As US Denies Any Deals With Iran, Congress Begins To Push Back

Raisi, who arrived in Cuba for the last leg of his tour early Thursday, was received by Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez upon arrival at the airport and met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana.

"Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Iran are among the countries that have had to heroically confront sanctions (...) threats, blockades and interference by Yankee imperialism and its allies with a tenacious resistance," Diaz-Canel told his Iranian counterpart, adding "This visit reinforced our conviction that we have in Iran a friendly nation in the Middle East, with which to confide ... and talk about the most complex global issues."

Raisi, in his turn, said, "The conditions and circumstances in which Cuba and Iran find themselves today have many things in common. Every day our relations grow stronger."

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Raisi had earlier visited Venezuela, where he and President Nicolas Maduro pledged to boost bilateral trade from $3 billion to $20 billion within an unspecified time frame. Except Iran shipping oil and fuel to Venezuela and reportedly receiving gold, there is not much else the two sanctioned countries can trade.

He later visited Nicaragua, where he had a welcome ceremony at the Non-Aligned Square in the capital Managua led by President Daniel Ortega.

During all the stops, Raisi and the head of state of the host country oversaw ceremonies to signa raft of so-called economic agreements in a show of unity against the United States.

Common themes in Raisi’s speeches throughout the entire tour were creating a “new world order” that would overturn the US "domination" and cooperation among independent -- read sanctioned -- countries in the face of “the imperialist regime,” to become more resilient against US demands and its sanctions.

The three countries chosen as Raisi’s destination South are under scores of embargos over their shady economic dealings with blacklisted outfits such as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their track record of crackdown on dissent.

The Islamic Republic is relishing a sense of undermining its archrival, the US, as Raisi toured fellow sanctioned nations, celebrating it as a diplomatic coup de force at ‘America's backyard’.

During a joint press conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart on Wednesday, Raisi stressed the need for cooperation among “independent countries” towards neutralizing the predicaments that they commonly face, particularly Western sanctions.

"Cooperation between Latin American countries and other independent countries across various regions can forge a unity that can both neutralize sanctions and increase the capacities of the countries in question," he said, claiming that Iran “turned threats and sanctions into opportunities, and through these opportunities made great progress in different areas."

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Riais's claim of successes contradict Iran's dire economic crisis and the daily criticism in Iran even by some of his allies.

Echoing similar anti-US sentiments, Ortega said: "We pay homage along with our heroes and martyrs, to all the heroes and martyrs of Iran and in particular to General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by Yankee imperialism when he was fighting against terrorism."

The Iranian president was accompanied with a large delegation made up of ministers and officials as well as his wife, who also made headlines for her controversial remarks during an interview with a Venezuelan TV channel. 

Claiming that governments abuse at the workplace in the name of freedom, Jamileh Alamolhoda – daughter of firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda – called it an example of violence when women study and work like men.

"We want women to remain women. Why should we be like men? Why should we study, work or live like men? This is a form of violence," she said.

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The one-way drone was launched on Wednesday from the Jask area of Iran 8-9 miles out to sea - within Iran's territorial waters - against a practice barge, the official said, citing US intelligence data.

"Essentially practicing hitting merchant vessels. That's the only reason why you would do that in the Gulf of Oman," the official said.

The United States has accused Iran of being behind several attacks since 2019 against merchant vessels in strategic Persian Gulf waters, which contain some of the world's most important oil and shipping routes.

Iranian media have so far not reported, and officials have not commented on the development.

Iran periodically tests explosive or suicide drones and broadcasts footage of them being tested.

"The closest merchant vessel was about 30 miles out away from the barge, but it was still dangerous," the official said.

Iran has supplied hundreds of its Shahed 131 and 136 suicide drones to Russia that have been extensively used against Ukrainian military and civilian targets.

Early on Thursday Russia launched 20 of these drones against Ukraine but all were shot down before reaching their targets. One purpose of the Iranian drones that are much cheaper than long-range missiles, is to swarm Ukraine’s air defenses during missile attacks.

Reporting by Reuters

Ali Akbar Zarei, the Director General of Foreign Nationals and Immigrant Affairs of Qom Province warned offenders will be stripped of "all social services" under a new enforcement program.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference titled "Hijab of Afghan Immigrants" Zarei told Iran's state TV: “If they do not observe the hijab, it may lead to their deportation."

He also criticized the "inappropriate appearance" of young Afghan children in his speech at the conference.

"The sanctity of the holy city of Qom must be preserved by respecting hijab, and in case of non-compliance, legal means will be used."

During the nationwide protests in Iran last year some deported Afghans said the Iranian government had arrested dozens of their fellow countrymen on charges of participating in anti-regime protests.

Meanwhile, local officials of the Taliban in Herat told Radio Azadi, the Afghan Service of Radio Free Europe, that with the beginning of the protests in Iran, expelling Afghan immigrants from this country increased by 25%.

On October 13, Amnesty International reported that two Afghan teenagers were killed by the Iranian security forces.

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal quoted some UN officials in December as saying that about 360,000 Afghan nationals were expelled from Iran after the Taliban came to power.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, the President of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said that in addition to the work being done by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran needs “a credible military threat” to keep convincing the regime not to cross the line to build nuclear weapons.

“It requires real attention, and the United States administration is going to have to continue, and I would say increase its efforts to push Iran away from building nuclear weapons,” he said. 

As revelations continue about the resumption of US-Iran talks to make progress on the issue of Tehran’s nuclear program, Albright warned of deals which in the long term, may do more harm than good to efforts to disarm the regime. 

Both Tehran and Washington have denied negotiating for an interim nuclear deal.

“I think they [the Biden administration] can do it [but] I think they're conflicted and I think it's the responsibility of Congress and the public to put pressure on the Biden administration to increase their activities against the Iranian regime and in that process, avoid any deals that may in the short run relieve some of the pressure, but in the long run make the situation worse,” he warned. 

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While he says Iran can be kept in check and believes the regime does not possess secret underground facilities which have evaded the eyes of the IAEA’s inspectors, the US cannot afford to turn away. As it focuses increasingly on China and disengages from the Middle East, it is not a realistic policy in a volatile region which needs constant attention. 

“Modest deals to lower the temperature” will not be enough, he said. “The Middle East is complicated … you may want to ignore it but it's not going to ignore you”. 

The regime understands that while building nuclear weapons has some positive aspects, it comes with huge risks, and Albright claims the regime is well aware of this, meaning it too must tread carefully.

“I think Iran can be stopped,” he said. “They haven't made the decision to build nuclear weapons. They increased their capabilities to produce weapon grade uranium. If they wanted, they could take the existing stockpiles of 20 and 60% enriched uranium and make enough weapon grade uranium for five nuclear weapons in a month but that doesn't mean they'll do it.”

However, having the fissile material is the first step and within as little as six months to a year, Iran could make a nuclear weapon, meaning the US and its allies must keep the pressure on the regime to ensure it does not cross the line. 

Publicly, the US continues to deny any deals or new rounds of talks with Iran, after revelations disclosed meetings in Oman this month. At the State Department press briefing this week, a very uncomfortable spokesman Matthew Miller tried to evade questions pressing him on the nature of talks, which he brushed off as “false” and “misleading”. 

However, speaking to the New York Times this week, Ali Vaez, the Iran director for the International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention organization, said talks are merely an attempt to calm tensions rather than strike a new deal, the goal to “put a lid on any activity that basically crosses a red line or puts either party in a position to retaliate in a way that destabilizes the status quo” and “create time and space to discuss the future diplomacy and the nuclear deal”.

The renewed US focus on Iran’s nuclear program a year after talks broke down comes amid growing concern within the Biden administration that Tehran could precipitate a crisis by further increasing its uranium enrichment.

Former White House Middle East policy advisor, Dennis Ross, told the New York Times: “The US seems to be making clear to Iran that if you go to 90 percent, you’re going to pay a hell of a price.”

“They want the priority and focus to remain on Ukraine and Russia,” he said. “Having a war in the Mideast, where you know how it starts but you don’t know how it ends, that’s the last thing they want.”

In an interview with Venezuelan state TV, Jamileh Alamolhoda claimed that governments abuse women sexually or at the workplace in the name of freedom.

Alamolhoda, who is accompanying President Ebrahim Raisi on a tour of Latin America, made the remarks on Venezuela’s teleSUR TV as the first lady of Iran Tuesday night.

She claimed that women's rights organizations mostly focus on domestic violence while “the organized violence outside the family is much more important”.

"We want women to remain women. Why should we be like men? Why should we study, work or live like men? This is a form of violence," she said.

In response to a question about the state murder of Mahsa Amini, she alleged the world's attention to the death of the 22-year-old girl was a “fake media hype".

Iranian security forces have killed over 500 civilians, injured thousands and arrested 22,000 since September when anti-government protests began. One of the main slogans of the demonstrators was “Death to the Dictator (Khamenei)”.

"Unfortunately, by calling (Ali Khamenei) a dictator, they used a fake victory to disrespect our spiritual father and the leader of our revolution," the first lady claimed.

"He [Khamenei] has shown kindness and love to everyone, but the media called him a dictator."