Iran Digest Week of December 1- December 8
/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. Considers Task Force to Guard Red Sea Ships From Iranian Proxy Forces
The United States is in discussions with its allies to set up a naval task force to guard ships traveling through the Red Sea after the latest attack on several commercial vessels in what appears to be an escalating extension of Israel’s war with Hamas by Iranian-sponsored proxy forces.
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, said on Monday that such patrols or escorts could be the appropriate response to the targeting of ships in the region. He compared the mission to similar task forces in the Gulf, where Iranian naval forces have at times been aggressive with other ships, and off the coast of Somalia, where pirates have preyed on private vessels in the past.
“We are in talks with other countries about a maritime task force of sorts involving the ships from partner nations alongside the United States in ensuring safe passage of ships in the Red Sea,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters at the White House. “Those talks are ongoing as we speak. I don’t have anything formal to announce. But that would be a natural part of the comprehensive response to what we’re seeing.”
Feds: Iran-linked hacking campaign a ‘clarion call’ for digital defenses
U.S. cybersecurity officials are warning utilities to increase basic cyber protections amid the active targeting of several water facilities by an Iranian-linked hacking group.
The targeting of the Israeli company Unitronics by Cyber Av3ngers, a hacking group with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has highlighted basic vulnerabilities in the water sector. The hackers are not known for sophisticated cyberattacks and often exaggerate the impact of their operations. The hacking spree targeting Unitronics appears to be aimed at influencing the perception of Israeli technologies and had little operational impact on the water facilities.
“We have seen no access to operational systems at these water facilities, nor have we seen any impact to the provision of safe drinking water to the targeted populations,” Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters Monday.
(Cyber Scoop)
Senate votes to keep US troops in Syria amid Iran-backed attacks
The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted down a bill 13-84 that would have required President Joe Biden to withdraw the roughly 900 troops stationed in Syria.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., secured a vote on the bill after an onslaught of attacks from Iran-backed proxies in recent months targeting U.S. forces in the war-torn country. These militias have launched at least 76 attacks on U.S. forces in both Syria and Iraq since Oct. 7, which marked the start of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ massacre of Israelis.
“It seems to me, though our 900 troops have no viable mission in Syria, that they’re sitting ducks,” Paul said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “They’re a tripwire to a larger war, and without a clear-cut mission, I don’t think they can adequately defend themselves, yet they remain in Syria.”
Women of Iran
Faces Of Passengers Displayed In Iranian Metro To Enforce Hijab
Authorities in Iran’s religious city of Mashhad have resorted to displaying their facial recognition capabilities as a measure to frighten women into wearing the hijab.
Vahid Tafrihi, the social editor of Khorasan newspaper in Mashhad, was the first to bring the controversial move to public attention in an Instagram post on Monday. His post included a photo of one of the monitors that displays photos of several subway passengers taken from CCTV footage along with their age and gender.
“This is the Shariati Station of Line One of Mashhad Metro. The photo of all people who pass by CCTV cameras is shown together with age and gender information on large monitors. Can the municipality explain what it is seeking to achieve by this?” Tafrihi, whose newspaper is owned by the religious shrine in the city, asked.
Economy
Iran's Biggest Corruption Case Rattles Ruling Hardliners
The Iranian government is reluctantly acknowledging one of the most significant cases of financial corruption in Iran, displaying a matter-of-fact attitude.
Several government offices in both the current and previous presidential administrations are alleged to be involved in the nearly $3.5 billion corruption case. These include the ministers of agriculture, industry as well as the governors of the Central Bank of Iran and the chiefs of Iranian Customs Administration.
However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has not yet commented on the case, has consistently rejected statements about systematic corruption in Iran. The scandal comes at a time when the government has failed to lower inflation hovering above 50 percent and people face shortages of medicines and powdered baby formula.
Environment
The Role of Mazut in Iran's Air Pollution Crisis
Decades of misguided environmental policies have contributed to the air-pollution crisis in Iran, where Tehran and other major cities have long been among the world's most polluted.
Iranians decry that there had only been three days of clean air recorded in the capital during the last Persian year, which ended in March, and urge the authorities to do more to address the problem.
Officials persist in attributing air pollution primarily to car emissions, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns revealed the fallacy of blaming vehicles for the crisis.
Inside Iran
Iran ‘using Gaza conflict as cover’ for execution of 127 people since war began
The Iranian regime has executed more than 127 people, including women and children, since the Hamas attacks of 7 October, according to human rights groups.
According to data collected by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the Norway-based organisation Hengaw, which have been cross-referenced by the Observer, there has been an alarming rise in executions since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.
A third group, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), confirmed that there has been a significant increase in executions since the 7 October attacks, stating that on Wednesday last week, the regime executed seven people within a 24-hour period.
Global Relations
Cuba, Iran ink economic agreements as Khamenei hosts Diaz-Canel
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the formation of an international coalition to counter the United States and other Western powers, as he highlighted commonalities in the foreign policies of Tehran and Havana at a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday in Tehran.
"Revolutionary honesty, revolutionary resilience and revolutionary firmness are the shared convictions of the Islamic revolution and the Cuban revolution," Khamenei said, according to his official website. The hard-line leader noted that there was sufficient potential in both countries as well as other "like-minded" nations to be channeled toward a coalition against Washington.
Iran and Cuba have both been under onerous US economic sanctions for decades, which have left much of their respective populations increasingly grappling with daily grievances amid soaring inflation. Khamenei's envisioned coalition was to be centered on "economic cooperation" to mitigate the impacts of those punitive measures.
Iran's Raisi tells Putin in Moscow that West backs Gaza "genocide"
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accused the West on Thursday of supporting "genocide" by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, at the start of talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin.
As part of a burst of meetings focused on the Middle East, Putin greeted Raisi in the Kremlin a day after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where he discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and efforts by Russia and OPEC to boost oil prices.
In televised opening remarks, neither leader referred to their countries' growing military cooperation - a source of concern to the United States, which says Iran is supplying Russia with weapons to use against Ukraine.
(Reuters)
Analysis
Is Biden Ignoring Iran’s Sanctions Evasion?
By: Ali Ahmadi
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, voices in Washington have increasingly chastised the Biden administration for what they say is an inadequate enforcement of oil sanctions against Iran. Bills have now been proposed in the U.S. Congress to prod the administration to better enforce sanctions against Iranian oil.
The broad embargo imposed on the Iranian economy after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is still in place. But Iranian oil sales have spiked. According to domestic reporting, Iran’s hydrocarbon export income was $42 billion in 2022—a significant increase from $25 billion in 2021 and $19 billion in 2020.
Republicans have charged that the Biden administration has willfully ignored Iran’s evasion of U.S. extraterritorial sanctions. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican who opposes the Iran nuclear deal, accused the Biden administration of walking back the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Iran from exporting petroleum. A lobbying group that championed the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran accused the Biden administration of selectively enforcing oil sanctions and derided its strategy as “maximum deference.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board recently accused Biden of “choosing not to enforce” Iran-related oil sanctions.
