Iran Set To Give Its Final Response To EU-Proposed Text By Midnight

Senior advisor to the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Ali Balali, said that the exercises are being held as part of the 7th round of the international UAV competitions inaugurated in the central Iranian city of Kashan on Monday and will last for two weeks. 

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel reiterated on August 10 that Russian officials have undergone training in Iran in recent weeks as part of an agreement on the transfer of drones from the Islamic Republic. 

More than 70 military personnel of the four countries will compete in five stages of physical fitness and shooting and four UAV divisions, including aerial reconnaissance in three days, air support and artillery fire adjustment, reconnaissance at night and continuous reconnaissance. 

Balali added that the event is aimed at conveying Iran’s message of peace and friendship, and transfer of experiences and military achievements with other countries. 

An advisor to the Ukrainian President’s Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, said earlier in the month that Russia is using Iranian-provided military drones in its invasion of Ukraine, noting that Iran handed 46 drones over to Russia and that the Ukrainian government has already confirmed the use of these drones in combat in Ukraine. 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned twice in July that Moscow appears to be looking at buying Iranian drones and Russian officers even visited a drone base in Iran’s Kashan to review their options.

Cruz tweeted that “The Ayatollahs have been trying to murder Salman Rushdie for decades. Their incitement and their contacts with this terrorist resulted in an attack.”

Urging condemnation of “this vicious terrorist attack,” he said that “the Biden admin must finally cease appeasing the Iranian regime.”

On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry denied any links with Hadi Matar, apparently a pro-Iran fanatic that stabbed the author at an event in New York state on Friday, nearly killing him. The ministry's spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, "Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular outrage by insulting Islamic sanctities and crossing the red lines of 1.5 billion Muslims. During the attack on Salman Rushdie, we do not consider anyone other than himself and his supporters worthy of reproach, reproach and condemnation...No one has the right to accuse Iran in this regard."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the first senior US official to mention Iran in relation to the attempted murder in a statement on Sunday.

Amid nuclear negotiations with Tehran, President Joe Biden avoided mentioning Iran in his August 13 statement condemning the attack on the renowned British-American author.

At the same time, Vice News reported on Sunday that the 24-year-old attacker had been in contact with elements of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, according to European and Middle Eastern intelligence sources.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, "Clearly it is ludicrous to suggest that Salman Rushdie was in any way responsible for this abhorrent attack on him.”

"This was not just an attack on him, it was an attack on the right to free speech and expression and the UK government stands both by him and his family, but equally we stand in defense of free speech around the world."

Earlier in the day, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani repeated Iran's position that Rushdie had insulted Prophet Muhammed and is guilty. "Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular outrage by insulting Islamic sanctities and crossing the red lines of 1.5 billion Muslims," Kanaani said. "We do not consider anyone other than himself and his supporters worthy of reproach and condemnation...No one has the right to accuse Iran in this regard."

On Saturday, prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak said the UK must sanction Iran over the attack on Rushdie as police believe the perpetrator was sympathetic to Shiite extremism and IRGC.

Hadi Matar, the pro-Iran fanatic that stabbed the author at an event in New York state on Friday, was charged with attempted murder on Saturday, August 13.

A preliminary investigation by police suggested he was sympathetic to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, as his Facebook account featured pictures of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC general who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020, and Iran’s Supreme Leader.

According to the Syrian army, three servicemen were killed and three were wounded in two simultaneous attacks south of the province of Tartous, and another on the northeastern outskirts of capital Damascus.

Two Syrian military defectors familiar with the region said that the strikes on the capital hit outposts run by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group. An Iranian base near the village of Abu Afsa, south of the port city of Tartous was targeted alongside an air defense and radar station nearby, a source said on condition of anonymity.

Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes mostly since 2017 against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces have deployed over the last decade to support Assad in Syria's war, but has mostly avoided hitting the coastal provinces where Russia's main military assets are concentrated.

Russian forces in Syria normally turn a blind eye to Israeli airstrikes against suspected Iranian-sponsored deployments and arms transfers.

Tartus, along with the Khmeimim air base in the nearby province of Latakia, are the main Russian bases in the country, which are reportedly being taken over by Iran forces and Hezbollah as Russia has begun pulling out its troops from Syria to bolster forces in Ukraine.

“We are close to an agreement provided that Iran’s red lines are respected,” Nasser Kanaani told his weekly briefing. “Relative progress has been achieved, but these advances have not fully satisfied Iran’s legal demands, and we have other expectations from the other side…”

Kanaani said consultations “at the highest level” had taken place and were “continuing.” Decisions over the nuclear program rest with the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), which has around 23 members, although are likely to be shaped by more informal meetings with Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader.

Although Iran may soon send its repsonse to the EU, it does not mean a final agreement. Iran statements show that Tehran is still determined to haggle for more concessions.

The official news agency IRNA cited Friday a “senior Iranian diplomat” that a European Union text presented August 8 by Enrique Mora, who has coordinated 18-month talks with world powers including the United States, “can be acceptable if it provides assurances."

August 15 deadline?

The Wall Street Journal August 9 cited “two people with knowledge of the discussions” suggesting the EU had set an August 15 deadline for an Iranian response, although the newspaper also quoted Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency saying it wasn’t for the EU to issue ultimatums.

Reuters news agency Friday quoted a European official suggesting an answer was expected from Iran within “a very, very few weeks.” A tweet from Iranian journalist Sara Massoumi Monday reported that Iran would respond by the end of Monday, August 15.

While European and American officials presented the Mora document as a “final text,” Iran reacted to it rather as a set of suggestions for restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). IRNA called it “some ideas concerning some of the remaining issues.”

As Iranian and US negotiations left Vienna August 8 after the most recent round of nuclear talks, Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, tweeted that while “what can be negotiated has been negotiated” and that “behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals.”

Tehran Denies Rushdie Role

Opponents of the JCPOA in Washington seized on Friday’s attack on writer Salman Rushdie as further justification for breaking off talks with Iran, while some commentators in Iran have detected a plot designed to undermine efforts to revive the JCPOA.

Iran Monday rejected any connection with the stabbing of the author of the 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, deemed blasphemous by some Muslims. Suspect Hadi Mattar has denied a charge of attempted murder.

A statement Sunday from Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, on the Rushdie assault made no reference to the JCPOA talks: “Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life. This is despicable.”