Sanctions are not stopping Iran’s atomic program, the top U.S. general responsible for the Middle East told a Senate panel Wednesday, and if necessary, Israel has the intention and means to degrade the program without American help. The Times of Israel picked up what the paper described as a little-noticed...

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of the first world leaders to publicly mourn the death of Hugo Chavez, late of Venezuela, in a message of condolence to Vice President Nicolas Maduro. The Iranian president referred to Chavez as a “martyr,” and insisted that the Iranian ally, Hezbollah supporter –...

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In 2011 the International Atomic Energy Agency accused Iran of conducting work at its Parchin military facility that provided “strong indicators of possible nuclear weapon development.” The U.N. nuclear watchdog subsequently requested access to the site, and Iran refused. In 2012 reports emerged that Iranian officials were hurriedly destroying evidence of previous...

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Vice President Joe Biden brought a politician’s charm to the 2013 AIPAC Policy Conference Monday, but also a clear message to Iran and to the international community regarding the U.S. commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. There were age jokes, generous smiles, several variations of “great to be here,” and...

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Speaking yesterday at AIPAC’s 2013 Policy Conference, outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak emphasized that the Jewish state remains committed to halting Iran’s drive to acquire nuclear weapons capability. Noting that “we’ve stated this time and again, and we mean it,” Barak explained that “[a] nuclear Iran will be the...

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In the aftermath of P5+1 talks that ended without progress but left Iran feeling upbeat, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation told Iranian media yesterday that Tehran will produce 3,000 advanced centrifuges for installation in its Natanz enrichment facility: Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoon...

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Iran is continuing to expand a military facility where it is widely suspected the regime conducted work relevant to developing nuclear warheads, including advanced detonation testing of triggers for nuclear weapons. New satellite photos published by the Daily Telegraph show renewed construction at the Parchin facility, which is on an Iranian military base:...

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A long-feared full-blown sectarian war in Syria and Lebanon is inching closer to becoming a reality, with Syrian opposition forces threatening to make a border area “a graveyard” for Hezbollah. The Shiite group and the largely Sunni Free Syrian Army (FSA) exchanged rhetorical and actual blows this week, in the...

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The Iranian regime – second only to Turkey in imprisoning journalists last year, and identified by Freedom House as among “the worst of the worst” for press freedoms – widened its crackdown on reporters throughout this month. The Green Voice of Freedom, a site associated with the Green Movement that emerged...

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Speculation continues to swirly in Israel over reports that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been taken to Iran for medical treatment, possibly for cancer. Reports of Nasrallah’s ill health – which appeared on the front pages of Israel’s leading dailies Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv earlier today – were first aired Tuesday...

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