Iranwire – It is a rarity in Venezuela to see the Catholic Church involving itself in politics. But back in November 2020, Monsignor Mario Moronta, a well-respected bishop of San Cristobal and first vice-president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, did just that. “Iran,” he publicly stated, “places its bases of operations in Venezuela without any resistance.” Monsignor Moronta had been close to …

Iranwire – A group of tourists have been detained for “inappropriate” behaviour near the picturesque Shahyoun Lake in Dezful, Khuzestan province. Mehdi Chenari, head of the city’s Cultural Heritage Department, announced the arrests on Friday, March 26. He told IRNA news agency that the “mixed” group had been observed “dancing and celebrating” in an “inappropriate way” close to the natural …

VOA – The Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers on Saturday signed a 25-year cooperation agreement between the two allies in a ceremony carried live on state television.“Our relations with Iran will not be affected by the current situation, but will be permanent and strategic,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was earlier quoted by Iranian news agencies as saying.“Iran decides independently …

gatestoneinstitute.org – By removing the Houthis from the terrorist list and cutting off US support to confront the militia group, the Biden Administration has emboldened and empowered the Houthis and given them a free pass. That is most likely why the Houthi terror group has ratcheted up its missile attacks. More than 40 drones and missiles were reportedly launched by …

foreign.senate.gov– U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), todayled a group of 41 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden outlining the pillars of a comprehensive diplomatic Iran strategy that will garner bipartisan support in Congress. “While we may have differing views on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of …

Al-Monitor – The Israeli-owned container ship LORI was hit by a missile early March 25 in the Arabian Sea. The missile was reported to have been small and to have apparently caused little damage to the body of the vessel, with no injuries registered. Blame was immediately cast on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Liberian-flagged ship had departed Dar es Salaam, …

Al-Arabia – An online campaign launched by Iranian dissidents that calls for the removal of the regime in Tehran has gained traction in recent days, with Iranians in and out of the country voicing their opposition to the clerical regime. The campaign, named “no to the Islamic Republic,” was launched earlier this month by over 600 anti-regime Iranians in and …

Al-Arabia – Hezbollah was behind the execution of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and the assassination was a “shared Syrian-Iranian decision,” Syrian opposition figure Firas Tlass told Al Arabiya. In a sit-down interview with Al Arabiya, Tlass discussed the assassination of Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri in a 2005 bombing, which he said “the Syrian regime had a hand and which …

Iranwire – Kurdish human rights activists have reported the arrest of a number of Kurdish citizens by the Iranian security forces, allegedly for taking part in Nowruz celebrations. According to the Kurdish news website Hengaw, four residents of the village of Ney in the county of Marivan, Kurdistan province, were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday this week after being summoned …

Iranwire -The Iranian government has admitted its Covid-19 vaccine rollout has failed and placed the blame on COVAX, the global initiative to ensure vaccines are shared fairly around the world. From now on, a government spokesman has said, the country will mostly rely on domestic vaccine production.  Kianoush Jahanpour, speaking for the Food and Drug Administration, announced on Thursday that …