Post-election statements by both President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and the supreme leader indicate that the Pezeshkian administration will not change the regime's trajectory. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated his desire for Pezeshkian to continue the policies of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a message on July 6 following the presidential election.[8] Pezeshkian issued a statement to the people of Iran on July 6 following the election thanking Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for opening the field for “participation and competition.”[9] Pezeshkian has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to enforcing Khamenei’s policies throughout his campaign. Pezeshkian also prayed at the tomb of first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini on July 6 after the election to “renew his allegiance to Khomeini's ideals.”[10] Masoud Pezeshkian will be sworn in as the ninth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran on August 4 or 5, according to a member of Iran's parliament presiding board.[11]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-july-7-2024
Utilizing undercover agents stationed in embassies and operatives disguised as business people, Tehran has been able to plot and execute various attacks globally. This intricate network involves coordination with international drug traffickers and proxy forces to ensure the operations leave no trace back to Iran's intelligence agencies.
A source within the Islamic Republic's ministry of defense indicated that Hosseini is part of a new generation of intelligence managers trusted by Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. The ministry of intelligence, along with the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization, has been conducting the most significant sabotage activities abroad for years. However, information received by Iran International shows that the ministry of intelligence has a more cohesive structure than the IRGC for conducting overseas operations.
Born in 1975 in Karaj, near Tehran, Hosseini holds a PhD in Political Science from Azad University of Tabriz and has published two articles in academic journals. Sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom for his involvement in a 2018 bombing plot in Paris targeting the MEK’s conference.
Read the article https://www.iranintl.com/en/202407075015
Iran is expanding its domestic drone and missile production capacities, which would enable further Iranian military support to Russia and the Axis of Resistance. Reuters, citing commercially available satellite imagery, reported on July 7 that Iran has expanded two defense industrial sites outside Tehran City in recent months.[1] The satellite imagery indicated that Iran has built over 30 new buildings at the two sites, which are meant to support the manufacturing of ballistic missiles and drones. A Western analyst that Reuters cited assessed that the expansion began at one site—the Khojir missile production complex—in August 2023 and at the other site—the Shahid Modarres base—in October 2023. The buildings are apparently still under construction. Anonymous Iranian officials speaking to Reuters claimed that Iran would transfer the drones and missiles produced at these facilities to Russia, the Houthis, and Lebanese Hezbollah. The satellite imagery of the Iranian sites also showed dirt berms surrounding many of the new structures, indicating the nearby presence of highly combustible materials.[2] The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) oversees both sites undergoing construction.
Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian appears to be associating himself with members of the moderate Hassan Rouhani administration, which was in power 2013-21. Pezeshkian identified former Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as one of his close advisers and supports while running for the presidency.[9] Zarif served in the Rouhani administration and played a prominent role in negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.[10] Rouhani’s Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi has separately been advising Pezeshkian throughout his campaign.[11] Pezeshkian has since winning the presidential elections met other members of the Rouhani administration, such as Rouhani himself and former Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Ali Taib Nia. The connection between Pezeshkian and the Rouhani administration could indicate that Pezeshkian will draw from this network to build his cabinet. That Pezeshkian may be rallying support from Rouhani’s circles would be unsurprising given that Pezeshkian has not historically appeared to have a prominent support base independently. Pezeshkian will remain considerably constrained in his capacity as president, regardless of support from Rouhani and his network.
Masoud Pezeshkian held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 8, marking one of his first known call with a foreign official as president-elect.[12] Pezeshkian advocated for the continued expansion of Russo-Iranian ties on the call.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-july-8-2024