US Envoy Malley, South Korean Top Diplomat Discuss Iran

The Friday Imams described removing the monitoring equipment installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency as the first step in reducing relations with the agency, with Tehran's Friday prayer Imam Ahmad Khatami condemning the IAEA resolution against Iran and saying that “the revolutionaries hit the bully in the mouth."

Referring to the IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi's visit to Israel, the hardliner cleric called on the authorities "not to provide complete information to the IAEA." 

Similar remarks against the resolution and IAEA’s monitoring of Iranian facilities were made during the Friday prayer sermons in several other cities, including Esfahan, Arak, Bushehr, Ilam, and Ahvaz. 

Iran told the IAEA it plans to remove more monitoring equipment after the 35-member IAEA board Wednesday passed the resolution. Tehran says it intends to maintain a basic level of monitoring and inspectors’ access as required under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The contents of Friday Prayer sermons delivered by Khamenei's local representatives in various cities are dictated by two state bodies close to Khamenei's office, officially known as "The Policy-making Council for Friday Prayer Imams" and the "Friday Prayer Headquarters," both dominated by hardliner clerics.

Maduro, who arrived in Tehran on Friday one day ahead of the announced schedule, made the remarks in an interview with Iran's state-run Spanish-language television channel Hispan TV.

He also announced that a 20-year cooperation plan with Iran will be signed between the two countries.

Describing Venezuela and Iran as the pioneers of shaping a world free of imperialism and dominant powers, Maduro said, “The era of the United States' military dominance of the world is over.”

He also urged sharing know-how with Iran in all fields, and hailed the Islamic Republic's “courageous move” to send fuel tankers to his energy-hungry nation despite US sanctions and threats.

He added that the delegation accompanying him to Tehran is aiming at facilitating further investments from Iran, noting that Iranians’ willingness to work in Venezuela indicates that resisting the US sanctions will eventually bear fruit.

Iran and Venezuela have been slapped with sanctions by the US, which doesn’t currently import oil from either nation, and has in recent years reimposed sanctions on Iranian state entities, including the national oil company NIOC, and in 2019 blacklisted PDVSA.

The two countries strengthened their cooperation in 2020, with Venezuela importing condensate from Iran, key to thinning its extra-thick crude oil. Iran has also stepped in to help its South American ally with engineers, refined products and spare parts for its oil industry.

In line with efforts to stop Tehran’s flourishing drone program, “the bipartisan legislation would amend the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to make clear that supporting the supply, sale or transfer to or from Iran of UAVs, or providing other assistance related to UAVs, is sanctionable under US law,” the committee Chairman Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said in a statement on Thursday.

“As evinced by Iran’s drone attacks on Israeli shipping, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and Iran-backed militia attacks on US facilities across Iraq... Iran’s reckless use and export of lethal drones to proxies and terrorist actors across the Middle East represents a significant threat to US national security and that of our allies and partners,” Menendez said, adding that “I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure swift passage on the Senate floor and ultimate enactment of this bipartisan legislation into law.”

The House of Representatives passed the legislation late in April but it requires approval from the Senate and a presidential signature to become law.

“Iran’s regional terrorism continues to threaten not only the safety and security of our partners in the Middle East, but also American national security interests. Drones have rapidly become Iran’s weapon of choice,” Risch noted.

The Canadian government updated its travel advisory on Wednesday, pointing out that there is no resident Canadian government office in Iran, therefore the ability of Canadian officials to provide consular assistance is extremely limited.

The advisory said that Canadians in Iran may be closely watched by Iranian authorities, noting that seemingly innocuous behaviors, such as the use of cameras in public places, travel beyond well-established tourist attractions or casual interactions with Iranian friends, may be misinterpreted and may lead to investigation. Canadians in Iran could also face kidnapping and petty crimes, and women visitors may face sexual harassment. 

The advisory update came as Canada announced on Tuesday that it has notified Iran of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice’s ruling that IRGC’s downing of Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 was intentional. The airliner was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the IRGC on January 8, 2020, as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. 

Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, citing its support to the Syrian government, non-compliance with United Nations resolutions over the nuclear program, and fears for Canadian diplomats after protestors stormed the British embassy. 

Earlier in the week, the US also upgraded its Iran Travel Advisory to Level 4, which asked its citizens not to travel to the country, due to the risk of kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest and detention.

The parliament, which has still not adopted its budget for 2022, approved the law relating to "food security and development" totaling 25 trillion Iraqi dinars, approximately over $17 billion.

Of that, $2.6 billion will be allocated to settling Iraq's gas and electricity debts, as well as for buying further energy supplies from abroad, and about $3.4 billion will be used to buy cereals, including large volumes of wheat supplies from both the domestic market and abroad.

Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet energy needs, especially from neighboring Iran, which currently provides a third of Iraq's gas and electricity needs. 

Iran had demanded Iraq pay $1.6 billion it owes for gas imports by the start of June to guarantee further supplies, as it is cutting or reducing supplies regularly due to its own shortages. 

The debt to Iran, which has sharply reduced its gas exports in recent days, dates back to 2020, but payment was stalled amid sanctions against Iran by the United States, which means that Baghdad cannot pay directly for energy imports in cash.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said that Iran has "promised to restore the needed supply of gas in the coming days.”

Electricity demand surges in Iraq as people seek to keep cool as the country enters the intense heat of the summer, when temperatures soar to over 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).