Iran Digest Week of October 29 - November 5
/AIC’s Iran digest project covers the latest developments and news stories published in Iranian and international media outlets. This weekly digest is compiled by Communications Associate Elizabeth Kos. Please note that the news and views expressed in the articles below do not necessarily reflect those of AIC.
US-Iran Relations
Iran Seizes an Oil Tanker, But Whose Tanker is Disputed
American and Iranian officials both said Wednesday that Iran had seized an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman last month after an encounter with the U.S. Navy, but the two sides gave widely differing accounts of whose tanker it was and what, exactly, had happened.
Iranian officials said the United States had seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil on Oct. 24 and that an assault by Iranian commandos had taken the tanker back.
A statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that “the brave I.R.G.C. naval unit landed on the tanker that had the stolen oil, seized it and brought it back to Iranian waters.”
U.S. Takes Aim at Iran’s Drone Program, Seeing Risk to Mideast Stability
The Biden administration levied sanctions against several Iranian companies and their executives whom the U.S. has linked to Tehran’s effort to develop armed drones for attacks on U.S. forces and allies.
The administration’s action on Friday marks the start of a campaign against Iran’s evolving unmanned aerial vehicle and precision-guided missile programs, which Western officials say represent a more immediate threat than Iran’s nuclear-enrichment and ballistic-missile programs.
“Iran’s proliferation of UAVs across the region threatens international peace and stability,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury. “Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts.”
Lawmakers Demand Apology for Border Detention of Iranians
Two U.S. congresswomen renewed demands Tuesday for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide a formal apology and release records in connection with the January 2020 detainment of 200 Iranian Americans at the U.S.-Canada border.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene, both of Washington state, sent a letter to the federal agency, requesting a public apology and renunciation of the hourslong detainment of travelers with links to Iran as they crossed the border from Canada into Washington in the days following a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general.
“Men, women and children legally entering or returning to the United States at a designated port of entry should not be arbitrarily held and questioned solely based on their religion, ethnicity, or national origin,” the lawmakers wrote.
Nuclear Accord
Iran: Nuclear Talks With World Powers to Resume on November 29
Iran has said it will resume multilateral talks on November 29 in Austria’s capital, Vienna, aimed at reviving the country’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who became Tehran’s chief negotiator in mid-September, said on Wednesday the date was set in a phone call with European Union mediator Enrique Mora.
The European Union also confirmed the news about the resumption of talks and said the negotiations would be chaired by Mora on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
As Biden Rolls Back Trump Policies, G-20 Allies Join in Bid to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal
President Biden opened new fronts in global engagement Saturday, endorsing international accords on taxation and vaccinations while joining key European allies to ramp up pressure on Iran to revive the 2015 deal to curb its nuclear program.
Taken together, the moves marked fresh efforts to turn away from Trump’s policies that included withdrawal from key international accords, a snub of the Iran nuclear deal and a range of protectionist trade measures.
Iran’s FM Tests Positive for COVID Before Nuclear Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has tested positive for COVID-19, the foreign ministry’s spokesman said, in advance of the nuclear talks slated to be held later this month.
“His general condition is good and he continues working from quarantine,” Saeed Khatibzadeh told state media late on Monday, adding that the minister’s agenda of visits had changed.
The foreign minister’s diagnosis comes at a key moment in diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear agreement with leading powers.
Economy
Iran’s Plan to Get Rid of the Subsidized Exchange Rate
There are signs that Iran will officially get rid of its official subsidized exchange rate — at 42,000 rial to one US dollar — by the end of the current Iranian year on March 20, 2022. If implemented correctly, the move could actually help the Iranian economy find a new balance, but the question is whether political and socioeconomic realities will allow the government to implement a sound approach to exchange rate policy.
The low exchange rate only has a positive impact on the cost of selected items, especially bread, which is an important staple in Iran. Now that the low rate is applied to a shorter list of commodities, the expected inflationary shock to the Iranian economy will be more limited than it could have been in the past few years.
Oil Settles Down But Off 2-Week Low; Supply Concerns in Focus
Oil prices dipped on Thursday but settled off two-week lows as concerns about U.S. supply growth vied with speculation that Iran's supply could come online following nuclear talks with global powers.
"The market reacts to these headlines, but may be disappointed by how much oil actually returns," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
Brent crude settled down 26 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $84.32 a barrel. During the session it hit a two-week low of $82.32 after falling 2.1% on Wednesday.
(Reuters)
Environment
Plight of Iranian Environmentalists Raised at Glasgow Summit
As world leaders convened in the Scottish city of Glasgow to discuss challenges and solutions on climate change, an Iranian rights group attempted to draw their attention to the hardships endured by environmentalists under the Islamic Republic establishment.
In a public letter to the summit participants, the group detailed how Iranian environmentalists are being “killed, detained and tortured” by the authorities. The committee urged the international community to mount pressure on the Iranian government to abandon those practices.
“The delegates from the Iranian regime who might attend the conference do not represent the Iranian people,” the letter said, adding that Iranian officials are destroying the country’s environment and should therefore “be banned rather than invited.”
Analysis
Opinion: Iran is Suffering From an Epidemic of Torture
By: Nazanin Boniadi and Agnès Callamard
Last month, a 49-year-old man named Shahin Naseri died in prison under suspicious circumstances after he provided witness testimony about the torture of wrestler Navid Afkari. Afkari, a high-profile protester, was unjustly arrested by state agents, sentenced to death following a grossly unfair trial and executed in secret in September 2020.
This is not an isolated incident. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have repeatedly shown that torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment are an integral part of the Iranian criminal justice system, not an exception to it. The international community must act now to break the cycle of state violence.
