Iran Crisis Update, January 27, 2023 Kitaneh Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Carl, Annika Ganzeveld, Amin Soltani, and Frederick W. Kagan

An armed individual shot and killed the security chief of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and injured two guards on January 27. [...] The Iranian Neighborhood Youth Union (INYU) released a statement on January 26 emphasizing the importance of external outreach and using legal frameworks to present the crimes of the regime to the international community, as CTP previously reported.10 The US Justice Department announced on January 27 the arrest of three individuals in connection with a plot to assassinate prominent Iranian-America. [...] • An armed individual shot and killed the security chief of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and injured two guards on January 27. [...] Security forces did not conduct any visible crackdown on the protests in Zahedan, despite the heightened security presence there.19 The regime may seek to use these security forces to deter Abdol Hamid from becoming emboldened further and to collect information on local protesters. [...] The Esfahan Neighborhood Youth tweeted on January 27 that the regime has killed, injured, and arrested several of their members and announced that the group is accepting candidates for local field leaders, social media and graphic designers, and reporters and content producers.21 The Iranian Neighborhood Youth Union (INYU) group similarly encouraged ”militant groups from various neighborhoods and.