{"id":2571,"date":"2021-02-08T16:38:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T22:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=2571"},"modified":"2021-02-11T18:29:05","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T00:29:05","slug":"2571","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2021\/02\/08\/2571\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Any foreign hostages or Baha\u2019i or Zoroastrians in the group?\u00a0 \u201cIran Leader Grants Clemency to 3,840 Prisoners on Revolution Anniversary,\u201d<\/a> IFP, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

With the FBI arrest of Iranian academic Kaveh Afrasiabi for failing to register as a foreign agent, it brings to mind allegations of other actors appearing to act in accord with Iran\u2019s positions on regime opposition and anti-sanction, such as the National Iranian American Council and Trita Parsi.\u00a0 \u201cAn Arrest in the US Shows the Islamic Republic\u2019s Influence in the West,\u201d<\/a> Ardavan Khoshnood, BESA, February 8, 2021.\u00a0\u00a0See also \u201cIran\u2019s Emboldened U.S. Lobby,\u201d<\/a> Michael Rubin, Commentary, March 20, 2017.<\/p>\n

This statement by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, speaking of Iran, Russia, and China, speaks volumes.\u00a0 “We must stand next to each other and [cooperate] in all directions: from environment, sociology, culture, and bilateral relations, to politics, defense and security,” the Iranian speaker added.\u00a0 See \u201cIran\u2019s Khamenei thanked Putin for Russia\u2019s position on JCPoA,\u201d<\/a> TASS, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

The International Observatory for Human Rights has produced a 29-min. documentary \u201cIran\u2019s high stakes game of hostage diplomacy.\u201d\u00a0 The link to the documentary is included in this article.\u00a0 Remember, Iran does hostage taking because it works\u2014they get a prisoner swap or cash or a political deal.\u00a0 See \u201cHuman rights group releases documentary on Iran\u2019s hostage-taking,\u201d<\/a> Arab News, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.N. Envoy, Iran’s Zarif Discuss How to End War in Yemen,\u201d<\/a> Reuters, USNWR, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranian Workers\u2019 Salaries Don\u2019t Reach the Poverty Line,\u201d<\/a> Mehdi Hosseini, Iran Focus, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cDormant for Years, Iranian Cyber Sleeper Cell Awakens,\u201d<\/a> Omer Benjakob, Haaertz, Febreuary 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

Why isn\u2019t this international news?\u00a0 \u201cIran and North Korea Resumed Cooperation on Missiles, UN Says,\u201d<\/a> David Wainer, Bloomberg, February 8, 2021.\u00a0 \u201cIran and North Korea cooperated on long-range missile development projects last year, according to a confidential United Nations report that may pressure the Biden administration to respond to one of its first major geopolitical crises. \u201cThis resumed cooperation is said to have included the transfer of critical parts, with the most recent shipment associated with this relationship taking place in 2020,\u201d an independent panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea said in the report, citing a member state. Frequently on the fringes of international diplomacy, North Korea and Iran have long had a secretive, mutually beneficial relationship. The UN panel received information showing that Iran\u2019s Shahid Haj Ali Movahed Research Center received \u201csupport and assistance\u201d from North Korean missile specialists for a space launch vehicle, and that North Korea was involved in certain shipments to Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t call it the Arabian Gulf.\u00a0 \u201cIran protests to Russia\u2019s use of fake name for Persian Gulf,\u201d<\/a> Mehr News, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran ‘hides spyware in wallpaper, restaurant and games apps’,\u201d<\/a> Gordon Corera, BBC, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

And Iran was warned.\u00a0 \u201cUS warns Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels after terrorism delisting,\u201d<\/a> Matthew Lee, AP, February 8, 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Any foreign hostages or Baha\u2019i or Zoroastrians in the group?\u00a0 \u201cIran Leader Grants Clemency to 3,840 Prisoners on Revolution Anniversary,\u201d IFP, February 8, 2021. With the FBI arrest of Iranian academic Kaveh Afrasiabi for failing to register as a foreign agent, it brings to mind allegations of other actors appearing to act in accord with … <\/p>\n

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