Iran expands probe into organizers of hijab-free concert

While judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir provided updates on various judicial cases during a press conference on Tuesday, questions remain as to why the judiciary is unaware of the journalist's arrest.

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has already confirmed Sala's detention a day earlier, citing alleged legal violations but withholding specifics.

"Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, traveled to Iran on December 13, 2024, with a journalist visa and was arrested on December 19, 2024, on charges of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her case is currently under investigation," a statement by the ministry said Monday.

Confirming Sala's arrest in Tehran, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said last Friday that the entire government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, has been working tirelessly since her detention to secure the journalist’s release.

Sala’s detention in Tehran may be linked to the arrest of a Swiss-Iranian businessman at Malpensa Airport three days earlier on a US warrant for allegedly violating sanctions on electronic exports, La Repubblica reported citing his lawyer.

The meeting was requested by Israel to discuss the Houthis' ongoing targeting of the country. Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon demanded the Iran-backed militants halt their missile attacks or face consequences.

“This is not a warning,” said Danon, “It is a promise: the Houthis will suffer the same miserable fate as Hamas and Hezbollah."

In a press conference prior to the Security Council session, Iran International’s Maryam Rahmati asked the Israeli permanent representative to the UN if the escalations with the Houthis would increase the likelihood of a direct war with Iran.

In response, Danon did not rule it out and said Israel seeks peace but would prepare for all scenarios.

“I would say also to the Iranian leadership, we have shown our capabilities. We have the ability to strike every target in the Middle East, including Iran,” replied Danon.

It appears Israel may be paving a case to the UN security council for full assault on Yemen’s Houthis.

Since the launch of October 7, the Houthis have fired drones and missiles almost daily towards Israel, describing it as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Earlier this month, a missile fired from Yemen breached Israel’s air defense systems, striking a playground near Tel Aviv which injured 16 people and damaged homes. The incident occurred only two days after a Houthi missile hit a school in Ramat Gan, the same school that Danon said he attended as a child.

"What would you do if it were your child? Your school? Your city?,” said Danon.

Israel responded by striking targets in Yemen, including Sanaa airport, ports on the west coast of the country, and two power plants. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was about to board a plane at the airport when he said he had to run for shelter.

Engaging Iran to halt Houthis

Ambassador Danon presented a map showing the distance between Israel and Yemen, adding that Israel and Yemen do not share a border but that the Houthis are being used by Iran as a tool.

The skirmishes between Israel and Yemen are the direct result of Iran's actions against Israel, according to other key member states. Their message was to engage Iran to stop the Houthi operations.

"We can all see clearly that the Houthis are fully enabled by Iran to launch long range and deadly attacks on Israel, including civilian infrastructure, as evidenced by the Houthi's propaganda boasting about the use of advanced hypersonic missiles," US Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the council."

"Iran's provision of these and other lethal weapons to the Houthis violates the arms embargo imposed on the group by this council," she added.

The Deputy US Representative also called the UN to strengthen its verification and inspection mechanism on arms to prohibit any illicit smuggling.

Russian position

Russia, another key security member state, did not reference the Islamic Republic of Iran in its condemnation of the Houthis.

The Russian representative denounced the Houthi’s recent strike on Israel but said the narrative of blame has been one-sided, saying Israel’s action in Gaza are the root cause to the conflict.

“We shouldn't dismiss the broader context because many hotspots of tension today are provoked by the actions of Israel against Palestinians,” said Vasily Nebenzya, a permanent representative to Russia at the UN.

Japan's representative to the UN also mentioned Palestinians, asserting that Houthis' actions do nothing to help their cause and urging Iran to exercise its influence to halt the strikes.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Maritime Attack Tracker recently tallied 106 confirmed Houthis strikes on shipping since November 2023.

The Houthis boast higher numbers and have seized two civilian ships and held another, killing at least four merchant seamen according to Michael Knights of the Washington Insititute who spoke at Monday’s security council session.

'Dangerous escalation'

UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari addressed the Security Council meeting with a warning that the Mideast is witnessing another dangerous escalation. He condemned attacks in Israel and Yemen.

Britain's representative expressed concern about Israel’s strikes on civilian infrastructure in Yemen, while taking aim at Iran for the Houthis' continued strikes against Israel and their targeting of international shipping in the Red Sea.

"(Iran's) long standing financial and military support to the Houthis has enabled and exacerbated Houthi aggression. Iran bears responsibility for the actions of its proxies, and it must cease its illegal activity, which is destabilizing the region and threatening international peace and stability," said Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN.

Shamkhani and his associates secured Dominican passports, later using them to obtain passports from European Union countries like Malta and Cyprus, allowing them to bypass compliance checks from major global financial institutions.

These moves helped his empire gain acceptance from Wall Street banks and Western oil majors, despite his alleged involvement in Iran’s arms dealings with Russia.

Shamkhani’s efforts to keep his business dealings confidential allowed him to build relationships with key global financial figures across hubs like Dubai, Geneva, and London.

Bloomberg’s investigation, based on interviews with more than four dozen people familiar with his network, also highlighted his lobbying efforts in Washington to influence US policy and avoid sanctions enforcement.

“Negligence by officials and certain groups in society could bring us to a situation like we saw in Syria,” said Mehdi Shabzandehdar, drawing parallels to the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

He said that “certain freedoms” align with enemy plans to undermine the Islamic Republic. “The freedoms that a small group pursues, which have significant conflicts of interest and great harms, must be carefully scrutinized as they align with the enemies’ plans,” he said.

He warned that if such actions weaken public attachment to Islam, the Islamic Revolution, and its values, “it will be a day of celebration for our enemies.”

His remarks come amid growing defiance of mandatory hijab laws by Iranian women and broader demands for social freedoms across the country.

A joint statement from Israel’s security services and the police, said that Alexander Granovsky, a resident of Petah Tikva, was arrested this month after being suspected of spying for Iran, in a plot which had involved photographing the entrance to former defense minister Benny Gantz's residential neighborhood.

He is also accused of setting eight cars on fire around Israel and photographing a sensitive facility in the center of the country.

Granovsky had also sprayed "Children of Ruhollah” on various buildings, referring to Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.

The investigation also revealed that the man’s handlers discussed with him the possibility of obtaining a rifle and grenades to shoot at houses.

He had also been asked to gather information on the residential addresses of ministers in the Israeli government, and to set fire to a police car, a bus, and a truck, but Alexander refused to carry out the tasks.

A prosecutor's statement was filed against him on Monday and an indictment is expected to be filed against him in the Central District Court in the coming days.

A statement from Israel Police said Granovsky had, like those cases previously, been lured by money.

"This case joins a series of cases from the past year that teaches about repeated efforts by terrorist and hostile intelligence agencies to recruit Israeli citizens for the sake of carrying out tasks intended to harm the security of the country of Israel and its inhabitants,” the statement said.

Multiple cases have been foiled in Israel this year as Iran steps up its attempts to infiltrate the country through its citizens in the wake of the Gaza war. Arrests of both men and women have taken place this year from all over Israel, in cash for intelligence plots.