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.
The head of Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba’s political bureau claimed on January 19 that the group would disarm only if Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani “frankly or directly” requested its disarmament.[23] Sistani is the highest Shia religious authority in Iraq. Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba Political Bureau head Ali al Asadi likely made this comment in response to Iraqi federal government efforts to convince Iranian-backed Iraqi militias to either surrender their weapons or join the official Iraqi security apparatus.[24] Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba leader Akram al Kaabi has previously said that this militia takes its political and religious direction from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei instead of Sistani. Kaabi’s previous statement that Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba takes direction from Khamenei is inconsistent with Asadi’s invocation of Sistani’s authority.[25] Sistani said in November 2024 that arms should be confined to the Iraqi state.[26] Some Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, including Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, denied that Sistani’s call was directed at the militias.[27] It is unclear if other Iranian-backed militias besides Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba would agree to disarm if Sistani directly requested that they disarm. Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba is also implicitly bypassing and rejecting the authority of the Iraqi federal government by the invocation of Sistani’s authority. Sistani does not hold an official position in the Iraqi government.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei emphasized the need to support private businesses during a visit to an economic exhibition in Tehran on January 21.[81] The exhibition displayed the Iranian private sector's “achievements” in the fields of satellite manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and aircraft repair, among others. Khamenei urged government officials to address structural challenges in the energy sector to resolve Iran's energy crisis. Iran has experienced severe electricity and natural gas shortages in recent weeks, causing blackouts, economic losses, and business closures.[82] The Iran Chamber of Commerce estimated that power outages have cost the Iranian economy around 250 million US dollars per day during the crisis.[83] CTP-ISW previously assessed that the energy crisis and dire economic conditions could trigger internal unrest. Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei ordered Iranian security forces to prepare for potential unrest in late December 2024.[84]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-21-2025
Sistani is a counterweight to Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_al-Sistani