AN ENERGY LIFELINE FOR SYRIA...
Although its economy is shuddering under the collective weight of Western sanctions, the Islamic Republic is nonetheless extending a helping hand to its most important strategic partner: Syria. Iran reportedly has begun building a $10 billion, 750-mile pipeline to bring natural gas to the beleaguered regime of Bashar al-Assad. The idea for such an energy route was first put forward in July of 2011 as a public show of support for the Assad regime on the part of Tehran. It is now expected to be completed in the second half of 2013. Construction is now said to be underway on the project’s first phase – a 140 mile portion of the route situated in the south of Iran. Once the pipeline is completed, it will bring gas from Iran’s giant South Pars field to Syria via neighboring Iraq.
But can such a route in fact be built? At least some observers are deeply skeptical. "Given the ongoing civil war in Syria, such a project can't be implemented now. Lack of security and political instability in Iraq and Syria doesn't allow this project to be enforced at least at this point," Iranian economist Saeed Leilaz has said. "This is a symbolic gesture by Iran to show that it can bypass Western sanctions." (Associated Press, November 19, 2012)
...AND AN IRANIAN HAND IN YEMEN’S UNREST?
For most of the past decade, a Shi’a rebellion has raged in the impoverished southern Gulf state of Yemen. That revolt, centered on the al-Houthi tribe in the country’s north, has grown in scope and size since its eruption in 2004, and now represents a real threat to the Sunni government of Yemeni President Abd Rabo Mansour al-Hadi, as well as to the neighboring kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is also increasingly suspected of being a proxy conflict for Iran, which has allegedly provided significant material and political support to the Houthis in recent times. “You can see Iran’s hands in the growth of the Houthis,” one Yemeni politician in Sana’a confirms. “It’s a threat to Yemen, it’s a threat to Saudi Arabia and it’s a threat to American interests.”
Others have concurred. In the words of one anti-Houthi militia commander, “The Houthis are part of a single movement... Their ultimate goal is nothing less than the transfer of the Kaaba [the most sacred site in Islam from Mecca [in Sunni Saudi Arabia] to Karbala [in Iraq’s Shi’a south]." (Christian Science Monitor, October 30, 2012)
STILL MORE FISCAL BELT-TIGHTENING
In an effort to protect its stash of hard currency, the Iranian regime has now banned the import of foreign luxury goods. More than 70 kinds of foreign goods - from home appliances to laptops to luxury cars such as Porsches - have reportedly been included in an officially-issued list of products that can no longer be purchased from abroad. The ban, part of the “resistance economy” regime officials are attempting to erect in response to international sanctions, could save the country as much $4 billion per year, according to estimates. However, it could also spur an expansion of the Islamic Republic’s already-vast gray and black markets, as locals continue to seek out the banned goods via illicit channels. (Los Angeles Times, November 8, 2012)
THE HIGH COST OF CYBER-ACTIVISM
The Islamic Republic is intensifying its war on the World-Wide Web. Earlier this month, Sattar Beheshti, an Internet activist and blogger, was among several vocal regime opponents seized by cyber police in their latest crackdown on online manifestations of anti-regime activism. Beheshti was imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on charges of "actions against national security on social networks and Facebook"; he was subsequently tortured to death while in custody. Beheshti suffered a worse fate than two other bloggers, Ali Ranjabar and Haim Reza Abdollali, both of whom were arrested and then subsequently released on substantial bail from Wing 209 of Evin Prison. (Iran Daily Brief, November 7, 2012; BBC, November 8, 2012)
PARSING IRAN’S PRESENCE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
A new study by the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has raised fresh concerns about Iran’s presence and activities in Latin America. The study, entitled A Line in the Sand and issued by the Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management, focuses at length on the sinister synergies that have been created in recent years between Iran and Hezbollah on the one hand, and radical regional regimes and actors – from the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to Mexican drug cartels – on the other. Some of these contacts are financial in nature, as Iran seeks to leverage Latin America’s permissive political and fiscal environments to skirt sanctions and continue to engage in international commerce amid tightening Western sanctions. But they could become operational as well: “[T]he standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, and the uncertainty of whether Israel might attack Iran drawing the United States into a confrontation, only heightens concern that Iran or its agents would attempt to exploit the porous Southwest border for retaliation,” the study warns. (House Homeland Security Committee, November 2012)
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe