Iran’s Regime and Venezuela Are the Largest Users of Shadow-Fleet Oil Tankers

Jubin Katiraie
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Iran’s Regime and Venezuela Are the Largest Users of Shadow-Fleet Oil Tankers
Lloyd’s List, a British publication specializing in shipping and maritime trade, reported that Iran’s regime and Venezuela are the largest users of shadow-fleet oil tankers. Both countries are under extensive international sanctions, including U.S. economic and oil sanctions. Lloyd’s List wrote in its report published on Friday, November 28, that the volume of Iranian and Venezuelan sanctioned crude stored on tankers has reached its highest level, while the number of vessels still unidentified and unsanctioned has decreased.
Iran’s Floating Crude Oil Storage Has Increased
According to the report, this situation has increased pressure on the shadow fleet, yet tanker movement between Iran, Venezuela, and Russia continues. The shadow fleet refers to a network of tankers, front companies, and covert logistical operations used by countries like Iran to evade international sanctions on their oil exports. According to Lloyd’s List, the shadow fleet consists of 1,423 tankers with a combined capacity of 152.2 million tons, 65% of which are sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, or the European Union. The publication tracked at least nine newly added tankers to the shadow-fleet trade last month, six of which entered the market for Iranian sanctioned oil. Thus, most newly added shadow-fleet tankers have been used for transporting Iranian oil, although Venezuela has experienced the largest increase in capacity. With the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, a renewed U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran’s regime began. For example, in the first one hundred days, the Trump administration imposed 17 rounds of Iran-related sanctions targeting 40 individuals, 117 companies and entities, and 77 tankers.

Sanctioned oil exports from Iran and Venezuela continue

The number of non-sanctioned tankers in the shadow fleet has decreased due to extensive sanction programs. Delia He, an analyst at the energy firm Vortexa, told Lloyd’s List that due to the large volume of Iranian oil sitting on water—signaling offloading challenges—Iran’s shadow fleet is likely operating at near-full capacity. According to Vortexa data, Iran’s crude oil and condensate exports in 2025 have ranged between 1.5 and 1.7 million barrels per day, nearly 6% higher than last year and about 25% above recorded 2023 volumes.
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The analyst added that despite tougher enforcement of sanctions and Western regulatory oversight this year, this sustained growth reflects increasingly sophisticated sanction-evasion tactics by Iran. In September, before the activation of the snapback mechanism, the Research Center of Iran’s regime parliament stated that its assessments show snapback activation would have “no serious economic impact” on Iran and that the regime, relying on sanction-evasion experience and the opposition of China and Russia, could manage it. At the same time, Mohsen Paknejad, Iran’s regime oil minister, responded to the activation of the snapback mechanism by saying the government has “the necessary expertise to bypass” sanctions. Vortexa data shows that Iran’s utilization rate of oil-carrying vessels in November reached its highest level in twenty-seven months, up 40% from last year. Lloyd’s List wrote that Venezuela faces a similar situation: despite a large volume of its crude sitting on water, Caracas continues to export crude at high levels.

Russia’s situation

Lloyd’s List reported that Russia has attracted fewer tankers for its oil shipments over the past two months, and tankers move between sanctioned oil markets depending on market incentives. For example, one tanker involved in ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil off Malaysia in August delivered its cargo to China, then sailed to the Baltic Sea and is now loading at Russia’s Port of Primorsk. According to the report, tanker movement between the Iranian and Venezuelan oil markets is also possible.

The role of Chinese, Hong Kong, and Emirati companies

Lloyd’s List reported that China and Hong Kong ranked first in September and October for registering companies entering the shadow fleet, accounting for nearly half of the companies managing newly added vessels. The British publication added that Hong Kong has traditionally been a major destination for the shadow fleet, with 15% of the current fleet registered there. In November of last year, a group of U.S. lawmakers wrote to then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing concern about Hong Kong’s growing role as a financial hub for money laundering, sanction-evasion, and illicit activities involving Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia, calling for policy changes toward Hong Kong. Lloyd’s List also reported that the United Arab Emirates has the largest share in the technical management of tankers, with 19% managed by UAE-based firms. China ranks third with 16%. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Waleed Khalid Hamid Al-Sameraei, an Iraq-born businessman based in the UAE, for involvement in Iranian oil smuggling and for managing a network of shipping and oil-trading companies.

Food Inflation in Iran Soared to 66% in November

Mehdi Hosseini
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Food Inflation in Iran Soared to 66% in November
Food prices have increased by more than 66% over the past year, with some sub-categories experiencing even higher growth. Bread and cereals rose by 100%, fruit and nuts by 108%, vegetables by 69%, beverages by 68.3%, fish and shellfish by 52.3%, and milk, cheese, and eggs by 48.6%. Data from the Statistical Center of Iran’s regime shows that in November, the highest inflationary pressure fell on the “food, beverages, and tobacco” category, which grew by 4.7%—more than double the increase of the “non-food goods and services” category.
Iranian Regime’s Failure to Curb Inflation Fuels Economic Anxiety and Distrust
According to these statistics, year-on-year inflation—measuring price changes relative to November 2024—reached 49.4%. The non-food sector also continued its upward trend, recording a 2.6% increase. This means Iranian households had to spend nearly 50% more to purchase a basket of goods comparable to that of November last year. According to the Statistics Center’s report, average annual inflation in November 2025 reached 40.4%, reflecting the increase in average prices of goods and services over the 12 months leading to November, compared with the same period the previous year. The report states that year-on-year inflation over the past year reached: 57% for tobacco, 42.6% for clothing and footwear, 35.8% for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 33.4% for rent, 78.3% for water, electricity and fuel, 50.4% for housing maintenance services, 50% for furniture and household goods, 48.2% for healthcare, 42.5% for transportation, 40% for vehicle purchases, 37% for personal transport, 54.6% for public transport, 32.4% for communications, 46.3% for recreation and culture, 46.1% for education, and 43% for hotels and restaurants.

Year-on-year inflation for consumer goods and services

The data also shows that annual inflation varies across expenditure deciles: the first decile—lowest income—recorded the highest inflation at 41.7%, while the tenth decile—the wealthiest—experienced the lowest inflation at 39.5%. The inflation gap between income deciles reached 2.2 percentage points, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month. During this period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 49.4 percentage points compared to last November—0.8 percentage points higher than in October. Monthly inflation in November 2025 was reported at 3.4%, indicating a rise in the price index compared with October. The release of these statistics coincides with the approval of a three-tier gasoline pricing system, sharply intensifying concerns about continued inflationary waves in the coming months. Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, the executive deputy to the president of Iran’s regime, said on Thursday, November 18, “Managing energy consumption, reforming gasoline prices, and strengthening the coupon program are the most important strategies for reducing livelihood pressures and inflation on the people.” He added, “Essential items such as meat, chicken, rice, pasta, oil, legumes, and cheese can be provided through the coupon system so that household food security is preserved and the inflationary impact of rising costs is reduced.” On November 18, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, acknowledged the livelihood hardships faced by citizens, saying that they recognize the increase in prices and “have no problem apologizing to the people wherever necessary, and we know our inflation rate has risen somewhat in recent months.” This comes while the base monthly salary of a worker with two children barely reaches 130 dollars.

Vitali Klitschko Calls for Urgent Intervention to Stop Execution of Iranian Political Prisoner

Sia Rajabi
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Vitali Klitschko Calls for Urgent Intervention to Stop Execution of Iranian Political Prisoner
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and a former world boxing champion, issued a letter calling for the halt of the execution of Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, a thirty-year-old boxer and political prisoner held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. Vafaei-Sani was arrested after the nationwide and bloody pro-democracy protests of November 2019 and sentenced to death by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court. The mayor of Kyiv expressed solidarity with, and joined, the joint statement issued by Iranian and international athletes opposing the death sentence of Vafaei-Sani. He strongly condemned Iran’s regime for confirming the sentence on October 3, 2024. In his letter, Klitschko emphasized the role of sports in human societies, stating that sports should inspire hope, unity, and courage. He wrote that executing an athlete for his political views is a direct attack on these values and a warning to every athlete who dares to speak out. He called on the United Nations, international sports federations, and governments to immediately act to save Vafaei-Sani’s life, adding that the world must not remain passive while Iran’s regime silences its champions. He said, “We stand with Mohammad Javad. We stand for justice.” Earlier, on November 6, 2024, a group of well-known Iranian and international athletes had issued a joint statement addressed to the United Nations, international sports federations, and various governments, warning that Vafaei-Sani’s execution was imminent and urging action to save his life. The statement emphasized that Mohammad Javad has been imprisoned for more than five years under torture and long stretches of solitary confinement solely for participating in the pro-democracy protests of November 2019 and for supporting the democratic opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The mayor of Kyiv warned in another part of his letter that in recent months Iran’s regime has executed many other protesters on similar fabricated charges and without any accountability. According to him, this is a ruthless attempt to spread terror and silence a population that is no longer willing to accept a corrupt and repressive rule. Klitschko added that Vafaei-Sani’s case is not an isolated tragedy and that Iran has a dark record of executing athletes for their beliefs. He cited the executions of Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national soccer team, and Forouzan Abdi, the captain of the women’s national volleyball team, who was executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre. He also mentioned Navid Afkari, the wrestler executed in 2020 for participating in the peaceful protests of 2017. Babak Paknia, Vafaei-Sani’s lawyer, announced on October 4, 2024 that the death sentence of his client had been upheld by Branch Nine of the Supreme Court despite what he described as “numerous flaws.” Previously, the Supreme Court had overturned the boxer’s death sentence multiple times. Security forces of Iran’s regime arrested Vafaei-Sani in March 2020, following the bloody November 2019 protests in Mashhad, and transferred him to Vakilabad Prison. Approximately two years later, in January 2022, the Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced this protesting citizen to death on the charge of “corruption on earth through arson and destruction of public property.” At present, in addition to prisoners jailed for non-political charges who are executed daily in Iran’s prisons, around 70 political prisoners across the country are at risk of having their death sentences confirmed or carried out. More than 100 others face the risk of receiving death sentences on similar politically motivated charges.

Australia Officially Designates IRGC As Terrorist Entity

Mehdi Hosseini
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Australia Officially Designates IRGC As Terrorist Entity
Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, announced on Thursday, November 27, that the Australian government has placed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on its list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” This decision was made following extensive security and intelligence assessments and reflects a significant shift in Canberra’s approach toward the destabilizing actions of Iran’s regime both inside and outside the country. This decision comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier, in September, accused Iran’s regime of orchestrating two antisemitic attacks and the arson of properties belonging to the Jewish community in Sydney and Melbourne. He also announced that Australia would expel the Iranian regime’s ambassador. Albanese further emphasized that Australia’s embassy operations in Tehran had been suspended and that all Australian diplomats had been relocated to a third country for their safety.
IRGC Seizes Oil Tanker in Persian Gulf Waters
Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), also stated that thorough and detailed investigations by the agency had proven the IRGC’s direct involvement in these attacks and established that this entity had orchestrated at least two — and likely more — attacks against Jewish interests in Australia. Following these revelations, the Australian government declared Ahmad Sadeghi, the Iranian regime’s ambassador, along with three other regime officials, as “persona non grata” and ordered them to leave the country within seven days.

The IRGC’s record of terrorism

The IRGC, particularly its Quds Force, has for years been recognized as one of the most active state-sponsored terrorist organizations in the world. It has played a direct role in financing, organizing, and carrying out violent operations across the region, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and has used proxy militias to advance the repressive policies of Iran’s regime. According to numerous reports from international media outlets and human rights organizations, the IRGC has been central to assassinating Iranian dissidents abroad, conducting bombings, building terrorist networks, and participating in attacks against civilian targets. As a result, it has been sanctioned and listed as a terrorist entity in many countries in recent years. The IRGC is already designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, and many countries — including Canada and the European Union — are under pressure from their parliaments to do the same. However, the policy of engaging in deals with Iran’s regime has so far prevented its formal designation in those jurisdictions.

Hospital Visits for Respiratory Infections Up 30% In Iran

Sia Rajabi
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Hospital Visits for Respiratory Infections Up 30% In Iran
Ruhollah Shirzadi, head of Tehran’s Children’s Medical Center Hospital, said that visits related to respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and influenza have increased by twenty to thirty percent in recent weeks compared to previous months. Shirzadi said on Wednesday, November 26, in an interview with the state-run ISNA news agency, that despite this rise, ICU admissions due to influenza and COVID-19 have not yet increased. Seasonal factors, being indoors with closed doors and windows, increased close contact due to spending more time in enclosed environments, and children being present in schools all contribute to the higher spread of contagious respiratory illnesses during this season.
Air Pollution Among Five Leading Causes of Death in Iran
Shirzadi explained that the seasonal waves of influenza, coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, and parainfluenza begin in November and continue until March. He emphasized that although the number of severely ill patients visiting the Children’s Medical Center has increased, the figures related to influenza and coronaviruses are not alarming at this time. Alongside air pollution, the rise in influenza cases has also led to school closures and a shift to remote classes in several provinces of Iran. The Ministry of Health had earlier announced that the percentage of positive influenza cases has risen significantly since the first week of November, and although all age groups are affected, children and teenagers account for the majority of cases. According to the ministry’s statement, high fever is the most common symptom among children brought to medical centers, and in rare cases where the fever is not controlled in time, there is a possibility of seizures. The Ministry of Health’s Center for Infectious Disease Management also announced on November 23 that influenza transmission has surpassed the alert threshold. Despite the spread of influenza in Iran, no official statistics have yet been released regarding possible deaths caused by the illness. Several specialists, including Shirzadi, have recommended that individuals with underlying conditions, those with cardiovascular diseases, transplant recipients, people with progressive lung diseases, pregnant women, and adults over sixty must receive the influenza vaccine. In addition to influenza, the renewed spread of the COVID-19 virus in Iran has also been confirmed. Qobad Moradi, head of the Ministry of Health’s Center for Infectious Disease Management, said on November 19 that the share of COVID-19 among current respiratory infections is about 2%.

13 Prisoners Executed in Iran in 3 Days

Mehdi Hosseini
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13 Prisoners Executed in Iran in 3 Days
Thirteen prisoners were executed in different cities across Iran. One of the prisoners was executed publicly in the city of Bastam. These executions took place between Saturday, November 22, and Tuesday, November 25. Execution of Gholamali Eftekhari in Neyshabur Prison On the morning of Tuesday, November 25, Gholamali Eftekhari was executed in Neyshabur Prison. He had been charged with drug-related offenses.
Iran: 304 Executions in One Month, 1,735 In 2025 So Far
Public execution of a prisoner in Bastam According to the state-run Mizan News Agency, at dawn on Tuesday, November 25, a prisoner was executed publicly in Bastam. He had been accused of rape. His first name was Mostafa, and he was twenty-seven years old. Execution of Amin Chahar-bashi in Gorgan Prison At dawn on Tuesday, November 25, Amin Chahar-bashi was executed in Gorgan Prison. He had previously been arrested on murder charges and sentenced to death. Execution of three prisoners in Yazd Prison On the morning of Tuesday, November 25, three prisoners were executed in Yazd Prison. They had been charged with drug-related offenses. Their identities are under review. Execution of two prisoners in Kashan Prison At dawn on Sunday, November 23, two prisoners were executed in Kashan Prison. Their identities are as follows: – Hamid Amini, twenty-five years old, who had been arrested five years earlier on murder charges and sentenced to death. – Ashkan Shahrabi, who had also been arrested on murder charges and sentenced to death. Execution of Arslan Behbehani in Sabzevar Prison At dawn on Sunday, November 23, Arslan Behbehani was executed in Sabzevar Prison. He had previously been arrested on drug-related charges and sentenced to death. Execution of two prisoners in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz On the morning of Sunday, November 23, two prisoners were executed in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz. They had been charged with drug-related offenses. One of the prisoners was Shahmorad Dehqani; the identity of the second prisoner is under review. Execution of Mehran Saqa’i in Dorud Prison At dawn on Sunday, November 23, Mehran Saqa’i was executed in Dorud Prison. He had been charged with murder. Execution of Ghasem Sarlak in Aligudarz Prison On the morning of Saturday, November 22, Ghasem Sarlak was executed in Aligudarz Prison. He had been charged with murder.

Iran’s Floating Crude Oil Storage Has Increased

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iran’s Floating Crude Oil Storage Has Increased
Data from Kpler, a global shipping-analytics firm, shows that the volume of Iranian crude stored on floating tankers has reached 52 million barrels, the highest level in two and a half years, indicating falling demand from its main buyer, China. According to Bloomberg, nearly half of this oil is located near Malaysia. The report, published on Tuesday, November 25, stated that this amount is nearly twice the volume stored one month ago and far above the five to 10 million barrels stored on floating tankers in January.
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The buildup of cargoes has increased the discounts on grades such as Iran’s light crude. Traders familiar with the market—who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the dealings—have said that the discount has reached as much as eight dollars below Brent crude, whereas three months earlier it had been about four dollars. On September 17, Reuters reported—citing six commercial sources—that the Iranian regime has been selling oil to small Chinese refineries (known as “teapots”) at deeper discounts. Iran’s stored oil volumes in China have reached a new record, while end-of-year import-quota restrictions have increased, prompting the regime to offer even steeper discounts. According to that report, the discount on Iran’s light crude for October cargoes exceeded six dollars per barrel relative to Brent. Two weeks earlier it had been around five dollars, and in March roughly three dollars. OilPrice.com also reported on August 9 that despite the tempting discounts, Chinese buyers were not purchasing Iran’s oil, leaving more than 30 million barrels stranded near Malaysia. Despite sanctions, until the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in January 2025, some small Chinese “teapot” refineries continued buying Iranian oil because of the regime’s extremely high discounts. But once Trump took office, this pattern gradually became disrupted. According to Kpler data from that period, Iran’s floating crude inventories rose from nine million barrels in mid-January to 33.4 million barrels in early August. Most of these stranded tankers are anchored in the waters of Singapore and Malaysia—key hubs for Iran’s ship-to-ship transfer operations—and storing such large volumes at sea imposes heavy costs on the Iranian regime. Additionally, following the twelve-day conflict, Iran’s regime, fearing strikes on its onshore oil storage facilities, has moved a large portion of its stored oil onto tankers.

Chinese “teapots”

Under sanctions, the main buyers of the Iranian regime’s oil were China’s small independent refineries, known as “teapots.”
Iranian Oil Discounts to China Reach Highest Level in Over a Year
From the outset of his term, the Trump administration imposed unusually strict pressure on buyers of the regime’s oil. Malaysia has also come under U.S. pressure to crack down on the accumulation of Iranian oil in its waters.

Air Pollution Among Five Leading Causes of Death in Iran

Jubin Katiraie
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Air Pollution Among Five Leading Causes of Death in Iran
Abbas Shahsavani, a faculty member at Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, stated that the number of polluted days and deaths attributed to air pollution has been rising year after year, placing air pollution among the five leading causes of death in the country. On Tuesday, November 25, Shahsavani told the state-run Tasnim News Agency that the number of “unhealthy for all groups” days has tripled this year. According to his data, from the start of the year (March 21) through November 23, the number of “unhealthy for sensitive groups” days in Tehran has increased by about 40% compared to the same period last year.
Iran’s Power Plants Burning Mazut Despite Ongoing Air Pollution
The number of “unhealthy for all groups” days in the capital has also tripled compared to 2024. Reports indicate that on November 25, Tehran’s air quality reached the red zone, hazardous for everyone. In recent weeks, the capital and other cities across Iran have consistently been in the orange or red zones. On November 25, the air quality in Karaj, Qazvin, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Urmia, and Zanjan also reached the red and hazardous level for all individuals. Due to worsening air pollution and a surge in influenza, schools in seventeen provinces were closed or switched to online classes on November 25 and 26. These provinces include East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Qazvin, Kerman, Lorestan, Markazi, Hamedan, and Yazd.

Air pollution as a major driver of fatal illnesses in Iran

Air pollution does not only cause coughing, wheezing, or eye irritation; it also leads to more severe consequences, including respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, increased risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, and even death. The Beheshti University faculty member told Tasnim that 45% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 30% of deaths linked to heart disease and cardiac arrest, 28% of deaths caused by strokes, and 20% of diabetes-related deaths in Iran are attributed to air pollution.
Air Pollution in Several Major Iranian Cities May Reach Dangerous Levels
According to Shahsouni, 24% of lung cancer deaths and 23% of deaths caused by lower respiratory infections are also due to air pollution. Overall, based on data provided by this Health Ministry official, around 54,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in 2024, making it one of the five leading causes of death in Iran. Shahsouni said the number of air-pollution-related deaths for 2025 cannot yet be estimated, but since polluted days are more numerous this year, the number of attributed deaths will naturally be higher. In recent months, varying reports on the number of air pollution victims in Iran during 2024 have been published, sometimes with significant discrepancies. Alireza Raisi, the deputy health minister of Iran’s regime, announced in early November that around 59,000 people had died due to air pollution, although earlier, in August, Shahsouni had put the figure at “more than 35,000.”

Iran’s Regime Is Clearing One of Its Nuclear Facilities, Study Shows

Sia Rajabi
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0
Iran’s Regime Is Clearing One of Its Nuclear Facilities, Study Shows
Five months after the end of the twelve-day war, the Institute for Science and International Security announced—based on satellite imagery—that Iran’s regime is carrying out a cleanup operation at the new headquarters of the Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which is responsible for weaponizing Iran’s nuclear program. The National Council of Resistance of Iran-U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US) held a press conference on January 31, unveiling new intelligence that Tehran is actively advancing its nuclear warhead development program.
Tehran Advances Nuclear Weapons Program with Covert Russian Assistance
The intelligence outlines how the Iranian regime is focusing on the development of nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles at the Shahrud missile site. This effort is spearheaded by the Organization for Advanced Defense Research (SPND), which oversees Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The Washington-based institute wrote in its latest report on uranium-enrichment facilities in Iran—which were attacked during the twelve-day war—that SPND moved to a new building in 2013 but continued its key operations at the Lavizan-2 complex.
Source: Institute for Science and International Security
Source: Institute for Science and International Security
The new headquarters was located one and a half kilometers from the previous Lavizan-2 site, on Fakhrizadeh Street in Tehran. According to the institute, the International Atomic Energy Agency never inspected this building, and it appears to have been targeted multiple times in airstrikes. On June 20, the Israeli military announced that in its overnight strikes on Iran, it had targeted, among other sites, the central SPND building in Tehran. This institution was established by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh to research and develop advanced technologies and weaponry for the Iranian regime’s military capabilities. Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in the regime’s nuclear program, was killed in 2020. During the twelve-day war, seven B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in the United States as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer” and struck the regime’s nuclear sites. Since then, Donald Trump has described the operation as successful and stated that these facilities were destroyed. Nevertheless, after the attack, Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran’s regime, defended the policy of domestic enrichment inside Iran.

The SPND building became unusable

The institute emphasized that the new SPND headquarters never collapsed but was likely severely damaged internally and ultimately rendered unusable. Based on satellite images from the company Ventour, the institute wrote that between August 19 and October 23 Iran has been demolishing the building; its roof and upper floors have been removed, and large piles of debris surround the structure. According to the report, it is unclear how long full demolition will take, but it is evident that officials of the Iranian regime are salvaging remaining equipment from the building, including three cooling units that no longer appear in the latest images. The clearing of the main SPND building follows an August 27 report by the institute stating that Iran’s regime was also wiping away traces of nuclear activity at the Lavizan site.

Destruction of one copy of Iran’s nuclear archive

The institute reported that the bombing destroyed one copy of Iran’s nuclear archive—a collection of key documents related to nuclear activities that included details on past weapons-development work and likely contained additional, more recent and critical data on the development, testing, and production of nuclear weapons. The institute raised the key question of whether other copies of this archive exist. The institute also wrote in its new report that the main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have been largely destroyed, and no significant activity has been observed at them since the war. The institute emphasized that unlike the enrichment sites that were attacked, several locations connected to “nuclear weaponization”—such as the main SPND building—show extensive signs of cleanup efforts. Furthermore, the fate and status of enriched-uranium stockpiles—particularly the 60% enriched stock—remain unknown, and Iran’s regime has refused to grant the IAEA access for verification.

Rebuilding the destroyed capability is difficult

The institute wrote that without access to the sites and without up-to-date information from Iran, the IAEA has been forced to rely on satellite imagery—although such images reveal only part of the reality.

X’s New Feature Reveals Iranian Regime Officials Enjoy Privileged Internet Access

Jubin Katiraie
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0
X’s New Feature Reveals Iranian Regime Officials Enjoy Privileged Internet Access
A new feature introduced by platform X that displays the location used to create and log into user accounts has triggered widespread reactions. Officials of Iran’s regime continue to insist on internet censorship, even though they themselves enjoy unrestricted access. X has recently introduced a feature that reveals the IP address used to create an account, as well as the country and method currently being used to access it. In Iran, however, the X platform—like many other social networks—has long been blocked by the regime, forcing users to rely on VPNs to access it. For this reason, the new feature on X does not display Iran as the access location for most domestic users, since they connect through VPNs and foreign servers. What has triggered widespread public outrage in Iran is that the feature still shows Iran as the access location for a number of regime officials, political figures, and state-aligned media personalities. Critics say this shows they are using unrestricted access—known as “tiered internet” and “white SIM cards”—which are exempt from censorship.

Public outrage over privileged internet access for regime-affiliated users

For example, the data show that Amirhossein Sabeti, a member of the regime’s parliament and a staunch supporter of compulsory hijab and filtering, uses an American smartphone and unrestricted “white” internet access. Observers say these “white SIM cards” are issued by the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC Intelligence Organization to regime-affiliated figures, enabling them to operate online without censorship in support of Iran’s regime. It has also become apparent that many accounts claiming to be regime opponents based abroad are actually being operated from inside Iran. The UK Defence Journal, citing the new account-location data from platform X, reported that several prominent pro-Scottish-independence accounts—claiming to be Scottish activists—are actually run from inside Iran. The UK Defence Journal wrote that some of these accounts briefly expressed support for Iran’s regime during the twelve-day war between Iran’s regime and Israel. However, when Iran’s regime shut down the internet nationwide during the war, activity on these accounts stopped at the exact same time.
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