The Wall Street Journal yesterday conveyed assessments from top financial experts describing Iran as “Turkey with oil” and outlining “a growing consensus that the withdrawal of sanctions on [Iran]… would be a huge boon for the country, the region and for investors who get in early.” “Tehran feels like Ankara did in 2004,” Mr....

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Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip launched at least 60 rockets at Israeli population centers around 5 p.m. local time Wednesday, triggering sirens across the country’s Gaza envelop and deepening worries that Palestinian terror groups may be positioning themselves to start another round of fighting with the Jewish state. Early...

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Iranian negotiators are trying to put off addressing suspected military dimensions related to the country’s atomic program until negotiations with the global P5+1 powers have substantially progressed, creating what the Wall Street Journal on Monday described as “a new challenge for efforts to reach a broad nuclear deal with six world powers.” In an...

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Iranian officials have become more vocal and more explicit in airing conspiracy theories regarding last week’s Israeli interdiction of the Klos-C, a Panamanian-flagged Iranian arms ship bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazzayeri, of the Iranian armed Forces, told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency Sunday, “the Americans...

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Voice of America (VOA) reported last week that Washington was facing renewed concerns from its Arab and Israeli allies over its diplomatic approach toward Iran, amid reemphasized declarations by top Iranian leaders that they will refuse to dismantle any aspects of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. The dynamics had already reenergized domestic moves to assert a strong...

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The Daily Beast on Wednesday described how the Israeli military “launched a sophisticated PR campaign to tell the world why they shouldn’t trust Tehran” in the aftermath of Israeli commandos interdicting an Iranian arms ship carrying advanced missiles bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, noting that that apparent “coordinated public relations campaign” stood...

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Iran and Hamas are scrambling to minimize the damage from Israel’s Wednesday interdiction of the Klos-C – a Panamanian-flagged Iranian arms ship carrying advanced missiles bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip – even as new details emerged throughout Thursday about intelligence operations that preceded the vessel’s capture. The intercepted cargo included M-302 missiles with ranges of...

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Controversy continued to build Wednesday and Thursday over reported plans by the Obama administration to circumvent Congressional prerogatives and unilaterally lift sanctions on Iran, amid a converging consensus from pro-Israel and pro-Iran groups that such moves would be either untenable or counterproductive or both. Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies...

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Analysts, journalists, and lawmakers on Tuesday continued to unpack the geopolitical consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – both in general and specifically in the context of Middle East crises the White House is scrambling to contain – with evaluations building on assessments that the impending U.S.-Russia chill will badly complicate the Obama administration’s strategy...

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Reports began to trickle out of the Middle East early Wednesday morning that elite Israeli commandos had stopped and boarded an Iranian vessel in the Red Sea carrying a massive arms shipment to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. A video quickly published by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) – and embedded...

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