UANI

Rep. Banks' MAHSA Act signed into law

dcayabyab — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:30:39 +0000

Rep. Banks' MAHSA Act signed into law

Source Link

https://www.wbiw.com/2024/04/24/rep-banks-mahsa-act-signed-into-law/

dcayabyab Thu, 04/25/2024 - 17:30

Threat Status

dcayabyab — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:15:17 +0000

Threat Status

Source Link

https://www.washingtontimes.com/newsletters/curated/threat-status/issue/90/

dcayabyab Thu, 04/25/2024 - 16:15

Iran Expands Public Crackdown On Women And Girls, Sparking Public Anger

dcayabyab — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:04:00 +0000

Iran Expands Public Crackdown On Women And Girls, Sparking Public Anger

With global attention focused on Iran’s escalating conflict with Israel, Tehran has intensified its domestic crackdown on women, giving police expanded powers to enforce conservative dress codes. The new wave of repression appears to be one of the most significant efforts to roll back perceived social gains in the aftermath of the 2022 protest movement — a months-long uprising that challenged gender segregation and clerical rule. Some Iranians suspect the government is using fears of regional war as cover to tighten its grip at home; others say it’s just the latest salvo in a long-running campaign aimed at extinguishing all forms of dissent. But the public backlash has been swift. In many instances, videos of women being violently detained showed crowds of bystanders gathering to support them. Now, authorities appear to be responding to pressure to curb their harsh tactics. On Monday, Iran’s national police made a rare statement to local media about Operation Noor, its new campaign of hijab enforcement. A police spokesperson said that officers would not refer cases to the judiciary, potentially removing the threat of criminal charges for women who have been detained.

IRGC-Affiliated Suspect Sentenced In Peru Over Israeli Assassination Plot | Iran International

A suspected member of the IRGC has been handed 18-months preventive detention over his attempt to assassinate two Israelis in Peru. Investigations are still underway regarding the motive of the suspect, identified as Majid Aziz, who acquired Peruvian nationality through marriage. His two accomplices Ángelo Trucios and Walter Loja, both Peruvian nationals, have received the same sentence. “It has been established with a high degree of plausibility” that the three suspects had conspired to kill Israelis, ruled the Peruvian judge in charge of the case. According to the prosecutors, Azizi contacted the Peruvians to plan to kill two Israeli citizens living in the city of Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire. One of the Israeli targets works as a tour guide and the other owns a café. Azizi was apprehended in March after he withdrew money from the Interbank bank, located in the Plaza de Armas in the center of the capital Lima. According to reports at the time, he was arrested over plotting to carry out a terrorist attack at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).

Iran, Pakistan Urge U.N Security Council To Take Action Against Israel | Reuters

Iran and Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council in a joint statement issued on Wednesday to take action against Israel, saying it had "illegally" targeted neighbouring countries and foreign diplomatic facilities. The joint statement, released by Pakistan's foreign ministry, followed a three-day visit to the country by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East. Explosions were heard last Friday over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack. However, Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation. "Recognizing that the irresponsible act of the Israeli regime forces was a major escalation in an already volatile region, both sides called on the UN Security Council to prevent the Israeli regime from its adventurism in the region and its illegal acts attacking its neighbours...," Iran and Pakistan said in their joint statement.

UANI IN THE NEWS

Biden Admin Funded Research With Prof At Sanctioned Iranian University | Iran International

The Biden administration funded a research project involving an Iranian scientist from a university associated with Iran's illicit nuclear program, according to findings by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). Mohammed Hasan Ravanji, a professor at Tehran-based Sharif University of Technology (SUT), collaborated on this research project, which received funding from the US Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office. Late March, UANI, a US non-profit opposing Iran's nuclear program, raised concerns over this collaboration with the Iranian university, which faces sanctions over its links to Iran's nuclear and military activities. In a letter addressed to several US government officials, including Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy, UANI highlighted a co-authored paper resulting from the collaboration between a researcher from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sharif University's Ravanji.

Rep. Banks’ MAHSA Act Signed Into Law | WBIW.Com

Today, Congressman Jim Banks released the following statement in response to the enactment of his MAHSA Act, legislation to sanction the Iranian regime for its human rights abuses…United Against Nuclear Iran stated: “UANI applauds the passage of the MAHSA Act, which will pave the way for long overdue sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, president, and the entities they control under counterterrorism and human rights abuse authorities.”

Threat Status | Washington Times

…An analysis by the independent group United Against Nuclear Iran warned in 2022 that “the Iranian-North Korean threat is compounded by the two nations’ cooperation, especially in the realm of nuclear and ballistic missile development.” This week’s North Korea-Iran visit comes just more than a week after China dispatched a high-level delegation to Pyongyang.

NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM

The Nuclear Threats That Loom Over Iran And Israel | Washington Post

A volley of back-and-forth strikes between Israel and Iran, culminating with explosions in the Islamic Republic on Friday, added a nuclear edge to the regional fallout from the war in Gaza. Here, the world watched two powers with nuclear technology — one with not-so-secret weapons, the other with ambiguous arms ambitions — as they threatened to strike each other’s nuclear sites. “The situation is extremely troubling, and it reveals some hard truths about why nuclear weapons can be more of a liability than some kind of national security asset,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, told me that Thursday evening. He was referring to the tit-for-tat strikes this month, which had seen an Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria as well as hundreds of drones and missiles launched from Iranian soil in retaliation — and the threat of further Israeli retaliation.

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS

Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Remains Stalled Under Cloud Of Sanctions | Reuters

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Pakistan this week put the spotlight on a major gas pipeline deal between the two neighbours which has faced delays due to geopolitical issues and international sanctions. The two nations reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy domain, including trade in electricity, power transmission lines and the IP Gas Pipeline Project, a joint statement released following the culmination of the visit said. Here are some facts about the project, which is also known as the Peace Pipeline: - The pipeline deal, signed in 2010, envisaged the supply of 750 million to a billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for 25 years from Iran's South Pars gas field to Pakistan to meet Pakistan's rising energy needs.- The pipeline was to stretch over 1,900 kilometres (1,180 miles) - 1,150 km within Iran and 781 km within Pakistan.

Newly Passed US Law On Iran Sanctions May Have Limited Impact In Near Term: Experts | S&P Global Commodity Insights

The Biden administration may leverage new Iran sanctions measures included in the recently passed US security package to pressure Chinese buyers to reduce exposure to Iranian oil, but the legislation is unlikely to have a big impact on oil trade in the near term, experts say. "Since the Biden administration has not enforced existing US sanctions on Iran, expanding sanctions isn't likely to matter," Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert at the US Naval Postgraduate School, told S&P Global Commodity Insights April 24. The US Senate on April 23 passed the security package, which the US House already approved. The package included a measure that imposes sanctions on foreign ports, vessels and refineries involved in the trade of sanctioned Iranian petroleum products. The so-called Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act also includes sanctions on entities involved in ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil.

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM

Iran Says Argentina Bid To Arrest Minister In 1994 Attack 'Illegal | Voice Of America

Iran on Wednesday condemned as illegal Argentina's request for Interpol to arrest Iran's interior minister in the 1994 bombing attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned the repetition of illegal requests based on lies ... by some Argentine judges about Iranian nationals in the AMIA case," a statement from the ministry said. On April 12, a court in Argentina placed blame on Iran for the 1994 attack against the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and for a bombing two years earlier against the Israeli embassy, which killed 29 people. The Argentinean foreign ministry on Tuesday said the Iranian minister, Ahmad Vahidi, was part of a delegation from Tehran visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Interpol has issued a red notice seeking his arrest at the request of Argentina. Argentina has also asked those two governments to arrest Vahidi, it added in a statement.

Lack Of Action On Iran Could Lead To More Threats And Attacks In UK, Says Journalist | The Guardian

A former BBC journalist has said the UK government will “pay a heavy price” for its lack of action against the Iranian regime, which could lead to more “threats” and “operations” in Britain, after the stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London. Sima Sabet, a former journalist at the BBC World Service and the dissident channel Iran International, said there would be more transnational repression unless the government issued a “deterrent signal” to the Iranian regime. Sabet’s former colleague at Iran International, Pouria Zeraati, was stabbed in the capital in late March, reviving conversations about the safety of Iranian journalists and dissidents in the UK. Although investigations by counter-terrorism officers are continuing, the three suspects are thought to have fled the country after the attack. Sabet was told by police to leave her home after the incident. Speaking to the Guardian from an undisclosed location, Sabet said she has been left without a “public life” due to the threats she faces and that she hardly leaves her home and feels “less safe than ever”. She said: “I am a UK citizen. Why should I be fighting for my safety?”

PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS

Iran Sentences Rapper To Death For Backing Protests, State Media Reports | Voice Of America

An Iranian court has sentenced to death a popular rapper jailed for more than a year and a half for supporting nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, local media reported Wednesday. Toomaj Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 after publicly backing the wave of demonstrations that erupted a month earlier, triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Amini. The Iranian Kurdish woman had been detained by the morality police in Tehran over an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress rules for women. Salehi was sentenced in 2023 to six years and three months in prison. But he was freed on bail on November 18, the singer's lawyer Amir Raisian said at the time, because the Supreme Court had found "flaws in the initial sentence" of six years in prison. The rapper was rearrested less than two weeks later. The Revolutionary Court added accusations against Salehi of "assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots," Raisian said.

Iran's Judiciary Confirms Rapper Toomaj Salehi Death Sentence | Reuters

Iran's judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported on Thursday. Salehi's lawyer Amir Raisian told Sharq newspaper on Wednesday that an Iranian Revolutionary Court had sentenced his client to death for charges linked to Iran's 2022-2023 unrest. Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the nationwide protests, sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman arrested over wearing an "improper" hijab.

Iranian Women Violently Dragged From Streets By Police Amid Hijab Crackdown | The Guardian

Harrowing first-hand accounts of women being dragged from the streets of Iran and detained by security services have emerged as human rights groups say country’s hijab rules have been brutally enforced since the country’s drone strikes on Israel on 13 April. A new campaign, called Noor (“light” in Persian), was announced the same day the Iranian regime launched drone attacks against Israel, to crack down on “violations” of the country’s draconian hijab rules, which dictate that all women must cover their heads in public. Hours later, videos verified by human rights groups showing women and girls being forcefully arrested by agents of the notorious Gasht-e-Irshad (“morality police”) flooded social media along with stories of beatings and assault. One mother and daughter walking through a busy Tehran square were surrounded by five chador-clad female agents and two male agents, who hurled insults and accusations before they grabbed the women. When they resisted arrest, they were violently dragged into the van, a source close to the family said.

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS

How Iran Covered Up The Damage From Israel’s Strikes | The Economist

When Iran and Israel exchanged drone and missile strikes earlier this month, the world was braced for a full-fledged war in the Middle East. In the end both sides, having violently made their point, let matters rest. New satellite images now show how Iran saved face and backed down: it simply swapped one destroyed air-defence radar for a fresh one. On April 19th, in response to an Iranian barrage a few days earlier, Israeli jets are thought to have fired several air-launched ballistic missiles towards an air base not far from the Natanz nuclear complex south of Tehran. The site has been central to Iran’s nuclear programme since it was publicly exposed 22 years ago and is heavily defended with Iran’s Russian-made s-300 air-defence system. Israeli missiles appear to have scored a direct hit. They struck a 30n6e2 “Tombstone” radar, which is designed to track incoming air and missile threats, allowing interceptor missiles to take them out, according to analysis by Chris Biggers, an imagery analyst who used to work for America’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The rest of the battery had been moved away, presumably in case Israel were to strike again. New images acquired by Mr Biggers and shared exclusively with The Economist now show that Iran, by the next day, had pulled a switcheroo.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS

Iran Faces Worsening Land Subsidence Crisis Impacting Half Its Population | Iran International

Nearly half of Iran's population currently resides on or near areas prone to land subsidence, according to reports from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Ali Beitollahi, the head of the vulnerability research section at the Road and Urban Development Research Center, pointed out that subsidence areas are expanding, predicting that adjacent zones will soon be engulfed by the main subsidence plains. He warned that “Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Kerman, and most importantly Isfahan, are precisely in the subsidence area.” In Isfahan, concerns are intensifying as the situation poses a direct threat to its historical edifices, including the iconic Naqsh-e Jahan Square and numerous ancient bridges. The subsidence phenomenon could lead to irreversible environmental damage, including water resource depletion, reduction in agricultural outputs, transformation of fertile lands into deserts, and the formation of deep fissures in the earth.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN

Iran Said To Cut Syria Presence After Strikes Blamed On Israel | Times Of Israel

Iran has reduced its military footprint in Syria after a succession of strikes blamed on Israel, a source close to Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah and a war monitor said Wednesday. Iran has provided military support to Syrian government forces through more than a decade of civil war, but a series of strikes targeting its commanders in recent months has prompted a reshaping of its presence, the sources said. “Iran withdrew its forces from southern Syria,” including both Quneitra and Daraa provinces, which abut the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the source close to Hezbollah said. But it still maintains a presence in other parts of the country, the source added. Recent months have seen a series of strikes on Iranian targets in Syria, widely blamed on Israel, culminating in an April 1 strike that leveled what Iran said was a consulate in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Iran’s Raisi Says Israel Must Be Brought To Justice For ‘Usurpation’ Of Palestinian Territories | Associated Press

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Israel must be brought to justice for “usurpation and oppression” of the Palestinian territories, if not there won’t be a guarantee that others would not do the same in other lands. Raisi was delivering a statement during his one-day visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday. “When it come to the oppressor, when it come to the usurper, the Zionist Israeli regime has been committing oppression against the people of Palestine for 75 years, they have been usurping their territory,” Raisi said. “First of all we have to expel the usurpers secondly we should make them pay the cost for all the damages they have created and thirdly we have to bring to justice the oppressor and usurper,” he said. Earlier on Wednesday Raisi inaugurated a hydropower and irrigation project in Sri Lanka and said his country has proven the West doesn’t have a monopoly on technology.

Iran Will Check Erdogan's Ambitious Goals In Iraq, Experts Say | Voice Of America

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed with Iraqi officials to expand bilateral relations, an attempt that experts say will be challenged by neighbor Iran, which has established significant political clout in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said at a joint news conference with Erdogan on Monday that the 26 memorandums of understanding he signed that day provided a “road map for sustainable cooperation” between Iraq and Turkey. Erdogan, on his first visit to Iraq in 13 years, hailed the memorandums. "I believe that my visit and the agreements we signed will be a turning point in the relations between Iraq and Turkey,” he said. The documents address key issues between the two countries, including security, water management and trade. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of preliminary agreements among Iraq, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a 1,200-kilometer highway and railway project known as the Development Road Project, which would connect the Persian Gulf countries to Turkey and Europe through Iraq.

dcayabyab Thu, 04/25/2024 - 16:04

Biden Admin Funded Research With Prof At Sanctioned Iranian University

dcayabyab — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:09:41 +0000

Biden Admin Funded Research With Prof At Sanctioned Iranian University

Source Link

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202404246143

dcayabyab Wed, 04/24/2024 - 20:09

Senate Sends Aid Package With Iran Oil Sanctions To Biden

dcayabyab — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 18:49:15 +0000

Senate Sends Aid Package With Iran Oil Sanctions To Biden

The Senate voted to send a foreign aid package that includes sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to President Joe Biden, who has said he will sign the legislation into law. The bill, which was approved on Tuesday night by a vote of 79-18, would broaden sanctions to include foreign ports, vessels and refineries that knowingly process or ship Iranian crude in violation of existing US sanctions. It also would expand so-called secondary sanctions to cover all transactions between Chinese financial institutions and sanctioned Iranian banks used to purchase petroleum and oil-derived products. The legislation also included assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The measure would require an annual determination as to whether Chinese financial institutions have engaged in conduct that violates sanctionable conduct, according to a report by the House Financial Services Committee, which said 80% of Iran’s roughly 1.5 million barrel per day of exports go to China to be refined by small independent refineries known as “teapots.”

Russia Hosts Iran, China Security Chiefs After Escalation With Israel | Al-Monitor

Iran's highest-ranking security official, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, was in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday for meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts as well as an international summit of national security advisers from like-minded states.Upon arrival in Saint Petersburg, Ahmadian told Iran's state TV that his mission was to promote "multilateralism" and to fight "Western hegemony and monopoly over global security spheres." Ahmadian specifically highlighted the timing of his trip in the context of the ongoing Gaza war and a recent flareup between Iran and Israel. He noted that the meetings will allow him to "seek justice for Palestinians under aggression and oppression inflicted by the Zionist regime." The Russia meetings also follow a tense three-week episode between Iran and Israel, which pushed the two archenemies to the brink of an all-out war. Earlier in the month, seven senior Iranian officers with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus. The incident prompted Tehran to retaliate less than a fortnight later with a barrage of over 300 drones and missiles toward Israel.

Iranian Regime Releases New Claims On Stolen ‘Israel-Linked’ Transit Cargo | Jerusalem Post

Iranian authorities released more information on Tuesday about the “Israeli-linked” cargo stolen by Iran on April 15, according to the semi-state official Mehr News Agency. Iranian police alleged that the ship was carrying more than 22 metric tons of potassium nitrate, a chemical product used as fertilizer in agricultural projects, to customers in Uzbekistan. Iranian General Reza Baniasadifar reportedly stated the fertilizer had been manufactured by the “fake Zionist regime” and was confiscated under Article 9 of Iran’s Export-Import Regulations – a regulation which prohibits any commercial dealings with Israel. The report claimed that the ship was seized on Iranian territory in Bazargan. Bazargan is located in the West Azerbaijan province.

NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM

UN Nuclear Chief: Iran ‘Weeks, Not Months’ From Enough Uranium To Make A Bomb | Times Of Israel

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said that it would take Iran just weeks to have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb, and that Tehran’s activity, alongside the limited access it grants to its facilities, “raises eyebrows.” But International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told Deutsche Welle in a report published Monday that attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities should be a “no-go.” Grossi said that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. “But that does not mean that Iran has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time,” he added. “A functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material.” Iran’s nuclear goals, he maintained, are “a matter of speculation,” though he criticized the country for its enrichment activity that “raises eyebrows” and its opaque dealings with UN nuclear inspectors, who are not being given the level of access to facilities that he believes they need.

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS

Latest U.S. Sanctions On Iran Target Four People, Two Companies Suspected Of Hacking | Radio Free Europe

The United States on April 23 imposed more sanctions against Iran, designating four people and two companies that the U.S. Treasury Department said were "involved in malicious cyber-activity" on behalf of the country's military. "These actors targeted more than a dozen U.S. companies and government entities through cyberoperations, including spear phishing and malware attacks," on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC), the Treasury Department said in a statement. In addition to the sanctions, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI unsealed an indictment against the four individuals for their alleged roles in cyberactivity targeting U.S. entities. The defendants are accused of engaging in a coordinated hacking campaign originating in Iran that targeted more than a dozen American companies and the U.S. Treasury and State departments, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The activity started in about 2016 and continued through about April 2021, the Justice Department said.

China’s Oil Buyers Set To Weather Tighter US Sanctions On Iran | Bloomberg

China’s private oil refiners could seek to buy more cargoes whose origin has been obscured as they prepare for fresh US sanctions on Iranian exports, ensuring crude continues to flow to the world’s top importer. The US House of Representatives passed tougher measures against Iran over the weekend in response to an attack on Israel, promising to broaden the scope of restrictions with a series of measures targeting the country’s exports that could become law as soon as this week. The Senate voted in favor on Tuesday night of sending the legislative package for President Joe Biden’s sign-off. China has long been wary of being caught up in the US sanctions net and the latest steps extend to foreign ports, vessels, and refineries that knowingly engage in the Iranian oil trade. Still, Iran’s exports to China are not expected to fall away. So-called teapot refiners — private outfits clustered in Shandong province and the leading beneficiaries of US sanctions on Iranian exports — are already bracing for the increased scrutiny.

Standard Chartered Faces £1.5 Billion UK Claim In Iran Sanction Case | Insurance Journal

Standard Chartered Plc is facing about £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) worth of investor claims at a London trial over allegations it systematically breached Iranian sanctions to win new business. A London judge ruled on Friday [April 19] that the trial, that will also probe accusations of bribery, should be split into two parts with the first scheduled for October 2026. The bank was sued by hundreds of investors over the claims of widespread misconduct, which has so far cost the bank more than $1.7 billion in penalties. The lender is facing the claim after it told watchdogs that it processed hundreds of millions of dollars in clearing transactions between 2008 and 2014 through its Dubai offices on behalf of Iranian entities. The case over alleged lack of shareholder disclosure is “without merit” and the bank “will continue to vigorously defend the claim,” a spokesperson for the bank said in an emailed statement. “We consider that the bank fully complied with its reporting and disclosure obligations throughout the relevant period.”

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM

Argentina Seeks Arrest Of Iran Minister Over 1994 Jewish Center Bombing | AFP News

Argentina has asked Interpol to arrest Iran's interior minister over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. That minister, Ahmad Vahidi, is part of an Iranian delegation currently visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Interpol has issued a red alert seeking his arrest at the request of Argentina, the ministry said in a statement. Argentina has also asked those two governments to arrest Vahidi, it added. On April 12 a court in Argentina placed blame on Iran for the 1994 attack against the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and for a bombing two years earlier against the Israeli embassy, which killed 29 people. The 1994 assault has never been claimed or solved, but Argentina and Israel have long suspected the Iran-backed group Hezbollah carried it out at Iran's request.

Police In Paris Detain A Man Wearing Fake Explosives Vest At Iran's Consulate | Associated Press

A man wearing a fake explosive vest and making threats was detained Friday outside the Iranian Consulate in Paris after police locked down the area, authorities said. His motive was unclear. The incident came at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, and as Paris is on high security alert as it gears up to host the Summer Olympics in three months. The suspect had been convicted for setting fire to the Iranian Embassy gates last year in what he called a protest against the Iranian government, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. The consulate and embassy are part of the same compound, in the ritzy 16th arrondissement of Paris and near the Seine River. Iranian authorities did not comment publicly on what happened. The man was spotted around 11 a.m. outside the consulate, and a witness told police he had a grenade and an explosives vest, according to a Paris police official. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to be publicly named under police policy.

U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS

Iran Rejects US Claims Of 'Malicious Cyber Activity' | AFP News

Iran condemned as "unfounded" Wednesday US allegations of "malicious cyber activity" on behalf of its military that triggered a new set of sanctions against Iranian companies and individuals. Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Iran "categorically dismissed the US government claim that some Iranian individuals and companies have been involved in cyberattacks". He accused Washington of seeking to "deflect the wave of international criticism towards their policies of unlimited support for the Zionist regime (Israeli) war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip". The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions against four individuals and two companies on Tuesday, adding that the four individuals had also been indicted "for their roles in cyber activity targeting US entities".

PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS

‘War On Women’ Intensifies With Hijab Crackdown In Iran | Iran International

Authorities in Iran have launched a fierce battle with Iranian women over the enforcement of mandatory hijab, a struggle that has reignited widespread condemnation of the government's heavy-handed tactics. Project Nour, the regime’s new hijab enforcement plan, has seen Iranian authorities escalate their physical efforts to enforce the Islamic Republic’s strict hijab laws. It has led to a surge in violent crackdowns targeting women on Iranian streets. Earlier this week, Ahmad-Reza Radan, Iran's Chief of Police and commander of the country's Law Enforcement Command, announced that the police would continue the “Project Nour” with the support of the parliament, the government, and the judiciary, with "strength and precision." In 2010, Radan was sanctioned by the US, EU and the UK for serious human rights violations and his role in the deadly and violent repression of protests during Iran’s 2009 green movement. As reported by state-run IRIB, Radan thanked his colleagues “who are diligently involved in implementing this plan and are pursuing it with a jihadistic spirit.”

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS

Washington Asks Baghdad To Safeguard US Troops In Iraq And Syria | Iran International

The US military called on Iraq's government on Tuesday to take steps to safeguard American troops in both Iraq and Syria after failed attacks a day earlier by Iran’s proxy militias. The drone and rocket fire were the first such incidents since a near three-month pause in what had been almost daily attacks that culminated in the January killing of three US soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan. Meanwhile, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced criminal charges and sanctions against four Iranians over an alleged multi-year cyber campaign targeting more than one dozen American companies, the Treasury Department and the State Department said. Sanctions were also announced against two companies, Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik and Dadeh Afzar Arman, that according to the Treasury Department employed the individual defendants and were front companies for Iran's Revolutionary Guard cyber command. “The IRGC-CEC is one of the Iranian government organizations that has been responsible for, through a series of front companies, malicious cyber activity against the US and several other countries…The United States will not tolerate malicious cyber activities victimizing US companies,” the State Department said in a statement.

Iran Threatens To Annihilate Israel Should It Launch A Major Attack | Reuters

An Israeli attack on Iranian territory could radically change dynamics and result in there being nothing left of the "Zionist regime", Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the official IRNA news agency. Raisi began a three day visit to Pakistan on Monday and has vowed to boost trade between the neighbouring nations to $10 billion a year. The two Muslim neighbours are seeking to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year. On Friday, explosions were heard over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack but Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation. Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel on April 13 in what it said was retaliation for Israel's suspected deadly strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, but almost all were shot down.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS

Outcry In Southern Iran After Police Kill Fuel Smuggler | Iran International

Residents of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran took to the street in protest after local police fatally shot a fuel smuggler and severely wounded another. According to Kolbar News, the demonstration, held on Tuesday, saw citizens gathering in front of the governor's office, vocally opposing what they called "killer police." The protestors then entered the building, demanding answers and accountability for the police action. The incident occurred on Monday evening when officers from Bandar Abbas opened fire on a vehicle carrying fuel without any prior warning. The attack resulted in the death of 20-year-old Amir Mohammad Chatr Sahar and left another man injured. Chatr Sahar was known to be from the Jamal Ahmad area of Bandar Abbas where around half the population lives in poverty, but details about the injured party remain undisclosed.

CONGRESS & IRAN

US Senate Passes MAHSA Act, Other Iran Sanctions Bills | Iran International

The US Senate on Tuesday night unanimously passed a foreign aid package which includes several Iran-related sanctions bills especially the MAHSA Act which targets Iran's Supreme Leader. During the voting session on Tuesday night, 79 senators voted for the landmark $95-billion aid package for Israel and Ukraine, which also includes Iran-related sanctions bills. Eighteen senators voted against the bill, but it was finally passed by the Senate and now awaits President Joe Biden's signature before it can be implemented. Immediately after the Senate's adoption of the bill, Joe Biden said he will sign the bill passed by the Senate into law on Wednesday.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN

Hezbollah Claims Drone Attack 10 Miles Inside Israel | New York Times

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed that it had made its deepest attack into Israel since October, striking a barracks north of the city of Acre with drones and setting off sirens across the country’s northern coastline. The Israeli military, however, said that no bases had been hit and no casualties reported, adding that three drones had been identified and intercepted. Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful regional proxy, has been engaged in escalating cross-border strikes with Israeli forces since the war in Gaza began more than six months ago. In the latest strike, it maintained it had launched a drone attack on an Israeli military barracks roughly 10 miles from the Lebanese border. Footage that circulated Tuesday on Hezbollah-affiliated Telegram channels, and geolocated by The New York Times, shows people on a beach in Acre looking up at the sky as sirens go off and an explosion is heard. The drone attack in Israel came after targeted killings by Israel of two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, both of whom the Israeli military claimed were involved in Hezbollah’s aerial operations.

Israel-Iran Tensions: Is Syria The New Battlefield? | DW

Only a week after an alleged Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, it was business as usual for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Accompanied by his wife and family, he appeared in public at the end of the Islamic holiday month of Ramadan, taking part in prayers and walking the city streets. If he seemed unperturbed by the fact that a foreign power had apparently killed several high ranking generals in his capital just a few days earlier, then that was on purpose, says Haid Haid, a consulting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House. "The [Assad] photo op was not accidental. It's part of a wider campaign to show that business is proceeding as usual," Haid said during a Chatham House panel on the topic this week. "I think the message was that Syria will not be part of any retaliation for the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate and Syria will not be the main theater for that response." But that's not surprising, Haid noted. "Because from the beginning of the war in Gaza, Assad has been distancing himself from regional escalation and portraying himself as neutral."

OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS

North Korea Officials Visit Iran In A Rare Public Trip | Jerusalem Post

A North Korean delegation led by the cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, the North's official media said on Wednesday in a rare public report of an exchange between the two countries believed to have secret military ties. The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, left Pyongyang on Tuesday by air leading a ministry delegation to visit Iran, the North's KCNA news agency said. It gave no other detail. North Korea and Iran have long been suspected of cooperating on ballistic missile programs, possibly exchanging technical expertise and components that went into their manufacture. Iran has provided a large number of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, Reuters reported in February. North Korea is also suspected of supplying Russia with missiles and artillery, although both countries have denied the allegation.

Iran's President Raisi Snubbed On Delegation To Pakistan | Iran International

During Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Islamabad, he has been snubbed by high ranking officials, met only by military leaders and a minister for housing, his critics say. While the Pakistani prime minister invited Raisi to Islamabad, he was not there to greet him on Monday. The Iranian government’s official website posted images of Raisi’s arrival at Nur Khan Airbase and the only official from Pakistan receiving Raisi was named Riaz Hussain Pirzada, federal minister for housing and works. Critics of the current government such as Abdolreza Davari, one of ex-President Ahmadinejad's confidants, drew a stark comparison between this incident and the reception of ex-president Hassan Rouhani in 2016 when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif greeted him at Nur Khan Airbase. The conservative website Khabar Online slammed the imbalance of power and said “this level of reception does not reflect the level of the visit" of the embarrassing reception.

Iran Ready To Forge Stronger Ties With Sri Lanka, Raisi Says | Reuters

Iran is ready to strengthen ties with Sri Lanka and other Asian countries, its president, Ebrahim Raisi, said on Wednesday, during a short visit to the island nation, the first by an Iranian president in 16 years. The two countries are set to sign five pacts, or Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on the visit, only the second since one in April 2008 by Iran's then president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Opening a $514-million hydro power project, Raisi pledged to support development projects in the Indian Ocean island by providing technical and engineering services.

dcayabyab Wed, 04/24/2024 - 18:49

UANI Applauds Passage of the MAHSA Act and SHIP Act

dcayabyab — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 15:31:06 +0000

UANI Applauds Passage of the MAHSA Act and SHIP Act

(New York, NY) – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today after President Joe Biden signed the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) and the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP Act) into law.

“UANI applauds the passage of the MAHSA Act and SHIP Act. The MAHSA Act will pave the way for long overdue sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, president, and the entities they control under counterterrorism and human rights abuse authorities.

“Soon after the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian regime’s security forces in September 2022, UANI’s Policy Director Jason Brodsky and Director of Outreach and Human Rights Research Alan Goldsmith argued in an essay for 1945 that the Biden administration and its allies should sanction Iran’s supreme leader for human rights abuses as the Morality Police which killed Mahsa Amini reports ultimately to him. The MAHSA Act lays the groundwork for accomplishing that goal, for which UANI has advocated for years.

“The MAHSA Act’s passage is due to the tireless efforts of the Iranian American community whose organizing power and hard work transformed a bill which at first had difficulty attracting cosponsors into a bipartisan success story. The MAHSA Act amplifies the voices of the brave people of Iran who have been calling for an end to the Islamic Republic.

“UANI likewise applauds the passage of the SHIP Act. Oil forms the lifeblood of the regime’s repression and terrorism at home and abroad. Its expansive reach will extend sanctions to shipping companies, foreign ports, refineries, and vessels engaged in this illicit trade in defiance of U.S. sanctions.

“Crucially, the bill also targets the Chinese financial institutions that process “significant financial transactions” involving Iranian oil, even when they occur outside the nexus of the U.S. financial system. China is by far the biggest buyer of U.S.-sanctioned oil, and has retained its number one importers’ spot on UANI’s “tanker tracker” for every successive month since the launch of this resource in 2018.

“UANI, which generates “the best public data we have” on Iranian oil exports, according to the Wall Street Journal, has long called for smarter, tougher, and better-enforced policies with respect to Iran’s most lucrative commodity, especially targeting Chinese entities—both the “teapot” refiners and their financiers. The regime has been able to export oil worth over $90 billion from this activity since January 2021. It is time to fully enforce sanctions, and the SHIP Act is likely to have a significant effect in these efforts.”

dcayabyab Wed, 04/24/2024 - 15:31

Teaser Image

Israel Planned Bigger Attack On Iran, But Scaled It Back To Avoid War

dcayabyab — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 15:47:31 +0000

Israel Planned Bigger Attack On Iran, But Scaled It Back To Avoid War

Israel abandoned plans for a much more extensive counterstrike on Iran after concerted diplomatic pressure from the United States and other foreign allies and because the brunt of an Iranian assault on Israel soil had been thwarted, according to three senior Israeli officials. Israeli leaders originally discussed bombarding several military targets across Iran last week, including near Tehran, the Iranian capital, in retaliation for the Iranian strike on April 13, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive discussions. Such a broad and damaging attack would have been far harder for Iran to overlook, increasing the chances of a forceful Iranian counterattack that could have brought the Middle East to the brink of a major regional conflict. In the end — after President Biden, along with the British and German foreign ministers, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent a wider war — Israel opted for a more limited strike on Friday that avoided significant damage, diminishing the likelihood of an escalation, at least for now.

The Leaders Of Iran And Pakistan Vow To Boost Trade In A Meeting Seeking To Mend A Diplomatic Rift | Associated Press

The leaders of Iran and Pakistan agreed to strengthen economic and security cooperation in a meeting on Monday that sought to smooth over a diplomatic rift. Ties were strained between the neighbors in January when each carried out strikes in the other’s territory, targeting militants accused of attacking security forces. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials on his three-day visit. Authorities deployed hundreds of additional police and paramilitary forces for security. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, mostly blamed on Pakistani Taliban and insurgents targeting security forces in Pakistan and neighboring Iran. According to a statement, the two leaders discussed a range of bilateral issues and vowed to cooperate to fight terrorism. They reiterated their condemnations of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Iran Says EU Sanctions For Israel Attack 'Regrettable' | AFP News

Iran described as "regrettable" Tuesday a decision by the European Union to expand the bloc's sanctions against its weapons programmes in response to its unprecedented retaliatory attack on Israel. "It is regrettable to see the EU deciding quickly to apply more unlawful restrictions against Iran just because Iran exercised its right to self-defence in the face of Israel’s reckless aggression," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a post on X. "The EU should not follow Washington's advice to satisfy the criminal Israeli regime." On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc had agreed in principle to expand its existing sanctions against Iran's drone programme to cover missiles and their potential transfer to Iran's Middle East allies or to Russia.

UANI IN THE NEWS

EU Sanctions Iran | BBC Persia

Is the next step to boycott the IRGC? Jason Brodsky, Policy Director of United Against Nuclear Iran.

US Lawmakers Pass New Iran Sanctions Bill | Lloyd’s List

…Iran’s oil exports have staged a comeback in recent years after the reimposition of sanctions sliced them from over 2m barrels per day in 2018 to a few hundred thousand when the measures were fully implemented in 2019. According to preliminary figures from tanker trackers at US lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran, exports averaged 1.5m bpd in the first quarter of 2024, making it Iran’s best first quarter in the post-sanctions era. China buys 80% of Iran's oil exports. The Middle Kingdom’s smaller and semi-independent “teapot” refineries account for about 20% of China’s total oil imports, according to UANI, but they also take in the bulk of Iran’s exports. Importing Iran’s oil through these smaller refineries helped Beijing obscure its role and protect its large, stateowned enterprises from US scrutiny, UANI said. The teapots are both harder to uncover and are less exposed to the US financial system.

Biden DOE Collaborated With Scientist From Iranian University Sanctioned For Illicit Nuclear Work | Washington Free Beacon

…"I’m not familiar with this grant," Granholm said under questioning, adding that U.S. taxpayer funds generally should not be making their way to sanctioned countries or entities. Granholm promised to follow up on the matter but has yet to do so, sources told the Washington Free Beacon. The DOE did not respond to a request for comment on how much the grant was for or how it was distributed. The issue was first brought to the DOE’s attention in late March, when United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), a watchdog group that tracks sanctioned entities, informed U.S. officials that a researcher in its National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a paper alongside Sharif University’s Ravanji. "The research was grant-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office," UANI wrote in the letter, according to a copy obtained by the Free Beacon.

Malaysia Arrests Two Ships And 44 Seafarers For Alleged Illegal Anchoring | Tradewinds

…Campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran identified the two vessels and posted a satellite image of the ships side-by-side. The group said the transfer involved an Iranian cargo after it tracked the Artemis III loading around 2m barrels of crude at Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal in August. It said the Artemis III carried out an STS transfer of one-third of those barrels to an aframax tanker in the same area off Malaysia in October before authorities took action.

NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM

Iran's Activities 'Raising Eyebrows,' IAEA's Grossi Tells DW | DW News

Iran is "weeks rather than months" away from having enough enriched uranium to develop a nuclear bomb, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told DW. "But that does not mean that Iran has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time," he added. He said while enrichment at near-military levels is a cause for alarm, one cannot draw the direct conclusion that Iran now has a nuclear weapon. "A functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material, in this case, the uranium, including perhaps being tested," Grossi said. He also said Iran's objectives are "a matter of speculation." The Iranian public line is that this material is needed for medical or civilian purposes.

Iranian Lawmaker Hints At A Nuclear Test | Iran International

Iranian lawmaker Javad Karimi Ghoddusi says there is only "a one-week gap from the issuance of the order to the first test" of a nuclear bomb, despite previous assertions of peaceful intentions. His Monday statement on X came amidst escalating tensions with Israel and just hours after the Iranian foreign ministry reiterated that nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's military doctrine. Ghoddusi, who is known for his hardline stance in domestic and foreign policy, also made provocative comments prior to Iran's missile and drone attack against Israel, warning that attempts to assassinate 'Resistance Front' personalities worldwide would be met with retaliation with Iranian missiles. During a press briefing in Tehran, ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani emphasized, "Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine."

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS

Israel Hails ‘Clear Message’ As EU Expands Sanctions Against Iran | Times Of Israel

EU foreign ministers agreed in principle on Monday to expand sanctions on Iran following Tehran’s missile and drone attack on Israel, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. Israel hailed the step as a “clear message” to Tehran. The sanctions will be aimed at curtailing exports of EU-made components used in the production of UAVs, drones and ballistic missiles employed by Iran. The European Union already has multiple sanctions programs against Iran, for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human rights abuses and supplying drones to Russia. But several EU countries had called for widening the drone-related sanctions regime to cover missiles and transfers to proxy forces. “We have reached a political agreement in order to enlarge and expand the existing drone (sanctions) regime in order to cover missiles and their potential … transfer to Russia,” Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Oil Market Sees Iran Sanctions Having Muted Impact On Exports | Bloomberg

Legislation pushing Joe Biden to ratchet up sanctions on Iranian crude oil is on track to become law as soon as this week. But don’t expect the president to fully use his new powers any time soon. The measure was passed by the US House of Representatives over the weekend as a response to Iran’s attack on Israel earlier this month. On paper, at least, they promise to broaden the scope of restrictions on Iran’s exports of crude by extending coverage to foreign ports, vessels, and refineries that knowingly engage in the trade. But oil market analysts say Biden will be loathe to make any moves that could increase the price of crude or the gasoline that US motorists buy at the pump. The president is likely to take advantage of the waiver authority built into the sanctions and avoid stringent enforcement, according to policy experts.

PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS

Iran Arrests Kurdish Editor-In-Chief, Iranian Cartoonist, Sues Several Newspapers | Committee To Protect Journalists

Iranian authorities must immediately release Kurdish-Iranian journalist Rasoul Galehban and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Galehban, the publisher and the editor-in-chief of Urmiye24 Kurdish News, was arrested by the Iran’s Cyber Police Unit in the city of Urmia, in West Azerbaijan province, on April 8, according to news reports. According to CPJ research, the Urmiye24 website was suspended as soon as Galehban was arrested. According to news reports, Galehban was arrested after the office of Urmia’s Prosecutor General filed a lawsuit against him. CPJ was unable to determine where Galehban was being held or whether he had been formally charged. Iranian cartoonist Atena Faraghdani was arrested violently again on April 14, according to a post by her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Iran's Israel Strike Coincided With Crackdown On Dissent At Home, Activists Say | Reuters

The same day Iran launched its first ever direct attack on Israel it embarked on a less-noticed confrontation at home, ordering police in several cities to take to the streets to arrest women accused of flouting its strict Islamic dress code. Iranian authorities insist that their so-called Nour (Light) campaign targets businesses and individuals who defy the hijab law, aiming to respond to demands from devout citizens who are angry about the growing number of unveiled women in public. But activists and some politicians say the campaign appears aimed not only at enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing, but also at discouraging any wider dissent at a vulnerable moment for the clerical rulers. Under Iran's sharia, or Islamic law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes. Offenders face public rebuke, fines or arrest.

Iranian Rapper's Death Sentence Changed To 5 Years In Prison | Radio Free Europe

Iranian dissident rapper Saman Yasin, who was detained during nationwide protests in 2022, has been sentenced to five years in prison, according to a verdict obtained by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. In sentencing Yasin, Branch 15 of Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court said Yasin will serve the punishment at a prison in the city of Kerman, as dictated by a fatwa from the Islamic republic's leader that bars Yasin from associating with others. Yasin is from the northwestern Kurdish region of Iran, while Kerman is located near the southeastern part of the country. Legal sources noted that Yasin, who was involved in the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for an alleged head scarf violation, was initially sentenced to death, but that sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court. Hossein Sartipi, Yasin’s lawyer, confirmed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the sentence had been changed, remarking, "Saman Yasin was saved from execution." Yasin has been in temporary detention for over 18 months. Sartipi said he plans to appeal the latest sentence.

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS

Satellite Photos Suggest Iran Air Defense Radar Struck In Isfahan During Apparent Israeli Attack | Associated Press

Satellite photos taken Monday suggest an apparent Israeli retaliatory strike targeting Iran’s central city of Isfahan hit a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery, contradicting repeated denials by officials in Tehran of any damage in the assault. The strike on an S-300 radar in what appears to have been a very limited strike by the Israelis would represent far more damage done than in the massive drone-and-missile attack Iran unleashed against Israel on April 13. That may be why Iranian officials up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been trying to dismiss discussing what the attack actually did on Iranian soil. Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, now are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip still rages and inflames the wider region. But a strike on the most advanced air defense system Iran possesses and uses to protect its nuclear sites sends a message, experts say.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS

Iranian Women Face Extortion And Abuse Amid Hijab Crackdown | Iran International

As Iran's Islamic government tightens its grip on enforcing mandatory hijab, reports of extortion and abuse of Iranian women at the hands of hijab enforcement officers have surfaced. According to information obtained by Iran International, instances of Iranian police officers demanding money from women to avoid hijab-related arrests have come to light. The coercion further extends to confiscating valuables and personal belongings from citizens. Since the implementation of the new hijab enforcement plan, "Project Nour" on April 13, a wave of violent encounters targeting unveiled women has unfolded across various cities in Iran. Victims recount disturbing experiences of being accosted by Iran’s so-called “morality police", with some revealing instances of sexual harassment. In one account, a woman revealed that the police coerced her and several others into paying 100 million rials ($153) under threat of arrest or seizure of their vehicles.

GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN

First Iran Group In Nine Years Heads To Saudi Arabia For Umrah Pilgrimage | Reuters

The first group of Iranian pilgrims in nine years made its way to Saudi Arabia on Monday for the umrah, or minor pilgrimage, Iran's official news agency reported, as a result of improving ties between the two Middle Eastern powers. Iranian media had said in December that Saudi Arabia had lifted restrictions on Iranians wanting to perform umrah but flights were delayed until now due to what Tehran called "technical problems". In March 2023, China mediated an agreement under which Iran and Saudi Arabia restored full diplomatic relations that were cut since 2016 over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric and the subsequent storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Before ties were restored, Iranians had only been able to perform the haj pilgrimage, a religious duty deemed compulsory for Muslims who aim to carry it out once in their lifetime. The haj must be performed at a certain time of the year, and which is subject to strict annual quota.

dcayabyab Tue, 04/23/2024 - 15:47

US lawmakers pass new Iran sanctions bill

dcayabyab — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:25:34 +0000

US lawmakers pass new Iran sanctions bill

Source Link

https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1148933/US-lawmakers-pass-new-Iran-sanctions-bill

dcayabyab Mon, 04/22/2024 - 18:25

EU Is Set To Impose Iran Sanctions For Missile Attacks On Israel

dcayabyab — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 16:28:27 +0000

EU Is Set To Impose Iran Sanctions For Missile Attacks On Israel

EU foreign and defense ministers meet in Luxembourg on Monday, They’re seeking to reach a political accord on Iran measures. European Union foreign and defense ministers are poised to reach a political agreement on Monday to impose new sanctions on Iran over its attack on Israel. The restrictive measures further expand the sanctions that the EU already imposed on Tehran for supplying Russia with drones to also include missiles and drones that Iran has provided its proxies in the Middle East. The sanctions may not be formally adopted until later in the week to allow for the technical work to be completed.

Israel, Iran Play Down Apparent Israeli Strike. The Muted Responses Could Calm Tensions — For Now | Associated Press

Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central Iran, signaling the two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full-blown regional war. But the indecisive outcome of weeks of tensions — which included an alleged Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals, an unprecedented Iranian missile barrage on Israel and the apparent Israeli strike early Friday in the heart of Iran — did little to resolve the deeper grievances between the foes and left the door open to further fighting. “It appears we’re closer than ever to a broad regional war, despite the fact that the international community will most likely make a great effort to de-escalate tensions,” wrote Amos Harel, the military-affairs commentator for the Israeli daily Haaretz. Israel has long considered Iran to be its greatest enemy — citing the Islamic Republic’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its controversial nuclear program and its support for hostile proxies across the Middle East.

Iranian Commander Announces New Morality Enforcement Body | Radio Free Europe

The commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) troops in the Iranian capital on April 21 announced the creation of a new enforcement body to uphold the country's strict dress code for women. IRGC Tehran chief Hassan Hassanzadeh said members of the squad's members have been trained to enforce the hijab "in a more serious manner" at public locations. The announcement follows reports that authorities have intensified morality sweeps in recent days, with shared images showing the uniformed officers descending on women as part of an operation officials said was codenamed Nour, or Light in Persian. In a related message imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi said women's narratives of oppression will be heard and will "disgrace" the "misogynist" government. "Today, the authoritarian theocracy has drawn a full-fledged war against all women on all streets of the country, not out of a position of power but out of desperation," Mohammadi said from Tehran's Evin prison, according to an audio message posted on April 21 on an Instagram page attributed to her.

UANI IN THE NEWS

Airstrike Against Iraqi Group Aims To Stop Iran's Proxies | Iran International

…In a post on X, Jason Brodsky, Policy Director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), attributed the overnight strikes in Iraq to Israel. “On April 17, Iraq’s national security advisor Qasim Al-Araji, a member of IRGC terrorists-backed Badr Organization, said Iran’s regime’s attack on Israel on April 13 created ‘a new deterrent policy’ in the region. And this is Israel’s response to him tonight in Iraq,” Brodsky pointed out. Since October 7, Iran-backed forces in Iraq have been threatening to target Israel. Their anti-Israel rhetoric intensified after the April 1 attack in Damascus. Following the incident, the Iranian proxies in Iraq claimed two drone attacks on Israeli territory, one in Haifa and another in Golan Heights.

Biden Admin Funded Study Involving Researcher From Iranian University Linked To Nuclear Program | The Daily Caller

…“The issue here is that a U.S. federal agency is apparently collaborating with a widely-sanctioned university which is one of the worst actors in Iran’s academic space,” Daniel Roth, the director of research for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Regardless of whether this explicitly has been used to advance Iran’s nuclear centrifuges is beside the point … This shouldn’t have happened in the first place. And we’re not talking about a collaboration on James Joyce or English literature. It’s about science and technology, and obviously those often have dual uses.”

How Israel Launched A ‘Birthday Surprise’ Attack Against Iran’s Nuclear Defences | The Telegraph

…“Israel has a lot of experience operating in Iran,” said Jason Brodsky, policy director of the United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group. “Israel has a long history of mounting covert operations inside the Islamic Republic. So that experience has informed what it did overnight in the Islamic Republic.” One of the targets appeared to have been the Shekari 8 Air Base in Isfahan, a base for Iran’s regular army, rather than one used by its feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “I think that they may have viewed the Islamic Republic as less likely to retaliate if they attacked an army base versus an IRGC base,” said Mr Brodsky.

The West Must Urgently Learn From Israel’s Red Lines On Iran | UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky For The Jewish Chronicle

The United States and its allies can learn something from the way Israel has dealt with Iran. After Iran launched an unprecedented assault on the Jewish state from its own territory on April 13 following an Israeli strike on senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders in Syria, Israel hit back with an attack on an airbase on Iranian territory on April 19. Throughout the week, Western policymakers were handwringing and hyperventilating over Israel’s promised retaliation and how it could trigger an uncontrollable escalatory spiral that would draw in the US. Iranian officials joined in, promising immediate, punishing reprisals. But judging from the muted reaction so far in Iran, rather than doubling down, it is backing down. Israel sent a message to Tehran that it would not be willing to sit idly by and “take the win”, as President Joe Biden advised, after successfully thwarting the Iranian Operation True Promise on April 13.

Iran Expert: ”There Is A Lot Of Discussion Internally In Iran Among Senior IRGC Command That Now Is The Best Time To Weaponize The Nuclear Program’ | European Jewish Press

…According to an Israeli official source, the strike had been intended to signal to Iran that Israel has the ability to reach Iran with its weapons. ‘’I see it as the bigger and longer campaign targeting military sites in Iran and also the start of a psychological warfare operation by Israel to reach the paranoia of the ayatollahs and the IRGC, making them guess when the next strike is going to come,’’ Iran expert Kasra Aarabi, told European Jewish Press. A director of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in London, Aarabi specializes in Iranian military and security affairs and Shi’a extremism. He is also a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington ‘’It is only the first step. From the Iranian calculus, they will be trying to flip the narrative for propaganda purposes. They know that this is just the beginning. Their line will be ‘We are showing restraint, we are a ‘rational’ actor’’ despite the fact that they launched an unprecedented, illogical, irrational, reckless strike last week; They will try to have media and policymakers in Europe pick that narrative. You also start seeing their lobby network pushing this narrative,’’ he added in a phone conversation.

Israel’s Attack On Iran Was Perfectly Calibrated | UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky For The Spectator

Today, there have been reports of explosions in Isfahan, in central Iran, in what is presumed to be a strike by Israel. The world had been waiting for Israel’s promised retaliation after Iran launched an unprecedented attack at Israel directly from its own territory, using 300 missiles and drones. Despite the hysterical commentary that Israel is trying to drag the United States and its allies into war, its strikes in Iran appear to have been carefully calibrated to avoid escalation. After all, Israel has plenty of experience operating in Iran, and particularly Isfahan.

NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM

Israeli President Herzog Warns Of Iran Developing Nuclear Weapons | DPA International

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has warned against the development of nuclear weapons by Iran. In an interview with German mass-circulation Bild newspaper and other media of the Axel Springer publishing group in his official residence in Jerusalem, Herzog said: "Clearly the greatest threat to stability in the world is Iran's desire for the bomb." In view of this danger, he appealed to the free world to act together and "to fight if necessary." He warned against a policy of appeasement towards Iran. Without referring to the attack on military targets in Iran on Friday, which was attributed to Israel, Herzog assured that his country was acting "responsibly" and striving for peace and stability. In the "chess game of world politics," it is often a matter of "acting responsibly and with restraint." "This is what we have done throughout the crisis," Herzog said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Claims Nuclear Weapons Have ‘No Place’ In Its Nuclear Doctrine | Reuters

Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's nuclear doctrine, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday, days after a Revolutionary Guards commander warned that Tehran might change its nuclear policy if pressured by Israeli threats. "Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme only serves peaceful purposes. Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine," ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said during a press conference in Tehran. Following a spike in tensions with Israel, the Guards commander in charge of nuclear security Ahmad Haghtalab said last week that Israeli threats could push Tehran to "review its nuclear doctrine and deviate from its previous considerations."

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS

US Unlikely To Enforce Iran Sanctions In Election Year: Analyst | Bloomberg

The US is unlikely to strongly enforce sanctions on Iran and risk sending oil prices higher in an election year, consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. said, even after the House set new restrictions in motion against the country’s energy sector. Legislation passed over the weekend seeks to broaden sanctions against Iran to include foreign ports, vessels and refineries that knowingly process or ship Iranian crude in violation of existing US rules.

Food Prices Soar In Iran Amid Rial Devaluation And Israel Tensions | Iran International

Iran is grappling with soaring food prices amidst economic turmoil and the devaluation of the rial compounded by Iran-Israel tensions. According to reports from Iran's state-run Khorasan newspaper, the cost of essential food items has skyrocketed since the beginning of the Iranian New Year in March 2024, coinciding with the month of Ramadan. Beans have seen a staggering 30% increase in price, while red meat prices have surged by 25%. Additionally, summer foods have seen a remarkable 50% hike, with rice and several other items following suit with increases ranging from 10% to 15%. Earlier in April, in an interview with so-called reformist news site Entekhab, Reza Kangari, the head of the Tehran Provincial Union of Food Banks, also highlighted the recent significant rise in food prices. Kangari stated that “some food items have seen a 30% rise" and attributed the rise to the depreciation of the rial, supply shortages, and subsequent price gouging.

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM

Europe Needs To ‘Wake Up’ And Face The Iran Threat, Says Israel’s President | POLITICO

European leaders "don't get" the danger posed by Iran in the Middle East and beyond, Israel's President Isaac Herzog said in an interview on Sunday. The Iranian government is providing thousands of drones for use by Russia in its war on Ukraine, and at the same time Tehran is pushing ahead with its nuclear weapons program, Herzog said, describing Iran as an "empire of evil." "I think Europe has to wake up and urgently, because they don't get it," Herzog said in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets. POLITICO is owned by Axel Springer. As Israel faces criticism from its allies over the scale of its assault on Gaza, which has left much of the enclave in ruins amid preparations for an Israeli assault on Rafah, Herzog was clear that Tehran is the real enemy. In response to Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel last weekend, the Israeli government launched a strike on Iran on Friday. "If you don't wake up and be as strong as possible and fight this empire of evil with the coalition that you have in NATO, Europe may pay the price in the future," said Herzog.

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS

Biden, US Officials Were Surprised By Scale Of Iranian Attack On Israel – Report | Times Of Israel

US President Joe Biden and security officials watched with “mounting alarm” as the scale of Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel became clear last weekend, according to a Sunday report. “This was on the high end, I think, of what we were anticipating,” a senior official was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying of the moments the scope of the Iranian barrage became clear. An unnamed official told the newspaper that it was “unclear until all was said and done” whether Israel’s missile defenses and the coalition of countries involved in shooting down projectiles had succeeded. The report said that as it became evident in the run-up to the attack by Iran that something was going to happen, a team of US military personnel was secretly sent to Tel Aviv to work at “a missile defense operations center.” US officials were confident they could help counter around 50 ballistic missiles, and became deeply concerned when it became clear that over 100 had been fired by Iran, according to the report.

Israeli Weapon Damaged Iranian Air Defenses Without Being Detected, Officials Say | New York Times

The strike, two Western officials said, was calculated to deliver a message to Iran that Israel could bypass Iran’s defense systems undetected and paralyze them… An Israeli weapon deployed in a retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday damaged a defense system responsible for detecting and destroying aerial threats near Nantaz, a central Iranian city critical to the country’s secret nuclear weapons program, according to two Western officials and two Iranian officials. The strike, the Western officials said, was calculated to deliver a message to Iran that Israel could bypass Iran’s defense systems undetected and paralyze them, using a fraction of the fire power Iran deployed last week when it launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. That attack, intercepted by Israel and its allies, caused minimal damage.

Israel Hit Iran With A Half-Ton Supersonic 'Rampage' Missile, Report Says | Business Insider

Israel used a long-range, supersonic missile in its strike on Iran earlier this week, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported, per The Times of Israel. US officials said Israel carried out a missile strike on a military base near the city of Isfahan, Iran, on Friday. Israel has not confirmed the reports, while Iran has sought to downplay the incident, only referencing small drones used in the attack, which its foreign minister said were "like toys our children play with." While it remains unclear what weapons were used in the strike, Kan reported that Israel used a "Rampage" air-to-surface missile, claiming it was identified in photos and that damage caused by the attack was consistent with a Rampage strike, per The Times of Israel.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS

Flash Floods In Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Leave Region In Despair | Iran International

Recent floods have devastated the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, causing massive infrastructural damage leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without critical supplies. According to Moeineddin Saeedi, the lawmaker representing Chabahar in the Iranian parliament, the floods have "broken the back of the people," with the death toll rising and critical damage to the region's infrastructure, including roads, electricity, and water systems. He said "transit and rural roads in some districts have been destroyed up to 70 percent, and water has entered many homes." On the ground, activists have reported a higher toll than the government is currently reporting, with at least 18 deaths due to the flash floods, the government announcing around 10. The situation is worsening as Hossein Zafari, spokesperson for the Crisis Management Organization, disclosed that approximately 300 villages in the south are now cut off, with significant disruptions to their water supply and risk of displacement on the rise.

Who Pulls The Strings Of Power In Iran? | Financial Times

Intricate, multi-layered and opaque, the power structure of Iran’s regime can be a challenge for insiders to understand, let alone the world outside. While the country of almost 90mn appears to be under the strict control of a single cleric, the Islamic Republic’s ruling elite has in fact entered a period of significant change. As factions prepare for the battle to succeed the ageing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime’s future is increasingly being shaped by its armed forces and hardliners. The political flux has become a crucial factor in Middle East security, as Iran’s decades-long enmity with Israel reached dangerous new heights in recent weeks. As the crisis unfolds, one crucial question for the region is: who decides for Iran? Khamenei is unequivocally the top decision maker for all big domestic and foreign policy. The 85-year-old belligerently rejects what he perceives as the tyrannical west, notably the US and Israel.

IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION

Iran’s Supreme Leader Tacitly Acknowledges Tehran Hit Little In Its Attack On Israel | NBC News

Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there, a tacit acknowledgment that despite launching a major assault, few projectiles actually made it through to their targets. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments before senior military leaders didn’t touch on the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike on Friday on the central city of Isfahan, even though air defenses opened fire and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country. Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on and inflames the wider region. Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran’s regular military, police and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN

Kata'ib Hezbollah Denies Saying Attacks On US Forces Have Resumed | Sky News

Iraqi armed faction Kata'ib Hezbollah has denied saying it had resumed attacks on US forces. The group's denial comes hours after another statement was circulated on Telegram channels thought to be affiliated with them. That statement declared attacks had resumed three months after they were suspended - but the group now says that is "fabricated news". Earlier, sources had told the Reuters news agency at least five rockets were launched from the Iraqi town of Zummar towards a US military base in northeastern Syria. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, referred to it as a "failed rocket attack". Two security sources and a senior army officer in Iraq said a small truck with a rocket launcher fixed on the back had been parked in Zummar, which is on the border with Syria. Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iraq-based militant group, is thought to have ties to Iran.

Iran's Air Defense Purchase From Russia Backfires | Newsweek

An Israeli attack on Iran damaged a Russian-made S-300 air defense system, according to a new report, marking a possible embarrassing performance for the Moscow-designed system provided to a crucial Kremlin ally. Friday's attack on Iran damaged or destroyed an S-300 radar designed to track targets, a "crucial" part of the air defense system, The New York Times reported, citing Western and Iranian officials and satellite imagery analysis. Israel launched an attack on Iran early on Friday, with explosions reported over the central Iranian city of Isfahan, south of Tehran. Air defenses fired at a "suspicious object" near the city at around 4 a.m. local time, Iranian state media reported. A spokesperson for Iran's space agency, Hossein Dalirian, said Iran intercepted three quadcopter drones. Several reports from anonymous Western and Iranian officials have suggested Israeli warplanes fired at least one missile at Iran.

OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Iran President To Visit Pakistan From Monday To Wednesday, Pakistan Says | Reuters

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will make an official visit to Pakistan this week, Islamabad said on Sunday, as the two Muslim neighbours seek to mend ties after tit-for-tat missile strikes in January/ The visit, which Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would take place from Monday to Wednesday, had been in doubt as Middle East tensions rose after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel a week ago and central Iran received what sources said was an Israeli attack on Friday. Pakistan has signalled since January that Raisi would visit, and the prime minister said last week the visit would take place "very soon". Tehran has played down Friday's apparent Israeli attack and indicated it had no plans for retaliation, a response that appeared gauged towards keeping the Israel-Gaza war from expanding to a regionwide conflict.

dcayabyab Mon, 04/22/2024 - 16:28

Iran expert: ”There is a lot of discussion internally in Iran among senior IRGC command that now is the best time to weaponize the nuclear program’

dcayabyab — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 18:47:27 +0000

Iran expert: ”There is a lot of discussion internally in Iran among senior IRGC command that now is the best time to weaponize the nuclear program’

Source Link

https://ejpress.org/78814-2/

dcayabyab Sun, 04/21/2024 - 18:47