US Opposes Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project

During a hearing at the US House of Representatives, the current status of Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance' and its implications for US homeland security and interests worldwide were examined, with a consensus that threats posed by Tehran and its proxies have escalated significantly.

Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee Mark Green (R-TN) commenced the hearing by outlining Iran’s threats, which encompassed "assassination plots on former Trump Administration officials, targeting and attacking US service members abroad, disrupting trade and commerce, and endangering Maritime Security in the Red Sea, along with attempting to coordinate external Terror operations in Europe and South America."

He elaborated that the hearing's focal point is on the threats posed by Iran's proxy networks, known as the ‘axis of resistance,' a collection of militia groups employed by Iran to bolster their power projection capabilities and provide plausible deniability for attacks conducted on behalf of the Iranian regime. Notably, these militias include Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis of Yemen, and various Iraqi and Syrian militia groups.

Robert Wells, assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), informed the committee that "The FBI believes Iran is capable of a variety of attack options against US targets, including cyber operations intended to sabotage public and private infrastructure, and targeted assassinations of individuals who are deemed to be a threat to the regime or its stability."

According to Wells, the Tehran regime is resolute in executing attacks in the United States, whether to avenge the death of former IRGC-Quds commander Qasem Soleimani (such as the plan to murder former National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2022), to silence dissidents (like the attempted murder of activist Masih Alinejad in 2023), or to eliminate the ambassador of an ally nation (as seen in the plot to murder the Saudi Ambassador to the US.

He also referred to Iran’s supplying weapons for the Houthis to disrupt global shipping, saying that in January 2024, US military intercepted Iranian-made weapon parts bound for Houthis, “who could have used the weapons to target US forces.”

James Dunlap, deputy undersecretary for analysis at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, highlighted the Iranian government’s cyber threats through a variety of tactics, techniques, and procedures -- “including social engineering, using easily accessible scanning and computer hacking tools, and exploiting publicly known software and hardware vulnerabilities” against the US government and the defense industry. “The Israel-Hamas conflict shows how Iran uses cyber operations to respond to geopolitical events while attempting to maintain plausible deniability.”

Elizabeth Richard, ambassador-at-large, and coordinator for counterterrorism at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, pointed out, “Iran has been designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism since 1984 and has long been directly involved in attack plotting against the US homeland and US personnel and activities, mainly but not exclusively via Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force.”

“Hamas would not have been able to carry out its devastating October 7 terrorist attack without Iran’s long-time assistance, funding, and training,” she stated. “Our defense of the US homeland does not stop at our own physical border.”

Carrie Thompson, chief of intelligence at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), addressed the threat from Iran and its proxies from an economic standpoint. She highlighted the “clear connection” between the drug trade and the financing of terrorist organizations and rogue state actors, including the Iranian regime. She said Hezbollah’s money laundering network collaborates with South American drug cartels to facilitate the smuggling of drugs into Europe and the Middle East. “The Assad regime in Syria has been associated with the production and trafficking of a synthetic drug called Captagon,” she added.

The hearing took place as Israel's war continues with Hamas, the epicenter of the current Middle East conflict ignited after the Islamist group invaded Israel and killed 1,200 mostly civilians and took 240 hostages. Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ has increased attacks on US and Israeli targets to pressure Israel into a ceasefire.

Many American lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for its Iran policy, which has not only failed to deter the attacks but also emboldened Tehran to boast about the victories of its ‘axis of resistance’ against the US.

According to David G. Perkins, a retired US Army general, deterrence means changing the minds and behaviors of Iran’s proxy forces, noting that the US should not try to deter the Houthis, but to deter Iran, which gives them “the head nod” for attacks.

Bloomberg reported that Russian and Chinese diplomats met with Mohammed Abdul-Salam, a senior Houthi official and the group’s spokesperson.

It is believed that a deal has been made whereby Moscow and Beijing may provide the group with political support, which according to Bloomberg can include “blocking more resolutions” against the Yemeni terror group in the UN Security Council.

Leeway would be given to China and Russia as key allies of Tehran amidst global sanctions.

The Red Sea blockade has massively impacted global trade and logistics and Tehran will be keen to keep its two major allies onside while the blockade, initiated in November on the orders of the Supreme Leader, continues.

The talks follow recent naval drills between Iran, China and Russia as ties between the three pariah states deepen militarily and economically.

Yemen's Houthis launched their campaign to attack international vessels to initiate a blockade of Israel which has launched a relentless retaliatory attack on Gaza since Iran-backed Hamas militia invaded Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking more than 250 more hostage. 

However, not only Israeli vessels have come under fire, with international shipping falling victim to the attacks. In March, a Houthi missile attack killed three seafarers on a Greek-owned, Barbados-flagged ship in the Red Sea, the first fatalities since the start of the blockade.

On Thursday, a gun-fight broke out when gunmen attacked a merchant vessel in the Red Sea. 

Only a “handful of issues” have remained unresolved between Washington and Riyadh regarding the normalization plan, the official told the Associated Press.

The informed source, who has not been identified, is a senior member of the US State Department who accompanied Antony Blinken in his Wednesday visit to Saudi Arabia. In his sixth tour to the Middle East since Hamas’ deadly onslaught on October 7, Blinken met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and discussed the recognition of the Jewish state by Riyadh.

Blinken left Saudi Arabia for Egypt on Thursday and is scheduled to visit Israel on Friday.

The deal between Saudi Arabia and the US in this regard “is widely believed to include US defense guarantees and aid in building a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia,” the Associated Press further reported.

Saudi Arabia has time and again stressed normalizing relations with Israel depends upon Tel Aviv’s recognition of a pathway towards the creation of an independent Palestinian state, a demand which has strongly been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Iranian government has been a staunch critic of the normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel as it would further isolate Tehran in the region. In October 2023, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: “The position of the Islamic Republic is that countries that make the gamble of normalization with Israel will lose. They are betting on a losing horse.”

While the international community looks to the US to take stronger action against the Houthis, Blinken could only voice hopes that Iran would step in to stop the disruptions. “We would like to see Iran exert the influence that it has, because it’s the primary supplier to the Houthis of weapons, of information, of technology. We would like to see them tell the Houthis to stop.

The Red Sea blockade, initiated by the Yemen-based Houthi terror group after Iran’s Supreme Leader asked Muslims to stifle Israeli trade, has seen dozens of attacks carried out on global shipping, including US ships and causing major disruptions to global trade and logistics since November.

Implemented in a bid to force Israel into a ceasefire amid its war in Gaza against Iran-backed Hamas, US led attacks on Houthi infrastructure have as yet failed to deter the militia which are armed with some of the most lethal aerial assault weapons in the region, provided by Iran.

Long branded too soft on Iran’s nuclear activities, the allegations are now haunting the Biden administration as the blockade creates chaos on the vital trade route, with little being done by Washington.

“Meanwhile, we and other countries have no choice but to try to defend the shipping and, as necessary, degrade the assets – the military assets – that the Houthis are using to continue to attack shipping,” Blinken said this week.

He reiterated that the US is imposing sanctions on Iran and its terror entities but in spite of this, Tehran’s nuclear capabilities have only grown in the last year.

“I also don’t think it’s in Iran’s interest to continue to support these Houthi attacks, attacks that, again, are being condemned by countries around the world,” he said, in spite of the fact it was Iran who sparked the blockade, occurring alongside proxy actions from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. “The extent to which Iran is seen as being responsible for that – I don’t think that’s good for Iran, so we hope that it will use the influence it has to put an end to this.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated talk of sanctions, failing to mention their lack of efficacy in stopping Tehran’s reign of terror. “Iran is always going to fund terrorism,” he said this week. “It’s always going to fund destabilizing activities … And with respect to those illegitimate activities by the Iranian Government, you have seen this administration respond to those. We have imposed sanctions on more than 500 Iranian entities since the outset of this administration. We have held Iran accountable for its support of terrorism and its funding of dangerous proxy groups around the region, and we’ll continue to do so.”

Jason Brodsky, policy director for think tank United Against A Nuclear Iran, slammed the remarks. “Why would Iran's regime have any incentive to ask the Houthis to stop when it hasn't been made to pay any direct cost at home for its support to the Houthis? I'd like to see the State Department understand who they are dealing with here. It's not clear to me they do,” he wrote on X.

In a huge miscalculation, President Joe Biden also enraged Iranians this week, mentioning the war in Gaza when sharing Norouz (Nowruz) messages for the Persian new year. Acknowledging the brave women of Iran, he went on to lament the suffering in Gaza, a cause totally disconnected from the plight facing the millions of Iranians on the poverty line and living under a brutal dictatorial regime.

“I don't know if the people of Iran care about the war in Gaza. As far as they're concerned, people of Iran are suffering because the regime invests in terrorism of Hamas instead of their own wellbeing,” Iranian-American Marjan Keypour said on X.

“Most Iranians blame the Islamic regime's policies toward Syria and "Palestinian" issues for their economic problems, not the US sanctions. It's time for the US officials to stop apologizing and hold tyrants and terrorists accountable for their actions,” she added.

Her sentiments were welcomed by other Iranians whose own plight is far closer to home than the suffering in Gaza amid a war sparked by Iranian regime-backed Hamas on October 7 when the militia invaded Israel killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking more than 250 more hostage. “I don’t care about Gaza! Let us talk about the situation in Iran!”, responded Azadeh Nikzadeh, also an Iranian-American.

US-based PhD student, Sativa, reacted with fury to the Biden greeting mentioning Gaza, writing on X, “Dear @POTUS It is disrespectful to Iranians when you celebrate their NON-ISLAMIC new year, while paying lip service to their enemy, the Palestinians (who sided with Saddam and killed Iranians, and are now siding with the brutal mullah regime). Have you not seen how Iranians feel about Palestine? Or their flag?”

According to Global News on Wednesday, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) ordered the deportation of Salman Samani, Iran's deputy minister of interior during Hassan Rouhani's term as president.

The tribunal’s verdict is issued in compliance with the Canadian sanctions imposed against Iranian officials following the 2022 nationwide protests triggered by the death in morality-police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Salmani is the second high-ranking Iranian official who has been ordered to leave Canada. In February, Majid Iranmanesh, a director general at Iran's Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, was also forced to leave.

Before the verdict, Iranmanesh asked the court to allow him to leave the country voluntarily without a deportation order, which he said would interfere with his research in different countries.

Global News further reported that the IRB is considering the expulsion of a third senior member of the Iranian government.

“The IRB has refused to identify him, and has opted to hold his hearings behind closed doors, apparently because he is claiming to be a refugee,” Global News added.

The Immigration and Refugee Board is also set to decide the fates of another nine high-ranking Iranian officials following their participation in deportation hearings.

Many Iranian political activists and opposition figures contend that Tehran has been using Canada as a platform to further its malicious activities via the regime’s agents there.

In November, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party, confirmed reports of “well-placed regime thugs” in Canada who spend the money that “they stole from the Iranian people.”

He called for tightening immigration regulations to ensure that anyone “willingly associated” with the Iranian government should not be eligible for entry to Canada.