Junta-Led Niger Faces US Sanctions Threat Over Uranium Deal With Iran

International Atomic Energy Agency director Rafael Grossi in London on Tuesday was quoted by two major newspapers as being both concerned and hopeful regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

The contradiction was apparently due to the different emphasis the Financial Times and Guardian put on Grossi’s separate remarks to each publication. The Guardian emphasized Grossi’s statement that loose talk in Tehran “is very worrying and needs to stop”. However, the FT highlighted Grossi’s optimism that Iran has shown willingness to engage in “serious dialogue” with the IAEA.

Both takeaways from Grossi’s remarks could be equally valid: his optimism after a trip to Iran last week and the continuing loose talk in Tehran by senior officials for opting to build nuclear weapons. However, at this juncture, Grossi’s concerns may be more justified than his expressed optimism.

In recent weeks three Iranian officials have hinted or openly threatened to reverse nuclear doctrine if Iran’s nuclear installations or the Islamic Republic regime are threatened. The latest statement came on Sunday, when senior foreign policy advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated the threat. Kamal Kharrazi said that the Islamic Republic would be left with no option but to alter its nuclear doctrine if Israel threatened its nuclear facilities or its existence.

Kharrazi stated that Iran does "not possess nuclear weapons, and there is a fatwa from the leader regarding this matter. But what should you do if the enemy threatens you? You will inevitably have to make changes to your doctrine."

The reason for Grossi’s optimism, however, is less clear, except what he took away during his recent visit to Tehran. Grossi told FT that IAEA’s relations with the Islamic Republic “could be entering a different phase,” apparently based on signals he received when he met with Iran’s atomic chief Mohammad Eslami. But Tehran has been making promises to the IAEA and Western diplomats for two decades, while its nuclear program has reached the weapons development threshold.

Grossi, however, appears to be highly alarmed by threatening remarks of Iranian officials. He told the Guardian, “Loose talk about nuclear weapons is extremely serious for me. And I think it should stop. We are moving closer to a situation where there is a big, huge question mark about what they are doing and why they are doing it.”

Last March, during a visit to Tehran to resolve disputes about severe restrictions on IAEA’s vital monitoring activities, he reached a written agreement with Tehran, but more than a year later nothing has been implemented.

In fact, in September 2023, Tehran withdrew designations of several inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, justified Tehran's decision by claiming that those expelled had a history of "extremist political behavior".

Also, in an interview with PBS on March 29, Grossi had expressed concern over Iran's advancements in its nuclear program alongside restrictions placed on IAEA monitoring activities. He emphasized that without full Iranian cooperation, the agency cannot verify that its program is peaceful. The lack of visibility would be a major setback, similar to the situation during the late 1980s and 90s in Iraq, he explained.

The sanctions also target the IRGC Navy and individuals such as Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force.

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Australia and its partners of maintaining a “double standard” claiming they are aligned with Washington's policies.

Australia's sanctions, which also affect several Iranian businesspeople and entities involved in missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, have been justified on the grounds of curbing Iran's "destabilizing behavior" and extensive proxy activities in the region. The Australian government asserts that these programs have long fueled regional instability.

In total, Australia has now sanctioned 90 individuals and 100 entities related to Iran, stating its commitment to apply pressure to compel Iran to cease its disruptive actions and adhere to international norms.

However, despite the sanctions, Australia has not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization—a stance that aligns it with the UK, Canada, and France, rather than with the United States, which designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist group in 2019.

The expanded measures will allow the EU to target individuals and entities involved in supplying, selling, or transferring Iran's missiles and UAVs when supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, being used by armed groups and entities to undermine peace and security in the Middle East and Red Sea region, or breaching United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015).

"This framework, adopted in July 2023, currently prohibits the export of components used in the construction and production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the EU to Iran, and provides for travel restrictions and asset freeze measures against persons responsible for, supporting or involved in Iran’s UAV’s program," stated the Council.

"In view of Iran’s continuing military support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine as well as of non-state armed groups in the Middle East and the Red Sea region, and following the Iranian drone and missiles attacks against Israel on 13 April 2024, the Council decided that the EU’s ability to impose restrictive measures will now cover not only UAVs, but missiles too."

Initially, Iran denied supplying drones to Russia but later acknowledged that it had provided a small number before Moscow initiated its war on Ukraine in 2022.

Following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, Iran has stepped up its efforts against American and Israeli interests, deploying armed groups throughout the Middle East that it supports, arms, and trains.

The figures in this budget might seem small when converted into US dollars but considering that many private and public sector employees earn under $200 per month, it is easy to see the scale of the spending. On the other hand, the total propaganda budget constitutes a large part of the country's annual budget which is being paid out partly by printing money. This fuels a more-than-%50 annual inflation that has impoverished tens of millions of people in the past five years.

One more thing to consider is that many of the propaganda organizations also receive funds other than their official annual budget.

The reformist daily Etemad in a report last week tried to make sense of a hodgepodge of scattered numbers to arrive at a total budget figure for propaganda. This is not an easy task in Iran, as the government allocates money for propaganda in every line item, often under obscure designations. The total figure of 360 trillion rials, therefore, might be just the tip of the iceberg.

However, some numbers were clearly mentioned. For example, 1.10 trillion rials ($1.8m) of the propaganda budget is allocated to President Ebrahim Raisi's provincial visits. At the same time, while 5 trillion rials was allocated for May 10 runoff parliamentary election, mostly spent on advertising the highly staged-managed vote, to urge people to participate. The result was an eight-percent turnout.

Over 800 billion rials has been allocated to the committee that follows an international legal case about the killing of former IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani by the United States in 2020. Meanwhile the government is to spend 20 trillion rials on the publicity for Iran's membership In the BRICS and Shanghai pacts.

Furthermore, Iran will spend 269 billion rials to help the office of the country's Cultural Attache' in South Africa. That is in addition to another 2.8 trillion rials for its Islamic Center in South Africa.

According to Iran International TV, 77 trillion rials will be spent by the Islamic Propagation organization, a body that works in parallel with the Culture Ministry in an inexplicable duplication of efforts.

Iranian analyst Mehdi Khalaji told Iran International that the Etemad report reveals only the tip of the iceberg about propaganda spendings by the Iranian government. He said Iran runs a financial empire for ideological activities in Iran, the Middle East and other countries.

While Etemad argues that Iran's extensive spending on propaganda has yielded no tangible effects, Khalaji counters that such expenditure has contributed significantly to the survival and continuity of the Islamic Republic, its powerful clerical system, and the expansion of Shiite soft power in the region.

Khalaji highlights the influence of the clerics in Iran, noting that they control one third of all land in Iran through religious endowments. Meanwhile, the Etemad report details the budget allocations for propaganda, including 9 trillion rials dedicated to enforcing the anti-US legislation passed after former US President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. Additionally, nearly five trillion rials fund the state broadcaster IRIB, which also taps into the country's oil revenues from the National Development Fund. Furthermore, 10.5 trillion rials are allocated to "institutions under the Interior Ministry," which include unofficial security forces that suppress protests, and 8.5 trillion rials support pilgrimages to religious sites in Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Meanwhile, the government will contribute 500 billion rials to help Amir Al-Momenin Seminary in Tehran as well as 1.5 billion to help the Al-Mahdi religious education center. Some other items in the propaganda budget include:

• 420 trillion rials for propaganda aimed at making “the population younger” through childbirth,
• Over 11 trillion rials for the missions of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance,
• 9 trillion rials for the missions of the Islamic Communication Organization, another parallel entity working alongside the culture Ministry,
• Nearly 3 trillion rials to help the Seghalain satellite TV network which Iran claims broadcasts religious propaganda to the world,
• 8.3 trillion rials as the exclusive budget for the Islamic Propagation Office of the Qom Seminary,
• One trillion rials financial assistance to the ultraconservative Mesbah Institute,
• Nearly another 40 trillion rials to assist the Qom Seminary,
• Nearly 12 trillion rials additional budget allocated to the Islamic Propagation Organization,
• 1.4 trillion rials for Sarcheshmeh Nour Cultural Institute,
• 5.9 trillion rials for Shamim Marefat and Strategic Islamic Knowledge Institute,
• 16 trillion rials for the Arts Center of the Islamic Propagation Organization,
• And tens of trillions given to ill-defined organizations such as the International Ashura Foundation, The Cultural Institute for Islamic Knowledge, and the Center for Iranian-Islamic Progress Model as well as several organizations to promote prayers and fasting.

According to Etemad, these budgets have been allocated to organizations whose functions are not clear to the public and never disclose their financial statements. It is also not clear who is spending all that money, where and for what purpose, as there are no checks and balances in place to control the financial status of those organizations.

The footage shows the officer forcefully pushing the woman into a car after beating and detaining her.

The woman, whose face is not visible, can be heard saying amid the assault, “Okay, let go of me… you’ve broken my neck."

In the statement issued Tuesday morning, police said that the "defendants," including the woman whose arrest is seen in the video, must "obey the law and arrest warrant and avoid any kind of unaccustomed behavior."

Media outlets have reported that the arrest of this woman was due to her opposition to the mandatory hijab.

The statement said that the officer who apprehended the woman was arrested by order of the police commander of the relevant province and is now under investigation. The officer has reportedly been suspended from service pending appropriate measures.

In response to this statement, Iranian social media users have dismissed the news of the officer's arrest as fake.

Citing numerous past incidents, one user commented: "In a few days, there will be additional news saying the person who filmed this scene was arrested."

The Police Information Center did not provide any clarification or information on the charges against the woman or the reason for her arrest.

Other instances of hijab enforcement officers violently arresting and beating women have been reported across multiple cities in Iran recently.

This comes as part of Iran’s renewed and intensified crackdown on unveiled women, following the introduction of the Noor Plan in April at the directive of the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.