Radiofarda – Human rights defender Narges Mohammadi who is incarcerated at Iran’s notorious Evin prison must immediately undergo surgery, according to her attorney. Mahmoud Behzadi Rad told the official IRNA news agency that Mohammadi was taken from prison to hospital April 27 and after an MRI exam was returned to prison. According to the attorney, doctors concluded that she needs …

Radiofarda – Accusation about Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s wealth has stirred controversy in political circles in Iraq as Shiite factions close to Iran have reacted to a Facebook post about financial corruption in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Facebook page of U.S. Embassy in Baghdad wrote in an April 25 post, “Corruption is rife in all parts of …

Radiofarda – An Iranian cargo ship listed on sanctions lists was boarded and searched at Misrata port in western Libya, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord said Saturday. The “Iranian flagged… Shahr E. Kord” is docked at the country’s main commercial port, the internationally recognized GNA’s interior ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page. The ship “is on …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s top general warned on Sunday that Tehran could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping route if it faces more “hostility,” news agency ISNA said, as the US tightens up sanctions. “We are not after closing the Strait of Hormuz but if the hostility of enemies increase, we will be able to do so,” armed forces chief …

Al-Arabia – Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, is resorting to crowd funding to fill its shrinking coffers. The militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke of its growing dependency on donors during a recent speech commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Resistance Support Association, a benefactor organization. The speech shined a rare light on Hezbollah’s financial position, usually one of the organization’s …

RFL/RE – Iranian state media says Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is planning to visit North Korea. “The date of this trip will be set and announced soon,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency on April 28 quoted Zarif as saying. The news agency gave no further details. Washington has ramped up sanctions on Iran since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew …

RFL/RE – U.S. Central Command chief General Kenneth McKenzie says the United States has the “resources necessary” to deter Iran from taking any “dangerous” actions in the Gulf region. McKenzie told Sky News Arabia during an official visit to the region on April 27 that Washington would work with allies in the Gulf to present a united front against Tehran.“We’re …

VOA – Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard successfully managed a surveillance flight over a U.S. aircraft carrier, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday. The report included footage apparently from a Guard drone that flew over the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and another U.S. warship in the Persian Gulf. The images show fighter planes parked on the carrier deck. Tasnim did …

gatestoneinstitute – PAIC’s program contained ambitious goals, including the elimination of Israel, the collapse of the United States following the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, and the establishment of “truly Islamic” regimes in all the 57 countries where Islam was a majority religion. With a handful of exceptions, almost all the men who were supposed to build Turabi’s brave new …

gatestoneinstitute – “The golden days are gone and will never return. Iran doesn’t have enough money to give us.” — A militant with an Iranian-backed militia in Syria, New York Times, March 26, 2019. Feeling the pressure of sanctions on Iran, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, has also called on his group’s fundraising arm “to provide the opportunity for jihad …