Tag Archive for US Iran

NYT: Recording reveals Kerry told Iran about covert IDF operations in Syria

Either John Kerry is enormously & irresponsibly indiscreet, or he exposed American intel to an enemy state in order to attack Israel, an ally. Unfortunately, it looks far more like the latter, than the former.

By David Rutz

 

The New York Times is taking criticism for “burying” a report that former Secretary of State John Kerry told Iran that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times.

The story focuses on leaked audio of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaking candidly about Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful branch of Iran’s Armed Forces and a U.S.-designated Continue Reading »

Iranian General Soleimani eliminated in US strike – Israel goes on alert

Israeli air-defenses operational, IDF on alert and Mt. Hermon ski resort temporarily closed after Iran’s Quds Force commander Soleimani neutralized in an US precision airstrike, minutes after arriving in Iraq to coordinate further actions against the United States.

By i24NEWS – AFP

 

Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed Friday in a US strike on Baghdad’s international airport, Iran and the US confirmed, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries.

The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump ordered Soleimani’s “killing,” after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy.

Continue Reading »

US designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorist organization 

President Trump makes history with the Department of State declaring a branch of another country’s government, a “foreign terrorist organization,” which could facilitate fresh sanctions against the  Islamic Republic.
– A furious Tehran replies in kind on U.S. armed forces.

Associated Press

 

Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States is designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a “foreign terrorist organization,” in an effort to increase pressure on the country that could have significant diplomatic implications in the Middle East.

It is the first time that the U.S. has designated a part of another government as a terrorist organization.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari (R) views the new “Dezful” missile, at an undisclosed, underground location on February 7, 2019  – Photo/ IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS WEBSITE, via AFP

The designation imposes sanctions that include freezes on assets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may have in U.S. Continue Reading »

Gaza terrorists, Hezbollah hurting from Trump’s Iran sanctions

Tehran, as well as its proxy terrorist groups are getting desperate for funding, with Hezbollah’s Hasan Nasrallah imploring members of his group to engage in “fundraising,” meaning: kidnapping & ransom, illegal drug trafficking, extortion & gun running.

By Jonathan S. Tobin

 

With weeks to go until the deadline to make a decision, the debate inside the Trump administration is heating up. The choice involves whether to continue to allow eight foreign nations to go on selling oil to Iran via waivers that allow them to legally evade the sanctions the United States reimposed when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Tehran. Continue Reading »

Iran sues U.S. at International Court of Justice to end sanctions

Iran contends in the lawsuit filed with the ICJ, that the U.S. sanctions, which are damaging further the already weak Iranian economy, violate terms of the little-known, 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries.
– ICJ president urges the U.S. to adhere to court’s decision.

By Reuters

 

Iranian lawyers asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to order the United States to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Tehran.

The presiding judge of the UN body informally known as the World Court began the hearing by calling on Washington to respect its outcome. During their decades of animosity, both the United States and Iran have ignored some rulings at the court. Continue Reading »

US Justice Dept opens investigation on Obama-Hezbollah money laundering scheme

Attorney General Jeff Sessions orders review to see if President Obama’s administration sabotaged an ambitious multi law-enforcement campaign launched in 2008, allowing the Lebanese Shiite terror organization to engage unhindered, in global drug-trafficking & money-laundering schemes, including within the US, to safeguard Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

By Reuters, Associated Press

 

The US Justice Department has set up a team to investigate individuals and organizations providing support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group in Lebanon that the US has branded a terrorist organization, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday.

Republicans have criticized former President Barack Obama following a December Politico report that the Obama administration hindered a Drug Enforcement Administration program targeting Hezbollah’s trafficking operations during its negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal for fear of jeopardizing it. Continue Reading »

Report: Obama WH obstructed Hezbollah drug/money laundering case to secure Iran nuke deal

US magazine published a report revealing President Obama’s administration sabotaged an ambitious multi law-enforcement campaign launched in 2008, allowing the Lebanese Shiite terror organization to engage unhindered, in global drug-trafficking & money-laundering schemes, including within the US, to safeguard Obama’s nuclear deal would not be impeded.

Ynet

 

The Obama administration allowed Hezbollah members to engage in drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations—including activities carried out within the United States—in a bid to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran, an extensive investigation conducted by Politico magazine reveals. The first part of the investigation was published Monday.

Project Cassandra was an ambitious law enforcement campaign launched in 2008 by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), aimed at targeting the Lebanese terror organization’s criminal activity. Continue Reading »

Report: Obama gave Iran green light to develop missiles that can reach Israel

 

Middle East Media Research Institute REPORT: As part of the P5+1 nuclear deal in 2015, Obama’s administration gave Iran its unwritten consent to develop tactical ballistic missiles with the only restriction, that their missiles would not reach Europe.

By Erez Linn, Israel Hayom Staff & News Agencies

 

Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration had given Iran its tacit consent for the development of ballistic missiles capable of striking Israel but not Europe, a new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute alleged Thursday.

U.N. Resolution 2231, passed shortly after the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal was signed, calls on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology” for eight years following the nuclear deal. Continue Reading »

More White House Jive: Hezbollah is broke thanks to US sanctions

 

Congress expressed its concerns about reports indicating how the Obama administration is going out of its way to accommodate Iran in the sanctions relief.

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA

 

Non-nuclear sanctions against Iran and its allies have led to Hezbollah being in “its worst financial shape in decades,” the top sanctions enforcement official told Congress.

A Hezbollah terrorist on top of a building in Bekaa Valley. – Photo: REUTERS

“After many years of sanctions targeting Hezbollah, today the group is in its worst financial shape in decades,” Adam Szubin, the acting Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence told the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

Nuclear Bomb Necessary to ‘Wipe Israel Off the Map’

Iranian lawmaker & cleric reveals that Iran ‘needs’ a nuclear weapon to ‘wipe Israel off the map’.
They also reveals the U.S. ‘need’ for Iran deal.

By Tova Dvorin

 

 

Iranian lawmaker, cleric, and Majilis (council) member Mohammed Nabavian declared Monday that Iran does need a nuclear bomb – to destroy Israel.

Nuclear talks in Geneva – Reuters

Iran would be able to build a nuclear bomb in “two weeks” if it gets “access to 270 kilograms of 20 percent [enriched uranium], 10 tons of 5 percent, and 20 thousand centrifuges,” Nabavian stated, according to Iranian media reports. “We are not looking for a nuclear bomb, but having a nuclear bomb is necessary to put down Israel.” Continue Reading »

White House Tells Congress New Sanctions May Kill Diplomatic Talks with Iran

Secretary of State John Kerry warns congressmen that passing additional sanctions on Iran may jeopardize White House negotiations on Iranian nuclear program.

By Elad Benari

 

The U.S. administration on Tuesday stepped up its battle to thwart moves by lawmakers to tighten sanctions on Iran, AFP reports.

The administration warned that passing new sanctions on Iran would jeopardize tough negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of State John Kerry videotaped a message to members of Congress warning against any new sanctions during the six-month period of talks foreseen by a deal struck last weekend in Geneva.

“He certainly understands that this will be a vigorous debate, though he believes that everything doesn’t have to be a showdown,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki was quoted as having told reporters. Continue Reading »