Second Powerful Quake Jolts Western Afghanistan

Iranian media on Sunday quoted Ali Motahari, former deputy speaker of the Islamic Republic’s parliament, who often appears as a voice of moderation on some issues, called the Lebanese Hezbollah and Syria “Iran’s forces”.

He stated that “We should not be indifferent until the operation starts,” and added that Iran’s allies should “play a deterrent role.”

Motahari called for “all the means prepared in past years should be deployed. Naturally, such plans should already exist. Mr. Amir-Abdollahian’s [foreign minister] trip to Syria and Lebanon showed that such coordination is taking place. He did mention that if a ground attack takes place against Gaza, others in the resistance front will become active.”

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who visited Qatar on Saturday met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, leading to calls by many observers for the United States to push Qatar to distance itself from Palestinian militants.

A senior Israeli official accused Iran on Sunday of trying to open a second war front by deploying weapons in or through Syria as Israel steps up its counter-offensive in Gaza to the south.

Responding to a post of the X social-media platform that posited such a scenario, Joshua Zarka, head of strategic affairs for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said: "They (Iranians) are."

The original post also said "the Israelis are determined to prevent" such developments. To that, Zarka responded" "We are."

Syria accused Israel of carrying out strikes against Damascus and Aleppo airports last week.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has always encouraged self-sufficiency in wheat production as a strategic crop. The government purchases farmers’ crops at a guaranteed price announced before the beginning of every crop year towards this goal. 

Bread, which is heavily subsidized, is a major staple in the Iranians’ diet the shortage of which may instigate massive popular discontent or even protests and riots. 

In the past few weeks, government officials have repeatedly claimed that the new prices, which should have been announced by July 22, would be revealed “soon”. But nearly three weeks after the start of Iran's farming year (September 23) confusion still reigns and many wheat producers have not begun planting winter seeds for harvest in spring, unsure whether new rates will justify higher production costs resulting from inflation. 

Meanwhile, Arsalan Ghasemi, chairman of the agriculture and food industries committee of the Agricultural Trade Chamber told Fars news agency Friday that the Planning and Budget Organization has not authorized the payment of around 25 percent of the government’s debts to farmers for the crops purchased last year due to its allocated budget having run out. 

“Farmers will lose their trust [in the government] due to the Planning and Budget Organization’s approach. This is harmful to self-sufficiency in wheat and production of basic commodities in the country,” he said. 

Iran has attained self-sufficiency in wheat production a few times since 2004 but in most years the government has had to import more than half of the country’s wheat required for bread, seed, and food industries. Wheat imports surged to seven million tons in 2013 and a record nine million tons 2021 when domestic crops were hit by the worst drought in the past fifty years. 

Iranians consume over 160 kilograms of bread annually and rank second in the world per capita consumption of bread after Turkey. The country requires at least 14 million metric tons of wheat for bread and production of other foodstuff such as pasta. 

According to Deputy Agriculture Minister Mojtaba Khayam-Nekouei, the government purchased 9.7 million tons of wheat from farmers at the guaranteed price of 150,000,000 rials per ton (under $500) during the previous crop year. This is roughly competitive with international market prices.

Farmers demand a much higher payment for the current year arguing that Iran’s 50-percent annual inflation has hugely increased all their production costs including labor. 

Jafar Hosseini, an advisor to the Chamber of Agricultural Unions, said Friday that the government’s guaranteed price, which it was supposed to announce before July 22, has been set at 195,000 rials per kilo. He said anything less could dissuade farmers from planting. According to Hosseini, other farmers including those producing oil seeds are facing similar problems as wheat producers. 

Bread prices have jumped by up to 40 percent in most provinces since March despite officials underlining before that the price of bread was President Ebrahim Raisi’s “redline”. The hike in the price of bread was a result of a government decision to scrap the subsidy for imported wheat, flour and other essential items.

Iran is among the world’s top twenty producers of wheat. The country ranked 12 globally in 2022 with 15 million tons and also a major importer. 

In recent years the area under wheat cultivation has increased to around five million hectares nearly 3.5 million hectares of which is rainfed. 

Abbas Golroo said, "The Americans ... sent us a message not to get involved in the war".

Shortly after the attack launched when thousands of Hamas militants infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air, the US began moving warships and aircraft to the region in support of Israel and as a warning to the regime.

On Friday, a second carrier strike group will begin making its way to the Mediterranean in addition to scores of aircraft already heading to US military bases around the Middle East.

Munitions have already arrived in Israel and special operations forces are now assisting Israel’s military in planning and intelligence.

While thousands of Israelis and Palestinians are dying in the war declared by Hamas last Saturday in the single most deadly day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, he said the Hamas onslaught is a “legitimate defense” as per the United Nations Charter.

He made the remarks on Saturday as the regime's top leadership expressed solidarity with the terror group for the unprecedented attack which took Israel by surprise on a religious holiday in a haunting reminder of the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago.

“The operation carried out by Palestinians was notably intricate, involving elements of cyber warfare, drones, aerial assaults, ground advancements, and field actions," he said. "It was executed with an element of surprise, resulting in casualties and significant damage to Israel.”

Golroo added that the Islamic Republic has consistently shown support for Palestine, and it has provided assistance, indicating a long-standing commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Reza Rasaei was handed the death penalty by the second branch of the Kermanshah Province Criminal Court on Friday. He was accused of the murder of Nader Beirami, head of the Intelligence of the Revolutionary Guards in Sanandaj, during a violent protest last November.

According to Dadban, a group of pro-bono lawyers in Iran dedicated to defending political prisoners and rights activists, Beirami was killed following a clash between security and law enforcement forces and protesters.

Approximately one week after the incident, Rasaei and ten other citizens were arrested on charges of participating in the assault and injury of Beirami solely for their presence at the protest.

Security authorities attributed Beirami's murder to Rasaei without any evidence, witnesses, or documents, as reported by various human rights organizations including Dadban and Hengaw.

The spokesperson for the judiciary of the Islamic Republic had previously announced that 52 individuals had been arrested in connection with Beirami's murder.

The Yarsan faith, also known as Ahl-e Haqq, is one of the oldest Middle Eastern religious traditions with about three million followers in Iran, primarily in western Kurdish areas, and 120,000 to 150,000 in Iraq known as Kaka'i.

Yarsan adherents have encountered challenges, including the inability to register their children as Yarsan at birth, restrictions on building places of worship, and the fear of persecution for printing their holy book.

President Ebrahim Raisi held a telephone call with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The two sides praised bilateral ties and discussed what the situation of Gaza, where Israel is preparing a ground offensive.

While the Iranian president accused Israel of genocide and condemned the United States for rendering support to the Jewish state, the Qatari Emir emphasized that without the realization of Palestinian rights there would be no stability in the region.

Iran foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Qatar, after a regional tour of Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. He held talks with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

A video on social media also showed the Iranian foreign minister meeting Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar.

Qatar’s official news agency reported that Sheikh Jasem al Thani “stressed, during the meeting, the necessity of working towards an immediate ceasefire, protecting civilians and releasing prisoners, and the danger of the expansion of violence and the cycle of conflict in the region, which will have dire consequences if it expands.

The Iranian and Qatari official media did not provide more information about the details of discussion between the top leaders and chief diplomats of the two countries. Amir-Abdollahian earlier in Lebanon threatened that Iran’s proxy forces are ready to join the conflict.