Iran Rejects Reports That Russia Will Use Spy Satellite For Ukraine War

Iran’s reactions to the latest flareup of violence between Israel and the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad militant group has so far been relatively low-key, as Tehran’s diplomats in Vienna are engaged in intense talks with the United States and Europe over reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA.

Iran’s ruler Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has yet to condemn Israel and threaten revenge, as some IRGC commanders have already done, and as he has done on past occasions.

The IRGC statement called Israel’s decision to launch attacks against the Islamic Jihad on Friday “a miscalculation” and a test to gauge the military prowess of the Palestinians in case of an all-out war. The statement went on to say that Israel and its supporters “will regret” the attacks on Gaza.

The Revolutionary Guard also condemned the United States and some Europeans and those Arab states which maintain “normal ties” with “the murderous Zionist regime.”

The Islamic Republic has been a full supporter of Islamic Jihad, although its relations with the other militant group in Gaza, the Hamas had had its ups and downs over the years.

The statement in the end called for the “liberation of al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the sacred land of Palestine.” It also called for the removal of “the cancerous tumor, Israel” from the world map.

Another unusual sign that Tehran might not be inclined to escalate its rhetoric against Israel was a meeting of foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with agroup of parliamentarians on Sunday to answer questions on foreign relations.

In a report about the meeting in the government’s official news website IRNA there was no mention of the conflict in Gaza, while lawmakers asked questions on a series of less significant issues.

Equally notable was the absence of any discussion over the nuclear talks currently taking place in Vienna, while many Iranian members of parliament have repeatedly demanded explanations from the government over the fate of the negotiations.

Western and regional opponents of reviving the JCPOA argue that Iran’s ultimate aim is the destruction of Israel and an agreement that would eventually allow Tehran to legally obtain nuclear weapons while removing sanctions is dangerous.

Former US president Donald Trump left the JCPOA in 2018 arguing that the 2015 deal was a weak one and Iran also pursued aggressive policies in the region and supported “terrorism”.

But President Joe Biden disagreed with Trump’s decision and has vowed to restore that agreement, although after 16 months of multilateral talks a new agreement still remains elusive.

American and European diplomats returned to Vienna Thursday for a new round of talks with Iran although since last December they have been saying that time is running out if Iran fails to take an offer they have made.

If the current negotiations in Vienna succeed, Iran stands to gain tens of billions of dollars in the next couple of year by higher oil exports, access to frozen funds and more trade.

The twitter account of the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Austria published photos of Tehran’s lead negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani at the mourning ceremonies of the Islamic month of Muharram. The event was held at Vienna’s Islamic center of Imam Ali, a Shiite mosque. 

The highlight of the month-long ceremonies of Muharram are the Days of Tasu'a and Ashura, the anniversary of the slaying of Shiite Imam Hussein and his 72 companions by his rivals to the leadership of Muslims. Ceremonies have been held for centuries in Iran and among Shiites in other countries, marking the event in the 680 AD battle of Karbala, in present-day Iraq, and have gained greater state support since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

This round of the Vienna talks reportedly focus on a text circulated in late July by Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief, to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran over how the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- or JCPOA -- can be revived. It is unclear how specific are proposals in Borrell’s text and how far he outlines a process.

European officials have presented a tough face to reporters gathered outside the Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna, insisting that the current talks will not be “reopening” negotiations, and urging Tehran not to make “unrealistic demands.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Sunday also accused the international community of silence about the death of civilians in Israel’s latest operation, codenamed Breaking Dawn, that started on Friday and according to the Israeli military could last for a week.

Iran's Supreme Leader has been still silent about the attacks as Tehran’s negotiators are trying to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna. 

About 600 rockets have been launched from Gaza towards Israel since the beginning of the operation but the death toll continues to rise from airstrikes in Gaza as most of the Palestinians’ rockets are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

Six children and several Islamic Jihad fighters -- including leaders Khaled Mansour and Taysir al-Jabari -- are among the 32 Palestinians reported to have died. More than 200 people are also injured.

The latest bout of violence is the most serious flare-up between Israel and Gaza since an 11-day conflict in May 2021 that left more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis dead. 

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid also said Friday that Islamic Jihad is an Iranian proxy that wants to destroy Israel, noting that Israel has a zero-tolerance policy for any attempted attacks from Gaza.

During the week, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the leader of Islamic Jihad -- a militant outfit designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU, and UK -- held meeting with several senior Iranian officials in Tehran.

Mohammad Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani, the secretary of Iran’s Headquarters For Enjoining Right And Forbidding Evil, tasked with promoting the clerical regime’s interpretation of Islamic laws, said on Saturday that unfortunately there are no laws to prohibit those whose family members live abroad from assuming government positions. 

He rebuked those officials who keep seeking to provide dollars and euros for their foreign-based children while promulgating the independence of the country. 

Hashemi added that there are some measures under study at the parliament about the issue. 

Earlier in the year, General Morteza Mirian, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ ground operations, said that the relatives of these officials should be “tracked” so as not to be allowed back to Iran to take up managerial positions.

A figure of 5,000 “descendants” of senior officials living abroad was cited in 2020 by Mohammad Gharazi, communications minister between 1985 and 1997 who was at the time considered a presidential hopeful. In November 2021, Alireza Salimi, a member of parliament, suggested that officials under former President Hassan Rouhani, including deputy ministers had moved to Europe due to fears they would be banned from leaving the country.

In 2019, Brian Hook, special representative for Iran (from 2018 to 2020) under President Donald Trump told Iran International that “children of Islamic Republic officials live rich and comfortable lives in the United States and other countries while Iranian people live in terrible conditions.” Hook said this showed “the regime’s hypocrisy.”

Britain's minister of state for South Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign Office, Tariq Ahmad, said on Friday “The UK is deeply concerned by increasing arrests of the Baha’i in Iran, including recent reports that the Iranian government has demolished houses and confiscated land in Roushankouh, [northern] Iran. Former spiritual leaders of the Baha’i in Iran are also reported to have been detained.

Condemning the increasing repression, he said that “the persecution of religious minorities cannot be tolerated in 2022. The persecution of religious minorities is a serious violation of international human rights law.”

“We are working closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account and continue to raise human rights concerns regularly with the Iranian Government,” Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon added.

On August 3, the US State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom called on the Islamic Republic to stop its ongoing oppression, saying that “Amid a continued rise in arrests, sentences, and imprisonments, the US urges Iran to halt its ongoing oppression of the Baha'i community and honor its international obligations to respect the right of all Iranians to freedom of religion or belief.”

Iran’s security forces this week arrested several members of the Baha’i religious community regarded by the clerical government as heretics, and raided more than 20 households.

Security forces also laid siege to a village in northern Iran on August 2 and started demolishing houses and farms belonging to members of the persecuted Baha’i faith.