Iran Seizes Second Commercial Tanker in Less Than a Week
Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker yesterday, the U.S. Navy said; Iran had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged vessel six days ago (Reuters)
Two unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal that the first seizure was in retaliation for U.S. efforts to redirect a ship delivering Iranian crude oil to China (WSJ)
U.S. Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker
According to the U.S. Navy, Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman; Iranian state media reported that the oil tanker collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen (Reuters)
Iran’s Judiciary Says Prisoner Swap With Belgium Is Imminent
An Iranian diplomat who has been imprisoned in Belgium for twenty years will soon be freed, Iran’s judiciary said; the diplomat is expected to be exchanged for a Belgian aid worker currently jailed in Iran (Reuters)
UK Sanctions Revolutionary Guards Over Protestor Crackdown
The United Kingdom (UK) announced new sanctions on four people and the entirety of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for assisting Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protesters (AFP)
Israel Opens Embassy in Turkmenistan
The embassy in Turkmenistan, which borders Iran, opens amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel; Turkmenistan had long resisted hosting an Israeli embassy due to pressure from Iran (Al-Monitor)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy denied Tehran’s claim that the Iranian navy forced an American missile submarine to surface in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that no U.S. subs have been in the area recently (Al-Monitor)
Iran Issues Sentences for 2020 Downing of Passenger Plane
A court sentenced as many as ten Iranian military personnel yesterday for the 2020 downing of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 that killed all 176 people on board, an Iranian state-backed news agency reported; the families of victims criticized the ruling for allowing senior officials they viewed as responsible for the shooting to go unpunished (CNN)
Meanwhile,authorities sent warning messages to businesses and car owners as part of an enforcement campaign to catch women who violate the country’s dress code by not wearing headscarves (WaPo)
Russia Supplying Iran With Fuel Via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
According to three industry sources and export data, Russia began fuel exports by rail to Iran this year as both countries face Western sanctions (Reuters)
Iran, Saudi Arabia Formally Restore Ties in Beijing Meeting
The countries’ foreign ministers reestablished diplomatic relations and pledged to work toward economic cooperation and regional stability, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian tweeted today; in addition to reopening embassies in each other’s capitals, Tehran will open a consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh will open one in Mashhad, Iran, Iran’s state news agency reported (AP)
The last time Iran and Saudi Arabia held such high-level talks was in 2016 (BBC)
A joint statement from the officials said China and Switzerland helped broker the rapprochement, which mends ties that were severed after Iranian protesters invaded Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh’s execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric; that incident exacerbated the countries’ decadeslong rivalry, escalating proxy wars and destabilizing oil markets (Bloomberg)
Iran Appoints Envoy to UAE After Seven-Year Vacancy
The appointment comes shortly after the restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia; the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had downgraded relations with Iran following a spike in Iran-Saudi Arabia tensions in 2016 (Al Jazeera)
ICJ Rejects Iran’s Legal Bid to Free Up Central Bank Assets
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said it did not have the jurisdiction to rule on whether U.S. authorities must unfreeze $2 billion in Iranian central bank reserves, though it did find that some U.S. moves to seize Iranian assets had breached a 1955 bilateral treaty (AP)
Iranian and Saudi Ministers Agree to Meet
According to Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, the foreign ministers spoke over the phone to mark the beginning of Ramadan and re-establish diplomatic ties by re-opening embassies and consulates (Al Jazeera)
According to Iran’s finance minister, Russia invested $2.76bn in the country during the previous financial year making Russia Iran’s top foreign investor (FT)
New U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Iranian Drone Program
The U.S. government sanctioned four companies and three individuals in Iran and Turkey that it accused of procuring equipment for Iran’s drone and weapons programs (Times of Israel)
Iran Holds Joint Naval Drills
In the Gulf of Oman, naval forces from China, Iran, and Russia held joint drills, according to China’s Defense Ministry (AP)
Twenty-Two Thousand Protesters Pardoned
The head of the judiciary said Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pardoned more than twenty-two thousand people who had been arrested during anti-government protests in recent months (AP)
Iran and Saudi Arabia Resume Diplomatic Relations
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months; the talks were facilitated by China (Reuters)
Iran Pledges to Increase UN Monitors’ Access to Nuclear Sites
During a visit to Iran last week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said Tehran agreed to allow more inspections of its nuclear sites and reactivate monitoring equipment that was removed last year; however, a joint statement from the IAEA and Iran’s nuclear body did not mention whether Tehran would restore the equipment (AP)
Raisi Says Hijab is the Law
After a viral video showed a man throwing yogurt at two unveiled women in Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi said during live remarks that the hijab is a “legal requirement” (Reuters)
UN Nuclear Chief Visits Iran
The Iranian government invited International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to visit after the agency reported that Iran was enriching uranium “particles” to 83.7 percent purity, nearly weapons grade (AP)
UN Nuclear Watchdog: Iranian Uranium Enrichment Nears Weapons Grade
Iran has enriched uranium to 83.7 percent at one underground site, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a new report; ninety percent enrichment is considered weapons-grade (BBC)
Since November, seven-hundred schoolgirls have been poisoned by toxic gas; the prosecutor general announced a criminal investigation was being opened (BBC)
Iranian Rial Falls to Record Low
As a result of nationwide anti-government protests and crippling sanctions, the Iranian rial plunged to 600,000 to the dollar (AP)
Videos Show Fresh Anti-government Protests Across Iran
Iranians marched across multiple cities to commemorate forty days since two men were executed on protest-related charges, videos posted on social media showed; Iran’s most widespread protests in weeks, the marches continue the anti-government demonstrations sparked by a young woman’s death in morality police custody last year (AP)
Meanwhile, the United States ended a series of meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a grouping of six Arab Gulf states, with a joint statement vowing to work together against Iran’s “destabilizing activities;” the meetings had been postponed over tensions surrounding an output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its oil producing partner countries, a bloc known as OPEC+ (Bloomberg)
China’s President Strengthens Ties and Calls for a Resolution to Iran Nuclear Issue
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing, where he pledged to deepen ties with Tehran “no matter how international and regional situations change”; President Xi also called for a proper resolution to the Iran nuclear issue while maintaining support for Iran’s safeguarding of its rights and interests, according to Chinese state media (Bloomberg;Reuters)
Iran’s Raisi Travels to China to Strengthen Ties
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a three-day state visit to Beijing today, accompanied by six cabinet members, the governor of Iran’s central bank, and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator; the presence of the latter suggests reviving the 2015 nuclear deal could be one focus of the visit (Al Jazeera)
Raisi’s trip to China, the first by an Iranian president in twenty years, aims to operationalize a twenty-five-year cooperation pact signed in 2021, an Iranian official said Sunday (France24)
Iran remains beset by Western sanctions for violating the nuclear deal, which Raisi indirectly criticized in an editorial published in Chinese state media this week (Reuters)
Iran Unveils Underground Airbase
Iran unveiled its first underground air force base for fighter jets equipped with long-range cruise missiles; the head of the Islamic Republic’s military said the base would also be used to launch a response to potential strikes by Israel or others (Times of Israel)
FT: Iranian Tankers Are Shipping Sanctioned Russian Oil
At least sixteen tankers that previously shipped oil from other countries facing heavy sanctions, such as Venezuela, have switched to carrying Russian cargo over the past two months, the Financial Times reported (FT)