Iran Military Adviser Emphasizes Continued Red Sea Blockade

Zarif said that "The era of permanent alliances is gradually coming to an end, and if it weren't for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO would have faced an identity crisis."

He highlighted the dilemma of contradictory loyalties faced by Iran, noting that “viewing the world in polar terms often results in unfulfilled expectations.”

He highlighted instances where Iran anticipated support from Russia and China in vetoing nuclear resolutions, only to be disappointed.

Talking about Iran’s nuclear activities, he said the complexities surrounding the Iranian nuclear dossier could be addressed through “wise negotiations.”

It is not the first time Zarif has criticized Iran's approach to its relations with Russia. Last year, he remarked on Tehran's flawed understanding of its ties with Moscow, cautioning against expecting unwavering support from Russia, which prioritizes its own interests.

Zarif's comments came after escalating tensions between Iran and Russia, exemplified by a joint Russia-GCC statement expressing support for the United Arab Emirates' demand concerning three Iranian islands, further straining relations between the two nations.

Last year, Zarif speculated on the emergence of a new dominating power, suggesting that China's strength lies in its trade and technology prowess. He proposed a move towards a global network rather than a bipolar or unipolar world order.

Dozens of villages have been affected with citizens independently working to reopen roads to deliver aid. Frustration mounts among local residents as governmental aid remains scarce. "Not even a helicopter has been sent for aid to the flood victims of Sistan and Baluchestan; only provincial and national officials flew over once and left!" remarked a local official.

Finally, after over a week of silence, government authorities have acknowledged the crisis. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei admitted on Tuesday that the floods have inflicted significant damage on the people of Sistan and Baluchestan in a nod to the disaster facing the population.

President Ebrahim Raisi started a tour of the region on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Sepehr Khalaji, Raisi’s chief publicity man, reacted to the criticism about the government’s handling of the situation, saying that although the Interior Ministry was busy with the elections, rescue and relief teams were dispatched and the minister himself visited the flood-affected areas. “All necessary work has been done... people are not abandoned.”

On Tuesday, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, the Minister of Energy, traveled to Sistan-Baluchestan to assess the extent of damage to infrastructure, according to reports from media affiliated with the government in Iran.

Despite claims from government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi that relief efforts were initiated promptly, access roads to 46 flood-affected villages remain blocked, and 31 villages are still grappling with water shortages.

Since the floods began on February 25, more than 10,000 people have been affected. Official reports indicate the destruction of at least 300 homes and damage to over 1,500 others. Agricultural land, orchards, wells, greenhouses, livestock units, and historical sites have also suffered extensive damage.

Mojtaba Saadatian, the deputy for cultural heritage, handicrafts, and tourism of Sistan and Baluchestan, stated that due to the extreme weather, 37 historical sites in the province have been damaged.

The crisis looks set to continue over the coming days as the Meteorological Organization forecasts intensifying rainfall. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 further rattled the province, highlighting the vulnerability of the affected areas.

Criticism mounts against governmental priorities, with citizens accusing authorities of neglecting flood victims in favor of political pursuits. Reports emerged of ballot boxes for Friday's elections being dispatched to flood-affected areas amidst the ongoing crisis, fueling public outrage.

Mowlavi Abdolhamid, the outspoken Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, has condemned the government's failure to plan and provide infrastructure to mitigate floods. Calls for assistance persist, with appeals for heating appliances, blankets, mattresses, hygiene items, food supplies, mineral water, and tents to support flood victims.

He was banned from visiting the affected areas this week, his convoy intercepted by security forces at a police checkpoint along the Zahedan-Khash road, with two of his teenage sons detained. 

Mohammad Mehdi Sajjadi, CEO of the Red Crescent, said on Saturday that water levels had risen up to half a meter and even more in many flood-affected villages.

"The floods are severe to the extent that even rescue operations are challenging, and teams sent to deliver supplies to areas besieged by floods could not return and are trapped in the region," he said.

However, many of the stranded victims have been reluctant to leave their homes, he explained, "complicating relief efforts".

It is unclear how many people have lost their lives amid the crisis. Official statistics claim there have as yet been no deaths, but Baluch sources say at least five have died.

Mehdi Mohammadi, who works alongside Ghalibaf, responding to a tweet questioning Es'haq's desire to relocate to Canada, clarified on the X social network platform, "He has never gone to Canada nor was he planning to. Due to his father's affiliation with the Revolutionary Guards, his request for residency, aimed at reducing educational expenses, was rejected, and he has filed a complaint with the court."

Earlier, it came to light that Es’haq had been pursuing Canadian residency for five years, engaging legal assistance and even eliciting follow-ups from a Canadian lawmaker, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party. According to court documents, Polivier's office had made "repeated inquiries" regarding the progress of Es'haq's application.

Following the circulation of reports online, two petitions surfaced urging the Canadian government to halt Es'haq's visa approval, citing his familial ties to a former top Revolutionary Guard commander.

In 2022, Es’haq sought judicial review of the processing time of his immigration application at a Canadian Federal Court, resulting in Justice John Norris ruling in favor of granting his application. However, with sanctions against a multitude of individuals affiliated with the IRGC now underway globally, including Canada, the application remains in question.

The incident on Tuesday saw CENTCOM forces neutralize the incoming threats, averting any harm or damage to the USS Carney amidst the Houthis' blockade of the Red Sea in allegiance with Hamas in Gaza. “There are no injuries or damage to the ship,” the statement read.

CENTCOM clarified that the identified missiles, UAVs, and USVs posed an imminent threat not only to US Navy ships but also to merchant vessels in the region.

Amidst escalating tensions in the region, Houthi fighters have been targeting both commercial and military vessels since November. Initially directed at ships associated with Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza the attacks have since broadened to include vessels linked to the United Kingdom and the United States in retaliation for their support of Israel's right to defend itself after the Hamas attacks of October 7 which sparked an Iran-backed proxy war.

Last month, US forces, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Armed Forces and other nations, conducted strikes against 18 Houthi targets in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed militants. The multinational efforts aim to safeguard their respective countries, partners, and allies in the region.

The heightened tensions in the Red Sea has led major shipping lines to avoid the critical trade route, choosing longer journeys around Africa instead. The shift has resulted in increased expenses, raising concerns about global inflation.

“The Iranian nation did a jihad and fulfilled their social and civil duties,” he said, and as usual, accused “enemies” of trying to dissuade Iranians from voting. However, he claimed that they were defeated by the people’s “epic turnout and jihad.”

“Don’t the sixty percent who did not vote count as Iranians?”, former reformist lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi tweeted after Khamenei’s remarks.

According to official figures, 61.1 million Iranians were eligible to vote, and 41 percent turned out at polling stations including at least 5 percent who cast void and blank votes. However, they were so many electoral gimmicks before and during the election day that few believe even the modest turnout numbers claimed by the government.

Blank and void votes are usually cast by those who may have been rounded up and forced to vote against their wish such as government employees, soldiers, and athletes, and could be interpreted as “protest votes”.

In a note from Tehran’s Evin Prison, dissident reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh called the elections “engineered” and a “historic failure” of the system and the person of Khamenei, both in terms of turnout and mandate of those to occupy the seats of the parliament in a few months from now.

Tajzadeh was responsible for holding the parliamentary elections of 2000 as deputy interior minister. An outspoken critic of Khamenei since the controversial presidential elections of 2009, he has spent more than eight years behind bars since then.

The regime made every effort to ensure a high turnout in a bid to prove its legitimacy both domestically and internationally, but many social media users claim the election boycott was extremely successful and “epic”.

They point out that for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, at least 60 percent of eligible voters chose not to vote in elections that they considered stage-managed in every step of the way and extremely unfair.

Many social media users have also alleged that the official turnout figure of 41 percent is nothing to be proud of, by Khamenei’s own standards, even if it were true.

Social media users have also extensively shared the video of a Khamenei’s sermon in 2001 in which he mocked Western countries for low turnout in their elections. He said in his sermon that a turnout of 40 percent was a cause of shame and indicated that the citizens of these countries, including the United States, did not trust their political system.

The extremely low mandate of top candidates in all constituencies could only mean a much lower turnout, many argue.

Mahmoud Nabavian who has the highest number of votes in the parliamentary elections this time, with around 600,000 ballots, had ranked 52nd in the elections of 2015 with 692,000 votes. The total number of his votes is slightly more than the last of Tehran’s 30 representatives in the parliamentary elections of 2020.

The number of eligible voters in Tehran was 7.77 million in these elections so Nabavian is representing 7.7 percent of the eligible voters. According to official figures, only 24 percent of Tehran’s eligible population voted.

The top elected candidate in Tehran has never had less than 844,000 in previous elections.

Nabavian is a member of the small but very influential ultra-hardliner Paydari Party.

The current speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, has dropped to the 4th place in Tehran this time and only received 447,000 votes. His weaker position may become a challenge to his ambitions of leading the next parliament, analysts say.