Iran Digest Week of September 22- September 29
/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
US, Iran Deny Secret Talks
The United States and Iran are denying reports that the two sides are engaged in secret negotiations following a prisoner exchange deal earlier this month that included the unlocking of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian funds.
There are no direct or indirect talks scheduled, including any involving Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, a U.S. official told VOA on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed a report by a U.K.-based media outlet that authorities in Tehran had granted its negotiators permission to enter direct talks with Washington to ease sanctions in return for Iran slowing down its uranium enrichment program.
(VOA)
US Lawmakers Demand Answers On Iran-Backed Influence Operation
Stakeholders in the US continued to express dismay Wednesday, after Iran International and Semafor exposed an Iranian-backed influence operation in Washington.
The report, published Tuesday, cites dozens of emails to show how (at least) three associates of former Iran envoy Robert Malley endeavored to promote the Islamic Republic’s line on its nuclear program, publishing op-eds, appearing on news channels, even seeking approval for their public engagements.
“These are troubling allegations about Iran’s attempts to influence US Iran policy,” wrote Sen. Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on X. “Potential involvement of Biden Admin officials with the Iran Experts Initiative must be taken seriously & warrants further review.”
Women of Iran
Iran president's wife denies UN findings that protesters were killed in turmoil after Mahsa Amini's death
In a new interview, the wife of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi repeated claims by her country's officials that the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last fall was the result of a preexisting illness -- which Amini's family vigorously disputes, believing instead that she was beaten in custody after being arrested by Iran's notorious morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.
Speaking with ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an interview that aired Sunday, Jamileh Alamolhoda defended Iran's approach to requiring headscarves for women in public while seeking to minimize the crackdown on protests sparked by Amini's death.
"She was loved by all of us. I'm a mother myself, and I do understand that -- the value of girls and women as a whole," Alamolhoda said.
(ABC News)
Economy
Economic Crisis Forces Iranian Children Into Workplace
Iranian children are being forced out of school and into the workplace as families struggle to make ends meet in the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
Bahram Zonoubi Tabar, the head of the Labor Coordination Council in Fars Province, said that the escalating inflation rate and the steep costs of essential goods are causing significant hardships meaning children are increasingly being forced into the workplace.
Recently, Iran's Parliament Research Center released a report indicating a concerning surge in the number of working children. The report revealed that 15% of school age children are now working, depriving them of crucial educational prospects.
Inside Iran
Iran’s IRGC successfully puts third imaging satellite into orbit
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has successfully put a third satellite into orbit, according to officials.
Two officials confirmed on Wednesday that the aerospace division of the elite military force has put the third version of the imaging satellite Nour, which means “light” in Persian, into low orbit.
The Noor-3 was reportedly placed in an orbit 450km (280 miles) from the surface of the Earth and, like its predecessors, was taken to space using a Qased – meaning “messenger” – carrier developed by the IRGC.
Concerns Rise Over Growing Afghan Population In Iran
The rising number of Afghans in Iran is causing a divide among officials unsure whether the presence poses a threat or an opportunity for the regime.
In recent weeks, videos of large numbers of Afghans passing Iran’s eastern borders have surfaced, adding to speculation about the authorities’ intent to increase the populations of immigrants from Afghanistan in a bid to boost the shrinking population and bolster regime support via an elaborate incentive scheme.
There are multiple estimates regarding the size of the Afghan diaspora population in Iran, but precise numbers are scarce due to Afghans' reluctance to participate in official counts and registrations, stemming from concerns about potential deportation and other repercussions. Most are economic migrants, hoping to earn money to send back to families in Afghanistan in a collapsing economy, while filling jobs once done by the huge swathes of Iranians fleeing the regime.
Regional Politics
Historic Iraq-Iran railway link ready in 18 months -Iraq transport adviser
Iraq hopes to complete its first railway link with neighbouring Iran within 18 months, largely to help facilitate the transport of millions of pilgrims that visit Shi'ite Muslim shrines in Iraq each year, a senior transport adviser said.
The roughly 30-kilometre (18.64 miles) line will run between Iraq's southern city of Basra and the Iranian border-town of Shalamja, linking nations with ties that have deepened since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, after which pro-Tehran Shi'ite Muslim parties enhanced their influence in Baghdad.
"We should see the trains moving in about 18 months because it's a small distance," Nasser Al-Asadi, transport advisor to the Iraqi prime minister, told Reuters.
(Reuters)
Israel says it foiled Iranian plot to target, spy on senior Israeli politicians
Israel arrested five Palestinians in a plot allegedly hatched in Iran to target and spy on senior Israeli politicians, including Israel's far-right national security minister, the country’s internal security agency said Wednesday.
The Shin Bet security service alleged that an Iranian security official living in neighboring Jordan had recruited three Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and another two Palestinian citizens of Israel to gather intelligence about several high-profile Israeli politicians.
The targets included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — a firebrand Israeli settler leader who oversees the country's police force in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultranationalist government — as well as Yehuda Glick, an American-born far-right Israeli activist and former member of parliament.
(ABC News)
Global Relations
Revealed: Europe’s role in the making of Russia killer drones
Iranian kamikaze drones used in the latest attacks on Ukrainian cities are filled with European components, according to a secret document sent by Kyiv to its western allies in which it appeals for long-range missiles to attack production sites in Russia, Iran and Syria.
In a 47-page document submitted by Ukraine’s government to the G7 governments in August, it is claimed there were more than 600 raids on cities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) containing western technology in the previous three months.
According to the paper, obtained by the Guardian, 52 electrical components manufactured by western companies were found in the Shahed-131 drone and 57 in the Shahed-136 model, which has a flight range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and cruising speed of 180kmh (111mph).
Analysis
Treading Cautiously on Shifting Sands: An Assessment of Biden’s Middle East Policy Approach, 2021-2023
By: Brian Katulis
Today’s international system is unlike the one that emerged in 1991, after the end of the Cold War. The broader Middle East’s role and relevance in that global context continues to shift. During the past quarter century, successive United States administrations have tried to articulate and advance policies that sought to proactively change dynamics in the region through diplomacy, military action, and other forms of engagement, all with limited success and outcomes that did not measure up to the aspirations and goals set.
The past three administrations have sought to limit America’s engagement after several years of post-9/11 deeper U.S. involvement in the region, and the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations have all seen limited outcomes from that approach. As the Biden administration nears the end of its third year in office, this assessment identifies three distinct phases in its overall strategy in the Middle East:
Attempted Rebalance: January 2021 to June 2022
Limited Strategic Re-engagement: July 2022 to April 2023
Reaching for a More Proactive Strategy: May 2023 to September 2023
