Lawmakers in the US have urged the Trump administration to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group. This is based on its extensive support for Syrian dictator Assad and the hundreds of thousands of people who have died in Syria as a result.
The lawmakers also noted that the IRGC attacked residents at the former Camp Liberty in Iraq on several occasions.
They called on the government to ensure that sanctions are in place for the Iranian regime.
On Sunday 29th January Iran launched another ballistic missile. As a result, the United Nations Security Council will hold urgent talks on Tuesday.
Emergency action was requested by the United States following a call for council action from the Israeli ambassador to the UN.
The US mission said in a statement: “In light of Iran’s January 29 launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, the United States has requested urgent consultations of the Security Council.”
According to reports from Saudi state news agency SPA, two crew members were killed and three more injured on Monday in an explosion on a Saudi warship that was attacked by the armed Houthi movement. The incident happened off the West coast of Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen released a statement saying: “A Saudi frigate on patrol west of Hodeidah port came under attack from three suicide boats belonging to the Houthi militias.”
Although the Trump Administration is still in its early days, there is already a significant change to the way the United States is dealing with the Middle East.
Trump gave an executive order to put a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants and Syrian refugees entering the US. For at least 30 days, temporary visas will be suspended for people coming from Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Several lawmakers told the Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC) last week that they will push for tougher action on Iran and its Islamist rulers.
The Republican and Democratic House members attended a gathering organised by the OIAC in Washington where they spoke.
Last week in Astana, representatives from Turkey, Russia and Iran met to discuss the Syrian civil war situation. Much was said afterwards about how positive the talks were, however nothing has been set in stone making many doubt that any advancement is likely. The talks seemed to be a gathering of the three nations – Turkey, Russia and Iran – seeking their own personal objectives.
On Sunday, the White House signalled that Saudi King Salman and President Trump would like to “rigorously” enforce the terms of the Iran nuclear deal. President Trump has voiced his great concerns over the deal and threatened to scrap it.
However, it seems like it would be better, at least in the short term, to renegotiate the deal terms and ensure that Iran adheres to its obligations. Barack Obama warned Trump before he left the White House that it would be a bad idea to undo the deal as it had already shown “significant and concrete results”.
An article in Iran Focus on January 26 reports that Iran currencies aredropping to record lows, but the budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year, March 2017 to March 2018, is being described by economic analysts as a fully military-security budget.
In his January 27 article by Tony Duheaume for Al-Arabiya, writes about Iran’s intentions in Yemen. He says that during the 30th Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (CGG), in December 2009, in Kuwait, the attempts by Iran to destabilizing Yemen came to light, and delegates expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia as it struggled to repel the Shiite Houthi rebels based in north Yemen. These rebels, positioned along the edge of Saudi Arabia’s southern border, entered Saudi territory in cross-border incursions, and struck at targets in blatant acts of aggression.
For the year March 2017 to March 2018, Iran’s budget bill is expected to be heavy on military funding. This is despite the record lows regarding currencies. The budget bill is currently under review in Iran’s parliament.
Iran’s currency plunged on 26th December last year raising concerns that the country’s economy was in danger. Reports say that the street value of the rial hit 41,500 to the dollar on 26th December. Just three months previous to this, it was worth 35,570.
