IranWatch Daily: October 16, 2025

Brief Notes

Security Council Chief Delivers Supreme Leader’s Message to Putin: Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani visited Moscow today to deliver a message from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to Russian President Vladimir Putin. State media reported that the message pertained to the recent 20-year strategic cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow. The delivery of this message coincided with a “very productive” telephone conversation between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine. This comes after Putin’s comments last week, saying Jerusalem requested he convey to Tehran their desire to avoid conflict. Iranian-Flagged Vessel Locations Back Offline: Maritime tracking platforms today reported that many Iranian-flagged tankers, which on October 13 briefly began transmitting accurate location data for the first time since 2018, have now gone back offline. On Monday, about 60% of the Islamic Republic’s National Iranian Tanker Company fleet suddenly activated their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals “for reasons still unknown.” However, as of today, only 11 of 62 tankers remain online. While regime officials have not publicly commented on these events, domestic Iranian outlet Energy Press quoted an “informed source” as saying, without evidence, that the initial location transmissions may have been sent as “a targeted act of sabotage” against Tehran. Tehran Police Equipped With Bodycams: Tehran’s police chief, Ali Ghasempour, announced that all police officers in the city are now equipped with body cameras. Ghasempour said the devices “not only increase accountability,” but they will also be activated during “major national and religious events, emergencies or wartime conditions, and special operations,” allowing commanders to monitor operations and provide support in real-time. Volume of Islamic Republic Malicious Cyber Activity Remains ‘Consistently High’: According to Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report 2025, the most frequent targets of Islamic Republic cyberattacks this year are Israel, the United States, the UAE, and India. The report noted that “the volume of Iranian state-linked cyber activity remains consistently high,” with growing overlap in tactics among Iran-based actors suggesting increased centralization and shared resources. Microsoft also warned that the Islamic Republic has expanded its focus to shipping and logistics firms, possibly to prepare for interference with global trade routes.

FM: Non-Aligned States to Declare Snapback ‘Illegal’

Speaking to an Islamic Republic state TV reporter in Kampala, Uganda, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the final statement of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) foreign ministers’ meeting will include a clause declaring UN snapback sanctions “illegal.” He also noted that the statement will support the Islamic Republic’s position that “UNSCR 2231 restrictions will end permanently on October 18, 2025.” Araghchi further claimed that NAM members expressed support for Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow over Western powers (a sentiment at odds with the NAM’s name, but not its history). Finally, he added that NAM would include a “strong condemnation” of the U.S. and Israel’s “heinous attacks,” as well as separate condemnations of the 2024 Israeli pager operation targeting Hezbollah. On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, Araghchi met his Ugandan counterpart Jeje Abubakhar Odongo to discuss bilateral ties and praise Uganda’s role in advancing the NAM agenda, emphasizing that the movement is key to preventing the “distortion of the principles” of the UN Charter. Also on the sidelines of the NAM meeting, Araghchi spoke with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. Both parties praised the “positive trends” in their bilateral relations and emphasized the importance of NAM in “protecting the rights and interests of developing countries.” Foreign Minister Araghchi and his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil Pinto, condemned the United States’ “illegal” actions, specifically Washington’s June military strike on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities and ongoing U.S. “threats and attacks” on vessels off the coast of Venezuela, during a meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the NAM. They warned of the “dangerous consequences” such actions pose to global peace and defended the right of nations to resist “bullying and illegal pressure.” The ministers also discussed strengthening economic cooperation and urged NAM members to unite against “unilateralism” in international affairs.

On the Radar

• The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan announced that the Islamic Republic's naval vessels and personnel have entered Azerbaijan’s territorial waters to participate in the AZIREX 2025 joint search and rescue exercise. After an official welcoming ceremony, delegates of the Artesh Navy (as opposed to the IRGC Navy) met with the commander of the Azerbaijani Navy. The AZIREX 2025 exercise aims to enhance maritime security in the Caspian Sea and strengthen coordination and interoperability between the two countries’ naval forces in search and rescue operations. This follows the security agreement signed by the Caspian littoral states earlier this month.
• President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the recent tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan on “external interference,” accusing “international Zionism and the enemies of Islam” of “fomenting discord among Muslim nations.” In a statement, he expressed deep concern over the escalation, saying that it affects not only Afghanistan and Pakistan but also the broader region. The statement continued: “Islamic countries should walk in the path of peace and brotherhood like members of a single body.” He said that the Islamic Republic would use its resources to help reduce tensions, expressing confidence that Afghanistan and Pakistan would ultimately choose cooperation over conflict.
• The Islamic Republic’s state media largely ignored yesterday's Moscow meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, offering minimal or skewed coverage that reflected Tehran’s unease with the development. State broadcaster IRINN made no mention of the visit, while Press TV briefly covered it, labeling Sharaa by his former alias “al-Jolani” and avoiding reference to Russia’s sheltering of the ousted Islamic Republic-backed Bashar al-Assad. Most daily newspapers skipped the story as well.
• The IRGC announced that it dismantled one of the largest fuel-smuggling networks in northern Iran, seizing over two million liters of petroleum products in Mazandaran Province. The IRGC’s Karbala Division, based in Mazandaran Province, said the network involved smugglers, distributors, fuel-truck drivers, and gas station employees. Fuel smuggling remains a major problem in Iran, where subsidized petroleum and petroleum products are often diverted for profit. Some official estimates claim that around 20 million liters of fuel are smuggled out of the country each day.
• Houthi Chief of Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, one of the group’s highest-ranking military commanders, was killed “while fulfilling his duties.” While not directly blaming Israel, the Houthis declared that the conflict with Israel “has not ended” and vowed that Israel would “receive its deterrent punishment for the crimes it has committed.” Israel had earlier claimed to have killed al-Ghamari in an August 28 strike, which the Houthis initially denied. His death is now widely believed to have resulted from injuries sustained in that attack.