US Deputy Attorney General held talks with UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and counterparts in Germany and France about recent threats to journalists critical of the Iranian regime.
According to Justice Department, Lisa Monaco and her counterparts discussed the recent closure of Iran International’s London studios following persistent threats.
Iran International network announced on Saturday that it decided to move its studio and broadcast operations to its office in Washington DC after more than three months of threats the British police reported against its journalists.
UK’s Security Minister Tom Tugendhat at the British Parliament on Monday voiced full support for Iran International TV that has been threatened by elements of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
He stressed that UK’s partners in Europe and the United States are facing similar threats adding that “We are working together to keep our people safe.”
“My call this afternoon with other allies was about coordinating action that we will take to protect ourselves and ensure a unified response to these threats,” added Tugendhat.
“We are the strongest when we work with our allies around the world, and the Iranian regime should be under no doubt and no illusion that we are absolutely united.”
Iran International’s broadcasts have gained special significance since popular anti-regime protests broke out in Iran last September. Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened Iran International and other Persian broadcasters based abroad since the start of protests.
The rial, which fell to a low of 500,000 against the US dollar on Monday stayed around the same level as a string of measures were announced by the government on Tuesday, giving the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) “unprecedented powers” to contain the damage.
Officials announced that citizens will not be allowed to buy their annual share of foreign currency from official exchange bureaus, which previously was $2,000. They also said that the government will stop providing dollars to banks and official dealers for that purpose.
Meat and other prices shot up, as a general mood of panic emerged over rising inflation in the coming days.
Some underground activist groups that have organized popular protests since September issued a call for demonstrations on Wednesday at bazaars around the country.
The economic chaos can reinvigorate antigovernment protests, after large-scale government repression reduced street demonstrations in January. Iranian analysts in recent weeks were speaking of the “grey strata” in society, unwilling to come out and support younger protesters, but the economic chaos can be the catalyst for more Iranians to join the movement.
Confidential government documents obtained by Iran International Tuesday showed that the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, was warning President Ebrahim Raisi of shortages in animal feed due to lack of imports. Iran is dependent on importing millions of tons of grains and animal feed to maintain food production and supply. Any serious shortages can lead to chaos for consumers.
Mohammad Machine-Chian, a senior research scholar at the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh told Iran International Tuesday that the “Supply chain of essential goods in Iran is in an extremely vulnerable and dangerous situation.” He added that the government’s foreign currency reserves are running out and it is not able to secure sufficient imports.
The government claimed that it established a new “currency exchange center” to provide dollars and other hard currencies “for legitimate needs,” leaving a trail of unanswered questions in the wake of the announcement.
Ordinary people and businesses more likely will see the move as yet another dubious government scheme, typical of the state-controlled economy.
According to official figures, well over $10 billion have been taken out of the country in the past few months. The real figure might be much higher as confidence in the economy and the government’s foreign policy seems to be at an all-time low.
The Biden administration, which was negotiating last year with Iran to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, not only has kept the Trump administration’s economic sanctions in place but has made attempts to strengthen their enforcement. The talks reached an impasse in September and since then Washington has repeatedly said that its focus has shifted to supporting the rights of Iranian protesters.
The mood among European powers has also shifted against the Iranian regime after it became obvious that it was supplying hundreds of kamikaze drones to Russia that are being used in Ukraine.
Ali Majedi, Iran’s former ambassador in Germany wrote in an article in Etemad newspaper in Tehran that "The fact that neither Iran, nor Russia were invited to the conference clearly shows where the pressure on Iran is coming from and what impact Iran's support of Russia in the Ukraine war has left on Tehran's foreign relations.
Russia has been using Iranian supplied Kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine since October, and the West is concerned about further Iranian involvement, including supplying missiles to augment Russia’s declining stocks.
The former ambassador said that supporting Russia in the Ukraine war was perhaps Iran's biggest mistake during the past year. He added that Iran's behavior has united Europe and the United States against Iran. Tehran has also missed the chance of reviving the nuclear agreement with world powers because of this.
Western countries are now focused on delegitimizing the Iranian government and Iran is now only counting on countries such as China, Majedi said and asked if Tehran could count on Beijing when in past the Chinese supported international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Majedi said Germany has always been Iran's biggest trade partner in Europe and Berlin's stances has always been more favorable toward Iran in the nuclear negotiations. The Iranian foreign ministry should now answer why Germany has adopted a tough position against Iran and has become more radical than France and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, international relations expert Mehdi Motaharnia told Khabar Online website that the Munich Security Conference's decision had an obvious message for Tehran which should not be ignored.
Referring to the recent meeting of Iranian opposition figures at Georgetown University in Washington, Motaharnia said that inviting them rather than Iranian government officials makes the decision even more meaningful.
Motaharnia said although the Munich Security Conference is a non-governmental international forum, it is the world's most important security conference, and its impact goes beyond governments and political activists. Entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk also take part in it next to kings and presidents. Previously Foreign Ministers Javad Zarif and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian represented Iran at the conference.
"When Iran makes claims about destroying the world order, the other side will also mobilize its forces against the Islamic Republic," he added.
He said, "The rhetoric taking shape against Iran is creating a meaningful atmosphere for designating the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist group in Europe which is in a way an expansion of the IRGC's designation by the US government."
At the same time, Iran's former ambassador to London Jalal Sadatian predicted in an article in Etemad that "Diplomatic pressures on Iran will increase." He wrote: "Within the current frameworks, the Western side is increasing its pressures on the Islamic Republic and channeling it toward internal developments to drag the situation to regime change."
Other pundits in Tehran have been arguing that Iran’s international isolation directly impacts its already fragile economy and also emboldens the opposition. It also creates a widespread impression within the country that the government’s foreign policy is disastrous for the country.
Sadatian added that the United States is the world's leader and when Iran rejects the United States' supremacy, this is unacceptable for the United States.
When Iran chooses to resort to a language other than dialogue and tells the world that it has drones and missiles as tools for diplomacy, pressures will naturally mount and Tehran will be cornered, Sadatian said.
