Hisham al-Hashimi was shot dead by motorcycle gunmen outside his home in Baghdad yesterday. He was a security advisor to Iraq’s government and the U.S. coalition, and appeared regularly in Iraqi media. “Weeks before his death, al-Hashimi had told confidantes he feared Iran-backed militias were out to get him. Friends had advised him to flee to the northern city of Irbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.” See “Prominent Iraqi critic of Iran, proxy groups shot dead in Baghdad,” AP, July 7, 2020.
First Venezuela, now Lebanon. Who will Iran fleece next with gasoline sales at cheap rates? “Lebanon’s Hezbollah talks to government about Iran fuel idea,” Thomson Reuters, WKZO, July 7, 2020.
“These incidents at Ahvaz came exactly two days after the Natanz incident, which was exactly two days after the incident in Tehran’s Tarjish Square Sina Athar clinic, which in turn was exactly two days after the events in Khojir and Shiraz. … One thing is clear, in a country where the population deeply suspects its official news services, conspiracy theories will abound. Regardless of what has actually happened in these several events, the perception popularly is that the regime is under attack. Few will accept these as all coincidental accidents. Moreover, the climate of corruption leading to incompetence is a huge problem bedeviling the Iranian regime. When the incompetence leads to perceived impotence, the regime faces a potentially fatal upheaval. Even if the last event was a piggy-back attack, indeed, even if it were a genuine accident, the regime is endangered by a reputation for incompetent impotence.” See “Iran’s really, really bad week,” David Wurmser, op-ed, Israel Hayom, July 7, 2020.
“Iran Ordered to Pay $879 Million to Khobar Towers Bombing Survivors,” PR Newswire, July 7, 2020. This is a very important reminder about a horrific terror attack by Iran. Now to make them pay. “A Washington, D.C. federal court has ordered the Islamic Republic of Iran to pay $879 million in its decision after finding the Iranian defendants directed the 1996 terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia where U.S. forces were housed, according to MM~LAW LLC and co-counsel. … The plaintiffs, which include 14 injured U.S. Air Force members and 21 of their immediate family members, brought the lawsuit under the terrorism exception to the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The defendants are the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The court ruled that the Iranian government directed and provided material support to Hizbollah terrorists that detonated a 5,000-pound truck bomb at the Khobar Towers complex in Dhahran. The blast killed 19 U.S. airmen and injured more than 400 others at the site charged with monitoring Iraqi compliance with United Nations security council resolutions. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell found the defendants liable and awarded plaintiffs $132 million for pain and suffering as well as prejudgment interest for a total compensatory damage award of $747 million and $132 million for punitive damages. The plaintiffs will be eligible for partial payments from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, the concept and legislation of which was originated by MM~LAW, to compensate American victims of acts of international terrorism with funds obtained from fines and forfeitures levied against companies caught illegally laundering money for sanctioned countries and persons. The attorneys also intend to pursue enforcement of the judgments through litigation intended to seize Iranian assets. … Plaintiff Glenn Tyler Christie, a retired Air Force staff sergeant crew chief severely injured in the bombing, said, “The physical and psychological toll on our families has been extremely high, but this judgment is welcome news. More than 20 years on, we want the world to remember the evil that Iran did at the Khobar Towers. Through the work of our attorneys, we intend to do just that.” … The case is “Glenn Tyler Christie, et al., v. The Islamic Republic of Iran,” et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-01289-BAH, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”
“Middle East Countries Want Iran’s Arms Embargo Extended, Pompeo Says,” Radio Farda, July 7, 2020.
“12 Christians Arrested in Iran Last Week,” Jubin Katiraie, Iran Focus, July 7, 2020.
“Mysterious explosions escalate Israel, Iran tensions,” Ben Caspit, Al Monitor, July 7, 2020.
Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow in violation of the limits imposed by the 2015 JCPOA, but according to the IAEA the country is abiding by the monitoring and verification mechanisms put in place. “Iran Continues to Stockpile Uranium,” Arms Control Association, Kelsey Davenport, July/August 2020.
Iran announced on Tuesday 200 more deaths during Monday from the coronavirus, the most in a single day since the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak began. See “Iran Reports Record One-Day Coronavirus Death Toll of 200,” Bourse and Bazaar, July 7, 2020.
“Ukraine Set To Sue Iran In International Courts Over Downed Airliner,” Radio Farda, July 7, 2020.