Iran says it seized two vessels carrying 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel

Sahand, a Moudge-class frigate built in Iran, joined the navy in 2018 and is equipped with cruise missiles and stealth technology designed to evade radar detection, state media said. It sank last year during repairs at the southern port of Bandar Abbas after water entered its ballast tanks, causing it to lose balance and partially submerge. The navy said it later refloated and repaired the ship.

The Sahand had been readied for an anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean after leading an Iranian flotilla to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid attacks on commercial vessels in the region, according to state media. In 2021, it drew international attention when a US diplomatic campaign stopped it from docking in the Western Hemisphere. Washington believed it was carrying weapons and heading toward Venezuela, but the vessel eventually changed course toward the west coast of Africa, US officials said at the time.

The Kordestan floating base is designed to act as a mobile port city capable of supporting naval and non-naval combat units far from Iranian shores. Mehr news agency said the base “is essentially a port city that can play an important role in supporting naval and non-naval combat units at sea.”

The army also unveiled new missile-equipped speedboats, unmanned aerial and underwater systems, and electronic and coastal defense equipment during the ceremony.

Major General Amir Hatami, commander of the Iranian army, and Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, head of the navy, attended the event along with provincial governors, lawmakers, clerics and families of fallen navy personnel.

Votel, who oversaw American operations in the Middle East from March 2016 to March 2019, emphasized in an interview with Eye for Iran that the primary objective is countering narcotics trafficking.

But the show of force could also aim to deter Washington's arch-nemesis in the Middle East, Votel added.

"The presence of a carrier is a huge message that we're sending not just to the region, but to others who would be supporters of Venezuela,” he said. "Venezuela has been a place where ... we've seen Iranian advisors, the IRGC, Quds Force and others for a long period of time who developed a relationship."

"They look for this as an opportunity for strategic competition against us in an area of a sphere of our influence here ... it's going to be mostly indirect on Iran.”

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been amassing forces in the Caribbean in the biggest military buildup in the region for decades.

Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of narco-terrorism and has offered a $50 million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. The US strategy remains unclear but appears aimed at unseating the leftist populist.

Caracas and Tehran are sharp critics of US foreign policy and are sworn to opposing US influence in their regions.

“Iran has been a vocal supporter of Venezuela … they obviously have relationships with the Venezuelan government," Votel added.

Iran has bristled at the US maneuvers and says they show Washington's true face.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi this week condemned what he called US bullying and aggression toward the oil-rich South American country, according to a readout of a phone call he made to his Venezuelan counterpart.

Yvan Gil Pinto in turn thanked Iran for its support and vowed that Venezuela would resist US interference.

In a defiant speech on Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned US designs on Venezuela as a cynical play for its energy wealth which threatens chaos.

“Wherever the US intervenes, the outcome is war-mongering, genocide, destruction, and displacement," he said. "Because of oil and underground resources, they are willing to ignite conflicts anywhere in the world — and this warmongering has now reached Latin America as well."

The Iran-Venezuela strategic partnership dates back nearly 25 years. Since the two countries signed a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2022, they have expanded coordination in energy, security and trade.

Iran’s footprint in Venezuela includes an undetermined number of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel and military advisers.

Venezuela, in turn, provides Iran with access, alternative markets for sanctions evasion and a platform in the US near its borders.

The power of deterrence

Despite those ties, Votel stressed that the US key focus was on Venezuela, which has long been an irritant for Washington in the region.

“What we’re doing right now appears to principally be focused on the narco-terrorism,” he said.

Still, the scale of the deployment matters — and Tehran will not miss the message.

The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, supported by 70–80 aircraft and more than 12,000 US personnel, marks one of the most significant American naval postures in the Western Hemisphere since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Votel underscored just how substantial this deployment is: “We’re talking 12,000 troops. This is more than we had in Afghanistan for the last several years we were there.”

Washington has also conducted roughly 20 airstrikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing more than 80 people.

Votel added that while Iran could theoretically respond asymmetrically in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, or elsewhere, Tehran is significantly weaker today than a year ago, with its networks degraded and its security architecture shaken by US and Israeli strikes.

“They’re not in a great position to do that right now,” he said, “but again, we can never count out Iran in any of this.”

The US posture in the Caribbean also reflects a broader strategy of deterrence: using visible military force and the information environment — including openly discussing covert options to pressure Maduro’s government and shape the behavior of states aligned with it.

Votel said that the fact Washington is publicly talking about covert options is itself a message.

“In most cases, we wouldn’t normally talk about covert operations, but in this case, our government has made the decision to do that … to ramp up the pressure on the Maduro regime.”

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In a post on X, the department’s Persian-language USAbehFarsi account wrote that access to information “is a fundamental right, not a privilege for a select few.”

"The United States condemns the regime’s discrimination and stands firmly with the people of Iran in their fight for internet freedom," it said.

The statement comes amid public backlash sparked by X’s new location feature, which shows the approximate location from which users are posting.

The update exposed numerous pro-government figures and individuals tied to the Islamic Republic posting freely from inside Iran where most people have to bypass the restrictions on social media using tools like VPN.

"The Islamic Republic regime, while imposing severe restrictions and censorship on the Iranian people, hypocritically provides its own officials with special access to the internet," the US State Department posted to X.

The new feature on the X platform "has revealed that many Islamic Republic officials, pro-government activists, and affiliated journalists have access to privileged internet,” political activist Hossein Ronaghi wrote on X.

The revelations indicate that those at the top are using so-called “white SIM cards” — special, unrestricted whitelisted mobile lines exempt from the state’s filtering system. These lines provide uninterrupted access to platforms like Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp, which remain blocked for the general population.

Public anger quickly concentrated on high-profile figures whose X accounts showed their connection country as Iran, including former and current lawmakers, government spokespeople, and several media personalities — even though some had publicly claimed they used VPNs.

Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani, who had previously been asked whether she used an unrestricted line, insisted she relied on VPNs.

“I use anti-filters like everyone else, and my son and daughter-in-law help me with the setups,” she said.

After screenshots circulated showing her location as Iran, users accused her of being dishonest.

One user pointed to the location tag on the account of Amirhossein Sabeti, a lawmaker and staunch supporter of internet filtering, and mocking his use of an iPhone wrote: “An American phone, an American app, white internet. What he prescribes for the public: ‘resistance economy.’”

Many accounts linked to pro-government figures quickly changed their region settings to West Asia after the controversy escalated. Some apologized and some deactivated their accounts.

The Islamic Republic spends at least $4.5 billion to suppress digital information access according to the US government.

Meteorologists say heavy smog will linger over the capital through Tuesday, with fine particulate pollution increasing sharply as calm weather prevents the dispersal of exhaust fumes and industrial emissions.

Officials have urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and limit time outdoors, especially at night and in the early morning when pollution peaks.

The city’s weather bureau warned that without stricter limits on factories and traffic, “air quality could reach very unhealthy levels” and health services should remain ready to respond.

The alert on Friday comes as air quality worsens across several major cities, including Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj, Ahvaz, and Mashhad.

Recent readings in Tehran placed fine particulate concentrations well above safe limits, posing risks for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or heart conditions.

Officials say calm winds have turned Tehran into a pollution trap. The Health Ministry estimates nearly 59,000 Iranians die every year from illnesses linked to poor air quality, with economic losses exceeding $17 billion — more than the country’s entire health budget.

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  ‘We can’t breathe’: Iranians recount daily toll of persistent smog

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  Air pollution killed seven Iranians every hour last year, official says

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  Iran turns to heavy mazut fuel despite worsening air pollution

Reliance on dirty fuels deepens the crisis

The worsening air coincides with a renewed use of mazut, a heavy, high-sulfur fuel oil, at power plants struggling with gas shortages.

Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi acknowledged the problem, saying the move was a last resort to keep power stations running during peak demand.

Environmental groups warn that relying on mazut — together with aging cars and weak emissions controls — keeps Iran’s major cities locked in a cycle of toxic air and public health damage.

Authorities have advised residents to wear masks, avoid strenuous outdoor activity, and limit vehicle use.

Experts say the combination of outdated fuel systems, traffic congestion, and winter weather patterns means Tehran is likely to face repeated air-quality emergencies unless major reforms — such as investment in cleaner energy and transport — are implemented soon.

According to the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, several reporters and local media managers were summoned or threatened by security agents after publishing reports on the water crisis, which has left some neighborhoods without running water for more than 72 hours.

Security officials allegedly warned journalists against “spreading public anxiety” and forced some to sign written pledges not to cover the issue.

The pressure campaign comes as Iran faces one of its worst droughts in decades, with reservoirs across the country running dangerously low.

Iran’s worsening drought has pushed water reserves in several provinces — including Tehran, Mashhad, Kerman, and Yazd — to the brink of collapse, according to officials cited by domestic media.

Tehran’s Latian and Karaj dams have fallen to historic lows, with the latter holding less than 10 percent of its capacity. The capital now depends heavily on underground aquifers already under strain and at risk of subsidence.

The religious city of Mashhad has entered full rationing, while officials in Kerman describe collapsing aquifers and abandoned farmland.

Nationwide, rainfall has dropped to 18 percent of normal levels, leaving 20 provinces without measurable precipitation over the past two months.

Water specialists warn that if the trend continues, up to half of Tehran’s population could face severe supply disruptions within five to ten years.

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  Mismanagement, not drought, pushes Iran toward water bankruptcy

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  Iran’s deepening water crisis nears critical levels in major cities

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  Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens