Iran media purveys disinformation to justify Khamenei's rejection of US talks

The land dispute involving a body at the heart of Iranian establishment illuminates the controversy around alleged land grabs involving well-connected people and institutions.

Centering on 200 hectares in Damavand near Tehran, the case dates back to 1996, three years after longtime editor Hossein Shariatmadari was appointed as Ali Khamenei’s representative at the Kayhan Institute overseeing the newspaper.

According to the journalist Yashar Soltani, at the time, the government transferred the land for tree farming and grazing. However, subsequent legal changes challenged such allocations.

“On November 25, 1996, Gholamreza Forouzesh, the minister of agriculture, approved the allocation of 200 hectares of land to the Kayhan Institute. The land was intended for the construction of a township to consolidate all of the institute's publications, as well as for a printing house and administrative facilities.

"However, it was later transferred to the institute under the vague and general pretexts of livestock farming,” said a report by Soltani.

A law passed in 2003 mandated that land transfers made after 1985 without provincial commission approvals must be reversed if the intended projects had not materialized.

Following this, the ministry of agriculture pursued legal action in several cases, including the Kayhan land deal.

In 2007, a court ruled that the land deed should be invalidated and converted into a lease, yet the institute has refused to recognize the decision.

Despite the law’s explicit language, officials from Tehran’s Natural Resources Directorate have been unable to enforce the ruling.

Tehran's Friday prayer leader, Kazem Sedighi, another appointee of the supreme leader, has faced scrutiny in the wake of allegations that he and his family purchased a valuable 45,200 sq ft plot in northern Tehran.

Khamenei presents his office as incorruptible and apart from any financial peccadillos of officialdom but is Iran's ultimate source of authority.

“We pursue and advance our national issues and interests independently of the United States,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

“Therefore, it is essential to strengthen our relations with major countries like China and Russia, as well as with our neighboring countries,” Boroujerdi told ISNA news agency.

Khamenei said on Friday that talks with Washington are "neither wise, intelligent nor honorable."

He also said that US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal under President Donald Trump shows Washington is unreliable.

“The Islamic Republic trusted America once, despite the Supreme Leader’s clear distrust. The Americans, however, failed to honor their commitments, even tearing up an agreement backed by a UN resolution,” Boroujerdi added.

He also said Iran’s policies must reflect reciprocity, warning that threats to Iranian national security would be met with countermeasures.

The remarks indicate that hardliners are coalescing around the intransigent take of the Supreme Leader on talks, in opposition to the public desire for talks mooted by the relatively moderate government.

While Iran’s leadership frames its anti-US approach as protecting national sovereignty, the economic toll of sanctions and isolation has taken a heavy toll.

Ordinary Iranians are confronted with worsening standards of living as the US dollar is being exchanged at over 890,000 rials on Saturday, a new record low. Inflation, unemployment, and shortages in critical sectors continue to strain daily life.

Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old American whose parents are of Lebanese Shi'ite extraction, pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault.

Jurors in the Mayville, New York courtroom have heard the prosecutor's opening statements on how the knife attack at a 2022 New York lecture unfolded in a matter of seconds, leaving Rushdie blinded in one eye and fighting for his life in hospital.

Moments before 77-year-old Rushdie was stabbed on stage, a poet was introducing the book event on the topic of keeping writers safe from harm, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the jury according to Reuters.

The defendant is accused of running on stage and stabbing Rushdie up to 10 times. The attack also damaged Rushdie’s liver and paralyzed one hand.

Matar’s defense team has questioned the neutrality of police officers’ testimony.

Lynn Schaffer, an assistant public defender here in Chautauqua County, opened her remarks by saying it was an honor to defend Matar and argued that the case and sequence of events is not straightforward, a BBC journalist attending the trial said.

Matar’s lead defense lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, was absent due to illness.

Who is Hadi Matar?

In July 2024, two years after the incident, an unsealed indictment charged the defendant with providing material support to Iran-backed Hezbollah, sometime between September 2022 and August 2022.

The indictment did not specify how Matar is linked to the group.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Matar's mother told the outlet that her son went on a month-long trip to the Middle East in 2018 and came back radicalized.

Rushdie was forced to spend about 10 years in hiding throughout the United Kingdom and United States for much of the 90s after Khomeini issued a fatwa or religious edict to kill the author.

Khomeini called on “the proud Muslim people of the world” to kill the author of “The Satanic Verses,” which centered on the life of the Prophet Mohammad.

The trial is expected to last up to 10 days, the Associated Press reported.

Rushdie who released a memoir after the attacked called Knife, is expected to take the stand and come face-to-face with his would-be murderer later in the trial.

The protest points to smoldering discontent even after authorities quashed by force a nationwide protest movement against clerical rule which began in 2022.

At the central clocktower square in the city of Yasuj, a young woman who appeared to be in her late 20s removed her headscarf and outer layer of clothes in the midst of a crowd according to the eyewitness, who declined to be identified for security reasons.

Dressed in a tank top and trousers, she chanted “Death to the dictator!” the source added. The slogan is a common refrain among dissidents against 85-year-old Supreme Leader and theocrat Ali Khamenei.

Iran International later obtained a video showing the woman chanting "Long Live the King".

Security forces promptly descended on the woman, wrapping her in a blanket and forcibly bundling her into a departing car.

A source, speaking to Iran International on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said two men were also arrested after attempting to defend her during the arrest.

The Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran was sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in September 2022 while in police custody over hijab violations.

Hardliners have intensified efforts to enforce strict dress codes for women even as a new law on hijab enforcement appears to have lapsed and Javad Zarif, a relative moderate Iranian vice president, said the government aimed not to pressure women.

Despite the official statements and widespread public defiance, government measures to reinforce mandatory hijab laws have persisted, resulting in the closure of businesses and the impoundment of vehicles associated with hijab offenses.

The US Treasury Department said the network has transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, generating hundreds of millions of dollars used to fund Iran’s armed forces and Tehran's allies in the region.

Who is targeted by these sanctions?

The sanctions primarily target Sepehr Energy, a front company allegedly financing Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, according to the Treasury.

A secret fleet of oil tankers and transport management firms involved in smuggling Iranian oil has also been blacklisted.

Sepehr Energy, established in 2010, has been linked to key figures in Iran’s petrochemical sector, with investments in methanol and ammonia plants.

Additionally, several individuals and three oil tankers registered under Panamanian and Hong Kong flags have been sanctioned.

Why now?

President Trump said during his campaign that he would resume his so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran once he's in office.

The main driver, as confirmed by the administration, is concern that Tehran might be closer than ever to a nuclear weapon.

“We will use all available tools to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing activities and pursuit of nuclear weapons,” a Treasury spokesperson said.

The sanctions are enforced by the Departments of Treasury, State, and Justice. The Trump administration asserts that these steps are necessary to protect national security and that of its allies.

What do the sanctions aim to do?

The sanctions are structured around several coordinated measures, implemented by multiple US agencies:

• Reducing Iran’s oil exports to zero

The US aims to pressure Iran’s main oil buyers, particularly China, to halt purchases of Iranian crude, impacting Tehran’s foreign currency reserves. There may also be attempts, with US allies' help, to intercept and seize Iranian oil shipments on international routes.

• Revoking economic exemptions

Previously granted exemptions, such as those for Chabahar Port development projects, are now under review and likely to be canceled.

• Targeting the IRGC’s financial networks

The US will target accounts, shell companies and funding channels associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

• Seizing Iranian assets

Iranian government assets within the US and abroad, deemed by Washington to be involved in financing terrorism or evading sanctions, will be seized.

• Restricting technology and arms exports

Dual-use goods with both civilian and military applications will face tighter controls.

What else?

The US Department of Justice will prosecute individuals involved in espionage, cyber threats, and terrorism financing on behalf of Iran.

The Department of State will lead an international campaign to limit Iran’s influence in global organizations, pressure its allies and restrict travel by Iranian officials.

What would be the implications for Iran?

These sanctions could significantly reduce Iran’s oil revenues, deplete its foreign currency reserves, and trigger higher inflation and a decline in the rial’s value.

Seizing oil shipments may also disrupt Iran’s unofficial export channels.

As pressure mounts, Iran may reduce cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or strengthen ties with countries such as China and Russia.

Given Iran’s regional influence, the sanctions could heighten tensions in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and along the borders of Syria and Lebanon.

Iran may retaliate by ramping up uranium enrichment or boosting the capabilities of its regional allies.

What are the challenges in implementing the sanctions?

Despite the sanctions’ scope, implementation faces hurdles.

China may continue purchasing Iranian oil, while Iran’s extensive experience with informal financial networks could help it maintain some oil sales through intermediaries.

Economic pressure could provoke countermeasures from Iran, regionally or through its nuclear program.

Trump’s return to the maximum pressure strategy aims to curtail Iran’s influence, but its success depends on how serious the administration is in enforcing the measures and how cooperative other major international players are.