TOP STORIES
U.S. Strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island as Trump Talks Down War Risks | Wall Street Journal
“The U.S. attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials said, in the latest of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal. . . . Some of the officials described the assaults as defensive in nature to prevent Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
‘We Will Kill Trump’: Iran Unveils Huge Billboard Threatening US President | Straits Times
“Iran unveiled on Nov 3 a massive billboard and banners across Tehran pledging to kill US President Donald Trump, bringing to a new level the official rhetoric displayed in the Iranian capital. ‘We will kill Trump,’ read the billboard towering over the busy Enghelab Square in Tehran, which depicted the US president behind bars with his head bowed.”
Trump to Axios: “No Rush” to Decide on Bombing Iran Again | Axios
“President Trump told Axios in a phone interview Monday he’s ‘in no rush’ to decide whether to resume fighting in Iran. . . . ‘One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it,’ Trump said in the interview. . . . ‘We are talking to them. It’s going fine. The problem with them is . . . they try and tap, tap, tap [us along]. There’s less urgency [on the Iranian side] than you think there would be, but they want to make a deal more than they ever wanted,’ Trump said.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iranian ‘Ghost Fleet’ Filmed Evading US Blockade en Route to China, UANI Says | New York Post
“Small Iranian ‘ghost fleet’ tankers are slipping past the US naval blockade and smuggling sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to China through a shadowy maritime hub off Malaysia, according to US investigators who covertly filmed one of the vessels en route in September. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which conducted the months-long probe, said at least nine similar tankers carrying Iranian oil or LPG have also evaded US restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz since Washington reinstated the Iranian port blockade in July.”
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at the nonprofit organization United Against Nuclear Iran, told RFE/RL that the latest strikes were intended to weaken Tehran’s ability to disrupt shipping rather than necessarily force a change in its political calculations. ‘The US is aiming to degrade Iranian capabilities to threaten the Strait of Hormuz,’ Brodsky said. ‘This is not meant to change Iranian decision-making calculations necessarily, but it does blind and deprive the Iranian regime from harassing commercial ships. And that's fundamentally in US national security interests.’”
Interview with UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi | Al Arabiya
“The past 47 years serves as good evidence as to what the Islamic Republic wants—what vision it has for the Middle East. . . . [I]ts regional approach has been driven by destabilization, by expansion, by conflict, and I think that 47 years should demonstrate that diplomacy with the Islamic Republic yields the same results. You often hear those who are, perhaps, sympathetic towards the Iranian regime—and other states as well—say that military strikes will reach the same results. Well, the question is: What do they expect from diplomacy? . . . All diplomacy has done is empower the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—giving it space, giving it more resources to feed its suppressive apparatus—that very apparatus that’s responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Iran and across the Middle East.”
Report: Iranian Ghost Fleet Smuggled Petroleum to China | Newsmax
“Small Iranian tankers carrying sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have managed to evade the U.S. naval blockade and deliver cargo to China through an offshore shipping hub near Malaysia, according to an investigation by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).”
Sanctioned Iranian Tanker Slips Past U.S. Blockade, Delivers Cargo to China | Oilprice.com
“A sanctioned Iranian tanker carrying about 500,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas slipped past the U.S. naval blockade and delivered its cargo to China, according to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which says it filmed the ship at a Malaysian anchorage along the way.”
“A group of United States investigators shared Sunday that they have captured footage of small Iranian ‘ghost fleets’ evading a U.S. naval blockade and smuggling things to China. The group, United Against Nuclear Iran, conducted the months-long probe and said at least 10 Iranian tankers transporting sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas or Iranian oil have snuck past the U.S. blockade since it was established in the Strait of Hormuz in July.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
Iran Warns of ‘New Battlefield’ After Reported US Strike on Qeshm | Euronews Persian
“Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Tuesday that any US strategic error would open ‘a new battlefield in the war,’ hours after a US Air Force jet reportedly struck an IRGC missile system on Qeshm Island.”
“Some in Tehran now suggest the next phase of the war—if it reignites as Trump has threatened—would go further. Conservative lawmaker and former Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said the next conflict ‘will not be a regional war.’ Speaking on state television after Khamenei’s statement was released, Mottaki touted Iran’s missile capabilities and warned that if Iran is attacked, the ensuing war ‘will reach Europe.’”
“America’s Gulf allies are steeling themselves for a heavy U.S. bombardment of Iran that they expect to trigger a vicious cycle of retaliation against their own economic and civilian infrastructure as early as this week.”
DIPLOMACY
Iran-US Deal Still Out of Reach Despite Diplomatic Push, Iranian Official Says | Reuters
“Iran and the United States remain far from a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, despite intensified diplomatic efforts, opens new tab to avert a return to major conflict after the US midterm elections. . . . ‘Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington,’ the senior Iranian official said, after Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal that has been under negotiation for the past eight days. ‘Tehran’s conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened,’ the Iranian official cautioned, referring to the waterway critical for global energy supplies.”
Beijing Launches Diplomatic Flurry amid Threat of Renewed U.S. War with Iran | Washington Post
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted separate, high-level talks with Oman, Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing on Monday. Xi’s meeting with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq was the first visit to Beijing by an Omani head of state since the countries established diplomatic ties 48 years ago. The same day, China’s Foreign Ministry announced details of a Middle East diplomatic blitz in the coming days and weeks, with three senior envoys set to fan out across seven countries spanning the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa.”
PROXY WARS
“A former Iraqi official has told i24NEWS that Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, allegedly made a secret visit to Iraq to coordinate potential attacks against regional countries in the event of renewed war with Iran. Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesperson for Iraq's deputy prime minister, made the claim while speaking on i24NEWS' Middle East Now, citing information from his contacts inside Iraq.”
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSIO
Three Men Helped IRGC Prepare Attacks on Journalists, UK Prosecutor Says | Iran International
“Three men accused of plotting attacks on Iran International journalists carried out surveillance that materially assisted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a prosecutor told a London court in his closing argument on Monday. . . . Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, deny charges under Britain’s National Security Act. The alleged targets included Iran International journalists Kambiz Hosseini and Mojtaba Pourmohsen, as well as barrister Jonathan Turner.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Two More Men Hanged in Protest Case in Iran | Iran International
“Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were hanged in connection with January protests in Isfahan, Iranian authorities said on Tuesday. . . . Seven other defendants in the case, including two Afghan nationals, have been executed since July 19, Iran Human Rights said.”
Iranian Bank Subsidiaries Fire Employees over Alleged Hijab Violations | Iran International
“Several employees at subsidiaries of Bank Pasargad, one of Iran’s largest private banks, have been fired or barred from their workplaces amid tighter enforcement of the country's mandatory hijab laws, people familiar with the matter told Iran International. Bank Pasargad CEO Majid Ghasemi dismissed six employees during an unannounced visit to one of the bank's subsidiaries on October 27 over their clothing, sources told Iran International . . . several female employees were dismissed for wearing jackets and skirts, casual clothing or trainers, while a male employee was fired for wearing jeans, according to one of the sources.”