Iran's Chief Banker Announces Plans For Iranian Bank In Syria

Speaking at a gathering in Tehran, Iran’s 84-year-old ruler said the “Al-Aqsa Storm” was against “the Zionist regime,” but its real aim was to expunge American influence in the region.

“This historic event, in the true sense of the word, was able to disrupt America's policies in this region, and God willing, this storm will continue and will erase America’s agenda."

Khamenei reiterated Tehran’s long-held policy of demanding a referendum to decide the fate of Palestine and Israel, but at the same time called for the “Al-Aqsa Strom” to be repeated, which was in essence an attack on civilians and widespread and indiscriminate killings.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is in favor of a referendum in Palestine and respects the opinion of the people. The viewpoint of the Islamic Republic is not to annihilate the Zionists and Jews,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei and his supporters have rejected calls for a referendum in Iran to change the constitution after several rounds of popular anti-regime protests.

During his 34-year rule, Khamenei has made Israel’s destruction the top foreign policy priority of the Islamic Republic, directing vast economic resources to creating, funding and arming militant groups in the region whose aim is to fight the Jewish state. Palestinian armed groups as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah have been sustained by Tehran’s full support.

In his speech, Khamenei harshly condemned the Israeli attacks in Gaza, without mentioning that the campaign began after Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. He insisted that Israel’s military operation has been a disgrace for the United States and other Western countries that have supported it, claiming that 5,000 children have been killed by phosphorus bombs.

After a strong international reaction to the Hamas attack, the Iranian regime tried to argue that it had no foreknowledge of the operation. However, many find it hard to believe that Hamas would engage in such a risky adventure without first clearing it with its most important patron. Claiming no role in the October 7 terror attack, the Islamic Republic has avoided direct military involvement in the ensuing war, despite boasting for years of having a destructive ballistic missile arsenal directed against Israel.

In the same vein, the Lebanese Hezbollah has also avoided a full war with Israel, limiting its activities to border skirmishes.

Khamenei also dismissed US efforts to forge a new Middle east, saying that their plans in Lebanon and the occupation of Iraq have all failed. They were also unable to shape Syria according to their liking, he said, accusing Washington of engineering the revolt against the government of Bashar al-Assad.
"The political geography of the region is undergoing changes, but not in favor of the United States; rather, in favor of the Resistance Front. Yes, the geopolitical map of West Asia has changed, but in favor of the resistance, and the resistance has emerged victorious,” Khamenei said referring to all the proxy forces the Islamic Republic has created and nurtured in the region.

The Hamas attack and the ensuing Gaza war have for now halted the normalization process between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which Iranian officials have highlighted in recent weeks.

Khamenei went on to emphasize that the current trend in the region is to eradicate US influence and power, calling it “American hegemony.”
"Today, politics and orientation in this region are about getting rid of America. One of the clear and prominent signs that is evident today is the Al-Aqsa Storm. Yes, this storm is against the Zionist regime, but it is about getting rid of America," Khamenei declared.

Scheduled for Wednesday, the UNSC meeting aimed to address the ongoing situation in Gaza following the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7. At least 1,200 mostly civilians were murdered and 240 more taken hostage. Retaliatory attacks have since left more than 15,000 dead in Gaza and tens of thousands displaced.

Currently, a temporary ceasefire is in place as a hostage release takes place. In return, Israel is allowing the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel's jails.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed reporters that the United States issued his visa too late, making it logistically impossible for him to travel to New York in time for the session.

"It was planned that this week President Ebrahim Raeisi's official trip to Ankara would take place, and everything was coordinated. However, because the United Nations Security Council had a session regarding the situation in Gaza and the continuation of the ceasefire, the foreign ministers were invited," Amir-Abdollahian stated.

The UNSC session was called upon China's request, as the nation currently holds the rotating presidency. China, traditionally tied to the Palestinian side, has taken a largely hesitant and restrained stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict. This approach is further influenced by China's growing economic relationship with Israel, contributing to its reluctance to take a definitive side in the ongoing conflict.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN claimed Tuesday that his country has “never had a hand in actions or attacks against US military forces in Syria or elsewhere.”

American troops in the region have been targeted at least 73 times since Israel began its onslaught on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack of 7 October, which killed 1,200. Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria have claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Tehran has claimed they are acting independently, angered by the war in Gaza.

However, the Islamic Republic calls these militant groups part of its axis of resistance against the United States and Israel. Almost every armed group that has targeted US forces in recent weeks is backed by or affiliated with the regime in Iran.

And yet Ambassador Iravani flatly denied any Iranian involvement and called such claims “baseless accusations’ – just as an IRGC-affiliated news agency published a video purporting to show images of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower being monitored with drones while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

USS Eisenhower was deployed to the Middle East last month as concerns grew that the war on Gaza could spread across the region. The deployments – including warships and THAAD and Patriot batteries – were meant to deter hostile forces from attacking US personnel and interests.

But they seem to have failed to do so.

While Iran-backed groups have regularly attacked American bases in Iraq and Syria, injuring dozens, the Houthis in Yemen have seized a container ship and frequently launched missiles, including a ballistic missile last weekend that aimed at a US warship in the Gulf of Aden. The US has issued a warning to commercial shipping in the Indian Ocean.

The Pentagon has maintained throughout that it will do whatever it takes to protect American forces. But many on the Capitol have raised questions about the Biden administration's will to address the threats posed by Iran and its proxies.

“President Biden seems to be going out of his way to avoid targeting Iranians or the resources it holds dear,” Senator Tom Cotton posted on X Tuesday. “This weakness only invites more aggression.”

Republicans in Congress have been trying hard to push the Biden administration towards a more forceful stance in dealing with the regime in Iran. Several pieces of legislation have been introduced to limit the President's freedom of action in making concessions to Tehran or reverse his administration’s policies.

One such initiative in the Senate would designate Houthis as a terrorist organization, citing the group’s weekend missile attacks on a U.S. warship as an alarming escalation.

The legislation is led by Senator Ted Cruz and six other Republicans. It will reapply all sanctions on the Houthis that were lifted in 2021 when the Biden administration took office.

“The Biden administration made a day one politically driven decision to dismantle terrorism sanctions against the Houthis and their leaders,” said Senator Cruz. “That decision was an obvious and catastrophic mistake from the very beginning, and it has only become more obvious and more catastrophic as time has gone on.

Ayatollah Rahim Tavvakol (71), a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a constitutional body tasked with selecting the next Supreme Leader, said Putin speaks forcefully with the world, but when visits Khamenei “He sits at the edge of the chair and puts his hands on his knees. He speaks politely and with deference with the Imam.” Tavvakol went on to say that Putin, “who is a world politician, tells the Leader that he wants to be accepted as his son.”

In March, elections will take place for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts. Political insiders are scrambling to be allowed to run in these elections and get elected, a process controlled by Khamenei’s hardliner supporters.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a close ally of Russia, but many see Khamenei’s regime as towing Moscow’s line and dependent on Russia and China amid its international isolation.

Khamenei pursues an anti-West foreign policy and emphasizes relations with non-Western countries opposed to US and European influence.

Ayatollah Tavvakol also reiterated that Khamenei regards the United States as the main enemy and emphasized that there are “nine Zionist lobbies in America.”

In a report about the deployment of hijab enforcers at Tehran’s subway stations, the newspaper referred to a controversial directive communicated by the interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, to government bodies and organs, including Tehran Municipality and the Metro Company.

“Months ago, on May 30, the interior minister issued an illegal order [to government bodies] – classified as secret in violation of the law -- which affected thousands. They are dismayed now because Etemad newspaper has published only one page of that illegal directive,” prominent law expert Mohsen Borhani tweeted Sunday. 

The document which lists the steps to be taken to enforce hijab rules in “government-controlled places”, proves that the Vahidi’s claim that his ministry had nothing to do with deployment of hijab enforcers at subway stations was a lie.

A state official responsible for promoting religious social standards, Mohammad-Hossein Taheri-Akerdi, claimed on Saturday that there are over 2850 “revolutionary and jihadi forces” who carry out the religious duty of enforcing hijab “voluntarily”.

Vahidi’s directive authorizes the police, intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards (SAS), and the ministry of intelligence to photograph and film women who do not follow hijab rules in public, including at subway stations and inside metro cars. The evidence will be used for prosecution and intimidation of women to wear the hijab.

Only hours after the publication, Etemad newspaper was indicted by the Office of Prosecutor of Tehran, but the interior ministry has made no comments about the leaked directive.

“Tehran Prosecutor’s Office indicted Etemad newspaper yesterday, not for circulating lies, but for publishing a document that implied the falsehood of the interior minister and Tehran mayor’s statements over the past week,” an article on the frontpage of Tose’e Irani, another opposition newspaper said Monday.

Vahidi and Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani denied the involvement of their organizations in the deployment of hijab enforcers at Tehran Subway stations and tunnels.

The denials came after a photo went viral on social media that showed women in black-veil uniforms forming a “tunnel” in subway corridors to enforce hijab. These have come to be referred to as “horror tunnels” across the media and social media. Cameramen who take footage of the female passengers accompany the hijab enforcement teams.

Not only officials have denied any involvement in organizing the hijab teams, but they have claimed these are “spontaneous citizens’ groups” enforcing hijab as a religious duty.

Experts say the contents of the directive do not warrant it to be classified and the indictment of Etemad newspaper, therefore, lacks any legal foundations. 

Citing articles 4 and 11 of the Information and Free Access to Information Act of 2015, prominent journalist and former politician Abbas Abdi argued in a commentary in Etemad newspaper Monday that decisions that involve public rights or duties cannot be classified.

Article 4 of the said act, Abdi added, stipulates that prosecution of a crime such as publication of a classified document requires the ministry or organization to which the document belonged to initiate a legal complaint, but the interior ministry has not sued Etemad.

“The public prosecutor is a defender of the public’s rights, not the government’s [position],” Milad Alavi, a law student and reporter of the reformist Shargh Daily, tweeted while underlining that it is the interior minister who must be prosecuted for breaking the law of freedom of access to information. 

Abdi and others have also challenged the interior ministry and Tehran municipality’s claim that hijab enforcers in uniform and cameramen are “citizens’ groups” because in Iran official permits are required for any public activity including forming citizens’ groups and NGOs.