Iran Digest Week of October 14th- October 21st
/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
House panel may remove Iran drone measure from NDAA
The House Ways and Means Committee may force senators to drop a push to sanction Iran over its drones program as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, two people familiar with the matter told NatSec Daily.
The reason: an amendment that would place Iranian groups on a terrorism blacklist for using those drones to kill Americans, the individuals said.
The Stop Iranian Drones Act — aimed at stopping Tehran or any militia affiliated with Iran from acquiring a lethal unmanned aerial vehicle — passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June. That legislation included an amendment, filed by Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas), that places any Iranian group — including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC — on the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list for 10 years for using a drone to kill an American citizen. Instead of passing on its own, the measure was thrown into the pile to pass in the coming NDAA.
(Politico)
Women of Iran
Elnaz Rekabi: Crowd greet Iranian climber who broke hijab rule on return
A large crowd at Tehran airport greeted an Iranian sport climber who competed without a headscarf at a competition in South Korea, calling her a "heroine".
Elnaz Rekabi, 33, broke Iran's strict dress code - but later said her hijab had fallen off "inadvertently".
Many are sceptical about the reason she gave in an Instagram post and repeated in a state TV interview at the airport, believing it was made under duress.
(BBC)
The next generation of Iranian women dare to imagine a future with freedom. This is what they want us to see.
In the videos coming out of Iran these days, rarely is there a face behind the camera. But, often, the voice of a citizen journalist can be heard. Proudly, they declare the date, time, and location of their clip, sometimes adding a bit of their own commentary on what’s unfolding.
Among the stream of horrors in recent weeks, one such voice was striking. It belonged to an older man whose voice is bursting with excitement and admiration: : “I am so very happy, to know that the future mothers and fathers of this country are boys and girls like these.” His words sum up a feeling that has captured the hearts and hopes of Iranians, both inside the country and abroad.
That there is frustration and resistance towards the Islamic Republic is neither new nor secret. Iran has seen waves of protests since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini entered power in 1979 and established an Islamic Republic, a regime which has encountered opposition since its inception.
(Atlantic Council)
Economy
Expert Says Iran’s Inflation To Soar Beyond 50% In 2023
An economist says if Tehran fails to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s economy will suffer further and see an inflation of over 50 percent next year.
Fararu, which is a pro-reform website, interviewed Iranian economist Vahid Shaqaqi Shahri who said if the regime fails to clinch an agreement with the West over its controversial nuclear program and revive the JCPOA, the country may experience higher inflation that might bring its economic growth to zero in 2023.
Shaqaqi told Fararu that while Iran’s neighbors including Turkey and Saudi Arabia have experienced double-digit growths in the past few years, the economy of the Islamic Republic has shrunk in the face of sanctions and skyrocketing inflation.
(Iran International)
Inside Iran
Schoolboy protester dies in Iran after reportedly being shot at close range
A 17-year-old schoolboy has died in Iran’s second largest city, Mashhad, after reportedly being shot at close range by state forces during anti-government protests.
Abolfazl Adinezadeh’s death certificate showed that he died of liver and kidney damage caused by birdshot, according to a BBC Persian report. A doctor was cited as estimating the distance from which the teenager was shot on 8 October as less than 1 metre.
Protests have spread across Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody on 16 September. On Thursday, lawyers for Amini’s family rejected the findings of an official medical report that said the death of the 22-year-old, who had been detained over the way she was dressed, was not a result of beatings she received in custody.
(The Guardian)
Deadly Iran jail fire erupted as police clashed with inmates
Two days before a fire ripped through a section of Iran's Evin prison and killed at least eight people, a riot police unit arrived at the compound and began to patrol the corridors, shouting "God is Greatest" and banging batons on cell doors, six sources told Reuters.
The patrols at the Tehran jail began without any apparent provocation by inmates, the sources said. These patrols continued from Thursday to Saturday, when some prisoners reacted by shouting for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, echoing protests raging across Iran since September.
"Then we heard shots and chants of 'Death to Khamenei' by prisoners in other wards," said an inmate inside ward 8, which holds mostly prisoners convicted of financial crimes.
(Reuters)
Regional Politics
Iran warns Saudi Arabia over 'reliance' on Israel - Guards' commander
Iran on Thursday said the leaders of regional foe Saudi Arabia should end their reliance on Israel, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, in an apparent reference to growing ties between Israel and Gulf Arab states.
"You are relying on an Israel which is collapsing, and this will be the end of your era," Hossein Salami, the top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying in what he called a "warning" to the kingdom's ruling Al-Saud family.
Salami's statement contradicts recent comments by a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader who called for the reopening of embassies to facilitate rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh.
(Reuters)
Global Relations
Iran sent troops to Crimea to help Russia use Iranian-made drones, Biden admin officials say
The U.S. has evidence that Iran sent troops to Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine to help Russia launch drone attacks on targets across the country, Biden administration officials said Thursday.
Iran sent trainers and technical support to enable Russian forces to use Iranian-made drones “with better lethality,” John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters in a teleconference.
“We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Kirby said.
(NBC)
Austria confirms one of its citizens has been arrested in Iran
Austria on Thursday confirmed the arrest of one its citizens in Iran, a day after the semi-official Fars news agency said Iranian security forces had arrested 14 foreigners "in recent riots" in Iran.
Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for nationwide protests that erupted after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16.
Fars, believed to be affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, did not say when or where the arrests of the foreigners, including Afghan, American, British, Austrian and French citizens, were made.
(Reuters)
Analysis
Analysis: Iran pushes militarily abroad amid unrest at home
By: Jon Gambrell
As protests rage at home, Iran's theocratic government is flexing its military muscle abroad: Tehran has supplied drones to Russia that killed Ukrainian civilians, run drills in a border region with Azerbaijan and bombed Kurdish positions in Iraq.
Those moves show Iran's leaders trying to rally hard-line support within the country as demonstrations continue over the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the country’s morality police.
They also serve as a reminder to the wider Middle East and the West that Iran's government remains willing to use force both abroad and at home to stay in power.
