politico.com – The U.S. national security community ismonitoring two Iranian naval vessels whose ultimate destination may be Venezuela, according to three people familiar with the situation, in what would be a provocative move at a tense moment in U.S.-Iran relations. An Iranian frigate and the Makran, a former oil tanker that was converted to a floating forward staging base, have …
Read More »Monthly Archives: May 2021
Iran oil cargo landed on US shores one month after ship seizure, records show
Al-Arabia – A cargo of 1.033 million barrels of Iranian crude oil landed on US shores in March, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed, the second shipment of Iranian oil to be imported into the United States since 1991. The cargo was registered in EIA data released late last week for the month following the seizure by …
Read More »The Five Myths That Doom a New Iran Deal
nationalinterest.org – The Biden administration continues its efforts to jumpstart the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump subsequently walked away. Iran Envoy Rob Malley and his team continue to seek the right formula of sanctions relief and verification sequencing to return Iran to compliance. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony …
Read More »Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah coordinated Gaza fighting in joint war room — report
timesofisrael – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah coordinated with Hamas on the recent fighting in Gaza between Palestinian terrorists and Israel, according to the editor-in-chief of a Lebanese daily affiliated with Hezbollah. Ibrahim Al-Amine, editor of the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar network over the weekend that during the 11-days of fighting in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, officers …
Read More »Iran Says Progress Made in Nuclear Talks But Issues Remain
VOA – Iran and six world powers have made significant progress in talks to revive their 2015 nuclear deal, but important issues still need to be resolved, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday. Iran and the powers have negotiated in Vienna since April to work out steps that Tehran and Washington must take on sanctions and nuclear activities to return to full compliance with the nuclear pact. …
Read More »Woman and Former Husband Executed on Drug-related Charges in Qazvin
Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A woman and her former husband have been executed on drug-related charges in Qazvin Central Prison. She is the sixth woman to be executed this year. According to Iran Human Rights, a couple who had been married at the time of their arrest and also cousins, were executed on drug-related charges in Qazvin Central Prison …
Read More »Blinken and a Repeat of ‘Eyeless in Gaza’ Saga
gatestoneinstitute.org – Ali Khamenei asserts that he has received “a divine pledge that total victory is on the way”, and demands that the two groups continue the fight until “our holy land is cleansed of the existence of the usurper”. The daily Kayhan, reputed to reflect Khamenei’s views, claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets and missiles could now reach 75 …
Read More »Rohani Dismisses Iran’s Central Bank Chief Over Presidential Candidacy
RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has dismissed the head of the country’s central bank, Abdolnaser Hemmatti, because he is running as a candidate for president in an election in June.Reuters quotes Hemmatti as saying during a meeting late on May 29 via the Clubhouse social media app that Rohani told him: “If you stand in the election, you cannot …
Read More »Coronavirus in Iran: Power Outages, Black Fungus, and Warnings of a Fifth Surge
Iranwire – The two coronavirus variants first detected in South Africa and India are still stalking southern Iranian cities. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that cases of “black fungus” infections have been found among Iranians who recovered from Covid-19. Ahead of the presidential election on June 18, Iran’s National Coronavirus Taskforce has warned about the potential risks of large gatherings. …
Read More »Iran Confirms Spying, Propaganda Charges Against French Detainee
VOA – Iranian prosecutors have confirmed a French man detained in the Islamic republic will be tried for espionage and “propaganda against the system,” his lawyer told AFP on Sunday. Benjamin Briere, born in 1985, was arrested in Iran in May 2020, allegedly while flying a drone and taking photographs in a prohibited area. Espionage is punishable by death in …
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