“Out of cash and desperate for help in propping up its oil industry, Venezuela is raiding its gold vaults and handing tons of bars to its long-time ally Iran…. Government officials piled some 9 tons of gold — an amount equal to about $500 million — on Tehran-bound jets this month as payment for Iran’s assistance in reviving Venezuela’s crippled gasoline refineries.” See “ Iran Is Hauling Gold Bars Out of Venezuela’s Almost-Empty Vaults,” Patricia Laya and Ben Bartenstein, Bloomberg, April 30, 2020.
A step forward in Europe, trying to limit Iran’s malignant actions on the continent. Germany had previously distinguished between Hezbollah’s political and military units, but no more. Germany has banned the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s activities in Germany and designated it a terrorist organization. This will make it easier for additional European countries to follow. See “Iran-Backed Hezbollah Banned In Germany,” RFE/RL, April 30, 2020.
“U.S. ‘hopeful’ U.N. will extend Iran arms embargo, Russia ‘negative’,” Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Reuters, April 30, 202. The U.S. Special Representative for Iran, said the United States had drafted a Security Council resolution on the arms sales issue, which would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass. Some diplomats say the U.S. would likely struggle to get Iranian allies Russia and China to allow an arms embargo extension. But Hook repeatedly disagreed during a news conference, saying: “We are hopeful. Russia and China have great equities in a peaceful and stable Middle East, and Iran’s sectarian violence and its export of weapons is the principal driver of instability in the Middle East today.” The fall-back option is for Washington to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran.
“Iran Sentences A Popular Instagram Couple In Self-Exile To Jail, Lashes,” Maryam Sinaiee, Radio Farda, April 30, 2020.
Iran’s health ministry said on Thursday that 71 new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the country’s overall toll past the 6,000 mark. “Iran virus death toll surges past 6,000,” AFP, April 30, 2020.
“Iran’s Government To Keep Religious Sites Closed In Blow To Hard-Line Clerics,” Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL, April 30, 2020.
“IRGC taking Iran toward military dictatorship,” Majid Rafizadeh, Arab News, April 30, 2020.
“UANI Statement On Germany’s Outlawing Of Hezbollah,” UANI, April 30, 2020.
Further attempts to control media by the IRGC. “Pressure on Iran’s public broadcaster to hand over frequencies for 5G internet,” bne IntelIiNews, April 30, 2020.
“Iran Is Operating an Airlift to Venezuela,” Michael Segall, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, April 30, 2020.
There is no greater regular refutation of human rights and religious freedom than the Iran government’s refusal to deal with the annual expose of its treatment of its own people found in the State Department International Religious Freedom Report. “Iran Refutes US Religious Freedom Report,” IFP, April 30, 2020.
Four Iraqi militant groups affiliated with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, said they are withdrawing from Iran’s Popular Mobilization Units. This is a fork in the road moment for Iran—to put the metal to the floor, or to shrink back and regroup. Soleimani’s death is having an impact. “Pro-Sistani ‘popular mobilization units’ break with pro-Iran militias in Iraq,” Hamdi Malik, Al Monitor, April 30, 2020.
“Iran’s Regime Tries To Silence People, Says Hook After Tehran Announces Arrests,” Radio Farda, April 30, 2020. Here is a selected quote. “Iran has a long history of suppressing information. It’s a Marxist, theocratic, corrupt mafia that runs the country during this entire Corona crisis in the country. The regime has tried to silence people because they don’t want the world to know or their own people just how bad the pandemic is in their country.”
Perhaps 6.5 million Iranians, 25% of the workforce, will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak. “6m Iranians might lose jobs due to coronavirus pandemic, as Iran reopens for business,” The Straits Times, April 30, 2020.
There are important points made in this interview, excerpts below. “No Indication Sanctions Will Be Lifted By Trump Administration, Says Dubowitz,” Radio Farda, April 30, 2020. Radio Farda interviewed Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Here are the main highlights. Radio Farda: What is the reason for the release of the letter in which you and former U.S. government officials call on the administration not to lift any of the sanctions? Mark Dubowitz: There’s no indication that the Trump administration is going to relieve the pressure but the regime in Iran led by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has been running an international propaganda campaign to pressure the United States to lift sanctions as a result of the COVID-19 crisis inside Iran. And the letter just reinforces a view of over 50 former U.S. government officials and Iran experts, that this is not time to relax the pressure. And that regime in Iran has hundreds of billions of dollars available to it to both provide economic support to Iranians and health support as well during this, this pandemic.
Radio Farda: The Trump administration has been always ready to help Iran with humanitarian aid so why do you believe that sanctions should be even harsher? Mark Dubowitz: Well, U.S. sanctions have always exempted humanitarian trade with Iran and humanitarian trade continues to occur with, with Europe with China with other countries around the world. So as Iranian officials themselves have admitted, they’ve had no problem accessing billions of dollars worth of food and pharmaceuticals, and other humanitarian products. So this is essential to keep humanitarian goods flowing into Iran, but at the same time, pressure the regime, which itself is using billions of dollars to fund terrorism and support Bashar Al Assad, its nuclear and ballistic missile programs instead of spending the regimes money on helping the Iranian people.
Radio Farda: Human Rights Watch recently claimed that U.S. sanctions are having a negative effect on Iran’s ability to respond to the coronovrius pandemic. What is your opinion about this statement? Mark Dubowitz: Well, it’s clear that it was a deeply flawed report based just on anecdotal evidence. If you look at the actual trade data, you see that there’s been no decrease in exports of humanitarian goods from Europe, from Asia to Iran, and indeed, even the central bank governor admitted just a couple of weeks ago, in a story that Radio Farda reported that Iran had accessed over $15 billion in essential goods and humanitarian goods in the past year. The health officials and others have said that Iran has no problem accessing the ventilators and personal protection equipment and masks that are essential for treatment of protection of Iranian extremists crisis. So this is a misinformation campaign that has been run by Iran and supported by NGOs and others in and outside of Iran.
Radio Farda: Have the U.S. sanctions impeded the IRGC’s ability to be active across the middle east? Mark Dubowitz: There’s certainly a lot of evidence that the IRGC and their proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria are having a significant budgetary crisis, that they are not being able to access the funds that they once did. Because the regime in Iran no longer has the hundreds of billions of dollars at its disposal that it once did as a result of the Iran nuclear deal. So the regime and the IRGC are having to make painful budgetary choices about where to spend their money and their results. Their proxies are not receiving the kind of funding that they have in the past. So this is obviously squeezing their budgets making it more difficult to run their destructive activities. And as the sanctions become even more intense, the regime will find itself in a more difficult financial position than it has.