EU ponders new sanctions on Iran over missile transfers to Russia

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the news outlet reported that the charges could come in a matter of days.

The Washington Post reports that the FBI investigation has focused on an online persona known as "Robert," suspected of acting on behalf of the Iranian government. This “individual” is accused of distributing stolen data from Trump advisers' email accounts to news organizations.

Last month, the FBI and US intelligence agencies confirmed that Iran was responsible for recent attempted hacks into the Trump and Biden-Harris presidential campaigns.

According to AP, which is also reporting the impending criminal charges by the Justice Department, the aim of the hack was to influence or interfere with the outcome of the November presidential election.

On Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s top national security official, told reports on Thursday in New York City that Iran “is making a greater effort to influence this year’s election than it has in prior election cycles and that Iranian activity is growing increasingly aggressive as this election nears.”

Last month, the head of DisinfoWatch told Iran International that as Iran appears to have stepped up its targeting of both presidential campaigns, there also seems to be coordination between Tehran and Moscow's information operations.

“The US and all western democracies need to be paying close attention and exposing them. The combined information and influence operations of Iran, Russia and China represent a serious threat to all western democracies - which we cannot afford to ignore,” Marcus Kolga said.

Trump’s campaign shared last month that it had been hacked and alleged that Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents.

In August, Meta reported potential hacking attempts on the WhatsApp accounts of US officials by Iranian actors amidst growing concerns over Tehran’s interference in US elections. These officials were associated with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The company attributed these attempts to APT42, an Iranian hacker group widely believed to be linked to an intelligence division within Iran's military. This group has a history of conducting invasive surveillance operations, often targeting political figures and activists abroad.

In relation to the latest hack-and-leak attack, Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post were reportedly given access to confidential material from inside the Trump campaign, with Politico reporting that that it began receiving emails on July 22 from an anonymous account.

The AOL email account, identified as "Robert," sent what looked like a research dossier that appeared to have been compiled by the campaign on Ohio Senator JD Vance, who became the Republican vice-presidential nominee. The document, dated February 23, was created almost five months before Trump announced Vance as his running mate.

So far, the AP reports, each outlet has refused to reveal any details about what it received.

The attack took place in Mirjaveh, a city in Sistan-Baluchestan province near the Pakistani border.

According to IRNA, gunmen in a car opened fire on a border regiment vehicle, killing two soldiers and an officer. A civilian was also wounded in the attack.

This incident is part of a broader pattern of violence in Sistan-Baluchestan, a province that has witnessed numerous attacks attributed to Jaish al-Adl.

Earlier this year, Iran launched missiles at targets in Pakistan claiming to have retaliated against Jaish al-Adl. Pakistan, resenting the violation of its territory, conducted airstrikes in Iran against alleged bases of its own Baluch insurgents. These cross-border operations heightened tensions between the two countries, even as they insisted that their primary targets were Baluch separatist factions.

Jaish al-Adl has a history of conducting ambushes, bombings, and other violent operations, leading to the deaths of both civilians and security personnel. In April, at least 22 Iranian policemen were killed in two separate clashes in the province.

The militant group has been designated a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States, along with several international bodies.

The group has been involved in a series of cross-border attacks, including the abduction of border guards and security personnel, as well as bombings targeting Iranian military forces, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Last month, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the killing of a deputy chief of the Public Security Police Department in Khash, another city within the same province. Over the years, the group has carried out numerous attacks, aiming to highlight the plight of the Baluch minority, who they argue suffer from systematic discrimination, poverty, and lack of political, economic, and social empowerment.

The UN Special Rapporteur has previously highlighted that the Baluch community in Iran faces systemic marginalization and severe socio-economic hardships. The region is one of the poorest in the country, leaving its residents particularly vulnerable to both man-made and natural disasters, which deepens their sense of disempowerment and lack of representation.

Saeed Chalandari, CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport City, estimated that the newly imposed fee could generate up to twenty trillion rials (over 33 million dollars). Chalandari defended the move as a step towards implementing Iran's Seventh Development Plan, insisting that it is common practice in airports across the world.

The fee targets travelers over the age of two. Hormatollah Rafiei, head of the Association of Iranian Travel Agencies condemned the latest attempt at revenue generation, calling it “reaching into people’s pockets.” He accused the government of enabling "systematic extortion" in the travel industry, warning that this will only empower airlines and travel agencies to raise prices, further burdening Iranian travelers.

“This decision is opening the door to even more profiteering in the tourism sector,” Rafiei noted, pointing out that in addition to this new charge, Iranians are already paying departure taxes, airport fees, and inflated ticket prices.

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It is not the first time Iranians have been forced to contend with excessive travel fees as a pipeline of funds. In 2019, the Iranian Parliament imposed a departure tax meaning citizens would pay 5,200,000 rials ($9) for their first trip abroad, and between 7,800,000 ($13) and over ten million rials ($16) for subsequent trips. 

The government's defenders argue that these fees are necessary for development, with Chalandari comparing them to charges imposed in airports across Europe amid Iran’s crumbling infrastructure, inefficient bureaucracy, and rampant corruption.

Social media platforms have become the battleground for a public response. Many Iranians mockingly referred to the fee as "forced payment," highlighting the absurdity of funding "development" in a country where mismanagement has brought nearly all aspects of life to a standstill. One frustrated user on X remarked, “Who doesn’t know there’s no development?” Another sarcastically commented, "Soon enough, they’ll pass a law requiring everyone traveling abroad to bring gifts for parliament members."

The Iranian government’s attempt to draw parallels with practices at airports in countries like Turkey or Saudi Arabia rings hollow for many. "Exactly which development are they talking about?" asked one social media user, alluding to the country's lack of progress in providing basic services.

This new fee comes at a time when travel for most Iranians is already a luxury as inflation and unemployment skyrocket and the currency’s value continues to plummet. One in three Iranians now live below the poverty line, meaning many of those who travel are among the country's wealthy elite.

Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently reported that over 438,000 Iranians entered Turkey as tourists in the first two months of 2024, where they can enter visa free. According to GlobalData’s 2023 Travel & Tourism in Iran report, the most popular destinations for Iranians include Turkey, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

But traveling abroad is increasingly unaffordable for tens of millions of Iranians, many of whom have taken to social media to call this €10 fee “the final straw” amid the worst economic times since the founding of the Islamic Republic.

The Russian leader praised Iran’s Supreme Leader for boosting relations according to a readout of the meeting carried by Russian state media, two days after the United States and European allies hit Iran with new sanctions for alleged transfer of missiles to Russia.

Putin credited Ali Khamenei for expanding relations between the countries and thanked new president Masoud Pezeshkian for committing to closer relations with Russia.

Iran and Russia have deepened their ties in the years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in which Russian forces have unleashed hundreds of Iranian drones on military and civilian targets.

Both countries are heavily sanctioned by the West and appear to be edging towards a “strategic partnership” pact mooted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this month.

Ahmadian was hosted on the sidelines of a meeting among top national security officials from BRICS countries ahead of the group’s 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia in October.

Pezeshkian is due to attend the summit and hold bilateral meetings with Putin in Moscow to sign the bilateral treaty, Iranianian media reports say.

Earlier this week, the US and the E3 (Britain, France, Germany) said they had evidence, which they did not immediately release publicly, that Iran had shipped missiles to Russia and sanctioned Iranian individuals and entities including state carrier Iran Air.

Iran and Russia have denied any missile shipments. Reports of an Iranian missile transfers are inaccurate, Kremlin's spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Iran's foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the envoys of Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands to protest the sanctions according to Mizan, the news agency of Iran’s judiciary.

The target of the mission was believed to be an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) site responsible for the development of ballistic missiles and drones, as well as providing logistical support to Iran's terror proxies including Hezbollah, wrote the Times of Israel.

The operation saw a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted military sites in central Syria late Sunday, leaving at least 14 people dead and 43 others wounded. Fires erupted at several locations, with local Syrian media initially reporting that a scientific research center in Masyaf had been hit, a site long linked to the Syrian regime's manufacture of chemical weapons and precision missiles in collaboration with Iranian forces.

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The recent reports suggest that Israeli ground forces were involved for the first time in the operation. According to the opposition-affiliated Syria TV network, Israeli helicopters hovered above Syrian soil as special forces rappelled down ropes to the ground. Violent clashes reportedly ensued, leading to the deaths of several Syrian troops, and the capture of two to four Iranian personnel. On Thursday, IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency denied reports that any Iranians have been captured in Syria.

Channel 12 news cited researcher Eva J. Koulouriotis, who reported via Twitter that Israeli forces not only engaged in combat but successfully entered the facility, seizing critical equipment and documents.

Before retreating, they reportedly planted explosives, ensuring the complete destruction of the plant. Koulouriotis also stated that roads leading to the facility were targeted with airstrikes to prevent Syrian reinforcements from arriving in time.

In addition to the Iranian weapons facility, a Russian communications center was reportedly targeted during the operation. Al Hurra, a US-owned network, echoed the reports, noting the intensity of the strikes and the unusually high death toll.

The Masyaf region, located west of Hama, has long been associated with Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, and has been the site of numerous airstrikes attributed to Israel in recent years.

Home to the Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS or SSRC), it is a facility Western officials believe is used to manufacture chemical weapons, including sarin gas. Syria has consistently denied the accusations.

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While the precise details of the raid remain unconfirmed and Israel has yet to comment on the reports, the operation aligns with Israel's ongoing strategy of targeting Iranian military infrastructure in Syria.

Israel has been vocal about its intent to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent military presence in Syria, and strikes on IRGC-linked sites are seen as part of this broader strategy.

The raid also underscores the growing complexity of the conflict in Syria, where multiple actors—including the Syrian regime, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia—maintain overlapping interests and military assets.