Four Reports & Editorials addressing The Iranian Regime Evil Terrorst -Delusional Agenda On the account of both the pandamic and Their own people/أربع تقارير ومقالات تتناول شيطانية نظام إيران والآعيبه ونفاقه واستغلاله بخبث الكورونا وافقاره وقهره شعبه

*Iran’s Ayatollahs Will Struggle to Survive the Oil Slump/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/April 23/2020
كون كوغلين/معهد كابتستون/سوف يكافح آيات الله الإيرانيون من أجل مواجهة تراجع اسعار النفط

*Iran using pandemic propaganda to push its agenda
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 23/2020
د.ماجد رافيزادا: تستغل إيران الدعاية الوبائية للتسويق لأجندتها

*USA: Iran’s History of Naval Provocations
قائمة بالتعديات الإيرانية على قطع البحرية العسكرية الأميركية
APRIL 23/2020

*Iranian Regime Circles Criticize Supreme Leader Khamenei: Release The Billions Of Dollars In Funds You Control To The Desperate Iranian Public/MEMRI/April 23, 2020
ميمري: دوائر النظام الإيرانية تنتقد المرشد الأعلى خامنئي: وتطالبه بالإفراج عن بلايين الدولارات التي يسيطر وتخصيصحا لمساعدة الشعب الإيراني اليائس

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Iran’s Ayatollahs Will Struggle to Survive the Oil Slump/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/April 23/2020
كون كوغلين/معهد كابتستون/سوف يكافح آيات الله الإيرانيون من أجل مواجهة تراجع اسعار النفط
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has tried to put a brave face on the latest setback to hit the regime, claiming that Iran is unlikely to suffer as much as other countries from the oil price drop because it is less reliant than others on crude exports.
If that were truly the case, then Tehran would not be asking the IMF for a bailout, and Mr Rouhani, together with Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, would not be begging Washington to remove sanctions.
The truth of the matter is, for all the regime’s attempts to claim it has everything under control, that the country is teetering on the brink of collapse, and the ayatollahs are fast running out of options to save themselves.
At a time when Iran’s Islamic regime is already facing unprecedented pressure over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as its disastrous handling of the economy, the global slump in oil prices could well prove to be the final straw for the ayatollahs.
Even before this week’s dramatic collapse in global oil prices, which saw the key gauge of U.S. crude prices, the West Texas Intermediate benchmark, tumble into negative territory for the first time in history, the mullahs were already under intense pressure over their catastrophic running of the country during their four decades in power.
A combination of the regime’s clumsy attempts to cover up the true extent of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, combined with the disastrous impact the US sanctions are having on the Iranian economy, have resulted in the regime facing the most sustained period of domestic dissatisfaction since the 1979 revolution.
With the collapse in the global oil market, the pressure on the ayatollahs is set to increase even further as they risk losing a vital income stream at a time when the country’s economy is already on its knees.
According to recent estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran needs global oil prices to reach the highly unlikely benchmark of $195 a barrel just in order to meet its budget requirements for 2020.
With current predictions suggesting oil prices are likely to remain around the $19 a barrel mark, the ayatollahs are facing the prospect of an economic Armageddon: the oil slump means there is little prospect of a revival in the country’s economic fortunes for the foreseeable future.
With inflation running at 35%, and the country facing widespread unemployment, the ayatollahs have become increasingly dependent on the country’s oil revenues to keep the economy functioning. Their ability to generate revenue from oil sales, though, has already been severely affected by the impact of US sanctions, with Iranian oil exports declining from their pre-sanctions level of two million barrels of oil per day to around 300,000 — a decline of more than 80%. Now, following this week’s slump, even that modest amount is under threat.
The scale of Iran’s deepening economic crisis is reflected in the regime’s recent decision to seek $5 billion in emergency funding from the IMF, its first request for outside help since the 1979 revolution.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has tried to put a brave face on the latest setback to hit the regime, claiming that Iran is unlikely to suffer as much as other countries from the oil price drop because it is less reliant than others on crude exports.
If that were truly the case, then Tehran would not be asking the IMF for a bailout, and Mr Rouhani, together with Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, would not be begging Washington to remove sanctions.
The truth of the matter is, for all the regime’s attempts to claim it has everything under control, that the country is teetering on the brink of collapse, and the ayatollahs are fast running out of options to save themselves.
One indication of the growing disconnect between the regime and ordinary Iranians is the claim by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that it has successfully launched a military satellite into orbit for the first time, an undertaking that seems completely inappropriate for a country teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
In times of crisis, the regime has often resorted to stirring up tensions in the Gulf, and elsewhere in the Middle East, as a means of increasing pressure on the US and its allies. To that end, Iran’s IRGC have been accused of conducting a number of confrontational operations in the Gulf this month, including the temporary seizure of a Chinese tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which proved to be deeply embarrassing for Tehran, as China is one of the few countries still buying its oil.
There has also been an increase in Revolutionary Guard patrol boats harassing US warships operating in the Gulf, a development which has prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to order the US Navy “to shoot down and destroy” Iranian gunboats if they continue with their provocative actions.
The ayatollahs may still believe they can survive the current crisis, but the reality is that their prospects of overcoming all the obstacles they face, from coronavirus to the collapse of the Iranian economy, become more challenging by the day.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph’s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Iran using pandemic propaganda to push its agenda
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 23/2020
د.ماجد رافيزادا: تستغل إيران الدعاية الوبائية للتسويق لأجندتها
Iran using pandemic propaganda to push its agenda
Cases of people being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reportedly began emerging in Iran in mid-February. The virus spread rapidly across the country and the Islamic Republic became the epicenter of the region’s outbreak in early March. Instead of concentrating on charting a path and assisting the international community in addressing this grave public health crisis, Tehran and its agents appear to be spending their political and financial capital on spreading disinformation and propaganda.
One of the fake news stories that pro-Iran operatives have been propagating is linked to the narrative that the virus was deliberately created by another government. For example, when the reports of coronavirus first appeared in Iran, a pro-Tehran influencing operation, known as the International Union of Virtual Media (IUVM), began a social media disinformation campaign. It suggested that the US government created the virus in order to advance and maintain its global hegemony, according to a new report by social media analyst Graphika. The report describes the character of IUVM as “a prolific operator that is centered on websites rather than social media. Its long-running practice has been to create or copy web-based content that amplifies Iranian government narratives, then post it to social media accounts that pose as independent news outlets or journalists.”
The Iranian regime has become masterful at taking advantage of important events in order to incite antagonism toward its rivals, including the West and Gulf states. In this case, the objective of the disinformation campaign was most likely to incite anti-Americanism and hatred toward the US’ allies during these uncertain times. Graphika pointed out that, through its posts on social media, the IUVM argued that “it is no coincidence that the virus selectively goes to countries that are considered enemies of the United States, namely China, Iran, some EU countries, including Italy.”
It is unrealistic to say that the US or any other government would deliberately create this virus in order to advance its national interests. It is worth noting that America has overtaken Italy to have the world’s highest COVID-19 death toll, with more than 800,000 confirmed cases and about 50,000 fatalities. The coronavirus-related economic slowdown in the US has also seen the unemployment rate reach 13 percent, its highest level since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. And the US equities market has lost trillions of dollars in value, while some economists believe that the long-term negative impact of the virus on the US economy could be even greater.
Iran’s covert disinformation operations concerning COVID-19 are not only inciting hatred toward other countries, but are also most likely negatively impacting the international community’s efforts to fight the virus. The US’ deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Laura Cooper, stressed in an April 13 statement: “These are messages that are endangering global health because they’re undermining the efforts of governments, of health agencies and of organizations that are in charge of disseminating accurate information about the virus to the public.”
This is not the first time the Iranian regime’s disinformation operations have been detected. In August 2018, a cybersecurity firm, FireEye, revealed data about Iran’s widespread misinformation campaigns. Following the report, the giant social media platforms took action and removed hundreds of accounts reportedly linked to the Iranian government. Facebook removed “652 pages, groups and accounts for coordinated inauthentic behavior that originated in Iran and targeted people across multiple internet services.” Other popular social media outlets, such as Twitter and Google owner Alphabet, have also identified and removed many “inauthentic” accounts that originated in Iran.
The Iranian regime has become masterful at taking advantage of important events in order to incite antagonism toward its rivals.
These accounts were promoting specific narratives that advanced the regime’s interests, such as arguing that Iran’s militaristic engagements in Syria, Iraq and Yemen are for humanitarian purposes; that the Islamic Republic enjoys legitimacy domestically and regionally; that some of the Gulf states should be treated as enemies; and that Iran’s nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
However, whenever social media accounts or websites linked to the Iranian regime’s disinformation campaigns are exposed and removed, the Islamic Republic is able to find other outlets or create new accounts to continue spreading its propaganda. By using the latest technology and employing various methods, such as generating and disseminating fabricated headlines and videos and propagating fake news and inaccurate pictures, the regime is able to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.
During these critical times, it is incumbent on the international community and powerful social media outlets to prevent the Iranian regime and its operatives from spreading disinformation and disseminating fake news concerning the coronavirus.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

USA: Iran’s History of Naval Provocations
قائمة بالتعديات الإيرانية على قطع البحرية العسكرية الأميركية
FACT SHEET/OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON
APRIL 22, 2020
“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.”
-President Donald J. Trump, Twitter, April 22, 2020
Iran has long used its naval forces to terrorize the international maritime community – this is not a new phenomenon. In 2015, during negotiations of the Iran Deal and after its adoption, the U.S. Navy recorded 22 incidents of unsafe and unprofessional conduct by the IRGC Navy (IRGCN), many that risked collision. An additional 36 incidents of unsafe and unprofessional conduct were recorded in 2016.
This includes the January 2016 incident where IRGC naval forces seized two U.S. Navy riverine boats and detained ten U.S. sailors for a period of 15 hours, violating their rights under the Geneva Convention by parading them in front of their propaganda cameras.
When President Trump took office, he initiated a comprehensive review of the United States’ Iran policy in light of the Iran Deal’s failure to address the regime’s growing threats to international peace and security. During this review period, Iran continued its dangerous naval activity.
In March 2017, the USNS Invincible was forced to change course to avoid collision with multiple approaching IRGCN fast-attack small crafts.
In July 2017, an IRGCN vessel came within 150 yards of the USS Thunderbolt in the Persian Gulf, forcing it to fire warning shots.
In August 2017, an unarmed Iranian drone flew close to the USS Nimitz as fighter jets landed at night, threatening the safety of the American pilots and crew.
In October 2017, President Trump announced a new Iran policy that made clear the United States would not tolerate the status quo from Iran, nor appease their provocations. Following the President’s announcement, incidents of IRGC naval harassment sharply declined and remained depressed even after the United States withdrew from the JCPOA.
In May 2019, Iran began a panicked campaign of aggression to extort the world into granting it sanctions relief.
On May 12, 2019, IRGC naval personnel placed and detonated limpet mines on two Saudi, one UAE, and one Norwegian-registered ships while they were harbored in UAE territorial waters near Fujairah Port.
On June 13, 2019, IRGC naval personnel placed and detonated limpet mines on one Japanese ship and one Norwegian owned ship while they transited the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. later released a video showing IRGC naval personnel removing one of their limpet mines off the side of the Japanese tanker.
On June 19, 2019, IRGC personnel deployed a surface-to-air missile to shoot down a U.S. unmanned aircraft operating over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz. IRGC Commander Hossein Salami announced that Iran had shot down the drone, claiming that it was operating within Iran’s territorial waters.
On July 19, 2019, the IRGC Navy seized the British-flagged, Swedish-owned Stena Impero tanker while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, the IRGC also temporarily detained the Liberian-flagged Mesdar tanker. The Stena Impero and her crew were detained in Iran for more than two months as negotiating leverage.
At the same time the Iranian regime is seeking sanctions relief, it focuses its resources and efforts to harass the international maritime community.
On April 14, 2020, the IRGC Navy forcibly boarded and detained the Hong Kong-flagged SC Taipei oil tanker in international waters, and sailed the tanker into Iranian waters.
On April 15, 2020, eleven IRGC Navy small boats disrupted five U.S. naval vessels conducting a routine exercise by repeatedly engaging in high speed, harassing approaches. The Iranian vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. ships coming as close as to within 10 yards of a US Coast Guard Cutter.
In response to the elevated risk posed to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United States spearheaded the creation of the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), a coalition of eight European, Middle Eastern, and Asian nations committed to ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce through the strait. Since the IMSC was stood up in August 2019, Iranian mine attacks have ceased.
President Trump will not tolerate or appease Iran’s foreign policy of violence and intimidation. Iran must act like every other normal nation, not a nation that sponsors piracy and terror.

Iranian Regime Circles Criticize Supreme Leader Khamenei: Release The Billions Of Dollars In Funds You Control To The Desperate Iranian Public/MEMRI/April 23, 2020
ميمري: دوائر النظام الإيرانية تنتقد المرشد الأعلى خامنئي: وتطالبه بالإفراج عن بلايين الدولارات التي يسيطر وتخصيصحا لمساعدة الشعب الإيراني اليائس
In the past weeks, Iran has been pressing the international community for financial aid to help it deal with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. In March 2020 Iran appealed to the International Monetary Fund for a $5 billion emergency loan to fight the virus.
On April 7, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei approved President Hassan Rouhani’s request of a $1 billion withdrawal from the National Development Fund of Iran for the fight against the pandemic. [1] The fund, established in 2011, holds Iran’s foreign reserves estimated at approximately $90 billion, obtained from the country’s oil and gas exports.[2]
In light of the severe economic situation of Iranian society due to strict sanctions prompted by the regime’s policy, coupled with the regime’s mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak, there has been criticism within the regime itself over the failure of its charity funds, whose holdings are estimated in billions, to come to the aid of the hard-hit Iranian public. The criticism was voiced by the editor-in-chief of the Jomhouri-ye Eslami daily, Masih Mohajeri, by a former senior reformist official, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and by Majlis Member Bahram Parsaei. They urged Khamenei to immediately release the billions he controls for the benefit of Iranians and to fight the pandemic and the economic crisis. They pointed out that these funds, which are intended for the wellbeing of the poor and disadvantaged in Iranian society, do not reach them. These funds, it should be noted, benefit a small circle of Khamenei’s loyalists and his project of exporting the Iranian revolution – namely of consolidating Iran’s influence in the region and investing in other countries such as Syria and Iraq.[3]
This report reviews the criticism in regime circles of Khamenei’s refusal to release funds under his control for the benefit of the Iranian people amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Foundations Under Khamenei’s Control
Among the foundations under Khamenei’s control mentioned by Mohajeri, Tajzadeh and Parsaei are the Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Directive (SETAD), whose holdings were estimated in 2013 at about $100 billion[4], and the Mostazafan Foundation (Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled), believed to be one of the regime’s major funds, whose assets are based on seized and abandoned property. In a March 28, 2018 interview with the Tabnak website, the foundation’s head, Mohammad Saeedikia, said that it “has a strong presence in [Iran’s] industry,” that “nobody knows the extent of its assets” and that “it would take two years to estimate its net worth.” He added that its annual income was 26 billion tomans (about $6 million dollars).[5] Also mentioned by the three speakers was the Astan-e Quds Razavi Foundation, which manages the assets of the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, a conglomerate with holdings worth billions in Iran and abroad.
These foundations, most of which were established after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 with the stated aim of redistributing wealth to the people and helping the poor and the war veterans, have effectively become tools for transferring public funds to private hands, and are entirely unsupervised. Reformist politician Behzad Nabavi, a former minister and deputy Majlis speaker and a founder of the Intelligence Ministry, told the Iranian website Alef that “in our country, there are four institutions which control 60 percent of the national wealth. They include the Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Directive, the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Base [the IRGC’s economic organization], Astan-e Quds and the Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled. None of these institutions are connected to the government or parliament.”[6]
Jomhouri-Ye Eslami Editor Mohajeri: “If [The Foundations] Won’t Release Their Funds To Save The Oppressed, How Can They Justify Their Existence?
In an April 12, 2020 article in Jomhouri-Ye Eslami,[7] the daily’s chief editor Masih Mohajeri criticized Ali Khamenei and called on the heads of the foundations under his control to immediately release the funds to the Iranians harmed by the coronavirus crisis, saying that otherwise they were betraying their mission. He wrote:
“The point to make… is that, no matter how much aid the people receive, it cannot meet the needs created by the economic recession brought about by the pandemic. This aid can heal some of the wounds, but it cannot solve all of the problems. To fully resolve all of the problems, large economic players, whose capabilities are vast and whose wealth belongs to the public, must enter the scene. These financial authorities include SETAD, the [Executive] Headquarters of the Imam’s [Directive], the Foundation of the Oppressed, and Astan-e Quds Razavi. The vast financial apparatuses and resources available to these institutions, if transferred to the sectors affected by the coronavirus [pandemic], can rapidly and fully solve the problems in these [sectors]. These [funds] belong to the people, and it is precisely in situations like these that they must be used to solve the public’s problems.
“We know that the team managing the Imam Headquarters is taking steps by providing facilities and cash. These [measures] help, but they are so insignificant compared to the financial capabilities of these institutions that they don’t count at all. These institutions must step forward with open hands and without restrictions, and without wasting time, to meet all the needs of the people who are in profound distress in the current dire economic situation.
“Listening to the heads of these institutions speak of the measures they are taking to help the sectors harmed [by the pandemic], we come to the conclusion that they [either] fail to fully comprehend the scope of the harm caused to the people in this situation, or else do not want to spend their money helping them. Over two thirds of Iran’s population receive no financial help from the government or from these institutions and organizations. A minority of the people have the financial means to cope with the present situation, but the rest – i.e., the majority – have become destitute. Some have also lost their jobs, and this dangerous situation continues. The government, too, is unable to meet the needs of the sectors harmed by the coronavirus [pandemic], since it [itself] faces many financial problems due to the sanctions and the decline in revenues, and the vast funds it must concurrently expend to curb the [spread] of the coronavirus.
“It is the responsibility of [Rouhani’s] government to defend the health and wellbeing of the citizens, and it cannot breach the limits decided upon in the framework [of the budget]. This situation [of the pandemic] is difficult to fully comprehend, and requires the powerful financial institutions, which belong to the people, to step forward and fulfill their historic mission. If they won’t release their funds to save the oppressed, how can they justify their existence?”[8]
Former Reformist Official Tajzadeh: It’s Time For Khamenei To Issue Immediate Instructions To Rush To The People’s Aid
Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former reformist official who served as a minister in Khatami’s government and as a Majlis member, and was even a political prisoner at one point, tweeted on April 18: “The sanctions, the coronavirus and now the plunging oil prices mean that the government is facing immense challenges with empty coffers. It is time for that the Foundation for the Oppressed, the Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Directive (SETAD) and the religious organizations’ charity foundations, on the immediate order of the Leader [Khamenei], to rush to the aid of those suffering harm and deprivation who were once called the owners of the revolution and [received] the officials’ blessing.”[9]
Mostafa Tajzade’s tweet
Majlis Member Bahram Parsaei: The Foundations Must Make The Money Available To The People
Similar statements were made in an April 4, 2020 Majlis session that was broadcast live on Iranian TV by Bahram Parsaei, a Majlis member representing the city of Shiraz. He said that “Institutions and organizations that have always enjoyed special privileges and exemptions [e.g., from taxes], such as the Foundation for the Oppressed, the Executive Headquarters (SETAD), the Astan-e Quds Foundation and [other] charity foundations must all serve the [Iranian] people for [the next] two months. They must all come forward and put their assets at the public’s disposal.”[10]
[1] Fars, April 7, 2020.
[2] Swfinstitute.org.
[3] See also Special Dispatch No. 8668 – Visions Of The Post-Coronavirus World – Part III: 100 Academics And Political Activists In Iran Tell Supreme Leader Khamenei: ‘You Are The No. 1 Culprit In The National Disaster’ – April 1, 2020.
[4] Reuters.com, November 11, 2013.
[5] Tabnak (Iran), March 28, 2018.
[6] Aftab News (Iran), September 21, 2019.
[7] Jomhouri-ye Eslami was owned by Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was the right-hand man of Islamic Revolution founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, served as Iran’s president and head of several regime councils and was known as a critic of Ali Khamenei.
[8] Khabar Online (Iran), April 12, 2020.
[9] Twitter.com/mostafatajzadeh, April 18, 2020.
[10] Icana.ir, April 7, 2020.