iranintl – Iran’s hardline media described the Los Angeles fire as an act of divine anger and a punishment for the United States’ support of Israel in the Gaza conflict. The Kayhan newspaper, funded by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote on its front-page headline Saturday that by supporting Israel in Gaza, the US had “created apocalyptic scenes,” and now “the …

iranintl – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Moscow on January 17 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and sign a strategic cooperation agreement, the Iranian Embassy announced. The statement followed a meeting on Friday between Kazem Jalali, Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow, and Andrey Rudenko, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister. Russia, confirming the meeting, said: “Current issues on the bilateral agenda …

iranintl – Fatah, the ruling authority in the West Bank, has criticized Hamas for aligning itself with Iran, accusing the group of jeopardizing Palestinian interests and resources. “Hamas sacrificed the interests of the Palestinian people for Iran and caused destruction in the Gaza Strip, to replicate its actions in the West Bank,” Fatah said on Saturday, stressing its determination not …

iranintl – Iran has announced plans to launch a satellite constellation in the coming months amid growing concerns over its ballistic missile program. Hassan Salarieh, head of Iran’s Space Organization, confirmed that the Martyr Soleimani satellite constellation, aimed at developing the Internet of Things (IoT), is one of the key projects currently under production. With 20 satellites slated for launch, …

iranintl – Iran has begun shipping oil stored in China with Beijing’s approval, sources told The Wall Street Journal, about two weeks after Iran International reported Tehran’s determination to sell off the supplies ahead of harsher sanctions expected under Donald Trump. The 25 million barrels of oil were gradually shipped to China prior to May 2019 as a precaution when President …

iranintl – A member of the US House of Representatives has called for enhancement of Washington’s defense capabilities in response to Tehran’s unveiling of a new loitering munition drone. “Iran’s Rezvan loitering munition and its growing drone capabilities underscores the need for the US to bolster its own defense capabilities,” said Congressman Pat Fallon in a post on his X …

iranintl – Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Ankara seeks to strengthen ties with its eastern neighbor and expects Tehran to support its fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “There are some who think differently about PKK in Iran. But it is not a secret that we call on all the countries – the US, Russia, etc. – not …

RFL/RE – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, while attending an Iranian opposition event in Paris, called for the return of “maximum pressure” against Tehran to push it to allow more democracy and to cease support for extremist elements in the Middle East. “These pressures are not just kinetic, just not military force, but they …

VOA – Iran was holding air defense exercises Saturday, state media reported, as the country braces for more friction with arch-enemy Israel and the United States under incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The war games take place as Iranian leaders face the risk that Trump could empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, while further tightening …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Henry Kissinger took a walk up the garden path with his naïve understanding of détente that implied equivalence between the Soviet Union and the “Free World” led by the United States, and arguably helped prolong the life of the Evil Empire. [T]he question that Obama and Kerry didn’t tackle was why the mullahs might want to build a …