The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, expressed its support for extending an arms embargo on Iran in a letter to the United Nations. The letter noted that Iran had "not ceased or desisted from armed interventions in neighboring countries, directly and through organizations and movements armed and trained by Iran." The letter accused Iran of arming members of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, Shiite militias in Iraq, and militants in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The embargo blocks Iran from exporting arms and importing major weapon systems.
News Briefs
August 7, 2020
Iran launched three new petrochemical projects worth $1.6 billion: the Kaveh Petrochemical Plant in Bushehr Province, which can produce approximately 2.56 million tons of methanol a year; the Kimia Pars Middle East Petrochemical Plant in Bushehr, which can produce 1.65 million tons of methanol a year; and the Lorestan Petrochemical Catalyst Production Unit in Lorestan Province, which can produce 100 tons of catalysts for polyethylene a year. Iran intends to inaugurate 13 more projects by March 21, 2021, and invest $17 billion in a total of 27 projects by March 21, 2022. Iranian officials see the expansion petrochemical exports as a way to reduce their country's reliance on crude oil exports, which have declined due to U.S. sanctions.
-- Anadolu Agency
August 4, 2020
Unidentified warplanes launched airstrikes against Iranian positions near the Syrian city of Albukamal, which borders Iraq, according to a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The area hosts the Imam Ali military base, where pro-Iranian militias operate. The militias maintain other outposts that extend to the nearby city of Deir Ezzor, including the T-2, T-3, and T-4 bases. Airstrikes have hit these locations every month for over a year. The most recent airstrikes targeted Imam Ali, the area of al-Sekka, and the desert around Deir Ezzor, resulting in the deaths of fifteen militiamen and the destruction of weapons.
-- The Jerusalem Post
July 30, 2020
The United States expanded the scope of sanctions on Iran's metals sector to include those who knowingly transfer materials on a 22-item list to Iran, including aluminum powder with a purity above 98 percent. These materials may be used in Iran's military, nuclear, or ballistic missile programs, according to the U.S. State Department. The United States may also sanction those who knowingly transfer certain materials to Iran's construction sector because it is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These materials include graphite and raw and semi-finished metals.
-- Reuters
July 28, 2020
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force and Navy began the "Great Prophet 14" military exercise in the province of Hormozgan. The drill involves drone, missile, and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force and units specializing in drones, missiles, and ships from the IRGC Navy. The Noor 1 military satellite, which the IRGC put into orbit in April using a three-stage Qased launch vehicle, will monitor the exercise.
-- Mehr News Agency
July 27, 2020
The Swiss Humanitarian Trade Agreement (SHTA) completed its first transaction on behalf of a Swiss pharmaceutical company, sending a cancer drug to Iran. The company and value of the shipment was not disclosed by the Swiss government. The channel is intended to send humanitarian aid such as food and medicine to Iran without violating U.S. economic sanctions.
-- Reuters
July 24, 2020
A U.S. F-15 fighter jet came within 1,000 meters of an Iranian airliner over Syria, forcing the Iranian airplane to descend abruptly and injuring several of its passengers. The U.S. Defense Department said that it was conducting a visual inspection of the Mahan Air plane "in accordance with international standards" to ensure the safety of personnel at a U.S. airbase in al-Tanf. Iran described the encounter as "harassment" and claimed that the jet came within 100 meters of the passenger plane.
-- The Wall Street Journal
July 23, 2020
Javad Karimi-Ghodousi, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, asserted that a "security breach" led to an explosion at the Natanz nuclear complex. Karimi-Ghodousi also dismissed theories that "an object from outside" struck Natanz. At the same time, Iran's Foreign Ministry said that foreign governments might have conducted cyberattacks against Iranian facilities.
-- Asharq al-Awsat
July 21, 2020
An Israeli missile strike on weapons depots and military positions in Syria killed five Iran-backed militia fighters. The strike hit targets around Kiswah, a town south of Damascus associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). There were also Israeli strikes on targets in the towns of Jabal al-Mane, Muqaylabiya, and Zakiya, which allegedly killed Iranian military personnel.
-- The Times of Israel
July 21, 2020
Abolfazl Amouei, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in the Iranian Parliament, claimed that 1,044 first-generation centrifuges, divided into six cascades, were enriching uranium to 4.5 percent at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Amouei's comments followed a visit by Iranian parliamentarians to the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan (Natanz) and Shahid Ali Mohammadi (Fordow) nuclear sites. Regarding Natanz, Amouei stated that parliamentarians "observed first-, second-, and fourth-generation centrifuges in the nuclear site that were put in the enrichment chain."
-- Mehr News Agency