US Imposes Sanctions On Iranian Entities For Cyber Attacks

According to Kolbar News, the demonstration, held on Tuesday, saw citizens gathering in front of the governor's office, vocally opposing what they called "killer police." The protestors then entered the building, demanding answers and accountability for the police action.

The incident occurred on Monday evening when officers from Bandar Abbas opened fire on a vehicle carrying fuel without any prior warning. The attack resulted in the death of 20-year-old Amir Mohammad Chatr Sahar and left another man injured. Chatr Sahar was known to be from the Jamal Ahmad area of Bandar Abbas where around half the population lives in poverty, but details about the injured party remain undisclosed.

The event highlights ongoing issues in other provinces like Sistan-Baluchestan, where the annual shooting of fuel smugglers by military forces claims the lives of hundreds. Reports suggest that between March 20 and 30 alone, 27 fuel smugglers died by security forces, road accidents, and vehicle fires. Victims were typically young, between 18 and 28 years old.

In 2023, at least 172 Baluch fuel smugglers were reported dead with 42 others injured, reflecting a dire economic crisis that compels many in Iran's poorest provinces to engage in fuel smuggling to neighboring countries like Pakistan. The activity offers a vital, albeit risky, source of income due to higher fuel prices across the border.

Human rights organizations and activists continue to criticize the Iranian government for its discriminatory policies towards minority-dominated provinces such as Sistan-Baluchestan and Kordestan. These areas suffer from a lack of employment opportunities and governmental neglect, factors which significantly contribute to the prevalence of fuel smuggling.

The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, left Pyongyang on Tuesday by air leading a ministry delegation to visit Iran, the North's KCNA news agency said. It gave no other detail.

Iranian government media have not reported on the visit on Tuesday.

North Korea and Iran have long been suspected of cooperating on ballistic missile programs, possibly exchanging technical expertise and components that went into their manufacture.

Iran has provided a large number of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, Reuters reported in February.

North Korea is also suspected of supplying Russia with missiles and artillery, although both countries have denied the allegation. Observers often mention a Russia, China, Iran and North Korea axis.

Yun has previously worked on the country's ties with Syria, according to South Korean government database.

Yun has been active in the country's increasing exchanges with Russia, earlier this month leading a delegation to visit Moscow, according to KCNA.

The drone and rocket fire were the first such incidents since a near three-month pause in what had been almost daily attacks that culminated in the January killing of three US soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced criminal charges and sanctions against four Iranians over an alleged multi-year cyber campaign targeting more than one dozen American companies, the Treasury Department and the State Department said.

Sanctions were also announced against two companies, Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik and Dadeh Afzar Arman, that according to the Treasury Department employed the individual defendants and were front companies for Iran's Revolutionary Guard cyber command.

“The IRGC-CEC is one of the Iranian government organizations that has been responsible for, through a series of front companies, malicious cyber activity against the US and several other countries…The United States will not tolerate malicious cyber activities victimizing US companies,” the State Department said in a statement.

With US-Iran tensions soaring after the Jordan attack in January, and some calls from Republican lawmakers in Washington for a direct US response against Iran, a senior Iranian commander had called on militia to halt their attacks at the end of January.

The US retaliated against the attack in Jordan in early February, hitting multiple bases of Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq,

Speaking at the Pentagon, Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson, did not speculate about what triggered the renewal in attacks. But he called on Baghdad to act.

"These attacks put coalition and Iraqi personnel at risk. We call on the government of Iraq to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria against attacks from these groups," Ryder told a news briefing.

"If these attacks continue, we will not hesitate to defend our forces, as we have done in the past."

The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in eastern Syria on an advise-and-assist mission.

Although Washington has sanctioned many individuals and entities engaged in nefarious activities on Iran’s behalf, the Biden administration has not enforced the oil sanctions against Tehran, which is the main source of its income.

The United States helped Israel shoot down a massive wave of Iranian drone and missiles on April 14 fired by Tehran in retaliation for an April 1 Israeli strike against an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria.

Washington has blamed Iran in the past for funding and directing militia in Iraq and Syria that attack US forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, wary of his country becoming a battleground for fighting between the United States and Iran, met President Joe Biden earlier this month to turn a new page in US-Iraqi relations despite soaring regional tensions.

The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled strongman leader Saddam Hussein, withdrawing in 2011 before returning in 2014 at the head of an international military coalition at the Baghdad government's request to help fight Islamic State insurgents.

With reporting by Reuters

While the Pakistani prime minister invited Raisi to Islamabad, he was not there to greet him on Monday. The Iranian government’s official website posted images of Raisi’s arrival at Nur Khan Airbase and the only official from Pakistan receiving Raisi was named Riaz Hussain Pirzada, federal minister for housing and works.

Critics of the current government such as Abdolreza Davari, one of ex-President Ahmadinejad's confidants, drew a stark comparison between this incident and the reception of ex-president Hassan Rouhani in 2016 when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif greeted him at Nur Khan Airbase.
The conservative website Khabar Online slammed the imbalance of power and said “this level of reception does not reflect the level of the visit" of the embarrassing reception.

This is not the first time Raisi's international trips have been in the spotlight. In January 2022, neither Putin nor any senior Russian official escorted President Ebrahim Raisi upon his departure from Moscow. During the same trip, the long distance between the two presidents during their discussions was also a trending topic on social media.

Ebrahim Raisi's picture at a table with champagne at a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders sparked controversy in September 2022.

Nevertheless, the controversy extends beyond Raisi. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Raisi's foreign minister, was filmed waiting in his car at the Russian Foreign Ministry to be formally welcomed by Sergey Lavrov last March. While the Russian top diplomat did not leave the building when Amir-Abdollahian entered, Lavrov asked him, "Didn't you want to get out of the car," and the Iranian foreign minister said, “I was waiting.” Lavrov asked what he was waiting for, to which the Iranian foreign minister mumbled and refused to reply.

Lavrov's reaction angered government voices in Iran. Cleric Rahmatollah Bigdeli said on Twitter, “This much disrespect to the authorities of a country by Russian officials is shameful!”

Iran's Raisi's visit follows a period of tension between the two countries. Pakistan conducted airstrikes three months ago following attacks by Iran's Revolutionary Guards within Pakistani territory. According to both countries, their strikes aimed at "terrorist hideouts" ended up killing civilians, including women and children.

The Iranian government claimed that its operation targeted the Jaish al-Adl Sunni militant group, while the Pakistani government said it targeted insurgents generally known as "Sarmachar."

"This time, the nation of Iran has punished Israel," Raisi stated, referring to the recent aerial bombardment which saw 350 projectiles launched towards Israel, though almost all were intercepted by Israel and a US-led coalition. "If Israel makes another mistake and attacks Iranian soil, the situation will be different, and it is uncertain if anything will remain of that country," he added.

The visit follows recent tensions highlighted on Friday when explosions were heard over Isfahan in central Iran. Sources attributed them to an Israeli attack, though Tehran downplayed the severity of the incident and indicated no immediate plans for retaliation. Israel is believed to have targeted air defenses for Iran's two nuclear sites.

On April 13, Iran responded to a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus which had killed a senior Quds Force commander and several IRGC personnel.

In his speech in Lahore, aiming to repair ties between Iran and Pakistan after ongoing border clashes, President Raisi also stressed Iran's continued support for the Palestinian resistance, positioning it as a matter of “national honor.”

Raisi, who began a three-day visit to Pakistan on Monday, emphasized his commitment to increasing bilateral trade between the two nations to $10 billion annually.