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Iran missiles must stop for Yemen war to end, say Saudi Arabia and Oman

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Iran missiles must stop for Yemen war to end, say Saudi Arabia and Oman

Iran’s nuclear missile system must be dealt with seriously if the war in Yemen is to stop, Saudi Arabia and Oman said on Tuesday.

The war started after the Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed insurgent group, seized the capital Sanaa, forcing President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to leave for Aden and later move to Riyadh.

“The two sides affirmed their views on continuing their efforts to find a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis based on the Gulf initiative, UN resolutions and the initiative of Saudi Arabia to end the war and alleviate humanitarian suffering,” Saudi Arabia and Oman said in a joint statement.

Following the start of the war, Yemen’s neighbours came to the aid of its embattled government in March 2015, within the framework of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which included the UAE.

On Iran, the two sides said: “It is necessary to co-operate and seriously deal with the Iranian nuclear and missile file in a way that contributes to achieving regional and international security and stability.”

This can be done through “the principles of good neighbourliness, respecting UN resolutions and international legitimacy, and sparing the region from its destabilising activities,” the statement said.

For months, Saudi Arabia has attempted to negotiate with the group in hopes of finding a settlement and easing the suffering of the Yemeni people.

In March, the kingdom proposed a new peace plan to end the war. It suggests a UN-supervised ceasefire between the government and Houthi rebels.

The plan also includes the reopening of vital air and sea links and the start of political negotiations.

Houthi rebels have said the offer did not appear to go far enough to lift the air and sea blockade in place.

The rebels are still refusing to engage meaningfully in talks to end the conflict. Fierce ground battles have spread and the Iran-backed rebels have resumed cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days.

Source: The National

Also Read: Yemeni Houthi rebels admit Iran supplies missiles used to attack Saudi Arabia
 

Israel’s Gantz says Iran giving militias drone training near Isfahan

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Israel’s Gantz says Iran giving militias drone training near Isfahan

Israel’s defensee minister accused Iran on Sunday of providing foreign militias with drone training at an airbase near the city of Isfahan, a month after Tehran came under global scrutiny over a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman.

In what his office described as a new disclosure, Benny Gantz said Iran was using Kashan airbase north of Isfahan to train “terror operatives from Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in flying Iranian-made UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)”.

Iran was also trying to “transfer know-how that would allow the manufacturing of UAVs in the Gaza Strip,” on Israel’s southern border, Gantz told a conference at Reichman University near Tel Aviv.

His office provided what it said were satellite images showing UAVs on the runways at Kashan. There was no immediate comment from Iran, Reuters reported.

A 29 July blast aboard the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker near the mouth of the Gulf, a key oil shipping route, killed two crew – a Briton and a Romanian. 

The vessel is operated and managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is owned by Israeli magnate Eyal Ofer’s Ofer Global group.

The US military said explosives experts from the Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier – which deployed to assist the Mercer Street – concluded the explosion was from a drone produced in Iran, which was accused by other world powers in the attack. Iran has denied involvement.

PMA denial

Last month, paramilitary commanders, Iraqi army officers and observers told Middle East Eye that at least three Iraqi armed factions have the necessary technical and weapons’ capabilities to launch massive and brutal attacks using drones.

On 26 June, the Popular Mobilisation Authority (PMA) – a governmental umbrella group for paramilitaries – held a military parade at Camp Ashraf in Diyala Province, 70km northeast of Baghdad. 

The display included most of the weapons and forces at the PMA’s disposal, including a number of drones that the PMA later tried to deny were part of the parade.

Source: Middle East Eye

Also Read: Iranian IRGC establishes new drone attack training base for its Iraqi militia

 

 

 

9/11 Commission Head: More Evidence of Iran Involvement in Terror Attacks

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9/11 Commission Head: More Evidence of Iran Involvement in Terror Attacks

The chairman of the 9/11 Commission said while reviewing the 9/11 Commission Report he found more information of possible involvement by Iran, rather than Saudi Arabia.

The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. announced on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, that Riyadh welcomes the release of confidential documents related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The embassy issued a statement saying that “There is no evidence that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or any of its officials had any prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks or that they were involved in any planning or execution.”

Interestingly in 2018, the top adviser to Iran’s Supreme leader, Mohammad Javad Larijani, in an exclusive interview revealed the details of the country’s relationship with al-Qaeda and the movement of its members, especially the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and the presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran.

On 12 January 2021 Former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo had previously accused the Iranian government of aiding al-Qaeda and being involved in the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

According to him, Iran allowed al-Qaeda forces to communicate freely with the outside world and to move freely on Iranian soil. He also called Iran “al-Qaeda’s new Afghanistan.”

Referring to the killing of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, al-Qaeda’s second-in-command killed in Iran’s capital city Tehran last year, Pompeo said Iran had become a safe haven for al-Qaeda.

Source: Al Arabiya
Also read: Iranian IRGC establishes new drone attack training base for its Iraqi militia

Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon, should return to JCPOA talks: US official

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Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon, should return to JCPOA talks: US official

A senior US official said Wednesday that Tehran would never get a nuclear weapon regardless of the outcome of talks on the Iran nuclear deal.

The warning came shortly after the top US diplomat, Antony Blinken, said the time for reaching a deal on the now-defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was closing.

And President Joe Biden has said that the US prefers diplomacy with Iran. Asked what the options were if diplomacy failed, a senior State Department official refused to speculate.

“But I will just reiterate … that the Biden administration and the president himself [have been] very, very, very clear that we are not going to let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon. And I think all of our partners in the region agree with that point,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood.

Nevertheless, the US diplomat said Washington would continue to try to use diplomacy as a tool of first resort.

“But the secretary [Blinken] pointed out that that window is not open forever. We need to get back to negotiations; we need to get back to the JCPOA,” Hood told Al Arabiya.

“The more that the Iranians make progress on their nuclear program, the less benefit there is to going back to the JCPOA. So, both sides need to act now. And we’re ready,” he added.

The UN atomic watchdog criticized Iran on Tuesday for its lack of cooperation.

Hood also hit out at Iranian officials for what’s been seen by some officials as brinksmanship. Iran has said it would not move forward with the indirect talks being held in Vienna until the US lifted all economic sanctions.

Asked if this meant there would not be a seventh round of talks in Vienna, Hood said: “I think [it’s] a waste of time to sit and talk about it in the media. They [Iran] need to get back to Vienna, get back to the negotiating table, and talk about both sides reentering the JCPOA and keeping up our commitments.”

Source: Alarabiya

Also Read: France demands Iran answer questions about ‘undeclared nuclear material’

 

Iranian IRGC establishes new drone attack training base for its Iraqi militia

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Iranian IRGC establishes new drone attack training base for its Iraqi militia

Iran has set up a new training camp in Iraq for its Syrian and Iraqi militia in the Karbala desert.

Iran’s terrorist designated Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its extraterritorial operations arm, Quds Force, with help from their Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, supervise the camp and provide recruits with courses on drone tactics.

Iraqi political analyst Hilal al-Obeidi says the recruits attend courses in Iran to learn Farsi before receiving training in Iraq.

The establishment of the training camp “comes as part of Iran’s relentless endeavor to produce a generation of experts with experience in launching explosives-laden drones”, he said.

According to some sources, the IRGC is working to recruit more youth into its Syrian and Iraqi militia, reportedly offering a substantial monthly stipend for militiamen who attend training courses on drone operation.

“Iran’s leaders are wasting the wealth of their people on matters that will bring them only hardship and crises,” said al-Hasakeh political committee co-ordinator Lt. Col. Hisham al-Mustafa.

He noted that the Karbala base is one of many that were opened in Iraq and Syria with support and funding from the IRGC.

This kind of weapon does not require large sums of money to manufacture and can evade tracking and remote destruction systems.

Iran’s regional proxies, particularly the Houthis in Yemen, are increasingly using explosives-laden drones as an offensive method as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are inexpensive and hard to stop.

IRGC-backed Iraqi militias have launched at least six attacks since April using drones laden with small amounts of explosives, most recently on July 24, when a UAV targeted al-Harir airbase, to the north of Erbil.

Hisham al-Mustafa says that the IRGC has been attempting to manipulate the population’s sectarian sentiments to inject new blood into its militias, especially ideologically driven fighters who suffer from extreme poverty.

In this way, he said, the Quds Force can continue its policy of extending Iranian hegemony in the region.

Source: Al-Mashareq
Also read: Iran fuel shipment to Hezbollah, helping the Lebanese or political agenda?

More Brutal Than ‘Godforsaken Hell’: Prisoner Tweets Details Of Iran Prison Abuse

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More Brutal Than ‘Godforsaken Hell’: Prisoner Tweets Details Of Iran Prison Abuse

In a series of tweets Wednesday, civil and labor rights activist and author Sepideh Gholian(link is external), currently on furlough from prison in Bushehr province, made detailed allegation of abuse of prisoners in the women’s ward. Gholian wrote that she had received no response to reporting 20 cases to the authorities, including five she had described in tweets.

“I knew I would face a godforsaken hell when I was banished to this prison last year,” wrote 25-year-old Gholian, who was sent to Bushehr prison in early March from Evin prison in Tehran. “But I couldn’t even imagine the brutality reigning in this prison.”

Gholian was first arrested in 2019 after taking part in protests in Dezful and is serving a five-year sentence for ‘disrupting public order’ and ‘assembly and collusion against national security.’ She wrote a memoir about her time in Sepidar prison in her native Khuzestan province, which was published by Iran Wire(link is external)  in June 2020.

In her tweets Wednesday, Gholian changed the names of the inmates in her tweets(link is external) for their own safety.

When ‘Sahar’ used a shower out of hours, a warden forced her to strip, hosed her down in open space, while everyone else was forced to watch and boo, Gholian wrote: “You would be deprived of the right to make phone calls if you averted your eyes from the scene. Tens of eyes, in shock and anger, stared at the shivering naked woman.”

Gholian also alleged that the warden of the prison arranges for sending women such as Ameneh to men’s wards for sex under the name of “temporary marriage”. A temporary marriage (sigheh) is a contract for sex for a specific time, hours or even years. According to the Shia sharia laws, children born of such marriages are legally recognized if the contract is documented. Temporary marriage is permitted in addition to the four legal wives that a man can have.

Source: Iran International

Also Read: Sexual Harassment And Torture: Amnesty Verdict On Iran Prison Videos

Iranian fuel shipment to Hezbollah helping the Lebanese or political agenda?

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Iranian fuel shipment to Hezbollah helping the Lebanese or political agenda?

The 33,000 tons of fuel that will soon reach Hezbollah in Lebanon from Iran will barely meet the country’s needs for three days.

Hassan Nasrallah the Secretary-General of the Iran-backed Hezbollah had previously announced an agreement with the Islamic Republic to import fuel. But contrary to what Hezbollah has been saying the Iran-Hezbollah deal is more political than a fundamental step in helping the people of Lebanon.

Lebanese diesel consumption is 15 million liters per day. The cargo coming from Iran is equal to 40 million liters. Thus, the imported fuel lasts only three days.

Hence the decision of Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic in this regard is more political than a serious measure to meet Lebanon’s fuel needs.

Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic are attempting to show that fuel imports are possible despite sanctions and they hope to attract back the support of Lebanese people for Hezbollah, who have been rejecting the group’s presence in Lebanon increasingly during recent years.

Lebanon is experiencing severe fuel shortages as a result of years of mismanagement and economic corruption caused by the influence of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.

Iran, meanwhile, is grappling with a number of crises that have led to water, electricity, and gas disruptions. Also in November of 2019, the price of gasoline in Iran tripled and the government massacred at least 1,500 protesters who took to the streets.

Iran is trying to position itself as a fuel supplier to Lebanon to empower its Lebanese proxy. The goal is to force Lebanon to become dependent on Iran and then all the gas and fuel going to Lebanon will come through Hezbollah, so Hezbollah can provide it to allies and friends.

Overall, Iran’s goal is to impoverish Lebanon, destroy its middle and upper class, encourage its Sunni and Christian community to emigrate, so that its proxy will grow in power and that all that will remain is a hollowed-out Lebanese state that is a province within a larger Hezbollahstan that is more powerful than Lebanon.

Source: The Independent
Also read: Iranian Police Arrest Anti-Taliban Protesters Outside Pakistan Embassy

Iranian Police Arrest Anti-Taliban Protesters Outside Pakistan Embassy

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Iranian Police Arrest Anti-Taliban Protesters Outside Pakistan Embassy

Social media users have reported the arrest of dozens of protesters including several Iranian rights activists at an anti-Taliban protest rally Wednesday afternoon outside the Pakistan Embassy in Tehran.

According to the Twitter account of the reformist news website Zeitoon, most of those detained were Afghans but prominent Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi who was freed from prison after more than eight years in October 2020, and three other Iranian activists were also detained and taken to an unknown location by the police. Zeitoon described the arrests as “violent” in its tweet

On Tuesday and Wednesday morning tens of Afghans had protested and chanted against the Taliban and Pakistan outside the Pakistani embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad for the alleged military support of Pakistan for the Taliban in Panjshir where resistance against them continues. There was a heavy police presence but no arrests were made.

Vidoes of the protest rally Wednesday in which scores of Afghan women and Iranian activists chanted slogans against the Taliban(link is external) and in support of the anti-Taliban resistance in Panjshir show the police dispersing the protesters(link is external). Some social media users have said that the police took away protesters’ mobile(link is external) phones and only returned them if footage and photos of the protest were deleted.

In one of the photos posted on Twitter Mohammadi is seen holding up(link is external) a placard reading “From Kabul to Tehran, Mothers, Women, Unite, Unite”. Farhad Fathi, journalist, in a tweet said protesters also chanted(link is external) “From Kabul to Tehran, Down with Taliban” and “Down with Pakistan”. Hossein Yazdi, another journalist said protesters had also chanted “Supporting Taliban, Betrayal of Iran”.

Prior to the Taliban attacks on Panjshir, Iranian officials spoke very cautiously about developments in Afghanistan and said Iran would continue to monitor the situation.

Iran’s state media also called the Taliban takeover of Kabul a victory against the United States and avoided any negative comments on the Taliban, but on Monday after reports of Pakistan’s aerial attacks on the positions of Panjshir resistance fighters, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms” without naming Pakistan but said “foreign involvement” in the attack would be investigated.

Source: Iran International

Also Read: Iran Sentences 8 To Public Flogging For ‘Economic Misconduct’

Iran Sentences 8 To Public Flogging For ‘Economic Misconduct’

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Iran Sentences 8 To Public Flogging For ‘Economic Misconduct’

Iran’s judiciary announced in a September 5 press conference that eight men and women were sentenced to prison and lashes for “economic misconduct”.

Judiciary Spokesperson Zabihullah Khodaeian said in comments carried by the state-run ISNA News Agency that eight directors in the case of the Petrochemical Trading Company were tried and sentenced to flogging, prison, and fines.

He said the CEO of the Petrochemical Trading Company Reza Hamzeh Lu, Assistant CEO Abbas Samimi, Board of Directors member Alireza Alaei Rahmani, and Mostafa Tehrani, Commercial Director Mohsen Ahmadian, and the CEO of Deniz Company were each sentenced to 20 years of prison, 74 lashes, a permanent ban on government services and financial penalty matching the amount they earned through criminal activities for “participating in major interferences in the economic system by disrupting the distribution of currencies from the export of petrochemical products of manufacturing companies amounting to 6 billion and 656 million euros”.

Sam Hamed Saedian and Abolfazl Maleki Shams Abadi, two other CEO’s were also sentenced to 15 years of prison 74 lashes in public, and fines.

“These rulings are final and irrevocable, except through retrials and the application of Article 477,” Khodaeian added.

In July 2018, following the public flogging of another man in Khorasan Razavi Province, Amnesty International condemned the cruel punishment in a statement.

“The use of cruel and inhuman punishments such as flogging, amputation, and blinding are an appalling assault on human dignity and violate the absolute prohibition on torture and other degrading treatment or punishment under international law,” Amnesty’s Philip Luther said.

“As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is legally obliged to forbid torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment. It’s simply unacceptable that the Iranian authorities continue to allow such punishments and to justify them in the name of protecting religious morals.”

Source: Eurasia Review

Also Read: Three More Iranian Human Rights Attorneys Slapped with Unjust Prison Sentences

Details of Iranian foiled plot to assassinate two Israelis in Colombia

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Details of Iranian foiled plot to assassinate two Israelis in Colombia

Israeli media reported that the country’s security apparatus last June thwarted an Iranian terrorist operation to assassinate two Israeli nationals in Colombia.

Although Israeli media did not release further details about the incident, Israeli political analyst Shlomo Ganor told Al-Hadath that an Iranian national had attempted to assassinate two Israeli businessmen in the capital, Bogota.

Ganor added that the man accused of plotting to assassinate two Israeli nationals in Colombia was Rahmat Asadi, 40, who is also wanted for plotting to assassinate a British-Iranian national in 2014.

The Israeli analyst said Asadi was wanted by Interpol for allegedly plotting to murder.

In an interview with Al-Hadath, Ganor also stressed that Asadi was trying to carry out terrorist operations in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and African countries. He explained that Asadi was using a network of local criminals in Bogota to try to trap Israeli investors.

Shlomo Ganor said that the Iranian embassy in Bogota has two staff members whose activities go beyond diplomatic behavior to hostile acts, assassinations and drug trafficking.

Iran has assassinated dozens of innocent people across four continents — in Asia, Europe, North America and South America — over the four decades since the 1979 revolution.

As of September 2020, the Islamic Republic had reportedly assassinated at least 21 opponents abroad and killed hundreds in bombings of foreign military, diplomatic and cultural facilities. It targeted Americans, Europeans, Latin Americans, Israelis and Arabs as well as Iranian opposition members living abroad, according to U.S., U.N., Israeli and other government reports.

The Qods Force, the elite wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that operates outside Iran, has been linked to most of the attacks or plots.

Source: Al Arabiya
Also read: Yemeni Houthi rebels: Iran supplies missiles used to attack Saudi Arabia

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