Iran

Spotlight on Iran (November 18, 2021 – December 2, 2021)

A prominent Iranian commentator denied in an interview to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the unconfirmed reports that Syria’s leadership was behind the decision to end the tenure of the commander of the Iranian forces in Syria. In late November, the Fatemiyoun Brigade, an Afghan militia operating under IRGC command in Syria, carried out a military exercise with special forces, ground troops and armored vehicles. The Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, stated in a TV interview that since September, the organization has paid over 10 million dollars to import fuel and diesel from Iran to Lebanon.
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Spotlight on Iran (November 4, 2021 – November 18, 2021)

The Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria, Javad Ghafari, concluded his deployment to Syria and conducted a last round of visits to bases of the Shia militias operating in Syria. Following a visit of the head of the Iranian Organization for Pilgrimage to Damascus, Iran and Syria agreed to resume the pilgrimage visits of Iranian citizens to Shia holy sites in Syria, which was halted following the outbreak of COVID-19. Senior Iranian officials condemned the attempted assassination of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kazimi, carried out on the night of November 7, and denied any Iranian involvement in the event.
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Spotlight on Iran (October 21, 2021 – November 4, 2021)

American officials assessed that Iran is behind the October 20th drone attack on the military base in al-Tanf, southern Syria, which serves the International Coalition led by the United States. A Syrian opposition website reported the opening of five new offices of the pro-Iranian militia al-Hashemiyoun in the Deir Ezzor region. The head of the Iranian Trade Development Organization announced that Iran and Syria will sign a free trade agreement between them at the end of November. The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad announced in late October that from now on, Iranian citizens will no longer require a visa when entering Iraq via airports. On October 27, Tehran witnessed a summit of ministers of foreign affairs of the countries neighboring on Afghanistan as well as Russia.
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Spotlight on Iran (October 7, 2021 – October 21, 2021)

Iranian media outlets did not go beyond offering basic news reports concerning the assassination of Midhat al-Saleh, who was tasked by the Assad regime of managing the “Golan file.” In early October, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, visited Syria and Lebanon. The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the deadly clashes that erupted on October 14 in Beirut, and accused Israel of backing those who fired at Hezbollah and Amal supporters. Several Iranian media outlets voiced concern about the results of the parliamentary elections in Iraq.
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Spotlight on Iran (September 14, 2021 – October 7, 2021)

Against the backdrop of ongoing Iranian efforts to deepen economic cooperation and increase its involvement in Syria’s reconstruction, the deputy chairman of the Syrian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce complained that Russia and Turkey are obtaining economic benefits in Syria at Iran’s expense. A Syrian news website published a report containing new details concerning the Imam Ali base used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and pro-Iranian militias in the Albu Kamal region near the Syria-Iraq border. During a visit of a delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity to Tehran, the Iranian minister of oil declared that Iran is ready to discuss new proposals put forth by Iraq to extend the contract regarding the export of Iranian gas to Iraq.
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Spotlight on Iran (September 2, 2021 – September 14, 2021)

Iran stressed once again its willingness to expand the assistance to Lebanon due to the severe economic crisis experienced by the country. The Iranian minister of foreign affairs said in a phone call with his Lebanese colleague that Iran is willing to supply fuel to the Lebanese government (and not merely Hezbollah), and the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon declared that his government offered to assist Lebanon in establishing electric power stations. Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah made it clear (September 13, 2021) that, contrary to the original plan, the Iranian tankers would not run out of fuel in Lebanon but in Syria, from where it would be transferred to Lebanon. This is to prevent Lebanon from being exposed to sanctions.
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