US Sanctions IRGC-Backed Network Financing Houthis

During the meeting, Raisi once again accused Israel of carrying out “war crimes and genocide” in Gaza, adding that the United States and other Western countries support Israel’s military campaign.

He criticized what he called “the unilateralism and unfairness of the global system,” saying they are now best reflected in the Gaza crisis.

The repeated allegations of Tehran officials against Israel come against the backdrop of Iran’s openly admitted assistance to Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and its other proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthis.

Their meeting came a day after the Russian president visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to hold talks over the global oil market and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Raisi praised Tehran-Moscow cooperation in the fields of energy and agriculture, further urging the expansion of ties between the two countries.

Putin told his Iranian counterpart that the volume of Tehran-Moscow trade has reached 5 billion dollars, adding that Russia is ready to expand its ties with Iran in different fields, especially in the field of energy.

In 2022, Iran proudly announced the signing of the “largest oil and gas agreements in the country's history worth $40 billion.” However, Russia has not converted any of these memoranda of understanding (MoUs) into contracts.

About a decade ago, Iran also signed dozens of oil and gas MoUs with various Russian companies, none of which were executed.

Speaking about Raisi-Putin meeting, US National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that “it’s certainly not implausible” that Moscow and Tehran would improve their military relations.

Since mid-2022, Iran has reportedly supplied hundreds of kamikaze Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Russia, which have been extensively used to target civilian infrastructure and cities.

“The US has told Israel to let the American military respond to the Houthis,” read the report, adding that Washington believes a response from the Israeli army “could expand the conflict” in the region.

Though the Islamic Republic has avoided any direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the regime has used its allies such as Houthis and Hezbollah to attack Israel and American targets in the region.

Houthis have intensified their attacks since the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas collapsed on November 1.

On Sunday, an American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea.

Back in November, Yemen’s Houthis also seized a cargo ship called “Galaxy Leader” in the southern Red Sea as it was sailing from Turkey to India.

US National Security spokesman John Kirby took Iran to task on Wednesday for destabilizing the region by providing financial and military assistance to extremist militant groups, such as Yemeni Houthis.

“We know that the Houthis are supported by Iran, not just politically and philosophically but, of course, with weapon systems,” he stressed.

Though US warships have intercepted most of the missiles and drones launched by Houthis of Yemen, the Biden administration is receiving more and more criticism over its failure to deter Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. 

“We need to start holding them responsible,” Senator Thom Tillis told Iran International on Wednesday. “I think the administration needs to take a firmer stance because we all know that this is aided and abetted by Iran.”

The Islamic Republic will steadily continue its attempts to destroy Israel in line with “The Second Step of the Revolution,” Gholamreza Soleimani added.

The Second Step of the Revolution was a term coined by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei, in 2019 on the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution. At the time Khamenei pledged resistance against “the American and Zionist domination” in the region.

Khamenei also stated in 2015 that Israel must be destroyed within 25 years, a remark that has been repeatedly cited by Tehran officials ever since. 

It is worth noting that despite these threats, many citizens in Iran have largely refused to follow the regime’s anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric. Amid a wave of pro-Palestinian rallies across the world, hardliners in Iran have admitted that the general public there have little appetite for the Palestinian cause.

The Islamic Republic, the primary supporter of Hamas, has provided military and financial assistance to the militant organization which launched a deadly onslaught on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking over 240 people hostages. However, so far, Tehran has refrained from direct involvement in the war to defend its ally.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson Maria Ladouceur stated that “To date 10 individuals have been reported inadmissible by the CBSA for being a senior official in the Iranian regime.”

She added that nine of these individuals have been referred for an admissibility hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, as one of them has already left the country. The CBSA also urged Iranians residing in Canada to provide any information they have about affiliates of the Islamic Republic to the agency.

Only one of the 10 has been identified so far as Salman Samani, 42, a former high-ranking Iranian interior ministry official living in Toronto. As reported by Global News, Canadian authorities have initiated proceedings against the former deputy interior minister, who is the subject of sanctions imposed a year ago against officials of the Iranian regime. Anna Pape, spokesperson for the Refugee Board, confirmed that Samani's case “was referred for an admissibility hearing on November 10, 2023.”

The Interior Ministry is in charge of Iran’s domestic security and police branches, which have been implicated in widespread human rights abuses. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi is a former IRGC general and has been sanctioned by Canada, the US and Europe. The US Treasury has determined that Vahidi was responsible for police “deployed to subdue protests in Iran, including the ongoing protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.”

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CBSA is also investigating about 100 people with status in Canada for potential ties to Tehran. In a statement provided to CBC News, the agency said that as of November 20, 2023, the it had reviewed approximately 17,800 visa applications for potential inadmissibility to Canada under the IRPA designation of the Iranian regime. As a result, 78 individuals were denied access to Canada.

Concerns about Canada serving as a safe haven for high-ranking Iranian officials were exacerbated after the identification of a former Tehran police chief at a gym near Toronto in 2021.

Under pressure from the opposition Conservatives and the Iranian-Canadian community, the Liberal government, under the leadership of then-public safety minister Marco Mendicino, designated the Islamic Republic of Iran as a "regime that has engaged in terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations" under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in November 2022.

The deportation is in line with sanctions implemented in November 2022, which prevent senior members of the Islamic Republic from entering Canada. The measures were imposed after Mahsa Amini died in custody of Iran's so-called morality police for defying hijab laws. Amini's death garnered international condemnation and became a symbol of resistance against the repression of women under Iran's clerical regime. The incident ignited the boldest uprising against the ruling power since its establishment in 1979. Security forces crushed the uprising by killing about 600, arresting over 22,000 and hanging some of protesters.

In response, Canada classified Iran's government as a regime involved in "terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations," leading to the effective exclusion of tens of thousands of Iranian officials and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members from entering the country.

Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 due to concerns related to its pursuit of nuclear weapons and support for terrorist organizations including Hamas. The government has also been under pressure for years to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Those calls intensified after the IRGC shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in 2020 as it was taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people onboard, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents.

He made the comments during a phone conversation Wednesday evening with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza, Fars news agency affiliated with the IRGC reported.

Amir-Abdollahian, repeating Tehran’s rhetoric, once again accused Israel of violating international laws and carrying out war crimes and genocide in Gaza, the report added.

Despite the allegations made by Tehran officials, the Israeli army, over the past days, has issued warnings and evacuation plans for Palestinians who live in the southern Gaza Strip to minimize civilian casualties in the area.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian also called on Egypt “to open the Rafah border unconditionally for the delivery of medicine, food and fuel throughout Gaza.”

Israel has recently pledged to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Israel regularly screens aid trucks and shipments sent to Gaza to avoid the smuggling of arms and military devices to the region.

Iran, the primary supporter of Hamas, has provided military and financial assistance to the militant organization which launched a deadly onslaught on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking over 240 people hostages. However, so far, Tehran has refrained from direct involvement in the war to defend its ally.