Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took delivery of the nation’s first ship capable of launching drones and helicopters, according to IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri. The ship, called the Shahid Beheshti, is a modified container vessel. It has a 180 meter runway and can reportedly launch and retrieve larger Iranian drones, such as the Qaher. The ship also holds fast-attack craft, unmanned submarines, and short-range anti-ship cruise missiles.
News Briefs
February 4, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum restoring his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in an attempt to prevent the nation from acquiring nuclear weapons. The memorandum directs the U.S. Treasury and State Departments to use sanctions and enforcement mechanisms to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero. Iran's oil exports brought in $53 billion in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. The president also asked U.S. allies to “snapback” international sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
-- Reuters
February 3, 2025
Iran is directing a team of scientists and weapons engineers to explore a faster way to convert the country's stockpile of highly enriched uranium into a workable nuclear weapon, according to U.S. intelligence. This approach would rely on an older-style nuclear weapon design that could not be miniaturized to fit on a ballistic missile, rather than the more sophisticated design Iran received from Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan. This shortcut approach might cut the development timeline for a weapon down to a few months from the current U.S. and Israeli estimates of between one to two years.
-- The New York Times
February 2, 2025
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent calls for a new deal restricting Iran’s nuclear program. Khamenei cited Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his first term as justification, although other Iranian officials expressed openness to negotiations with the United States.
-- Reuters
February 2, 2025
Iran unveiled a new ballistic missile called the Etemad during a ceremony in Tehran attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian. The missile is 16 meters in length, 1.25 meters in diameter, and has a range of 1,700 km. It was developed by Iran's Defense Ministry.
-- IRNA
January 31, 2025
Israel accused Iranian diplomats and Turkish citizens of smuggling tens of millions of U.S. dollars in suitcases through the Beirut airport to Hezbollah. The Lebanese government is obligated to secure the country’s ports of entry and prevent the supply of arms and related materials to Hezbollah under the terms of a November ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, however the agreement does not specifically mention cash transfers. Israel has threatened air strikes on the Beirut airport if it continues to be used to supply Hezbollah.
-- Wall Street Journal
January 27, 2025
Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ali Shadmani announced that Iran has purchased Sukhoi-35 fighter jets from Russia. Shadmani did not state how many jets were purchased or whether they had been delivered to Iran. Shadmani is also Deputy Coordinator of Khatam-ol-Anbia Central Headquarters.
-- Reuters
January 23, 2025
U.S. president Donald Trump redesignated Yemen’s Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), imposing more restrictive sanctions than the Houthi’s former designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The move will trigger a review of U.N. partners, non-governmental organizations and contractors operating in Yemen. Earlier in the week, the Houthis released the crew of the Bahamas-flagged commercial vessel Galaxy Leader, whom they had detained along with the ship in 2023.
-- Reuters
January 22, 2025
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi announced that Iran has begun to dramatically accelerate its uranium enrichment program. According to Grossi, Iran plans to produce more than 30 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity per month, up from 7 kg previously. Iran notified the IAEA of its plans in December, and its enrichment capacity will increase as new centrifuges are brought online.
-- Reuters
January 22, 2025
Two Iranian cargo ships are scheduled to transport a chemical precursor for missile propellant from China to Iran, according to Western security officials. The two ships, the Golbon and the Jairan, will carry more than 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate for delivery to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) within weeks, according to the officials. Sodium perchlorate is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, which makes up 70% of solid-fuel missile propellant and is controlled by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, said it was not familiar with the report.
-- Financial Times