US Thwarts IRGC’s Attempt To Capture Navy Vessel In Persian Gulf

Iran, which had closed its border and halted flights to its neighboring country, announced on Tuesday afternoon that Mehran, Qasr-e Shirin and Chazabeh land border crossings have been reopened, but urged citizens to remain cautious amid a fragile calm.

Clashes continued until Tuesday noon between the Sadrist forces with Iran-backed militia groups in major cities as well as near the Green Zone in central Baghdad -- home to embassies and government buildings -- before the cleric asked his supporters to stop the protests.

"I still believe that my supporters are disciplined and obedient. And if in the next 60 minutes they do not withdraw, as well as from parliament, then I will abandon these supporters," he said. Following the announcement, supporters began leaving central Baghdad on vehicles, holding rifles and chanting while driving away.

He apologized to the Iraqi people and said shedding the blood of an Iraqi is Haram (forbidden), noting that “I expected the protests to remain peaceful, but I don't want even peaceful protests any more... Had we dissolved armed groups, we wouldn't be witnessing the current situation.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi praised Muqtada al-Sadr over his call for cessation of conflicts, and urged immediate dialogue among political groups.

The unrest initially broke out on Monday, August 29, hours after Sadr announced he was quitting politics.

Mohammad Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani, the secretary of Iran’s Headquarters For Enjoining Right And Forbidding Evil, tasked with promoting the clerical regime’s interpretation of Islamic morals, confirmed the move in an interview published on Tuesday, adding that the subway CCTV cameras are programed to use face recognition technology to take a photo of the unveiled women. 

He added that the photos will be matched against the database registered for the women’s national ID cards to identify them and then a ticket with a significant fine will be sent to them. 

Golpayegani had previously said that about half of the Iranian women currently do not observe the mandatory hijab rules. 

In recent months the Islamic Republic’s government and security agencies have intensified their efforts to pressure women into abiding by the hijab laws and several rounds of anti-hijab civil disobedience campaigns followed. The patrols by the “morality police” have increased on the streets and videos of violent arrests of women and girls as well as confrontations between people and hijab enforcers are surfacing on social media every day.

Authorities are hailing those who harass women for their insufficient hijab and security forces stepped up detention of women in the streets for their loose hijab.

During a weekly press conference on Tuesday, Judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said the two, identified as Stephen Kevin Gilbert and Simon Kasper Brown, were arrested in January 2020 at an airport in Tehran as they were about to leave the country with large quantities of opium-based narcotics.

"Simon Kasper Brown was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of about 10 billion rials (about $34,000) for transporting more than 21,000 illegal pills of tramadol," an opioid painkiller, and "Stephen Kevin Gilbert was sentenced to eight years in prison, 60 lashes and a fine, for being in possession of 9.8 kilograms (21 pounds) of opium resin," he said.

The trial of the men — accused of being part of an “international drug trafficking gang” — opened in September 2021. Iran is a key smuggling route for opium and heroin from neighboring Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer. 

The judiciary spokesman noted that the case of the pair is different from the Swedish man arrested in July on allegations of “espionage,” whose case is being investigated but his identity has not been revealed. 

Tensions are relatively high between Tehran and Stockholm over a Swedish court’s sentencing of former Iranian jailor Hamid Nouri to life imprisonment over executions of political prisoners in 1988. 

Earlier in the month, Sweden started planning for the prosecution of two Iranian-Swedish brothers who were arrested in 2021 over allegations of espionage for Iranian Intelligence organizations. 

Reshnou was released from Tehran’s Evin prison on Tuesday after about 40 days of detention with a bail of about $27,000, a huge sum for ordinary people in Iran. She has been charged with propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Earlier in the month, Revolutionary Court Judge Iman Afshari said that Rashno was summoned from the prison and was served her indictment issued by the prosecutor's office. 

She is accused of “association and collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country's security through communication with foreigners and propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic and encouraging people to commit corruption and prostitution."

On August 15, some women's rights activists staged flash mobs in Tehran to demand information on her whereabouts. She was reportedly in detention at the IRGC ward of Tehran’s Evin Prison since her arrest on July 16 after she argued with a woman enforcing hijab rules.

In a move that was condemned by many activists and people on social media, the state-run television (IRIB) aired on July 31 the so-called ‘confessions’ of the 28-year-old artist, writer and editor.

She was apparently tortured and forced to denounce herself and other activists, and express regret for her confrontation with the hijab enforcer and posting her video on social media. She had been so brutally beaten before the telecast that she was suffering from internal bleeding.

Clashes continued Tuesday, as Iraqi militias fired several rockets at Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone for a second day as hostilities intensified between rival Shi’ite Muslim groups, the military said.

Iran International’s correspondent in Iraq reported Tuesday that Sadr’s armed supporters have occupied all bridges on the Tigris River in Baghdad, except one crossing that kinks to the venue of a gathering by their opponents.

Just before noon local time, our correspondent also reported that pro-Iran politician and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's residence in Baghdad was surrounded by Sadrist crowds but pro-Iranian militia were using heavy weapons to defend it. Allegedly dozens of Sadr's supporters were wounded by gunfire.

She also reported that many websites affiliated with political groups, including some belonging to the government, were unavailable on Tuesday.

Streets were mostly empty of ordinary people as gunmen cruised in pickup trucks carrying machine guns and brandishing grenade launchers. Overnight, sustained gun and rocket fire rang out across the Iraqi capital.

Clashes on Monday, which killed nearly 20 people, jolted Iraq into new violence as supporters of al-Sadr, a former anti-US insurgent leader, faced off with Shi’ite armed groups mostly loyal to Iran.

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There were reports Monday night that pro-Iran militia fired at Sadrists in Baghdad’s Green Zone, but it is not clear if how many people were killed. In turn, Sadrists said they were targeting offices and bases of pro-Iranian armed groups.

Many foreign governments have urged citizens to leave Iraq. Iranian media reported that all air and land borders with Iraq are closed, as the Iranian embassy in Baghdad and other missions face attacks by Sadrists.

A prolonged political deadlock after an October election, during which the two camps have competed for power, has given the country its longest run without a government and led to new unrest as Iraq struggles to recover from decades of conflict.

This time, the fighting is among the Shi’ite majority that has ruled Iraq since the 2003 US invasion which toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.

Sadr has positioned himself as a nationalist who opposes all foreign interference, whether from the United States and the West or from Iran. He commands a thousands-strong militia and has millions of loyal supporters across the country. His opponents, longtime allies of Tehran, control dozens of paramilitary groups heavily armed and trained by Iranian forces.

Sadr and his opponents have long dominated state institutions and run large parts of the Iraqi state.

Part of Sadr’s support comes from disgruntled Iraqis who launched anti-government protests in 2019, lasting for months and met opposition from Iran-linked groups. These Iraqis were demanding efficient governance and blamed Iran for interfering in Iraq politics and contributing to corruption and lack of services.

Iraq is one of the world’s largest oil exporters but nearly two decades after Saddam was toppled, still suffers from lack of some basic services such as reliable electricity for people.

With reporting by Reuters