Canada to deport one of Iran's Larijani brothers after granting him PR status

According to Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung, the legal department of the European Union's foreign action service has officially begun the process to possibly designate the IRGC.

It is a victory for advocacy groups after at attempt by the European Parliament to press the European Union to designate the IRGC failed last year.

It also comes as a stream of Iranian plots have been foiled in recent months in countries including Sweden and Belgium. As far back as 2022, a plot to attack a synagogue in Germany led to the latent summoning of the Iranian ambassador this year as more of Iran's covert activities come to light.

Germany’s largest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union, is one of the players which has been pushing the European Union to take a tougher position on Iran, including designating its IRGC.

The US designated Iran’s military apparatus in 2019 and the latest country to join ranks, was Canada, where Iranian dissidents have also been targeted by IRGC plots to kill and kidnap.

In addition to demanding action to curb Iran’s ongoing nuclear program, in the face of global sanctions, the CDU wrote a position paper calling for a dramatic change in path as Iran’s proxies wreak havoc across the Middle East and beyond.

Lawmakers suggest a policy aimed at further isolating Iran, which is also under sanctions for supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine. They suggest working with moderate Arab states to form an ‘anti-Iran coalition’, including signatories of the Abraham Accords such as the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Confronting Iran's nuclear ambitions, the CDU lawmakers call for a total halt to the program. Just weeks ago, the UN’s nuclear chief warned Iran was ‘weeks not months’ from a nuclear weapon.

The CDU has proposed that an alliance between Germany, France, Britain, and the United States, must work harder to prevent Iran’s nuclear armament, including imposing tougher sanctions on countries helping Iran evade their own

This would potentially impact countries such as China which his Iran’s biggest consumer of oil.

The policy recommendations also tackle Iran’s human rights abuses at home, including the disproportionate persecution of women and girls, which the UN has branded "gender apartheid".

The policy document has proposed banning any institution in Germany that serves as an information source or influence channel for the Iranian regime, including the immediate closure of the Islamic Center in Hamburg.

This week, the German Federal Administrative Court ruled that the center was affiliated with the Iranian regime and branded it an "extremist Islamic organization” calling its activities “extremism”, as per the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany.

Currently designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden, the EU has taken a softly softly approach, aiming to continue negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

The calls to designate the IRGC were echoed this week in a statement by 11 European lawmakers across eight countries and the European Parliament.

At the annual Israel Allies Foundation European Summit, held at the Dutch Parliament in the Hague, lawmakers addressed the threats the IRGC poses specifically to Jewish and Israeli targets.

In May, Israel’s Mossad security service revealed plots against a string of Israeli embassies, including those based in Europe, in addition to Jewish and Israeli targets.

“We recognize the importance of addressing state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian regime against the State of Israel and Jewish communities across Europe and therefore call on the European Commission to list the IRGC on the European terror list,” the statement read.

With representatives from the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Portugal and Estonia, it comes as Iran’s proxies continue to wage war on Israel.

Since the October 7 atrocities of Iran-backed Hamas, where at least 1,200 mostly civilians in Israel were murdered and another 250 taken hostage, Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq have launched attacks on Israel from across its borders.

They have also targeted US positions in the region in retaliation for President Joe Biden’s support of Israel’s right to self defense.

The groups all say their attacks will not stop until a full ceasefire is achieved in Gaza. Israel says the military campaign in the strip will continue until the full eradication of Hamas and the return of the remaining 120 hostages, over 40 of them are known to have died in captivity.

The shops are accused of selling clothes that run counter to Islamic values. The city’s police commander, Mohammad Ghasem Tarhani, described them as containing "unconventional logos and symbols."

"Considering that one of the goals of the sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to lead the youth astray and exert influence through cultural and religious means, authorities are acting on information received about several shops and garment production units," stated Tarhani, according to Mehr News Agency on Wednesday.

As if a national emergency, he warned the public to “avoid unusual clothes for yourself and your children and inform the police by calling 110 if you see any sale or production of unusual clothes".

In mid-May, Iranian authorities arrested over 260 people at an underground rock music festival near Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated Tasnim News Agency labeled the festival as a “Satanist” gathering.

Those detained had "signs and symbols of satanism on their clothes, head, face, and hair," according to Tasnim. In their report, Tasnim also released photos of masks, model skulls, and t-shirts depicting skulls.

“The Supreme Leader of Iran wanted me to convey that the relationship between Iran and Russia is very deep and will not be affected by changes in government,” Mohammed Mokhber said.

Mokhber and Putin met on Thursday in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

During the meeting, Putin emphasized the unity of Russia and Iran's international agenda, stating that “our approaches towards key issues of the international agenda almost completely coincide.”

Mokhber stated that the "strategic relationship" between Iran and Russia has "completely disrupted the global balance of power," adding that "there is no longer any talk of a unipolar world."

According to Russia's foreign ministry, Moscow and Tehran are negotiating a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that reflects the "unprecedented upswing" in their relations.

However, conflicting accounts emerged regarding the status of the agreement, with some Russian officials hinting that the delay might have been due to the change of government in Iran, potentially affecting the deal.

In June, Russia's foreign ministry announced a temporary suspension of work on the comprehensive cooperation agreement, while Iranian authorities maintained no interruption in its preparation.

Zamir Kabulov, a Russian foreign ministry official, remarked, "This is a strategic decision made by the leadership of both countries. The process has halted due to issues faced by our Iranian partners."

Subsequently, Iranian and Russian officials issued statements reaffirming that efforts to finalize the agreement were ongoing and dismissing reports of its suspension as exaggerated.

During late president Ebrahim Raisi's tenure, efforts to bolster ties with Russia intensified, resulting in numerous contracts aimed at expanding cooperation across various sectors.

However, tangible progress was limited as Russia, embroiled in the Ukraine conflict, faced financial constraints following global sanctions that hindered its investment capabilities in Iran.

Tehran and Moscow first established a long-term agreement in March 2001, officially known as the Treaty of the Foundation of Mutual Relations and the Principles of Cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation Act. Initially set for a decade, this treaty was subsequently extended twice, each time for five-year terms.

In 2021, Iran’s ambassador to Russia confirmed that both nations had agreed to extend the agreement for an additional five years, with the new expiration date set for 2026.

However, Iran has become a key supplier of drones to Russia in its war on Ukraine, building a production plant as the war looks to have no end in sight, deepening military ties between the two sanctioned states.

The Campaign to Defend Mohammadi wrote on Instagram, "This sentence is based on the pretext of Ms. Mohammadi's membership in an independent, public, and legal labor organization a decade ago, demonstrating the baselessness of the verdict."

The campaign’s statement called the ruling "absurd and unfounded," intended to instil fear among activists as the government continues to oppress any voices of dissent.

Mohammadi, who was arrested in December, is one of the latest in a wave of executions in a bid to quash dissent. Last year, 834 Iranians were executed, according to the United Nations. It was a record high, 50 percent higher than the previous year.

At least 22 of those were women, Iran the world's number one executioner of women. The 2023 figures were the highest since 2014 according to Iran Human Rights.

The campaign called for Mohammadi's acquittal and unconditional release, declaring, "This sentence is not only against Sharifeh but is a declaration of war and a death sentence against all social and civil activists."

In January, the UN called for an end to the "horrific wave of executions" underway, with 67 executions in May alone.

Gholamreza Dehghan Naserabadi, a member of parliament, in a statement made in June, highlighted Iran's deepening energy imbalance and projected a $2 billion gasoline import requirement for the current year. He also noted the necessity for diesel imports.

Iran's gasoil deficit was 1.5 million liters per day in 2023.

Iranian officials have indicated that the country engages in barter agreements, exchanging its dirty fuel, mazut, for foreign gasoline and gasoil.

According to Kpler, Iran exported between 230,000 to 240,000 barrels per day of mazut in 2023, slightly more than in 2022. However, the exact portion of this volume that was exchanged through barter for gasoline and gasoil has not been specified.

According to an official report from Iran's Oil Ministry, reviewed by Iran International, Iran's gasoline deficit escalated sharply in 2023. Consumption grew by 11.5%, yet refining capacity expanded by only 1.7%. Iranian refineries produced a base gasoline output of 97.5 million liters per day (ml/d) in 2023, while consumption surged to 115.5 ml/d.

To mitigate the deficit, Iran increased gasoline supply by adding 14 million liters per day through chemicals, aromatics, and MTBE (Methyl-tertiary-butyl ether), a gasoline additive known to be carcinogenic in certain animals. Despite these measures, the remaining shortfall was filled by gasoline imports or withdrawals from existing storage reserves.

The volume of additives in Iran's base gasoline has surged from 5 ml/d in 2018 to 14 ml/d in 2023, marking a staggering 180% increase. In contrast, base gasoline production grew by only 20% during the same period. This rapid growth in non-standard additives has led to significant health and environmental concerns, as Iran's produced gasoline has become increasingly unhealthy and pollutant-laden in its efforts to compensate for fuel deficits.

While the official document does not specify the exact volume of fuel imports, some officials have confirmed that Iran imported $2 billion worth of gasoline during the last Iranian fiscal year, which ended on March 20.

According to the Oil Ministry's report, strategic gasoline reserves stood at 1.17 billion liters by the end of 2023, unchanged from the previous year but down 13% from 2018 levels.

Furthermore, the report acknowledges that only a quarter of the gasoline produced in Iranian refineries meets Euro 4 or Euro 5 standards. Out of Iran's nine crude oil refineries, only three have been built since 1979 - when Islamic Republic came to power- collectively capable of refining less than 690,000 barrels per day, which accounts for 32% of the total refining capacity. The bulk of the refining capacity was built originally with Western licenses and technology. These refineries have since relied on domestic or Chinese technologies for upgrades, with the most recent refinery, Persian Star, commencing operations in 2017.

A major reason for the rise in consumption is domestic auto manufacturing which relies on older engine technologies. Despite producing approximately one million vehicles annually, each with high fuel consumption rates, nearly all are sold domestically. However, Iran's refining capacity growth has lagged the increasing demand.

Another major reason for ever-growing consumption is the low price of gasoline. Presently, Iran maintains the world's cheapest gasoline prices. One gallon costs consumers less than 10 US cents.

In late 2019, the government attempted to address economic challenges by raising gasoline prices by 50-200%, leading to widespread and violent protests. Since then, the Islamic Republic has refrained from adjusting fuel prices, despite a 15-fold fall in the value of the Iranian rial against the dollar since 2019.