About six months overdue after the court judgment and huge damages determined. And note that MOIS officials were named, but the U.S. could have gone higher up the decision tree to the Leader. “However, senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime. The individuals designated today, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, acted in their capacity as MOIS officers in the abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson.” See “U.S. imposes sanctions against Iran over the 2007 abduction of former FBI agent,” David Li and Abigail Williams, NBC, December 14, 2020. And see “US formally blames Iranian officers for abduction, likely death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson,” Kevin Johnson and Deirdre Shesgreen, USA Today, December 14, 2020.
“Antony Blinken—nominated to be Biden secretary of state—and Jake Sullivan—nominated to serve as national security adviser—both condemned the killing on Twitter and vowed to hold Tehran to account for this and other abuses. … “Sullivan wrote on Twitter late Sunday: “Iran’s execution of Ruhollah Zam, a journalist who was denied due process and sentenced for exercising his universal rights, is another horrifying human rights violation by the Iranian regime. We will join our partners in calling out and standing up to Iran’s abuses.” Blinken simply retweeted Sullivan’s statement, adding: “This.”” See “Biden Aides Condemn ‘Horrifying’ Iran Execution Despite Nuclear Deal Hopes,” David Brennan, Newsweek, December 14, 2020.
Look at the list Bolivia says it wants to re-build relations with—Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, and Nicaragua. See “Bolivia to reopen Iran embassy,” Middle East Monitor, December 14, 2020. Drugs, Quds, IRGC, will flow through.
“Good news for the chances of reviving the Iran nuclear deal: President Hassan Rouhani announced on Monday that if the United States returns to the deal, Iran will also return, with no preconditions.” This is what Slate reports. Fake News, because this is not what Rouhani said, nor what Iran has said for months—they will not return to the deal, and they would require billions of dollars to return anyway. See “The Iran Deal Lives,” Fred Kaplan, Slate, December 14, 2020.
Iran is anticipating oil demand from China over the next decade. Thus, China’s purchases are assisting Iran to be a regional actor that remains a threat to other countries. See “IOOC orders five offshore Iran platforms,” Offshore, December 14, 2020.
“Iranian president directly accuses Israel of killing nuclear scientist,” AP, Fox, December 14, 2020.
“Iran uses disguised tanker to export Venezuelan oil — documents,” Reuters, Arab News, December 14, 2020.
“UN human rights chief ‘appalled’ at Iran execution, questions trial process and verdict,” Daniel Johnson, UN News, December 14, 2020.
If true, this pressures Iran in the right direction. “Report: Biden Team Divided on Rejoining Iran Nuclear Deal,” I24, Algemeiner, December 14, 2020.
“Ruhollah Zam established AMAD in 2015, named for the Persian acronym for “awareness, combat, and democracy). Zam said that the Telegram channel’s aim was fighting and exposing the Iranian government’s corruption and secret activities, claiming that the channel could disclose highly confidential news related to the ruling system’s most clandestine parts. After publishing classified images and documents, the channel not only attracted millions of followers, and successfully humiliated Iran’s intelligence services, but also turned into a news source for many Persian speakers outside Iran. The abduction and execution of Ruhollah Zam was seemingly the revenge for that humiliation.” See “Was Ruhollah Zam’s Execution Payback For Embarrassing Iran’s Intel Agencies?,” Reza Haqiqatnezhad, Radio Farda, December 14, 2020.
Stalling for time. “Review period of FATF conventions extended in Iran,” Elnur Baghishov, Trend, December 14, 2020.
This is exactly what needs to be said in every meeting time with Iran and at every level and in every speech by U.S. and Western officials. And that any additional hostage taking freezes any agreement with Iran at that moment of the taking. “No Iran deal without freeing detained U.S. citizens, U.S. official says,” Reuters, December 14, 2020.