Ukraine Asks For Information On Russia-Iran Weapons Trade Logistics

On the sidelines of the state-sponsored rallies to commemorate the anniversary of the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and taking dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days, Salami said, “the enemies know that we will definitely respond to their interventionist and mischievous actions, but now we cannot say where and how we will do that.”

Using the term “Enemies” is a favorite of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to refer to the United States, Israel, US allies in the region and in Europe.

“The enemies that said they were not focusing on the revival of the nuclear deal (JCPOA) have now focused on the domestic issues of the Islamic Republic,” the IRGC chief said. “They are worried that the Islamic Republic may take action against them. Accordingly, they have now retreated into a defensive shell for fear of Iran’s action against them,” he added. 

Following Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s lead, Iranian officials claim that the ongoing antigovernment protests across Iran – ignited by death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- are instigated by foreign enemies, particularly the US, Israel and some European countries.

On the fourth of November 1979, a group of radical students who were followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took 52 US diplomats and citizens hostage, marking the moment as the start of Iran’s hostage diplomacy. Since then, Iran has detained many dual nationals visiting the country and has used them as bargaining chips against Western countries, human rights organizations have said.

In a report published on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received 76,000 cybercrime reports last financial year, up 13 percent from the previous corresponding period. 

Describing the attacks as a "huge wake-up call," he said they have made cyberspace a “battleground.” "It's a huge wakeup call, and companies need to get their act together...we need to do much better," he said, adding that "The government has stepped up, the private sector needs to step up in the interest of their customers but also their own interest."

Business losses attributable to cybercrime rose on average 14 percent over the period, with the average crime costing a small business A$39,000 ($24,540).

“It’s not just about the frauds or the texts that you or I might receive, but real issues around the security of our country going forward,” Cybersecurity Minister Clare O’Neil said in reference to the report. “It is a national security focus of the government.”

As part of efforts to intensify reactions to cyber threats by the Islamic Republic, the FBI warned late in October that the Iranian cyber group Emennet Pasargad is conducting hack-and-leak operations involving a combination of hacking and theft of data. In November 2021, the Treasury Department sanctioned six Iranian officials as well as the company for their involvement in the planned cyberattack.

"Don't worry, we're gonna free Iran. They’re gonna free themselves pretty soon," Biden said during a wide-ranging campaign speech in California, as dozens of demonstrators gathered outside holding banners supporting Iranian protesters.

Biden did not expand on his remarks or specify what additional actions he would take during the remarks at MiraCosta College near San Diego.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi reacted on Friday during a pro-government rally on the anniversary of the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979 that resulted in taking dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days. In harsh anti-US remarks, Raisi said that he came across Biden’s statement “that he might have uttered in a state of wackiness.”

Raisi responded to Biden’s remark saying that “He said standing behind the official podium that they are supposed to free Iran. Mr. President, Iran was freed 43 years ago and vowed not to be enslaved by you.”

Raisi went on to mock US attempts to block Iran’s oil exports, saying that Washington’s plans were defeated. “Today we have influence in the region and no equation can succeed without Iran’s agreement, and America also knows this very well.”

The White House's National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian Americans opposed to the clerical regime in Tehran have viewed the Biden Administration as weak and ready to make deals with Tehran. Before his election in 2020, Biden announced that he would seek to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, that his predecessor had abandoned.

Eighteen months of negotiations before the current upheaval started in September failed to produce a result, and Iran even began supplying drones to Russia to use in Ukraine, the administration has said.

Seven weeks of demonstrations in Iran were ignited by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran's morality police.

The protests triggered by Amini's death on September16 have shown the defiance of many young Iranians in challenging the clerical dictatorship, overcoming fear that has stifled dissent in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Demonstration on Thursday in many cities once again shocked the clerical regime which does not know how to end the nationwide protests that have become a daily occurrence. Its security forces cannot be everywhere at all times and protesters rejecting the whole political system are becoming bolder, attacking police, anti-riot forces and government vigilantes called Basij.

The United States on Wednesday said it will try to remove Iran from the 45-member U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) over the government's denial of women's rights and brutal crackdown on protests.

Iran is just starting a four-year term on the commission, which meets annually every March and aims to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In an interview with Al Arabiya published on Thursday, he said, “I think it’s clear that Iran has moved closer to Russia. We think it’s a very bad bed that Iran has made, but it’s clear to the world today that Iran has sided with Russia and its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Amid international outcry over the Islamic Republic’s supply of drones and ballistic missiles to Moscow, Kiev said earlier in the week that Tehran plans to ship even more arms to Russia. Ukranian intelligence agencies claimed that the Islamic Republic is set to deliver more than 200 Shahed-136 and Arash-2 kamikaze drones, and Mohajer-6 reconnaissance and combat UAVs later in November.

Malley added that “It’s something that we have exposed, that others have exposed, and I think … the first step to take is to make sure the world knows to run, and people know what their government is doing,” noting that “it’s clear as well that the Iranian government is embarrassed by that because they keep denying that they’ve transferred these drones to Russia in the face of mounting and incontrovertible evidence.”

He vowed more punitive measures against “anyone who is related even tangentially to those transfers,” warning that “Any economic operator in the region, or elsewhere, should be very careful about involving themselves in such transfers because we will sanction them.”

Warning that dual nationals who have Iranian as well as German citizenship were particularly at risk, Germany's Federal Foreign Office said in a statement that “For German nationals there is a concrete risk of being arbitrarily arrested, interrogated and sentenced to long prison terms.”

The German embassy in Tehran is also evacuating the families of its personnel and the teachers of German-run schools, Iran International has learnt.

Berlin has welcomed European Union’s sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which has unleashed a bloody crackdown on some of the biggest protests across the country since the 1979 revolution.

As Tehran-Berlin ties are getting more and more sour, Germany summoned last week the Iranian ambassador Mahmoud Farazandeh for talks. This followed Iran summoning German ambassador Hand-Udo Muzel, when Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kaani criticized Berlin for provoking “rioting and law-breaking in Iran” contrary to international law.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on October 26 that Germany is mulling over more restrictions for entry of individuals affiliated with the Islamic Republic beyond an already announced EU sanctions package over Tehran’s human rights violations.

Also on Thursday, opposition member of German parliament Johann Wadephul told The National that “The response so far at German and European level has been too half-hearted to put the regime in Tehran under pressure,” urging Berlin to tighten the screw on the Iranian regime.