Bahrain imprisons 51 people for forming terrorist group which took orders from IRGC
Bahrain’s High Criminal Court sentenced 51 defendants to prison terms ranging between five years and life in prison on charges of forming and joining a terrorist group that took orders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), state news agency BNA reported on Tuesday.
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Also Read: IRGC marks the anniversary of uprooting U.S. influence in Iran
The authorities’ investigation revealed that the 52 defendants, including 27 fugitives abroad, had received support and funding from the IRGC and were supplied with weapons, explosives, equipment, and tools necessary to commit terrorist operations in Bahrain.”They plotted to target economic and vital installations, security patrol sites, and the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and Bahrain defense forces. To carry out their plans, some of the defendants were tasked with traveling to Iran and Iraq where they underwent military training in IRGC camps and Iraqi Hezbollah camps,” BNA reported.”They were trained to lead the terrorist groups in Bahrain and instructed to recruit members to form separate clusters that would carry out terrorist operations in different areas of Bahrain,” BNA added.The defendants were ordered to carry out an operation targeting a bank’s ATM at the entrance of the Jidhafs area in November 2019.Some of the defendants also received orders to attack public transportation vehicles and targeted vehicles with the intention of setting them on fire as they passed on Budaiya highway.
IRGC marks anniversary of uprooting U.S. influence in Iran
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has marked the 41st anniversary of ending the U.S. presence in Iran, saying relying on the domestic power and capacities of the country guarantees the Iranian nation’s victory against the U.S. economic war.
In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said the enmity of the U.S. toward the Iranian nation dates back to 60 years ago, a reference to the 1953 U.S.-backed coup against the democratic government of Mohammad Mosaddegh.
It emphasized that since then both Democratic and Republican presidents have pursued the same hostile policies against Iran, Mehr reported.
The statement also refuted the idea of linking foreign developments to solutions to address domestic problems.
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Also Read: IRGC wants Iranians to ignore US elections
On November 4, 1979, Iranian revolutionaries occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran, which was dubbed “the den of spies” by Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. The day is marked in Iran as the National Day of Fight against Global Arrogance. According to the IRGC, November 4 is characterized by three momentous incidents in the history of the U.S. regime and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It added that the treacherous, vicious and criminal hand of the United States in the incidents of the massacre of 56 Iranian students in the University of Tehran (4 Nov. 1943), the exile of Imam Khomeini to Turkey (4 Nov. 1964), and the seizure of Den of Espionage (4 Nov. 1979) reveals the arrogant approach of the rulers of the White House against the Islamic Revolution. The notion of “fight against global arrogance” has a root in the principles and foundations of the Islamic Revolution, the IRGC said, stressing that it won’t be influenced by any psychological operations, media propaganda.
IRGC wants Iranians to ignore US elections
The US presidential elections will no doubt impact a number of countries worldwide that are monitoring the developments closely. Perhaps few countries could be impacted more so than Iran.
With President Donald Trump’s exit from the nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions, life has certainly become more difficult for the average Iranian.
On paper, it may seem as if a Joe Biden administration may lessen the pressure on ordinary Iranians; this is not guaranteed.
Whatever the results may be, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement asking Iranians to avoid US elections and rely on domestic issues to solve the country’s problems.
The statement by the IRGC in honor of Nov. 3 (13 Aban), the National Day to Combat World Arrogance, said the country must rely on “active resistance.” Nov. 4, 1979, is the day Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran.
This eventually led to US hostages being held for 444 days. The statement called for “relying on domestic strength, capacities and capabilities” in the face of “the US-imposed economic war by America.”
The phrase “imposed war” is what Iranians also refer to as the Iran-Iraq War.
The statement said the United States has harbored animosity toward Iran for more than 60 years (a reference to the 1953 US-backed coup), and whether the president has been a Democrat or Republican, “there has been no change in American arrogance and hostile policies against the Islamic Republic.”
The statement condemned the idea of linking foreign events to solutions to address domestic problems.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has long been an advocate of striving to solve domestic problems through domestic initiatives. President Hassan Rouhani, who came to power in 2013, ran on the campaign promise to strike a nuclear deal and open up the country economically to Western Europe.
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Also Read: Iranian cyber team working for Biden-Harris
Iranian cyber team working for Biden-Harris
Iranian cyber team working for Biden-Harris
Iranian cyber team working for Biden-Harris
Iranian mullahs are anxiously waiting to see an end to Trump-era and have Joe Biden and his “running-mate” Kamala Harris, who already have pledged to re-enter into nuclear deal with Iran and even lift sanctions. Earlier, Jerry Dunleavy wrote in the Washington Examiner that Iranian hackers are targeting state election websites and pushing disinformation.
Iran’s war on diplomats
Iran’s war on diplomats
Iran’s war on diplomats
When radical Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 41 years ago and held dozens of American diplomats and embassy employees hostage, they violated international diplomatic norms and precipitated U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.
Iran’s Domestic Woes in the Light of U.S. Pressure
Even without the recent signing of a normalization deal between the UAE, Israel, and Bahrain, the dynamics of the contentious relationship between the U.S and Iran are growing more severe, and Iran is facing significant challenges to its strategic success in the region. U.S
The country is still adjusting in the wake of the United States’ assassination of Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani early this year, which represents one of the biggest security challenges facing Iran in recent times.
The scale of the theater of strategic operations in which Soleimani moved, the volume of military dossiers he oversaw, and the number of armed groups and militias he directed indicate his past importance to Iranian strategic efforts. Soleimani has therefore left Ismail Qaani (nicknamed General al-Shami), the new head of the Quds Force, with big shoes to fill.
Qadiani has faced difficult security conditions in the recent past, and he needs to maintain Iran’s strategic successes—especially in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon—with the same capability that Soleimani possessed.
This kind of success is becoming increasingly important to Qaani as Iran struggles internally with the coronavirus pandemic and economic and trade sanctions. U.S
In addition, the peace agreements between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel on one hand and the peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government on the other have constituted a viable American strategy to surround Iran with a “peace belt” containing Iran within its borders.
At least until the end of the Trump presidency, Qaani believes protecting the Iranian strategic project is supremely important in the face of these hostile developments.
The road ahead for Iranian foreign policy is fraught with difficulties.
As Iran continues to pursue influence abroad, especially among Shia populations in Arab states, the United States has striven to dampen that influence and coerce Iran into changing its expansionist behavior.
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Also Read: Basij Bases in Iran Should Turn into Healthcare Centers: IRGC Chief
Basij Bases in Iran Should Turn into Healthcare Centers: IRGC Chief
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami ordered the Basij commanders across Iran to convert their bases into healthcare and rescue centers to help contain the coronavirus pandemic with early detection of infection.
In remarks at a videoconference with the IRGC’s medical headquarters officials and provincial military commanders on Friday, Major General Salami said the IRGC is duty-bound to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
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Also Read: US sanctions companies selling, purchasing, and enabling Iran’s oil industry
US sanctions companies selling, purchasing, and enabling Iran’s oil industry
Less than a week before the November 3 election, the US Administration announced on October 29 sanctions on companies selling, purchasing, and enabling Iranian petrochemical products.
The US will continue to prevent the Iranian regime from using the Iranian people’s natural resources to fund terror and support oppression, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on October 30.
“Yesterday, the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Justice have taken important actions to constrain the regime’s oil and petrochemical sales,” Pompeo said.
‘Instead of providing for their people, the Iranian regime’s brutal leaders continue to use Iran’s revenues to support destabilizing activities in the Middle East and support terrorism around the world.
The United States will not waiver in our efforts to pursue any entity or individual helping the Iranian regime evade our sanctions,” Pompeo added.
The US Justice Department said on October 29 that it filed a complaint to forfeit two shipments of Iranian missiles that the US Navy seized in transit from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to militant groups in Yemen, as well as the sale of approximately 1.1 million barrels of Iranian petroleum that the United States previously obtained from four foreign-flagged oil tankers bound for Venezuela.
These actions represent the government’s largest-ever forfeitures actions for fuel and weapons shipments from Iran, the Justice Department said in a statement posted on its website.
“The two forfeiture complaints allege sophisticated schemes by the IRGC to secretly ship weapons to Yemen and fuel to Venezuela, countries that pose grave threats to the security and stability of their respective regions,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said.
“Iran continues to be a leading state sponsor of terrorism and a worldwide destabilizing force.
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Also Read: US Sanctions Target 11 Entities, 5 People for Violating Iran Sanctions
US Sanctions Target 11 Entities, 5 People for Violating Iran Sanctions
The U.S. Treasury and State departments on Thursday announced sanctions on 11 entities in Iran, China, and Singapore for buying and selling Iranian petrochemicals.
In addition, the Justice Department announced two forfeiture complaints against Iran for the recent seizures of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen and refined petroleum bound for Venezuela.
“The two forfeiture complaints allege sophisticated schemes by the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] to secretly ship weapons to Yemen and fuel to Venezuela, countries that pose grave threats to the security and stability of their respective regions.
John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. “Iran continues to be a leading state sponsor of terrorism and a worldwide destabilizing force.
It is with great satisfaction that I can announce that our intentions are to take the funds successfully forfeited from the fuel sales and provide them to the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund after the conclusion of the case.”
According to Demers, in November 2019 and February 2020, U.S. Navy ships interdicted flagless vessels carrying “large stocks of weapons, including 171 guided anti-tank missiles, eight surface-to-air missiles, and various other missile components.”
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Also Read: US slams Iran for ‘smuggling’ envoy into Yemen
FILE – The crew of the USS Normandy seized this illicit shipment of weapons and weapon components intended for the Houthis in Yemen, aboard a stateless dhow in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 9, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo)An investigation revealed the weapons to be manufactured in Iran and “consistent with known Iranian weapon systems.” On Aug. 20, 2020, the Justice Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to forfeit the seized weapons. The second forfeiture complaint was filed on July 20, 2020, by the department’s National Security Division and the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.