MP Credits Sanctions Evasion For Iran’s Rising Oil Production

Originally from Chechnya but residing in Austria, Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev (Mohammad-Hussein Dovtaev) was detained at Chiswick Business Park by officers from London’s Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command in February. He was charged with a single count of attempting to collect information "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism." The jury court returned a guilty verdict for him on Thursday.

Dovtaev is required to serve two-thirds of his sentence of three years and six months. The 10 months he has already spent in custody since his arrest will also be counted as part of his jail term.

“This trial was a reminder of the threats journalists and news organizations face. Journalism is under attack across the world from those who seek to suppress media freedom,” Iran International said in a statement after the verdict was announced. “We will not be cowed by threats. Our journalists will continue to provide the independent, uncensored news the people of Iran deserve,” stated the news and television network, which is the the most viewed foreign-based channel in Iran in the absence of free media in the country.

During the course of the trial, the police also released footage of Dovtaev gathering information about the security arrangements around the office building that housed Iran International and recording videos of the area. The police also released footage of the moment he was arrested.

Prosecutors said Dovtaev covertly filmed material on his phone in order to "identify vulnerabilities" in the media company's security which could be exploited by others.

Dovtaev’s botched operation was only a tip of the iceberg of Islamic Republic’s attempts to silence Iran International. Earlier in the week, UK’s ITV revealed that the IRGC was plotting to assassinate two Iran International television anchors in London in 2022 amid Iranian anti-government protests. Iranian spies offered a people-smuggler $200,000 to target the Iran International site with a car bomb.

Due to the the difficulty of passing the building's security, the initial plan was a car bomb but later was changed to assassination of two anchors while there were discussions of killing several directors of the channel. The plot was foiled because the man hired to do the job turned out to be a ‘double-agent’ working for a western intelligence agency. He would relay all the information to his handler and has now shared some details with ITV. Based on irrefutable evidence – seen and verified by ITV and multiple officials – the plot was commissioned and signed off by Mohammad Reza Ansari, the IRGC commander in charge of assassinations outside Iran. Ansari is the ‘mastermind’ behind failed plots to assassinate former US officials Mike Pompeo and John Bolton – for which he was sanctioned by the US treasury.

In a statement, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the Islamic Republic's "shocking tactics used by Iran to silence critical voices," calling on the UK government to do everything it can to hold Iran to account and ensure the safety of Iranian journalists.

"Iran will stop at nothing to intimidate journalists, abroad just as at home. It is good news that these particular plots were foiled, but they won’t be the last. The UK government must step up efforts to stop Iran’s brazen attacks and ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect journalists,” said Fiona O'Brien, the RSF UK Bureau Director.

Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer told London's Old Bailey that Iran International became a target for reprisals following its reporting on the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in Iran last year and subsequent protests in the country. Iran's minister of intelligence later declared Iran International a terrorist organization, de la Poer said, which meant its employees "became targets for violent reprisals".

In November 2022, Volant Media, the parent company of Iran International, said that two of its journalists had been notified of direct threats. Following the significant escalation in Iranian state-backed threats and advice from the London Metropolitan Police, Iran International TV announced in February that it reluctantly and temporarily closed its London studios and moved broadcasting to Washington DC. After months of hiatus in broadcasting from the UK, the network relaunched operations from a new London building in September.

According to Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, the Islamic Republic regards Iran International as “a terrorist organization.” He has stated that its staff and anyone affiliated with the channel will be pursued by the Ministry of Intelligence all over the globe, reiterating threats to “punish all those” who had a role in popular protests against the regime, wherever they might be.

Since its inception, the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been engaged in plots against Iranian opposition in exile. Some attempts have been more successful than the others, but the regime has never ceased threatening and targeting those who dare speak against it, even those ostensibly safe in western Europe or the United States.

Aviation expert and author Babak Taghvaee from the Crisis Watch said on X that Iran’s MahanAir, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), received two RJ85 passenger aircraft on Thursday.

“The aircraft are purchased by means of a South African and a Congo-based company and were just transferred to Iran by means of a stop in India,"he said, claiming that two more will be delivered Friday. He also shared aerial maps tracking the two aircraft -- TN-AKO and TN-AKP -- before reaching Chabahar port city in southeastern Iran.

According to an agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban, the RJ85s purchased by Mahan Air, which were transferred from the Indian city of Hyderabad to Chabahar were later sent to Afghanistan, he claimed.

According to Taghvaee, “Every year in December, IRGC-affiliated companies and airlines, including Mahan Air, secretly transfer their illegally purchased aircraft and helicopters to Iran.” “So far, two of these RJ85s with sham Congolese registration codes have been flown to Iran,” he added.

Last December, four Airbus A340s aircraft departed South Africa for Uzbekistan but were diverted to Iran, with the country’s authorities announcing afterwards that they have purchased them.

Iran has suffered from shortages of civilian airliners since the 1990s and used a variety of ways to lease older planes or buy spare parts through intermediaries, but the technical state of its fleet has been deteriorating.

The 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) suspended sanctions on purchases of Western aircraft and Iran began talks to buy new planes from Boeing and Airbus. A few Airbus planes were delivered but the Trump administration never approved the sale of US planes until Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018.

Hamed Biazar, an official in charge of the exhibition said that organizers tried their utmost to secure the presence of other countries about the event, but their attempts failed.

Iran is under US and some European sanctions that deter international firms from dealing with the Islamic Republic. Any dealing with Iran could constitute a potential violation of sanctions. Repeated hostage taking of foreign nationals by the Iranian authorities is another factor in drastically reducing travel to the country.

Biazar said that even Russian firms refrained from participating in the exhibition, which left only six Chinese companies as the only foreign entities present.

Another official, however, argued that the absence of foreigners is related to the Christmas holidays but did not explain why Muslim countries are absent.

Iran is also accused of vast cyber disruption activities and sophisticated hacking operations around the world. Microsoft and other major tech companies have repeatedly reported illicit Iranian cyber activities.

The government also has one of the world’s most restrictive internet access policies, with thousands of websites and most major social media sites blocked.

Attendance has declined in similar trade exhibits in recent years. An electronics and computers show last year reportedly attracted 120,000 people while the same event a decade ago brought more than 400,000 people to the venue and many foreign countries and firms were present.

The bipartisan Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming majority in September 2023, but has not yet been moved forward for a vote in the Senate.

“Senator Cardin’s office told us they won’t markup bipartisan human rights bill MAHSA Act HR589 that holds leaders of terror regime in Iran accountable for crimes against humanity & funding terrorists,” posted activist Nick Nikbakht on X Thursday. “Killing innocent civilians in Israel, Ukraine & Iran is not enough for Cardin!”

Senator Ben Cardin is a Democrat representing residents of Maryland, a state with a sizable Iranian community. In his long career in the Capitol (first as a Representative then a senator) he has led many legislations related to human rights in Iran. His office’s refusal to move forward the Mahsa Act has therefore baffled many.

“Why are you refusing to mark up a bill that holds the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leaders accountable for their human rights violations, and for supporting Hamas terrorists,” asked another Iranian-American activist on X.

The MAHSA Act is named after the 22-year old Kurdish-Iranian girl who was detained in Tehran for not covering her hair fully. She was beaten in custody and died in hospital on September 16, 2022. Her death sparked country-wide protests, better known as the Women Life Freedom movement, which challenged the regime and its religious authority like never before.

The bill passed the house a year after Mahsa Amini’s death (with 410 voting in favor and only 3 voting against). It requires the executive branch to impose applicable sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s Office and his appointees, Iran’s president and cabinet officials, foundations and other entities affiliated with the Supreme Leader.

It also requires the President to report to Congress every year whether those officials should remain under existing sanctions, making it much harder to lift sanctions for the current and future administrations.

Iranian-American activists have been pushing for this bill to become law ever since it was introduced to the US House of Representatives in the wake of the 2022 protests in Iran. But the legislative road has not been as smooth as they had wished, since the Senate is controlled by Democrats, who seem to be reluctant to take up the bill.

The Democratic Party’s stance on Iran –put on display most visibly by the Biden administration– has been widely and strongly criticized by activists and Republican lawmakers who advocate a tougher approach, especially after the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.

The Biden administration this year allowed $16 billion of frozen funds to be released to the Iranian regime, the largest chunk after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that Iran fully supported and praised.

They may not get their way after all. But it won't be for lack of trying.

“Rest assured, we Iranians won’t give up on this bill,” writes another activist, Samie Moazzami on X, addressing Senator Cardin directly. “Is this the legacy you want, to oppose Democrats values of democracy & human rights by NOT sanctioning Iran’s terror leaders?”

Iranian media reported in November that the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution (SCCR) had renamed certain events on the official calendar including the pre-Islamic winter Festival of Yalda, which millions of Iranians celebrate on the night of December 21 when winter begins.

The council which is tasked with neutralizing non-Islamic cultural influences and ideologies, among other things, had decided that the day of the Winter Solstice be referred to as "Day of Promoting the Culture of Hosting and Connecting with Relatives” in the calendar.

Family of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, remembering their daughter on the longest night of the year. 

Many believed that this irrelevant name was an onslaught on the deep-rooted culture and customs of Iranians.

Iran's religious establishment and hardliners often refer to ancient festivals as "pagan" calendar events and sometimes even demand that they should be banned. But despite endless religious propaganda, ancient traditions appear to have gained more popularity since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In defiance of the regime, social media users vowed to celebrate their beloved festivals such as Yalda, which they celebrate with family and friends, with even more splendor and merry-making this year, and shared numerous jokes about the lengthy new names assigned to their cherished festivals.

Municipality billboard in Tehran Honoring Yalda

The public's reaction to the renaming of the ancient festivals was so strong that the Council's spokesman, Abbas Mirza Hosseini, had to deny the removal of the names of ancient festivals from the official calendar. He claimed that the new names were only complementary and emphasized the "national identity and Islamic-Iranian culture and civilization."

In the past few days, presumably in response to such criticism, IRIB, which has a monopoly on broadcasting in the country, has shown unprecedented interest in the celebration of Yalda. It has also aired some Yalda entertainment programs including one with stand-up comedian Hassan Reyvandi who had been persona non grata at IRIB for some time.

The municipality of Tehran and some other cities also displayed an unprecedented interest in honoring Yalda. A massive billboard in Tehran’s Vali Asr Square congratulated citizens for Yalda and municipality trucks decorated with balloons and mascots played music on the streets.

The family of a victim of last year’s protests, Erfan Khazaei, celebrated Yalda at his grave.

The celebration of Yalda on the night of Winter Solstice and the Iranian New Year (Nowrouz) on the day of Spring Equinox both date to ancient, pre-Islamic times. The non-Islamic Nowrouz is still the main calendar event for most Iranians. The strength of the Nowrouz tradition is such that even the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei makes a televised speech on that day.

Iranians send each other millions of text messages to congratulate Yalda just as they do on Nowruz, and increasingly more in recent years, Christmas and western New Year.

“I do not understand the resistance that some [in the religious and political establishment] show against elements that build culture and a sense of national identity,” former government spokesman, reformist politician and sociologist Ali Rabiei wrote in a commentary in Etemad newspaper Thursday entitled “The Indelible Yalda”.

Rabiei opined that introducing a new name for the festival in the calendar was an attempt to obscure the festival’s ancient roots through “historical transformation”. He also urged the regime to stop “engineering cultural calendar events”.

“The pressure of the people and public opinion has forced the Islamic regime to retreat repeatedly in the past 44 years in trying to ban music, short-sleeved clothes, video players, satellite TV, Yalda night, even Nowruz … Don't underestimate your power,” a tweet said.