Iran Nation or Cause

“Turkey also wants to use Russia and Iran to reach China for a trade corridor. All of these states want to make sure that Europe will be dependent on them. All four are authoritarian and want to dominate the trade routes to play a greater role and, in Iran and Russia’s view, reduce US power and Western power in general.”  See “Iran says it can be alternative to Suez after ship stuck,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2021.

“Iran to coop. with regional countries in horse racing,” Mehr News Agency, March 28, 2021.

“Report: China Could Deepen Influence in Mideast Through Iran Deal,” Asharq Al-Awsat, March 28, 2021.

Yes, this is some of the biggest news of the year regarding Iran’s ongoing revolutionary acts and the influence of China.  Yes, China intends to use Iran for its own purposes and to benefit from taking its natural resources at a cheap price (by violating sanction purchases), but the agreement enables all the bad actions of Iran from intimidating neighbors (all the way to Europe and South America) to terrorism to supporting Hezbollah.  “Iran and China sign 25-year cooperation agreement,” Maziar Motamedi, Al Jazeera, March 27, 2021.  Pres. Rouhani thanked FM Wang “for China’s stance on the nuclear deal and standing up to “American unilateralism.”  Notice the next sentence—“The president also said Iran and China can work together to fight “terrorism and extremism in the region” in addition to economic and trade cooperation.” This means that the chief terror state gets cover from China, and flips the definition and responsibility for terror on its head.

So, don’t think of this as an Iran-China agreement.  It is a Khamenei-Xi treaty, designed to keep a tight grip on their countries for years.  “Iran, China sign 25-year cooperation accord,” Reuters, Jerusalem Post, March 27, 2021.

“Can Iran’s Presidential Elections Save Khamenei And His Regime?,” Cyrus Yaqubi, op-ed, Eurasia Review, March 27, 2021.

“Iran’s Judiciary Hangs Mother in Front of Her Teenage Girl,” Sia Rajabi, Iran Focus, March 26, 2021.

Treasonous.  “Mariam Taha Thompson, 63, who worked as a contract linguist for the U.S. military from 2006 to 2020, pleaded guilty to one count of delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government. She faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 23. Thompson, who was born in Lebanon and became a U.S. citizen in 1993, was arrested in February 2020 at a U.S. special operations base in Irbil, Iraq. Prosecutors say she used her top secret clearance to pass the names of U.S. intelligence assets to the Lebanese national in whom she had a romantic interest and and whom she believed would share the information with Hezbollah. Hezbollah was designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. …The Lebanese national, her unindicted co-conspirator, asked Thompson to provide Hezbollah with information about the human assets who had helped the U.S. target Soleimani, according to prosecutors. Over a six-week period leading up her arrest in February 2020, Thompson provided the Lebanese national with the identities of at least 10 clandestine human assets; at least 20 U.S. targets; and multiple tactics, techniques and procedures, according to the Justice Department.”  See “Former US Military Translator Pleads Guilty of Espionage,” Masood Farivar, VOA, March 26, 2021.

The Biden Administration blinks first.  “It is absolutely not our position that Iran has to come into full compliance before we do anything.”  Notice that it is an anonymous U.S. official who told Reuters.  This also means that Reuters are running with this quote even though they don’t have a second voice/confirmation.  It also means that Reuters has approved the use of an unnamed person as enough to run a story.  Well, the main point again is that the U.S. under the new administration will not now require that Iran come into compliance before the U.S. talks about re-entering the JCPOA.  See “US official: It doesn’t matter ‘who goes first’ in return to Iran nuclear deal,” Times of Israel, March 26, 2021.

Iraq may publicly be the number one in this category with Iran, but Iran is trying to send a message to several entities with this news. “Syria exchange 10 trade delegations in a year,” Tehran Times, March 26, 2021.

I am waiting to see the efficacy comparisons of the major vaccines—U.S. v. Russia v. China v. UK v. etc. Something tells me that Sputnik will not win this competition. But Iran will use it anyway. “Iran plans to start making Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in April – RIA,” Thomson Reuters, March 26, 2021.

Here’s another story. “Iran: Unable to provide 1m doses of covid vaccines as promised,” Middle East Monitor, March 26, 2021.

“Iran’s online anti-government protests gain momentum,” Arab News, March 26, 2021.

“Iran unveils new e-government components as digital ID importance grows,” Biometric Update, March 26, 2021.

“Iran’s Forests at Risk of Complete Destruction,” Pooya Stone, Iran Focus, March 26, 2021.

“The Shia Fatemiyoun Brigade: Iran’s Prospective Proxy Militia in Afghanistan,” Sudha Ramachandran, Terrorism Monitor, March 26, 2021.

Iran approves of this—“Masked gunmen in a convoy of pick-ups drove through the Iraqi capital yesterday staging a show of force against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi who has proposed a new dialogue with Washington.”  See “Pro-Iran group stages armed Baghdad rally,” AFP, The Daily Star, March 26, 2021.

“Iran welcomes Afghan president’s remarks on Helmand water right,” Tehran Times, March 26, 2021.

See this headline and ask, which side are you going to believe?  There is a 40-year track record of answering this question.  “U.S. Seizes Iran-Backed Militia Websites Spreading COVID Disinformation,” David Brennan, Newsweek, March 26, 2021.

The Clash of Civilizations continues.  This partly explains Iran’s actions.  “China says it will safeguard Iran nuclear deal, defend Sino-Iran ties,” Jerusalem Post, Reuters, March 25, 2021.

Under direct orders of the Leader, and explicitly to not be open.  “IRGC forms group to monitor internet in Iran,” Al Monitor, March 25, 2021.

Carefully selected and planned, with a small missile resulting in light damage.  Iran is sending a message.  “Iran missile hits India-bound Israeli ship in Arabian Sea, says report,” Reuters, The Hindu, March 25, 2021.

This article is not for the squeamish.  “Iranian dissidents accused the Islamic Republic of Iran’s National Olympic Committee chairman, Seyed Reza Salehi, of killing Kurdish and Azerbaijani political prisoners via torture while he served as an intelligence officer. “Is the Olympics aware that there are horrific reports about Seyed Reza Salehi, the president of the NOC of Iran? During his time as senior director at the ministry of intelligence, he went by the name of Seyed Reza Fallah and was involved in the torture and murder of prisoners,” tweeted Sardar Pashaei, the former head coach of Iran’s Greco-Roman team and a world gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, last week. Pashaei added that “We, the Iranian athletes, call on the Olympics to ban the entry of the President of the Iranian NOC from attending the Tokyo 2020 because of his security record in the Ministry of Intelligence. He has arrested and tortured many opponents of the Iranian regime.”  … In a 2018 Persian language article by Pedram Ghaemi on the website of IranWire, he reported on a Voice of America TV broadcast in which an Iranian regime historian named Abdollah Shahbazi told someone close to the administration of then-president Mohammad Khatami that Ebad (Ali Rabei) told him about the suffocation of Azerbaijanis in coffins. Ali Rabei, who used the name Ebad while an intelligence official, worked with Salehi. According to the US government outlet VOA report, Rabei and Salehi placed Azerbaijanis in coffins and nailed the coffins shut and sent them from Astara, Azerbaijan to Tehran. When the Azerbaijanis arrived in Tehran, they had suffocated to death. The VOA broadcast also reports on Salehi’s presence in Kurdistan and Azerbaijan as a reconnaissance force officer in 1980’s.”  Thus, “We, the Iranian athletes, call on the Olympics to ban the entry of the president of the Iranian NOC from attending the Tokyo 2020.””  See “Head of Iran’s Olympics implicated in murder of prisoners via torture,” Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post, March 26, 2021.

“China says it will safeguard Iran nuclear deal, defend Sino-Iran ties,” Jerusalem Post, Reuters, March 25, 2021.

Whomever provides opposition is wrong.  “Iran Denounces Human Rights Council’s ‘Illegitimate’ Resolution,” IFP, March 25, 2021.

“Interrogations in Iran’s Judicial Systems: Law vs. Reality,” Center for Human Rights in Iran, March 25, 2021.

“Brussels universities call for government action over lecturer jailed in Iran,” The Brussels Times, March 25, 2021.

Here is the cruelty of the Ayatollah on display.  “Inside a tiny prison cell in Iran, an expert on disaster medicine and a citizen of Sweden named Ahmadreza Djalali is dying. At least, what is left of him is dying. This innocent man has spent four months in solitary confinement on a daily ration of 100 grams of bread. His possessions consist of a thin blanket and a picture of his wife and their two children. A prison photo of Djalali resembles a survivor of Nazi concentration camps. Djalali’s jailers have made it clear to his family that he will die unless Belgium agrees to swap him for Assadollah Assadi, a senior officer of Iran’s civilian intelligence service. Assadi, who worked undercover as a diplomat at the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, served as the operational commander for a foiled plot to bomb a Paris rally by exiled Iranian opposition groups. The spy is serving 20 years in a Belgian prison for his role in that terrorist plot. If successful, the attack might have killed hundreds, including Americans such as Rudy Giuliani who were in attendance.”  See “Iran is torturing a hostage it wants to exchange with a terrorist,” Eugene Chudnovsky, op-ed, Washington Examiner, March 24, 2021.

Quote of the Day—“Unfortunately, [the people] do not obey necessary observations in our country despite my emphasis,” declared Khamenei, expressing his frustration in a video message on the occasion of Nowruz broadcasted by state television on March 21. “The cyberspace should be managed. This means should not be given to the enemy.”  See “Iran: Supreme Leader Expresses His Concerns Over Cyberspace,” Sia Rajabi, Iran Focus, March 24, 2021.

These remain rare reports in the open press.  Not daily the way they used to be.  And are still under-reported; here the report is that 94 died March 23.  “Iran reveals COVID-19 data for March 24,” MENAFM, March 24, 2021.

“Iran’s IRGC to receive semi-heavy indigenous submarines,” Navy Recognition, March 24, 2021.

“Is the Iranian-Russian alliance in Syria waning? – opinion,” Maya Carlin, op-ed, Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2021.

“Decades in making, Afghan mega dam opens on Iran border,” Shadi Khan Saif, AA, March 24, 2021.

“Iran says it made five major military improvements last year,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2021.

“Iran temporarily releases elderly Jewish man jailed for living in Israel,” Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2021.

“Iran Looks To Expand Oil Influence In Africa Through New Pipeline,” Simon Watkins,OilPrice.com, March 24, 2021.

“The Iran-China Axis Is A Fast Growing Force In Oil Markets,” David Messler, OilPrice.com, March 23, 2021.  This is an important story, and easy to read.  The two authoritarian governments have teamed up for their own interests and against the West.  “The partnership … would vastly expand Chinese presence in banking, telecommunications, ports, railways, and dozens of other projects. In exchange, China would receive a regular … heavily discounted — supply of Iranian oil over the next 25 years.”

“Mysterious Ship In Iranian Shipyard Is Likely IRGC’s New Flagship,” H.I. Sutton, Naval News, March 23, 2021.

“More than $10 billion belonging to Iran is frozen in banks in Seoul and Baghdad. Ever since Biden took office there have been negotiations between the sides on the release of the funds. So far, the US has prevented it.” See “The war over the frozen funds of Iran,” Ami Rojkes Dombe, Israel Defense, March 23, 2021.

“Report: Iran Hiding Important Components of Its Nuclear Program From UN Inspectors,” Algemeiner, March 23, 2021.

“Young Iranians pose a threat to the regime, warns Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Michael Segall, JNS, March 23, 2021.

What normal country would allow another country to attack its shipping?  Iran is not normal.  Those shipments are crucial to maintaining the Crescent.  It is dozens of ships over two years.  Fascinating article revealing some intelligence and covert operations.  “Much More Than 12: Israel Attacked Dozens of Tankers, Iran Lost Billions,” Amos Harel, Haaretz, March 22, 2021.

“Iran is increasingly obsessed with defeating Saudi forces in Yemen,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, March 22, 2021.

“Iran is Using Hezbollah as a Potent Weapon,” Shaheer Ahmad, International Policy Digest Blog, March 22, 2021.

Interesting proposition, that Iran is holding an entire country hostage.  “Iran holds Lebanon hostage as its economy collapses,” Hussein, Aboubakr Mansour, JNS, March 22, 2021.

“These 6 charts show how sanctions are crushing Iran’s economy,” Abigail Ng, CNBC, March 22 2021.

“Iran, Russia and Turkey signal growing alliance,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, March 21, 2021.

“Russia, Iran Vie for Syrian Oil ‘Leftovers’,” Asharq Al-Awsat, March 21, 2021.

“Iran Installs New System to Sell Crude in Sea of Oman,” Asharq Al-Awsat, March 21, 2021.

“State TV: Explosion kills 1, wounds 3 in southeastern Iran,” Ridgefield Press, March 21, 2021.

It really does feel like Iran owns Lebanon more and more each passing day.  “Welcome to Iranian Lebanon,” Eyad Abu Shakra, op-ed, Asharq Al-Awsat, March 21, 2021.

Two words for Eleanor Norton:  Café Milano.  “AP sources: Iran threatens US Army post and top general,” James LaPorta, AP, March 21, 2021.

“Making Sense of Iran and al-Qaeda’s Relationship,” Asfandyar Mir and Colin Clarke, Lawfare, March 21, 2021.

Headline disinformation.  The rosy headline doesn’t match the information presented in the story.  “Iran domestic vaccines a feather in the nation’s cap,” Press TV, March 21, 2021.

He speaks on both sides of the issue; a master of triangulation.  “Iran in no rush to see nuclear deal revived, supreme leader says,” Arsalan Shahla and Golnar Motevalli, Bloomberg, March 21, 2021.

Almost fascinating to watch when you consider the article just posted about Armenia’s neighbor to the east and how Iran tries to have good relations with it also.  But these are not arms length tranactions.  “Iran, Armenia Discuss Closer Cooperation on All Fronts,” IFP, March 21, 2021.

Was he in their orbit?  Magufuli certainly was moving away from the West, and away from medicines and use of English and rule of law and fairness in politics.  Many persons have died and will die in country due to his refusal to order Covid medicine.  “Iran Sends Condolences over Death of Tanzanian President,” Tasnim, March, 20, 2021.

Normal, but not.  It is regular that countries talk.  But sometimes, including when there has just been a war between Iran’s two northern neighbors, and so many Azeris in Iran (about 20% pop.), there is more to this story than meets the eye.  There are attempts at repair going on also.  “Officials Discuss Ways to Broaden Iran-Azerbaijan Ties,” Tasnim, March, 20, 2021.

Khatami tries to stay relevant and influence some reform, but also doesn’t want to be under house arrest and all that punishment imposes.  “Iran ex-president Khatami blasted over New Year message,” Guardian, AFP, March 20, 2021.

“’They Don’t Want His Name To Be Heard’: One Iranian Mother’s 21-Year Search For Her Son,” RFE/RL, March 20, 2021.

“Iran eyes to nearly double exports to Africa in 3 years,” Press TV, March 20, 2021.

“Iran unveils latest issue of 50,000-rial bank note,” Arthur Friedberg, Coin World, March 20, 2021.

Quote of the day (sanctions work—they’ve lost billions for terrorism, now are more likely to negotiate, and have had to rely on Russia and China financially and politically like never before):  “In the 42 years since the victory of the (Islamic) revolution, I cannot recall a year as hard and difficult as 1399 regarding economic constraints,” Pres. Hassan Rouhani.  “On Persian New Year, Iranian leaders promise better times amid pain of sanctions, COVID,” AFP, March 20, 2021.

“Iranian missiles used in Yemen’s latest Aramco attack, says Saudi Arabia,” Abbas Al Lawati, World Oil, March 20, 2021.

Tip of the iceberg.  One of many attempts by the IRI government to acquire tankers and organize schemes to avoid oil sanctions.  “Ten Iranian nationals charged with evading U.S. sanctions,” Dan Whitcomb, Reuters, March 19, 2021.

And they worked with the Iranian oil ministry in their purchase of two oil tankers.  “Iranian Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Evade U.S. Sanctions on Iran by Disguising $300 Million in Transactions Over Two Decades,” U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, Press Release, March 19, 2021.

“Iran says to cold test redesigned Arak nuclear reactor,” WHBL, March 19, 2021.