The Ukrainian Women’s March Against Adolescence: An Example of How the Iranian and Ukrainians Formed in the Commons for Freedom and Power

A former CNN producer and correspondent is a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The views expressed are her own. You can view more opinion on CNN.

Two groups of demonstrators came together on the same day. There were two flags, one waving Ukrainian and the other Iranian. When they met, they cheered each other, and chanted, “All together we will win.”

Western support and weaponry have proven key, but the indispensable element in Ukrainians’ success to date is the spirit of their fight. They are similar to the women in Iran on the moral high ground. They are fighting for their lives, for their freedom. power and control over others are the two things fighting for.

These battles are inspiring similar support in places like Afghanistan, which is almost unimaginable to the rest of us.

The Iranian revolution has become a beacon of oppression, and it is shaping the lives of Iran and its adversaries in the Middle East

Last month, the death of a young woman in Iran created a spark in the country. She was killed in the custody of morality police who arrested her for violating a rule that requires women to dress modestly.

In scenes of exhilarated defiance, Iranian women have danced around fires in the night, shedding the hijab – the headcover mandated by the regime – and tossing it into the flames.

Their peaceful uprising is not really about the hijab; it’s about cutting the shackles of oppression, which is why men have joined them in large numbers, even as the regime kills more and more protesters.

After all, Russian President Putin entered Syria’s civil war in order to save the dictator Bashar al-Assad, like Iran did.

The Ukrainian president sent a message to his country as Washington warned that Zelensky was a prime target for Russian aggression.

“When Ukraine receives a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, the key element of Russian terror – missile strikes – will cease to work.”

Russia has bombed scores of hospitals, schools, and civilian convoys, with mass graves filled with Ukrainians, in seven months.

The repressive regimes in Moscow and Tehran are now isolated, pariahs among much of the world, openly supported for the most part by a smattering of autocrats.

But Iran’s foes will also be watching the performance of its drones in Ukraine. Its regional rivals in the Gulf Arab states have been direct targets of drone attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen, and they have accused the Islamic Republic of supplying those drones.

Two regimes that are very different in their ideologies but have similar tactics of oppression and desire to project power abroad have something in common.

Multiple Putin critics have suffered mysterious deaths. Many people fell out of windows. The Freedom House says that Iran and Russian have become leading practitioners of oppression, killing critics on foreign soil.

For people in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, there’s more than passing interest in the admittedly low probability that the Iranian regime could fall. It would transform their countries and their lives, heavily influenced by Tehran. After all, Iran’s constitution calls for spreading its Islamist revolution.

For the rest of the world, it’s a time of uncertainty and expectation. Seven months ago, some viewed Putin as something of a genius. That myth has turned to dust. The man who helped suppress the uprisings, entered wars, and tried to manipulate elections is no longer around in today’s world.

There is now a race between the Ukrainians and Russians to acquire new air defense hardware, train on it, and deploy it, so that they can destroy Ukrainian infrastructure, not all of which are precision weapons.

The amount of projectiles that will pass throughUkraine’s missile defense is the simple math for Moscow.

What is known is that the Russian inventories have been diminishing, and that they may resort to older, less accurate but equally powerful missiles.

It is difficult to estimate Russian missile inventories. In May, President Volodymr Zelensky said Russia had launched 2,154 missiles and had probably used up 60% of its precision-missile arsenal. That looks like crazy thinking right now.

The S-300 has been adapted as an offensive weapon by the Russians. These have wrought devastation in Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, among other places, and their speed makes them difficult to intercept. But they are hardly accurate.

Anton Gerashcenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Internal Ministry, reported attacks on infrastructure near the city’s main rail station, but lines were operating as normal midmorning Monday.

He told CNN’s Richard Quest that this was the “first time from the beginning of the war” that Russia has “dramatically targeted” energy infrastructure.

A senior Defense Department official added that work was continuing on improving Ukrainian air defenses, including “finding Soviet-era capabilities to make sure that countries were ready (and) could donate them and help move those capabilities.”

It isn’t economical to waste systems on taking out cheap drones. But there may be other answers for the hundreds of attack drones Russia is now deploying. Zelensky claims that Russia has ordered 2,400 Shahed-136 drones from Iran.

This is not the end. Before he met with Ukraine’s donors at the Brussels meeting, Reznikov said: “And we need more.” Feeling optimistic.”

Missiles and a transition to Western-originlayered air defense system were some of the items on Ukraine’s wish-list.

He said that the system will not be able to control all of the airspace over Ukraine, but it will be able to control priority targets. What you’re looking at really is short-range low-altitude systems and then medium-range medium altitude and then long-range and high altitude systems, and it’s a mix of all of these.”

Western systems are beginning to trickle in. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that a “new era of air defense has begun” with the arrival of the first IRIS-T from Germany, and two units of the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAM) expected soon.

These are not off-the-shelf items. The IRIS-T had to be manufactured for Ukraine. Western governments have limited inventories of such systems. And Ukraine is a very large country under missile attack from three directions.

Kiev Mayor Vitaliy’s Emergency Service: Two Russian Airstrikes in Kyiv – A Search for more Suicide Drones

The air defense battalion that was training in Poland was able to destroy nine of 11 Shaheeds according to the General.

He said Poland had given Ukraine “systems” to help destroy the drones. There were reports last month that the Polish government bought advancedIsraeli equipment and was transferring it to Ukraine, with Israel’s policy of not selling advanced defensive technology to the Ukranian government.

Russian officials said that the last shipment of weapons from Iran had about 450 drones. Ukrainian officials said last week that they have shot down more than 300 Iranian drones.

What are kamikaze drones? Suicide drones, also known as Kamikaze drones, are type of aerial weapon system. They are known as a loitering munition because they are capable of waiting for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only strike once an enemy asset is identified.

Mayor Vitaliy’s says at least two Russian airstrikes hit downtown Kyiv. According to the public broadcaster, there were two more hit by the city.

Several residential buildings have been damaged. He added that rescuers pulled 18 people from the rubble of one building and are looking for two more. Many of the city’s central streets are closed for emergency services to respond.

The problem of Iran’s air defences in the context of the Russian-Uzbekistan nuclear conflict: The European Union and the EU foreign ministers

Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak, again called on the west to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems. “We have no time for slow actions,” he said online.

The photo of “Geran-2” was removed by Klitshchko after commenters criticized him for showing a Russian strike on Iranian drones.

European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to meet today in Luxembourg. Before the meeting, Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told reporters that the bloc would look into “concrete evidence” of Iran’s involvement in Ukraine.

A Iran expert at the US based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said this is a partnership of convenience.

Both countries are in economic and political trouble. Russia is trying to manage a rising revolt over a faltering war effort while Iran is trying to quell street protests that are the most serious challenge in years to the government.

Another disadvantage of the Shahed drones is their speed, said Ret. Marine Col. Mark Cancian, who now serves as a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The problem with them is that they’re slow,” Cancian said. Like all propeller-driven drones, they’re not very fast. so they’re susceptible to being shot down by either missiles or by aircraft guns.”

Last month the US sanctioned an air transportation provider for its involvement in the shipment of the Iranian drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Russia. The US is also ready to “target producers and procurers” contributing to the UAV program, the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said.

Iran hasn’t been known as a weapons exporter. Its arms were previously sent to ideologically aligned proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, largely to fulfill the Islamic Republic’s own regional agenda. The Ukraine war, say analysts, is changing that.

Iran has claimed before that it is not siding with any side in the Russia-Ukraine war. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on the internet that the country has not given arms to either warring side.

The Blitz: A Threat to Iran from the Frontlines? Israeli Defense and Security Forum’s Ancillary View of a Cold War in the Middle East

Both Nadimi and Cancian compared the Russian decision to target cities as it is losing on the frontlines to The Blitz – the German bombing campaign that targeted London in World War II.

“It seems like the Russians are using these the way they use their cruise missiles – that is to strike at the major cities likely with the intention of intimidating the Ukrainian population … but I think from a military point of view that is a mistake,” Cancian said. “The Ukrainians are very unlikely to break. The morale is very unlikely to break.”

Cancian explained that focusing on the cities would give Ukraine’s military time to recover from the front lines, like they did in WWII.

At the same time, the U.S. has said it is speeding up its delivery of NASAMS, the same ground-based air defense systems that are used to protect the White House in Washington, D.C., and the systems are expected to be in Ukraine in a few weeks.

Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.

Since Russia’s invasion, the two sanctioned countries have cooperated on political and economic matters, with the military dimension being the latest facet in their relationship.

22 countries are interested in buying Iranian drones, claimed Major General Yahya Safavi, the aide to Iran’s supreme leader.

Iran’s military equipment is more than 80 percent made by the country, which before the 1979 revolution imported most of its weaponry, he was quoted as saying.

“For the Iranians, it is about getting market share, it is about prestige, it is about solidifying alliances,” said Eric Lob, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute’s Iran program, adding that these are incentives for a country that is as isolated as Iran.

Iran’s archenemy Israel, too, is likely to be watching very closely, said Amir Avivi, a retired senior general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and founder and CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum.

“It’s a threat and it’s an opportunity,” he told CNN. The opportunity for us to see the Iranian capabilities and learn about what is happening in the country is great. On the other hand, one of the things that worries us is that [weapons]… might arrive to Hezbollah, for example, [or] to Hamas.”

Moscow and Tehran have military ties, but it is the cooperation between Russia and Iran that is the good news for the West.

Robert Malley, the US Special Envoy for Iran, told CNN that regime change instigated from Washington is not part of the Biden administration’s policy on Iran.

“Our policy is to defend and support the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens just as we want to support the fundamental rights of citizens across the globe. The form of government in Iran will be up to the Iranians to decide,” he said.

We will keep imposing sanctions on morality police and those involved in the oppression. ambassador to Iran talks about the Biden administration’s support for the protests in Iran There is a pic.

Since the death of a 22-year-old young woman, calls for regime change have been ringing around the streets.

Why Does Mr Amini’s World Look Like a Garden? Iranian Weapons in Ukraine Warime, Revisited

Professional Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi said that she “accidentally” competed without a hijab during the Asian Championships in South Korea this week, in an interview with state-run IRNA upon her arrival in Tehran Wednesday.

The European Union on Monday sanctioned 11 people and four entities for their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent crackdown on protesters. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian branded the move “superfluous.”

Iran HR said on Monday that at least 215 people have been killed since the protests started in Iran.

The acting head of the EU mission in the United Arab states was summoned by the country asking for an explanation of what they said was Racist comments made by the EU foreign policy chief. The UAE foreign ministry said the remarks were “inappropriate and discriminatory” and “contribute to a worsening climate of intolerance and discrimination worldwide,” state news agency WAM reported.

It is a background Borrell called Europe a garden and most of the world a jungle during his speech last week at the European Diplomatic Academy. The gardeners have to go outside. Europeans need to be more involved with the world outside of Europe. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us,” he said. At a press conference on Monday, Borrell denied that his message was racist or colonialist, news agency EFE reported.

Why it matters: Critics denounced the speech as promoting a colonial narrative and created a stir on social media. Most of the Middle East had been under European control until the mid-20th century.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/middleeast/iran-weapons-in-ukraine-war-mime-intl/index.html

Saudi Arabia’s anger against Israel’s decision to recognize the city’s capital is a part of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians

Israel summoned Australia’s ambassador to protest the previous government’s reversal of a decision to recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the prime minister said.

On Tuesday, Australia’s Foreign Minister said the city’s sovereignty should be resolved as a part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Why it matters? Israel considers Jerusalem to be an undivided capital. It captured the eastern sector of the city in 1967, annexed it in 1972 and was not recognized by most of the international community. The capital of a future state should be located in the eastern part of the city.

Background: The US State Department confirmed earlier Tuesday that 72-year-old Saad Ibrahim Almadi has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia after being given a 16-year sentence for tweets critical of the Saudi government. The State Department is still looking into the case to see if he’ll be designated as wrongly imprisoned.

Why it matters: Saudi Arabia has very strict social media rules and has sentenced people in the past over their Twitter activity. According to court documents, the Saudi activist was sentenced to 34 years in prison for her activity on the social networking site. A US-based advocacy group said that a woman was sentenced to 45 years in prison for her use of social media.

The new speaker is not shy about controversy. After Saudi Arabia proposed joining the Gulf states into a union, the then speaker of parliament said that he supported Gulf integration with certain conditions and he publicly criticized neighboring countries.

Sadoun, who has over 400,000 followers on the social media platform, was one of the top trending topics in the region following the announcement. 2 million of Kuwait’s 4.3 million people are citizens.

He said there can’t be a union with countries that have different political systems and jails filled with prisoners of conscience.

In the region, Kuwait politics are closely followed. Despite the years-long standoff between the government and parliament, which has delayed crucial reform, the country is widely viewed as the most democratic of the six Gulf states, with a vibrant press scene and a relatively open political discourse.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/middleeast/iran-weapons-in-ukraine-war-mime-intl/index.html

Military drones for war-torn Yemen: High-altitude, low-power drones to fly in Yemen and the Middle East

Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily-damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen’s war-torn western province of Hodeida on Monday.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have been using cheaper, battery- powered commercial drones for their bigger drones because they can be expensive. Quadcopters fly shorter distances and hover over a position before dropping small weapons like grenades on enemy troops and vehicles. They are designed to be used again in the event of a battery failure.

In March, the Pentagon announced it would send 100 “tactical unmanned aerial systems” called Switchblades. The next month, the administration said it would provide another 300. The Defense Department said it was sending 120 Phoenix Ghost drones to Ukraine. The United States provided funds for Ukraine to acquire more of them.

In August, the Pentagon said it would send Puma drones — small aircraft that soldiers toss into the air to launch and then control by remote control from up to nine miles away. Pumas can stay at altitudes of about 500 feet.

Iran’s Luitering Munition: Status and Perspectives in the War on the Baluchi-Suzanne Conifold

This new expected shipment would mark a significant increase in Iranian support to Russia’s war effort. While the precise timing of when the shipment will arrive in Russia is unclear, officials believe the weapons will definitely be delivered before the end of the year.

The Iranian drones are known as a “loitering munition” because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only striking once an enemy asset is identified.

Earlier this month John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council, said the presence of Iranian personnel was evidence of Tehran’s direct engagement in the conflict.

There have been uses of drones to target civilians and infrastructure. And we know that Iran, in the face of all of this evidence, keeps lying and denying that it’s happening,” Malley said.

A senior US defense official said Monday they didn’t have any information on a suggestion that Iran is preparing to send missiles to Russia.

But it is unclear if the US will be able to prohibit further shipments from going ahead, even as concerns mount about Iranians sending even more advanced weaponry to Russia.