Iran has been forcing Afghan refugees to fight for the beleaguered regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Der Spiegel reported Monday. In order to prevent the collapse of Syrian government forces, experienced units from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah began fighting for Assad as early as 2012. Later, they were joined by Iranians, Iraqis,...

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Iran rejected criticism of its use of the death penalty made by United Nations officials last week, calling it a “downright lie,” The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday. The criticism comes amid an increase in executions in Iran as well as the arrest of a prominent anti-death penalty activist. Foreign Ministry...

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An Iranian airline that has been sanctioned due to ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has purchased nine planes in violation of existing sanctions, the Financial Times reported today. According to the report, the airline, Mahan Air, purchased the planes from European companies using a front company. The Financial Times reported that...

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Protests against Iranian authorities that began in the Kurdish-majority city of Mahabad have spread to other Kurdish areas, Lebanon’s NOW Media reported today. ARA News, a Syrian outlet close to the country’s Kurds, reported that at least six people have been killed in the ongoing demonstrations, while hundreds of others have...

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A top security official of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been placed under house arrest on suspicion of plotting a coup, The Telegraph reported today. Ali Mamlouk, the head of the country’s National Security Bureau, and one of the few officials still to have access to President...

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President Barack Obama’s efforts to gain support for the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran suffered a blow when it was confirmed Sunday that King Salman, the newly-crowned ruler of Saudi Arabia, would not be attending this week’s planned summit between the president and the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),...

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The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that he would “welcome war” with the United States, The Times of Israel reported today. Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in an interview on state-run television that a battle with the...

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After an agreement by the Danish shipping company Maersk to pay a settlement that has been called a “ransom” by a legal scholar, Iran has released the Maersk Tigris, the cargo ship it seized last month in an international shipping lane, The New York Times reported today. The Maersk Line,...

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The terms of the emerging nuclear deal with Iran is causing so much concern in Saudi Arabia that influential advisors in the kingdom are growing increasingly vocal about their desire to create a nuclear deterrent of their own, The Wall Street Journal reported (Google link) today. While Saudi Arabia has long advocated...

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A decisive battle is underway in the area of Syria’s northwestern bornder with Lebanon between Syrian rebels and the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah. Launched a few days ago, this battle is taking place in parallel with other battles by Syrian rebel groups in southern Syria who are trying to topple...

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