Iran Digest Week of June 25 - July 2
/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 Communications Associate Elizabeth Kos. Please note that the news and views expressed in the articles below do not necessarily reflect those of AIC.
US-Iran Relations
US Launches Air Strikes on Iran-Backed Militia Targets
The White House on Monday defended air strikes launched over the weekend on the facilities of two Iran-backed militia groups on the border between Syria and Iraq, the second such attack by the Biden administration in four months.
John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, said operational and weapons storage facilities, which were being used to launch drone strikes against US troops and facilities, were targeted in Syria and Iraq.
Kirby said late on Sunday that the air strikes were “defensive” and a response to an “ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting US interests in Iraq”. He added that they were being used by several Iran-backed militias including Kata’ib Hizbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
US Forces in Syria Came Under Rocket Fire, a Day After US Carried Out Airstrikes on Iranian-Backed Militias
Rockets landed at a US military base in eastern Syria, prompting US forces to return fire on Monday, a day after the US carried out airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias, according to a spokesman for the US-led military mission in Syria.
A US defense official with direct knowledge of the rocket fire said it is "likely" they were launched by Iranian-backed militias operating in the immediate area, near Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, but the origin of the rockets has not been confirmed and the official could not immediately say how many projectiles were fired. Some rockets did land within the immediate vicinity of US troops, but early reports indicated there were no injuries.
"U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets. There are no injuries and damage is being assessed," Col. Wayne Maratto, a spokesman for the US-led mission in Syria, tweeted.
(CNN)
Nuclear Accord
UN Chief Urges US to Remove Iran Sanctions as Agreed in 2015
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to US President Joe Biden’s administration to lift or waive all sanctions on Iran as agreed under a 2015 deal aimed at stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
In a report to the United Nations Security Council, Guterres also urged the United States to “extend the waivers with regard to the trade-in oil with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects”.
Guterres’ appeal to Washington comes amid talks to revive the deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear programme in return for a lifting of many foreign sanctions against it.
COVID-19
Leader Gets First Dose of All-Iranian COVID Jab
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday received the first dose of a domestically produced coronavirus vaccine.
The Leader’s Twitter feed published a video that showed him "receiving the first dose of the Iranian COVID vaccine that has been developed by young Iranian scientists".
The footage showed Ayatollah Khamenei wearing a mask, as two male medics tend to him, injecting the Leader in the left arm, AFP wrote.
Iran announced on June 14 that it had given emergency approval for the domestically produced vaccine.
Iran Launches Clinical Trial for New COVID-19 Vaccine Noora
Iran on Sunday launched the clinical trial for another homegrown coronavirus vaccine, a day after it started the domestic production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine at an Iranian company.
The recombinant Noora vaccine, produced by Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, was put on display during a ceremony in the presence of Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki as well as other Iranian health officials.
“Our 16-month efforts have finally paid off and Noora vaccine has now been produced. During the last four to five months, vaccine studies were performed on mice, rabbits and monkeys, and the results of the studies were presented to the Health Ministry,” Hassan Abolqassemi, the president of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, said at the ceremony, Press TV reported.
Economy
Iran Energy Workers Hold Wage Protests as Economy Hit by Sanctions
Thousands of workers in Iran's energy sector have held protests for better wages and working conditions in southern gas fields and some refineries in big cities, according to Iranian news agencies and social media postings.
With an economy tanked under the weight of U.S. sanctions and the worst COVID-19 pandemic impact in the Middle East, Iran has faced nearly continuous protests by workers and pensioners for months over an inflation rate of more than 50%, high unemployment and unpaid wages.
An unspecified number of workers with temporary hiring contracts "stayed home" to press for higher wages earlier this week in Assaluyeh, Iran's main gas production hub on the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reported.
Some officials and parliamentarians acknowledged the protests and called for efforts to help resolve the issues that prompted them.
(Reuters)
Inside Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Appoints New Hard-Line Judiciary Chief
United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday appointed a hard-line cleric sanctioned by the West as the country’s new judiciary chief, state media reported, replacing the president-elect who previously held the powerful post.
The new chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, 64, takes the reins from Ebrahim Raisi, who will ascend to the country’s highest civilian position after his election victory earlier this month.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, announced Ejehi’s appointment, urging him to advocate for justice and fight corruption. In a decree, he praised Ejehi’s “valuable experience, shining records and legal competence.”
UN’s Iran Investigator Calls for Inquiry on Raisi’s Role in 1988 Executions
The United Nations’ top human rights investigator for Iran said he backs a probe of President-elect Ebrahim Raisi's involvement in the mass killing of Iranian prisoners in 1988.
Javaid Rehman, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, told Reuters on Monday that his office is willing to share testimonies and evidence collected on the Iranian executions with the UN Human Rights Council or any other investigative body.
“I think it is time and it’s very important now that Mr. Raisi is the president that we start investigating what happened in 1988 and the role of individuals,” Rehman told the news agency.
Regional Politics
Iran halted its crucial supply of power to Iraq, fueling fears of protests Tuesday amid instability following the resignation of Iraq’s electricity minister.
Cash-strapped Iran has put pressure on Iraq’s government to release payments for power after falling into arrears. The development comes with months of scorching summer temperatures still to come, and ahead of much anticipated federal elections.
Electricity Minister Majed Mahdi Hantoosh submitted his resignation Monday amid popular and political pressure over repeated power outages across the country. Provinces across the country’s south — where temperatures currently average 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) — are shortening working hours citing extreme heat.
Analysis
US Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are Blatantly Unconstitutional
By: Bruce Fein
Last Monday, President Joe Biden ordered unconstitutional airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against two alleged Iranian-sponsored militias that were purportedly implicated in drone attacks on American personnel in Iraq weeks before. The airstrikes were sequels to President Biden’s unconstitutional bombing of Syria in February, killing at least 22.
President Biden’s air strikes constituted acts of aggressive war against Syria and Iraq according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 8 bis defines the crime of aggressions as including, “Bombardment by the armed forces of a State against territory of another State or the use of any weapons by a State against the territory of another State.”
