The US Department of State added Harakat al Nujaba, an Iranian-supported Shiite militia which operates in both Iraq and Syria, and its leader, Akram ‘Abbas al Kaabi to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Kaabi has pledged loyalty to Iran’s Supreme Leader and has said he would overthrow the Iraqi government if ordered to do so.
Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group based along Iran’s southeastern border with Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for a bombing that targeted an IRGC bus. The group has repeatedly targeted Iranian security forces.
The group directly threatens more attacks on the Bahraini government and its security forces, as well as declare the United States and the United Kingdom as legitimate targets on the island.
US Treasury on January 24 designated the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division and the Pakistani Zeynabiyoun Brigade, which are led by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), pursuant to counter-terrorism and human-rights-abuses designations. Criticizing the US, the Shiite-Islamist militias emphasized that they are part of the IRGC-led transnational militant network, pledged to keep fighting, but stopped short of directly threatening the US.
The US government has designated the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division and the Pakistani Zaynabiyoun Brigade for their ties to Iran’s Qods Force.
Recent assassinations and terrorist plots in Europe suggest that Iran may have resumed its policy of assassinations abroad.
The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) designated nine individuals who are undermining the Afghan government. The nine include six Taliban leaders, two officials in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a narcotics trafficker based in Pakistan.
Saeed Mohammad is the first IRGC-KAA commander who does not have a military background, who also falls in line with a trend of appointments of younger managers at top positions in the IRGC, unlike the current commanders whose formative years were in combat during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.
Last week, French officials declared that they had conclusively identified Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as the party behind a foiled bombing attempt in Paris in late June. A key question, however, remains unanswered: which senior Iranian official gave the order?
In a newly released message, Islamic State spokesman Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir boasts that his organization’s men were able to carry out the Sept. 22 terrorist attack in Ahvaz, Iran. Al-Muhajir’s message is intended to underscore the Islamic State’s responsibility for the operation, as there were conflicting claims regarding the identity of the perpetrators.
Gunmen attacked an Iranian military parade in Ahvaz earlier today. Initial reports say two dozen or more people were killed and dozens more wounded. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. But media outlets say another group, the Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz, has as well.
While Iranian-backed parties are moving to form a government in Baghdad that could force the US to exit the country, they face growing public anger over governance failures that threaten the viability of the system.
Iran’s willingness to resort to tactical SRBM launches against regional targets warrants a larger discussion about the country’s missile power and escalation dynamics. It also requires an accurate assessment of what occurred on the ground against Iranian Kurds in Iraq and in the media space on this issue since September 8.
Iran has its tentacles all over Iraq, and the United States has no one to blame but itself. It is a bipartisan failure dating back to the March 2003 invasion. The seeds of this failure can be seen in the interrogation transcripts of Qayis Khazali, the leader of the Mahdi Army’s Special Groups and Asaib Ahl al Haq.
Iranian and Syrian officials on 27 August signed a military agreement that highlights their symbiotic relationship.
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander confirmed for the first time that the Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthis) struck targets following the IRGC’s order. The IRGC spokesman scrambled to deny the statements.
On July 15, Israel struck a military position near the Nayrab airport outside of Aleppo city. The latest attack is a component of an expanded Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic’s assets in Syria.
The US Department of State added Saraya al Ashtar, an Iranian-supported group that openly flaunts its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps affiliation, to its list of global terrorists.
The Houthi rebels showed off new ballistic missile technology in a new missile launch directed at an airport in southern Saudi Arabia.
An Iranian-controlled Iraqi Shia militia advertised its presence in the current Syrian regime offensive in the southern province of Deraa. The photos provide evidence for Iranian involvement in the offensive.
Saraya al Mokhtar sends its condolences and congratulations to the Hezbollah Brigades for being the target of recent airstrikes in eastern Syria. At the same time, the Bahraini group also unveiled a new logo.
In March, a state-affiliated Iranian media outlets published a speech by Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah that it shouldn’t have. The speech, which was quickly retracted, was meant for internal distribution, thus making it a valuable document.
Several groups within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps network have eulogized Saleh al Sammad, the political leader of Yemen’s Houthis.
A Syrian militia led by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared on April 6 jihad against US and allied forces in Syria. The IRGC is likely to boost its military support to the group as it explores avenues to drive the US out of Syria.
Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, addressed late last month a commemoration held in Iran for slain Lebanese Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh (AKA Hajj Radwan).
Bahrain claims to have broken up a militant cell, which was reportedly linked to Iran. Also captured in the raids was large amounts of explosives, including material to produce IEDs.
The new branding further highlights Saraya al Ashtar’s role within the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East.
In the early hours of Feb. 10, a day before the 39th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, an Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) entered Israeli airspace from Syria.
Iraqi-Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani announced his support of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and “requested that all weapons come under government’s control.”
The US Treasury Department designated a counterfeit ring that has procured material and equipment to help finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) operations in Yemen. This announcement answers an important question about at least one of force’s method of financing its operations in Yemen.