Iran Digest Week of February 8th- February 14th
/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 associate Samuel Howell. Please note that the news and views expressed in the articles below do not necessarily reflect those of AIC.
US-Iran Relations
Iran daily urges Pezeshkian to respond promptly to Trump’s overtures
The Ham-Mihan newspaper in Tehran has cautioned President Masoud Pezeshkian that delaying a response to US President Donald Trump for direct talks would be more detrimental than making a poor decision.
Pezeshkian has downplayed the importance of the memorandum that Trump signed on Tuesday to intensify sanctions enforcement by reducing Tehran's oil exports to zero. However, Trump also expressed a wish to hold direct talks with his Iranian counterpart and preferably reach an agreement rather than activate maximum pressure measures.
The Iranian president argued that sanctioning a country which has many neighbors and friends would not be easy and expressed confidence that "Iran could overcome its difficulties with everyone’s help and the wisdom of the Leader of the Revolution.”
Nuclear Programs
IAEA chief says time running out to reach Irannuclear deal
Time is running out to secure an accord to rein in Iran's nuclear programme as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday.
Iran has stepped up nuclear work since 2019, after U.S. President Donald Trump in his first term abandoned a 2015 agreement reached under predecessor Barack Obama.
With nuclear diplomacy stalled, the spotlight has turned on Trump and how he intends to handle the dossier.
(Reuters)
Women of Iran
Sharifeh Mohammadi Sentenced to Death Again
Sharifeh Mohammadi, a Turkish labor activist, and political prisoner detained in Lakan Prison, Rasht, has once again been sentenced to death by the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch Two of the Rasht Revolutionary Court has issued a second death sentence against Mohammadi. She had previously been sentenced to death by Branch One of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, but that ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in October 2024 and referred to a parallel court for reconsideration.
A statement published by Sharifeh Mohammadi’s campaign confirmed that the new death sentence was issued by Mohammad Ali Darvish-Goftar, the head of Branch Two of the Rasht Revolutionary Court. Notably, he is the son of Ahmad Darvish-Goftar, the judge of Branch One of the same court, who had previously sentenced her to death.
(HENGAW)
Economy
Iranians anxious as inflation soars after Khamenei rejects US talks
The rapid depreciation of Iran's national currency in recent weeks amid fading prospects of direct talks with the US has deeply unsettled many Iranians who face ruin in their daily lives and businesses.
Concerns over further devaluation of the rial are troubling not only ordinary citizens facing soaring prices for essentials like food, housing, and medicine but also producers reliant on imported raw materials.
“As a manufacturer, I must say I can no longer continue production under these circumstances,” Kambiz Ghasemi Jokar, a manufacturer of protective film, posted on X on February 9. He assured customers he would fulfill existing orders but lamented that maintaining his business was no longer viable given the uncertainty.
Iran loosens import restrictions on foreign cars and iPhones, trying to mask its economic woes
All architecture student Amirhossein Azizi wanted for his 19th birthday was the latest iPhone — and for Iran’s cash-strapped theocracy, it was just the gift they needed as well.
Just buying a top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max in Iran’s capital cost him on the day 1.6 billion rials ($1,880). An additional 450 million rials ($530) is required for import fees and registration on government-managed mobile phone networks.
“I’m very happy to own one of the most expensive phones in the country,” Azizi said. His father, Mohammad, laughed nearby and added: “Maybe if they had to earn the money themselves, they wouldn’t be so quick to spend it.”
(AP News)
Inside Iran
Vigilante rallies fuel debate on Iran’s free assembly double standards
Recent rallies organized by vigilantes outside the IranianParliament and in the religious city of Mashhad have sparked criticism over the state's selective enforcement of freedom of assembly.
Held outside the Parliament on Sunday, the latest such rally featured chants against President Masoud Pezeshkian and members of his administration, particularly his strategic deputy, Javad Zarif, whom the vigilantes demanded be removed from office.
Known as the “People of the Party of God” (Ummat-e hezbollah), vigilante groups in Iran are closely aligned with ultra-hardliner factions such as the Paydari Party and the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The Paydari Party has close ties to former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, whom they supported in the snap presidential elections after the death of incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.
(Iran International)
Regional Politics
Iran accuses Israel of disrupting Lebanon flights amid rising tensions
Iran has accused Israel of disrupting flights from Tehran to Beirut after an Iranian plane was denied permission to land in Lebanon’s capital.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran “which caused a disruption in the country’s normal flights to Beirut airport”.
He condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law. He also called for the International Civil Aviation Organization and other world bodies “to stop Israel’s dangerous behaviour against the safety and security of civil aviation”.
(Al Jazeera)
Global Relations
Two British nationals detained in Iran
Two British nationals - a man and a woman - have been arrested in Iran, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
News of their arrest first came from state-run media in Iran which said they were in custody in the south-eastern city of Kerman, accused of unspecified security-related offences.
It did not name them but published a photograph of them with their faces blurred, meeting the British ambassador, Hugo Shorter, at the prosecutor's office in Kerman on Wednesday.
(BBC News)
Analysis
What Will Iran Do with Trump?
By: Tohid Asadi
With Donald Trump’s return to power, the spotlight on Iranian-US relations intensifies once again. Promising voices emerged from both ends: In Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian, who assumed office in July 2024 with a call for expanding ties with the world—and possibly with the West—sent signals of potential talks with the United States. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Donald Trump, when asked if he trusts Iran’s leaders, said, “there are ways that you can make it absolutely certain, if you make a deal.” (1) This optimism may paint an initially hopeful picture, but the reality is a blank canvas, waiting for the unpredictable strokes of diplomacy and strategy to reveal the true outcome. For the time being, let’s temper our expectations and not get too hopeful.
