TOP STORIES
IAEA Chief Seeks Tougher Nuclear Checks In Iran, With Limited Leverage | Reuters
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi flew to Iran on Monday hoping to bolster his agency's oversight of Tehran's atomic activities after various setbacks, but analysts and diplomats say he has limited leverage and must be wary of empty promises. Then-U.S. President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to ditch a landmark deal between Iran and major powers that exchanged nuclear restrictions for sanctions relief caused that accord to unravel. Iran has since accelerated its uranium enrichment and reduced cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. "The level of inspection (in Iran) is not at the level we should have," Grossi told Sky News last month. "Given the depth and breadth of the programme, we should be having additional monitoring capabilities," said Grossi, who is due to meet officials including chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Iran's Foreign Minister Says Hamas Chief Told Him 'Ball Is Now In Israel's Court' | Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the Hamas chief told him in a phone call on Monday that the ball is now in Israel's court after the group had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal. Amirabdollahian also said on social media platform X that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had told him "We are sincere in our intentions."
Iran Reinforces Ban On Women In Stadiums Amid Broader Crackdown | Iran Wire
Authorities of the Islamic Republic in northern Mazandaran have banned women from football stadiums after a male fan insulted female spectators in Tehran. After Iranian media published a picture of an elderly man wearing a headscarf adorned with a religious slogan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where he insulted and threatened women present, a security committee in Mazandaran Province decided to ban women spectators in the city's stadiums. Fars news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, stated that Watani Stadium would not admit any women until the season's end for Nasaji FC matches. This media outlet viewed the ban on women at Watani Stadium as a request from the Provincial Security Council. Simultaneously, Iranian media have reported on the "incremental exclusion of women from stadiums by extremists" and "the systematic process of once again banning women's presence in stadiums." An informed source within the football federation also told IranWire that the federation is anticipating a potential response from FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran’s Espionage At Swedish Universities Exposed: “Naivety” | Expressen
…It ends up in the hands of terrorists, says Member of Parliament Alireza Akhondi, who sits on the board of the organization United against nuclear Iran (UANI)… Säpo warns of Iranian operations on Swedish soil and two Swedish citizens are imprisoned and threatened with the death penalty in Iran. At the same time, several exchange programs are ongoing between universities in Sweden and Iran. This means that research conducted in Sweden is wide open to the Islamist regime's espionage, according to the organization UANI. Through sources in Iran, the organization has come across documents that show how the notorious Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has total visibility into the international collaborations of Iranian universities. According to UANI, all Iranian students and researchers who are abroad are included in a program whose purpose is to acquire knowledge that can be used by the defense industry in Iran.
Guyana Raises Rogue Registry Warning As Sanctioned Tankers Falsely Fly Its Flag | Lloyd's List
Over a dozen tankers linked with Iran, including several that were recently sanctioned, are fraudulently flying the Guyanese flag. The country’s maritime administration said an organisation named the International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana (IMSAG), with which it used to have a contract, has been registering ships under its flag without authorization. More than a dozen tankers linked Iran are falsely flying the Guyanese flag, as a company previously contracted by Guyana’s government to register vessels continues to do so without authorisation. The South American nation was approached by US lobbying group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) on Thursday over its alleged flagging of tankers involved in Iranian trades, including some tankers that are under US sanctions. But Guyana’s registrar of ships Gale Green told UANI in an email seen by Lloyd’s List that none of the vessels the group mentioned are registered under its flag. Green then noted an “increasing occurrence” of registrations being carried out by an organisation called the International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana (IMSAG).
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
USCIRF Urges More Sanctions Over Iran's Hijab Enforcement | Iran International
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called for intensified sanctions against Iranian authorities for the brutal enforcement of hijab. In a Monday statement, it condemned the ongoing crackdown on Iranian women and girls who are at the center of a nationwide defiance of the country’s mandatory hijab laws, policies which the UN has branded 'gender apartheid'. USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman said the US must do more to hold Iran accountable amid mass human rights abuses as Iran continues undeterred in spite of global sanctions. Just last year, record numbers of Iranians were executed as the regime fights for its survival in the biggest uprising since the founding of the Islamic Republic. “Iranian authorities callously violate women’s religious freedom and target any individual advocating for freedom of religion or belief. The US government has continued to support global efforts to hold Iran accountable for its heinous acts.
Iran's Capacity To Move Oil Reliant On Malaysian Providers, US Official Says | Jerusalem Post
The United States sees Iran's capacity to move its oil as reliant on service providers based in Malaysia, with oil being transferred near Singapore and throughout the region, a senior United States Treasury official said on Tuesday. Treasury is increasing its focus on financing for militant groups routed through Southeast Asia, including through fundraising efforts and illicit sales of Iranian oil. The official told reporters the United States was trying to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where the Palestinian militant group Hamas could both fundraise and then move money.
Iran Smuggles $1BN Worth Of Fuel Into Pakistan Annually: Report | Nikki Asia
Iranian traders smuggle more than $1 billion worth of fuel into neighboring Pakistan annually, according to a new report that an observer said could foreshadow a crackdown on the black market. The 44-page investigation was conducted by a pair of Pakistani intelligence agencies and leaked to local media. Nikkei Asia obtained a copy that official sources have verified as authentic. "Smuggling of Iranian Oil" is the first major probe released publicly on the longstanding trade, which got a boost a decade ago after U.S.-led sanctions on Iranian oil exports forced Tehran to find new markets for its petroleum products. Last year, some $1.02 billion in Iranian petrol and diesel was smuggled across the 900-kilometer-long Iran-Pakistan border. That accounted for about 14% of Pakistan's yearly consumption, and resulted in losses "to the exchequer" of about $820 million, the report said.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iranian Pharmacies Face Legal Action For Hijab Non-Compliance | Iran International
Iran’s health ministry's food and drug administration has announced that if pharmacies fail to enforce mandatory hijab for staff, the government will reduce their allocation of medications. Non-compliant pharmacies risk facing legal consequences, as stated by Heidar Mohammadi during a briefing at the Presidential Communications Center on Monday. Mohammadi emphasized that the organization was among the pioneers in enforcing the mandatory hijab, leading to the implementation of specific dress code regulations within pharmacies. Describing non-compliance as a "deviation," he noted that "compliance with norms" is crucial for pharmacies to maintain their quota allocations. “If a pharmacy fails to adhere to the norms, it will initially receive a warning. Should the warning prove ineffective, more severe deterrent measures will be executed. Continuous non-compliance will lead to legal actions against the violators,” Mohammadi added.
Iranian Activist Sentenced To Death For Social Media Posts | Radio Free Europe
A court in the central Iranian city of Isfahan has sentenced Mahmud Mehrabi to death for posting messages on social media critical of the Islamic republic. There is scant reporting about the details of his critical posts, which led to him being convicted of “corruption on Earth” -- the most serious offense under Iran’s Islamic penal code. Mehrabi’s lawyer, Babak Farsani, wrote on social media on May 5 that there were “serious problems” with the verdict that he hoped would help get it overturned by the Supreme Court. Mehrabi was arrested in February 2023 and has spent the last six months in a prison ward where dangerous criminals are held, according to his sister Hajar Mehrabi, who lives in Austria. She told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on May 5 that her brother was among the tens of thousands of people who protested during the Women, Life, Freedom unrest in 2022. The protests were sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly not properly observing Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Iran’s Qarchak jail has been called many things: a torture chamber; the worst women’s prison in the world; unfit for humans. Nasrin Sotoudeh uses just one word to describe the nine months she spent there: “Hell.” Sotoudeh does not speak of the appalling conditions or stench of sewage, the undrinkable water or lack of food, the disease or cruelty of solitary confinement. She simply says: “I am ready to return whenever they say.” The lawyer and human rights advocate was three years into her sentence of 38 years, alongside 148 lashes, when it was paused on medical grounds after she was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2021.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Only 7 To 8 Commercial Planes In Iran Fit To Fly: Experts | Iran Wire
Aviation industry experts have said Iran's commercial aircraft fleet has only seven or eight airworthy planes. While regional competitors like the UAE, Qatar, and Turkey boast over 1,000 operational aircraft, Iran's reliable options are meager. A report by Etemad cited experts who said most of the Iranian fleet needs recycling, which means dismantling and repurposing the materials. Only a handful of the aircraft remain airworthy, including three Airbus models, 13 ATR aircraft, and a select few Airbus 340s operated by Mahan Air. The situation is further strained by grounded turboprop planes due to parts shortages. These 13 aircraft, with a capacity of around 70 passengers each, could potentially offer some relief. However, they remain out of service. "Approximately 20 passenger planes in the country are currently operational, with 13 being turboprops capable of carrying 70 passengers each," experts told Etemad.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-5), the Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus co-chairs, today voiced their profound condemnation of the recent surge in executions carried out by the Iranian regime, under the direct orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This alarming escalation in state-sponsored violence underscores the regime’s blatant disregard for human life and international human rights norms. In the span of just ten days, at least 37 individuals have been executed under various pretenses, aimed at instilling fear among the Iranian populace and stifling any dissent. Notable among these were the executions in Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Gonbad Kavous, Tabriz, and Arak. These acts are not only reprehensible but also represent a systematic attempt by the regime to quash any form of opposition or criticism. The increased brutality against Iranian women and girls is also disturbing. After protests erupted in 2022 due to the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police, the situation in Iran has continued to get more dangerous. We have heard numerous accounts of extreme violence and abuse inflicted upon women and girls for allegedly not wearing their hijabs properly or wearing clothes that the regime deems inappropriate.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
War On Gaza Strains Relations Between Iran, Syria | Asharq Al Awsat
It appears that the war on Gaza has impacted Iran’s military deployment in Syria. Local sources said Tehran has started to put in place plans for the relocation of Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) headquarters from the Damascus countryside to regions close to the border with Lebanon after the killing of several of its prominent members in Israeli strikes in recent months. Syria has notably taken “neutral” and even “cold” stances towards Iran in wake of these developments, amid Iranian suspicions that Syrian security agencies could have leaked information about its officers who were later targeted by Israel. Iran also appears to be alarmed by Damascus’ openness to overtures to return to the Arab fold, which could be interpreted as distancing itself from Tehran. Asharq Al-Awsat was in Syria where it witnessed how the deployment of gunmen at the Sayyeda Zainab region has become limited to Lebanese Hezbollah members when Iran’s presence used to be felt in the past. The area is a destination for Shiite visitors from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
CHINA & IRAN
EU Urges China To Help Curb Iran's Drone And Missile Output | The National
The EU on Monday told China's visiting President Xi Jinping to lean on Iran to curb its drone and missile activities in the Middle East. China could play an “important role” at a time when “no effort can be spared” in calming the region, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said. Arriving in France on his first European trip since 2019, Mr Xi said the Middle East conflict “pulls on our heartstrings” as he called for a renewed peace process. French President Emmanuel Macron was also expected to push Mr Xi to restrain Russia, as he looks to keep China in the fold to tackle global crises. China has economic ties to Russia and Iran and the three countries are viewed as a hostile axis by many politicians in the West. Some Chinese companies are under US sanctions for alleged links to the Iranian drone industry, which is under renewed scrutiny after Iran's aerial attack on Israel on April 13.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a political settlement of the Iran nuclear issue, in a joint statement published by Chinese state media on Tuesday. The leaders also called for the "concrete implementation" of a two-state solution in Israel and "condemned" Israel's policy of settlement-building in the West Bank. Xi is on a two-day visit to France as part of his first trip in five years to Europe, where he has been pressed by European leaders on trade tensions and Ukraine.