Iran Expands Blacklist Of US Nationals It Accuses Of Soleimani's Killing

WSJ that had access to a reportby United Nations experts said that Jask port on the Sea of Oman was used by Iran to ship the weapons on small wooden ships. The United States believes these vessels manage somehow to deliver their cargoes to the Houthis under blockade by Saudi Arabia, and also to Somalia.

The United States has made a few seizures on the high seas, each including thousands of small arms and equipment made in China, Iran, Russia, Belarus and elsewhere. In December the US stopped a vessel and seized 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition.

The news comes as the United States and other world power are engaged in nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna. Regional countries have been insisting that any new agreement with Iran should include limits to its disruptive regional activities.

The Biden Administration, although acknowledging Iran’s “malign behavior”, believes it must first reach a nuclear agreement in exchange for lifting sanctions. Critics say that once Iran is free to sell its oil and get the desperately needed foreign currencies, it will never make concessions on other issues.

The spokesman of Taliban’s ministry of foreign affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said in a tweet on Saturday afternoon that Muttaqi’s first official visit was upon an invitation from Iran.

During the stay, the Taliban delegation is slated to discuss a wide range of political and economic topics as well as issues related to the transit of goods and Afghan refugees.

Before departing for Tehran, the Afghan delegation held a preliminary meeting in the 19th Century Storai Palace, to assess their agenda of their visit to Iran.

In December, Iran proposed that Muslim states establish a joint fund to help stabilize Afghanistan and prevent a serious crisis from impacting other regional countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the time also stated that sustainable calm in Afghanistan is only possible through an inclusive and effective government in which all ethnic and religious groups would be present.

Tehran insists that despite an economic crisis due to US sanctions, it has accepted more than 300,000 Afghan refugees following the collapse of the government in Kabul. However, the International Organization for Migration said in November that Iranian and Pakistani authorities have sent back more than one million Afghan refugees this year.

Videos published on social media on Saturday show groups of workers on strike and protesting in front of the provincial offices and departments of the Judiciary in several cities.

Quite ironically, the protesters are chanting slogans asking for justice.

There are also reports of strikes by judicial staff and judges in capital Tehran that is expected to last about a week.

In some cities, the employees of the Judiciary have started to resign from their jobs en masse, with photos of their collective resignation letterscirculating in twitter.

The nationwide protests were triggered following the rejection of a special plan to increase salaries for the judiciary staff by the parliament a few days ago.

People with different professions are holding regular protest rallies to demand better work conditions and salaries with teachers holding the largest number of demonstrations.

Food prices have risen by more than 60 percent this year, on top of high inflation in the previous three years. Government figures show that prices for 83 percent of basic food staples have reached a critical level. People living on salaries have cut back on consumption of nutritious food, such as meat, fruits and dairy products.

The Hamburg Shura Council, an association of Muslim organizations that represents around 40 mosque communities and other Islamic institutions in the city, made the move after German intelligence sources confirmed connections to Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei as well as Hezbollah that are both designated as terrorist entities by the US and EU.

According to a report by German daily Die Welt, the new head of the Shura executive board, Fatih Yildiz, said their board of directors was restructured in November and the Hamburg Islamic Center is no longer represented. However, the center, known by its German abbreviation IZH for Islamische Zentrum Hamburg and its Blue Mosque are not completely expelled from the Shura Council.

According to a 2021 report by Philipp Wolden, the managing editor of Die Welt Hamburg, the IZH is Iran’s most “important propaganda center" in Europe, and it sends busloads of pro-Iranian and pro-Hezbollah activists to Berlin to participate in the annual al-Quds rallies.

In July, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution also found evidence that the head of the IZH, Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, is himself a member of the Revolutionary Guards.

The World Bank approved the aid on December 21 because Iran is "the epicenter of Covid-19 infections in the region" and mitigating “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country” would reduce the contagion of the disease beyond its borders that benefits the neighbors, particularly as the Omicron variant is causing a new wave of cases.

The spokesperson told AFP that the loan "will be utilized only for procuring additional lifesaving, essential medical equipment to strengthen Iran's pandemic response", emphasizing that "This funding will not go to the Iranian budget and all loan proceeds, as well as procurement and disbursements, are being managed by the World Health Organization”.

“Distribution and installation of equipment will take place at health facilities approved by the World Bank and will be subject to independent monitoring and verification," added the spokesperson.

In May 2020, the World Bank granted Tehran $50 million via the Iran Covid-19 Emergency Response Project "on an exceptional basis" due to the pandemic.

Iran, which confirmed the first Omicron case on December 19, is the worst hit countries in the Middle East by more than 132,000 deaths since February 2020.