Iran To Use Released Iraqi Funds To Pay Pilgrims' Annual Subsidy

The recent arrest of Mohammad Lahmi, a former airline pilot and a cleric who fled from Iran in 2022, has highlighted the growing apprehension among activists.

His prosecution and arrest is said to have stemmed from a business dispute involving influential businessmen closely linked to the Revolutionary Guards.

Lahmi had sought refuge in Turkey to escape persecution by the Iranian regime, but even while residing in Turkey, he continued to criticize the Iranian government through his social media platform.

Activists argue that since the Iranian regime provided political support to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government following a failed coup in 2016, Turkey's willingness to shelter Iranian dissidents has diminished. This has led to an increase in deportations back to Iran, where dissidents fear for their safety and well-being.

In December 2019, two Iranian protesters, Mohammad Rajabi, 25, and Saeed Tamjidi, 27, faced a high-profile case when they were arrested and deported to Iran. Turkish police handed them over to Iranian authorities, leading to their transfer to Evin prison.

Despite their death sentences being rejected in appeal courts, they were imprisoned for several years, along with another protester, following several months of detention.

Adding to the growing concern, reports have emerged of another Iranian political activist, Shahriar Baratinia, being deported from Turkey to Iran on Thursday.

Baratinia, a former political prisoner who had been residing in Turkey without a residence permit, faces potential danger upon his return to Iran, according to human rights website Hirman.

Human rights groups are closely monitoring the situation, calling on Turkey to reconsider its approach towards Iranian dissidents.

Japan will tell Iran to stop weapon supplies to Russia at Amir-Abdollahian's Tokyo visit, Tokyo Broadcasting System said, citing multiple unnamed government officials.

Iran has supplied hundreds of kamikaze drones to Russia that have been extensively used against civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine. The United States and its NATO allies have urged Tehran to stop its military support for Moscow and have imposed a series of sanctions on entities and individuals involved in the drone program.

The main purpose of Amir-Abdollahian’s trip to Tokyo is not clear, as Iran is generally isolated by the United States and its allies. Japan owes Iran around $3 billion, which are funds frozen due to US sanctions. Amir- Abdollahian most likely raise the issue of the funds, as Tehran is also pressuring South Korea to release $7 billion frozen by two Seoul banks.

Amir-Abdollahian who was visiting Pakistan on Thursday called on the US and Europe to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.

The government media in Tehran has displayed clear support for Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began and the government and its officials have never condemned Moscow’s attacks on civilians.

The impetus for the talks stemmed from media reports earlier in the year, which alleged attempts by China to interfere in the last two federal elections. However, parties across the spectrum reached a consensus that such interference did not impact the outcomes of the elections.

Over the summer, house leaders from various federal parties have been engaging in discussions to determine the terms and timeline for the proposed inquiry.

Jagmeet Singh said on Thursday, "We have been pushing to say that a public inquiry should include all countries that are in a significant way trying to interfere in our democracy".

However, there has been resistance to the inquiry, and though Singh did not explicitly mention the specific parties resisting the inquiry's expansion, it was disclosed in late May that the Liberals voted against the motion.

The issue of foreign countries' involvement in Canada has sparked a contentious debate within the country's political landscape and government. Former special rapporteur David Johnston's resignation was triggered by these diverging perspectives as he criticized the Liberal government's handling of information pertaining to foreign agents.

Interventions by Russia, China, and the Islamic Republic in Western countries have previously been subjects of discussion, with American and European politicians also raising alarms over efforts by the Islamic Republic to influence voting processes in their respective nations.

In a Thursday meeting with Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al-e-Sadegh highlighted the activities of Kurdish parties opposing the Islamic Republic in the Kurdistan Region.

According to the IRNA state news agency, Al-e-Sadegh claimed that the UN's cooperation is necessary to counter the “threat” posed by these parties who are openly leading calls to overthrow the regime and are blamed for much of the unrest the country has witnessed since September.

Iran has previously urged both the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to disarm the Kurdish parties based in the Kurdistan Region. Iran's officials have warned that failing to comply with this demand would lead to military action against these parties' camps within Iraqi territory.

Last year, a security agreement was signed between Iran's former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, and his Iraqi counterpart, with a significant portion dedicated to the disarmament of Iranian opposition parties in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have conducted missile and drone attacks against Iranian Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq, a reaction to the Iranian Kurdish parties allegedly instigating protests, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, while in the custody of the morality police.

The Kurdish parties involved, such as Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), generally advocate for Kurdish autonomy within a federal Iran.

The Pentagon last month sent additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets along with a warship to the Middle East in a bid to monitor key waterways in the region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels.

After taking a commercial tanker last month, Tehran said it had an order from an Iranian court to seize a tanker in Persian Gulf waters. The Strait of Hormuz is between Iran and Oman.

In May, the White House announced that the Biden administration would be making moves in the region, but at the time did not say what they would include.

One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the military had already been training some Marines in the Middle East to be on the vessels.

But the official said it would ultimately be up to commercial vessels whether to request troops for parts of a journey that were particularly dangerous in the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, the US Navy intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Since 2019, there have been a series of attacks on shipping in Persian Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.

About a fifth of the world's crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

With the 2015 Iran nuclear deal effectively dead, Iran's relations with the West have deteriorated over the last year, leading Washington and its allies to look for ways to de-escalate tensions and a way to revive some kind of nuclear limits.

Report by Reuters