Israel strikes Iranian compound, FFMI extended—and more

The Iranist for the week of April 4, 2024

Apr 04, 2024

۱/1 Israeli strike on Iranian compound in Syria kills high-ranking IRGC members

On April 1, an Israeli airstrike hit a four-story building in the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, killing three senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) foreign arm, the Quds Force, and four other officers. The New York Times described it as “one of the deadliest attacks of the yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran.” According to the Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, the building was hit by six missiles launched by F-35 jets (The Guardian). Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack but has launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years.

Who was killed? IRGC Quds Force commander for Lebanon and Syria, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, is said to be the most high-profile Iranian assassinated since Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020. His deputy, Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, was also killed along with the chief of general staff for the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, Brigadier General Hossein Amirollah (The Guardian). A member of Hezbollah, Hussein Youssef, was reportedly killed as well (AP).

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eleven people were killed, including members from unidentified Iran-backed militias (AP). Iranian state media reported that thirteen had been killed, six Syrians and seven IRGC officers (X).

What’s the deal with the building? The building is next door to the Iranian embassy and has been described as a “consulate” on the embassy grounds in Damascus. The Iranian ambassador said that the strikes “targeted my place of residence and the consular section of the embassy, along with Iran’s military attaches.” (BBC) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, claimed that the target was “a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.” (CNN) However, Syrian media reported that the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria didn’t own the four-story building and that only the basement and two of the four stories were owned or rented by Tehran (X). The other two stories were said to be owned by Syrian families; one of the families reportedly lost two family members.

Did Israel violate international law? According to a report by the New York Times:

“Diplomatic buildings are entitled to broad protections from attack or other interference by the host country under international customary law, codified in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Convention on Consular Relations… Those protections remain in force even if the embassy is used for criminal or military purposes… But while those rules of diplomatic relations are a bedrock principle of international law, they actually have little force in the case of the Damascus bombing, experts say, because they only refer to the responsibilities of the ‘receiving State’—in this case, Syria—and say nothing about attacks by a third state on foreign territory… An embassy can lose those protections, however, if it is used for a military purpose, as is true of schools, homes, and other civilian buildings during wartime.”

Nevertheless, on April 2, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike and reaffirmed “the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises,” adding that all diplomatic personnel “must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law.” (AP)

How did the Islamic Republic react? Upon news of the assassinations, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian shared on X that the representative of the US Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran was summoned past midnight Tehran time and told the US must be held responsible for Israeli actions because of its support of the country (X). It’s worth noting that multiple US officials have since denied any involvement and claim the United States wasn’t aware of the planned strike ahead of time (CNN).

On April 1, in a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, the Iranian Permanent Mission in New York wrote:

“Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right under international law and the United Nations Charter to take a decisive response to such reprehensible acts.” (X)

This coincided with a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry that argued that Iran “reserves the right to take countermeasures against the attack and will make a decision as to how to punish the aggressor.” (NBC News)

In a statement on his official website on April 1, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared: “The evil regime (will be punished by the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and similar ones, God willing.” While President Ebrahim Raisi stated the strike on the Iranian compound in Syria was an “inhumane assault in brazen violation of international law.” (New York Times)

How did ordinary Iranians react? On April 2, Iranians in several cities—including the capital Tehran—took to the streets in protest and chanted, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” while waving the Islamic Republic and Palestinian flags (New York Times). Separately, a poster of Israeli officials alleged to be behind the attack with bullseyes on their headshots was seen on the streets of an unknown Iranian city (X).

On April 3, the mausoleum of Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai—a pilgrimage site for Iranian Jews and a cultural heritage site—was attacked in northwestern Hamadan city (X).

On social media, some Iranians celebrated the news (X) and even referred to it as a Nowruz blessing (X). As with the assassinations of previous high-ranking IRGC members by Israel, the hashtag کتلت# (“Cutlet”) was used to poke fun at the strike. The Iranian minced meat patty reference has been used since the 2020 Soleimani assassination, meaning that the individual was made minced meat after being taken out by a missile.

How will Iran respond? Since April 3, the IDF bolstered its air defenses and called up reservists, bracing for a potential Iranian response (Times of Israel). Israel’s Channel 12 news said in a report that Iran could respond by directly launching missiles from its territory as it did with Pakistan in January. Many analysts speculate that Iran will not respond directly for fear of it leading to an all-out war with Israel.

۲/2 United Nations’ Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI) mandate extended

۳/3 Iranian journalist stabbed in London and suspects flee UK

On March 29, Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, 36, was stabbed multiple times outside his London home (CNN). Zeraati is the presenter of “Last Word” on the United Kingdom (UK)-based Iranian diaspora satellite channel, Iran International.

The incident is being investigated by the UK Metropolitan Police (Met Police) Counter Terrorism Command, given a “significant escalation” of threats from the Islamic Republic in recent years—prompting the outlet to temporarily suspend its UK operations and relocate to Washington, DC. In September 2023, the channel reopened at a new location in London. Last year, Britain's ITV revealed that Iranian intelligence had paid $200,000 to assassinate two Iran International anchors, Fardad Farahzad and Sima Sabet, in 2022.

That very year, Iranian authorities sanctioned BBC Persian and Iran International on baseless accusations of “incitement of riots” and “support of terrorism” due to their rolling coverage of the Women, Life, Freedom uprising. Some Iranians believe that Saudi Arabia funds Iran International. However, the Associated Press reports the owner of Iran International, Voltant Media, used to be majority-owned by a Saudi national.

Asked who was behind the attack, the spokesman for Iran International, Adam Baillie, told BBC Radio 4:

“We can’t say. The fact that counter-terrorism is leading the investigation probably speaks for itself... Along with our colleagues at BBC Persian, Iran International has been under threat, very heavy threats, for the last 18 months since the IRGC said ‘we’re coming for you,’ which they have consistently repeated.” (BBC News)

On March 30, the Iranian charge d’affaires in London, Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin, wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“It’s quite strange & questionable that @Telegraph 3hrs after incident & before any official Met’s reports & without evidence explicitly accused 🇮🇷. We deny any link to this story of this so called journalist.”

On March 30, Zeraati shared a photo of himself in the hospital recovering with a victory hand sign (X). Days later, on April 1, he returned home (X).

Separately, on March 30, Sabet, Zeraati’s colleague at Iran International, wrote that she was encouraged by UK police to “immediately leave” her London home after the stabbing (X). The following day, Sabet said that the counterterrorism unit had informed her that the attack was “targeted.” (X) (The other targeted anchor, Farahzad, is based in the United States.)

On April 2, the UK Met Police wrote an update, noting:

“Detectives have established the victim was approached by two men in a residential street and attacked. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle driven by a third male. The vehicle… was abandoned… shortly after the attack… The investigation team has established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects traveled directly to Heathrow Airport and left the UK within a few hours of the attack.” (met.police.uk)

۵/5 Former prisoner dies under suspicious circumstances

On March 24, Sarah Tabrizi, 20, was found dead in her father’s home in Tehran under suspicious circumstances. IranWire reported that, per documents provided by a relative to the outlet, Tabrizi had been “under severe pressure from security agents and interrogators” during the last few months after her arrest in late 2023. On November 16, 2023, Tabrizi was arrested on her way to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport with her aunt on allegations of forging her travel documents. Tabrizi was reportedly planning to travel to the United Kingdom. She was sent to Evin Prison and released ten days after a high bail was paid.

Sources say that intelligence agents pressured her to work as an informant to collaborate with them. One source said that they threatened to publish the content on her phone (IranWire).

On March 23, a day before Tabrizi’s death, the intelligence ministry reportedly summoned her. On March 30, Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, denied that Tabrizi had been interrogated the day before her death (DPA).

On March 31, eight activists who had spent time in prison with Tabrizi—including imprisoned Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi—published a statement on Instagram holding the Islamic Republic responsible for Tabrizi’s death.

۶/6 MAHSA Act to be marked up by Senate Foreign Relations Committee

۷/7 Twenty-seven killed in Jaish al-Adl attacks in Sistan and Baluchestan province

OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:

Human rights

۰ Father of executed protester faces imprisonment for seeking justice (CHRI)

۰ Iran court sentences 11 women's rights advocates to jail (IranWire)

۰ Iran sentences police officer to death for killing protester (AFP)

۰ Arrested Iranian scholar Saeed Madani transferred to Damavand prison (IranWire)

۰ Iranian political prisoner denied treatment (IranWire)

۰ Iranian activist Samaneh Asghari begins prison term (IranWire)

۰ Sister of kidnapped Russian-Israeli Princeton academic urges Biden admin to pressure Iraq (Jewish Insider)

۰ Persecution of Baha’is is ‘crime against humanity’ (Human Rights Watch)

۰ Cutting off fingers for theft: Iran continues controversial punishment (IranWire)

۰ Anoosheh Ashoori: Former British-Iranian prisoner to run London Marathon (BBC)

۰ The Christians celebrating Easter in secret (BBC)

۰ Iran continues crackdown on women as executions approach 100 for the year (Al-Monitor)

Domestic affairs

۰ Confusion erupts as government tries to restrict spring picnic (Iran International)

۰ Ten politicians reflect on past year and future prospects (Iran International)

۰ New hijab legislation stuck amid fears of popular backlash (Iran International)

۰ Attacks On 'hijab agents' continue amid uprising (Iran International)

۰ Iranians call for impeachment of labor minister amidst wage concerns (Iran International)

۰ Police announce sevenfold increase in fines amid rising road deaths (Iran International)

Foreign policy + security

۰Regional water tensions in focus as Iran FM visits Turkmenistan (Al-Monitor)

۰ Exclusive: Iran alerted Russia to security threat before Moscow attack (Reuters)

۰ Iranian ambassador sacked over interview with woman without hijab in Azerbaijan (IranWire)

Iran deal + sanctions

۰ Iran’s handwoven carpet exports plummet amid sanctions (Iran International)

۰ Iran-India trade plummets amid sanctions (Iran International)

۰ US applies sanctions over Iran shadow banking, drone network (AP)

۰ US imposes more Iran sanctions and hits Syrian regime with penalties for drug trafficking (AP)

Economy + trade

۰ Hardliner warns of further fall of battered currency (Iran International)

Arts + culture

۰ Persian plateau is the hub for early human migration out of Africa, study reveals (Iran International)

Diaspora

۰ She fled Iran and became an Israeli spy. Now she’s raised $30 million for a cyber startup. (Forbes)