April 1
International: An Israeli airstrike killed three generals in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and four other officers at a consulate abutting the Iranian embassy in Damascus. The attack was an unprecedented escalation in the decades-long shadow war between Israel and Iran. The precision strike, reportedly by two F-35s, targeted a meeting between Iranian officers and Palestinian militia leaders to discuss the war in Gaza.
April 2
International: U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley visited the South Caucasus. He discussed Iran’s “destabilizing behavior” in the region and military support to Russia, U.S. sanctions, and more in meetings with officials in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
In Yerevan, I had insightful meetings with Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs @M_Safaryan, National Security Council, Central Bank, and State Revenue Committee on Iran, border security, sanctions enforcement, and Armenia’s economic and foreign policy diversification. pic.twitter.com/paUNWOGQ1i
— Office of the Special Envoy for Iran (@USEnvoyIran) April 1, 2024
Economy: Iran’s currency fell to a historic low of nearly 630,000 rials to the dollar less than 24 hours after the news broke about the Israeli airstrike that killed seven Iranian military officers in Damascus, Syria.
Domestic: Authorities announced the arrest of two alleged members of Islamic State Khorasan Province who were planning a terrorist operation in Qom. The suspects were apprehended as they attempted to enter a shrine in Qom.
April 3
Domestic: Jaish ul Adl (JUA), a militant Sunni organization, attacked multiple Revolutionary bases in the cities of Rask and Chabahar in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province. State media reported that five security forces and five assailants were killed in the attacks, which started around 10 p.m. Founded in 2012, JUA, has launched suicide bombings, carried out assassinations, taken hostages and laid mines. It has fought on behalf of the marginalized Baluch minority.
#BREAKING Three simultaneous attacks have targeted two IRGC bases in Chabahar and Rask and a police station in Chabahar in southeastern Iran, official news agency IRNA reports. An interior ministry official says two militants have been killed so far. pic.twitter.com/SgyfEfRax0
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 3, 2024
Domestic: Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.2 and 3 struck the Halabja border region between Iran’s western Kermanshah province and Iraq. The first quake, with a magnitude of 3.2, hit at 11:30 a.m. followed by the second quake with a magnitude of 3 at 11:35 am.