Regime Tightens House Arrest For Iranian Dissident Figure

In a statement published by the spokesperson of National Resistance Front, Sibghatullah Ahmadi, the group said the action was taken despite the Front’s concerns about its “adverse consequences”.

“Nonetheless, [Iran] allowed the representatives of the illegitimate and the terrorist group of Taliban to enter the diplomatic mission of Afghanistan.”

It also warned that the political presence of the Taliban in Iran, with its “dark history” is “perilous”, especially for the millions of refugees who have sought protection in Iran.

“Handing over the diplomatic mission of Afghanistan in Iran to a group that is a murderer of the people of Afghanistan…is dubious and contains an unpleasant message to the people of Afghanistan and other countries.”

The statement expressed regret about the embassy takeover by a “criminal group”, adding that this situation will not last long.

Iran has good relations with the Taliban and also ties to the resistance front that comprises more non-Pashtun, Persian speaking Afghans.

Afghanistan’s embassy in Tehran was “formally” handed over to the Taliban on Sunday afternoon, according to an Afghan diplomat in Iran.

Sources say the Taliban has appointed Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, the first secretary of the former ambassador of Afghanistan in Iran, as the group’s charge d’affaires in Tehran.

Iran is the third country after Pakistan and Russia that handed the Afghan embassy to the Taliban.

General Salami said the Islamic Republic is ready to play an effective role in Iraq. He further noted that in addition to advisory assistance and exchange of experiences, the IRGC is ready to train Iraqi armed forces at different levels.

Salami made the comments during his Monday meeting with Iraq’s Defense Minister Thabet Mohammad Said Reda.

“We are after a strong Iraq while the Americans and Zionists are seeking to dominate the region and create insecurity in Iraq and Iran,” added Salami.

Iran’s IRGC created large militia forces in Iraq in mid-2010s to fight against the Islamic State group, but also uses them to maintain influence in Iraqi politics. Many Iraqis have protested against Tehran’s interference in their country.

Iran's defense minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, also stressed on Sunday that Iran is willing to share its expertise with Iraq to help it achieve "independence" and "self-sufficiency" in the military and defense industry.

Ashtiani's remarks came in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Reda, who arrived in the Iranian capital on an official visit on Friday.

"Iran and Iraq share a close geopolitical connection that encompasses national, religious, cultural, economic, and energy-related areas. We should cherish this connection as a factor of unity and solidarity between the two countries. It is a strong point that the enemies of both countries want to undermine," he said.

Disqualifications have been so widespread that the actual elections of chambers of commerce, industries, mines and agriculture often referred to as “private sector’s parliament”, had to be postponed from February 29 to March 10 to allow investigation of candidates’ complaints.

Mehdi Karbasian, a former deputy minister of industries, mines and trade, who represents several high-profile companies, and Masoud Khansari, the incumbent chairman of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, the most influential chamber in the country, are among the candidates who have been disqualified.

Khansari had recently disclosed more than $10 billion of capital outflow from Iran per year.

In a commentary entitled “Butchering Chamber of Commerce Election [Candidates] Following Increase of Businessmen’s Criticism of Raisi Government”, Aftab News website on Saturday said disqualified candidates believe due to profuse criticisms of the government policies by businessmen and chambers, the ministry of industries, mines and trade has decided to take control and only allow its own supporters to take the key positions.

Iran’s economic crisis has deepened in recent months as the national currency has lost more than half of its value and hyper-inflation is feared in the next few months. Prominent businessmen holding positions in chambers of commerce have urged the government to change its foreign policy and end US economic sanctions.

The vetting was based on a recent regulation that required candidates to have at least two consecutive years of membership in chambers of commerce, to have paid insurance for a minimum of twenty employees during the past year, to have had a minimum annual turnover of 150 billion rials, and to have also been awarded for exports by the Trade Development Organization.

The boards in every city where the chamber of commerce elections were to be held consist of representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of Iran and the ministry of industries, mines and trade.

One of the barred candidates who did not want to be named, told Aftab News that that disqualifications were more a result of the candidates’ political leanings than the new regulations. “The ministry of industries, mines and trade and the government are trying hard to shift the control of the chambers, particularly the chambers of Iran and Tehran, to a certain political faction,” he said.

Aftab News which is believed to be close to former President Hassan Rouhani and the Moderation and Development Party, said most of the disqualified candidates have reformist affiliations.

The reformist Etemad newspaper wrote last week that those who are currently key members of the chambers were very unlikely to be allowed to run again. The newspaper predicted that the elections of the “private sector parliament” would be engineered to shift the control to government supporters.

The current chairman of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Gholam-Hossein Shafei and some other high profile former members did not nominate themselves to run.

Chambers of commerce often produce economic reports that the government finds embarrassing while some prominent members such as Shafei have been vocal critics of the government’s lack of communication with representatives of the private sector over its economic policies.

Shafei recently strongly criticized the government’s proposed budget arguing that it would create serious challenges for the private sector.

Referring to the current foreign exchange rate crisis Saturday, a member of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Ahmadreza Farshchian, described the past four years as the most difficult years for the private sector since the end of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).

In an emailed statement to Al Arabiya English, the US State Department warned the clerical regime that “any attempt to harm US citizens, including those who served in the past, would be met with a strong response.”

Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, on Saturday spoke of Iran's often repeated threat to avenge the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s top military and intelligence operator in the Middle East, saying "We are looking to kill (former US President Donald) Trump."

"God willing, we are looking to kill Trump. (Former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo ... and military commanders who issued the order (to kill Soleimani) should be killed," Hajizadeh said in the televised interview.

A US State Department spokesperson also reiterated Washington’s commitment to work with its allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran.

“Iran would test our resolve to protect our citizens at great peril. As the Administration has consistently made clear, the United States will protect and defend its citizens. This includes those serving the United States now and those who served in the past,” a State Department spokesperson said.

Esmail Khatib said that "The enemies faked an operation in Karaj so that they could use it to gain prestige for themselves, but such fake news and propaganda will have a short life."

He did not clearly say if there was an attack and what was targeted, although there was visual evidence of explosions and anti-aircraft fire.

On Thursday night, residents in the area reported on social media that first a series of explosions were heard, and then anti-aircraft guns began firing into the air.

One of the videos shared by the citizens showed anti-aircraft tracer rounds soaring into the sky as an explosion could also be seen on the ground. There was no prior public notification of planned military exercises.

However, the official government news website IRNA citing an informed source, described the event as military drills by the IRGC near Karaj, during which targets were attacked by anti-aircraft systems.

A military installation in the central province of Esfahan was recently attacked by unknown drones and the Islamic Republic claimed Israel was behind the attack; however, the Israeli authorities did not comment on the matter.

Regarding the Esfahan attack, Khatib said “a team was arrested in Esfahan, and despite the training they received, it failed to carry out its operation.”