Iran hints at weaponization ahead of nuclear talks with Europe

The latest sanctions package is designed to address the use of chemical weapons on Ukraine's frontlines but also extends to those implicated in the transfer of arms to Russia for deployment in the conflict, according to the New Zealand Foreign Ministry.

The sanctions target seven individuals and five entities, with six of the individuals being Iranian nationals. These include Ali Jafarabadi, Head of Iran's Space Command within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGC-ASF), and Hamid Reza Sharifi Tehrani, a member of the Board of Directors of Qods Aviation Industries.

Others named are Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Mohammad Sadegh Heidari Mousa, and Mohsen Asadi, all members of the Board of Paravar Pars Company. Additionally, Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari, Director General for International Relations of Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), is also listed.

“Transfers of Iranian weaponry facilitates Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. New Zealand condemns those who are providing support,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Thursday.

These sanctions come amid intensified Russian drone offensives in Ukraine, where Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones have caused significant damage to infrastructure and residential areas.

“The enemy launched a record number of Shahed attack UAVs and unidentified drones,” Ukraine's air force said Tuesday in a statement reported by Reuters.

Known for their low cost and destructive capability, these drones have been extensively deployed to target Ukrainian energy facilities and civilian areas. Ukrainian authorities have described the latest wave of attacks as the most extensive use of Shahed drones to date.

International criticism of Iran’s role in the conflict has grown. Earlier this week, the G7 and the European Union issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s arms transfers to Russia and its missile activities in the Middle East, highlighting the broader destabilizing impact of Tehran’s actions.

Similarly, in September, the G7 condemned Iran, declaring, "Iran must immediately cease all support to Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war against Ukraine and halt such transfers of ballistic missiles, UAVs, and related technology." The statement underscored the broader implications of these actions, identifying them as a direct threat to Ukraine, European stability, and global security.

New Zealand’s sanctions align with similar moves by other nations, reinforcing global efforts to address Iran’s military collaboration with Russia and its impact on Ukraine’s sovereignty and regional stability.

The remarks were rare criticism by Iranian officialdom of the budding cooperation between a deeply isolated Islamic Republic and nuclear-armed economic powerhouse China.

Sanctions have left Tehran heavily dependent on China, the world's top oil importer, forcing it to navigate costly logistical hurdles to evade US-led restrictions.

“These sanctions have trapped us in a nineteenth century colonial trap, leaving the government no choice but to manage the economy at significantly higher costs than normal,” said Hojatollah Mirzaei, head of the Research Center at the Iran Chamber of Commerce.

Around 92 percent of Iranian oil goes to China, often at discounts at around 30 percent, according to Mirzaei, who bemoaned the fact that his country has little say over the transactions.

“China dictates how payments are made,” he said. “They might say, ‘use this money to buy electric buses at the price we set.’ Then Tehran’s municipality proudly announces, ‘We brought you electric buses.’”

He underlined the economic strains during a budget review session on Wednesday.

“More than half the value of each barrel is consumed in circumventing sanctions,” Mirzaei said, in apparent reference to the added expense of shipping and insuring the covert oil exports.

China has continued to purchase Iranian oil, despite US sanctions. The oil is transferred using "ghost fleets", vessels with switched off transponders and concealed ownership.

The parliament plans to formally refer the law on December 13 to President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is legally required to sign and implement it within five days.

The legislation, passed by parliament in September 2022 and approved by Iran's Guardian Council in late September this year, has faced delays as authorities weighed public backlash.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a hardliner and a former senior Revolutionary Guards commander, said enforcement of the law will avoid direct confrontation with women - a controversial practice which has stoked mass protests.

"If an act of unveiling occurs, a text message will first be sent as a warning, followed by a second warning. Although the fine for the first offense is registered, it is not enforced initially. However, if the offense is repeated, the second fine will be applied," he added.

Hijab patrols have been eliminated, and the provisions, Ghalibaf said, are "clarified transparently and thoroughly."

Heavy penalties and adjusted timing

The law introduces significant fines, starting at 30 million rials (approximately $45) for a first violation, with repeat offenders facing fines of up to 240 million rials (around $350). The penalties, enforced through automated systems, represent a burden in a country where average monthly salaries range between $170 and $200.

The timing of the law's formal announcement was adjusted, Ghalibaf said, to account for security considerations tied to the anniversary of protests following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody in 2022.

The months of mass demonstrations which followed saw many women publicly flout the compulsory Islamic dress code.

Ghalibaf in his remarks on Wednesday criticized the failure of most institutions to enforce previous hijab-related laws, saying that only the police had fulfilled their duties, albeit with occasional shortcomings.

However, questions linger about the infrastructure needed for implementation. Advanced equipment, such as surveillance cameras, remains limited. Ghalibaf acknowledged the gaps but added that measures are underway to ensure enforcement.

Public resistance and government control

The legislation faces strong public resistance, particularly since the Woman, Life, Freedom movement which lingers following Amini’s death.

Many women openly defy the hijab mandate, despite government crackdowns that have included the closure of businesses and impounding of vehicles linked to hijab violations.

Official reports indicate that at least 3,500 vehicles have been confiscated due to passengers violating hijab laws. Despite these crackdowns, many women continue to resist, with acts of civil disobedience such as public unveiling, sharing photos unveiled on social media and participating in protests.

This defiance highlights the pushback against what many perceive as a symbol of oppression, as widespread opposition to official inroads on women's rights and personal freedoms in the country festers.

Ahoo Daryaie, a 30-year-old Iranian doctoral student in French literature at Tehran's Islamic Azad University, became the latest symbol of resistance against Iran's compulsory hijab laws.

On November 2, after reportedly being confronted and harassed by Basij paramilitary forces over her attire, she protested by removing her clothes and sitting partially undressed in the university courtyard.

Following her protest, Daryaie was detained by Iranian authorities, leading to concerns about her whereabouts and treatment. Reports indicate she may have been held in a psychiatric facility, raising international alarm over her condition.

Her action has drawn global attention, with human rights organizations calling for her immediate release.

Daryaie's protest occurred two years after the death of Mahsa Amini, which had previously sparked nationwide demonstrations against Iran's strict dress code laws.

Amnesty International in May condemned Iran's harsh hijab crackdown, describing it as a war on women.

“Iranian authorities are waging a war on women to punish defiance of forced veiling in the wake of the Woman Life Freedom uprising.”

The organization has called on Iranian authorities to end the punishment of women and girls for exercising their rights to bodily autonomy, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion. Amnesty has urged the immediate repeal of all mandatory hijab laws and regulations and demanded the dissolution of security forces tasked with enforcing these laws.

It comes on the back of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censure resolution urging Tehran to enhance its cooperation with inspectors after enrichment of uranium reached 60%, near weapons-grade.

"We have begun injecting gas into several thousand advanced centrifuges, which is part of the nuclear industry's development program, and have put them into operational circuits," Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said Wednesday.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Eslami said it was a response to Europe's initiative at a recent Board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to censure the Islamic Republic for its lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

According to Iran's Student News Agency, he said: "From the very beginning, we had stated that if the three European countries do not choose the path of engagement and instead pursue confrontation and resolution issuance, we will undoubtedly take reciprocal action without delay."

On Sunday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the activation of new centrifuges was in response to the resolution.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's reciprocal response to this political misuse of the Board of Governors was immediately put into action, and the deployment of a set of new and advanced centrifuges has begun," he said on Sunday.

The IAEA resolution, adopted on November 21, follows three years of restricted access to Iran’s nuclear sites and growing uranium stockpiles. By late October, the agency reported that Iran’s reserves included 182.3 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, a significant step toward nuclear weapons capability.

Eslami, however, argued that Iran’s nuclear activities remain within international frameworks.

"All of Iran’s nuclear activities are under the supervision of the agency and carried out in accordance with the Safeguards Agreement and NPT provisions," he added.

Last year, Iran banned one third of the IAEA's inspectors with multiple politicians such as Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran’s Parliament, supporting nuclear armament as a military deterrent. Earlier, Tehran had restricted IAEA's monitoring cameras at its nuclear facilities.

"Under current circumstances, Iran should first move toward increasing uranium enrichment, potentially raising the enrichment level to 70% or 80%. In the second phase, Iran should pursue nuclear weapon production,” he told the Didban news website in Tehran.

Referring to the war of attrition with Israel amid global sanctions for exceeding international limits for enrichment, he added: "If we produce a nuclear bomb, the resulting tension will last no more than six months. Western countries will object to why we developed nuclear weapons, and we can respond by pointing out that they have sanctioned us enough already and have no new sanctions left to impose.”

"Dialogue can always be constructive, but the other side (the European Union) must abandon its superiority complex and its stance as the center of global norms," Zarif said.

"They must step down from this so-called 'high horse' they are riding and engage with the world as equals, recognizing that if anyone needs to be held accountable, it is them,” he added.

Islamic Republic diplomats are set to meet with their counterparts from France, Garmany, the United Kingdom and the European Union on Friday to discuss controversial issues including Iran’s nuclear program and the crisis in the Middle East.

The meeting takes place after the UN nuclear watchdog issued a censure resolution condemning its lack of transparency and violation of obligations under a 2015 nuclear deal.

Zarif was the main Iranian negotiator from 2013-2015 when the JCPOA nuclear agreement was being hammered out with the three European powers, the United States, Russia and China.

The Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018, imposing sanctions, which led Iran to break the deal’s restrictions on uranium enrichment. Subsequent talks during the Biden administration failed to resurrect the accord, which many regard as dead and beyond repair.

Nevertheless, Zarif turned the blame to the US. "Iran has not withdrawn from the JCPOA; it has consistently declared its readiness to adhere to the agreement and has acted within its framework. However, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and violated its commitments," he said, meaning re-imposing economic sanctions.

He added, "The foundation of any new agreement will undoubtedly be the JCPOA, an agreement that took months and perhaps tens of thousands of man-hours in Iran, the US, Europe, Russia, and China to negotiate. As the Europeans put it, it is one of the most significant diplomatic achievements in the world."

It has been clear for several years that the JCPOA cannot be revived without addressing Iran’s breaches of the original agreement. Iran has continued to improve and expand its uranium enrichment by deploying more advanced centrifuges. As far back as 2020, Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declared that a new agreement is needed.

In December 2020, Grossi, speaking at the IAEA headquarters, said, "I cannot imagine that they are going simply to say, 'We are back to square one' because square one is no longer there.”

Zarif’s remarks, published only by more reformist websites, come amid a concerted effort by conservatives in parliament to pressure President Masoud Pezeshkian into removing him from the government.

They cite a 2022 law barring dual nationals or individuals with spouses or children holding dual nationality from serving in "sensitive positions" such as advisory roles to the president. Hardliners argue that this restriction applies to Zarif, alleging that his son holds US citizenship.