{"id":1194,"date":"2020-07-08T08:07:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T13:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2020-07-19T22:29:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T03:29:56","slug":"1194","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2020\/07\/08\/1194\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIran denies it will give China rights to islands for new trade deal,\u201d<\/a> Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cPompeo Says US Seized Iranian Weapons on Way to Houthi Rebels in Yemen,\u201d<\/a> Reuters, VOA, July 8, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0The U.S. and an unidentified “partner” interdicted a vessel off Yemen’s coast on June 28 that was carrying Iranian arms to Houthi rebels.\u00a0 The weapons included 200 rocket-propelled grenades, 1,700 assault rifles, 21 surface-to-air and land-attack missiles, and anti-tank missiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran-backed militia threatens escalation after Iraqi security raids group suspected of rocket attacks against US forces,\u201d<\/a> Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kullab, AP, July 8, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0Hisham al-Hashimi was gunned down by attackers on motorcycles outside his Baghdad home. He had received death threats from the Islamic State group and Iran-backed militia groups.\u00a0 Though the killers are currently unknown, look at the timing of the assassination, two weeks after the Iraqi raid on the headquarters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia south of Baghdad.\u00a0 The message is clear to Iraq\u2019s new PM\u2014if you try to push back on Iran\u2019s paramilitary groups, something bad will happen.<\/p>\n

“Iran begins track laying on Chabahar \u2013 Zahedan railway,\u201d<\/a> Oliver Cuenca, International Railway Journal, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cPompeo: We are trying to prevent Iran from selling crude oil to Hezbollah,\u201d<\/a> Arab News, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamage to the Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center (ICAC) at Natanz Is Far More Severe and Extensive Than Previously Reported,\u201d<\/a> David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, and Frank Pabian, Institute for Science and International Security, July 8, 2020.\u00a0 This is significant news, and important for keeping Iran away from having a nuclear weapon for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran Risks New Nationwide Protests As Economy Keeps Sinking,\u201d<\/a> Roshanak Astaraki, op-ed, World Crunch, Kayhan, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

When the school teacher says do your homework if you want to later go to recess, you shouldn\u2019t blame the teacher when recess comes and you haven\u2019t done your homework.\u00a0 At least that\u2019s how must people are taught.\u00a0 Not a perfect analogy, but that Iran\u2019s health minister blames the virus in Iran on U.S. sanctions is unfortunate\u2014he only has the IRI government to blame for not addressing the underlying reasons for the sanctions.\u00a0 See \u201cIran Blames Growing COVID-19 Toll on \u2018Criminal US\u2019,\u201d<\/a> IFP, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran: Inflation and Regime\u2019s Role in Increasing It,\u201d<\/a> Siavosh Hosseini, The Media Express, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran Court Sentences Seven Political Activists to Prison,\u201d<\/a> Iran HRM, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

I am still trying to figure out what this agreement means.\u00a0 The article doesn\u2019t say, and the existing S-300s are meaningless.\u00a0 \u201cIran Signs Military Deal with Syria to Boost Air Defenses, Challenge U.S.,\u201d<\/a> Tom O\u2019Connor, Newsweek, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cTehran Mayor Sees ‘Threat’ in Iranians’ Dissatisfaction,\u201d<\/a> Amir Havasi,\u201d AFP, Bourse and Bazaar, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

Not surprising, but attempted suicides have leaped 23% in the past three months in Iran.\u00a0 \u201cWhy Iranians, rattled by suicides, point a finger at leaders,\u201d<\/a> Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

When appropriate, this blog will note a story about another country or entity that provides cover for Iranian government action.\u00a0 This is one of those stories, that is also tied to the growing influence in China\u2019s becoming a possible lifeline to Iran.\u00a0 \u201cBeijing Backs Diplomatic Resolution of Iran Nuclear Issue,\u201d<\/a> Financial Tribune, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

A very unusual video of Iran\u2019s Navy is towing one of its three attack submarines\u2014on land.\u00a0 This is reportedly moving from a shipyard back to the main naval base at Bandar Abbas. \u00a0(BTW, the sub was purchased from Russia in the 1990s).\u00a0 It is moving from the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex back to the base at Bandar Abbas, 15 miles. \u00a0For some reason unknown to the media, the sub can\u2019t make the trip by water and must travel over land.\u00a0 According to Combat Fleets of the World, Iran\u2019s three subs had battery cooling problems, poor training, and inadequate maintenance, and by 2001, two were already considered non-operational. \u00a0Per submarine authority H.I. Sutton, the subs have had issues with their anechoic coatings, the layer of rubber on their hull to reduce noise.\u00a0 See \u201cWell, That’s One Way To Tow a 2,300-Ton Submarine,\u201d<\/a> Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplosion near Iran\u2019s capital kills two, damages factory: IRNA,\u201d<\/a> Reuters, July 7, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0Two people were killed in an explosion at a factory in the south of Tehran, state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday, in the latest in a series of fires and explosions, some of which have hit sensitive sites. \u201cHuman error was the cause of the blast in a factory … Two people were killed and three others were injured,\u201d said local official Amin Babai, adding that the explosion happened in \u201can industrial zone\u201d at Baqershahr near Tehran. \u201cThe explosion that was caused by some workers\u2019 negligent handling of oxygen tanks…. was so powerful that the walls of a factory nearby were also totally destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moral of the story\u2014don\u2019t protest and organize protests in prison.\u00a0 \u201cJailed Iranian Dissident Hit with 2nd Conviction for Peaceful Prison Protests,”<\/a> Michael Lipin and Ramin Haghjoo, VOA, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Iran Wants in Afghanistan,\u201d<\/a> Colin Clarke and Ariane Tabatabai, Foreign Affairs, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cControversy Over Iran-China ‘Pact\u2019 Continues As Text Is Leaked,\u201d<\/a> Radio Farda, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalysis Experts: Natanz Explosion Set Back Iran\u2019s Nuclear Program by More Than a Year,\u201d<\/a> Amos Harel, Haaretz, July 8, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIran denies it will give China rights to islands for new trade deal,\u201d Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2020. \u201cPompeo Says US Seized Iranian Weapons on Way to Houthi Rebels in Yemen,\u201d Reuters, VOA, July 8, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0The U.S. and an unidentified “partner” interdicted a vessel off Yemen’s coast on June 28 that was carrying … <\/p>\n

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