Iranian Affairs

[Khafee]

Iran condemns German ban on Hezbollah, warns of consequences
May 1, 2020

A day after Germany designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization, Iran has "strongly condemned" the move and threatened Germany with consequences. They accused Germany of pandering to the US and Israel.

Iran slammed Germany's ban on the activities of Lebanon's Hezbollah on Friday. The Iranian foreign ministry warned that Germany would face the consequences of its decision to give in to the wishes of the US and Israel.

German authorities designated Hezbollah a "Shiite terrorist organization” and banned its activity on German soil on Thursday. Police conducted four raids linked to the Islamist group.

Iranian government spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi "vehemently condemned" the move in a statement published early on Friday morning. The foreign ministry described it as a "measure serving the objectives of the US and the Zionist regime of Israel," on Twitter.

The foreign ministry statement also says the ban "ignores the realities in West Asia," and claimed that Hezbollah "is a formal and legitimate part of [Lebanon]'s government and parliament" and has played a "key role in fighting Daesh [the so-called Islamic State] terrorism in the region."

Why did Germany ban Hezbollah?
"Hezbollah openly calls for the violent elimination of the State of Israel and questions the right of the State of Israel to exist," the German interior ministry said in Thursday's statement.

The US and Israel have long designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. They have both welcomed the move.

On Friday morning, shortly before Iran's response, Syria reported that Israel has targeted Hezbollah outposts in Syria, with potential casualties and disruption.

Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist political party and militant group in Lebanon, with close ties to Iran. Established during the Lebanese civil war in 1982, the group was key in a 2006 war with Israel.

Germany, following the European Union's example, has outlawed only the military wing of the group. The political wing remains allowed in Germany.

 

[Khafee]

Criminal Charges Filed Against Two Iranian Nationals for Violating Money Laundering & Sanctions Laws by Procuring Petroleum Tanker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 1, 2020

Related Forfeiture Complaint Filed for Approximately $12.3 Million in Funds Is Largest Ever Seizure of IRGC-QF Related Funds
Amir Dianat, 55, and Kamran Lajmiri, 42, both Iranian nationals, were charged with violating U.S. export laws and sanctions against Iran in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A two-count criminal complaint returned today charges Dianat and Lajmiri with conspiracy to provide U.S. financial services to Iranian entities and their front companies attempting to purchase a petroleum tanker, the Nautic, in September 2019. The complaint alleges that the defendants concealed from the seller, financial institutions that clear U.S. dollar transactions, and the U.S. government that the sale of this vessel was destined for Iran, all as part of a scheme to enrich the defendants and other conspirators, and to evade the regulations, prohibitions, and licensing requirements of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).

A related verified civil forfeiture complaint was filed against $12,338,941.91. These funds were allegedly involved in this scheme to launder funds into the United States to illicitly procure the Nautic. The civil forfeiture complaint alleges that this scheme involved the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), all specially designated nationals. The IRGC has also been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This forfeiture action represents the largest ever seizure of IRGC-QF related funds. All funds of terrorist organizations are subject to forfeiture.

"These defendants purchased a crude oil tanker valued at over $10 million by illegally using the U.S. financial system, defiantly violating U.S. sanctions," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. "This is yet another example of Iran brazenly using front companies and false documentation in an attempt to hide the illegal transactions that the Iranian regime desperately needs to fund its malign activities. The enforcement of U.S. sanctions and related financial criminal laws is a major component of the National Security Division's commitment to protecting the national security of the United States. I commend the efforts of the prosecutors, agents, and analysts who uncovered this illegal scheme and whose work resulted in the largest ever forfeiture action involving IRGC-QF."

"Employing civil forfeiture authorities specifically available to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, we will continue to aggressively prosecute those who abuse our financial system to support sanctioned entities," said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Shea for the District of Columbia. "We will use every measure available under the law, to include civil forfeiture to recover funds for the victims of terrorism. These laws exist and serve to prevent hostile countries from illicitly generating revenue, such as through the sale of oil, to fund their weapons proliferation programs. Today's charges are another example of the dedicated and unrelenting efforts of our office, the FBI, and HSI."

"Today's complaint demonstrates that those who use the U.S. financial system to benefit the Iranian oil industry will be investigated by the FBI and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Rainer Drolshagen. "Iran's petrochemical and petroleum sectors are primary sources of funding for the Iranian regime, and the FBI will continue to aggressively pursue those who illegally use the U.S. financial system for their benefit."

"Protecting our homeland encompasses many missions, including safeguarding our nation's exports and currency," said Steven W. Cagen, HSI Colorado Special Agent in Charge. "These criminals thought they could enrich themselves while aiding Iran, a country that continues to pose a serious threat to our nation's security. They will now face the consequences of their actions."

A concurrent action was filed by the Department of the Treasury, sanctioning Dianat and his related front company, Taif Mining.

According to the pleadings, beginning around May 2019 through December 2019, Dianat and Lajmiri conspired to purchase the Nautic via a complex web of front companies, including Taif Mining. After sending the final wire payment to the seller, Taif Mining took possession of the Nautic. It quickly changed its name and began making trips to Iran to load Iranian petroleum. Because a U.S. bank froze the funds related to the sale of the vessel, the seller never received payment. As a result, the seller instituted a civil action in the U.A.E. to recover the vessel.

On March 15, 1995, the President, pursuant to IEEPA, issued Executive Order No. 12957, finding that "the actions and policies of the Government of Iran constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States" and declaring "a national emergency to deal with the threat." In subsequent Executive Orders, the President imposed economic sanctions, including a trade embargo, on Iran. The Executive Orders and the ITSR prohibit the exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran of any goods, technology, or services from the United States or by a United States person without prior authorization or license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, located in Washington, D.C. The conspirators utilized the U.S. correspondent banking system to process illicit transactions in U.S. Dollars, and at no time were U.S. financial institutions alerted that they were financing the purchase of a tanker for Iranian entities.

If convicted, Dianat and Lajmiri would face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by special agents from the FBI Minneapolis Field Office and HSI Colorado Springs.

The details contained in the pleadings are mere allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law, and the burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia M. Faruqui and Brian Hudak, National Security Division Trial Attorney David C. Recker, and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Elizabeth Swienc and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, are representing the government.

 

[Khafee]

Venezuela Paying Iran 'In Gold' For Alleged Help To Revive Oil Industry
Radio Farda May 01, 2020

An Airbus A340-300 of Iranian airline Mahan Air taxis at Duesseldorf airport DUS, January 16, 2019

The U.S. Special manager for Venezuela on Thursday said in a desperate attempt to revive its oil industry, cash-strapped Venezuela is paying Iran with gold in return for Iranian assistance.

Since April 21 an air bridge has been opened between Iran and Venezuela with several flights by Mahan Air. The airline has been under U.S. sanctions since 2011 for allegedly transporting fighters and weapons to Iran's proxies and support of terrorism on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard.

On April 24 Associated Press (AP) reported that two flights by Iran's Mahan air had landed at a western Venezuelan town on April 23 and 24 to deliver key chemical components used for producing gasoline. A source told AP that 14 more flights were expected in the coming days, some of them carrying Iranian technicians.

"Our assumption is that those planes that come from Iran are bringing things for the oil industry, and they return full of gold as a form of payment," El Politico quoted Elliot Abrams, the U.S. Special manager for Venezuela as saying.

Informed sources have told Bloomberg that Venezuela has sent some 9 tons of gold – an amount equal to about $500 million – to Iran by Mahan Air this month for help in revival of its crippled gasoline refineries.

But Iranian help to revive Venezuela's oil industry is just an assumption at this point, and the gold transfer could have other reasons.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said Mahan Air flights had to stop and called on other countries to deny overflights to the sanctioned airline.

The BBC quoted a Western diplomatic source in February 2019 saying that Venezuela was exporting huge quantities of gold to Turkey, part of which was ending up in Iran. The source said that Turkey had been warned. However, Turkish President Recep Erdogan was a vocal supporter of the Venezuelan regime during the push last year by the United States to bring the opposition to power.

Opponents of Nicholas Maduro accuse the Venezuelan government of mining gold in illegal ways, using mafia networks to control small miners with use of violence.

The United States has urged other countries to deny overflight rights to Mahan Air in addition to the denial of landing rights already in place by some countries. "You've got one terrorist regime helping another terrorist regime," the U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said in an exclusive interview with Radio Farda on April 30.

"The [Iranian] regime regularly claims things that are false, including that they were helping Venezuela's oil industry. But I think we can probably safely assume it's not limited to that," he said.

Iran boosted its relations with Venezuela during the presidencies of Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who made various agricultural, industrial, and financial agreements. Iran also undertook construction projects in Venezuela and built several factories including a car assembly factory. Venezuela, however, failed to pay for some of the services offered by Iranian companies and the level of economic relations has dropped since.

 

[Khafee]

Iran Says 3,600 Arrested For Spreading Coronavirus-Related Rumors

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi (file photo)

A spokesman for Iran's armed forces says 3,600 people have been arrested in the country for spreading rumors regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi made the comments on a live news program on state-controlled television on April 28, claiming that the Islamic republic's "enemies" had "elements" inside the country who follow their orders.

Sherkachi suggested that the unnamed enemies were trying to hurt the country due to its "very good" performance against the coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 6,000 Iranians and infected over 93,500, according to official figures released on April 29.

The real figures are suspected of being significantly higher, with even the Research Center of Iran's parliament estimating earlier this month that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the country was likely to be double the official numbers, due to insufficient testing and reporting.

Tehran has been criticized for its slow initial response to the pandemic and failure to quarantine the city of Qom, where the outbreak erupted and spread to the rest of the country.

Shekarchi's comments come weeks after the U.S. State Department accused Iran of arresting individuals who have attempted to report the real extent of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country by contacting U.S. officials.

Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda on March 28, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Iran had not been transparent about its coronavirus cases and death toll, adding that when the Iranian people asked the government to tell the truth, when they demand transparency from the government, the regime does everything to stop them.

The French media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on April 15 condemned the Iranian establishment for the persecution of journalists and citizen-journalists who have published information about the coronavirus epidemic that lacked official approval.

 

[Khafee]

Facebook Says It Dismantles Disinformation Network Tied to Iran's State Media
By Reuters
May 05, 2020

LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO - Iran's state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said on Tuesday.

In a monthly report of accounts suspended for so-called "coordinated inauthentic behavior," Facebook said it had removed eight networks in recent weeks, including one with links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB).

Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, said the IRIB network had "substantial connections" to previously identified Iranian disinformation campaigns, but it was too early say whether it was directly responsible for those operations.

The state-owned IRIB, which has its head appointed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iranian officials have previously dismissed allegations of running coordinated disinformation campaigns as "ridiculous."

The Islamic Republic has emerged as one of the most persistent players in online influence operations, as Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet's Google have had to grapple with state-backed groups using social media to further their geopolitical agendas and spread disinformation.

A Reuters investigation in 2018 found that one Tehran-based operation had used more than 70 websites masquerading as local news outlets to covertly disseminate Iranian state propaganda in more than 15 countries, at one point tricking the then Pakistani defense minister into issuing a nuclear threat against Israel.

Iranian officials in Tehran and London did not reply to questions about the operation at the time.

Gleicher said the newly identified network had used similar tactics, including posing as independent media websites and charitable organizations, to target countries from Algeria and Bangladesh to the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

The network used more than 500 accounts on Facebook and its photo-sharing site, Instagram, to spread messages that often focused on local conflicts or criticism of U.S. actions in the region, he said. "In general, these were narratives that are aligned with Iranian geopolitical interests."

Researchers at social media analytics firm Graphika, who reviewed the IRIB-linked accounts before they were suspended by Facebook, said some of the earliest-identified activity dated back to 2012 and targeted the U.S. Republican party primaries.

Two years later, other accounts in the network used a handful of fake personas, memes and cartoons to support Scotland's referendum bid to break away from the United Kingdom, they said.

Graphika's head of investigations, Ben Nimmo, said those attempts were short-lived but show that Iran was experimenting with online election meddling years before alleged Russian attempts to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential vote. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations.

"The Iranian experiment was relatively tiny and didn't last long or have any noticeable impact. What's interesting is how early they started," he said.

"This whole takedown underlines how persistent the Iranian state is when it comes to covert influence operations."

 

[Khafee]

Iran's Rohani Vows 'Crushing Response' If Arms Embargo Extended
May 06, 2020

Iranian President Hassan Rohani speaks during a cabinet meeting in Tehran on May 6.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has threatened a "crushing response" if the United States continues efforts to prolong a UN Security Council arms embargo on Tehran that is set to expire later this year.

A landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers provided for Tehran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions, as well as for a UN conventional-weapons embargo due to expire in October.

But U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the agreement signed under his predecessor, Barack Obama, calling it a bad deal, and reimposed harsh sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

Washington now says it also wants to extend the arms embargo.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on April 29 to use all means available to extend the ban beyond October and said he was "hopeful" the UN Security Council would prolong the restriction before it expires.

However, Security Council members China and Russia, which stand to win major new arms contracts with Iran and together with France, Germany, and Britain are still part of the 2015 deal, are certain to oppose an extension of the embargo.

In a televised speech on May 6, Rohani repeated Iran's long-standing criticism of Washington's decision to exit the nuclear deal, which he called a "stupid mistake."

"If America wants to return to the deal, it should lift all the sanctions on Tehran and compensate for the reimposition of sanctions," the Iranian president said.

"Iran will give a crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended," he added.

Iran has gradually rolled back its commitments under the accord since the United States withdrew from the pact.

Washington believes Iran's nuclear program is secretly working toward military capabilities, while Tehran claims it is solely for civilian purposes.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

 

[Khafee]

Detained Iranian Student Accused Of Ties To MKO; Family Calls Charges 'Ridiculous'
May 06, 2020

Mujahedin-e Khalq members wave Iranian flags during a conference in Albania in July 2019.

The siblings of a detained Iranian student have dismissed a judiciary claim that their brother has ties to the exiled opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO or MKE).

Speaking on May 5, judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaili accused two students detained last month of contacts with the MKO, which is considered a terrorist group by the Islamic republic.

The group, aka the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, which collaborated with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 war between Iran and Iraq, was removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations in 2012.

Esmaili said the two students, whom he did not name, had "explosives" in their homes, while adding that they had been trained to conduct terrorist operations in the country.

He appeared to be referring to two award-winning students from Tehran's top Sharif university, Ali Yunesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, who were arrested on April 10 on unknown charges. He did produce any of the evidence.

Yunesi's siblings, who are based outside of Iran, said the charges were "ridiculous," while accusing the judiciary of covering up the truth about the arrest of their brother.

Reza Yunesi told the BBC that the authorities appeared to be pressuring his family due to his parents' past MKO membership.

He said his parents, who still live in Iran, had not been members of the group for years.

He added that his brother was not politically active and that the family had not been able to hire a lawyer for his detained brother.
Yunesi's sister, Ayda Yunesi, said in a video posted on Twitter that security officers who raided her parents' home in the Iranian capital had said that they did not find anything suspicious.

She said the judiciary did not have any evidence against her brother.
"The best you could do is to link him to those opposing you and misuse the distant past of his parents to cover up the truth," she said, while suggesting that the authorities could pressure her brother to make a false confession.

A number of former detainees have said in recent years that they had been forced to confess to charges brought against them by their interrogators.
Moradi's family has not publicly commented on his arrest and the charges against him.

 

[Khafee]

Three Revolutionary Guards Reported Killed In Western Iran
May 05, 2020


Gunmen have killed three members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in a shoot-out near the country's western border with Iraq, Iranian media report.

The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, said on May 5 that the killed included a colonel.

It said “several counterrevolutionaries” were also killed in the fighting near the Kurdish town of Divandarreh, about 60 kilometers from the Iraqi border.

No details were given on the affiliation of the gunmen.

The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists, as well as militants linked to the Islamic State extremist group.

Based on reporting by AP and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda

 

[!eon]

'They Were Laughing': Iranian Border Guards Accused Of Torturing, Drowning Afghan Migrants

HERAT, Afghanistan -- To escape war and poverty, Shah Wali left his village in northwestern Afghanistan in search of a better life in neighboring Iran.

As the 28-year-old set off on his journey, he was gripped by fear.

Iranian border guards beat, shot at, and even killed Afghan migrants who illegally crossed the border. And even if he reached Iran, he would be subjected to the violence and injustice suffered by many members of Iran’s sizable Afghan community.

But for Wali, it was worth the risk.

Even if he earned a meager living, he would be able to send money back home to his impoverished family in Afghanistan’s Faryab Province, a poor, remote region that has long been the scene of intense fighting between the Islamic extremist Taliban group and Afghan government forces.

Soon after crossing into Iran last week, Wali’s fears were realized.

He was among dozens of Afghan migrants who were illegally smuggled into Iran from the Gulran district in Afghanistan’s Herat Province, located along the border with Iran. But after crossing the 900-kilometer border on May 1, he said the group of around 50 Afghans were stopped and detained by Iranian border guards.

For the next several hours, they were questioned, repeatedly beaten, and then tortured. The guards, he said, then transported the group by bus to the banks of the Harirud, a 1,100-kilometer-long river shared by Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

'Very Serious Human Rights Violation'

Afghan authorities on May 2 launched an investigation into the claims and started a hunt to retrieve the bodies of the many still missing. Officials said there were 70 Afghans in the group.

Afghan health officials said they had so far received the bodies of 12 Afghan migrants, saying most had drowned.

On May 3, Abbas Musavi, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, denied the "incident" took place on Iranian soil, although he added that Tehran had launched an investigation into the claims.

But Afghan officials pointed the finger at Iran, with which Afghanistan has deep cultural, linguistic, and historical ties.

Abdul Ghani Noori, governor of Herat's Gulran district, accused Iranian security forces of beating the Afghan migrants with shovels before sending them into the river.

History Of Discrimination

International human rights groups have documented violations against Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran, including physical abuse, detention in unsanitary and inhumane conditions, forced payment for transportation and accommodation in deportation camps, slave labor, and the separation of families.

In December 2018, a viral video appeared to show an Iranian police officer slapping, insulting, and humiliating a group of Afghan migrants.

Video Appears To Show Iranian Police Officer Assaulting Afghan Migrants

 

[yavar]

U.S. Foreign secretary Mike Pompeo: to extend U.N. Arms Embargo UNSCR 2231, Will Not Let Iran Buy Arms if U.N. Embargo Ends Hundreds of lawmakers urge Pompeo to take 'increased diplomatic action' to renew Iran arms embargo
Hundreds of lawmakers urge Pompeo to take 'increased diplomatic action' to renew Iran arms embargo

WASHINGTON — The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition on this expires in October, U.S. will not let Iran buy arms when U.N. embargo ends: Pompeo

 

[Khafee]

U.S. Foreign secretary Mike Pompeo: to extend U.N. Arms Embargo UNSCR 2231, Will Not Let Iran Buy Arms if U.N. Embargo Ends Hundreds of lawmakers urge Pompeo to take 'increased diplomatic action' to renew Iran arms embargo
Hundreds of lawmakers urge Pompeo to take 'increased diplomatic action' to renew Iran arms embargo

WASHINGTON — The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition on this expires in October, U.S. will not let Iran buy arms when U.N. embargo ends: Pompeo

While the common Iranian suffers, retard Mullahs go gallivanting about funding terrorism directly and via proxy.

Waiting for the Iranian people to grow a pair and kick these retards back to where they came from.

 

[!eon]

While the common Iranian suffers, retard Mullahs go gallivanting about funding terrorism directly and via proxy.

Waiting for the Iranian people to grow a pair and kick these retards back to where they came from.

I never went to Iran, don't know the situation there, but Iranians in Europe are fed up of mullas.

Mulla's true force is in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A blind followership, a part of which is Zynabiun fighting in Syria. These mulla followers make the core of current Pakistan govt.

 

[yavar]

Iran President Hassan Rouhani: Warning US, some other countries must know that Iran won’t ever accept violation of Resolution 2231 arms embargo/ My response to arms embargo in any way will be the same as I have stipulated in last paragraph of my response to leaders of the 5 countries, In a letter to the heads of the P4+1 and the five countries, I emphasised in the final paragraph that if you do this, we will do that, and they know what serious consequences would befall them if such a mistake was made.

US, some other countries must know that Iran won’t ever accept violation of Resolution 2231/ No more JCPOA for US unless they ask again and we accept/ My response to arms embargo in any way will be the same as I have stipulated in last paragraph of m

President warned the United States and its allies that Iran would never accept violation of Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council, and it is Iran’s undisputed right to exit the arms embargo soon within the framework of the resolution.

www.president.ir

 

[Khafee]

I never went to Iran, don't know the situation there, but Iranians in Europe are fed up of mullas.

Mulla's true force is in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A blind followership, a part of which is Zynabiun fighting in Syria. These mulla followers make the core of current Pakistan govt.

Zainabiyoon Militia is from Pakistan, and Fatemiyoon is from Afghanistan. Cannon fodder for mullah proxy wars.

 

[yavar]

=================================
for historical context
here is video of Rouhani letter to EU3
Jan 24, 2020
Iran President Rouhani in letter to Europeans (The U.K., France and Germany, EU3) to quit Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if referred to the UN Security Council JCPOA Parties Already Warned of Iran’s Plan for Possible NPT Exit: Spokesman - Politics news - Tasnim News Agency