Israeli Airstrike On Key Syrian Port Targets Iranian Supplies

In an interview with the Telegraph, UK Minister of State for Security and Borders Damian Hinds cited cyber activity concerns and disinformation campaigns as the reasons behind the decision.

"The three countries that I mentioned to you have physical human capability, they have a big cyber presence, they're able to deploy at scale," Hinds said, referring to Iran, Russia, and China.

He added that it’s not just terrorism that threatens UK security as geopolitical power struggles are on the rise, noting that these countries "are involved in multiple ways" in terms of spies on the ground, cyberattacks, soldiers on standby, and disinformation campaigns.

The triumvirate of Russian, China and Iran was also mentioned by MI6 chief Richard Moore in a BBC interview last month.

“They can run, and do run, information ops and are involved in multiple different ways. I mean, it's difficult to give you a comprehensive list because there are so many potential ways,” Hinds stressed.

He added that North Korea is the fourth hostile state on the radar.

Iran has a strong network of state hackers who regularly target American, Israeli and other government and company computers, both for disruption and for obtaining sensitive information.

The decision derails attempts by Iran-backed militia groups and their political candidates to overturn the election result in which they performed poorly.

The Iran-backed factions, including powerful armed groups, had alleged irregularities in the October 10 vote. Judge Jassim Mohammed read out the ruling rejecting their appeal at the court headquarters in Baghdad.

Iran seemed to be endorsing the election results last week when Iraq’s foreign minister visited Tehran and held talks. For the first time, President Ebrahim Raisi described the elections in Iraq as "peaceful and secure."

The biggest winner in the vote was the movement led by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, an opponent of both Iranian and US influence in Iraq, which won 73 seats, more than any other group in the fractious 329-seat house.

Once the result is confirmed by the Supreme Court, negotiations are expected among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish groups over the formation of a new government to replace the outgoing cabinet led by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Reporting by Reuters

Tehran said on December 21 that Hassan Irloo (Irlu), its envoy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, died of COVID-19 after being repatriated in mid-December. Iran accused Saudi Arabia of having delayed his departure from Sanaa, a charge the Saudi government denied.

"We are in the process of announcing a new ambassador" in Sanaa, Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference, once again accusing Riyadh of delaying Irloo’s evacuation. Saudi Arabia has said it acted quickly in response to mediation by Iraq and Oman.

The United States confirmed last week that Irloo was a Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) senior officer. Both Washington and Riyadh have accused Iran and its Lebanese proxy, the Hezbollah of rendering military assistance to Houthi forces.

A Saudi-led coalition that has been battling Houthi forces in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government for more than six years has imposed a sea and air blockade on Houthi-controlled areas.

The coalition intervened in Yemen against the Houthis after they ousted the Yemeni government from Sanaa in north Yemen.

“The Great Prophet 17 wargames during a break in Vienna talks sent a signal that Iran has found its way forward on its nuclear path, economic relations with the East…military deterrence,” Fars wrote.

Fars’ rhetoric echoes messages repeatedly uttered by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his hardliner supporters, but the phrase ‘Iran on its nuclear path’ is noteworthy.

Fars went on to mock a statement by late president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who reportedly said in 2016 that the world has become a place for “conversation not missiles.” Fars contrasted Hashemi’s statement with Khamenei’s reply at the time who said, “The world is both for missiles and conversation,” and without missiles Iran cannot have negotiations, or it will be the loser.

Fars then went on attacking France for its anti-Iran stance in the Vienna talks, a trend that state media started last week in what appears to be a response to tough positions expressed by the United Kingdom, France and Germany, the three European powers who are participants in the 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA. They have called on Iran to negotiate “seriously” in Vienna and have warned of time running out to reach an agreement.

The IRGC-affiliated website went on to say that last week’s military drills, during which several ballistic missiles were fired at a mock-up of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility, was meant to give Iran’s negotiators in Vienna “a full hand with which to haggle”.

Fars said Iran had fired missiles that could reach the Dimona facility in seven minutes and it demonstrated such a deterrence capability that proves threats by Israel, or the US against Iran’s nuclear sites are “empty threats”.

Iran is not in Vienna because it is weak and in need of an agreement, Fars said, and added, "It is in Vienna to defend its rights" under the JCPOA.

It also published tweets by mostly unknown users who praised the wargames and especially firing missiles at the mock-up of Dimona nuclear reactor. One tweet said, “Dimona nuclear facility – Today the mock-up, Tomorrow the real thing”.

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Mojtaba Mahfouzi, who represents the oil-rich city of Abadan, said during a TV show on Monday that the subsidized price of diesel fuel in Iran is one US cent per lieter, or 60 times less than bulk rates in the Persian Gulf region.

The spokesman for the anti-trafficking taskforce of Iran’s customs administration, Hamidreza Dehghannia, said during the same TV program that there is no exact data but the daily volume of the total petroleum products that are smuggled from the country is about nine million liters (2.37 million gallons).

Mahfouzi then noted such a high volume of smuggling cannot be done by ordinary traffickers, adding that “undoubtedly” there are mafias behind the scenes to get the fuels to the smugglers.

In 2019, a top anti-smuggling official in Iran had put the daily amount of the trafficked gasoline and diesel at around 11 million liters or close to 3 million gallons.

Iranian authorities never offer any explanation on how such a huge volume of fuel can be smuggled out without being detected.

Also on Monday, Oil Minister Javad Owji denied reports that the government intends to raise the gasoline price.