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A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation Monday to give permanent authorization to the president to implement sanctions on Iran, The Hill reported.

Irans sanctions Act (ISA) of 1996 has a sunset clause ending in 2026 and needs to be renewed by Congress, but the new legislation if approved would make the Act open ended until Iran is deemed to have changed its behavior.

The Solidifying Iran Sanction Act is sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and co-sponsored by 24 lawmakers in the House and Senate, including Reps. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Michelle Steel (R-Calif.)

The Iran Sanctions Act is one of the most important tools in US law to compel Iran to abandon its dangerous and destabilizing behavior, McCaul said in a statement.

This bill takes the long overdue step of striking the arbitrary sunset from the law, so that sanctions will only be lifted if Iran stops its threatening behavior. Iran cant run out the clock on US law, he added.

Steel said Iran has made clear it has no interest in participating in the international community or working towards peace.

The rogue state continues to make threats against democracy and actively sponsors terrorism around the world, the lawmaker said in a statement. Through this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, we can prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and further jeopardizing global peace.

Although the Biden Administration decided to hold nuclear talks with Tehran that could have left to the lifting of the most important sanctions, the diplomatic effort reached a dead end last September. In the meantime, Iran has been supplying weapons to Russia that are used against Ukraine.

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US Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Permanently Authorize Sanctions On Iran -

On the first day back to school in April, after time off to celebrate the Persian New Year, students in Iran were greeted with another apparent chemical attack. This was just the most recent in a monthslong series of reports of students, in particular girls, apparently being poisoned.

These chemical attacks, as they have been called, began in November 2022 and have escalated in recent months. Starting in February, the international community became aware of large numbers of students all over the country, mostly girls, becoming ill after reported exposure to some kind of toxic gas at school. At least two have reportedly died as a result.

While there is no confirmation that this is the case, there is widespread suspicion that these chemical attacks are a government attempt to keep girls, in particular, out of school in response to the girl- and woman-led revolution that has taken ahold of the country since mid-September 2022, when 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini was arrested and beaten for allegedly not covering her hair properly. Shortly after Amini died from injuries sustained at the hands of the so-called morality police, photos of schoolgirls without hijab giving the finger to images of the Supreme Leader went viral, reaching all corners of the internet.

Some have suggested the symptoms the schoolgirls have shown, such as headaches and palpitations, could be due to psychogenic illness related to the ongoing political strife in Iran. However, there is no evidence to support this hypothesis. In early March, after months of denying the attacks were occurring, the interior minister admitted the government had collected suspicious samples from at least some of the more than 50 schools affected at that point. The Iranian government, which tightly controls the release of information, would likely not admit poisoning is happening unless there is so much evidence they would be embarrassed for it to come out, say, during the pending United Nations investigation into human rights violations in Iran. More than 100 people have reportedly been arrested related to the chemical attacks, although it is worth keeping in mind the governments long history of false arrests.

The poisoning of schoolgirls is not the first health care-related tragedy in Iran in recent months, and as an Iranian American physician, I have been following these events closely. The very act of practicing medicine in Iran is now hazardous.

Since the beginning of the protests, ambulances have been co-opted by security forces, and physicians and hospitals have been under attack. The government has interfered with medical care by transferring injured protesters to detention centers even when they need medical care and threatening to punish physicians who care for injured protesters. On Oct. 26, 2022, a number of physicians were beaten at a peaceful rally in which they asked to be allowed to care for patients. At least one surgeon, Parisa Bahmani, died after she was shot at the rally. Mohammad Edalttalab was attacked and beaten in his office. Hamid GhareHassanlou was sentenced to death after attending a funeral, and Iman Navabi remains imprisoned. Two other doctors, 36-year-old Aida Rostami and 24-year-old Ebrahim Rigi, were also killed by the government forces. Rostami had gone out to treat injured protesters who were afraid to go to the hospital. She never made it home, and authorities told her family she had been in a car accident. However, her injuries were inconsistent with this (there was evidence of sexual abuse, and one of her eyes had been removed). Rigi was arrested during a protest and reportedly died from injuries sustained at the hands of the police. These are just a few of the health care workers whose lives have been taken.

Injured protesters fears of going to hospitals are justified, as there are reports some patients have been abducted from hospitals. Some have turned to medical advice from physicians in the U.S. via Instagram or organizations such as MAHSA Medical. In at least one case, health care workers have even resorted to forming a human chain outside a hospital in order to protect both patients and staff from being abducted or arrested.

Yet the academic and medical communities in the United States seem relatively uninterested in the human rights violations happening in Iran. Even in the face of attacks on students at universities and poisoning of schoolchildren, and despite the urging of Iran Human Rights and others, the majority of American institutions of higher learning have said nothing. Some of the same organizations that very quickly put out statements in support of Ukraine last year have remained silent. When colleagues and I have asked our institutions to weigh in, they have privately told us that the Islamic Republic of Irans actions against its own citizens are a political issue.

But this isnt politics its a public health crisis.

As of April 4, at least 537 people, including 68 children, have been killed by security forces. Many of the deaths have been among Irans ethnic minority groups, which have been targeted in the crackdown.

In the face of internet shutdowns and a tyrannical regime, the people of Iran have not asked us for donations or for health care workers to travel to the country. All they have requested is that we be their voice. We medical workers cannot stand idly by as our colleagues in Iran are tortured, beaten, and killed just for caring for patients. It may not feel like youre doing much, but raising awareness is extremely important for creating some accountability and putting pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

One way to do this is to contact your political representatives (here is one letter template you could use) and ask them to target sanctions to family of members of the regime who live abroad, to stop negotiating a nuclear deal, to ask for the release of all political prisoners (including health care workers), and, if youre in the U.S., to support the MAHSA Act, which would impose targeted sanctions on the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the president, Ebrahim Raisi, and any individuals affiliated with them.

It may feel as though we health care workers have too much to worry about here in the United States, with attacks on abortion rightsand gender-affirming care, health care inequities, and more. But I believe we can both fight for justice here and advocate for civil rights abroad.

I find myself wondering how the physicians in Iran can show up for work, day after day, not knowing whether they will be arrested just for doing their jobs. How can they provide health care when everyone is afraid to go to the hospital? Thats exactly the point: They cant.

Arghavan Salles is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

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Practicing medicine in Iran is now hazardous - STAT - STAT

Officials have started initial diplomatic activities in Irans embassy in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on 1 May, almost two weeks after the Islamic Republic opened the gates of its embassy in Riyadh for the first time in years.

We are in the first phase of resuming the activity of diplomatic missions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced.

Our team in Saudi Arabia is implementing the necessary field and technical measures at a good speed, and we are optimistic about the full return of the activities of the two countries representations within the specified time limit. Three Iranian diplomats are currently in Riyadh and Jeddah and have resumed their diplomatic activities, Kanaani added.

The three diplomats are the newly appointed Iranian ambassador in Riyadh, the Iranian consul who will take position at Tehrans consulate in Jeddah and Irans Permanent Representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Irans Parliament, Vahid Jalalzadeh, said on 1 May that the policy of strengthening relations with our neighbors is being followed up with well by the government.

In order to fully activate the embassies of the two countries and their representation, a series of measures and preparations must be taken, and then the ambassadors of the two countries will be exchanged, Jalalzadeh added.

On 12 April, the Iranian embassy in Saudi Arabia opened its gates for the first time since the regional rivals severed ties in 2016.

The diplomatic breakdown happened after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, and Iranian protestors stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

On 29 April, Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that embassies between Tehran and the kingdom would be open within days.

The two countries have also agreed on the opening of a joint-trade office.

This comes as part of a broad regional shift away from Washington, which has seen Saudi Arabia rekindle relations with Tehran, Damascus, and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Originally posted here:
Iran reopens embassy in Saudi Arabia - The Cradle

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom criticized Iran for repressing the religious rights of people of a variety of faiths from Bahai to Zoroastrian and nonreligious communities and decried the use of violence against girls and young women who protested in the wake of Mahsa Aminis death. Amini, 22, perished after the countrys morality police detained her last year based on an accusation that her visible hair breached a headscarf law.

While religious freedom conditions in Iran were extremely poor even before protests began in September 2022, they have deteriorated considerably due to the governments severe brutality against Iranians peacefully asserting their religious freedom, said USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel, during a Monday (May 1) virtual event when the 2023 USCIRF report was released.

Irans security forces have shot and killed peaceful protesters, detained and tortured others, and engaged in a systematic campaign of sexual and gender-based violence against not only women and men, but boys and girls as well.

These circumstances were determined by USCIRF to be systematic, egregious, and ongoing religious freedom violations, which qualify Iran to remain on the State Departments list of countries of particular concern, or CPCs.

The watchdog has called for the redesignation of a total of a dozen countries as CPCs: Myanmar (which the department and USCIRF refer to as Burma), China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Protesters are pressing the Iranian regime for changes since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

In addition to Iran, USCIRF drew special attention to violations it has observed in Cuba and Nicaragua, two nations that were added to the State Departments list last year.

In Cuba, religious freedom conditions in 2022 worsened considerably, with the government seeking total dominance over religious life in the country, the watchdog said in its report. Additionally, the regime in Nicaragua has sharply increased its persecution of the Catholic Church by imprisoning clergy, shuttering church-affiliated organizations, and prohibiting Catholic rituals.

In its new report, USCIRF recommends five other nations be considered as additional CPCs: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam.

Turkel expressed the commissioners disappointment that the State Department had not listed Nigeria nor India in its recent lists of CPCs. He noted that parts of Nigeria are hotbeds of persecution and said the Indian government enforces religious nationalist policies, including restriction on citizenship, religious conversion, interfaith marriage and cow slaughter that negatively affect people of a range of faiths.

USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper added that, while the commissioners appreciate the efforts of the Biden administration and Congress to address religious freedom, they would like to see the U.S. government do more to address the most egregious violations.

For example, we continue to urge the administration to use the CPC designation tool more effectively, as too many of the State Departments CPC countries are repeatedly named as such each year, but results in little to no substantive change, he said during the event. Accordingly, we recommend that the State Department impose meaningful consequences on violator governments when it actually names its CPC list, such as by not reissuing the waivers based on other U.S. interests that have so far allowed Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan to avoid penalties and other repercussions.

Other commissioners spoke of continuing concerns about blasphemy laws across the globe and ongoing Islamophobia and antisemitism, especially in Europe. They also addressed the violence aimed at clergy and religious institutions in Ukraine since the invasion by Russia, as well as the destruction of holy sites there.

USCIRF also is seeking for the first time that Sri Lanka be placed on the State Departments second-tier special watch list, citing discrimination against religious minorities in the form of targeted arrests using problematic legislation and appropriation of land and property.

The watchdog said two countries, Algeria and the Central African Republic, should be kept on the special watch list and Sri Lanka should be added along with eight others: Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

The State Department currently includes Comoros and Vietnam on that second-tier list.

Overall, the bipartisan and independent advisory body assessed 28 countries for its 2023 annual report.

USCIRFs report includes other recommendations to the Biden administration and to Congress.

Among them was a request that the administration strengthen the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and prioritize for resettlement survivors of the most egregious forms of religious persecution. It also asked Congress to make USCIRFs reauthorization permanent.

The watchdog, which was last reauthorized in 2022, has in recent years received official approval to continue within weeks of a potential shuttering.

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Iran, 27 Other Countries Critiqued by Watchdog for Religious ... - Word and Way

In remarks during his annual speech at the shrine city of Mashhad on the occasion of the Persian New Year, which fell on March 21, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei touched on the perception that Iran is increasingly alienated from the rest of the world. The efforts and strengths of the Iranian nation resulted in us being able to join a number of important regional treaties. We werent isolated. Quite the contrary: We rose to prominence, and our relations with the regional governments and nations were empowered, Khamenei said. Strong relations with Africa and Latin America are part of our definite agenda and, God willing, we will pursue this plan, he added.

But despite the tendency of Iranian officials to present Irans supposedly strong ties with African states as a replacement for its atrophying relations with the European Union and lack of diplomatic ties with the United States, Iran has failed to forge robust partnerships across Africa. Iranian officials frequently talk about Africas untapped potential for trade. At present, however, Iranian-African trade remains marginal. According to the Iran and Africa Business Club, the trade volume between Iran and African countries reached just over $1.2 billion from March 21, 2022 to February 19, 2023. The Foreign Ministry speculates that trade with Africa will exceed $2 billion in 2023, which is still quite limited.

Over this period, the top destination for Irans exports in Africa was South Africa, importing goods totaling $304 million. South Africa exported $13.7 million worth of goods to Iran, as well. With figures this low, Iran is not even included among South Africas top 25 trade partners. And Tehran has failed to court other African heavyweights.

Tehrans footprint in the region pales in comparison to that of its neighbors. Saudi Arabias trade with South Africa exceeded $4.8 billion in 2021, and the kingdom is now seizing on $15 billion in deals signed with South Africa in 2022 to pursue long-term cooperation on renewable energy, industry, mining, tourism, and agriculture. Turkey reached over $34 billion in trade with African states in 2021 and has launched joint business councils with 45 countries on the continent.

With fewer than 20 embassies in Africa, Irans limited diplomatic presence underscores its lack of a vision for developing comprehensive relationships in Africa to compensate for its isolation elsewhere. In contrast, Turkey has embassies in 44 African countries, which it has used to develop strategic and diplomatic clout across the continent. Likewise, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited 30 African countries since taking power in 2003, former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani didnt visit Africa during his eight years in office, and the same holds true for his successor, Ebrahim Raisi, almost two years into his presidency. In late April, the Iranian government announced plans for Raisi to visit several unnamed African countries later in the year, and some African heads of state and government have been invited to Tehran as well.

Tehrans diplomatic absence is not the only reason it has been relegated to the role of a junior player on the worlds second-largest continent. Iran is also perceived as a malign actor by many governments in Africa largely due to its efforts to export its favored version of political Islam making them suspicious of Irans intentions and reluctant to embrace it as a trusted partner.

Morocco, a key player in the Muslim world and Africas sixth-largest economy, has been consistently antagonized by Iran, and the two countries relations have been checkered for years. In 2009, Rabat severed relations with Tehran after an advisor to Khamenei questioned Bahrains sovereignty while charging Iran with seeking to spread Shia Islam across Sunni-majority Morocco. After restoring relations five years later, Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran again in 2018, accusing it of using Hezbollah to support the Polisario independence movement.

Irans relations arent much better with Egypt, which doesnt have an official embassy in Iran and maintains travel restrictions on Iranians. Egypts 1979 peace treaty with Israel has long displeased Iranian officials, who, despite the emergence of the Abraham Accords and related Israeli-Gulf security cooperation, still bitterly view the pact as a toehold for Israel to integrate itself into the Muslim world.

Sporadic efforts aimed at a thaw have been mounted with the reform movements emergence in Iran in the late 1990s, and former President Mohammad Khatamis trip to Cairo in 2007 was a landmark visit that played a role in the two Muslim world powers working toward mending fences. Relations deteriorated under the hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and no ground was broken under his successor, Rouhani. However, there have been discussions recently about the possibility of a detente and improved relations. For instance, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has publicly acknowledged Tehrans interest in developing new bonds with Cairo and repairing a damaged relationship.

Despite the supreme leaders New Year assertions, Irans efforts to strengthen its foreign relations in key regions, including Africa, have made little headway. The ruling elites putative commitment to engagement in Africa hasnt produced concrete successes to validate their assertion that forging ties on the continent will allow Iran to overcome diplomatic and economic isolation. Countries in Africa indeed boast substantial capacities and resources that make them attractive economic and diplomatic partners, but without the theory of synergy translating into a detailed roadmap, no breakthrough should be expected for Irans overseas agenda.

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Why Isolated Iran's Turn to Africa Has Fallen Flat - Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington