gatestoneinstitute.org – It is worth noting that, the EU did announce a positive step. In light of the revelations concerning Iran’s assassinations plots, minor sanctions were imposed on sectors of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, as well as on Saeid Hashemi Moghadan, the deputy intelligence minister. However, these do not go nearly far enough, particularly if the EU is inclined …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Aiding the Iranian people to oust the regime does not, however, require the US to launch a full-fledged war with the Islamic Republic. On the contrary, a four-pronged strategy of maximum pressure — involving continued financial pressure on the mullahs; helping local forces expel Iranian proxy groups from Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; supporting the Iranian protesters through a …

Al-Monitor – Confronting a boycott by Iranian artists, the Fajr International Film Festival announced the cancellation of its opening ceremony, originally scheduled for Feb. 1. In a statement released Jan. 15, festival organizers cited the “public atmosphere of the community” in sympathy with the grieving families of those killed in Iran’s accidental downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8.  The cancellation marks a rare occurrence, as the festival’s traditional opening in February …

Al-Monitor – Adel Ferdosipour, one of Iran’s most popular sports hosts, has flexed his muscles against Iran’s hard-liner-controlled state TV by launching a new show on the internet.  Ferdosipour, chosen as one of “the 20 most powerful people in Iran” by Newsweek in 2009, had been a permanent fixture on Iran’s state TV for two decades. Twenty years ago, he kicked off his career with a …

AP — The Trump administration is barring Iranian investors and business people from entering or staying in the United States on certain types of visas. In new regulations published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said Iranians and their families are no longer eligible to apply for or extend what are known as E-1 and …

Radiofarda – Iran’s transportation minister has reiterated that the black-box recorders of the downed Ukrainian plane will stay in Iran and if there is a need for deciphering the information Tehran can ask for assistance from other countries. Mohammad Eslami was speaking on the sidelines of the weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran and Tasnim news agency has published a video …

Radiofarda – A mid-ranking Revolutionary Guard officer has been killed by unknown assailants at his home in southwestern Iran. Local media reported the murder early Wednesday, January 22 and hours later, Fars news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard quoted the local reports, indirectly confirming the news. The officer, Abdol-Hossein Majdami was stationed in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in …

The Syrian Defense Minister has implicitly admitted that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military was closely involved in stopping the uprising against the Assad regime, long before the emergence of jihadists fronts such as ISIS and al-Nusra. A video circulated on social media shows Syrian Minister of Defense, General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, paying homage to the Chief Commander of the …

Reuters – General Electric Co has received a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to help in the investigation of a Ukrainian passenger plane accidentally shot down by Iranian forces, a GE spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier this month that the department would grant sanction waivers to allow Americans or anyone else to participate …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic judicial authorities have filed three charges against the son of a mid-ranking cleric, Mehdi Karroubi, a dissident leader placed under house arrest since 2011. “My brother, Hossein, is facing charges in two different legal cases for the recent letters our father wrote to the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Hassan Rouhani,” …