Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (January 22-29, 2025)
“Western intelligence sources” revealed that Iranian diplomats are using foreign airlines to transfer money to Hezbollah. Iran’s representative to the UN rejected Israel’s claim that Iran is transferring advanced weapons to Lebanon; Iran condemned the attack on Lebanese civilians who were trying to return to their villages in southern Lebanon. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman called on the Security Council to take steps to end Israel’s military presence in southern Lebanon; Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon met for the first time with Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun. No details were provided about the meeting; Senior Iranian officials continued to present the developments in the Palestinian arena as an expression of “Israel’s defeat.” The Supreme Leader of Iran declared that the Gaza Strip had brought Israel to its knees, while the speaker of the Majles asserted that the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip demonstrates that Hamas remains active and resilient; The Iranian foreign minister expressed concern over reports of attacks on members of the Alawite and Shiite religious minorities since the fall of the regime in Syria; The Houthis released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, who had been detained since November 2023, “at the request of Hamas.” They made it clear that they would continue to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and would respond to any Israeli violations; The Houthi regime condemned the Trump administration for its decision to return the movement to the list of terrorist organizations, accusing it of an attempt to prevent Yemen from helping the Palestinians.
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