Iran’s intelligence minister warns against US talks

Social media images showed closed shops in cities such as Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandarreh, and Marivan in Kurdistan province, as well as Mahabad, Bukan in West Azarbaijan province, and Kermanshah.

Earlier this week, six Kurdish groups released a joint statement urging people to stage a strike on Wednesday to prevent the executions of Pakhshan Azizi and Varishe Moradi by shutting down marketplaces, workplaces, and schools.

Moradi was sentenced to death in November by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "armed rebellion." Azizi received the same sentence in July.

Both sentences have sparked outrage locally and internationally. Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also joined the protest calls, writing on Instagram, “I urge all political, social, cultural, civil, and professional organizations to join this strike.”

Among the parties supporting the strike were the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, also known as the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and the Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran.

Azizi was sentence to death in July 2024 for “armed rebellion against the state” and imposed an additional four-year prison sentence for alleged membership in the PJAK, accusations her lawyers have denied. PJAK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Iran, Turkey, and the US.

In addition to these groups, students and a coalition of Kurdish women issued separate statements condemning the death sentences. They also expressed support for the strike, denouncing the treatment of Azizi and Moradi, who are detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its harsh conditions and political detentions.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International has condemned Iran’s Supreme Court for upholding Azizi’s death sentence, calling her trial deeply flawed and her punishment unjust. Amnesty said, “Iran’s authorities must halt any plans to carry out her execution and release her immediately,” adding that her conviction appears to be tied to her peaceful humanitarian and human rights work.

In a letter from prison, Azizi has described instances of torture and harassment, including mock executions. Her case has become a focal point for human rights organizations, with many viewing her sentencing as part of a broader pattern of state repression against political dissidents.

According to the US-based rights group HRANA, at least 54 political prisoners, including Azizi, are currently facing execution across various prisons in Iran. Iran has faced increasing international criticism for its widespread use of the death penalty, especially against political prisoners and activists.

The United Nations human rights office reported in January that Iran in 2024 executed 901 people, including 31 women, marking a sharp rise in capital punishment cases.

"We are not inspecting at the levels or at the places that we believe we should be inspecting,” Rafael Grossi said on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum Summit in Davos.

He said that Iran has accumulated about 200 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade.

Grossi added that the agency does not have evidence that Tehran is building a nuclear weapon but Tehran is not fully cooperating with the IAEA.

“We have not been having the full cooperation of Iran in clarifying a few important things about the past and perhaps the present activities," he said, as around one third of the inspectors remain banned by Tehran.

Grossi said that with Donald Trump being sworn in as the US president “there is expectation that things may be moving again... to bring more certainty to this very volatile situation in Iran.”

On Tuesday, Grossi called on Iran to reach an understanding with the new US administration, expressing concerns about Tehran’s growing stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

According to the IAEA, Iran’s production of HEU has increased dramatically. In December, the country boosted its production capacity sevenfold to about 34 kilograms (75 pounds) per month, following a diplomatic censure in November.

Iran’s stockpile of 20% enriched uranium also grew by 18 kilograms in the last quarter, further raising concerns.

European powers, including France, Germany, and the UK, are also increasing their scrutiny. They have directed the IAEA to prepare a special report on Iran’s nuclear activities during the first half of 2025.

The report is expected to be presented to the United Nations Security Council, which may consider reimposing UN sanctions before they expire in October.

“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection,” Bolton said in a statement on X on Tuesday, adding that Joe Biden had given the protection despite his criticism of Biden's policies.

“The American people can judge for themselves which president made the right call,” he said, referencing Iranian threats, including an alleged plot against Trump himself.

The protection stemmed from Bolton’s role in Trump’s administration, where he was a key figure in the decision to kill Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force in January 2020.

In retaliation, the IRGC allegedly sought to orchestrate Bolton’s assassination.

“The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hitman to target me. That threat remains today,” Bolton added.

According to the US Justice Department, Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian operative, attempted to pay $300,000 to have Bolton killed in Washington DC or Maryland.

The decision to cut Bolton’s security comes as Trump is shaping his administration after his return to the White House. On his first day, Trump also announced he was firing Brian Hook, a former special envoy to Iran and an architect of sanctions against Tehran, after he served in the presidential transition.

US law enforcement has said Hook, like Bolton and Trump, was a target of an Iranian assassination plot.

"The recent Russia-Iran partnership agreement signals deepening cooperation across multiple areas, including foreign policy and defense," Anitta Hipper, the EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in response to an email inquiry by Iran International.

"We will closely monitor its implications for EU security and the rules-based international order," she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in Moscow on Friday.

In the strategic pact, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security and defense, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported.

"Russia and Iran have agreed that in the event of an attack on one party, the other party will under no circumstances support the aggressor," the report said.

Moscow and Tehran have stepped up military cooperation and Russia has deployed Iranian drones and missiles in Ukraine, despite Tehran's denials.

"Regarding Iran’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, we have consistently called on Tehran to immediately halt all assistance to Russia, which is a clear violation of the UN Charter," the EU spokesperson said.

Hipper added that "Russia’s increasing reliance on Iran to sustain its aggression also further highlights its growing weakness and isolation."

Analysts say the timing of the Iran-Russia strategic partnership agreement is a sign Moscow and Tehran are bracing for Donald Trump's second term in office, which started on January 20, 2025.

Trump's advisors are reportedly crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to facilitate a Russia-Ukraine diplomatic accord in the coming months while at the same time squeezing Iran, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

"I believe it is in our national security interest for the UN Security Council to snap back the sanctions that were suspended under the JCPOA," Rubio told the Senate foreign relations committee in written responses to Senator Ted Cruz, referring to the deal.

"I will execute the President's guidance and work with our allies to ensure that snapback takes place," Rubio added, according to the remarks read by Cruz at the confirmation hearing of Trump's pick for UN Ambassador, Elise Stefanik.

Rubio, Cruz and Stefanik are all staunchly pro-Israel and anti-Tehran and have signaled they will pressure Iran to hold back on support to armed allies and advancing its nuclear program.

"Pushing back on Iran is a top priority. It was a success during President Trump's first term," Stefanik said.

The so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Iran can technically be restored automatically if any party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deems Iran to be non-compliant.

Then sanctions that were lifted under the JCPOA will snap back into place after 30 days unless the council's five permanent members unanimously vote to keep the sanctions lifted.

Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, arguing that the easing of sanctions gave Iran revenue to arm itself and regional allies like Hamas and Hezbollah. Now outside the deal, Washington cannot itself trigger the snapback but has promised to push for it in talks with its European allies.

Russia and China, whose relationship to the West is increasingly adversarial, have boosted ties with Iran in recent years and are unlikely to challenge it.

Activating the snapback would then fall to one of the three European countries, or E3, parties to the deal, France, Britain and Germany. Those powers are currently negotiating with Iran about future steps to salvage the agreement.

Britain has mooted willingness to eventually trigger the UN sanctions, citing Iran's advancements in enrichment which take it closer to being able to build a bomb.

If no party to the deal refers Iran to the Security Council by October 2025, their ability to trigger the sanctions snapback will lapse per the UN resolution clinching the deal.

Iran last year said it was prepared for either an agreement or continued tension.

"We believe the window for diplomacy is still open, albeit for a short time, provided the other parties demonstrate genuine willingness. Without such commitment, we will pursue an alternative course," foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in November.

Senator Cruz on Tuesday fumed that the previous administration of Joe Biden had enabled Iran to make further nuclear progress, and that Trump must stop such an advance.

"When the Ayatollah chants Death to America. He means it, and I believe he would absolutely detonate a nuclear weapon over an American city if he could," Cruz said.

"I do not believe that this is a threat the US can tolerate, and I'm confident that both the President and Secretary of State Rubio agree."