Iran Digest Week of March 1-March 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.
Nuclear Accord
E3 Says Iran Pushed Nuclear Activity 'To New Heights'
The E3 coalition made up of France, Germany and the UK (E3) has warned that Iran has "pushed its nuclear activities to new heights" in spite of global sanctions.
The trio said that over the past five years, the levels of the country's enrichment “are unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons program". The observations were made to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday.
Referring to Tehran’s recent dilution of some of its near weapons-grade uranium, the E3 warned that the move “should not lead us to false hope and wrong conclusions” as Iran continues to produce 60% enriched uranium.
U.S. urges Iran to dilute all its near-weapons-grade uranium
The United States called on Iran on Wednesday to dilute all of the uranium it has enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the weapons-grade level of roughly 90%, in a statement denouncing many of Tehran's recent nuclear moves.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report to member states last week that Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% had fallen slightly in the past quarter as it had diluted, or "downblended", more of its most highly enriched material than it had produced.
Iran still has enough of that material, if enriched further, to fuel two nuclear weapons by a theoretical IAEA definition, and enough for more bombs at lower enrichment levels, the report seen by Reuters showed.
(Reuters)
Women of Iran
Iran Subjects Women to 'Draconian' Hijab Surveillance, Rights Group Says
Iranian authorities are subjecting women to widespread surveillance to enforce the obligatory headscarf, even inside cars, and then imposing punishments including the confiscation of vehicles, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
The Islamic republic's leadership was shaken in 2022 by mass protests that saw women denounce the dress code but has made clear it has no plan to abandon the obligatory hijab imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Amnesty said in a report, based on “a review of official documents” and the testimony from more than 40 women inside Iran published ahead of the March 8 International Women's Day, that women were being targeted with "widespread surveillance" in public spaces and "mass police checks" targeting women drivers.
(VOA)
Economy
Iranian MP Warns Of Losing Iraq Market Share To Turkey, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Javad Asgari, the head of the Agriculture Committee of the Iranian Parliament, expressed concerns over Iran's diminishing agricultural exports to Iraq as regional competition sidelines the regime.
"Currently, Turkey is easily replacing Iran in Iraq, and even Saudi Arabia is seizing markets in agricultural production, which poses a serious threat," he told ILNA on Thursday.
Asgari also highlighted the urgency of creating better market conditions for agricultural production, stating that failure to do so could result in the loss of vital markets. He also noted a worrying trend of Iran losing market share, particularly in products like nuts and dried fruits.
Environment
Breathing Difficulty in Boomtowns: Iranian Cities Choke on Mazut Despite Rainfall
Despite recent rainfall and snowfall across Iran, several major cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, and Arak, continue to experience air pollution. Authorities have acknowledged that the burning of mazut fuel in power plants is a contributing factor.
In Tehran, provincial officials have warned about the ongoing air pollution and its dangers, particularly for young children and the elderly, even though the city recently received snow and rain. On Tuesday, March 5th, the Air Pollution Monitoring Center in Tehran province issued a statement announcing that the poor air quality is expected to persist “until the morning of March 8th.”
According to the report, the average air quality index during the day and night leading up to the morning of March 5th reached 128, indicating “unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups” due to elevated levels of particulate matter. The announcement advises “children and the elderly to refrain from outdoor activities” and encourages “other residents to minimize unnecessary traffic with private cars.”
Inside Iran
Iran election turnout hits record low, hardliners maintain grip on parliament
Turnout in Iran's parliamentary election was around 41%, the country's interior minister said on Monday, the lowest participation since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution that swept the clerical rulers into power.
Friday's election was seen as a test of the clerical establishment's legitimacy amid mounting economic struggles and a lack of electoral options for a mostly young population chafing at political and social restrictions.
"Some 25 million people out of over 61 million eligible Iranians voted in the March 1 election for the 290-seat legislature," Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told a televised news conference.
(Reuters)
Iran executions rise sharply to 834 last year 'to instil societal fear', report says
Executions in Iran have surged for a second year running to 834, campaign groups say.
Most were undocumented hangings, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France's Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said. Official sources noted 125 executions.
The Iranian authorities were weaponising the death penalty to "instil societal fear", they said.
(BBC)
Regional Politics
Houthi attack on ship off Yemen kills at least 3 people as Iran says it's seizing an oil shipment
A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden killed at least three people on Wednesday and forced the rest of the crew to abandon the vessel, according to U.S. officials.
Four other crewmembers were injured, with three in critical condition, and the vessel sustained "significant damage," U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. The attack came a day after a U.S. Navy destroyer shot down drones and a missile launched toward the warship in the nearby Red Sea.
The Wednesday attack on the Liberian-owned, Barbados-flagged bulk carrier called True Confidence is the first fatal attack since the Houthis launched their campaign of assaults on shipping, which they call a response to Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
(CBS)
Global Relations
Iran and Russia Enter A New Level of Military Cooperation
Iran’s reported decision to send ballistic missiles to Russia highlights a growing and unprecedented level of cooperation between the two countries since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Reuters, citing information from several anonymous sources, Iran recently provided Russia with about 400 powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. A significant portion of the arms were said to be short-range tactical ballistic missiles from the Fateh-110 family, such as the Zolfaghar, with a range of 300-700 km. Iran has so far denied the report, which has not been confirmed by Washington. However, the news followed a Jan. 24, 2024 announcement by Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and his Iranian counterpart, Rear Admiral Ali-Akbar Ahmadian of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, about a new type of bilateral military relationship.
The missile shipments, if true, would mark a qualitatively different level of cooperation as well as changing dynamics in the Middle East, which might have served as a driving force behind Tehran’s decision.
(Stimson)
Analysis
A year ago, Beijing brokered an Iran-Saudi deal. How does détente look today?
By: Giorgio Cafiero
Top Iranian and Saudi security officials met in Beijing on March 10, 2023 to begin a new chapter in bilateral affairs following sky-high tensions. The neighbors in the Persian Gulf signed a deal to restore full-fledged diplomatic ties and reactivate a 2001 security cooperation agreement. The absence of any US or European role—combined with Iraqi, Omani, and Chinese mediation that made this diplomatic breakthrough possible—spoke volumes about what one Emirati political scientist described as the new “post-American Gulf era.”
Iran re-opened its embassy in Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia resumed diplomatic operations in Tehran in June and August 2023, respectively. In September 2023, the new Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, arrived in Riyadh on the same day the kingdom’s new envoy to Iran, Abdullah Alanazi, began his diplomatic duties in Tehran.
Given how hostile Iranian-Saudi relations were in the years leading up to the March 2023 agreement, such restoration of diplomatic ties was significant. Until a year ago, there were no diplomatic relations between the two countries since Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in January 2016, in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad following the execution of Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. The Saudi state’s killing of this cleric raised sectarian temperatures in the Middle East. It drastically heightened friction in Tehran-Riyadh relations, which had steadily deteriorated against the backdrop of armed conflicts and political crises in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring.
