Iranian Psy-Op Targets Israeli Journalists, Protesters

Despite local media attributing his absence to a back condition, Rouhani’s selective appearances and recent criticisms of the government suggest another story. Last month, Rouhani, president from 2013-2021, openly criticized the Guardian Council. Appointed by Supreme Leader Khamenei, he accused the body of undermining democratic principles by disqualifying candidates with divergent political views after being barred from the March 1 Assembly of Experts elections.

Rouhani was present only at the memorial service for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, attended by the Supreme Leader, after his sudden death last month. However, his absence from other significant events, including the anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death, a pivotal occasion for loyalists, has not gone unnoticed.

Rouhani has also recently opposed the reinstatement of morality police under a new crackdown plan on hijab regulations which has seen mass arrests of women for refusing the compulsory hijab, with state-sanctioned violence once more on the streets of Iran. 

"In the upcoming elections, we need to see who is on the path of the [Supreme] Leader and does not deviate from him; we must base our choice on him," said Mohammad Reza Naghdi, the coordinating deputy of the Revolutionary Guards, whose role is closely tied to Khamenei and the country's leadership.

Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards, also stated that devotion to the Supreme Leader should be the deciding factor in the elections, which come on the back of the sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi last month in a helicopter crash. Candidates have to be approved by the Guardian Council, which ultimately carries out the wishes of Khamenei.

"Let’s be mindful that devotion to the Supreme Leader should be the criterion and we should choose a servant for the leadership, not a burden," Haji-Sadeghi said.

Following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19, 80 candidates have registered to contend for his position. The Guardian Council is set to announce the approved candidates after a week, with the election scheduled for June 28.

Multiple reformist candidates have already been denied applications to register as the process continues to channel the wishes of the Supreme Leader over the wishes of the people. Like previous presidential elections, turnout is expected to be as low as single figures.

Ali Rais al-Sadati attempted to register on the last day of applications for the June 28 snap elections but his request was denied for failing to provide “the necessary requirements" according to reports on state media. 

The authorities report that 80 candidates registered during the five-day registration period. Some question the high number and speculate about who will ultimately be accepted into the race by the Guardian Council acting on behalf of the Supreme Leader. 

According to an Interior Ministry official, the Guardian Council will announce the names of qualified candidates on June 11 with the number of qualified candidates expected to range from as little as four to over 10.

Candidates who have been approved will have two weeks to campaign before the election. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, a run-off election will be held on July 5.

On Monday, Haalvsh published a video showing the hall's ruins and reported that the prayer hall was destroyed at dawn on Saturday by the military along with municipality officials.

“This was a shed constructed to serve as a prayer hall for Sunni citizens because they did not have permission to construct a mosque in the city,” the report said, Sunnis not offered the same privileges as the ruling Shia Muslims in Iran. “In order not to offend, no loudspeakers were used during prayer time.”

Sunnis constitute at least 10 percent of Iran's 88 million population, the majority of them economically and politically disenfranchised and concentrated in border regions stretching from Sistan-Baluchestan in the southeast to Kurdistan in the northwest.

Iran's leading Sunni cleric, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, an outspoken critic of the Iranian government, has frequently accused the government of persecuting religious minorities which also include Baha'i and Zoroastrian communities. 

Since September 2022, Iran's southeastern Sunni region has been under strict security control as protests persist after the day now known as Bloody Friday. Security forces opened fire on protesters in Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan, killing nearly 90 people, including women and children. Since then, local Sunnis have protested every week after Friday prayers calling for justice as the government fails to be held to account.

Mohammad Eslami maintained Tehran is still following the NPT Safeguards Agreement and is only reducing the obligations it had under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The comments come as Britain, France, and Germany submitted a resolution to the United Nations nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors Monday censuring Iran. According to AFP, European diplomats cited Iran's lack of cooperation with the agency, believing Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

Before the resolution, Iranian officials cautioned European powers against applying pressure on Iran concerning its nuclear program. Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the reported head of Iran's nuclear negotiations, asserted on Saturday that if European countries proceed with a resolution criticizing Iran's nuclear activities, Iran would respond in a "serious and effective manner."

The E3 maintains that Iran has signed and ratified the NPT Safeguards Agreement but has not adhered to its legally binding obligations.

IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi acknowledged on Monday that the agency has lost continuity of knowledge regarding the production of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water, and uranium as Iran continues to expand its nuclear program.

In response to a question by Iran International’s Ahmad Samadi about the censure resolution by the European countries, Grossi stated that the member countries must express their opinions on the matter and that the Agency is only required to comply with the resolution if it is approved.

In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arguing that the agreement did not sufficiently prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Consequently, sanctions reliefs were revoked.

In 2020, the Iranian parliament suspended UN inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities and mandated the government to increase uranium enrichment if European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal did not lift oil and banking sanctions.

Despite Iran's lack of cooperation with the IAEA on multiple issues since 2020, friction points between Tehran and the agency have recently accumulated.

The Iranian government has deactivated surveillance devices, denied senior inspectors access, and refused to disclose the location of new nuclear facilities, despite insisting that its uranium enrichment is solely for civilian purposes and that it does not intend to develop nuclear weapons.

According to an IAEA benchmark, Iran is enriching uranium to 60% purity, close to the 90% required for weapons-grade material. It has accumulated enough material to be further enriched to produce three nuclear bombs.