Iran Digest Week of February 3- February 10
/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-Iranian Relations
Draft Resolution In Congress Voices Support For Secular, Democratic Iran
A large group of US Congresspeople have expressed support for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear “Republic of Iran,” in a draft resolution that comes after five months of antigovernment protests.
Condemning violations of human rights and state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian Government, the bipartisan group of Representatives submitted a resolution on Tuesday, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The motion was introduced by California's Republican lawmaker Tom McClintock and is cosponsored by 165 other representatives.
The resolution “calls on relevant United States Government agencies to work with European allies, including those in the Balkans where Iran has expanded its presence, to hold Iran accountable for breaching diplomatic privileges, and to call on nations to prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime’s diplomatic missions, with the goal of closing them down and expelling its agents."
Nuclear Accord
Iranian Paper Says Impasse In Nuclear Talks Likely To Continue
Iranian daily Etemad says that even if Iran reaches a nuclear accord with the West, it will be a different deal, with fewer benefits for Tehran than the JCPOA.
According to Etemad, a reformist newspaper, although President Joe Biden had lashed out at his predecessor Donald Trump during the presidential election campaign in 2020 for pulling out of the JCPOA, two years after taking office not only Biden and Iran have not returned to the 2015 deal, but every day they start a new countdown to pronounce the deal's demise.
Meanwhile, Etemad added that the West is now looking for an agreement that covers both the Iranian nuclear program and the war in Ukraine that threatens Europe's security. Furthermore, according to Etemad, an agreement with Iran will not necessarily put an end to Iran's international isolation.
Women of Iran
Iran Minister Says Hijab Must Be Strictly Observed In Hospitals
Iran’s health minister says violation of hijab regulations is considered a crime at hospitals and if they do not abide by hijab regulations, they will not receive approval to operate.
Bahram Einollahi said in an interview with Fars News Agency on Tuesday that public hospitals have been required to comply with the hijab law and provide services to women by female staff.
“Women's ultrasound should be performed by women, and in some cases that we do not have enough radiologists, we ask female general practitioners and gynecologists to be given short-term training,” underlined the minister.
Economy
U.S. targets Iranian petrochemicals, petroleum in fresh sanctions
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on companies it accused of playing a critical role in the production, sale and shipment of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum to buyers in Asia, as Washington increases pressure on Tehran.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on six Iran-based petrochemical manufacturers or their subsidiaries and three firms in Malaysia and Singapore over the production, sale and shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum.
The latest U.S. move against Iranian oil smuggling comes as efforts to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and ties between the Islamic Republic and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests.
(Reuters)
Inside Iran
Iran unveils underground base in response to US-Israel exercises
Iran’s army has unveiled a major underground base to showcase its aerial military capabilities in response to significant joint exercises by the United States and Israel.
State television on Tuesday showed footage of a variety of fighter jets and military drones at the base, dubbed the “Eagle 44”, the location of which remains unknown.
It said the base is dug in the mountains to protect it from ammunition dropped from US strategic bombers that are capable of penetrating defences.
Iran acknowledges it has detained 'tens of thousands' in recent protests
Iran's supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for "tens of thousands" of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown.
The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying charges — allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.
Khamenei "agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents," the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for "tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran." Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.
(NPR)
Iranian prosecutors concealed rape by Revolutionary Guards, document shows
Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards raped two women in an attack covered up by state prosecutors, according to an internal judicial document seen by the Guardian.
The document, originally leaked to Iran International by hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice), reveals the case of sexual assault by two IRGC officers of a woman aged 18 and a woman of 23 in a van during protests against the death in September of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran.
The two women were detained for acting suspiciously, it said, and their phones were examined for evidence they had been at the protests.
Global Relations
Panama greenlights Iranian vessels to cross canal
Panamanian authorities said on Tuesdays that Iranian navy ships will be permitted to transit the Panama Canal as long as they adhere to international standards.
The United States, which constructed the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific seas at the beginning of the 20th century, would be enraged by an Iranian military presence.
Washington has cautioned that it is closely observing Tehran’s operations in the Western hemisphere.
Iran to supply China with 15,000 drones, official says
An Iranian official has revealed that China is one of the leading customers of Iranian-manufactured drones and that a large shipment is set to be sent to Beijing, amid the ongoing controversy over Tehran's supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia.
According to the UK-based news outlet, Iran International, an unnamed advisor to Iran's Intelligence Minister revealed at a ceremony at Qazvin International University that China is in the "queue" to receive 15,000 Iranian drones, with the ally being a major customer amongst 90 countries seeking to benefit from Tehran's extensive UAV industry.
"Since the day we turned to the East, the West could not bear it and an example was the war in Ukraine", the advisor said, referring to Iran's arming of Russia with drones throughout its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Analysis
What to make of the strikes in Iran? Watch these three indicators
By: Jonathan Panikoff
Iran’s official version of Saturday’s events is fairly straightforward. Three armed drones penetrated Iranian airspace seeking to attack a “workshop,” but one of the drones was “destroyed by Iranian air defense” systems and the other two caught by “defense traps.” The incident happened in Isfahan, the third most populous city in Iran, located approximately two hundred miles south of Tehran. All told, the result was minimal damage to the roof of the “workshop.” But Iran’s attempts to minimize the strike should not obscure its potentially large ramifications.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and there is a reasonable chance that no one will—publicly. But multiple media reports are highlighting previous suspected Israeli attacks on Iran, a reflection of the long shadow war between the two countries, and other reports are already explicitly identifying Israel as responsible.
It is quite possible the “workshop”—which is probably an Iranian defense ministry ammunition facility—was not the target. Next to the warehouse is the Iran Space Research Center, an agency that has cooperated previously with the country’s ballistic missile program—and is sanctioned by the United States. Israeli journalist Barak Ravid on Sunday reported that Iran’s “missile program” was the target and according to a source, “four different areas in the building were accurately targeted and the goal was achieved.”
