Iran's Subtle Support Of Russian Invasion Raises Controversy

In an interview with ISNA news agency published on Thursday, Abbas Argoun said that the 40-percent rate of annual inflation and the growth of operating expenses in various sectors have left banks with no money to finance industrial producers.

Financing is one of the main components for enterprises to remain afloat, “both for the production and current expenses”, he said, noting that “the 40-percent inflation rate in the country means that an enterprise needs to spend 40% more just to be able to repeat last year's performance”.

Argoun added that financing the manufacturing sector through investment or the stock market is not possible for many companies, so the banking system is tasked with the burden of providing the capital, “and due to the limitations of the capital market, this is very difficult”.

He noted that “the banks are the only hope for economic enterprises” while they are “faced with serious problems due to internal and external pressures, practically leaving them with no money to give to producers and economic enterprises”.

On Monday, Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf informed lawmakers that he received a letter from Khamenei asking the legislature and the presidential administration not to make financial demands from banks that are beyond their resources to fulfill.

Although the West has not threatened direct sanctions on Russia’s energy exports, but other sanctions can impact deliveries.

"If sanctions affect payment transactions, Russian banks and possibly also the insurance that covers Russian oil and gas deliveries, supply outages cannot be excluded," Reuters quoted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch as saying.

At least three major buyers of Russian oil were unable to open letters of credit from Western banks to cover purchases on Thursday, sources told Reuters.

Analysts believe that Brent is likely to remain above $100 a barrel until significant alternative supplies become available from OPEC, US shale or Iran, for example.

Negotiations over Iran’s expanding nuclear program since last April continue with no final result. Although progress has been made, diplomats say some significant issues remain to be resolved. An agreement will lift US sanctions and allow Iran to add to global oil supplies, although its capacity remains limited.

Analysts are warning of inflationary pressure on the global economy from $100 oil, especially for Asia, which imports most of its energy needs.

China has been buying more Iranian oil clandestinely in defiance of US sanctions reportedly building up its reserves in past few months.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a tweet on Thursday however that Tehran doesn't believe that “resorting to war is a solution”.

He also stressed the need for an “imperative to establish ceasefire and to find a political and democratic resolution”.

Also on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Tehran is monitoring Ukraine developments with deep concern, noting that “US-led provocations” have created a situation which is taking Eurasia toward an all-out crisis.

Khatibzadeh said Iran urges both sides to stop armed conflict and declare ceasefire to start talks.

He also urged all Iranian citizens living in Ukraine to stay away from dangerous areas, adding that the Foreign Ministry is trying to obtain necessary permissions for one or more special flights to evacuate Iranians from some parts of Ukraine.

Iran’s embassy in Kiev issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on Iranian nationals livening in Ukraine, especially students, to leave the country "temporarily".

Early on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in the eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, claiming that he had ordered the operation after the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics of asked the Kremlin for military assistance.

Masoud Kazemi, a dissident journalist and close friend of Ronaghi who resides in Turkey, told Iran International that he went off the grid at around 11:00 AM Wednesday near his house after leaving for work.

"We don't know who has taken him or where he is being held," Kazemi said, adding that Ronaghi had received several intimidating phone calls in the past few days, allegedly from security forces.

In a tweet Wednesday, Ronaghi's brother Hassan, also an activist, said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Judiciary should be accountable for anything that may happen to him. Ronaghi's father Reza Ronaghi in an interview with Radio Farda Wednesday also said Khamenei was directly responsible for his son's life.

Ronaghi was arrested, along with his brother Hassan, in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in 2009 for issuing proxies that allowed journalists and political activists to circumvent internet censorship. He was also charged with insulting Khamenei in his blog posts.

Ronaghi was one of the first to focus his activities against a bill proposed by hardliner lawmakers to introduce highly restrictive internet policies. The bill which is ironically called ‘Users Protection Plan’ and its approval by an ad hoc parliamentary committee with the authority to approve it without putting it to debate on the floor has caused serious concern among Iranians.

"If you can't write the truth about the "Protection Plan" and internet censorship in Iran, do not bury the truth. The Protection Plan was a decision made by the entire regime based on the demand from Islamic Republic's leader who had stated: "Virtual space must be controlled, Ronaghi tweeted on Wednesday before his disappearance.

Khamenei has complained on many occasions, including in a speech on March 21, 2021, that the cyberspace is "unbridled" and should not be "surrendered to the enemy".

According to Amnesty International, Ronaghi was badly tortured in prison after his arrest in 2009 and underwent at least four operations to fix his damaged kidney which could not be saved and had to be removed.

In an interview with Germany's Bild published on January 28, Ronaghi spoke about losing his kidney while in Evin Prison. "I'm still suffering from the effects of the torture, but the good thing is that I'm still alive and can continue," he said. "It was a cruel time; I was sick and didn't get any medical attention. My brother was also arrested and brutally tortured in front of me. I am currently living with one kidney. I've lost a lot, but not my courage," he told Bild.

In recent interviews with foreign media -- which his friend Masoud Kazemi says his arrest may be related to -- Ronaghi has also criticized western media for ignoring violations of human rights in Iran. "Western media aren’t telling you the truth about Iran. For us, it is as if there are two Irans—the one where we live and another that you read about. Reporters [of foreign media] would rather tweet about the weather than investigate repression and torture," Ronaghi told the Wall Street Journal in October.

According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), a war monitor, the attacks in the early hours of Thursday, targeted posts and weapons warehouses of Iran-backed militias in the vicinity of Damascus international airport.

There were also reports of missile attacks in areas around the border province of Quneitra on Wednesday, where Israel allegedly fired surface-to-surface missiles, causing material damage to an observation post and a building.

Iran International reported earlier this month that Iran-backed militias are setting up settlement along the Israeli border, to be used for attacks against Israel.

Some other missiles targeted the air-defense system in areas along Al-Keswah and Al-Syidah Zaynab districts in south of Damascus. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said several explosions were seen over the skies of the capital and its outskirts as Syria’s air defenses intercepted some of the strikes.

Syria’s state media said three people were killed in the attacks while SOHR put the number of casualties at six, saying the attacks killed two members of the Syrian forces and four members of Iran-backed militias, whose nationalities remain unknown.

In a rare statement earlier in February, the Israeli army acknowledged attacks inside Syria, saying it struck Syrian facilities used in targeting Israeli aircraft, including a radar and anti-aircraft batteries.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria mostly since 2017, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.