Brief Notes

Islamic Republic to Expel Two Million Afghans: Interior Minister Eskand Momeni said up to two million undocumented Afghan nationals will be deported to Afghanistan by March 2026, with 1.2 million Afghans already having “voluntarily” departed since March 2025. Speaking in Mashhad, Momeni said, “With the construction of border walls in the northeast of the country, the entry of undocumented Afghan nationals into Iran has decreased by 70 percent.” Pezeshkian Leaves for Belarus: President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to arrive in Belarus today following his two-day visit to Armenia. Tehran and Minsk are in discussions regarding the prospect of a comprehensive cooperation agreement modeled on the Iranian–Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in January of this year.

Armenia Visit Highlights Regime Anxieties

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Yerevan underscored Tehran’s growing unease over the U.S.-brokered Armenia–Azerbaijan strategic transit corridor agreement, which grants Washington exclusive special development rights along the corridor for 99 years. During his trip, Pezeshkian emphasized, “The belief of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to preserve Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to continue cordial relations between the two countries, and our concerns regarding the presence of third-party forces near our common borders must be fully addressed.” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reassured Tehran, “Cooperation with Iran, underpinned by good neighborly relations and the preservation and strengthening of friendly ties, holds strategic importance for Armenia, and without a doubt, Iran’s considerations in the construction of the new corridor will be respected.” Ten cooperation agreements between Tehran and Yerevan, spanning infrastructure, culture, health, and transportation, were also signed during the trip. Key projects include the Persian Gulf–Black Sea railway and the expansion of the Norduz border crossing.

On the Radar

Widespread protests erupted across Iran yesterday, with oil, gas, and petrochemical workers protesting throughout Bushehr Province, including in the cities of Assaluyeh, Kangan, Jam, and Bandar-e Mahshahr. In an organized demonstration, retired telecom workers protested in multiple cities over stalled pension and welfare payments. Coal miners in Damghan, Semnan Province, protested over unpaid wages. Residents of Mahabad, located in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province, demonstrated against repeated blackouts. Fuel tanker drivers in Tehran protested disruptions to cross-border operations with Afghanistan, and forest rangers in Nur, Mazandaran Province, demanded unpaid salaries. This steady increase in the number of protests in Iran over the last month underscores mounting frustration over the Islamic Republic’s economic and environmental mismanagement.
Tehran and Islamabad have agreed to raise bilateral agricultural trade to $3 billion within two years, more than doubling the current volume. The deal was formalized during Pakistani Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain’s visit to Tehran. Under the agreement, the regime in Iran and the private sector will now rely primarily on Pakistan for rice imports.
Danial Moghadam, a singer detained in Evin Prison since June, was sentenced to eight months in prison by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Moghadam was found guilty of “propaganda against the regime,” also receiving a two-year ban on residing in his home province of Tehran and any bordering provinces, which begins when he is released from prison.

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