Saudi Arabia Says It Plans Tougher IAEA Checks On Nuclear Program

Jamileh Alamolhoda, wife of Ebrahim Raisi, spoke to some of the world’s top media, including ABC and Newsweek as the pair embarked on a prolific propaganda effort.

To Newsweek, Alamolhoda, the daughter of a hardline cleric, spoke of the alleged “women’s rights” enjoyed by Iranian women, who for the last year have been protesting the oppressive conditions of living under the regime under the Women, Life, Freedom movement. Thousands remain in Iranian jails for protesting while hijab rebels remain locked out of public places including transport and education.

Alamolhoda -- who firmly believes a woman’s place is as a mother and wife — claimed Western feminism has no place in Iran where she says women are the center of life and society. Meanwhile, women are on the streets burning the hijab and morality police continue to punish them for not complying with mandatory hijab rules. Just last week, new laws to introduce harsher punishments for these women were passed in parliament as the battle against the rebellion continues to flounder.

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On ABC, she continued to reiterate the regime’s lies that the tragic fate of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose death in morality police custody for the ‘inappropriate’ wearing of her hijab sparked protests in which more than 500 civilians were murdered by the security forces, was due to pre-existing illnesses, in spite ample evidence showing she died of blows to the head.

It has sparked a huge backlash across the globe. Activist in exile, Nazanin Boniadi, wrote on X of her disgust at the airtime given to the First Lady when anyone living in Iran speaking out against the regime is silenced, including hundreds of people such as journalists and academics now in prison for their dissenting views.

“Islamic Republic officials crush dissent at home and use Western media and democratic institutions to legitimize themselves, spew their propaganda and whitewash their crimes. Appalling. We should instead give airtime to those who are risking their lives for freedom and are stuck between a homeland that is trying to destroy them and an international community that platforms and negotiates with their oppressors,” she wrote.

US-based Sarah Raviani also called on the world’s media to stop giving a platform to the Raisis whose attendance at the United Nations General Assembly came on the back of a prisoner swap deal releasing five American-Iranian hostages in Iran in exchange for regime agents in the US, and the freeing up $6bn of frozen Iranian funds in South Korea, to be managed by Qatar.

In a powerful open letter to American media and journalists, Raviani wrote on X that media has “become a conduit for the regime's agenda” while hundreds of voices inside and outside of Iran are begging to be heard.

“I hear from the families of the fallen freedom fighters, crying out for the international community to take notice of them as their homes and lives are destroyed by regime security forces. I hear from the families of American hostages abandoned in Iran, begging the media to take notice of their loved ones dire situation. How do you think they feel as you prop up those who are responsible for the death and suppression of their family members?”

UK-based activist and academic, Kasra Aarabi, called the latest propaganda mission a bid “to demoralize Iranians abroad to stop us from mobilizing”. Writing on X, he said, “This won’t work, it’ll only make us more determined”, slamming the decision of ABC to allow the First Lady airtime. “Very sad to see @ThisWeekABC fall into the regime’s propaganda trap.”

The President himself also made the most of the world watching, suggesting some high level orchestration happening behind the scenes, though no PR organization has so far been revealed for its part in the drama.

Not only did Raisi use the UNGA stage to air his views on the Saudi betrayal of the Palestinian people should the nation normalize ties with Israel, and deny his obstruction to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, he spoke to CNN and denied the country’s nuclear ambitions.

Earlier this year, the UN nuclear watchdog claimed that Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, close to weapons grade, continues to grow. Just this month, the regime also banned one third of the IAEA’s inspectors. Speaking to CNN, Raisi claimed that “Iran has cooperated fully with the IAEA”, denying the reports announced by Director General Raphael Grossi who made a rare public criticism of the regime for its latest stonewalling.

In his latest bizarre claims, in spite of years of pursuing a potentially dangerous nuclear program and stockpiling highly enriched uranium, he even said, “we have stated many times that nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's defense doctrine, because we neither need them nor believe in nuclear weapons”.

Turning to Islam to defend his claims, he added, “In our opinion and based on the fatwa of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, nuclear weapons are among the weapons of mass destruction, and therefore both their production and storage are forbidden, and we adhere to this fatwa. This approach obligates us from a jurisprudential and Islamic point of view not to pursue the production of nuclear weapons in any way, and so far no reason has been found that the Islamic Republic of Iran has acted against this belief”.

Jason Brodsky, United Against A Nuclear Iran, said Raisi's administration is clearly trying to “normalize him in the West”. Writing on X, he said, “I hope @ThisWeekABC invites someone on the show who is actually representative of the people of #Iran and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement to respond to Jamileh after this interview.”

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, described Riyadh's expressed interest in acquiring nuclear weapons as a "factual statement," but he deemed it unlikely for the country to pursue the path.

Lavrov's remarks were in reference to a statement made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. In his interview with Fox News, the Saudi Crown Prince referring to Iran’s nuclear program stated, “If they get one, we have to get one, for security reasons and the balance of power in the Middle East.”

However, the Russian foreign minister said Moscow believes that "Iran will not have nuclear weapons, so Saudi Arabia won’t be tempted to obtain them."

Furthermore, Lavrov accused Western countries of escalating tensions in international conflicts and expressed the view that the West is making every effort to prevent the formation of a multipolar world.

There have been reports that Mohammed bin Salman has approached the Biden administration seeking assistance in establishing a civilian nuclear program for his country. Some US officials harbor concerns that such a program could potentially serve as a guise for developing nuclear weapons as a countermeasure against Iran.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Gilad Erdan said, “he cannot be so respected here while he’s oppressing, executing, murdering his own people.”

Ebrahim Raisi was a member of the infamous Death Committee which oversaw summary execution of up to 5,000 thousand Iranian political prisoners in 1988.

Raisi’s speech at the UN General Assembly last Tuesday coincided with the first anniversary of the killing of Mahsa amini.

Amini was a 22-year old women arrested in Tehran because the police felt her hair wasn’t covered properly. She was hit on the head in custody and died in hospital on 16 September 2022.

Her killing sparked a wave of protests that challenged the foundations of the Islamic Republic like never before. More than 500 protesters were killed, and thousands injured by armed forces and thugs loyal to the regime. Security forces arrested 22,000 people and seven protesters were hanged.

Ambassador Erdan made headlines a few days ago when he held up a poster of Mahsa Amini with the caption “Iranian women deserve freedom” during Raisi's speech at the General Assembly.

“It’s quite sad to see the people in Isfaham don’t have water and all the money is spent on weapons of mass destruction, on arming their terrorist proxis in the region,” Erdan said in a chat with Fardad Farahzad of Iran Internation TV in New York.

He did reiterate the Israeli position that the regime in Iran and its nuclear ambitions should be a source of concern for “the entire world” but also a blessing in disguise.

“In some ways we should be thanking Iran,” Erdan said, “because they’re one of the reasons why all the moderate countries in the region that are looking to the future and care for their children, they are creating an alliance.”

Arab-Israeli relations have improved significantly in recent years. It was one of the major topics of discussion when Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden met on the sidelines of the UN General Assmebly.

Netanyahu expressed optimist in that meeting that a “historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia” can be reached under Biden’s “leadership”.

The sentiment was echoed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in a rare interview with Fox News that was aired 20 September.

“Every day we get closer,” he said, when he was asked about the normalization of relations with Israel.

Ambassador Erdan emphasized the significance of this remark in his interview with Fardad Farahzad.

“These statements are historic. You could never hear the leader of Saudi Arabia saying these things publicly. And obviously when the President of the United States feels that he can also talk about it, it means that they know that it’s a matter of time.”

In the same interview with Fox News, the Saudi Crown Prince said that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, “we have to get one, for security reasons, for ballancing power in the Middle Ease. But we don’t want to see that.”

Amir-Abdollahian, stated that communications with the United States are taking place, and an initiative by Oman remains on the table. If the other parties are willing, Iran is determined to return to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

The Iranian foreign minister met with Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

The diplomatic efforts of the United States and Europe to address the Iranian nuclear issue come at a time when Israel considers these actions insufficient and emphasizes the need to increase pressure and resort to serious military threats.

Negotiations to resurrect the JCPOA, which former US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, collapsed about a year ago. Washington has been exploring alternative approaches to encourage Tehran to curb its nuclear program. Recently, the Biden administration released a total of $8.7 billion in Iran’s funds blocked in Iraq and South Korea.

Amir-Abdollahian also had a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in New York. According to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional issues.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, highlighted the danger posed by Iran potentially acquiring nuclear weapons. He stated, "If they obtain one, we'll have to acquire one for security reasons and to maintain the balance of power in the Middle East. However, we do not wish to see that happen."

Gen. Haydari did not clarify if these forces all belonged to the army or also included unites from the Revolutionary Guard’s ground forces. He also did not provide a numerical estimate of the forces, but a brigade is usually around 3,000-4,000 troops.

The Islamic Republic has maintained its traditional army while heavily investing in the Revolutionary Guard that in many respects commands stronger and better trained units.

Gen Haydari who is the commander of the army’s ground forces said that these brigades are stationed in the northwest, west, southwest and northeast to confront “enemies”. Iran has been projecting military power along its borders with Iraq to deter what it calls separatist Kurds using Iraqi territory as a base.

With recent clashes and tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Iran’s northwestern neighbors, Tehran has also sent forces to the area possibly to deter Baku from invading southern Armenia and cutting Iran off from its friendly neighbor.

Iran has also faced intermittent incursions and hostile fire from the Taliban in the northeast, who have cut off waters from a major river flowing across the border, depriving vast arid swaths of territory from its traditional source of irrigation.

Haydari, however, said that the deployment “does not mean an immediate danger threatens the Islamic regime,” rather it is meant to boost readiness and to be in a better position to monitor the borders. He added that it is important for ground forces to “to feel themselves in the trenches,” according to the commands of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.