Iran Says to Maintain Naval Presence on High Seas to 'Secure Shipping'

The Bahraini top diplomat, who is in Tehran to participate in the Asian Cooperation Dialogue summit, met his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani to discuss resumption of bilateral relations, eight years after Manama severed its ties with Tehran.

Bahrain's foreign minister and his Iranian counterpart agreed to establish "the mechanisms required for initiating talks aimed at resuming political relations between the two countries" during their meeting in Tehran, a joint statement released by the two countries reads.

The Bahraini foreign minister visited Tehran last month to attend a farewell ceremony held for Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi after he was killed in a helicopter crash.

Now his second visit to Tehran comes one month after Bahrain's king expressed a tentative willingness to resume diplomatic ties with Iran despite historical tensions and accusations against Tehran for inciting unrest within Bahrain’s Shi'ite majority.

Tiny but geopolitically significant Bahrain, hosting the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, has repeatedly accused Iran of destabilizing efforts by fueling dissent among its Shi'ite population against the ruling Sunni monarchy. The 2011 protests, a part of the broader Arab Spring movement, were suppressed by the government, with Iran being partly blamed for the upheaval—a charge Iran has consistently denied.

The kingdom has a long-standing alignment with US and UK interests, notably highlighted by its sole Persian Gulf state endorsement of the strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen following their Red Sea confrontations earlier this year.

Kazem Gharibabadi, the Secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, said Sunday that it is a “violation of human rights” to leave many Iranians without possibility to cast their ballots in Canada.

"After Canada severed diplomatic relations with Iran, we no longer have any political representation in Canada, and a vast number of Iranians there are deprived of consular services. How are Iranians supposed to participate in the presidential elections there? Is Canada's action against human rights or not?" he said.

While Canada has not provided absentee voting for Iranian expatriates, the Biden administration has permitted Iran's government to establish absentee ballot stations across the US for the upcoming presidential votes.

The decision has sparked outrage among critics who view it as legitimizing the Islamic Republic’s "authoritarian rule".

The Presidential Election Headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States and Canada, which is run by Iran's Interests Section in Washington DC, recently said in a statement that "consultations are underway regarding the establishment of polling stations and the feasibility of absentee and postal voting" to facilitate voting "for fellow Iranian compatriots residing in the United States and Canada."

Since 2012, Canada and Iran have not maintained formal diplomatic relations. In the absence of direct diplomatic presence, Italy serves as the protecting power for Canada in Iran, while Switzerland fulfills this role for Iran in Canada.

Canada cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and shut down its embassy in Tehran due to several concerns including Iran's support for the Assad regime amid the Syrian civil war, failure to adhere to UN resolutions on its nuclear activities, ongoing threats against Israel, and concerns for the safety of Canadian diplomats, especially after attacks on the British embassy in Iran.

Furthermore, Canada designated the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade discouraged all travel to Iran by Canadian citizens.

Further straining bilateral relationships with Tehran, Canada on Wednesday designated Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The move, supported by the families of the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752—which was shot down by the IRGC in January 2020—marks a significant escalation in Canada's stance against Iran.

In response, Gharibabadi called the move by Canada "hostile" and defended the IRGC as a key element of Iran's national security apparatus responsible for countering terrorism in the region.

The official designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization aligns Canada with other nations taking a firm stance against Iran's aggressive activities.

Police forces entered her family home without presenting a court order, according to rights group Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).

"On Thursday, June 20, police forces from the Cheshmeh Sefid police station in the town of Noorabad, Lorestan Province, raided the home of Shokr Reza Rahmani in the village of Goijeh under the pretext of conducting a search for illicit drugs," KHRN write.

"During the raid, the family’s 18-year-old daughter, Razieh Rahmani, was fatally shot in the head," it added.

A source close to the family told KHRN that a verbal altercation ensued between a family member and a police officer, during which the officer fired a shot, striking Razieh in the head and resulting in her death.

"We used up most of the 250 billion cubic meters of water that we have and are projected to have in our aquifers over the last three decades,” prominent Iranian environmental activist, Mohammad Darvish, revealed Saturday.

In the article in Shargh News, he characterized the amount of water consumed in Iran during this period as equivalent to depleting a "thousand-year reserve," emphasizing that this depletion poses a critical risk to biosecurity.

Darvish attributed the rapid depletion primarily to the excessive extraction of underground water.

Describing the situation as "very, very dangerous" and Iran as plagued by severe "water shortages," he noted that Iran has the highest global rate of land subsidence.

Land subsidence, a sinking or collapse of the ground can be triggered by human-induced underground voids including water abstraction from from certain types of rocks, such as fine-grained sediments, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In Iran’s case, as highlighted by Darvish, the alarming rate of subsidence is predominantly attributed to human-induced excessive water abstraction and Iran’s extensive well-drilling practice. Additionally, climate change, inefficient agricultural and industrial water use, and illegal wells tapping underground aquifers have all contributed to the crisis.

A mere 3 percent of agricultural users in provinces like Isfahan and Khorasan-Razavi consume as much water as 30 percent of the entire country according to Darvish. These users have significant influence and resist efforts to reduce their water use, exacerbating the crisis.

Meanwhile, they are the two main centers of land subsidence in Iran whilst being home to the highest population densities in the country. Indiscriminate withdrawals of water resources for agricultural, industrial, tourism, and construction purposes are among the causes of subsidence in these areas.

Darvish also said that Tehran's sewerage network "aggravates the issue of subsidence." Tehran has nearly 150 meters of underground water level drop, and this is while its sewage network is not yet completed. He warned that if completed “not a single drop of water will have a chance to sink.”

Darvish further added that despite facing severe water shortages and maintaining the highest rate of land subsidence, Iran continues to build wealth from "virtual water exports, agricultural and dairy products” underscoring the unsustainable exploitation of its natural resources.

Land Subsidence Rates in Iran

Iran’s soil erosion rate is eight times the global average, costing the country $56 billion annually in lost land value, according to Darvish. Despite this, he said reports about the subsidence crisis in the country are classified as "confidential" by authorities.

A German-led study involving Iranian researchers revealed that at least 57,000 square kilometers of Iranian soil subsides more than one centimeter per year. The Geological Organization of Iran reports even more alarming figures: some areas are subsiding by more than two centimeters annually over 50,000 square kilometers, far exceeding critical thresholds.

Darvish emphasizes that ground subsidence exceeding four millimeters is a critical limit, beyond which, the situation becomes increasingly challenging.

Earlier in June, an official from Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development disclosed alarming subsidence rates. In Kerman province, the ground sinks 40 centimeters annually, while in southern Alborz province near Tehran, it exceeds 30 centimeters per year. These rates pose significant threats to infrastructure and urban development, risking the lives of millions of Iranians.

Earlier this month, it was reported that in Khorasan Razavi province in the city of Mashhad, the subsidence rate in the northwest of the city reached 20 centimeters per year, bringing it on par with the fastest sinking cities in the world.

It followed an announcement in March by an Iranian parliamentarian who warned of imminent displacement in Esfahan due to severe land subsidence, emphasizing the urgent need for action.

Mohammad Eslami emphasized that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no right to demand anything beyond these limits.

The statement arises amid increased scrutiny over Iran's nuclear activities, with international concern about potential NPT violations.

In his Sunday remarks, Eslami argued that the IAEA's role should be confined to "legal obligations" that the agency should maintain without exceeding its mandate.

"The agency is responsible for oversight, encouragement, and fair distribution of nuclear technology. This is a legal obligation, and it must be pursued and demanded within this framework. Beyond this, there is nothing else that the agency should bring up," Eslami said.

Critics see the interpretation by Iran as an attempt to avoid comprehensive inspections and conceal the extent of its nuclear activities. The IAEA has repeatedly expressed concerns about Iran's cooperation with its investigations and the transparency of its nuclear program.

Earlier this month, Board members of the IAEA passed a resolution criticizing Iran's lack of cooperation with IAEA nuclear inspections.

A recent report from the nuclear watchdog indicates that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium now exceeds 30 times the limit established by the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers (JCPOA). The uranium is enriched to 60 percent, which is near the 90 percent enrichment level required for nuclear weapons.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), established in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. However, the accord has been under strain since the US withdrawal in 2018, prompting Iran to progressively breach several of its commitments, such as exceeding the uranium enrichment levels and stockpile limits set by the agreement.

Iran's advancements include resuming enrichment at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and enhancing enrichment purity up to 60%. These actions reduce the breakout time needed to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon, raising concerns about the dual-use nature of Iran's nuclear program.

The IAEA has struggled with monitoring challenges due to restrictions imposed by Iran, which complicate efforts to verify the extent of Iran’s enrichment activities. The agency's reports suggest that Iran has accumulated enough enriched uranium that could be quickly elevated to weapons-grade levels, amplifying worries about Iran’s intentions.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, but its near-weapons-grade enrichment activities continue to provoke international unease.

In its June report, the IAEA said Iran aims to continue expanding its nuclear program in ways that "have no credible peaceful purpose."