Let's talk Iran - Feb 15, 2021
NUCLEAR
Iran will scale back its nuclear commitments if 2015 obligations not revived
Iran has breached the deal’s key limits, enriching uranium to 20% - above a 3.67% cap but below the 90% needed for weapons - expanding its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, and using advanced centrifuges for enrichment. LINK
TERRORISM
In a Dangerous Game of Cat and Mouse, Iran Eyes New Targets in Africa
Pentagon confirms Iran was behind operation where 15 people were arrested in Ethiopia for plotting against the UAE Embassy. Mastermind arrested in Sweden.
US official linked the arrests in Ethiopia to a failed Iranian plan to kill the US ambassador to South Africa. LINK
Yemeni Information Minister: Restore the Houthi terrorist designation
Barely hours passed between the US administration’s announcement of its intention to cancel the designation of the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization and the Houthis’ attack with Iranian-made ballistic missiles and drones on one of the city of Maʼrib’s main streets in coordination with the escalation of its military operations on the two fronts. LINK
Arab Coalition intercepts explosive-laden drone fired by Houthis toward Saudi Arabia
The Arab Coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis towards Saudi Arabia, state news agency SPA reported early on Monday.
The Coalition Spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki said the drone was the latest in a series of attempts by the Houthi militias to "target civilians and civilian targets in the Kingdom." LINK
EU Must Recognize Iran's People, and Not the Regime as Allies
Western governments need to take Tehran's threat seriously both for the sake of their own security and for the sake of the Iranian people. In June 2018, agents of the Iranian regime attempted to carry out a terrorist attack near Paris. In November 2020 the mastermind of that plot finally went on trial alongside his three known accomplices, following a two and a half year investigation. Earlier this month, a Belgian court handed down guilty verdicts for all four and sentenced the principal defendant, Assadollah Assadi, to 20 years in prison. LINK
MEDDLING
Oil hits 13-months highs on fears of Middle East tensions
Oil prices soar to their highest in about 13 months as fears of heightened tensions in the Middle East escalate following Iran-backed Houthi militias increasing their attacks on Saudi Arabia. LINK
Israeli airstrikes said to hit targets near Damascus
Israeli airstrikes targeted a number of sites near Damascus in southern Syria after midnight Sunday. Iran-backed forces have a heavy presence in this area. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since 2011 against moves by Iran. LINK
The View From Tehran: Iran's Militia Doctrine
"... the the doctrine is a commitment that is bound to the existence of the Islamic Republic and has endured four decades and countless crises, political events and conflicts." LINK
HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran hangs two prisoners in recent increase in executions of Baloch minority prisoners
Two prisoners were executed Saturday in eastern Iran following the recent increase in executions of Baloch minority prisoners. More than 100 prisoners are reported to be on death row in one prison alone located in southeast Iran. LINK
Iranian man awaiting amputation lashed for going on hunger strike in NW city
A man awaiting finger amputation in a northwest #Iran prison was lashed 60 times for "disrupting prison order." The regime has a long & horrific history of appalling medieval forms of punishment. LINK
The Iranian regime is one of the few states that still uses degrading punishments, even though all international civil and political rights conventions have prohibited the use of inhumane punishments such as execution and flogging.
The regime regularly hands out flogging sentences to protesters, dissidents, and to those charged with adultery and theft, among other things. Flogging is a cruel and degrading punishment and is tantamount to torture. LINK
Young Iranian women activists receive a total of 10 years in prison
Iran’s revision courts have upheld a total of 10 years of prison sentences for young Iranian women activists Zahra Mohammadi and Marjan Es’haghi. LINK
PROTESTS
Iranian Farmers’ Right to Water Has Been Plundered
Over the past month, farmers in Isfahan, central Iran, have staged several large rallies to protest the denial of their water rights from the Zayandehrood River. LINK
Iran: Widespread protests by pensioners in several cities
On Sunday, pensioners and welfare recipients held protest rallies in several cities to reiterate their demands from the regime. In the past years, the pensioners have been regularly protesting low wages and the government’s refusal to adjust their pensions based on the devaluation of the rial (Iran’s currency) and the rising inflation rate. LINK
Iran: Retirees Protest Nationwide in at Least 22 Cities
On Sunday, despite the regime’s suppressive measures, threats and empty promises, a large number of retirees gathered in Tehran and 21 other cities across Iran protesting inflation, unbearably high prices and low retirement benefits. LINK
In Tehran, families of downed Flight PS752 demand arrest of Revolutionary Guard leader
Relatives of the victims of downed Flight PS752, which crashed in Iran last year, held a protest in Tehran over the weekend demanding justice for their loved ones & the IRGC leader's arrest, which Iran's leaders have admitted shot down the plane. LINK
Danger Lurks in Society, Iran’s State Media Say
In Iran’s state-run newspapers on Saturday, a common theme was acknowledging growing social hatred regarding the regime and officials fearing a new uprising is in the making. LINK
SANCTIONS
Iran Says U.S. Attempt to Seize Oil Cargo Is ‘Act of Piracy’
"The Department of Justice filed a suit in a U.S. court this month, alleging #Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps disguised the oil’s origin and made it seem as if it came from Iraq." LINK