The Israeli-Iran David v. Goliath battle: A courageous battle between autocrats and tyrannies
A former CNN producer and correspondent named Fridaghitis is a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly contributor to CNN as well as a columnist for The Washington Post. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.
Two groups of protesters came together in London on Sunday almost by accident. One was waving Ukrainian flags; the other Iranian flags. They cheered each other, and yelled, “All together we will win.”
For a long time autocrats have been gaining ground while democracies have been retreating. Suddenly, when we least expected it, a ferocious backlash against two of the most brazen tyrannies has burst into view. In Ukraine and in Iran, the people have decided to defy the odds for the sake of their dignity, freedom and self-determination.
These David v. Goliath battles show bravery that is almost unimaginable to the rest of us – and is inspiring equally courageous support in places like Afghanistan.
The Crimes of Zelensky in Ukraine: The Glory to Russia, and the Story of Crimes in the Middle East, by a Syrian President
The death of a young Iranian last month was the catalyst. She died in the hands of morality police, who had arrested her for violating rules requiring women to dress modestly.
In defiance of the regime, Iranian women have stripped off their hijabs and danced around fires in the night in scenes of exhilarated defiance.
It’s why women are climbing on cars, waving their hijab in the air, like a flag of freedom, and gathering crowds of supporters in city streets, and in universities, where security forces are opening fire to try and silence them.
It was just a decade ago that the Russian military entered Syria in order to save Assad, just like Iran did at the same time.
As the US warned that Zelensky was a prime target for Russian aggression, the Ukrainian president sent a message to his nation and to the world that he would stay.
Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this. He concluded, “That is it. I only wanted to tell you that. It is a great honor to carry the Glory to Ukraine.
A trail of war crimes has been found by Russia over the past seven months, with mass graves filled with Ukrainians and hundreds of bombed hospitals.
The repressive regimes in Moscow and Tehran are now isolated, pariahs among much of the world, openly supported for the most part by a smattering of autocrats.
Iran admitted to giving drones to Russia in the months before the war in Ukraine, but denied continuing to supply them. Zelenskyy claimed that Iran lied because Ukrainian forces shot down at least 10 Iranian drones a day.
Iran and Russia: Two Regimes of Repression and Power in the War of Syria and the Middle East – The Kaze and the Other Regimes
These are two regimes that, while very different in their ideologies, have much in common in their tactics of repression and their willingness to project power abroad.
Multiple Putin critics have suffered mysterious deaths. Many have fallen out of windows. And both Iran and Russia have become leading practitioners of transnational repression, killing critics on foreign soil, according to Freedom House and other democracy research and advocacy groups.
There is more to it than the fact that the Iranian regime could fall. It would change their lives and have a profound effect on their countries. Iran has a constitution that calls for spreading its revolution.
It is a time of uncertainty and expectation for the rest of the world. Putin was seen as a genius seven months ago. That myth has turned to dust. The man who helped suppress uprisings, entered wars, and tried to manipulate elections across the globe seems to be cornered.
Drones have played a significant role in the conflict since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, but their use has increased since Moscow acquired the new drones from Iran over the summer.
The disposable drones are referred to as the “kaze”. They are meant to hit behind enemy lines, unlike the larger military drones that return home after dropping missiles.
Multiple explosions in Kiev on Saturday and through the night as a result of a Russian strike on energy infrastructure in the Ukraine’s capital
National Security Council official John Kirby said in a reporters interview that the US was considering taking additional steps to restrict Iran’s access to sensitive technologies and that the US was sanctioning three Russian companies involved in the purchase and use of Iranian drones.
Multiple blasts rocked the capital and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday and through the night. Russia launched missile attacks on energy infrastructure facilities Thursday, and the quick follow-up alarmed Ukrainian officials.
The explosion occurred in one city district as the result of the attack on energy infrastructure facilities. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that was caused by drones or other munitions. Emergency power shortages were underway in the capital as a wounded 19-year-old man was hospitalized.
Anton Gerashcenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Internal Ministry, reported attacks on infrastructure near the city’s main rail station, but lines were operating as normal midmorning Monday.
Ukranian needs more air defense systems from the west, said Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak. “We have no time for slow actions,” he said online.
There was a photo of the bomb labeled “Geran-2,” Russian for the Iranian drones, but it was removed after commenters criticized him forconfirming a Russian strike.
The threat of an extra-regional power: Iran and Russia at a meeting of the European Union on a “hadrone-like” basis
European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to meet today in Luxembourg. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told reporters before the meeting that the bloc would look into “concrete evidence” of Iran’s involvement in Ukrainian affairs.
An Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International peace said that there was a partnership of convenience between the two dictatorships.
The same threat perception has Iran and Russia getting closer, said a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. “They see a regional order aligned against them by an extra-regional power,” he said, referring to the United States.
Farzin Nadimi is an associate fellow with The Washington Institute who specializes in the security and defense affairs of Iran. Nadimi said these drones are “fairly accurate,” decently resistant to signal jamming, and difficult to detect and track using radar, but they are not without weaknesses.
Another disadvantage of the Shahed drones is their speed, said Ret. Marine Col. Mark Cancian, who now serves as a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Cancian said that the problem with them was they were slow. “Like all propeller-driven drones, they can be shot down by missiles or aircraft guns, because they are not very fast, so they are susceptible to being shot down.”
Iran’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war: Implications for the U.S., the Central Intelligence Mission and the Defense Forces
Iran has not been thought of as a weapons exporter. Its arms were previously sent to ideologically aligned proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, largely to fulfill the Islamic Republic’s own regional agenda. The Ukraine war, say analysts, is changing that.
“Iran has time and again declared that it is siding with no side in the Russia-Ukraine war. Iran has not given arms to either warring side, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Both Nadimi and Cancian compared the Russian decision to target cities as it is losing on the frontlines to The Blitz – the German bombing campaign that targeted London in World War II.
“It seems like the Russians are using these the way they use their cruise missiles – that is to strike at the major cities likely with the intention of intimidating the Ukrainian population … but I think from a military point of view that is a mistake,” Cancian said. “The Ukrainians are very unlikely to break. The optimism is not likely to break.
Cancian said that focusing on the cities would allow the military more time to recover from the front lines, similar to Britain’s recovery after WWII.
At the same time, the U.S. has said it is speeding up its delivery of NASAMS, the same ground-based air defense systems that are used to protect the White House in Washington, D.C., and the systems are expected to be in Ukraine in a few weeks.
The Iranian Archenemy: A Threat to the United States from the Beginnings of the War in the Middle East, as Revealed by CNN
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.
Since Russia’s invasion, the two sanctioned countries have cooperated on political and economic matters, with the military dimension being the latest facet in their relationship.
Iran, which before the 1979 revolution imported most of its weapons, now manufactures more than 80% of its military equipment, he was cited as saying by semi-official news agency Fars.
“For the Iranians, it is about getting market share, it is about prestige, it is about solidifying alliances,” said Eric Lob, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute’s Iran program, adding that these are incentives for a country that is as isolated as Iran.
Iran’s archenemy Israel, too, is likely to be watching very closely, said Amir Avivi, a retired senior general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and founder and CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum.
He told CNN it is a threat and an opportunity. We can learn about what’s happening in Iran, and see the capabilities on the grounds. Weapons could potentially arrive to Hezbollah, or to Hamas, on the other hand.
The move to send more Iranian weaponry to Russia will likely cause relations with the US to get worse. The US envoy to Iran said that if no progress is made in the talks, the Biden administration will not waste their time. Tehran’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and its crackdown on nationwide protests prompted by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September have prompted the US to impose further sanctions on Iran.
The Biden adminstration has no plans to change the regime in Iran, according to the US Special Envoy for Iran.
We support the fundamental rights of citizens in other countries, but we do not support the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens. The form of government in Iran will be up to the Iranians to decide,” he said.
We will continue to impose sanctions on the morality police. The Biden Administration is supporting the protests in Iran, according to the Envoy to Iran. pic.twitter.com/FGr8IKyVe6
Nationwide protests have been ongoing for over a month following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini with calls for regime change ringing around the streets.
The Amini/Protests Amini-Abdollahian Attack and the War of the Middle East: After 20 years, the United Arab Emirates has summoned the EU
Elnaz Rekabi, a professional rock climber of Iran, said that she accidentally competed without a hijab in the Asian Championships at South Korea this week, and that she spoke to state-run IRNA upon her arrival in Tehran Wednesday.
The European Union imposed sanctions on 11 people and four entities for their roles in the deaths of Amini and protesters. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian branded the move “superfluous.”
The Iran HR, an Iran focused rights group in Norway, said on Monday that at least 215 people have died in Iran due to the protests.
The United Arab Emirates on Monday summoned the acting head of the EU mission in the country, asking for an explanation of what it said were racist comments made by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week. The UAE foreign ministry said the remarks were “inappropriate and discriminatory” and “contribute to a worsening climate of intolerance and discrimination worldwide,” state news agency WAM reported.
Background: In his remarks at the new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Belgium last week, Borrell called Europe “a garden” and most of the world a “jungle” that “could invade the garden.” “The gardeners have to go to the jungle. Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us,” he said. At a press conference on Monday, Borrell denied that his message was racist or colonialist, news agency EFE reported.
The comments have created a stir on social media in the Middle East and critics felt the speech was promoting a colonial narrative. Europe ruled most of the Middle East until the 20th century.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/middleeast/iran-weapons-in-ukraine-war-mime-intl/index.html
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Wong re-joins Jerusalem as the capital of a future state: Israel vs. the Saudi regime on social media
The Israeli Prime Minister said his country summoned the ambassador from Australia to protest the decision of the previous government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Background: Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday justified the reversal of the move by saying the sovereignty of the holy city is a “final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people.”
Israel considers Jerusalem’s capital to be an undivided capital. The east part of the city was annexed in a move that was not acknowledged by most of the international community. Palestinians want the eastern part of the city to be the capital of a future state.
The son of an American citizen imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for criticizing the Saudi government said Tuesday evening that his father is “nowhere near being a dissident.” If his father were taken into custody in either Russia or Iran, Ibrahim said he would be on the news every morning.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia has very strict social media rules and has sentenced people in the past over their Twitter activity. In August, Saudi women’s rights campaigner Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison for her activity on Twitter, according to court documents viewed by CNN. According to a US-based advocacy group, another woman was sentenced to 45 years in jail for her role in the social media world.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/middleeast/iran-weapons-in-ukraine-war-mime-intl/index.html
Puma Drones in the Mykolaiv Region: A Demonstration of Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Kuwait
The speaker of Kuwait’s parliament is an elderly man named al-Saadoun. He had previously served as speaker between 1985 and 1999 and in 2012. A fiery politician with a career that has spanned almost four decades, he is known for his support for the rights of Palestinians and is a vocal advocate for democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.
Sadoun, who has more than 400,000 followers on the social media site, was seen as a hot topic in several countries following the announcement. Kuwait has 4.3 million people and 2 million of which are citizens.
He told the Saudi state-backed news channel that his country has freedom of expression and representation, but it cannot be a union with countries with different political systems.
Kuwaiti politics are followed closely in the region. Despite the years-long standoff between the government and parliament, which has delayed crucial reform, the country is widely viewed as the most democratic of the six Gulf states, with a vibrant press scene and a relatively open political discourse.
Children from Yemen attend classes outside on the first day of the new academic year in the war-torn western province of Hodeida.
In August, the Pentagon said it would send Puma drones — small aircraft that soldiers toss into the air to launch and then control by remote control from up to nine miles away. The altitudes of the phucats are around 500 feet.
Seven drones were shot down over the southern Mykolaiv region, according to Gov. Vitali Kim, and three more were shot down in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said.
One Ukrainian MiG pilot won folk hero status in Ukraine this month after shooting down fiveIranian Shahed-136 drones over the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, but was forced to retire after crashing into the debris of the last one. The pilot, Karaya — who identified himself by only his nickname, according to military policy — told the local news media afterward, “Within a short period of time, we are adapting to this kind of weapon and are starting to destroy it successfully.”
After colliding with the airborne debris, he said, Karaya steered his MiG away from Vinnytsia and ejected. Nobody was injured when the jet crashed into houses in anoutlying area. Karaya later visited the site to apologize.
How Iran has been sending UAVs to Ukraine, and why is it still going to be seen by Russians? a comment on the letter written by Yurii Ignat
He stated that he showed up in his tattered uniform, missing epaulets, to apologize for causing the residents pain, and thanked them for their steel nerves. He thought it was a violation of military protocol. “Lost them while leaving the office,” he wrote.
While fighter jets have been effective against Iranian drones, said Yurii Ignat, a Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, the approach is costly because of its use of air-to-air missiles. “It’s frustrating that we must hit these drones with expensive missiles,” he said. What else can we do? This is the reality now.”
This new expected shipment would mark a significant increase in Iranian support to Russia’s war effort. There is no exact timing of when the shipment will arrive in Russia, but officials believe it will be before the end of the year.
Earlier this month John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council, said the presence of Iranian personnel was evidence of Tehran’s direct engagement in the conflict.
The drones have been used to target civilians. Iran is lying and denying that it’s happening in the face of all the evidence.
A senior defense official said they didn’t have any information about the idea that Iran is about to send missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.
The US has imposed tough export control restrictions and sanctions to prevent Iran from obtaining high-end materials, but evidence has emerged that suggests Iran is finding an abundance of commercially-available technology.
The US levied sanctions against a transportation provider that was involved in the shipment of Iranian drones to Russia. Under Secretary of theTreasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said that the US is ready to target producers and procurers who contribute to the UTA program.
Iran has provided weaponry to Russia, but it is unclear how long it will continue to do so.
NPR’s State of Ukraine: U.K. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is “energy terrorism”
Anticipation is mounting for a possible battle for Kherson, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Kremlin-installed officials have been evacuating civilians in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
And Ukraine will be watching America’s midterm election results this week, especially after some Republicans warned that the party could limit funding for Ukraine if it wins control of the House of Representatives, as forecast.
Also Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Before Sweden can join NATO, certain conditions must be met.
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday is scheduled to discuss an International Atomic Energy Agency report, in which Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “energy terrorism,” as attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure left more than 4 million Ukrainians without electricity.
Russia rejoined a deal with the U.N. to export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukranian. Moscow had decided to suspend its part in the deal after learning that its Black Sea ships were attacked by drones.
You can read past recaps here. You can find more of NPR’s coverage here. NPR’s State of Ukraine is a good place to get updates throughout the day.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Russian drone strikes on the southern port city of Odesa left more than 1.5 million people in that region without power Saturday night, the latest attacks in an ongoing series of assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure by the Kremlin.
The Ukrainians rely on the plants and equipment for heat and light and have been subject to repeated assaults that have drawn condemnation from world leaders.
In his remarks Saturday night, Mr. Zelensky said that blackouts have persisted throughout various parts of Ukraine including in the capital, Kyiv. Some are what he classified as “emergency” outages resulting from attacks. Others are what he called “stabilization” outages, or planned blackouts on a schedule.
The power system is very far from normal, and there is an acute shortage, so he said to use less power.
“It must be understood: The fact that there are no heavy missiles strikes does not mean that there are no problems. “Almost every day, in different regions, there is shelling, there are missile attacks, drone attacks. Almost every day there is a hit on energy facilities.
The task force is also having to coordinate with foreign allies, since the components being used in the drones are not limited to those produced by American companies. Conflict Armament Research also found that “more than 70 manufacturers based in 13 different countries and territories” produced the components in the Iranian drones they examined.
Last month, the UK-based investigative organization Conflict Armament Research examined several drones that had been downed in Ukraine and found that 82% of their components were manufactured by companies based in the US.
Texas Instruments said in a statement to CNN that “TI is not selling any products into Russia, Belarus or Iran. TI partners with law enforcement organizations in countries where we do business to comply with applicable laws and regulations. We don’t support or condone use of our products in applications that aren’t designed for them.
The investigation has intensified in recent weeks amid intelligence obtained by the US that the Kremlin is preparing to open its own factory for drone production inside Russia as part of a deal with Iran, the officials said.
Agencies across Washington are involved in the task force, including the departments of Defense, State, Justice, Commerce and Treasury, with one official describing the inquiry as an “all hands on deck” initiative. The White House National Security Council is in charge of the effort, and it is part of aholistic approach to dealing with Iran, said a senior administration official.
The White House thinks it is driving the issue home with allies. The senior administration official told CNN that the international community was growing stronger on Iran, with the EU, Canada, and Australia all saying the same thing.
The Challenge of Tracking Russia’s Supply Chain in the U.S. and Europe during the Dec. 5 Assault on Ukraine
The task force is difficult because there is not a shred of evidence that western companies are knowingly exporting their technology to be used in drones.
That makes supply chain monitoring a challenge, though experts say US and European companies could be doing a lot more to track where their products are going.
“American companies should be doing a lot more to track their supply chains,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, the former chief technology officer at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
It is difficult to keep better track of the companies that sell their products, because many of the products are off-the-shelf and online for civil purposes. Ultimately, neutering some Iranian front companies with sanctions will be akin to a game of whack a mole, as they can easily find another supplier, Alperovitch said.
He added that the real “weak underbelly” of US policy when it comes to export controls is enforcement—and prosecuting the specific individuals involved in the illicit transactions.
“You can put companies on the [sanctioned] entities list,” he added, “but if you don’t actually go after the people involved, it doesn’t mean a whole lot.”
“If the Russians thought that no one at home would be affected by the war, then they were deeply mistaken,” Colonel Ihnat said. He added that explosions at Russian airfields complicated the bombing campaign against Ukraine, forcing Moscow to relocate some of its aircraft, though no one is claiming that the strikes have seriously impeded the Russian barrage.
The U.S. reaction to the Dec. 5 assaults was muted. Austin said that the Defense Secretary was not working to prevent Ukraine from developing their own capability. The State Department spokesman, Ned Price, stated that the United States was not encouraging or enabling attacks on Russia.
On Monday, Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister told The Associated Press that Russia would not be invited unless it faced first. It was the latest in a string of claims by each country to be open to peace talks — but only on terms that are unacceptable to the other.
Russian forces were killed in an attack by Ukrainian forces in the eastern region of eastern Ukraine, the defense ministry said on Monday.
The strike, using a U.S.-supplied precision weapon that has proven critical in enabling Ukrainian forces to hit key targets, delivered a new setback for Russia which in recent months has reeled from a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian military has not directly confirmed the strike, but seemed to acknowledge what appeared to be the same attack that Russian authorities reported.
Russia deployed multiple exploding drones in a new attack on Ukraine on Monday, as the Kremlin signaled it would keep using bombardments to target the country’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s ground forces are struggling to hold on to their ground as Moscow’s invasion goes awry. He said in his New Year’s speech that it was going to be a difficult year of decisions.
Putin insists he had no choice but to send troops into Ukraine because it threatened Russia’s security — an assertion condemned by the West, which says Moscow bears full responsibility for the war.
Observation of a Kinzhal-type missile from an Iranian Shahed-131 drone in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region
Five people were wounded in the Monday morning shelling of a Ukraine-controlled area of the southern Kherson region, its Ukrainian Gov. Yaroslav Yanushevich said on Telegram.
The Russian forces attacked the city of Beryslav, the official said, firing at a local market, likely from a tank. Three of the wounded are in serious condition and are being evacuated to Kherson, Yanushevich said.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a missile was also destroyed, according to Reznichenko. He said that energy infrastructure in the region was being targeted.
Ukrainian authorities reported that at least four civilians were killed and many others were wounded in a devastating New Year’s Eve assault. The fourth victim, a 46-year-old resident of Kyiv, died in a hospital on Monday morning, Klitschko said.
“Russia has Kinzhal-type missiles that strike at ballistic trajectory,” Ihnat said on Monday. The missiles that they have are Kh-22 and S-300, and the rockets are S-400. Those are challenges and threats we are facing at the moment.”
Ihnat said that in order to “defeat ballistic threats,” Ukraine needed air defense systems like the latest-generation American Patriot PAC-3, and the French-made SAMP/T (Sol-Air Moyenne Portée/Terrestre)
The US did not announce details about the air defense system it was planning to give to Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers were set earlier this month to begin training on the Patriot missile system.
Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based investigative organization, and the Ukrainian military examined an unexploded warhead from a Iranian Shahed-131 drone found in Southern Ukrainian in October. CAR provided its findings first to CNN.
Spleeters explained how warheads targeting battlefield assets such as tanks and cannons might be different because of a frontal shaped charge used for more concentrated targets. The warhead examined by CAR has a radial shaped charge effect, which can result in a larger area of impact.