US Sinks Houthi Boats, As Khamenei Vows Support For Proxies

Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, currently in Iran, said in a recent meeting with Alireza Araafi, the director of religious seminaries in Iran, that “the Islamic Revolution continues under the leadership of Ali Khamenei.”

During a meeting held in October, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei conveyed to Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky that "The Islamic Movement is expanding in Africa, Europe, and North America," mobilizing the global Shiite population.

Zakzaky, often referred to as Nigeria's Ayatollah, leads the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a movement inspired by the Iranian Revolution, rejecting the authority of the Nigerian government. He currently faces imprisonment on multiple charges, including murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace, as the government seeks to suppress the revolutionary movement.

Expressing support for Zakzaky's efforts to expand Shiite Islam in Nigeria, where approximately 50 percent of the population is Muslim, primarily Sunni, Khamenei acknowledged Iran's backing of Nigeria's Islamic Movement. The support is evident in recent energy talks, focusing on cooperation to address energy challenges, while also seeking the Nigerian government's collaboration.

In a meeting held in Tehran on Sunday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that such measures “lack legal or legitimate justification".

In the wake of the unrest, the UN Human Rights Council initiated a fact-finding mission to probe the reported human rights violations in the aftermath of the widespread protests ignited in September following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.

Protesters were met with severe repression by Iranian authorities. Reports indicate the use of excessive and lethal force, over 500 killed and the arrest of tens of thousands of protesters and peaceful dissidents.

Amir-Abdollahian also claimed that a committee, led by President Ebrahim Raisi, has been established to investigate the 2022 protests. According to him, this committee signifies the "accountability and seriousness of the Islamic Republic in supporting human rights."

Human rights organizations are actively engaged in investigating the deaths of hundreds, including 69 children, during the protests. The primary focus of the investigations is to seek justice for victims and survivors of extrajudicial killings, mass arbitrary detentions, torture, and other serious abuses allegedly perpetrated by the Islamic Republic in response to peaceful demonstrations.

The lack of independence and impartiality in Iran's judicial system complicates domestic avenues for accountability, making it challenging to address alleged injustices and abuses within the country. 

“The level of threat has increased a lot so it's time for Iran to get back to compliance and the IAEA reported on that on December 26, again, and documented the violations. So of course we are extremely concerned,” said Nicolas de Rivière in an interview with Iran International.

“We need things to go back on track and the sooner the better,” with the JCPOA nuclear agreement now collapsed. He says that the world is now at a “crossroads” as Iran violates the JCPOA nuclear agreement in “an absolutely massive manner” with enrichment at “unprecedented levels”.

The IAEA announced last week that Iran has reversed a months-long slowdown in the rate at which it is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade. While Iran already has enough uranium enriched to up to 60%, if it continues to enrich, it will have the capacity to make three nuclear bombs, and more at lower enrichment levels.

“The enrichment capacity of Iran has increased in a dramatic matter,” de Rivière said. “The so-called breakout time, which was the security deadlines provided by the JCPOA have pretty much disappeared and now Iran is pretty close to enough fissile material to assemble a nuclear device,” a situation he calls “extremely dangerous”.

The US released a statement after the IAEA announcement which said the “findings represent a backwards step by Iran and will result in Iran tripling its monthly production rate of uranium enriched up to 60%”.

However, in keeping with the Biden administration line, the State Department said: “We remain committed to a diplomatic solution and reaffirm our determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon.” Republicans believe a recent deal to free five US-Iranian hostages in return for freeing up $5bn in frozen Iranian funds has emboldened the regime.

De Rivière said the breakdown of the JCPOA and the latest revelations means “we are back to square one”. He said: “The level of the threat is extremely high and I think we should do whatever we can to convince Iran to change its course of action.”

“We should not give up with the talks. I think we should resume talks,” he said, explaining that the framework of the JCPOA itself works, but the need to resume cooperation is critical.

“We should certainly try to have another round of negotiations and see what is feasible. I think as a diplomat, you should never give up on the negotiating and trying to find a solution. So I think it's very late, but it's probably not too late.”

The E3, a coalition of the UK, France and Germany, immediately reacted to the latest IAEA news, calling it a “backwards step by Iran” which continues to deny its aims of nuclear weapons.

“The production of high-enriched uranium by Iran has no credible civilian justification and the reported production at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant further carries significant proliferation-related risks,” the E3 said, calling the revelations “reckless behaviour in a tense regional context”.

While Iran-backed Hamas continues fighting Israel in the Gaza war, sparked by the Hamas massacre of 1,200 mostly civilians on October 7, de Rivière also spoke of the destabilizing activities of Iran’s proxies.

Its largest and most powerful proxy, Hezbollah, is also upping its attacks on Israel’s northern border, while the Yemeni Houthis have just carried out its 23rd attack on shipping in and around the Red Sea since October 19, threatening wider escalation.

The US is leading a more than 20-nation coalition to protect the maritime route, but de Rivière noted that Iran’s proxies are contributing to making the region “dangerous and unstable”.

“Whether with the Houthis or with the Iranian supported groups in Syria and Iraq, the sooner we can bring the crisis in Gaza under control the better because it will probably reduce the tensions in the whole region,” he said, France “very concerned with the risk of spillover of the crisis in Gaza in the whole region”.

France continues to warn the regime not to inflame the tensions further, de Rivière said. “We speak to the Iranians on a regular basis and this is precisely the message we put to the Iranians, don't mix up with this [Gaza] crisis.”

The missiles posed an imminent threat to a container ship flying the Singapore flag and owned/operated by Denmark.

The targeted container ship promptly reported a missile strike, prompting a rapid and coordinated response from the USS Gravely and USS Laboon. According to CENTCOM, the USS Gravely effectively thwarted two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels. The container ship, after inspection, was declared seaworthy, and fortunately, no injuries were reported among the crew.

The Houthi rebels, an Iranian proxy which controls a significant portion of Yemen, have been actively disrupting global trade by targeting ships navigating through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. They claim the actions are retaliatory measures against Israel's retaliatory action in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel on October7. The recent incident marks the 23rd attack on international shipping by the Houthis since November 19, as reported by CENTCOM.

Despite ongoing international efforts to protect vessels in the Red Sea and an increased commitment to maritime missions, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, emphasized that the Houthi rebels show no indications of halting their "reckless" assaults on commercial ships.

In an interview with the Associated Press he said Operation Prosperity Guardian, launched just over 10 days ago, has proven successful, with more than 1,200 merchant ships safely navigating the Red Sea region without encountering drone or missile strikes.

However, US officials have accused Iran of endorsing the Houthi assaults on global shipping lanes—an allegation vehemently denied by Iran, which denies any involvement in the Red Sea incidents.

The hackers boast access to the personal details of over 20 million users, exposing a vast trove of sensitive information.

The compromised data, reportedly up for sale at $30,000, includes usernames, passwords, email addresses, full names, and mobile numbers. Furthermore, the hackers claim to possess detailed information on over 51 million user addresses, complete with GPS coordinates and phone numbers.

The hackers have also released a sample of the data to validate their claims.

In an exclusive interview with the Digiato website, the hackers emphasized their decision not to inform Snapp Food's management before going public with the hack. Snapp Food, acknowledging the breach, issued a press release stating, "Initially, in collaboration with the Cyber Police, we are identifying and eliminating the source of contamination caused by the actions of this hacking group."

This is not the first time the hacking group has targeted a prominent Iranian service. In September, they reported a breach on the ride-hailing service Tapsi, affecting more than 33 million users. The hackers claimed to have engaged in negotiations with Tapsi's management for two weeks before making the breach public. However, the company refused to meet the hackers' demand of $35,000.

The recurrent nature of such incidents in Iran highlights the absence of stringent laws and penalties for negligence in safeguarding private information. The lack of user rights, including the inability to request the deletion of personal data, underscores the urgency for regulatory reforms to address the growing threat of information leaks in the country.