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Saudis say they ‘forced’ three Iranian boats to leave their waters

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Saudis say they ‘forced’ three Iranian boats to leave their waters
Saudis say they 'forced' three Iranian boats to leave their waters
Saudis say they ‘forced’ three Iranian boats to leave their waters

 

 

 

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that three Iranian boats were “forced to retreat” from its waters after warning shots were fired, state media reported.

Saudis

“At 6.30pm [local time] on Thursday… the coastguard spotted three Iranian boats after they entered Saudi waters,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.

 

The ships “refused to respond” to repeated warnings, after which “warning shots were fired… forcing them to retreat,” it added. The report did not identify what kind of ships they were, AFP said.

 

 

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Also Read: Iran exports 2nd non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port

Meanwhile, Iranian state media cited a local official in Bushehr province in the Gulf as saying the Saudi coastguard had opened fire on Iranian fishermen who had strayed into Saudi waters but that initial reports said no one was hurt, according to Reuters.The Iranian report said the fishermen had left on 21 June for a 10-day trip. It did not specify when the engagement with the Saudi coastguard occurred and it was not immediately clear whether the two reports referred to the same incident.Mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia terminated diplomatic relations with Shia-dominated Iran following 2016 attacks by protesters on its mission in Iran after Riyadh had executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has been at odds with Iran since the Islamic revolution of 1979 ushered in a Shia theocracy and set the two countries on a collisioncourse.Today, they stand on opposing sides of conflicts in the Middle East, including in Syria and Yemen.ensions have risen in the last year after a series of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf and Saudi oil installations, incidents that roiled global energy markets. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of being behind those attacks, a charge denied by Tehran.

 

Iran exports 2nd non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port

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Iran exports 2nd non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port
Iran exports 2nd non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port
Iran exports 2nd non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port

 

 

Iran exported the second non-oil cargo to Oman via Sirik Port in southern Hormozgan province, Governor of Sirik County announced on Monday.

 

This is the second time in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20) that non-oil cargo is exported from Iran to Oman via Sirik Port.

 

Ahmad Jamaleddini put the weight of the second cargo at 22 tons, including fresh fruits and vegetables, dried nuts and mineral water, which were dispatched to the Omani port of Khasab, Mehr news agency reported.

 

The first cargo with a capacity of 120 tons, including mineral water and nuts, was dispatched to Oman on June 2, the official added.

 

In late April, Hamid Zadboum, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), referred to the increase in trade volume between Iran and Oman and said, “Last month the two countries launched a container shipping line to transit cargoes between the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas and Port Sultan Qaboos in Oman.”

 

“The line is used to transit container cargoes, mainly fruits, and vegetables, between the two countries,” the official said.

 

Iran and Oman had signed a maritime cooperation agreement in December 2019 for boosting maritime transportation between the two countries.

 

 

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Also Read: Military Tribunal To Investigate ‘Astronomical Corruption’ Case Linked To IRGC

, Iranian traders and businessmen would be able to interact constructively with their Omani counterparts, and regular shipping lines were to be established between the two countries, while the two sides also pledged to provide facilities for using each other’s ports.Even before the container line, the two neighbors had already launched four direct shipping lines between their ports.The first shipping route between the two countries was put into operation in March 2015 between Iran’s Bandar Abbas and Oman’s Sohar.Later in December 2016, the two neighbors inaugurated direct shipping routes from two Omani ports to the Iranian port of Shahid Bahonar.

Military Tribunal To Investigate ‘Astronomical Corruption’ Case Linked To IRGC

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Military Tribunal To Investigate ‘Astronomical Corruption’ Case Linked To IRGC
Military Tribunal To Investigate 'Astronomical Corruption' Case Linked To IRGC
Former IRGC commander Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (3rd R) alongside other IRGC commanders and officials in the referral ceremony of Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-chief of IRGC on April 24, 2019.

 

 

In an interview with reformist daily Etemad on Sunday August 2, A Tehran City Councillor, Mahmoud Mirlohi, has revealed that the case of illegal sale of properties by the Tehran Municipality under Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is still open for investigation.

 

Qalibaf (Ghalibaf), who is currently the Speaker of Iranian Parliament (Majles) was the mayor of Tehran for 12 years from 2005 To 2017.

 

The case, also known as “the astronomical corruption at the Tehran Municipality,” has been under investigation on and off since 2017 and Qalibaf has lodged a counter-complaint against councillor Mirlohi and Yashar Soltani, a journalist who first disclosed the case on his website Memari News.

 

Mirlohi told Etemad that the dossier of “astronomical corruption at the Tehran Municipality” has disappeared in the corridors of the Iranian Judiciary.

 

However, he disclosed that some of the properties that had been illegally transferred to an IRGC-affiliate, the Rasa Tejarat Company, have been taken back during the past weeks. Rasa Tejarat is part of the IRGC’s Cooperative Foundation.

 

Qalibaf is a former IRGC major general and still enjoys the support and confidence of the military organization.

 

Initial reports about the case said that the Municipality had sold over 670 real estate properties to regime insiders and the circle of Qalibaf’s aides at prices much lower than the market price.

 

Mirlohi told Etemad on Sunday that the case now includes over 2,000 properties as further follow ups have revealed.

 

It is not clear how many of the properties were cheaply given away to Rasa Tejarat and how many to individuals, some of whom were most probably also members of IRGC.

 

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Also Read: IRGC Contradicts Iran’s Intelligence Ministry On Arrest Of ‘US-Based Terror Ringleader’

IRGC Contradicts Iran’s Intelligence Ministry On Arrest Of ‘US-Based Terror Ringleader’

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IRGC Contradicts Iran’s Intelligence Ministry On Arrest Of ‘US-Based Terror Ringleader’
IRGC Contradicts Iran's Intelligence Ministry On Arrest Of 'US-Based Terror Ringleader'
IRGC Contradicts Iran’s Intelligence Ministry On Arrest Of ‘US-Based Terror Ringleader’

 

 

Remarks made by Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and a report by IRGC-linked newspaper in Tehran have cast more doubt on the Ministry’s claim about arresting the leader of “a United State based Terror Ringleader.”

 

Alavi said on the Iranian state TV Saturday night that Jamshid Sharmahd was arrested in Iran. The remark was made after Persian-speaking media outside Iran accused the ministry of abducting Sharmahd in a neighboring country.

 

The media referred to Iran ‘s track record of luring opposition figures to places such as Turkey, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates and abducting them before taking them to Iran. They referred to the abduction of Amad News Editor Rouhallah Zam as the latest example. He has been sentenced to death.

 

Sharmahd is said to be the leader of a monarchist group called Tondar (Thunder).

 

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Also Read: Zionists, US well-understood message of ‘Payambar-e Azam 14’

Meanwhile, Alavi told the Iranian state television that Sharmahd was supported by U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. However, he did not offer any proof for his claim. Alavi said that Sharmahd worked on the “6th floor of the FBI” building and Iran was aware of that! In a development that highlighted the rivalry between the Rouhani administration’s Intelligence Ministry and the revolutionary guards’ IRGC Intelligence Organization, IRGC-linked newspaper Javan in Tehran reported Sunday morning August 2 that Sharmahd was arrested in Tajikistan and was subsequently handed over to Iran. On Saturday August 1, Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted Iran’s Intelligence Ministry as saying that it had arrested “the ringleader of a terrorist group known as Tondar which is based in the United States, and that Iran has dealt a “heavy and severe blow” to a terrorist group based in the United states. Terror Ringleader

Zionists, US well-understood message of ‘Payambar-e Azam 14’

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Zionists, US well-understood message of ‘Payambar-e Azam 14’
Zionists, US well-understood message of 'Payambar-e Azam 14'
Zionists, US well-understood message of ‘Payambar-e Azam 14’

 

 

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Spokesman General Ramezan Sharif said the Zionist regime and the US have well-understood the message of IRGC’s recent war game, codenamed Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet 14).

 

Noting that the arms and economic sanctions have not affected Iran’s development of military power and its offensive deterrence, the IRGC General said Iranian Armed Forces have reached an acceptable level of self-reliance and capacity for indigenizing the required weaponry and equipment that they cannot be restricted by any of the enemies’ plots.

 

He added that the enemies are fully aware that Iran will give a proper response to all of their threats against the country’s interests.

 

The spokesperson noted that the held military exercise, in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, western parts of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf, has a peace message to the region, seeking regional security which has been threatened by the presence of the transregional and foreign forces.

 

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Also  Read: Iran Threatens ‘Crushing’ Retaliation as Pompeo Lauds U.S. Pressure Campaign

Ramezan Sharif underlined that the military exercise was held by preserving the anti-coronavirus health protocols, which proves IRGC’s capabilities under the pandemic. The final stage of Payambar-e Azam 14 military drill wrapped up on Friday. The war game was jointly carried out by IRGC’s Navy and Aerospace forces in the south of the country, near Strait of Hormuz. IRGC also unveiled a new achievement in the drill namely the launching of ballistic missiles from the underground without the ordinary platforms for the first time in the world. In its released statement over the event, the IRGC said the message of the held drill to neighboring and friendly countries was peace and friendship as well as security for the region while the global arrogance received the message of the Iranian nation. Zionists Zionists

Iran Threatens ‘Crushing’ Retaliation as Pompeo Lauds U.S. Pressure Campaign

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Iran Threatens ‘Crushing’ Retaliation as Pompeo Lauds U.S. Pressure Campaign
Iran Threatens 'Crushing' Retaliation as Pompeo Lauds U.S. Pressure Campaign
Iran Threatens ‘Crushing’ Retaliation as Pompeo Lauds U.S. Pressure Campaign

 

 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened a “crushing” response to any perceived U.S. aggression, following the conclusion of large military exercises that prompted a high alert at two regional U.S. bases.

 

The IRGC issued a statement Thursday claiming to have sent a potent message to the U.S. with the combined armed drills, which included ballistic missile launches and an attack on a mock U.S. aircraft carrier. U.S. troops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were temporarily put on high alert during the missile launches.

 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never started a war, but in case of any aggression against Iran, IRGC and other powerful defenders of the country will give a decisive and crushing response,” the elite force—designated a terrorist organization by President Donald Trump’s administration—said, according to the Mehr News Agency.

 

During the drills, the IRGC also released satellite images of the Al Udeid air base in Qatar which is home to more than 10,000 troops, using the country’s first ever military satellite—the Nour-1.

 

Relations between the U.S. and Iran remain at a low ebb following years of tensions under Trump. Iran has been put under extensive U.S. sanctions following Trump’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—colloquially known as the Iran nuclear deal—and the president will almost certainly be unable to secure a new deal before the November election.

 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday that the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy on Iran was working and stressed that the White House would continue pushing Tehran.

 

“We see the Islamic Republic of Iran for what it is: an aggressor, not a victim,” he said, noting the administration has “gone full bore on our maximum pressure campaign.”

 

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Also Read: Iran Military Bombards Dummy American Aircraft Carrier In Wargames

Iran Military Bombards Dummy American Aircraft Carrier In Wargames

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Iran Military Bombards Dummy American Aircraft Carrier In Wargames
Iran Military Bombards Dummy American Aircraft Carrier In Wargames
Iran Military Bombards Dummy American Aircraft Carrier In Wargames

 

 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards bombarded a mock-up of a American Aircraft carrier with rockets this week as part of the country’s military drills in the sensitive Gulf waters, state television reported.

 

Dubbed “Prophet Mohammed 14th”, the combat exercises were conducted near the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for a fifth of the world’s oil production. The U.S. Navy denounced the drills as an attempt to “intimidate and coerce.”

 

In the same exercise, Iranian soldiers descended from a helicopter onto the replica warship while anti-aircraft guns fired at a target drone. The images were broadcast by Tehran’s state media and also showed missiles being unleashed from gunboats, trucks and a helicopter.

 

Although state broadcast documentaries have reported on operations at underground military installations, all have refused to show landmark details that will give away their locations. Wednesday’s launch from what looks to be Iran’s desert plateau may have changed that in the wake of escalating frictions between Washington and the Islamic state over its failed nuclear deal with global powers and as economic pressures mount.

 

In a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps disclosed that it was “the first time in the world” that such a drill had been carried out. The statement on its Sepahnews website did not provide any further details on the claim or give any of the rockets’ specifications.

 

According to the U.S. military, the exercise prompted two bases with U.S. soldiers in the region to go on heightened alert and said Tehran’s missile launches were irresponsible. Periodic confrontations in the Gulf have occurred in recent years between the Revolutionary Guards and the U.S. military, which has accused the Iranian navy of sending fast-attack boats to harass American warships as they pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

 

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Also Read: IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands

Arrogant powers received message of memorable drill: IRGC

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Arrogant powers received message of memorable drill: IRGC
Arrogant powers received message of memorable drill
Arrogant powers received message of memorable drill

 

 

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully concluded its large-scale drill in Iran’s southern waters, saying the drills conveyed the message of Iranian forces’ readiness to counter threats.

 

“The arrogant [powers] and those who had greed toward our interests received the message of readiness, vigilance and resistance of the Iranian nation and armed forces through the fields of this memorable event,” the IRGC said in a statement on Thursday.

 

The statement came at the end of the large-scale military war game, codenamed Payambar-e A’zam (The Great Prophet) 14.

 

“We are the children of Imam Khamenei and soldiers of jihad and martyrdom, and we’re determined to devotedly defend the achievements of the Islamic Revolution, the establishment and the dear people of Iran,” the statement read, according to Mehr.

 

It added that the Islamic Republic of Iran has never started any war and will not do so, but it will act decisively when defending the country’s independence, territorial integrity, security and national interests.

 

The IRGC said the drills ended successfully with implementation of all determined sequences and combined operational drills across the land, sea, air, and space.

 

It also enumerated some of the “elaborate operational drills” carried out during the event, such as unprecedented firing of ballistic missiles from underground launch facilities, destruction of enemy radar facilities, and successful firing of coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles that led to destruction of enemy warships.

 

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Also Read: Israeli legislature presses Twitter on ‘double standard’ between Iran’s ‘genocide’ tweets and Trump’s

On Tuesday, which saw the first day of the war game, the IRGC staged “all-out and multi-layer” strikes against the life-size replica of a Nimitz-class U.S. aircraft carrier, which the U.S. navy usually sails into the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC’s servicemen began the episode.

Israeli legislature presses Twitter on ‘double standard’ between Iran’s ‘genocide’ tweets and Trump’s

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Israeli legislature presses Twitter on ‘double standard’ between Iran’s ‘genocide’ tweets and Trump’s
Israeli legislature presses Twitter on 'double standard' between Iran's 'genocide' tweets and Trump's
Israeli legislature presses Twitter on ‘double standard’ between Iran’s ‘genocide’ tweets and Trump’s

 

 

Twitter defended its decision to flag President Trump’s tweet about violent demonstrations but not Iran’s calls for violence against Israel, suggesting to Israeli’s legislature on Wednesday that the latter fell under its protections for “commentary on political issues of the day.”

 

The exchange occurred during a Knesset hearing on antisemitism in social media. Human rights attorney Arsen Ostrovsky asked Twitter’s Ylwa Pettersson: “You have recently started flagging the tweets of President Trump. Why have you not flagged the tweets of Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini, who has literally called for the genocide of Israel and the Jewish people?”

 

Pettersson responded: “We have an approach to world leaders that presently say that direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, or foreign policy sabre-rattling on military, economic issues are generally not in violation –”

 

DONALD TRUMP JR. BASHES TWITTER OVER SUSPENSION: ‘THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO … THE LEFT. IT ONLY HURTS CONSERVATIVES’

 

At that point, Knesset member Michal Cotler-Wunsh interjected and challenged Pettersson.

 

“So, calling for genocide is okay, but commenting on politics is not?” she asked.

 

Pettersson responded by suggesting that Trump risked provoking violence, an apparent reference to his post about ongoing riots surrounding George Floyd’s death. She added that Twitter didn’t completely remove the post because it wanted to ensure “citizens can see what their political figures are commenting and hold them accountable for what they are saying online.”

 

Cotler-Wunsh responded: “I think that what’s come up again and again through different examples is actually a sense of double standards, and I would implore Twitter and other online platforms to ensure … that there is no double standard in the application.”

 

Wednesday’s meeting came as Twitter faced intense pushback in the United States for suspending the account of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, after he tweeted a video promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus. That was just the latest incident to provoke conservative accusations that the social media giant harbored bias towards conservatives.

 

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Also Read: IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands

IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands

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IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands
IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands
IRGC military drill meant to protect Persian Gulf islands

 

 

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said that the main purpose of the recent military exercises has been to protect the Persian Gulf islands and deterring those who sow insecurity in the region.

 

He also named ‘friendship and convergence of the Muslim countries in the region’ as the other target of the held war games in South Iran.

 

The commander added that the stated war games have not been a threat to any of the regional countries but a warning to those who seek insecurity in the region.

 

The IRGC by Navy and Aerospace forces jointly started the final stage of the ‘Great Prophet-14’ military drill the southern Hormozgan province on Tuesday.

 

IRGC Navy’s missile, ship, and drone units and IRGC Aerospace’s missile, drone, and radar units will conduct numerous operations.

 

 

Waging attacks against a virtual enemy using missiles, ships, and drones, laying defensive mines, cutting the communication between virtual enemy’s ships, launching rockets from helicopters, and launching coast-to-sea missiles are among agenda of this stage of the drill.

 

 

On Wednesday morning, the IRGC fired a series of ballistic missiles from launch pads hidden in camouflage deep under the ground.

 

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Also Read: Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles From Underground for 1st Time

The final stage of the war game includes joint operations by missile units, vessels, and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force. Satellite images taken by Iran’s homegrown ‘Noor’ (light) satellite that was launched into space in April have been used to evaluate the situation in the war game zone. In the course of massive war games, IRGC forces have successfully exercised an operation to incapacitate the US’ THAAD missile defense system. The final stage of the war game includes joint operations by missile units, vessels, and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force.

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