Two Americans Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Sell Iranian Oil
The United States Department of Justice announced that a court in the country has tried and sentenced two men from the state of Texas to 45 months in prison on Tuesday, June 11, for attempting to sell Iranian oil and violating U.S. sanctions.
According to the department, 43-year-old Chinese citizen Zhenyu Wang and 42-year-old Daniel Ray Lane from McKinney, Texas, tried to sell Iranian oil from July 2019 to February 2020, evading U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement states that the two defendants concealed the origin of the oil and sold it to a refinery in China.
Daniel Ray Lane is the director of the Texas-based private company Stack Royalties, which is an intermediary investment company for private equity groups and investment funds in the oil and gas sector.
Previously, a U.S. court jury found Genevieve Wang and Daniel Ray Lane guilty in November. At the time, Paul Hetzenker, Lane’s attorney, stated that the case was based on the claims of a U.S. government undercover agent who had offered Lane the prospect of “millions of dollars in profits” if he participated in the scheme.
These two, along with three others, were accused in 2020 in a U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania of evading U.S. sanctions against Iran’s regime. Court documents show that they had pleaded guilty at the time.
After the U.S. imposed sanction on Iranian oil exports in 2018, China became the only major importer of Iranian oil.
Strikes by Workers and Retirees in Iran
A group of retirees gathered on Tuesday, June 11, in Tehran and Kermanshah to protest against poor living conditions and the lack of attention to their demands. Simultaneously, contract workers at Isfahan Petrochemical and Firuzabad Sodium Carbonate went on strike.
According to reports from professional sources, a number of retirees from the National Pension Fund, Social Security, and Medical Sciences held a protest in front of relevant institutions, including the Organization of Planning and Budget.
In these protests, which coincide with the Iranian regime’s preparations for elections to determine Ebrahim Raisi’s successor from the Guardian Council’s approved candidates, the retired protesters chanted: “Lying candidate, where are your promises?”
At the large gathering of retirees in Tehran in front of the Organization of Planning and Budget, slogans were also chanted: “Whoever opposes the teachers, will fall; where are the officials?”
The retired protesters also chanted: “Our strength is our unity; ranking is our right.”
Reports indicate that in the Kermanshah gathering, slogans included: “Scream, scream about all this oppression,” “Let go of the headscarf, think of us,” “Unemployment, inflation, the scourge of the people,” “Imprisoned teacher must be freed,” and “Imprisoned worker must be freed.”
At the same time, workers at Kaveh Sodium Carbonate Company in Firuzabad, Fars Province, went on strike for the third consecutive day, protesting “wage and benefits conditions.”
Earlier, the regime’s ILNA news agency quoted “a labor source” in Semnan Province saying: the main demands of the workers are “the formation of an Islamic labor council, a wage increase with overtime pay, bonuses, and other job benefits emphasized in their protest last week.”
One of the workers at this factory told ILNA: “In March, we held several labor protests, requesting the management to form a labor institution and increase wages. With the intervention of officials, the employer promised to fulfill this within a few months, but except for the formation of an Islamic labor council, the rest of the workers’ demands were ignored.”
Additionally, a group of contract workers employed at Esfahan Petrochemical went on strike and held a protest on Tuesday, objecting to not receiving their wages.
Moreover, a number of laid-off workers from the Ilam Arghwan Gostar Petrochemical Company project held a protest in front of the entrance to the complex on Tuesday.
These workers, most of whom worked in connections, installation, and equipment, became unemployed with the completion of the project.
According to ILNA, they said that after years of effort on this project, it is their right to be employed after the Ilam Arghwan Gostar Petrochemical starts operations.
Economic protests in Iran continue as news sources have announced that the Iranian regime’s government has not only failed to control inflation but has also broken an 80-year record, with the inflation rate exceeding 52%.
According to the decree of the Supreme Labor Council, the minimum wage for workers subject to the labor law, who are married and have children, with an increase of about 20 million rials (approximately $33), is about 110 million rials (approximately $184) this year. However, this wage is not paid to workers who are not subject to the labor law.
Increase in the Migration of Doctors from Iran
The exact statistics on the migration of Iranian doctors are not publicly announced; however, the trend of healthcare staff migrating is on the rise, with the main destinations being Oman and other Arab countries.
Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), recently described the statistics on doctor migration as a “media attack against the Islamic Republic.”
The issue of doctor and healthcare staff migration was declared a “crisis” in 2022 when Mohammad Raeiszadeh, the head of the Iranian Medical Council, stated that over 4,027 doctors had requested “Good Standing” certificates for migration the previous year.
At that time, he expressed concern that if this trend continued, Iran would either have to import foreign doctors or go to neighboring countries for even simple surgeries.
Dissemination of Information or Enemy Psychological Warfare?
In March 2024, the regime’s official news agency, IRNA, citing leaked information from the Medical Council, reported that the number of its members who had obtained Good Standing certificates for migration had increased from 750 in 2018 to over 6,000 in 2022. Officials from the Nursing Council have also stated that approximately 3,000 nurses obtain Good Standing certificates annually for migration. Last year, the Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper reported that the latest official statistics on doctor migration were from 2019, when 3,000 migrations were recorded. At the same time, Dr. Reza Laripour, spokesperson for the National Medical Council, estimated the number of departures to be double this figure. The newspaper also quoted an “informed source” stating that “around 5,000 doctors migrated in 2021.” Considering the claim that doctor migration figures have doubled, it can be said that around 10,000 doctors left Iran in 2022. To this crisis, the suicides of doctors must also be added; factors that have already cast a gray shadow over the future of the country’s healthcare system. With the increasing desire to migrate in Iran, migration agencies have developed a specialized focus, with some specifically working in the field of doctor and healthcare staff migration. Some agencies also secure job opportunities for their clients. According to one such agency, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates are among the best destinations for healthcare staff migration. In February 2024, the Etemad newspaper, quoting an “informed source” in the National Medical Council, wrote that by the first half of the year, the number of doctors applying for CGS (Certificate of Good Standing – professional and scientific competency) had increased by about 200% compared to 2018. In 2021, over 4,000 doctors, in 2022 over 6,000 doctors, and in the first half of 2023, over 3,000 doctors received CGS certificates, with a prediction that the total number of certificates issued would reach 10,000 by the end of the year.Confidential Seal on Doctor Migration Records
The statistics on doctor migration are not announced precisely and are confidential; therefore, the media have approximate figures, and publishing them is considered “blackening” by the government. Avaz Heidarpour, an anesthesiologist and former parliament member, described the doctor migration situation as “horrific” in October 2023, stating: “Every year, 10,000 people from the medical staff migrate from the country.” Another concern about the migration and departure of doctors is the emptying of universities for teaching and the disruption of the knowledge and experience transfer cycle. Meanwhile, the medical community is experiencing the “forced evacuation” of universities from professors who disagree with the government. Reza Malekzadeh, a faculty member at Tehran University of Medical Sciences who was forcibly retired, announced in March 2024 that about 40 faculty members of this university had been dismissed or retired over the past two years. Many professors have stated that the reasons for these dismissals orIranian FM Dismisses IAEA Resolution As Having No Effect On Nuclear Activities
In response to the possibility of Europe using the snapback mechanism against Tehran’s nuclear program, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that Iran will act within the framework of its “rights and obligations” and that the issuance of a resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors will not affect Tehran’s plans for “nuclear development.”
Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said at his press conference on Monday, June 10, regarding the potential use of the snapback mechanism by European countries: “I will not speculate on what Europe intends, but naturally, Iran has acted and will act within the framework of its rights and obligations.”
The snapback mechanism is a procedure provided for in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which allows JCPOA parties to request the automatic re-imposition of all international sanctions suspended under this resolution if Iran violates its commitments.
Under the snapback mechanism, members of the nuclear agreement can claim that the other party has violated its commitments, and thus, after a four-step legal process that takes a total of 65 days, UN sanctions against Iran are reinstated.
On the other hand, Ali Bagheri Kani, the acting head of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, in his speech at the meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS countries in Russia, said: “The issuance of a political resolution in the IAEA will have no effect on Tehran’s determination to continue the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to implement its nuclear development plans.”
Bagheri Kani emphasized on Sunday, June 9, that Iran “will continue to cooperate with the Agency within the framework of its rights and obligations under the NPT and the Safeguards Agreement.”
This is while Tehran, late last summer, prevented the presence of many senior experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency in the inspection team, an act that Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the Agency, described as disproportionate, unprecedented, and a serious blow to the agency’s mission.
After the issuance of the Board of Governors’ resolution against Tehran’s nuclear program, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, the three European countries that are members of the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, detailed in a letter to the UN Security Council Iran’s violations of the agreement.
The expiration date of the UN Security Council sanctions against Iran and the snapback mechanism, which allows for the imposition of further sanctions against Iran, ends in October.
This mechanism, provided for in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 in 2015, allows for the immediate re-imposition of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran until before October 2025.
In their letter to the UN Security Council, the three European countries said that the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency considers the development and advancement of Iran’s nuclear program, including the increase in uranium stockpiles and enrichment levels, to be in violation of the JCPOA.
The IAEA, in its latest quarterly report, states that Iran has increased its 60% uranium enrichment level to the extent that, if enrichment continues to the 90% level, it will have the capability to build three nuclear bombs.
This is while, under the terms of the JCPOA, Iran is only allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67%.
However, after the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, Iran gradually suspended its commitments under the nuclear agreement and has now increased its uranium enrichment level to 60%.
Widespread Corruption in Iran’s Football League
The state-run Jam-e Jam newspaper, linked with the official state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), on Sunday, June 9, revealed shocking confessions by Khodadad Afsharian, the former head of the Referees Committee of the Football Federation, regarding widespread corruption in Iranian football
Afsharian, who is currently in detention, has confessed to at least 15 cases of match-fixing in the Premier League and Division One, and has revealed the involvement of some referees and assistant referees in determining the outcomes of matches. According to informed sources, these referees will soon be summoned to court to respond to their charges.
The Iran Varzeshi newspaper, also quoting Jam-e Jam, has revealed more details of these confessions. According to this report, Afsharian named several referees and assistant referees in the Premier League as being involved in match-fixing, admitting that these acts have disrupted the dynamics of the Premier League and Division One in recent years.
The extent of corruption in Iranian football is so significant that Kiumars Hashemi, the Minister of Sports, officially announced on Thursday, June 6, that the new Premier League season will definitely be conducted with VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology.
However, government and judicial officials believe that the use of VAR alone is not sufficient, and that decisive action must also be taken against corrupt and bribed elements within the refereeing system.
Jam-e Jam, quoting an informed source, reported on the widespread corruption in football clubs and the involvement of managers, coaches, and referees in match-fixing and influencing match outcomes. This source warned that if all violators are dealt with, many people will be removed from Iranian football.
These revelations come as Fariborz Mahmoudzadeh, the former head of Division One and the Special Affairs Deputy of Mehdi Taj, the President of the Football Federation, was also arrested yesterday.
The former head of the Referees Committee of the Iranian Football Federation was arrested in connection with a financial corruption case on charges of receiving “bribes.”
According to a report by ISNA news agency on Wednesday, June 5, Khodadad Afsharian, the former head of the Referees Committee of the Football Federation, was arrested in connection with the case of “bribery payments by Mes Rafsanjan Club to some football managers.”
In addition to the arrest of Khodadad Afsharian, five other suspects in connection with this case have been summoned to court.
The regime’s ISNA news agency, quoting “an informed source,” reported that “Khodadad Afsharian has been sent to prison in connection with this case.”
In mid-May, shortly after reports of a new case of systemic corruption in Iranian football and the summoning of two federation managers and a sports media editor to court, dismissals in the Football Federation began, including the dismissal of Afsharian.
After his dismissal, Khodadad Afsharian provided the media with a text titled “Resignation Letter,” claiming that he “stepped down to prevent further controversy”; an action some football experts in Iran considered to be “at the behest of judicial and federation officials” or for “self-defense.”
Iranian Regime Presidential Election Candidates Trimmed To 6, Mostly Khamenei Loyalists
The Iranian regime’s election headquarters announced that six of the individuals who registered for the fourteenth presidential election, have been “qualified.” The candidates are Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.
The upcoming election has been described by users and political observers with terms such as “demonstrative military parade,” “electoral circus,” “stand-up comedy,” and “comedy show.”
According to Mohsen Eslami, the spokesman for the Iranian regime’s election headquarters, on Sunday, June 9, 80 people had registered for candidacy in the election that is supposed to determine Ebrahim Raisi’s successor, of which six were approved.
The Guardian Council, which had begun reviewing the qualifications of the registrants on June 4, announced the final list of approved candidates after five days on Sunday. This six-person list notably excludes Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of the Iranian regime, Ali Larijani, the former speaker of the parliament, and Eshaq Jahangiri, the former first vice president.
The fourteenth presidential election, which is being held early due to the death of Ebrahim Raisi, is referred to by some government officials as “political absurdity” and “comedic display.”
Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, warned the candidates participating in this election against “slander and mudslinging,” as he stated that it would “damage national dignity.”
There are many signs that indicate the elections and its candidates are is orchestrated around Khamenei’s death and succession, and the preservation of the regime. The candidates, most of whom have a background in repression and terrorism, have been selected as the regime is ramping up repression, purging its ranks from officials who are not completely loyal to Khamenei, and is doubling down on its terrorist and nuclear activities.
Mostafa Pourmohammadi was one of the members of the Death Committee, who in the summer of 1988 issued the death sentence for more than 30,000 political prisoners. Most of these prisoners were members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Many of these prisoners had completed their sentences or were serving their terms.
It is worth mentioning that Ebrahim Raisi, the former president of the Iranian regime who was killed in a helicopter crash, was another member of this committee.
Ukraine shot down 9 Shahed drones made by Iran’s regime
On Saturday, June 8, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that its drone hunters and air defenses had shot down nine of 13 Iran-made Shahed drones over four regions.
According to Reuters, the Ukrainian Air Force statement said that the Shahed drones were downed over the central region of Poltava, the southeastern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, and the northeastern region of Kharkiv. A Russian X-59 missile was also shot down.
The governor of Dnipropetrovsk region said that the overnight drone attack damaged commercial and residential buildings as well as a power line. Details of damages in other areas were not immediately available.
On Tuesday, June 4, the governor of Dnipro region also reported a Russian missile attack on the city of Dnipro, which injured at least eight people, including two children. He also stated on his Telegram channel that debris from downed Russian missiles had caused damage to residential buildings and a hospital.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Office said on Friday, June 7, that the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine last month increased sharply to 174, the highest number in nearly a year.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, overall casualties last month increased by 31 percent compared to the previous month, marking the highest number of deaths in the past 12 months.
Last month, Russia launched a new military offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, and this city has been under heavy daily attacks, resulting in many civilian casualties.
Tehran-Backed Houthis Have Abducted UN Staff
According to news agencies, Iranian regime-supported Houthi militants have arrested at least 18 aid workers in several attacks over the past three days. These include 11 UN staff, three employees of the National Democratic Institute (funded by the US), and three workers from a local human rights group.
Three officials from Yemen’s legitimate government confirmed to Reuters that Houthi intelligence agents, who control the Yemeni capital Sana’a and large parts of the north, attacked the homes and offices of these individuals in the cities of Sana’a, Hudaydah, Amran, and Saada. They arrested the individuals and confiscated their phones and computers.
Stéphane Dujarric, the UN spokesperson, expressed the UN’s deep concern about these developments on Friday, June 7. He stated that the UN has asked the Houthis to explain why these individuals were arrested and is working to ensure their unconditional and immediate release.
According to the UN spokesperson, the two women and nine men who were detained are UN staff working for five different UN agencies, as well as Hans Grundberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen. A representative from the local charity “Save the Children” told the Associated Press that one of their staff members had been detained and expressed concern for their situation, stating, that they are doing everything they can to ensure their safety and well-being. According to some reports, the abducted individuals are likely accused of sending information to the enemy, a common charge by the Houthis against their critics and opponents and have been transferred to a security prison in Sana’a. The Houthis, who are proxies supported by the Iranian regime, have repeatedly attacked maritime transport in the Red Sea since the recent Gaza war, and in turn, have been subjected to airstrikes by the United States and the United Kingdom. In February, the US Central Command Deputy Commander confirmed that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces are present in Yemen and are operating “side by side” with the Houthis. Reports of IRGC members’ deaths emerged after a news agency affiliated with the IRGC confirmed that the Iranian regime had provided its anti-ship ballistic missile technology to the Yemeni Houthis. On Wednesday, May 29, the Tasnim security news agency reported that the technology for Iran’s first maritime ballistic missile, named Ghadr, had been provided to the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis..@UN_Spokesperson: "We can confirm that the Houthi de facto authorities have detained 11 United Nations national personnel working in #Yemen. We are pursuing all available channels to secure the safe and unconditional release of all of them, as rapidly as possible."@OSE_Yemen pic.twitter.com/lPqQOdvhy2
— UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (@UNDPPA) June 7, 2024
Houthis Unveil a Missile Similar to Iran’s “Hypersonic Missile”
On Thursday, June 6, the Associated Press announced that the Houthis in Yemen, who are supported by the Iranian government, unveiled a new solid-fuel missile in their arsenal, which resembles a missile previously showcased by the Iranian regime and described as “hypersonic.”
The Houthis launched this new missile, named “Palestine,” towards the port of Eilat in Israel on Monday, triggering air raid sirens, but no reports of damage or casualties have been released.
Images released by the Houthis late Wednesday, June 5, show the missile rising on a mobile launcher and rapidly firing with white smoke emanating from its engine. According to the Associated Press, white smoke is common in solid-fuel missiles.
Solid-fuel missiles, which are faster than liquid-fuel missiles, are more efficient for Houthi missile attacks because their launch sites have been repeatedly targeted by the United States and its allies in recent months due to attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis claim that the “Palestine” missile is their own creation. However, this militia, which controls parts of Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, does not have the capability to manufacture complex guided missile systems.
The Iranian regime has armed the Houthis despite the UN arms embargo during the Gaza war. While the regime claims it does not supply weapons to the Houthis, weapons, missile fuel, and parts manufactured by the Iranian regime have been found on ships seized by the United States and its allies.
Although Iranian media described the “Palestine” missile as Houthi-made, the design elements on the missile resemble other missiles manufactured by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the “Fattah” missile.
The Iranian regime’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’s request for comment on the resemblance between the “Palestine” missile and the “Fattah” missile.
Excessive Dam Construction Causing Mass Destruction to Iran’s Nature
Abbas Mohammadi, director of the Mountain Watch Association and environmental activist, warned about the drying up of Lake Urmia, stating that the dam construction by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Energy, costing tens of billions of dollars in recent years, “has been futile and our water situation is getting worse day by day.”
Criticizing the Ministry of Energy’s excessive dam construction and its destructive impact on pastures and “valuable archaeological sites,” he said the result of these actions has been “the submergence of many of Iran’s pastures, historical monuments, valuable archaeological sites, and the displacement of people.”
This civil activist, discussing the destructive impact of the Ministry of Energy’s policies on the drying up of Lake Urmia, told the Khabar Online website that “dozens of dams have been built on the rivers that flow into this lake, blocking the water paths that should feed the lake.”
The director of the Mountain Watch Association, pointing to the minimal impact of recent years’ rainfall on preserving Lake Urmia, warned that “whenever there is a slight increase in rainfall, various types of unsustainable and water-intensive agriculture develop, and there is absolutely no control over water consumption.”
He also spoke about the dangers of excessive drilling of multiple wells around Lake Urmia, stating that “they have done something to the land that it absorbs the water, leaving nothing to replenish the lake. All these factors have led to the drying up of Lake Urmia.”
Mohammadi warned about the intensifying water environmental crises, stating that at least “200 billion cubic meters of the country’s irreplaceable water resources” have been wasted and “by building dams or useless flood barriers, we have diverted rivers from their natural flow.”
This environmental activist spoke about “water wastage,” stating that “1,000 square kilometers, which is 3.5% of Iran’s land,” has subsided, and “3,000 square kilometers of this area subside by more than 10 centimeters per year.”
In another part of his conversation with Khabar Online, Mohammadi criticized the Iranian regime’s tourism policies, saying that “turning Ashuradeh Island in the Golestan region into a tourist destination,” carried out by the Thirteenth Government, was done without regard to “construction in the Caspian Sea area.”
For years, civil and environmental activists have been warning about the excessive extraction of groundwater and land subsidence.
In January 2024, the head of the National Cartographic Center stated that the average rate of subsidence in Iran is five times the global average and said that the average subsidence in Iran has reached 15 centimeters.
However, it seems that no serious action has been taken in this regard over the years.
The Ministry of Energy has formed a committee titled “Adaptation to Water Scarcity,” but experts say this committee has not taken the slightest action regarding aquifer extraction, aquifer deficits, and land subsidence.
