Tag Archives: Iran

A U.S. judge on Wednesday forcefully rebuked federal prosecutors for a series of failures, including withholding exculpatory evidence, that led to the dismissal of an indictment against a banker who had been convicted of Iran sanctions violations. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed on Monday for a solution to the three-year rift between the Gulf state of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, saying the Trump administration was eager to see it resolved. Speaking at a State Department meeting with Qatari …

In 1973, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries brought the U.S. economy to its knees. Now, the cartel created 60 years ago is more likely to do Washington’s bidding. Since Saudi Arabia and other Arab OPEC members imposed their famous oil embargo as retribution for U.S. support …

Bahraini opposition groups have said they reject a decision by the Gulf state to normalise relations with Israel, with a leading Shi’ite cleric on Sunday calling on the people of the region to resist. Cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, living in Iran, said he was against normalisation between Arab countries …

It is necessary to implement a unified Arab policy towards Turkey’s destructive actions in the Arab region, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday during his Arab League ministerial committee meeting. Shoukry said Turkey’s practices and interference in multiple Arab countries’ internal affairs shape threats against the Arab national security. …

The Houthi administration in Yemen has suspended all United Nations and humanitarian flights to the capital Sanaa as its Saudi-led coalition foe blocks commercial vessels in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The Iran-aligned Houthis took over Sanaa and most cities in 2014 after ousting the Saudi-backed government of Abd-Rabbu …

President Donald Trump will announce a further drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq on Wednesday, a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. That announcement will be followed by another one in the coming days on a further reduction in U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the official said. The decision comes …

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, who also holds the title of defense minister, discussed with Japan’s defense minister cooperation in defense fields and security of marine traffic, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Minister Taro Kono discussed, in a phone call, regional security …

A military spokesman for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said that the group targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport with a number of drones. Yahya Sarea wrote on Twitter “the continuous attack of the drones on Abha International Airport led to disabling it for several hours”. In related developments a Yemeni court in …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Sunday that the kingdom was eager to achieve a fair and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, which he said was the main starting point of the kingdom’s proposed Arab Peace Initiative, the state news agency …

Syria’s air defense on Wednesday shot down most of a series of Israeli rockets launched in the direction of Tiyas airport in Homs governorate, the state news agency reported, citing a military source. “Losses were limited to material losses”, the state news agency added, citing the same military source. An …

Three people were killed and several others were injured on Monday in two separate explosions in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi and its tourism hub Dubai, the police and local media said. The Abu Dhabi government media office said two people were killed in the blast in the …

 By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   CONTINUED from yesterday…   Everybody’s ‘Bestest’ Big Sister Now Christian Papierniak’s little masterpiece Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town (2017), which he also wrote. I could write a whole book about the movie and still not get completely to the bottom of it. I …

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo informed the United Nations Thursday that the US was restoring all UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted as a result of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) approved under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 in 2015. The resolution, which Pompeo called “one-sided” …

The United States is eyeing the sale of stealthy F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates in a side agreement to the UAE’s overtures to Israel, an industry insider who was part of the dialogue with government officials said on Wednesday. A sale, which could reduce Israel’s military advantage …

Saudi Arabia remains committed to peace with Israel on the basis of the longstanding Arab Peace Initiative, its foreign minister said on Wednesday in the first official comment since the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise relations with Israel. Israel and the UAE said on Thursday they would normalise diplomatic …

Israel’s intelligence minister said on Tuesday he knew of no change to a policy opposing U.S. sales of advanced weaponry to Arab states that could diminish Israel’s military superiority, after a report the United Arab Emirates could clinch such deals. The remarks by the minister, Eli Cohen, followed a report …

Seismological data suggests that six blasts preceded the Beirut port explosion, the last of them a combustion of fireworks that apparently set off a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate, an Israeli analyst said on Thursday. The six blasts were at 11-second intervals during the Aug. 4 incident, with the main …

Syrian President Bashar al Assad said on Wednesday that sweeping new U.S. sanctions amounted to a new stage of economic warfare against his government and were part of long-standing U.S. efforts to “choke” the living standards of Syrians. In a speech to deputies at the presidential palace, Assad also blamed …

Iraq cancelled on Tuesday the Turkish defence minister’s visit to the country which was scheduled for Thursday, Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry also summoned the Turkish ambassador to hand him “a strong protest note and inform him of Iraq’s confirmed rejection of his country’s attacks and …

French President Emmanuel Macron has told President Donald Trump that U.S. sanctions that have targeted Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah are playing into the hands of those they are meant to weaken, an Elysee official said on Saturday. The official, speaking ahead of a donors conference on aid to Lebanon co-hosted …

Republican and Democratic senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would block international sales of American-made drones to countries that are not close U.S. allies, mentioning Saudi Arabia in particular. Reuters broke the news in June that President Donald Trump’s administration planned to reinterpret the Missile Technology Control Regime, a Cold …

Lebanese rescue workers dug through rubble looking for survivors of a powerful warehouse explosion that shook the capital Beirut, killing 100 people and injuring nearly 4,000 in a toll that officials expected to rise. Tuesday’s blast at port warehouses storing highly explosive material was the most powerful in years in …

Iran said on Saturday its intelligence services have detained a U.S.-based leader of a pro-monarchist group whom it accused of being behind a deadly 2008 bombing and of plotting other attacks, and that he is being held in Iran. An intelligence ministry statement cited by state television did not say …

The United Arab Emirates has begun start-up operations in the initial unit of its first nuclear power plant, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) said on Saturday. The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, a major oil producer, is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The plant …

The deputy leader of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday dismissed the prospect of an escalation of violence between the Iran-backed movement and Israel despite increased tensions in the last week. “The atmosphere does not indicate a war … It’s unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the next few months,” …

An Israeli drone crashed inside Lebanon during operational activity along the border, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. “There is no concern that any information was leaked,” the spokeswoman said. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the drone crashed after it experienced a technical failure. Tensions have risen along Israel’s frontier with …

There’s no other place in the world where you can find more myths than reality, than in the vast domain of “Lebanese politics”. The charade of “lying”, producing “very special” effects, going by “exceptions” instead of rules and “inventing” circumstances, is in Lebanese politics always at its best. By Patricia …

After having concluded a $400 billion strategic deal with China Iran now aims to sign a long-term partnership agreement with Russia. From the Islamic Republic’s perspective, good relations with Moscow and Beijing, as well as possibility to expand economic cooperation with the two countries, will help Iran to easier cope …

The Israeli military on Friday said its helicopters struck Syrian army targets in response to mortars fired toward the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. “A number of targets were struck, including SAF observation posts and intelligence collection systems located in SAF bases,” the military said in a statement, referring to the Syrian …

Turkey is taking its decades-old conflict with Kurdish militants deep into northern Iraq, establishing military bases and deploying armed military drones against the fighters in their mountain strongholds. The cross-border campaign has attracted less attention than Turkey’s incursions into neighbouring Syria – partly because Turkish troops have long been in …

Only 8 percent of organizations in Saudi Arabia are considered “leaders” in “cyber resilience” compared with 17 percent globally, according to a new study that identifies how well organizations are prepared to defend themselves against cyberattacks. The study, carried out by the multinational professional services company Accenture, said that companies …

Yemen’s Saudi-Led coalition said on Monday it intercepted and destroyed four missiles and six explosive drones launched overnight by Houthi forces towards the kingdom. Cross-border attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement have escalated since late May when a truce prompted by the novel coronavirus expired. In late June, missiles reached …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric stepped up criticism of the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah and its allies without naming them on Sunday, saying Lebanese rejected being isolated from their allies and driven into decline. Lebanon is suffering a financial meltdown which marks the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 …

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen said it destroyed two explosive-laden boats in the Red Sea, Saudi state TV reported on Thursday. The two remotely controlled boats were threatening navigation, the coalition said. They were destroyed south of the Yemeni port of Salif, it added. …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that U.S. and partner forces seized a boat in June carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen as he renewed his call for the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran. “The Security Council must extend the …

The US Treasury imposed mandatory sanctions on Syria on June 17, targeting foreign persons and entities for economic activities that support the Syrian government’s ability to wage war. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act targets beneficiaries of the Syrian conflict including Iran, and signals that the United States will not …

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Tuesday a UN report confirming Iranian involvement in attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in September 2019. A foreign ministry statement said the findings of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ report “leaves no doubt for the international community about Iran’s hostile intentions towards the …

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed the UN Security Council on Tuesday to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Iran before it expires in October. Speaking at the virtual briefing, Pompeo warned that its expiration would risk the stability of the region. “Iran will hold a sword of Damocles …

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Saturday it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile targeting the Saudi Arabian border city of Najran. In a statement issued via the Saudi Arabian state news agency, the coalition said that the missile was fired from the Yemeni city of Saada, …

Iran’s Supreme Leader on Friday denounced Israel as a “tumor” to be eliminated and hailed Tehran’s supply of arms to Palestinians, drawing swift condemnation from the United States and European Union. Opposition to Israel is a core belief for Shi’ite-led Iran, which backs Palestinian and Lebanese Islamic militant groups opposed …

With the United States weighing a response to a gasoline shipment from Iran to Venezuela, people waiting in line outside service stations in the country’s capital said they were eager to fill their tanks, regardless of how the fuel arrived. OPEC members Venezuela and Iran both are U.S. adversaries. A …

The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw Patriot anti-missile defense batteries from Saudi Arabia is likely to fuel an already brewing arms race as the kingdom attempts to catch-up with Iran’s nuclear development as well as its space, ballistic missile, and drone capabilities. By James M. Dorsey One thing is certain, …

Nineteen sailors were killed and 15 others injured in the Gulf of Oman when an Iranian missile fired during a training exercise struck a support vessel near its target, Iranian state media reported Monday. The missile struck the Konarak, a missile launching support warship that had been taking part in …