By Jubin Katiraie
On Tuesday, July 2, in a state order, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, changed the commander of the Basij Militia and the deputy chief of staff of the armed forces. Khamenei appointed Mohammad Reza Ashtiani as the deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, replacing Ataollah Salehi; and Gholamreza Soleimani as the commander of Basij Militia, replacing Gholam Hossein Gheybparvar.
By Pooya Stone
On Tuesday, 2 July, Ali Nejati, member of the laborers syndicate of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Mill in Ahvaz, received his indictment in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. After their last court session, his dossier along with six others were sent to the revolutionary court of Tehran. The charges against Nejati, in this indictment were “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the government”.
By Pooya Stone
Adel Abdul Mahdi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, earlier this week announced that he would like to see the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim militias curbed. It is a risky announcement to make, with analysts coming to the conclusion that it is to placate the United States.
By Pooya Stone
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Jubeir said Iran will regret it if the mullahs continue to breach the 2015 nuclear deal agreed with world powers.
He said: “Our position is the same as that of most if not all the countries in the world. The Iranians will pay a price if they continue to enrich beyond what they agreed to. And I think there’s no doubt about that.”
By Jubin Katiraie
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has issued a warning to Europe that Tehran will “take the next step” to increase its uranium enrichment to “any amount that we want” this coming Sunday if no moves are made to appease Tehran.
On Wednesday, he said: “Our advice to Europe and the United States is to go back to logic and to the negotiating table. Go back to understanding, to respecting the law and resolutions of the UN Security Council. Under those conditions, all of us can abide by the nuclear deal…. “If you want to express regret and issue a statement, you can do it now.”
By Pooya Stone
The Saudi oil minister called on the international community on Tuesday to take action against Iran’s threats to global energy security.
Khalid Al Falih told CNN that Saudi Arabia has enough spare capacity when it comes to oil to offset US sanctions, but that the big risk will come from any conflict in the Middle East, citing recent attacks on oil tankers and pipelines that Saudi Arabia has blamed on Iran and drone attacks on the Kingdom by Iran-backed militias.
By Jubin Katiraie
An elite Royal Navy bomb disposal diver team were sent to the Middle East to investigate the mine strikes which damaged two oil tankers just over two weeks ago in a suspected Iranian attack.
The bomb disposal experts from the Fleet Diving Squadron, who are supposed to be the world leaders in sea mine warfare, were sent to the United Arab Emirates to examine mine debris and inspect blast damage on the tankers last month and have just returned.
By Jubin Katiraie
Iran’s court of appeal condemned 18 civil right activists to prison. According to these sentences, 16 of these activist are each condemned to 91 days of suspended imprisonment for three years. Two other activists were sentenced to 91 days of imprisonment after they didn’t object to the verdict. All of them were arrested in November 2015 for peacefully gathering in front of Tehran’s Evin prison, and were charged with civil disobedience. They were released on parole.
By Pooya Stone
Iranian hackers have increased their cyberspace operations amid rising US-Iran tensions, which leads American security firms and government officials to believe that there will soon be attacks on US businesses and banks.
The increased Iranian cyberspace activity comes as Iran announced that it has violated the 2015 nuclear deal by increasing its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium in retaliation to US sanctions imposed on Iranian oil and a US cyber attack on Iranian intelligence units.
