“IAEA chief in Iran for key meeting on Monday,” Yonah Jeremy Bob, Jerusalem Post, August 24, 2020.

“Iran sets June 18 as date for next presidential election,” ABC, AP, August 24, 2020.  “Iran’s constitutional watchdog on Monday set June 18 as date for the country’s next presidential election, a vote that will choose the successor to President Hassan Rouhani who has served two four-year terms in office. The watchdog, the Guardian Council, approved the date, Iranian election headquarters chief Jamal Orf told the official IRNA news agency. Candidates hoping to run in the balloting are to apply in early April for approval; the final list is to be announced in early June. Under Iranian law, an incumbent president cannot run for a third term if he has already served for two consecutive terms in office. Rouhani was first elected in 2013 and reelected four years later. … In February, Iran held parliamentary elections that saw a turnout of 42.57% — the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and a sign of widespread dissatisfaction and the state of the economy amid intense U.S. pressure. The newly elected house is dominated by conservative lawmakers.”

The thesis is that “Over the past couple of years, an alliance forged between the IRGC and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has gradually assumed near total control of all branches of the regime.”  See “How radicals conquered Iran’s government,” Ran Porat, ASPI Strategist, August 24, 2020.

“Veterans Sue Iran Over Alleged Terrorist Attacks in Iraq,” Martina Barash, Bloomberg Law, August 24, 2020.  “The Iranian state funded and supplied various terrorist groups in order to kill and maim members of the U.S. armed forces in Iraq, dozens of wounded veterans say in a new complaint. Families of service members killed in attacks in Iraq are also among those who sued Iran and several agencies and state-controlled businesses in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Aug. 21. The Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for acts of terrorism, “extrajudicial killings, attempted extrajudicial killings, torture and hostage takings,” the veterans and families say.”