By Natasha Phillips
MAR.22 – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo received a warning this week from Israel that Iran-backed Hezbollah could be winding down its activities in Syria in order to focus on a confrontation with Israel. Pompeo was on a regional tour to promote U.S. President Donald Trump’s Iran Pressure Campaign.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told state TV viewers on Thursday that the Iranian government was determined to boost Iran’s defense capabilities. Iran is under increased pressure from the U.S. and its allies to restrict its ballistic missile program.
A report from London’s Financial Times said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were looking to engage in the energy sector in a bid to fend off economic pressure from U.S. sanctions. Saeed Mohammad, head of Khatam-ul-Anbia, the construction arm of the elite force, said his organisation was ready to replace Total in the development of the South Pars gas field, in a speech given at South Pars.
- The threat of war between Israel and Iran took center stage this week as Israeli media accused Iran of hacking into the phone of presidential front-runner Benny Gantz. Yleem Marie Sarmiento de Poblete, Assistant Secretary at the U.S. State Department’s Department Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, said Iran’s missile program was a key contributor to increased tensions and destabilization in the Middle East. Pompeo said Iran-backed Hezbollah was also destabilizing the region. Analysts spoke to Kayhan Life about whether a war between the two countries was imminent.
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- Iran’s decreasing support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip is creating an economic crisis in the region, according to independent journalists working in Gaza. Iran’s financial support for organizations like Hamas has been affected by the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on the country. Meanwhile residents of the Gaza Strip demonstrated for four days to protest against the economic policies of the Hamas administration. New taxes imposed on residents in the Gaza Strip have caused a sharp increase in food prices.
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- Iran has been conducting clandestine oil sales to circumvent sanctions according to a report by German daily, Die Welt. The newspaper said that the collision between the Iranian oil tanker Sanchi with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal in the East China Sea in 2018 was one example of Tehran trying to sell its oil through secret and illegal channels. According to maritime authorities, 24 hours before the incident, Sanchi had stopped transmitting its locations to naval tracking systems.
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- A formal investigation into allegations of insider espionage within the Ministry of Intelligence has been called for by Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament). Falahatpisheh would like to see any investigation focus on spying aimed at influencing the decision-making process and field operations at the Ministry. Iran’s state media have not reported widely on the Majlis deputy’s comments. Falahatpisheh has warned against “treasonous acts” inside the Ministry of Intelligence in the past.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touches the stones of the Western Wall during a visit together with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the site in Jerusalem’s Old City March 21, 2019. Abir Sultan/ Pool via REUTERS 
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. FILE PHOTO. Reuters ./ 
FILE PHOTO: Benny Gantz, head of Resilience party is seen after a news conference, in Tel Aviv, Israel February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 
FILE PHOTO: A crane and vessels are seen at the Al-Basra terminal in southern Iraq. Reuters 
FILE PHOTO: Tehran backed Hezbollah militia, riding on an APC M113. REUTERS 
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. REUTERS./
