Venezuela and Iran Sign Agreement That Could Threaten Regional Security
Venezuela and Iran Sign Agreement That Could Threaten Regional Security
Iran will target US interests anywhere in case of war: IRGC commander
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) told the Fars News Agency last Sunday that Iran will target U.S. interests anywhere in case of war.
Asked about Iran’s reaction in case of war with the United States and its allies, Shekarchi said, “Any place and any territorial point sheltering the interests of the United States and its allies would be threatened [in case of aggression against Iran] and the Islamic Republic of Iran has proved that it is capable of doing this.”
“Even if a country is not directly involved in a possible war [against Iran], but its territory is used by the enemy, we would consider that country hostile territory and treat it like an aggressor,” the top Iranian military official noted.
Iran has repeatedly said that it has never launched and will never wage a war, but Shekarchi said, “If an aggressor commits a strategic mistake, the aggression will be answered with the highest and toughest force to make them regret [their act of aggression and Iran’s response would be given] over a geographic expanse beyond what the ill-wishers of the Islamic Republic could imagine.”
He added, “Radar equipment, arms and air defense systems, for whose sale the resources of Muslim countries and nations of the region had been plundered, failed their test in a shameful manner in the case of Yemeni forces’ attack on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and the world came to realize extreme weakness and humiliation [of the Western countries] in this field.”
plundered, failed their test in a shameful manner in the case of Yemeni forces’ attack on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and the world came to realize extreme weakness and humiliation [of the Western countries] in this field.”
forces’ attack on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and the world came to realize extreme weakness and humiliation [of the Western countries] in this field.”
He added, “Radar equipment, arms and air defense systems, for whose sale the resources of Muslim countries and nations of the region had been plundered, failed their test in a shameful manner in the case of Yemeni
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights
Daughter of ex-FBI agent missing for a decade in Iran thanks Trump for ‘clear message’ to Tehran
Daughter of ex-FBI agent missing for a decade in Iran thanks Trump for ‘clear message’ to Tehran
Daughter of ex-FBI agent missing for a decade in Iran thanks Trump for ‘clear message’ to Tehran
The daughter of Robert Levinson — a retired FBI agent and private investigator who went missing from an Iranian island in 2007 — praised President Trump and the administration for their focus on the case.
Iran must reduce its belligerence before it is too late
The Middle East is witnessing a continuous escalation of hostility by the Iranian regime on several levels, all of them leading to a reduction in the number of peaceful options available to address Tehran’s dangerous and destabilizing behavior.
No regional country has been more patient regarding Iran’s belligerent behavior than Saudi Arabia. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the leadership of the “Islamic Republic” has wanted to overthrow the regimes in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. It has sought to accomplish this malign objective by different means, such as by exporting its theocratic revolution, radicalizing local Shiite minorities, setting up spy cells, and funding Shiite militias.
A number of years on, what has happened to this Arab openness toward Iran? How did the leadership in Tehran interpret this positivity from the Arab states? Did the Iranian leadership take advantage of this positivity to improve relations and enhance stability in the region? In fact, the direct opposite occurred and the revolutionary deep state in Iran, represented by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cynically exploited this openness from the Arab states by working to embed espionage cells, recruit citizens of Arab states as agents, and undermine the security and stability of several Arab countries, including Yemen, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Bahrain.
Since 2011, the Iranian regime’s hostility toward its Arab neighbors has increased. Khamenei openly incited Arabs, especially those living in the Gulf nations, to rebel against their governments. This came in a lengthy speech that happened during a Friday sermon delivered in Arabic — Khamenei clearly paid no attention to the majority non-Arabic-speaking worshippers present, as his target audience was obviously those in the Arab states.
However, contradicting his calls for insurgency in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, when the protests across the region spread to Syria, headed by Iran’s ally Bashar Assad, Khamenei suddenly deemed the protests to be a conspiracy by the superpowers — aided by Israel and Saudi Arabia — to target the so-called “axis of resistance” of Iran, Assad’s Syria and the Tehran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. The terrible results of Tehran’s tireless support of the Syrian regime are very clear and known to the world.
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights
Argentina asks Azerbaijan to arrest Iranian suspect in Jewish center bombing
Argentina asks Azerbaijan to arrest Iranian suspect in Jewish center bombing
Argentina asks Azerbaijan to arrest Iranian suspect in Jewish center bombing
Argentina has asked Azerbaijan to arrest a high-level Iranian adviser to the country’s supreme leader in connection with the bombing in 1994 of the Buenos Aires AMIA Jewish center.
Religious foundation secretly recruiting spies for Iran, funding terrorism, report says
Religious foundation secretly recruiting spies for Iran, funding terrorism, report says
Religious foundation secretly recruiting spies for Iran, funding terrorism, report says
A supposed Iranian religious foundation is in fact secretly funding terrorism and spies, such as the recruitment of former Air Force intelligence specialist Monica Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013 with valuable security secrets, a dissident group is claiming in a new report.
Why Iran wants the Lebanon and Iraq uprisings to fade
Why Iran wants the Lebanon and Iraq uprisings to fade
Why Iran wants the Lebanon and Iraq uprisings to fade
When the 2011 Arab Spring swept across the Middle East, Iran’s leadership embraced the revolutions as an Islamic Awakening, with the notable exception of Syria where Tehran saw the demonstrations as a grave threat to its security and relationship with its sole regional ally.
Israel’s Support for Iraqi Demonstrations Warmly Welcomed by Protestors
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz’s statement in support of the broad demonstrations taking place in Iraq in recent weeks was warmly accepted by the protesters.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abd al-Mahdi’s corrupt government, unemployment and poor public services, and by extension, Iran’s involvement in the country.
Hundreds have been killed during the violence, many by Iran-backed Shi’ite militias operating in the country.
Katz published a message in Arabic on social media on Monday saying that “we sympathize with the Iraqi people’s protest for freedom and dignity.”
Katz “strongly” condemned the protesters’ “repression and murder” led by Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
“The Iraqi people have a long and glorious history. Many Israelis from Iraq fondly remember years of living together,” Katz concluded in the tweet.
The post was seen by over 300,000 people, received over 6,000 likes and over 4,200 people posted their responses.
This data is “an indicator to Israel’s status and image and the yearning of the Iraqi people for freedom,” Katz said of the success of his message.
Israel has over 250,000 followers on its Twitter account in Arabic.
More than 1.5 million Arabic speakers from 22 Arab countries follow Israel in Arabic on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, with content viewed hundreds of millions of times annually.
The use of social media enables Israel to share a message of diversity, peace, and coexistence, as well as information on current political and security developments with millions of Arabs around the world, the Foreign Ministry explained.
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights
Iran gave $16 billion to militias in Iraq and Syria
Iran has spent $16 billion on “militias” to prop up the Assad regime in Syria and surrounding regions, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV on Thursday.
Washington will continue imposing sanctions on Tehran, noting that they were a result of “destabilizing behavior in the region,” Hook confirmed in the interview.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a letter in the report that it “is important for the world to know that Iran trained and deployed Shia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to help Assad crack down on innocent civilians in Syria.”
The report goes on to state that “Iran also provides up to $100 million annually in combined support to Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, PIJ, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. These terrorist groups have been behind a number of deadly attacks originating from Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon, including attacks against Israeli civilians, Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, and American citizens.”
Recently, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the construction of state-of-the-art weaponry for the country’s paramilitary fighting force, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
“Today, the IRGC is dignified both inside and outside the country, thanks be to god. The enemies have contributed to creating this dignity,” Khamenei said. “With violent, aggressive, and hostile behavior, the Americans increased the dignity of the IRGC. The enemies of god show hostility to God’s servants, and this hostility makes God’s servants more reputable and estimable.”
“You must have all necessary defense, operational and intelligence equipment. However, these instruments must be manufactured and developed at home and meet all the needs of the country on the ground, in the sky and space as well as at sea and borders. Even the cyberspace is among the necessary instruments,” he also said.
US sanctions 9 in Iran supreme leader’s inner circle for ‘repression, torture, terrorism’
The U.S. Treasury announced Monday that it had sanctioned nine Iranians who are among supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s inner circle for “advancing Iran’s radical agenda,” a move that seeks to block funds to those who “oppressed the Iranian people, exported terrorism and advanced destabilizing policies around the world.”
The sanctions were handed down Monday and coincided with the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by student militants and the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis which lasted 444 days.
“Today the Treasury Department is targeting the unelected officials who surround Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and implement his destabilizing policies,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “These individuals are linked to a wide range of malign behaviors by the regime, including bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994, as well as torture, extrajudicial killings and repression of civilians.”