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Iran

Turkey’s Gas Revolution: Erdogan’s LNG Pivot Threatens Russia & Iran’s Energy Grip

Turkey’s Gas Revolution: Erdogan’s LNG Pivot Threatens Russia & Iran’s Energy Grip

Turkey’s Gas Pivot: LNG Deals and Domestic Production Turkey is undertaking a strategic overhaul of its gas supply. Once overwhelmingly dependent on pipeline gas from Russia and Iran, Ankara is now doubling down on alternative sources. State energy company BOTAŞ has struck a flurry of long-term LNG deals with a range of suppliers. In September, it signed a landmark 20-year agreement with Mercuria to import about 4 bcm of U.S. LNG annually starting in 2026 tradingview.com. This single deal will total roughly 70 bcm over two decades. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar hailed it as a “milestone” for Turkey’s energy security,
8 October 2025
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Iran’s Rial Crisis Deepens: USD Soars Past 1.08 Million on Black Market Amid Sanctions Fears (قیمت دلار)

Sanctions Send Iran’s Rial Tumbling – Dollar Skyrockets to 1.1 Million on the Black Market (قیمت دلار)

Official vs. Open-Market Rates Iran’s official rate (set by the Central Bank for government transactions) has been gradually devalued but remains far below the free-market price. After years of a fixed IRR 42,000/USD “budget rate,” by early 2025 the CBI’s end-of-period rate was about IRR 545,700/USD ceicdata.com (still heavily managed). Meanwhile, Iran introduced an Electronic Trading System (ETS) where banks and exporters trade dollars in a semi-controlled manner. The ETS rate in 2025 has been around IRR 600,000–700,000 iranintl.com rudaw.net (this roughly matches what exporters and importers see in practice for non-subsidized goods). By contrast, street (parallel) rates – widely quoted by currency
3 October 2025
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Iran’s Rial Crisis Deepens: USD Soars Past 1.08 Million on Black Market Amid Sanctions Fears (قیمت دلار)

Iran’s Rial Crisis Deepens: USD Soars Past 1.08 Million on Black Market Amid Sanctions Fears (قیمت دلار)

Official vs. Black-Market Rates in Iran Iran’s currency regime is highly tiered. State-backed exchange systems (for imports of essentials) quoted about 561,700 rials per $1 on Sept 27 trend.az. In currency shops (the SANA system) and the NIMA forex platform, $1 was around 692,500–719,800 rials during Sep 25–27 trend.az trend.az. By contrast, the free (open) market rate was vastly weaker – ~1,050,000–1,085,000 rials per $1. Bonbast and alanchand trackers showed prices spiking to ~1,085,500 IRR (108,550 tomans) on Sept 26 intellinews.com criticalthreats.org and holding above 1.08 million on Sept 27 trend.az trend.az. In short, Iranians needed roughly twice as many
27 September 2025
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Bunker‑Buster Earthquake: New Satellite Images Expose Fordow’s Ruin—What the Bombs Hit, What Survived, and Why It Matters

Israeli Satellite Images of Iran Attack – 2025 Deep‑Dive Report, Expert Quotes & Latest Evidence

During Operation Rising Lion in mid-June 2025, Israel ingested more than 12,000 fresh satellite images during the shooting phase from the Ofek optical and SAR constellation and commercial vendors, with tens of millions of square kilometers imaged day and night. The domestic space stack centers on Ofek-16 (optical) and Ofek-13 SAR, delivering 0.5 m visual resolution and all-weather radar with rapid tip-and-cue via the Space-Moons control net. Eros-B and Eros-C3 provide commercial licensing to the IDF and the National Image‑Exploitation Center for change-detection sweeps that flag new pads and roadbuilding. Allied assets include KH-11/NRO radar and sub-30 cm product from
1 July 2025
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Artificial Intelligence in Iran: Recent Developments and Outlook (June 30, 2025)

Artificial Intelligence in Iran: Recent Developments and Outlook (June 30, 2025)

In June 2024, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution approved the National Artificial Intelligence Document, a comprehensive policy blueprint for AI development. By July 2024, Iran established the National AI Organization as an independent body under the President’s supervision to steer the AI ecosystem and aim to be among the world’s top 10 AI powers within the next decade. In May 2025, Iran’s parliament approved a National AI Plan with an overwhelming majority of 187–33, deeming AI an urgent national imperative. At the start of 2025, the government allocated about $115 million USD for AI research and development in
29 June 2025
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Shocking Showdown: How Iran Is Trying to Snuff Out Elon Musk’s Starlink—and Why Tens of Thousands of Dishes Keep Beaming Freedom Back

Shocking Showdown: How Iran Is Trying to Snuff Out Elon Musk’s Starlink—and Why Tens of Thousands of Dishes Keep Beaming Freedom Back

On 23 June 2025, Iran’s Ministry of Communications warned that owning or installing a Starlink terminal is a punishable offense and asked the ITU to compel SpaceX to deactivate unauthorized devices inside Iran. Following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion on 13 June, Iran’s internet blackout peaked with connectivity falling by 97 percent. In 2021 Iran filed its first Starlink complaint at the ITU, launching the dispute over SpaceX’s operation. In October 2023 the ITU Radio Regulations Board ruled in Iran’s favor and ordered Starlink to obey Iranian licensing laws. In March 2024 the ITU RRB reiterated the demand after objections from
24 June 2025
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Iran’s Internet Access Exposed: From Aging ADSL to an Underground Starlink Revolution

Iran’s Internet Access Exposed: From Aging ADSL to an Underground Starlink Revolution

Iran aims to connect 20 million premises with fiber by the end of 2025 under the National Fiber Optic Plan, but rollout is behind schedule. As of early 2024, Iran had 73.1 million internet users (81.7% penetration) and 146.5 million mobile connections, indicating widespread multi-SIM use. Median download speeds were about 15 Mbps on fixed broadband and 37 Mbps on mobile as of May 2024, with mobile often outperforming ADSL. Iran’s 4G coverage is broad (around 90% device coverage), while 5G is in its infancy (about 29% coverage in 2023) with up to 4,000 5G base stations projected by March
24 June 2025
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Starlink Goes Dark-Busting in Iran: How Elon Musk’s Satellite Beams Shattered Tehran’s Internet Blackout and Triggered a Global Free-Speech Showdown

Starlink Goes Dark-Busting in Iran: How Elon Musk’s Satellite Beams Shattered Tehran’s Internet Blackout and Triggered a Global Free-Speech Showdown

On 13–14 June 2025 Israeli strikes hit Iranian nuclear and missile sites, driving Iran’s internet speeds below 15% of normal per NetBlocks, and within about 24 hours SpaceX activated Starlink in Iran with Elon Musk posting “The beams are on.” Starlink operates 6,300-plus satellites at roughly 550 km altitude, making Iran unable to sever fiber backhaul or submarine cables to block the service. An estimated 20,000 dishes were already scattered across Iran before the crisis due to underground smuggling networks. Recent direct-to-device tests let ordinary phones send SOS messages through Starlink even without a dish. Iranian state media warned citizens
24 June 2025
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Fordow Exposed: Jaw‑Dropping Satellite Images Reveal the Mountain‑Shaking U.S. Strike on Iran’s Deepest Nuclear Stronghold

Fordow Exposed: Jaw‑Dropping Satellite Images Reveal the Mountain‑Shaking U.S. Strike on Iran’s Deepest Nuclear Stronghold

Fordow sits 80–100 m inside a mountain 30 km north of Qom and houses about 3,000 centrifuges, later upgraded with IR-6 machines capable of 60% enrichment. In 2023, IAEA inspectors detected particles enriched to 83.7% at Fordow, signaling near-weapons-grade material. On a June weekend, the United States used a dozen 30,000-pound MOPs in Operation Midnight Hammer, creating at least six cavernous craters in the ridge above the underground halls. Satellite images released on 22 June by Planet Labs and Maxar show twin clusters of three impact holes over what analysts identify as ventilation shafts. The Fordow centrifuge halls lie about
23 June 2025
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Operation Midnight Hammer: How Stealth Bombers, Fighters, and Bunker Busters Obliterated Iran’s Nuclear Sites

Operation Midnight Hammer: How Stealth Bombers, Fighters, and Bunker Busters Obliterated Iran’s Nuclear Sites

Operation Midnight Hammer, conducted June 21–22, 2025, targeted Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites. Seven B-2 Spirit bombers from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base flew an 18-hour mission to Iran, delivering 14 GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Pens, marking the first-ever operational use of the MOP. To maximize surprise, at least six B-2s were observed flying west toward the Pacific as a decoy while seven B-2s proceeded east to strike. More than two dozen Tomahawk land-attack missiles were launched from an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine stationed in the Middle East to strike Isfahan around 2:15–2:35 AM local time.
22 June 2025
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Midnight Hammer: How U.S. Stealth Bombers Obliterated Iran’s Nuclear Sites and Shook the World

Midnight Hammer: How U.S. Stealth Bombers Obliterated Iran’s Nuclear Sites and Shook the World

Operation Midnight Hammer occurred June 21–22, 2025, a one-night U.S. stealth airstrike targeting Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Seven B-2 Spirit bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, for an ~18-hour flight to Iran with mid-air refuelings, escorted by F-22 and F-35 fighters and electronic warfare support aircraft. The raid delivered 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-buster bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds, to strike the underground enrichment halls. An Ohio-class submarine in the Arabian Sea launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan to destroy above-ground targets and divert attention. The operation employed deception tactics including decoys, with a separate
22 June 2025
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Mind‑Blowing Satellite Images Reveal Fordow’s Cavernous Crater: Inside the High‑Resolution Photo Forensics that Exposed the Collapse of Iran’s Underground Nuclear Fortress

Mind‑Blowing Satellite Images Reveal Fordow’s Cavernous Crater: Inside the High‑Resolution Photo Forensics that Exposed the Collapse of Iran’s Underground Nuclear Fortress

On 22 June at 10:22 UTC, Maxar released 0.5-meter imagery showing three circular Fordow blast scars about 25 meters across at the portal area. Planet Labs’ SkySat captured higher-cadence shots showing eastward dust clouds and bulldozers arriving by noon local time. Five classic penetrator indicators are visible in Fordow imagery: entry craters, radial debris ejection, thermal scarring, rock-face fracturing, and surface subsidence, including uphill fissures and an 8-meter cavity collapse. The Fordow centrifuge galleries are estimated at 80–100 meters deep, leaving uncertainty about complete destruction. Fordow produced 166 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium-235 in the last quarter, nearly enough
22 June 2025
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