Ten Baha'i Women Arrested In Central Iran

US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby speaking to CNN Monday evening did not rule out a direct military conflict with Iran, but tried to sidestep a direct question from host Wolf Blitzer on the possibility of a ‘war with Iran’.

“I think what we want to see more than anything is no widening of this conflict,” he said, “and we continue sending a strong message to the actors in the region, including Iran, that if you’re thinking about jumping in here, thinking about widening and deepening and escalating, don’t do it.”

Kirby’s warning to Iran and other actors in the Middle East is reminiscent of President Joe Biden’s remarks on the potential entry of other militant groups to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Biden famously warned them, “don’t, don’t, don’t.”

Those being addressed by Biden and Kirby, however, seem to not be listening.

Officials from the Pentagon and the State Department have confirmed that attacks on American military bases in Syria and Iraq are on the rise.

Kirby did admit as much in the White House Press Briefing on Monday, only a few hours before his interview with Wolf Blitzer.

“Over the course of the last few days,” Kirby said, “we’ve seen an uptick in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups against military bases housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.”

It is an open secret that the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) plays a prominent role in both Iraq and Syria. The regime’s officials boast about the IRGC’s involvement in the conflict and warn of escalation almost daily.

A report in the Sunday Times (October 22) suggested that “a series of volunteers from militias across the Middle East allied to Iran, particularly from #Iraq, have arrived on the Lebanese side of the border in the last two weeks.

Iran’s foreign minister Amir-Abdollahian issued a thinly veiled threat Sunday, saying “anything would be possible at any moment and the region will get out of control.”

Responding to the growing risk of a regional war, the US has sent two warships and anti-missile defense systems to the region.

Last week a squadron of B1b Lancer strategic bombers were moved from their Texas base to the Fairford base in Britain. The bomber can carry 50 tons of bombs and has enough range from Britain to Lebanon/Iran and back.

Despite the bellicose rhetoric from all sides, the reluctance to engage in a full-blown war is quite visible. But that could change any moment. An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza or a fatal attack on American bases in the region could take everyone over the brink.

So far, the civilians in Gaza and Israel have borne the brunt of the conflict.

At least 1400 Israelis were killed by Hamas forces on 7 October. And more than 5000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since –including 2000 children.

Calls have grown in recent days for a brief humanitarian ceasefire, but Israel has made clear that it has no intention of doing so for now as it carries on its stated mission to eliminate Hamas.

The Biden administration is supportive of the Israeli stance. “This is not the time for ceasefire in Gaza,” said Kirby to CNN, not sidestepping the question as he had done with the question of a potential war with Iran.

"In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership," the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Lavrov, who went to Tehran shortly after an Asia trip to China and North Korea, discussed energy and logistics projects with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

As has been the Russian norm, few details of the talks, which took place amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, have been disclosed.

Lavrov also participated in regional talks hosted by Iran, aiming to bring peace to the South Caucasus region after Azerbaijani forces last month recaptured the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and forced thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee.

Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has sought to firm up ties with countries traditionally considered Western aligned, accusing "the collective West" of trying to break up Russia.

Ukraine has urged Tehran to stop supplying deadly drones to Russia, which Kyiv says have played a major role in Moscow's attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Iran initially denied supplying the Shahed kamikaze drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before Moscow launched the war.

The United States has said that it has been concerned by the "burgeoning defense partnership" between Iran and Russia, which poses risks not only to Ukraine but also to Iran's neighbors.

Reuters Report

Russian and Turkish foreign ministers also attended the second 3+3 regional platform summit, dubbed Time for Peace, Cooperation, and Progress in the South Caucasus. The first 3+3 meeting was held in Moscow in December 2021 at the level of deputy foreign ministers. Georgia was no present either of the events.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov met for the first time since Azerbaijan's lightning offensive to recapture the disputed region, which prompted the exodus of most of the region's 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Yerevan has accused Baku of ethnic cleansing, while Azerbaijan said the Armenians left of their own accord and were welcome to return. Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the past three decades and have so far failed to seal a peace deal despite long-running efforts by the United States, EU and Russia.

"A historic opportunity is available to all countries in the region. The war in South Caucasus has ended, and it is time for peace and cooperation," Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. He added, "The presence of outsiders in the region will not only solve any problems but will also complicate the situation further," he added, in an implicit reference to o the United States and the European Union, whose involvement in the search for a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan has particularly irks Russia.

Iran has close ties with Armenia, which has a more than a three-decade old conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno -Karabakh, an Armenian-populated enclave inside Baku's international borders. However, Yerevan is now seeking wider international support and is distancing itself from Moscow, perhaps because Russia is engrossed in its invasion of Ukraine. During the past months, several Iranian military commanders and politicians warned Azerbaijan not to attack Armenia and avoid closing Iran's gateway to Europe via a narrow strip of land connecting Iran via Armenia to Russia and Europe. Iran has also long warned Azerbaijan about its close military relations with Israel, which is the Baku’s main arms supplier.

Tehran's inaction in the face of Azerbaijan's offensive was quite embarrassing for the regime and its military commanders considering months of bragging on IRGC media outlets and social media channels about Iran's swift reaction in case Azerbaijan attacked Karabakh.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who met with the foreign ministers in separate meetings, said during talks with Armenia's foreign minister, "Given its strong and influential position, Iran is ready to assist in resolving the existing disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia."

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a statement posted on the X social media platform, said Ankara welcomed Monday's talks in Tehran and hoped they would "give impetus to normalization and peace processes".

The meeting took place against the backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, following the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel. Hamas Killed about 1,400 Israelis and took over 220 as hostages. In the retaliatory attacks, over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed while a ground offensive of Gaza seems imminent.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Tehran that unilateral moves to resolve the conflict in the Middle East can only worsen the situation and the United States has not offered any new ideas on tackling the crisis. "The more we have such 'initiatives" from any one state, the greater in general will be the risks, the danger of the conflict growing," he said.

Urging Immediate steps to arrange a ceasefire, resolve humanitarian issues and find a mechanism to work for peace based on the "two state" principle, Lavrov said the United States had halted the work of the Middle East "quartet" and "for now no other body exists that would be acceptable for all. If (US Secretary of State) Antony Blinken has some sort of bright ideas for this, we are unaware of them." The Diplomatic Quartet, comprised of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia, was established in early 2000s to mediate the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.

Speaking about the uptick in Iranian proxy attacks on US forces, White House spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden has directed the Department of Defense to brace for more and respond appropriately.

He reiterated that there had been an uptick in such attacks over the last week, and especially over the last few days, but the US would not allow threats to its interests in the region to "go unchallenged."

He said the United States believed these groups were supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the Iranian government, which was also continuing to support the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.

"We know that Iran is closely monitoring these events, and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good, or for that of Iran," he said.

There has been an increase in attacks on U.S. forces since the conflict in Israel intensified on October 7 when militants from the Palestinian group Hamas launched a brutal attack on southern Israel.

"We are deeply concerned about the potential for any significant escalation of these attacks in the days ahead," Kirby said.

Biden has sent naval power to the Middle East in the past two weeks, including two aircraft carriers, other warships and about 2,000 Marines.

"We know Iran's goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we're not going to allow them to do that," Kirby said. "We also are not going to allow any threat to our interests in the region to go unchallenged."

Iran International has learned that Armita Gravand's family is being pressured by the authorities to relocate her body in silence from Tehran to Jafar Abad, Kermanshah, in the event of her death.

Armita, a high school student, fell into a coma on October 1st after an encounter with hijab enforcers in Tehran subway. She has been under a tight police cordon in Tehran’s Fajr Hospital to prevent photos or information from leaking to the public. The Iranian state media has since reported that the 16-year-old is braindead.

"Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff," state media reported.

Hengaw Human Rights Organization, which reported the incident first, also confirmed the deterioration of her condition, stating that the medical team told her family there is no chance for her recovery.

No specific time has been announced to the family, but the government intends to avoid provoking public reaction by making a silent move, Iran International has been told.

The clerical regime fears a reaction similar to what took place after Mahsa Amini's death, which resulted in months of anti-establishment demonstrations and the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement last year.

On the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in mid-September, Iran's parliament passed a stringent 'hijab bill,' which, if violated, can lead to sentences of up to ten years in prison. While women have been required to wear the hijab by Iran's theocratic establishment since the 1979 revolution that overthrew the secular Shah, the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement has prompted more women to appear unveiled in public places, including malls, restaurants, and shops.

There are similarities between Mahsa and Armita's cases, as the regime has denied any wrongdoing but compelled the families to refrain from speaking with the media. The human rights community is concerned that both may face a similar fate.

According to information acquired by Iran International, additional family members and relatives of Armita Gravand have faced threats and have been prohibited from discussing her condition with the media. Security forces have conveyed to the Gravand family that Armita's transfer out of Tehran is under the direct orders of Iran's Leader, Ali Khamenei.

The Gravand family and their relatives even fear that they won't be able to freely discuss Armita at home, as per the source. They are concerned that security agents may have installed eavesdropping devices or cameras in their residences, leaving them feeling unsafe in their own homes.

Her parents were also forced to sign a document committing not to file a complaint against "any individual, organization, or entity."

Human rights groups and UN officials have previously accused Iranian authorities of pressuring families of deceased protesters to make statements in support of the government's narrative.

Amnesty International has called upon the international community to demand the Iranian authorities allow an independent international delegation, including UN experts, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the hospitalization of Armita Gravand.

Amini and the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in Iran, were honored last week with the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament's highest honor for human rights. This follows the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi this month.