Biden Saudi Jibe Raises Question Over Balance In the Region

Speaking via video link at the G7 summit, Zelensky appealed to the leaders of the G7 countries with a request to provide air defense and missile defense systems of medium and long range, and added that such systems will create a layered defense system.

"An air shield for Ukraine. This is part of the security guarantees that are an element of our formula for peace. When Ukraine receives a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, the key element of Russian terror – missile strikes – will stop working," he said.

He thanked those countries that have already provided air defense system, “which makes it possible to neutralize some of the Russian missiles and drones. But Russia has ordered 2,400 Shaheds in Iran alone, according to our intelligence."

Addressing the leaders of Western powers each by name Zelensky said, “We are very much looking forward to the delivery of SAMP-T systems. And if possible, they are needed in the coming months.”

Zelensky said Monday, October 10, Russia had used Iran-made drones to attack dozens of civilian targets in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military claimed on October 8 that Russia has sent Iranian military drones to Belarus for possible attacks in western or central parts of Ukraine.

The National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken October 11, asking the Administration “to reassess its prevailing policy toward Iran and the team of diplomats tasked to implement it.”

NUFDI argues in the letter that current protests show Iranians are determined to change the clerical regime and US policy is outdated and does not address the current reality.

The letter specifically asks Blinken to consider replacing US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley and his deputy Jarret Blanc who “have focused their efforts almost exclusively on securing a new nuclear accord” with Iran. It added that they “have not only failed to achieve this objective; they have also largely ignored every other US foreign policy” consideration.

President Joe Biden’s appointment of Malley who was one of the Obama era officials responsible for negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, has always been controversial among those who consider the accord as deficient and incompatible with US national interests.

The letter asks Blinken to “reformulate” Iran policy basing it on human rights and democracy, “limit allocation of resources” for achieving a nuclear deal, appoint a US Special Representative to the Iranian people, implement new sanctions and “devise…measures to provide material support to the Iranian people.”

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday that "This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border," referring to the significant compromise that would open the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of tensions between states with a history of war and hostility. 

In Lebanon, President Michel Aoun said the terms of the final US proposal were satisfactory and he hoped the deal would be announced as soon as possible.

The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas. Israel is already producing natural gas at fields nearby. The deal establishes a mechanism for both countries to get royalties from TotalEnergies' exploration of the offshore gas field that straddles the boundary.

Last week, Lapid instructed negotiators to turn down Lebanon’s requested modifications, saying that any further negotiations would cease permanently if Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement threatens or attacks Israel's Karish gas rig. 

Earlier in October, Lapid said that as per the arrangement gas would be produced by a company under a Lebanese license in the disputed Qana prospect, with Israel receiving a share of revenues.

“Such a field would weaken Lebanese dependency on Iran, restrain Hezbollah and bring regional stability," he said.

“I hope to speak to the Iranian foreign minister today to ask once again for the immediate release of all our compatriots,” Colonna told France Inter radio. The minister said she expected a meeting of European Union foreign ministers October 17 to “validate” a set of sanctions against Iran targeting those “behind the repression.”

France Monday advised nationals against going to Iran for any reason and directed those there “to limit their movements…to imperatively avoid any type of gathering and to make themselves known to the French Embassy in Tehran.”

The five French detainees include Cecile Kohler, a trade union leader, and her partner Jacques Paris, who were arrested in May, accused of involvement in teachers’ protests seeking higher pay, and whose ‘confessions’ aired last week on an Iranian state television station. The pair said they were in Iran on holiday. A trailer on the Arabic-language Al-Alam station said they had arrived with “packets of money.”

Also in jail is French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, arrested 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for “undermining national security.” Another French citizen, Benjamin Briere, was arrested in May 2020 and sentenced to eight years and eight months for espionage, without due process of law.

‘Adhere to the rules’

After the recent outbreak of protests following the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest in Tehran by ‘morality police,’ Iran said late September it had detained nine foreign nationals linked to unrest, including those from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that foreigners “should adhere to the rules and regulations and not enter into issues that are basically not within the scope of the normal travel of foreign citizens.”

The French embassy in Tehran Tuesday announced delays in processing visa applications from Iranians due to “the internet filtering the Iranian authorities have decided to do.” Harmatullah Rafiei, head of a leading tourism association, had earlier suggested some European embassies had suspended processing Schengen visas. Iran argues that social media has been used by foreign-based groups to foment violence including attacks on ambulances.

‘Brutal suppression’

The European Union has as yet given no indication of what sanctions may be agreed at the foreign ministers’ meeting October 17. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told Bild am Sonntag, a Sunday newspaper, that Berlin would support measures freezing the assets and banning the EU entry of those responsible for “brutal suppression,” referring to antigovernment protests.

While Baerbock did not name any persons or organizations, the United Kingdom announced Monday it was sanctioning Iran’s ‘morality police,’ the police’s national head Mohammad Rostami and its Tehran chief Ahmad Mirzaei, and well as national police chief Hossein Ashtari and other officials, whom it accused of “serious human rights violations.” Tehran summoned the British ambassador Monday evening to protest over ‘interference in internal affairs.’

In a statement on Monday, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, “We are extremely concerned by continuing reports of children and adolescents being killed, injured and detained amid the ongoing public unrest in Iran.”

Describing violence against children – by anyone and in any context – as “indefensible,” she called for “the protection of all children from all forms of violence and harm, including during conflict and political events.”

Echoing the UN Secretary-General’s call to the authorities to refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force, she said that “Children and adolescents must be able to exercise their rights in a safe and peaceful manner at all times.”

According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization said on Saturday, October 8, that at least 19 children have been killed in protests across Iran since mid-September, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed in custody of hijab police. The Oslo-based organization added that at least 185 people have been killed in the government’s crackdown on the uprising. 

The protests first erupted in Mahsa Amini’s hometown Saqqez and capital Tehran and soon spread to other cities and garnered support from Iranian expatriate communities around the world as well as foreign governments and officials.