Social and Political

VOA — Iran has taken a British-flagged oil tanker it seized in the Strait of Hormuz to Bandar Abbas port, where it and its crew will remain while an investigation into the vessel’s conduct is carried out, Iran’s Fars news agency said Saturday. The Stena Impero was in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat whose distress call it ignored, the agency …

VOA — Iran is “nothing but trouble,” U.S. President Donald Trump said after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two British-owned oil tankers Friday in the Strait of Hormuz. “We heard it was one, we heard it was two. We’ll be working with the U.K.,” Trump said on the White House South Lawn in response to a question from VOA. …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Yet, while Iran shows no sign of scaling down its aggressive stance towards the US and its allies in the region, Europe continues to cling to the wreckage of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to give the nuclear deal its proper name, in the misguided belief that the deal remains the best means of preventing Iran …

Al-Monitor — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) in New York July 18 to feel out prospects for possible discussions between Iran and the United States, a non-government expert in contact with the Iranian team told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to Al-Monitor queries on the meeting. …

Shabtabnews – The second annual meeting to advance religious freedom ended by statement from Sam Brownback, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom on the importance of combating religious oppression on worldwide basis. Mr Brownback also mentioned the importance of number of global grassroots movements in support of religious movements and urged for positive actions by governments to support religious tolerance. …

Radiofarda – U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 18 that a 100-year deal is needed with Iran, adding that the 2015 nuclear deal was “a disaster” most importantly because it would be ending soon. This was the second time in less than a day that Trump criticized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for its short term. First, he said during …

Radiofarda – China is calling on Washington to “correct” sanctions imposed on Chinese companies accused of helping Iran acquire materials for its nuclear program. A foreign ministry spokesman on Friday said U.S. pressure on Iran and its “long-arm jurisdiction” against companies in third countries is the “root cause” of tension with Tehran. The spokesman, Geng Shuang, said, “We urge the …

Radiofarda – A court in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has sentenced to life imprisonment the suspect who ordered the murder of an exiled Iranian in December 2015, in the Dutch town of Almere. File – Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi in his youth (L) when he was accused of the worst terror attack against the nascent Islamic Republic and in later years in …

Radiofarda – The United States is struggling to win its allies’ support for an initiative to heighten surveillance of vital Middle East oil shipping lanes because of fears it will increase tension with Iran, six sources familiar with the matter said. Washington proposed on July 9 stepping up efforts to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen where it blames …

Al-Arabia – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied on Friday that Iran had lost a drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the United States said that a US Navy ship had “destroyed” an Iranian drone. “We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down …