Let's talk Iran - March 20, 2021
NUCLEAR
Draft Letter Circulates In US Senate Backing Pressure On Iran
Bipartisan letter in U.S. Senate calls on Biden to use "full force of diplomatic and economic tools" to prevent Iran
-from ever acquiring nuclear weapons
-meaningfully constrains its destabilizing Middle East activity
-ballistic missile program LINK
Khamenei says U.S. promises have no credibility for Iran
Iran does not trust U.S. promises on lifting sanctions and will only return to its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal once Washington fully removes the measures, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday. LINK
TERRORISM
AP sources: Iran threatens US Army base and top general
Communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting “USS Cole-style attacks” against the base, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat pulled up alongside the Navy destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors.
Yet another reminder that the more Tehran is appeased, the more they will be encouraged to escalate their threats and attacks. LINK
Saudi Arabia Says Missiles in Aramco Attacks Were Made in Iran
“Several of them, as we’ve said, came from the north; several came from the sea," said Adel Al-Jubeir, minister of state for foreign affairs.
My take: Tehran must not be appeased. LINK
Arab Coalition launches air strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen’s Sanaa
The Arab Coalition launched air strikes on military targets that belong to the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen’s Sanaa early on Sunday, Al Arabiya reported citing Yemeni sources.
The strikes targeted sites housing ballistic missiles and military manufacturing warehouses, the sources added. LINK
Arab Coalition destroys explosive drone targeting Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait
Arab Coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia toward the city of Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have ramped up their attacks after the U.S. State Department revoked their terror designation. LINK
PROTESTS
Iran’s Uprisings Will Re-Emerge in Persian Year 1400
And in light of recent protests, it looks more than likely that Iran is primed for a resurgence of the previous years’ unrest very soon after Nowruz. LINK
On Nowruz, Iranians celebrate the memory of the heroes fallen for freedom
As the Persian year comes to a close, people across Iran are paying homage to the countless heroes who have laid their lives down to bring freedom and democracy in Iran. LINK
Iran’s Wheel of the Economy Is Rotating, but in Which Direction?
The regime's destructive policies have left the Iranian people in misery while billions continue to flow to Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, militias in Iraq and... LINK
Mothers of political prisoners and martyrs remember their loved ones on Nowruz
Iranians began their New Year today on March 20. Mothers of political prisoners and executed political prisoners celebrated the New Year near prisons or by the side of their children’s tombs. LINK
Underground Workers in Iran
"... these people have to endure systematic exploitation and plundering to make ends meet. They live in constant stress with deep concerns due to the lack of fundamental rights. They reside in slums where they face unbridled poverty..." LINK
