Iranian General Acknowledges over 300 Dead in Unrest

Monday, 28 November, 2022

An Iranian general on Monday acknowledged that more than 300 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding nationwide protests, giving the first official word on casualties in two months.

That estimate is considerably lower than the toll reported by Human Rights Activists in Iran, a US-based group that has been closely tracking the protests since they erupted after the Sept. 16 death of a young woman being held by the country's morality police.

The activist group says 451 protesters and 60 security forces have been killed since the start of the unrest and that more than 18,000 people have been detained.

The nationwide protests were sparked by the woman's death but rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy that has governed Iran since its 1979 revolution.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the aerospace division of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, was quoted by a website close to the Guard as saying that more than 300 people have been killed, including “martyrs,” an apparent reference to security forces. He also suggested that many of those killed were ordinary Iranians not involved in the protests.

He did not provide an exact figure or say where his estimate came from.

Hajizadeh reiterated the official claim that the protests have been fomented by Iran's enemies, including Western countries, without providing evidence. The protesters say they are fed up after decades of social and political repression, and deny having any foreign agenda.

The protests have spread across the country and drawn support from artists, athletes and other public figures.

The niece of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently called on people to pressure their governments to cut ties with Tehran over its violent suppression of the demonstrations.

In a video posted online by her France-based brother, Farideh Moradkhani urged “conscientious people of the world” to support Iranian protesters. The video was shared online this week after Moradkhani's reported arrest on Nov. 23, according to the activist group.

Moradkhani is a long-time activist whose late father was an opposition figure married to Khamenei's sister and is the closest member of the supreme leader's family to be arrested. The branch of the family has opposed Khamenei for decades and Moradkhani has been imprisoned on previous occasions for her activism.

“I ask the conscientious people of the world to stand by us and ask their governments not to react with empty words and slogans but with real action and stop any dealings with this regime,” she said in her video statement.

The protests, now in their third month, have faced a brutal crackdown by Iranian security forces using live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress demonstrations.

Despite the crackdown, demonstrations are ongoing and scattered across cities.

The unrest was sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran for violating the country’s strict dress code. It has quickly morphed into one of the most serious challenges to Iran's establishment in more than four decades.

Iran refuses to cooperate with a fact-finding mission that the UN Human Rights Council recently voted to establish.

“Iran will not engage in any cooperation, whatsoever, with the political committee,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4013306/iranian-general-acknowledges-over-300-dead-unrest.

Australia Imposes Sanctions on Iran, Russia over Protests Crackdown

Saturday, 10 December, 2022

Australia's foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called "egregious" human rights violations.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Australia was imposing sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities, including Iran’s Morality Police and Basij Resistance Force, and six Iranians involved in the crackdown on protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in September.

Seven Russians involved in what the foreign minister said was the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny would also have human rights sanctions imposed on them, Wong said in her statement.

In addition to human rights sanctions, Wong said Australia was placing further targeted financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia for use against Ukraine. Australia's foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called "egregious" human rights violations.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4035596/australia-imposes-sanctions-iran-russia-over-protests-crackdown.

Iran Says It Has Proof that Western States Were Involved in Protests

Monday, 28 November, 2022

Iran has proof that Western nations were involved in protests that have swept the country, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

The protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for "inappropriate attire", pose one of the strongest challenges to the country's clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Reuters reported.

"We have specific information proving that the US, Western countries and some of the American allies have had a role in the protests," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani added.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012361/iran-says-it-has-proof-western-states-were-involved-protests.

Khamenei's Niece Arrested after Urging World to Cut Ties with Iran

Sunday, 27 November, 2022

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's niece, a well known rights activist, has called on foreign governments to cut all ties with Tehran over its violent crackdown on popular unrest kindled by the death in police custody of a young woman.

A video of a statement by Farideh Moradkhani, an engineer whose late father was a prominent opposition figure married to Khamenei's sister, was being widely shared online after what activist news agency HRANA said was her arrest on Nov. 23.

"O free people, be with us and tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime," Moradkhani said in the video. "This regime is not loyal to any of its religious principles and does not know any rules except force and maintaining power."

Khamenei's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

HRANA said 450 protesters had been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest as of Nov. 26, including 63 minors.

It said 60 members of the security forces had been killed, and 18,173 protesters detained.

The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for "inappropriate attire.”

Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of parliament from the mainly Kurdish city of Mahabad, said on Sunday that as many as 105 people had been killed in Kurdish-populated areas during the protests. He was speaking during a debate in parliament as quoted by the Entekhan website.

On Nov. 23, Mahmoud Moradkhani reported his sister's arrest as she was heeding a court order to appear at the Tehran prosecutor's office. Farideh had been arrested earlier this year by Iran's Intelligence Ministry and later released on bail.

HRANA said she was in Tehran's Evin security prison. Moradkhani, it said, had earlier faced a 15-year prison sentence on unspecified charges.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4011196/khameneis-niece-arrested-after-urging-world-cut-ties-iran.

Activists: Iranian Forces Unleash Heavy Fire on Protesters

Monday, 21 November, 2022

Iranian security forces used heavy gunfire against protesters in a Kurdish town in the country's west on Monday, killing at least five during an anti-government protest that erupted at the funeral of two people killed the day before, activists said.

Videos circulating online show dozens of protesters taking shelter in alleyways as heavy gunfire echoes through the streets. Some show individuals lying motionless and bloodied in the streets, while others show residents gathering at a local hospital to donate blood.

Iran has been convulsed by anti-government protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in the custody of the country's morality police in the capital, Tehran. The protests, which were initially concentrated in the western, Kurdish region of Iran where Amini was from, have spread across the country and escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran's ruling clerics.

Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights group, said Iranian security forces unleashed heavy gunfire on protesters in the town of Javanrud, where a funeral was held for two protesters killed the day before. It cited witnesses as saying that Iranian forces used heavy machine guns.

Hengaw said seven people were killed on Monday, while another group, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, put the toll at five. The latter group said many of the wounded were being treated in homes because of fears they could be arrested from hospitals, making it difficult to confirm the toll. It said several were shot in the head or chest.

Iranian authorities heavily restrict media coverage of the protests and have periodically shut off internet access, making it difficult to confirm details of the unrest.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported protests in Javanrud on Sunday night, saying security forces were fired upon with live ammunition. It said two people were killed and four wounded. There were no immediate reports in state-linked media about the violence on Monday.

Funerals have often been the scene of renewed protests in recent weeks, as they were during the 1979 revolution that brought the clerics to power. The latest demonstrations mark the biggest challenge to the theocracy in over a decade.

At least 426 people have been killed and more than 17,400 arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest. It says at least 55 members of the security forces have been killed.

Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a lawmaker representing the Kurdish city of Mahabad, told the Etemad daily that 11 people have been killed during protests in the city since late October, many of them in recent days. He said some members of the security forces fired upon homes and businesses on Saturday, and he called on authorities to adopt a softer touch.

The unrest cast a shadow over the World Cup on Monday, where the Iranian national team faced off against England. Iran's players did not sing along to their national anthem, and some fans chanted Amini's name at the 22nd minute of the match.

The violence has also spilled across the border into neighboring Iraq's northern Kurdish region. Iran has blamed the unrest at home in part on Kurdish groups based in Iraq, and has targeted them with missile and drone attacks.

Iran said Monday that its latest strikes were necessary to protect the country's borders, while Kurdish officials condemned the attacks as unprovoked aggression. Iraq's central government, which is dominated by parties close to Iran, also condemned the strikes.

A strike late Sunday killed a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official in the Kurdish Iranian group living in exile in Iraq.

The group said Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and drones hit its bases and adjacent refugee camps in Koya and Jejnikan. The group also asserted that the strikes had hit a hospital in Koya.

The Iranian strikes come in the wake of a visit to Baghdad last week by Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force.

Some Kurdish groups have been engaged in a low-intensity conflict with Tehran since the 1979 revolution. Iran accuses them of inciting protests in Iran and smuggling weapons into the country, allegations the Kurdish groups have denied. Iran has not provided evidence to back up the claims.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters that Iran had acted to “protect its borders and security of its citizens based on its legal rights.” He alleged that the government in Baghdad and the Erbil-based administration of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region had failed to implement purported commitments to prevent threats against Iran from Iraqi areas.

The government of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq condemned the strikes as a “gross infringement of international law and neighborly relations.”

Qaderi told The Associated Press the Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq support the protests in Iran, which he described as a reaction to “the policies of this regime” he said oppresses its people. He denied that his group has sent fighters or weapons to Iran.

He said that his group had moved fighters away from the border to avoid giving Iran an “excuse” for further attacks. He called on the international community to prevent further aggression by Iran.

The United States condemned the latest Iranian strikes. “Such indiscriminate and illegal attacks place civilians at risk, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and jeopardize the hard-fought security and stability of Iraq and the Middle East," Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, who heads US Central Command, said in a statement.

Sunday's Iranian strikes in northern Iraq come a day after Türkiye launched deadly airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul.

On Monday, Turkish officials said suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired rockets into the border town of Karkamis in Türkiye, killing two people, including a teacher and a 5-year-old boy.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4000011/activists-iranian-forces-unleash-heavy-fire-protesters%C2%A0.

Iran says average age of arrested protesters is 15

October 5, 2022

According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the latest protests in Iran are being attended by some of the youngest age groups ever to attend protests in the country.

Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the IRGC, said today that the average age of the arrests from the protests is 15. He claimed these youths are being encouraged by social media and foreign media to “sacrifice themselves” in the protests. Fadavi did not go into details, but the number is not necessarily shocking. Looking at images of protests in Iran, especially at schools, one can see a predominance of young girls — many not even college-age. 

Among the young women to take part in the protests was 17-year-old Nika Shakarami. She protested against the mandatory hijab and went missing on Sept. 20. According to various opposition sources, she was later buried in a city outside of her hometown. According to social media users, Shakarami was being chased by the police before her death.

According to Iranian media, Shakarami was found lifeless in someone’s front yard. The cause of death was falling from a rooftop, according to official reports. Iranian media said that eight men have been detained for questioning over her death, but there are no further details at this time. 

Iran's leadership continues to paint these protests as a foreign plot. President Ebrahim Raisi expressed support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s first comments on the protests, placing the blame on the United States and Israel. Raisi said, “During his speech, the leader presented a complete analysis of the latest events and seditions against the country and the revolution, which were understandable for everyone.” Khamenei said that the United States and Israel are provoking and instigating the protests due to Iran’s progress, and they are unrelated to the mandatory hijab issue.

The protests started over two weeks ago when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s morality police for violating hijab laws. Amini later fell into a coma at the detention center and died shortly thereafter. Her death caused outrage not only because of the loss of a young life, but because it was during the enforcement of a very unpopular law at the hands of a notorious police unit that is equally unpopular in Iran. 

Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei spoke today about Amini’s death. He said that all the events that took place occurred within one hour. After Amini was transferred to the detention center, the video shows her walking back and forth and talking to other individuals. Then she suddenly collapsed and was transferred to a hospital. Iranian authorities have released video, but regardless of the details, the anger stems from the fact that she was detained to begin with.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/10/iran-says-average-age-arrested-protesters-15.

Iran's Militias Transport Deir Ezzor Wheat to Iraq for Higher Profit

Monday, 1 August, 2022

The security branches of the Syrian regime have seized large quantities of wheat stored by farmers, and others working in the grain trade, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, while sources confirmed that large parts of the crops would be transported to Iraq, where Iranian militias sell them at higher prices.

Sources quoted by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the security officers confiscated more than 80 tons of wheat owned by more than 10 farmers in the area, because of their refusal to hand over the crop to the Euphrates Center.

The security branches and consumer protection committees also imposed fines on violators amounting to about 500 million Syrian pounds.

The Iranian militias, with the facilitation of the security branches, harvested agricultural crops from the lands they seized, in preparation for transferring them to Iraq to sell them at a higher price. Those lands are usually owned by families, who fled the area during the control of militias in 2017.

In order to tighten control over sales operations, close all outlets to farmers and prevent the exit of crops to other Syrian governorates, the militias prevent farmers from selling their produce in the free market.

SOHR reported that farmers who objected these measures were subjected to arrest and threats.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3791896/iran%E2%80%99s-militias-transport-deir-ezzor-wheat-iraq-higher-profit.

IHR: Iran Executes Three Women In Single Day

Saturday, 30 July, 2022

Iran this week executed three women in the space of a single day, all on charges of murdering their husbands, an NGO said on Friday.

There has been growing concern over the increasing number of women being hanged in Iran as the country sees a surge in executions.

Many killed husbands who were abusive or they married as child brides or even relatives, AFP reported activists as saying,

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said that on July 27 three women were executed in different prisons for murdering their husbands in separate cases, meaning at least 10 women have now been executed by Iran in 2022.

Senobar Jalali, an Afghan national, was executed in a prison outside Tehran, it said.

Meanwhile Soheila Abedi, who had married her husband when aged just 15, was hanged in a prison in the city of Sanandaj in western Iran.

She had committed the murder 10 years after their marriage and was convicted in 2015, IHR said.

Faranak Beheshti, who had been convicted around five years ago for the murder of her husband, was executed in the prison in the northwestern city of Urmia, it said.

Activists argue that Iran's laws are stacked against women, who do not have the right to unilaterally demand a divorce, even in cases of domestic violence and abuse.

A report by IHR published in October last year said that at least 164 women were executed between 2010 and October 2021.

But activists are alarmed by a surge in executions in Iran this year, coinciding with the rise of former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency in 2021 and protests over an economic crisis.

At least 306 people have been executed so far in Iran in 2022, according to a count by IHR.

Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and London-based Amnesty International said Wednesday that Iran is carrying out executions at a "horrifying pace" in an "abhorrent assault" on the right to life.

Those arrested in recent weeks in a crackdown against critical voices include the director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose lacerating film "There is No Evil" about the effects of the use of the death penalty in Iran won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3788051/ihr-iran-executes-three-women-single-day.

Floods Kill at Least 53 in Iran

Friday, 29 July, 2022

Rescuers searched for the missing in Iran on Friday after landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 53 people, officials said.

Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at the Red Crescent Society, told state TV that 16 people were still missing after two days of floods that have affected 400 towns and villages in 18 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Many highways were closed.

Friday’s worst hit area was Firouz Kooh, in the foothills of Alborz Mountains northeast of the capital Tehran, where at least 10 people died, Tehran governor Mohsen Mansouri told state TV.

He was later quoted by local news agencies as saying around six people were also missing.

Floods were still ravaging northern areas of Tehran province on Friday, he said, adding that despite repeated warnings, trekkers were still heading toward Firouz Kooh.

The town of Firouz Kooh, about 140 km (90 miles) from Tehran, is a favorite retreat for vacationers because of its cool summer temperatures. The area's lush trails are also popular with trekkers, Reuters reported.

State media said at least eight people died on Thursday in a landslide caused by floods in the village of Imamzadeh Davood northwest of Tehran, that also damaged a religious shrine there.

As many as 14 people were reported missing.

Last Saturday, flash floods in the southern Fars province killed 22 people.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3787416/floods-kill-least-53-iran.

Iran Applies to Join China and Russia in BRICS Club

Tuesday, 28 June, 2022

Iran, which holds the world's second largest gas reserves, has applied to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that Beijing and Moscow cast as a powerful emerging market alternative to the West.

The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to describe the startling rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010.

Iran's membership in the BRICS group "would result in added values for both sides", Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Russia said Argentina had also applied to join.

Russia cast the applications as evidence that the West, led by the United States, was failing to isolate Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

"While the White House was thinking about what else to turn off in the world, ban or spoil, Argentina and Iran applied to join the BRICS," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Argentine officials could not be reached for immediate comment but President Alberto Fernandez, currently in Europe, has in recent days reiterated his desire for Argentina to join BRICS.

China has by far the largest economy in the BRICS grouping, accounting for more than 70% of the group's collective $27.5 trillion economic might. India accounts for about 13%, with Russia and Brazil each accounting for about 7%, according to IMF data.

BRICS account for more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy.

Chinese power

Chinese President Xi Jinping joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other BRICS leaders for a virtual summit last week.

Xi criticized "the abuse" of international sanctions, while Putin scolded the West for fomenting global crisis, with both leaders calling for greater BRICS cooperation.

Putin has said relations with China are the best they have ever been and touts a strategic partnership with China aimed at countering US influence.

US President Joe Biden has said the West is locked in a battle with autocratic governments such as China and Russia.

The United States and European powers blame Putin's decision to invade Ukraine as the reason relations with the West have sunk to the lowest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis -- including the severest sanctions in modern history.

But Putin says the West wants to destroy Russia, that the economic sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war and that Russia will build ties with other powers such as China and India.

Putin, who casts the Ukraine war as a "special military operation", blames the United States for humiliating Russia in the aftermath of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and threatening Moscow by enlarging the NATO military alliance.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 to degrade its southern neighbor's military capabilities, root out people it called dangerous nationalists and defend the Russian-speakers of two eastern Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine says Russia has launched an imperial-style land grab and will never surrender its territory to Russia.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3728786/iran-applies-join-china-and-russia-brics-club.

Albania Cuts Iran Ties, Orders Diplomats to Go after Cyberattack

Wednesday, 7 September, 2022

Albania is ending diplomatic relations with Iran and has ordered Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours, after an investigation into a cyberattack in July, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday.

"The government has decided with immediate effect to end diplomatic relations with Iran," Rama said in a video statement sent to the media.

"This extreme response ... is fully proportionate to the gravity and risk of the cyberattack that threatened to paralyze public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication and stir chaos and insecurity in the country," Rama said.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3860276/albania-cuts-iran-ties-orders-diplomats-go-after-cyberattack.

Russia's use of Iranian drones in Ukraine hints at reliance on Iran

Anton Mardasov

October 4, 2022

The use of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by Russian forces in Ukraine has ceased to be taboo in Russian society.

Officials continue to call news about Iranian drone deliveries to Russia "artificially promoted" "fakes," but the Russian press writes about it quite freely and without hesitation, despite current laws that prohibit disseminating data about the army that contradict official ones.

Moreover, even the Russian Ministry of Defense — an agency whose representatives call any major retreat a "regrouping" without blinking an eye — has begun to acknowledge problems in equipping the troops with nationally developed drones. Thus, at the end of September, Col. Igor Ischuk, a representative of the Defense Ministry, stated directly that most Russian UAVs do not meet the tactical and technical requirements of the agency, which as a result "has to go to simplification, to additional approvals, to acceptance of drones for pilot operation."

However, even such statements do not mean that in the near future Moscow or Tehran will admit the obvious and thereby confirm rumors of a growing military-technical partnership.

First, due to the length of the front line, the massive use of artillery by both sides and the Ukrainians' use of air defense assets in ambush mode, any drones are expendable material. Russia still has not acknowledged the use of Iskander operational-tactical missiles against Georgia in 2008, despite ample proof. Therefore, it is rather naïve to believe that photos and videos with remnants of the Iranian MD550 engine from the Shahed-136 kamikaze drones will convince the Kremlin to make any public acknowledgment.

Second, even the Chinese civilian DJI quadcopters purchased en masse for Russian troops do not immediately find themselves on the front lines, because it takes time to hack to disable the transponder that gives out the operator's location. In the case of the Iranian UAVs, the time lag between receipt of the shipment and delivery to the frontline is used for repainting, namely to apply Russian markings and flight numbers. Incidentally, this repainting trick was first used by Moscow when moving MiG-29 fighter jets to Libya via Iran and Syria to support Khalifa Hifter.

Third, in May 2022, in order to promote its drone diplomacy, Iran opened a factory in Dushanbe to produce Ababil-2 UAVs. Hypothetically, given Tajikistan's membership in the Russian integration association of the CSTO, this makes it even easier to dissolve Iranian drones in the Russian fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles. All the more so because the Ababil-2 reconnaissance UAVs, based on a number of videos, can already be used by Russian troops in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, the saturation of Russian forces with Iranian drones does not mean that Russia has developed a clear concept for using these UAVs in combination with its own. Judging by the fact that Russian military transport aviation has only recently joined flights to Iran, it is possible that the number and quantity of UAVs purchased are being adjusted as they are used in the Ukrainian sub-theater.

In addition, the preparation of Russian drone operators took place at an accelerated pace in Iran, and the final period of training in the use of Shahed-136 (renamed Geran-2 or Geranium-2 by Russia) appears to be taking place already in Ukraine. For example, Russian experts attribute the loss of the Iranian Mohajer-6 drone, which can perform combat missions and act as a navigator for Shahed-136 loitering munitions, to pilot error due to lack of experience in their use.

According to media reports, the Russian military is using Iranian UAVs to strike targets both on the line of contact and deep inside Ukrainian territory at a range of several dozens of kilometers. However, according to Russian servicemen themselves with whom Al-Monitor spoke, expectations that the Shahed-136 kamikaze drones would be used en masse against mobile Ukrainian artillery brigades with American HIMARS artillery missile systems and M777 howitzers and French CAESARs have not yet materialized.

Theoretically, if Shahed-136 did not find a suitable target in the search area with the help of onboard electro-optics, it is sent to attack a stationary target with known coordinates, experts say. However, the shortage of precision-guided weapons, restrictions on the operation of attack aircraft in the operational depths of Ukraine's defense, and problems with the quality and quantity of technical reconnaissance equipment force the Russian military to use Iranian UAVs mainly as a replacement for cruise and tactical missiles for strikes against stationary targets that do not require reconnaissance check. In particular, it is known that Shahed-136 loitering munitions together with Russian Lancet-3 kamikaze drones were used to hit an air defense command post and a fuel storage facility in Ochakiv and the headquarters of the operational command South in Odessa.

Overall, the Ukrainian war not only highlighted numerous problems within the Russian army, which at the time of the invasion of Ukraine relied heavily on the experience of the "parade" campaign in Syria, but it also moved Russian generals and officers in relations with Iranian ones from the category of instructors to trainees. Due to the huge and, most importantly, unplanned consumption of ammunition, the Russian military is also interested in replenishing its stockpiles with shells and bullets of various calibers, which are serially produced at Iranian factories. This seemingly insignificant change at the grassroots level of military cooperation actually reflects a breakdown in the previous system of relations between Moscow and Tehran. Previously, it was the Kremlin that decided how deeply to strengthen cooperation with the Iranian clerical leadership in order not to upset the balance in relations with the West and Israel.

Now, given the dire consequences of the failed blitzkrieg in Ukraine, Moscow is essentially in a position where Tehran can already decide what it wants from Russia.

Representatives of the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani expressed a desire to have Russian Su-30 fighters, while the officials working under current President Ebrahim Raisi are in favor of buying more modern Su-35 fighters. In previous years, Moscow had shown little willingness to supply Iran with such sophisticated military hardware and apparently made this process conditional on the outcome of the negotiations on the nuclear deal. Today, with relations with the West in an acute crisis and negotiations on the nuclear deal revival essentially deadlocked, attitudes toward Iranian supplies are being reconsidered. Therefore, it is likely that in the future Iran may indeed receive Russian Su-35 fighter jets, which have not been delivered to Egypt.

At the same time, it is possible that Russia will try to rectify its position and present its current dependence on Iran as a temporary necessity. For instance, Moscow could offer Tehran joint programs to modernize existing drone models, highlighting such shortcomings as low speed, visual and acoustic visibility, which, logically, should be corrected. But here, too, the Kremlin is capable of falling into a trap. If Russian imports of Iranian UAVs do not bother Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Israel much, then the joint Russian-Iranian modernization of drones, based on the experience of a large-scale rather than local conflict, will be perceived extremely painfully, even taking into account the limited industrial capabilities of Russian enterprises specializing in UAV production.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/10/russias-use-iranian-drones-ukraine-hints-reliance-iran.

Iran to Launch Drone Drills

Wednesday, 24 August, 2022

Iran's armed forces will on Wednesday launch large scale drone drills across the country involving 150 unmanned aerial vehicles to show off its “power”, state media reported Tuesday.

“The accuracy and power of weapons... the capabilities of guidance and control systems and the combat capabilities of drones are among the things that will be tested and evaluated in this exercise,” deputy coordinator of the armed forces Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the state broadcaster.

“This is the first time that a joint drone exercise is conducted at the level of the four forces of the republic of Iran's army and the country's joint air defense base,” he added.

No details were given as to how long the exercises would last.

Iran started developing drones in the 1980s during its eight-year war with Iraq.

“This is only a part of the drone power of... Iran's army, which is carrying out operations in various reconnaissance, surveillance and combat missions,” Sayyari added.

The drills will take place “from the warm waters of the Gulf and the Sea of Oman in the south, to the eastern, western, northern and central parts of the country,” he said.

Iran's army unveiled its first division of ships and submarines capable of carrying armed drones in July when US President Joe Biden was touring the Middle East.

In May, state television broadcast footage of an air base for drones under the Zagros mountain range in the west of the country.

Iran’s drone program has sparked international concern over its supplying of the aircraft to its regional proxy militias, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and armed factions in Iraq and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The US and Israel, arch-enemies of Iran, have previously accused Tehran of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.

Washington said in July that Iran plans to deliver “hundreds of drones” to Russia to aid its war on Ukraine, an accusation Tehran dismissed as “baseless”.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3834046/iran-launch-drone-drills.

Iran unveils underground drone base

Tehran (AFP)

May 28, 2022

Iranian state television on Saturday broadcast footage of an air force base for drones under the Zagros mountain range in the west of the country.

The exact location of the base was not revealed, although the TV reporter said he travelled on a helicopter for nearly 40 minutes from the city of Kermanshah to reach it.

Iran started developing drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in the 1980s during its eight-year war with Iraq.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of dispatching fleets of drones to its proxies in the Middle East, including Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, the regime of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Video aired on state television showed Iran's armed forces chief of staff General Mohammad Bagheri and army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi visiting the underground site.

"More than 100 combat, reconnaissance and attack drones belonging to the army are kept for operations in this base located in the heart of the Zagros mountains," the report said.

Bagheri, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, described the site as a "safe operational base for strategic drones".

"We never underestimate threats, we never assume the enemy is asleep, and we are constantly alert and vigilant," he added.

Mousavi told state television the base was located "several hundred meters (yards) underground", without giving further details.

State TV said the flagship of the fleet was the "Kaman-22", a drone equipped with missiles and able to fly at least 2,000 kilometers (1,245 miles).

The US Treasury slapped sanctions on the drone program of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October last year.

It accused the Guards of being behind a September 2019 drone strike on a Saudi oil refinery, as well as a July 2021 drone attack on a commercial ship off the coast of Oman that killed two crewmen.

Iran denied the charges.

Source: Space War.

Link: https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_unveils_underground_drone_base_999.html.

US House Passes Stop Iranian Drones Act

Friday, 29 April, 2022

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act (SIDA) to end its drone program and impose sanctions on its supporters.

The bill was approved by 424 votes against two and required approval from the Senate and a presidential signature to become law.

Republicans Tom Massie and Marjorie Greene were against the bill.

The bill promises to punish those who deal with the Iranian regime in the drones' program under the US Sanctions on conventional weapons.

Democratic Representative Ted Deutsch tweeted: "time, and again, Iran has used UAVs to threaten global stability and US interests. Congress countered this destabilizing behavior today and passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act."

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said the Act would stop Iran or Iranian allies from acquiring combat drones that could be used against US troops or US allies.

Alleging that Iran is "the world's leading exporter of terrorism," Stefanik said the world should know Washington will "use every tool at its disposal to cut off Iran's access to deadly weapons."

The legislators spoke of the importance of approving such a draft as Iran uses the drones to spread panic in the Middle East and attack US forces, Israel, and allies in the region.

They urged the Senate to pass the exact version of the bill quickly ahead of sending it for signing at the White House.

Last December, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, warned of the danger of drones against the US and its allies in the Middle East.

McCaul said that "these attacks are intolerable" whether Iran launches the attack, the Houthis, Iran-backed militia groups, or other Iran-sponsored entities.

"The people of the Middle East, including Americans living there, cannot live in freedom, stability, or prosperity under assault by Iran's drones," said McCaul.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks pointed out that the "deadly drones in the hands of the world's greatest exporter of terrorism, Iran, jeopardizes the security of the United States and regional peace."

He asserted that the recent Iranian drone attacks on US troops, commercial shipping vessels, regional partners, and the export of drone technology to conflict zones pose a dire threat.

The Democratic representative stressed that the bill sends a strong signal to the international community that it supports the Iranian drone program and will not be tolerated by the US government.

The senators pledged to expedite the bill's approval, which was put forward by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez, and its top Republican, Jim Risch, in December.

The lawmakers behind the proposed legislation say it clarifies that US sanctions on Iran's conventional weapons program under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) include the supply, sale, or transfer to or from Iran of drones, which can be used in attacks against the US or its allies.

"Iran's increasing reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles to attack US personnel and assets across the Middle East and shipping vessels, commercial facilities, and regional partners is a serious and growing menace to regional stability," said Menendez.

He warned that Iran's reckless export of this technology to proxies across the region represents a significant threat to human lives.

"We must do more to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior as we continue to confront the threat of its nuclear program."

Risch said the US must do more to halt "Iran's regional terrorism," as "we saw with recent Iranian-sponsored drone attacks on American troops and the Iraqi Prime Minister, as well as the constant attacks on Saudi Arabia."

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3619136/us-house-passes-stop-iranian-drones-act.

Spain to Extradite Turkish Citizen Suspected of Smuggling Banned Gear to Iran

Wednesday, 20 April, 2022

Spain's high court has agreed to extradite to the United States a Turkish citizen suspected of smuggling to Iran equipment that can be used in making missiles, circumventing an arms embargo, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Spanish police arrested Murat Bukey in the Barcelona airport in September at the request of US prosecutors, who suspect him of importing from the United States and selling in Iran fuel cells that can be used in powering ballistic missiles and biodetection in 2012 and 2013, the court said.

Iran was then under a UN arms embargo that banned imports of missile components and technologies. The embargo expired in 2020, but Iran remains under US economic sanctions.

In its ruling the court said Bukey had "falsely declared the material wouldn't be exported to Iran". He is also accused of money laundering.

During the extradition hearing, Bukey's lawyers argued the US statute of limitations had run out on the alleged offenses and that they had been allegedly committed while he was in Turkey, not in the United States.

Still, his lawyer, Llorenc Caldentey Morey, said he was not appealing against the decision. Bukey will remain in custody pending the approval of the extradition by the Spanish government.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3602881/spain-extradite-turkish-citizen-suspected-smuggling-banned-gear-iran.

Iran Vows to Avenge the Death of 2 IRGC Members in Syria

Thursday, 10 March, 2022

Israel awaits with anticipation Iran's retaliation for the airstrike on Syria that killed four people on Monday, including two of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Syrian state media said that two civilians were killed during the attack, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said they were two Syrian militants fighting with pro-Iran militias.

The Observatory said the two dead Iranians killed were affiliated with al-Quds Force. Six militiamen were also wounded, it added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said revenge for Monday's strike will be taken, adding that holding Israel accountable for such attacks "is one of the main goals of the resistance (forces) in the region."

The IRGC's Sepah News website said: "Guard colonels Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saidnejad were martyred, a crime committed by the Zionist regime, during a rocket attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Syria, yesterday morning."

The site stated that Israel would "pay for this crime."

The strike's target was an ammunition depot operated by Iran-backed militias near Damascus international airport.

SOHR said Israel has carried out raids in Syria at least seven times this year.

Iran is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's strongest ally in the conflict. The Syrian army and thousands of Iranian-backed militants are fighting the Syrian opposition, backed by the Russian air force.

According to Walla's military correspondent, Israel is aware of Iran's determination to respond to the killing of the two IRGC members.

The Israeli army raised the state of alert and readiness of its units operating the "Iron Dome" systems along the border with Syria and stated that it was preparing for a possible missile attack from Syria.

In April, Iran admitted to casualties among its forces during an Israeli attack on sites in Syria, including seven fighters killed in an attack on T4 airport east of Homs. A month later, Iran responded with a barrage of missiles fired by armed militia at Israeli sites.

The Quds Force unofficial Telegram channel reported that Iran retaliated for the death of its members at the Syrian T4 base after an Israeli raid that killed seven Iranian forces in 2018.

The channel reported that Tehran responded by bombing an Israeli base in the occupied Golan with fifty missiles, noting that Israelis did not report the attack and the damage incurred.

Several Israeli experts admitted that the firing of 50 missiles from Syria at Israeli bases was an unprecedented matter that surprised observers.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3522911/iran-vows-avenge-death-2-irgc-members-syria.

Russia Links Iran Nuclear Deal to Ukraine Sanctions

Saturday, 5 March, 2022

Russia said on Saturday that it wanted written guarantees from the United States that sanctions on Russia would not damage its cooperation with Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal with global powers that Tehran and Washington are seeking to revive.

"We need a guarantee that these sanctions will not in any way touch the regime of trade-economic and investment relations which is laid down in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

"We have asked for a written guarantee ... that the current process triggered by the United States does not in any way damage our right to free and full trade, economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation with the Islamic Republic."

Russia's demand is "not constructive" for talks between Tehran and global powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Saturday.

"Russians had put this demand on table since two days ago. There is an understanding that by changing its position in Vienna talks Russia wants to secure its interests in other places. This move is not constructive for Vienna nuclear talks," said the official in Tehran.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3513256/russia-links-iran-nuclear-deal-ukraine-sanctions.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Unveil Two Missile, Drone Bases

Sunday, 6 March, 2022

Iran's Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled two new missile and drone tunnel bases, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

“The two underground missile bases house ground-to-ground missile systems with advanced equipment, as well as attack drones penetrating the enemy's radar and defense networks,” said state media.

The Tasnim news agency reported that IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami and IRGC commander of Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh attended the inauguration ceremony of the two underground bases.

The IRGC names underground missile bases as Missile Cities.

Tasnim's report said the new base boasts homegrown drones with a range of 2,000 kilometers, twin missile launch platforms, and platforms for the launch of multiple drones.

It added that a combination of accuracy and quality in the employment of the new military systems was put on display in a massive exercise held in December 2021.

The IRGC had declared its ability to launch 60 drones simultaneously, according to Reuters.

Saturday’s unveiling comes days after Iran suffered another failed launch of a satellite-carrying rocket.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies seen by The Associated Press showed scorch marks at a launchpad at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan province.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3514161/iran%E2%80%99s-revolutionary-guards-unveil-two-missile-drone-bases.

Russia will not allow Syria to be arena for Israel-Iran conflict, says Lavrov

January 21, 2021

Russia's Foreign Minister insists that Moscow refuses to allow Syria to be used as an arena for confrontation between Israel and Iran, as tensions continue to escalate in the country with Israeli air strikes on Iranian targets. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Sergey Lavrov assured Israel that Russia would not allow threats and attacks to be directed towards the occupation state from Syria.

"Our dear Israeli colleagues," said Lavrov, "if you have facts that your state is facing threats from Syrian territory, report the facts urgently and we will take every measure to neutralize the threat."

Lavrov's assurances followed a series of major air strikes by the Israelis on Iranian military sites within Syria. Israel has been targeting these regularly over the past few years in efforts to prevent the strengthening of Iran's presence in the war-torn country.

The Russian Foreign Minister added that his country will not "chase" the US military out of Syria, nor will it engage in hostilities despite being opposed to its presence. US troops are largely based in south-east and east Syria where they guard the oilfields in Deir Ez-Zor province.

Lavrov reiterated that although Russia will not attack the US military, it will not engage in any dialogue with Washington on a political or diplomatic level with regard to Syria.

"We have contacts with the United States through military channels," he explained, "not because we acknowledge the legitimacy of their presence in Syria, but simply because they must act within the framework of specific rules."

While Russia supports the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the US largely supports the Kurdish militias in the north-east of the country along with some elements of the opposition, Iran has also been a key supporter of Assad. However, Tehran but is often seen as a threat to Moscow's interests and influence in the country.

Moscow and Tehran have been seen as competitors for long-term interests in terms of their relations with the Assad regime, their economic stakes in the country and their military involvement. While both have assisted the regime militarily throughout the ongoing civil war – Russia in aerial power and mercenaries, and Iran in its funding of Damascus and the deployment of Shia militias – they have developed different economic strategies within the country, especially for the post-conflict period.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210121-russia-will-not-allow-syria-to-be-arena-for-israel-iran-conflict-says-lavrov/.