Iran Crisis Update, February 3, 2023 - Nicholas Carl, Annika Ganzeveld, Amin Soltani, Zachary Coles, and Frederick W.

Abdol Hamid began facilitating these demonstrations initially in response to the Bloody Friday event in Zahedan on September 30, in which security forces attacked protesters and killed around 100 individuals.1 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded by trying to organize an effort to discredit Abdol Hamid, according to a leaked Fars News Agency bulletin, and dispatching a personal delegation to meet. [...] He criticized the heightened security presence in Zahedan, expressed support for similar Sunni-led demonstrations in Golestan and Kurdistan provinces, and spoke to protesters directly on a street in Zahedan, during which demonstrators shouted anti-regime chants.7 This ongoing escalation pattern between the regime and Abdol Hamid could sto. [...] His decision to issue one of little substance at this time is noteworthy because it coincides with the intra-regime discussion over how to manage the ongoing popular frustrations, on which CTP has reported previously.22 Axis of Resistance and Regional Developments The Iranian-backed Fatemiyoun Division delivered a shipment of drones and rockets to the Mahin military storage facility near al Qaryat. [...] The IRGC may have instructed the Fatemiyoun Division to relocate these munitions to Mahin to store in underground facilities and thus try to secure them from Israeli airstrikes. [...] The Assad regime likely redeployed the 4th Division to Daraa Province to expand its control over local narcotics smuggling and possibly for counterterrorism operations, as ISIS activity has increased significantly in the area in recent months.25 Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with senior Nicaraguan economic and energy officials during a visit to the “Supreme Dream of Bolivar.