Sunni Militants Attack Security Forces in Iran's Southeast

The assailants used incendiary materials, causing a fire at the tomb complex, raising concerns about the safety of not only the historic sites but the country’s Jewish community, the largest in the Middle East outside Israel amidst the world’s worst antisemitism since the Holocaust. Around 10,000 Jews remain in Iran, one of the most ancient communities in Jewish heritage. They have long lived under the pressure of Iran’s shadow war with Israel, the world’s only Jewish state and archenemy of Iran.

The governor of Hamadan claimed that through surveillance footage, the perpetrators have been identified though it remains unclear who was behind the attack.

The tomb of Esther and Mordechai holds significant religious and cultural importance, being the burial place of the Jewish wife of King Xerxes and a key pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians both within Iran and around the world. It is registered as one of Iran's cultural heritage sites.

Social media has been abuzz with various interpretations of the attack. Many users speculate that the Iranian regime and its supporters may be behind the incident, viewing it as a form of retaliation for recent tensions with Israel including an alleged strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

Some have taken a sarcastic tone, mocking the incident as the "tough revenge" for the consulate attack. They have criticized the destruction of national heritage as a misguided attempt by the regime to express anger towards Israel.

Press statements by the 15-member council have to be agreed by consensus. Diplomats said the US, backed by France and Britain, told council colleagues that many of the facts of what happened on Monday in Damascus remained unclear and there was no consensus among council members during a meeting on Tuesday.

"This serves as a clear illustration of the double standards employed by the Western 'troika' and their actual, rather than declarative, approach to legality and order in the international context," Russia's deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said in a post on X.

In the previous Security Council meeting on Tuesday, the US representative condemned the activities of Iran’s armed proxy groups in the region, as well as warned Tehran not to target US forces in retaliation for the attack on its Damascus embassy.

The UN Security Council has issued statements in the past condemning attacks on diplomatic premises. The European Union on Wednesday condemned the strike - saying the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected - and called on countries to show restraint.

The US says it has not confirmed the status of the building struck in Damascus, but that it would be concerned if it was a diplomatic facility.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, which destroyed a consular building adjacent to the main embassy complex, killing seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Iran has accused Israel of violating the founding UN Charter, international law, and also cited several conventions. However the Islamic Republic has violated the immunity of foreign embassies several times in the past 45 years, with allowing its supporters to occupy the US embassy for 444 days as well as attack and damage the British and Saudi embassies.

The 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations and 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations define premises as buildings, parts of buildings and land - regardless of ownership - used for the purposes of the diplomatic or consular mission, including the head of the diplomatic mission.

Those conventions state that the diplomatic or consular premises "shall be inviolable." But they also say the premises should "not be used in any manner incompatible" with the diplomatic and consular functions.

Iran also cited the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents - suggesting those killed were covered by these rules.

With reporting by Reuters

Iran attributed the attack to Israel, which resulted in the deaths of two of its generals and five military personnel at its embassy compound in Damascus. Israel, however, has not acknowledged responsibility for the strike, which stands as one of the most consequential attacks on Iranian interests in Syria to date.

"In this highly tense regional situation, it is imperative to show utmost restraint," Peter Stano, a spokesperson for the executive European Commission, said in a post on X.

The block also censured the attack saying that “The principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases and in all circumstances in accordance with international law."

However, some users slam the move by EU saying Europe is continuing to act as the "protective shield" of the Islamic Republic.

Jason Brodsky, policy director for think tank United Against A Nuclear Iran also slammed the EU saying “The European Union is condemning an attack targeting the IRGC terrorists commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, whom it has sanctioned, and in the process falls hook, line, and sinker for the Iranian fiction that this was a diplomatic compound.”

Iran refrained from engaging in direct conflict with Israel amid the six-month conflict against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza, while simultaneously backing its allies' strikes on Israeli and US targets.

Nevertheless, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged retaliation for the airstrike on Monday, which obliterated a consular building adjacent to the primary embassy complex in Damascus' upscale Mezzeh district which experts say was in fact a military compound.

Pyongyang has transferred ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia, while Iran has also provided Moscow with the supply of Shahed suicide drones, frequently used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure.

In return, Russia has provided technology and supplies that help expand missile and nuclear capabilities of its allies.

Iran has provided well over 1,000 drones since mid-2022, that are often used to swamp Ukrainian air defenses during large-scale missile attacks on civilian targets.

Western powers are increasingly concerned Tehran could soon also transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

"Russia's friends in Asia are vital for continuing this war of aggression," Stoltenberg said as ministers met in Brussels.

China was also "propping up Russia's war economy," he said.

"This has regional and global security consequences," Stoltenberg said, adding that the ministers would discuss how to handle the issue.

In February, Reuters reported that Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, citing six sources, in a sign of deepening military ties between the two US.-sanctioned countries.

While Washington and other Western officials have repeatedly warned Iran against providing such weaponry to Russia, they have not confirmed that Moscow has taken delivery of the missiles.

Both the G7 and the European Council have said that such a step would lead to major consequences in its relations with Tehran and said third parties who provide weapons could also face further measures.

European diplomats have said potential measures on Iran could include targeting Iran Air, banks in Europe and even the possibility of reimposing UN Security Council sanctions as part of a nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

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NEW IRAN SANCTIONS?

According to five European diplomats, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Netherlands, the Baltic States, Czech Republic, Denmark and Romania sent a letter on February 19 to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell asking for new EU-wide sanctions on Iran.

The new measures would be two-pronged. Further sanctions would target Iran's support of Russia, but there would also be new measures focused on Iranian individuals and companies that arm, finance and train proxies in the Middle East as well as possible sanctions on the groups themselves, the diplomats said.

Initial discussions have taken place at EU level, but some of the 27-member states remain opposed.

According to the diplomats, Borrell responded cautiously to the ministers saying there was an existing legal basis for measures against Islamist militant group Hamas.

He also warned that any new sanctions should be carefully considered to ensure they were legally sound, but also avoided harming its activities in the region, notably in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, for which the EU is a facilitator.

However, these talks have made no progress since they began in April 2021. Iran has in the meantime accelerated its uranium enrichment, stockpiling enough fissile material for at least three nuclear bombs.

"There is a rather clear triangle with Russia, Iran and North Korea. Both Iran and North Korea supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia, which is then using these weapons and ammunition to try to destroy Ukraine. So that is a very real cooperation, which is a great concern to everyone" Latvia's Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.

(With reporting by Reuters)

The prisoners described the action as “a desperate attempt to quell dissent”.

"The sentencing of Madani is a clear demonstration of the authorities' willingness to oppress even non-violent dissenters," said one prisoner.

The statement, released by the prisoners, denounced the government's ongoing systematic suppression of political dissent which has seen hundreds of arrests of academics and students in the wake of the 2022 unrest. Universities have been at the heart of the Women, Life, Freedom movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Saeed Madani, known for his involvement in the national-religious movement, faced a nine-year prison sentence in November 2022 on various charges including “forming and managing opposition groups, conspiring against national security, and propagating against the regime.” The Tehran Appeals Court upheld the verdict, with eight years deemed executable.

"Saeed Madani's resilience in the face of adversity is commendable," stated a fellow inmate. "His unwavering commitment to activism despite immense pressure serves as an inspiration to us all."

Among the signatories are Golrokh Iraee, Alireza Eradati, Rasoul Bodaghi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Mahvash Sabet.