Iran Digest Week of May 29 - June 3
/AIC’s Iran digest project covers the latest developments and news stories published in Iranian and international media outlets. This weekly digest is compiled by associates Tony Liu and Cynthia Markarian.. Please note that the news and views expressed in the articles below do not necessarily reflect those of AIC.
US-Iran Relations
FBI director blames Iran for 'despicable' attempted cyberattack on Boston Children's Hospital
Iranian government-backed hackers were behind an attempted hack of the Boston Children's Hospital computer network last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray alleged Wednesday, calling it "one of the most despicable cyberattacks I've ever seen."
The FBI was able to help thwart the hackers before they did damage to the hospital's computer network, according to Wray, but he cited it as an example of the potential high-impact hacking threats that the US faces from the governments of Iran, Russia, China and North Korea.
The hack, which took place in June 2021, saw the attackers exploit popular software made by California-based firm Fortinet to control the hospital's computer network, according to US officials.
Boston Children's Hospital is a more than 400-bed facility and is considered one of the premier pediatric centers in the US.
(CNN)
Nuclear Accord
Iran has enough uranium to build an atomic bomb, U.N. agency says
Iran has accumulated enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb, according to new findings from the United Nations atomic agency.
The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a separate report that Iran has failed to provide credible explanations about nuclear material found at several sites in recent years, raising questions about the nature of its nuclear work.
The IAEA’s two reports could set the stage for a showdown at a meeting next week of its 35-nation board of governors, as Iran has demanded the watchdog wrap up its probe into uranium particles found at three undeclared locations in the country since 2019.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said that Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent had grown to 43.3 kilograms (95 pounds), which represented an increase of nearly 10 kilograms (22 pounds) compared to three months ago.
(NBC News)
COVID-19
Health Minister: Iran Marks First Day Without COVID Deaths
Iran’s health minister said Thursday the country has marked its first day after more than two years without a single COVID-19 death, lauding this as a significant milestone for a nation that long had the highest number of coronavirus cases in the Middle East.
The ministry reported 175 new cases over the past day, bringing Iran's number of confirmed cases during the pandemic to more than 7,230,000. Iran's officially registered death toll stands at 141,318.
“Iran has experienced the first day without a coronavirus death while America and Europe still have high casualty rates,” tweeted Health Minister Bahram Einollahi.
(U.S. News & World Report)
Economy
Iran's energy export revenue up 60% in March-May versus a year ago
Iran's energy export revenue is 60% higher in the first two months of the Iranian year (March 21 to May 21) compared to the same period a year ago, an official from the Iranian oil ministry told the ministry's SHANA news agency on Sunday.
The official did not give a reason for the jump in revenue which comes as oil prices have nearly doubled from a year ago because of the war in Ukraine and the global post-pandemic economic recovery.
The Iranian government says it continues to export oil despite U.S. sanctions re-imposed in 2018 after former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from an agreement to restrain Iran's nuclear programme.
(Reuters)
Inside Iran
Iran building collapse: Protesters turn on government over disaster
Protests against authorities in Iran in the wake of a deadly building collapse are continuing a week after the incident, videos on social media show.
Angry demonstrators have taken to the streets nightly across Khuzestan province, where the unfinished building fell down last Monday.The death toll rose to 34, with four people still missing, the state news agency Irna reported on Tuesday.
Thirteen people, reportedly including the mayor, two former mayors and the building contractor have been arrested over the collapse, Irna says.
(BBC News)
Instagram moderators say Iran offered them bribes to remove accounts
A Persian-language content moderator for Instagram and a former content moderator have said Iranian intelligence officials offered them money to remove Instagram accounts of journalists and activists.
They spoke to the BBC after many Iranian Instagram users complained that posts about recent anti-government protests in their country had been deleted. Instagram's owner, Meta Platforms, and the third-party company it uses to moderate content said there was no validity to the claims.
The protests erupted in several provinces earlier this month after the Iranian government cut subsidies for basic food items, causing prices to soar.
The protests received very little coverage on Iranian state media, meaning that Iranians had to rely on Instagram and other social media sites to learn what was happening on the ground. As the unrest continued, users noticed that some videos posted on Instagram were being removed.
(BBC News)
Regional Politics
Israel prefers diplomacy on Iran but can act alone, says Bennett
The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog that his country would prefer a diplomatic resolution to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, but could take independent action, reiterating a longstanding veiled threat to launch a preemptive war.
The warning to visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi followed calls by Western powers on the IAEA Board of Governors to rebuke Tehran for failing to answer questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that his country would have an “immediate response” to any move against it by the US and European countries at the IAEA, Iranian state media reported.
(Aljazeera)
Iran urges Greece to cooperate over seized ships without U.S. role
Iran urged Greece on Tuesday to cooperate to resolve a crisis over the seizure of ships without involving the United States, after Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf following the seizure of an Iranian vessel off Greece.
Tehran seized the Greek ships on Friday after Athens impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas in April. The United States, which has imposed a tough sanctions regime on Iran, confiscated the Iranian oil cargo that was on the Pegas.
U.S. and Greek diplomats have called on Iran to immediately release the Greek tankers, their cargoes and their crews. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington backed its NATO ally Greece "in the face of this unjustified seizure".
(Reuters)
Israel simulates massive strike against Iran with hundreds of IDF aircraft
Hundreds of IAF aircraft, including fighter jets and refueling planes, took off overnight Wednesday from various bases to simulate striking targets far from Israel’s borders, including in Iran.
The exercise, part of the IDF’s monthlong Chariots of Fire drill, saw fighter jets, transport planes and refueling aircraft take off from several bases in Israel for Cyprus.
Israel has significantly increased its readiness level and has taken steps throughout the past year to prepare a credible military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
(The Jerusalem Post)
Analysis
Biden shouldn’t let bad optics sink a restored nuclear deal with Iran
By:The Editorial Board
Negotiators have arrived at a point where restoring the Iran nuclear deal is possible, but one significant political obstacle remains: Iran is insisting that the United States take its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) off this country’s terrorist list.
Reportedly, President Biden has rejected that demand absent some kind of significant concession from Iran. The White House isn’t commenting, but if that becomes a sticking point that keeps the deal from being resurrected, it will be a foreign-policy blunder.
Reactivating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will rile up the reflexive Iran loathers who believe, contrary to the facts and common sense, that the deal somehow gives Iran a clear path to a bomb, as well as those hard-liners who insist that if the United States simply cracks down longer and harder, Iran will capitulate and agree not to just to longer nuclear constraints but also to change other, non-nuclear aspects of its behavior.
(Read More Here)
