Let's talk Iran - January 18, 2022
Paris conference: Iran’s Regime Condemned for Genocide, Terrorism, and Nuclear Defiance
International dignitaries, including former prime ministers of Belgium and Sweden, joined the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran in a conference condemning the Iranian regime’s human rights violations, support for terrorism, and nuclear belligerence. LINK
Senior European politicians call for UN probe into 1988 Iran massacres
Speaking at an event hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran and attended by Arab News, former heads of state and senior parliamentary figures threw their support behind its campaign for accountability over the massacres. LINK
Biden’s choice with Iran
Nuclear negotiations are a distraction from Tehran’s internal vulnerabilities
The windfall of cash paid to the religious dictatorship in exchange for near-Potemkin constraints on Iran’s nuclear program was used to bring the murderous Assad regime in Syria close to near-total victory, to provide resources to terrorist proxies and to suppress the people of Iran through brutal repression, including the mass killings in November 2019.
The second windfall that the regime would receive from lifting current sanctions would be employed for the same purposes. LINK
Satellite photos show aftermath of Abu Dhabi oil site attack
Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday appear to show the aftermath of a fatal attack on an oil facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia.
The attack killed two Indian nationals and one Pakistani as three tankers at the site exploded, police said. Six people were also wounded at the facility, which is near Al-Dhafra Air Base, a massive Emirati installation also home to American and French forces. LINK
Iraq’s Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia ‘congratulates’ Houthis on UAE attack
The UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi was rocked on Monday when drone attacks led to a fire breaking out and resulted in the explosion of three petroleum tankers, killing three people and wounding six others. There was also another fire that broke out in the area of the new construction site of Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq was designated as a terrorist organization by the US in 2020, and the State Department said it was heavily funded and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
Iraq’s Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Yemen’s Houthis are both Shia militias supported by Iran. LINK
Houthis Fired Barrage of Drones and Missiles in Abu Dhabi Attack, Investigation Finds
The Emirati preliminary probe confirms Houthi claims Monday night that it deployed drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles in the attack.
The Trump administration put the Houthis on the list in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, a move the Biden administration quickly reversed as part of a swift shift in America’s approach to Yemen, and an obvious incentive to Iran’s regime.
The longer-range weapons are either Iranian or based on Iranian design, said experts on Houthi missiles. “The Iranians are providing the expertise behind these attacks,” said Christopher Long, an intelligence manager at Dubai-based security company Neptune P2P Group. LINK
Israel says sanctions relief for Iran could mean "terror on steroids"
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said funding for Iran could lead to "terror on steroids" on Tuesday, in an apparent warning against world powers easing sanctions against Tehran as they seek a new nuclear deal.
"The last thing you want to do ... is pour tens of billions of dollars into this apparatus. Because what will you get? Terror on steroids," Bennett said in a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos. LINK
Israel's Arrow system intercepts target simulating Iranian missile
The system was tested against targets similar in behavior to advanced missiles being developed by Iran and future threats which Israel might face such as a ballistic missile barrage against the country.
Israel and the United States remain concerned that Iran has continued to work on both its nuclear program as well as its ballistic missile program despite international criticism.
With tensions have been increasing over Iran’s nuclear program and regional hostility, both Israel and the Islamic Republic have been threatening each other. Senior officers have stated that the military is capable of carrying out a strike and in November Iran fired 16 ballistic missiles towards a target simulating Israel’s nuclear facility in Dimona at the end of five days of military drills.
The IDF knows that should a strike be ordered, the response would be a multi-front war with Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies firing thousands of rockets-including precision missiles- towards Israel and its strategic assets. LINK
Iran’s medicine mafia behind shortages, high cost of prescription drugs
Officials blame US sanctions for the shortages and price hikes. Pharmacists, however, blame the regime's healthcare mismanagement, corruption, black market & the collapse of Iran’s currency. LINK
Exclusive Report: Iran’s Internet Censorship Plan and Its Consequences
According to Iran’s state-run media, the regime’s Majlis (parliament) is about to pass an internet “protection bill,” restricting the country’s internet and online freedoms even further. The bill will disrupt people's access to international services, primarily social media, and allow the regime’s security apparatus to control internet gateways to intensify their crackdown. LINK
Regime’s contradictory remarks on sounds of explosion in western Iran
Several social media reports and Iranian news sites reported sounds of explosions in several cities in the western provinces of Iran in the late hours of Saturday, January 16th. The reports, although not confirmed by Iran’s officials yet, indicate that the sounds of explosion in western Iran have been heard in four provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Hamedan, and Ilam. People on social media described the blasts, which shook homes, as terrifying. LINK
Ahwazi Arab man killed by border police in southwest Iran
State security forces shot and killed an Ahwazi Arab man in the city of Hoveyzeh, southwest Iran. On January 12, security forces shot and killed Mohammad Obaidawi on suspicion of smuggling weapons in Hoveyzeh, Khuzestan Province.The Iranian regime’s armed forces, shoot, kill, or injure ranchers, fuel carriers, and porters in border towns without being held accountable. LINK
Iran: Raisi’s Six-Month Economic Record Contrasts Sharply With His 7,000-Page Program
In the summer of 2021, the Iran regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei installed the infamous Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi as the president. During his election campaign, Raisi claimed that he and his incoming economic team have prepared a 7,000-page economic program and that if carried out, the people and the country would witness a boom.
Now that Raisi has been in office for six months, the economy is still plagued with many a plethora of economic problems and astronomical corruption. LINK
Iran: Mismanagement Causes Water Shortage and Devastating Floods
Drought, water scarcity, and floods have caused much damage to Iran and its people. Environmentally, this is due to Iran’s arid and semi-arid climatic conditions prevailing on its plateau. With proper management the regime could use available floodwater to rectify the people’s water scarcity and solve the problems of the hopeless farmers. LINK