Iran is framing the US-led international coalition in Syria as an imminent security threat to local Syrians, possibly to incite and sustain local support to expel US forces from Syria. Iran maintains the capability to attack US forces in the Middle East via its proxies but has restrained them from conducting attacks.
Law Enforcement Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan will soon travel to Russia to increase security cooperation with Moscow. Iranian media reported on June 26 that Radan will travel to Russia on an unspecified date to observe the Russian police's methods for confronting organized crime.[7] Radan will also sign a memorandum of understanding with Russian security officials to increase Russo-Iranian cooperation in combatting terrorism and human and drug trafficking. Iranian law enforcement commanders rarely travel abroad, and Radan has not traveled abroad since becoming Law Enforcement Commander in January 2023. Former Law Enforcement Commander Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari only made one foreign trip to Iraq during his eight-year tenure, for example.[8] The announcement of Radan’s trip follows Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin’s June 23-24 armed rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defense.[9] The timing of this announcement suggests that Radan is traveling to Russia to help Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain internal security. Radan previously traveled to Damascus, Syria as law enforcement deputy commander in 2011 to support Syrian security services’ crackdown against the Syrian people.[10]
Iran may seek Russian security assistance to crack down more forcefully on Iranian anti-regime activity. Radan stated on June 26 that the Law Enforcement Command (LEC) will “forcefully” confront “norm breakers,” a term Iranian security officials frequently use to describe individuals who participate in acts of anti-regime defiance, including unveiled women.[11] President Ebrahim Raisi separately stated on June 25 that the regime's efforts to “reduce social harms” have been “insufficient.”[12] The regime recently began implementing a “smart” approach for enforcing mandatory veiling in mid-April.[13] This approach uses advanced technologies, such as facial-recognizing cameras, to identify unveiled women without physically confronting them. Several Iranians recently told the BBC that these smart technologies are inaccurate, however, with several long-haired men reporting that they received hijab warning messages after traffic cameras mistook them for unveiled women.[14] The Wall Street Journal reported on March 27 that Russia is providing Iran with advanced surveillance software.[15]
The IRGC appointed two new northwest regional commanders on June 26, indicating the regime's focus on security threats in the area.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-26-2023
The Iranian president expressed full support for the Russian leadership in the wake of the Wagner mutiny, going a step further than sentiments of Iran’s Foreign Ministry which had said that the Islamic Republic supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation and considers the latest developments to be an internal Russian matter.
Although Iran’s official reaction to the ‘Wagner rebellion’ was cautiously supportive of Vladimir Putin, Ali Motahari, the former deputy speaker of the parliament warned the authorities of the Islamic Republic not to continue linking the interests of the Iranian people to the interests of Russia. He said that the authorities of the Islamic Republic should “know that Russia is not a strong party to lean on.”
Former lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi tweeted Sunday that the Iranian authorities talk about being neutral but choose sides even in Russia’s internal affairs, officially siding with Putin.
On Sunday, the former head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Relations Committee, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, told Didban website that following Saturday’s challenge by Wagner, Putin can no longer claim to be as powerful as before. Falahatpisheh added that “It was naturally clear that Putin cannot have a stable future.” He further remarked that “we are going back to the Yeltsin period”.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202306264816
Iran Update, June 27, 2023
Iranian-backed militants are building new military sites south of Damascus City likely as part of the Iranian effort to secure transportation routes throughout Syria and connecting to the Golan Heights and Lebanon.
Law Enforcement Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan traveled to Moscow on June 27 to expand internal security cooperation with Russian security services.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-27-2023