Iran Update, July 26, 2023
An Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC QF) commander, Iranian security officials, and Hamas leadership discussed capitalizing on Israeli unrest in a three-hour meeting in mid-July, according to an Iranian diplomat and a Hamas source who spoke with Reuters.
Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo Aguilar expressed interest in purchasing Iranian drones on July 25. CTP previously assessed that Iran may seek to sell drones to Bolivia as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the two signed on July 20.
The Raisi administration seeks to bolster electricity cooperation with Russia. Connecting Iran’s electricity grid to Russia’s could increase domestic stability in Iran.
Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian met with newly-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Friends of BRICS National Security Advisors meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 24.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-july-26-2023
Iran-backed militias withdrew from unspecified positions in Deir ez Zor Province and redeployed to the Syrian desert near the Iraq-Syria border, possibly as part of a coercive campaign to expel the United States from Syria.
Ashab al Kahf claimed an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a US logistics convoy in Diwaniyah on July 26, indicating the group has started an IED campaign to expel the United States from Iraq. [7] AK claimed a separate IED attack on a US logistics convoy in Hilla, Babil Province on July 24.[8] Iranian-backed Iraqi proxies’ last IED attack on a US logistics convoy in Iraq took place in January 2023.[9] These US logistics convoys are commonly operated by Iraqi contractors, not US servicemembers.[10] Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba Secretary General Akram Kaabi released a “final warning” to US forces on July 26 prior to the IED attack the same day.[11] Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba has close ties to Ashab al Kahf in coordinating previous attack campaigns and promoting Ashab al Kahf activity on Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba channels.[12] CTP cannot currently determine if this a coordinated effort between Ashab al Kahf and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba.
Iran is simultaneously lobbying China and Russia for assistance in developing Iranian infrastructure projects.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-july-27-2023