Iran Digest Week of November 17- November 24
/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
U.S. Strikes Iranian-Linked Facilities in Iraq
The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes — the second in roughly a day — in Iraq early Wednesday, destroying two facilities used by Iranian proxies that had been targeting American and coalition troops, U.S. military officials said.
The latest rounds in the tit-for-tat attacks between the United States and Iranian-backed fighters took place in Iraq, in a departure from the United States’ practice of striking mostly targets in Syria.
This time, the United States struck an operations center and a command-and-control node south of Baghdad used by Kataib Hezbollah, a militia group in Iraq that is considered a proxy of Iran. Kataib Hezbollah’s political wing is part of the coalition of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of Iraq.
Iran told US it did not want Israel-Hamas war to escalate
Iran’s top diplomat has revealed that Tehran told the US through back channels that it did not want the Israel-Hamas war to spread further, but also warned Washington that regional conflict could be unavoidable if Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.
“Over the past 40 days, messages have been exchanged between Iran and the US, via the US interests section at the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in an interview, while ruling out the possibility of direct talks between the two foes.
“In response to the US,” he added, “we said that Iran does not want the war to spread, but due to the approach adopted by the US and Israel in the region, if the crimes against the people of Gaza and the West Bank are not stopped, any possibility could be considered, and a wider conflict could prove inevitable.”
(Financial Times)
Women of Iran
Iran's women defend themselves against state violence
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed every year on November 25. Launched by feminist activists in 1981, the day draws attention to the various forms of violence that women face.
In Iran, little is said officially about this day. When Iranian media takes up the topic of "violence against women," the focus is usually placed on violence against women in Western countries, where people supposedly live without the protection of religion.
They refer to statistics that ostensibly indicate a much higher level of violence against women than in Iran.
EU Lawmakers Slam Iran's Treatment of Women
The European Parliament on Thursday condemned what it said were Iran's rights abuses against women, including "brutal murders," and its detention of EU nationals.
A nonbinding resolution slammed the "deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran, and the brutal murders of women by the Iranian authorities, including the 2023 Sakharov Prize laureate Jina Mahsa Amini," a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died last year in police custody.
Parliament members also called for the immediate release from detention of human rights defenders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi.
(VOA)
Health
Iranian MP Warns Of National Nutrition Crisis
An Iranian MP expressed deep concern over the impact of soaring inflation on the nutritional well-being of the nation, particularly affecting children and pregnant women.
“Inflation, especially in the context of rising prices, is hindering the youth and prospective mothers from providing proper nutrition, posing a potential threat to the country's future. The nutritional crisis, marked by the absence of essential elements like proteins, meat, and carbohydrates, puts the next generation at risk,” Asghar Salimi warned.
Highlighting the potential ramifications for the country's future, Salimi emphasized the need to guarantee minimum standards of living by understanding the essential nature of food items and their daily requirements.
Economy
Iran Plans To Further Boost Oil Production To Keep Up Exports
Iran’s oil production should increase from 3.4 million barrels per day to 3.6 million by the end of the Iranian year on March 20, Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Tuesday.
"We aim to reach 4 million barrels per day of oil production for next year," Fars news affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard cited Owji as saying, referring to the next Iranian year starting March 20, 2024.
Iran has increased its daily crude exports to around 1.5 million barrels this year, but a substantial part of the shipments came from stockpiled oil on tankers and ground facilities. These stocks have dwindled and if Iran wants to keep up the pace of exports, it has to increase production.
Inside Iran
‘No hope for the future’: Iran faces brain drain as emigration surges
Iranian musicians Negar and Amir are facing the biggest dilemma of their decade-long marriage: whether or not to bow to political and economic pressures and leave their home country after finally securing Canadian residency visas.
“There’s no hope for the future, and no trust in a government that has failed to do enough for its people,” said Negar, 35, a professional violinist and music teacher, who spoke on the condition that her full name was not used. “Runaway inflation is intolerable. Our students cannot afford to take lessons and we cannot afford to rent performance spaces.” Negar and her 38-year-old husband are not alone in considering a move.
Pointing to a steep rise in applications by Iranians for asylum or work and student visas overseas in recent years, the Tehran-based Iran Migration Observatory (IMO) has said Iran is going through a phase of “uncontrolled mass emigration”.
Regional Politics
Iran’s top diplomat discusses Israel’s war in Gaza with Hezbollah leader
Iran’s top diplomat has met the leader of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in an undisclosed location in Lebanon, discussing efforts to end Israel’s war in Gaza.
The meeting of Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah as Israel and Palestinian group Hamas ready for an upcoming four-day humanitarian pause and a deal that is expected to free 50 Israelis held captive in Gaza and 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The warring sides are still hammering out the details of the Qatar-brokered deal, which Israel says will not take effect “before Friday”.
(AlJazeera)
Global Relations
Will Iran give Russia ballistic missiles for the war in Ukraine?
The United States has renewed its warnings that Iran may be preparing to provide Russia with advanced ballistic missiles for use in the war in Ukraine.
The latest assertion by the White House comes as Iran has not publicly shifted its position on the war but has recently been freed of some United Nations limitations on its military programme.
So is it actually likely Iran will provide Russia with missiles? What are the factors at play, and how does this shape the growing hostilities between Iran and the West during the war on Gaza?
Analysis
America’s Unwavering Support For Israel Fuels Iran-Backed “Axis of Resistance”
By: Simona Foltyn
On the day meant to honor Hezbollah’s own martyrs, the group’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, dedicated a considerable portion of his speech to fighters elsewhere in the region. In a televised address on November 11, Nasrallah praised not just Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel launched from southern Lebanon, but also “supporting fronts” in Iraq and Syria, where armed groups have carried out more than 60 attacks on American troops in the past month.
“These actions reflect great courage because it is the Americans they are fighting, the Americans whose fleets, aircraft carriers, and bases fill the region,” Nasrallah said of his Iraqi allies. “If you Americans want these operations on the supporting fronts to stop, if you don’t want regional war, you must stop the aggression and war on Gaza.”
Nasrallah’s words indicate growing unity among the so-called axis of resistance, a network of Iran-backed actors in the Mideast that includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Syrian government, the Houthis in Yemen, and armed groups in Iraq and Syria. Though this unity and the violence it threatens to unleash has not yet translated into major military action, it marks the most significant backlash to the U.S. presence in the region in recent years.
