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TOP STORIES
The United States' attempts to
isolate Iran, including by punishing Iraqi militias and politicians
who are supported by Iranian officials, has deepened tensions not
only between Washington and Baghdad but also within the Trump
administration. American military and intelligence officials said the
increasing pressure on Iraq risks infuriating its Parliament,
including politicians linked to Iran, which could limit the movements
of the 5,200 United States troops based in Iraq.
An influential Iranian cleric
says Iran might bring Shiite militias to the country from other parts
of the Middle East to fight threats to the government. Musa
Ghazanfarabadi, head of the Tehran Islamic Revolution Courts, told
religious students in Qom this month that his government could use
foreign fighters to crack down on potential popular uprisings in
Iran.
Iran and Syria on Monday
demanded the United States withdraw its troops from Syria, and the
Damascus government threatened U.S.-backed Kurdish forces with
military defeat if they did not agree a return of state authority.
The Iranian and Syrian military chiefs were speaking after a meeting
in Damascus that also included their Iraqi counterpart, who gave a
political boost to President Bashar al-Assad and Tehran by announcing
the Syrian border would soon be reopened.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
Just after dawn Fatemeh Ansari
Mokhtari stood alone outside Tehran's Shahid Baharloo supermarket,
gripping the edge of her black chador. Hours later she was still
there, now at the head of a long queue, as a refrigerated van pulled
up and the driver unloaded Australian-reared lamb wrapped in white
muslin. The 69-year-old was eligible for 3 kilograms of
state-subsidized meat, her monthly allotment."It's good we have
this at least, otherwise what would we do?" she said. "It's
bread and milk, too -- the pressure is immense."
Over the past few months, oil
market participants and analysts focused on OPEC's production cuts,
soaring U.S. shale output, the U.S.-China trade dispute, projections
of slowing oil demand growth, and most recently-the U.S. sanctions on
Venezuela's oil industry. While these factors are still on
everyone's mind, the U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil are also returning
to focus with the six-month waivers to key Iranian oil customers
expiring in six weeks.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
There's not much good news to
share in Iran as Nowruz, the Iranian new year, approaches. The
economic situation that played a role in nationwide protests during
December 2017 and January 2018 is still difficult as millions of
Iranians struggle to live a decent life. Inflation and perceptions of
widespread corruption further fuel popular frustration, prompting
dozens of labor groups-including truck drivers, steel workers, and
teachers-to lead protests againstthe Iranian government's economic
policies over the past year.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
The attorney for imprisoned Navy
veteran Michael White said he is concerned for his client's health
but "hopeful" Iran will release him to the U.S. so he can
be with his family. "He's actually quite ill. He's had cancer
and other illnesses and we're concerned that's going to revive itself
in his system. So we're hopeful that the Iranians will release him so
he can come back home to his family," attorney Mark
Zaid told Fox News's America's Newsroom on Monday.
Brian Hook, U.S. Special
Representative for Iran, has responded to Iran's President Hassan
Rouhani who told the Iranian people "to put a curse" on
those who caused the current economic crisis in Iran. Tweeting in
Persian, Hook said: "In response to the paralyzed economy,
Rouhani asked the Iranian people to put a curse on United States,
Israel and Saudi Arabia! By resorting to curses and magic he is after
blaming others for his economic record."
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed
"grave concern" that Hezbollah's weapons would
"endanger the stability of Lebanon and the region." In an
implicit reference to Iran, Guterres called on member states to
"carry out their duties" in terms of not supplying arms and
military equipment to entities and individuals in Lebanon. He also
urged the Lebanese government to take "all necessary
measures" to disarm the militias in accordance with the Taif
Agreement and international resolutions.
"Hezbollah was planning to send 5,000 to infiltrate
Israel," said Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in an
event commemorating former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan on Monday.
"Looking at my term as chief of staff three years back, there
were many events in which escalation was a hair's breadth from
happening," stressed Eisenkot.
This week, Israel, Lebanon and
Kuwait will be hosting US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo on what will be yet another drive by the Donald Trump
administration to push back against Iran's "maligned"
regional interests. This visit comes on the heels of Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Iraq last week, one of whose
goals is to do what the United States opposes: expand relations
with regional countries, namely Iraq.
In the middle of December 2018,
two senior members of the Shin Bet brought the following news to the
office of former Lt. Gen. Chief of Staff (COS) and now head of the
Blue and White party Benny Gantz: Hostile agents had hacked
Gantz' cellular phone and acquired sensitive information that could
embarrass him. Gantz' intentions of entering politics were only made
known a short time before, in September 2018.
Iran expelled two Dutch
diplomats earlier this month after the Netherlands accused Tehran of
involvement in assassinations in the northwestern European nation.
Amsterdam also recalled its ambassador for consultations. Now,
Iranian media have pushed a complex conspiracy alleging that the
Dutch diplomats were spies and that one of them is Jew-ish and
connected to Israel.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran-backed Shiite militias in
Iraq are growing more powerful and confident as they operate with
increasing impunity. Gunmen murdered Iraqi novelist Alaa
Mashzoub, a chronicler of Iraq's lost Jewish community, as he rode
his bicycle through his hometown of Karbala Feb. 3. Mashzoub was a bold
critic of Iran's increasing power in Iraq. His relatives believe that
was what led Shiite militiamen to target him.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
US officials are currently
engaged in peace talks aimed at reaching a political settlement with
the Taliban, driven by a desire for peace and security in
Afghanistan, with the support of regional neighbors. This article
focuses on Iran's role in promoting peace in Afghanistan due to its
proximity and its interests in the country. It tries to answer
questions about the extent of Iran's presence in Afghanistan, the
scope of its interests and their prioritization.
TURKEY & IRAN
Turkey and Iran on Monday
started a joint military operation against Kurdish militants on
Turkey's eastern border, state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the
interior minister as saying. Turkey has recently talked about a
possible joint operation with neighbor Iran to counter outlawed
militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), but this is the
first time Turkish authorities have confirmed a raid.
Turkey repeated on Monday that
it and Iran were carrying out a joint operation against Kurdish
militants, despite a denial from Tehran that it was
involved. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the joint
operation targeting militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) on Monday was the first of its kind and that he hoped
more would follow. It was not clear where the operation was
happening.
Turkey's interior
minister announced today that Ankara and Tehran have launched
joint operations against Kurdish rebels along Turkey's eastern
border. But Iran almost immediately denied the report, raising
suspicion about Ankara's motives in making the assertion. Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu said the joint operation against the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) began at 8 a.m. local time on
March 18 and marked "a first in history."
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran this week faced a media
industry outcry over its alleged systematic targeting of BBC Persian
Service journalists including the "sexual defamation" of
female staff. It follows a move by the European Parliament to back a
resolution criticizing the treatment of BBC Persian service
journalists by Iranian authorities. Writing in The Guardian, veteran
UK media commentator Roy Greenslade said that "too little
attention has been paid to an insidious long-run campaign of
persecution by the Iranian authorities against the staff of the BBC
Persian service."
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