The fake carrier will be at sea as US Rear Admiral Jim Kirk’s USS Nimitz arrives at the 5th Fleet's area of operations. Parliament passed a law to halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the IAEA and to step up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal if sanctions aren't eased. Iran reportedly behind rocket attack on Israeli-owned cargo ship Middle East Eye 16:49 25-Mar-21. Iran’s regime has executed 4,000-6,000 gays and lesbians since its 1979 Islamic revolution. ", “These abuses echo anti-LGBT+ medical treatments by the Nazis”. "Unlike countries that define themselves with what they support, that is, prosperity and progress for their people, the ayatollahs' regime defines itself through what it opposes. While the heated exchanges of the past between the Iranian regime and Israel could be analyzed as political posturing, the latest tensions must be taken seriously. According to the report, the plane will fly to the UAE and then back to Iran but it is not clear what will be the plane’s overall future. Pompeo in a statement called it a "major expansion" of the Iran metals-related sanctions administered by the State Department. Iran blamed as Israeli-owned ship said hit by missile near Oman The Times of Israel 16:42 25-Mar-21. Mahallati’s aim at the UN was to "obfuscate and lie to the international community about mass crimes perpetrated by the Iranian regime.”. The US was "disappointed" with the Iranian response, a White House official reportedly to Walla News. An assassination of a US ambassador could undermine Trump in his re-election campaign or pull him into a new standoff. “Waging instability and war in the final days of the Trump administration was the main aim of … Since the 1979 Islamic revolution Iran has become more and more conservative. Steinitz: US, Iran tension may lead to rockets on Israel. The overt one. Iran occasionally announces the detention of people it claims are foreign spies, including for the U.S. and Israel, without any further report on their fates. "Reality check: YOU are destabilizing OUR region. Stay on top of Israel latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. Asian Football Confederation 'canceled' its contract with Iran. Iran says its navy and IRGC naval units are at the peak of their abilities. The IRGC also behaves more like a pirate navy than an actual navy, harassing ships, threatening others and sometimes outright stealing and hijacking vessels. The visit is the director-general’s first to the country since he took office last December. Disagreements about intensity of expected Iranian response. Soleimani was killed by the US alongside Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3, 2020. Iran claims it has arrested a number of agents of foreign intelligence services, including an “Israeli spy”, in the northwest of the Islamic republic. Iran has won US approval to transfer funds for coronavirus vaccines from overseas, the central bank chief said on Thursday, as its daily death toll fell to a three-month low. The former US National Security Advisor, who Iran media generally considers an extreme hawk, received rare praised on Fars News on Sunday when he headlined a story about his opposition to Trump. A missile attack is reported in Red Sea targeting Saviz commercial ship used by Iran’s navy, according to Israeli media. "Maintaining maximum political, diplomatic, and financial pressure on the regime". "We can't accept some things about the United Nations and refuse to accept others," the former coach noted. It is not entirely clear what the agenda is, but in a country where media is linked to the state but where there are competing agendas, the decision by media to highlight one person and not another has a message. Top Israeli officials are concerned that the United States is preparing to restart the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran without strengthening it, according to a report. Iran reportedly behind rocket attack on Israeli-owned cargo ship Middle East Eye 12:49 25-Mar-21. By Farnaz Fassihi , Eric Schmitt and Ronen Bergman Published April 6, … Because US policy is always compartmentalized and because the end goal is a “deal,” Iran knows that it can exert pressure through various means. Interest does not appear to be a coincidence because the group claimed it was “mobilizing” in Gaza over the weekend. As a result of the “maximum pressure,” Pompeo said “it’s very clear that Iran is more isolated than it has ever been.”. The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests: Copyright © 2021 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved. Brian Hook is leaving the position of Iran envoy after two years without having accomplished the US goal. Historically, it is home to some of the world's oldest civilizations including the Persian empire. Footage from Iran shows the missiles and precision strikes. One of the major failings of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was that it merely delayed Iran’s program rather Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack. The Court of Arbitration for Sport decided Monday that the International Judo Federation’s 2019 blanket ban on Iranian judo athletes went too far. Iran’s regime frequently uses bogus charges to imprison journalists and crack down on attempts of independent reporting. Naseri said “Navid was spread out on the floor with his hands on his head begging them to stop beating him.". Israel has engaged in skirmishes with Iran for the past two years (Image: Getty) Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom … In practice, it appears that Israel struck several dozen Iranian oil tankers, which caused Iran … Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals in recent years, mostly on espionage charges. The US should be ready to provide the bridge between these two great peoples and lead the Middle East into a new Cyrus Accords-like era. Due to Iranian proxies targeting US forces over the past year, Iran would view this withdrawal as a win. Ninety-six hours after being told to come home the 'Nimitz' got another order to “halt its routine redeployment” and remain on station. Hussein called for implementing bilateral accords in areas including border cooperation, transportation and trade between the two countries. Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion in July that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility. The State Department announced that Eliott Abrams, the US special envoy to Venezuela, will take up Hook's post in addition to his own. Iran ship damaged in 'terrorist' attack in Mediterranean, state company says; Israel estimates ship explosion in Gulf of Oman was Iranian attack; An investigation by Haaretz published last Friday meanwhile revealed that a Wall Street Journal report from two weeks ago reflected only part of the broad picture of the Israel-Iran naval war. China’s UN mission pledged that its country would work to uphold the JCPOA and seek a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear issue. US President Joe Biden's administration is weighing a wide array of ideas on how to revive the Iranian nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. “America’s recent action strengthens and expands the activities of the terrorist Daesh (Islamic State) in the region.”, ...And how a civilian intel researcher learned Jason Bourne-style driving tricks. This should not be an additional cause for US president-elect Joe Biden to realign America’s Mideast policy, and move its orientation away from countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and toward Iran. The calculation by the Lebanese side may be that a US administration seeking to re-enter the Iran deal will be more favorable to Lebanon in discussions. There is no debate that after the nuclear deal, Iran promoted terrorism as much or more in the Middle East and globally as before. Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to Washington said "What keeps me up at night is the idea that somebody would return to the nuclear deal with Iran.". The unusual violence was caught on video and has left many in Tehran wondering what transpired and why? UPDATE 15:00 PM EST: Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency confirms SAVIZ ship was attacked by a mine attached to the body of the vessel. "If the Americans were able to produce a vaccine, they would not have such a coronavirus fiasco in their own country. Tehran has used German territory for surveillance and assassination operations targeting dissidents, pro-Israel advocates and Israeli and Jewish institutions. By Luke Hawker PUBLISHED: 11:30, Wed, Jan 27, 2021 The 'Cyrus Mercy Mission' would mean putting hostilities aside to cooperate during this mutual health crisis. ISRAEL is ready to launch an attack on Iran and has warned the US against a return to the Iran nuclear deal, sparking fears of World War 3. Stay on top of Iran latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. Iran’s goal is to up the pressure on the US by showing it dictates the tempo. Turning the IAEA against the regime legitimizes sabotage. The Islamic Republic of Iran today is a Shiite Islamic republic with a Sunni minority under a theocratic regime which is ruled by President Hassan Rouhani since 2013. US instituted sanctions as other JCPOA signatories rejected extending embargo. It appears that Iran, having helped the Iraqi government grab Sinjar from the Kurdistan region, doesn’t want Turkey entering Sinjar now. Iran’s international judo ban for avoiding Israeli athletes is dropped. Iran will expel UN nuclear watchdog inspectors unless sanctions are lifted. Steinitz pointed out that Iran tried to fire at Israel from Syria last year, an action foiled by the IDF. April 7 (UPI) --Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Wednesday that Israel will not be bound by any deal world powers make with Iran if it leads to … Had the Islamic Republic followed through on throwing out the nuclear inspectors, Israel, the US and the world would truly have needed to start considering the military option. Iran is now enriching and stockpiling uranium at levels well beyond the deal’s parameters, but nowhere near the levels it was at before the 2015 deal. Iran announced Monday that intelligence agents have arrested an “Israeli spy” in the country’s East Azerbaijan province but revealed little else. The action freezes any US assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. 09/01/2021. Recent statements paint a picture of a solidifying worldview in Iran that harkens back not only to the era of the Iran-Iraq War, but also its view of a 'final victory' against the West. It says the ship has been stationed in the Red Sea for a few years, offering support to Iranian commercial ships. “A close review of these accounts in multiple languages which include Persian, English, Spanish, and Arabic, shows that Khamenei has repeatedly violated Twitter rules. REGIONAL AFFAIRS: The Democratic nominee will need to jump off the tightrope Another is the November killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program two decades ago. In some ways it is a tragedy that these men turned their fire and anger against Israel and the US. The normalization processes are deeply significant to the balance between Israel and Iran. The Twitter removal of the tweet was a rare instance of Western social media giants actually confronting Iran’s far-right authoritarian regime. The New Jersey Democrat addressed the prospects of a new deal with Iran after leading a bipartisan letter to Secretary Blinken, calling him to take a hardline on the Islamic Republic. Several Iranian news outlets showed images of flames and smoke billowing from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea, but the full extent of the damage or any casualties was unclear. "If Washington returns to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, we will also fully respect our commitments under the pact," Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting. Iron Sheik and former Iranian Olympian wrestler urges Olympics to take action against the regime. "A few minutes ago, the process of producing 20% enriched uranium has started in Fordow enrichment complex," Iran said Monday. ", Officials: Transmission picked up by air traffic control a hoax. Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and former Israel Atomic Energy Official Ephraim Asculai explain why there are so many estimates for the Iran nuke breakout timeline. Why would the most senior American military officer visit Israel for the third time in just over a year? On Wednesday reports emerged that Iran is making small amounts of uranium metal, which could be used in a core of a nuclear weapon. The 15-member council has been operating virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic so states have 24 hours to cast a vote. President Hassan Rouhani in June said his country was experiencing the toughest year because of US economic pressure and the coronavirus pandemic which has hit the Islamic Republic hard. "And the IOC turned away, claiming that Navid is not their problem.". Iran blamed as Israeli-owned ship said hit by missile near Oman The Times of Israel 12:42 25-Mar-21. The seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi and its 20-member crew near the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been seen as an attempt by Tehran to assert its demands. and Iran’s Fars News says it is a “new long arm” for the Islamic Republic. Iran arrests an 'Israeli spy, Iranian news website reports Back to video. This is the latest in a series of reported attacks on Israeli- and Iranian owned cargo ships since late February. The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests: Copyright © 2021 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved. Produced by travel documentary filmmaker Human David Rawarpoor, the series, aims to educate Iranians about Israel by providing audiences a glimpse of Israel’s history, culture and food. Dozens of attacks on Iranian ships in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea have been attributed to Israel.Some of these strikes targeted oil shipments from Iran to Syria; others were linked to Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to its proxies in Syria and Lebanon. Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion in July that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility. According to former Israeli officials who over the years have worked with Malley, for Israel this appointment would not be good news. Elliot Abrams is taking over. This was its fourth such agreement under the US brokered Abraham Accords. Iran hits an Israeli ship in the Arabian Sea, Israeli N12 says Shafaq News 16:38 25-Mar-21. Entrance set ablaze to protest murder of wrestler Navid Afkari. Kochavi's message was more directed at Tehran than Washington. Israel: Iran using Hezbollah to destabilize the Middle East. The air defense drill is a message against adversaries and a potential sales pitch as it wants to sell its systems. Hezbollah endangering Lebanese civilians, Israel warns, as Iran uses the terror group … Foreign Ministry: “Without supervision, Iran will continue to act in the dark to promote its nuclear plan.”, "With or without an agreement, we will do everything so Iran isn’t armed with nuclear weapons.”. To be clear, Iran in the long-term absolutely is a nuclear threat and it is critical that the US and Israel not take their eye off the ball. Iran Arrests 'Israeli Spy', Others in Touch With Foreign Intelligence: Iranian Media By Reuters , Wire Service Content April 5, 2021 By Reuters , Wire Service Content April 5, 2021, at 8:20 a.m. JPost One-on-One weekly 'Zoomcast': Lahav Harkov with former acting national security adviser Jacob Nagel - Episode 10. The explosion came the same day as progress was reported in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel opposes. Tehran may soon regain the ability to sneak out a weapon. The Islamic Republic relies on a keen understanding of the West to make policy. The United States has reimposed sanctions that have sharply lowered Tehran’s oil exports. Stop protecting criminals who chainsaw their critics and use YOUR arms to slaughter children in Yemen," Zarif tweeted. Based in the Hormozgan Province, the various air and naval units converged to show off Iran’s usual menagerie of weapons. Iran's president has blamed Israel for the killing of a top nuclear scientist on Friday, and said it would not slow down the country's nuclear programme. 14 Dec, 2020, 08.52 PM IST. than stopping it. “The Olympic Committee has as yet refused to take any serious actions against the regime in Tehran for its bloody assault against athletes.”. However, he said it might just as likely “react in accelerating the nuclear program. Israel, which regards Iran as its most potent foe, strongly opposes a restoration of that agreement, which was abandoned by the Trump administration three years ago. Hook spoke less than a week after Israel announced a normalization deal with Morocco. The MV 'Helios Ray,' a cargo vessel bound for Singapore, was hit with an explosion in the Gulf of Oman over the weekend. Iran's Tasnim News reported that the operation will take place as if it were a "real battle.". The incident was the latest in tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018 from Iran’s nuclear deal. As for Israel, Iran’s leaders view it as a metastasis of Western civilization and imperialism, a “cancer” in the heart of the lands of Islam, an agent of the United States that hurts Iran’s aspirations of hegemony in the Middle East, and a partner of detested Sunni nations that steals the Palestinians’ land and continually harms them. "The regime in Iran uses the petroleum sector to fund the destabilizing activities of the IRGC-QF.". Iran hits an Israeli ship in the Arabian Sea, Israeli N12 says Shafaq News 12:38 25-Mar-21. It appears that Rouhani is facing criticism due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in addition to poverty in regions around Iran. The website also features competitions ‘Why Down with the USA?’ and ‘Message to American Soldiers,’ for which students can enter drawings, essays, voice recordings and video clips. The move is the latest nuclear standoff escalation by Iran with the US, Israel and their allies. UK now joins US, Germany in urging Iran to stop execution of reportedly innocent wrestler. While most countries tolerate with impunity the Iran regimes threats and actions, they generally believe there are some redlines to what Iran will do. The missile has a range up to 700 km. By HERB KEINON. But US, Israel conflict over Iran still likely at later date. and commit to a concrete path with real-world consequences. Iran - News from the Middle East - Iran, Iraq, Egypt & other countries, comprehensive coverage in Haaretz.com Pyongyang and Tehran have both lost ground in their respective standoffs with the US – and Israeli security is marginally better for the time being because of this. "The intention of the tweet seems to be keeping alive the spectre of revenge, which perhaps by itself is a kind of revenge," a Tehran-based analyst said. Iran has become increasingly brazen and open in its killing of random innocent people for everyday acts. The planned import and use of the Russian vaccine has proved controversial in the Islamic Republic.