{"id":256973,"date":"2022-03-18T09:08:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T08:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=256973"},"modified":"2023-02-03T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T13:36:08","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-march-18-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-18-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 18, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h2>\n

UPDATE: 11:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

IRGC Will Hit Iraq Again, Spokesman Threatens<\/h3>\n

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“If Iraq doesn’t do anything to dismantle these Zionist bases, Iran will respond again,” said Ramazan Sharif, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, responding to Iraqi and international outrage following the IRGC missile attack on Erbil. “It is our natural right to destroy any point that attacks Iran’s security and this is our red line.”<\/p>\n

The IRGC-run Javan news agency<\/a> quoted its spokesman as saying: “Our ambassador to Iraq stated that he had warned the Kurdistan Region of Iraq several times about the existence of the same Mossad headquarters as well as two other headquarters.”<\/p>\n

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Ted Cruz: Republicans Will Use \u2018Host of Tools\u2019 to Kill Biden\u2019s Iran Deal<\/h3>\n

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The <\/span>forthcoming agreement to bring the U.S. back into the Iran nuclear deal will \u201cto a metaphysical certainty\u201d grant Tehran billions of dollars that \u201cwill be used to carry out the murder of Americans,\u201d Senator Ted Cruz told\u00a0National Review<\/span>\u00a0while pledging that congressional Republicans will employ a range of options meant to quash it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we could see a host of tools employed by multiple senators to stop this deal,\u201d Cruz said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cWe still don\u2019t know the specifics of the deal, but everything we hear keeps getting worse and worse by the day. At this point, it is a complete surrender to the ayatollah. It is complete surrender to Russia and Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sen. Cruz Introduces Legislation to Ban the Biden Administration From Waiving Sanctions on Iran Nuclear Activities<\/h3>\n

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WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced legislation<\/a> to prohibit the Biden administration from waiving Congressional sanctions that prohibit cooperation on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, originally issued under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Cotton (R-AR), Cassidy (R-LA), Cramer (R-ND), Ernst (R-IA), Braun (R-IN), Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Hoeven (R-ND), Tillis (R-NC), Blackburn (R-TN), Hagerty (R-TN), and Inhofe (R-OK). Last month, the Biden administration notified Congress it was giving Iran and its international partners\u2014including Russia\u2014a waiver for seven civil nuclear activities, which Iran uses to build its nuclear program. Sen. Cruz\u00a0fought to rescind those waivers, and the Trump administration did so in 2019 and 2020.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran: Un Must Take Action on Institutional Impunity<\/h3>\n

\"article19-logo\"ARTICLE 19 and Amnesty International made a short version of this statement during the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n

The authorities continue to crush protests using unlawful, including lethal, force with complete impunity. The violent suppression of 2021 protests in Khuzestan province and the city of Isfahan, in a context where thousands continue to be denied justice for violations committed during November 2019 protests, is a tragic reminder of how impunity for the unlawful killing and torturing of protesters and bystanders facilitates further cycles of bloodshed. These acts further demonstrate the disregard the Iranian authorities have for the right to life. This is also evident in their continued use of the death penalty, including as a tool of political repression, as well as their deadly and deliberate denial of medical care to prisoners.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iraqi Commission Dismissed IRGC Claims About Targeting Mossad in Erbil Attack<\/h3>\n

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According to the Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper<\/a>, a fact-finding commission, selected to investigate the March 13 missile attack on Erbil, dismissed the allegations made by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards it was targeting Israeli Mossad compounds.<\/p>\n

The Bahraini newspaper wrote on March 18: “A source in the fact-finding commission that has been appointed by the Iraqi government in coordination with the parliament revealed some facts related to the Iranian regime’s rocket attack against the city of Erbil. According to the source, a committee consisting of security officials, deputies, and ministers from Baghdad and Erbil visited the site and listened to the testimony of witnesses, and continued to hear the statements of all parties and experts involved in the case.<\/p>\n

A statement issued by the office of Hakim al-Zamili, deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament said that the commission would issue its recommendations which would be binding on all parties. According to the source, the information obtained by the commission are as follows:<\/p>\n