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Iran Update, June 2, 2024

The Houthis claimed six drone and missile attacks targeting US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean on June 1.[36] The Houthis claimed that they conducted two attacks targeting the US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower north of the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.[37] The Houthis purportedly used drones and missiles in the first attack and unspecified weapons in the second attack.[38] There is no evidence that these attacks occurred. The Houthis also claimed they “directly hit” a US destroyer in the Red Sea using drones.[39] US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it intercepted two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles targeting the USS Gravely destroyer in the southern Red Sea on June 1.[40]

The Houthis additionally claimed two attacks targeting the Malta-flagged MAINA merchant vessel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, one attack targeting the Marshall Islands-flagged AL ORAIQ LNG tanker in the Indian Ocean, and one attack targeting the Malta-flagged ABLIANI crude oil tanker in the Red Sea.[41] CENTCOM reported that it intercepted one Houthi drone in the southern Red Sea on June 1 and that two other Houthi drones crashed into the Red Sea without causing damage or injuries.[42] The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a vessel observed an explosion “a significant distance from the vessel” approximately 48 nautical miles southwest of al Hudaydah, Yemen, in the southern Red Sea on June 1.[43]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-2-2024

People often think that “Iran” is a name imposed on Persia after Islam. This is a misconception.

Iran is, in reality, the native name of the Iranian people, while “Persia” is the popular Western designation given by the Greeks and adopted by the Western World due to Greek-Roman influence.

In fact, the Sasanian Empire, which was the last Iranian empire before the Islamic conquest, was officially called “Eranshahr,” which stands for “The Kingdom of Iranians” or simply “The Kingdom of Iran.” That is the native name which the people and rulers used for themselves. “Iranian” here comes from Old Persian and means “Aryan,” which reflects their Indo-European roots. The use of “arya” as identity by these people goes as far back as the Indo-Iranians in the 2nd millennium BCE.

On the other hand, Persia, the name used by others, is based on the region Pars, which is where Cyrus the Great established the great Persian Empire, known as the Achaemenid Empire.

So, no, Iran is not an Islamic name or a post-Islamic imposition on Persia. Iran is the name of the natives. There is no need to call it Persia.

https://x.com/ApostateProphet/status/1796604324644057203

Iran Update, June 3, 2024

Hardliners overwhelmingly dominate the candidate pool for the upcoming Iranian presidential election. The registration period for the election ended on June 3, and 80 individuals registered to compete in the election.[1] The Guardian Council—a regime body responsible for supervising elections and approving candidates—will vet candidates between June 4 and 10, and the Interior Ministry will then announce the final list of presidential candidates on June 11.[2] The Guardian Council has historically disqualified moderate and reformist figures to advantage hardline candidates.[3]

Iran is continuing to increase its enriched uranium stockpile, according to a statement by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi during an IAEA Border of Governors meeting on June 3.[37] Grossi stated that the IAEA had not been able to access Iranian nuclear sites for over three years and that Iran had made no progress in resolving outstanding safeguards issues. Safeguards are IAEA activities that enable the IAEA to verify that a state is not using its nuclear programs for nuclear-weapons purposes.”[38] Grossi added that “public statements made in Iran” made about Iran's ability “to produce nuclear weapons and possible changes to Iran's nuclear doctrine” increased his concerns about the “correctness and completeness of Iran's safeguards declarations.”[39] Iranian officials have increasingly normalized discussions about Iran's ability to procure a nuclear weapon in recent months, as CTP previously reported.[40]

The Associated Press cited a confidential IAEA report on May 27 that reported that Iran increased its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium from 121.5 kilograms to 142.1 kilograms (a 16.95 percent increase).[41] Weapons-grade uranium is uranium that is enriched to 90 percent purity. A US expert noted on May 28 that, based on the confidential IAEA report, Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium (WGU) for almost eight nuclear weapons in the first month after breakout.[42]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-june-3-2024