TOP STORIES
U.S. Charges Iranian Revolutionary Guards Official In Assassination Plot | The New York Times
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged a senior official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran and three other men connected to the country’s government with participating in a failed plot to assassinate a human-rights activist in Brooklyn in 2022, according to a new indictment made public on Tuesday. The plot to kill the activist, Masih Alinejad, who has criticized Iran’s repression of women, was disrupted by the U.S. government and had already led to federal murder-for-hire charges against members of an Eastern European criminal organization with ties to Iran.
Russia and Iran may try to encourage violent protests in the U.S. after next month’s election, senior intelligence officials warned Tuesday in a declassified memo, citing two recent examples of foreign intelligence agencies seeking to sow discord ahead of the vote. The memo, released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said both countries could support violent protests either by covertly organizing events themselves or by encouraging participation in those planned by domestic groups. The aim, the officials wrote, would be to increase division, cast doubt on election results and complicate the transfer of presidential power.
Turkey’s Halkbank Must Face U.S. Prosecution Over Iran Sanctions Charges | The Wall Street Journal
Turkish state-owned lender Halkbank can be criminally prosecuted in New York for allegedly helping Iran to evade U.S. sanctions by laundering oil revenue, a federal appeals court said, rejecting objections from Turkey’s government. Sovereign immunity doesn’t shield Halkbank, also known as Turkiye Halk Bankasi, from a criminal prosecution initiated under the Trump administration, the Second Circuit said in a decision released Tuesday. A U.S.-based lawyer for Halkbank and a representative for the Turkish Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to requests for comment. The ruling comes amid renewed action from the Biden administration aimed at Iran’s oil sales, and follows years of legal wrangling, including before the U.S. Supreme Court, over whether Manhattan federal prosecutors can put the bank on trial for alleged sanctions-related crimes.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Panama Issues Decree For ‘Immediate Cancellation’ Of Sanctioned Ships | Lloyds List
Panama’s recently inaugurated government continues to signal that it will comply with international shipping sanctions. The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) said on Sunday that a “legal mechanism” has been established per an executive decree for the “immediate cancellation” of ships that appear on US, UK, EU or UN sanctions lists. […] According to tanker trackers at US monitoring group United Against Nuclear Iran, Panama went from flagging 40% of the ships engaged in Iranian oil trades at the beginning of the year to 26% as of the end of last month. Panama’s announcement came ahead of president José Raúl Mulino’s trip to Europe, where he is seeking to remove Panama from the EU’s list of non-co-operative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Faces Large Budget Deficit Burdened By High Fuel Subsidies | Iran International
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian presented his government’s first budget outline to parliament on Tuesday, signaling plans to tackle rising fuel subsidy costs ahead of the new fiscal year starting March 21. Pezeshkian stated that the budget, developed over two months, focuses on boosting economic growth and reducing inequality. He emphasized that strengthening defense capabilities and controlling inflation are also key priorities in the proposal. Addressing the lawmakers, he warned that the rising cost of subsidies for fuel, including gasoline, has become a critical issue, with current consumption levels 40% higher than in 2019.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Executes Two Afghan Nationals, Rights Group Reports | Amu TV
The group reported on Tuesday, October 22, that at least four inmates, including one Afghan national, had been transferred to solitary confinement in Qezel Hesar Prison ahead of their executions. The two Afghan citizens, identified as Shahin Dehqani and Abdul Qadir, were executed last Thursday in Qom Central Prison, following convictions for “premeditated murder,” the rights group said. In addition, the organization noted that four men, including one Afghan citizen, have been moved to solitary confinement in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, where they await execution. These individuals were sentenced to death for a range of charges, including “premeditated murder” and drug-related offenses.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
FBI Probing Leak Of US Intel On Israel's Attack Plans For Iran | Reuters
The FBI is investigating the public disclosure of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, the bureau said on Tuesday. "The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community," it said in a statement. White House spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that it has not been determined whether the disclosure was a hack or a leak. President Joe Biden was watching the results of the investigation closely, he added.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The Israel Defense Forces intercepted three drones launched from Iraq early Wednesday, for which an Iranian-backed militia group took credit. Two of the drones were headed toward Eilat, while the third, intercepted over Syria, was aimed at the Golan Heights. The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq group said it attacked “vital targets” in those locations. The military said all three drones “came from the east,” a term it uses to refer to attacks launched from Iraq.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Hezbollah is seeking to quickly boost sales of illegal drugs in Europe, former U.S. officials tell VOA, as the Iran-backed Lebanese militia reels from a weekslong Israeli offensive that has destroyed and disrupted its key sources of cash in Lebanon. International law enforcement officials tell VOA, though, the U.S.-designated terror group faces some challenges in ramping up its European drug trafficking operations. Hezbollah has plunged into a financial crisis since Israel began escalating its attacks on the group’s leaders and infrastructure in Lebanon in late September, according to U.S. and Lebanese sources who spoke with VOA earlier this month.
Iran’s FM: Arab Neighbors Won't Let Israel Use Territory For Attacks | Iran International
While in Kuwait as part of his Middle East tour, Iran’s Foreign Minister said that none of its neighboring Arab states would allow Israel to use their territory or airspace for any planned attack on Iran. "All of our neighbors have assured us that they will not allow their territory or airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abbas Araghchi stated in a press conference. As part of his regional mission, Tehran's top diplomat has been intensifying efforts to rally support from Arab nations in response to the looming threat of an Israeli attack, visiting about a dozen states.
Israel Arrests Seven Jerusalem Residents Over Alleged Iran Assassination Plot | Reuters
Israel's security forces have arrested seven Jerusalem residents over allegations they were planning to assassinate Israeli officials and carry out other attacks on behalf of Iran's intelligence service, the Shin Bet and police said on Tuesday. The incident is the fifth case involving attempted assassinations directed by Iranian intelligence that has been thwarted by Israeli security services in the past month, a joint police and Shin Bet statement said. The seven suspects, residents of the mainly Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Safafa in Jerusalem, were planning to carry out the assassination of a senior Israeli scientist and the mayor of a major city in Israel which was not named, the statement said.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iran and Saudi Arabia are planning to conduct joint military exercises in the Red Sea, according to an Iranian report not confirmed by Riyadh, in what would be a first for the regional heavyweights. The two Middle East rivals, which have long backed opposing sides in conflict zones across the region, severed diplomatic ties in 2016. However, Shiite Muslim-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations last year under a surprise China-brokered deal. “Saudi Arabia has asked that we organize joint exercises in the Red Sea,” the commander of Iran’s navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency ISNA.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
Iran Starts Construction Of A Wall On The Border With Afghanistan And Pakistan | MilitaryNYI
Iran has started building barriers along its borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan to reduce security threats. TRT reported on this. The project aims to prevent drug trafficking, fuel and goods smuggling, and illegal migration. It is noted that according to Iranian security services, Iran’s borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan account for 80% of drug trafficking into the country. The wall will be four meters high and almost 300 kilometers long. Construction has already started in the southern part of Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, as well as Razavi Khorasan.