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Iran Tag

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 01, 2017 10 Comments
We blogged about the Kurdish Independence vote held last week and about the resulting international threats and tensions, including the closing of Kurdish airports. Pro-western Iraqi Kurds are disappointed by the lukewarm European response to their overwhelming victory, and can't be too happy with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's statement that the U. S. does not recognize their independence referendum. Turkey, Iran, and Iraq are stepping up their disapproval of the referendum and moving to isolate the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 25, 2017 10 Comments
Last week, we blogged about today's Kuridsh Independence referendum.  Yesterday's Kurdish independence rally attracted an enormous crowd, perhaps foreshadowing nearly 80% of the reported 3.9 million registered voters turning out at the polls today. Jubilant Kurds described today as "the best day of their life" and some even took to flying the Brazilian flag because there were no Kurdish ones left.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 21, 2017 5 Comments
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the nuclear deal with Iran is not enough to keep pressure on the regime since officials continue with ballistic missile tests and still try to bully regions around it. From Reuters:
“Is this agreement enough? No. It is not, given the evolution of the regional situation and increasing pressure that Iran is exerting on the region, and given increased activity by Iran on the ballistic level since the accord,” Macron told reporters in New York.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 23, 2017 9 Comments
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley met with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, to discuss U.S. concerns about the Iran nuclear deal. To make matters worse, Iranian officials have warned the inspectors at the IAEA not to share any information with Haley.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 16, 2017 7 Comments
Did anyone honestly think Iran would not try to find a way to restart its nuclear program? Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened that the country would restart the program if the U.S. imposes more sanctions. From The New York Times:
Mr. Rouhani said that a reconstituted nuclear program would be “far more advanced,” a veiled threat that the country could start enriching uranium up to the level of 20 percent, a step toward building a nuclear weapon. Such enrichment activities were a major concern before 2015, when Tehran signed a landmark agreement with the United States and other world powers that lifted crippling economic sanctions in return for severe limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 10, 2017 5 Comments
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Gaza-based Islamist terror outfit Hamas have decided to restore their ties, which had been disrupted in the wake of the Syrain conflict. The Shi’ite theocracy of Iran has been backing the Assad Regime and Hamas rooting for the Sunni-Islamist militia. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif hosted a delegation of senior Hamas operatives earlier this week, Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Posts reports. Hamas delegation is in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's newly appointed President Hassan Rouhani.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 02, 2017 9 Comments
President Donald Trump has signed a bill that imposes sanctions on Russia for alleged interference in our presidential election and on Iran and North Korea for their missile programs. However, in a signing statement, Trump called the bill "significantly flawed." From ABC News:
The bill limits the president's ability to lift or waive sanctions against Russia and keeps in place sanctions the Obama administration imposed last year. It also allows the U.S. to deny entry and revoke visas for individuals who have engaged in certain activities, such as selling arms to the Syrian government or abusing human rights.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 31, 2017 8 Comments
President Donald Trump has said that he will sign a bill that will place new sanctions against Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The sanctions against Russia have received the most attention, especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate. But the bill has sanctions against North Korea and Iran over nuclear weapons and missiles, which both countries vow to continue working on.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 16, 2017 6 Comments
Two years ago, former President Barack Obama agreed to the Iran Nuclear Deal and told The New York Times that "Iran will be and should be a regional power." He also said that Iran has "that ability now to take some decisive steps to move toward a more constructive relationship with the world community." Obama encouraged Iranian leaders "to seize that opportunity." Well, Obama, you got your wish. Iran seized that opportunity and has taken over Iraq. Goods from Iran fill up the Iraqi markets. Not to mention that Iranian militias had a hand in dispelling ISIS from Mosul and other areas.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on July 13, 2017 7 Comments
Nothing describes German Chancellor Angela Merkel government’s current approach to counter the growing Islamist terrorism more precisely than the idiom 'letting the fox guard the hen house.' In its latest move, the government is funding an 'anti-terror workshop' in Berlin and inviting clerics serving the Iranian Mullah regime to preside over the event. “Federal government supports terror accomplices,” Germany’s leading newspaper Bild commented. Questioning Merkel's government's anti-terror strategy, the newspaper asks: “Does [the] federal government want to confront radicalisation of Muslims in Germany with the help of Islamist Mullah Regimes?” The taxpayer-funded workshop is being organised by local Islamic groups with close ties to Iranian Regime, Bild reported.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 07, 2017 12 Comments
Gunmen launched two attacks in Iran, one at the parliament building and at the tomb of the country's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollak Khomeini. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. From Reuters:
The raids took place at a particularly charged time, after Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups. Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 02, 2017 6 Comments
Lebanon-based terrorist outfit Hezbollah is in the middle of a financial crisis, recent intelligence assessments reveal. "Tehran's vassal is on the verge of bankruptcy," leading German newspaper Die Welt reported citing Western intelligence sources. Despite a steady flow of funding from Iran, the “Party of Allah,” as the terrorist group is called in Arabic, seems to have overstretched itself by venturing into the Syrian Civil War. In 2011, Iran had ordered Hezbollah to march into Syria, extending its base of operation beyond Lebanon, to keep the Assad Regime in power. German newspaper Die Welt reports:

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 24, 2017 17 Comments
The Iranian Nuclear Deal included many pieces, but one of the least reported items of the deal has been the prisoner swap. Iran agreed to release four Americans while we handed over seven prisoners and dropped charges and investigations against 14 others. Professor Jacobson profiled these prisoners after the exchange occurred. But a Politico investigation has revealed the anger and frustration within former President Barack Obama's administration over the release of these men:
“They didn’t just dismiss a bunch of innocent business guys,” said one former federal law enforcement supervisor centrally involved in the hunt for Iranian arms traffickers and nuclear smugglers. “And then they didn’t give a full story of it.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 11, 2017 5 Comments
On May 13, 2016, we reported on the death of Mustafa Badreddine at an airport in Syria, Another top Hezbollah commander killed – but who dunnit?
There have been a series of assinations of top Hezbollah commanders in the recent past, including Imad Mughniyeh (mastermind of almost all attacks on Israel and the U.S.), his son Imad Mughniyeh (who was killed along with several high level operatives and an Iranian general), Hassan Laqqis (key Hezbollah link to Iranian weapons procurement) and Samir Kuntar (who killed an Israeli girl by smashing her head against the rocks on a beach).
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