“The Iran Threat Geiger Counter: Reaching Extreme Danger,” Institute for Science and International Security, 2-5-24.

Piece on the head of the Quds Force.  “The Shadowy Backroom Dealer Steering Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’,” WSJ, 2-5-24.

“Iran-Backed Groups Continue to Target American Bases as U.S. Plans Further Strikes,” WSJ, 2-5-24.

“Iran building new nuclear reactor in Isfahan,” DW, 2-5-24.

“Sudan foreign minister visits Tehran amid reports Iran provided drones,” Al Monitor, 2-5-24.

“Exclusive: UN Rights Commissioner Meets Officials in Iran, Despite Activists Warning Her of Propaganda Risk,” VOA, 2-5-24.

“Iran proxies continue to attack US forces,” Fox, 2-5-24.

“Drone attack kills six Kurdish-led fighters at US base in east Syria,” BBC, 2-5-24.

“Iran’s Long-Range Missile Ambitions:  Tehran launches a satellite with technology useful for developing ICBMs,” WSJ, 2-5-24.

As long as Iran thinks it can provoke crises and wars across the region without risking a devastating American response, the mullahs will make Mr. Biden dance to their tune.  “Make Iran Fear America Again,” WSJ, 2-5-24.

Iran’s effect on Egypt and the world.  Inflation will also rise.  “Egypt’s Canal Receipts Fall by Almost Half After Red Sea Attacks,” Bloomberg, 2-4-24.

“Late Friday, Washington carried out 85 airstrikes on Iran’s paramilitary forces and Tehran-backed militias in reprisal for the Jan. 28 drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan.”  Right call.  But enough?  Will it deter Iran if not in country or along its coasts?  “U.S. Plans Further Action Against Iran’s Militia Allies,” WSJ, 2-4-24.

“Iraq Bans 8 Banks From Dollar Trade To Curb Smuggling To Iran,” Iran International, 2-4-24.

“Iran’s Public Education Heading Back To The 19th Century,” Iran International, 2-4-24.

About the ships Behshad and Saviz.  “After new U.S. strikes hitting Yemen, Iran issues a warning about suspected spy ships in the Mideast,” The Hindu, 2-4-24.

How nice of Iran to speak for Syria and Iraq.  “Airstrikes violate Iraqi and Syrian sovereignty, Iran says,” Reuters, 2-3-24.  Iran’s foreign ministry, through spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, said “the root cause of tensions and crises in the Middle East is Israel’s occupation and genocide of Palestinians with America’s unlimited support”.  Maybe we should take a poll and see how many other countries in the Middle East share Iran’s opinion?

The Atlantic doesn’t know?  Iran wants the U.S. out of the Middle East, and wants Israel destroyed.  And wants a Shia Crescent.  All these points are well-established.  “What Does Iran Want?,” The Atlantic, 2-3-24.

“Why are Iran and its proxies unlikely to be deterred by US strikes? – analysis,” JPost, 2-3-24.  “Iran believes that, in the long term, the US is slowly withdrawing from the region, likely emboldening Iran and its proxies to go for broke when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.”

On this story, and headline (which is the theme of this blog), The Atlantic is correct.  “Iran Is Not a ‘Normal’ Country,” The Atlantic, 2-2-24.  “Iran’s break with the West should not be surprising: It is the culmination of a trajectory that began even before the Islamic Revolution. The antipathy of Iranian Islamists toward the United States, Israel, and the core principles of Western liberalism was clear in 1979, when radicals seized the U.S. embassy and held its personnel hostage for 444 days. It was clear when the Islamic Republic established Lebanese Hezbollah to destroy Israel soon after. And it was in full evidence in 1989, when Iran’s then–supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a global call for the assassination of the writer Salman Rushdie, on the grounds that his novel offended Islam.”

Tricky.  How the Regime manipulated the International Crisis Group and the Iran Experts Initiative for its own purposes, and to mask its progress on the nuclear program.  “How Iran used its ties to a top global NGO,” Semafor, 2-2-24.

Harakat al-Nujaba, not Kataib Hezbollah.  “Iran-backed proxy group threatens more attacks on US troops,” Fox, 2-2-24.

“Report to Congress on Iran and U.S. Policy,” USNI News, 2-2-24.  This is the 1-26-24 CRS report, “Iran: Background and U.S. Policy.”

“Iran claims it discovered ‘dozens’ of Israeli spies around the world,” JPost, 2-2-24.

Considering that for years Iran would not admit that its IRGC officers were in Syria, maybe Reuters should be brave and ask when they arrived.  Also, Iran is pulling these officers because they can’t protect them.  “Exclusive: Iran’s Guards pull officers from Syria after Israeli strikes,” Reuters, 2-1-24.

The USG has telegraphed “a series of strikes over a number of days against targets — including Iranian personnel and facilities — inside Iraq and Syria.”  See “Plans for U.S. strikes on Iranian personnel and facilities in Iraq, Syria approved after Jordan drone attack,” CBS, 2-1-24.

“Exclusive: Iran’s Guards pull officers from Syria after Israeli strikes,” Reuters, 2-1-24.

“Iran Faces US Lawsuits Over Role In October 7 Atrocities,” Iran International, 2-1-24.

“US intelligence officials estimate Tehran does not have full control of its proxy groups,” Politico, 2-1-24.

The NYT is reaching, especially due to the article (about the four nuclear plants) immediately following in this blog.  Sanger can do better.  He writes, “The move suggests that Tehran may be trying to ease tensions with the United States.”  See “Iran Slows Production of Enriched Uranium, the U.N.’s Nuclear Watchdog Says,” NYT, 2-1-24.

“Iran begins building 4 more nuclear power plants,” AP, 2-1-24.  This was admonished by the IAEA.

“Iran-backed Houthi launch three attacks in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden as tensions escalate; US military responds,” Fox, 2-1-24.

“Exclusive: US believes drone that killed soldiers was Iranian-made, sources say,” Reuters, 2-1-24.

“Iran Executes At Least 28 People In Ten Days As Executions Continue,” Iran International, 2-1-24.

“US blames group of Iran-backed militias for deadly drone attack in Jordan as it weighs reprisals,” AP, 1-31-24.

“No U.S. threat to Iran will go unanswered, Tehran says,” Reuters, 1-31-24.

“Iran not seeking war with US but ‘not afraid of it’, says military chief,” Guardian, 1-31-24.

“What Is Kataib Hezbollah? Pentagon Deadly Drone Attack Against U.S. Base Had ‘Footprints’ Of Iran-Backed Group,” Forbes, 1-31-24.

Great article about the balancing of Iran—when should it attack, when should it not.  The article is also a reminder of why Hezbollah hasn’t fully attacked Israel yet after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.  Nasrallah doesn’t want Israel to invade Lebanon and openly war against Hezbollah, and Nasrallah doesn’t want to die.  “Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Faces Moment of Truth After Attacks on Israel, U.S. Base,” WSJ, 1-30-24.

If KH did the attack on Tower 22, this is an attempt to beg for a ceasefire.  “Powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq to suspend military ops against US forces in region,” CNN, 1-30-24.  “[T]he most powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, announced on Tuesday the suspension of its military operations against US forces in the region two days after a drone attack killed three US service members and wounded dozens of others.”

“Iran Update,” Institute for the Study of War, 1-30-24.

“Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah says it suspends attacks on US forces,” Reuters, 1-30-24.

Despite the best efforts of Iran to sow discord through its proxies in the region and by its Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Saudi Arabia just met with Egypt, Jordan, and the PA to emphasize “moving forward with normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel.”  See “Saudis, Egypt, Jordan, and PA meet in secret to discuss future of Gaza – report,” Jerusalem Post, 1-29-24.

“U.S. troops killed, wounded in Jordan attack blamed on Iranian proxies,” WPost, 1-29-24.

The King is concerned that Iran will attack Jordan in a variety of ways.  This story is an appeal for missile defense, for Patriots from the U.S.  “Reuters: Jordan alerts Washington to bolster its defences against Iranian-backed militias,” Ammon News, 1-29-24.

“’Erase his head from his torso’: Iran targets defector on US soil, DOJ says,” USA Today, 1-29-24.  “An Iranian and two Canadian nationals were indicted over an alleged plot to murder an Iranian defector and another Maryland resident on U.S. soil, the Justice Department announced Monday. The three alleged conspirators were part of a criminal network targeting Iranian dissidents at Tehran’s direction, according to the department. One defendant, Damion Patrick John Ryan, is a “full-patch member” of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, the department said. The plot unfolded from about December, 2020 to March, 2021, according to an indictment filed in Minnesota federal court.

“The United States and United Kingdom Target Iranian Transnational Assassinations Network,” U.S. Department of Treasury, 1-29-24.

“Iranian intelligence used narco trafficker to recruit Hells Angel for planned assassination,” The Record, 1-29-24.

Iran really wants to be attacked on its own soil.  “Three US troops killed in drone attack in Jordan, more than 30 injured,” CNN, 1-28-24.  “Three US Army soldiers were killed and more than 30 service members were injured in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials told CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war. “We shall respond,” President Joe Biden said while speaking in South Carolina on Sunday. The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria [near the al-Tanf base on the Syrian side] is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria. It is still being determined which militia group specifically is responsible. US Central Command confirmed in a statement Sunday that three service members were killed and at least 34 injured in a one-way drone attack that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.””

“‘We shall respond’: Biden warns militants after 3 US troops killed in Jordan,” Politico, 1-28-24.

“Iran Seizes Vessel Carrying ‘Smuggled Fuel’,” RFE/RL, Radio Farda, 1-28-24.

“Iran launches 3 satellites into space as tensions rise,” NPR, 1-28-24.

“Iran To Equip Hovercrafts With Long-Range Missiles,” Eurasia Review, 1-28-24.

“Houthis and Iran are hurting China’s Red Sea trade,” Asia Times, 1-28-24.

“Iran’s Parliament Triples Budget for State Broadcasting, Sparks Controversy,” Iran News Update, 1-27-24.

“Iran-Backed Houthis Continue Red Sea Attacks Hitting Oil Tanker,” Iran International, 1-27-24.

“Iran dismisses European condemnation of satellite launch,” Reuters, 1-27-24.

“Iran’s Parliament Triples Budget for State Broadcasting, Sparks Controversy,” Iran News Update, 1-27-24.

“Iran-Backed Houthis Continue Red Sea Attacks Hitting Oil Tanker,” Iran International, 1-27-24.

“Iran dismisses European condemnation of satellite launch,” Reuters, 1-27-24.

“Iran Update, January 27, 2024,” Critical Threats, 1-27-24.