Iran and its partners in Iraq are continuing to try to gain control over the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS). The Iraqi parliament passed the National Intelligence Service Law on January 19.[23] This law reportedly grants oversight of the INIS to the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, which is headed by a member of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization.[24] The passage of this law comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani appointed Hamid al Shatri as head of the INIS in December 2024.[25] Shatri previously served as an administrative assistant to Popular Mobilization Committee Chairman Faleh al Fayyadh and supported Fayyadh during the Iranian-backed crackdown on the Tishreen protest movement that began in October 2019.[26] Shatri is also reportedly affiliated with the Badr Organization.[27] Iranian-backed figures have increasingly infiltrated the INIS since Sudani came to power in late 2022.[28]
The current energy crisis in Iran has had a major negative impact on the Iranian economy.[101] Iran has faced a severe energy crisis in recent weeks marked by electricity and natural gas shortages. The shortages have caused frequent power outages and blackouts. An Iranian businessman told Bloomberg on January 19 that the current energy crisis is the “most disastrous” energy crisis he has experienced in 25 years. Another businessman told Bloomberg that he “[does not] feel optimistic about the future” and may shut down his business. The Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture has estimated that the blackouts have cost the Iranian economy around $250 million per day. The energy crisis comes as Iran is facing dire economic conditions, with inflation at around 30 percent and the value of the rial reaching record-low levels. CTP-ISW previously assessed that the energy crisis, compounded by the dire economic conditions, could trigger internal unrest.[102]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-19-2025
Iran has continued to conduct military exercises to prepare to counter external and internal security threats. Iran has conducted a flurry of exercises across the country in recent weeks and will continue for the next several. The latest involved the Artesh Ground Forces 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade conducting a two-day counterterrorism exercise along the northeastern border with Afghanistan.[78] The Artesh Ground Forces artillery, armored, aviation, drone, electronic, and missile units and other supporting units supported the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade in their heliborne operation to storm a hypothetical terrorist headquarters.
The Tehran-based 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade, also known as NOHED, consists of 5,000 personnel and is Iran's most elite special forces unit, according to a US's Defense Intelligence Agency report in 2019.[79] NOHED is responsible for counterterrorism, hostage rescue, reconnaissance, espionage, telecommunications, among other irregular warfare operations.[80] The Iranian regime sent out NOHED forces, alongside the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) personnel, to Syria in 2016 as advisors and to gain experience with Iranian proxies.[81] Iranian media reported NOHED personnel presence on the Iranian Afghan border in 2021.[82] NOHED also participated in the search and rescue operation for former President Ebrahim Raisi and former Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, after they died in a helicopter crash in May 2024.[83]
Armed Forces General Staff Chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri pad an official visit to Pakistan on January 20. Bagheri met separately with Pakistani Army Commander General Asim Munir, Air Force Commander Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in Islamabad.[84] Bagheri said that the most important discussion in these meetings was improving border security “in various dimensions.”[85] Bagheri announced that Iran will participate in the Aman-25 multinational exercise hosted by Pakistan's Navy. Bagheri added that his delegation also discussed coordinating to address matters relevant to Afghanistan. Iranian Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi discussed border security with Munir in Islamabad in November 2024.[86]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-20-2025
Pakistan has problems with TTP in Afghanistan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_Taliban and Iran has a dispute with Afghanistan regarding water.