IRGC Navy 'Intercepts' US Warships At Strait Of Hormuz

The Associated Press cited tanker-tracking data on Sunday that showed the oil cargo is being transferred from Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan, a tanker anchored off the coast of Texas, near Galveston about 50 miles (80 km) from Houston.

The owners of the Suez Rajan, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the ship-to-ship transfer.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers from the House and Senate asked the Biden administration to respond to “unprecedented intimidation” tactics from Iran that have prevented American firms from offloading the confiscated oil cargo.

The US seized the Iranian oil onboard the ship late in May in accordance with US sanctions, but the oil had reportedly not been offloaded as US federal prosecutors have faced challenges in auctioning off the 800,000 barrels of oil. The lawmakers estimated the value of the oil to be $56 million.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US companies are reluctant to unload the oil due to concerns about potential Iranian reprisals, particularly threats of violence by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran's IRGC navy commander Alireza Tangsiri warned in July that Tehran would retaliate against any oil company involved in unloading the Iranian oil.

The US Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, sending the troop-and-helicopter-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the strait to stop Iran from seizing additional ships.

According to The Sunday Times, the watchdog, which regulates registered charities in UK, opened a compliance case into the Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust (TUCF), located in a repurposed Methodist church in Hammersmith, west London, which promotes Islamic Republic’s regime propaganda among Shia Muslim youth in the UK. The TUCF owns and operates the Kanoon Towhid and a student association.

The center claims to “relieve poverty and sickness of persons who profess the Islamic religion in the UK” but it mainly glorifies Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder and first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic who ruled until his death in 1989, and hosts events featuring figures affiliated with the regime.

On January 5, 2020, it hosted a packed event celebrating Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, an extraterritorial arm of the Revolutionary Guard, which oversees clandestine operations and supports terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. He had been killed in a US airstrike 48 hours earlier. The trust’s literature described him as a “great martyr”.

Several other events were held in the center with representatives of the regime delivering lectures, such as Seyyed Hashem Mousavi, a charity trustee described as the UK representative of Ali Khamenei.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that the center hosted an event last month in which an imam praised “martyrs” of the “axis of resistance” -- an Islamic Republic term meaning Tehran-backed regional militias who are “the greatest threat to the Zionists”.The Chronicle also linked the center to virtual and in-person talks by members of the IRGC.

Without providing names or details about the detainees, the intelligence minister even claimed that despite foreign pressures some of the “spies have been executed.”

Iran executed Iranian-Swedish political activist and former leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) Habib Chaab (Asyud) in May.

In January, Iran executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, after sentencing the former Iranian deputy defense minister to death on charges of spying for Britain.

Khatib, who is a hardliner cleric, was addressing the 24th assembly of senior Revolutionary Guard officers in Tehran, where he praised Iran’s multiple intelligence services for working together to thwart “enemy conspiracies” and domestic threats.

Khatib reiterated the regime’s ideological precept that “the enemy” continues to plot against the Islamic Republic, which has become a “global power.” He claimed that “50 intelligence services” around the world have set up “Iran desks” to be able to confront “a new global power.”

The term “enemy” is a favorite word used by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei to refer to the United States, Israel and their allies and partners, but Khatib did not elaborate about who these 50 adversaries around the world are.

Although Iran has released several European high-profile hostages this year, including French and Belgian prisoners held on spying charges, it is not clear how many more are left behind.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who spoke in May after the release of two French hostages, said more work is needed “because there are, unfortunately, too many who are detained without reason in Iran.” Apparently, four French citizens and numerous other Europeans remain incarcerated in Iran.

While intelligence minister Khatib boasted about holding European “spies” he did not mention the five American hostages who were released into house arrest earlier this month after a deal with the Biden administration to unblock $6 billion of Iran’s money in South Korea.

The deal has triggered a lot of criticism in the United States, where politicians and some analysts have voiced fear that essentially paying $1.2 billion per hostage will embolden the Islamic Republic and other adversaries to take Americans hostage. Iranian hardliners certainly see the deal as ransom payment by the United States.

A firebrand senior ayatollah, Ahmad Alamolhoda on Friday called the release of Iran’s frozen funds by the US “a humiliation” and a “ransom” in exchange for “their spies.” The cleric is close to Khamenei and is the father-in-law of President Ebrahim Raisi.

Khatib also reiterated that “the enemy’s” aim is to destabilize Iran and reduce participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections in March. The regime has blamed anti-government protests on US and Israeli plots, while it killed more than 500 civilians, injured thousands and has arrested around 22,000 since last September.

Regime politicians and many analysts in Iran believe that voter turnout will be low in March, simply because hardliners prevented other regime loyalists to run both in the 2020 parliamentary and in the 2021 presidential elections. People see no real choice and are deeply angered by the current economic and political crises. They do not believe that Khamenei will change his Anti-West foreign policy and sanctions will continue to increase hardships they face.

A court in Belgium had sentenced Assadi to a 20-year prison term after being found guilty of involvement in a plot to orchestrate an attack on an Iranian opposition event in 2018 near Paris. However, he was released from prison and returned to Iran on May 26 as part of a mediated exchange carried out with the assistance of Oman.

In return for Assadi's release, Iran released Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had been incarcerated in Tehran for nearly 15 months.

Despite the long trial in Belgium that led to Assadi's conviction, Iran claimed that he was innocent and treated him as a hero upon his return. Assadi was a diplomat in Iran's embassy in Austria and according to evidence submitted during his trial, he used his diplomatic status as a cover to organize the bomb plot.

The president's office reported on Saturday that during the meeting on Friday, President Raisi said, "The proponents of human rights have once again demonstrated their disregard for established legal frameworks." He further claimed that these countries “had violated international norms and principles” by undermining the diplomatic immunity of the Iranian diplomat.

The prisoner exchange marked the culmination of extensive political debates in Belgium, particularly within the nation's parliament. In January, Vandecasteele, aged 42, had been sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges of "espionage," a verdict that both his family and Belgian authorities criticized as "unfair."

Since May, Oman-mediated negotiations have led to the release of six European citizens held in Iran, while several are still held hostage.

The editorial in Jomhuriye Eslami (Isalmic Republic) daily highlights the urgency for political leaders and intelligence officials to address the escalating issue of "foreign national" entering the country.

The term foreign nationals was used to describe those involved in the attack on the Shahcheragh shrine in Shiraz August 13, calling for the attention of political and security authorities, added the daily.

The editorial notes that while the primary perpetrator holds Tajik citizenship, other detainees have different nationalities, prompting reflection on the presence of foreign nationals in Iran and the mounting adverse effects in society. Afghans are the largest group of migrants arriving in Iran by thousands daily.

The article emphasized the need “to uphold legal frameworks and rigorous oversight concerning foreign nationals' presence.” Key considerations include robust monitoring to prevent criminal activities, which significantly impact national security, the daily noted.

Drawing insights from recent events, the article underscored several points. It questioned how foreign nationals conducted an attack exposing a lack of oversight that raises concerns about more serious future crimes. It also highlighted the risk of adversaries using foreign nationals to destabilize Iran.

Meanwhile, former chairman of Iran's national security and foreign policy committee, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, underscores the potential security challenge of Afghan migrants. With approximately 10,000 arriving daily, Falahatpisheh highlights potential systemic facilitation and the need for robust oversight.