EU To Sanction More IRGC Members

Nournews, believed to reflect Shamkhani’s views published a short news saying that a tweet by the long-time regime insider shows that his resignation is “certain.” The website did not provide any further details.

Official sources or government media have not reported or confirmed Shamkhani’s resignation.

Shamkhani was appointed in his position in 2013, Prior to that he was defense minister and commander of Iran’s army and IRGC navies. He was a member of the Revolutionary Guard from the early days of the revolution and has been serving as advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In recent weeks there were rumors about Shamkhani stepping aside as Secretary of the security council, although he was dispatched to China in early March to sign an agreement with Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic relations after seven years of tensions and frictions.

There have been many rumors and accusations about Shamkhani’s sons owning many businesses, including large shipping companies.

Other unconfirmed reports said that he will likely be replaced by Gen. Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, or perhaps by Gen. Rahim Safavi, both long-time high-ranking IRGC officers.

Ahmadian, 62, with the rank of Vice-Admiral served as Chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Joint Staff in 2000s and later as head of IRGC’s strategic center.

Iranian media reports that the border guards spotted a group of armed men near the border in Saravan, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The five officers were killed in the ensuing confrontation with the “terrorist group” on Saturday night.

Two other guards were left seriously injured and are in a critical condition, it was also reported.

There is no information about the affiliation of the armed group, but several Baluch groups from the area are fighting an insurgency against the Islamic Republic.

The most prominent is Jaish al-Adl, which has often targeted Iran's military, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Saturday’s clash comes only a few weeks after the head of the Saravan Intelligence Police, Alireza Shahraki, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.

Baluchestan news website Halvash reported that Shahraki had used "extremely violent" methods against detainees for years.

In recent months, the situation in Sistan-Baluchistan has dramatically worsened. The area’s cities have become very tense, especially on Fridays, when residents come out to protest against the regime.

There have reports of numerous attacks on military and government forces in the province in the months since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini last year sparked protests nationwide.

The G7 summit strongly criticized Iran’s nuclear, human rights and regional policies in its final communiqué in direct and no uncertain terms.

The main trust of the G7 statement was Iran’s nuclear program, which is advancing by more uranium enrichment, without much international monitoring or the prospect of an agreement to limit its scope.

“We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon. We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s unabated escalation of its nuclear program, which has no credible civilian justification and brings it dangerously close to actual weapon-related activities,” the final communiqué said.

However, the G7 also reiterated that a diplomatic solution “remains the best way to resolve this issue.”

Talks lasting 18 months form April 2021 to August 2022 between the signatories of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear accord reached a deadlock last September, and the United States pulled back from the process, saying that Iran destroyed the chances for a deal in the 11th hour.

The Arab League meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia did not mention Iran in its final declaration, but one particular clause was clearly aimed at Tehran’s regional activities aimed at building armed proxy groups in Arab countries.

“We call for stopping foreign interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries and categorically reject all support for the formation of armed groups and militias outside the scope of state institutions,” the statement said.

However, it was reported that two other sections in the draft document were deleted from the final declaration. One reiterated Arab support for territorial claims by the United Arab Emirates from Iran, and the other a positive remark about restoration of ties between Riyadh and Tehran.

The UAE has periodically raised the issue of three small islands in the Persian Gulf that the former Iranian imperial government took over in 1971 as British forces guarding the littoral Arab sheikdoms withdrew from the region.

Iranian media reported Sunday that the two sections were deleted from the final declaration apparently as a result of a compromise.

Which Arab League states objected to the inclusion of the territorial claim remains unclear, but the presence of Iran’s ally, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad at the summit could have played a role. It would have been extremely embarrassing for Assad to put his name on a statement that would include such a demand while he still depends on the Iranian regime both militarily and economically.

Iran is still unhappy with the Arab summit despite this victory. Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani Sunday criticized the language in the final communique, saying Iran expected the meeting to forego “repetitive and tiresome claims” against Iran.

However, the more serious rebuke Iran received was undoubtedly the G7 declaration, which also slammed Tehran’s human rights record, its regional policies, and its military support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

“We express our grave concern regarding Iran’s continued destabilizing activities, including the transfer of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related technologies to state and non-state actors and proxy groups, in breach of UNSCRs including 2231 and 2216.”

The tone of the G7 statement about violations of UN resolutions is ominous for the Islamic Republic.

The accumulation of its unabated uranium enrichment, regional interventions that fueled recent Israeli Palestinian fighting, and its provision of weapons for Russia can all add up and lead to an effort by the West to revive international sanctions against Tehran.

According to Fars, firefighters are attempting to extinguish the blaze after the warehouse for automobile and motorcycle parts caught fire in Razi Square, in the south of the Iranian capital.

Seventeen people have been injured, and several have been taken to hospital, Tehran Emergency Service said.

The cause of the fire and the value of property damaged are unknown.

Last month a large fire broke out across three warehouses of a home appliances manufacturer in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The semi-official ISNA news agency reported that the building belonged to Electrosteel, a large and well-known company in Iran.

There have been a number of explosions and fires near Iran’s military, nuclear and industrial facilities in recent years.

Earlier this month, media in Iran reported that a large fire broke out at a power plant west of the Iranian city Esfahan (Isfahan) and was extinguished within a few hours.

Several unconfirmed sources reported hearing an explosion at the plant, claiming that it was a result of drone attacks, but this was not confirmed by officials.

The Esfahan thermal power plant – also known as Shahid Abbaspour – in Dorcheh near the central city of Esfahan has five units with a total generation capacity of 830 Megawatts.

On January 28, a huge fire erupted at an Iranian military industry factory following a suspected drone strike in the central city of Esfahan.

Iran blamed Israel for the drone attack, vowing revenge.

The measures were announced on Friday by the Group of Seven (G7) - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US.

The move, imposing sanctions on more than 300 targets including those in Iran, comes at the start of a three-day summit of the G7’s leaders in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

"This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine," the leaders said in a joint statement released on Friday, adding they would particularly target Russian revenues from trade in metals and diamonds. estimated to be worth about $4-5 billion a year.

The State Department also designated two Iranian shipping companies, a port operator and a maritime service provider it said were part of deepening ties between Russia and Iran.

US Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement: "Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions."

The G7 leaders will be joined this weekend by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to attend an Arab League summit to canvas support for his people.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed his readiness to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.