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TOP STORIES
The United Nations is
investigating two North Korean missile and arms companies suspected
of operating in Iran in possible violation of international
sanctions, according to a report by a U.N. panel of experts. The
presidents of top North Korean regime arms firms, KOMID, which
exports equipment for ballistic missiles and other weapons, and Green
Pine, which sells conventional arms, recently traveled to Iran,
according to air passenger documents cited by the report by the U.N.
panel.
An Iranian court has sentenced a
U.S. Navy veteran for an unspecified crime, according to Iranian
state-linked media, in a move that threatens to further strain relations
between Washington and Tehran. Michael White was detained last year
in the northeastern city of Mashhad after an individual accused him
of wrongdoing, while authorities also were investigating possible
security-related charges against him, an Iranian prosecutor said in
January.
Iran's human rights record came
under sharp criticism at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday,
with a U.N. expert singling out Iran's crackdown on dissent and
practice of sentencing children to death. Presenting his first report
to the Geneva-based council since taking office in July, the Special
Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, cited what he
called Tehran's "worrying patterns of intimidation, arrest,
prosecution, and ill-treatment" of human rights defenders,
lawyers, and labor rights activists who have taken part in recent
protests and strikes across the country.
UANI IN THE NEWS
This week, Ebrahim Raisi assumed leadership of the
Iranian judiciary, beginning a five-year term that could lead to an
even worse human rights situation in the Islamic Republic. This is
not to say that Raisi's predecessor, Sadeq Larijani, was anything
other than hostile to concepts such as due process, compliance with
the Rule of Law and international norms in convictions and judgments.
But Raisi represents the worst features of the Iranian judiciary. At
best, his appointment by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei signals the
regime's public disregard for international human rights principles,
and at worst it sets the stage for a dramatic upsurge in
politically-motivated killings.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
Iran is to launch four new
phases at South Pars, the world's largest gas field, with a
production capacity of up to 110 million cubic meters per day, the
oil ministry said on Twitter on Tuesday. No additional
information was provided on when the four new phases would be
launched. Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told state TV last month
that Iran's gas production at South Pars had hit 610 million cubic
meters per day.
The sanctioning of two OPEC
members by the Trump administration has caused some ripples in the
oil market, but not the type of shortages or pain for consumers that
might have occurred. One big reason is that U.S. production continues
to grow, and for the barrels lost, more are coming on line. U.S.
output is now at 12.1 million barrels a day, up more than 1 million
from this time last year, and IHS Markit expects it to be 13 million
by the end of the year.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Jailed Iranian human rights
lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and
148 lashes, her husband Reza Khandan wrote in a post on Facebook on
Monday, without specifying what charges she faced. Sotoudeh's
lawyer, Payam Derafshan, told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
in December that Sotoudeh - arrested last June - had been charged
with spreading information against the state, insulting Iran's
Supreme Leader and spying.
Iran's Judiciary said it
sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to seven years in prison
after she defended protesters against the Islamic Republic's
mandatory headscarves for women. However, Reza Khandan, the husband
of 55-year-old Nasrin Sotoudeh, said on Facebook that his wife's
verdict was delivered to her in jail and that it was "five years
imprisonment for her first case and 33 years imprisonment with 148
lashes for the second case"
A series of videos shared
on social media in recent weeks have shed light on the daily
harassment and violent attacks women in Iran face at the hands of
morality police and pro-government vigilantes seeking to enforce the
country's forced hijab (veiling) laws, said Amnesty
International. The videos show members of the public or plain-clothes
morality police aggressively confronting or attacking women for
defying Iran's degrading forced hijab laws, in the name of
defending "public decency".
Videos shared on social media
recently have demonstrated the "shocking levels of abuse"
women in Iran face from morality police and pro-government
"thugs" seeking to enforce the country's strict dress code,
Amnesty International says. "Iran's forced hijab laws are not
only deeply degrading and discriminatory, they are also being used to
justify violent assaults on women and girls in the streets,"
Philip Luther, the London-based human rights watchdog's Middle East
and North Africa research and advocacy director, said in
a statement on March 12.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
A U.S. citizen held in
Iran has been sentenced for an unspecified crime, Iranian news
agencies reported on Monday, in a case likely to worsen already
terrible relations with the United States. Michael White, a
46-year old U.S. Navy veteran, was arrested last July while visiting
his Iranian girlfriend, the New York Times has reported. The arrest -
the only known one of a U.S. citizen since President Donald Trump
took office - was confirmed by Iran only in January.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran's Commander of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Major General Qassem
Soleimani was awarded the country's highest military honor. Solemaini
was awarded the Order of Zulfaqar from the leader of Iran's Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, making him the first
Iranian military official to receive the order following the
establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iran's Tasnim News
Agency reported on Monday.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran's official IRNA news agency
says the country's newly appointed head of judiciary has also been
elected as a deputy chief in the panel known as Assembly of Experts,
which can appoint or remove the country's supreme leader. Tuesday's
report says the panel voted 43-35 in favor of hard-line Ebrahim
Raisi. Another hard-line cleric, 92-year-old Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati,
heads the 88-seat assembly. The panel has two deputy chiefs.
Shortly after Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call on officials to uproot corruption,
the Iranian judiciary announced perhaps the largest embezzlement case
in the country's history involving some 6.6 billion euros ($7.4
billion). Similar to other major embezzlement scandals in recent
years - such as the one centered on businessman Babak Zanjani,
who is now awaiting execution - the current case relates to
murky schemes to bypass sanctions imposed by then US President Barack
Obama.
Iran's 1989 amended
constitution states that "in order to fulfill the
responsibilities of the judiciary power in all the matters concerning
judiciary, administrative and executive areas, the [Supreme] Leader
shall appoint a just, honorable man well versed in judiciary affairs
and possessing prudence and administrative abilities as the head of
the judiciary power for a period of five years who shall be the
highest judicial authority."
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
On Friday, Hassan Nasrallah made a direct appeal to
Hezbollah supporters. Speaking on the Lebanese militant group's TV
station Al Manar, he urged them to wage "jihad with money".
It appears to be no coincidence that this plea for donations comes
just a few months after the latest wave of US sanctions against Iran.
Clearly, both the nation and its proxies are feeling the pinch. It
also coincides with increased international efforts to isolate
Hezbollah. Just last month, the British Home Secretary Sajid Javid
made the decision to ban all membership of Hezbollah in the UK as
part of an amendment to the 2000 Terrorism Act, ending a previously
established distinction between the group's political and military
wings.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
began a three-day state visit to Iraq Monday by meeting host
President Barham Salih, amid hopes of increasing the volume of trade
between the two countries, despite U.S. economic sanctions that were
imposed on Tehran in August and November of last year. It's not clear
how far Iraq will go to strengthen economic ties with Tehran, but
Iraq has been Iran's most important trading partner in recent years.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
is looking forward to establishing a railroad project with Iraq in
the near future, Iraqi state television quoted him as saying on
Monday. It provided no further details. Rouhani, who is making
his first official visit to Iraq, said in a news conference that he
was also looking to improve cooperation on security and
counter-terrorism matters.
Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani took a massive delegation with him to Baghdad on Monday.
He showed them off at a long table in meetings with Iraqi officials;
at least 16 men were present on each side. Together they are signing
a variety of agreements that aim to cement the Iranian alliance with
Iraq. It's all about appearances in this visit. Iran wants to show
its power in Iraq and illustrate that it is the country's strongest
partner
GULF STATES, YEMEN & IRAN
The Iran-backed Houthi militias continued their
offensive against the Hujour tribes in Yemen's northern Hajjah
province, raising questions over the fate of resistance movement
leaders. Local sources said that contact has been lost with the area,
leaving the fate of the tribal resistance commanders unknown. Sources
close to leading tribal figure Abou Moslem al-Hujouri denied reports
of his death, saying he had turned himself over to the Houthis in
exchange for them to refrain from attacking his relatives and
residents of his hometown of al-Zaakira.
CYBERWARFARE
While Iran is unlikely to match
the cyber capabilities of Russia, China, or even North Korea in the
short term, this third-tier actor has already racked up some notable
wins. Between 2011 and 2013, in some of their first forays into
cyberwarfare, Iranian hackers cost U.S. financial institutions tens
of millions of dollars and knocked Saudi Aramco's business operations
offline for months.
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