And this will flow both ways, not just China learning from Iran, but the Regime benefitting from Chinese intelligence. The growing enabling continues. “Ex-IDF commander voices alarm at intel-sharing included in Iran-China megadeal,” Times of Israel, March 29, 2021.
“Why would anyone—including Mohammad Javad Zarif—want to be Iran’s president?,” John Limbert, Atlantic Council, March 29, 2021. Good article. And it reminds us of some of the history of Iranian presidents since 1979. The first, Abolhassan Bani Sadr, had to run for his life dressed as a woman and became exiled in Paris. The second, Mohammad Ali Rajai, was assassinated after 28 days. The third, Ali Khamenei (now the Supreme Leader) was maimed by an assassination attempt. The fifth, Mohammad Khatami, is a silenced non-person.
“Child Marriage In Iran: Is 13 Too Young? Some Are Even Younger,” World Crunch, March 29, 2021.
“Meanwhile, the IRGC and various Tehran-allied forces (Lebanese Hezbollah, the Fatemiyoun Brigade, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada, Zainabiyoun Brigade, etc.) will likely continue maintaining their strong presence in Syria that can help the Islamic Republic establish further deterrence over Israel, limiting Tel Aviv’s freedom to strike against Iran-linked assets in the region, as well as Iran itself. “The IRGC leadership considers its military involvement in Syria as a spectacular success,” said Ali Alfoneh of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “The IRGC not only managed to achieve its primary strategic objective of securing the survival of the Assad regime. It also managed to establish a dormant front against Israel with the aim of impacting [Tel Aviv’s] military calculations.” Iran’s military successes in Syria are partly because its non-Iranian militiamen from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere are relatively dispensable to Iranian officialdom. Iran’s leadership has been able to deploy these fighters to Syria without having to pay any political price in Tehran.” See “Can Israel Uproot Iran’s Presence in Syria?,” Brett Sudetic and Giorgio Cafiero, The National Interest, March 29, 2021.
Where is the condemnation by other countries of Iran’s threat to target another country’s citizens? “Israel warns citizens they could be targeted by Iran, as outbound tourism renews,” Times of Israel, March 29, 2021.
“Iran’s New Missile Corvette Could Reshape IRGC Naval Doctrine,” H.I. Sutton, USNI News, March 29, 2021.
“Pro-Iran parties launch smear campaign against Iraq’s intelligence service,” Mustafa Saadoun, Al Monitor, March 29, 2021.
“Iran pardons or cuts sentences of 1,800 prisoners amid festival,” AFP, March 29, 2021.
“’Worse than a jungle’: the cartel controlling Iraqi borders,” France 24, March 29, 2021.
2 of the 3 are IRGC commanders—the next president won’t be a cleric or civilian or politician. It will reflect the growing mafia of the IRGC military (i.e., Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan). “Iran’s next hardline president coming into view,” Kourosh Ziabari, Asia Times, March 29, 2021.
“U.S. tries to break Iran nuclear deadlock with new proposal for Tehran,” Nahal Toosi, Politico, March 29, 2021.