The Farda Briefing

Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm RFE/RL senior correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iran has carried out several missile and drone strikes on the bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq in recent months. Tehran has labeled the exiled groups as "terrorist" and "separatist" organizations. Iranian officials have accused the groups of launching cross-border attacks against government forces. Tehran has even gone as far as threatening to invade Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, where the groups are based. At least 17 people have been killed in the Iranian strikes since September.

Why It Matters: Iran's recent attacks on the Kurdish groups have coincided with the antiestablishment demonstrations that have rocked the country since mid-September. Tehran has accused the groups of stoking unrest in Iran's western Kurdistan region, which has been the epicenter of the nationwide protests and the government's deadly crackdown. The rallies were triggered by the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the country's hijab law.

Observers say Tehran's attacks on the Kurdish groups are mainly designed to divert attention away from the demonstrations at home. The Kurdish groups have denied allegations of inciting the protests and said they are being used by Tehran as a scapegoat.

Khaled Azizi, the spokesman for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, one of the exiled groups, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the "main reason for the attacks by the Islamic republic on our bases and the violent crackdown on people's peaceful protests is that Tehran faces a "dead end" in quelling the demonstrations. He said Tehran sees violence as the "only solution."

What's Next: Iran has heaped pressure on Iraq to clamp down on the Kurdish groups. In a move welcomed by Tehran, Baghdad announced last week that it would deploy federal forces to fortify the border with Iran. Iraqi Kurdish fighters had previously guarded the border.

Analyst Ali Sadrzadeh told Radio Farda that Baghdad wants to avoid giving Tehran any excuses to launch more attacks in Iraqi territory. During his November 29 trip to Tehran, the Iraqi president vowed that his government "is determined not to allow any group or party to use Iraqi territory to undermine and disrupt Iran's security."

It is unclear if Iraq's recent promises and actions will be enough to prevent further Iranian attacks.

Stories You Might Have Missed

• An Iranian dissident journalist who disappeared in Turkey in May is now in the custody of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), sources with knowledge of the case told RFE/RL. Mohammad Bagher Moradi was deported to Iran in early November after being kept in "illegal" detention in Turkey for five months, the Turkish lawyer representing his family said. On November 4, Moradi made a brief telephone call to his family and informed them that he was in Iran in the custody of the "intelligence bodies."

• Iran's judiciary on November 27 charged dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi with spreading "corruption on Earth," a serious offense that could result in a death sentence in the Islamic republic. Salehi, 32, gained notoriety for lyrics that rail against corruption, widespread poverty, state executions, and the killing of protesters in Iran. A U.S.-based rights group said on November 26 that Salehi's trial had begun "without a lawyer of his choice," and his family said his "life is at serious risk."

What We're Watching

A U.S. effort to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women will be voted on on December 14, Reuters quoted diplomats as saying on November 28. Iran has just started a four-year term on the 45-member commission, which meets annually every March and aims to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. Washington said earlier this month that Iran has demonstrated through its "brutal crackdown on women and girls protesting peacefully for their rights" that it is unfit to serve on the commission.

Why It Matters: The move would mark a significant step in pressuring Iran over its brutal crackdown on the protests in which women have played a prominent role. It follows a decision by the UN Human Rights Council to form a fact-finding committee to investigate human rights violations in Iran. The decision was praised by rights activists as "a big step towards justice" for those killed in the government crackdown.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.

Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I’ve been following during the past week and what I’m watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Authorities in Tehran have accused Iran's foreign enemies of stoking unrest in the country with the goal of inciting a civil war.

Officials made the accusations following what they called “terrorist” attacks that took place on November 16 in Izeh, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, and in the central city of Isfahan, where they said gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on security forces and civilians, killing seven in Izeh and two in Isfahan.

The incidents followed an October 26 attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz that left 13 dead. The Shiraz attack was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

Speaking on November 18, Mohsen Rezai, Iran's vice president for economic affairs, blamed Tehran's enemies for the “bitter” incidents and claimed that they’re trying to create a civil war in the country. "Iran cannot be turned into another Syria or Lebanon by carrying out violent acts similar to the ones in Shah Cheragh, Isfahan, and Izeh," he said.

A day earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abollahian accused Israel and Western countries of plotting a "civil war" and the “disintegration” of the Islamic republic.

“Security services, [Israel], and Western politicians who have made plans for a civil war and the destruction and disintegration of Iran must know that that Iran is not Libya or Sudan,” Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter, while failing to provide any evidence to back his claim.

Why It Matters: The warnings come amid nine weeks of antiestablishment protests in Iran triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by the morality police in Tehran. Iran has blamed foreign countries and intelligence services of orchestrating the unrest, which has turned into the most significant challenge to the clerical establishment in the past four decades.

Ali Alfoneh, an Iran analyst at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told RFE/RL that the Islamic republic has only itself to blame for the situation it faces, “but lacking the courage to look into the mirror and admit their own mistakes, regime officials cowardly blame the foreign powers.”

Others said Tehran could use the attacks as an excuse for a harsher crackdown on the protests. “We don't have a good sense of what happened in Izeh and Isfahan -- was it a terrorist group, or potentially the regime itself?" said Henry Rome, an Iran expert at the Washington Institute. "Either way, the government will probably use the attacks to send the message that the protests are undermining national security and opening the door for Western-backed terrorism," Rome added.

What’s Next: Statements by Iranian officials who have vowed a crushing response to those behind the "terrorist" attacks could provide clues about the country’s next steps. Authorities have said that the perpetrators of the attacks and their leaders who are allegedly based outside the country would be "introduced to the people."

Stories You Might Have Missed

• Activists say Iran has intensified its crackdown in the Kurdistan region in an attempt to spread fear among protesters and quell the nationwide antiestablishment protests that have rocked the country for the past two months.

• At least 47 children have been killed amid Iran’s ongoing crackdown on the protests that were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. Among them is 9-year-old Kian Pirfalak who was killed on November 16 in the southwestern city of Izeh amid the antiestablishment protests. State media claimed that the boy was killed in a "terrorist attack." But his mother says he was shot dead by Iranian security forces. His tragic death led to an outpouring of grief and anger.

• Protesters in Iran set fire to the ancestral home of the Islamic republic's late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the central Iranian city of Khomein, according to amateur videos posted online. Images of Khomeini have also been torched in past weeks amid the ongoing unrest.

What We're Watching

Iran said on November 22 that it had begun producing uranium enriched to 60 percent at its Fordo underground facility. The announcement was part of Iran's response to the UN nuclear watchdog's adoption last week of a resolution accusing Tehran of noncooperation. Tehran condemned the resolution as politically motivated while vowing retaliation.

"We had said that Iran would seriously react to any resolution and political pressure...that is why Iran has started enriching uranium to 60 percent purity as of Monday [November 21] at the Fordo site," the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, was quoted as saying by state media.

Why It Matters: Enrichment at 60 percent is one step away from the 90 percent level required for nuclear weapons. Iran had already been enriching to 60 percent purity at other facilities.

The 2015 nuclear deal -- which has been on life support following the U.S. withdrawal from the international agreement in May 2018 -- had limited Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities to 3.7 percent for civilian purposes.

Tehran’s latest escalation is likely to lead to more concerns about the country’s nuclear activities from other countries that were party to the stalled nuclear deal and are working to revive it. The EU trio of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement that Iran’s increased enrichment “carries significant proliferation-related risks [and] has no credible civilian justification.”

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.