Author Archives: Michael Rubin

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards To Expand Drug Treatment Center

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Inauguration of the second phase of the Shahid Ziyadian Treatment Center, Tehran.

Inauguration of the second phase of the Shahid Ziyadian Treatment Center, Tehran.

“Sometimes it takes up to a year and a half to find the families of these individuals.”

On 25 June Brigadier General Hasan Hassanzadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the greater Tehran region, visited the IRGC’s soon-to-be expanded Shahid Ziadian Treatment Center.  Hassanzadeh’s visit is significant for two reasons.  First, as the officer in charge of Tehran’s security from enemies foreign and domestic, he is on the fast track for promotion to the top levels of Iran’s security apparatus. Second is his choice to focus attention on drug addiction and other threats facing not only broader Iranian society, but also the Iranian military.   

The official media outlet of the Iranian Ministry of Defense, Holy Defense News Agency, describes the imminent expansion of the Shahid Ziadian facility from 1,500 beds to 2,600 beds.  By comparison, the James J. Peters Veterans Administration Medical Center in New York, among the largest Veterans Administration hospitals in the United States, has 1,663 beds.  While the excerpted article does not detail the ailments that the new facility treats, additional reporting suggests the primary goal of the facility is drug rehabilitation.  Photos from Fars News Agency depict young, military-age men in close quarters.  Hassanzadeh was also accompanied by Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni, Secretary-General of Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters. Post-revolutionary Iran has long had some of the toughest drug penalties in world.  However, in November 2017 Iran significantly loosened penalties for many drug crimes, perhaps signaling a recognition of the science behind addiction as well as the scope of the problem.  In 2009, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces, said Iran produced 130,000 new addicts annually and acknowledged that more than one million Iranians were now addicted, mostly to opium and heroin.  In 2020, Naser Aslani, deputy head of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters, reported that his agency counted 2.8 million addicts and estimated an additional 1.4 million remained unidentified.  The IRGC’s expanded facility in Tehran is a possible reflection of the scope of the problem and perhaps its growing impact on military readiness.

Source:

“Faz-e Jadid Markaz-e Daman-e Shahid Ziadian bezudi Ahdas Mishavad (New Phase of the Shahid Ziadian Treatment Center to be Constructed Soon),”, Holy Defense News Agency (official news agency of the Iranian Ministry of Defense), 25 June 2022. https://defapress.ir/fa/news/530666

General Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards for Greater Tehran, said this morning [25 June 2022] at the National Conference for the Celebration of Rescue held at the Martyr Ziadian Treatment Center, “There are 1,500 clients in the Shahid Ziadian Treatment Center affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Greater Tehran.  Within the next six months, we will build a new phase of this center for 1,100 people….”

The commander of the Greater Tehran Revolutionary Guards Corps continued, “One of our problems in this center is the time it takes to find the families of the clients, because sometimes it takes up to a year and a half to find the families of these individuals.  Another activity of this center is to create vocational training workshops. For this reason, we are now looking to obtain orders for the sewing of military clothing by the clients of this center.”

Image Information:

Image: Inauguration of the second phase of the Shahid Ziyadian Treatment Center, Tehran
Source: Fars News Agency
https://www.farsnews.ir/photo/14001112000780

Iranian Trade With China Is Up, but So Is Political Risk

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The Iranian port of Chabahar has become a focal point of Sino-Iranian trade.

The Iranian port of Chabahar has become a focal point of Sino-Iranian trade.

“China’s imports from Iran… grew by 26 percent.”

Between 2018 and the end of 2020, Iran’s foreign reserves shrunk from $122 billion to just $4 billion.  However, its foreign reserves have since rebounded and are expected to be up to $43 billion by the end of 2022 thanks to record oil prices and a diplomatic environment more conducive to Iranian oil sales.  According to Chinese customs authorities cited in the excerpted article from Iranian financial website Bourse24.ir, a healthy chunk of this increase in foreign reserves appears to be due to increasing trade with China.  However, the dollar-enumerated trade can be deceptive. Iran often sells oil to China at a steep discount to avoid any questions about sanctions violations, especially as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controls Iran’s energy sector and has a controlling interest in many Iranian shipping companies.  China also historically dumps cheaper manufactured goods in other states to the detriment of those countries’ own manufacturing base.  While Iran and China have signaled a mutual desire to increase trade and perhaps even military relations, any willingness by the Iranian government to allow greater Chinese exports into Iran would have high potential costs.  Chinese competition with Iran’s manpower-centric sectors, such as textiles and construction, could create a nationalist backlash against both China and Chinese nationals who might be visiting or working in Iran.  China and Iran might celebrate the current increase in trade, but further expansion carries risks.

Source:

“Tejarat-e Iran va Chin ba Rashad 18 dar sadi az 6 Milyard Dollar Gozasht (Trade between Iran and China Exceeds $6 billion with 18 Percent Growth),” Bourse24.ir (Iranian financial website), 25 June 2022. https://www.bourse24.ir/news/247196

…The latest statistics released by Chinese customs show that the country’s trade with Iran in the first five months of this year has grown 18 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reach $6.472 billion…. China’s imports from Iran in the first five months of 2022 grew by 26 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reaching $3.192 billion. China imported $2.535 million worth of good from Iran during the same period last year. China’s exports to Iran from January until April this year also grew 11 percent to $3.280 billion. China exported $2.946 billion worth of good to Iran between January and May last year.

Image Information:

Image: The Iranian port of Chabahar has become a focal point of Sino-Iranian trade
Source: Iran Kala Television
https://cdn.iktv.ir/images/thumbnail/20200510/11042013_xl.jpg

Iranian F-14 Crash Highlights Iran’s Need for New Fighter Contract

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An Iranian F-14 Fighter Jet.

An Iranian F-14 Fighter Jet.

Recent news of an Iranian F-14 crash reinforces the notion that Iran’s diminishing stable of military aircraft and its inability to manufacture more will increase pressure on Tehran to make major, multibillion dollar purchases—most likely from Russia or China.  The excerpted article from a media outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Tasnim News Agency claims the fighter crash was a result of engine failure and illustrates the fact that Iran’s remaining F-14 fleet is far beyond the end of its life cycle.  Iran is the only country that continues to fly the F-14 and it is unclear how many are still operable.  Iran only had 79 operational F-14s when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979.  Over the decades, the number of Iranian F-14s has dwindled because of accidents and the need to cannibalize some aircraft for spare parts to support others.

While Iran likes to trumpet its domestic military industries, no Iranian manufacturer can make an aircraft as sophisticated as western countries, Russia, or China.  Currently, the necessities of the war in Ukraine raise questions about the number of Russian aircraft that the Kremlin will transfer to any other state in the near future.  At the same time, however, increasing oil revenue and both waivers and non-enforcement of sanctions give Iran greater shopping cash.  China may want to help Iran rebuild its air force since a major sale could help Beijing cement a decades-long relationship with Tehran.  An alternate and not mutually exclusive approach would be to augment its anti-aircraft missile capabilities.  Either way, the loss of one of its last F-14s over Isfahan will likely increase pressure on Iran to reconsider its air defense while coming to terms with the need to purchase a modern fighter aircraft from abroad.

Source:

“Soqut-e Havapeyma-ye Jangandeh F_14 dar Isafahan (Crash of an F-14 Warplane in Isfahan),”, Tasnim News Agency (media outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), 18 June 2022. https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1401/03/28/2730359

The head of the army’s public relations department for the Isfahan region said, “The F-14 fighter plane suffered a technical malfunction this morning and the pilot and co-pilot landed by parachute, and were taken to Al-Zahra Hospital for treatment.  In an interview with Tasnim reporter in Isfahan, Rasoul Motamedi, referring to the incident for the F-14 fighter plane this morning, said: “This warplane suffered a technical malfunction in the engine at 10:30 a.m.…  The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft were injured during the parachute landing, and were immediately taken to Al-Zahra Hospital for treatment, but the F-14 plane was destroyed.”

Image Information:

Image: An Iranian F-14 Fighter Jet
Source: Tasnim News
https://newsmedia.tasnimnews.com/Tasnim/Uploaded/Image/1401/03/28/1401032812560629425541164.jpg

Iran Warns UAE Against Allowing Israel in the Persian Gulf

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Admiral Tangsiri reviews Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces during a June 2022 visit to Greater Tonb Island.

Admiral Tangsiri reviews Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces during a June 2022 visit to Greater Tonb Island.

“Khomeini was satisfied, which is the best medal of honor for us.”

The excerpted article from Iran’s official diplomatic news website, IranDiplomacy, suggests that Iranian officials worry about the implication of Israeli ties to Gulf Cooperation Council states, which lay less than 200 miles across the Persian Gulf from Iran’s coast.  As Israel develops diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, Iranian officials grow increasingly concerned that these states could provide Israel with a military foothold less than a half hour flying time from Iran’s southern border.

It is within this context that the visit of the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Navy (IRGC-N), Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, to Greater Tonb Island is important.  In 1970, two years after the British government announced its impending withdrawal from areas east of the Suez Canal, the Iranian Navy launched an assault on Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tonb Islands, each of which are internationally recognized as belonging to the UAE.  The islands are strategically important because they dominate the waters as ships move from the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf.  The IRGC has long fortified these islands.  During his visit, Tangsiri condemned rapprochement with Israel, essentially threatening Abu Dhabi that any cooperation with Jerusalem will risk Emirati security.  Bahrain hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and will also understand the implied threat given previous Iranian efforts to incite Bahrain’s majority Shi’ite population against the Sunni monarchy.  The discussion of the IRGC-N and fortifications on Greater Tonb Islands more broadly can pose a threat to international shipping.  Indeed, Tangsiri speaks effusively about the IRGC-N’s seizure of Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf on 27 May. 

Source:

“Sardar Tangsiri dar Bazdid az Jazireh-e Tonb-e Bozorg: Emruz Amniyat-e Motalubi ba Hamkari Keshvarha-ye Hamsayeh dar Hawzeh-e Khaliji Fars Vujud Darad (Admiral Tangsiri visiting Greater Tonb Island: Today there is good security with the cooperation of neighboring Persian Gulf countries),” IranDiplomacy.ir (Iran’s official diplomatic news website), 11 June 2022. http://irdiplomacy.ir/fa/news/2012448

Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps- Navy [IRGC-N], visited units stationed on Greater Tonb Island to check the condition of fortifications and engineering structures, passive defense and to assess combat readiness…

Admiral Tangsiri, referring to the recent order of the Supreme Leader and his appreciation and satisfaction for the performance of the Marines, which raised national pride and fulfilled Iranian zeal, said: By seizing the offending Greek tankers, the deputy of the Mahdi, Grand Ayatollah Imam Khomeini was satisfied, which is the best medal of honor for us.

The commander of IRCG-Navy said, “Today, there is good security with the cooperation and synergy of neighboring countries in the geographical area of the Persian Gulf. If anyone opens the door to this region of the miserable regime, the child-killing regime and the number one enemy, that is Zionism, for any reason, he will cause insecurity, disorder and instability to the region.”

Image Information:

Image: Admiral Tangsiri reviews Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces during a June 2022 visit to Greater Tonb Island
Source: Sharvand Online
https://shahrvandonline.ir/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/تنگسیری.jpg
NO ATRIBUTION

Iran Opens New Drone Plant in Tajikistan

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Tajik Minister of Defense Shir Ali Mirza with Mohammed Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Tajik Minister of Defense Shir Ali Mirza with Mohammed Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

“God willing, in the future we will see more cooperation and interaction from all levels of military defense between Iran and Tajikistan.”

The excerpted article from one of Iran’s major economic newspapers, Eghtesad News, illustrates how Iran uses drones to secure diplomatic objectives.  The article discusses Iran’s Army Chief of Staff General Mohammed Bagheri’s recent visit to Tajikistan, where he attended the inauguration of the Ababil-2 [RG1] drone plant in Dushanbe.  In meetings with Tajik officials, Bagheri also discussed common defense of the border against the Taliban. Tehran appears not to have offered Tajikistan the rights to manufacture the Ababil-3 presumably to maintain its own qualitative military edge among regional states and because of Tajikistan’s continued warm relationship with the United States.  The Ababil-3 is larger, has a reported flight endurance of eight hours, and a maximum ceiling of 15,000 feet.

While some countries, such as Turkey, export drones to cement partnerships with countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, Iranian strategy differs as Iran authorizes the manufacture of its drones abroad.  In addition to providing drones to allies, this strategy also gives Iran plausible deniability in the case of nonstate actors like Lebanon’s Hezbollah or Yemen’s Houthis using Iranian-made drones.  It also creates international clients for ongoing military equipment and hardware sales.

Iran may have turned to drone diplomacy with Tajikistan for several reasons.  Iran has long considered Tajikistan within its own cultural circle because of the common language—Tajik is a dialect of Persian (Farsi), the official language of Iran.  However, Iran-Tajikistan relations have not always been smooth.  Emomali Rahmon, who has dominated Tajikistan since 1994, resented Iran’s backing of the Islamic opposition during the civil war that dominated the first decade of Tajik independence.  For its part, Tajikistan has buried its frustration with Iran and other regional states to make common cause against the Taliban in recent years.

Source:

“Eftetah-e Karkhaneh Tavalid-e Pehpad-e Irani Ababil-2 dar Tajikistan (Inauguration of the Iranian Ababil-2 UAV plant in Tajikistan), Eghtesad News (major Iranian economic newspaper), 17 May 2022. https://www.eghtesadnews.com/بخش-اخبار-سیاسی-57/495755-افتتاح-کارخانه-تولید-پهپاد-ایرانی-ابابیل-در-تاجیکستان

Inauguration of Ababil-2 UAV Plant in Tajikistan
In order to strengthen and develop joint defense and military cooperation between the two countries and with the efforts of defense industry experts of the Ministry of Defense and the support of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ababil-2 UAV plant was inaugurated in Dushanbe in the presence of General Bagheri and Minister of Defense Shir Ali Mirza and a high-ranking group of commanders in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe.

General Bagheri pointed out that the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the efforts of its committed specialists and scientists and using its internal capabilities, has been able to have a significant growth in all military and defense dimensions, especially drones. “Today we are in a position where we can export military equipment to allied and friendly countries in addition to meeting domestic needs in order to increase security and lasting peace,” he said. The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces described the opening of the Ababil-2 plant in Tajikistan as a turning point in military cooperation between the two countries, adding: “God willing, in the future we will see more cooperation and interaction from all levels of military defense between Iran and Tajikistan.”

Image Information:

Image: Tajik Minister of Defense Shir Ali Mirza with Mohammed Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces
Source: EghtesadNews; https://shorturl.at/hoFNW
NO ATTRIBUTION

Iran Unveils New Drone-Fired Cruise Missile

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A Haider-1 missile mounted on an Iranian helicopter.

A Haider-1 missile mounted on an Iranian helicopter.

“They collectively warn the enemy against any unwise action.”

The Iranian military recently invited Iranian journalists into the 313 Strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle base buried under the Zagros Mountains, which run along the majority of the Iran-Iraq border and reach heights of up to 14,000 feet.  While Western reporting tends to focus on the underground nature of the base, the majority of the Iranian press, including the official Holy Defense News Agency from which the accompanying translation is excerpted, focuses on the Haider-1 missile and the Haider-2 drone.

The Haider-1 missile has a reported range of around 120 miles and can strike targets at speeds of up to 600 miles per hour.  According to Iranian press reports, the country’s Fotros[RG1]  and Kaman-22 drones can launch the missile.  While the missile’s range itself may not be impressive, the Fotros drone reportedly has an operational range of approximately 1,250 miles, a flight endurance of approximately 30 hours, and a ceiling of 25,000 feet.  This would place the entirety of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman within its range.  The Iran Aviation Industries Organization designed and produced the Fotros drone as an air-to-surface missile platform.  The regular Army’s Air Force uses the Kaman-22, which is a multi-purpose platform with a 620-mile operating radius and a flight endurance of approximately 10 hours.  It can be fitted for offensive, surveillance, or electronic warfare missions.  Iran first unveiled the Haider-1 missile attached to some of its helicopters in 2019.  At the time Iranian military spokesman said it would be drone-launched as well, and so this current announcement seems to follow through on this claim.

The nature of the Haider-2 “cruise drone” is less clear, but it appears to be an upgraded kamikaze drone.  The line between cruise missiles and kamikaze drones is sometimes blurry.  Iran points and shoots cruise missiles to target shipping and stationary targets and seeks advantage from a cruise missile’s faster speed.  Kamikaze drones are also guided onto the target but are a multi-use platform as opposed to the single-use cruise missile.

Source:

“Vizhgiha-ye Moshak ‘Haider-1’ va Pehpad-e Kruz ‘Heider-2’ (Characteristics of Haider-1 Missile and Haider-2 Cruise Drone),” Holy Defense News Agency (Iran state run media outlet), 30 May 2022. https://defapress.ir/fa/news/525883

…Brigadier General Shahin Taghikhani, the army’s deputy minister for Public Relations, expressed his condolences over the death of a number of compatriots in the Abadan metropolitan area, and said, “The military has significantly upgraded its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities in both quantity and quality, and has for a long time launched the production line of some UAVs.” He called the design, production and equipping of UAVs a move based on knowledge and technology and added, “We presented some of these achievements at the 313 Strategic Drone Base, and apart from reconnaissance, combat and destruction drones, we revealed various types of new Iranian ammunition.

…The Army spokesman said: “The Army Ground Force’s Haidar-1 missile is carried by large drones and can strike from a distance of 120 miles.” Taghikhani continued, “The Haider-2 Drone, designed by the Army Ground Forces, is a ‘cruise’ drone with a range of several hundred miles…Emphasizing that Iran has a collection of bombs, missiles, rockets and other equipment installed on UAVs, he said, “These achievements are the product of the creative minds of the youth in the army, the Ministry of Defense and the hi-tech companies, and they collectively warn the enemy against any unwise action against the Islamic Republic.

Emphasizing that Iran has a collection of bombs, missiles, rockets and other equipment installed on UAVs, he said, “These achievements are the product of the creative minds of the youth in the army, the Ministry of Defense and the hi-tech companies, and they collectively warn the enemy against any unwise action against the Islamic Republic.

Image Information:

Image: A Haider-1 missile mounted on an Iranian helicopter
Source: Mashreghnews.ir https://cdn.mashreghnews.ir/d/2019/04/28/4/2504823.jpg
NO ATTRIBUTION

Iran Seeks To Counter Misinformation Circulating on Social Media

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Clip of a video circulating on Iranian social media in which Iranians misidentify German-born Greek-Iranian actor Vassilis Koukalani as a Revolutionary Guards officer.

Clip of a video circulating on Iranian social media in which Iranians misidentify German-born Greek-Iranian actor Vassilis Koukalani as a Revolutionary Guards officer.

“A clip entitled, ‘IRGC Commander having fun with women abroad’ was released.”

Iranians are avid consumers of social media.  However, the popular embrace of social media is a double-edged sword.  The excerpted article from government media outlet Fars News Agency highlights Iranian efforts to counter misinformation circulating on social media. 

Many Iranians, especially those who approach state-run television and news agencies with cynicism, get their news from social media. Telegram is popular.  While the Iranian government discourages use of Facebook and Twitter, even Iranian officials use such platforms.  During the 2018-19 unrest, security forces even circulated photos of protestors on Twitter to crowdsource their identification.  Specifically, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denounce the legitimacy of two clips that Iranians said depicted the misbehavior and corruption of a senior IRGC officer, but actually show German-born, Greek-Iranian actor Vassilis Koukalani.

That Iranians so readily believed that Koukalani’s clips depicted IRGC corruption, however, reflects the cynicism with which ordinary Iranians view the institution and the hypocrisy that they expect from public figures.  While Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei seeks to imbue revolutionary values in the next generation, it appears that multi-million dollar corruption scandals and human trafficking rings involving clerics have eroded public trust more broadly. The Iranian public’s readiness to believe ‘fake news’ regarding their leaders could also become a security issue for the regime.  In 2001, an Iranian diaspora television channel broadcasting from California sparked nationwide riots when it claimed that Iranian authorities had ordered the national soccer team to throw an important World Cup qualifier to prevent men and women from celebrating together.  Ironically, the excerpted Fars News Agency article will only exacerbate the regime’s credibility problem as Iranians could interpret the failure to correct future questionable social media stories as tacit admission that other videos and clips are real.

Source:

“Dorough-e Digar Aliyeh Sepah (Another Lie against the Revolutionary Guards),” Fars News Agency (official media outlet close to Iran’s security forces), 7 May 2022. https://www.farsnews.ir/news/14010217000011

Another Lie against the Revolutionary Guards

Recently, a clip entitled “IRGC Commander having fun with women abroad” or “IRGC Commander and his daughter dancing and singing in the car” has been released. The clip identified the person in the clip as a Revolutionary Guards commander. 

But the fact is that the person in the clip is a German-born mixed heritage actor, and his photo in an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps uniform is related to his role in one of the Zionist, anti-Iranian films in which he has starred.

Image Information:

Image: Clip of a video circulating on Iranian social media in which Iranians misidentify German-born Greek-Iranian actor Vassilis Koukalani as a Revolutionary Guards officer.
Source: Fars News Agency
https://media.farsnews.ir/Uploaded/Files/Images/1401/02/17/14010217000003_Test_NewPhotoFree.jpg
Attribution: none

Iran Initiates and Defends New Bread Subsidies Amid Deteriorating Economy

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The Iranian government is seeking to clarify rumors surrounding bread price increases.

The Iranian government is seeking to clarify rumors surrounding bread price increases.

“The needy and low-income groups of the society can get the full advantage of these subsidies.”

Official Iranian media is trying to justify new domestic subsidies put in place to counter Iran’s worsening economy.  Iran is very sensitive to bread prices and like many other countries in the Middle East, is highly dependent on wheat and grain imports.  Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iranian officials had said that wheat imports were on the rise.  On 7 May, the head of Iran’s Flour Producers Association said that Iran needed to import 20 million tons of wheat and that its reliance on the foreign grain supply, especially Russia’s, had never been so great.  While the Iranian government blames the domestic grain production shortfall on drought, Iranians say a greater responsibility may be the result of corruption and watershed mismanagement as the economic wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wins contracts to build unnecessary dams regardless of whether such diversions prevent water flow to agricultural land.

The excerpted article from Iranian new outlet Fars News Agency seeks to correct misinformation circulating online and explain new subsidy policies.  While Iranians worry that bread rations are on the horizon, the article suggests that new requirements equip the bakeries to accept bank debit cards.  These, in turn, will automatically apply government subsidy payments based on income level.  As suggested in the article, the government designed the scheme to counter illegal profiteering among bakeries. While Iranian subsidy schemes aim to ameliorate the risks of social unrest, their expense to government coffers often involves trade-offs.  Shifting funding to grain subsidies has led to a decrease of support for chicken feed that in turn has led to greater expense and scarcity of chicken and eggs.  The impact of this was apparent during Iranian Nowruz (New Year) festivities.  As households were unable to accommodate the hospitality toward guests traditional during the period, Iranians explained that many residents of Tehran and other major cities decided instead to travel to the countryside where they might be relieved of the expense of feeding guests.  Iranians recognize the erosion of Nowruz hospitality as an unwanted sacrifice that illustrates just how dire their economic situation has become.

Source:

“Az Shaye’ah ta Vaghe’yat Yaraneh-e Nan (Bread Subsidy Cards: From Rumor to Reality),” Fars News Agency (official media outlet closely associated with Iran’s military and security services), 7 May 2022. https://www.farsnews.ir/news/14010217000044

Bread Subsidy Cards: From Rumor to Reality

From rumor to reality: The 13th government [the Raisi administration] has undertaken what the Rouhani administration should have done years ago, and out on the agenda removal of 4,200 tomans [subsidy]. The government intends to implement key economy reforms for the sake of justice and to eliminate the profits of certain people. Government officials have said they are ready to sacrifice their own reputations for this. One of the important issues in this regard is price liberalization and the direct payment of bread subsidies to the people. In this regard, some people published a photoshopped and false images of a “bread subsidy card.” The Central Bank’s deputy for New Technologies said in this regard: “The infrastructure is designed so that people can claim their subsidy at the same time by using a card while buying basic goods. In this way, the purchase cost is deducted from both the individual subsidy and the bank account.” This will subsidize only the flour used by the people, not all the flour of the bakeries. There is no need for a new card as purchases are made with the current bankcard of individuals. The price and manner of buying bread does not change….

For other basic goods, a monthly amount is provided to compensate for the increase in prices. The higher income groups pay a part of the cost of providing these goods, but the needy and low-income groups of the society can get the full advantage of these subsidies….

Image Information:

Image: The Iranian government is seeking to clarify rumors surrounding bread price increases
Source: Jam-e Jam Online, https://jamejamonline.ir/files/fa/news/1401/2/16/599366_453.jpg
Attribution: none

Khamenei Speaks on Necessity of Palestinian “Resistance”

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Poster from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s webpage celebrating Palestinian “resistance” against Israel.

Poster from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s webpage celebrating Palestinian “resistance” against Israel.

“The Resistance fights against international terrorism.”

During his annual Qods Day speech, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei doubled down on the necessity to support regional “resistance” against not only Israel but also the United States and its allies.  The Iranian government labels terrorist actions as “resistance” and in recent years, in addition to Palestinian “resistance,” other regional groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, and the Yemeni Houthis have also taken center stage on Qods Day.  In his televised address, excerpted here from his official webpage, Khamenei.ir, Khamenei argues that most Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel proper, i.e., “the 1948… lands,” support Palestinian attacks.  This directly contradicts core assumptions shaping Western policymaking, but suggests that Iran claims it has popular approval to support and sponsor attacks against Israel, such as the sharp increase in stabbing attacks in Israeli towns and cities in recent months within the 1949 armistice lines.  Khamenei also contextualized Iranian support for Palestinian “resistance” within the greater fight for control in Lebanon, the battle against the Islamic State in Syria, and the fight against Americans in Iraq.  Khamenei is claiming wide victory for Iranian policy, a fact that he will probably use to double down on further rejectionism of Israel and an active U.S. role in the Middle East in coming years.  Any hope that Western diplomacy might lead to a change in Iranian behavior seems doubtful so long as Khamenei remains at Iran’s helm.

Source:

“Sokhanrani Televisiyon beh Monisabat Roz-e Jihani Qods (Televised Speech on the Occasion of World Qods Day),” Khamenei.ir (Khamenei’s official website), 29 April 2022.

https://tinyurl.com/2p886dfu

Resistance has been the Most Blessed Phenomenon

Polls show that almost 70 percent of the Palestinians in the 1948 and 1967 lands and in the surrounding camps encourage the Palestinian leaders to carry out attacks on the Zionist regime. This is an important phenomenon because it signifies the complete preparedness of the Palestinians to confront the usurping regime and it provides the mujahid organizations with the freedom to take military action whenever they deem necessary.

The jihadi moves of the people of Palestine in the two northern and southern parts of the 1948 lands, and at the same time, the massive rallies in Jordan and Eastern Quds, the brave defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Palestinian youth, and the military maneuvers in Gaza indicate that all of Palestine has turned into an arena of resistance. At present, the people of Palestine are unanimous about continuing this struggle on the path of God….

The formation of the Resistance in West Asia has been the most blessed phenomenon in this region in recent decades. It was the magnificence of the Resistance that was able to cleanse the occupied territories of Lebanon of the pollution of the Zionists, pull Iraq out from the clutches of the Americans, save Iraq from the maliciousness of the Islamic State, and assist Syrian defenders in the face of the U.S. schemes. The Resistance fights against international terrorism, helps the resistant people of Yemen in the war that has been imposed on them, wrestles with the Zionist usurpers in Palestine and will bring them to their knees with God’s grace….The Islamic Republic of Iran advocates and supports the camp of Resistance. It advocates and supports the Palestinian Resistance. We have always said this, we have always acted on this, and we have stood by it.

Image Information:

Image: Poster from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s webpage celebrating Palestinian “resistance” against Israel.
Source: Khamenei.ir
https://tinyurl.com/2p96j56z
Attribution: none

Iranian Navy Joins Indian Naval Exercises

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Iran’s “Dana” Destroyer, which participated in the IONS 2022 Exercises off Goa, India.

Iran’s “Dana” Destroyer, which participated in the IONS 2022 Exercises off Goa, India.

“The presence of the Navy in open waters … shows the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the maritime arena.”

The excerpted article from Iranian media source Fars News Agency reflects on the increasing operations of the Iranian Navy in the Indian Ocean basin.  The article describes a combined naval exercise called the IONS Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMEX 2022) near the southern Indian city of Goa.  The exercise was sponsored by the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), which consists of 24 Indian Ocean littoral states, including Australia and France (due to its possession of the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte).  The participation of the Iranian destroyer Dena and maritime reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters in the exercise—even when coupled with India’s and Iran’s regular exchange of naval port calls—does not mean that India and Iran are developing a special relationship.  At a minimum, Iranian participation 1,400 miles away from Hormuz demonstrates the Iranian Navy’s growing confidence operating in blue water.  The exercises, which excluded China, also reflect a growing recognition in India that competition with China in the Indian Ocean mandates interoperability amongst Middle Eastern, South Asian, and East African states.  Notably, IONS member Pakistan, a traditional adversary of India as well as a client of China, did not participate in the Goa exercises.

Source:

“Agaz-e Razmayesh Marakab-e Darya-ye IONS 2022 ba Hazor Navshakan Tamam Irani (A Domestically-Manufactured Iranian Destroyer Joins the IONS 2022 Combined Naval Exercises),” Fars News Agency (media outlet close to Iran’s defense and security apparatus), 29 March 2022. https://www.farsnews.ir/news/14010109000323

After holding briefings, workshops and visiting the fleets of the two sides, this morning the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Combined Naval Exercise (IMEX 22) began in Goa with the participation of Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, India, Bangladesh and the Indian Ocean countries and the participation of 14 IONS members. 

Captain Farhad Fattahi, commander of the Naval Expeditionary Fleet, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran currently chairs the IONS Maritime Security Committee, and said, “IMEX 2022 exercise will be held in two phases, coastal and naval. The coastal phase includes includes briefings, training workshops and visits to the fleets of the two sides. In the naval phase, specialized naval operations including formulation exercises, guard officer maneuvers, medical aid exchange operations, rescue operations, tests and assessments will be carried out…” 

Emphasizing that today the Navy has become a decisive force in various fields, he stated, “The presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy in open waters and its participation in multilateral exercises with countries around the world, shows the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the maritime arena and [our] effective interaction with other countries in securing maritime prosperity and world peace.

Image Information:

Image: Iran’s “Dana” Destroyer, which participated in the IONS 2022 Exercises off Goa, India
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency
https://img9.irna.ir/d/r2/2022/03/29/4/169562898.jpg?ts=1648547583599
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