Bipartisan legislation is set to pass the House of Representatives this week that, if approved by the Senate, would significantly ratchet up sanctions against Iran over its illicit nuclear program. The Nuclear Iran Prevention Act is co-sponsored by Ed Royce (R-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), respectively the chairman and ranking...

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Lebanese and Iranian media outlets are again highlighting cables sent from Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani to Hezbollah, supporting the Iran-backed terror group and praising it for waging “jihad” against Israel. Lebanon’s Al-Nahar characterized the cable as support for Hezbollah’s “jihad.” Iran’s FARS outlet was more effusive: “No doubt, your tireless and dedicated efforts and...

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During reconfirmation hearing this week, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey was asked this week to evaluate the current prospects of the Syrian opposition seeking the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. His response was  grim: Dempsey acknowledged in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham,...

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Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani this week pledged support for the embattled regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and for the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. The Iranian proxies were celebrated by the Iranian official, who many had hoped would emerge as a moderate and a reformer, because of their willingness to...

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Iran will be ready to begin discussing renewed negotiations, according to the country’s foreign minister, just as soon as the regime gets around to forming a new negotiating team. The team is to be composed by President-elect Hassan Rouhani after his inauguration, though Rouhani and his team have little control...

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Hassan Rouhani is easing into his August 4 inauguration by dismissing Israel as a “miserable” country that makes him “laugh.” The boasts are in line with Rouhani’s status as a “consummate regime insider,” but align uneasily with declarations from corners of the foreign policy and journalistic communities describing him as...

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Outgoing Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has moved to create an entire agency within the presidential office that will ensure his continued influence after the inauguration of his successor, Hassan Rohani. Bloomberg conveyed reports Tehran-based newspapers on what’s to be called the “Former President’s Office:” The office will be staffed by...

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European Union courts are dismantling sanctions designed to stall Iran’s nuclear program at the behest of companies and individuals targeted by the sanctions. Courts are demanding that European governments provide information – much of it sensitive and classified – justifying the asset freezes, visa restrictions, and other measures imposed by the...

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Iran’s installation of advanced nuclear infrastructure, including IR-2m centrifuges, risks enabling the regime to go nuclear “within a few weeks” once a political decision has been made to do so, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister spoke on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday and emphasized that Iran would...

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Hamas is manufacturing and testing rockets capable of striking Israel’s densely packed population centers. The missiles include a Gaza-built version of the advanced Iranian Fajr-5. Israel substantially degraded the Gaza-based terror group’s storehouses of advanced missiles during November’s Operation Pillar of Defense, which Jerusalem launched to stem months of increased...

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