Iran's Rial Hits Historic Low Following Consulate Attack

The probe comes after the White House issued the third sanctions waiver to let Iraq pay Iran for electricity through non-Iraqi banks, less than a month ago.

Led by Republican Senator Tim Scott, the group of 13 lawmakers is pressing the State and Treasury Departments for exactly how much money Iran will be permitted to access in the next several months.

The probe is backed by several Republican foreign policy leaders, including Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio.

In their letter, the lawmakers wrote: “First, the waiver makes restricted Iranian funds more accessible to the Ayatollah’s regime, at a time when Iranian-backed aggression in the region is at a peak. Second, the administration appears to be disregarding congressional intent that any payments made to Iran remain severely restricted.”

Iranian proxy groups have increased their attacks in the region since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 – with its attacks on American personnel in Jordan and vessels in the Red Sea.

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran remains undeterred in its support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis – and is not paying a price for its nefarious activities in the region.

While the Biden administration has maintained that the regime in Tehran can only access the money for humanitarian purposes, the letter suggests that the White House "appears to be disregarding congressional intent that any payments made to Iran remain severely restricted".

On that front, foreign policy expert Walid Phares argued on X that the US – alongside Israel and the “Arab Coalition” – could defeat Iran’s proxy militias in the Middle East in one month.

“But the #IranDeal & the #IranLobby are paralyzing the administration unfortunately. In 2025, a possible change in policy may occur. Until then, the #IslamicRepublic is not going to be deterred,” Phares wrote.

In an interview with Rouydad 24, Pirhadi emphasized that interpreting the attack in such a manner is not accurate, stating, "The Zionist regime's action is a heinous act and a violation of international law principles, but it should not be equated with an attack on our Iranian soil."

The airstrike on Monday targeted the Iranian embassy building in Damascus. The airstrike resulted in the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards, including two senior commanders.

"Given the importance of the issue, the MPs will definitely delve into the details of the terrorist act and the plans of relevant agencies for how to respond to the crime and defend the country's security in the first session of the parliament after the end of the Norouz holidays," stated Pirhadi.

Despite tensions and conflicts in the region, Iran has refrained from direct engagement with Israel, particularly amid the six-month conflict involving Iran-backed groups in Gaza.

Pirhadi’s comments come as IRGC General Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament, asserted on Wednesday that Israel's attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus constitutes an encroachment upon Iranian territory, demanding a robust response from Iran. He dismissed the concept of "strategic patience" in the face of such incidents, affirming that Iran will promptly retaliate against Israel.

Kowsari further stressed that the United States should anticipate Iran's retaliatory measures, cautioning Israel against further attacks on Iran's interests.

In his ruling, US District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Tehran and Damascus to pay $191 million in damages to Fuld’s family.

Fuld was killed in the West Bank by a Hamas member with an eight-inch blade, according to court documents seen by the Jerusalem Post.

Due to Iran’s and Syria’s roles as state sponsors of Hamas terrorism, the court said it found Fuld’s estate and surviving family members are entitled to receive damages.

Iran and Syria "intentionally supported and encouraged a proxy actor who specifically sought to inflict violence upon innocent civilians," Judge Lamberth wrote.

In addition, the court found evidence to establish Hamas was responsible for the killing of Fuld – including online posts in which Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

The court also found the terrorist sought out an "English-speaking Israeli soldier of American origin”.

The Fuld family's attorney, Richard Heideman, stated in a statement that after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, it was well understood how the group specifically targets Americans and English speakers, not just Israelis.

Fuld, a prominent advocate for Israel, was widely recognized for his efforts in delivering care packages to the Israeli military.

Thousands of people attended Fuld's funeral, among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tweeted at the time: "I embraced [the family] in the name of the entire nation in this time of terrible grief. We are alive thanks to heroes like Ari. We will remember him forever."

Fuld was 45 years old when he was stabbed by 17-year-old Palestinian teenager Khalil Jabarin.

In 2020, the Judea Military Court convicted Jabarin of the intentional murder of Fuld and attempting to kill another person, sentencing him to pay over $365,000 to Fuld's family.

US Federal Courts vs. Islamic Republic

This comes half a year after another ruling by a US federal court against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Last June, a US federal court in Washington, DC, ruled in a default judgment that the regime in Tehran is obligated to compensate Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad for detaining her brother, Alireza Alinejad.

At the time, Alinejad posted a picture of the court ruling on X, adding that she would not accept the $3.325 million in damages awarded by the court.

In 2023, the same court ruled that Iran should pay nearly $20 million in damages to the family of an Iranian politician, who was arbitrarily imprisoned and tortured for 40 years.

The lawsuit was launched on behalf of former politicians Abbas Amir-Entezam’s children -- Ardeshir, Anoush, and Elham – who were 2, 6, and 9 at the time of his imprisonment.

Amir-Entezam was Iran's first post-Shah Deputy Prime Minister and became one of the Islamic Republic’s most prominent and longest-jailed dissidents.

"It is expected that the European Union will strongly condemn these crimes in a practical and immediate step," Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying.

The European Union's call for restraint came in response to an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards. Iran attributed the attack to Israel, holding them responsible for the deaths of two generals and five military personnel at the embassy compound. However, Israel has not acknowledged responsibility for the strike, which marks one of the most significant attacks on Iranian interests in Syria to date.

Peter Stano, a spokesperson for the executive European Commission, on Wednesday condemned the attack emphasizing the need for utmost restraint in the tense regional situation. However, Amir-Abdollahian claimed that the security of diplomats and diplomatic premises had been violated by Israel in what he termed a terrorist act.

However, criticism has emerged from some observers who view the EU's stance as continuing to act as the "protective shield" of the Islamic Republic. Jason Brodsky, policy director for the think tank United Against A Nuclear Iran, lambasted the EU's response, stating, "The European Union is condemning an attack targeting the IRGC terrorists commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, whom it has sanctioned, and in the process falls hook, line, and sinker for the Iranian fiction that this was a diplomatic compound."

At the UNHRC meeting in Geneva, 44 countries voted in favor of extending the two mandates while eight member states, including China, Cuba, Sudan, Eritrea and Indonesia, voted against the resolution. Fourteen countries abstained.

The United Nations Human Rights Council launched the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in November 2022 in the midst of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement triggered by the death in morality-police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Following 18 months of investigations, the FFM released its first report on March 8, concluding that the Iranian government is responsible for the “physical violence” that resulted in the death of 22-year-old Amini in September 2022.

According to the report, the regime carried out widespread and sustained human rights violations, which broke international laws and disproportionately targeted women and girls as well as children and members of ethnic and religious minorities during 2022 protests.

In July 2018 British-Pakistani lawyer Javaid Rehman was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. In an interview with Iran International in March, Rehman stressed the main objective behind the UN human rights mechanisms is “to persecute the perpetrators of crimes in Iran.”

Earlier in the day, Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, calling for the renewal of the two UN mandates about human rights situations in Iran, further saying, “It is vital to signal to the Iranian authorities that their abysmal human rights record will remain under international scrutiny and to ensure that an international independent investigative and accountability mechanism remains in place to collect and analyze evidence of crimes under international law.”

In a joint letter on Wednesday, 51 human rights organizations called on the UNHRC member states to vote for the extension of the two mandates. “The Council must continue these mandates to address and protect human rights in Iran effectively,” read the letter.

On March 9, the US stressed that the FFM should continue to operate. “The whole world is taking notice of the Fact Finding Mission’s report and its conclusion that many of the serious human rights violations that have taken place in Iran may amount to crimes against humanity,” Deputy US Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley wrote on X.

According to rights group Amnesty International, 853 people were executed in Iran in 2023, a record number in the last eight years. The number represents a 48% increase from 2022 and a 172% increase from 2021. At least six of the executed in 2023 were protesters arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in 2022, and one other executed in connection to the nationwide uprising in November 2019.