Iran may have directed its Iraqi proxies to deescalate their rhetoric against US forces in Iraq. This is consistent with one of CTP’s hypotheses, which is that Iran is threatening attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria to build leverage in the nuclear negotiations.
Iran and Syria coordinated their policy positions ahead of the next round of Astana talks.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela's common struggle against “imperialism and domination” on his trip to Latin America between June 12-16, suggesting that Iran may seek to incorporate these countries into its Axis of Resistance.
Iran and Russia discussed Caspian Sea and Volga River transportation routes on June 16. The expansion of these routes could support Iran's transfer of military equipment to Russia. Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash discussed Caspian Sea and Volga River transportation routes with Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin on the sidelines of the 26th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 16.[10] Iran has attached importance to developing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a transit route connecting Russia and Central Asia to the Persian Gulf via Iran, to bolster Iran's economy in recent years. The Biden administration published a map on June 9 showing Iranian drone transfers from Iran to Russia through the Caspian Sea.[11] High-ranking Israeli officials have separately expressed concern that Russia is providing Iran with Western weapons captured in Ukraine in exchange for Iran supplying Russia with drones.[12]
Mehrdad Bazrpash previously served as an advisor to former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[13] He additionally served as a deputy of the IRGC Cooperative Foundation, an economic conglomerate with extensive influence in Iran's manufacturing and construction sectors.[14]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-16-2023
Iran and Russia have discussed plans to launch a joint shipping company amid international sanctions on both countries and expanding bilateral ties.
It quoted experts as saying that as cooperation between the two countries deepens, the Caspian Sea route is being used to move drones, ammunition, and mortar shells that the Russian government has purchased from Iran to use in Ukraine.
Last year, shipping analytics company Vortexa also reported that eleven ships that previously carried Iranian crude transported Russian oil and products since April 2022. “As more companies scale back from carrying Russian crude and products, those familiar with the sanctioned crude trade will continue using their tankers to assist Russia in exporting oil East of Suez,” Armen Azizian, a crude market analyst at Vortexa.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202306163308