Iran in January 2023

6 January 2023

Iran Warns France Over Ayatollah Khamenei’s Cartoons In Charlie Hebdo Magazine (NDTV). Iran warned France on Wednesday of consequences after satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons depicting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Tehran deemed to be insulting. 

Sources Say Basij Commander Killing Was Inside Job By Iran Guards (Exclusive to Iran International).  “Iran International has learned that Ghasem Fathollahi, a member of the Revolutionary Guards who was killed outside his home in Tehran, was assassinated by the IRGC Intelligence Organization…According to our sources, the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC had become suspicious of Fatollahi in the past few weeks and had been monitoring him. The sources said that he refused to confront the demonstrators and suppress them during the protests in the area.”

10 January 2023

1. Iran Warns Venezuela Against Improving Ties With US (Iran International). Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has warned Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro against normalizing relations with the United States, after signs that Caracas entertains the idea. In a meeting with the new ambassador of Venezuela to Tehran on Sunday, Ebrahim Raisi claimed, the Americans want closer ties with Venezuela due to the country’s need for energy resources.

11 January 2023

1. Daughter Of Iran’s Ex-President Sentenced To Five Years In Prison (Iran International). Faezeh Hashemi was indicted on July 3 for “propaganda against the establishment” and “insulting the sanctities”.

12 January 2023

1. Dual-National And Ex-Official Sentenced To Death In Iran (Iran International). A former Iranian defense ministry official, who holds dual Iranian-British citizenship, has been sentenced to death on charges of spying for the UK. Iranian state media reported Wednesday that Alireza Akbari has been sentenced to death for allegedly spying for MI6. 
2. Nouri Court [is] Mirror of Western Human Rights (Tehran Times [Associated with the Iranian regime]) “Former Iranian judicial officer Hamid Nouri, 61, who has been unlawfully jailed in Sweden, has criticized a new trial that has been initiated against him, asserting that he would not participate in the ‘unfair’ process as long as his issues are unresolved. A fresh set of trial hearings for Nouri, who was detained upon his arrival at Stockholm Airport three years ago, started on Wednesday in a Swedish court. Authorities in Sweden claimed that he had participated in the execution and torture of Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) members in 1988.”

13 January 2023

1. Iran’s Soleimani Was Honored In Some British Mosques (Iran International). Reports say schoolchildren in some mosques in the UK were taught special lessons in praise of Iranian IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. At least six mosques across the country organized events to honor the former Commander of IRGC Quds Force as a “martyr” after he was killed.

17 January 2023

1. British Police Arrest Man After Uranium Sent To UK-Based Iranians (Iran International). An unnamed British businessman has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism over an alleged attempt to import a deadly uranium package into the UK.
2. Angry People Hold Gathering In Northeastern Iran To Protest Gas Shortage (Iran International). Iranians in the northeastern city of Torbat-e Jaam held a rally in front of the governor’s office to protest government inefficiency amid natural gas shortage.
3. Trade Exchange Between Iran and the European Union Grew by 22% (Almayadeen). The European Statistical Center “Eurostat” announced that trade exchange between the European Union and Iran grew by 22% between January and November 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.

18 January 2023

1. Oil Industry Workers Stage New Round Of Strikes In Iran (Iran International). Amid a natural gas shortage in Iran due to the government’s inability to invest in production, a new wave of strikes by oil and gas industry workers has kicked off in the country.
2. IRGC Navy Holds War Game in Persian Gulf (Tasnim News). IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said a broad range of weapons and equipment have been employed in the war game, including naval cruise missile systems, drones dropping bombs with pinpoint accuracy, unmanned smart submarine systems, and rockets fired by helicopters.
3. The President of the European Commission Supports Placing the Revolutionary Guards on the Terrorist List. (Asharq Al-awsat). The European Union came closer to placing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on the terrorist list, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her openness to the move to respond to the “violation” of basic human rights in the Islamic Republic

19 January 2023

1. Exclusive: US Envoy Malley Met With Iran’s UN Ambassador (Iran International). [A]ccording to information Iran International obtained, US Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Saeed Iravani, “at least three times in the last two months.”
2. The EU Approved Designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a Terrorist group (Al Sharq Al-Awsat). The majority of European Parliament representatives agreed to pass a plan calling on the European Union and member states to classify the “Revolutionary Guard” as a terrorist organization, at a time when Iran warned of “unbearable” consequences if European countries decided to proceed with the plan. 598 out of 638 deputies in the European Parliament voted to approve the request of the European Union and member states to include the “Revolutionary Guard” on the list of terrorism.
3. Campaign To Give Power Of Attorney To Iran’s Exiled Prince Gains Momentum (Iran International). Many Iranians, including artists and athletes, have signed a petition endorsing exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi as their representative to lead a transition from clerical to secular rule.

20 January 2023

1. What is Iran’s Response to a Possible Military Attack by the Israeli Regime? (Khabar Online). Referring to Iran’s military capability against Israel, an Iranian newspaper wrote:  Iran independently has the special power to inflict an irreparable blow. Missiles that take seven minutes to reach Tel Aviv and drones and other weapons that have repeatedly practiced attacking the Dimona nuclear facility and the regime’s strategic centers.
2. Iranian MP Warns EU of Fallout of Plan to Blacklist IRGC (Iran International). An Iranian lawmaker warned the European Union that its plan to brand the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization” may have heavy and unbearable consequences and ruin any chance of negotiations. Speaking to Tasnim on Wednesday, Mohammad Esmaeil Kowsari cautioned the European governments against falling into the trap of a plot hatched by the US and the Zionist regime to blacklist the IRGC. “The consequences of the European Union’s plot against the IRGC might be unbearable for the European countries.”

24 January 2023

1. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major Hosts Assad’s Defense Minister (Syria TV). The Syrian regime’s “SANA” agency said that the regime’s defense minister thanked Iran for supporting Syria in its war “against terrorism,” stressing the importance of continuing cooperation, consultation and joint coordination. The regime’s defense minister indicated that those who imposed economic sanctions on Iran and Syria “lose more because of that,” and that Iran “was able to bypass all sanctions.” Tasnim Agency reported that both countries will form new military and security committees as well as conduct joint military drills. 

25 January 2023

1. US Says Will Increase Pressure On China To Stop Iran Oil Imports (Iran International). The Biden Administration will pressure China to stop importing Iranian crude oil, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley told Bloomberg television on Tuesday…Latest estimates are that small Chinese refineries are buying at least 700,000 barrels per day at discounted prices through middlemen and illicit channels. Beijing does not officially report the Iranian oil cargoes as they are usually labeled as shipments from other countries.
2. Iranian Football Player Suspended For Solidarity With Protesters (Iran International). Reza Shekari, 24, a member of Gol Gohar club, who scored one of the goals against another team on Saturday, told reporters that he did not express happiness after scoring the goal because of the situation in the country and in respect to people who mourn those killed during anti-government protests. He was summoned for his comments by the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Football Federation to be suspended.

26 January 2023

1. Iran Retaliates by Imposing Sanctions on EU, UK (Tasnim News). In response to new European Union and UK sanctions against Iran, the Iran foreign ministry imposed fresh sanctions on dozens of EU and British officials and entities for supporting terrorism…The people and entities in the list of sanctions will be denied a visa to visit Iran, their accounts and transactions in Iranian financial and banking systems will be blocked, and their assets within the jurisdiction of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be blocked as well.
2. Iran’s UN Ambassador Denies Iran Has Transferred Weapons to Yemen (Tehran Times). “The Islamic Republic of Iran has never transferred weapons to Yemen in violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Iran has always upheld its international obligations and any claim to the contrary is totally rejected,” stated the letter addressed to the President of the UN Security Council. 
3. Iran Has Amassed Enough Material for ‘Several Nuclear Weapons,’ Says IAEA Chief (CNN). Uranium enriched to more than 90% can be weaponized. Iran has 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity and 1,000 kilograms to 20% purity, according to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi. 

27 January 2023

1. Spanish Prime Minister Meets Female Chess Champion Who Defected From Iran (Iran International). After she competed in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships without wearing the hijab, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh received a warning not to return to Iran and had to seek asylum. On Thursday, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hosted her in Madrid for a game of chess.  
2. Tehran Seeks Tokyo’s Cooperation for Port Infrastructure Development (Tehran Times). The head of Iran’s ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) discussed infrastructural, transit, and training cooperation with the Japanese ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday. Japan is interested in investing in Shahid Rajaee port in Hormozgan Province, as they had previously negotiated for maritime cooperation in this port.
3. Deadly Attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran (Arab News). A man armed with a Kalashnikov-style rifle stormed the Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran’s capital Friday, killing the head of security at the diplomatic post and wounding two guards, authorities said…Azerbaijan borders Iran’s northwest. There have been tensions between the two countries as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

31 January 2023

1. Iran FM Encourages Hamas and Palestinian Jihad leaders (Tehran Times). In separate phone calls with leaders of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Amir Abdollahian “strongly denounced the Israeli killings of the defenseless Palestinians,” and made it clear that Iran will continue to support their struggle. Haniyeh commended Iran for taking stances that were based on moral principles and supported the Palestinian nation at all levels. Nakhalah expressed his pride in the positions announced by Iran. 
2. US Iran Envoy Says Diplomacy Is Best Despite Worsening Problems (Iran International). US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, when pressed to acknowledge if the 2015 JCPOA is dead, avoided a direct answer, saying that Iran “turned down multiple opportunities to end this crisis…so you could reach your own conclusion.” He reiterated that the US is willing to continue talks with Iran “to reach a diplomatic outcome”…Malley reiterated that US “is not in the business of regime change.”
3. Iran Summons Ukraine’s Envoy Demanding Clarification Over Drone Attack (Iran International). Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted “Explosive night in Iran – drone and missile production, oil refineries.” He continued, “Ukraine did warn you,” referring to repeated calls on Tehran to stop supplying arms to Moscow. Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian envoy to ask for an explanation in reaction to comments about the drone attacks against the Defense Ministry’s facility in Esfahan (Isfahan) on Saturday night.