THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 12:30 PM
Designating Facilitators and Financiers of Iran’s Illicit UAV Transfers
The United States is today imposing sanctions on 16 entities and eight individuals, as well as identifying as blocked property five vessels and one aircraft, that have facilitated illicit trade and the sale of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in support of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and the regime’s UAV development and procurement. Concurrent with this action, the United Kingdom and Canada are imposing sanctions targeting several entities and individuals involved in Iran’s UAV procurement and other military-related activities, respectively.
Among today’s targets is Sahara Thunder, a key front company for MODAFL’s illicit financing and a central player in Iran’s design, development, manufacture, and sale of thousands of UAVs, many of which have ultimately been transferred to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM
Canada Imposes Further Sanctions Against Iran
Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions against Iran under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.
Iran continues to threaten international peace and security through multiple destabilizing activities across the Middle East region and beyond. Iran poses a threat to the region both through its armed forces and through its support for its proxies, which includes funding, arms provision and training and political and ideological support.
On April 14, 2024, Iran launched a broad and first-ever direct attack on Israel. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took responsibility for launching drones and missiles while Iranian proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iran-linked militias in Iraq, also launched strikes in a limited but highly coordinated manner.
What Is The Cost of The “Progress” in Iran’s Arms Industry?
On Wednesday, the Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech on the occasion of the regime’s so-called “Labor Week” and, while he admitted that the country suffers from “plenty of labor and economic problems,” he said, “Progress in our arms industry has surprised our enemies. Amidst sanctions, can Iran have been able to create advanced weapons at this scale? Yes, it can! It can do more than this! Better than this! More advanced than this!”
Khamenei tried to exude power and dismiss his regime’s increasing isolation by saying, “They want to put pressure on the Islamic State with sanctions and force it to surrender to their bullying and power-seeking demands.”
Parisa Salehi, A Journalist, Summoned and Taken to Jail
On Thursday, April 25, 2024, Parisa Salehi, a journalist, was arrested and sent to prison after being summoned to the 7th Branch of the Office of the Implementation of Verdicts, to serve five months of time in prison.
Referring to the “extra-judicial instances” in her case, such as the denial of the right to appeal, this journalist wrote in her user account: “The initial sentence of one year of imprisonment, two years of exile, two years of ban on leaving the country and two years of ban on membership in social networks in the Court of Appeal was commuted to five months in prison, but the rest of the cases are still there.”
Iran Faces Looming Crisis: Land Subsidence Threatens Millions
Iran is grappling with a severe land subsidence crisis, with alarming rates impacting a significant portion of the country’s population and infrastructure. This phenomenon occurs when the ground level steadily sinks due to various factors, posing substantial environmental and economic challenges. Official reports paint a concerning picture. The Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Affairs estimates that subsidence affects a staggering 359 plains across Iran. Moreover, nearly half (49%) of Iran’s population resides in areas experiencing subsidence or bordering them, according to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. This translates to millions of people potentially at risk.
“Fruitless and Harmful”: Iranian Media Criticizes Official’s Nuclear Rhetoric
A member of the National Security Commission of Iran’s parliament stated that the “Islamic Republic needs half a day” to “produce the main fuel of a nuclear warhead” and threatened that during this period, the Iranian government could “increase the production of uranium from 60% to 90%.”
Javad Karimi-Qodousi, a figure close to the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who some observers call the unofficial spokesman of the leadership office, emphasized in a video he published on the social network ‘X’ on Tuesday, April 23, that although still in the fatwas of the leader of the Islamic Republic “the production of nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” if he were to recognize it once, it would be possible to produce it.
He quoted experts as saying that “we need half a day to increase the amount of uranium produced from 60% to 90%.”
Iran Faces Severe Medicine Shortage and Lack of Government Funding
The Health and Treatment Commission of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) recently released a report highlighting the dire situation of medicine availability in the country. According to the report presented on April 23, nearly 150 essential drugs are facing shortages and severe limitations, with approximately 65 of them experiencing acute scarcity. The commission urged for legal action to address its findings, but members of the regime’s Majlis opposed referring the matter to the judiciary, with the majority preferring to keep it within the legislative branch.
Another aspect of the report addresses the failure of the Organization of Planning and Budget to reconcile the preferential exchange rate (42,000 rials) with the NIMA system rate (the currency allocated for managing and promoting the country’s imports and exports) over the past two years, resulting in a staggering debt of 840 trillion rials (approximately $1.3125 billion) to the Central Bank. Currently, the exchange rate for the dollar in Iranian markets stands at 640,000 rials.
From Crisis to Negotiation: Iran’s Strategy Amidst Middle East Turmoil
Amidst the crisis between Iran and Israel in the Middle East, while tensions are at a critical point, Khamenei is pursuing his agenda. He has taken up the challenge to seize the opportunity of the tensions to catch the fish of JCPOA negotiations in troubled waters of the Middle East.
There is no doubt that Khamenei always wants to sit at the negotiation table with Western governments and gain concessions from them. Occasionally, when negotiations break down, he resorts to crises, like hostage-taking, bombings, terrorism, and regional interventions to force the parties involved to negotiate.
Leipzig, Germany—April 20, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iranian Revolution
Leipzig, Germany—April 20, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
