Iran's President Says 'We Can' And 'The Enemy Cannot'

Statistics from the Iran Human Rights Organization reveal that since the beginning of 2024, at least 71 people have been executed in prisons across Iran. Of those, 28 were killed between January 21 and 31 alone, at least six of whom were political prisoners, and 22 others killed on charges including drugs and murder, according to rights groups.

It comes as dissent rises to record levels in Iran amidst the most dire social and economic conditions since the formation of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Executions have offered the regime a way to warn those unwilling to comply with Tehran's leadership, not least the powerful figures of entertainment, sport and celebrity who have defied the regime in support of protests.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) claimed that in 2023, at least 791 citizens, including 25 women and two child offenders, were executed in Iran, marking an increase of over 33% compared to the previous year.

In a separate report, UN experts said Iran executed at least 834 people, eight of whom were linked to nationwide protests which began in 2022, sparked by the death in morality-police custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.

In a report to the United Nations General Assembly highlighting human rights violations in Iran, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the rate and scale of executions, urging action to address the trend.

Just this week, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spoke out against the record numbers of executions, telling Iran International,
"The Australian government is deeply disturbed by Iran’s extensive and persistent use of the death penalty, including against ethnic minorities and protesters".

Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said that an explosion was reported at a distance off a vessel's starboard side west of Yemen's Hodeidah.

The vessel and crew were reported safe, UKMTO said. It was unclear whether it was the ship targeted by the Houthis.

The Houthis' attacks on shipping "will persist until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted," the Houthi military spokesperson said in a statement.

The US and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and returned the militia to a list of terrorist groups as turmoil from the Israel-Hamas war spreads through the region. US attacked and destroyed Houthi drones on Wednesday as they prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea.

The Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since November 19, after Iran's Supreme Leader urged Muslim nations to blockade Israel.

The Gaza conflict has spilled over into other parts of the Middle East. Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah has traded fire with Israeli troops along the border, and Iraqi-armed groups have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq.

Citing US officials, CBS News reported on Thursday that Washington has sanctioned plans for multi-day strikes against various targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities. CBS did not provide details on what a US approval meant in terms of a timeline for the strikes.

NBC also reported Thursday that The Biden administration hasn’t yet finalized targets, but it is preparing a “campaign” that could last “weeks.” Citing unnamed officials, NBC said the targets are expected to include Iranian targets outside Iran, and the campaign will involve both strikes and cyber operations.

The attack by Iran-backed militia forces over the weekend resulted in the death of three American service members and left more than 40 injured. Since then, the global community has been anticipating a response from the United States to the Islamic Republic.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he had made up his mind on how to respond to the drone attack at the Tower 22 base in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border. Biden's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said on Monday the US response "could be multi-leveled, come in stages, and be sustained over time."

Biden's administration said it was not seeking a war with Iran, even as Republican pressure on him to respond forcefully has been rising. Iranian officials have said Tehran will respond to any threat from the United States, emphasizing that Tehran would respond decisively to any attack on its territory, its interests, or Iranian nationals outside its borders.

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the IRGC, has reduced the presence of its senior officers in Syria due to a spate of deadly Israeli strikes and will rely more on its militia proxies. Also, Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian militia based in Iraq, said on Tuesday it was suspending military actions against the United States. Iran International reported last week that some in Tehran suspect an Israeli infiltration in tracking and pinpointing the whereabouts of senior IRGC officers in Syria.

Four US officials told Reuters on Thursday that the US has assessed that Iran manufactured the drone that slammed into the base. While the initial indications were that the drone was likely Iranian, a formal assessment was made only recently after recovering fragments of the drone.

Speaking at the Pentagon Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that the US will not tolerate attacks on American troops. "This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East," Austin said, pointing to Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. "We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people, and we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose."

"We're still doing the forensics," Austin said. "But most of the drones that are in the region have a connection with Iran... How much Iran knew or didn't know, we don't know. But it really doesn't matter because Iran sponsors these groups, it funds these groups, and in some cases, it trains these groups on advanced, conventional weapons."

Marking an escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East, the drone attack in Jordan was the first deadly strike against US forces since the conflict began on October 7, when Tehran-backed Hamas invaded Israel, killed 1,200 mostly civilians and took hundreds of hostages. US troops have been attacked more than 160 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since the events of October 7, a flareup aimed at pressuring Israel to cease its offensive in Gaza.

In the wake of the attack, several other Iran-funded groups have intensified attacks on US and Israeli targets in Iraq and Syria while the Houthis of Yemen have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea. Iranian officials claim that the country has had no active role in the conflict, but the proxies are the brainchild of Iran's Supreme Leader. During 2023, Khamenei met with leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, suggesting top level coordination of the attacks which have triggered the worst violence in the region in years.

Speaking to Jamaran News on Thursday, Falahatpisheh said, "The Russians were looking for a partner in the crime in the Ukraine war, which is why they said they would take drones from Iran."

Iran has provided drones to Russia which have been deployed against infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine since October 2022, used in conjunction with missile attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Western nations have sanctioned both individuals and entities implicated in the supply of the kamikaze drones.

Russia has deepened its military collaboration with Iran since launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While Iran initially denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia, it later admitted to providing a limited number before the conflict erupted.

Falahatpisheh, one of the few domestic critics permitted to speak to the press, earlier also expressed concerns that Iran could become a secondary front in Russia's war against Ukraine. Critics have increasingly questioned Russia's reliability as a partner for Iran, particularly regarding nuclear issues and other foreign policy matters.

The Kremlin in November said Russia and Iran were developing their relations, "including in the field of military-technical cooperation.”

According to the report, Iran is now concerned about actions carried out by its proxies in the region. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, responsible for the attack Sunday which killed three US troops and left 47 wounded, has since said they are halting actions as Tehran grows ever more nervous about rising tensions.

CNN further added that Tehran is particularly anxious about Yemeni Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea as they potentially endanger the economic interests of Iran’s allies China and India.

“There is no sense that Tehran’s growing wariness is likely to change its broader strategy of supporting proxy attacks on US and Western targets - although it could signal adjustments around the margins,” CNN quoted US officials as warning.

Following the attack Sunday, US President Joe Biden has been under increasing pressure to retaliate against Iran which, through its proxies, has launched more than 160 attacks on the US since October, in the wake of the Gaza war. The US has been targeted for its support of Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of October 7's Iran-backed Hamas invasion.

On Wednesday, over 60 US lawmakers urged stricter enforcement of Iran’s oil sanctions. In a letter addressed to Biden, House members from both parties called for “immediate action” to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining “additional financial resources that it can use to continue supporting terrorism.”

Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have vowed to hold accountable “all” sides who had a part in the deadly Jordan incident.