Let's talk Iran - October 7, 2021
Iran smuggling high-tech drones to militant allies, opposition group says
Iran’s theocratic regime has ramped up its drone manufacturing operation in recent years and is now smuggling an increasingly sophisticated slate of the weaponized remote control aircraft to allied militant groups around the Middle East, according to intelligence gathered by a leading Iranian dissident group. LINK
Iran dissidents warn of regime's use of drones to 'destabilize' region, using materials from China
The NCRI report alleges that at least one of the operations, Ghazanfar Roknabadi Industries, provides support and training for International Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) factories and uses raw materials that are imported from the Chinese communist regime.
Tehran’s ‘terror drone’ program is a growing international threat, says Iranian opposition
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI’s Washington office, said the program includes eight production and assembly sites across Iran that receive parts and materials from foreign countries.
During a briefing on Wednesday, attended by Arab News, he said UAVs, or drones, have been used to attack many Western targets in conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq, as well as targets in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. LINK
Iran’s Armed-Drone Prowess Reshapes Security in Middle East
Tehran uses off-the-shelf components to build armed drones used in attacks that challenge the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East
A deadly attack on an oil tanker by explosive-laden drones. Unmanned aircraft launched from the Gaza Strip hitting Israeli neighborhoods. Strikes on Saudi Arabian refineries and pipelines and on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq.
Behind this wave of attacks, U.S., European and Israeli defense officials say: Iran and its allies across the Middle East. They say Tehran’s rapidly developing ability to build and deploy drones is changing the security equation in a region already on edge.
“Developing a nuclear weapon would take years. With drones, just a few months,” an Iran official says. “Drones have changed the balance of power in the Middle East.” LINK
Iran: The Role Of Drones In The Quds Force’s Incitement Of Regional War And Terrorism
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force is chiefly using various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for its terrorist operations as well as for supplying its proxies in the region. To an extent, the regime is trying to compensate for its outdated and decrepit Air Force with this technology. LINK
Iran’s regime is investing in military drones to destabilize the Middle East, opposition warns
The NCRI also revealed the locations of six command bases in which the IRGC maintains and uses drones. These bases are located in the provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, and Khuzestan. LINK
Drones Main Pillar of Iran’s IRGC Quds Forces Overseas Ops: Opposition
Former President Donald Trump designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The NCRI said the Quds Force is “chiefly using various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for its terrorist operations as well as for supplying its proxies in the region.”
The Quds Force brings members of pro-Iran proxy militias abroad to Iran for training in the use of drones. The equipment is sent outside Iran by air via Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, by land concealed in trucks, and in the case of Yemen, by sea. LINK
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that the drones were being manufactured at eight plants in Iran, sometimes using materials smuggled from abroad, and then sent to countries like Iraq and Syria where they are assembled and then deployed. LINK
“Diplomacy and Terrorism Go Hand in Hand”, Says Iranian Foreign Minister
The West's appeasement policy has done nothing to curb the regime’s activities. In fact, it has emboldened Tehran to further expand its malign activities and to continue to flout sanctions. LINK
Saudi-led coalition intercepts drone attack on Abha airport -state TV
"The [Iran-backed] Houthis’ attempt to target civilians at Abha airport as a civilian airport is a war crime," state TV reported, citing the coalition. The coalition added that it is taking "operational measures to neutralize the sources of threat" used in the attempted attack on the airport. It said it destroyed the drone's launching site in the Yemeni province of Saada.
The coalition also destroyed three explosives-laden boats in the Yemeni province of Hodeidah that had been readied for imminent attacks, the Saudi state-news agency said on Twitter earlier on Wednesday. LINK
Israel said to alert embassies worldwide of possible Iran threats
Israel has warned its missions around the world of a possible Iranian terror threat, a television report claimed on Wednesday, following the arrest of an Azeri national over an alleged plot to assassinate one or more Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus. LINK
Russian cyberattacks pose greater risk to governments and other insights from our annual report
“After Russia, the largest volume of attacks we observed came from North Korea, Iran and China; South Korea, Turkey (a new entrant to our reporting) and Vietnam were also active but represent much less volume.
“Iran , which quadrupled its targeting of Israel in the past year and launched destructive attacks among heightened tensions between the two countries." LINK
OPINION—The West needs to unite to fight for human rights
It’s time for Europe to end ‘business as usual’ with the regime of mass murderers running Iran. Instead, the European External Action Service (EEAS) should use its Magnitsky Act powers to impose stringent sanctions against perpetrators of the 1988 massacre in Iran. LINK
Iran expects nuclear talks in Vienna to restart within days: FM
“We are now finalizing consultations on this matter and will soon restore our negotiations in Vienna,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
In Tehran, parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission spokesman Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini said the talks would resume “in coming days”.
“The messages and signals from Western countries point to the start of a new cycle of talks,” he said, quoted by Iran’s Tasmim news agency.
The Iranian side would be led by “the foreign ministry or the Supreme National Security Council”, whose decisions must be confirmed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Normally, the country’s broad strategic lines are defined by the Supreme Council and implemented by the foreign ministry,” Meshkini said. LINK
Iran Regime’s New Deception: No Preconditions for Nuclear Talks
Iranian regime Foreign Ministry spox Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran would return to the nuclear talks with “no preconditions.” His remarks are part of Tehran's duplicity, fearing possible unilateral and/or int'l action against the mullahs' nuclear extortion. LINK
Iran-South Korea row worsens over oil billions frozen by US sanctions
A row between Iran and South Korea intensifies, with Tehran threatening legal action unless Seoul releases more than $7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen because of U.S. sanctions. More signs of Biden's appeasement emboldening the mullahs' regime. LINK
High number of Iran executions in 2021 signals worsening rights condition
The mullahs' regime continues to use the death penalty as a tool to intimidate and repress dissidents; And many regime officials also defend it. LINK
Atena Daemi deprived of making phone calls; banned from talking to inmates
Atena Daemi deprived of making phone calls; other inmates have been threatened and banned from contacting her in any form. News from Iran says political prisoner Atena Daemi is still deprived of her legal right to make phone calls. Mr. Hossein Daemi, Atena’s father, posted a tweet in which he said his daughter continues to remain deprived of her right to call home. LINK
Iran among top ten countries with highest inflation growth rate
New stats show Iran's poor population has doubled in the past decade alone, and another four million Iranians are now living under the international poverty line ($5.5/day). LINK
