US, UK Launch Air, Missile Strikes Against Iran-Backed Houthis

In its second statement after two explosions hit a memorial ceremony for slain Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani near his grave on January 3, the Islamic Republic’s intelligence ministry said Thursday that 35 people have been arrested across the country over alleged links and support to the bomb attack. The terror operation was claimed by the ISIS branch in Afghanistan (ISIS-Khorasan). About 90 people were killed and 300 injured in the incident, the biggest terror attack since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.

According to the ministry, the main operative who made the explosive vests and oversaw the operation is a man from Tajikistan known by the alias "Abdullah (Abdollah) Tajiki." He purportedly entered the country illegally from southeastern borders on December 19 along with a woman and a child. He was then transferred to Kerman province and settled in a rented house on the outskirts of Kerman city, where the attack took place. The ministry claimed that he left the country two days before the incident after he assembled the explosives.

The ministry also identified one of the two suicide bombers as a Bozorov or Bazirov, a 24-year-old Israeli man and a Tajikistani national. It also claimed that he resided in the Turkish city of Van before crossing through Iran and joined the ISIS-K in Afghanistan, where he underwent training. He came back to Iran after a few months via Saravan in Sistan-Baluchestan province and ultimately joined other agents in Kerman.

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In an attempt to downplay the inefficiency of the country's security forces, the intelligence ministry said the perpetrators had decided to carry out the attack at Soleimani’s grave but ultimately had to change their plans and blow up themselves before reaching the inspection gates due to “stringent measures and multiple security layers.” “The first terrorist detonated his suicide vest approximately 700 meters from the cemetery, and the second terrorist detonated his explosive vest approximately 1,000 meters from the graves.”

The ministry also released a video montage featuring various individuals visiting the residence, accompanied by a tour of the premises, purportedly identified as the location where the explosive vests were made. The footage also showed search dogs unearthing equipment that reportedly was for the production of additional explosives.

The authorities, who found themselves in hot water over their intelligence lapse, swiftly reacted with multiple claims about their success in busting terror cells and foiling more attacks to rebuild their credibility. The haphazard response led to conflicting reports with some officials saying that the security apparatus thwarted dozens of bombings planned for the Soleimani’s death anniversary ceremonies and arrested “all people” involved.

Head of the Armed Forces' Judicial Organization in Kerman, Ali Tavakkoli, claimed that over 64 bombs were discovered nationwide, intended to detonate during the memorial for Soleimani.

Addressing the inconsistencies, the intelligence ministry said, “In recent days, statements suggesting the discovery of multiple bombing conspiracies have been released, raising some suspicions. The fact is that in such reports, two elements, namely the quantity and the timing of the discoveries of explosive materials, are not accurate.” It added that the reports were about the foiled bombing attacks in the past months and only one of the arrests was related to an operative linked to the bombing on Soleimani’s death anniversary. The ministry said he was a Tajik ISIS operative who planned a bombing in the city of Mashhad. His arrest was also featured in the ministry's video montage.

The ministry also claimed that it has identified several other people involved in the Kerman blasts beyond the borders, emphasizing that it considers its inalienable right to pursue them wherever they may be.

Although meant to replenish its blemished credibility, the intelligence ministry's move did not address the main questions: if the security apparatus was aware of the threats, why it went along with the ceremony and risked peoples’ lives? A large number of Iranians are of the opinion that the Islamic Republic needed such a deadly incident to justify its tight security measures that mainly target the people, not the enemies of the people.

We will continue “to fulfil our duties with regard to Palestine” despite the efforts by Washington and London to protect Israeli and Israel-related ships in the region, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stressed, adding that Houthis will do “what is necessary” in the case of a “direct confrontation” with the US.

He added that the attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea have caused “enormous damage” to the economy of Israel and its allies.

Iran has supported the Houthis for a decade, supplying weapons and military know-how to Muslim sect, which is different from the majority Sunnis in Yemen, and religiously closer to the Shia sect. Iran is ruled by Shia clerics.

Though the Islamic Republic has avoided any direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the regime has used its proxy groups to attack Israeli and American targets in the region. Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. The attacks began after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for blockading Israel.

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On Tuesday, Yemeni Houthis launched 24 missile and drones targeting international shipping in the Red Sea. The US and UK forces in the region shot down 21 of these projectiles. In December, Washington launched a multinational naval collation in the Red Sea to protect commercial vessels. Britain, Norway, Canada, France, Australia and several other countries have so far joined the coalition.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday, calling on Houthis to stop attacks on shipping in the Red Sea immediately. After much deliberation, the 15-member council arrived at a draft with no direct reference to Iran and mild enough for Russia and China to not use their veto. Both countries abstained.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the formation of a Palestinian state and integration of Israel in the region will be the best ways to stabilize the Middle East and isolate the Islamic Republic and its proxies. 

In case these aims are not achieved, the region will “continue to see the terrorism, the nihilism, the destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah, all backed by Iran,” Blinken told reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Blinken’s travel to Egypt ended his fourth regional tour of the Middle East since the onset of Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7. Over the past days, he also visited Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel and the West Bank.

The Biden administration has defended vessels in the Red Sea to a large extent but has refrained from attacking Houthis in Yemen responsible for endangering international maritime safety and commercial traffic. Critics have argued that without retaliation, Houthis and their sponsors in Tehran will not be deterred.

Iran seized an oil tanker on Thursday in Sea of Oman, claiming it was in retaliation for the US seizure of its oil from the same vessel last year.

In a Thursday statement, Habibollah Ghafouri, the Supreme Leader's representative in Kermanshah, west of Iran, framed participation in the elections as "a jihad against the enemy."

Ghafouri emphasized that each vote is akin to “launching a missile towards the enemy's camp.”

During an address to followers on Tuesday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed the collective responsibility to mobilize the people, underscoring the pivotal importance of mass participation. Despite turnouts ranging from 20 to 40 percent in the 2020 and 2021 elections, current estimates project a significant dip to 5 to 8 percent in March.

Iranians express deep frustration with the perceived indifference of the regime and officials towards their calls for increased freedom and improved economic conditions.

Officially, the inflation rate hovers just below 50 percent, with essential commodities, notably food, experiencing even higher rates. Dissent within the country has escalated due to the regime's severe crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths and hundreds more blinded. Thousands have been arrested by security forces, including families of those killed during protests.

The enforcement of medieval laws on hijab, lashings for women, and restrictions on internet access by hardliners have further fueled discontent among the populace who are now more tightly surveilled than ever.

Khamenei, whose Guardian Council has disqualified almost all moderate and reformist candidates from participating in the March election, narrowing political engagement predominantly to ultraconservatives, acknowledges that he cannot directly request or command the people to partake in the elections. Consequently, he relies on instructing officials and institutions to employ various methods to encourage people to vote.

Mohammad-Hassan Asafari told ILNA news agency, “These contractors exploit child laborers for their own financial gain as they pay children less and do not insure them,” adding that the Iranian lawmakers have repeatedly warned municipality officials in this regard, but of no avail.

From a legal perspective, the municipality is required to sue those private contractors who violate the law by employing children for such difficult jobs as waste collection and cleaning streets, the lawmaker pointed out.

Iran’s Parliament Research Center released a report in August highlighting an alarming rise in the number of working children.

The report indicated that 15% of the child population is engaged in labor activities. At least 10% of working children do not have the opportunity to attend school, depriving them of essential educational opportunities.

In September, Bahram Zonoubi Tabar, the head of the Labor Coordination Council in Fars Province, warned that Iranian children are being forced out of school and into the workplace as families struggle to make ends meet in the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

Tabar said, “With the commencement of the school year, numerous workers are grappling with difficulties enrolling their children,” adding that the country’s 100% increase in commodity prices within a year, compared to the annual wage increments of around 20% for workers, has made conditions unbearable for large numbers of Iranian families.

While the exact number of working children in Iran remains undisclosed, the Ministry of Labor indicated that in 2017, out of nine million Iranian children, 499,000 were considered “active,” signifying that nearly half a million children in the country were either engaged in labor or searching for work.

According to their claims, the oiler had previously been seized alongside a large cargo of Iranian crude oil by the US government in 2023 and Friday’s seizure by Iran was a retaliatory act.

According to the official statement of the Iranian Navy, the seizure was carried out following a court order and the approval of the Ports and Shipping Organization in retaliation for “oil theft” by the United States. State media reports also said the oil tanker was being transferred to Iranian ports to be handed over to the judicial authorities.

In the early morning of January 11, the crew of an oil tanker named M/T ST Nikolas, flying the Marshall Islands flag and managed by Greek personnel, issued a distress signal in an area 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, Oman. They reported that four to five unauthorized individuals, armed and wearing black uniforms and masks, had boarded their vessel at around 03:30 UTC.

The Greek company, Empire Navigation, which owns the vessel, subsequently confirmed that it was carrying a cargo of 145,000 metric tons of oil and had a crew of 19 individuals (comprising 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek). The vessel was en route from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga, Turkey.

Saint Nikolas, the oil tanker that was seized by the Iranian Navy today, has a checkered history that played a pivotal role in its capture. This vessel was previously seized by the US in April 2023 when it was transporting 977,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil that was subject to sanctions. At that time, the ship was known as Suez Rajan and was under the ownership of the same company that currently owns it. To secure its release, the owner paid a fine of $2.46 million USD after several months of legal proceedings.

Subsequently, following a US federal court order, the sanctioned Iranian crude oil that had been offloaded from the vessel was sold for a total of $83.4 million USD, following extensive efforts by the US Government to locate a buyer. These efforts incurred additional costs of over $8.85 million USD, resulting in approximately $74.7 million in net proceeds from the oil sale.

Upon its release and return to Greece, the vessel was renamed Saint Nikolas and resumed its operations, primarily carrying petrochemical products worldwide. However, it chose to avoid engaging in any services related to Iran.

To avoid sale of the oil shipment of the Suez Rajan by the US Government, the Iranian regime did its best by means of using the IRGC Navy to seize various commercial ships in Omas Sea, however the pressures didn't work, and Iran's crude oil was finally sold by the US in 2023.

Friday's seizure of the Suez Rajan seems to be the latest attempt of the Iranian regime to compensate for the loss of over $90 million USD of crude oil of the same ship that was sold by the US in 2023. Iran’s state media claim that the oiler was carrying crude purchased by the US; however, vessel tracking websites show its destination was a port in Turkey. It is not known whether that port call for Turkey was a diversion to hide the real destination of the oil tanker.