment Activities | Arms Control Association
Iran expanded its uranium-enrichment capacity after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a resolution censuring Tehran for failing to cooperate with the agency. The June 5 censure “reaffirms” the board’s decision from November 2022 that it is “essential and urgent” for Iran to clarify “all outstanding safeguards issues,” including providing the agency with “technically credible explanations” for the presence of uranium at two locations in Iran that were not declared to the IAEA. The resolution also calls on Tehran to provide the agency with design information for new nuclear facilities, as required by Iran’s safeguards agreement. The resolution, which passed by a vote of 20-2, was expected. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom said at the previous board meeting in March that they would put forward a resolution at the June meeting if the IAEA reported no progress on its investigation.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Over 15 million Iranians turned out last Friday to cast their vote for reformist presidential candidate Massoud Pezeshkian, who defeated his uber-conservative rival Saeed Jalili. Washington quickly sought to emphasize that it doesn’t anticipate the 69-year-old heart surgeon having any meaningful impact on the regime. “We have no expectation that this election will lead to a fundamental change in Iran’s direction or its policies,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday. Miller stressed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes the substantive decisions in Iran. “Obviously, if the new president had the authority to make steps to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, to stop funding terrorism, to stop destabilizing activities in the region, those would be steps that we would welcome,” Miller said. “But needless to say, we don’t have any expectation that that’s what’s likely to ensue.”
MISSILE PROGRAM
Iranian Warship Sahand Entirely Sinks Despite Rebalancing Efforts | Reuters
The Iranian Navy frigate Sahand entirely sank in shallow waters on Tuesday in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, Nournews agency said, after it was briefly repositioned following its initial capsizing on Sunday. "The Sahand warship, which was rebalanced on the water with great difficulty on Monday, has now sunk after the rope holding the ship broke," said Nournews, a news agency affiliated to the Supreme National Security Council. On Sunday, state media said the ship had capsized during repairs at a wharf due to water ingress and that efforts were being made to rebalance it. The Iranian-built stealth warship was first launched in 2018 and is equipped with a flight deck for helicopters, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and electronic warfare capabilities according to local media. Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons. It launched its first locally made destroyer in 2010 as part of a programme to revamp its navy equipment, which dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution and is mostly U.S.-made.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
US Terror Probe Targets Hamas Backers Iran And Qatar, Says Report | Iran International
The US Justice Department has been conducting interviews with survivors and families affected by Hamas’ October 7 attack in Israel to build a case against the militant group and its financial supporters, according to Bloomberg. The report, citing people familiar with the investigation, also says that former hostages and families of US citizens murdered abroad have sat down with prosecutors and FBI agents. Some have reportedly traveled from Israel and provided videos and text messages to help the authorities build a timeline of the attack and to identify those who carried out the kidnappings. Citing people familiar with the inquiry, Bloomberg reports that although part of the US probe is looking at acts of terrorism, a broader focus is tackling the financial networks that have propped up Hamas.
Iran Is Targeting Americans Amid Gaza War Protests, US Intelligence Chief Warns | USA Today
Agents of the Iranian government have worked to influence American protests against the war in Gaza, a top U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday, in one of the most stark warnings yet about foreign meddling amid demonstrations that rocked the nation this spring. The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, said Iranian actors have “opportunistically” inserted themselves in the protest movement via social media and other cyber activities, posing as activists online and promoting and even funding public demonstrations. “I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza,” Haines said in a statement. “But it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
The Iranian government is covertly encouraging American protests over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in a bid to stoke outrage ahead of the fall election, the nation’s top intelligence official said Tuesday. Using social media platforms popular in the U.S., groups linked to Tehran have posed as online activists, encouraged protests and have provided financial support to some protest groups, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement. “Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” Haines said. This effort noted by the top U.S. intelligence official is the latest evidence that America’s adversaries are harnessing the internet to warp domestic debates and widen political divides ahead of the election. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it was important to warn Americans to help them “guard against efforts by foreign powers to take advantage of or coopt their legitimate protest activities.”
Police in Iran shut down the Turkish Airlines office in the capital of Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday, after female employees there apparently refused to wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, in an act of defiance of the country’s law. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said police officers went to the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran on Monday to issue what is called a first warning over the “non-observance of hijab” by the company’s employees. However, the employees — who are Iranian nationals — reportedly “made trouble for the police officers,” prompting the closure. The Tasnim report said police subsequently sealed the office over the employees’ behavior. According to Tasnim, the Turkish Airlines office will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday and resume business as usual, something that the police did not confirm. The report further said that police would not seal any business due to the non-observance of hijab but issue first warnings.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
U.S. officials say Yemeni nationals will be offered temporary protected status (TPS) for another 18 months in a move that a former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director is calling an "extreme risk for this country’s security and safety." The announcement on Monday by the Department of Homeland Security – which means that Yemeni nationals living in the U.S. will be further protected from deportation and can apply for work permits – comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to destabilize the Middle Eastern country. "Yemen is a special interest alien country. We got to be careful of who we are allowing into the country because they have terrorist ties," Tom Homan, a former acting director of ICE, told Fox News Digital. "We have already shown our current vetting is not as sufficient to keep us out of harm’s way, because most people with terrorist ties, terrorists in this world – you can’t find them in any database. "We don’t know who most terrorists [are], so I think it’s an extreme risk for this country’s security and safety," he added.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Jewish community of Iran, represented by the Public Relations of the Jewish Association of Iran, Anjoman-e Kalimiyan, extended their congratulations to Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian on his election as president of Iran – a statement released on Sunday said. The statement proudly announced, “We extend our highest congratulations to the elected president of the people of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian.” This election follows the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, which led to a snap election amidst rising regional tensions and domestic challenges. Voter turnout for this election was notably low, with only 24% of the population participating nationwide and an even lower 7% turnout in Tehran. This reflects widespread public discontent and calls for an election boycott by various groups within the country. Pezeshkian, an experienced politician and former health minister, has been vocal about his intentions to pursue economic reform, social liberalization, and political pluralism.
The Illusion Of Democracy: Unmasking Iran's Presidential Election | Iran International
Last Friday's presidential election in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) serves as a stark reminder that the country’s electoral process is neither free nor fair. While the Islamic government promotes participation as voluntary and democratic, a closer examination reveals a system riddled with coercion, manipulation, and inherent inequality. Iran’s elections are often portrayed as a contest between fundamentalists and reformists, suggesting a choice for the electorate. However, this dichotomy can be considered highly misleading, as it oversimplifies the political landscape and obscures the underlying complexities. The real power lies not with the elected president but with the Supreme Leader and the unelected bodies that serve him. The Guardian Council, an unelected body, vets all candidates and can disqualify any deemed insufficiently loyal to the regime. This ensures that only those who align with the Supreme Leader’s vision can run for office, transforming the election into a controlled charade rather than a genuine democratic exercise – as experts have often noted.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel Strikes Syrian Coastal Site Near Baniyas Suspected Of Links To Iran | The National News
Israel has been suspected of launching an air attack on the coastal Syrian city of Baniyas, the Syrian state news agency said on Tuesday. This is the latest strike on targets thought to be linked to Iran. The Israeli air force has intensified a more than decade-long campaign against military bases and storage facilities in Syria overseen by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since the Gaza war started in October. One such strike in April on Damascus, which killed most of the IRGC senior command in Syria, almost brought Israel and Iran to direct war, with Tehran launching several hundred missiles and drones at Israel. In the latest attack over Syria, the state-linked Sana news outlet said air defence systems intercepted and shot down some of the missiles, which were launched just past midnight from the sea. A fire broke out after the strikes.
Mohammad Shirazi, the head of Ali Khamenei's military office, lauded Iran's military capabilities, particularly highlighting the recent attack on Israel. The Supreme Leader's military chief said that Iran is "at a point where we can confidently carry out similar operations and showcase our capabilities to the world," referring to the aerial assault on Israel in April when a barrage of 350 drones, rockets and missiles was sent towards Iran's archenemy. Around 99 percent of the barrage was intercepted by Israel and a US-led coalition, though it continues to be a point of pride for Iran. Shirazi further boasted, "We have reached a stage where major powers are extending their hands to us to meet their needs." While he did not specify which major powers he was referring to, his comments allude to Iran’s provision of drones to Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine, as well as reports of supplying ballistic missiles.