Islamic Republic Admits Failure Of Trade Deals With Iraq

The National Council for Ending Iranian Occupation says such remarks are a clear sign of Islamic Republic's intervention in Lebanon.

On Saturday, Khamenei once again called Lebanon a territory in Iran’s orbit, saying the active policy of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq has led to the failure of “US plots” in these countries.

The Lebanese government has not yet reacted to these statements. However, The National Council for the Ending Iranian Occupation in a press conference said that the Lebanese presidential election is being controlled by Iran.

“After seven unsuccessful attempts to elect the president, the signs of fatigue are visible on your faces. The reason for this failure is that Lebanon is occupied by Iran,” added the statement.

According to the Lebanese media, the “Axis of Resistance” is one of how Iran is expanding its strategic influence in the region.

The term Axis of Resistance refers to an anti-Western, anti-Israeli and anti-Saudi political and informal military alliance between Iran, Palestinian militant groups, the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The National Council for the Ending Iranian Occupation was officially launched in January to break free from Hezbollah's armed hegemony over the country that has always been a threat to Lebanese sovereignty.

Nicolas Roche was summoned on Wednesday to Iran’s Foreign Ministry over what Tehran calls “unacceptable” remarks by Catherine Colonna which led to approval of a resolution in the assembly on human rights in Iran.

Iran says, “the instrumental and dual use of human rights by France and some other European countries causes great regret to the Islamic Republic Iran.”

Tehran also said these countries “lack the legitimacy to raise such human rights claims.”

On Monday, the French National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution offering "support for the Iranian people" and condemning the restriction of women's freedoms and rights. This comes ahead of another meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss new sanctions over Iran’s crackdown on protesters.

President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party deputy Hadrien Ghomi, himself a descendant of Iranian immigrants, said the 149 votes in favor of the motion in the National Assembly "sent a strong message" to the world. The resolution condemns in the "strongest terms the brutal and widespread repression" against "non-violent demonstrators".

Foreign minister Colonna said the situation "requires action, with responsibility", adding that after two packages of sanctions already imposed at a European level, new sanctions are being prepared for the next Council of Foreign Ministers on 12 December.

Iran constantly accuses the West of double standards and meddling in its domestic affairs but continues to use deadly violence against protesters.

A move by administration of President Joe Biden to allow Chevron, the second biggest US oil company, to export Venezuelan oil followed talks beginning Saturday in Mexico between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition. Revenues currently frozen abroad will be ringfenced by the United Nations into ‘humanitarian spending.’

Battling high inflation, alongside food and medicine shortages, the Venezuelan government has said the “kidnapped” fund would go into helping stabilize the electric grid, improve education infrastructure, and improve the response to this year’s flooding. The UN will manage a fund for over $3 billion currently held by US and European banks fearful of punitive US measures.

But the decision has been criticized on several grounds. The Boston Herald in an editorial November 28 mocked Biden’s interest in “climate-destroying fossil fuels,” suggesting he was offering the Venezuelan government “a political reward” while appeasing US “eco-progressives” over US shale production, slowing as the release of US emergency reserves eases, while the December 5 deadline for tighter Russia sanctions looms.

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An investigation by the Reuters news agency, in a feature published Wednesday, highlighted close links between Venezuela and Iran in cooperating to evade Washington’s eagle eye on oil transports. Reuters reported super-tanker Young Yong disguising Venezuelan oil as Malaysian oil. The vessel belongs to a company owned by a Ukrainian national also sanctioned, and is one of three tankers designated November 3 by the US for forging documents to ship Tehran’s oil and so evade US sanctions on Iran.

Gaining an economic windfall

Links between Caracas and Tehran partly explain those arguing against relaxing US pressure on Maduro government and that a double standard is at play. Eddy Acevedo, an advisor at the Wilson Centre, has argued that “both rogue regimes are looking to extract concessions in hopes of gaining an economic windfall.”

Iran and Venezuela in June signed a 20-year cooperation agreement, three years after President Donald Trump in 2019 ramped up sanctions against Venezuela after Maduro won the disputed 2018 election and four years after Trump launched ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran as he withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

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The Reuters report suggested Iran had “pioneered” the use of false documents to conceal the origins of cargoes. According to the news agency, around 200 tankers, including 82 super-tankers able to carry up to 2 million barrels, have been involved in servicing both Venezuela and Iran, with the south American country exporting over 360 million barrels in the face on US sanctions since 2019.

‘Smart’ sanctions?

Documentation in the Young Yong case were supplied to Reuters by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, which has since 2013 tracked Iran’s oil traffic to “disrupt…[its] attempts to generate profits from oil sales and further isolate the regime economically.”

So, what are the implications of the Venezuela decision for US Iran policy, when Biden still aims to reach diplomatic agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement? Some analysts in Tehran have argued that Europe’s need for energy in the wake of sanctions against Russia, coupled with upward pressure on US gasoline prices, increased the likelihood of Washington meeting the Iranian demands of ‘guarantees’ that have reportedly stymied talks to revive the 2015 agreement, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

A decision to replace blanket sanctions on Venezuela with ‘smarter’ measures could create a precedent over Iran. As the Venezuela decision loomed earlier in the month, Reuters suggested the US was looking to replace hidden oil trade, a response to sanctions, with transparent transactions. But at the same time, Venezuela pumping more oil could reduce pressure on Biden to compromise with Iran.

Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani made the comments Tuesday in a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as part of his visit to the Iranian capital.

The Iraqi official said, “It is the policy of the Iraqi government that this country should not be the starting point for actions harming the countries of the region.”

In the meeting, Ebrahim Raisi claimed the Islamic Republic supports a united and strong government in Iraq.

Raisi said relations between Tehran and Baghdad must be expanded to establish more peace and stability in the region and the world.

Since the eruption of nationwide protests in Iran, regime officials have accused Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq of fueling the unrest, with the IRGC repeatedly launching deadly attacks on the neighboring country’s northern territories.

The latest round of shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan region drew condemnation by Western countries as well as the Iraqi government.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein decried the attacks as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also condemned the “violations” of Iraq and its Kurdish region’s sovereignty.

The US also strongly condemned Iran’s “violations of Iraqi sovereignty”, calling on the Islamic Republic to stop attacking its neighbor.

Many countries and international organizations have voiced support for protests in Iran by adopting resolutions and issuing condemnations of government violence, but people wonder about tangible actions. 

The United States Monday circulated a draft resolution on a measure to expel the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The measure to remove Iran from the women's equality and empowerment body is scheduled to be voted on December 14. 

The Islamic Republic has just started a four-year term on the 45-member commission, which meets annually every March.

The document also denounces Iran's policies as "flagrantly contrary to the human rights of women and girls and to the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women." Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands and the United States are behind the push.

The resolution would "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term."

"The US and others have been actively working the phones to garner support to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women," said a UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters. "It seems like they're making traction – including with some initially hesitant countries."

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Also on Monday, the French National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution offering "support for the Iranian people" and condemning the restriction of women's freedoms and rights. This comes ahead of another meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss new sanctions over the crackdown on protesters.

President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party deputy Hadrien Ghomi, himself a descendant of Iranian immigrants, said the 149 votes in favor of the motion in the National Assembly "sent a strong message" to the world. The resolution condemns in the "strongest terms the brutal and widespread repression" against "non-violent demonstrators".

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that the situation "requires action, with responsibility", adding that after two packages of sanctions already imposed at a European level, new sanctions are being prepared for the next Council of Foreign Ministers on 12 December.

But many Iranians ask if statements and resolutions are enough to pressure the theocratic regime in Tehran. More forceful steps, such as closing all European embassies in Iran or imposing more sanction to directly pressure the ruling elite are possible additional measures people mention in their social media posts.

These all came after the Geneva-based UN Rights Council last week voted to appoint an independent investigation into the Islamic Republic's deadly repression of protests, passing the motion to cheers of activists. Accused Western states of using the council to target Iran in an "appalling and disgraceful" move, Tehran said Monday that it will reject the investigation into the country's repression of antigovernment protests, like it refused to cooperate with UN human rights rapporteurs for 30 years.

Some Iranian officials have started to acknowledge some of its atrocities with Revolutionary Guards general Amirali Hajizadeh saying Tuesday that more than 300 people have been killed in the protests, acknowledging that innocent people have also been killed.

"Everyone in the country has been affected by the death of this lady [Amini]. I don't have the latest figures, but I think we have had perhaps more than 300 martyrs and people killed in this country, including children, since this incident," said Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division.