IRAN
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IAEA
Reports Production of Higher Amount Uranium of Elevated Purity
International
Atomic Energy Agency in
its quarterly, confidential report on November 17, 2021 said that Iran
had now 39 pounds of uranium with purity level up to 60%, an
increase of 17.6 pounds compared to what had been reported in August
2021.
Third Meeting between IAEA, Iran in Nine Months Days before Crucial Talks
International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Mariano Grossi on November 23, 2021 met with the new chief of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran at Tehran, Mohammad Eslami, pressing for full access to surveillance images and broader cooperation. The appointment of Eslami to head the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran is a big gamble for President Ebrahim Raisi because the U.N. had imposed sanctions on him in 2008 for "providing support for for Iran's proliferation" of sensitive nuclear activities.
Chief Iranian Negotiator Lays out Conditions for Re-joining JCPOA
In an Op-Ed piece in the Financial Times on November 28, 2021, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's deputy foreign minister and the official heading the upcoming talks in Vienna scheduled to resume on November 29, 2021, stressed that the west should provide the "guarantee" and "verification" for "removal of all post-JCPOA sanctions". The indirect talks between Tehran and Washington are being facilitated by other JCPOA signatories.
Seventh-Round Talks Begin after a Hiatus of Five Months
After a gap of five months, the nuclear negotiation between Iran on one hand and officials from the U.K., EU, France, Germany, Russia and China on the other resumed talks on November 29, 2021 on Tehran's re-joining the JCPOA. Last round, the sixth round, was held in June 2021, and Iran's political landscape since then had changed significantly and grown more complex with the election of a more conservative president. The negotiation is being held at Vienna's posh Palais Coburg Hotel. A U.S. delegation led by the special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, is staying at a nearby hotel and is getting updated by officials from other nations. EU diplomat Enrique Mora told reporters on November 29, 2021 that "I feel positive that we can be doing important things" to bring Iran and U.S. to underneath JCPOA umbrella.
Five-day Talks End with No Concrete Results; Israel Asks the World to Get Tough with Tehran
After the five-day talks (November 29-December 3, 2021) at Vienna to bring both the U.S. and Iran to the underneath the umbrella of JCPOA framework ended without much to show to the rest of the world, U.S. and its western allies complained about Tehran's lack of sincerity during the negotiation in the latest round that resumed after a five-month hiatus and after a more conservative administration had taken the helms of affairs in Iran. Only agreement reached at the end of this round was to continue with the talks in the coming days. Israeli cabinet has met on December 5, 2021, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is sending two high-level Cabinet officials to Washington D.C. to discuss with the Biden administration officials as part of nudging them to get tough with Iran.
Iraq Calls for Direct U.S.-Iran Talks on the eve of Nuclear Talks Resumption
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on December 23, 2021 called for direct U.S. and Iran talks, stressing its need not only for bringing the countries under the JCPOA framework, but also for addressing other issues such as economic sanctions. Hussein made the comment at Tehran after meeting his Iranian counterpart, and emphasized the direct talks between the adversaries as a boon to "Iraq's internal situation from political, economic and security perspectives".
Eighth Round of Talks Resumes with Iran Demanding the Oil Exports Sanctions to be Lifted
The eighth round of negotiation resumed on December 27, 2021 at Vienna, with Iran demanding that the export ban on its crude, imposed in the afterwards of Former President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw the USA from the JCPOA, be lifted. Enrique Mora, the EU diplomat who is chairing the talks, emphasized the "difficult political decisions" to be taken by all sides in the "days and weeks ahead".
Blinken Signs Waivers to Civilian Nuke Sanctions
As negotiators are heading back to Vienna to talk on Iran's nuclear program in an effort to bring back Tehran underneath the umbrella of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, or Iran Nuclear Agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on February 4, 2022 extended hands of friendship by signing off a flurry of waivers that would restore the needed relief to Iran's civilian nuclear program. After Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018, he had revoked the relief measures key to Tehran's civilian nuclear program in May 2020. Many companies in Russia, China and Europe were collaborators in Iran's civilian nuclear program, and after Trump revoked the relief to Iran's civilian nuclear program, sanctions were imposed to deter these companies from collaborating with Tehran. With February 4, 2022, signing of several waivers, hopefully a more conducive environment is created that will brighten the prospect for narrowing the gap.
Blinken's Waivers of Sanctions not Sufficient, Iranian Foreign Minister Says
Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said on February 5, 2022 that Anthony Blinken's signing off of several waivers to Iran's civilian nuclear program, though, was welcome, but not sufficient for breaking the stalemate in the ongoing Vienna negotiation.
Iran's Stockpile of Higher-grade Uranium Increases
In the quarterly report to all member states, International Atomic Energy Agency on March 3, 2022 said that Iran had produced 73.1 pounds of Uranium of 60% purity level.
Iran Nuclear Talks Go on Pause after Russia Demands Sanctions Relief
The ongoing negotiation at Vienna as part of bringing United States and Iran into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, received a setback on March 11, 2022 as Russia raised demand that sanctions imposed on it after it had invaded Ukraine should be lifted first. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell tweeted that the talks went for a pause because of "external" demands.
Qatar's Emir Pushes to Resume Nuclear Talks
That Qatar plays a very important role in Persian Gulf because of its cordial relationship both with Tehran and Washington has put the tiny Gulf state as a regional pivot to bring Iran and the United States into the JCPOA framework, and as part of that effort, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on May 12, 2022 has met with the Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi, at Tehran to push for jumpstarting the stalled talks. Official IRNA quoted Thani saying that the "negotiation is the solution of the problem".
Iran Cuts Camera Functions after IAEA Board Censures Tehran
The cascade of tit-for-tat actions began on June 8, 2022 as the IAEA's Board of Governors censured Iran for not co-operating with the agency over uranium traces at three undisclosed sites. The censure motion, though, was opposed by Russia and China. On June 9, 2022, Tehran inexplicably turned off 27 cameras at its nuclear facilities.
U.S., Iran to Try on Reviving the Nuclear Accord
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are heading to Doha on June 27, 2022 to try for one more time to get the process to bring Tehran and Washington under the JCPOA on track. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on June 27, 2022 expressed hope at Doha, Qatar that this "round of talks" would hopefully yield to a "final point of an agreement".
U.S. Begins Indirect Talks with Iran
U.S. and Iran began their latest indirect negotiation on June 28, 2022 aimed at restoring and reviving the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, at Doha.
Talks End Inconclusively
On June 29, 2022, negotiators wrapped up the latest round of two-day talks at Doha. U.S. and Iran are still separated by handful of thorny issues, preventing them from re-joining JCPOA.
Latest Round Wraps up with Text to be Discussed at World Capitals
On August 8, 2022, parties wrapped up the latest negotiation in Vienna, and whatever had to be negotiated were negotiated. The diplomats are taking with them a common document to their respective capitals for further discussions with their leaders.
Iran Claims 60% Nuclear Enrichment Purity at an Underground Facility
Iran on November 22, 2022 (Tuesday) claimed that it had enriched uranium to 60% purity level at the underground Fordo facility. Tehran has said that the action is in response to IAEA's last week's resolution calling for cooperation by Tehran in investigating the man-made uranium traces at three undisclosed sites. IAEA also called for full access to all of Iran's nuclear facilities. U.K., Germany and France issued a joint statement after Tehran's declaration of 60% enrichment, and the joint statement called the Iranian action unacceptable and a "challenge to global non-proliferation system".
Iran's Key Website Acknowledges Bloomberg Report
That what Bloomberg reported on February 19, 2023 that IAEA inspectors had detected 84% Uranium enrichment in Iran was on February 23, 2023 acknowledged by none other than Nour News, an Iranian media outlet often considered as the mouthpiece of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. IAEA didn't deny the Bloomberg report, instead saying that the "IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of a recent agency verification activities".
Iran Agrees to Closer Scrutiny
After a visit to Tehran by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to ease the current tension amidst the recent revelation that Iran had enriched Uranium as high as 84% at its Fordo nuclear facility, Iran agreed to a closer inspection regime by the IAEA inspectors and making the IAEA cameras at various facilities operational, according to a plan shared on March 4, 2023 by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. Earlier this week, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi identified the Fordo facility as the site where inspectors had found traces of 84% enriched Uranium.
Iran Advancing to Inflection Point, IAEA Reports
According to a report carried on May 27, 2024 by The Associated Press, International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that as of May 11, 2024, Iran's nuclear program had achieved 313.2 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60% purity level, an increase of 45.4 pounds compared to the agency's February 2024 estimate. Total uranium quantity in the program also increased by 1489.8 pounds to 13,671.5 pounds as of May 11, 2024 compared to February 2024. The IAEA report is a wake-up call for the international community as, according to nuclear experts, it takes 92.5 pounds of 60% pure Uranium to build a nuclear bomb if the materials are purified to 90% threshold.
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Iran Launches Rocket amidst Eighth-Round Nuclear Talks
An Iranian defense ministry spokesperson, Ahmad Hosseini, said on December 30, 2021 that a rocket, Simorgh, had been launched with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space. The date of the launch was not revealed, but the announcement coincided with the eighth-round nuclear talks currently being held in Vienna aimed at bringing Iran under the umbrella of JCPOA. It's not clear that the payload has been able to place three devices in the appropriate orbit(s).
Two British-Iranian Prisoners Freed
In what could be a precursor to a renewal of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, two British-Iranian prisoners were freed on March 16, 2022, and they were en route U.K. The release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, who has been handed a five-year prison sentence in 2016, and Anoosheh Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, accused of being a Mossad agent, augers well for the British-Iranian relations and comes after Britain has settled a $524 million debt with Iran. Ratcliffe spent five years in prison, and subsequently, was released to house arrest at her parents' house in Tehran.
U.S. Treasury Slaps Sanctions for Recent Attacks in Iraq, Saudi, UAE
U.S. Treasury Department on March 30, 2022 announced sanctions on Iranian targets for recent missile attacks on the Kurdish city of Irbil, energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and UAE by Tehran-backed proxies in Iraq and Yemen. U.S. Treasury targeted (1) an Iranian procurer and his companies involved in obtaining propellant-related materials for Iran's ballistic research program; (2) an Iranian defense firm; and (3) an Iranian intermediary involved in obtaining Iran's missile propellant.
Iranian President Vows Revenge to Guard Official's Assassination
Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, on May 23, 2022 vowed to seek revenge from the powers of "global arrogance" for the killing of a senior Revolutionary Guard official. On May 22, 2022, two gunmen on a motorbike pulled close to the vehicle of Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei's vehicle and opened fire on a Tehran street, killing the colonel. Pillion riders fled the scene.
Two Greek Oil Tankers Seized
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on May 27, 2022 seized two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, days after an Iran-bound vessel trying to skirt international sanctions had been seized in the Mediterranean Sea by the U.S. with the help from Greece.
Iran Acknowledges Seizing Oil from Greek Tankers
Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on June 4, 2022 that Iran's Revolutionary Guards had taken possession of the oil from two Greek tankers seized in the Persian Gulf on May 27, 2022. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged it during a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of the founder of Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Iran Launches a Solid-fuel Rocket into Space on June 26, 2022.
**************************************** JOHN BOLTON ASSASSINATION PLOT
Revolutionary Guard-linked Iranian Indicted on Attempting to Murder Bolton
U.S. Justice Department on August 10, 2022 indicted an Iranian deeply tied to the country's Revolutionary Guard on the charges related to murder-for-hire that targeted former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Assistant Attorney-General Mathew Olsen said that "this was not an idle threat" as Shahram Poursafi had plotted to kill Bolton in the Fall of 2021 by hiring an assassin and paying about $300,000 to get the job done.
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Official on Bolton Assassination Plot
U.S. Treasury on June 1, 2023 slapped sanctions against Revolutionary Guard official Shahram Poursafi and others as well as a company tied to Iran's Quds Force and two senior officials of Iran's Intelligence Organization for 2021 plot to kill Trump-era National Security Adviser John Bolton as a revenge to the January 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
**************************************** JOHN BOLTON ASSASSINATION PLOT
**************************** IRAN PROTESTS MAHSA AMINI'S DEATH **************
Protests Spread across Iran over Woman's Death in Custody; West Lodges Strong Condemnation
That most of the Iranian women feel frustrated by the morality police's high-ended intervention in the so called inappropriate female dress code cases has been displayed violently when an Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, has been detained on September 13, 2022 in Tehran for not complying with the appropriate dress code and her death in custody three days later has stoked violent outbursts. The protest erupted in the northwestern Kurdish region immediately after the reports of Amini's September 16, 2022, death had poured in. The protest spread to other regions over the next three days (September 17-19, 2022), including Tehran. On September 20, 2022, U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif demanded on September 20, 2022 that "Mahsa Amini's tragic death and allegation of torture" require a thorough and detailed investigation by "an independent and competent authority". Iranian authorities said that Mahsa Amini had succumbed due to natural causes. U.S. called for an end to the "systemic persecution" of Iranian women. Italy also issued condemnation to Amini's death and follow-up repression of protesters in Tehran and beyond.
Between 9 and 17 Killed in Iran Unrest
The protest that had erupted on September 17, 2022 in the aftermath of death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by country's morality police on September 13, 2022 for not maintaining the dress protocol, in the police custody had spread to several additional cities and towns as well as grown in intensity. The clashes between protesters and security forces left at least 9 people dead, according to media reports, but Iran's state TV on September 22, 2022 reported death toll as high as 17. Iran's Revolutionary Guard on September 22, 2022 asked the judiciary to take harsh measures against people who would spread "rumor and fake news on social media". The access to social media platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp has been curtailed significantly. Meanwhile, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran's morality police.
At least 41 Reported Killed
Iranian state TV on September 24, 2022 reported that at least 41 demonstrators and police personnel had been killed in the ensuing violence that had erupted on September 17, 2022 in the aftermath of Mahsa Amini's September 16, 2022, death in police custody. Amini was arrested by Iran's morality police on September 13, 2022 for not appropriately wearing hijab. Iran's Revolutionary Guard on September 24, 2022 issued a statement, describing the ongoing unrest a result of a "conspiracy". U.S. Treasury on September 22, 2022 imposed sanctions on Iran's morality police in addition to seven senior leaders of the country's military, intelligence and law enforcement units.
Poles Apart Reaction from Two Key Voices in Iran over Protest
Contrasting voices emerged in Iran over the continuing and growing protest that had erupted on September 17, 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by Iran's "morality police" on September 13, 2022 for not wearing hijab appropriately, as Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, a top Iranian cleric, on September 25, 2022 urged the authorities to exercise caution when dealing with demonstrators and listen to them. The comment from Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani is opposite from what Iranians have heard on September 27, 2022 from a key hardline lawmaker from Tehran, Mahmoud Nabavian, who called the women participating in demonstrations as "prostitutes". Many women cut off their hairs in protest against excesses of "morality police". The protest spread to many European capitals, U.S. cities and throughout Middle East. Amnesty International called for an independent and impartial investigation.
Legislative Head Warns Demonstrators; Calls for Harsh Action to Curb Protests
Iran's parliament speaker told the lawmakers on October 2, 2022 that the ongoing demonstrations over Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of the nation's "morality police" were orchestrated at "overthrowing" the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the parliamentary speaker, called for harsh measures to quell the ongoing protest that had erupted on September 17, 2022 and killed, according to the Iranian state TV, at least 41 people. The Associated Press estimated at least 14 deaths and arrests of more than 1,500 people.
Iran's Supreme Leader Sees American, Israeli Hands behind Unrest
On October 3, 2022, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed U.S. and Israel for fomenting unrest in the Persian Gulf nation.
President Decries Protests, but Acknowledges Islamic Republic's "Weaknesses"
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on October 4, 2022 acknowledged "weaknesses and shortcomings" of the Islamic Republic, but called for "national unity".
Suspicious Death of a Teenage Girl Adds Fuel to Fire
The Washington Post reported on October 6, 2022 that people began to get more information of another tragedy that Iranian authorities might have tried to hide. A 16-year-old girl, Nika Shakarami, was seen burning her hijab during a demonstration in Tehran. While returning home on September 20, 2022, she disappeared, and her family found her body days later. Her funeral was supposed to be held on October 2, 2022 at a village west of Tehran, but authorities buried her at another cemetery miles away from the village. Her aunt was detained by the police. The entire episode added another layer of anger for millions of Iranians who are attending daily protests across the Persian Gulf nation.
Anti-regime Protest Steps in the Fourth Week
On October 8, 2022, anti-government protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's "morality police" entered the fourth week, with intense demonstrations being staged in the nation's Kurdish-dominated northwestern city of Sanandaj, capital of northwestern Kurdistan Province, where two people were reported to have been killed. Iranian authorities allegedly have been targeting exiled Kurdish positions in Iraq too by launching airstrikes. During the day, anti-government protests were held in Tehran and northeastern city of Mashhad. In Tehran, a small demonstration was reported to have been held at the prestigious Sharif University of Technology, which had been indefinitely shut down last weekend after mass-scale protest and subsequent violence between pro- and anti-regime students.
Protests Rock at least 19 Cities amidst Internet Disruption
Protests swept through at least 19 Iranian cities, including Iran, on October 12, 2022. Plainclothes police personnel were deployed across the nation. At a rally in Tehran, many women were seen taking off their scarves, defying the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, internet access remained restricted to Iranians.
Blaze at Infamous Prison Kills 4
A towering blaze at Tehran's Evin Prison on October 15, 2022 killed four inmates, according to authorities who told on October 16, 2022 that the blaze had nothing to do with ongoing protest that had swept Tehran over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's "morality police".
Athlete's Competition without Headscarf Interpreted as Defiance
As the country is going through the political upheaval over September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of "morality police" that had triggered a violent protest movement, beginning September 17, 2022, engulfing dozens of cities and inspiring similar protests abroad, another layer of complexity has been added by an Iranian athlete, Elnaz Rekabi, 33. The athlete, Elnaz Rekabi, recently participated in the Combined Boulder and Lead event in the Asian Championship of International Federation of Sports Climbing (IFSC) at Seoul, and ranked fourth. She participated without a headscarf, stoking fear that she might be prosecuted. Many protesters see her participation without a headscarf as a subtle jab at the religious theocracy. She returned to Iran from Seoul on October 18, 2022.
Rekabi will Face no Punishment
The chief of Iran's national Olympic Committee said at Seoul on October 20, 2022 that Elnaz Rekabi would face no punishment for not wearing headscarf while participating in an event at Seoul. Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa told The Associated Press after attending a meeting of International Olympic Committee at Seoul that the issue was minor.
40th Day of Death Marked by Protesters; Gunmen Kill 15 at a Shiite Mosque
On October 26, 2022, tens of thousands of Iranians participated in rallies, processions, events and memorials throughout the nation to mark the 40th day of Mahsa Amini's death. A colorful and spirited rally walked up to her graveyard in Aichi cemetery in her Kurdish hometown of Saqez. Many women in the crowd removed their hijab in protest.
Unrelated, three gunmen on October 26, 2022 opened fire on the crowd at the third-holiest Shiite shrine in Iran, killing at least 15 people. Dozens were wounded too in the attack at the Shah Cheragh Mosque in Shiraz. Two gunmen were arrested, while the third escaped. President Ebrahim Raisi vowed tough action against killing of devout at the Shah Cherag Mosque.
Iran Accuses a Pair of Journalists of Working for CIA
Iranian government on October 28, 2022 labeled two Iranian journalists, who had first broken the story of Mahsa Amini's death to the world, as stooges of CIA. A joint statement attributed to Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the intelligence agency of Revolutionary Guard said that CIA had orchestrated the conspiracy through Niloofar Hamedi and Elahei Mohammadi. Both female journalists have been detained in September 2022 and they are now being jailed in the notorious Evin Prison.
Heavy Fighting Reported at University Campuses
The latest turn in anti-government protest stemming from September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini has crystallized around university campuses across the nation. Despite the government warning to harshly put down any demonstration beyond October 29, 2022, scores of students protested at campuses across Iran on October 30, 2022, inviting heavy security clampdown and scuffling.
Iran to Hold Public Trials of Protesters
Iranian authorities on October 31, 2022 announced that it would hold public trials of about 1,000 protesters swept up in the anti-government protest movement since September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of the nation's "morality police". Iran's judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said that some demonstrators would be charged with collaborating with foreign governments.
Commemoration Held amidst Anti-government Demonstrations
As Iran is convulsing with anti-regime protest since the September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of country's "morality police", government authorities have tried their best to whip up patriotism by commemorating several events, including the one at Tehran's Taleqani Street, on November 4, 2022 to mark the 43rd anniversary of the siege of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
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HRC to Convene on Iran's Treatment of Protesters
Germany sent a letter on November 11, 2022 to convene an emergency session of the 47-nation Human Rights Council in the week of November 21, 2022 to discuss thoroughly on the evolving and deteriorating situation in Iran since the September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of Iran's "morality police". Germany needs the approval of one-third nations to have a session which Berlin expects to get support.
HRC Condemns Iranian Crackdown
Human Rights Council on November 24, 2022 voted on a joint German-Iceland resolution that condemned Tehran's crackdown on peaceful protesters and called for an independent fact-finding mission. The vote was 25 in favor of the resolution, six opposed it and 16 abstained. China, Pakistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Venezuela and Armenia opposed the resolution.
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Three Iranian Security Officials Slapped with Sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Two Days after Five Deaths
As Iran was going through an anti-government upheaval that began after September 16, 2022, death of a Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, three days after her detention by morality police in Tehran, where she was visiting, for not wearing the hijab compliantly, Iranian security apparatus' harsh crackdown invited several western sanctions in recent days. The latest one is on November 23, 2022 as the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on three Iranian security officials--Hassan Asgari, Alireza Moradi and Mohammad Taghi Osanloo--for "severe security response". The U.S. Treasury's sanctions were announced two days after Iranian security forces opened fire on demonstrators on November 21, 2022 at a Kurdish town in western Iran, killing five demonstrators, who were participating in a funeral of two people who had been killed by security forces a day earlier.
"Morality Police" Dismantled
The semi-official IRNA on December 3, 2022 reported that the authorities decided to dismantle country's "morality police".
Iran Executes Protester
Iran on December 8, 2022 said that it had carried out the death penalty against Mohsen Shekari, who had participated in the nationwide protest in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of "morality police".
Second Protester Executed
A second protester was executed in the early morning of December 12, 2022 at the northeastern city of Mashhad, sending a chilling message to the participants of the anti-government protest movement that had erupted since the September 16, 2022, death of Masha Amini under the custody of Iran's notorious "morality police". Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, was accused of stabbing two security personnel to death during an anti-regime demonstration on November 17, 2022. Four days prior to Rahnavard's execution, Mohsen Shekari was executed for an attack on the security forces. Since Mahsa Amini's death, anti-regime protest had spread throughout the country, inviting a brutal state crackdown that had led to deaths of more than 500 and detention of about 18,000 protesters, according to HRANA activist news agency. Majid Reza Rahnavard was hanged from a construction crane in the public view at the dawn of December 12, 2022.
Renowned Actress Arrested
State-owned IRNA reported on December 17, 2022 that renowned Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, who played in the Oscar-winning movie The Salesman, had been arrested for expressly showing solidarity with the anti-regime movement. In her Instagram post, Taraneh Alidoosti wrote: "Every international organization who is watching the bloodshed and not taking any action, is a disgrace to humanity". Taraneh Alidoosti is the latest in a series of high-profile arrests in recent months. In November 2002, Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, two Iranian actresses, were arrested for their support to protesters. A national soccer player, Voria Ghafouri, was arrested too. All three have since been released.
Ex-Soccer Player's Family Barred from Leaving the Country
A Mahan Air flight, en route from Tehran to Dubai, was forced to land in Iran's Kish Island, 124 miles from Dubai, on December 26, 2022, and the wife and a daughter of a former Iranian soccer star, Ali Daei, were removed from the plane. Ali Daei, who retired in 2007, was a forceful champion of the anti-government movement that had erupted after the September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of Iran's "morality police".
Actress Released on Bail
Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, who played in the Oscar-winning movie The Salesman, was on January 4, 2023 released from prison on bail.
Iran Executes Three Men
Iranian authorities on May 19, 2023 executed three men--Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi--accused of killing a law enforcement officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in the city of Isfahan in November 2022 during the anti-government protest. So far, Iranian authorities executed at least seven protesters who had participated in massive anti-government protest movement in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of the country's moral police.
Biden Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Organizations, Officials
As the world is readying to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, U.S. President Joe Biden is taking a firmer and more transparent stand to support the "courageous people of Iran who are carrying on her mission". On September 15, 2023, U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control listed 29 people and organization for sanctions. The list includes the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
**************************** IRAN PROTESTS MAHSA AMINI'S DEATH **************
17 Killed in Police Base Attack
Separate from the ongoing spontaneous anti-government demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini, an attack on a police base on September 30, 2022 at the eastern city of Zahedan in the Sistan and Baluchistan Province killed at least 17 people. The attack was blamed on Baluchi separatists.
Authorities Identify Suspects in the Attack on the Third-Holiest Shiite Shrine
That how misdirected government accusation was in the aftermath of the October 26, 2022, attack on the Shah Cheragh Mosque in Shiraz as the regime tried to imply the attack as a byproduct of an ongoing anti-regime demonstration became self-evident on November 7, 2022 as the authorities identified the three gunmen publicly. Based on an internal report, IRNA identified the gunmen as (1) Sobhan Komroumi, a Tajik, who died days after the attack, (2) Mohammad Ramez Rashidi, a fellow Afghan, and (3) a third suspect from neighboring Azerbaijan.
Construction for Second Iranian Nuclear Power Plant Begins
Iran on December 3, 2022 launched construction work to build a 300-megawatt nuclear power plant near Iraqi border in southwest Khuzestan Province. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, inaugurated the construction work in the city of Karoon. The plant is expected to be commissioned in eight years and cost about $2 billion. The plant at Karoon will be the Persian Gulf nation's second nuclear power plant. The first plant at the southern port city of Bushehr was built with Russian help and commissioned in 2011.
Iran Hangs Iranian-British National Tied to Defense Department
A former defense official with close ties to Iran's top security official Ali Shamkhani was executed on January 13, 2023 for espionage for the west. Iran accused Ali Reza Akbari of taking money, getting citizenship and receiving other favors from Britain in exchange for sharing the national security and intelligence information with Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6.
Iranian Currency Hits Lowest Level; Inflation Skyrockets
Iran's rial hit the record low level compared to the U.S. greenback on February 26, 2023, according to The Associated Press. For the first time, rial to dollar ratio plunged as low as 600,000. According to Iran's statistics agency, inflation reached 53.4% in January 2023.
President Calls the Poisoning Targeting Girls' Schools as "Crime against Humanity"
Mass poisoning targeted girls' schools since November 2022, and at least 200 girls fell sick although no fatality was reported. The first such attack emerged in the holy city of Qom in November 2022, and a string of poison attacks spread to other parts of Iran, covering 21 of 30 provinces. Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on March 4, 2023 that "suspicious samples" were obtained as part of the investigation. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told the cabinet on March 5, 2023 that the attacks constituted the "crime against humanity".
Iran, Saudi to Reestablish Diplomatic Relations
Iran and Saudi Arabia said on March 10, 2023 that the Middle East rivals would resume the diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies after a hiatus of seven years. The agreement was mediated by China during its National People's Congress session that had rewarded the five-year presidential mandate to Xi Jinping for the third term. A joint communique was issued on March 10, 2023 by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China that called for normalization of relationship, including reopening the respective embassies, to happen "within a maximum period of two months". United Nations welcomed the normalization effort and thanked China for facilitating it.
Hostage Crisis in 80s: New Information in over Reagan Campaign's Tacit Support to Delay Release
The Dallas Morning News reported in a March 22, 2023, front-page article that Former Texas Governor John Connally had requested the Arab leaders in the summer of 1980 to relay the information to Tehran to delay the release of American hostages as part of an electoral strategy to undermine Carter Presidency. John Connally's protege and Former Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, now 84, has recently told The New York Times that "history needs to know that this happened" and he wants to bring the truth, at least partly driven by the conscience to give a sense of comfort to a dying Jimmy Carter who is now receiving hospice care at home. As part of the account shared by Ben Barnes and records researched by The New York Times, Ben Barnes and his political mentor, John Connally, then-vanquished GOP Primary rival aspiring to get a cabinet position in the future Reagan administration, jetted in an oil company plane to various Arab capitals for a three-week trip (July 18-August 11, 1980) with a singular focus and common message that Iran's hostage takers who had run over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 would get more favorable negotiation terms under a future Reagan administration and, thus, should delay the release of 52 hostages. Eventually, 52 hostages spent 444 days under the captivity of Islamic Revolutionary students until their release on January 21, 1981. The news that American hostages had been subjected to prolonged detention and suffering not only under the Islamic Revolutionary students, but also as part of a vicious domestic electoral politics came as a shocker to surviving former hostages. According to Ben Barnes, William Casey, Reagan's 1980 Campaign Chair, was well aware of the concerted effort to delay the release of hostages. Both William Casey and Connally are now deceased.
Bipartisan Group of Senators Ask Biden to Ramp up Iranian Oil Seizure
A program that has launched Department of Homeland Security's Security Investigations Office is now being run under a bare-minimum operational and enforcement standard. A group of bipartisan Senators recently wrote a joint letter to President Joe Biden to allocate enough funding for the DHS Security Investigations Office that had seized $228 million of Iranian oil in high-seas chase since 2019. The letter was co-written by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Ted Cruz, R-TX; and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., respectively. The Associated Press reported about the letter on April 29, 2023. Despite punitive sanctions by the West, Iran boosted its oil exports 35% last year (2022).
Iran, Syria Signs Trade Pacts
Two months after Tehran reestablished normal relations with Saudi Arabia at the behest of China, Iran on May 3, 2023 took another leap in expanding its trade, commercial and diplomatic imprimatur by signing a series of deals in oil and other sectors with Syria to boost flailing economies of the allies. Iran played a crucial role in turning around the destiny of Syria in successfully fighting back the rebels and eventually enabled Bashar Assad to conquer and control most territories in Syria. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi led a large corps of diplomats and officials to Damascus in the first presidential visit to Syria in 13 years. Last time an Iranian president had visited Syria, it was in 2010. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Syrian President Bashar Assad signed agreements and memorandums of understanding on oil, agriculture, railways and free trade zones.
Iran Frees Two French Citizens
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on May 12, 2023 that Iran had freed one French citizen and a second individual with dual French and Irish citizenship from a prison in Mashhad. French citizen Benjamin Briere, 37, was arrested in May 2020 as he took photos from drone while touring Iran. Bernard Phelan, 64, was arrested seven months ago at the height of the anti-government movement. Phelan, a dual citizen of France and Ireland, was in Iran as a consultant for a tour company.
Iran Unveils New Hypersonic Missile, Reopens Diplomatic Mission in Saudi Arabia
Iran on June 6, 2023 has unveiled a new hypersonic missile, Fattah, that can fly 14 times faster than sound. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke at the event, lauding the new "deterrent power". The unveiling of the new hypersonic missile happened on the same day as Iran's reopening of the diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia.
Attack on the Holy Shiite Shrine Kills 1
A lone gunman reportedly attacked Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz on August 13, 2023, killing one and injuring eight others. The latest attack on one of the holiest Shiite shrines in Iran is the second in a year. In October 2022, another attack, later claimed by the Islamic State, on the same shrine killed 13 people and wounded dozens. Fars Province Governor Hadi Imanieh told the Iranian state TV that only one gunman had been involved and the gunman had been detained although no motive was known as yet.
Five Americans Released as part of a Deal to Lift U.S. Blockade of $6 billion in Asset
In a complicated deal that would lift the U.S. embargo on $6 billion in Iranian asset parked in South Korea, five Americans were released on September 18, 2023. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on hand for the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, said that it was a "step in the direction of a humanitarian action" between the archrivals. Later, at least three--Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz--disembarked from a plane in Doha and were embraced by U.S. Ambassador Timmy Davis. The other two hostages are Effie Namazi and Vida Tahbaz.
Iran Successful in Launching an Imaging Satellite
In what can be described as another significant leap in satellite and launch technology, Iran launched an imaging satellite, Noor-3, to an orbit about 280 miles above the earth, according to Iranian Communication Minister Isa Zarepour. State-owned IRNA news agency on September 27, 2023 announced the successful launch.
Twin Blasts near Slain Commander's Graveyard Kill close to 100
As people assembled near the graveyard of Former Revolutionary Guard Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani at Kerman Martyrs Cemetery in Kerman, 510 miles southeast of Tehran, to mark the fourth anniversary of the storied commander's assassination in Iraq, an explosion occurred around 3PM on January 3, 2024. About 20 minutes later as the crowd was fleeing, there was a second explosion that might have inflicted heavier damage. At least 95 people were killed in the twin bombings and hundreds more wounded.
Iranian Leaders Link U.S., Israel to Twin Blasts
A day after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings at Kerman, Iranian leaders on January 5, 2023 tied the Islamic State-orchestrated twin blasts to Israel and the U.S. as bereaved families conducted funerals and last rites for 90 or so dead.
Iran Launches Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq; Claims to Have Targeted IS, Mossad
Apparently in response to the January 3, 2024, twin bombings at Kerman Martyrs Cemetery that had killed at least 90 people, Iran on January 15, 2024 carried out a barrage of airstrikes deep inside Syria and Iraq. Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultation. Iran claimed that its airstrikes had targeted Mossad facilities in Kurdish-controlled northwestern region in Syria and Islamic States footprints on the both sides of Iraq-Syria borders.
Iran Launches Strikes inside Pakistan
In an unprecedented turn of events, Iran attacked the bases of Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, on January 16, 2024 in the neighboring Pakistan. Pakistani sources said that two children were killed and three wounded in a barrage of missile and drone attacks on January 16, 2024.
Pakistan Condemns Iran's Airstrikes, Recalls Ambassador
Plunging a strategically vulnerable region into a vortex of a potential crisis, Pakistani government on January 17, 2024 recalled its ambassador from Tehran in protest against Iran's missile and drone attacks a day ago targeting militant group Jaish al-Adl facilities in Baluchistan, and asked Iran not to resend its ambassador, now in Iran, back to Islamabad.
Pak Attack on Iran Targets Separatist Forces
Two days after Iran carried out attacks within Pakistan, targeting Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, Pakistan on January 18, 2024 carried out attacks, using "drones, rockets, loitering munitions and standoff weapons", against Baluchistan Liberation Army and Baluchistan Liberation Front in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Iranian state media said that three women and four children were killed in January 18, 2024, Pak attack on Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Pakistan's caretaker premier, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, cut short his stay in Davos for the World Economic Forum meeting, and returned to Islamabad.
Iran Launches Satellite to the Highest Orbit
Days after border kerfuffle with Pakistan, Iran's state-owned IRNA said on January 20, 2024 that Tehran had launched Soraya satellites, using a three-stage rocket, and placed in the highest orbit about 460 miles above the earth's surface.
Turnout to be a Question Mark in the Parliamentary Election
Circa 15,000 candidates are vying for 290 seats in the lower house of parliament, Islamic Consultative Assembly, in the March 1, 2024, parliamentary election. There is reportedly lack of enthusiasm among the electorate.
President, Foreign Minister Die in Copter Crash
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollhian and several aides were in the helicopter that had crashed in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan Province on May 19, 2024. They were flying back from the inauguration ceremony of a dam on the Aras River. The dam is the third joint collaboration between Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the inauguration ceremony too. None of the passengers were believed to have survived the crash in the mountainous area.
First Vice President Named Interim President, Fresh Elections to be Held in 50 Days
As a shocked nation is coming to the grips and reality check that their president is no more and it's time for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, and other powerful institutions to prep up for a new leader, Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on May 20, 2024 chose First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber to run the country as interim president as per the Article 131 of the Iranian Constitution that had been adopted in 1989. Under the same article, Iran is to hold a fresh presidential election within 50 days. A day earlier, a copter carrying the president, foreign minister and other officials from a dam inauguration event on Azerbaijani-Iranian border to Tabriz crashed in a mountainous area in East Azerbaijan Province. Also on May 20, 2024, Iranian Cabinet appointed Ali Bagheri Kani as the nation's new foreign minister to replace Hossein Amirabdollhian, who accompanied Raisi in the ill-fated Bell-212 aircraft.
Tens of Thousands Mourn as Truck Carrying Body of Raisi Passes through Tabriz
The five-day mourning period in Iran began on May 21, 2024 with the bodies of Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions were being driven on a truck through the streets of Tabriz, with tens of thousands of Iranians paying their last respect. Later in the day, the deceased president's body was flown to Tehran.
********************************* IRANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION *********************
Khamenei Admonished Kowtowing Attitude of Reformist Candidate
Taking a dig at the only reformist candidate in the six-candidate fray in the June 28, 2024, presidential election, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 25, 2024 told a crowd at an event to mark the holy Eid al-Ghadir that anyone who thought that kowtowing before the U.S. would bring progress to Iran was not fit for running the nation. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's not-so-indirect bashing appeared to be directed at a 69-year-old heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian, contesting in the June 28, 2024, presidential polls.
Iranian Election Starts with Low Turnout, Hours Extended
That the election apathy looms large and is a net repellent is proven one more time as social media posts have shown empty polling stations and the voting time has been extended to 10PM in many places. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 28, 2024 voted in the morning at a polling station in Tehran. He emphasized on "turnout and participation" as a messenger for the Iranian people to tell the world that Iranian democracy was thriving.
Runoff Required to Elect President
Iran's election supervisory panel's spokesman Mohsen Eslami said on June 29, 2024 that the June 28, 2024, presidential polls didn't produce a winner as none of the four candidates received more than 50% votes. The apathy among the voters was glaring as the election panel reported that only 39.9% voters had cast in the June 28, 2024, presidential election, lower than 48.8% turnout in 2021 presidential election and 40.6% in March 2024 parliamentary election, respectively. Out of 24.5 million votes cast in the June 28, 2024, presidential election, according to the election panel's figures,
* Masoud Pezeshhkian, a cardio-surgeon and only [relative] reformist, received 10.4 million votes
* Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator, received 9.4 million votes
* Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, the parliament speaker, received 3.3 million votes
* Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a fellow Shiite cleric, received over 206,000 votes
The runoff will be held on July 5, 2024.
[Relative] Reformist Wins the Presidential Runoff
The voter enthusiasm and turnout in the July 5, 2024, presidential runoff was better than the first round of the vote held a week ago. 49.6% of the Iranian voters showed up during the runoff. As the night wore on, [relative] reformist candidate and cardio-surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian grew his lead over hardliner Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator. On July 6, 2024, Masoud supporters poured on the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities to celebrate their leader's victory. Masoud Pezeshkian, who promised to broaden contacts with the outside world and ease social restrictions, received 16.3 million votes to Saeed Jalili's 13.5 million votes.
********************************* IRANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION *********************
Iran Deepens Contact with a Pair of Satellite Firms in China
The Washington Post has reported on August 16, 2024 that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps officials are talking to officials of two Chinese satellite companies which are specialized in nimble satellites with high-resolution optics, an optimal recipe to enhance Tehran's surveillance and monitoring capability. The Post has been provided with an western intelligence dossier that has chronicled the mutual visits undertaken by the both sides as part of a 25-year bilateral security deal signed by Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers three years ago. One of the Chinese firms identified is Changchun [in Northeastern province of Jilin]-based Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company which has a renown for manufacturing "cube-sat", a small, nimble satellite with high-power optical eyes and great image resolution.
Iran Succeeds in Placing Satellite onto Orbit
In further warning to the West over Iran's missile capabilities, Tehran on September 14, 2024 launched a satellite atop an indigenously built rocket, placing the satellite on the orbit.
*********************** IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL *********************
Iran Launches Hundreds of Missiles into Israel
Iran on October 1, 2024 launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, marking only the second time that Tehran had directly attacked Israel. Iran for the first time directly attacked Israel in April 2024. Israel didn't sustain any casualty on October 1, 2024. Most of the Iranian missiles were destroyed by Israeli interceptors. Two Israelis were reported injured.
Biden Calls for Israel not to Attack Iran's Nuclear Facilities
As millions of Israelis emerged from the barrage of Iranian missile attacks on Israel on October 1, 2024 night largely unscathed, but emotionally shaken, President Joe Biden on October 2, 2024 said that he would talk to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had vowed to respond forcefully, and urge him not to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, on October 2, 2024, Israel declared U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a persona non grata.
Israeli Defense Minister Warns Iran
Addressing the troops on October 9, 2024, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued an overt warning to the Iranian regime that if Israel retaliated, it would be "lethal, precise and above all, surprising".
U.S. to Deploy Soldiers, Missiles
In an ironclad show of support for Israel, U.S. is sending 100 soldiers and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile systems to Israel, according to a frontpage article of the October 14, 2024, edition of The Dallas Morning News. The move implies that an immediate Israeli attack on Iran may be in the cards and Iran may be be forced to respond. Biden administration is prodding the Benjamin Netanyahu regime to avoid striking Iran's nuclear or energy facilities. The THAAD missile system will neuter the incoming short-, medium- and intermediate-range missiles.
*********************** IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL *********************
LEBANON
Election Held amid Widespread Apathy
Parliamentary polls are being held in Lebanon on May 15, 2022 in the background of a sinking economy, political uncertainty, soaring unemployment and swelling political frustration.
Hezbollah Commander Assassinated in Airstrike
A day after Hezbollah launched barrage of rockets on an Israeli surveillance base on Mount Meron, an airstrike on January 8, 2024 targeted an SUV in Southern Lebanon, killing a senior Hezbollah commander, Wissam al-Tawil.
Targeted Strikes Kill Two Hezbollah Militants in as Many Days
That the fear of the Israeli-Hamas War is spiraling into the broader Middle East is validated by recent airstrikes, rocket and missile attacks in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. On January 20, 2024, Israel killed a Hezbollah commander, Ali Hudruj, by carrying out an attack on a vehicle at the port city of Tyre. Another civilian in the same vehicle was killed too.
On January 21, 2024, another airstrike on a vehicle in Kafra killed another Hezbollah member, Fadel Shaar. A woman in a second car was killed too.
Israeli Drone Strike, Deepest to date inside Lebanon, Kills at least 2
An Israeli drone on February 10, 2024 struck a vehicle near the coastal town of Sidon in the deepest strike to date inside Lebanon since Hezbollah-Israel kerfuffle had erupted on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas' audacious attack on Israel, that killed at least two people.
Intense Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel Raises Concern
As the Israel-Hamas conflict is already in a state of tailspin to plunge the Middle East into a petri dish of instability, Israel's northern frontier which has been in a state of intermittent kerfuffle since October 8, 2024--a day after Hamas has launched an audacious attack on the communities abutting the Gaza borders in southern Israel that has killed at least 1,200 people and led to some 250 people taken as hostage, out of whom about 150 still have remained in captivity either alive or dead--may be heading into a major catastrophic state because of intensified fighting between Hezbollah and IDF in the past few days.
On February 14, 2024, a barrage of rockets hit an army base and a nearby town of Safed, about nine miles from the Lebanese border, deepest strike within Israel, that had killed one Israeli soldier. Israel later in the day responded by launching counterattack, targeting Hezbollah commanders in the Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh and killing three Hezbollah militants--including a top commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ali Al Dabs--and eight others, including several children. Hezbollah didn't claim responsibility for February 14, 2024, rocket attack that had killed an Israeli soldier.
However, on February 15, 2024, Hezbollah launched a ferocious barrage of rocket attacks on northern Israel, inviting the strong response from Israel and opening a new frontier of intense fighting and a new source of regional instability.
Israel, Hezbollah Skirmish in One of the Worst Escalation between the Parties
The region retreated from the brink just on time as more than 320 Katyusha rockets were launched on August 25, 2024 by Hezbollah, targeting the military assets of Israel. Israel pounced Hezbollah targets in Lebanon with missile and airstrikes. The August 25, 2024 fight was one of the worst between Hezbollah and Israel since October 7, 2023. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said during the day that the rocket attack was in response to Israel's killing of a Hezbollah commander last month in Beirut. However, both sides refrained from escalating the fight, thus saving the Middle East from having another front of regional calamity.
Pager Explosions Kill Nine in Lebanon
Seems to be taken from a Hollywood movie. Multiple pager explosions targeted
Hezbollah personnel and fighters on September 17, 2024, killing nine
people and wounding thousands. Simultaneous pager explosions sharpen the
battlelines between Hezbollah and Israel and turn the ferocity of the battle into
a new, hitherto unknown, level. Among the dead was a nine-year-old girl.
A Day after Pager Explosions, Walkie-Talkie Explosions Wreak Havoc
Lebanon is on the edge as fear psychosis grips the people with randomness and indiscriminate nature of the device blasts. On September 17, 2024, pagers began exploding throughout the nation in the afternoon, killing at least 12 people, including two children, and wounding more than 2,800.
No sooner had the 24 hours had passed by than walkie-talkies began exploding throughout Lebanon along with solar energy systems on September 18, 2024, killing an additional 20 people and wounding more than 450. Some of the walkie-talkie explosions happened during funeral of four people killed a day earlier in pager blasts--two Hezbollah fighters, one young boy and one paramedic--in Lebanon's south.
U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, reacting to device explosions, said that the "fear and terror unleashed is profound". Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressing the Israeli soldiers on September 18, 2024 said that the war was entering a new phase.
In the village of Nabi Sheet in Bekaa Valley, a tearful mom on September 18, 2024 bid goodbye to a 9-year-old girl, Fatima Abdullah, who became the victim of the asymmetric warfare. On September 18, 2024, confusion loomed large over how Israel, which didn't admit or deny its involvement in device explosions, if they had really carried out the simultaneous attacks, rigged thousands of devices with explosives. The pagers seem to have the trademark of the Taiwanese pager manufacturer Gold Apollo. However, a Hungarian firm, BAC Consulting KFT, has a right to use Gold Apollo trademark on the devices that it might have sent to Lebanon.
Middle East Veers toward Catastrophe as Israel Kills Top Hezbollah Commander
Hours after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to avenge the alleged Israeli attack on his group through mass-scale explosions of devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, Israel on September 20, 2024 carried out a rare airstrike on a dense Beirut suburb, killing 14 people, including top Hezbollah military commander Ibrahim Akil. The top commander of the Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force--who had been sanctioned by the U.S. after the 1983 attack of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that had killed more than 300 people and targeted by the U.S. State Department last year with a reward of $7 million if anyone could help in his "identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction" --was meeting at a basement of an apartment in the Southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya. The attack on the Dahiya neighborhood marked a new escalation and first time since 2006 that Israel had attacked so close to Beirut. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel would target people who would threaten Israel and ramp up this "new phase of the war".
Meanwhile, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib on September 20, 2024 warned the U.N. Security Council to condemn the device bombing and hold Israel responsible for this heinous act. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon ridiculed Lebanese foreign minister for saying nothing about Hezbollah's continuous attack on Israel.
Israel Limits Crowd Size in the North as Hezbollah Launches Dozens of Rockets
A day after a devastating Israeli airstrike downed an eight-story building where Hezbollah senior commanders were meeting at the basement, killing at least 37 people, including two senior commanders--Ibrahim Akil and Ahmed Wahbi--Hezbollah on September 21, 2024 launched at least 90 Katyusha rockets toward northern Israel and Israel carried out retaliatory strikes hitting at least 400 Hezbollah targets. In anticipation of more attacks from Hezbollah, Israeli government on September 21, 2024 capped the crowd size outside to 30 and inside to 300 in areas north of Haifa. Some schools in the northern areas of Israel announced closure for Sunday (September 22, 2024). Israel's strategic goals now include taking on the threat of Hezbollah more seriously and go after them deep interior in Lebanon.
Hezbollah Vows "Open-ended Battle" with Israel
Hezbollah militants rained down close to 100 rockets on northern Israel in the early hours of September 22, 2024, at least one rocket having landed close to Haifa. Israel struck back against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. What's more concerning to Israelis is that the Hezbollah rockets are arriving at the close proximity of populous city like Haifa as one of the rockets on September 22, 2024 has started blaze in the city of Kiryat Bialik, near Haifa, and Israel's Magen David Adom rescue services has reported four injuries.
On September 22, 2024, funeral was held for slain Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil. Hezbollah Deputy Leader Naim Kassem, attending the funeral, said that the "open-ended battle" with Israel was on the card.
Israel Launches Most Devastating Attack on Hezbollah in 18 Years
The region didn't see Hezbollah-Israeli conflict as bad as they were today since 2006. On September 22, 2024, Hezbollah attacked Northern Israel with 250 rockets and drones. Israel responded with ferocity on September 23, 2024, striking indiscriminately 1,300 targets in Eastern and Southern Lebanon, killing at least 490 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounding 1,645 people.
Israel Kills another High-ranking Hezbollah Commander as the Deaths in Lebanon Jump over 560
Israeli pummeling of Lebanon continued for the second day on September 24, 2024, leading to a total deaths of at least 560 in the two-day (September 23-24, 2024) military campaign. On September 24, 2024, Israel claimed to have killed another high-ranking Palestinian leader: Ibrahim Kobeisi. Hezbollah confirmed Ibrahim Kobeisi's death.
Israeli Army Chief Hints Ground Operation in Lebanon
As the escalation in the northern front is rising, the bugle of the battle is becoming louder. Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told troops on September 25, 2024 in northern Israel that the next phase in the Lebanon battle plan might include ground operation to "continue degrading Hezbollah". During the day, dozens of rockets were launched toward Israel, but one of them was aimed at Tel Aviv, deepest target aimed in Israel ever by Hezbollah. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is working with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to craft a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon. Both of them are working on this truce plan the sidelines of ongoing U.N. General Assembly in New York. Alluding to their collaborative work, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the U.N. Security Council that "France stood by our side in the darkest circumstances", and they were proving that one more time "today in collaboration with the United States". The three-day (September 23-25, 2024) barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed more than 600 people in Lebanon.
Israel to Continue Attacking Hezbollah until Rocket Attack Stops, Netanyahu Vows
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said on September 26, 2024 in New York, where he is attending the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, that Israel would continue striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon until the Shiite militant group stops launching rockets towards Israel. A day before Netanyahu's speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Israel military on September 26, 2024 claimed that a senior Hezbollah commander, Mohammed Hussein Surour, had been killed in an airstrike south of Beirut.
Netanyahu Cuts Short His Stay in U.S. as Israel Strikes an Important Target South of Beirut
On September 27, 2024, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was delivering his address to the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, many delegates were seen to be exiting the hall in protest. Netanyahu vowed to degrade whoever wanted to hurt Israel, a clear reference to its ongoing battles with Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies. After his speech was over, Israel carried out a strike on a key southern suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah top leaders were meeting. Netanyahu cut short his U.S. visit and decided to return to Israel.
On September 28, 2024, Hezbollah issued a statement that there supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in Israeli airstrike a day earlier. Israel struck an apartment in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh where Nasrallah was meeting with other senior leaders. The killing of Hassan Nasrallah sent shock waves throughout the region.
Chiming in on the report that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was dead, U.S. President Joe Biden on September 28, 2024 said that it was a "measure of justice".
Israel Launches First Airstrike in Central Beirut
Israel so far limited its strikes to southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah. However, that changed on September 29, 2024 as, for the first time since the war with Hamas had erupted on October 7, 2023, Israel carried out airstrikes, targeting apartments and buildings in Central Beirut. Israeli airstrikes throughout Lebanon on September 29, 2024 killed more than 100 people, including 32 in Sidon. In the northern province of Baalbek Hermel, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 and injured more than 47. Israeli airstrikes targeted Eastern, Western and Northern Bekaa Valley.
President Joe Biden told on September 29, 2024 that he would talk to Benjamin Netanyahu soon as it was nobody's interest that the Middle East descended into full-scale war. Also during the day, Hezbollah acknowledged that their Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of the militant group's central council, had been killed a day earlier, making him the seventh senior leader of Hezbollah killed in a span of couple of weeks. Hezbollah also acknowledged on September 29, 2024 that at least 20 other leaders, including a very senior leader, Ali Karaki, were killed in the same attack that had killed their supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel Begins "Limited" Ground Invasion of Lebanon
Israel in early hours of October 1, 2024 launched a new, but risky, phase of its military campaign in Lebanon by sending a limited number of Israeli troops to clear the Hezbollah targets and assets close to the border. The first such invasion in 18 years marks a new chapter in the Middle East crisis. Israel dubbed its "ground raids" in Southern Lebanon as "limited, localized, and targeted".
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on September 30, 2024 at Beirut. Afterwards talking with the correspondents, he urged Israel to refrain ground offensive in Lebanon and also called for Hezbollah not to fire rockets into Israel.
Eight Israeli Soldiers Killed
It was bound to happen as Israeli soldiers are fighting the Hezbollah militants in close proximity in Southern Lebanon. Israeli military on the day of Rosh Hashana (October 2, 2024) announced that eight of its troops were killed in two separate incidents in Lebanon.
Israel Orders Evacuation in Southern Lebanon, WHO Complaints Staffer Deaths
As mindless as it gets, it comes with any war. The World Health Organization said on October 3, 2024 that 28 health workers were killed in Lebanon in the past 24 hours. Lebanese Health Ministry complained during the day that Israeli attacks had damaged nine hospitals and 45 healthcare centers, directly flouting the international laws.
Meanwhile, Israeli toll stood nine on October 3, 2024. Israeli military ordered evacuation of a city, the provincial capital of Nabatieh and surrounding areas, just north of Litani River, the northern edge of a buffer zone that the United Nations had created in 2006. This marks a further expansion and escalation of Israeli military campaign in Lebanon, thus undermining the very objectives of "limited, localized and targeted" ground offensive that Israel had said on the eve of sending troops to Southern Lebanon.
Israel Expanding Ground Operation in Lebanon, Hezbollah's Acting Leader Vows to Fight
A day after observing the first anniversary of the worst attack on the state of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regime seemed all set to expand the military campaign in Lebanon instead of what had billed as "limited, localized and targeted" offensives at the beginning as Israeli military on October 8, 2024 deployed a fourth division in Southern Lebanon. Publicly, though, Israel is still stating that its focus remains a sliver of border region in Southern Lebanon, but there is clear evidence that Israel is looking for expanding the ground offensives further west.
Hezbollah on October 8, 2024 launched at least 170 rockets toward Israel, implying the capabilities of the Shiite militant group to launch attacks on Israel remaining intact. Alluding to its capability, the acting leader of the group, Sheikh Naim Kassem, said in a video message from an unknown location that Hezbollah military assets remained potent and they wouldn't give in. In his video message circulated on October 8, 2024, Sheikh Naim Kassem supported a cease-fire effort being undertaken by Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri. His message raised an air confusion as his support for Speaker Nabih Berri's effort meant, at least to many Lebanese, that he might be willing to agree on a cease-fire on Lebanese front without a cease-fire in Gaza. To clarify that confusion, Hezbollah issued a subsequent statement reiterating their support for Hamas.
Israeli Airstrikes in Central Beirut Kill 22, U.N. Alleges Israeli Attack on Its Mission
A pair of Israeli airstrikes on two separate apartments in Central Beirut on October 10, 2024 killed at least 22 people. Israel hardly attacks Central Beirut, instead focusing its attacks on southern suburbs of Beirut where Hezbollah's operational network is based on. After the airstrikes in Central Beirut, Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV said that Israeli effort to kill Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah leader, had not been successful.
Meanwhile, the U.N. alleged that its Lebanon mission, UNIFIL, came under the attack of Israel on October 10, 2024. UNIFIL headquarters in Naquora in South Lebanon was deliberately attacked by Israel, according to the local sources. Italian Defense Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge a firm protest against the Israeli attack on the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Israel Attacks UNIFIL Headquarters Second Time in as Many Days, Two Lebanese Soldiers Killed
Israel reported to have fired near the UNIFIL headquarters in Naquora in Southern Lebanon on October 11, 2024, injuring two U.N. soldiers. This is the second such attack on UNIFIL headquarters in as many days although Israeli military claimed that they had targeted Hezbollah fighters near the UNIFIL headquarters. Separately, Israeli shelling in Bint Jbeil killed two Lebanese soldiers on October 11, 2024. Israel launched a "limited, localized, and targeted" offensive in Southern Lebanon on September 30, 2024 (early hours of October 1, 2024 local time), but soon expanded its scope, scale and size. Since then three Lebanese soldiers were killed, including two on October 11, 2024. On October 3, 2024, a Lebanese soldier was killed too in Bint Jbeil. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Hezbollah launched rocket attack on northern Israel, killing 29 civilians and 39 Israeli soldiers, many of the Israeli soldiers were killed since the September 30, 2024, Israeli ground offensive. So far, 2,237 Lebanese soldiers were killed in the Israeli offensive. Lebanese Army stayed above the fray so far, but the increasing attack on them may not bode well for the U.N. monitoring mission in South Lebanon as both the Lebanese military and the UNIFIL were tasked as per U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that had ended the Hezbollah-Israeli War in 2006.
Israel Hits UNIFIL Headquarters Third Time in as many Days
Israel on October 12, 2024 hit the UNIFIL headquarters for the third time in as many days, injuring one peacekeeper. Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people in Barja, south of Beirut, and five people in the village of Maisra, northeast of Beirut. On October 12, 2024, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf toured some of the devasted areas in Beirut and vowed to stand by with the people of Lebanon and Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets towards Israel, opening a second front of conflagration with Israel. As of October 12, 2024, at least 2255 people in Lebanon were killed, including more than 1,400 killed since mid-September 2024.
Hezbollah Drone Attack Kills Four Israeli Soldiers
Hezbollah inflicted severe physical and psychological damage on October 13, 2024 as drones hit central Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring dozens others. The strike reminds that Israeli air defense system is not full-proof and impregnable.
SYRIA
Daring ISIL Attack on Kurdish-run Prison in Syria
Hundreds of Islamic State militants on January 20, 2022 launched
a daring attack on one of the largest prisons in Syria’s northeast run by U.S.-backed
Syrian Defense Forces. The militants used sleeper cells, rigged vehicles and
night’s darkness to attack Gweiran Prison in the Syrian city of Hassakeh.
Gweiran holds about 5,000 prisoners, among them are many diehard IS militants.
A bloody battle is continuing as of January 21, 2022.
U.S.-backed Forces Retake the Sprawling Prison
After a week-long battle, U.S.-backed Kurdish forces on January 26, 2022 claimed that Syrian Democratic Forces were now firmly in control over the sprawling Gweiran Prison in Hassakeh. The fight over the sprawling Gweiran Prison was slow as Islamic State militants used children as a human defense shield to repel SDF assault to retake it. SDF was careful not to unnecessarily rush in to avoid harming children who had been used by IS-backed militants as a human defense shield.
ISIL Leader Killed in Northwestern Syria
President Joe Biden told the nation on February 3, 2022 that the U.S. commandoes had raided the hideout of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in the northwestern Idlib province less than 12 hours ago and the ensuing "operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield". President Biden said that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was responsible for the recent attack in northeastern Syria and was a "driving force" behind large-scale persecution of Yazidi people in 2014 in northwestern Iraq. Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin said that, although Islamic state was a degraded force, it "is now weaker". The media reports related to the U.S. commando raid are emerging bits and pieces as American Special Operations Forces have flown in to the town of Atmeh under the darkness. The operation involved multiple helicopters. The ground operation lasted for two hours, an unusually prolonged time for special forces operation, to ensure that civilian lives were not lost. American forces used megaphones to exhort women and children to leave the area. However, in the operation, at least six children and four women were killed. U.S. military said that as troops had zeroed in on the targeted house at Atmeh, there was a massive explosion in the house that had killed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and several women and children. U.S. troops, though, didn't suffer any casualty. One of its helicopters suffered mechanical failure and U.S. commandoes had to destroy the helicopter before taking off on other aircraft. The White Helmets group, a civil society group that works in rebel-controlled areas, has said that its personnel have recovered 13 bodies at the building that is the target of the U.S. raid. Out of 13 bodies, six were of children and four were of women. Separately, UNICEF said that six children had been killed in the raid.
Russia Scuttles a Year-long Humanitarian Corridor Plan at Security Council
Russia on (Friday) July 8, 2022 vetoed a joint Irish-Norwegian proposal to have a humanitarian aid delivery corridor open for a year, leading the U.N. Security Council member nations to scramble on tweaking the plan to adjust to Kremlin's demand for only a six-month extension. A new draft has emerged during the weekend that would allow the Bab al-Hawa crossing open and passable for humanitarian aid from Turkey to 4.1 million Syrian refugees in the country's northwest through January 10, 2023. U.N. Mission of Brazil, which now holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, said on July 11, 2022 that it would convene for a vote on the measure on (Tuesday) July 12, 2022.
Syria Denies Holding Austin Tice
Syrian Foreign Ministry on August 17, 2022 denied that the Syrian government was holding Austin Tice as President Joe Biden alleged last week to mark 10th anniversary of Houston native's August 14, 2012, disappearance west of Damascus at a contested checking point.
Islamic State Acknowledges Death of Its Leader
On November 30, 2022, Islamic State said that its leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had been killed, marking the second Islamic State leader killed in a year. The Associated Press said that the Syrian rebels were behind the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in mid-October 2022.
Russia Mediates between Turkey and Syria
In the first ministerial level meeting between Turkey and Syria since the Civil War had begun in 2011, defense ministers of Syria and Turkey met at Moscow at the behest of their Russian counterpart to discuss on defusing a volatile situation at the Syria-Turkey border, refugee crisis and strategizing on how best to fight terrorism. A Turkish defense ministry statement issued on December 28, 2022 said that the meeting was held in a "positive atmosphere" and focused on the "Syrian crisis, the refugee problem and efforts for a joint struggle against terror organizations present on Syrian territory". The Russian Defense Ministry issued a separate statement on December 28, 2022, underlining the "constructive nature of the dialogue".
Israeli Airstrikes Kill Five in Damascus
As Syria is going through agonies and bleeding from human toll from February 6, 2023, earthquake, Israel pummeled a central area of Damascus at around 12:30AM on February 19, 2023. The airstrikes in Kafr Sousa neighborhood killed five people and wounding 15, according to Syrian state-owned SANA. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 15 people, including one woman, were killed in airstrikes in Kafr Sousa. The neighborhood was known to have been linked to Hezbollah and Iranian military.
U.S. Launches Airstrikes against Iranian Proxies
A day after a drone attack on a U.S. base in the northeastern city of Hasaka [on March 23, 2023] had killed one U.S. contractor and injured five U.S. military personnel in addition to an American contractor, U.S. airstrikes carried out by three F-15s from Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base targeted three locations in the province of Deir el-Zour on March 24, 2023. President Joe Biden, in the midst of a whirlwind visit to Canada, said on March 24, 2023 at Ottawa that the U.S. would act "forcefully" if American troops were attacked. Although U.S. didn't blame Iran directly, its targets included militia groups tied to Iran's Republican Guard.
Saudi Arabia to Reopen Embassy in Syria
Two days after the 22-nation Arab League on May 7, 2023 decided to lift suspension on Syria, Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry on May 9, 2023 announced that it would reopen its embassy in Syria, without specifying when. Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with Damascus in 2012.
Russian Airstrike in Opposition-held Town Kills 9
As if Ukraine war is not enough, Russia has carried out air attack on opponents of its one of the key allies in the Middle East. The early morning air strike on a town, Jisr al-Shughur, near Turkish border in Northwestern Syria killed at least 9 people, according to a press release on June 25, 2023 by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
U.S. Nabs a Key Islamic State Group Leader
The U.S. Central Command announced on September 25, 2023 that the U.S. military had nabbed a key ISIL commander in a raid in northern Syria two days ago. The September 23, 2023, capture of Abu Halil al-Fad'ani, is a salient victory for the U.S., which stations about 600 troops to fight against ISIL in northern Syria, and comes amidst pro-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces' own fight against rival Arab militias in Deir el-Zour province. On September 25, 2023, SDF has imposed curfews in several Deir el-Zour towns, including Ziban, close to Iraqi border and a key city where U.S. forces are based.
Drone Attack Kills 80 at Homs
A drone laden with explosives hit a military graduation ceremony in the city of Homs on October 5, 2023 as the military personnel and their families were attending one of the special occasions to celebrate new graduates, killing some 80 people and wounding more than 200. Syrian government vowed to respond to the perpetrators with proportionate force.
American Airstrikes Iranian Targets in Eastern Syria
U.S. on October 27, 2023 carried out punitive airstrikes against two targets in Eastern Syria as the Iranian proxies had increased their attacks on U.S. military in the region since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
U.S. Airstrike Targets Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Warehouse
On November 8, 2023, two F-15 warplanes dropped multiple bombs on a weapons warehouse suspected to be owned and operated by Iran's Revolutionary Guards near Maysulum in Syria's eastern Deir el-Zour province. The November 8, 2023, airstrike is part of the continuing escalation stemming from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has led to Iranian proxies throughout Middle East attacking the U.S. bases in the region.
U.S. Airstrikes Hit Two Iranian-backed Targets
In the third airstrike in two weeks, the U.S. on November 12, 2023 struck a training center and a weapons facility in eastern Syria. U.S. Defense Secretary Llyod Austin said in a statement during the day that American military targeted sites near Abukama and Mayadin, which were being used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Iran-backed militant groups.
************* ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRANIAN TARGET AND IRANIAN RESPONSE *************
Airstrike Targets Iranian Consular Office in Damascus, Kills Two Iranian Generals
A suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus killed two Iranian generals and five others on April 1, 2024. Two Iranian generals are Gen. Ali Reza Zaidi and Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi.
Iranian Missile, Drone Strikes on Israel Imminent
The international diplomatic community is abuzz on April 12, 2024 that Iran was about to launch an unprecedented attack on Israel, using dozens of drones and missiles. According to the western intelligence, The Dallas Morning News has reported on April 13, 2024, the assault may happen as early as April 13, 2024.
Iran Launches Attack on Israel with Hundreds of Drones and Missiles
Iran on April 13, 2024 launched an unprecedented--and the first ever direct--attack on Israel as it blasted off several dozen drones and missiles. As those projectiles were en route, Israel and the U.S. deployed their mitigation regime and were reported to have downed majority of the projectiles. The criticism of the Iranian action was swift. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Tehran had crossed a red line. Britain slammed Tehran for escalating an already heightened tension. The U.S. vowed to defend Israel. Israel has several missile defense systems in its arsenal:
* The ARROW: This missile defense shield is developed with the help of the U.S. and designed to neuter and neutralize the long-range missiles like the ones Iran has launched on April 13, 2024.
* DAVID's SLING: This shield, a fruit of co-collaboration between the U.S. and Israel, is meant to destroy the mid-range missiles, projectiles and rockets such as the ones possessed by Hezbollah.
* PATRIOT MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM: This American-made system was the oldest defense system deployed by Israel and very effective in destroying Scud missiles launched by Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War of 1991.
* IRON DOME: This defense shield, built with the U.S. assistance, was deployed last decade and its precision rate for mitigating the short-range risk was almost 90%.
* IRON BEAM: It's in-flight and, when operational, will be an effective shield for laser-powered missiles
Scale of Israeli Attack Unprecedented, but Came with Enough Advance Warning
The Washington Post reported on April 14, 2024 that Iran might not have intended to provoke a regional escalation as it issued warning days ago and ensured that western powers could have enough time for mitigation. Iran launched more than 100 ballistic missiles, about 30 cruise missiles and more than 150 explosive drones.
U.S. assets in the region involved in shooting down the projectiles are
* F-15E Striker Eagles from the 494th Fighter Squadron based in Britain and the 335th Fighter Squadron of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina
* USS Carney and USS Arleigh Burke--a pair of destroyers sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean
* A Patriot missile defense system stationed in Irbil, Iraq
In addition, Jordan also came to Israel's rescue by shooting down some Iranian projectiles
Israeli Military Chief Vows Response to Iranian Attack
Visiting an Israeli airbase, Nevatim Air Base, that was mildly damaged in the April 13, 2024, barrage of Iranian missile and drone attack, Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on April 15, 2024 that Israel was weighing an appropriate response to the Iranian attack on Israel, but there would be a response. Although western nations, including the U.S., asked Israel to refrain from attacking Iran, Israel didn't rule anything out.
U.S., U.K Impose Sanctions on Iran
U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 18, 2024 imposed sanctions on 16 people, two entities, five firms and three subsidiaries of the Bahman Group, a major Iranian auto company. The action is more of symbolism instead of real value as most of the firms and people are already under sanctions and they are unlikely to have any asset under U.S. jurisdictions.
The United Kingdom on April 18, 2024 imposed sanctions too on Iran.
Israeli Attack on Iran Deemed Harmless, Iran Ignores Taking the Name of Aggressor
It seems that both Israel and Iran are exploring an off-ramp strategy to deescalate the bilateral tension which, if unchecked, is sure to add to the growing volatility of the regional situation afflicted by a six-month Israeli-Hamas War, Israel-Hezbollah kerfuffle and continuous low-level warfare between Iranian proxies based in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and Israel since an October 8, 2023, attack of Hamas and Islamic Jihad on southern Israel.
On April 19, 2024, Israel carried out strikes on the central Iranian city of Isfahan, targeting areas close to an airbase and Natanz nuclear facility. Iran fired back several projectiles from its air defense batteries in various provinces. Iran downplayed the Israeli attack and even didn't mention Israel by name as taking the name would have bound their hands and forced to respond in one way or the other. Iranian authorities and the IAEA both confirmed that there was no harm to any of Iran's nuclear facilities.
************* ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRANIAN TARGET AND IRANIAN RESPONSE *************
TURKEY
President Orders Food Tax Reduction to Tame Runaway Inflation
As the Turkish people are suffering from the loss of disposable income because of accelerating inflation, especially daily food staples, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 12, 2022 announced that the value added tax rate of the food items would be reduced from 8% to 1% in the aftermath of the official January 2022 inflation of 48.69% compared to the year-ago period. Turkey's currency, Lira, hit the bottom in December 2022 at 18.36 before recovering somewhat of its value This week, it is hovering around 13.
Turkish Activist Handed a Life Term
An Istanbul court on April 25, 2022 sentenced a prominent Turkish human rights activist and philanthropist, Osman Kavala, to life in prison, accusing him to orchestrate a plot to overthrow the government in 2013. The same court sentenced seven other activists to 18 years in prison for supporting the putsch. Western governments denounced the ruling. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed the ruling as contradictory to "constitutional standards and international obligations that Turkey commits itself to as a member of the Council of Europe and EU accession candidate". The rights group PEN America called the verdict as a "dark moment for Turkey". Amnesty International's director for Europe, , called the verdict a "travesty of justice of spectacular proportions".
41 Miners Killed in Explosion
More than 100 miners were working several meters feet below the surface at a coal mine run by the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise, or TTK, at the city of Amasra in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin when an explosion happened on October 14, 2022. On October 15, 2022, authorities estimated the death toll at 41.
Explosion Kills at least Six, Dozens Wounded in Istanbul
In a reminiscence to the days stemming from explosions and violence that had killed at least 500 people between 2015 and 2017, followed by a wide crackdown by Recep Tayyip Erdogan regime, an explosion occurred at a popular thoroughfare in Istanbul, Istiklal Avenue, a lead pedestrian walkway dotted with shops, restaurants, clubs and other iconic venues merging into Taksim Square, on November 13, 2022, killing at least six, wounding dozens and forcing people to scurry for safety either at cafes or other places. President Erdogan, about to leave for Indonesia to attend G-20 summit, called the explosion as a "treacherous attack" and said that six people were killed. Vice President Fuat Oktay said that 81 were wounded and implied that it was a terrorist attack. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told a pro-government channel, A Haber, that the investigators were focusing on a woman who had sat on a park bench for about 40 minutes and explosion had happened just after she left the area. Foreign governments condoled the deaths of six Turks. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the blast as "heinous attack".
Police Detains a Syrian Woman in Connection with Istanbul Explosion
Police on November 14, 2022 arrested a woman seen on the video to have left an article before the blast a day ago that had killed six people and wounded dozens in Istanbul. The woman, Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian citizen, confessed to planting the bomb at the behest of Kurdish groups, according to the authorities.
Turkey Carries out Airstrikes in Northern Syria
On November 19, 2022, Turkey carried out airstrikes against Kurdish strongholds in northern Syria in response to a terrorist bombing in Istanbul six days ago that had killed six people and wounded 81. Turkey blamed PKK as well as U.S.-allied SDF for the November 13, 2022, Istanbul blast. The strikes targeted Kobani and the countryside of Aleppo, Raqqa and Hasaka, according to Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkey Calls for Reinforcing a Border Buffer Zone
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11, 2022 pressed for compliance with the 2019 agreement that Ankara and Moscow had signed to create a 19-mile buffer zone along Syrian-Turkish border. Turkey launched airstrikes and shelling of northern Syria and northern Iraq, targeting Kurdish facilities, in the aftermath of November 13, 2022, Istanbul explosion that had killed six people. Ankara blamed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK and its allied Syrian group, People's Protection Units, or YPG, for the November 13, 2022, bombing.
U.S., Turkey Impose Sanctions against ISIL-linked Targets
In a thaw in relationship over Turkish animosity against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria, U.S. and Turkey on January 5, 2023 announced sanctions on four people and two firms which had been working as a conduit to finance ISIL activities. The targeted parties are an Iraqi exile in Turkey, Abd Al Hamid Salim Ibrahim Ismail Brukan al-Khatuni, and his two sons along with the financial firm where they work. A fourth individual targeted is Lu'ay Jasim Hammadi al-Juburi along with the firm where he works, Sham Express, a firm founded by Abd Al Hamid Salim Ibrahim Ismail Brukan al-Khatuni in 2020. Brian Nelson, undersecretary of Treasury's terrorism and financial intelligence, announcing the joint sanctions, vowed to "degrade ISIS' ability to operate globally".
Turkish Presidential Polls Head to Runoff
Turkish voters are not breaking out with definitive vote for one candidate, or the other, on May 14, 2023. In the joint presidential and parliamentary polls on May 14, 2023, the issues that the electorate faced were mostly domestic and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had ruled Turkey either as a premier or president since 2003, were facing deep voter antipathy, allegation of increasing autocratic bent and mismanagement of relief supplies to earthquake victims. State-owned Anadolu news agency said on late May 14, 2023 that Erdogan had received so far 49.6% of votes, while his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, heading a six-party alliance, Nation Alliance, had received 44.7% of the popular vote. The runoff, if it's needed, will happen on May 28, 2023.
In the parliamentary polls, according to Anadolu news agency, the ruling coalition led by Erdogan's Justice and Development, or AK, Party was hovering just below 50%, based on 92% tally, while Nation Alliance led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu's center-left Republic People's Party, or CHP, won 35% and a pro-Kurdish political party won above 10%. The 600-member national parliament lost its shin and influence after a national referendum in 2017 scuttled parliamentary authority and consolidated powers in presidency.
Turkish Presidential Election Heads to Runoff
On May 15, 2023, air becomes clearer on the direction of where Turkish presidential election is headed, and it's now headed to May 28, 2023, runoff between the incumbent, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his primary challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a relatively more liberal politician. Erdogan received 49.5%, Kilicdaroglu received 44.9%, and Sinan Ogan, a third candidate, received 5.2%, according to Ahmet Yener, head of Turkey's Supreme Electoral Board.
Nationalist Second Runner-up Candidate Endorses Erdogan
In a notable boost in the run-up to May 28, 2023, run-off, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 22, 2023 received the support from Sinan Ogan, who had been backed by an anti-migrant party.
Erdogan Wins Third Five-year Term in Runoff
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the presidential runoff held on May 28, 2023 by receiving 52% of votes. The opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, received more than 25 million votes, or almost 48% of total votes.
Hours before Turkish Parliament Reopens, Car Bomb Shakes Ankara; Turkey Strikes Northern Iraq
A car bomb on October 1, 2023 exploded near the Interior Ministry building at Ankara, injuring two police officers. One attacker was killed in the blast, while an accomplice was killed in a follow-up shootout. Hours later, Turkish warplanes pounded at least 20 targets in the mountainous parts of northern Iraq to "neutralize" the infrastructure and personnel of Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. PKK claimed the responsibility for Ankara bombing. The Turkish parliament, meanwhile, reopened after three months on October 1, 2023. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing the reopening, called the car bombing as the "last stand of terrorism".
Centenary Marked without Fanfare
100th year of establishment of secular republic is supposed to be a days-long event with pomp, prestige and propaganda. However, the centenary wore a lukewarm look as critics pointed out that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to project his own Islamic strain of rule over the deeply secular image of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who had built the foundation of a modern, thriving and secular Turkey on the ruins of Ottoman Empire. On October 29, 2023, a firework and drone show along with a 100-ship flotilla display marked the main event in Istanbul. President Erdogan placed a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara. Several local rallies, processions and events were held on October 29, 2023 throughout Turkey to mark the centennial celebration of Turkey.
Erdogan, Ruling Party Receives Setback at Local Polls
Almost a year after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected for another term and the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, won the parliamentary election, the Turkish political picture turned out to be a play-in-contrast after this year's local polls which were held on March 31, 2024. The state-owned TRT reported as the polls closed and the counting had begun that opposition mayors of Ankara and Istanbul were poised to be reelected. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, won with a margin comparable to the five years ago. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas won with a large margin.
The CHP is leading in races in 36 of 81 provinces, a trend indicating a severe political rebuke to Erdogan. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, basking in the glory of electoral victory, told the jubilant supporters that the local polls would be a turning point for Turkey in creating a "new political order".
