Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that the Arab world would have to be “aggressive” as it counters Iran in “Yemen and beyond,” Al Arabiya reported Monday. In his comments to journalists in Washington, Hariri sketched out an ambitious plan to target Syria, which he called “the joint” of Iran’s influence in...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

Calling the prosecution of reporter Jason Rezaian an indication of “Iran’s ruthless internal power struggles and the politicization of its judicial system,” an editorial in The Washington Post Thursday warned that “well-meaning foreign visitors … are vulnerable to being seized as hostage.” The Rezaian case has become a showcase for Iran’s ruthless...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

A map of the current position of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as well as Iranian anti-ISIS forces, shows that while Iran will continue fighting ISIS, it has no interest in defeating the terror organization. The map was created by security researcher Michael Pregent, who was interviewed yesterday by...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

A United Nations panel in charge of monitoring illicit Iranian nuclear procurement suggested in its recently released annual report that a decline in confirmed reports of such violations could be attributed to “a political decision by some member states to refrain from reporting to avoid any possible negative impact on ongoing negotiations between …...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

Shortly after Iranian foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke at New York University, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) responded, criticizing Zarif’s demand that U.N.-imposed sanctions on Iran must be lifted immediately upon completing a nuclear deal and challenging Zarif to a debate. On his website, Cotton pointed out that Zarif’s remarks contradicted...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

In a speech at New York University today, Iranian foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at President Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate, justified the detention of a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship, and suggested that The Washington Post‘s Tehran reporter, Jason Rezaian, is a spy. Josh Rogin of...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

Noting that Iran’s seizure of the Maersk Tigris M/V yesterday was done in “blatant defiance” of the United States, Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall noted that it was that latest in series of recent provocations in the Persian Gulf, especially since the United States last week sent two ships to the waters off Yemen to deter Iran...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

The Marshall Islands needs American help in its standoff with Iran over a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship that was seized by Iran today, Eli Lake and Josh Rogin reported for Bloomberg News. When asked if his country would request that the U.S. rescue the cargo ship from Iran, Junior Aini, the...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

An analyst with close ties to the Iranian defense ministry has said that Iranian, Syrian, and Hezbollah officials will meet shortly to discuss their combined response to recent attacks in Syria that have been attributed to Israel. Amir Mousavi, director of the Center for Strategic and International Relations in Tehran and a...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle

A ship traveling in international waters, owned by a company with significant ties to the U.S. government and flagged to the U.S.-protected Marshall Islands, was diverted under fire by Iranian naval forces to the port of Bandar Abbas. The Hill reported more: The Pentagon says the ship at the center of the dispute is...

Continue Reading >>
  • Kindle