Britain’s ambassador to Iran has said he did not take part in any demonstration after he was arrested during anti-government protests in Tehran. Rob Macaire was held for more than an hour after he and a number of other people were detained on suspicion of organizing, provoking and directing radical …
Read More »Opinion | Trump: The American Netanyahu
On Iran and the Middle East, the Trump administration is following Israel’s playbook. Supporters of Donald Trump think of the US president as an exceptional one-of-a-kind force of nature – a sui generis leader. His detractors like to compare him to Russian President Vladimir Putin or describe him as a …
Read More »Leaked pictures from Ain Al-Assad Airbase following Iranian attacks
Iraqi news websites have published leaked pictures from inside the US Ain Al-Assad Airbase in the Iraqi governate of Al Anbar, following the Iranian missile strike, media reported on Friday. The pictures show severe damage to the airbase, which hosts US forces. Meanwhile, Iranians have also published videos on social …
Read More »IRGC Aerospace chief accepts full responsibility for a plane crash
Head of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has accepted full responsibility for the downing of a Ukraine aircraft which crashed near the capital Tehran earlier this week. Speaking on Saturday, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said he had “wished he could die” after being informed of …
Read More »Iran: Ukrainian plane brought down ‘due to human error’
Iran says a Ukrainian plane that crashed outside Tehran this week had flown close to a sensitive military site and been brought down due to human error “at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism.” In a statement Saturday, the general staff of the armed forces touched on the …
Read More »The US announces new sanctions on Iran
The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week’s missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials. Mnuchin said President …
Read More »Tehran rebuffs claims it shot down a Ukrainian jet
Iran has again rejected suggestions that one of its missiles brought down a Ukrainian passenger jet near the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Its civil aviation chief said on Friday he was “certain” that the plane was not hit by a missile. He was responding to claims by Western leaders that …
Read More »Iraqi Prime Minister Asks US to Start Talks on Troop Withdrawal
Adel Abdul Mahdi said he had spoken to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to request that a delegation be sent to prepare for the pulling out of forces. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi of Iraq said on Friday that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a …
Read More »Earthquake Hits Iraq-Iran Border.
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit the border areas between the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Iran on Thursday. According to United States Geological Survey (USGC) live map, the earthquake center was near the Iranian town of Sar Pole Zahab, with a depth of 7.7 kilometers. People in Kurdistan’s Soleimaniyah province and …
Read More »Trump says no casualties in Iran attacks, do not want to use more force
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday no Americans were harmed in the Iranian missile attacks on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and urged world powers to forge a new nuclear deal with Tehran. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered …
Read More »Satellite photos of damage caused by Iran attack on US base
Satellite photos show the extensive damage caused by a series of precision missile strikes by Iran at Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq, which hosts US forces. US National Public Radio (NPR) released the photos, taken by the commercial company Planet, show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of …
Read More »In Pictures: Ukrainian airliner crashes in Iran.
A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday, just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital’s main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board. The crash of Ukraine International Airlines came hours after Iran launched a …
Read More »Markets stabilize after being roiled by Iran missile attack
Markets are stabilizing in early trading on Wall Street after being roiled overnight following an Iranian missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. The strike was in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general last week. Stocks opened mostly higher and oil prices retreated after spiking overnight on the …
Read More »Iran’s next responses will be proportionate to what US will do: Defense Min.
Hours after Iran’s missile attack on American bases in Iraq, Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says Tehran’s next responses to the US assassination of a top Iranian general will be proportionate to what Washington will do. “Our next measure will naturally be proportionate to the ones the Americans will …
Read More »US-led coalition temporarily relocates headquarters from Iraq to Kuwait: Media
The US-led military coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh terrorist group has reportedly relocated its headquarters in Iraq to Kuwait in the wake of recent assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the second-in-command of Iraqi Popular Mobilization …
Read More »Iran considering 13 revenge scenarios against US: Security official
Iran’s top security official says Tehran is considering 13 revenge scenarios against the US for the targeted killing of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. “Even the weakest of the 13 revenge scenarios will be a historic nightmare for America,” said Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), …
Read More »Dozens reportedly killed in stampede at Soleimani funeral in Kerman.
A stampede has erupted during the funeral procession for Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in his hometown Kerman, leaving an unspecified number of casualties. Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services, confirmed that at least 35 of mourners have lost their lives while several others have been transferred …
Read More »Germany slashing troop numbers in Iraq
Germany says it is reducing its military presence in Iraq, in the latest fallout from the United States’ assassination of Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. The German government told parliament in a letter on Monday that about 30 soldiers stationed in Baghdad and Taji would be moved to Jordan …
Read More »NATO addresses Middle East tensions: Full Statement.
NATO Ambassadors met on Monday (6 January 2019) to address current tensions in the Middle East and implications for NATO’s training mission in Iraq. Speaking after the meeting of NATO’s North Atlantic Council, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the safety of NATO’s personnel in Iraq is paramount and that the …
Read More »Iraqi Votes to Oust US Military; Trump Threatens Sanctions
Global tensions are mounting following the United States’ assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at the Baghdad International Airport Friday morning. Up to a million mourners poured into the streets of Iran and Iraq for the funeral procession of the longtime leader of the Islamic Revolutionary …
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