Iran's Leader Appoints New IRGC Counter-Intelligence Chief

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Lieutenant General Nadim Reza Nishan, noting that “Iran will not tolerate such threats and will certainly respond to them.”

Describing Israel as a destabilizing force in the region, he said, “The regime, through the implementation of certain plots, seeks to forge relations with regional countries and achieve its interventionist goals.”

Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, “I have been leading for the past year together with my colleagues at the Pentagon and the [Biden] administration an extensive program to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the countries of the region, under American leadership and CENTCOM.” “Part of that vision is what I call MEAD, Middle East Air Defense, which we are building amid Iran’s attempts to hit the region’s countries with rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones].”

Israel is improving relations with the Persian Gulf monarchies especially since the 2020 ‘normalization’ agreements with Bahrain and the UAE, arguing they face a common threat in Iran.

Seriously concerned about the growing ties, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly warned neighbors against allowing Israel to establish presence in the Persian Gulf.

Iran's IRGC Navy commander said earlier in June if for whatever reason someone allows “the number one enemy” into the Persian Gulf, it will create “chaos and instability” both for itself and for the region.

Motahari, a social conservative who has often criticized hardliners in recent years, said on twitter on Sunday that the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) has nothing to do with Russia and Moscow does not have the right o benefit from it. 

His reaction was to a sentence by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who told Croatian daily Večernji List in a recent interview that Russia has demanded that if the JCPOA were to be restored, the agreement should also benefit Russia as a party that has taken constructive measures for its revival.

Motahari criticized the sentiment, saying that “Is Iran one of the Russian Commonwealth of Independent States or a Russian colony whose interests are tied to Russia's interests?” 

“Russia has taken its share of interests from Iran and its territory years ago with the annexation of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia,” he said referring to the early 19th century, adding that “it is not necessary that Russia takes advantage of the JCPOA too.”

Pundits in Tehran say Russia supports the revival of the nuclear deal but wants tensions to continue between Iran and the West.

Vienna talks were almost completed in March before Russia demanded a US guarantee that sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine should not hurt its trade with Tehran.

If finalized, the renewed nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers lets Russia cash in on a $10-billion contract to build atomic reactors in Iran.

The group said that it hacked Mobarakeh Steel Company in the central Esfahan province, Khuzestan Steel Company in southwestern Iran near Ahvaz, and Hormozgan Steel Company in the south. 

According to some reports, Khuzestan Steel Company – Iran’s second biggest after Mobarakeh -- had to stop work until further notice “due to technical problems” following the attack, which is one of the biggest on the country’s strategic industrial sector in recent years. 

However, Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, quoted the managing director of the plant, Amin Ebrahimi, as saying that the company's production line is now working and the brief disruption to the company's website and information channels will be resolved soon.

He claimed the cyberattack was unsuccessful and no structural damage to production lines happened, thanks to “timely measures and vigilance.”

Another Iranian news channel, Jamaran, said the attack failed and no machines were harmed because the factory happened to be non-operational at the time due to an electricity outage.

Earlier in the month, a hacktivist group named ‘Uprising till Overthrow' hacked into and deactivated over 5,000 surveillance cameras and 150 websites and online services of Tehran Municipality. Some of them have not restarted operations yet.

In a press statement on Sunday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said such attacks are designed to undermine economic stability just as they seek to challenge Iraqi sovereignty, sow division, and intimidate, stressing the necessity to investigate the attacks and prosecute those responsible for them. 

“The United States stands with our partners in condemnation of the repeated rocket and mortar attacks directed at the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, including three attacks in Sulaymaniyah in the last four days on oil and gas infrastructure,” the statement read. 

On Saturday, the Khor Mor gas field, belonging to UAE energy firm Dana Gas in Sulaymaniyah was hit by a Katyusha rocket, the third such incident this week.

No group has claimed responsibility for either attack but armed groups that some Iraqi officials say are backed by the Islamic Republic have claimed similar attacks in the past.

In March, Iran fired missiles at Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. No one was killed but missiles did damage to some residential buildings. Iran claimed it used 12 ballistic missiles in that attack and targeted an Israeli intelligence center.

Last week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein criticized the Islamic Republic's interference in Iraq's internal affairs. He also said earlier this month that Baghdad had submitted a formal complaint to Iran for its aggressive behaviors toward Iraq and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, and denied Iran's allegations that the Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil. 

Defense Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini said on Sunday that the three-stage Zoljanah (Zuljanah) satellite launch vehicle has two solid propulsion phases and a single liquid propulsion phase. The spokesman did not elaborate which part of the test was successful as the satellite-carrying rocket did not reach orbit. 

The test was carried out at a desert launch pad at Imam Khomeini Space Center southeast of Semnan, the site of frequent recent failed attempts.

Zoljanah is named after the horse of third Shiite imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. The satellite carrier is 25.5 meters long and weighs about 52 tons. It utilizes a 1.5-meter diameter solid fuel engine with 74 tons of thrust. The maiden launch of this satellite took place on February 2, 2021. 

Earlier in the month satellite photos from Maxar Technologies revealed Iran’s preparations for the rocket launch.

A Pentagon spokesman said the American military “will continue to closely monitor Iran’s pursuit of viable space launch technology and how it may relate to advancements in its overall ballistic missile program.” The United States says that space launches by Iran could be a cover to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that would be able to deliver nuclear warheads.

The attempted space launch came a day after Joseph Borrell, the EU lead foreign policy official, was in Tehran to restart the stalled Vienna negotiations aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.