Iranian FM Cites Visa Delay As Obstacle To UNSC Gaza Session Attendance

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.

The upcoming vote on March 1 will determine a new parliament and members of the Assembly of Experts (AoE), responsible for selecting a Supreme Leader after the death of Ali Khamenei. However, the interior ministry, controlled by hardliners, has already disqualified numerous sitting lawmakers from seeking re-election, intensifying the controversy surrounding the restricted elections.

Although the official results of the vetting of the AoE candidates are not yet out, Rouhani's supporters seem to be certain about the endorsement of his qualifications, while his hardliner opponents would like to see him barred. Some others have gone out of their ways to spread fake news about his disqualification or even his death on social media.

Rouhani's recent comments about the elections has convinced many political observers that he is adamant to play a key role in the upcoming elections. The former president known as a pragmatist opposed to hardliners argued that the composition of the next AoE is important because it will have do decide about Supreme Leader’s succession.

Rouhani's comments triggered a series of harsh reactions on the part of hardline media including the Kayhan, which is close to Khamenei's office, and Raja News linked to ultraconservative Paydari Party, i.e., Rouhani's arch opponent.

The website wrote that even if all the moderate and pro-reform candidates in parliamentary and AoE elections are disqualified, still approval of Rouhani’s candidacy will lead to a bipolar situation in the elections. No other figure in the moderate camp can usher likeminded candidates into the parliament or the Assembly of Experts, the website wrote, adding that nonetheless, it is difficult to predict the Guardian Council's decision about Rouhani's qualifications.

To shed light on the importance of Rouhani as a charismatic figure in the moderates' camp, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, a spokesman for the Executives of Construction Party, the leading moderate and pro-reform party has said that the centrist group will support the list of candidates that Rouhani would back. This is a centrist party with Rouhani's closest allies and technocrats such as Mohammad Bagher Nobakht and Es'haq Jahangiri at the helm. 

It is the first time that between the two centrist parties, both created by former President Akbar Rafsanjani's aides, Rouhani’s Moderation and Development party will take the lead and the Executives of Construction will follow.

Nevertheless, Alizadeh suggested that the entrenched core of regime insiders is unlikely to permit the emergence of a robust minority faction in the upcoming parliament. He contended that the hardliners have effectively strengthened their control to the extent that even some within their own ranks may struggle to secure seats in the next parliamentary session and assembly.

Meanwhile, pro-reform daily Arman-e Melli warned hardliners in a commentary on Monday that "disqualifying Rouhani will be costly for you, not for him." The daily added: "You cannot send him to the country's political parking area."

Arman-e Melli reported that hardliners are actively seeking Rouhani's disqualification, employing mosques, podiums, and meetings to rally against him, aiming to erase him from the Iranian political landscape. They are determined to convey to Rouhani that his era of political influence is over, urging him to retreat into isolation at home.

Conversely, Rouydad24 highlighted that Hassan Rouhani stands out as the most recognizable candidate for the Assembly of Experts elections, surpassing other candidates in terms of public familiarity. Despite facing criticism, especially for perceived shortcomings in controlling economic challenges, his strong presence on social media remains a significant advantage. The platform noted that this popularity on social media could enhance his chances of securing public support.

Nevertheless, asserting that the people will have the decisive influence in Iranian elections remains challenging.

Born in Washington, DC, to a father with diplomatic immunity, Sobhani applied to renew his passport in February, expecting a routine process. However, he received a shocking letter from the State Department, stating that he should not have been granted citizenship at birth and instructing him to apply for lawful permanent residence.

“I’m waiting for an interview but does that mean I wait another year for an interview?” he said. “Then another three years for the next step? Then another 10 years before I can travel outside of the country?”

The letter clarified that individuals born in the US to parents with diplomatic immunity do not automatically acquire citizenship. As his father was on a job at the Iranian Embassy, Sobhani was born at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1961. After living in Turkey during his childhood, he returned to the US for education, earning degrees from George Washington University and Boston University before attending Georgetown Medical School.

Concerned about the implications for his medical practice, Social Security benefits, and attendance at his son's wedding, Sobhani diligently followed the directive to apply for permanent residence. However, he faces uncertainty regarding the timeline and fears prolonged bureaucratic delays. Having already incurred over $40,000 in legal fees, he expresses concern about potential hurdles and the inability to visit family and friends abroad.