Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

The Iranian Navy has boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) says, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the United States. CENTCOM published a black-and-white video on August 13 showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MV Wila, whose last position …

RFL/RE – French President Emmanuel Macron has held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss postelection violence in Belarus and the situation in Lebanon following a devastating blast in Beirut. Macron on August 12 also spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, urging Tehran to avoid interfering in Lebanon or escalating tensions. Iran wields influence …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Nasrin Sotoudeh, lawyer and human rights activist currently behind bars in Evin Prison, has started a hunger strike demanding the release of political prisoners. According to Iran Human Rights, Nasrin Sotoudeh went on hunger strike by issuing a letter on August 11. A part of her letter reads: “The appellate process, parole, suspending execution sentences …

gatestoneinstitute.org – “Presumed to have been issued by Iranian religious leaders, the fatwa reportedly read: We are making drugs for Satan — America and the Jews. If we cannot kill them with guns, we will kill them with drugs.” — Matthew Levitt, Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, Hurst Publishers, 2013. According to an FBI report, declassified in …

atlanticcouncil.org – The upcoming US presidential elections in November will likely determine whether the Iran nuclear deal survives. If Donald Trump wins re-election, Iran is likely to quit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and alter its nuclear doctrine to give it more leverage in any future negotiations. If Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is elected, both Iran …